Certificate Course:
Essentials of Filmmaking
The Online Certificate Program- Essentials of Filmmaking is a Program aimed at students who aspire to embark upon a career in Filmmaking.
This course has been developed by Annapurna College. The course covers six key modules- Production, Script Writing, Cinematography, Editing, Sound Design and Ethics in Filmmaking. Each module has been curated by Film Academia and is based on insights shared by Film Industry Experts.
This program provides aspiring filmmakers an introductory window to the world of Media and Entertainment. With this program, students learn the basics of Filmmaking process which sets the foundation for deeper Film and Media Education. Students can further hone these primary learnings through practical training and by working as part of a Film Crew.
Join Annapurna College of Film and Media to Further Your Career.
- Beginner Level
- Advanced Level
This is a Beginner Level, 50-Hour self-paced online program which gives students the flexibility to take the course anytime and from anywhere.
During the course, Students have the access to a well-researched repository of online learning videos anchored by some of the best minds in Film Industry, receive constructive feedback on their assignments from experienced Faculty (via chat / email) and gain the opportunity to attend expert webinars organized by the College on a periodic basis. Students can refer the courseware via an Online Library accessible for a period of 4 months from the time of registration and will have the convenience of completing the 50-hour course anytime and from anywhere during this period.
Course Modules
- The Key Roles
- Production Department
- Direction Department
- Cinematography Department
- Art Department
- Sound Department
- Editing Department
- Other Key Roles
- Production Stages
- Pre-Production
- Production
- Post-Production
- What is a story?
- Why do stories matter?
- Why are stories important?
- What is a good story?
- What is the recipe for a perfect story?
- Story time
- Premise
- From premise to your first draft of screenplay
- Logline
- The Three Act structure
- Act 1 – The Setup
- Act 2 – Confrontation
- Act 3 – The Resolution
- Basic Cinematography Concepts
- Colour Temperature
- Responsibilities of A Cinematographer
- Composition in Cinema
- Shot Sizes and Shot Types
- Camera Angles
- Camera Movement
- Film Lighting
- Colour, Perspective, And Definition
- The Cinematographer’s Craft
- Introduction
- Evolution of Still Images to a Moving Image
- Anatomy of a Shot
- Juxtaposition
- What Is Editing
- What Makes a Good Edit?
- Goals of a Good Edit
- Jump Cuts
- Post-production Work flow and Scope
- Introduction
- What is Sound?
- Microphones
- Sound Production
- Sound Design Work flow
- Sound Design Work flow,
- Pre-Production
- Sound Design Work flow – Production
- Sound Design Work flow – Post-Production
- Music and Its Importance in Film
- Importance of Songs in Indian Films
- Background Music
- Introduction to Ethics
- Why Ethics?
- Ethical Complexities
- Ethical Responsibility –
- Representation
- Sexual Minorities
- Portrayal of Women in Indian Cinema
- Obscenity
- Political Economy
- Plagiarism
- Portrayal of Violence
- Social Responsibility
*Fees are determined annually and are subject to revision as per the prevailing policy. GST Additional
Coming Soon
Course Recognised By Film Industry Experts
Miriam Joseph is a Production Consultant to a few production companies in Mumbai – Endemol Shine, Cinestaan, Chasing Tales, etc. and to the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). She was educated in Africa, India and Britain and has close to 30 years of experience in the media industry. After finishing film school at the University of London’s Goldsmith’s College, she started her career with the BBC and went on to becoming a broadcast journalist, documentary/drama producer with them. She spent the next many years working in Britain for several international television broadcasters including the BBC, Channel 4, PBS, ITV, The History Channel, Channel 5, WGBH, making investigative, political and history documentaries and drama/docs. She moved to India to fulfill a long-held ambition of working on feature films and joined Excel Entertainment in Mumbai first as an Executive Producer and then as CEO of the Company. Miriam has mentored both the Annual Producer’s Lab and Screen Writer’s Lab. She also vets and recommends projects for their International Co-Production Market, Film Bazaar. She is also an advisor to the Netherlands Film Commission on their India work and a published author.
