
Finding the Frame: Alice Brooks, ASC
Alice Brooks, ASC is the award-winning cinematographer behind some of the most recent musical hits like In the Heights and tick, tick… BOOM!, working alongside icons like Jon M. Chu and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Brendan Sweeney of Filmmakers Academy sat down with Alice to discuss her career and latest work…

Live RED V-RAPTOR Demo w/ Shane Hurlbut ASC
RED's V-RAPTOR is now available and the world of cinematography will never be the same. Filmmakers everywhere can finally sink their teeth into RED Digital Cinema’s new flagship camera system – the RED DSMC3 V-RAPTOR 8K VV. Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut, ASC joins RED on Friday, April 28, at 2:00…

The Cinematography of HBO Max’s MOONSHOT with Brendan Uegama
Anyone who has ever experienced a long-distance relationship knows it’s no easy matter. But, what if you and your better half resided on two separate planets? HBO Max’s latest film Moonshot explores that very idea! Moonshot is a romantic comedy that follows two college students (Cole Sprouse and…

Creating the Look of The Batman with Dave Cole and Matt Reeves
After months upon months of hand-wringing anticipation, the latest iteration of the Batman franchise released in 2022. And it was gorgeous! The cinematography of The Batman was a collaborative effort between director Matt Reeves, cinematographer Greig Fraser, and master colorist David Cole. They treat…

Lighting Black Skin Tones with Sade Ndya
Cinematographer Sade Ndya spent her youth traveling the world, observing most of it through the scope of a lens. As a Black, Indian, and Jewish-raised woman of color, Ndya’s unique approach to cinematography portrays a surreal, dreamlike style of imagery. It's rooted in her personal experiences and…

Guide to Cinematic ND Filters 2021
When you’re just starting out as a cinematographer, understanding filters can seem a bit tricky. With all the different kinds of filters out there, it’s easy for filmmakers to slip up and use the wrong kind — or worse yet, fail to use one altogether. Especially when it could have enhanced your…

LUTs for Dark Skin Tones
Part of what shapes the look of various cinematic genres derives from the color grading process. Take Christopher Nolan’s latest film Tenet, for instance. The film is packed full of Nolan’s signature visual effects but its enrichment of the protagonist’s (John David Washington) dark skin tones…

Commercial Cinematography: Owning the Night
Lighting cars at night can be a challenge, especially for commercial cinematography. You want to make a great impression and get the job done right. There are a lot of questions you first need to ask yourself. Namely, what camera and lenses should you choose? Then, how do you light fast-moving shots…

Inspiring Cinematography with Pow Shilo
Inspiration is the best source of motivation. When I land a new project, one of the first things I do to get the creative juices flowing is search for inspiration. This brings me to a variety of materials like photography books, paintings, classic films, and the work of my fellow peers. Of course, I…

Discover a Worldwide Filmmaking Community with Hurlbut Academy
Filmmaking is one of few art forms that actually necessitates an entire village to see a particular project through to the end. From working with storyboard artists in pre-production to the many departments and skilled artists in production and post, there are a ton of creative forces working towards…

RED Gemini: Innovations for Disney+ film Safety
RED Digital Cinema hit the market in 2005 and ever since the world of filmmaking has never been the same. RED was a major factor in revolutionizing the industry by making digital cinematography the standard for motion capture. And, trust me, I know a little something about that major turning point in…

Tiffen: Innovations for the Disney+ film “Safety”
One cannot simply stress the significance of color and what it means for the emotional experience of a film. This is especially the case for Disney and its vast vault of memorable films that transcend both time and space. That’s why I realized early on in pre-production for the newly released movie…

Insta360: Virtual Scouting for the COVID-19 Era
The future is officially upon us with Insta360 and location scouting will never be the same. As we move forward into the COVID era, ensuring the safety of our industry professionals is our primary concern. The people who are on the ground grinding day in and day out are the glue that’s holding everything…

How to Shoot Sports Cinematography
The magic of cinema evokes emotion through feeling visceral moments that put you in the headspace of the protagonist.

Depth of Field: Focusing on Character & Story
Depth of field is as important as your composition or picking a focal length. It’s the emotion, the punctuation, and the eyes of the story in filmmaking.

An Introduction to Infrared Cinematography
Shooting in IR is actually very easy to do, but only after you have learned some of the basics and thought about why you want to use it. Like with all rules there’s a time and place to break them for creative purposes.

Tools of the Filmmaking Trade – What’s in your bag?
There are many tools in a cinematographers arsenal, and I don't just mean lights and cameras. When prepping for your next production there are a lot of things to consider. What gear you want to use to tell your story, how you want to collaborate with your director and/or cinematographer, and what shots…

Macro – How to Make Images LARGER Than Life!
Question: There’s an interesting lens coming out on a macro probe lens 24 millimeter that seems to make amazing techniques but won’t be out for a while. Is there a way to do this kind of shooting or similar shooting? Also very interested in how you approach lighting for studio macro lens shooting,…

Canon C300 MK II – The Power in a Narrative Documentary Format
The Canon C300 Mark II has a ton of impressive tech under the hood and is a major advancement over the original C300. It turned out to be a perfect complement to our small production crew for a variety of reasons. Best of all, the images are beautiful and it’s very easy to use.

XEEN Lenses in Action on the 8K Red Monstro
No color charts or lab tests here. See how the Xeen lenses stack up on RED's 8K Vista Vision Monstro sensor in the real world.

Matching Cameras to Create One Image
How do you shoot your movies using all the different cameras? Join me as I demystify compression rates and articles and show how to use a bunch of different cameras to capture a scene as thoroughly and epically as possible.