WITH HUNDREDS OF FAMOUS MOVIE FRAGMENTS

1. Introduction & summary
2. A short history of film
3. Video
4. The film camera
5. Image composition
6. Sound
7. Theory
8. Practice
9. Editing
10. Behind the scenes
11. Script writing
12. Story telling
13. Tips for wedding- & travel films and documentaries

ABCinema

ONLINE DIGITAL FILM COURSE

Only €29
Try now for free!

ABCinema - Online Digital Film Course

With ABCinema you learn in a playful and simple way about the history of film, camera positions and shots, editing techniques and much more. ABCinema reads like a book and can be watched like a movie. It offers great features compared to a regular textbook because text and film have been integrated. ABCinema is the world’s only online digital film course! You can learn everything in the comfort of your home.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
There are many good books about making movies. However, they have their limitations. A book tells the story of the movie in words, whereas the film consists of images. ABCinema is based on the latest techniques where word and image go hand in hand. This extensive online course explains not only the strength of a shot or a particular scene, but also shows it directly!

With ABCinema you’ll get:

  • Hundreds of famous film excerpts
  • Theory and practice
  • Simple operation, user friendly
  • Script writing and story telling
  • Tips for your own family or holiday movies
  • The history of film
  • Instruction movies and practice opportunities
  • Camera, light, sound and composition
  • More than 80 hours of viewing pleasure!
Order the full film course for only €29

ABCinema consists of 13 chapters, over 350 pages and has over 14 hours of excerpts of motion pictures. The course contains a large collection of known and unknown film clips from 1878 until now. Each fragment is an example of a new discovery: film language, editing, camera movement, image cutouts, sound, talkies, color film, acting method, etc.

About us
What others say about us

What others say about us

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  • “Many a video maker wants to improve his or her performance by following a film course. Normally this requires physical presence. Today these lessons may be offered in an Electronic Learning Environment on the home computer. Learn at your own pace; self discovery and practice; basic principles of video and audio; plus many practical tips. With about 850 minutes of viewing pleasure this is what ABCinema has to offer.”
  • “Discover the elements that the world’s best filmmakers – from 1878 to the present – have applied in their movies. Taste the emotion. Look to the individual shots at the film strip. Look how they have been edited and which means the filmmakers used. In this way, the making of a successful video film really comes to life.”
  • “… taken care of down to the last detail. The text is crystal clear and the illustrations speak for themselves.”
  • “Conclusion: ABCinema is a discovery in which the student picks up theory and practice by learning from the work of the best filmmakers. Good cribbing is allowed and much can be learned from it.”

AusCam

  • “Intended for a wide audience – from newbie to the more experienced videographer or even the keen movie tragic – the ABCinema course is a most interesting approach to improving knowledge on all things movie-related..”
  • “Highly graphical, ABCinema is predominantly text-based but with all points exhaustively emphasised and exemplified by accompanying clips from movies or purpose-created 3D animations.”
  • “The range of film clips used to illustrate salient points throughout ABCinema is extensive and many are of significant historical importance.”
  • “The 3D animations come to the fore when demonstrating various camera movements or principles such as awareness of the ‘axis of action’ and the use of scaling in the composition of an image.”
  • “There is a wealth of information contained within this DVD’s pits and grooves, some of which are more ‘for information only’ while others are of a more practical bent. However, there is precious little that wasn’t interesting.”

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  • “From film history to tips on script writing, camera handling and editing – the film course ABCinema covers all major aspects of filmmaking. And all is done in a pleasant, interactive way: with many film clips and animations.”
  • “It’s just one of countless examples that the film course ABCinema uses to teach you how films are structured and what methods and tricks may be applied in order to drag the viewer into the story of your own movie.”
  • “Much of the course deals with the feature film, but also the amateur who wants to make a holiday movie is waited on hand and foot.”
  • “From the text, animations can be started. They show, for example, how to cross the “axis of action”. Or they show where the cameras were positioned while recording the deadly duel from Once Upon a Time in the West. “
  • “All in all, it’s an extremely well cared program from which you can learn a lot.”

digital movie

  • “It is a really interesting course which explains how to build up a scene and tells you how the results would change by playing with the camera position and angle.
  • “There are also numerous examples of movie excerpts, such as the famous opening scene of Once Upon a Time in the West. An also very intriguing example are the scenes from the film The Shining by stanley Kubrick.”
  • The DVD delivers over eighty hours of educational fun and includes topics like script writing and narrative techniques.

