How To Win An Oscar: Making A Worldclass Short Film

“A bitter sweet recounting of a film makers journey that inspires and underscores how good contacts, an energetic team, and money helps create the necessary opportunities. Even luck, and being in the right place at the right time and ultimately not being in the UK but in LA, pays an awful lot of dividends as well. I watched it on my computer and immediately abandoned the project I was working on thinking I have to be more ambitious and some how find a way of getting a bigger budget to ever compete and that boy, am I in the wrong country, Hong Kong, for that!”

“It truly covers it all from A to Z on making the short film. No matter how much you know coming in to it, this seminar will either add knowledge or put things together in a way that inspires you to give it a shot too. I know I’m more fired up about some projects I had put on the back burner.”

“Informative and engaging and extremely good value for price. Would definitely recomend because it offers a frank, down-to-earth discussion of filmmaking in the current age.”

“Better than film school. This seminar should be shown to all film students around the world, right now. Before they waste their time and money trying to find success with movies that aren’t so great yet – time they could and should spend becoming better storytellers. And before anyone wastes the potential of a great movie they have done by not knowing how to squeeze everything out of it. In fact the seminar should be shown to any aspiring directors/producers and to anyone still considering film school – two days with a passionate filmmaker like Chris was worth more than all my lectures in the past three years on a film course combined. He speaks from his heart, and we better listen. The price made me doubt as I’ve never bought an online course of any kind before: but the videos, experiences and knowledge shared on the blog were quite enough to convince this would be worth it. Organizing a seminar like this into shorter video clips is genious: together with attachments, power points, interviews, links to external websites and video diaries – so much more involving than say just a book. Most importantly it feels genuine as Chris speaks from his heart, and that draws you into the experience. Best parts were definitely the career plan and festivals/PR, but in general I have the feeling my filmmaking will take a serious step forward with the next project in terms of truly aiming as high as possible all the way through the process – unless I feel I just need more practice and will save the precious resources for later, another important lesson learned here. The workshop would have saved me from a lot of trouble and wasted resources had I seen it earlier: it also clarified a lot of insecurities I’ve had about my filmmaking career, and it will definitely help me invest time/money in the right projects in the future. I believe others would share this learning experience.”

“Empowering and Inspirational. Fabulous value-for-money. I really like being able to jump around and revisit sections plus all the bonus videos. Chris Jones is a true human dynamo of passion for his art and empowerment of the next generation of film-makers. I urge you to sign up to this seminar today and let him infect you with his enthusiasm. You’ll instantly see why “Gone Fishing” is such a masterful piece of work and why Chris is everybody’s favourite person in the business.”

“Extremely helpful – in terms of approach, technique and inspiration. I have been making films for 6 years now, and after taking Chris’ online seminar I was kicking myself as the things I learned while taking it would have been an immense help in how I approached my previous films, in terms of writing, directing, editing and putting it into festivals. I have no doubt that my career would have been further on than it is now. Quite a bold statement to make I know, but the reason I feel comfortable saying this is because of the shift in mindset that the seminar offered me – in particular the career planning section – as it gives you stone cold perspective on where you are with your career and how to advance it. I can no longer kid myself as to what my next steps are and where I am in my career, and what a relief that is. I feel like my work and career have now come into sharp focus. I recommend this for novices and experienced hands alike – even if you have had some success in festivals around the UK and the world before this (like myself), there is something in this seminar for you.”

“De-mystifying completely inspiring. Chris’ Masterclass is an amazing step-by-step through and around the many experiences and pitfalls that short film making throws up. The breath of fresh air and a shot in the arm.”

“Inspiring, informative creative journey into what really counts in the industry to get noticed and with a realistic career game plan. There are many seminars and workshops of this sort that charge an arm and a leg and which you could possibly all get from books on the same subject. This was my thought before deciding to take this online seminar. But having taken the plunge I have to say this one really delivers. Going through the whole process from script to final delivery to festivals and sales does bring home how much more there is still to do on your next project, but also inspiring you to think that it is all achievable if you put your mind to it and learn from the very useful industry tips in this seminar. The fact that you can go back to it again anytime as a reference is great value also. Chris is very generous with sharing his experience and knowledge. This is a must see for all aspiring filmmakers at any level.”