Shobu Yarlagadda is an Indian American environmental engineer – turned film producer, and the son-in-law of veteran filmmaker K. Raghavendra Rao. In 2001, he co-founded Arka Mediaworks with Prasad Devineni and is CEO of the company. Arka Mediaworks is a film production company known for its works exclusively in Telugu Cinema. He has produced high fantasy works such as ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’(2015), and ‘Baahubali 2: The Conclusion’ (2017) which received the Filmfare award for Best Telugu Film, SIIMA Award for the Best Film,CineMAA Award for Best Film, Zee Cine Award for Best Film, National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, American Saturn Award for Best International Film and Australian Telstra People’s Choice Award. In 2010, he won Nandi Award – Best Popular Feature Film , CineMAA award – Best Film for his movie ‘Marayada Ramanna’ and Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu, Nandi Award for Best Feature Film for his film ‘Vedam’. Apart from this, he has also worked as line producer for films such as ‘Morning Raaga’, and ‘Anaganaga O Dheerudu’ and Executive Producer for films such as ‘Bobby’ and ‘Pandurangadu’. His recent project is ‘Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya’ which was released in July 2020 on Netflix.
In collaboration with Nagesh Kukunoor, Elahe Hiptoola brought to life the cult film ‘Hyderabad Blues’ (1998) followed by award winning films like ‘Bollywood Calling’ (2001), ‘Iqbal’ (2005), ‘Dor’ (2006), ‘Aashayein’ (2010), ‘Lakshmi’ (2014) and ‘Dhanak’ (2016). Her recent project was ‘City of Dreams’ which was released on Hotstar in 2019.

“The Director’s seat is reserved for those who evolve in their journey as filmmakers by understanding every aspect of the complex filmmaking process. To gain respect and a deserving position, students must be willing to first develop a basic understanding of each stage in the filmmaking process.
As a Director, I feel my work is easier when my team speaks the same language. This course has been designed to provide students an introductory foundation and is a great start for anyone wanting to start their filmmaking journey. I am happy that Annapurna College is introducing an online course for teaching the Essentials of Filmmaking.”
Mohana Krishna Indraganti is an acclaimed Film Director. His Debut Directorial Venture – ‘Grahanam’ (2005) fetched him eleven awards including the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director, the Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director and the Gollapudi Srinivas Award for Best First Film of a Director. In 2008, he received Akkineni Award for Best Home Viewing Feature Film for the film ‘Ashta Chamma’. In 2013, he received Nandi Award for Best Story Writer for the film ‘Anthaka Mundu Aa Tarvatha’. His recent movie ‘V’ starring Nani and Sudheer Babu was recently released on Amazon Prime.
“I have never studied Script Writing, I learnt to write by decoding various successful films & seeking guidance from some wonderful mentors. After writing for over 300 films, I strongly believe that every Script Writer must have a complete understanding of the Filmmaking process and it’s a privilege to receive holistic education at an early stage of one’s career.
This course has been crafted thoughtfully to help any beginner understand the process of filmmaking and leverage this as a foundation to further one’s learning and experience. This is an important stepping stone but it takes a lot of hardwork, years of practical experience and the right guidance to truly gauge what appeals to the audience.
In the movie script the most important thing is … ‘It is not what you write – it is the way you write’ Learn it ..master it ..show it on the big screen successfully.”
Satyanand is a Film Script Writer, Dialogue Writer, and Screenplay Writer. He works in the Telugu and Tamil Film Industry. He started his career as a dialogue writer with the film ‘Devudu Chesina Pelli’ (1974). He also wrote dialogues for the films ‘Jyothi’ (1976), ‘Ardhangi’ (1977), ‘America Alludu’ (1985), ‘Kshana Kshanam’ (1991), ‘Annayya’ (2000), ‘Takkari donga’ (2002), ‘Anji’ (2004), ‘Gudumba Shankar’ (2004), ‘Ra Randoi Veduka Chuddam’ (2017), ‘Manmadhudu 2’ (2019) and many more. It has been more than 4 decades since Satyanand is a part of the Film Industry and has scripted upto 80 movies. In 1989 he has received Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writing for the movie ‘Adavilo Abhimanyudu’. His upcoming project is ‘Valliddari Madhya’.
