I’ve had many, many requests to offer my Studio Lighting 101 and Digital Photography 101 workshops on DVD. A lot of people just live to far away to attend the workshops. I’m happy to say that we are now in pre-production.

What does “pre-production” mean? Well, I have to translate everything that usually happens in a classroom and studio to a flat 2D screen. There is a lot of location scouting, creating storyboards, planning animations, research, and drinking coffee. Pre-production includes creating shooting schedules, finding local talent (models, camera operators, assistants), getting permits, etc. Oh – and did I mention writing?

The pre-production should be finished by the end of January with shooting starting in February. This is a large project and I estimate it will take about 6 weeks to shoot and edit. Once that’s done it takes another 3 weeks for Amazon to get all their ducks in a row (yes, it will be available on Amazon).

We’ll also need artwork for the DVD set which means I’ll be working with some graphic designers along the way. There may also be a workbook that accompanies the video so you can take notes and have a field manual when you are doing the exercises.

Yes, there are exercises for every lesson on the DVD and we’ll have a Flickr group so you can post your results and discuss them with others who have the DVDs.

Once the DVDs are finished I’ll be working on a teacher’s guide so that schools and photo clubs will be able to use the DVDs.

The first set of DVDs will be focused on basic photography – a translation of my 8-week course. That should be done by the end of March. Once that’s out the door I’ll be working on some studio lighting DVDs.

Along the way we’ll be posting behind-the-scenes photos and updates. We’ll also be posting new Digital Photography One on One videos – don’t worry.

This is going to be a big project and I’m looking forward to taking on the challenge. I’m sure it will be worth the effort when it’s all done.