Ron Howard Masterclass Review 2024: Is It Worth The Hype?
Last Updated on: January 2, 2024 by Aishwar Babber | Fact Checked
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OVERALL VERDICT
I recently took Ron Howard's MasterClass and was thoroughly impressed. His vast experience and passion for filmmaking shine through in engaging lessons. The course offers deep insights into storytelling, practical filmmaking techniques, and the importance of working relationships. The well-paced lessons and downloadable workbook are invaluable resources for any aspiring filmmaker
Have you ever dreamed of directing movies like a pro? I did, and that’s why I checked out Ron Howard’s MasterClass.
Let me tell you, it’s like unlocking Hollywood’s secrets. Ron Howard, the genius behind movies like “A Beautiful Mind,” teaches you how to create amazing movies. In this review, I’m going to share my experience.
From learning how to tell a story to handling a camera, every lesson felt like I was right there on a movie set with Ron. Whether you’re a total beginner or someone who loves making videos, this class is a game-changer.
It’s not just about the technical stuff; it’s about bringing your stories to life. Stay with me, and I’ll tell you why this MasterClass is a great pick for movie fans or anyone who wants to direct films!
Anyone interested in directing, aspiring directors, or established directors seeking to learn from Ron Howard
🕒 Time Duration
Over 7 hours (464 minutes), self-paced learning
🌟 Rating
8.5 out of 10
💰 Pricing
$180 for MasterClass All-Access Pass with a 30-day moneyback guarantee
📝 Overall Experience
The course offers in-depth insights into directing, with lessons and on-set workshops. It includes a 39-page workbook with class materials and assignments. Pros include learning directly from Ron Howard, a well-paced course structure, and access to a community. A con is the course’s thoroughness, which may be lengthy for some.
About Ron Howard
You all must be familiar with Ron Howard.
You might know him as an Oscar-winning director, a producer, an actor, and one of Hollywood’s great storytellers.
Ron Howard is a legend on both sides of the camera.
As a child, his portrayal of Opie in The Andy Griffith Show and Richie Cunningham in Happy Days launched him into every living room in America.
After leaving acting to direct, Ron Howard developed an extensive directorial résumé, which includes Cocoon, Splash, Parenthood, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the beloved TV series Arrested Development.
In addition to being a box office blockbuster, he is a two-time Academy Award-winning director.
MasterClass, an online educational platform, launched in 2015. It offers video content created by world-renowned experts in various fields.
MasterClass quickly gained popularity, featuring over 150 courses taught by celebrities like Gordon Ramsay, Hans Zimmer, and David Lynch.
The platform stands out for its high-quality production and video clarity. For more details, check out our MasterClass review.
However, MasterClass may not suit everyone. I will discuss its advantages and disadvantages, hoping to help you decide whether to enroll.
Ron Howard Masterclass – A Brief Overview
Now that you know about the tutor, let us move forward into knowing what the course is offering.
Through this video, I will not only tell you more about this directing masterclass but also give you some great glimpses into what this masterclass offers.
So make sure you watch it till the end!
Ron Howard made his first film in 15 days with $300,000.
Today, his movies have grossed over $1.8 billion.
In his first-ever online directing class, the Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind decodes his craft like never before.
In lessons and on-set workshops, you’ll learn how to evaluate ideas, work with actors, block scenes, and bring your vision to the screen.
In this masterclass, Ron Howard teaches directing, editing, and storytelling throughout his lessons.
Now, coming to this masterclass.
You start this class from the class trailer and introduction. Moving on to knowing about the tutor and then diving straight into the various sections of this class.
This masterclass has 7 sections and 31 subsections.
Every section is perfectly divided into knowledgeable lessons that are approximately 10 minutes long.
If you are looking for an exciting learning session, then you should definitely take this class.
Ron Howard has so much to offer, and this masterclass is more than 7 hours long.
Yes! You heard me right. Ron Howard Teaches you for a total of 464 minutes. And you get to learn directly from him. And the best part? You can complete this course at your own pace.