Ayananka Bose is an Indian Cinematographer known for his work in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil Film Industry. He has studied Cinematography from Film and Television Institute, Tamil Nadu.He started his career as a trainee for Ace Cinematographer & Director Rajiv Menon and also worked with him as an Assistant Director in ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’ (2000).He then started assisting Ravi K. Chandran in movies like ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’, ‘Koi… Mil Gaya’, and ‘Boys’. He worked as the First Assistant Cameraman in ‘Lakshya’, Camera Operator in ‘Black’ and Associate Cinematographer in ‘Yuva’ beforebecoming independent. His first movie was ‘Paheli’ starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji. He is one of very few Cinematographers in India who works on TV commercials and movies regularly. It has been almost 2 decades since Ayananka Bose is a part of the film industry and has been a part of more than 20 films. In 2009, he was nominated for Filmfare awards as Best Cinematography for ‘Dostana”. In 2011, he won Zee Cine Awards for Best Cinematographer for ‘Kites’ .Some of his upcoming projects are ‘Mumbai Saga’, ‘Pilfer Singh’, Luv Ranjan’s next film and ‘PSPK 28’.
“Filmmaking is a craft born out of passion. Every aspiring filmmaker needs to learn the basic language to evolve into a filmmaker and this course is designed to do just that –
to streamline and focus on the right elements to start the filmmaking journey.”
P. S. Vinod is an Indian Cinematographer who has worked in the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu, now called the MGR Film Institute. After he graduated from the institute, he assisted veteran Cinematographer Santosh Sivan. He made his debut as an Independent Cinematographer with Director Vasanth`s 2000 Tamil Film ‘Rhythm’. He won Filmfare Awards South twice for Best Cinematographer for the movies ‘Manam’ and ‘Oopiri’. His notable works include movies like ‘Musafir’ (2004), ‘My Wife`s Murder’ (2005), ‘Rakta Charitra’ (2010), ‘Tees Maar Khan’ (2010), ‘Aaranya Kaandam’ (2010), ‘Panjaa’ (2011), ‘David’ (2013), ‘Arrambam’ (2013), ‘Manam’ (2014), ‘Soggade Chinni Nayana’ (2015), ‘Oopiri’ (2015) and ‘Dhruva’ (2016). He was chosen by Choreographer-turned-Director Farah Khan to film her third directorial ‘Tees Maar Khan’. His work in the film was lauded by critics, with the film being selected by Rediff as one of the most good looking Bollywood films of 2010. In 2017, Vinod served as the Cinematographer for Director duo Pushkar-Gayathri`s crime/thriller, Vikram Vedha. His 2018 release includes ‘Aravindha Sametha’ (2018), directed by Trivikram Srinivas. His other recent releases include ‘Super Deluxe’ (2019) and ‘Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo’ (2020).
“In Audio Engineering we believe that Sound is an energy. We use thoughts, emotions and technology to to build a creative relationship with the SOUND and VISUAL of a film.
By doing this course you take the first step towards understanding Sound Design for Filmmaking. Believe in your path to reach a beautiful destination.”
Kannan Ganpat is a Sound Engineer who is best Known for his work in the films ‘Enthiran’ (2010), ‘Ye Maya Chesave’ (2010), ‘Kadal’ (2013), ‘Lingaa’ (2014), ‘Ok Kanmani’ (2015), ‘Remo’ (2016), ‘Jallikattu’ (2019) and many more. Apart from movies he is also known for his work in TV series ‘Brown Nation’ (2016), ‘One Heart: The A.R.Rahman Concert film’ (2017) and ‘Harmony with A.R.Rahman’ (2018). It has been 12 years since Kannan Ganpat has worked in the Industry and has been a part of almost 100 projects. In 2020, he received Kerala State Film Award for the film ‘Jallikattu’. His recent projects are ‘Ashwathama’ (2020). ‘Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya’ (2020) and ‘V’ (2020). Currently, he is working as Sound Engineer at Annapurna Studios Private Limited.
Aarti Bajaj is an Indian Film Editor well know for her work in Bollywood movies like ‘Jab We Met’ (2007), ’Dev D’(2009), ‘No One Killed Jessica’(2011), ‘Rockstar’(2011), ‘Highway’(2014), ‘Tamasha’(2015), ‘ Sacred Games’(2018), ‘Love Aaj Kal’(2020) and many more. She studied filmmaking at Xavier Institute of Communication, Mumbai and it was during her Internship days at crest communication under Shyam Ramanna she became a full fledged editor and fell in love with the whole film editing process. Her early career was editing for music videos and advertisements. Her first film as an editor was ‘Paanch’, next she edited the film ‘Black Friday’ for which she was nominated for a Star Screen Award in 2008. Many prestigious awards followed for films like Rockstar , No one killed Jessica and others. Aarti has been in the Industry for almost 2 decades and she has edited over 30 films. She keenly mentors and guides upcoming students of film with a keen eye for experimentation.
