There are a lot of lessons here at MZed that you can watch for free, without having to purchase a course or enrolling in an MZed Pro subscription. The only requirement is to create a login - which you can do here. Below is an up-to-date summary of all of our freebies so you can start learning right here and now!
As a reminder, MZed does have a generous 7-day return guarantee, outlined in the terms of service. Essentially, you can request a refund within seven days of purchasing an MZed Pro subscription, as long as you have not watched a majority of a course. But a refund is not guaranteed, and we look at each request on a case-by-case basis to ensure a user hasn’t overstepped the terms agreement.
So if you’re hoping to get a free ride for a week, we don’t recommend the 7-day guarantee unless you really are unsure if you plan to keep your subscription. On the other hand, these following lessons are absolutely free and you might as well watch them first if you’re on the fence about MZed.
Master the Moment: Ray Roman's Wedding Film Masterclass
Master the Moment is the wedding filmmaking masterclass that everyone has been waiting for. Join Ray Roman as he takes you on-location throughout an entire wedding and breaks down his blueprint for creating films that have made him the world's most influential and in-demand wedding filmmaker.
Whether you’re about to shoot your first wedding or are a seasoned professional who wants a behind-the-curtain look at how it's done at the very highest level, this masterclass is a must-see.
In the first 21-minute lesson, which is free to watch, Ray describes how he transitioned from a police detective to become the world's most sought-after wedding filmmaker, shaping the industry along the way.
Cinema Sound
If you want to dip your toes into the world of audio production, the first lesson of Cinema Sound is free to watch. “Recording: Process, Perfection, and Purpose” is an hour and a half lesson on recording theory and Hollywood secrets in quality audio production.
This is a great introduction to the Cinema Sound course, which is one of the best values for MZed Pro subscribers. Audio guru Mark Edward Lewis guides viewers through every aspect of sound that you may need to know as a filmmaker. From recording, dialogue, sound effects, to foley, ADR, mixing and fixing, this is the most comprehensive audio-for-film course ever created.
Philip Bloom’s Cinematic Masterclass
One of our most popular courses begins with an epic lesson on freelensing - also known as “lens whacking” - a creative technique that uses affordable, old lenses to achieve a stylized look.
The 20 minute lesson is completely free to watch, and it also provides a brief look into what the rest of the Cinematic Masterclass course entails, from visual storytelling to interviews, slow motion, timelapse, aerial cinematography, story development, post production and more.
If you haven’t already experienced a tutorial by Philip Bloom, give the first lesson a go and you’ll see just why he’s one of the most popular filmmaking educators today.
Directing Color and Mastering Color
The combination of Directing Color and Mastering Color makes for two of the best courses in color grading out there. And in both courses, the first lessons are completely free to watch for anyone - no subscription required.
In Directing Color, filmmaker, editor and colorist Ollie Kenchington explores how visual language cues, color theory and even color grading techniques can be used throughout the filmmaking process to not just create a “look” but to enhance storytelling. He challenges directors, cinematographers and filmmakers to think of color first, rather than the more common approach of leaving color considerations until post-production.
In the first module of Directing Color, which is free to watch, Ollie begins to produce a commercial and takes us through the process of developing a color palette and creating a compositional balance in a film’s images.
In Mastering Color, Ollie deconstructs the art and science of color grading, providing a complete guide to professional color for video producers. From color fundamentals to HDR workflows and RAW media, Mastering Color is a masterclass that’s applicable for both beginners and professional colorists alike.
The first lesson in Mastering Color is all about the Grading Suite setup. Ollie demonstrates how to set up an environment where eyes and monitors can be trusted, and he provides tips on how to create a home suite on a budget. At nearly an hour long the lesson also features advice on working with clients, including collaboration etiquette and how to communicate successfully about color with clients who use a variety of words to describe what they’re thinking.