Along with great lessons, you also get access to a wonderful workbook.
This 39-page long workbook has all the class-related materials, lesson recaps, assignments, supplementary materials, and tips that Ron has shared throughout the masterclass.
Don’t forget to download it before starting.
Ron Howard Masterclass: A walk through each section
Now, let us take a look at all the sections and peek into what each section has to offer. I will also brief you about what each lesson offers.
Section: 1
The first section is the Importance of a story. The director is always the keeper of any story.
He is the one who strengthens the story.
In this first section, Ron teaches us how we can strengthen the story that we want to tell.
This section has 4 chapters and is 43 minutes long. Let us look at what each lesson has to offer.
The first lesson is about Choosing a Story.
Ron feels that it is very important for stories to have an emotional impact. The story should offer something to audiences that’s fresh, that’s thematically interesting, and that is going to be worthy of their attention, their time, and their money.
Freshness also plays a very important role, as you don’t want your audience to feel that they have heard or seen this story before.
In this lesson, Ron teaches us about how we choose our story that leaves an impact on the audience.
The second lesson is Evaluating a script.
Ron has been organizing thoughts for more than 15 years now and has his own checklist of things that he uses to evaluate and strengthen a script. In this lesson, we learn Ron’s method of creating our own checklist and also about the key components of a great screenplay.
The third lesson is Refining a Script.
When we tell a story to our friends about our recent vacation or a date we went on, we tell the story.
Most of us probably recognize that the first time we tell the story as an anecdote, it’s a little too long. The next time you tell it, you’ll probably tell it a little bit better.
Why? Because it is communication, and it means expressing an idea. Scripts must work on creative and intellectual levels. In this lesson, Ron tells us that there’s no shortcut to the rewriting process, and he shares how he ensures a script is “camera-ready” before embarking on production.
The fourth lesson is Story Inspiration:
Case Studies. Ron always works on an idea when he feels a flush of inspiration, which usually comes from the theme, his personal relationship with the idea, or its freshness.
In this lesson, we learn how his approach has helped him create some of his most enduring and beloved films.
Section: 2
The second section is the Pre-production.
In this section, Ron Howard talks about all the key collaborators that challenge and help him reinforce all the decisions that he makes from the development to the production phase of the film.
This section is for 1 hour and 39 minutes and has & subsections. Let us look into each subsection and find out what each lesson offers.
The first lesson in this section is Developing the film.
Ron says that throughout the development process, your choices and beliefs as a director are going to be tested.
People are going to doubt your choices, so you have to find out if you can defend that script and those choices in an articulate way or not. If it is, then it’s time to rethink your idea.
In this lesson, Ron teaches us how to find the best collaborators to navigate through development hell and bring the projects to life.
The second lesson is Collaboration: Part 1.
Ron revels in the excitement of the collaboration. He thinks it provides all of us with a kind of creative safety net, but more than that, it just energizes a set in a great way. Ron also tells us how working in groups of three can bring out the best in a creative team.
The third lesson is Collaboration: Part 2.
While Ron believes that collaboration is central to Ron’s process, in the lesson, he warns against directing by committee. Ron says that the Directors need to have the confidence to hear everyone but listen to themselves.
The fourth lesson is working with cinematographers.
In this lesson, Ron talks you through how to find the right collaborator, rely on them, and work with them to define your movie’s visual tone. Ron says that he has learned more from cinematographers than probably anyone else in the big collaboration of making movies and television shows.
The fifth lesson is Cinematography.
Ron thinks about cinematic choices almost like a character in the movie. He says that he thinks of himself more like the way an actor understands a character and tries to inhabit that character. In this lesson, we learn how lighting, lenses, and stylistic choices can add visual power to your film and make it very impactful.
The sixth lesson is Production design.
The production designer is the individual who’s in charge of making sure that the stage is set for each and every scene.
He also makes sure that if it’s a practical location, it looks the way it needs to look so that you can tell the story well there.
