My New Online Course: “Cinematography for Drama”

March 28, 2022March 24, 2022 neilosemanblocking, camera movement, cinematography, course, learn filmmaking, learning, lighting

My new second online cinematography course, Cinematography for Drama, is now out on Udemy. The course explains the role of a DP on set, from collaborating with the director in blocking the cast and choosing the camera angles, to lighting the scene with depth and mood.

Across the four modules of the course, I set up and shoot scenes in common contemporary locations: domestic banter in a sunny kitchen, a monologue in a dark bedroom, an awkward first date in a restaurant, and a walk-and-talk in an outdoor bar. Watch me try out different blocking and camera angles to get the most depth and interest in the frame, create movement using a slider and a gimbal, and work out the coverage needed to complete the scene. Then learn the secrets of cinematic lighting as I set up LED, tungsten and practical lights to create a look. Witness the camera rehearsals through to the final take, then sit back and watch the final edited scene. Every step of the way, I explain what I’m doing and why, as well as the alternatives you could consider for your own films.

This is a follow-up to my best-selling Udemy course Cinematic Lighting, which has over 3,600 students and a star rating of 4.5 out of 5. Here is some student feedback:

“Excellent. Informative and enjoyable to watch.” – 5 stars – David C.
“Thank you to Neil and his team for a fantastic course that gives a real insight into the thought process of a cinematographer.” – 5 stars – Dan B.
“Some great tips in this. Really enjoyed watching the decisions being made as and when the scenario is actually being lit, some good workarounds and nice in depth descriptions to why he’s doing what he is. Genuinely feels like your taking in some advice on set! Well worth taking the time to do this!” – 5 stars – Ed L.

You can get the new course for a special low price by using the code IREADTHEBLOG before April 2nd.

Finding the Positive in 2020

December 21, 2020December 20, 2020 neilosemanblog, blogging, course, crowd funding, crowdfunding, showreel

This year hasn’t been great for anyone. It certainly hasn’t for me. Even as I’m writing this I’m hearing the news that, in a staggeringly foreseeable U-turn, the Christmas bubble rules have been severely restricted. So how to wrap up this stinker of a year?

I considered making this article about the pandemic’s impact on the film and TV industries and speculating about which changes might be permanent. But who needs more doom and gloom? Not me.

Instead, here are six positive things that I accomplished this year:

We shot the final block of War of the Worlds: The Attack in February/March, and I was recently shown a top-secret trailer which is very exciting. There is plenty of post work still to do on this modern-day reimagining of the H.G. Wells classic, but hopefully it will see the light of day in a year or so.
After a couple of lax years, I got back to blogging regularly. This site now has a staggering 1,250 posts!
I completed and released my first online course, Cinematic Lighting, which has proven very popular. It currently has over 1,000 students and a star rating which has consistently hovered around 4.5 out of 5.
I made a zoetrope and shot several 35mm timelapses and animations for it, which was a nice lockdown project. Even though the animations didn’t come out that well they were fun to do, and the zoetrope itself is just a cool object to keep on the shelf.
I wrote my first article for British Cinematographer, the official magazine of the BSC, which will be published on January 15th. In the process I got to interview (albeit by email) several DPs I’ve admired for a while including David Higgs BSC, Colin Watkinson ASC, BSC and Benedict Spence.
The lockdown gave me the time to update my showreel. Who knows if I’ll ever work again as a DP, but if not, at least I can look back with pride at some of the images I’ve captured over the years.

Despite the restrictions, I hope all my readers manage to find some joy, love and comfort over the festive period. And if not, just consume a lot of mulled wine and chocolate; it’s the next best thing.

In a tradition I’ve neglected for a few years, I’ll leave you with a rundown of my ten favourite blog posts from 2020.

“The Rise of Anamorphic Lenses in TV” – a look at some of the shows embracing oval bokeh and horizontal flares
“5 Steps to Lighting a Forest at Night” – breaking down how to light a place that realistically shouldn’t have any light
“Above the Clouds: The Spoiler Blogs” – including how we faked a plane scene with a tiny set-piece in the director’s living room
“Working with White Walls” – analysing a couple of short films where I found ways to make the white-walled locations look more cinematic
“10 Clever Camera Tricks in Aliens“ – the genius of vintage James Cameron
“The Cinematography of Chernobyl“ – how DP Jakob Ihre used lighting and lensing to tell this horrifying true story
“5 Things Bob Ross Can Teach Us About Cinematography” – who knew that the soft-spoken painter had so much movie-making widsom?
“5 Ways to Fake Firelight” – a range of ways to simulate the dynamics of flames, from the low-tech to the cutting edge
“A Post-lockdown Trip to the Cinema” – an account of the projection sacrilege commited against a classic movie in my first fleapit trip of the Covid era
“Exposure” (four-part series) – in-depth explanations of aperture, ND filters, shutter angles and ISO

Cinematic Lighting: An Online Course Available Now

May 25, 2020May 24, 2020 neilosemancinematography, course, learn filmmaking, learning, lighting, student

My online course, Cinematic Lighting, is available now on Udemy. It’s an advanced and in-depth guide to arguably the most important part of a director of photography’s job: designing the illumination.

