Crash Course
The Filmmaker's Army
The movies and television shows we enjoy always look effortlessly professional, but the truth is, the work involved in film production is anything but effortless. A thorough video on film production explains the departments below the...
Crash Course
Soviet Montage
Why are film montages in movies so compelling? Learn about the origins and effectiveness of the Soviet montage, as well as discontinuity editing and other filmmaking techniques—and political statements—that arose from the 1917 Bolshevik...
Crash Course
World Cinema Part One
Hollywood is the place to go if you want to make movies—right? Not necessarily. A fascinating video about the history of 20th century Asian cinema discusses the reflections of Japanese culture in the works of directors Yasujiro Ozu,...
Crash Course
World Cinema Part Two
Explore the rich history of African, Middle Eastern, and South American cinema with a video summary of the most prominent filmmakers from these regions in the 20th and 21st centuries. It discusses Egyptian filmmakers Asmaa El-Bakry and...
Crash Course
Georges Melies—Master of Illusion
The focus of a playlist on the history of film shifts from the development of early film technology to techniques used by filmmakers like Georges Melies. Melies, a former magician, used dazzling illusions and tricky editing to create...
Crash Course
Special Effects
Special effects have come along way since the spectacular illusions of Georges Melies. Young filmmakers learn about the three major types of special effects: mechanical or practical effects, optical effects, and computer-generated imagery.
Crash Course
To Film School or Not To Film School
Conservatory approach or liberal arts film approach? Or self-taught? That is the question prospective filmmakers must decide when considering a film school. A helpful video ponders whether it's better to study a single craft within the...
Crash Course
The Silent Era
Young filmmakers watch a short overview of the major studios, players, and political events of the period between 1894 and 1929. In addition, the video narrator briefly outlines the Hollywood scandals that lead to the development of the...
Crash Course
Independent Cinema
The formulaic films that once thrilled audiences in the early part of the 20th century now seemed stale after the stark reality of World War II. Foreign films and American independent cinema answered the call for authenticity, leading to...
Crash Course
The Golden Age of Hollywood
Did movies save America during the Great Depression? Or did the Great Depression save movies? Learn more about the Golden Age of Hollywood with a video that covers the five major film studios, the colorization of big budget movies, and...
Crash Course
The Director
Who's the most important person on a film set? The legendary actor? The influential producer? The head electrician? Or the person who needs to understand the roles of all three? A Crash Course video on film production focuses on the...
Crash Course
Marketing
If you've ever been convinced to see a movie because of a compelling trailer, intriguing poster, or positive review, you have the film marketing industry to thank! Learn more about the ways marketing executives attract audiences to...
Crash Course
Grip and Electric
Gorgeous cinematography is the result of painstaking, detail-oriented work by many different departments of a film production. An informative video shines a light on the grip and electric departments, the ways they use filters, gels, and...
Crash Course
The Language of Film
New ventures and new technologies require new ways of referring to things. In stepped Edwin S. Porter, whose films Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery used parallel action and cross-cutting to develop his narratives....
Crash Course
The Editor
The job of the editor is surely one of the most demanding in film production. Viewers of an episode from a film production playlist are introduced to the editor's many responsibilities, the history of editing, and the various types of...
Crash Course
Experimental and Documentary Films
Some of the boldest films in history have been documentaries or experimental films. Explore non-narrative cinema and its avant-garde techniques with a short video about a creative faction in film history. Additionally, the video...