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- Welcome to our in-depth Masterclass Review. In this review of the Masterclass learning platform, we will give you an honest and real review of the course as you’ve come to expect from RealReviewHub.com.
How was our Review of Masterclass Done?
If this is your first time on RealReviewHub.com we always think it’s important to give context as to who exactly is doing the review and how it was done so you have the proper context going into the review.
RealReviewHub.com is a site that prides itself on giving: “Honest Reviews By Real Users” of courses, products, and software. In order to make this happen we do the following:
- Always Purchase/Use the Products we Review
- Give honest and real feedback- the good/bad/ugly
- Provide full disclosures right upfront:
- If we decide a product is worth buying- We will give it a Buy Rating, sometimes the links to these courses, products, or software will be in the form of an affiliate link where the seller might pay us a small commission for referring the buyer over to them.
- This commission does not affect the price you pay as it comes from the seller
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Why did I create RealReviewHub.com? Because honest reviews are one of the best ways to learn valuable information on a product before you decide to spend your hard earned money on it, and we take that serious at RealReviewHub.com. We also know that the internet is full of fake reviews trying to make affiliate commissions. We wanted to fill that gap in the market place and provide useful information you can use on your way to purchasing the course, product, or software reviewed here.
Proof of Purchase for Masterclass
Here is our Proof of purchase for Masterclass. We purchased an All-Access Pass for $180, which is good for 1 year and grants access to all of the Masterclass classes for one price. You can purchase individual classes for $90. But what we wanted to do is give an idea of the overall value of their higher priced membership, and with that, we plan on doing a series of in-depth reviews for individual classes in the Masterclass Library. So here is a copy of the receipt for the purchase of Masterclass All-Access Pass, to prove we put our money where our mouth is at RealReviewHub.com.
We will finish off by adding that Masterclass didn’t ask us to make this review, we are doing it on our own.
What is Masterclass?
Let’s start off this review by explaining what Masterclass is. Masterclass is an online learning platform that was started in 2015 by entrepreneur Aaron Rasmusson and film editor and director David Rogier. It is a U.S. based company in San Francisco, Ca.
The idea behind Masterclass is to create a repository of online learning experiences from some of the most successful people in their respective industries. Masterclass offers classes in the following categories.
- Film & Tv
- Music & Entertainment
- Culinary Arts
- Writing
- Design, Photography, & Fashion
- Politics & Society
- Sports & Games
- Science & Technology
Each of these subject areas offers classes taught by living legends in their space. There are a different number of classes in each category and we will lay them out in more detail later in this review.
Here is our RealReviewHub.com Masterclass Review Video to get an inside look at some of the courses inside of Masterclass.
How Much Does Masterclass Cost?
Masterclass offers two types of pricing.
- ONE TIME PRICE: The first option is to purchase access to a specific class for $90. That will give you lifetime access to that specific class.
- ALL-ACCESS PASS: This second option will give you access to every class in Masterclass for a year at a time for $180
Either option provides really great value. If you are interested in possibly taking more than one class then we would suggest the All-Access Pass as it provides the most bang for your buck.
Is Masterclass Worth Buying?
We will go into a lot more detail as to why throughout this review, but we know some people simply want to know if Masterclass is worth buying or not.
So, is Masterclass worth buying? Yes, our overall impression of Masterclass and its classes are that they are absolutely worth buying. Overall the quality of the content and videos, the credibility of the instructors, and price make Masterclass a great value for writers, filmmakers, entertainers, and those who want cooking lessons from experts.
Here is our official RealReviewHub.com Masterclass Report Card:
- Quality of Videos – A
- The Credibility of the Instructors – A++ (Special Bonus-Plus Here)
- Site Ease of Use – B+
- Quality of Supporting Documents- A
- How Actionable Are Lessons- B+
- Community Forum- A
- Price Vs Value Proposition
- Single Class Lifetime License for $90- A
- All-Access Pass for 1 Year- $180- A++ (There go those extra plusses again)
- Overall Rating- A
How Does Masterclass Work?
