Online Christian Filmmakers Academy {Review}

I'm so very excited. This year has been so interesting watching Nathaniel discover how to make and produce short movie clips.  Some of the clips are made on his phone and recently he started a YouTube channel and spent many hours delightfully teaching himself how to use all sorts of software to accomplish his goals. I was feeling a little at a loss on how to support his learning in this area until we were given access to Online Christian Filmmakers Academy from Family Gravity Media, a division of Families For Christ Ministries, Inc. to review.

Together we have been learning so much. We have not had to buy any special equipment although you do learn about the types of equipment used. Needless to say Nathaniel's Christmas wish list has grown quite considerably.

We have been given a year's worth of online access to the Online Christian Filmmakers Academy.  The classes are produced and presented by Ken and Zack Lawrence who are a father and son team who have been working together since 2004 and have more than a decade of experience.

How it works

Lesson Library

The course is an online program which is digitally streamed from your account. After signing in you will be taken to the home / introduction page.  On the left there is a menu with links to the five different modules of the program.

There are five modules to work through.

1. The Camera (6 Lessons + 1 Quiz)
2. Cinematography (10 Lessons)
3. Sound (6 Lessons)
4. Pre-Production (5 Lessons)
5. Production (6 Lessons)

Tracking the lessons

• Each of the modules are divided into separate lessons. 
•  Tracking your progress is really easy.  Once you watch a clip you mark it complete and move onto the next lesson.  
• Each lesson is titled and below the title you can see the length of the video as well as a short written summary.
• On the module overall page you can see your progress at a glance.  Completed lessons show a tick in the corner and partially watched clips show as such.

Lesson page layout

When you click on a lesson it opens on a new page. On the page you have access to the lesson video and a comments section.  In the comment section you can ask questions about the lesson and interact with the instructors.

If there is a lesson download you will find the link on the right hand side of the page.  The downloads are in pdf. format.

The program is continuing to grow and as such being updated with bonus documents which include: templates, insider interviews, quizzes and new content.  This will be added throughout the year ahead and made available to all new and current students.

Details 

• The course costs $299* for a full year of access. It is currently on sale for $199 until 30 November 2016 by using Coupon Code: FALLCREW16 on the checkout page. 
•  It comes with a 30 day no questions asked money-back guarantee.
• Your one year membership is good for your entire family and can be used by multiple students within your household.
• Christian Filmmakers Academy share tips and free video lessons on their Facebook page: Christian Filmmakers Camp.

 * This price is current at the time of this review.  Prices are subject to change at the discretion of Family Gravity Media, a division of Families For Christ Ministries, Inc. so please review the current price on their website before making your purchase.

Overall
Nathaniel and I have both enjoyed working our way through the lessons.  They are well presented and give a very good twaddle free class on the practical aspects of film making.   I am really looking forward to Nathaniel using the skills he has learned in this class in the future and if he continues in his passion for film making I will be adding this to his Curriculum Vitae in the future.

Blessings
Chareen