by Catherine Leahy

Created on: April 14, 2009   Last Updated: April 15, 2009

There are a lot of online colleges offering instruction in digital video, digital film-making or digital video or film production. Choosing the right one for you will depend on exactly what you want, or need to get, from the class you take. It is important at the outset to be aware of what you need from a course, do you want to become a professional film-maker to get a job in the industry or do you want to be able to make your own video projects of films as a hobby, to supplement another career or as an independent artist, artisan film-maker or media activist. Film-making has penetrated many different areas from corporate instruction videos to community and activist film, so a the right course depends largely on what it is you intend to do with your digital video skills. For a career in digital film or video you will probably be looking for a course that offers you some kind of recognised certification and it is important, therefore, that you check with your local council or governing body that any course you look into is offering certification that is recognised in your country or state. Many students of digital video, however, are not looking for certification but to upskill in line with new technologies or for basic competency in order to produce a digital video for a range of purposes from hobby to instructional to promotional videos that can be easily and cheaply produced.

One of the best sites to take an online digital video class, or indeed any film-making or film-production class is cybercollege's completely free online TV production course. This award-winning course has been developed for the web by Dr. Ron Whittaker and is a not-for-profit enterprise aimed at promoting and sharing knowledge with no associated advertising, promotional or commercial concerns. This means that the course material is absolutely impartial and absolutely free. The content is also excellent, as a post-graduate media student, I am very impressed by the level of expertise in its practical instruction and the critical engagement of its contextual and complementary material. I am also inspired by its aims, which are to encourage independent and critical film and television production. The course is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese and its students range from high school, college to television professionals seeking to upgrade their skills. It is also available to course instructors and is widely used in teaching media and television around the world. The course is built

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