Hi,

I was looking for a course which would give me a good overview of all aspects of film making.

I found the "Digital Cinema - Filmmaker's Training Course" DVD set.
URL: http://www.digitalcinemacourse.com/index.html.

Did anyone watch those and would care to comment on it?

Thanks.


Andre.

Hello Andre, I want to let you know that I am the creator of the Digital Cinema Course, and I am here to assist you and answer any questions you may have about our program.

We have been producing the course for over a year now, and have helped thousands of filmmakers make the leap into independent digital filmmaking.

We offer a money back guarantee. It is on the front page of our website. If you are not satisfied for any of the reasons mentioned there, you can send the program back for a full refund minus shipping. To date, we have never had a return. In fact every time we release a new volume, all of our existing customers purchase it the same day.

The course is hands-on, easy to follow, full narrated, and is full live-motion HD video. At the present time, when you purchase the course, you will receive 20 DVD Discs for a total runtime of over 30 hours. There are also two optional volumes: Intermediate Audio, and Digital Compositing, bringing the disc total to 25, for a total runtime of 35 hours. That is the equivalent of taking a 3-hour per week filmmaking class for 10 weeks. And while filmmaking colleges definitely have their advantages in personal touches and networking, they tend to be out of the financial reach of most beginners. That's where we come in under $500.

All of our course materials are Foundation based. As in, you will learn the foundation of filmmaking first, then learn some delineations and other techniques. We will always teach you the accepted foundation first, then show you how to break some rules and have fun.

Our Gear Guide is taught by the manufacturers themselves, not by paid actors or sales people. The guys at Arri teach you how to use Tungsten and HMI lighting, not just theirs, but in general. So do the folks at Century Optics, Kino Flo, Rosco, Chrosziel, Bebob, PAG, Cartoni, Bogen, etc.

It is fun, enriching, and a great experience, guaranteed. Just do a Google search for "Digital Cinema Filmmaker's Training Course", check out our reviews on IMDb, and you'll get tons of info.

Hi Rush,

Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I read the reviews and your return policy.

As this was the only dvd course I could find with such a wide spectrum of subjects on movie making I just wanted to know if someone here had seen it ;)

It certainly looks great and is ideal for people, like me, who have a day time job and do not have time to attend a regular course or education program.

So, I think I will buy the course and maybe write a review here myself.

Andre.

That sounds great Andre, maybe this will turn into a cool thread! : )

I look forward to your order, sir. We provide Free shipping to the Netherlands via Global Priority Mail from the US Postal Service.

Rush - From what I can tell, this is an ultimate training course for people not able to attend film school. I too am interested in purchasing your training course but I have a few questions.

1. I am absolutely new to film. Anything I have learned has been by my own research and inquiry on DVInfo.net. Without prior experience with prosumer equipment, would this course be for me? I suppose, in other words, will the course run through the most basic of basics?

2. As the title indicates this is a course, does it run like a college course? "homework," tests...etc?

3. It has been a concern from some who I have talked to about this training course that the techniques illustrated are oriented around certain equipment. For first time film makers, money is most often equipment determining issue. I will more than likely be working with prosumer equipment such as the Canon XH A1 or Sony Z1u, Sony Vegas running on a semi film capable computer along with other home made lighting equipment, track dollies, cranes, steady cams..etc. My question would then be, will I be able to apply all of the knowledge gleaned from your course to the equipment avaliable to me? Of corse I am sure that I will learn about other gadgets that I am not aware of that may be beneficial and I will be inspired to add to my arsanal. For instance, the clinometer that I saw briefly in a sample video. This seams essential for keying light for a green screen. How to use one I do not know, but I have no doubt that this course will inform me of its importance. However, it seams that the complementary equipment shown (Keying hardware, waveform monitors etc..) would be a bit over-accessary for small production films if not perhaps expensive. Again, I have no experience with film at all. My concern is if I buy this course will all of the information be useful and I will not find myself saying "well that'd be great if only I had that equipment.."

I hope none of this came off as rude...I tried to ask questions useful to everyone who may be interested in purchasing your course.

Merry Christmas! and a Happy New Year :)
-Terry Lee.

Hi Terry.

