Online documentary filmmaking courses Make the documentary your story deserves.
Turn the story you care about into a finished film, even if you’ve never made one and only have a few hours a week.
Our instructors’ work has been seen on
Where are you with your film?
Pick the one that sounds most like you.
You don’t need film school or a crew. You need a story you believe in and a clear first step.
I once left a hard drive in a drawer for two years. Finding the story on paper first is what got me going again.
When a film means this much, it’s hard to see it clearly on your own. We work on it together, and it stays your film.
I got stuck on my own film for two years.
I’m Sebastian. I put my savings into a documentary about two freedivers, and the shoot was cancelled after less than a day. The hard drive went in a drawer.
What got it out again was pen and paper. I wrote down the key moments, moved them around, and I could finally see the film. It became One Breath and screened in more than 100 cities.
Now I teach that same method, so you don’t have to work it out alone.
From idea to finished film
Made for people with one story they care about, fitted around a job and a life.
Find your story
Work out what your film is about before you pick up a camera.
Plan the shoot
Know what to film, who to talk to and what to ask.
Film it
With the camera or phone you already have.
Find the film in the edit
Turn hours of footage into a story people want to watch.
Every step comes with templates and workbooks, so you never start from a blank page.
Documentary filmmaking courses and coaching
Choose how you’d like to learn, depending on where you are with your film.
For getting started · $25
Documentary Starter Kit
Five short videos and six simple tools to get you from an idea to your first filmed sequence.
Get the Starter Kit
For the whole film · $297
Documentary Fundamentals
An online documentary filmmaking course that takes you step by step from idea to finished film, on your own schedule.
See the course
For a guide · from $250
1:1 Coaching
Work on your film with me, from one call to get unstuck to support all the way to your premiere.
Explore coachingTamara’s story
She’d never made a film. Then she premiered her own documentary.
Tamara is a nurse with an idea she’d carried for years. She told herself this was the year she’d finish it or let it go. We worked on it together in coaching, and she wrote, produced and directed it herself.
34
coaching sessions
82
guests at the premiere
14
minutes of finished film
I truly believe this wouldn’t have happened without you. I know that with a hundred percent certainty.
Tamara WeberNurse and first-time documentary filmmaker
Questions about the documentary filmmaking courses
Do I need any filmmaking experience?
No. Most people who join have never made a film. The courses start with finding your story, before you pick up a camera.
What camera do I need?
The camera or phone you already have. A clear story will do more for your film than expensive kit.
How much time do I need?
A few hours a week is enough. The courses are online and you work through them on your own schedule, so they fit around a job and a family.
Which documentary filmmaking course should I start with?
If you’re at the idea stage, start with the free training or the Documentary Starter Kit. Documentary Fundamentals takes you through the whole process, from idea to finished film. If you’d like me beside you, there’s 1:1 coaching.
Who teaches the courses?
Two of us. I’m Sebastian Solberg. I directed One Breath, I was second unit director on the BAFTA-nominated The Eagle Huntress, and I teach filmmaking at Imperial College London.
Duncan Parker is an Emmy award-winning wildlife cinematographer whose work has been seen on Netflix and the BBC. He teaches Wildlife Filmmaking Mastery with me, which opens in early 2027.
Not sure where to start?
Start with the free training.
It’s the simplest first step, and it costs nothing.
Get the free training