Visual Arts & Theatre

A short and sweet overview of every part of the filmmaking process! Work through the units or jump to the specific video you need.

In this amazing interactive video, you can choose the questions that Sir Ian McKellan answers, including those about Shakespeare, storytelling, Lord of the Rings and the X-Men.

Crash Course has a playlist of videos that delve into film history. Learn about the history of one of our most powerful mediums. Episode topics include: the first movie camera, the language of film, the silent era, world cinema and documentaries. There are also episodes about the technical side of filmmaking.

This Crash Course playlist is an engaging exploration of film production. Learn about scriptwriting, the filmmaker's army, sound production, the role of producers, the cinematographer, the grip and more.

From Filmsourcing you can find useful, original film industry related content from filmmaking tutorials to web's best filmmaking templates.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll break down the definition of what a frame rate is and why it matters.

These two videos explore the very beginnings of the literary and movie genre we now consider "romantic comedy" with clips from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The videos focus on the relationships between Benedick/Beatrice and Hero/Claudio.

Listen to selected conversations with innovative and influential creative figures in film, TV, and digital media -- including Robert Altman, Tim Robbins, David Cronenberg, Terry Gilliam, Tommy Lee Jones, and many others.

An extensive collection of online resources that cover the many demands and skills required of aspiring and working filmmakers.

Discover the NFB’s online collection of Indigenous-made films. You will find animated films, documentaries and more. Click on Films, Directors or Subjects to filter the results or browse through the entire list. You can also filter by age of film.

As a filmmaker or YouTuber, composing your shot is one of the most important things you'll do whether you are shooting a movie or for YouTube video. Here are some basic rules to follow to make your best shot even better. Now rules can be broken, but master the rules and then you can break them.

This post is an overview of live streaming video resolution. We talk about standard-definition (480p + 480i), high-definition (720p, 1080i, + 1080p) and 4K video resolutions.

A collection of 14 very short films from the National Film Board that introduce the basic concepts and skills needed to create your own stop-motion animation film.

How far have visual effects come in the past 100 years? In this TED talk, Don Levy takes us on a visual journey through special effects, from the fakery of early technology to the seamless marvels of modern filmmaking.

This video explains the optical illusion that helps us understand motion in animation. How do animators make still images come to life? Are the images really moving, or are they merely an optical illusion?

Why is it essential that you know the setting of a piece of literature that you are reading? Does this add to the plot? Does it change what you think about the characters?

This video explores how colors, camera angles and logos in the media can all prompt viewers to make associations with their own emotions and memories. Learn to decode this intricate system of symbols from advertising messages to traffic signs.

A playlist of videos from film-maker Matti Haapoja to help learn many aspects of filmmaking

A great series of videos from PBS about the production of documentaries and the need for strong writing skills.

A handy low-budget documentary filmmaking gear check-list.

This 3:26 minute animated video gives an overview of some of the different jobs on a movie crew. Below the video, you will see a written description of the jobs.