Cinematography: An Intro to Lighting & Operating with Andrew Speller, A.C.O.

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In this three-day course, you'll learn how the cinematographer’s imprint is on every frame and how lighting and a skilled DoP can elevate a film beyond its script and subject.

Course Info

Date:

Friday 5th, Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December

Times:

10:00 – 18:00

Duration:

3-day course

Fee:

£725

Capacity:

10 participants

Course overview

The cinematographer is one of the key creative individuals in the filmmaking process, and is certainly the craftsperson whose work audiences are most aware of. The cinematographer’s imprint is on every frame. They can elevate a film beyond its script and subject.

Cinematography is much more than making pretty pictures and beautiful lighting. It has a ‘language’, and it’s about shooting films in a relevant way, in order to serve and express the script. In a larger crew, the cinematographer is the Director of Photography, managing a large camera department and working to schedule and budget. Still, the task is the same: to create a work of visual clarity and power.

This 3-day workshop with Andrew Speller, ACO, will give an introduction to the art of cinematography, with a particular emphasis on lighting, lenses, movement, staging and working as a unit.

Course Outline

DAY ONE

The day will start with an introduction to the process of visualisation – script to screen.

It will cover:

Working as a unit (department roles)
Light, lenses, exposure control
Composition
Staging – choreographing action for the camera

The afternoon will consist of a practical exercise focusing on lighting strategies, lighting for movement, staging action for camera, and lens characteristics & choices.

DAY TWO

Designing a shot
Simple scenarios with 2 people
Lighting for movement
Lighting for different times of day
Lighting for different moods.

The group will be divided into two units of five: Groups A & B. Each group will be offered a choice of scene from selected films. The exercise is to choose and then replicate that scene, creating the same “look” – mood and atmosphere. Group A shoots in the morning. Group B shoots in the afternoon

The workshop is suitable for individuals with a basic knowledge of cameras who are considering a career in a camera department, entering film school at the MA level, or industry camera technicians and trainees seeking to expand their skills. It is designed for directors who wish to enhance their understanding of the camera’s function in visual storytelling and learn more about lighting and camera operation.

Tutor

Andrew Speller, GBCT. ACO

Cinematographer

Andrew Speller, GBCT. ACO

Cinematographer

Andrew Speller is an experienced Cinematographer and Camera Operator with a professional career in the Film industry of over 30 years. An early passion for drawn, painted, photographed, static or moving images, developed into filmmaking.

Documentary experience shaped an intuitive awareness of being able to read situations as they evolved, to find the shots that supported the emotion and an ability to get the camera to where it should be to tell the story, readily transferred to narrative filmmaking in TV Drama and Features.

Andrew’s experience of working with high profile Directors and DP’s in both Film and Digital formats, informs his approach to teaching Cinematography.

In 2008 Andrew joined the prestigious London Film School as a Senior Lecturer in Cinematography. Now as a visiting lecturer Andrew teaches at several other film schools in the UK and EU.

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