Color Correction with Davinci Resolve
New to our lineup of coloring courses is Color Correction with Davinci Resolve, an in-depth guide to the tools, effects and workflows that make DaVinci Resolve one of the most powerful and widely used post-production tools today. Follow along with the included project files through numerous practical exercises to gain a detailed understanding of how to color correct and grade real-world productions.
Completely free to watch, the first module is a 47-minute lesson on Balancing Footage. It begins the 7 hour course with a guide on balancing footage across multiple shots, which is applicable to all projects but particularly useful for documentary projects that often feature mixed lighting conditions, and scenes shot across multiple days and locations.
Deadfall: Script to Screen
In this hands-on cinematography course, Director of Photography Shane Hurlbut ASC takes you through his complete preparation process for bringing a story to life on screen. Using the film Deadfall as a case study, we step through a complete scene, from location scout through to the final shooting wrap, learning how to deconstruct the script, block the camera and actors, create moods for different times of day and lighting conditions, and then finally call "Action!" to shoot the scene.
To give you a sense of what the course is like, the first lesson is free to watch. "Walkthrough with the Director" puts you on set with Shane as he arrives at the location to kick off the location scout, while also starting his discussion with the Director, AD and Production Designer.
The Definitive Guide to DaVinci Resolve
It’s no secret that DaVinci Resolve is the fastest growing video editing software today, with many filmmakers choosing to use it for all of their post-production needs. From media organization, to rough cuts, color grading, motion and effects, and final delivery, there is a lot to master for anyone new to Resolve.
To give you a head start, educator Ollie Kenchington provides a free 40-minute overview on editing a short movie in Resolve. This lesson alone is enough to get many beginners comfortable with the layout and menus and tools that enable a basic editing job.
To learn more about this course and why we believe it’s the perfect introduction course for anyone learning post-production, check out our article on Learning DaVinci Resolve.
Advanced Editing with DaVinci Resolve
In this certified Blackmagic Design course Ollie Kenchington builds on "The Definitive Guide to Davinci Resolve" to take you deeper into the fully-featured editing functions and workflow of Resolve. Using Davinci Resolve 17 and downloadable example projects, Ollie covers the Cut, Edit, Fusion and Fairlight pages in detailed examples to show you how to create professional videos in the most efficient manner.
The first lesson, Editing in the Cut Page, is a free 50-minute dive into assembling rough cuts with the new streamlined editing interface. The example project in this lesson is a multicam interview, a type of project that many of us have to cut quickly for our clients.
The Art & Technique of Film Editing
Go behind the curtain of Hollywood filmmaking with Oscar-winning editor Tom Cross, ACE as he teaches you the practices that are expected of feature-film editors, as well as the processes and methodologies that have made him one of the leading editors working in the industry today.
Over eight hours long, this film editing masterclass combines thoughtful lectures with in-depth deconstructions of scenes from many of Tom’s biggest projects including La La Land, First Man, Whiplash and more, making it a must-see for editors and filmmakers of all levels and genres.
In the first lesson of the course - which is free to watch - Tom takes us back to his early days working in New York City as a commercial, documentary, and TV assistant editor. Wanting to get his hands on the brand new AVID non-linear editing system, Tom worked wherever he could, learning from other masters for years before he transitioned to the editor role. Later in his career, he demonstrates how relationships are the key to the filmmaking business, when he called on his AVID reps to loan him an editing suite for a small budget movie he was working on, “Whiplash”, which would ultimately win Tom an Academy Award in Editing.
ARRI Master Class
Thanks to our partnership with ARRI Academy, we’re proud to offer the exclusive web version of the official ARRI camera certification. But for those of you who aren’t ready to dive into the world of ARRI cameras just yet, ARRI has made one of their master classes free for anyone to watch. As a bonus, this classes are presented with optional subtitles.
ARRI Christmas Master Class with Julio Macat ASC
Here is not just a free lesson, but an entire course that is completely free to watch - ARRI Christmas Master Class with Julio Macat ASC.
