Edgar Wright Teaches Filmmaking
Edgar Wright’s New BBC Maestro Filmmaking Course Is Available Now!
By Mark
Are you a budding filmmaker? Be that a screenwriter or director, or maybe you want to do it all. Well, to add to the already copious amounts of resources available, screenwriter and director Edgar Wright has given his own input for you to digest.
Wright, as I’m sure you will be aware, is the man behind movies such as: Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Last Night in Soho to name a few.
He has a signature style, which can be seen in a number of his movies and now, for the first time, he’s turning the cameras on his own process, from edits and soundtrack selection to how he approaches the first day on set.
Wright discusses the lessons he’s learned over his years in the film industry with his own lessons dedicated to: The Craft of Writing, Storyboards and Animatics, Casting and Directing Actors, Shooting Action Sequences and the all important Getting Your Film Seen.
“In doing this filmmaking course, I hope I am able to impart some wisdom along with a few helpful tools that will aid in your first steps to becoming the filmmaker you know you can be.” — Edgar Wright
The course, available on the BBC Maestro platform now, is over four hours in length and includes an AMA with filmmaking questions submitted by members of the public and a Q&A with students from the National Film & Television School.
“I think it’s important for filmmakers to always be challenging themselves and questioning the decisions they are making stylistically. In doing so, your style will be refined and your filmmaking will become stronger.” — Edgar Wright
We were provided access to lesson five of Edgar’s course, Writing to Direct. Coming in at a little over 14 minutes, this lesson was Wright talking about how he approaches a screenplay he knows he is going to direct himself.
He talks about what he puts in the script, what he doesn’t, as well as where his ideas came from for various movies as well as writing with others and provides his opinion on the often maligned screenplay teaching books.
So, is it worth it? Well that’s hard to say from just over 14 minutes. I have previously seen the Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting class, available on Masterclass and, whilst I can’t claim to be Sorkin’s biggest fan, I took a lot away from his course, particularly when he’s talking about conflict and story.
You would hope there would at least be some nuggets you can take away from someone who has been making movies and TV shows for as long as Wright has. Whether the price is within your wheelhouse is something only you will know. In comparison the Sorkin class is over eight hours and comes in at a little over £160.
Edgar Wright’s Filmmaking is available now on the BBC Maestro platform at: https://bit.ly/BBCMaestroEdgarWright for a cost of £80 for lifetime access to Wright’s 27 lessons and comprehensive downloadable notes.
The 27 lessons include — Advice to Aspiring Filmmakers, Genre, Getting Your Film Made, Cinematography, Editing, and TV vs. Features
Originally published at https://www.ocmoviereviews.com.
