FilmSkills Academic
High School Filmmaking Program
A flexible, affordable way to add from-the-set training to your high school curriculum.
Bring the Filmmaking Process to Life
Engage your students’ imaginations like never before with in-depth video-based tutorials taught by Oscar and Emmy winning filmmakers. Enhanced with a wealth of projects, illustrated tutorials, and thousands of test question, FilmSkills Academic brings the power of Hollywood to your classroom.

Give your students access to the same content used to train industry professional around the world. With over 100 rich multi-media lessons, you can customize each class with world-class content to improve student engagement and maximize learning outcomes.
Choose lessons relevant to what you’re teaching, then build a new class out of the lessons you want. Lessons plug and play together and include everything you need to visually engage your students.

- 20-30 minute video tutorial featuring leading Hollywood filmmakers
- Illustrated articles
- Test Questions
- Projects and Exercises
- Downloadable files, contracts, forms, and examples
Explore the Lessons
Your high school academic license includes the following lessons. Mix and match lessons to create custom learning paths for your students.

This section helps students understand the requirements, challenges, and realities of working in the entertainment industry. Over 150 successful Hollywood filmmakers from all disciplines provide real world advice to help better prepare students for a career after school.
How to Break into the Film Industry | |
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Career Advice from the Pros | 21:13 |
How to Get Your First Job | 22:54 |
Realities of a Career in the Film Industry | 27:18 |
Working Freelance | 26:14 |

The core screenwriting curriculum is organized into three stages, with all three guiding the student through the screenwriting process.
- Section 1: Story Structure – this series of lessons focuses on how to build and structure the story, manage sub plots, and how to address story pacing issues.
- Section 2: Character Development – this series of lessons guides students through the process of creating believable characters, developing strong backstories, and writing convincing dialogue.
- Section 3: The writing process – In this section, students learn how to approach the writing process, from outline to rewrites.
Core Screenwriting Curriculum | |
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Section 1: Story Structure | |
Lesson 3 – Finding Story Ideas and Inspiration | 17:36 |
Lesson 6 – The 7 Plot Types | 20:01 |
Lesson 7 – The Implications of Genre | 16:40 |
Lesson 8 – The Three Act Structure | 39:00 |
Section 2: Character Development | |
Lesson 12 – Creating an Amazing Protagonist | 32:08 |
Lesson 13 – Creating the Perfect Antagonist | 23:23 |
Lesson 15 – How to Write Memorable Supporting Characters | 18:54 |
Lesson 17 – Designing Personality and Building Backstory | 29:06 |
Lesson 18 – How to Write Natural Dialogue | 21:46 |
Section 3: The Writing Process | |
Lesson 19 – Title, Theme, and Log Lines | 15:02 |
Lesson 21 – How to Format a Screenplay | 18:13 |
Lesson 23 – Techniques for Rewriting and Refining Your Script | 13:55 |

Scheduling and Budgeting | |
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Breaking Down the Script | 19:11 |
Scheduling the Production | 29:27 |
Scheduling the Day | 30:03 |
How to Build a Budget | 30:45 |

Camera and Lens | |
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Imaging Sensor and ISO | 20:25 |
Frame Rates | 20:02 |
Tripods and Sliders | 17:58 |
Focusing Techniques | 23:21 |
How to Expose a Shot | 25:16 |
F-stops and T-stops | 17:42 |
Lens Focal Length | 23:50 |
Depth of Field Tutorial | 27:29 |
The Shutter | 12:54 |
Framing and Composition | |
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Composing the Frame | 21:48 |
Creating Depth in the Frame | 17:20 |
The Actors’ Eyelines | 9:26 |
Framing People | 17:19 |
The Rule of 180 and Screen Direction | 24:32 |
Shot Types | 28:07 |
The Technicalities of the Frame | 13:15 |
Lighting | |
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Introduction to Light and Exposure | 23:27 |
Attributes of Light | 34:02 |
How to Build a Light Kit | 15:31 |
Reducing Light | 26:43 |
Softening Light | 26:50 |
Working with Reflected Light | 19:18 |
Shaping Light | 23:53 |
Color Temperatures | 26:22 |
Lighting Daytime Exteriors | 23:10 |
Lighting People | 23:36 |
Three Point Lighting | 21:28 |
Green Screen Techniques | 25:22 |

Quick Start lessons have been specifically designed for non-technical students such as acting or screenwriting students. These lessons guide students through basic camera functions, audio recording, and production techniques to alleviate pressure from the instructor when assigning student projects requiring school equipment.
Each lesson includes a downloadable and printable quick start guide to help students on set.
Quick Start Lessons | ||
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Setting Up Your Camera | 12:36 | |
Basic Shooting Techniques | 16:56 | |
Basic Framing Techniques | 16:27 | |
Basic Audio Techniques | 15:21 | |
Bsic Production Techniques | 15:51 | |

