Many people are learning the tools, Maya, Nuke, Photoshop, etc. but is there a practical knowledge of 'why' behind the 'how' of the sliders and check boxes.

This course is designed to help you understand the world of the Cinematographer and Look Development Artist.

During the two day course you'll look in depth at Lighting, Cameras and the rules of Cinematography. You'll gain an understanding of Lens, Lights and Digital Formats. We'll also answer questions like:

  • "How much motion blur should you get from using a certain lens and f-stop?"
  • "How do you work with 29.97 and 23.97 video in 3D?"
  • "When should I use Inverse Square for my lighting?",
  • ...and much more..

For a complete list of the course content, please see the list below.


Road to Perdition, Cinematography by Conrad L. Hall

Introduction to Cinematography

  • The Frame
  • The Lens
  • Light, Colour and Texture

Lighting Basics

  • The Fundamentals of Lighting
    • The Goals of Good Lighting
    • Exposure and Lighting
  • Aspects of Light
    • Hard and Soft Light
    • Direction
    • Intensity
    • Texture
    • Colour
  • Basic Lighting Techniques
    • Back Cross Keys
    • Ambient Plus Accent
    • Lighting with Practicals
    • Lighting through the Window
    • Available Natural Light
  • Motivated Light
  • Day Exteriors
  • Placing Lights

Lighting Sources

  • The Tools of Lighting
  • Daylight Sources
  • Xenons
  • Tungsten Lights
  • PAR's
  • Soft Lights
  • Colour-Correct Fluorescent
  • Other Types of Units
  • Day Exteriors

High Definition Cinematography

  • HD vs. SD
  • Analog vs. Digital
  • Types of Video Sensors
  • Shooting Formats
  • Digital Compression
  • Understanding Waveform Monitors and Vectorscopes
  • Video Latitude
    • Clipping
    • Video Noise and Grain
  • Understanding DI
  • Understanding the Video Signal
    • Interlace Video
    • Progressive Video
    • NTSC, PAL and ATSC
    • ColourSpace
  • SDI
  • Digital Video Encoding
  • What is Broadcast Quality?
  • Timecode and Edgecode
    • Video Frame Rates
    • Drop-Frame and Non-Drop-Frame
    • 29.97 and 23.97 Video
  • Metadata
  • Digital File Formats
  • Controlling the HD Image
    • Gain / ISO
    • Gamma
    • Black Gamma / Black Stretch
    • Knee
    • Colour Saturation
    • Matrix
    • Colour Balance

Exposure

  • What is Exposure
  • F/Stops
  • Exposure, ISO and Lighting Relationships
  • Inverse Square Law and Cosine Law
  • Densitometry
  • Brightness
  • Contrast
  • The Zone System
  • The Gray Scale
  • Shutter Speed vs. Shutter Angle

Moving the Camera

  • Camera Basics
  • Types of Moves
    • Pan
    • Tilt
    • Push-In / Push-Out
    • Zoom
    • Punch-In
  • Moving Shots
    • Tracking
    • Countermove
    • Reveal
    • Circular Track Moves
    • Crane Moves
    • Aerial Moves

Lens Aberrations and Effects

  • The Physical Basics of Optics
  • Focus
  • Depth of Field
  • Lens Distortion
  • Flares and Glints

Colour

  • Colour Basics
  • The Human Eye
  • Qualities of Colour
  • Colour Models
  • Colour Temperature
  • Stops vs. Printer Lights vs. Densities vs. Cineon
  • LUT's

Film and Broadcast Formats

  • 16mm
  • 35mm
  • IMAX
  • Standard Definition
  • High Definition
  • RED


Apocalypse Now, Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro

Two Day Course £1,000 (+VAT @ 20%)

Recommended course books:

  • The Five C's of Cinematography - Joseph Mascelli
  • Cinematography - Kris Malkiewicz and M. David Mullen
  • High Definition Cinematography - Paul Wheeler
  • Cinematography: Theory and Practice - Blain Brown
  • Painting with Light - John Alton