the cinematic shortcut

Make impressive, professional videos on your phone

A video production accelerator with group coaching, designed for professionals growing their business


now enrolling

✦

now enrolling ✦

Launching January 2024
Apply now to receive an early bird discount of $400 OFF!

We’ll teach you how to make the videos of your dreams using your phone

We know you’re busy. So we’ll help you get started making videos with as little time and stress as possible.

apply now
 

Our Promise

We help professionals learn how to make cinematic, professional-quality videos on any budget and any level of experience. You’ll learn how to make magic with just your phone.

Instead of taking years to try to do it by yourself, this course was designed for you to go straight to making outstanding videos. This course takes students about 6 weeks to complete, by committing 4 hours per week to watch videos and complete exercises.

Even if you have zero experience, we will help you completely skip making amateur videos and jump straight to making cinematic, professional-quality videos.

Trying to learn how to make videos on your own is always overwhelming, time-consuming, and expensive. 

People always purchase the wrong equipment, don’t know how to use their equipment correctly, and worst of all, they don’t learn the technique of making videos. 

You end up taking the long, twisted route to create the videos you dream of. The worst-case scenario? You give up because you are embarrassed of your videos.

 

film with your phone

Believe it or not, you can actually make professional-quality videos on a smartphone.

How is this possible? Because the biggest secret is that the key to making great videos is 1. your story, 2. lighting, and 3. audio - all of which have nothing to do with your camera.

We recommend investing in $250 in lighting, tripod, and a microphone. We’ll also provide our recommendations for what gear you should purchase.

no experience necessary

Our program is specially designed for beginners with ZERO experience. Never used a camera before? Never used video editing software before? Have NO idea where to even begin? No worries.

We’ll help you skip the overwhelm and get started with beginner-level video gear and skills.

World Class support

Your instructor is the founder of SolarHour, Karen Lum - an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and Stanford University alumna, who is incredibly passionate about teaching and empowering others in their art and business. She originally authored this course in 2020 and is constantly working to make it better.

Our instructor has 100% confidence in her ability to help you make your dream videos by the end of this program.

 

How the program works

HOW IT WORKS

This program is self-paced. All lecture videos are available on-demand and can be viewed from a computer or phone. 2 Fridays a month, we host Office Hours to give you live support.
Students can complete the course in about 6 weeks if they commit 4 hours per week to watch the lecture videos and complete the exercises.

lecture

All lecture videos will be available for on-demand viewing in our online classroom website, hosted by Teachable. You can watch on a browser or on-the-go via Teachable’s mobile app for Android and iPhone.

homework

Every module contains assignments. You of course do not have to complete them, but we encourage you to do the assignments as they will help you become better at making videos. We also invite you to share your work on our Facebook group where you can receive feedback from your instructor, Karen Lum.

office hours

On the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from 12 to 2 pm PST, your instructor, Karen Lum, will host Office Hours available to ALL students where you can ask questions and get feedback on your videos. This will be a Zoom session, and the recording will be posted on the online classroom website.

project

Throughout the course, you will work on a capstone project. Think of this as your dream video! We recommend you pick a video that you would have considered even hiring someone to make for you. Some examples are an About Me video to introduce who you are on your website, a tutorial, a fitness video, a recipe video, etc. At the end of the course, you can showcase your capstone project to the rest of the community on our Facebook group.

1:1 attention

Students can purchase additional 1:1 sessions with me to chat with me to discuss anything they’d like. For example, our most popular topic is figuring out what equipment they should buy. Students can also request specific topics they'd like to learn, i.e. how to use a green screen, use a gimbal, how to set up an at-home studio, etc.

learning Commitment

This course is self-paced. For those who want to move through the course briskly, we suggest the following pace:

  • Watch 1 module per week (about 2 hours of videos)

  • 2+ hours of doing the homework assignment each week

  • 24+ hours total time commitment

Suggested investment in video gear & software

Most students start with just their current smartphone as their camera. We suggest an additional starting budget of $250 for lighting, a tripod, and a microphone. Lastly, we teach Capcut, a free video editing software available on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, PC.

 

The best camera is the one you already have.

Best of all, it fits right in your pocket!

Believe it or not, your phone has a great camera. With the right techniques, you’ll learn how to hack high-quality video.

With a few more key video gear purchases, you’ll have a full video kit for under $250.

You’ll be ready to get started making professional-quality videos without breaking the bank.

apply now
 

what you’ll learn

Module 1: Camera basics + LENSES

We’ll kickoff the course by learning about how to use your camera, what to put in your background, and what lens you should use for your videos. This module alone will help you create videos that look better than 80% of what is online.

MOdule 2: Lighting

This is the biggest thing that separates amateur from professional video production! You’ll learn how to use either video lights or natural sunlight to make your videos look better than 99% of videos online. Lighting will also make YOU look your best on camera.

Module 3: Audio

Bad audio will ruin good video. Learn how to record clear, noise-free, natural audio, so that your videos sound as professional as they look. 

module 4: Editing, part 1

No more wasting away hours looking up Premiere Pro tutorials on Youtube. Learn only what you need to know to put your footage together to create a clean, impactful edit. You’ll learn how to clean up your footage, through color correction, audio correction, and other cleanup techniques.

