Film & TV

Science & Technology

Break Into the Entertainment Business

Develop Iconic Cinematic Characters

Innovate With Emerging Technologies

Pitch & Write Stories for Film & TV

Techniques for Directing Your Movie

Teaches Filmmaking

James Cameron

James shares why he’s teaching a class, rooted in his belief that every filmmaker stands on the shoulders of those who came before.

1. Meet Your Instructor: James Cameron

Meet Your Instructor: James Cameron

James discusses how to identify the idea that won’t go away and how to harness the power of your dreams to develop a story authentically.

2. Pursuing and Developing the Idea

Pursuing and Developing the Idea

James teaches you how to build and hold tension—and tells you why audiences love it.

3. Toying With the Audience: Building and Releasing Tension

Toying With the Audience: Building and Releasing Tension

James breaks down the club scene from The Terminator, walking through, shot by shot, how he built relentless tension.

4. THE TERMINATOR Club Scene Breakdown

THE TERMINATOR Club Scene Breakdown

James talks through how he captured the feeling from his dream of a room covered in wasps through a scene in Aliens.

5. ALIENS Egg Chamber Breakdown

ALIENS Egg Chamber Breakdown

With Newt’s introduction scene in Aliens, James breaks down how he elicits different physiological responses from audiences, switching from suspense to curiosity.

6. ALIENS Newt Introduction Scene Breakdown

ALIENS Newt Introduction Scene Breakdown

Learn how integral preparation and inventing tricks are to low-budget filmmaking.

7. The Art of Low-Budget Filmmaking

The Art of Low-Budget Filmmaking

James shares the low-budget tricks he developed to create realistic moments when the Terminator performs surgery on himself.

8. THE TERMINATOR Arm and Eye Repair Breakdown

THE TERMINATOR Arm and Eye Repair Breakdown

Few directors have created set pieces as memorable as James’s. Learn how he approaches the art of creating set pieces, even on a low budget.

9. From Sketch to Spectacle: Creating Set Pieces

From Sketch to Spectacle: Creating Set Pieces

James breaks down the iconic future world set piece from The Terminator, showing how he created a set piece on a limited budget.

10. THE TERMINATOR Future World Breakdown: Creating a Set Piece on a Budget

THE TERMINATOR Future World Breakdown: Creating a Set Piece on a Budget

James talks through creating the perfect sketch of your characters, making them relatable, and introducing them to audiences.

11. Crafting and Introducing Compelling Characters

Crafting and Introducing Compelling Characters

In just a few shots, Rose is almost fully revealed to us. Learn how James thought about introducing Rose and what he wanted to convey.

12. TITANIC Rose Introduction Breakdown

TITANIC Rose Introduction Breakdown

The Terminator and the Alien Queen have stuck in our psyches as some of the most dreadful adversaries ever created. Learn how James thinks about adversaries and how to create them.

13. Developing Dread Through Adversaries

Developing Dread Through Adversaries

The performance-capture technology used to create the Na’avi in Avatar changed the landscape of cinema forever. Learn how James developed the technology.

14. AVATAR Creating Technology

AVATAR Creating Technology

James discusses his “creativity law of thermodynamics,” leadership lessons that he’s learned as a director over the years, and how to live life as an artist, preparing as much as possible to see the magic.

15. Making Your Way and Leading With Passion

Making Your Way and Leading With Passion

James Cameron Teaches Filmmaking

variant_1

Enjoy 7 days free

The promo may be over, but your opportunity isn't. Dive into the full experience, worry-free, with our 7-day money-back guarantee.

The offer has ended

Amount charged now

Your 7-day free trial starts today

Pre-enroll now to save 20% on the Breakthrough Innovation Strategy course.

Save 20% on this course when you pre-enroll by September 14, 2025.

Turn bold ideas to business impact—pre-enroll by September 14, 2025 and save 20%.

Pre-enroll now to save 20% on our Leadership and Decision-Making Under Pressure course.

Lead and make decisions under pressure—pre-enroll by September 14, 2025 and save 20%.

Celebrating 10 years of MasterClass by giving one member the chance to jump-start their writing career.

We're celebrating 10 years of MasterClass by giving one member a chance at a life-changing experience.

Watch her class, and you and a guest will have a chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Esther's relationship retreat in Paros, Greece.

Watch her class, and you will have a chance at a 1:1 consultation and an all-expenses-paid VIP trip to Waco, Texas

We're celebrating 10 years of MasterClass by giving one member a chance at a life-changing experience. Win a 1:1 with the VC founder and tennis legend, plus a trip to NYC, a $15K seed fund, and more.

From TIME ©2022 TIME USA LLC. All rights reserved. Used under license.

Times

Wirecutter

Reviewed - USA Today

Teaches Film Scoring

Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer Teaches Film Scoring

Teaches Voice Acting

Nancy Cartwright

Nancy Cartwright Teaches Voice Acting

Scripting Your Own Success

Mindy Kaling

Teaches Music and Connection

Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma Teaches Music and Connection

Achieve More With GenAI

Ethan Mollick

Allie K. Miller

Don Allen III

Manuel Sainsily

Teaches Independent Filmmaking

Mira Nair

Mira Nair Teaches Independent Filmmaking

Teaches Creativity and Film

David Lynch

David Lynch Teaches Creativity and Film

Teaches Creativity in Choreography

Parris Goebel

Parris Goebel Teaches Creativity in Choreography

Teaches Economics and Society

Paul Krugman

Paul Krugman Teaches Economics and Society

Icons and Their Influences

Gloria Steinem

Kevin Smith

Cornel West

Talking Shop

Think Like a Boss, Live Like a Legend

Martha Stewart

Spike Lee

Spike Lee Teaches Independent Filmmaking

Teaches Comedy

Judd Apatow

Judd Apatow Teaches Comedy

Steve Martin

Steve Martin Teaches Comedy

Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog Teaches Filmmaking

Teaches Creating Outside the Lines

Issa Rae

Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines

Teach Developing an Original TV Series

The Duffer Brothers

The Duffer Brothers Teach Developing an Original TV Series

Reframe Your Thinking

Ava DuVernay

Teaches Business Innovation

Rosalind Brewer

Rosalind Brewer Teaches Business Innovation

Teaches Screenwriting

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster Teaches Filmmaking

Teaches Directing

Ron Howard

Ron Howard Teaches Directing

Teaches Acting

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting

Teaches Documentary Filmmaking

Ken Burns

Ken Burns Teaches Documentary Filmmaking

Teaches Writing for Television

Shonda Rhimes

Shonda Rhimes Teaches Writing for Television

With Noted Experts

Chris Dixon

Changpeng “CZ”  Zhao

Emilie Choi

Crypto and the Blockchain

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking