Master Your Craft

Helping filmmakers transform their careers since 2009

Who We Are

BAFTA Breakthrough Cinematographer Aaron Reid praises Filmmakers Academy as “a valuable learning resource for film craft” that “pushes learning film into the future.” 

Online Filmmaking Courses rates Filmmakers Academy 5/5 stars as the best-advanced filmmaking training platform! 

A trusted partner of Academy Gold Rising, British Cinematographer, RED Digital Cinema, and many other industry titans, discover how joining our Filmmakers Academy All Access membership can support a successful career in the film industry. 

Join the #1 Resource for Filmmakers

While film school certainly is the place for filmmaking theory and fundamentals, Filmmakers Academy bridges the gap between the classroom and on-the-job experience. 

Learn and master techniques across various disciplines with on-the-job training videos, live virtual mentor coaching sessions, member networking opportunities, and exclusive events.

Members have access to educational videos and textbook lessons from the most popular filmmaking disciplines.  

Filmmakers Academy provides the educational content you need to learn and progress in your career while expanding your network and giving you a direct line to the masters. 

What are you waiting for? Become a Filmmakers Academy member today!

Our Story

Filmmakers Academy was founded by Lydia and Shane Hurlbut ASC and began as Hurlbut Visuals in 2009 to educate and inspire filmmakers of all skill levels. The company began as a way for Shane to share his many years of experience as a filmmaker, his pioneering spirit with new cutting-edge technologies, and his theoretical and practical knowledge on both commercial and feature films.
The couple began Filmmakers Academy to share what took Shane 20 years of trial and error to learn on his own. Filmmakers Academy’s lessons contain field tested knowledge and innovation from feature films that catapult the career of a filmmaker by focusing them on what they need to know to succeed. The courses save professionals both time and money by directly delivering the experience of industry professionals.

Through the ongoing creation of original content, Shane and his highly-experienced team test new products and experiment with innovative techniques which they share with Filmmakers Academy members. Their goal is to ignite the passion and dreams of artists and filmmakers.

In 2021, the expansion of Filmmakers Academy was guided by Lydia Hurlbut as CEO of the Academy. With all of the advancements comes the growth of the business with new professionals of diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are invited as trusted colleagues that have helped Shane as a cinematographer.

Lydia and Shane’s talents naturally combine to provide an immersive learning experience to help filmmakers fast-track their careers, producing opportunities for themselves that were previously unimaginable.

Timeline

  • 2009



    Launch of
    The Hurlblog

  • 2010

    Hurlbut Visuals Production Company was founded

    2010

  • 2011

    Hurlbut Visuals operated a hands-on educational booth at Cinegear and B&H Photo funded the company’s DSLR Educational Series for Cinema.

  • 2012

    Commissioned by Canon USA, Hurlbut Visuals produced The Ticket

    2012

  • 2013



    Brainstormed the vision and concept
    for Shane’s Inner Circle.

    The Inner Circle would evolve into the Hurlbut’s first attempt to formalize their passion for education.

  • 2014



    Launch of Shane’s Inner
    Circle membership

    2014

  • 2015

    Mentorship program for Women in Film

  • 2016

    SIC November Workshop

    2016

  • 2017



    Shane’s Inner Circle
    Content Shoot workshop

  • 2018

    Created the Hurlbut Academy Ambassador Program

    2018

  • 2019



    Launch of the Hurlbut Academy

  • 2021



    The Hurlbut Academy launches
    its new brand identity:
    FilmmakersAcademy.com

    2021

Lydia and Shane Hurlbut - Our Story Filmmakers Academy