Sorry for the delay, Merry Christmas everyone! Thank you for your questions, and I definitely appreciate your interest in the course. We've been working on a new website for a while now, and it'll be even better than the current one when it goes up.

I've italicized your questions below:

Without prior experience with prosumer equipment, would this course be for me? I suppose, in other words, will the course run through the most basic of basics? Absolutely. It uses prosumer equipment exclusively in its demonstrations. It uses the Sony Z1U in the Basic Production section, and the HVX200 in the movie production section. After that it's a mixed bag. It does run you through the most basic basics (Key-Fill-Backlight, Iris, Focal length, focus, etc), and takes you all the way to: 10-point lighting for one and two subjects, then groups of people. Professional mixing of Daylight, HMI and Tungsten lights. Creative lighting with gels. Pro Audio essentials like Electret and Condenser mics, mixers, booms. I added another post below with a full description of the volumes.

As the title indicates this is a course, does it run like a college course? "homework," tests...etc? We tried that, but it was mostly frustrating to people. No, there are no tests. In fact, as little printed material as possible. We include a reference field manual, full color, 75 pages, spiral bound, but it's just reference. We found that, as visual people, filmmakers respond much better to gobs of visual media rather than a 300-page black and white book with tests. So, we just encourage you to watch the program 1 hour at a time, take notes, repeat as needed, and immediately apply what you learn, by: Scripting and making a movie as soon as possible! It takes about a week to complete the 30-hour Command-Plus Course.

Will I be able to apply all of the knowledge gleaned from your course to the equipment avaliable to me? Here's the key to learning: Learn from the best, and you'll be the best. Sure, I could use a homemade dolly to teach you how to dolly, but why not teach you with an industry-standard dolly? You'll learn the principles from the best, then you can build a dolly for $200 and make similar moves. The key is to learn at the top. For instance, John Gresch from Arri doesn't just teach you Arri lights. He teaches Tungsten and HMI lighting technology in general. He shows you the different bulbs so that you can learn to identiify them. He shows you snoots, cookies, etc, so that when you grow, and have more money, you'll know exactly what to get. Steve Tobenkin gives you a whole hour on how to rent with no catastrophes. What to expect, what to bring, how to negotiate. Rosco Labs teach you how to correct every type of light to another type of light. You'll run into that problem the first time you set up a tungsten worklight to fill in a person sitting in front of a window. What's all that yellow light? How do I fix it? It all seems esoteric until you come up against the issue. We'll teach you with fresnels, but the concepts apply to worklights, modeling lights, simple 100W household bulbs, etc.

For instance, the clinometer that I saw briefly in a sample video. This seams essential for keying light for a green screen. How to use one I do not know, but I have no doubt that this course will inform me of its importance. The clinometer is only essential when matching subject lighting to other exterior backgrounds shot earlier. The first time you try and composite a person into a shot, and it looks awful because the background was shot at 6 feet height, but the subject was shot at 3 feet height, you'll buy a clinometer for $100-200. Sure, you can fix that shot, but you'll want to just do it right the first time next time. It makes you more confident, and your footage looks better.

However, it seams that the complementary equipment shown (Keying hardware, waveform monitors etc..) would be a bit over-accessary for small production films if not perhaps expensive. That's how it works: It seems unneccessary, until you need it. Even though, true, you don't really need all that gear to make a good greenscreen. Our instructor shows you how to do it with no gizmos, then with all the toys. You'll learn:
Basic: IRE Zebra levels on any prosumer camera.
Intermediate: a lightmeter.
Advanced: an oscilloscope waveform monitor (which is also found in Final Cut Pro, and you can take your laptop on the set).
You pick what works for you. The key is, now you know. And knowing is half the battle! You can walk onto any set, large or small, identify the tools they're using, and jump right in. You can start with your zebra readings. More money comes in. You buy a lightmeter. Now you can do it faster, and without a camera. More money comes in. You hook up your laptop with FCP or another waveform software. Wow! Now you can see exactly where the green is clipping its saturation, or where your model's shirt is beyond your camera's white clip. Etc... You get it.