Once you decide to purchase a single class or all-access pass here is how Masterclass Works from a student’s perspective.
As you can see from the image above Masterclass offers over 45 classes to choose from, and they are always adding new courses, another reason we love the all-access pass. (For instance, this month Dan Brown’s writing class was just added, guess what we get that included with all the rest of them. 🙂
Masterclass Trailers
Each class has a trailer that you can watch that tells you about the class before you purchase it. Let’s take a look at the Dan Brown trailer below so you can get a sense of what they are like
We actually think the trailers are pretty awesome. Yes, we know they are just marketing material, but they give you a great idea two things once your purchase masterclass.
- The Production Value of the Courses: As we think you would agree the production value of these videos is top notch. You are really getting an aesthetically pleasing video course with any of the masterclass classes.
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HINT: If you don’t like the production quality of these trailers DO NOT BUY MASTERCLASS. The audio and visual quality of the courses are the same as the trailers. We think they are pretty good, especially compared to a lot of other courses we’ve seen.
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- The Feel of the Classes: The masterclass courses have a sit across from the teacher on the couch kind of feel to them, that you will get from the trailers. This can be a good thing because the information is presented in a simple and conversational manner.
- HINT #2: But if you are looking for more of a whiteboard or business class feel to the courses, you probably won’t like Masterclass.
How Are MasterClass Courses Structured?
Now that you know what you can garner from the course trailers. Let’s take a look at what you get inside the courses.
Each class inside Masterclass has a lesson plan, instructional videos, supporting documents for each lesson, a community feature, and office hours where you could pose a question to the teacher and if it’s selected actually have them individually answer.
You can follow along with the course at your own speed which makes this great for learning at your own pace and on your own schedule.
What does the Masterclass Lesson Plan Look Like?
So here is what the inside of your masterclass course will look like. Here we’ve taken a snapshot of Dan Brown’s Course with the lesson dropdown pulled down. As you can see it will have a list of the lessons in the course. With check marks for the ones, you’ve already completed. This will navigate you to that specific course lesson.
Where you can watch the video and get the supporting lesson documents.
Now each course will have a different amount of lessons.
The great thing is you can actually take a look at the lesson plans for each class before you sign up for a class, so there are no surprises there! Visit Masterclass here to check out the individual class lesson plans.
What do the Masterclass Videos look like?
On average each Masterclass has 24 Lessons in each course. Each of these video lessons averages about 12 minutes in time.
So you can definitely take these masterclasses in bite-size chunks.
They are broken up into a specific topic. Each of the teachers disseminates their knowledge on the topic. This can feel like a casual conversation at times. Which is a good and bad thing. It keeps the information free-flowing and you don’t mind sitting through the lessons at all. In fact, the format of the videos will probably have you binge watching some of this content, like you would on Youtube.
But make sure you take your time and take notes on each lesson. There is a lot of good content in most of the lessons and if you don’t want to get into too much of a passive viewer mode. Make sure you keep yourself in Active Learning Mode
The Audio and Video Quality of the videos are top-notch. You will have no problem following along as each is shot in a professional manner. There is nothing worse than paying for a course and then having trouble hearing the audio or following the course because the videos are shot so poorly You won’t have any of these video issues with the Masterclass video courses.
What kind of Supporting Documentation do You Get in Masterclass Lessons?
Each video lesson is then supported by very thorough lesson documentation. This really helps you pull it all together. We suggest you view the lesson first and take notes as if you were listening to a lecture. By taking your own notes you will internalize the lessons better and have great retention.
Then download and open up the supporting documentation that goes along with that Masterclass lesson. Here is what that looks like inside of the lesson dashboard. In keeping with the Dan Brown Course, we are using as an example. Here is where you would find and download the PDF for Lesson 3 Finding the Idea. It’s actually neatly found right under each video which is great.