At the beginning of the 3-hour master class, Julio Macat ASC discusses his philosophy on cinematography and how he got his start. Incredibly, his first feature film was Home Alone, which went on to top box office sales for 12 weeks.
In the interview, Julio recalls he was scared everyday that he was going to get fired when everyone found out he didn’t know how the film would come together. He knew he had to depend on music to stitch his first feature film together, so he called up the composer who was hired to score Home Alone - someone Julio didn’t know previously - and told the composer to make the music really stand out. That composer turned out to be the John Williams!
But background stories aside, there are endless bits of advice in this course from a cinematographer who knows the art and science through and through. We follow Julio along as he directs a few different scenes, all set in a home interior during the holiday season.
For beginning filmmakers, this course also features some insightful interviews about crewing on a film production and how to get a foot in the door. During the interview portion of the course, we hear from a First AC, a DIT, and a Steadicam Operator. There's a vast amount of wisdom in this course, and it's completely free to watch for anyone, even if you don't have a subscription.
The Indie Film Blueprint
Are you about to make your first indie film? Watch out - there are so many roadblocks that many filmmakers get burned out and never make another film again. But thanks to The Indie Film Blueprint, you won't have to make the same mistakes that thousands of other filmmakers make, over and over again.
Join instructor Rubidium Wu as he guides you through the entire indie filmmaking journey, step by step, while providing his advice on how to launch a career in filmmaking without falling for the common traps and pitfalls.
The first half hour lesson is completely free to watch. The lesson theme is about Rules of the Indie Game, and it is a must watch if you're about to embark on your first indie film journey and would like to make a career of it, rather than a one-time stint. From avoiding common issues to learning how to embrace the daily challenges, this lesson also dives into how to develop your film ideas based around the resources you already have in your life and network.
Camera Primers
ARRI Alexa Mini Camera Primer
Interested in learning more about the ARRI Alexa Mini? This short, free lesson provides an introduction to the camera and to the educator, AbelCine’s Corey Christian.
ARRI Amira Camera Primer
In this opening module, AbelCine camera specialist Megan Donnely introduces us to the ARRI AMIRA and gives an overview of the main specifications and features of the camera. The AMIRA is a workhorse professional camera that finds itself on both documentary and commercial sets around the globe, and this primer is a good way to learn how to make the AMIRA shine even if you’ve never picked one up before.
Canon C300 MkII Camera Primer
The Canon C300 MkII has proven to be a workhorse for a wide variety of productions, and it’s become a popular rental camera for both reality and commercial camera operators. In this first lesson of the camera primer, AbelCine’s Megan Donnelly introduces the camera and summarizes the developments over the original C300.
Panasonic EVA1 Camera Primer
In this first lesson of the EVA1 camera primer, AbelCine’s Nic Somera introduces the Panasonic AU-EVA1 digital cinema camera and explains some of its key features and benefits. The EVA1 has become an attractive camera on shoots ranging from one-man crews to large multi-camera productions, and this course is a great way to familiarize yourself with the camera before taking it for a spin.
Writing 101 and 201
If you’re interested in writing for film, Seth Worley’s Writing 101 and Writing 201 courses at MZed are essential viewing. The first lessons are free and introduce viewers to what they can expect with the courses, and some general advice about approaching a screenplay.
The Secrets of Optics
Ever been confused by focal length? Lens breathing? How about crop factors? In the Secrets of Optics you’ll learn the basics of lenses - what they do, how they do it, what types of lenses there are - so you have a solid foundation for selecting and operating lenses.
In the first free lesson, educator Mitch Gross defines what a lens is, and how modern lenses came about. Even if you think you know about photography and cinema lenses, this is a great refresher and you may learn something new.
Conclusion
With over 200 hours of high quality filmmaking education, we stronly believe that an MZed Pro subscription is one of the best investments for filmmakers of all skill levels. But if you haven’t made up your mind, there’s plenty of free courses and introduction lessons for you to watch, without having to make a single purchase. Just create a login and you’re ready to get started.