Again, I have no experience with film at all. My concern is if I buy this course will all of the information be useful and I will not find myself saying "well that'd be great if only I had that equipment.." Not at all. We've sold thousands of these units, and we've never had one return, and never heard anything like that. Everyone has always responded to the professionalism of the course and the high-quality gear. It shows students what the top guys use, so they know what they can get away with, and what's absolutely essential (like, hands down, a GREAT microphone, no buts about it.) In fact, what they do tell us, is that until they saw our course, they had stopped buying video-educational DVDs because of the sloppy lighting, terrible editing, and extremely short runtimes.

I hope none of this came off as rude...I tried to ask questions useful to everyone who may be interested in purchasing your course. Not at all! Jeez, I wish people would ask more questions. I love talking about the course. Below is the post with the detailed info. Ask away!

DCT-MP/COMMAND: Over 25 hours of filmmaking savvy, wisdom, examples, demonstrations, tips and tricks, presented on 20 DVDs by people who work in Hollywood day in, day out. Learn Scriptwriting, Formatting, Editing, Camera Operation, Lighting, Exposure, Audio, and Directing, all focused on Digital Movies.
DCT-BP (Basic Production): 10-Point lighting, the jargon and motive behind each light source, as well as balancing them together with Quality, Quantity, Direction, and Color. Composition concepts: Law of Thirds, Screen Mass, Triangular Dominance, Color Harmony, and Planar Separation, as well as the psychological impact of each. Also, Lenses, Depth of Field, Shots, Axes of Motion, Makeup, and Steadicam.
DCT-MP (Movie Production): Screenwriting, Directing, Acting. Add foreground detail and make a dolly move really count, block your actors to match their eyelines, compose your shots to set the audience at ease (or not), and light the set with a minimum of fixtures.
DCT-LS (Lighting Set): 10 complete sections devoted to Pro lighting. Matching your lighting to fire-light, Christmas lights, uncorrected fluorescents, flashlights, candles, lighting chrome weapons, and groups of actors at a card table scene. When you finish the last DVD of this series, your mind will be overloaded. You will never watch movies the same way again, knowing that the "Natural Sunset" light inside an apartment is actually tungsten light off a gold reflector, and that there is a reason why directors move the actors in specific axes.

The Digital Cinema Course begins by detailed instructions on building a screenplay with proper structure and solid characters. Many screen writing textbooks have also done this, but the course is the first to do it by use of a dramatic short film teaching writers the basics of overcoming obstacles and disasters. This is then furthered by second more concise section outlining how to write in clear instructions. It categorizes specific methods and tools, and inspires writers who may have given up on dramatic storytelling. The following section describes how to physically construct a screenplay, what paper to use, how to bind it, and how to format the content. This is done with the use of computer graphics. Once the storytelling sections are complete, the course moves on to teach film editing. Starting with the history of editing and progressing to current digital nonlinear editing, the section prepares the filmmaker for the field. It abides by the rule that the best cinematographer or director is first a competent editor. After the editing section, the course moves on to discuss filmmaking equipment and gear, from the basic C-stand to the intricate use of color gels and corrective filtration. It prepares filmmakers for the technical aspect of making movies with HMI, tungsten, and fluorescent lighting. After the equipment section, it explores basic production in a controlled studio environment. Lighting, lenses, shots, depth of field, composition, and axes of movement. The course then applies all the concepts learned in the movie production section. By far the longest of the sections, at about 12 hours, it puts all the principles to the test on a real movie set. It carries with it all the variables that can assault filmmakers while trying to make a digital film. After the movie production section has been completed, the course moves on to the advanced lighting section. This is the most detailed of the sections, concentrating for hours on the art of lighting a film set with faith to the script's intention. Whether lighting to mimic candlelight, firelight, or fluorescent warehouse lighting, this section discusses the most difficult situations that a cinematographer may confront. The Digital Cinema Course is also accompanied by a color technical manual for the field, a checklist, and a preparation CD.

COMMAND-PLUS course adds: DCT-A102 Audio Course and DCT-COMP Compositing course.

