Cinematographer Alan Jacobsen deploys cinematic techniques for Outlier college courses

Director of photography Alan Jacobsen recently collaborated with Outlier.org to film a series of online college courses on a variety of subjects.

Jacobsen, who shot the Oscar-nominated Strong Island, said: “Outlier is a dream client in that they came to me with science. They suggested people learn more effectively and are increasingly engaged when interacting with high-quality cinematic visuals. As a cinematographer, I’ve always believed great visuals change lives. When Aaron Rasmussen cited scientific studies, which show that humans are emotionally predisposed to looking at the left side of the human face – it has to do with newborn babies being held by their mothers – I was careful to always orient our camera coverage to take advantage of this subtle biological preference.”   

“Working with Alan was one of the more fruitful artistic collaborations I’ve had as a director,” said Rasmussen, CEO of Outlier. “He’s not afraid to get into the weeds or even into the aphids lurking on the stems of them – all while managing to stay efficient and on schedule. Alan’s genre-defining approach to the visuals of for-credit education have left their mark on both our brand and our students’ learning.” 

Jacobsen used three Canon C300Mk2 cameras with Canon Cinema lenses designed to engage the students with the meticulously designed sets, which were lit with networked ARRI SkyPanels and DoPchoice SnapBags and SnapGrids. “This became a trademark look that Rassmussen referred to as ‘Hogwarts meets Blade Runner’,” said Jacobsen. 

Outlier managed to create new courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, making a wider variety of courses accessible online to anyone with an internet connection. When the pandemic rendered traditional film production impossible, the team came up with a safe production plan, to match the quality of previously photographed courses. To make the process more challenging, Jacobsen needed to direct Outlier’s professors, who had no filmmaking experience, on how to light, focus and film themselves remotely. With his guidance, small, local production crews assembled the sets and sanitised the area before leaving. The unique, cinematic lectures speak for themselves.

You can find out more about the courses here.