12th March – 14th May 2024

The Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online (FFSO) is a 9-week seminar to prepare you to create films that communicate the Gospel across cultures through skill-building and hands-on practice encouraged in a virtual video classroom.

Whether you have had experience making videos or movies, or have never held a camera, join us to grow your skills, and be inspired to create videos that communicate good news.

Get Started For Free!

We’ve created an Introduction course for free for anyone. If you’re interested in the Seminar, but unsure where to start, this is a great way to do so!

Introduction Course

About the Program

The Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online (FFSO) is an 9-week seminar to prepare you to serve on a cross-cultural evangelistic film set through skill building and hands-on practice. The Frontier Filmmaking Seminar is a program that has run for 12 years in 10 different countries with more than 80 students graduating from the program. The team is now hosting that training online.

Your instructors will teach practical skills and principles for effectively writing, producing, directing, editing and distributing a film. You will watch video instruction at your own pace, and complete required assignments by set due dates. You will receive personalized coaching and feedback to sharpen your skills and move you towards becoming a better filmmaker.

What you will learn

You will learn camera, lighting, audio, directing, editing, scriptwriting, cross-cultural contextualization for filmmaking and more. Whether you have experience making videos or movies, or have never held a camera, you will learn a lot! In addition to course materials, instructors will spend time with students reviewing projects, giving feedback, and answering questions. Join us to grow your skills and be inspired to create videos that communicate the good news across cultures.

What to expect

The courses will be at your own pace on your own time as they are video content you access online. There will be assignments and assessments designed to help you practice your skills which are spread out over the course of the program.

Expect the course commitment to be between 1-2 hours each day for 5 days of the week, or 5-10 hours of coursework per week. The amount of time it takes you to complete this coursework depends on your current skill level and comprehension. You will be given weekly deadlines to complete courses, assignments and assessments, but the pace at which you complete the coursework is up to you.

In addition, we will host 1-2 weekly online live meetings with your trainers for you to discuss your coursework, ask questions, and go over assignments. Those live meetings will be scheduled at a time to best accommodate the international students enrolled in the course.

Join us on a film set

After successfully completing the program, you will have the option of joining us for 2-3 weeks producing a short evangelistic movie for an unreached people group. This will give you invaluable hands-on experience as you contribute to creating a movie with experienced filmmakers. If you choose to join us for a project like this, you will be responsible for additional expenses for room and board, and your travel expenses to and from the film location.

Class meeting times

Each week, you will have lectures and assignments that you will work through on your own time. Each week you will be expected to complete specific lectures and assignments and submit them by scheduled due dates. A weekly live meeting with your trainers for discussion, assignment review and questions will be scheduled based upon the time zones and schedules of the students who enroll in the course.

Cost

The cost for the class is USD$250. If a scholarship is needed, you can submit this request in the Seminar Registration. We want you to be able to take this class and to be fully invested in it.

Scholarship

We offer scholarships to students from World B and C countries. If you are from one of these countries contact us for further information.

Payment

After receiving and reviewing your application, we will send you specific payment details and deadlines.

Language requirement

The course will be run in English. The advantage of having pre-recorded lectures though is that you can watch them at your own pace and re-watch them as many times as you want. You will need to have an adequate understanding of English to follow the class, but we don’t expect you to be an expert.

Filmmaking is, after all, a visual language. We are here to support you in your learning. We will take discussions slow and answer your ongoing questions. We want to see you learn and enjoy this class.

Equipment requirement

To take this seminar, you will need a computer or phone and a stable internet connection.

For video assignments, you can use a DSLR camera or a smartphone. We will provide instruction for using both a smartphone and DSLR camera. We will work with you as an individual to help you to work with the equipment that you have. We recommend waiting until after the class to purchase a new camera or other equipment. However, if you do not have one of the required devices (computer or phone for coursework, DSLR camera or smart phone for assignments) you will need to borrow or purchase one in order to participate in the class and complete the required assignments.

Free Courses

We’ve made the first two courses of the Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online free for anyone. Check them out below…

FFSO Intro

Learn how to create professional looking interviews and testimonials, right on the phone in your pocket.

Smartphone Interviews

Learn how to create professional looking interviews and testimonials, right on the phone in your pocket.

Curious about what our lessons look like?

Here’s an example lesson from our Camera Basics course.

Courses in the FFSO

Here’s a look at all the courses offered in the Frontier Filmmaking Seminar Online! Most courses have preview lessons available in the course curriculum if you’d like to take a look. Courses are also available individually.

Options for Teams

It takes a team to make a film and we highly encourage teams to take the FFSO together. On a team you’ll learn more, create better looking projects, and be more sustainable after the class ends. We offer team discounts, please contact us for more details. We also have an option for team members to take the course in different tracks. The “Producer Track” focuses on scriptwriting, distribution, and logistics while the “Camera Track” focuses on camera, audio, and editing. You will have several projects to complete together as a team including the final project.