Film craft · Foundations

Cinematography

How a camera tells a story. Frame, composition, angle, lenses, exposure, light, movement and the 180-degree rule, with a hands-on lab in every lesson.

Start lesson 1 9 lessons About 98 min

Lessons

  1. 01 The frame Shot sizes and aspect ratio. How much of the world you show, and what that does to the audience. 10 min
  2. 02 Composition Where things sit in the frame. The rule of thirds, headroom, lead room, and when to break them. 10 min
  3. 03 Angle and height Where the camera stands, high or low, changes who has power. Low angle, high angle, eye level and the Dutch tilt. 8 min
  4. 04 Lenses Focal length, field of view, why "compression" comes from distance, and depth of field. 12 min
  5. 05 Exposure How much light reaches the sensor. Aperture, shutter angle, ISO and ND filters, all measured in stops. 12 min
  6. 06 Light Three-point lighting, the key-to-fill ratio, hard and soft light, high key and low key, and colour temperature. 14 min
  7. 07 Movement Pan, tilt, dolly, truck, pedestal, crane, arc, zoom, the dolly zoom and handheld. What each move does, and why to move at all. 12 min
  8. 08 The 180° rule Shot, reverse shot and the line of action. How to cut between two people so the audience never gets lost. 10 min
  9. 09 Review One scene, every choice. A final test across the course, a cheat sheet, and where to go next. 10 min

About this course

Cinematography is the craft of choosing what the camera sees and how it sees it. This course gives you the foundations: the words that crews use on set, and a feel for what each choice does to an audience.

Each lesson has the same shape:

  1. Try it. Use a small virtual camera, a lens or a light, and watch what changes.
  2. The name for it. Learn the term and the rule of thumb.
  3. Check. A few questions. Answer them all to tick the lesson.
  4. Field exercise. Something to look for in the next film you watch.

The labs use a simple 3D set with real camera maths (focal length, sensor size, aperture and shutter). The look is simple, but the behaviour is correct. The sensor is Super 35, the most common size for cinema cameras.