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It is our intention that by the end of their first term, students should be able to easily, quickly and safely:
- Put up a tripod and level it;
- Safely take the camera out of its case and mount it on the tripod;
- Attach the camera to a monitor;
- Effect a suitable white balance;
- Achieve an acceptable exposure;
- Maintain focus;
- Correctly frame a shot to a size named by the tutor; and finally
- Record that image.
This will require much repetitive drilling. But once they have achieved the requirements above, they will be
armed for the Projects to come, as well as having a deeper background for the subsequent classes which will
address the balance of the issues below.

THEORY / TECHNICALS
Basic Components of Every Camera Package
- Camera Body
- Lens(es)
- Battery
- Support (tripod, dolly, crane, hand-held, etc.)
- Capture Medium [VT (cassette), Film (magazine), etc.]
Film / Video Basics (compare & contrast):
- Image Capture
- Data Storage
- Manipulation (post-prod. possibilities)
- Delivery
Exposure Basics:
- Gain & Pedestal – chip charts & wave forms
- Colour Temperature
Basics of Light and Lighting:
- Fundamental Theory (wave vs. particle theory, reflectance, opacitance and transmittance, colour temperature)
- How lighting units work / types of lights (fresnel / open face; tungsten / hmi)
- Electricity Fundamentals (wattage, amperage, fuses)
- Intro to Studio 12 system: Dimmers & Grids
- Intro to light quality: hard/soft; direct/bounced; source size & distance
Optics Basics:
- Focal Length (incl. primes vs. zooms)
Field of View
Compression & Space
- Focus
What it is; what’s involved in Pulling Focus
Depth of Field
Perception 100:
- how the brain perceives visuals
Composition Basics:
- The Frame: Formats, Shot Sizes, Frame Architecture: Open/Closed
- Design Elements: Shape, Size, Colour, Line, Mass, Weight, Negative Space, Perspective
- Arrangement: Balance, Directing Attention, FG/MG/BG
- CameraPlay: Intro to developing an internal sense of composition

ARTISTRY
Learning to See:
- The World in a Frame: “frame card” exercises; “cause of death” exercise
- Watching Light Fall: light study exercises
- Informed Movie Viewing: assignments to watch in lg. groups and report from sm. groups
[issues such as lighting styles, camera movement, lens use, types of coverage, “how they did it”, etc.]

THE GEAR
Camera
- Parts & pieces of the Panasonic 400: thorough working knowledge
- Safe & Proper Setup, Operation and Wrap procedures
- Menus and Adjustments (incl. timecode, white balancing, proper exposure, etc.)
- Operating (Framing & Composition tricks & tips, dos & don’ts)
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Lights
- Safe & Proper Setup, Operation and Wrap procedures
- Rigging (standard & clever)
- Focusing
- Lamp Directions, (tricks & tips, dos & don’ts)
Stands
- Light stands - dos & don’ts
- C-Stands – basic conversancy
Dolly
- Track laying & levelling on a flat surface
- Basic dolly gripping

TECHNIQUES
Professional Practise & Procedure
- The order of CALLS on a set
- Safety (cables, electricity, shoes, lifting, hazard-spotting, exhaustion, hydration, common sense)
- Housekeeping Habits (gear organization, cable tidiness, keeping an orderly set)
- Communication (calling-back, clarity, proactivity, anticipation, negotiation, silent set-speak )
- Professional Attitudes (punctuality, can-do, follow-through)
Crew Roles
- General:
Who does what on a set?
Knowing your task - what to expect of others, what they expect of you
Navigating through a crowded set
- Operating (functional ability to frame a shot, to pan and tilt with a subject)
- Focus-Pulling (bring talent from A to B with a static camera; pull on a stationary actor fr/ a moving camera)
- Clapper-Loading (slating procedure, paperwork [see below], tape labelling, battery monitoring, gear organisation)
- Gaffing (unit planning 101, power planning 101, bounce 101)
- Lighting Assisting (rigging 101, cable routing, power routing, gear organisation)
- Gripping (camera support, track-laying, art of dolly-gripping 101)
- VidSplitting (cable routing, monitor placement)
Paperwork
- Equipment booking
- Camera Logs
- Equipment Needing Attention
Grammar
- Conventional Scene Coverage
- The 180° line
- Matching sizes

PROJECT TEACHING
- Portraits: methods of portrayal – angle, context, the light you shed
- Blocking: work with frame cards & actor movement – objective or subjective?
- Studio: Pre-rigging
Roles & relationships
On-Set Protocols: essential communication, movement and awareness
Snap to frame
Focus
Light rigging and lamp operation

REQUIRED READING
Grammar of the Shot,
Roy Thompson, Focal Press, 1998
ISBN: 978-0-240-51398-0