Ever since Marshall McLuhan first mentioned the Global Village, we've been hearing about the ways technology is shrinking the world and bringing more and better information into the home. For years experts have eyed the potential of television and the so-called "information superhighway," the Internet, as educational tools and, finally, this appears to be a reality for the consumer. There are even several online sources now in place that offer basic instruction in moviemaking and its associated crafts.

While this frontier is still largely untested, a quick survey of the options now available suggests that there are plenty of people and institutions determined to make online instruction a viable reality for moviemakers. Online classes are now offered by sources which range from highly respected colleges and universities to online-only up-and-comers. Some offer college credit, others supply a more ephemeral "certificate of completion," but all offer at least the convenience of classes you can attend in your underwear.

Cyber Film School may well be the granddaddy of online instructional sites devoted exclusively to the cinematic arts. Established in 1994, the Cyber Film School offers monthly articles, an archive of the best of past columns, discussion forums, a wealth of useful links, a boutique offering a wide range of film-related books, videos and software and their premier product, the Cyber Film School Movie School Encyclopedia CD-ROM.

While the CD is more of a self-help tool than a class in the traditional sense, this $49.00 investment is chock full of instruction, advice and tips from a variety
of film industry heavyweights including Norman Jewison, John Sayles, Nick Nolte, Kevin Spacey, Ron Bass, Mark Irwin and Anne Coates. The CD-ROM is designed to interface with the Cyber Film School Website, and the content is augmented with periodic online discussion forums. The disc also contains demo versions of a variety of software for editing and manipulating digital footage, as well as a number of tests and exercises.

One reviewer from Dark Horizons, an online film magazine, said of the CD-ROM, "There's almost too much here." Clearly, there's plenty of quality information to be had from the disc, if one has the self-discipline to work his/her way through it. The price is reasonable, given the amount of material provided. One downside is there is no scholastic credit associated with the product. Budding moviemakers will have to settle for the knowledge that they've absorbed a mountain of invaluable information.

Similarly, the Interactive Film School offers a slightly more expensive ($89.95) CD-ROM called How to Make Your Movie: An Interactive Film School. Three CDs contain content culled from a variety of experts and offer a comprehensive look at the process of moviemaking from concept to completion. The set has won a variety of awards, including the New York Festivals' Grand Award for Best in Show.

If you're looking for a kinder, gentler sort of instruction-and a free one, to boot-check out Admit One (www.admitone.org). This site, a creation of the Artists Rights Foundation made possible by ARF vice president George Lucas, is intended to "teach young people about the filmmaking process." As such, it's not an in-depth treatment of the science of moviemaking, but it does serve to familiarize visitors with the various steps involved in the craft. It offers professional tips (just which pros they come from isn't specified, but with George Lucas underwriting the site, one can be reasonably sure their credentials are good) and some fun interactive features that illuminate the different stages of making a film.

Admit One also features a message board for discussion, sneak previews of student-made shorts shot for an ARF-sponsored contest, a piece on preserving films in their original form and their downloadable production manual, Making Movies: A Reference Guide for Young Filmmakers. The manual takes students through the entire moviemaking process, complete with tips, exercises and an eight-week shooting schedule, all free of charge.

Aspiring screenwriters might want to check out screenplay consultant Richard Michaels Stefanik's online classes, offered through the Scr(i)pt Magazine Website. These seminars are limited to 20 students to assure participants adequate attention from the instructor. Students receive a URL where the class materials can be found, and turn in their assignments via message boards, where the instructor finds and critiques each student's work. Classes are augmented with live chats, and via e-mail for students whose time zones make live interaction difficult. Current classes include "Creating Humorous Characters" and "Story Design." Enrollment is $99 per class.

Interactive Film School’s Director-Producer Rajko Grlic demonstrates his product in a film directing class at Ohio University.

If you're after more intensive, interactive, college-level instruction online, don't despair. There are already a variety of courses available, and by all indications there will be plenty more to come.

One heavyweight in the world of online instruction is Fathom.com, a for-profit outgrowth of Columbia University's non-profit foray into online instruction. Though still in its infancy (Fathom was established in April, 2000), Fathom is an impressive entrant in online education. Currently boasting such prestigious partner institutions as the London School of Economics and Political Science, Cambridge University Press, The British Museum, The New York Public Library, the University of Chicago, the American Film Institute and several others, Fathom's 800-strong faculty of professors and experts offer a wide array of uncompromising courses at the college level. Their first offering for moviemakers is "Digital Video: An Introduction with Michael Rubin," a Lucasfilm veteran and author of Non-Linear 4, a comprehensive guide to non-linear editing.

The press release for the class quotes a modest $50 price tag (some of Fathom's classes command prices more commensurate with a conventional classroom course); the material will be available online for six months, and can be accessed at any time. Many of Fathom's offerings do come with college credits; at press time it was unclear whether any credits are offered for completion of this class or not, but this material will definitely be up to college standards.

Students hungry for more college-level film classes can also look to the newly established Global Film School. A joint venture of UCLA, the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and the National Film and Television School of the UK, GFS launched their first two online classes this May. "Screenwriting Fundamentals," (taught by Richard Walter, Director of the Screenwriting Program at the UCLA Theater, Film and Television School); and "Elements of Great Filmmaking," (taught by Yuri Makino, Assistant Professor of Film Production and Television Arts at the University of Arizona), are the first two offerings from the GFS. At

$550 and $450 respectively (and each price reflecting a one-time 30 percent promotional discount), these classes aren't cheap, but they do promise college-level expertise and solid levels of online access to the instructors. At present, GFS offers Certificates of Completion, but no college credits; however, CEO Frank Stork promises that fully accredited courses will be forthcoming.

Unlike Fathom and GFS, eLearners.com doesn't offer any courses themselves. Instead, this organization, established in August of 1999, is a database of courses offered online by a variety of educational institutions from around the world. For example, searching the term "film" under Arts and Humanities accessed entries for no less than 67 different classes from a variety of institutions, many offering college credits upon completion. Prospective students can peruse the general course descriptions, and then follow links to further info on the courses and institutions.

The awarding of credits and cost of the classes varies, naturally, from institution to institution, as, no doubt, will the degree of interactivity and the access of the online students to their instructors. Still, eLearners does connect the aspiring moviemaker to an impressive range of selections. The site also features a good introduction to the concept of online instruction.

You'll have to decide for yourself whether an online learning environment is as suitable to their needs as a brick-and-mortar school. No matter, when information as specialized as the fine points of moviemaking is only a mouse click away, perhaps the Internet is finally becoming the true information delivery system it's always been reputed to be. MM