During their third semester, the MFA Cinematography students at New York Film Academy have a full schedule of workshops to keep them busy. With the Master’s Lighting Workshop, the Underwater Camera Workshop and the Alexa Workshop, the students are given an opportunity work with advanced professional tools and learn how to integrate them into a narrative film production.
In addition to these courses, the week-long Crane & Jib Workshop gives students the opportunity to work with a variety of camera movement systems from a broad range of the top manufacturers including J.L Fisher, Chapman/Leonard, and Service Vision. Cinematography department chair Anthony Richmond, ASC, BSC led the class, introducing the students to a range of practical techniques for using both remote cranes and jib arms to construct powerful, dynamic shots. Richmond pushed the students to develop their operating skills using both the traditional geared head and the remote crane heads that are based on this classic design.
For the last day of the workshop, the class put their new set of skills to work on the Crane & Jib Practicum. They used the 45-foot Scorpion Crane, equipped with a Scorpion Remote Head, a RED Epic Dragon digital cinema camera, a Cooke zoom lens and a remote focus and iris system. With the camera flying on the crane throughout the shoot, the class captured a wide variety of moving shots designed to tell the story in a dynamic style.
By the end of the workshop, the MFA Cinematography students had a greater understanding of how to design visually stunning shots, and how to use professional tools to execute their ideas. As they look forward to next semester, these cinematographers will have a new set of skills to take their films thesis films to the next level.