Geeta Singh is an Editor, Writer, Actor, Director and Producer who works predominantly in Bollywood. She made her editorial as well as writing debut with the TV series documentary ‘Chhattisgarh: The Tribal Planet (2006)’, ‘Royal reformer’(2009) and ‘Last words of a Dying Tree’ (2010). She eventually moved on to editing feature films with ‘Listen… Amaya (2013)’, for which she also wrote the screenplay. Her other notable work includes television series ‘Romil and Jugal’ (2017), ‘Starry Nights 2.Oh!’ (2019), ‘Hum,tum and Them’ (2019), ‘Not just Supper Star’(2019-2020) and the film ‘Raag Desh’ (2017). Apart from editing, Geeta has also acted in supporting cameo roles in ‘Dear Zindagi’ (2016), and ‘Made in Heaven’ (2019). Her recent projects are TV series ‘Illegal – Justice out of order’ (2020) and film ‘Yaara’ (2020).
Course Anchored By Reputed Film and Media Professionals
In collaboration with Nagesh Kukunoor, Elahe Hiptoola brought to life the cult film ‘Hyderabad Blues’ (1998) followed by award winning films like ‘Bollywood Calling’ (2001), ‘Iqbal’ (2005), ‘Dor’ (2006), ‘Aashayein’ (2010), ‘Lakshmi’ (2014) and ‘Dhanak’ (2016). Her recent project was ‘City of Dreams’ which was released on Hotstar in 2019.
As Director of Annapurna College, Amala Akkineni holds alive the dream of Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, to provide creative education for aspiring Film & Media professionals. Her successful career in Indian cinema covers 54 projects in five Indian languages – Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi film, TV and OTT Web series.
Ayananka Bose is an Indian Cinematographer known for his work in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil Film Industry. He has studied Cinematography from Film and Television Institute, Tamil Nadu.He started his career as a trainee for Ace Cinematographer & Director Rajiv Menon and also worked with him as an Assistant Director in ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’ (2000).He then started assisting Ravi K. Chandran in movies like ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’, ‘Koi… Mil Gaya’, and ‘Boys’. He worked as the First Assistant Cameraman in ‘Lakshya’, Camera Operator in ‘Black’ and Associate Cinematographer in ‘Yuva’ beforebecoming independent. His first movie was ‘Paheli’ starring Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji. He is one of very few Cinematographers in India who works on TV commercials and movies regularly. It has been almost 2 decades since Ayananka Bose is a part of the film industry and has been a part of more than 20 films. In 2009, he was nominated for Filmfare awards as Best Cinematography for ‘Dostana”. In 2011, he won Zee Cine Awards for Best Cinematographer for ‘Kites’ .Some of his upcoming projects are ‘Mumbai Saga’, ‘Pilfer Singh’, Luv Ranjan’s next film and ‘PSPK 28’.
Mansa Jairam fondly known as RJ Manasa, a giggle factory that wakes Hyderabad up to a dose of Music, Madness and Little bit of Manasa! It has been almost a decade since Manasa has been a crucial part of the Radio World. She now wears many hats a Teacher, Podcaster, YouTube Presenter, Dubbing Artist etc. She is a host of Mad Mornings on Fever 94.3 FM, Hyderabad.
Ms. Rima Mazumdar has a Master’s Degree in Visual Communication and Post Graduate Diploma in Television Production. She has more than 22 years of experience in the field of Editing. Her work includes Editing and Post- Production Content Design for Television Programs, Feature Films, Documentaries, Advertising Films, Online Live Concerts, CSR features and a lot more. One of her films was nominated for the BAFTA Awards as well as the 21st International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam and won the Audience Prize at the Lucas Children’s Film Festival, Germany; Dubai International Film Festival; Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, etc. Since 2013, Ms. Rima Mazumdar has been teaching Editing at Annapurna College of Film and Media and is currently the Head of the Department for Editing.
Course Designed By Experienced Film Academia
Mr. Amit Prasad is an Associate of Science in Film (Screenwriting and Direction) from the Los Angeles Film School. He has worked as a Script Supervisor and Distribution Executive at various Production houses like More Media, Los Angeles; Eclectic Pictures, California, Vuguru Productions, California and Applied Art Productions, California. He has established an Independent Production Company Videlo Pictures, Hollywood and was also its Writer and Producer. He is Trained under American film industry stalwarts like Michael Eisner (ex-Disney President), Darren Lynn Bousman. (Director, Saw 2) and Brett Leonard (Director, Lawnmower Man) in the art of Story Development and Screenwriting. Currently, he is teaching production at Annapurna College of Film and Media.
