Photo: Dallas Filmmakers Alliance

Have you ever wanted to make your own indie film, but you just don’t know where to start?

The Dallas Filmmakers Alliance is here to help.

The creative community of producers, filmmakers and artists believe collaboration and education are the keys to success in filmmaking. And with that in mind, they’re hosting a Filmmakers Intensive Crash Course to show you the ins and outs of getting started with your first production.

“We’re a filmmaking organization that focuses a lot on education and community. And something we’ve got from a lot from people is just wanting to know really where to start off,” said Alex Espinoza, Founder and President of the Dallas Filmmakers Alliance. “We decided it would be great to just have this crash course where we can teach all the basics within a few hours–everything you want to know about how to go about making an independent movie.”

The virtual four-hour class covers a lot of ground and touches on everything from development to post-production theory. Participants learn the basics for everything they’ll need to know to be a crew member on an indie film.

Photo: Dallas Filmmakers Alliance

Some of the topics include:

• Developmental processes
• Pre-production
• Story boarding
• Script breakdowns
• Script supervising
• Lighting
• Camera composition
• Audio recording
• Post production vocabulary

The online class will be hosted by Nathaniel Aron, a graduate of the UNT Media Arts program. Aron has has lead multiple productions within the DFA’S Dallas Film Crew and other organizations. He is also currently an organizer of the DFA and has taken input from the experience of our own members.

Also included in the program is a virtual meet and greet session with other filmmakers. These post networking sessions that are offered l provide participants with connections that can assist them with future projects and

The DFA hosts a variety of events for those interested in collaborating and learning about filmmaking. Coming up on Jan. 30 is an open table read virtual meeting where participants are invited to read and share feedback on each others scripts, and on Feb. 7, strategist Anthony Young will host The Business of Filmmaking. He’ll talk about the business of filmmaking not taught in schools and the unique and creative ways he’s been able to develop, execute and distribute projects.

Espinoza notes that all of their events are open to all skill levels–both professionals and those just beginning.

“At the end of the day we want to focus on people actually going out there and doing what they’re learning and putting everything they’ve learned to practical use.”