This is a review of the 14 day filmmaker course by Paul Xavier and Anthony Gallo.
What if there was a course to teach you professional content creation in just 14 days? 14 Day Filmmaker sets out to do just that. With a low price, clever 14-day structure, and daily action items, does it deliver on that premise?
As someone who has went through Full Time Filmmaker, Unscripted Studio, MZed Pro, and many other comparable offerings, I wanted to see who would be a good fit for the 14-Day Filmmaker Course – so I bought it with my own money and went through it. The results?
If I went back in time and had $48 to learn filmmaking, I honestly wouldn’t advise my past self to purchase this course. The free filmmaking course offered by Full Time Filmmaker and the free content on Full Time Filmmaker’s YouTube channel is better – and free. If you are looking for a paid option, I would highly recommend looking into one of the courses listed in my best online filmmaking courses article.
In addition, I have had a few readers now reach out to me saying they purchased and refunded this course, citing it just wasn’t worth their money.
A number of my readers reached out and asked me my opinion on the 14-day filmmaker course. After a Google search, I didn’t really see anyone writing about it so I wanted to help those looking to learn filmmaking make the best buying decision possible for them.
I bought the course with my own money and here is my review.
14 Day Filmmaker Review Summary
14 Day Filmmaker is a solid collection of videos, organized in a thoughtful way, to teach new content creators how to make videos in just 14 days. The daily homework is a nice touch and the instructor does a nice job explaining information. The convenience of having the basics of filmmaking sequenced together, with homework, is the core selling point of this offering.
Pros of 14 Day Filmmaker
Cons of 14 Day Filmmaker
Now, let’s take a deeper look at 14 Day Filmmaker and see if it’s a good fit for you.
What is 14 Day Filmmaker? A Course By Paul Xavier and Anthony Gallo
Paul Xavier and Anthony Gallo teamed up to create 14 Day Filmmaker, their offering to help creators learn filmmaking in as little as 14 days.
Topics Covered in 14 Day Filmmaker
The topics covered by 14 Day Filmmaker include the steps needed to film and edit a project from start to finish.
- Gear
- Focal Lengths & Lenses
- Composition
- Cinematic Movements
- Lighting
- Sound Design
- File Management
- Editing
- Intro to After Effects
- Virtual Job Shadows
- Scriptwriting
- Shooting Your Commercial
- Editing Your Commercial
- Organic Distribution
Course Content Style
Anthony Gallo is the main instructor for this course and does a solid job presenting the information. To give you an idea of what you can expect style-wise, you can check out the videos on their YouTube channel. Anthony seems like a super chill guy who is obviously knowledgeable about filmmaking.
Each day is centered around a topic, like gear. There will usually be a few videos about that topic, followed by a practice exercise to apply what you’ve learned. You’ll also receive daily emails to remind you of the 14-day filmmaker course so you can stay on top of your learning.
The emails and homework are nice touches and I can see them being very helpful for those that want to practice what they are learning. It is also nice to spend just a couple hours per day to learning the skills.
14 Day Filmmaker VS Full Time Filmmaker
If I traveled back in time and had to choose between 14 Day Filmmaker and Full Time Filmmaker, what would I honestly choose?
The 14 Day Filmmaker is a solid fit for someone that wants to learn all the necessary basics in a well-structured way in just 14 days. For absolute beginners or even those that aren’t sure filmmaking is for them just yet, the investment is small enough to get the promised value out of it and decide where to go from there. In this way, Full Time Filmmaker actually is a very natural next step for those that have learned from 14 Day Filmmaker and wants to continue learning.
Full Time Filmmaker is the definitive choice for those that want to make a full-time living as a filmmaker. If you know you want to do filmmaking as a job and want to learn all the skills necessary to do that, this is the best course available for you. If you know you like Parker’s style, have watched his videos, and want to learn from zero to full time completely from him, then Full Time Filmmaker is a no brainer.
The True Value of A Clear Pathway
To offer a different perspective, I had a reader reach out to me and explain to me the value of having action items and daily assignments. 14 Day Filmmaker does an excellent job incorporating these on every day. By having things to try or boxes to check, he feels a sense of progression and can have a well-established start and a satisfying end.
I definitely think there is a strong argument here. For me, any course that gets you to go out and do, that gets you excited to create, or provides you with information in your favorite way so you can excel has my vote.
What’s the Upsell?
I wanted to address one of my cons in this section here. I honestly don’t have anything against upsells and believe that they can actually be a great way to help someone by giving them what they need to succeed.
I listed it as a con because I felt, in this case, it impeded my learning experience because there are just so many of them. From the dashboard of the course site to individual modules and on every email, I feel like this course was a gateway to their higher paying offers.
As consumers, I think we are beginning to be more aware of this and often ask ourselves, “Okay, so what’s the upsell?” when we see free trainings and even paid trials. This is just me letting you know that there are upsells and there are many.
Does the course deliver upon the promise of learning filmmaking in 14 days? I think it covers enough content to be worth the price of admission, especially if you value the structure of the assignments and action items. Do I think the learning experience would be cleaner and less distracting if there were fewer upsells? Yes.
In contrast, Full Time Filmmaker is what I would consider a premium online film school offering that is very straightforward with their messaging – you can take a free webinar to try us out and, if you like us, join us for this cost and you get everything, no upsells. Personally, I prefer this form of being marketed to, though everyone’s mileage may vary.
The Verdict for 14 Day Filmmaker
- If you are an absolute beginner that thrives on structure and learning by doing, it may be a good choice, but not one I personally recommend.
- If you enjoy looking through YouTube, finding tutorials, and making your own creative exercises, you can learn similar things on YouTube – though, it may take a little longer.
- If you are looking for a full film school, you’d be better served by enrolling in Full Time Filmmaker or even Tomorrow’s Filmmakers or another course listed in my article here.
- If you really like Anthony Gallo’s style and in general like the YouTube channel’s content, 14 Day Filmmaker will give you the structure and learning you need to learn filmmaking.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is that, as an aspiring filmmaker, you go out and learn filmmaking. If you watched the 14 Day Filmmaker video on their landing page and you are excited and ready to learn, then go for it.
They do have a 7-day money back guarantee so if you do decide to enroll, you have 7 days to see if it’s worth it to you.
If you want to see a list of my favorite online filmmaking courses, you can click here.
I hope this review was helpful to you and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me.
