Cinematography

for Visual Effects

sphereVFX
About Cinematography for Visual Effects

This course is primarily aimed at look development artists and animators, but will also be useful for anyone interested in
the principles of Cinematography for visual effects. Drawing on a wealth of experience from Cinematographers from the
last 100 years, the course examines such concepts as lighting, moving the camera in a realistic way, the technicalities of
video capture and how our eyes see and understand the world around us.

Course Outline
This course covers What is Cinematography?, Lighting Basics, Lighting Sources, High Definition Video, High Frame
Rates, Exposure, Moving the Camera, Lens Aberrations and Effects, Colour, Film and Broadcast Formats
To cover all of this will take 2 days.
See the course breakdown for further detail.

How the Course Works

All our courses cover not just the fundamentals of the software, but also the concepts and principles behind how they fit
into the overall visual effects pipeline. The courses follow a hands-on, project based approach with ample opportunities
for you to try out what you are learning. All the assets and materials are provided, however if you prefer you are
welcome to use your own footage or material. Our normal training hours are from 09:30 to 17:00. We can train you at
your studio or location, or alternatively you can come to us in Newport, UK.
We can tailor the course to cover just the areas you require - you let us know what you want to cover and well advise
you how long this would take. Furthermore, you can mix and match components from different courses to create your
own custom course that perfectly matches your needs, all at no extra cost. That way you get exactly what you want.

Who we are

Sphere VFX is a world leading visual effects training company offering over 20 years of experience in 3D, compositing
and visual effects. As you would expect from a premier training company we offer both onsite training and video
training, however what sets us apart is our up-to-date knowledge of the current state of the industry and our
unprecedented flexibility. Where other companies offer a limited, predefined training program, we give you complete
flexibility to train on what you want, when you want and where you want.

info@spherevfx.com

www.spherevfx.com
2013 Sphere VFX Ltd

+44 (0) 1633 790-211

Cinematography
for Visual Effects

sphereVFX
Course Breakdown
Introduction to Cinematography
The Frame
The Lens
Light, Colour and Texture
Lighting Basics
The Fundamentals of Lighting
The Goals of Good Lighting
Exposure and Lighting
Aspects of Light
Hard and Soft Light
Direction
Intensity
Texture
Colour
Basic Lighting Techniques
Back Cross Keys
Ambient Plus Accent
Lighting with Practicals
Lighting through the Window
Available Natural Light
Motivated Light
Day Exteriors
Placing Lights
Lighting Sources
The Tools of Lighting
Daylight Sources
Xenons
Tungsten Lights
PARs
Soft Lights
Colour-Correct Fluorescent
Other Types of Units
Day Exteriors
High Definition Cinematography
HD vs. SD
Analog vs. Digital
Types of Video Sensors
Shooting Formats
Digital Compression
Understanding Waveform Monitors
and Vectorscopes
Video Latitude
Clipping
Video Noise and Grain
Understanding DI
Understanding the Video Signal
Interlace Video
Progressive Video

info@spherevfx.com

NTSC, PAL and ATSC

ColourSpace
SDI
Digital Video Encoding
What is Broadcast Quality?
Timecode and Edgecode
Video Frame Rates
Drop-Frame and Non-Drop-Frame
29.97 and 23.97 Video
Metadata
Digital File Formats
Controlling the HD Image
Gain / ISO
Gamma
Black Gamma / Black Stretch
Knee
Colour Saturation
Matrix
Colour Balance
Exposure
What is Exposure
F/Stops
Exposure, ISO and Lighting
Relationships
Inverse Square Law and Cosine Law
Densitometry
Brightness
Contrast
The Zone System
The Gray Scale
Shutter Speed vs. Shutter Angle

Lens Aberrations and Effects

The Physical Basics of Optics
Focus
Depth of Field
Lens Distortion
Flares and Glints
Colour
Colour Basics
The Human Eye
Qualities of Colour
Colour Models
Colour Temperature
Stops vs. Printer Lights vs. Densities
vs. Cineon
LUTs
Film and Broadcast Formats
16mm
35mm
IMAX
Standard Definition
High Definition

Moving the Camera

Camera Basics
Types of Moves
Pan
Tilt
Push-In / Push-Out
Zoom
Punch-In
Moving Shots
Tracking
Countermove
Reveal
Circular Track Moves
Crane Moves
Aerial Moves

www.spherevfx.com
2013 Sphere VFX Ltd

+44 (0) 1633 790-211