So what do the supporting documents look like? They are high-quality PDFs that continue with the most important topics covered in the lesson. They also have additional work or homework that you can do to pull the lesson through. We suggest you do these whenever possible as it will really help hammer home the point of the lesson. Adults learn by doing, so this goes back to keeping yourself in active learning mode. Follow the course books and do the assignments as they come.
Some of the PDFs are a few pages, some are a little longer. But in the end, it really does help beef up the content and more importantly, pull through the key learnings from each Masterclass lesson.
Here is a snapshot of what one of the lesson documents look like. Obviously, you can make it bigger when you are reading it.
What about the Masterclass Hub and Community?
One of the best features of Masterclass is being able to share with other like-minded students in the Masterclass Hub. The Masterclass hub is essentially a community forum for members of Masterclass. You can share feedback, answer and pose questions about assignments, and discuss what you’ve learned in specific classes.
Any course worth its salt will have a group or community feature where students can share and learn together in. Masterclass delivers here. The community is pretty active from what we’ve seen so far and it’s a great place to practice or develop your skills together. After all isn’t that why someone would sign up for a learning platform like Masterclass in the first place?
Here is a look at the Community Hub within Masterclass. You can see we’ve dropped down the menu to give you an idea of some of the categories inside the community hub.
Another cool feature of the hub is that you can share work assignments from the lessons and get feedback from other students as well as potentially the teacher themselves on rare occasions.
What Writing Classes are Offered in MasterClass?
Let’s take a closer look at the writing classes offered within of the Masterclass learning platform. Here is a list of the writing classes and the masters that teach them, and how much they cost.
- Dan Brown- Teaches Writing Thrillers – $90
- Margaret Atwood- Teaches Creative Writing – $90
- R.L.Stine- Teaches Writing For Young Audiences – $90
- Malcome Gladwell- Teaches Writing – $90
- Judy Blume- Teaches Writing- $90
- David Mamet- Teaches Dramatic Writing – $90
- James Patterson- Teaches Writing -$90
If you are a writer and you can swing it we recommend the All-Access Pass for $180 so you can take all of these great writing courses.
What TV & Film Classes are offered in Masterclass?
If you are looking for Fim and Tv Classes then Masterclass has you covered. This is one of the robust topic areas covered by Masterclass courses. Below You will find a list of Film and TV related classes you can find on Masterclass.com.
- Werner Herzon Teaches Filmmaking– $90
- Ken Burns Teaches Documentary Filmmaking– $90
- Spike Lee- Teaches Filmmaking – $90
- Judd Apatow- Teaches Comedy -$90
- Helen Mirren- Teaches Acting – $90
- Ron Howard- Teaches Directing – $90
- Samuel L. Jackson- Teaches Acting– $90
- Martin Scorses- Teaches Filmmaking -$90
- Shonda Rhimes- Teaches Writing for Television-$90
- Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting
If you are looking to take classes on TV, Film, Acting and you can swing it we recommend the All-Access Pass for $180 so you can take all of these great Film and TV courses.
What Music and Entertainment Classes Can You Take On Masterclass?
If you are looking to improve your skills in the Music or Entertainment field. Masterclass has some great classes to help you scratch that itch as well.
- Tom Morrello- Teaches Electric Guitar – $90
- Christina Aguilera- Teaches Singing – $90
- Armin van Buuren- Teaches Dance Music – $-90
- Herbie Hancock– Teaches Jazz – $-90
- Usher Teaches Performance – 90$
- Steve Martin- Teaches Comedy- $90
- Hans Zimmer- Teaches Film Scoring– $90
- Deadmau5- Teaches Electronic Music Production– $90
- Reba Mcentire- Teaches Country Music- $90
Which Cooking/Culinary Arts Classes are Available on Masterclass?
