"Greetings. My name is Lou LaVolpe, long time production supervisor with NYU Film School and founder of Film School Online.

"Years ago, when I was learning how to make movies, there were precious few books available on the nuts and bolts of filmmaking. The good ones usually had a narrow focus, so I kept searching bookstores and libraries to fill the gaps in my knowledge.

"Keep in mind that this was twenty years before the Internet, so research took a lot more effort. After years of buying books, I had amassed an impressive, albeit expensive, library on the art and craft of filmmaking.

"Today there are many excellent books available, not to mention websites and forums. The problem, however, is still the same--they all have a narrow focus. Publishers prefer this because they can provide more books to the 'sliced and diced' market.

"This can be frustrating to the newbie filmmaker who wants to learn how the different parts of the filmmaking process work and come together in the final movie. And believe me, there are many different parts!

"One of my goals in creating Film School Online was to avoid this disjointedness by creating a website where you could learn the key aspects of filmmaking all in one place. 'One stop shopping,' so to speak.

"I wanted it to be a step-by-step approach enabling you to teach yourself using your own equipment.

"After studying with Film School Online, you can move on to make your movie or specialize in one of the craft areas. At the very least, you will understand what your fellow filmmakers are talking about!

"If this sounds like something you've been looking for, please read on to see what we offer. There is plenty of free material here in the form of articles, sample lessons, and resources.

"Websites like eHow.com and Ask.com use Film School Online as an authority site. I hope that you find the information useful. Thanks for stopping by." -Lou LaVolpe

Tidbit: Lou La Volpe's 1982 student film,"The Dummy," was picked up by HBO, USA Network, and Showtime in the early days of cable television, often used as a bumper between horror movies and suspense anthologies like "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." The film received extensive play for ten years and inspired the “killer doll” genre, including the later ”Child's Play" (Chucky) and Annabelle movies. In 2013, "The Dummy" was picked up for three more years of cable play by Comcast's Fearnet. In 2018, the film was recognized by the Edinburgh International Film Festival as an influential horror film of the 1980s, considered a golden age for U.S. horror (http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/2018/dummy). Representing its horror sub-genre, “The Dummy” was the only short film in the series, which included Poltergeist, Friday the 13th, and The Howling. The film is often cited for its unusual synth score by Lou. Though primitive by today's HD/CGI standards, the film is still fun to watch.

   
Behind the scenes at NYU Film:
           

           

           
Photographs by Amed Hawari (lower right)