DCT-A102: The DCT-MP/COMMAND Digital Cinema Course teaches basic principles of Audio, but the DCT-A102 goes one step further. It concentrates on Electret Mics, Dynamic Mics, Condenser Mics, Mixers, Lowcut and Pads, Hard Disk Recorders, Mic Suspension Mounts, Audio Snake Cables, Wireless Systems and much more. The more your filmmaking experience increases, the more likely you will rely on professional audio gear. Pro Audio gear performs better, lasts longer, is more robust, generates less noise in the audio stream, and offers much greater flexibility in controlling your sound. This volume teaches the principles of recording "safe audio", from selecting the right location, to using the right mic for the job, to recording on CF cards or Hard Disk. All these points plus many more are addressed in the DCT-TGHM DVD. This is an optional DVD not included in the DCT-MP/COMMAND course.

DCT-COMP: DCT-MP/COMMAND Digital Cinema Course teaches basic principles of Compositing, but the DCT-COMP goes one step further. It concentrates on Lighting the Green or Blue Screen Background, Lighting Foreground Plate and Subject, Matching Fore-to-Background, Camera Settings, Using Keying Hardware, Directing Actors, Keying in Post, Using Keying Software and much more. As you progress in your filmmaking career, you will be called upon to film a scene that is to be composited over another background. The only way to do that is to film the action against a color (green or blue) screen, then remove that color in post, and composite the action onto the desired background. Sounds simple. In fact, it is a very complicated procedure that goes beyond setting up two actors against a green paper background. It is a procedure that requires planning, scripting, charting, very accurate lighting, specific direction of actors, and color-matched post compositing. The DCT-COMP 4 DVD series will teach you all that, and more. It goes into great detail, from lighting to post. It teaches you how to set the height and angle of the background camera, match it to the foreground camera. As far as lighting, it teaches matching the color, direction, and intensity of the subject's instruments with the background natural light. Then it delves deeper with an action scene that teaches you how to blend action elements with proper direction for actor eyelines. The final DVD teaches post production compositing, and also contains a 3.5 GB full HD 1080i file with all the elements you need to build your own action scene for practice. Just copy it to your PC or MAC, drop it into your favorite compositing program, and have fun.

Rush - Thank you for answering my questions! The course sounds great and I plan on purchasing it. Since DCT-COMMAND doesn't come with DCT-A102 and DCT-COMP, is there a package deal where you can get the full course?

Thanks!
-Terry Lee.

Hey Rush, is the site down? For some reason I cannot access it.

Hi Terry. The site's up, I just tried it. You can order the individual components off the current site, or you can order the full course from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Cinema-Filmmaking-Course-Hamden/dp/B000MISU5C/sr=8-2/qid=1172804079/ref=sr_1_2/104-3368008-0779163?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

Hi Terry. The site's up, I just tried it. You can order the individual components off the current site, or you can order the full course from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Cinema-Filmmaking-Course-Hamden/dp/B000MISU5C/sr=8-2/qid=1172804079/ref=sr_1_2/104-3368008-0779163?ie=UTF8&s=dvd

Haha, is that you selling that? I looked at it before and figured I should buy it directly from you to be on the safe side...turns out thats you to :)

Hey Rush, another question crossed my mind...

For post production, what does your course cover in terms of video editing software? I had been planning on buying Sony Vegas...

Hi Terry. It uses graphics to teach the basic concepts of editing. It is format and platform agnostic. It teaches the similarities between film and nonlinear video editing, and explains jargon and techniques. It also explains that a good director is first a good cutter.

But in answer to the Vegas question, even though I've personally never cut with it, I hear it's a great software. This is coming from other editors, though, not from me : )

I see. Well that certainly makes sense.

Digital compositing simply fascinates me. It is probably my favorite thing about digital video and film. I hope to soon learn how that process works which is great because your course covers it. My concern with editing sofware is: can I do digital compositing via a platform such as Sony Vegas?

Hope you had a happy New Year! The ground here is rapidly becoming covered in snow..

im interested in this course as well....

Hi all,

I bought the course last year and I think it's great for people (like me) who don't have time to attend a regular (day time) film course.

As Rush stated, the course teaches you by practical examples, including the things you should not do and why not.
The DVD's on lighting a set (outdoor and indoor) were very good.

Even the "product information/demos" (that term doesn't do justice to it, sorry ;)) were a great source of information.
The use of the different lights and gels was something I didn't have a clue about, great stuff!

I haven't had the time to watch all the DVD's yet but my opinion is that it's a great course packed with useful info you can use immediately in your own productions/experiments.

