Hollywood Camerawork DVD Set

   
This is a 6 DVD set all geared towards camera work. It tells you how to block your shots, compose your shots, how to create moods using only the camera and not relying on your cast. Think Alfred Hitchcock – he was a master at creating a mood just by using the camera. Many times he would tell his actors to just stand there and do nothing, and he’ll take care of what needs to be done.

Blocking is one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking and I didn’t even know it existed until watching the Hollywood Camerawork DVD set. Per Holmes did a great thing when creating this set. Now I can finally say that I have officially done blocking on my last film titled Causality Scheme. The blocking was very basic, but nonetheless it was a VAST improvement over my 1st film. Blocking is the structure of how your actors move, stop, turn, speak, and how the cameras pick up the action onto film. It’s your next step after storyboarding. Per Holmes has created the set and teaches you how to block and also how to make your shots more efficient as well as more artistic. I highly recommend getting this DVD set. You will thank yourself for purchasing it. You can view sample clips on their website at http://hollywoodcamerawork.us/mc_sampleclips.html.  Blocking makes sure that your camera is setup on the right side of the line (you will know what the line is after seeing the DVD set if you don’t know already). Blocking tells the actor(s) to sit down or to walk through a door at a certain time. This is where the director decides that he wants an over the shoulder shot and then a reverse and then it moves out to a long shot.

This DVD set runs about $400 but when you compare this to a forty thousand dollar film school degree, it looks pretty darn cheap. These DVDs are incredible and will make filmmaking more enjoyable and more intuitive. This is a big must have. One more note to mention – when you purchase the DVD set, you not only get the DVD set, but you gain access to their forum. Per gives you exercises on blocking, (don’t cheat by looking at the others’ blockings!) and then gives you suggestions. It’s a great resource to have.

Pros and Cons:

Pros – Well I honestly don’t have enough time to write down all of pros that this course has. It’s an amazing amount of information packed into 6 DVDs. I am not a film school graduate so I don’t have the basis to compare this course to a film school, but I couldn’t imagine a film school course going this far into teaching camera work. This set of DVDs has probably been my best purchase as far as instructional products go. One main pro is that you gain access to the forum. Everyone who purchases this set gets this benefit. It is a GREAT benefit. You will see after you buy this and get access to the forums that it is a great place to ask advice to learn form others and to network. I have received priceless advice from not just cameramen or cinematographers, but from screenwriters and producers and other people I never expected to have purchased this DVD set. There is a wealth of information on the DVD set as well as on the forums. When you post on these forums however you can be assured that you will get honest clean answers from a great array of minds. Anyone can register for the DVXUSER site – only people who have paid the $400 for the DVD set can get access to this forum. That’s quite the filter.

Cons – If there is a con it would have to be that there is maybe TOO much information in these DVDs. This is a very small con however. What I have had to do is watch it several times but each time I do that I pick up something different. I guess in this probably isn’t a con.