The course is aimed at cinematography students, camera operators looking to move up to DP, corporate/industrial filmmakers looking to move into drama, and indie filmmakers looking to increase their production values.

Rather than demonstrating techniques in isolation in a studio, the course takes place entirely on location. The intent is to show the realities of creating beautiful lighting while dealing with the usual challenges of real independent film production, like time, weather and equipment, as well as meeting the requirements of the script.

Cinematic Lighting consists of four hour-long modules: Day Exterior, Day Interior, Night Interior and Night Exterior. Each module follows the blocking, lighting and shooting of a short scripted scene (inspired by the fantasy web series Ren: The Girl with the Mark) with two actors in full costume. Watch me and my team set up all the fixtures, control the light with flags and rags, and make adjustments when the camera moves around for the coverage. Every step of the way, I explain what I’m doing and why, as well as the alternatives you could consider for your own films. Each module concludes with the final edited scene so that you can see the end result.

Students should already have a grasp of basic cinematography concepts like white balance and depth of field. A familiarity with the principle of three-point lighting will be useful, but not essential.

You will learn:

how to create depth and contrast in your shots;
how to light for both the master shot and the coverage;
how and when to use HMI, fluorescent, LED and traditional tungsten lighting;
how to use natural light to your advantage, and how to mould it;
how to use a light meter and false colours to correctly expose your image;
how to use smoke or haze to create atmosphere, and
how to simulate sunlight, moonlight and firelight.

Get lifetime access to Cinematic Lighting now.

Below is a full breakdown of the course content.

MODULE 1: DAY EXTERIOR

Learn how to block your scene to make the most of the natural light, and how to modify that light with flags, bounce and diffusion, as well as how to expose your image correctly.

1.1 Principles & Prep

What to look for on a recce/scout
How to predict the sun path using apps or a compass
How to block action relative to the sun
Three-point lighting
The importance of depth in cinematography
When to shoot in cross-light vs. backlight
How to get rippling reflections off water

1.2 Blocking for Success

Observing a rehearsal with actors Kate and Ivan
What to look for in the blocking
How to get reflections off a blade
When to shoot the master shot
How to choose what order to shoot your coverage in
Using a white poly/bead-board as bounce

1.3 Exposure

Why light meters are still important
Dynamic range and log recording
How to use an incident meter and a spot reflectance meter
The f-stop series
How to use false colours
How to arrive at the right exposure from all this information
How to select the appropriate ND (neutral density) filter
Shooting the wide shot

1.4 Shaping the Singles

Short- and broad-key lighting
Types of reflector
Positioning a reflector
Paying attention to eye reflections
Negative fill
How to use 4×4 floppy flags
Shooting Ivan’s close-up
Using a trace frame
“Health bounce”
Shooting Kate’s close-up
Summary
The final edited scene

MODULE 2: DAY INTERIOR

This module introduces some common lighting instruments, demonstrates how to imitate natural light entering a room, and how to create depth and contrast with black-out and smoke.

2.1 Scouting & Equipment

Identifying light sources in the room
Using apps or a compass to predict how sun will enter through the windows
The principle of dark-to-light depth
Using curtains to modify interior light
Introduction to some common lighting instruments: Dedolights, Kino Flos, an HMI and a Rayzr MC LED panel

2.2 Lighting through a Window

Observing the blocking with actors Kate and Ivan
Direct lighting using an HMI
Controlling contrast with black-out
Diffusing the light with a trace frame
Bouncing the light off poly/bead-board
Bouncing the light off parts of the set
Use of a light meter and false colours to set the correct exposure

2.3 Atmosphere

Use of smoke or haze to add atmosphere to the scene
Reasons to add atmosphere
The concept of aerial perspective
Shooting the master shot
Comparison of the final shot to the other versions demonstrated in 2.2 and 2.3

2.4 Lighting the Reverse

Use of viewfinder apps to find a frame and select a lens
Challenges of front-light
Adjusting the window light to highlight certain areas
Demonstrating a “window wrap” using a Kino Flo
Using light readings and ND filters to arrive at the correct exposure
Shooting the reverse
Summary
The final edited scene

MODULE 3: NIGHT INTERIOR

Create a moody night-time look indoors using practical sources, toplight, and simulated moonlight and firelight.