“Truly Inspiring and daunting at the same time – of what I’ve got to come on my own project. Chris Jones, in his Gone Fishing Seminar, provides a thorough, first hand, real world journey through the film making process and subsequent festival experience. Coming from an acting background and about to embark on my first project as a filmmaker, the seminar feels like an invaluable and very timely crash course at film school. The high standards Chris set himself give us all something to aspire to. I can highly recommend the seminar to anyone wanting to start or progress their filmmaking careers.”

“Astonishingly honest and generous. A world-class movie… deserves a world-class masterclass.. AND THIS IS IT!”

“Film course as emotional journey. As anyone who has read any of the Guerilla books would expect this course is filled with useful information. However, the thing that really impressed me was the structure of the presentation. The making of Gone Fishing film is a good story well told. As many great stories do it left me wanting to relive the experience for myself. It’s one thing to read all the info in a book but to watch events play out in the video diaries of the festival circuit made everything feel so attainable and real.”

“A Filmmaker’s dream toolkit of ideas, info and a roadmap for success! A Filmmaker’s dream toolkit of ideas, info and a roadmap for success. Bang up to date and continuously changing with new insights and info. Well done Chris and colleagues.”

“Fantastic. entertaining and incredibly informative. I must have read a dozen books on the subject of filmmaking. But nothing has come close to the sense of “just get out there and do it” that this seminar has given me. Chris and co have created something truly original and incredible value for money with this course. I just couldn’t recommend it enough.”

“Fabulous update to the existing course, thanks so much! UPDATE REVIEW – I’ve watched the updated sections now and I think it’s fabulous! Marketing, festivals and distribution is something so few filmmakers take the trouble to get to grips with and fully understand the benefits and pitfalls of and this is so clearly laid out here and easy to grasp. It will save filmmakers many headaches, I wish I’d had it before I ever entered a festival with my film! I already knew (from both theory and practice) a fair amount about short film marketing but there’s a lot of new information in there that I hadn’t considered and certainly didn’t know any of it the first time I marketed a film and had to learn the hard way, so I think a seminar like this is utterly invaluable. I’d recommend it to anyone but especially to those filmmakers who have invested in making a quality short that they are aiming for the higher end festivals. At that stage people really don’t really want to be making mistakes that might cost them valuable opportunities or waste their precious time. Marketing a film is a bigger timesuck than anyone can possibly realise but when you have a promising future to be getting on with then being on the ball and making that time investment count is more important than ever.”

“Five Stars! Have just completed the online seminar on “Gone Fishing” – I found the overall package to be very engaging, practical, concise and highly informative. I would recommend it to anybody embarking on a short or feature project. Well done to everybody involved!”

“I really enjoyed the seminar. Not only was it informative, but you always manage to pitch the information at the right level: suitable for the newbies but also really relevent for people with experience. I think the combination of your inspiring actions and positive attitude, combined with Gone Fishing as a specific case study, really helps to illustrate the practical alongside the theory. I have to add a special mention for the blog. As fairly new freeelancer, I’ve found myself feeling a bit overawed by all the things I have yet to learn and knocking on doors can be exhausting (as we all know). However, reading your blog has been a powerful antidote to despair! It’s so necessary to have someone speaking positively and proving that it’s possible to get an excellent film made independently, get a buzz going and get it out there! So, good luck in LA, I’ve no doubt your brilliant energy will attract like minded people. There’s an Oscar out there with your name on it yet.”

“This was awesome. Opening my eyes to the world of film making and new possibilities. Confirming in fact I was going in the right direction. I’d recommend everyone watch this course. Chris analyses his recent work “Gone Fishing” with open and frank discussion allowing his team to have their say.. As I watched I thought how I would have done this or done that.. In fact I made this whole film in my own mind because that’s what Chris did, empowered me by giving me the tools I needed to decide for myself.”