DIPLOMA · FULL TIME

Filmmaking & Direction

A 12 month diploma taught on a working studio floor in Vile Parle. You write, shoot, and cut your own films from the first month, with working directors reviewing your dailies.

12 Months · Full Time

Mumbai · Vile Parle

Next Batch: October 2026

Eligibility: Class 12 Pass

Overview

Shot on set, not just taught

Most film courses keep you in a classroom for a year and hand you a camera at the end. This one is built the other way around. Mornings cover the craft: story structure, lensing, sound, the grammar of a scene. Afternoons you are on the floor applying it with a crew.

You direct three short films across the year. The first is a two minute silent exercise. The last is your diploma film, shot on a proper set with a rotating crew of batchmates, then graded and mixed in our post labs.

It suits school leavers who want a film career without a three year degree, professionals switching lanes, and creators who want real craft underneath their reels.

You Leave With

Three directed films, including one festival ready diploma film
A showreel cut, graded, and mixed in our own labs
Crew hours across camera, sound, and edit departments
A certificate backed by the JD Institute network

Curriculum

What you learn, term by term

Three terms of four months. Each one ends with a film.

Term 1 · Foundation: learn the grammar

Visual storytelling: why a shot means what it means
Screenwriting basics: scene, beat, and outline work
Camera and lenses: exposure, movement, coverage
Edit room 101: Premiere, structure, rhythm
Screenings: two films a week, discussed shot by shot

Term 2 · On the floor: make it with a crew

Direction and blocking: staging actors and camera together
Cinematography practice: lighting setups on the studio floor
Location sound: boom, lav, and the mistakes that ruin takes
Production planning: budgets, call sheets, permissions
Working with actors: casting, rehearsal, performance notes

Term 3 · Your film: pre production to festival

Diploma film development: script locked with mentor sign off
The shoot: a 3 to 5 day set with full crew rotation
Post and color: Resolve grade, Pro Tools mix
Festival strategy: where to send it and how
Showreel and portfolio: cutting the reel that gets you hired

Most of this course happens on your feet

of course hours on the floor

films you direct yourself

crew roles you rotate through

films screened and discussed

Tools

Train on working kit

The same gear rented on real sets, checked out from the campus equipment library.

Sony FX Line Cameras

Blackmagic 6K

Aputure Lighting

Sennheiser Field Sound

Premiere Pro

DaVinci Resolve

Pro Tools

Celtx

Careers

Where this takes you

Assistant Director

The standard entry into fiction. AD teams on OTT shows and ad films hire straight from diploma reels.

Editor

Edit bays are the fastest route to steady paid work, from reels and trailers to full features.

Camera Team

Start as a camera assistant, move to operator, build toward DOP with every set.

Content Director

Brands and creator studios pay for people who can plan, shoot, and finish a film alone.

Placement support runs through the JD placement cell, plus set placements via mentors in Term 3.

Admissions

Four steps to a seat

Apply

Submit the form. Takes two minutes, no film experience needed.

Counselling Call

A counsellor maps your goals to the right course, within one working day.

Campus Visit

Optional but recommended. Walk the floor, meet current students.

Enrol

Paperwork, fee plan, seat confirmed.

Fee structure and EMI plans are shared on the counselling call.