3.1 Internal vs. External Light

Observing the blocking with actors Kate and Ivan
Approaches to lighting a night interior scene
Lighting from outside with an HMI “moon”
Working with bounced “moonlight” inside the room
Choosing an overhead source as the key light

3.2 Working with Toplight

Time and safety considerations of working with top-light
Rigging a top-light safely
Controlling top-light spill on the set walls
Using unbleached muslin to soften and warm up the light
The inverse square law

3.3 Firelight & Moonlight

Working with practical candles
Reinforcing candles with a hidden LED fixture
Simulating an off-camera fireplace
Lighting the view outside the window
Bringing moonlight into the room to add colour contrast and depth
Shooting the master shot

3.4 Tweaking for the Coverage

Checking the blocking for the first single
Filling in shadows using additional unbleached muslin
Flagging the top-light to control the background
Adjusting the external light to maintain colour contrast
Shooting Kate’s single
Adjusting the fireplace effect to work for a close-up
Shooting Ivan’s single
Summary
The final edited scene

MODULE 4: NIGHT EXTERIOR

Paint with light on the blank canvas of night; set up an artificial moon; create depth, contrast and colour contrast; and use shadows to your advantage.

4.1 Setting the Moon

Observing the blocking with actors Kate and Ivan
Principles of night exterior lighting
Creating believable moonlight
Features of HMI lighting
Choosing a position and height for the HMI “moon”

4.2 Finessing the Master

Use of a practical fire source
Reinforcing a practical fire with an LED fixture
Colour contrast
Using a Kino Flo as an additional soft source
Tackling a difficult shadow
Reading and adjusting lighting ratios using an incident meter
Working with smoke/atmos outdoors
Shooting the master shot

4.3 Shooting the Singles

Adjusting the existing sources to work for a close-up
Shooting Ivan’s single
Diffusing the HMI
Monitoring exposure using false colours
Shooting Kate’s single

4.4 Lighting the Reverse

The pros and cons of flipping the backlight
Example of cheating the moonlight around
Using established sources to your advantage
Adding diffusion vs. a gobo to the HMI
Creating a “branch-a-loris”
Shooting the reverse
Summary
The final edited scene

APPENDICES

Useful links, a full kit list and a deleted scene

Get lifetime access to Cinematic Lighting now.

Cinematic Lighting Course: Coming Soon

April 6, 2020April 5, 2020 neilosemanBlackmagic, cinematography, course, editing, lighting, tutorial

I’m using my time in Covid-19 lockdown for a few different things, some more worthy than others. Lying-in is a big one. Watching all of Lost again. Exercising more. But also I’ve got a big editing project to complete, a project of my own, the perfect task to get me through the long days at home.

Last November I shot Cinematic Lighting, a four-hour online course. It’s something I’d been thinking about for a while, especially over the last year or so as my Instagram following has sky-rocketed (about 33,000 at the time of writing). DPs and cinematography students follow my feed for the lighting diagrams I post every Friday, showing exactly how a lighting set-up was achieved, but some commenters had started to ask why I made certain creative decisions. So the idea for the course was born.

Lighting diagram for the Night Exterior module’s master shot

Cinematic Lighting consists of four modules: day exterior, day interior, night interior and night exterior. In each module I light and shoot a half-page scene with two actors, Kate Madison and Ivan Moy, with behind-the-scenes cameras following my every move. As I do it – with the assistance of gaffer Jeremy Dawson and spark Gareth Neal – I explain how and why I’m doing it. Sometimes I demonstrate alternative options I could have chosen. I talk about characterisation and how to match it with lighting. I quote John Alton and Christopher Nolan. I show clips from other productions I’ve shot and tell the stories behind them. I explain how to use a light meter and get your head around f-stops, T-stops and ND filters. I demonstrate the power of smoke. But most importantly I lay my creative process bare as I work.

Setting up a single in the Night Interior module. Photo: Ashram Maharaj

The original intention was for the course to be a reward on the Kickstarter campaign for Ren: The Girl with the Mark‘s second season, but sadly that campaign was unsuccessful. Over the next couple of months I’ll be investigating my options for releasing this course, and rest assured that I’ll let you know as soon as it’s available.

Meanwhile, postproduction work continues on it. The main thing left to do is the grading of the finished dramatic scenes; each module concludes with a polished edit of the scene which I’ve shot. Rather than hire a colourist, I’ve decided it’s time to finally learn a few things about grading myself. To that end, I’ve purchased a Udemy course and am currently learning how to do fancy secondaries in Davinci Resolve – another good use of my lockdown time, I feel. More on this in a future post.

Meanwhile, stay safe and REMAIN INDOORS.

Neil Oseman

Director of Photography

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