$30 Film School

$30 Film School is a book written by Michael W. Dean instructing on filmmaking on a limited budget,^[1] and is part of the $30 School book series^[2] which includes $30 Music School^[3] and $30 Writing School.^[4] Like the other books of this series, $30 Film School advocates a start-to-finish DIY ethic, and includes interviews with professionals in the given field, as well as a CD or DVD of extras.

Published by Muska & Lipman in 2003, the first edition sold 30,000 copies.^[5] The second edition was released in March 2006^[6], and included a DVD featuring software, tutorials, and 14 short films by graduates of the first edition. The book is used in college and university media courses on filmmaking, such as Humanistinen Ammattikorkeakoulu (university of applied sciences) in Finland,^[7]

Reception

In Alternative and activist media, author Mitzi Waltz writes that $30 Film School is a well-received book that lays out the nuts and bolts of making movies on a shoestring".^[8] Keith Gordon of Alt.culture.guide wrote that the book was "[o]ne of the most important tools available to an artist."

Independent Magazine lists the book as among the "30 Quintessential Books for Independent Filmmakers", writing that it shares "...the basics of filmmaking. With a strong focus on documentaries, the book also focuses on being confident about your work."^[9]

Theater Books wrote "In $30 Film School you'll find many interviews from insightful independent filmmakers and artists, as well as a host of practical advise, knowledge and resources. This book is the perfect introduction for the fledgling filmmaker".^[10]

Microfilmmaker Magazine in reviewing the book, wrote "If you are a person who wants to make movies, not for the money or the glory, but because it's your passion, The $30 Film School will be your 'bible'. Michael W. Dean has written the definitive book on micro-filmmaking and has done it with all of the passion and attention to detail that it deserves." They reviewed in depth and noted that volume "focuses specifically on the needs of the no-budget filmmaker," and underscored that the "amount of information this book covers is vast." In summary, they offered, "for a 500-page book, a mere two-page review doesn't seem adequate," and concluded by noting the author's expertise on the subject when they wrote "Michael Dean knows what it's like to have to do everything by yourself for a project; he knows what it's like to struggle as a filmmaker; he knows what's really important and what's not in making a no-budget project; he understands the struggles and successes of a microfilmmaker. And because of this, I think that every micro-filmmaker should read this book. ".^[1]

Usage

$30 Film School has been used as source material for several Master Degree dissertations.^[11]

It was reported that at age 9, and by following instructions in the book, filmmaker Emma Kenney created the film The New Girl in Town which was subsequently shown at New Jersey International Film Festival.^[12][13]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Morgan, Kari Ann. "review: $30 Film School". Microfilmmaker Magazine. http://www.microfilmmaker.com/reviews/Issue7/$30film.html. Retrieved 10 September 2010. 
2. ^ Paul, Joshua (2005). Digital video hacks. O'Reilly's Hacks Series (illustrated ed.). O'Reilly Media, Inc.. p. x. ISBN 0596009461. http://books.google.com/books?id=cvFpw71AhG4C&dq=%22%2430+Film+School%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 
3. ^ Dean, Michael W. (2003). $30 Music School. Muska & Lipman. ISBN 1592001718, 9781592001712. 
4. ^ Dean, Michael W. (2004). $30 Writing School. Thomson Course Technology. ISBN 1592004865, 9781592004867. 
5. ^ Dean, Michael W. (2003). $30 Film School (1st edition). Course Technology. ISBN 1592000673, 9781592000678. 
6. ^ Dean, Michael W. (2006). $30 Film School (2nd edition). Muska & Lipman. ISBN 1598631896, 9781598631890. 
7. ^ "course curriculae" (in Finnish). Humanistinen Ammattikorkeakoulu. http://www.humak.edu/user/markha02/Computers.pdf. Retrieved 11 September 2010. 
8. ^ Waltz, Mitzi (2005). Alternative and activist media. Media topics (illustrated ed.). Edinburgh University Press. p. 61. ISBN Edinburgh University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZeHjfHTk-aUC&dq=%22%2430+Film+School%22&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 
9. ^ "30 Quintessential Books for Independent Filmmakers". Independent Magazine. October 6 2009. http://www.independent-magazine.org/magazine/2009/10/bestbooks. Retrieved 11 September 2010. 
10. ^ "Directing". Theater Books. http://www.theatrebooks.com/film/directing.html. Retrieved 11 September 2010. 
11. ^ Czech, Paul R. (March 21 2007). "From Conception to Shrink Wrap: An Individualistic Approach to Producing the Progressive-Rock Audio Recording, “Paul Czech: 7 Songs”". Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Music Technology in the College of Graduate Studies at Georgia Southern University, May 2007. . Retrieved 11 September 2010.
12. ^ Harlow, John (September 13 2009). "Hollywood biteback". The Sunday Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6827919.ece. Retrieved 11 September 2010. 
13. ^ Swerdloff, Alexis (June 7 2009). "First Bite". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/breaking/57193/. Retrieved 11 September 2010.