Cinematic Portfolio Mastery — an 8-week cohort

Build the Spec That Books
$10K+ Brand Work in 8 Weeks

One spec, built live with a working commercial director and launched with a release plan that gets it seen. No cold pitching. No haggling over price. No waiting to be picked.

Join the waitlist CaseyJackYvesZachNate160+ filmmakers through the method

Every student is hand-selected. 25 seats for September. Join the waitlist and get the 21-Day Spec Work Playbook today.

CPM — Program Film Tenfold Sound on 01:48
Led by the director behind work for
NikeShopifyOnDJI lululemonShell
The Problem

You Have the Skills. So Where Is the $10K Work?

You keep making specs and taking corporate gigs. Your inbox stays quiet. Here is the truth about the fixes you have already tried.

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More low-paid gigs won't fix it. They pigeonhole you into more of the work you don't want.

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New gear won't fix it. Brands buy direction and taste, not camera bodies.

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Posting every day won't fix it. A random spec is not a real campaign, and 235 views books nothing.

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Even another spec won't fix it if it isn't built with a brand framework in mind. It won't feel 100% real, so you'll be afraid to send it, or you won't know who to send it to. So it sits there, hoping it turns into a paid job.

→

You need a repeatable system: one marketable spec brands hire for, and a focused release so the people who hire actually see it.

The Formula

The Filmmaker's Success Formula

Four learnable skills separate $2,500 jobs from $25,000 jobs.

Taste

Make work that looks big-budget on a $500 budget.

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Proof

One marketable spec, built before the opportunity comes.

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Systems

Pricing, pitching, and workflow templates. Never start from zero.

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Positioning

Stop competing. Start specializing. Become the go-to for one type of work.

Most filmmakers have one or two. In-demand filmmakers have all four.
CPM builds all four in 8 weeks, step by step.

The System

What You'll Build in 8 Weeks

Watching 100 more tutorials won't get you hired. One career-defining spec, built the way real campaigns are built, will.

01

Find Your Direction

Lock the one lane you'll own and the exact brand you're building for, so you stop guessing what to make.

Week 1 · Niche framework · Market positioning
02

Build Your Eye

Train your eye with the 5×5, and find the one Pillar reference that makes the rest of the spec almost build itself.

Week 2 · Reference analysis · Director study
03

The Pre-Edit

CPM's biggest unlock: lock your entire story before you ever pick up a camera. Then test-run the whole shoot so you already know every shot works.

Weeks 3–4 · Pre-viz editing · Shot lists · Test run
04

The Shoot

Build your crew, lock pre-production, and run your shoot with the whole thing mapped and us in your corner, live troubleshooting included.

Weeks 5–6 · Crew & gear · Production weekend
05

Post & Launch

Color and sound that read like a real budget on a spec budget. Then put it in front of the brands you actually want, with the outreach and pricing to turn it into work.

Weeks 7–8 · Edit & grade · 90-day launch calendar
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The Method

Teaching Through Real Work

Every week produces something real: a locked story, a shot list, a shoot day, a launched film.

Real Specs

You leave with a finished, launched brand film. The same standard as the 9 specs below.

Real Direction

Your spec reviewed every week by the director behind Nike, Shell, and DJI productions.

Real Bookings

Outreach scripts, pricing templates, and the 90-day release calendar, built as you shoot.

Student Work

Specs Made With the CPM Method

Every one of these started as a passion project with no client attached. Press play.

Outdoor Research spec by Casey Rogan

Casey Rogan ↗ · Outdoor Research

Shot with the CPM method. Casey's spec work led to an $85,000 national brand campaign, his first commercial contract.

Levi's spec by Miguel Verduzco

Miguel Verduzco ↗ · Levi's

A passion project with no client attached, built start to finish on the CPM system.

ENO Hammocks spec by Jack Polly

Jack Polly · ENO Hammocks

The spec that doubled Jack's ROI on his first project.

Jude Bellingham spec by Tom O'Brien

Tom O'Brien · Jude Bellingham

A hero film built start to finish with the CPM method.

Adidas Originals x JD Sports spec by Nathan Francis

Nathan Francis ↗ · Adidas Originals × JD Sports

Nathan's spec for JD Sports, made with the CPM method.

Rapha spec by Judah Bollinger

Judah Bollinger ↗ · Rapha

Judah's Rapha spec, built start to finish on the CPM system.

