Online Christian Filmmakers Academy - Homeschool Review Crew

I was so excited to get a chance to review the Online Christian Filmmakers Academy from Family Gravity Media, a division of Families For Christ Ministries, Inc. Sunflower is doing an arts award in film and has been begging for a programme like this, in fact she squealed when I told her what we were going to review.

The Online Christian Filmmakers Academy has been created by Ken and Zac Lawrence, a father and son team who have been producing, acting and directing since 2004 and have run numerous film camps. They took their combined experience and created an amazing online film school.

The course starts with an introductory video and is then broken down into 5 modules

• Camera - broken down into six lessons, it starts by introducing you to the camera, educated you on lenses, frame rates, shutter speed, tripods and more.
• Cinematography and Lighting - consists of 15 lessons and covers topics including; hard & soft light, types of light, painting with light, framing, depth of field, green screen, setting up an interview and more.
• Sound - has 6 lessons covering sound equipment, microphones, field recorders, location recording etc.
• Pre-production - this has 5 lessons covering various aspects of writing the Screenplay, paperwork, creating the team etc.
• Production - this is a 5 lesson module covering; the crew, set management, how to direct, filming step by step and more.

They are currently creating additional content that will be added throughout the year. 

The Modules are easy to navigate (and are even marked off when you have completed them) and each lesson ranges in length from 2 - 25 mins and show some great hands on examples and tips. Once a lesson video has been watched there are various download bonus templates, documents and interviews with a quiz at the end of each module.

The lessons are packed full of information but so easy to follow that even a novice like me has improved. I loved that you can move through at your own pace and that the entire family can all use the same subscription (lovely cost saving). They really impressed me with the level of examples shown and that they have even thought about the type of basic equipment you would have available at home (camera and lights) and included suggestions for how to improve basic equipment (plans for a PVC shoulder rig anyone?). 

Sunflower loved that the lessons were so engaging and especially loved the tips they gave, in her words 'this is the best school work I've ever done'. She has been working on several story boards and its been lovely to see her enthusiasm and excitement for the work. She has even tried to incorporate a 'green screen' into her background.

The Online Christian Filmmakers Academy is available for $299 for a 12 month subscription. but until November 30th, 2016 They are offering a $100 discount with the code FALLCREW16  

You can see what my crew mates thought over at the Homeschool Review Crew

Award

I was very privileged to receive the 'one lovely blog' award twice over the weekend

I received them from Montessori Print Shop and Ponad Siebie - I just wanted to say a big THANKS to you both. It was a wonderful experience to wake up to these awards on Monday as both are blogs I greatly admire.

 

The Rules:

 

1. The recipient of the award must thank the one who passed the award on, and link back to their blog.

2. You must mention 7 things about yourself.

3. You must pass the award on to other blogs and let them know they have won the award.

 

Once again thank you to both Montessori Print Shop and Ponad Siebie

7 things about me

1. I am a closet farmer - I have 5 chickens, a large veggie patch and secretly want a cow (but my garden isn't big enough)
2. I love, love, love, love to read
3. I despise slugs (although I quiet like snails)
4. I grow lots of herbs (but only one of my kids likes to drink my herb teas)
5. I am a reluctant craft'er - reluctant because I don't enjoy it, but a craft'er because it saves a fortune on HS supplies.
6. I enjoy restoring furniture - something about the smell of sanded wood makes me smile.
7. I love quotes - my current favourite is Emmeline Pankhurst ' Deeds not words'

There are so many blogs I love, it's really hard to just pick a couple but these two have been on my radar for a while now and are well worth a visit.

The homeschool den - Full of wonderful, hands on activities and great Montessori ideas.
Discovery Days and Montessori Moments - an honest, inspirational look at a Montessori homeschool journey. She has some great ideas (like the continent boxes).