The production designers are very interesting people, dreamers with a huge responsibility. In this lesson, Ron teaches us how to find the best production designer and how we can work to inspire them to create sets that help tell our story.
The seventh lesson is Research.
Ron says Seemingly small or trivial details can anchor a scene, reinforce a director’s vision, and forge a stronger connection with the audience.
Research helps determine what kind of set we would need to build, what kind of environment we might need, and what sort of camera work was going on there.
Everything, starting from the precasting to the completion of our film, goes through various phases of research, and in this lesson, Ron tells us about the importance of research and its uses.
Section : 3
The third section is Scene Deconstruction. In this section, Ron tells us about the various choices that he made as a director by breaking down iconic scenes decision by decision.
This is a very interesting section and gives us a deeper understanding of Ron’s three most iconic scenes.
This section has 3 subsections and is 54 minutes long. Let us see what each lesson has to offer.
The first lesson is Scene Deconstruction:
Raiders of the Lost Ark. One day, Ron was on an airplane, and Raiders of the Lost Ark were playing, and he wanted to see it again. And his headphones didn’t work, and there were no other headphones available on the airplane.
He was really annoyed and watched the whole thing without sound. The minute he got home, he got hold of a VHS and just started watching that scene over and over without a sound.
And he has learned so much. He has done that since then with all kinds of scenes, and he has found it to be very interesting to see how great directors choose to stage and shoot scenes.
While watching like that, you are more sensitive to the details of the kind of mechanics of it- where did the camera go? How long was the shot used? How many times was the same camera setup used in that scene?
In this lesson, Ron helps us to get a better understanding of the shots and the mechanics behind them.
The second lesson is Scene Deconstruction:
Apollo 13. Ron watches The iconic launch sequence from Apollo 13 without sound and deconstructs it for us.
In this lesson, Ron gives you a little idea about how the scenes were broken down and executed. He also explains how meticulous research and shot planning energized the familiar historical moment.
The third lesson is Scene Deconstruction:
A Beautiful Mind. A Beautiful Mind, a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, is remarkable in that it has one Uber.
Overriding objective, and that is to make you understand what it feels like to be mentally ill and then, by extension, what it feels like to love someone who’s living within those delusions.
And what’s so remarkable about it is that it uses a convention of cinema. In this lesson, Ron shares how he flipped the movie’s point of view at a very key juncture in the film to underscore the realization of a powerful truth.
Section: 4
The Fourth section is Working with Actors.
In this section, Ron teaches us how to protect and inspire the actors in our play. He also guides us in creating great plays.
This section is 42 minutes long and has 3 subsections. Let us have a look at each lesson.
The first lesson is Casting:
The lesson starts with Ron quoting William Wyler, who had a simple formula – He thought 90% of directing films was script and casting, and then he said the other 10% was knowing how to get out of the
Way when you’ve done the first two things correctly. Ron also believes that casting is vitally important.
In this lesson, Ron tells us to trust our guts, test the waters, and overcome casting missteps while responding to the intangible qualities that a performer can bring to the role.
The second lesson is Working with the Actors:Part 1.
Ron was an actor, and so there’s an inclination on most actors’ part to trust him, which has been a huge advantage for him.
In this lesson, Ron teaches how you can prepare yourself to collaborate and work with the actors and when to trust them to deliver the performance that you need. Ron also urges you to trust the actors.
The second lesson is Working with the Actors: Part 2.
In this lesson, Ronn talks about how he loves building on those moments when the actor’s instincts coincide with the needs of the scene and add an emotional truth to the scene.
Section: 5
The fifth section is Watch Ron Direct:
Frost/Nixon. You will be watching Ron share his experiences while directing his 2008 classic Frost/Nixon. Ron offers a rare opportunity to watch his process in action as he blocks actors and plans each shot. The section is about 3 hours long and is divided into 9 subsections.
Frost/Nixon: Read-through & Staging Rehearsal
Ron takes you through the cinematography and production design decisions that energized and surprised him when he made Frost/Nixon.
The lesson has some powerful lessons about turning compromise into creativity. Ron believes it is important to find energy as a director.