If you do not have any real experience making movies this is a great way to get you up to speed on everything you need to know to get started in a good way.

One thing I missed (on the product related DVD): 35mm adapters (or maybe that's on a DVD I haven't watched yet?)

Andre.

Well this this training DVD's is somthing I have waited for, so I placed my order right away. Then I received a mail where I was asked to confirm my shipping address. I did so, and asked if everything was ok. I did not receive any answers so I sent a new mail and a new on and etc. I still waiting for an answer because I do not know if it is shipped. I hope it is, and I am looking forward to take a look at the DVD's.

Ragnar Egeland

This post is going to sound a little wierd. Last summer I was at B&H photo in New York. I bought the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium but had no idea what I was getting into. As a photoshop user I figured that I'd just pick it up. Oh how wrong I was. So there I was looking for ANYTHING to teach me how to use After effects and I dropped a load of money on every training DVD they had. The next week my girl brought by a bag of more DVD's that included the Digital Cinema training Course. Like an idiot I just added them to the pile of stuff to get to. It wasn't until Thanksgiving day when I was watching football that my girl said "hey what about that set of DVD's I got", and here's where the apology comes in. I said I don't think I'll learn too much from it, the box looks real plain. WHAT AN IDIOT I WAS! After 1 minute I was hooked! The section on screenwriting was incredible! It was not only informative but inspirational. I have been touched by this product. It lit a fire, in me and the next monday I was at B&H looking for Mics and lights. I just got an A1 and all the lighting info became priceless. I am a fan of this series, and it's a must for aspiring filmmakers because you can't just pick it up. Thanks again Rush for this product and again please, accept my apologies for the diss of the box cover.

I see. Well that certainly makes sense.

Digital compositing simply fascinates me. It is probably my favorite thing about digital video and film. I hope to soon learn how that process works which is great because your course covers it. My concern with editing sofware is: can I do digital compositing via a platform such as Sony Vegas?

Hope you had a happy New Year! The ground here is rapidly becoming covered in snow..

Hi Terry. That is one question I can't answer. Maybe try the Vegas forums. I personally use Ultimatte, a plug-in for FCP.

Hi all,
I bought the course last year and I think it's great for people (like me) who don't have time to attend a regular (day time) film course.
As Rush stated, the course teaches you by practical examples, including the things you should not do and why not.
The DVD's on lighting a set (outdoor and indoor) were very good.
Even the "product information/demos" (that term doesn't do justice to it, sorry ;)) were a great source of information.
The use of the different lights and gels was something I didn't have a clue about, great stuff!
I haven't had the time to watch all the DVD's yet but my opinion is that it's a great course packed with useful info you can use immediately in your own productions/experiments.
If you do not have any real experience making movies this is a great way to get you up to speed on everything you need to know to get started in a good way.
One thing I missed (on the product related DVD): 35mm adapters (or maybe that's on a DVD I haven't watched yet?)
Andre.

Hi Andre! Thanks for buying the course, and thanks for the good word!

Well this this training DVD's is somthing I have waited for, so I placed my order right away. Then I received a mail where I was asked to confirm my shipping address. I did so, and asked if everything was ok. I did not receive any answers so I sent a new mail and a new on and etc. I still waiting for an answer because I do not know if it is shipped. I hope it is, and I am looking forward to take a look at the DVD's.
Ragnar Egeland

Hi Ragnar. I sincerely apologize for this. No, we never received your Billing address, and we should have sent a follow-up email before... Just to explain why we need it: Your Paypal order came in as "Unconfirmed", meaning that Paypal can't confirm that the address matches the credit card you used. Therefore, we need to get that address, call Paypal, verify that it's a valid address, then ship immediately. We have had some serious horror stories with Paypal lately, and to be honest are tiring with them. We're moving most of our business to dealers and Amazon. Especially for international customers like yourself, where Paypal shows its true failings and Amazon shines. I just sent you an email. Please respond, and we'll follow through.