Tommy Hilfiger spec by Bryan Semambo

Bryan Semambo ↗ · Tommy Hilfiger

Bryan's Tommy Hilfiger spec, concept to launch on the CPM system.

Dyson spec by Nate Shapiro

Nate Shapiro ↗ · Dyson

A product spec that reads like a global campaign, on the CPM system.

Head Tennis spec by Dylan and Ornella

Dylan & Ornella ↗ · Head Tennis

A tennis spec built start to finish on the CPM system.

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Testimonials

What Our Past Students Say

★★★★★

"These guys figured it out. They've now compiled it into a program, which is what CPM is. To me, it was a no-brainer. I've never seen anyone break it down the way you guys were offering to do it."

Casey RoganDirector · Founder, Frontline CreativeSpec → $85K national campaign
★★★★★

"I doubled my ROI on the first project. It just gave me so much confidence to say: I can apply what I'm doing to a lot of different brands within the space I'm already playing in."

Jack PollyWriter + Director
★★★★★

"Since I started in video, I've bought four different courses and CPM was by far the best and the one most aligned with where I currently am in my career. I'm almost finished shooting my second spec and currently working on the third, all thanks to CPM."

Yves Loic KouadioDirector & DP, Loane Studio
★★★★★

"I joined Cinematic Portfolio Mastery because Tenfold is one of the very few places where industry professionals don't gatekeep, and willingly share their entire process."

Zachary ChenCinematographer
★★★★★

"Film is a team sport, and CPM gave me the motivation to better my own skillset in the company of other likeminded people. I loved my experience with CPM."

Nate ShapiroProducer, Frozen Lake Films
Read more student reviews
The Difference

What Makes CPM Different?

The method behind all 9 finished specs on this page.

The Pre-Edit

Lock the story before the camera comes out

Most specs die in the edit. In CPM you edit the film before you shoot it: every beat, every shot, validated in advance. The hardest week of the program, and the one that changes how you shoot forever.

Then you test-run the entire shoot, so production weekend is execution, not discovery.

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Who It's For

Built for Filmmakers Ready for Their Next Level

CPM is hand-selected on purpose. Two people thrive here.

01 The Stuck Freelancer

Every job that pays has pigeonholed you into more of the work you don't want. The reel is full, the direction is missing, and pausing for a week dries up the pipeline. You want one lane, one spec, and a way out of the loop.

02 The Hired Gun

You can execute anyone's vision, but your name isn't on the work that books directing jobs. Clients pull you into their direction instead of yours. The spec is how you take it back.

Who this is NOT for

Complete beginners. Filmmakers happy with their current rates. Anyone looking for quick hacks or overnight success. Those who will not share work for feedback. Wedding-only videographers.

The Roadmap

Application to Booked Work

The road is public. Here's exactly what happens and when.

Now

Waitlist open

Join today, get the 21-Day Spec Work Playbook instantly, and get first access when applications open. Every CPM student is hand-selected.

Before the cohort

Selection

A straight conversation about where you are and whether the program fits.

Sept 15 — Weeks 1–2

Direction and the eye

Your lane locked, your target brand chosen, your Pillar reference found with the 5×5.

Weeks 3–4

The Pre-Edit and the test run

The whole story locked before the camera comes out, then the entire shoot run once on paper.

Weeks 5–6

Crew, date, shoot

Pre-production locked, crew built, and your production weekend with live troubleshooting in your corner.

Weeks 7–8

Post, launch, sell

Color and sound that read like a real budget. Then the spec goes in front of the brands you actually want, with outreach and pricing to turn it into work.

The Investment

Everything You Get Inside CPM

Not a video course. 8 weeks of implementation with live guidance.

8 weeks of live coaching with Jason: 3 live calls weekly, Tuesday to Thursday, 20+ sessions$12,000
Complete CPM curriculum and frameworks$3,500
Every template and production tool: Director's Treatment, Shot List System, Budget Calculator, Outreach Scripts, Rate Escalation Calculator$2,500
Private filmmaker community and alumni network$1,500
Lifetime access to recordings and updates$2,000
Total value$21,500+
Your investment$2,000 USDBy application only

One $7,500 project returns your tuition 3×. Many students book their first within 90 days.

90-Day ROI Guarantee

Graduate with a completed marketable spec and launch it with the release plan. If you do not book $5,000+ in new paid work within 90 days of launch, we refund your full CPM tuition. Full terms in your enrollment agreement.

