AI & EMERGING TECH
Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs
Use free Blender software to build a film set, place real lenses, make every camera move, light it, add moving people and export a previs that guides AI video tools. Needs a laptop or desktop.
- 10 lessons
- ~4 hours
- Beginner-friendly
- Project + certificate
Free account required to open the lessons. Any price is shown before you pay.
- Free to startOpen a free account and start. Any price is shown before you pay.
- Earned, not boughtCertificates are never sold. You pass a graded project, and anyone can verify it.
- Self-pacedShort lessons you take at your own pace. Your progress is saved.
- Built for real workLessons follow how the work is actually done and paid for, and end in a project you can show.
What you'll learn
- Installing Blender 5.2 LTS and navigating the 3D Viewport
- Blocking a film set with simple shapes
- Dressing a set with free CC0 models, textures and HDRIs from Poly Haven
- Cameras: focal length, sensor size and depth of field
- Framing shot sizes from extreme wide to extreme close-up
- Keyframing camera moves: dolly, truck, pedestal, crane and orbit
- Handheld shake with a Noise modifier, whip pans and the dolly zoom
- Lighting set-ups in EEVEE and when to use Cycles
- Mixamo characters and animations, and Adobe's terms
- Markerless motion capture from a phone video (FreeMoCap, Rokoko Vision)
- Basic retargeting of motion onto a character
- Previs: blocking a scene, fast grey renders and editing
- Exporting rough, depth and line passes to guide AI video tools
About this course
Blender is free software that lets a filmmaker build a set, place cameras with real lenses, light the scene, move actors and render a rough version of the whole scene, all before spending money or AI credits. This course teaches Blender to filmmakers, not to 3D artists, using Blender 5.2 LTS. This course needs a laptop or desktop computer (Windows, an Apple Silicon Mac or Linux, with at least 8 GB of RAM and a graphics chip that supports OpenGL 4.3); it does not work on a phone or tablet. You install Blender and learn the few views and shortcuts that matter, then build the set of our running story, Second Hand: a watch-repair shop at night with a workbench, shelves of clocks and a rainy window, made from simple blocking shapes and free CC0 models and HDRIs from Poly Haven. You set up cameras with focal length, sensor and depth of field and frame every shot size from course 1; make every course 1 move in Blender, including the handheld shake and the dolly zoom; and light the set with the course 2 set-ups in EEVEE, using Cycles only when a shot needs it. You add people with free Mixamo characters and animations (and learn exactly what Adobe's terms allow), capture realistic movement from a phone video with free markerless motion capture (FreeMoCap or Rokoko Vision's free plan), and bring it into Blender. Then you block a whole scene as a previs, render it grey in seconds, edit it, and export depth and line passes that guide AI video tools. Every example clip was rendered in Blender for this course, and you can download the starter set, a camera rig and a mannequin to follow along. You finish with your own 20 to 40 second previs scene. This is course 3 of the AI Filmmaking track.
Blender is free film-making software. With it you can build a set, place cameras, light the scene, move actors and render the result, all before you spend any money or any AI credits. This course teaches Blender to filmmakers, not to 3D artists. You will learn only the parts a director, a cinematographer or a previs artist needs.
Who it's for
Beginner-friendly. You can start from scratch: no prior experience is assumed.
The lessons 10 lessons, ending in a graded project
- 1Install Blender and find your way around18 min
- 2Build a set from free assets: the Second Hand watch-repair shop24 min
- 3Cameras and lenses: focal length, sensor, depth of field and shot sizes22 min
- 4Animating the camera: keyframes, smooth paths and every course 1 move28 min
- 5Lighting the set with the course 2 set-ups24 min
- 6People: Mixamo characters and animations, and what the terms allow22 min
- 7Realistic movement from a phone video: free markerless motion capture24 min
- 8Previs: block a whole scene, render it fast and edit it24 min
- 9From Blender to AI: export guide passes for AI video tools22 min
- 10Final project: your own 20 to 40 second previs scene15 min
- Project: Your 20 to 40 Second Previs SceneGraded
THE PROJECT AND YOUR CERTIFICATE
Your 20 to 40 Second Previs Scene
One shared video link (YouTube unlisted, Google Drive or similar, set to 'anyone with the link can view') to the 20 to 40 second rendered previs, plus uploaded screenshots of the set, cameras, lights and character, the exported guide frame (rough render with its depth or line pass), and the shot list with asset credits and the lighting description.
Certificates on Skillnaija are earned, not issued for attendance: you submit this project, an examiner grades the real work against a published rubric (you need 65% to pass), and passing issues a certificate anyone can verify. If you don't pass yet, you get written feedback and can try again.
- The previs is the learner's own scene, 20 to 40 seconds, rendered cleanly, and its shots read clearly with sensible timing and continuity25%
- Camera work: at least two different named moves, animated smoothly, that suit the story moment; lenses and shot sizes match the shot list25%
- The set and lighting: blocking plus at least three credited free assets, and a named lighting set-up built and described correctly20%
- The character performs a real action believably (Mixamo, mocap or posed), placed correctly in the set, with its source stated15%
- The AI guide frame: a rough render with a matching depth or line pass from the same camera, at the same size15%
Frequently asked questions
Is Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs free?
Most Skillnaija courses can be started free with a free account: your first two courses are free to start, then one new course each month. Some courses are paid; the course page in the app shows whether Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs is one, and its price, before you pay. You can also buy any course on its own for twelve months, or open every course with the All-Access Pass. Certificates are never sold: you earn one by passing the course's project.
How long does Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs take to complete?
5 weeks · ~4 hrs/week. There are 10 lessons, about 4 hours of material in total. You learn at your own pace and your progress is saved.
Do I need any experience to start Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs?
Beginner-friendly. You can start from scratch — no prior experience is assumed.
What will I learn in Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs?
You will build practical skills in Installing Blender 5.2 LTS and navigating the 3D Viewport, Blocking a film set with simple shapes, Dressing a set with free CC0 models, textures and HDRIs from Poly Haven, Cameras: focal length, sensor size and depth of field, Framing shot sizes from extreme wide to extreme close-up, Keyframing camera moves: dolly, truck, pedestal, crane and orbit, Handheld shake with a Noise modifier, whip pans and the dolly zoom, Lighting set-ups in EEVEE and when to use Cycles, Mixamo characters and animations, and Adobe's terms, Markerless motion capture from a phone video (FreeMoCap, Rokoko Vision), Basic retargeting of motion onto a character, Previs: blocking a scene, fast grey renders and editing, Exporting rough, depth and line passes to guide AI video tools. Every lesson is written for a Nigerian context, with examples drawn from how the work is actually done and paid for here.
Do I get a certificate for Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs?
Yes, but it has to be earned. You complete the course project — Your 20 to 40 Second Previs Scene and submit it for grading. Passing the project issues a verifiable certificate; finishing the lessons alone does not.
Ready to start Blender for Filmmakers: Sets, Cameras, Light and Previs?
It is self-paced, and it ends with something you can show an employer.
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