This post is going to sound a little wierd. Last summer I was at B&H photo in New York. I bought the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium but had no idea what I was getting into. As a photoshop user I figured that I'd just pick it up. Oh how wrong I was. So there I was looking for ANYTHING to teach me how to use After effects and I dropped a load of money on every training DVD they had. The next week my girl brought by a bag of more DVD's that included the Digital Cinema training Course. Like an idiot I just added them to the pile of stuff to get to. It wasn't until Thanksgiving day when I was watching football that my girl said "hey what about that set of DVD's I got", and here's where the apology comes in. I said I don't think I'll learn too much from it, the box looks real plain. WHAT AN IDIOT I WAS! After 1 minute I was hooked! The section on screenwriting was incredible! It was not only informative but inspirational. I have been touched by this product. It lit a fire, in me and the next monday I was at B&H looking for Mics and lights. I just got an A1 and all the lighting info became priceless. I am a fan of this series, and it's a must for aspiring filmmakers because you can't just pick it up. Thanks again Rush for this product and again please, accept my apologies for the diss of the box cover.

Heh heh, thank you Sherman! Thanks for the great review, sir! I really appreciate it.

Yeah, our older Blue Boxes were replaced by the new more eye-appealing black/silver designed covers. We keep improving the product, step by step, year by year. We've been working on a new site that will show the new covers. Right now the old ones are still up. Here are the new ones.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=5829&stc=1&d=1200261604

Hi Ragnar. I sincerely apologize for this. No, we never received your Billing address, and we should have sent a follow-up email before... Just to explain why we need it: Your Paypal order came in as "Unconfirmed", meaning that Paypal can't confirm that the address matches the credit card you used. Therefore, we need to get that address, call Paypal, verify that it's a valid address, then ship immediately. We have had some serious horror stories with Paypal lately, and to be honest are tiring with them. We're moving most of our business to dealers and Amazon. Especially for international customers like yourself, where Paypal shows its true failings and Amazon shines. I just sent you an email. Please respond, and we'll follow through.

I accept your apologize. Well, below is the first mail that I did send to you. I know the reason concerning the unconfirm address. Please read my answer below and confirm that everything is ok. (Note I am trying to get veryfied with Pay Pal but I can not find the four digit they are asking for).



My Address is:
Ragnar Egeland
Myrasvingen 11
4330 Aalgaard
Norway.

Note:
Rogaland is the local counsil. I never use that when writing my address. But sometimes I use it when I am force to fill in the "State field" during the registration process. It is easier now when most of the US companies has noticed that the major part of foreign countries does not have States.

In my country Aalgaard is written like Algard with a dot on top of the A's. You prononce it like an "a" in "all".

If possible, can you please use DHL as the shipping company. I do buy a lot of stuff from USA. USPS, UPS and DHL are very fast outside Norway. Normally a shippment takes 2 - 3 days to reach my country. After that USPS and UPS are using the local government snail mail system. As a result a shippment can take 5-6 more days inside Norway. With DHL I will receive the DVD the same day as it arrives on Norwegian soil.

I'm looking forward to watch your DVD's

Best regards

Ragnar Egeland

Hi Ragnar. Thank you, we'll get on that first thing Monday morning. I anticipate that it will go smoothly.

Hi Ragnar. Thank you, we'll get on that first thing Monday morning. I anticipate that it will go smoothly.

Hi
That's fine. Thank you

Ragnar

Hi Ragnar, all is well. Paypal hung up on us 3 times as usual, but on the fourth try we finally got them to talk to us. They used to be great before the Ebay buyout... Now everyone's a number waiting for 32 minutes to talk to a human.

Goodness, Paypal is impossible. I thank everyone who's written to us with inquiries about the course, and encourage you to order on Amazon if you don't live in USA, Canada, or UK, and don't have confirmed Paypal accounts. You can also order from our dealers: EVS, B&H, Full Compass, and FilmWare.

Ragnar, sending the product via private carrier costs us $75. We offer free domestic and international shipping to all customers via USPS for $35 internationally. However, on account of the 1-week delay, we are going to give you a FREE upgrade to private carrier.

I hope you enjoy the product, and thank you for joining the thousands of other filmmakers who have become our loyal customers. We wish you the best of luck in all your productions.

Hi Ragnar, all is well. Paypal hung up on us 3 times as usual, but on the fourth try we finally got them to talk to us. They used to be great before the Ebay buyout... Now everyone's a number waiting for 32 minutes to talk to a human.

