Welcome to the

Dynamic Frame Film Academy

Beginning Film Course

WINTER 2026 [CLOSED]

Are you wanting to make a film and don’t know where to start? Have you ever been on a film set? Do you know the ins and outs of festivals? How do you know what camera to use? What’s a C-stand?

If you have any of these questions, this series of classes is for you. Join Aileen Sheedy and Martin Vavra on a technical and philosophical journey through making your first film or working on your first film set. Our eight-week Level I course will get you started on the road to being a filmmaker. The current class series is set to begin January 15th, 2026, from 6:30–9:30pm at Desert Island Studios and will run through March 12th.

Class size is a maximum of 12 students.

In the course, we will cover the following subject matter:

The basics of visual storytelling
Camera, audio, and lighting gear
Breaking down your scripts and scenes
Job roles and functions on sets
Working with actors, blocking, and rehearsals
Putting it all together to film your own scene

(Please note that the class currently only covers prep and production at this time, not editing or post-production. We hope to add future courses covering this material.)

Classes will be three hours. There will be bathroom breaks. Snacks are allowed. Please come ready to interact with classmates, take notes, be heard, and create in a safe space.

Thanks to our nonprofit partner Keys, Beats, Bars, this course will be free of charge if you fill out the form linked here for a scholarship to the course. The application deadline is Friday, January 2nd, 2026, at 11:59pm [CURRENTLY CLOSED].

You can sign up for our mailing list to be informed of updates and future classes. You can also email us directly at dffa.pdx@gmail.com with any questions.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Ongoing Filmmaker Course

As filmmakers, there will always be an evolution to our creativity and our brand. Our ongoing courses help you to focus on specific aspects of your art and your business to help design your progress. These courses are open, so you can come and go with each subject. Once a month, I will focus on one particular aspect of film. We will take a deep dive into these, examining technical knowledge and pushing your own voice in new creative ways. Directing actors, lighting techniques, motion in film, understanding script from an post production/editing perspective and script to scene dissections are all part of the deeper focus of these ongoing courses. Each sessions is $100 per person and must be paid prior to coming to class that day.

Testimonials for DFFA

Yuna O

The Beginner's Filmmaking Class led by Martin and Aileen is an invaluable source, but incredibly so for people like me - a queer woman of color without the access and resources that many in the film industry were bought, given, or born into. I hope that this class continues to be offered (for free!) so that more people have the chance to have the opportunities that I have had. All thanks to Martin and Aileen's encouragement, wisdom, strong discipline, yet most of all, their empathy and kindness.

Kaitlyn E.

I believe that life and opportunity meet you at your level of audacity, at the moment you decide to say, “Why not give it a try?” In this case, the knowledge I gained through these classes gave me the confidence to move to LA to pursue entertainment work and begin writing my pilot. While I’m sure I would have learned some of this on my own along the way, it would have been significantly more bumpy and a heck of a lot less fun. This course didn’t just teach me the skills and language to be successful, it made pursuing my dream feel possible, and I’m deeply grateful for the support of them and my fellow classmates.