Are you looking to take cooking classes to up your culinary skills, then you may not need to look any further than Masterclass. Masterclass offers 7 different cooking classes from world-renowned chefs. Here is a look at the cooking/culinary classes available on Masterclass.
- Dominique Ansel Teaches French Pastry Fundamentals – $90
- Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques I – $90
- Thomas Keller Teaches Cooking Techniques II: Meats, Stocks, and Sauces – $90
- Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking I- $90
- Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking II: Restaurant Recipes at Home – $90
- Alice Waters Teaches Home Cooking– $90
- Wolfgang Puck Teaches Cooking– $90
If you are looking to take cooking classes and you can swing it we recommend the All-Access Pass for $180 so you can take all of these great culinary courses.
What Design, Photography, and Fashion Classes are Offered on Masterclass?
Maybe you are looking to take classes on Design, Photography, or Fashion? Well, the collection of classes isn’t as robust in this area compared to some of the previous topics we’ve already covered, but none the less there are a handful of impressive classes Masterclass offers on these topics right now.
- Marc Jacobs- Teaches Fashion Design – $90
- Diane Von Furstenberg- Teaches Building a Fashion Brand – $90
- Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography– $90
- Frank Gehry Teaches Design and Architecture– $90
Are there Any Classes on Politics and Society on Masterclass?
Are you interested in learning more about politics and society as a whole? Well Masterclass is building out a pretty decent set of classes on these topics
- Paul Krugman Teaches Economics and Society – $90
- David Axelrod and Karl Rove Teach Campaign Strategy and Messaging– $90
- Bob Woodward Teaches Investigative Journalism- $90
- Dr. Jane Goodall Teaches Conservation– $90
What Sports and Games Classes are Available on Masterclass?
Are you interested in getting better at a certain sport or game? Well, Masterclass doesn’t quite have all the sports and games covered but they do offer 4 classes right now around Poker, Basketball, Tennis, and Chess. Take a look at these sports and games classes below.
- Daniel Negreanu Teaches Poker – $90
- Stephen Curry Teaches Shooting, Ball Handling, and Scoring – $90
- Serena Williams Teaches Tennis – $90
- Garry Kasparov Teaches Chess– $90
Are there any Science and Technology Classes on Masterclass?
If you are looking specifically for science and technology classes, masterclass may not be the best option for you. Unless you are looking for a course on Space Exploration since that is the only course they offer at this time.
Chris Hadfield Teaches Space Exploration
Is there anything you would Improve on Masterclass?
The only complaint we have and it is probably not a fair one considering who is teaching the classes is that sometimes the classes feel a bit casual. Almost like these “masters” are old friends and you are sitting in their living room shooting the breeze.
This works to make the coursework enjoyable but at times it kind of feels like these experts are merely expounding on topics. This is necessarily a bad thing, but maybe if they broke up the one on one couch feel with some more lessons that have a more whiteboard and classroom feel to them it would keep people from potentially becoming too passive in their learning.
But then again, that’s on us to make sure that doesn’t happen. But overall if each lesson had the tangible takeaways and action items even more clearly laid out in the videos that would make sure we didn’t miss them in the supporting documentation.
Small quibble but hey we said we would share everything.
What’s next for RealReviewHub on Masterclass?
As we said this is the opening review which is meant to give everyone an idea of exactly what you get in Masterclass and if it might be a good option for you.
As we move on, we plan on continuing our series of Masterclass reviews by going in-depth with the individual classes you might want to take. Obviously, this takes time as we need to go through each course to do this, so stay tuned.
The conclusion of Our Masterclass Review- Buy or No Buy Rating?
As you can probably tell, we are a strong proponent of the Masterclass platform and think you will surely enjoy the classes you decide to take. The quality is high and the price is right.
If you are in some of the subject areas where there is a ton of content, like writing, filmmaking, or culinary then you might want to consider the All-Access Pass to get the most for your money.
We hope this review was helpful. Thanks for stopping by!
