Camera Support and Movement

The Cinematic Arts Filmcraft Workshop Series

The Cinematic Arts Filmcraft Workshop Series is designed to give students the opportunity to develop hard skills in practical areas of filmmaking. It includes topics in cinematography, editing, post-production, and sound. It is aimed at filmmakers looking to advance their practice, as well as those interested in a first look at the techniques and technology of film.

The Fall 2020 Filmcraft Workshops are streamed from the Cinematic Arts Film Studio. Please join us Thursdays in September and October for live demonstrations, discussion, and Q&A.

Camera Movement

Camera movement is easy to recognize and appreciate, but fiendishly difficult to execute.  Aside from issues of accuracy and stability, movement complicates focus, lighting, sound, and editing.  Almost every aspect of filmmaking is more difficult if the camera moves.

Camera movement is also one of the most expressive and personal characteristics of a filmmaker’s style–and for the reasons above one of the most neglected. This workshop directs students toward the tools and techniques necessary to express the full vocabulary of cinematic movement in their own work.

The following elements will be covered in this workshop:

• Dollies, jibs, gimbals, and ad hoc rigs
• Hand-held technique
• The secret life of tripods
• Focus and lighting strategies for the moving camera

About the Instructor

Steve Milligan is a professional cinematographer. Over the last fifteen years he has worked in long and short form documentary, narrative features, commercials, music videos, and projection design. He has been a lecturing fellow in the Duke Arts of the Moving Image program since 2015.

About the Location

This workshop will be streamed live via Zoom from the Cinematic Arts Film Studio. See link at top of page.