Digital Orchard, industry-leader in film and digital workflow services, have launched their new Access 2025: DIT & Video Trainees, run through their Orchard Onset department. Digital Orchard is excited to announce their brand-new 2025 DIT & Video Trainees: Cleopatra Southcombe, Lorna McCoid, Monika Sak, Jack Lightfoot, Adella Demou, and James Lau. For the second consecutive … Read more
The Scottish Youth Film Foundation in partnership with The Sean Connery Foundation and the National Film and Television School announce that in Summer 2025 they will be running The Sean Connery Youth Talent Lab. The summer school will take place near Alness in the Highlands (close to Ardross Castle where ‘The Traitors’ series is filmed) … Read more
Creative Cities Convention has announced its first ever Skills Summit, created to provide freelancers and emerging talent with the expertise to meet the challenges facing the industry. The Skills Summit will run on 7 and 8 May, alongside the main conference in Bradford. Day one is aimed at freelancers with at least five years’ experience in the screen industries and features … Read more
Cassius Rayner is one of the hardest working people in mobile filmmaking today. He’s been quietly making films for more than 20 years, working as a director and camera operator for many years working on a variety of productions in the UK and around Europe for such icons as Sky, ABC, PBS, FilmFour and Channel … Read more
Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis has once again teamed up with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright for his latest movie, Here – based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire. The movie uses an AI-assisted aging and de-aging process to convey the lifetime of a married couple, played by Hanks and Wright. The film, which … Read more
STORING STORIES Data storage may not be the most glamorous of technologies, but in today’s world of digital filmmaking it is every bit as important as the camera. Tom Mitchell is the founder and technical director of Mission Digital, supplying DITs and digital lab services for 14 years. “Storage used to be – in the … Read more
CHINESE WINTERS DP Yu-Ming Huang and director Rui Wang won the music video category at the CVP Canon Stories in Motion event with their video for the song To Night. Here they explain filming it during the winter break. When Rui Wang was approached by rap group Ghost Crew to direct its music video “To Night”, … Read more
Ancient Optics Ancient Optics is a cinema lens manufacturer with a focus on vintage optics. The company preserves and curates legendary optical designs for the modern cinematographer. Its extensive testing protocol insures all its lenses have the unique optical characteristics the company wishes to bring to the community. Ancient Optics’ most recent projects – Petzvalux, … Read more
CAPTURING THE CLUTTER Nanu Segal BSC explores how lensing choices and lighting transitions came into play when shooting haunting drama examining childhood trauma, Hoard – from scenes grounded in naturalism through to more absurd hoarding sequences. When my agent sent me the script for Hoard, as soon as I read it, I knew this was … Read more
GUIDING LIGHT Mentees and mentors have been paired and 2024’s BSC Mentorship scheme is in full flow. We speak to BSC Education Committee chair Oliver Stapleton BSC about changes made to the scheme, benefits past mentors and mentees have enjoyed, and how cinematographers can get involved. “I’m always interested in the column called ‘Other interests’ … Read more
TRUE BRIT As UK studios adapt to industry changes, they are expanding, embracing sustainability, and enhancing training initiatives, paving the way for a vibrant future in film. The uncertainty around film and HETV production may not have yet subsided, but studios—the foundation of the UK film industry in more ways than one—continue to operate. Expansion … Read more
A FINE VINTAGE By the late noughties, older lenses were considered by many to be too soft and generally obsolete. Then came digital cinema cameras, and suddenly so-called “vintage” lenses with their distinctive analogue characteristics were back in fashion. “We all go through the same journey and that journey takes place through glass,” believes Jake … Read more
EN VOGUE The Netflix series Geek Girl, centred on an awkward teen model, uniquely benefits from cinematographer Tim Palmer BSC’s fashion industry knowledge and experience. Not many people know this, but before I entered the camera department, I was a fully-fledged fashion photographer in the late 1980s. I used to shoot everything on medium format, which gave … Read more
PULLING THE STRINGS Benedict Spence BSC details the technical challenges of Eric, focusing on maintaining continuity across scenes filmed in New York City and Budapest. I was thrilled when I was first given the script for Eric. My friend and long-term director collaborator Lucy Forbes said it was a mystery thriller, all set in 1980’s … Read more
BODY SHOCK Benjamin Kračun BSC reveals the approach he adopted when shooting The Substance, working with prosthetics and practical effects to realise director Coralie Fargeat’s vision for the body horror. The script for The Substance is 150 pages and 20 pages of that is dialogue. So when I read it, I thought it was amazing … Read more
Diary of a Ghost is a short drama about a young woman’s relationship with her deceased partner and her struggle to let go of the past. We shot the film over two days in and around London. There was a variety of different location styles for us to work with, which required a lot … Read more
During pre-production, Ruari and I extensively discussed our approach to crafting a visual aesthetic that would complement our narrative, drawing from arcade theme. Our aim was to evoke the vibrant, colourful ambiance of arcades, infusing our film with a rich, underworld vibe. Projects like Good Time and Euphoria Season 2 served as close reference points, … Read more
WATCH THE SKIES Aerial cinematography is booming as filmmakers leverage advanced drone and helicopter technology to create dynamic, breathtaking visuals for major productions. Aerial cinematography took a dive last year, along with the rest of the industry, but the skies are getting busier, as filmmakers shooting from drones and helicopters take advantage of the latest … Read more
THE MOVING IMAGE Cinematographer Rick Joaquim SASC loved the challenge of shooting the short film Stay Calm, set entirely in the back of an ambulance. Stay Calm is a 20-minute, edge-of-the-seat thriller, set entirely in the back of an ambulance as three paramedics fight to save the life of a wounded criminal. Acclaimed actors Shaun … Read more
STRENGTH IN COLLABORATION Co-directors Ren and Samuel Perry-Falvey continue their stellar collaboration which already produced the Camerimage-selected music video for “Hi Ren” at last year’s festival. Having lensed the music video for “Hi Ren” in 2022, Samuel Perry-Falvey returns to work with the idiosyncratic musician Ren. This time, to shoot the visual accompaniment to the … Read more