At Cineflair we are huge fans of YouTube and the many content creators putting out high quality content on a weekly basis. Below are some of our favourite YouTube channels for filmmakers that we think are a well rounded source of inspiration, entertainment, and education.

Indie Mogul

The Original Filmmaking YouTube channel that began way back in 2007.

Having created over a thousand videos during their strong run from 2007-2013, Indy Mogul and host Erik Beck inspired their independent filmmaking audience to go out and create films by showing them how to do awesome and fun “BFX” aka Backyard Effects. Showcasing inexpensive ideas and demos on how low budget filmmakers can build props, create special effects, and learn production techniques was definitely an inspiration for a few of us in our early start to our filmmaking careers.

After a 3 year hiatus, they have officially announced they are coming back to YouTube in May 2016! 

Check out their very first episode of BFX in all it's 480p glory.

Film Riot

A staple of our YouTube viewing habits. 

Ryan Connolly and his rag-tag team of independent filmmakers began Film Riot in 2009 as “a show that takes the mystery out of effects and techniques that go into some of our favourite hollywood films”. Along with regular Q&A episodes, Film Riot creates cinematic shorts paired with an episode that go behind the scenes giving step-by-step instruction on everything from writing, production techniques, and visual effects. They have created a cult following that you should be sure not to miss being part of.

RocketJump

Has been a wealth of filmmaking inspiration, entertainment, and education over the years.

Visual Effects Artist Freddie Wong launched (pun intended) into our hearts with his special effects short “The Rocket Jump” when it went viral in 2010 (the video now has over 16 Million views!).

Forming a production company under the same moniker in 2011, he and his partners successfully launched 3 seasons of Kickstarter Campaigns to create the web series Video Game High School, which premiered online and later earned them the attention of Hulu.

The have since produced RocketJump The Show  for Hulu, where each episode chronicles a behind the scenes making-of and premiere of one finished short.

Be sure to check out their latest RocketJump Film School series for informative tips on industry practices.

Tony Zhou’s Every Frame A Painting

Vancouver based Freelance Editor Tony Zhou offers up this wonderful video essay series about film form.

In each essay Tony takes you on a journey that explores how pictures and sound work together to create meaning and ultimately the language of film. Composition, lighting, editing, colour, silence, movement, and music are all aspects of cinema he explores; he often delves into something you as an audience member may have never thought of before, but once you are aware of it, you will see it everywhere!

His choice in topics always remind us that the medium of Cinema is ultimately an art form.

Filmmaker IQ

“No discussion on how to make films is truly complete without understanding why film works”

Moving deeper into the Film Studies aspect of cinema, Filmmaker IQ is great repository of information. Guided by host John P. Hess, viewers can learn about filmmaking techniques in the context of film history as a whole.

Gaining an appreciation of where cinema started certainly helps us to better understand where the future of cinema is advancing.

There are certainly many more fantastic YouTube channels for filmmakers out there. Honourable mentions certainly would include Dave Dugdale, DSLRGuide, Philip Bloom, Frugal Filmmaker and many others.

What are some of your favourite filmmaking YouTube channels?