The directing curriculum has been divided into two sections. The first focuses on the director/actor dynamic and provides tools for students to communicate with actors, determine underlying motivations and subtext, and techniques for getting the performance they want.
The second section focuses on the director’s craft, focusing on how to shoot a scene, blocking and coverage techniques, and how to prepare for a day on set.
Directing Actors | |
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The Art of Directing Actors | 30:07 |
How to Direct Actors on Set | 36:29 |
How to Direct Background Extras | 29:54 |
The Directors Craft | |
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Director’s Prep – Beginning a New Project | 30:29 |
How to Shoot a Scene | 39:23 |
How to Direct a Scene | 31:19 |
Blocking Actors | 34:22 |
Basic Coverage | 20:21 |
Storyboards and Pre-Visualization | 31:02 |
How to Create a Shotlist | 17:48 |

Production Design | ||
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The Art Department | 29:54 | |
How to Design a Set | 25:28 | |
Set Construction – Building Your Set | 35:15 | |
How to Dress Your Set | 33:16 | |
Props | 36:16 |

Shooting on Location | ||
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Finding Locations | 19:13 | |
Working with Location Owners | 34:47 | |
Location Tech Scouting | 26:03 | |
Community Relations | 25:00 |

Production Life | |
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Proper Set Etiquette and Behavior | 15:44 |

Audio Recording | ||
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The Physics of Sound | 25:33 | |
The Microphone Boom | 17:29 | |
Boom Operating Techniques on Set | 20:36 | |
How to Record Audio on Location | 23:02 |

Documentary Filmmaking | |||
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The Documentary Format | 24:51 | ||
Documentary Story-Telling Tools | 23:01 | ||
Finding the Story | 28:18 | ||
Interview Camera Set-Ups | 25:05 | ||
Preparing for the Interview | 33:03 | ||
How to Conduct an Interview | 32:05 | ||
How to Shoot Amazing B-Roll Footage | 21:52 | ||
Field Shooting Techniques | 20:17 |

This series of lessons provide students with an inside look into the technical and artistic process of the post production process. Lessons cover data management and workflow, working with producers and clients, the art of the edit, plus the process of audio mixing and scoring.
Editing | |
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Concepts of Editing | 37:39 |
Data Management and Workflow | 26:39 |
The Assembly Cut | 21:33 |
The Rough Cut | 19:04 |
The Fine Cut | 14:44 |
Audio Post-Production | |
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Intro to Audio Post Production | 24:49 |
Music Composition | |
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Emotion Through Music | 28:25 |
The Who and How of Music | 31:29 |

This section exposes students to the marketing and distribution process and can be paired with the producing and screenwriting lessons. This series of lessons is intended to demystify the distribution process and help student understand the business of filmmaking, what distributors are seeking, and how to identify and reach the target audience.
Film Marketing | |
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Film Marketing | 15:41 |
Reaching Your Audience | 26:05 |
Distribution | |
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Introduction to Distribution | 32:55 |
In-person classes support the instructor in a live classroom by providing real-time student and classroom management tools.

More powerful than ever, FilmSkills continues to push the boundaries of what you can do in the classroom. Choose your lessons to create a incredibly flexible classroom experience that will delight your students and make your job easier.
- Each class is self-contained
- Assign Lessons on specific dates
- Track how much of each videos students watch
- Class calendar to sync class events
- Create and administer projects and exercises
- Create flexible, customizable tests
- Integrated student and class grade books
- Add class downloads and web links
- Student assessment reports and tools
- Class discussion forums and messaging
Create Immersive Online Tests
Each FilmSkills lesson contains dozens of test questions, saving you the time of writing them yourself. With the integrated Test Manager, you can create unlimited tests by pulling questions from the lessons you choose.
Designed for group testing, you have complete control over how tests are administered. Plus with advanced performance metrics, the FilmSkills Test Manager helps you target problem areas and improve student outcomes.

FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Simple choose a pricing tier, the number of months you would like to license FilmSkills, and the number of student licenses you would like to purchase. We will send you a bill and activate your student accounts.
Your school will be billed for the total number of individual students accounts for the duration of the term. For example, if during the 8 month license, you teach 20 students one semester and different 20 students the second semester, you will be billed for 40 student accounts for each of the 8 months.
Complete control! You can build as many classes as you want, and add any number of lessons to that class. Each class becomes it’s own academic eco-system complete with tools to help you manage the students in that class.
Yes, you can preview the content for 7 days.