MZed Black Friday Sale Launched – Your Path to Pro at a 40% Discount

by Mascha DeikovaToday

They say practice makes perfect, so if you have the chance to learn closely from an expert in your field, grab it! Acquiring even small tips and tricks, bits of experience, and long-time observations from someone in your field not only comes in handy but makes all the difference. That’s exactly what we want to achieve with our educational platform, MZed: to give you a deep dive into filmmaking mastery with beginner and advanced-level tips that you can put into action. The cherry on top: MZed Black Friday sale is up and running right now! Read all about it below!

Black Friday is approaching, and we have a special offer for you. Until the 4th of December, you can get a 1-year membership for $199 instead of $349 and up to 40% off individual course prices. To give you a taste of what you will get with an MZed Pro subscription, I’m sharing some of my recent personal insights gained in different courses across our platform below.

Currently, our MZed library includes about 60 courses with over 750 lessons held by experienced educators, including Emmy and Academy Award winners. You will find everything from technical guides about cameras to choreographing professional stunts for your indie short, from choosing equipment for a video podcast to techniques for achieving believable cinematic lighting.

Get your deal here!

Learning with MZed Pro: what is narrative perspective?

There is so much we have to consider when we direct a movie. We decide on visual style, we work out the subtext of the story, we dive into the character’s journey with the other actors, we storyboard the frames with the DP, etc. However, there is another important topic directors and cinematographers should keep in mind: the narrative perspective. This one wasn’t obvious to me, but since I learned how to use it, I pay attention to it every time.

In our MZed course “Cinematography for Directors,” seasoned filmmaker and educator Tal Lazar dedicates an entire module to narrative perspective. He starts with different modes of narration in classic literature and then segues into film. Here are some important directorial decisions to make: First, there is the choice between the objective and subjective narrative perspectives. The latter allows viewers to immerse into the character’s experience and connect to them emotionally – for instance, through reaction shots. On the other hand, objective perspective creates a distance between the audience and the characters. It feels as if we observe them from afar and, therefore, can judge their actions ourselves. Tal Lazars uses an example from “Birth” to explain this phenomenon:

A nude woman and a child, who claims to be her reborn husband, sit in the same bathtub. It’s a wide shot, and we don’t see her face. Does this scene feel unsettling to watch? Probably. As “objective observers,” we naturally recognize it as an inappropriate scenario. The second choice focuses on the “how.” There are many techniques to control narrative perspective, and you can read about them here. Yet if I had only one takeaway from this lesson, it would be: Always ask myself whose story we are telling in a specific scene (and sometimes, even frame by frame) and how we want it to be perceived (through their eyes or from a disconnected point of view).

Unveiling secrets of cinema sound with MZed Pro

I’m not a composer, an audio engineer, or a sound designer. However, sound is one of the mighty storytelling tools in film. That’s why I find it imperative for all indie filmmakers to learn how it works. One of my recent insights comes from our “Cinema Sound” on MZed.com course. It concerns the rhythm of the score. But first, let’s rewatch this scene from Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” together:

The music feels almost humorous at the start of this sequence, but it grows tense by the end. Despite this shift, the score maintains a fast, dynamic rhythm throughout. In a practical lesson, the audio guru Mark Edward Lewis explains that rhythm directly impacts our bodies. A fast-paced rhythm, like 150 BPM, can trigger an instinctive “fight or flight” reaction, making it ideal for intense action scenes like the one above. Other tempos also elicit physiological responses, though different ones. For instance, 74 BPM corresponds roughly to the average tempo of intimacy, making it a natural fit for romantic or sensual scenes in a film. Who would have guessed, right?

If you’re interested in how the two other components of the music work – melody and harmony – or in the narrative powers of a good score, head over here and read all about it.

Marketing tips from an expert

When you work as an indie filmmaker, video shooter, or content producer, you most certainly also have to promote your work yourself. At least, I do. And that’s where educational lessons from Latasha James’s course “How to Start a Podcast” are really useful.

For example, I learned about crafting SEO-optimized titles and notes for posts and videos from her workshop. Latasha explains their importance and shows a trick or two for coming up with a title people might be searching for. Among them, for instance, reality check with Google Trends.

This platform, suggested by Latasha, allows you to find out how your keywords are trending in specific countries right now, get a list of related queries, and use a “compare” tool. The analytical data helps users choose a well-performing topic, decide on an engaging title, and address their specific group of viewers or listeners. Of course, it’s only the beginning, and here we share some further tips by Latasha. In general, if “SEO” and “marketing” are not your biggest strengths, we highly recommend checking out her course on podcasting.

And all the other courses with MZed Black Friday deal

What else, you might ask? Oh, so much! It feels like this article is already running long, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. How about discussing storytelling through lighting? Or exploring the craft of creating an anamorphic look? Or perhaps exploring why starting with silent editing can help build intensity in a scene just like the accomplished editor Tom Cross does with “Whiplash?”

Our educational platform MZed is a vast repository of distilled and practical filmmaking knowledge, where everyone will find a course to their liking. The greatest thing about it: With an MZed Pro subscription, you get access to all the courses – including the upcoming ones- that we release regularly. So, if you were waiting for a sign to start learning, consider our MZed Black Friday offer.

Black Friday sale for learning with MZed Pro

Currently, you can get a 1-year MZed Pro membership for just $199 instead of $349. We also offer up to 40% off the individual course prices. Our Black Friday deal is up and running until the 4th of December, so don’t miss it! After that, we will start a huge Holiday Giveaway – details will follow soon. Here’s an inside tip: Active MZed Pro members will have the best chances of winning, but you’ll need to be subscribed before the giveaway begins.

Have you thought about learning with MZed and becoming a Pro subscriber? If so, what’s holding you back from starting today? Let us know in the comments below!