🎬 The Filmmaker Starter Pack

No film school required. 

 

A free cinematic toolkit to kickstart your first feature-including Nicole Sylvester's funding guide, microbudget video replay, templates, and live consultation access. 

 📘 PDF Guide
 5 Essential Steps to Funding Your First Film.
 🎥 Replay Access
 Make your microbudget film look like a million bucks.
 📋 Bonus Tools
Budget template + Filmmaker's Checklist.
Get the Starter Pack→
 

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🎥 Still dreaming about your first feature? Grab my free guide and start turning that idea into a funded film today. 

Download the Starter Pack

You Have the Vision,

But Not the Hollywood Budget.

 

You’ve written and rewritten that script and probably watched every behind-the-scenes interview, yet your film still lives in your head because every next step feels impossible.

🎥 Film school is too expensive.
💸 Investors want proof you can deliver before they invest.
🎞️ Crew, permits, post-production, everywhere you look, it’s dollar signs.

Meanwhile, your story sits on a hard drive, waiting.

You just want to make your movie, even if your budget is tiny and your team is small.

It's entirely possible to create a professional-quality feature without film school debt or Hollywood connections.

The tools, strategies, and structure already exist.

All that's needed is the commitment to start and a system that shows exactly how to make it happen...

 

"I took the class from my hospital bed - that's how excited I was. I've been writing unproduced screenplays for years now and after this class I feel like I'm ready to finally make one!"
- Teddy Burt

Skip the Film School Debt.

Learn From Doing.

Funding strategies 

that don’t feel like begging

Budgets that sell

and shootable schedules that keep you sane

Producing tools

that make you the grown-up on set

Directing tactics

that pull award-level performances

Post-Production, Distribution,

templates, guides & more

 

Whether you're stuck on your first draft or frozen by imposter syndrome, the tools, confidence, templates, and insider guidance we provide will help you get your film made - for real!  

 

I’m Nicole Sylvester, a Brooklyn-based award-winning filmmaker.  I’ve done the work.  I’ve made the mistakes.  And I’m here to show you how to make it happen.

 

I can't promise you'll be the next Ryan Coogler, but also, I can't promise you won't

🎬 Choose Your Path - Learn How to Make Your Movie

Produce Your Film Like a Pro: Self-Paced Crash Course

Stop producing in the dark. This $27 mini-class gives you the exact foundational skills you need to take your film from “I’ve got an idea” to “We’re rolling” — without blowing your budget, wasting weeks, or piecing together bad advice

$27.00 USD

Show Me The Money: Film Funding Jumpstart

SELF-PACED: This mini class breaks down real, practical ways to fund your film—the exact strategies indie filmmakers use every day to get cameras rolling without waiting on Hollywood or a fairy godproducer.

$27.00 USD

One-on-One Private Coaching

In this hour I offer a one-on-one session via Zoom I'll provide personalized guidance and support enabling you to refind your craft. We can discuss any and everything. Nothing is off the table.  

$125.00 USD
"This was so awesome because it really took you through step by step process of making a film. It exceeded my expectations. It would be great if it were more classes."
- Arlette Thomas-Fletcher

🎬 Don't just Dream About It!

Make Your Film Happen

From 25+ years, I've seen every version of indie filmmaking - from scrappy shorts, to award-winning features. You don't need to reinvent the wheel (that's why I built this platform) or wait for permission. You just need a plan that works.

 
Get the Free Starter Pack

Nicole Sylvester...

I am the Queen of high quality low-budget filmmaking - a title I previously hated. My talent for making high quality films comes from producing several independent feature films and working in the Hollywood system on big budget projects for networks and streamers like HBO, NBCUniversal, StarzLionsgateAmazon and others.

But for all my experience, I still had one big dream that I was afraid to make happen: directing my own feature film. I'm sure you can relate. One day I just woke up tired of waiting for an opportunity and decided I needed to create my own. 

So I just did it! I wrote, directed, and produced Maya & Her Lover, a microbudget feature film made entirely on my terms. The film premiered at festivals, won two Best Director awards, and landed a distribution deal.

 
Whether you need a plan, a push, or just permission to start, you'll find it here.
Free guides, classes, and straight-talk filmmaking tools. 
″ If you're on this website or this page and you're wondering if you should take this course, I say: 'TAKE THIS COURSE!!!'
 
If you've never produced a film before, if you're thinking about producing a film, if you want to break into the industry... Nicole covers it all.
 
As someone who's produced a short film, a web series and then worked in the industry since 2017, I knew Nicole's course was what I needed before I embarked on my next short film.
 
She far exceeded expectations in this course. Nuanced details that only a seasoned producer would know (and are hard to come by outside the industry) are covered in great length.
 
So much is covered in the two days. I took copious notes that I will carry with me not only on my own projects, but at my industry job too! This class is invaluable. Truly. Take it!"
 
- Shanice Williamson

Not ready for the masterclass yet? Grab the Free Starter Pack and take the first step toward making your movie.

FREE RESOURCES

🎬 The Filmmaker Starter Pack

A free cinematic toolkit to kickstart your first feature-including Nicole Sylvester's funding guide, microbudget video replay, templates, and live consultation access.