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DCTV

DCTV is a non-profit media arts center in NYC that offers affordable workshops, production equipment, and space rentals for independent filmmakers. They provide a variety of hands-on digital filmmaking and media arts workshops in a convenient and accessible training facility.

DCTV

Upcoming Classes at DCTV

  • Camera Fundamentals

    Learn the essential concepts and technical skills needed for digital video production in this accessible online workshop. Discover the fundamentals of focus, exposure, white balance, and composition, applicable to any camera. Join now and unlock the power of media at DCTV.

    Next start date: Saturday, Mar 30th, 11am–5pm Eastern Time
    Price: $303
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  • Audio Fundamentals

    Discover the secrets to capturing exceptional sound in your productions with this comprehensive course at DCTV. From selecting the right microphone to recording setups, gain confidence in your audio skills and enhance the quality of your projects. Don't overlook this vital aspect of production - sign up today!

    Next start date: Monday, Apr 8th, 6:30–8:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $265
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  • Documentary Grant Writing

    Learn the secrets to securing funding for your documentary project. Discover what top funders are looking for in a proposal and how to find the right ones for your film. Master the art of grant writing and leave with the confidence to apply for grants and champion your film.

    Next start date: Friday, Mar 22nd, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $130
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  • Unearthing the Media Archives

    Discover the hidden stories of the past and gain access to a treasure trove of media archives in this course at DCTV. Learn the ins and outs of archival research, from finding the right collections to navigating intellectual property laws and licensing costs. Uncover a wealth of material that will bring depth and context to your storytelling.

    Next start date: Thursday, Mar 21st, 6:30–8:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $115
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  • Camera Movement

    Discover the art of expressive camera movement and learn advanced techniques using rigs, sliders, dolly systems, and a portable jib in this hands-on workshop at DCTV. Explore how movement can enhance the mood of your film and master the art of zooms, pans, handheld techniques, and more. Don't miss this opportunity to elevate your filmmaking skills.

    Next start date: Saturday, Apr 27th, 11am–5pm Eastern Time
    Price: $265
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  • Premiere

    Learn the art of multimedia video editing with a versatile and comprehensive course at DCTV. Discover how to seamlessly integrate Adobe programs like After Effects and Photoshop for optimal motion graphic workflows. Unlock your creative potential with this hands-on training.

    Next start date: Monday, Apr 15th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $360
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  • Digital Cinematography: Camera

    Master the art of digital cinematography and discover how to achieve your aesthetic goals as a DP in this hands-on workshop. Experiment with framing, composition, lenses, and advanced manual image control techniques using the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro. Develop your skills and take your camera work to the next level at DCTV.

    Next start date: Saturday, May 11th, 11am–3:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $310
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  • Art of the Interview

    Learn how to conduct engaging and ethical interviews in the Art of the Interview workshop at DCTV. Gain valuable tips on building connections, encouraging candid responses, and navigating technical considerations. Enhance your interviewing skills and start your own remote interview-based podcast.

    Next start date: Thursday, Apr 4th, 6:30–9:30pm Eastern Time
    Price: $200
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  • Digital Cinematography: Lighting

    Master the art of lighting in digital cinematography and discover how to create different moods, textures, and continuity in your storytelling. Unleash your creativity and learn techniques to compose shots, control exposure, and manipulate shadows and hot spots. Join us at DCTV and take your cinematography skills to new heights.

    Next start date: Saturday, Apr 13th, 11am–5pm Eastern Time
    Price: $250
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87 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10013
DCTV
TriBeCa, Manhattan
87 Lafayette St
Btwn White & Walker Streets
New York, New York 10013

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Description

Founded in 1972, DCTV is a non-profit media arts center for NYC’s independent filmmakers. Fostering a diverse and inclusive community in its landmark firehouse located in Chinatown/Tribeca, DCTV provides affordable workshops, production equipment and space rentals, post-production facilities, a signature screening and event series, renowned youth media programs, and more – all under the same roof as its award-winning documentary production house.

Offering over 150 hands-on workshops in digital filmmaking and media arts each year, from basic video production to advanced editing, DCTV is a one-of-a-kind training facility. Unlike other centers, we provide the space and the gear, and keep class sizes small so you can gain a wealth of information in a short amount of time. With consistently low prices and a convenient location, you don’t have to stop your life to pick up a new skill.


Reviews of DCTV

(4.3-star rating across 237 reviews)
  • Digital Cinematography: Camera

    Reviewed by Julia A. on 3/25/2023
    I loved my Cinematography class! Patrick was very knowledgeable and answered all questions everyone had - and there were many! I definitely will take more film classes with DCTV.
  • Mobile Filmmaking

    Reviewed by Patrick M. on 7/27/2021
    CLASS WAS CANCELED AND NO REFUND
  • Audio Fundamentals

    Anonymous review on 2/28/2021
    Very informative. I would have liked even more sessions. Instructor was very good about answering questions and steering the talk to our areas of interest.
  • Online Workshop: After Effects: Titles and Infographics

    Anonymous review on 5/29/2020
    Was hoping that it would focus on title design for film opening/end credits or for animating text on screen in videos and focus on infographics such as bar graphs, pie charts and data driven graphics like number counters, HUD displays and such. But his focus was scattered across showing as many project files as he could and skimming over steps while telling stories or making jokes. This course would be better titled as After Effects Tips and Tricks. A lot of time was wasted waiting for his computer to render the video in the app in order to see the animations. He should have rendered a .mp4 video of the animation before the workshop for us to open alongside the project so that we could preview what the animation will look like before he started diving into a project and showing us his steps. Sometimes we would open a project, follow him as he pointed out certain steps and then eventually we would see the end result and I thought the payoff was not worth all the time spent going over it. Some of the tips/tricks he mentioned were good to know, but you could learn those shortcuts/hot keys in an AE Fundamentals course. It felt like he focused on showing tricks as he showed his previous work and it could have been better if he chose a few really cool infographic or title styles and did a whole session on mastering that style/animation and then moving on to the next.
  • Camera Fundamentals

