Digital Storytelling: Filmmaking for the Web (FutureLearn)

Digital Storytelling: Filmmaking for the Web (FutureLearn)

Combine theory and practice to tell powerful stories through film online. Unleash your potential in this free online course. The University of Birmingham, the BBC Academy and Creative Skillset have combined forces, to create this four-week, free online course. It will look at filmmaking theory and practice, and how they interact to produce good and even meaningful stories, helping you develop short films for digital platforms.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Whether fact or fiction, there are many principles and processes that make a story work on film, so that what viewers see is more than just a sequence of events, but is instead a compelling narrative, which holds their attention, makes them think and keeps them coming back for more.

We will cover all aspects of production - from how to research your story to adding the finishing touches in the edit. The course will address many issues along the way, including critical thinking; story structure; style; genre; ethics; legalities; practical techniques for camera, sound and lighting; and more.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

How to Make a Short Film: An Introduction to Filmmaking (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The British Film Institute - BFI

How to Make a Short Film: An Introduction to Filmmaking (FutureLearn)

Do you have a passion for film? Learn the key skills of filmmaking in this practical course from the BFI. Kick-start your filmmaking practice with simple techniques and basic equipment. Film is the ideal medium for telling stories, communicating ideas, and entertaining friends and family, so why leave it to the professionals? This course has been specially designed to help anyone interested in filmmaking to master the essentials and start making their own work.

Self Paced
4 Weeks
Designing Engaging Dashboards for Healthcare Analytics (Coursera) Coursera
Northeastern University

Designing Engaging Dashboards for Healthcare Analytics (Coursera)

Introduces processes and design principles for creating meaningful displays of information that support effective business decision-making. Studies how to collect and process data; create visualizations (both static and interactive); and use them to provide insight into a problem, situation, or opportunity. Introduces methods to critique visualizations along with ways to answer the elusive question: “What makes a visualization effective?” Discusses the challenges of making data understandable across a wide range of audiences.

Oct 26th 2026
4 Weeks
Explore Filmmaking: from Script to Screen (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
National Film and Television School - NFTS,The British Film Institute - BFI

Explore Filmmaking: from Script to Screen (FutureLearn)

Learn from award-winning filmmakers how films go from script to screen with this film production course from the BFI Film Academy. Deepen your understanding of the filmmaking process. Over six weeks, a team of award-winning filmmakers will take you through their approach to telling stories.

No sessions available
5-12 Weeks
Design Thinking para Inovação (Coursera) Coursera
University of Virginia

Design Thinking para Inovação (Coursera)

Hoje em dia, a inovação é um negócio de todos. Se você for um gerente em uma corporação global, um empreendedor iniciando em uma função governamental ou um professor em uma escola primária, espera-se que todos sejam enxutos – para fazer melhor com menos. É por isso que todos nós precisamos de design thinking (pensamento criativo).

Oct 26th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Teaching Literacy Through Film (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The British Film Institute - BFI,INTO FILM

Teaching Literacy Through Film (FutureLearn)

Learn how to use film in the classroom, teach literacy and improve both reading and writing skills, with this free online course. Why use film to teach literacy? This free online course, led by film education experts from the British Film Institute (BFI) and film education charity Into Film, will examine the debate surrounding film as a vehicle for teaching literacy, alongside recent evidence demonstrating significant improvements in children’s reading and writing through use of film texts.

No sessions available
4 Weeks
Using Virtual Scenarios to Create Effective Learning (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
St George's, University of London,Waves

Using Virtual Scenarios to Create Effective Learning (FutureLearn)

Learn how to use virtual scenarios to help people practice their decision making and prepare for real world challenges. Virtual scenarios are online educational resources which help learners explore real world decisions, making both good judgements and errors in a safe environment. They are used to prepare professionals to deal with a range of workplace challenges.

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Mindfulness Through Film (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
INTO FILM

Mindfulness Through Film (FutureLearn)

Explore how film watching and filmmaking can be used in secondary teaching to introduce mindfulness principles and exercises.  Support students' mental health through the power of film. Created in partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, this course includes a variety of film-based strategies to enable you and your learners to confidently engage with mindfulness. Discover how film can help you tap into the mental health benefits of mindfulness, such as enhancing focus, promoting self-regulation, increasing resilience, and improving interpersonal skills. 

Self Paced
2 Weeks
A Beginner’s Guide to Film Genres (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Film Distributors' Association

A Beginner’s Guide to Film Genres (FutureLearn)

Explore what genre means in film and how it shapes both the narrative and the audience’s response to the story on screen. Discover how cinematic experiences are shaped by the conventions of film genre. Whether you’re considering a career in the film industry or you want to improve your movie knowledge, this four-week course will prepare you to examine critical approaches to genre films and theory.

Self Paced
4 Weeks
Making and Understanding Web Comics (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Dundee

Making and Understanding Web Comics (FutureLearn)

Explore the history of web comics, and learn how to make your own digital comic with software on this interactive course. Develop your visual design skills and create an original web comic in any style. Web comics have the power to digitally reach audiences all over the world. On this course, you will learn how to communicate meaning to others and create a web comic of your own, in your choice of genre like humour or superhero.

No sessions available
3 Weeks
Data Visualisation: Creating Charts and Complex Visualisations in Tableau (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
FutureLearn

Data Visualisation: Creating Charts and Complex Visualisations in Tableau (FutureLearn)

Learn the fundamentals of data visualisation and storytelling to boost your career options. Struggling to turn data insights into action within your organisation? Learn how to identify the right metrics to add to data dashboards and identify the most effective components to help you tell data stories through beautiful visualisations. This course will take you from theory into practice. You’ll build the skills you need to create interactive dashboards using Tableau.

May 23rd 2022
4 Weeks
Film Production: Behind the Scenes of Feature Filmmaking (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Creative Skillset,The British Film Institute - BFI,The Production Guild

Film Production: Behind the Scenes of Feature Filmmaking (FutureLearn)

Take a guided tour through the process of making a feature film and meet some of the people who make films every day. Over three weeks, The Production Guild of Great Britain, guided by respected film and television professionals, will demystify the process of making a feature film. You will discover the key stages of how a film gets made and the different types of production.

No sessions available
3 Weeks
How to Read a Film (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Film Distributors' Association

How to Read a Film (FutureLearn)

Delve into the devices used to create meaning in film as you gain a deeper understanding of what we see on screen. Master film studies as you learn how films create meaning. When you watch a film there are many elements working together to produce what you see and hear. The different elements, known as devices, have been carefully constructed so that your attention is drawn to certain things at certain times, forming the way in which a film communicates its story. On this five-week course, you’ll unpack these elements to discover how they work, what they are called, and how they work together.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks