FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT Jess Hall ASC BSC reflects on how cinematographers can bring their own life experiences to their lensing for truly authentic storytelling. Spring 2014, Highgate, London. I prepare to bury my father amongst some of his closest friends and fellow intellectuals at Highgate Cemetery. The soft spring sunlight enters the southern aspect … Read more
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
Putting the spotlight on Salford University’s film production courses, which offer the increasingly rare opportunity for undergraduate students to get to grips with analogue capture. It’s a rainy midweek morning at Salford Quays, and I’m going back to school. To quote the late, great Conrad Hall ASC, “You are always a student, never a master,” … Read more
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 … Read more
MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN To help Wedding Season’s viewers navigate the show’s non-linear timelines, choosing the right glass for the challenge was pivotal for cinematographer Adam Etherington BSC. Wedding Season is a high-octane comedy with a rip-roaring narrative that accelerates straight out of the blocks. It was a show I felt we could do something … Read more
Shooting fast and hitting hard Cinematographer Simon Rowling reveals how he shot action and dialogue scenes in a limited timeframe for rip-roaring thriller One Ranger. I have always been keen to work with Jesse Johnson for many years, having seen his work in the thriller/action genre. In February 2022 he got in touch with me … Read more
SAFE SPACE The launch of the Mark Milsome Foundation’s Film and TV Online Safety Passport Course has reignited vigorous debate around on-set health and safety. “At the inquest into Mark’s death, the coroner concluded that on that set, the risk of Mr. Milsome being harmed or fatally injured was not effectively recognised, assessed, communicated, or … Read more
RIGHT ROYAL DRAMA A timely shift in focus from the Royal Family takes Netflix’s The Crown from English to Egyptian soil to follow the Al-Fayed family in season five’s “Mou Mou”. The series’ seasoned cinematographer, Adriano Goldman ASC BSC ABC, reveals how he used colour to shape the contrasting storylines in his lensing. It’s not … Read more
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
ON COURSE FOR CAMERA CAREERS In October 2022, the BSC and London Screen Academy ran the inaugural Cinematography and Camera Department Workshop for “early career creatives” as part of BSC Education. The Cinematography and Camera Department Workshop was conceived two years ago by BSC president Christopher Ross and aimed at those from marginalised groups or … Read more
CAUGHT IN THE ACT Cinematographer Witold Stok BSC explores the fascinating relationship between those in front of and behind the camera, drawing on his own experiences on set. “I think acting – and particularly feature film performance, because of its subtlety – is really an instinctive thing. I think you can either do the gig or … Read more
BRIGHT SPARKS The virtual production boom has drawn a new generation of companies into the cinematography sphere. Leading the charge are the LED processing specialists at Brompton Technology. 10 years ago, the name Brompton was synonymous with a certain ubiquitous folding bike. But in London, an idea was being forged for another product that would … Read more
THE SHOW MUST GO ON Shooting in the precious setting of London’s Freemasons’ Hall added an extra layer of complexity for See How They Run’s cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay SASC and gaffer Carolina Schmidtholstein. The duo discusses the intricacies of lighting the historic venue while juggling capturing an ensemble cast. It’s 1950s’ London and we … Read more
EXPERT FOCUS An inspiring new training initiative from the British Society of Cinematographers aims to boost the skills sets of both existing DPs and those breaking into the industry with a series of expert-led events. BSC Education, a new committee from the British Society of Cinematographers, held its inaugural Masterclass in late August at the … Read more
ORCS BY FIRELIGHT An enormous lighting setup was required when Alex Disenhof ASC lensed the orc nighttime invasion of a village in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. I remember the moment when I was in high school, sitting in a theatre watching The Return of the King and I said, ‘I have to figure … Read more
If you’ve had a bad experience with HDR (High Dynamic Range) in the early days, or been forced to use an ACES colour workflow at any point, I hope you might find this article useful. So far I’ve graded fifteen HDR projects, including Sex Education, Fleabag, Landscapers, Top Boy, Gangs of London, Persuasion (feature) and … Read more
PLAYING WITH FIRE Time was of the essence for Will Baldy when lighting a fast-evolving tavern set on The Sandman. He explains the tricks and techniques used to capture the changing light over the centuries. On the surface, The Sandman is adapted from the eponymous DC Comics series written by Neil Gaiman. As you’ll learn … Read more
GRANULARITY OF TIME Ula Pontikos BSC’s work on “Nowhen” – the opening episode of season two of Russian Doll, the series merging death, rebirth, past trauma, and time travel – saw her receive an Emmy nomination. The cinematographer talks us through one of her favourite sequences from the second series which follows protagonist Nadia’s DMT … Read more
The shortage of skilled crew amidst a production boom has been well-documented, but a post-pandemic flurry of apprenticeships and training schemes hopes to boost the talent pipeline. Is it enough? It’s something of a miracle that UK film crew enjoys the international reputation it does, with recruitment largely lacking even a semi-formal system of qualification … Read more
SENSOR SENSIBILITY There are more lens and sensor options to choose from than ever before. Exploring how the two can work together in harmony, cinematographers share their thoughts on the large-format phenomenon and their preferred combinations. All things being equal, large format sensors ought to be an easy pick: more silicon converts more photons into … Read more