FAQ

What will I get from these Filmmaking courses that I can’t get from others?

Most Filmmaking classes are technical in nature. They are about working with actors, about the technical aspects of camera and shooting, or editing or post-production, or how to navigate the process of physical production or the business and how to become part of one club or another. Most of these these topics form what I call “the conveyor belt”. My classes are not about that, they’re about “the candy” the conveyor belt has been constructed to convey, by which I mean the thing itself, the heart and soul of Filmmaking and Directing, the creative aspects of this daunting but thrilling craft. My classes are about story and visual storytelling, and about how you can capture and deliver the drama and emotion an audience demands.

— These are not classes in film production but in Directing and Creative Filmmaking.

— You will get passion and enthusiasm from your teacher.  

— You will get respect from your teacher.

— You will discover realms of Filmmaking craft you have never before considered.

— You will get classes not in the logistics of physical production but in Directing and Creative Filmmaking.

— Your will enjoy yourself!

I’m already at film school. Why should I pay to come to your courses?

— Because they are classes you will not find at any film school.

— Because not only are they derived from classes I taught successfully for years at AFI Conservatory, but I’ve developed and refined them to go deeper and be more effective .

— Because you will be sharing in an education given to so many successful Directors and Screenwriters. 

— My perspective is unique: in particular as regards directing the journey of the audience, Narrative Point of View in Film and how shot by shot analysis reveals visual language. 

— In my classes I adopt a personalized approach, which renders them safe havens for learning.

I’m a working professional. Why should I need to listen to you?

— You may not! Or you may, because my teaching is original and works at a sophisticated level.

— Are you fulfilling your potential? I can help you become unstuck and grow again.

— I can show you how to use rigorous shot-by-shot analysis to inform and drive your creative process in ways few others can. 

— I will help you ask the questions you never asked.

— Many of my “working professional” alumni attribute their success to the approaches I propose. (They are talented people too, of course!)

— I offer no simple recipe or method, no easy route to success but a mindset of structured question and answer, including the embrace of questions that have no answer but which inform and enrich story and craft.

— If Martin Scorsese thought to ask me whether he was telling the story or whether a montage he’d planned would cut or wouldn’t, maybe you can ask me questions too!

What will I know after one of your courses that I didn’t know before?

— You will know you are in good company! The company of Directors and Screenwriters such as Ari Aster (HEREDITARY, MIDSOMMAR, BEAU IS AFRAID), Sam Esmail (MR ROBOT, HOMECOMING, LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND), Duke Johnson (ANOMALISA) Zal Batmanglij (THE OA, A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD), Dean Israelite (POWER RANGERS), Drake Doremus (LIKE CRAZY), Asaph Polonsky (Prize Winner at Cannes Critics week for ONE WEEK AND  A DAY), Eva Husson (Palme d’Or Nomination for GIRLS OF THE SUN), Amy Wang (Gold Prize, Cannes Young Lions, Screenwriter — CRAZY RICH ASIANS 2 ), Asher Jelinsky (Gold Prize, Cannes Young Lions), Dan Casey (Screenwriter — HOBBS AND SHAW, F9: The Fast Saga), John Patton Ford (EMILY THE CRIMINAL), Chloe Okuno (WATCHER), Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (Screenwriter — BLUE BEETLE), Shuchi Talati (Sundance World Audience Award for GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS), Tomás Gomez Bustillo (three Independent Spirit Award Nominations for CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT), and numerous other award winners and working Filmmakers.

— I will help you find your authenticity

— You will know to look for the questions to ask.

— You will be a different and better Filmmaker.

— You will find yourself thinking in ways most other Filmmakers do not.

— You will be aware of aspects of Filmmaking you had never before considered.

— You will know there is so much more to Filmmaking than you ever imagined.

— You will be thinking about what you have learned from the class for years ahead.

I've read your books should I still take your courses?

Yes!

— I include clips of scenes and sequences to better illustrate concepts and practice.

— The online sessions offer a more direct, personal experience than my books, helping your engagement to work at deeper levels.

— You can ask questions, comment, challenge, interact with other attendees.

— Attendees get to know each other and have even gone on to work together.

I’ve taken your courses, should I still read your books?

Yes!

— With both of my books you have a permanent companion, a source of reference for life.

— With my books you have time to consider, reflect, digest the multiplicity of concepts and examples.

— Both my books demonstrate a breadth of context and connection to enrich your experience of the courses.

— Like my courses, each of my books presents fresh insights often lacking in other filmmaking publications—the oxygen of exploration is more illuminating when derived from both sources.

Can you tell us more about Peter Markham?

— Three years as adjunct Directing Faculty, six as Senior Lecturer, then eight as Head of the Directing Discipline of the Master’s Program at AFI Conservatory, regarded by many as the world’s top film school. 

— Six years of teaching and giving consultations as an independent educator.

— The runaway professional and critical success of so many of my alumni, both as Directors and as Screenwriters.

— The community of AFI alumni I meet with regularly and who tell me how my teaching has benefited them so substantially.

— A previous career that after taking the highest First Class BA Honours degree in Drama and English in ten years at my English university led me from being a set PA at BBC TV in London on a John Cleese sitcom to myself directing and to working with 9-Academy Award Winner Anthony Minghella and world master Martin Scorsese.

— My first book What’s the Story? The Director Meets Their Screenplay was published by Focal Press/Rourtledge in September ‘20.

— My second book The Art of the Filmmaker: The Practical Aesthetics of the Screen was published by Oxford University Press in October ‘23.

Why don’t I just go to film school instead of attending your courses?

— That’s much, much more expensive.

— You are not committing yourself to two, three, four, even five years.

— Few film schools offer specific programs in Directing or the creative elements of Filmmaking.

— You are getting a highly experienced teacher who led the MFA Directing Program for a substantial period at what many regard as the world’s top film school.

— You will not get classes like these at film school or anywhere else.

BUT

— You can always go to film school too if you like!

There are many masterclasses by famous Directors online. Why don’t I just watch them?

— Do! Many are excellent. But they can’t give you everything.

— You should be greedy for your education in Filmmaking, by whatever means possible.

— Filmmakers, even the best, tend to talk about what works for them. I broaden the conversation to what can work for you.

— Brilliant people can’t always articulate what makes them so brilliant. Their knowledge is what is called “tacit”, i.e. they have it but they’re unaware of what it is exactly, so they can’t explain it. It takes someone else, knowledgable and aware, to reveal its true nature and how it works. 

— With these online sessions you can’t ask questions and can’t get feedback. In my live, in-person classes on the other hand, I encourage pro-active engagement. I’m not a lecturer, I’m a conversationalist and you and your understanding of creative process are the conversation.

Are you available for private consultations?

— Yes! My favorite aspect of filmmaking education is working with filmmakers.

— I am available for private one-on-one sessions either in person or online.

— Feel free to reach out for more information.

What sets you apart as a teacher?

— I don’t only teach what I’ve been taught, I teach what I’ve discovered for myself.

— I look for the vital aspects of Filmmaking education that are missing and make it my mission to teach them

— I try to think independently. I don’t conform to groupthink.

— I have a broad cultural knowledge too many other Filmmaking teachers lack, and I incorporate this into my teaching. 

— I ask the questions no one else thinks to ask.

— I listen to you.

— Finally, why not listen to my alumni?