$30 Film School: How to Write, Direct, Produce, Shoot, Edit, Distribute, Tour With, and Sell Your Own No-Budget Digital Movie

by Michael W. Dean

We’re entering a new era. Mini-DV filmmaking is the new folk, the new punk rock, the new medium where anyone can tell his story. "$30 Film School" is an alternative to spending four years and a hundred thousand dollars to learn the trade. It is influenced by punk rock’s Do-It-Yourself spirit of just learning the basics and then jumping up on a stage and making a point, and by the American work ethic back when it was pure, before it became all about corporations crushing the little guy. Throw in the hacker idea that information wants to be free (or at least very cheap) and you’ve got our deal. Inside you’ll find many interviews from insightful independent filmmakers and artists, as well as a host of practical advice, knowledge, and resources.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

528 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2003

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to think of myself as an independent man, at least in theory. If I'm truly invested in something, I'm going to want to know as much and be as personally involved as physically possible. $30 Film School was written for readers like me and the author, those who are determined to follow their passion despite the horrible and terrifying odds stacked against you in any creative field. Dean is very frank about how hard it is to make a film at all, let alone get it distributed and have it make money. It's brutal and unforgiving, but for those with the grit and the right amount of recklessness, you might have a better chance.

I'd argue that the best resource this book can possibly give you is that perspective. If you didn't already know it, it rams the idea of potential (and likely) failure in your head and dares you with a huge grin to go for it anyway. That is immensely valuable, certainly worth more than 30 dollars or the 10 that I paid for it.

The actual instruction on filmmaking is a bit lackluster, which is the reason for the missing star. If you're looking for that, there are higher quality and more cohesive lessons out there. Dean's views on the filmmaking world is where the value comes in, and has lessons that every independent filmmaker out there could learn from.

[Duncan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a kind of a cheerleader. It encourages you to go make your own damned shitty movie.

The author practices what he preaches, and a dvd included with the book gives evidence of the sort of movie you could make if you took his advice. Mr. Dean has a proven technique for making films quickly, shooting unscripted dialogue in available light with pick up crews. His little movie totally sucked.

As a motivator, this book was adequate, though Make Your Own Damned Movie and Rebel Without a Crew were much better. The Dummies series of books has a reasonable description of how to proceed with small movie production from a technical and legalistic point of view, which this also does.

I would probably have given this book more of a thumbs up if I had not watched the godawful movie included with it. As far as film school goes, it may be you get what you pay for.

[Teel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went from reading to skimming after about 150 pages, though I looked at every one... I think watching his film, DIY or DIE should be a prerequisite to attempting to read this, along with perhaps the warning that the entire book is based on his self-taught experience in producing and distributing that one film. Certainly not a replacement for film school, or really a good substitute for doing your own research online - skim this book, then go teach yourself the meat (not to mention up-to-date technical details) by Googling anything you didn't know or were interested in.

Sadly, because of the steady march of technology advancement, whole swaths of this book (2nd Ed.) are out of date re: cameras, software, festivals, et cetera. Oh well.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a graduate student of history working on a documentary, I have to question Dean's authority in getting a low budget film made. His examples did not inspire confidence; in the section on fundraising, he shows several examples of requests that that "didn't work. But it could have..." (pages 21 and 29). He also states in the chapter of software, that downloading a trial version of software and trying it out before you buy is "quasilegal" [sic:] (page 161).

It seems that Michael Dean has had some success with getting films from concept to screen; however, this wasn't the book for someone like me who hopes to see their work in more mainstream media like PBS or the History Channel.

[Doug Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty much a 500 page essay on his crappy documentary and how he made it. Interestingly - doesn't come with a copy of that documentary. So i went and watched it, and it was pretty pathetic, honestly. I mean, it did what it was supposed to - but it certainly wasn't moving or important. Sooo ... if this was called "How to make a stagnant documentary somewhat in the vein of the one i made" it would be a fine book. But outside of that ... just pretty much a waste of time.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gives some good hints, but I'd recommend taking style direction from elsewhere. His movie is crap. That said, it is worth it for a simple beginner's guide as long as you don't take it too seriously.

[Conrad Zero · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of $30 Film School can be found here:

http://www.conradzero.com/book-review...

-Zero

[Stephen Elliot · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is literally the worst book I have ever read.

[Ietrio · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does contain a lot of fluff.

[Carolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

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