As a director, you need to make your shooting style reflect the characters.
The second lesson is Frost/Nixon: Feature Staging for Masters.
Read-through and staging Rehearsal. Rob says that a director’s job is to narrow the seemingly endless staging choices.
Ron offers you a rare opportunity to peek into his directorial process in action. Ron shows you how he rehearses a scene on stage. Ron talks about the actors through the process of rehearsal.
The third lesson is Frost/Nixon: Feature Staging for Coverage.
Feature Staging for Masters. Ron believes it is important for the stage setup. This approach most closely replicates the staging approach of the original movie.
You will be seeing in this lesson as Ron collects masters for each setup. Each step is rehearsed until it perfectly fits the image that is in your head.
The fourth lesson is Frost/Nixon: Alternate Staging Possibilities:
Feature Staging for Coverage. Ron shows you how he shoots all the coverage he knows he will need to optimize for creative choices in the edit. Ron covers a few masters so that he can edit the desired scene and make the choice later.
The fifth lesson is Frost/Nixon: Steadicam Staging.
Alternate Staging Possibilities. Ron believes that it is important now that you consider all the other possibilities.
Ron now has all his master shots and additional coverage. He always tries to explore other possibilities, which are often following an actor’s natural instincts.
He says that you need to energize the scene as much as possible with different possibilities.
The sixth lesson is Frost/Nixon: Steadicam Staging for Frost POV.
Steadicam Staging. Ron experiments with the idea of long-extended Steadicam shots. Ron walks the actors through the Steadicam rehearsal process and starts the staging process for the Steadicam shots. Ron reworks the scene for a Steadicam shot, which requires technical movement and choreography from actors.
The seventh lesson is Frost/Nixon: Staging for Indie Shoot.
Steadicam Staging for Frost POV. Ron shows a different perspective using Steadicam staging. Ron shows you an alternative approach he could have tried in the film.
He uses a Steadicam to shoot from David Frost’s point of view. He shoots the scene from Frost’s perspective, which changes the dynamics of the scene.
The eighth lesson is Frost/Nixon: Staging Review
Staging for Indie Shoot. Indie movies are where the budget is tight for the directors, the movies are not mainstream, and you really have less time.
If you need to compromise on set, Ron tells you to keep the staging simple. This approach using indie shooting maximizes coverage with limited resources available to the director.
The ninth lesson is Frost/Nixon:
Staging Review. As a director, you need to have fluidity in the staging process, and you need to be flexible with the shots. At the end of the day, you need to have the best performance from your shots. In this lesson, Ron talks you through what he was considering while planning for each shot while reviewing the staging exercises.
Section: 6
The sixth section is Post-Production.
In this section, Ron Howard teaches us how we can sharpen our story by editing, adding sound effects, and using other techniques.
This section is so important as it helps us add the final touch to our movie.
This section has 4 subsections and is 44 minutes long. Let us take a quick peek into each subsection.
The first lesson is editing part 1.
According to Ron, the editing process is the time when you execute the final rewrite of a movie. Editing is the process where the movie or the television show is actually made.
In this lesson, Ron teaches us how to find the right editor for your film and the ways in which you can develop an editing style for your film together.
The second lesson is editing part 2.
Editing is a very personal thing on the one hand, but it’s also a period where some objectivity from outsiders can really benefit you.
Ron says that it’s vitally important that you continue to understand the themes, the ideas, the story that you’re trying to tell, the thing that you believed in from the beginning, and yet not cling to it.
In this lesson, Ron brings out the fact that the first cut is going to break your heart, but you have to keep finding the thrill in the discovery process.
The third lesson is sound design.
Ron believes that sound design is another tool. It’s another form of expression. And because we react to sounds on a kind of primal level, it works a little bit the way music works.
So, adding a sound to a movie is as important as deleting one. This lesson is all about designing a sound that suits your story.
The fourth lesson is Music and scoring. In this lesson, Ron explains how the most talented composers pick up on details of actors’ performances and build music cues that deepen a story.
