Lights Film School Blog

Free: Live Screenwriting Courses

Lights Film School is currently testing live screenwriting lectures for our students.  We've also decided to offer 50 non students the opportunity to partake in these lectures for free! We will allow a small number of non-students to enroll in each of these live online courses. If you're interested please email us at info@lightsfilmschool.com with the following information: 1. Type "Lab Chats" in your subject line 2. In the body of the email let us know a little more about yourself and yo...

How to Write a Documentary Treatment

After you have done your logline you will want to write a treatment. A treatment is usually 2-10 pages double-spaced and states how the audience will experience the film. It’s important to write treatments in an active voice and avoid the use of hyperbole (such as “this unique film will explore” etc). When writing treatments you want your audience to be able to visualize your film. You will want to write in present tense and provide an overview of the characters, locations and details of the fil...

Lighting Tutorial: Color Temperature

In our last post we looked at the basics of lighting. Specifically we looked at lighting direction and intensity. In the lighting video tutorial below we're going to look at color temperature. It's an overlooked part of the independent filmmaking process so watch closely and take notes!

Canon EOS 5D Mark II for Filmmakers?

Could it be possible that the Canon 5D Mark II (priced at around $3000) will bring the world of filmmaking just that much closer to the average consumer? Just as digital SLR’s have inspired a huge wave of new photographers to emerge, could this dual purpose still camera bring the same type of professional availability to the masses? In short, our answer is yes. However, we do have a few concerns about the camera. There is no doubt that the camera captures a beautiful image. With its full-fram...