Waitlist Open

Next Cohort Starts September 15

8 weeks. One spec. 25 hand-selected seats.

0filmmakers on the waitlist · 25 seats
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3 live calls weekly

Live on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, every week of the cohort

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20+ live sessions

Every session recorded, lifetime access, catch up on your schedule

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Direct feedback

Your spec reviewed every week by a working commercial director

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One finished spec

Shot, graded, and launched with the 90-day release calendar

Join today and get the 21-Day Spec Work Playbook, free, instantly. The system behind the 9 films above.

CaseyJackYvesZachNateEvery student hand-selected
Meet Your Mentor

The $20K Rejection That Changed Everything

Jason Dam

Back in 2019 I was shooting $200 barbershop videos in Toronto. On a good month I made $1,800. Then a friend called about co-directing a $20K airline commercial. On the client call they asked one question: "What else have you done in travel or aviation?" Silence. We lost the job to a director with three airline projects already on his reel.

That loss rewired me. He did not wait to be picked. He built the proof before the opportunity showed up. So I stopped waiting and started building. My first spec was rough, shot in a day with a friend. It still changed how people looked at me. Month 3 brought my first $5,000 project. Year 1 broke $25K. Year 3 broke $100K. Today Tenfold shoots $50K to $200K jobs for brands like Nike, Shell, Shopify, and DJI.

Getting there cost me four years and over $50,000 in mistakes. Specs that never got seen. Gear I did not need. Pitches sent to people who could not say yes. Every lesson inside CPM exists because I paid for it the slow way.

That is what CPM is: the shortcut I did not have. You start with the finished system, skip the $50K in mistakes, and build your first marketable spec in 8 weeks. 160+ filmmakers have done it, with our team in their corner the whole way.

Jason Dam — Co-Founder / Director, Tenfold Production

FAQ

Still Have Questions?

Is this a course or a mentorship?

A cohort, and a hands-on one. We work with you live 3 times a week on the calls, and outside the calls you have direct access to our DMs to ask questions along the way. If you've bought courses before that ended up gathering dust, this is built differently: there's a shoot date on your calendar, a cohort moving with you, and feedback on your actual work every week. You graduate with a finished, launched spec.

What if I've already made a spec that went nowhere?

That's exactly who CPM is for. Your spec was probably good. But it likely wasn't built with a brand framework in mind, so it didn't feel 100% like a real project from the brand. You were afraid to send it, or didn't know who to send it to, and it sat there hoping to turn into a paid job. CPM fixes every link in that chain: the lane, the Pillar reference, the Pre-Edit before you shoot, and a launch plan that puts it in front of the people who hire.

Do I need a big budget or cinema gear?

No. CPM is built around what you can actually access: your camera, your city, your people. The 5×5 and the Pre-Edit are how a $500 shoot reads like a campaign, and week 7 covers the color and sound that make it feel like real budget. Brands hire direction and taste. Casey's first commercial contract came from a spec, and the gear was never the story.

I'm not in LA or New York. Will this work for me?

CPM is fully remote and the cohort is global. Recent students built their specs from the UK, Macedonia, Portland, Toronto, and smaller markets in between. The system is designed for local access: pick a lane your market actually pays for, then build the spec with the locations, talent, and crew around you. Bryan booked five-figure work from the UK. Erick went from $3,000 to $5,000 projects to $8,000 to $11,000 in Portland.

How much time does it take each week?

Plan for about 8 hours a week: the 3 live calls plus focused work on your spec, and one production weekend in weeks 5 and 6. Every call is recorded with lifetime access, so a missed session never breaks your progress. If you truly cannot protect that time right now, wait for a later cohort. The program only works if the reps happen.

Why applications instead of a buy button?

Because 25 seats of hands-on coaching means every seat has to count. The application takes about 5 minutes, we read every one personally, and selected applicants get a straight conversation about where you are and whether the program fits. That filter protects the cohort you'd be joining, and the value of your own seat once you're in.

What is your guarantee?

A 90-Day ROI Guarantee. Graduate with a completed spec, launch it with the release plan, and if you do not book $5,000+ in new paid work within 90 days of launch, we refund your full tuition. We can offer this because we hand-select the people we take, and because the system produces work that sells when the work gets done. Full terms in your enrollment agreement.

When does the next cohort start?

September 15. Waitlist members get the 21-Day Spec Work Playbook the moment they join, and first access when applications open. Every application is reviewed personally.

Join the waitlist