5 Best Documentary Filmmaking Courses to Bring Your Story to Life

Love filmmaking? Here are the best online documentary filmmaking courses to help you refine your skills and turn your passion for films into a career.

Looking to learn the secrets behind creating a compelling documentary?

Here are the best documentary filmmaking courses online for professional and aspiring creatives.

These courses will walk you through every stage of creating your documentary, from preproduction and production, to post production and distribution.

Whether you've had little experience working with videos, or you're in the middle of an exciting project, you’ll receive guidance on the technical and stylistic techniques you need to make your documentary a success.

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What are the Best Documentary Filmmaking Courses?

Here are 5 of the most popular documentary filmmaking courses online:

7-Day Documentary Crash Course

Making a documentary can be a daunting endeavour.

If you're a first time filmmaker, it can be especially overwhelming to understand everything that goes into making a documentary.

This 7-Day Crash Course by Desktop Documentaries is one of the top documentary filmmaking courses for beginners that you'll find online.

The course is designed specifically to jump-start your documentary project and get you taking as quickly as possible.

Through bite-sized, multimedia lessons, you'll experience about 4-years worth of film school condensed into 7 days.

Key topics covered include fundraising, idea development, writing a script, choosing gear, figuring out how to sell your film, talent releases, and legal considerations.

Each day's lesson comes with an assignment and handy worksheet to help you work through all the important aspects of your documentary.

You'll also gain access to downloadable resources and forms including script writing & production templates, a storyboard sketch sheet, a full documentary script sample, and an equipment checklist.

Ultimately, the goal of this course is to help you avoid common pitfalls involved in making a documentary and give you the best information possible to help you make a successful film.

The best part is that you'll have lifetime access to the course, so you can take the it as often as you like during the making of your documentary.

=> Enroll in the 7-Day Documentary Crash Course here.

Ken Burns Teaches Documentary Filmmaking

Since its 2017 debut, Ken Burns’s The Vietnam War has enthralled over 39 million viewers by painting an intimate and revealing portrait of history.

In this Masterclass, the 5-time Emmy Award winner teaches how he navigates research and uses audio and visual storytelling methods to bring history to life.

From first treatment to final edit, Ken teaches his documentary filmmaking techniques that “wake the dead” to bring their stories to life.

What you'll learn:

How to identify powerful, universal themes that will resonate with audiences.

How to use research to seek out different perspectives, discover your story, and anchor it in facts.

The purpose and process of writing a treatment and his tips for navigating the world of fundraising.

Interviewing techniques to help you connect with your subjects and draw out their most compelling stories.

Using the episode board from his docuseries The Vietnam War, Ken teaches you his strategies for visualizing the structure of your film.

How to spot for sound and harness the vast array of aural tools at your disposal.

How to reach your audience and the importance of opening your film up to interpretation and conversation.

By the end of the class, you be convinced to let go of any lingering doubt and take the leap toward making your documentary film.

Class Length: 26 video lessons (4 hours 56 minutes)

=> Sign up for Kevin Burn's Documentary Filmmaking MasterClass here.

Netflix 2025: Selling to Netflix and The Streamers

Do you have a great documentary idea or an amazing series you know Netflix would love?

Netflix is in constant need of fresh content to update their catalogue, and their spending for unscripted/documentary content is astounding. (Current estimate: $1.1 billion by 2025!).

To keep up with demand, buyers for Netflix are seeking outstanding independent filmmakers and documentary creatives who can deliver the stories that Netflix wants.

So how do you get started connecting with a Netflix buyer and pitching your project?

What kind of content are they looking for and how do you pitch your project effectively?

How much do they pay?

The Selling To Netflix course by Desktop Documentaries takes you step-by-step from idea development to pitching your concept and then making a winning Netflix deal!

You'll learn what type of content Netflix is looking for, how much they pay and access a curated list of Sales Agents, Film Buyers and Netflix producers.

The course is designed to be accessible for both beginners and experienced filmmakers.

Whether you are just starting out or looking to refine your pitching strategy, this course will provide valuable insights.

In addition, the lessons you'll learn in the course are highly relevant to Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount +, Apple TV+, Hulu, Discovery+, Peacock and the other well-funded competitors that are rushing into the streaming market.

=> Sign up for the "Selling to Netflix" course here.

Documentary Filmmaking: Write, Film and Edit A Short Documentary

Olaf De Fleur is a do-it-yourself filmmaker with over 2 decades of experience.

In this Skillshare class, Olaf shares all the tools he's learned by completing seven feature documentary films.

This is a step-by-step guide to Documentary Indie Filmmaking, where you'll teach yourself how to complete a short documentary film independently through manageable action steps.

Here are some of the things you'll learn in this class:

Experience hands-on a complete documentary film process
The fundamentals of documentary filmmaking
Develop your style as a visual storyteller
Receive documentary production tips that can save you from unnecessary agony
Complete a documentary film on a micro-budget

All you need for this class is a camera, something to write on, and a computer to edit your film.

This class is ideal for learners who are starting, or who have already done a couple of documentary projects. In either case, this class will deepen your understanding of documentary filmmaking.

=> Enroll in Olaf De Fleur's Documentary Filmmaking course here.

Documentary Storytelling and Scriptwriting

Are you staring at a blank white page and/or hours of raw footage with NO CLUE what to do next?

Do you have an amazing story but struggling with how to structure all the elements into a compelling film?

Whether you're just starting out on your documentary journey or in the final stages, making a deeply emotional connection with your audience is THE critical element in the making of your film.

The Documentary Storytelling and Scriptwriting course by Desktop Documentaries is designed to help you find clarity with your story and provide a clear framework for how to weave it together in a compelling and emotional way that will move audiences.

You will learn how to:

Organize all the scattered pieces of your story into a cohesive and engaging narrative

Use powerful storytelling techniques to keep your audience glued to the screen

Break down your film into a series of 8-12 sequences to create a compelling story arc

Properly format your script and the best scriptwriting software

Weave together your story beats (soundbites), scenes and sequences to create a compelling narrative

Use dramatic conflict to create emotion within the audience

The core concepts of storytelling and how to use cinematic techniques to create greater impact

All the steps laid out to complete your film!

You'll also gain exclusive access to a case study of the making of "Harold and Lillian" (Zeitgeist Films), including a tutorial from the instructor on how he built the documentary script from scratch, plus access to view and download the complete full-length script.

Perhaps most important, this course will show you how to find the heart ❤️ of the story that is waiting to be told – a story that will emerge as you develop your film.

=> Sign up for the Documentary Storytelling and Scriptwriting course.

Final Thoughts

Thanks for checking out this post on the best documentary filmmaking courses and classes online. Hopefully you've found some sources of inspiration and guidance for your project.

If this is all brand new to you, the course I most recommend is the 7 Day Documentary Filmmaking Crash Course, since it's designed for complete beginners and offers daily assignments, quizzes and worksheets to keep you accountable.

Once you have mastered the groundwork and principles of documentary filmmaking, the process will become easier and a lot more fun.

And who knows...you may be on to creating your second documentary before you know it...

Happy learning!