Goodness, Paypal is impossible. I thank everyone who's written to us with inquiries about the course, and encourage you to order on Amazon if you don't live in USA, Canada, or UK, and don't have confirmed Paypal accounts. You can also order from our dealers: EVS, B&H, Full Compass, and FilmWare.

Ragnar, sending the product via private carrier costs us $75. We offer free domestic and international shipping to all customers via USPS for $35 internationally. However, on account of the 1-week delay, we are going to give you a FREE upgrade to private carrier.

I hope you enjoy the product, and thank you for joining the thousands of other filmmakers who have become our loyal customers. We wish you the best of luck in all your productions.


Hi again
Thank you very much for your service. I am looking forward to the day the DVD's arrives. I hope your noticed that I odrered the croma keying and sound course as well. Well, I will post an objective feedback when I have completed the courses.

Best
Ragnar

Yes, we sure did notice the optional DVDs, not to worry.

Hey, speaking of which... My wife has been creating a collage of photos from every country that the DCT course has been shipped to. She pastes them in a mapping software with pushpins for each city. She's wondering if you can either send us or post up a picture of Rogaland or Aalgard. She's obsessed with Norway anyhow, and has been reading about the excellent social services system, super-low unemployment and crime, etc. She's a cold-weather kind of person (opposite to me, I love LA weather) and she keeps saying she wants to go up and live in one of the Fjord communities, like this one:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/attachment.php?attachmentid=5844&stc=1&d=1200352577

Before you placed your order, she was doing so much research on Norway, and baby names and such, and I started calling her Ragnar just for fun. I swear it's true! Then you placed your order the same day! She just about flipped when I told her that. She sent you an email a few days ago, but seeing as though we have had issues with that, I'll tell her to send you another one. She just has a few questions to ask an actual Norwegian person rather then the web. : )

Anyhow, sorry for the ramble. If you can send us pic, we'd be much obliged!

Rush, I so love and still use the DCT series. It did exactly what it was supposed to do, give a general understanding of the movie making process. I would like to make a product request suggestion. The DCT product I would love to see would be Camerawork from a-z. Shooting for different projects such as shooting Action Movies, Sports, Night shooting. I just got my A1 and it's like learning all over again. Shooting 16:9 is different world from 4:3 I would really love to learn it from the pros.

Hi Sherman, funny you should mention it. Something like that is already in preproduction right now : )

Yes, we sure did notice the optional DVDs, not to worry.

Hey, speaking of which... My wife has been creating a collage of photos from every country that the DCT course has been shipped to. She pastes them in a mapping software with pushpins for each city. She's wondering if you can either send us or post up a picture of Rogaland or Aalgard. She's obsessed with Norway anyhow, and has been reading about the excellent social services system, super-low unemployment and crime, etc. She's a cold-weather kind of person (opposite to me, I love LA weather) and she keeps saying she wants to go up and live in one of the Fjord communities, like this one:


Before you placed your order, she was doing so much research on Norway, and baby names and such, and I started calling her Ragnar just for fun. I swear it's true! Then you placed your order the same day! She just about flipped when I told her that. She sent you an email a few days ago, but seeing as though we have had issues with that, I'll tell her to send you another one. She just has a few questions to ask an actual Norwegian person rather then the web. : )

Anyhow, sorry for the ramble. If you can send us pic, we'd be much obliged!

Hi
Well, life can be strange. It is not the temperature that worrie me most here, it is the rain. On a normal sunny day, the temperature here in Norway is not so far away from what you have in LA. I have been cold in LA, and I do not think the Pacific Ocean is so warm either. But its a nice place to visit.

As for the images, I do not have so many representing my place, but other people have done the job for me. Please take a look.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85lg%C3%A5rd


The place is 30 km from Stavanger

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://park.org/Guests/Stavanger/sg1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://park.org/Guests/Stavanger/sg01.htm&h=447&w=402&sz=51&hl=en&start=142&tbnid=u9Zx9c6XW79eCM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3DStavanger%26start%3D138%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN


This fjord is not so far away either.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.janhoo.com/2004/england/norway/pic15.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.janhoo.com/2004/england/norway/part2.html&h=1067&w=800&sz=248&hl=en&start=17&tbnid=FtWkB8prsbnIAM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpulpit%2Brock%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den


You and your wife are welcomed to send me questions, and If you need something more, please let me know.

