Cinematographers: How to Light YouTube, New Media, Digital Series and Web Series Sets Brilliantly and Quickly
Summary
What You'll Learn
Some of what Alex teaches in this webinar includes:
The Biz
YouTube & Digital and Social Video as a Business
- At this point in time, it’s still a mysterious beast. Companies are now putting money into this type of production, but monetization is still a big question mark. Because of this, crew rates are all over the place.
- But, because of all of this, it’s a relatively easy place to break in and “cut your teeth” as a cinematographer.
Cinematography: Back to the Basics
Why DSLRs are a great tool to learn cinematography
- Living on the Edge - aka Shooting on Manual
- Having the ability to quickly make adjustments is crucial for shooting doc-style, and speeding up the shooting process on any type of project.
Graduating from DSLR to Cinema Camera
- Two households, both alike in dignity - The big secret - if you can operate a DSLR, you can operate a Cinema Camera
- Hands-on Demo/Comparison
- Canon 5D mkii (the original HDSLR) vs Panasonic
- VariCam 35 (digital cinema camera)
Faces are the cornerstone of cinematography
- Once you understand how to light faces, everything else is style.
- False Colors - your greatest ally.
3-point lighting is not a rule
- Understanding 3-point lighting and moving past it (hands-on)
- The Off-Camera Key
- To backlight, or not to backlight? That is the question.
There is no darkness, but ignorance. It doesn’t matter what fixture it comes from, it is your task as a cinematographer to mold and shape it into the quality of light that you want.
- Hands-on demo of creating the same scene with various kinds of light fixtures, from $10 to $1000
Lighting Faces
- Vlog/Magazine Set Up (hands-on)
- Documentary Set Up (hands-on)
Lighting Scenes
- How do these techniques translate to narrative scenes
- Show examples
Wrapping Up. The be-all and the end-all.
- Practice, practice, practice
- Do whatever you can to practice the skills. This will lead to confidence and problem solving skills that will help you continue to grow as a cinematographer.
- Q&A with Alex
Who Should Attend
- Cinematographers, regardless of skill level
- Cinematographers, regardless of what equipment they own
- Cinematographers looking to expand into the digital space
- Anyone interested in learning cinematography as it relates to social and digital
- Filmmakers who take lighting into their own hands
- Crew members, gaffers
Executive
Alex Darke sparked an interest in film the same way many people have in the past - in his backyard. From a young age, Alex was creating films for school projects and using basic effects to create narratives and animations.
After high school, Alex ventured out to California where he attended the University of Southern California's prestigious School of Cinematic Arts. He honed in on the craft of filmmaking and made a number of films and television series along the way.
After graduating, he was quickly snagged by the theatrical distribution company 41 Inc. where he went on to become the Executive Vice President of Acquisitions (one of the youngest executives in Hollywood at the time). After leaving 41 Inc. he decided to consult other distribution companies in marketing, acquisitions, and fulfillment - including the highly successful international sales agency Highland Film Group.
Missing the action of the set, Alex left the distribution world and moved into television as Cinematographer for Larry King's company Ora Media. There he has produced, directed, shot, edited and worn every hat possible as an original key crew member for the company.
Since then, Alex has been creating projects with his business partner Trevor L. Nelson and his company Gilded Cinema. The company is devoted to the production of independent cinema and reigniting the spark of creative vision in the world of narrative video and film.