Visual Storytelling: The Shot & The Camera (On Demand)

This is an On Demand course. On Demand courses allow you to watch pre-recorded lectures at your own pace, with curated resources and other materials to support your work. You can begin taking this course at any time.

In order to serve more of the Sundance Collab community, we developed this On Demand course from existing live online course content. By doing so, we are able to offer Visual Storytelling: The Shot & The Camera (On Demand) at a price that allows more people to benefit from the course content. 

Mastering visual storytelling is like learning a new language—the language of the screen—and it is a critical component of a director’s work. Join filmmaker, author and educator, Peter Markham, as he leads this mind-opening On Demand course.

In this course, you will learn about what is inherent in visual language and what depends on context and usage, about composition and mise-en-scene, shot selection, size and framing, about passage of time in a shot and the ‘flow of energy’, about the nature of images, as well as camera placement, angle, movement, modes (observing, passive, dynamic, participatory, complicit), and more. 

You will gain expertise on the practical aesthetics of the moving image—explored from the perspectives of both shot and camera. You will analyze scenes across genres and styles to learn how to command your own unique visual style. 

This course focuses on three core films as examples: Hereditary, Moonlight and Nomadland. Whatever your level of experience, Visual Storytelling: The Shot & The Camera (On Demand) will provoke new ways of approaching your work.

View the Outline tab for more details on the course.

This course is ideal for:

• filmmakers interested in visual storytelling who want to dive deep into understanding the language of the moving image with the guidance of an expert.
• directors interested in gaining new perspectives on how to approach their work.
• scholars of film studies and film theory.

 All course videos are closed-captioned. For other accommodations and support services, please email us at accessibility@sundance.org.