Best
Ragnar

Sweet! Thanks Ragnar. We really appreciate it. Jeez, I never would've thought it's warm up there. Thanks for the links. PS, if anyone else who bought the course wants to send pics or links, please email me or post them.

Ragnar, tracking number via DHL: 7479873166. I dropped it off yesterday, but they said it ships today. So a bit later, you should be able to check that number. Those guys killed me: $97! On the phone they said $75... Their scale went 1/2 an ounce over mine, so it kicked the package into the next weight level. But I'm a man of my word. It's on its way to you.

Squeezing my toe in the door I insist that Rush did wish for "a cool thread" and Mrs. Rush likes cool places (snowy garden attached).

My query is about what software and training OTHER THAN Adobe After Effects (very expensive) .... Will enable me to animate one still (of a raptor about to land, selected) on top of another still of a deep landscape with mountains in background and rocks in foreground. My purpose is to place the (selected) raptor at a distance and zoom it forward to the rocks in front (using the landscape as an unanimated background)?

If I thought your course includes such software with training, Rush, I would buy it fast. I have a lot of good stills and video clips with great potential for simple (?) superimposed animation as described above. I use XM2 + Digital Rebel + Canon 100-400mm + Elements 4.0. I admit I have little use for graphics, film techniques or audio. I use PC.

Sweet! Thanks Ragnar. We really appreciate it. Jeez, I never would've thought it's warm up there. Thanks for the links. PS, if anyone else who bought the course wants to send pics or links, please email me or post them.

Ragnar, tracking number via DHL: 7479873166. I dropped it off yesterday, but they said it ships today. So a bit later, you should be able to check that number. Those guys killed me: $97! On the phone they said $75... Their scale went 1/2 an ounce over mine, so it kicked the package into the next weight level. But I'm a man of my word. It's on its way to you.

Hi
Again, thank you very much.

Best regards
Ragnar

My query is about what software and training OTHER THAN Adobe After Effects (very expensive) .... Will enable me to animate one still (of a raptor about to land, selected) on top of another still of a deep landscape with mountains in background and rocks in foreground. My purpose is to place the (selected) raptor at a distance and zoom it forward to the rocks in front (using the landscape as an unanimated background)?

Hi Brendan! Thanks for the pic, it's cool dude!

Hey, I don't know if you're aware, but you can get Adobe AE super-cheap if you're a student/teacher. Go to www.studica.com they got the Pro for $338: http://www.studica.com/Adobe/#NEW%20CS3%20Individual%20Products

Wow that's an interesting proposition. Do you have editing software at least? So you want to zoom into the raptor? Are you dissolving stills or actually flying in the still? If you're animating the flight path, you can do it with FCP for sure, as long as you use Photoshop to key the raptor with an alpha channel. Also use photoshop to key the foreground element (chop the top part over the rocks) then animate the flight over the background, and under the key of the foreground rocks. I do that stuff in FCP all the time.

Does anyone know if the DCT-MP Command-Full comes with the Field Manual and Prep CD that comes in the DCT-MP Command package?

Hi Brian, it sure does. The "Full" or "Plus" course comes with everything.

Thanks Rush. I just wanted to make sure, cause I couldn't find the specifics of it. I ordered it yesterday. The samples all look really awesome.

Thank you, Brian. I appreciate the order, sir. : )

Hi Sherman, funny you should mention it. Something like that is already in preproduction right now : )

Rush,

When will this come out?

I have it in mind to buy the course soon but if this will at some point be included, I would like to wait until then.

Hi Terry,

It will be a major 8-12 DVD optional update that will not be included in the main course. It will be released July/August. It will include Camera Techniques, Life on the Set, Full Live Movie Production of an entire feature from Day 1 to Day 15, Professional Commercial Production with a Broadcast HD 2/3" Camera, Set Etiquette and Communication, and much more. But it will be optional, so don't worry about your investment in the course. : )

Rush.

Thanks alot Rush!

Can't wait to buy the course. I will be in Portugal during July but when I come back I will probably buy the DVD update to.