cinemagie

  • “Without doubt, ABCinema will appeal to a broad audience,from novice and (perhaps especially) pupils / students tomore experienced filmmakers – if only as inspiration.”
  • “Is the Interactive Digital Film course more than the sum of its parts? Yes. The greatest asset of this software is the combination of a classic film course – in itself not very special – with modern teaching aids. A relatively technical section as “The digital camera” is followed by a very practical one, “The virtual camera”, one of the most appealing chapters in the course. The movie and animationplayers are more than an added value.“
  • “Fitié and Fernhout give you ample opportunity to participate actively in their course. It‘s a cliché, but you will playfully learn about movies and making movies. Can one ask more from a film course?“

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  • “The first six chapters cover the basics …. Many basic issues, that nevertheless could easily escape the attention of the beginner, are clearly and precisely introduced and explained.”
  • “Again and again, fragments are cited to illustrate a concept or to provide examples of how a method can be applied. Where possible, the course also examines the considerations that seem to have played a role with it. The background information and anecdotes from the fragments are fun to read and add much to the texts.”
  • “ABCinema is a must for anyone who (still) is not a film or video expert, but is interested in the field. The course provides a solid knowledge base, provides insight into techniques, methods and considerations and contains many concrete and practical tips for people who are filming. The makers have succeeded in combining fun and education.”

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  • “The course that ensures that underwater film makers keep their friends!”
  • “They must have known that just another book would overshoot the mark and came with a surprisingly new concept. A concept in which the digital capabilities of today are applied to the max, and that utilizes the interactive strength of a solid piece of software and internet.”
  • “The interactive element remains the strength of the program, it is a tireless instructor who will explain the topics and show the film excerpts over and over again.”
  • “Finally, what is said about a good movie, comes from the bottom of my heart. ABCinema stresses that a good story is essentail for a good movie. A movie can live with poor lighting, imperfect editing, a bad location, a chaotic producer, a dull soundtrack. All these criticisms fade into the background if you know how to tell a great story with your movie. For doing that, ABCinema is an excellent guide.”

“The film course ABCinema is handy for the novice to the more experienced film maker. But especially those involved in film, as actors and writers or those interested in film in general, will be in for a good time. A fun way to find out what your colleagues are doing.”

“But fortunately there is a solution: now there is a film course that you even can do in summer. How? Just at your own computer. On the days that it rains and you cannot go out, you can follow the course at your own pace. You will learn everything about film and film making. This course is called ABCinema.”

“Clear design that gives much insight, and relatively cheap!”

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About Us

The ABCinema Foundation

  • 1. The foundation aims
    • a. to promote knowledge and techniques on how to make films;
    • b. to perform any further acts that are related to this promotion or will be helpful.
  • 2. The foundation tries to achieve its aim by distributing an interactive, digital film course in which knowledge is transferred through:
    • a. the best examples (film quotes);
    • b. the best errors (film quotes);
    • c. training opportunities with a virtual camera in an animated 3D world.
  • 3. When quoting from copyrighted material ABCinema takes into account:
    • a. the usual scientific mores regarding quotations;
    • b. the current interpretation of citaatrecht (citation right);
    • c. the Statement of best practices.

  • Harry Fitié, Master of Science Linguistic Computer Programming

    Harry is a known researcher in the field of language and computers. He is also an active and innovative film maker. He noticed that, despite the progress of technology, teaching methods for film making had little changed since the introduction of digital technologies. This new designed film course tries to fill the gap.

  • Ab Fernhout, Master of Arts Audiovisual Design

    Ab

    Ab is co-author of ABCinema and responsible for the final text editing of the film course. In his professional life, he is audiovisual program maker, novelist and film operator. He studied Audiovisual Design at the Utrecht School of the Arts and is particularly interested in the narrative disciplines of film making. He teaches and organizes workshops script writing and story telling.

  • Gerson Fitié, Master of Science Applied Mathematics

    Gerson is responsible for business management, distribution and design of the corporate identity and website. He studied Applied Mathematics at Delft University of Technology and has a big interest in film making and the history of films. He is experienced in creating several acclaimed e-learning courses, and also developed a highly rated online digital photography course with 38 video’s and 38 e-books.