Elevate Your Visuals with Midjourney

  • Master the art of prompt writing to create clear, targeted, and visually compelling images

  • Understand Midjourney’s key features and parameters to take full control of your results

  • Use your own photos and reference styles to generate personalized, documentary-relevant visuals

  • Iterate and refine your images with confidence using advanced editing tools and the Midjourney Editor

  • Use Midjourney's new video generation features, using your own images to seed the video

  • Develop a streamlined, repeatable workflow for producing and organizing AI visuals for your film projects

Why AI? Why Midjourney?

In today’s fast-moving filmmaking landscape, visual storytelling is evolving - and those who adapt early will lead the way.

AI tools like MidJourney are no longer futuristic experiments - they’re practical, accessible, and transformative resources that can dramatically expand your creative toolkit.

This class will help you build hands-on skills to generate striking, story-driven visuals using nothing more than your ideas and a keyboard. Whether you're filling in gaps, visualizing the abstract, or simply building mood and tone, Midjourney can help you do it - fast.

And it’s not just for feature-length docs.

The techniques you’ll learn apply across formats: short-form content, trailers, pitch decks, reels, brand stories, educational videos, and more. If you work with images, video and ideas, this course is for you.

 "When it comes to learning AI tools for filmmakers, Philip is an exceptional instructor. What sets him apart is his ability to explain complex and intimidating technologies in a way that's easy to follow, and directly relevant to the art and craft of documentary filmmaking." 


 - Doug Block, Producer, Director and Founder of The D-Word

What You'll Learn!

Class 1: Speaking Midjourney's Language

- How Midjourney works and what makes it unique

- Writing effective prompts: structure, clarity, and word choice

- Essential prompt categories: subject, style, setting, mood, and camera details

- Key parameters that control your results (--ar, --stylize, --chaos, --weird, --raw)

- Working with your own images: Image Prompts, Style References, and Omni References

- Using Describe to reverse-engineer successful prompts

- Ask me anything! Philip answers a selection of Midjourney questions

-- By the end of this class, you'll understand the fundamentals of Midjourney and be able to create images that match your vision!


Class 2: Using Video and The Art of Iteration

- Using your own stills to generate video in Midjourney

- Extending and iterating on generated video to create even better outcomes

- Mastering the quick-edit buttons: Vary, Upscale, Remix, Pan, and Zoom

- When and how to use each editing option effectively

- Introduction to the Midjourney Editor

- Working with layers, smart selection, and retexturing

- Let's talk! Answers and discussion on mastering Midjourney

-- By the end of this class, you'll have explored Midjourney's new video features and know how to iterate on your images and use the Editor for precise adjustments!


Class 3: Making Midjourney Yours

- Setting up your personal style preferences

- Creating and using mood boards effectively

- Understanding Draft vs. Conversational modes

- Tips for managing large volumes of generated images

- Questions answered! Philip dives deeper into class queries and discussion

-- By the end of this class, you'll have created a personalized setup and organized system for your Midjourney projects!

Exclusive Resources

Receive exclusive handouts designed to accelerate your AI journey:

  • Midjournery Prompt Guide: Tailored for filmmakers, helping you get the most out of using Midjourney.

  • Gen-AI Guidelines Catalog: A curated collection of up-to-date guidelines from key organizations - like the Archival Producers Alliance - designed to help documentary filmmakers navigate the evolving conversation around the ethical and creative use of Gen-AI tools like Midjourney. 

  • Class Replays and Transcripts: Easily access all the class materials inside our state of the art courses platform.

Who Should Join?

This class is perfect for beginner and intermediate filmmakers ready to explore how AI image and video generation can support their documentary work with purpose and creativity.

Whether you're looking to visualize scenes that don’t yet exist, build distinctive moodboards, or simply unlock a new layer of visual storytelling, this course delivers practical, hands-on training that demonstrates the wide set of features within Midjourney, while
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Class Details

Format: Three classes recorded live at weekly intervals, now available to watch on demand. The classes were recorded live in 2H 2025 and use Midjourney v7.

Duration: Recorded classes are between 90-120 minutes long including class discussion.

Exclusive Resources: Detailed Midjourney Guide, Gen-AI Ethics/Copyright guidelines catalog and 1-year access to all recordings and content!

Meet Your Instructor

Philip Shane

Philip is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with over 35 years of experience. Philip's work has appeared on PBS, ABC, and the History Channel, among many other platforms, including theatrical releases worldwide. Philip's acclaimed films include "BEING ELMO: A Puppeteer's Journey," which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Beyond filmmaking, Philip hosts the science podcast WHAT THE IF? and has become a sought-after speaker on AI in documentary filmmaking. He has presented at the DOC NYC and DC/Dox Film Festivals, and conducts in-depth seminars for The D-Word and Peter Hamilton’s Documentary Business & The Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television. He was a featured panelist at the World Congress of Science & Factual Producers and 2024 Woodstock Film Festival.

Philip teaches at the New York Film academy, recently instructed as part of the Sundance Collab weekend intensive, “Navigating AI in Filmmaking”, and also produces the weekly webinar series, AI CAFE, for professional filmmakers.

What Students Say About Our AI Classes

 "Thank you so much! You definitely got my wheels turning on AI."

- Kristina B.

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