OVERVIEW OF OUR CINEMATOGRAPHY CLASSES

Cinematographers, or Directors of Photography, occupy a central role in providing a film or TV show with a unique tone and visual context while capturing unique shots that stay in the minds of viewers for years. As the legendary filmmaker Nicolas Roeg once said, “You make the movie through the cinematography – it sounds like quite a simple idea, but it was a huge revelation to me.” 

So what exactly does a cinematographer do? Cinematography is the art and craft of translating a story into images. To perform such a task, the cinematographer is required to master several different practices: materializing images with cameras, lenses, and lights; understanding both story as a concept and “the story” of the particular project as expressed by the director; and understanding how filmed images work together to deliver a story in ways that a novel, spoken word, or live performance cannot.

Of course, there is no shortage of cameras that a cinematographer might choose to use, and to that extent, students in the School of Cinematography get hands-on experience with a variety of formats and cameras, including Hi-Def, 16mm film, 35mm film, the Red Epic digital video camera, and HDSLR’s. Students enrolling in our Cinematography School not only get hands-on experience with a vast array of cameras, they also learn how cameras work and what each camera can achieve. 

Central to becoming a successful, in-demand cinematographer is the development of one’s own unique voice and style behind the camera. While a cinematographer often develops a singular aesthetic that makes his or her work immediately recognizable, one must also focus on meeting the technical and creative demands of the director. A cinematographer is at once responsible for maintaining the technical aspects of shots, while simultaneously working to deliver images that fulfill the director’s aesthetic and creative vision. The cinematographer serves as the director’s main visual collaborator and as a result oversees every shot of a production. Furthermore, our Cinematography School aims to shape aspiring cinematographers into well-rounded Directors of Photography who are able to both film the scenes as the director envisions while also being able to inject their own style and ingenuity. 

One cinematography challenge is to get the desired shot in the best and most effective way possible. As such, our School of Cinematography focuses on immersing students in the many nuances involved in setting up a shot, operating a camera, and effectively working with a film crew. One of the primary aspects that sets the Academy’s Cinematography School apart is our philosophy of learning by doing. Students can expect to shoot at least eight projects, while also serving on the crew of dozens of other productions as camera assistants, focus pullers, gaffers, and key grips, providing them with copious on-set experience that will translate to a successful professional career.

Students should expect to supplement their on-set education with extensive in-class instruction to familiarize them with the lexicon of cinematography, in addition to learning to work with a wide breadth of film stock, lenses, filters, depth of field, aspect ratio and framing, lighting, and camera movement. In short, our School of Cinematography provides the best real world education to help train a new generation of successful cinematographers.