He also emphasizes talking to the composers as talking to actors, and he also talks about using scores to reinforce themes. Further, he discusses the Frost/Nixon score and a beautiful mind score.
Section: 7
The seventh section is parting words.
It is a 2-minute lesson named Find a story you love. In this lesson, Ron concludes the masterclass by sharing his words of wisdom.
Ron asks you to be open to the moments and experiences that inspire you. And he also asks you to always find a story that you love and tell it without hesitation.
Who should be taking up this course
Now that you know what each section is about, let us discuss who should be taking up this course.
Anyone who has an interest in directing can take up this course.
If you are an aspiring director or someone who is thinking about making a career as a director, you should also be taking up this course.
Even if you are a director and want some important lessons from Ron, you can take up the course. This course is full of knowledgeable lessons and will definitely help you level up.
This is a one-of-a-kind masterclass, so everyone who watches it is definitely going to benefit and take away many lessons from Ron.
Ron Howard Masterclass Pros & Cons
Pros:
Now, we will talk about the pros of this course. The biggest advantage is that you get to learn directly from the “Ron Howard,” and that too for a total of 464 minutes, which is more than 7 and a half hours.
Ron shares many of his personal experiences and techniques, which are definitely going to be very useful for you in your journey.
The whole masterclass is very well-paced and divided into great lessons. Ron makes all the concepts very easy to understand through his unique teaching methods.
Along with the masterclass, you also get a great downloadable workbook that is going to be your friend throughout the class.
You also get access to a huge like-minded community with whom you can discuss your problems and share your ideas.
Cons:
A bit thorough, so some of you find it lengthy
Ron Howard Masterclass Pricing
Ron Howard’s MasterClass, renowned for its exceptional filmmaking insights, is accessible through various subscription plans offered by MasterClass.
The most affordable option starts at $10 per month, but this is billed annually, meaning you’ll pay for the whole year in one go.
For those seeking more flexibility or access for multiple users, MasterClass provides additional plans: an Individual subscription for one user at $15 per month, a Duo plan for two users priced at $20 per month,
and a Family plan that accommodates up to six users for $23 per month. Each of these plans allows full access to all the courses on MasterClass, including Ron Howard’s comprehensive directing class.
Ron Howard Masterclass Testimonials
This gave me so many different viewpoints and angles of telling a great story plus the different hurdles that need to be tackled. Thank you so much Ron..!!
Some great classes on this site, but have to say this is my favorite so far! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, it’s not something you have or need to do, so really appreciated. Great class, 10/10, thank you, Ron.
Our goal is to make sure that you have the best learning experience possible. If MasterClass isn’t for you, then email us within 30 days of the date you purchase your subscription. We’ll offer a full refund.
🤑What is the pricing of masterclass ?
Masterclass All-Access Pass is billed at $180 and comes with a 30-day moneyback guarantee.
📺 Where can I watch?
With MasterClass, you can learn and be inspired anytime, anywhere, including your smartphone, personal computer, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku streaming media players. You can even download your favorite lessons and watch on the plane or listen during your commute in audio-only mode
💁What is MasterClass?
MasterClass is the streaming platform that makes it possible for anyone to watch or listen to hundreds of video lessons taught by 100+ of the world’s best.
Conclusion: Ron Howard Masterclass Review 2024
I have always been curious about directing, how scenes are shot, and how movies are made.
Even though I am not an aspiring director, this masterclass has taught me many lessons about the art of directing, which will always stay with me.
I have also been a huge fan of Ron Howard for a long time now, and as soon as I heard of this masterclass, I immediately enrolled in it.
This masterclass has definitely been worth it for me, and I am sure it is going to be useful for you as well.
Aishwar Babber is a passionate blogger and a digital marketer. He loves to talk and blog about the latest tech and gadgets, which motivates him to run GizmoBase. He is currently practicing his digital marketing, SEO, and SMO expertise as a full-time marketer on various projects. He is an active investor in AffiliateBay. You can find him on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook.