*Note: CapCut is a required software for this course. It is a free software, available for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. 

module 5: Editing, part 2

Have you been so excited to make a video, but then got stuck on an edit? You’ll learn how to make your story succinct and effective, and not waste time wrestling with the software.

module 6: Branding and Motion Graphics

Motion graphics make video content look like a million bucks. And motion graphic designers charge about that much, too! Learn how to make engaging expensive-looking animations and apply a cohesive, branded look to your videos.

launch!

Now that you know all of the secret ingredients to making a professional-quality video, you'll assemble all of the moving parts, and export! Time to share your beautiful content with the class, and then publish for the world to see!

 

we advise you on what video gear to purchase

You can purchase an additional 1:1 60 min conversation with SolarHour founder and instructor, Karen Lum, to discuss your video goals and your budget, and she will advise you on what video gear you should purchase before the course begins.

Our students rave about this feature of the program.

Are you a realtor filming houses? We’ll advise you on drones and gimbals.

Are you a business coach conducting webinars on Zoom? We’ll advise on podcast microphones and webcams.

Whatever your profession, goals and budget are, we’ve got you covered.

 
 

KAREN LUM

Founder of SolarHour

Emmy award-winning filmmaker with 20 years of experience, teacher, and loves music videos more than anyone you know

About your instructor

I started my video production company in 2016, and I have been lean and profitable since Day 1. I simply refused to believe that I needed to throw money at expensive video gear. 

I saw other videographers boasting massive $10-30K camera setups, but I knew I could make great videos with my $500 camera!" 

That's when I realized that your camera is only as good as your technique.

I've been on a mission to demystify what makes a video “high-quality."

My conclusion is that video quality is the sum total of a lot of technique, not expensive technology. 

Even if you only have a phone as your camera, you can create a high-quality video with the right techniques.

So whether you've never made videos before, or you’ve tried and you’re stuck, I am here to share with you what I've learned to help you make outstanding videos beyond your imagination, and to make the process as easy as possible!

 
 

“ We teach you the secrets and shortcuts to making cinematic, professional videos.

people will ask you who you hired to film you.

— Karen Lum, Founder of SolarHour

 

accountability and support

In addition to the modules, you’ll also have access to our Facebook where you can ask questions for the community, and someone from SolarHour will also respond.

Our lead instructor, Karen Lum, has 20 years of experience and can handle any question you throw at her.

As a passionate teacher, she believes no question is a dumb question, and is committed to every student’s success!

 

what our students say

““Karen is really good at explaining technical concepts, then illustrating them through examples. Her personality is delightful. I love how she shows up as yourself and shares her stories and photos and videos. She is really what makes this course!” ”
— Tara Robertson | Diversity & inclusion executive coach
 

  • One-time payment: The tuition for this program is $2,200 if you make a one-time payment.

    Payment plan: The tuition for this program is 3 installments of $800 over 6 weeks ($2,400 total).

  • Due to the high-touch nature of the program and personalized support, we do not offer refunds.

    We also won’t pressure you to enroll if you are having doubts. Before enrolling, we chat 1:1 with all applicants to ensure t`hat the program will be a good fit for you. Schedule a time to chat with us.

    We want to make sure all of our students have a great experience, and we’ll be honest with you before purchasing if we think the program isn’t aligned with your needs.

  • You’ll receive lifetime access to all the course materials inside Teachable, the online learning platform we use for this program.

    Best of all? Coming Fall 2023, we’ll be launching the Advanced course, which will teach you how to use a DSLR/mirrorless camera and make very high-quality content. People will ask you who you hired to film you. ;)

 

This program is designed for you if…

  1. You are excited to make videos.
    Listen, we get it. You’re a busy entrepreneur, and you probably would love it for someone to follow you around with a camera, and you’ll receive an edited video in 2 days.
    However, we’ll be honest. Our program’s goal is to make video production as stress-free and easy as possible, but no matter what, video production is still challenging, time-consuming, and very technical.
    So if you can’t see yourself setting up a tripod and lights, testing your microphone, filming multiple takes, or spending 2+ hours in an editing app, then you will probably dislike making videos, and therefore you will dislike this program.
    If this is you, we recommend that you hire a professional to make videos for you. You will appreciate putting time back on your calendar!

  2. You have a vision for what videos you want to make.
    You will get so much more out of this program if you come in with a goal and vision for the kinds of videos you want to create. Perhaps you need a nudge with specific content ideas, but you have a general idea of what you want to express on camera. Throughout the program, you’ll work on a capstone video, so it should be a piece of content that you value.

Does this sound like you?

Well, then we’d love to have you apply! Click here to submit your application, and we’ll be in touch with you shortly. After applying, you’ll receive a detailed syllabus and schedule for the program.

If we think you are a good fit, we’ll schedule a time for you to chat with the instructor, Karen Lum, 1:1 so she can learn about your video goals and discuss next steps for enrollment.

 

now enrolling

Launching January 2024

Apply now to receive an early bird discount of $400 off.