In this MasterClass, we are honored to get educated by the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard. This “Ron Howard Teaches Directing”  MaterClass focuses on directing from bird’s eye, which means you’ll get exposed to the basic theory behind it. Should you take the course? Read below.

This post contains affiliate links meaning Y.M.Cinema Magazine earns a small commission if you sign up to MasterClass. However, it should be noted that this review represents our sole opinion after carefully and comprehensively examining this MasterClass specifically.

Ron Howard Teaches Directing

The lecturer, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard, is one of this generation’s most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas like A Beautiful Mind (2001), Frost/Nixon (2008), Apollo 13 (1995) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1984). Ron Howard has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Furthermore, for A Beautiful Mind, Howard won the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture. Now, this Oscar-winning director is your instructor(!) because he believes “anyone can direct a movie”. Ron’s goal is to teach you how to direct your film, or as Ron defines it, being the “keeper of your story”.

We all want the same thing: Great scene, great moment and great movie

Ron Howard

“The director is the CEO of the movie”

As stated by Ron in this MasterClass: “We all want the same thing: Great scene, great moment and great movie”. Thus the director has a key role in achieving that by being a decision-maker and story keeper which supervises what is captured in the frame lines. Ron wants you to remember that the director is the CEO of the film. However, you have to be smart and collaborative CEO, as Ron emphasizes: “Learn to listen, respect and accept other people’s ideas…A good director is also a good listener”. It’s interesting that Ron mentions Charlie Chaplin and Stanley Kubrick as an example for directors that didn’t want to listen to anyone besides themselves and that’s totally valid. Nevertheless, creating a film is like founding a startup company. Collaboration is the name of the game. Ron believes anyone can direct a movie. The key is loving a story, understanding it, and then backing up your instincts with craft.

Learn to listen, respect and accept other people’s ideas…A good director is also a good listener

Ron Howard

The story is the king

Most of the MasterClass is aimed to demonstrate the entire product (=film) cycle as a whole. The MasterClass is divided into 13 modules that cover the basics of the storytelling process, from choosing the right story to the basics of post-production. Here are the modules: Introduction, Choosing a story, Evaluating a script, Refining a script, Developing the film, Collaboration: Part 1, Collaboration: Part 2, Research, Scene Deconstruction: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Editing: Part 1, Editing: Part 2, Sound Design and Find a story you love.

Takeaways

The importance of the script

Ron teaches you numerous tips on how to approach filmmaking and directing. The MasterClass emphasizes the importance of the development of the script and how crucial it is to create “pick” scenes to dictate the pathway of the story.  The screenplay constitutes the formula of filmmaking and this formula must contain several parameters or, as Ron calls it, rules of engagement. For instance, as directors, we must have the ability to take a step back and reevaluate the story objectively for its strong and weak points. Furthermore, the characters are extremely important parts of this formula, because they can dramatically enhance the story, so fascinating characters constitute a major factor of the story.  One of the most useful tips regarding the script is to let the actors read the screenplay because they are imagining playing those scenes and thus the intimacy between them and the screenplay is more significant than the writers and directors. Thus, the actors can review the screenplay and give feedback! However, it’s the director’s job (as the CEO of the project) to frame the story with the writer, using the feedback of the actors.

Every project you are going to get involved in, it will find its way to breaking your heart at some point

Ron Howard

The “Development Hell”

This is quite an exciting episode as Ron elaborates on the “Development Hell” which is the conversation about sharpening the project that usually goes through for weeks, months and even years of analysis. This is an essential process before the commitment phase.

Be ready to be heartbroken

According to Ron, “Every project you are going to get involved in, it will find its way to breaking your heart at some point”. No matter how successful it is, it will disappoint you. For instance, some opinion from a person you care about the most will not satisfy you. Furthermore, be ready that not all the audience we’ll love the movie and it will be criticized. That’s why making a film is such an emotional roller coaster. Ron highlights that during the development phase, the screenplay doesn’t stop evolving.

Tip: turn off the volume

Ron advises you to look at a scene with the sound turned off, especially action scenes that are complicated from a cinematography point of view. Watching a scene on mute can enhance the ability to analyze its cinematography. You can explore a lot more than a scene with sounds and music, that are a sort of distractors. You can guess accurately where is the stunt, point at the specific camera units and explore more cinematography parameters in a muted scene. All that is demonstrated in the Raiders of the Lost Ark film as a reference.

Prices

The course costs $90. However, MasterClass offers 2 passes (with access to all courses) for $180 for a limited time. So you get two annual memberships for the price of one. Click here for more details.

Click here for the course page. 

Final thoughts

First, Ron is awesome! Watching this Oscar-winning filmmaker talks with you at eye level is truly inspiring and educating. However, we regret to say that that we are disappointed by the course, as the trailer (watch above) shows some practical episodes that are missing from the current version of the course. For instance, we were eager to watch those modules which deal with cinematography, cameras, lenses and practical filmmaking on an actual production directed by Ron. Where are those sections? We suppose that this course has been re-edited by MasterClass to a shorter version that is more theoretical and includes a less hands-on approach. That’s a shame since this wonderful awe-inspiring course misses its potential.

Have you watched the course? Let’s know your insights!