    Anonymous review on 3/1/2020
    One of the best workshops I have done!
  • Photoshop

    Anonymous review on 2/28/2020
    Tom was very knowledgeable and patient when you had questions or made a mistake. He even took the time to see if we had questions on anything he didn't cover but we wanted to know more about. The only downside to the class was that he didn't have any notes or handouts to give up of his own knowledge or shortcuts he spoke about in class. They were very helpful and I wish we had his "cliff notes". I took an Excel workshop before and they handed out a packet like this. He did give us some printouts of shortcuts that he found online for us. But besides that, great class!
  • Avid

    Anonymous review on 2/6/2020
    I left the class early after the lunch break and didn't return the second day. I don't know if it was for me and I felt like it might have been for people who had a baseline understanding of video editing.
  • Premiere (Online)

    Anonymous review on 11/18/2019
    Good intro class. Definitely geared towards beginners, as it goes into a lot of detail about the Premiere interface, and basics like saving/ exporting files and importing clips. Helpful instructor and small class size.
  • Avid

    Reviewed by Jane M. on 10/5/2019
    Great class! Ed was very knowledgeable and super helpful
  • Production Week

    Anonymous review on 9/22/2019
    Good overview of the basics. My main critique is that the instructors seem to have expertise in particular aspects of production but aren’t necessarily knowledgeable in all areas, so what you get out of the course is limited.
  • Trailer Editing

    Reviewed by Will R. on 8/21/2019
    The workshop is great for people wanting to understand the fundamental structure of trailers and key elements. For those more advanced, you get to see the instructor's editing workflow in Adobe Premiere Pro. I wouldn't mind if this course was longer and allowed for more time on the editing process. The instructor is great!
  • Get Your Film Into Festivals

    Anonymous review on 7/17/2019
    1. Class needed to be 30 minutes longer, especially with there being total beginners. Initially a good amount of time was spent answering questions, thus it is important to allow enough time to answer all. Subsequently, the syllabus was left to the end and less time to cover in depth. 2. Another option is to just create an intermediate level for people with festival experience versus total beginners. But ideally just extend the time by15-30mins to help. Or the last option is to just remove the short instructor film video shown & discussion, as this will help save time for student questions. 3. Insert instructor name with final email confirmation. 4. Add a way for students to contact each other after class for networking. Thanks
  • Production Week

    Reviewed by Anneliese D. on 6/16/2019
    Great course for beginners with little or no technical experience. Covered camera, lighting, audio and shooting fundamentals. Small class size and great teacher!
  • After Effects

    Reviewed by Hawmi G. on 6/7/2019
    Ivo was a knowledgeable and generous teacher. Great learning.
  • Camera Fundamentals

    Anonymous review on 4/26/2019
    Class was a very fun and informative experience. Also, the instructor was awesome! I had a great experience, although at the same time, I feel like we could’ve accomplished a little bit more within the 2 days.
  • Audio Fundamentals

    Reviewed by Serafin S. on 4/8/2019
    The Audio Fundamentals course is pretty much on the spot with what it says it is. This "course" presents some very bare bones information that would probably be valuable to someone with an absolute zero knowledge of hardware. And when I mean zero, I mean that whomsoever takes this course can only fathom that the difference between hertz and kilohertz is that one rents cars and the other rents bigger cars. The unfortunate part of this is that the course is a practical prerequisite to taking any other audio course that DCTV offers. Especially one that would teach you how to work with audio software. You can't just jump to learning how to use pro tools (which seems like the only DAW that DCTV either uses or teaches). Granted that doesn't lay on Coursehorse. It's very much all on DCTV and how they choose to do their classes. I'm sure there is a method to the madness, so to speak. As I said, the course is useful to those who are walking into the world of audio/video with no background or knowledge of either. But for me and what I wanted to accomplish, all it did was cost me money and time that i could've dedicated to something more productive.
  • Video DSLR

    Reviewed by Heather H. on 3/24/2019
    Such a great class and worth every penny! It was hands on and we even had a chance to work out in the field. The instructor was patient and very knowledgeable. I would totally take another class with DCTV.
  • Final Cut Pro (Online)

    Anonymous review on 3/12/2019
    Fairly good class! Definitely helps you understand the basics. Would be more helpful if the text wasn't involved at all, and if it were more faster-paced. Also if there was an option to tailor this for what you're looking for out of it (i.e. movie making vs promotional videos, vs social videos)
  • Premiere (Online)

    Anonymous review on 1/25/2019
    I think for a course for begginers the most important thing is to know, learn and get to know the tools that are mostly used. Focusing on one project and going through the tools in a broader way in order to acquire a skill set.
  • Premiere (Online)

    Reviewed by Cristian T. on 12/30/2018
    Great class.
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Review Summary by CourseHorse

Students have varying opinions about the classes at DCTV. One student mentions a positive experience with Tom as an instructor, noting his knowledge and patience when answering questions. Another student had a positive experience with a cinematography class, praising the instructor's knowledge and their ability to answer questions. Overall, students seem to have mostly good experiences with DCTV classes. Quotes: 1. "Tom was very knowledgeable and patient when you had questions or made a mistake. They were very helpful and I wish we had his 'cliff notes'." 2. "This course would be better titled as After Effects Tips and Tricks. Some of the tips/tricks he mentioned were good to know, but it felt like he focused on showing tricks as he showed his previous work." 3. "I loved my Cinematography class! Patrick was very knowledgeable and answered all questions everyone had - and there were many!"

Teachers at DCTV

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