BCineSkills Article Category: Camera Movements
Grip and camera support
KEEPING THE STORY MOVING From sliders to SnorriCams, Steadicams and stabilisers, grip is so much more than just a support for the camera; it’s a way to make the lens dance in step with the story. Cinematographers today have a huge range of camera supports to choose from, depending on the mood, blocking and logistics … Read more
Industry Wide Shot / Aerial filming II
SHOTS THAT SOAR The movie business is a demanding beast, expecting blockbuster films to offer visuals that are bigger, faster, and more spectacular than both the competition and what went before. Which is where aerial sequences come in. The technology is certainly there to create standout aerial sequences. The camera mounts, gimbals, and stabilisation systems … Read more
Paul Dugdale and Brett Turnbull on capturing Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate concert film
From stadium to screen Adopting a cinematic approach when lensing Coldplay’s concert film, director Paul Dugdale and cinematographer Brett Turnbull captured the band’s vibrant performance and production, alongside the atmosphere in the stadium and connection between artists and audience. One of the first concert films cinematographer Brett Turnbull and director Paul Dugdale collaborated on was … Read more
Cranes
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS From a Korean beach to a Miami swimming pool, an English theatre to an American concert hall, cranes offer DPs a cinematic way to explore space and character. Florian Hoffmeister BSC tackled tides and translators to accomplish a beautiful crane shot in the opening episode of Pachinko, an epic Apple TV+ series. … Read more
Frank Mobilio and Brook Linder on capturing the celluloid world of Arctic Monkeys’ “Body Paint”
ECHOES OF EKTACHROME Arctic Monkeys’ staying power at the forefront of British music culture has been primarily due to the band’s constantly evolving sound. Never afraid to experiment with new instruments or lyrical stylings, the quartet have pushed boundaries ever since they exploded onto the scene in the early noughties. For their latest album, The … Read more
Roman Vasyanov ASC RGC on lensing Adele’s “Oh My God” music video
Timeline of Emotions Racking up almost 46 million YouTube views in less than a month, Adele’s “Oh My God” music video – lensed by Roman Vasyanov ASC RGC and directed by Sam Brown – captivated audiences with its distinctive and stylish approach. As the camera makes a seamless journey through a seemingly infinite sound stage, … Read more
Vehicle Rigs
CAMERAS AT SPEED From superhero stunts in a circling single take to bloody revenge on a wildly spinning waltzer, the challenges of filming in moving vehicles are no barrier to a DP’s creativity. When Stephen Murphy BSC started the upcoming BBC police drama Blue Lights, he was faced with scripts containing many long dialogue scenes … Read more
Rina Yang on shooting Taylor Swift’s All Too Well: The Short Film
TELLING A STORY Rina Yang filled us in on what it was like to work with one of the most recognisable songwriters on the planet: Taylor Swift. The short film accompanies a previously unreleased 10 minute version of ‘All Too Well’ which first appeared on the 2012 album Red. Taylor Swift is currently in the … Read more
Aerial filming
SKY RISERS Drones, helicopters, and fixed-wing aircraft are helping filmmakers create creative and spectacular shots that soar. We examine the developments in the ever-evolving world of aerial cinematography. Aerial cinematography is long-established in cinema history. From bi-plane dogfights in the 1927 WWI drama Wings to the first helicopter shot in 1945’s The Bandit of Sherwood, … Read more
Dynamic Lighting
Lead image: Zoe Boyle and Kerry Howard lit by China lanterns and covered wagons for Witless shot by Benedict Spence DYNAMIC ILLUMINATION We are lucky enough to live in a time when lighting technology runs the gamut from the simplest tungsten globe to banks of programmable LED panels controlled by an app. Six DPs share … Read more