MasterClass has just announced a new and existing course: James Cameron Teaches Filmmaking. It’s a good opportunity to get inspired by one of the most acclaimed directors. James talks about the making of his best films, like Titanic, Avatar, Terminator, and more. Explore the topics below. 

James Cameron Teaches Filmmaking

In continuous to Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard, now it’s the turn of the mighty James Cameron,  to enter your living room and teach you one of the most beautiful jobs in the world – filmmaking. James Cameron Teaches Filmmaking is a brand new course by the educational platform MasterClass. This is how MasterClass describes it: “From The Terminator and Titanic to Avatar, James Cameron has directed some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. Now, for the first time in his 40-year career, he opens up about his process. Through behind-the-scenes breakdowns, James shares his approach to developing ideas, storylines, and characters; harnessing technology; and world-building on any budget. Explore the innovation and imagination behind epic moviemaking”. 

Course structure and topics

The course is assembled from 15 video lessons (3h 20m). Here’re the topics below:

1. Pursuing and Developing the Idea: James discusses how to identify the idea that won’t go away and how to harness the power of your dreams to develop a story authentically.
2. Perspective Thematically: Toying With the Audience: Building and Releasing Tension. James teaches you how to build and hold tension—and tells you why audiences love it.
3. THE TERMINATOR Club Scene Breakdown: James breaks down the club scene from The Terminator, walking through, shot by shot, how he built relentless tension.
4. ALIENS Egg Chamber Breakdown: James talks through how he captured the feeling from his dream of a room covered in wasps through a scene in Aliens.
5. ALIENS Newt Introduction Scene Breakdown: With Newt’s introduction scene in Aliens, James breaks down how he elicits different physiological responses from audiences, switching from suspense to curiosity.
6. The Art of Low-Budget Filmmaking: Learn how integral preparation and inventing tricks are to low-budget filmmaking.
7. THE TERMINATOR Arm and Eye Repair Breakdown: James shares the low-budget tricks he developed to create real moments when the Terminator performs surgery on himself.
8. From Sketch to Spectacle: Creating Set Pieces: Few directors have created set-pieces as memorable as James’s. Learn how he approaches the art of creating set pieces, even on a low budget.
9. THE TERMINATOR Future World Breakdown: Creating a Set Piece on a Budget: James breaks down the iconic future world set piece from The Terminator, showing how he created a set piece on a limited budget.
10. Crafting and Introducing Compelling Characters: James talks about creating the perfect sketch of your characters, making them relatable, and introducing them to audiences.
11. TITANIC Rose Introduction Breakdown: In just a few shots, Rose is almost fully revealed to us. Learn how James thought about introducing Rose and what he wanted to convey.
12. Developing Dread Through Adversaries: The Terminator and the Alien Queen have stuck in our psyches as some of the most dreadful adversaries ever created. Learn how James thinks about adversaries and how to create them.
13. AVATAR Creating Technology: The performance-capture technology used to create the Na’avi in Avatar changed the landscape of cinema forever. Learn how James developed the technology.
14. Making Your Way and Leading With Passion: James discusses his “creativity law of thermodynamics,” leadership lessons that he’s learned as a director over the years, and how to live life as an artist, preparing as much as possible to see the magic.

Check out the course trailer below: 

Price

You can get access by purchasing an Annual Membership for $180/year. The annual membership provides unlimited access to all classes and new classes as they launch. All MasterClass memberships include access to mobile and TV apps, high-definition videos, and downloadable class workbooks. Click here to the course page. 

Should you take the course?

It’s a good question. We’ve reviewed a bunch of MasterClasses. Read our reviews to get an idea about the education efficiency of MasterClass:

• MasterClass Review – Ron Howard Teaches Directing
• MasterClass Review: Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking
• MasterClass Review: Armin van Buuren Teaches Dance Music – Part I (out of 3)

As explained, we took and reviewed the other filmmaking MasterClasses by Howard and Scorsese, and from what we’ve seen, we can tell you that you won’t be learning filmmaking from those classes. These are theoretical sessions with minimum practical perspectives. Yes, you can get inspired and entertained, but it lacks some practicum. BTW, the best MasterClass in our opinion is by Armin van Buuren, which is a very practical one that actually teaches you the techniques as well. Thus, if all you want is to get inspired and listen to a genius, you might consider taking the class. However, sadly it’s on the theoretical level, and without the technical details and approach.