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Which online school would be right for me?

H

harmonica44

I would like to finish a project but the post production process is a lot harder than I thought. I tried reading a couple of books on it, but I think I need a system in which I can ask questions, since there are too many variables for a book to answer. I've also asked a couple of post production professionals, but they said they have never used my programs, and therefore were not able to help as much. I understand roughly what to do, but I need to learn my programs. Hopefully I can take a class soon, and then I'll finally be able to finish something and know how

I have the Adobe CS5.5. Production Premium package, but even the instruction manuals do not go into enough detail for me to get past most of the variables I need to learn. I was thinking Lynda.com is a good one, and was recommended to me on here before, but do you get to ask questions and is the program very good for answering back?
 
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Lynda.com isn't an online film school. It's a business that sells tutorials.

If you're frustrated by books not going into details, then you're not going to be happy with videos. They tend to carry only a fraction of the information a book can carry.

That all being said, if you go the video route, there are lots and lots of video tuts available from a wide variety of sources depending on the size of your wallet (some courses cost as much as $600 each). I personally prefer both video tuts and books when combined with practical application.

It might be worth considering an actual film school to get you over the hump.
 
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Yeah, it's just I can't afford to move to go to film school and would like something i could do where I live right now in my life. I wonder if I could hire a personal tutor, but their doesn't seem to be any. But if all Lynda does is sell recordings, than I cannot ask questions. I had a look at Lynda before and I was afraid it just might be videos only, and no Q & A. If I save up and move, the schooling is four years, and I would have to put my projects all on hold till way later, and I was hoping to finish something sooner for once and not leave it on the table, and keep the actor's and crew waiting to see their work.

However where I live, there is a new music production school that opened up, which I am currently trying to find more about. I could take that and apply editing and mixing from those classes, to my movie making, if that's a good idea, and I will learn what I need to know.

I was told before that it's not worth doing unless I want to make a career out of it in, just one field. But for those of you who do all the tasks in making your own short films, how do you do it? How do you learn professions, that each equal one career alone, and find time to learn and do whole movies with?
 
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harmonica44 said:
Yeah, it's just I can't afford to move to go to film school and would like something i could do where I live right now in my life.
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You can do something, right where you are.

Finish that one film you've been working on.

If you actually finish that film (and it can be as great or as terrible as can be; doesn't matter), you can show other people what you have done, and what you can move on to next.

If you never finish your film, you'll be "that guy who never finishes anything".

Finishing that one film will be worth more in learning & experience than a year's subscription to Lynda, or anywhere.
 
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What kind of most production questions do you have? (For me at least) it is often the most straight forward part, though this really is a trial and error area.

Perhaps you could ask some here? I've been editing on Premiere since about 2008 and actually owned it since 2010 (when I used it in 2008, 2009 it was at a friends house and Church). If your questions are specific to the program I might be able to help :) PM if interested, though I'm about to go on a week holiday but after that I'm good
 
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Zensteve said:
You can do something, right where you are.

Finish that one film you've been working on.

If you actually finish that film (and it can be as great or as terrible as can be; doesn't matter), you can show other people what you have done, and what you can move on to next.

If you never finish your film, you'll be "that guy who never finishes anything".

Finishing that one film will be worth more in learning & experience than a year's subscription to Lynda, or anywhere.
Click to expand...

Well I can't finish since I don't know how to use the programs though.
 
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You DO realize that had you used iMovie, the film would be done and we would have been just as impressed. And you would have learned a lot. You don't need to tell anyone (here or at home) you used iMovie.

As I keep saying, beware of gearheads and tech freaks. So far they've got you looking at film schools to understand the stuff you're using.

A simple camera with manual settings and iMovie is capable of creating an impressive film. And no one needs to know.
 
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Well my friend had Imovie, and I didn't really consider that to be usable since he was having problems with his projects. For one thing there is only one soundtrack. So I couldn't make it so that if one person is yelling from a different room for example, that they would actually sound like they are in a different room. I also have to make a copy of the movie everytime I want to add a new sound, since there is only one track, and one track, cannot take more than one sound at a time. At least on the Imovie he had.

Imovie also does not enable me to choose which frame I am able to cut on, so the editing probably wouldn't flow smoothly if I can't cut on the frame. I also cannot take out frames as desired, such as when someone punches someone, and you want to give it more speed. Unless he is wrong and you can change sounds, and take out frames.
 
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