LEARNING FROM THE BEST

As part of the BSC’s ongoing mission to foster education and training opportunities for cinematographers of all levels, its second Masterclass, led by a selection of award-winning DPs, marked a study weekend with a star-studded difference.  

The second BSC Education Masterclass took place across the weekend of 21-22 January at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Beaconsfield. Twenty cinematographers were in attendance for a weekend of intense study under the instruction of Fabian Wagner ASC BSC and Ben Davis BSC. 

Saturday’s Masterclass began with a group introduction to Wagner followed by a walk-through of a scene on the Main Stage. Participants were guided through the decision-making processes of shooting with multiple cameras and how to navigate the compromises and maximise the benefits. Wagner was then joined by fellow House of the Dragon alumni Catherine Goldschmidt (cinematographer) and Aga Szeliga ACO (camera operator) to contextualise the multi-camera technique with reference to the show and to talk about the importance of collaboration between departments. Moving between the abstracted Main Stage space in the morning, to the confines of a set in the afternoon allowed attendees real-world insight to find solutions, and reap benefits, for the complexities of multi-camera filming. 

Post-dinner entertainment came in the form of a screening of Casino Royale followed by a Q&A with the film’s cinematographer Phil Méheux BSC moderated by Academy Award-winning cinematographer James Friend ASC BSC. The mentor/mentee relationship that Méheux and Friend share was flipped on its head as Friend delved into Méheux’s back catalogue and discovered how he helped reboot the Bond franchise twice, first with Pierce Brosnan on Goldeneye and subsequently with Daniel Craig on Casino Royale. 

Sunday morning began with another round of introductions, this time with cinematographer Ben Davis BSC. Diving straight into his process, Davis walked the attendees around the Edwardian House set and explained his thought processes behind how he would begin to construct a lighting plan. From an overview of lighting a space atmospherically, Davis expanded into techniques for close-up work, with a specific emphasis on retaining the atmospheric of the wider images in a scene. 

Post lunch, a classroom approach was adopted as Davis led the attendees through a selection of his lighting plans. The diagrams were pulled from Davis’ diverse array of productions, across a broad budget range. He used the plans to illustrate his approach to lighting and explained how the plans are the epicentre of the collaboration between DP, production designer, gaffer, supervising art director, among others. 

A huge thank you to all the instructors on behalf of the BSC. We could not hold these educational events without your contribution and expertise.  

And thank you to our attendees for your curiosity and dedication to your craft. 

See you at the next Masterclass. 

Attendee testimonials 

“I found Ben Davis’s session on the different types of eye-lights and how they can really affect the emotion of a scene very useful. I have implemented this on a recent project and felt it brought out the emotion of the main character more. A small detail but one that really made a difference.  

“We also did a session on how to shoot multi-camera scenes with Fabian, Catherine, and Aga in a mock scene. It was great to see the different types of options you may have with regards to lighting and how to look for complementary angles that will make the scene more visually interesting. 

“The BSC masterclass was an invaluable experience. Very well organised and great to have access to cinematographers who I look up to. The mixture of practical workshops and being able to ask any questions surrounding other aspects of the industry was something I found very insightful and helpful. I learnt a lot from the different cinematographers teaching us and picked up some great tips which I will certainly be implementing on my shoots.” 

Aman K. Sahota 

“The opportunity to learn from DPs outside of the time pressures of being on a shoot, together with the space to explore and ask questions about their methods was fantastic.  

The DPs on both Masterclass weekends have been very accessible and generous with their advice. As someone who has worked on set for 18 years and is now trying to change what I do, it is a breath of fresh air to be able to break down processes not just by watching a film, or a YouTube clip, but in person, in a classroom environment. 

It is great to be able to take a step back and properly digest the things that are seen day-in-day-out on set, but I have mostly been too busy doing my job to really observe with scrutiny. 

I’m looking forward to seeing where these masterclasses will head to next, and to see the variety of accomplished DPs who sign up to support those who wish to broaden their knowledge. I would like to see more of the technical aspects that can only be experienced on larger scale sets and more specialised productions.”  

Heather Crompton