Mr. Ashok Jankar has Diploma in Filmmaking from Digital Academy, Mumbai. He has a Professional Screenwriting Experience across TV and Film Formats. He has Worked at Design Street, Blue Frog Media Pvt. Ltd., and Real Channel Turner Entertainment Group. Since 2012, Mr. Ashok Jankar has been teaching Scriptwriting at Annapurna College of Film and Media and is currently Head of the Department for Script Writing.”
Mr. Srinivasa Talapalli has over 13 years of experience in Cinematography, Photography, Content Creation, TVC, VFX Production and Feature Films. He completed PG Diploma in TV Production with Distinction from Central University. He worked as Content Executive/Cinematographer at Reliance Big Entertainment (FunOnGo).
Mr. Sayandeb Mukerjee is an alumnus of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute.He has over 20 years of experience in the field of Audio-Production for Film and Television as an Associate Dolby Mix Engineer, Sound Effects Designer and Sound Designer. He has worked on 90+ feature films in multiple languages like Vedam, LBW, Bombaiyer Bombetey and Yatra by Goutam Ghosh.He was awarded an Independent Research Fellowship by SARAI under CSDS (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies) for his project The Space Interlude based on psycho-acoustical orientation of Corridor Spaces. He was credited as a Sound Designer for the Diploma Film ‘Unmathabudham Jagath’ recognized by the Oberhausen Film Festival and Munich International Film Festival and IFFI.
Mr. Soumen Sarkar has over 12 years of experience in Teaching and Sound Designing. He has a Diploma in Sound Recording and Sound Design from the Ramoji Academy of Film and Television.
Mr. Simranjit is an Alumnus Vancouver Film School, Canada (Sound Design for Visual Media). He has 7 years of experience in Teaching and Sound Designing. Some of his noteworthy works are National Award-winning film ‘A Far Afternoon – A Painted Saga’; ‘Shut Up Sona’ – a journey in the life of acclaimed singer Sona Mohapatra; Disney India’s Bindaas Original TV show ‘The Trip 2’; Canadian feature films ‘Black Mountain Side’ & ‘When the Ocean Met the Sky’ etc.
Ms. Rima Mazumdar has a Master’s Degree in Visual Communication and Post Graduate Diploma in Television Production. She has more than 22 years of experience in the field of Editing. Her work includes Editing and Post-Production Content Design for Television Programs, Feature Films, Documentaries, Advertising Films, Online Live Concerts, CSR features and a lot more. One of her films was nominated for the BAFTA Awards as well as the 21st International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam and won the Audience Prize at the Lucas Children’s Film Festival, Germany; Dubai International Film Festival; Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, etc.
Ms. Charu Sharma has 11 years of experience working as an independent Video Editor. She is an Alumnus Film and Television Institute of India, Pune (Editing). Her short film ‘Chanda ke joote’ as a Co-Writer, Director and Editor with Ektara Collective won the second place under the National Category of 6th International Short Film Festival of India ISFFI 2012.
Key
   Highlights
Course has been developed based on guidance from Film Industry Experts.
Anytime, Anywhere learning & 24x7 Learner support.
Curated to help students start their learning journey with a robust foundation – providing a comprehensive coverage of key aspects of Filmmaking.
Learn and understand the core principles and essentials of the filmmaking process. Students who successfully complete the program will get awarded with a Certificate – Essentials of Filmmaking (Beginner Level) from Annapurna College of Film and Media.
This program has been designed to help students:
- Learn and understand the core principles and essentials of the filmmaking process. Students who successfully complete the program will get awarded with a Certificate – Essentials of Filmmaking (Beginner Level) from Annapurna College of Film and Media.
- Get a robust view of what each process of filmmaking entails – develop a Beginner’s Level of understanding of various concepts integral to the process of Filmmaking – Production, Script Writing, Cinematography, Editing and Sound Design.
- Apply this learning to identify an area of focus or specialisation before they embark on their Film and Media journey.
Duration
    and Eligibility
Course Duration – 50 hours of training | 4 months.
Eligibility Criteria – Anyone who has completed 10+2 is eligible for the program.
Medium of Instruction – English
For further details regarding the Admission Process, Course Fees and Student Support for Financial Aid,
please call our Student Support Helpline: 1800-572-4736 or write to us at info@acfm.edu.in
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