The Directors Series

THE DIRECTORS SERIES is an extensive multimedia project that highlights the craft and careers of influential film directors. Far more than your standard, garden-variety video essay, THE DIRECTORS SERIES distinguishes itself as a collection of long-form documentaries that dive deep into the artistry behind your favorite films. Sight & Sound Magazine has listed the project in its “Best Of” lists for both 2017 & 2018, and it’s also been cited as a “significant contribution to film scholarship” by Indiewire. You may have also seen the project featured in the following publications and media outlets: Indie Film Hustle, Vice Creators Project, Popular Mechanics, No Film School, Open Culture, Slate, & SlashFilm. 

My name is Cameron Beyl, and I’ve been making THE DIRECTORS SERIES videos since 2014. I’m an independent filmmaker based out of Los Angeles, and I’ve written and directed two award-winning features, several shorts, a handful of promotional videos for corporate clients, and even a music video or two. I also recently founded FilmFrontier, a digital microstudio dedicated to blazing new trails in independent film production, distribution, and marketing. THE DIRECTORS SERIES is, above all else, a creative outlet to express my unconditional love for cinema in all its forms.

The multi-part documentary videos are the cornerstone of the project, of which I’ve produced over thirty episodes over the past five years. A lot of time and work goes into the making of a typical episode, which can run anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Each episode tackles a distinct group of films or artistic “movement” within a given director’s filmography, and can cover anywhere from one to four films.

In addition to the videos, I maintain an extensive essay journal that’s housed on the project website, where you can find my thoughts on many more directors and films beyond what is covered in the videos. With your help, I plan on expanding the range of content even further to include eBooks, podcasts, and even a second video series that will provide another angle of exploration into the great works of cinema.

Each episode of the DIRECTOR SERIES involves countless hours of work on my end. It’s research-intensive, writing-intensive, and most definitely edit-intensive. I release a new video roughly every month, and a new text essay every week. One of my goals is to release more videos faster, and with your help, I can begin working out a schedule that sees a new video drop every two weeks.

The Directors Series was always intended to be a free resource, available to anyone and everyone. As the project has grown, it has required me to invest more of my time in an effort to adhere to a consistent posting schedule. Your patronage affords me the resources to continue creating these documentaries at the high level of quality you’ve come to expect.

Having grown the project for over five years now, I’ve reached the upper limits of what I’m capable of achieving through sheer determination and hard work alone. However, I have ambitious plans for expanding the scope and audience of the project— in order to achieve that, I’ll need your help. I’ve identified a few goal tiers that correspond to these plans:

$500– achieving this level of patronage will enable me to begin the active process of compiling and releasing a series of eBooks on your favorite directors. If you decide to pledge at a certain level (see the Rewards section), then you won’t have to pay a dime for a single one— each new eBook will arrive on your digital doorstep for free on the day of release.

$1000- achieving this level of patronage will enable me to develop and release a companion video series called SHORT CUTS, each episode of which will run 5-10 minutes and dive deep into the artistry behind some of the most iconic sequences in movie history.

$2000- achieving this level of patronage means that anything is possible! The project can expand into even more avenues, while building a strong platform to create original work under the FilmFrontier banner.



Your sponsorship would not only afford me more resources and time to release new video essays more frequently, it would allow me to connect directly with you in an engaging dialogue. My ultimate goal is to create an expansive chronicle of cinema’s most important voices while providing aspiring filmmakers with a variety of career templates they can consider while forging their own paths. As such, your support is an invaluable contribution towards achieving that end.