A Cinematography System: The Playbook Approach - Volume II
The Ultimate Guide to Blocking & Coverage
Welcome to the second instalment of the Cinematography System: A Playbook Approach.
This course is the ultimate resource for cinematographer's looking to take their images to the next step.
Cinematography is a uniquely complex art form that requires practice, study, and dedication to be able to operate at the highest level and the system that I teach in this course is what I have used more than anything to help fast track my abilities behind the lens.
It may seem as though there are an infinite number of scenarios and set ups that a director of photography may come up against across the span of their career but there are only five. Understanding this fact and then learning how to leverage the power that comes along with it will greatly improve your ability to preform efficiently on set and in pre-production.
The techniques presented in this course are the exact same techniques I use day in and day out on set as a working cinematographer. This is not a course full of secret settings and lighting solutions you might use once a year. The material in this course lays the foundation for every image you will ever play a part in creating. Learn to master these techniques and you will become a better cinematographer regardless of the location, the equipment, the crew or any other factor.
This is a complete system for building every shot, every sequence, every story on top of. I couldn't be more excited to get this content out in the wild as I have never shared this material before.
I've been a cinematographer since 2009 and have shot 100s of commercial projects over that time.
Throughout the course of landing, prepping, and shooting those jobs I have learned a lot about the different approaches a DP can take in their role.
And over the past few years, I've shared that knowledge of how to shoot commercials in over 300 episodes of The Wandering DP Podcast. Every week I receive emails from people who have found the podcast and immediately improved their work because of it.
During the course of my own career I discovered that while it may appear that there are countless different scenes and set ups, in reality, there are only a handful. When you can recognize these situations you can drastically increase your results because you know where the path leads.
If you know the final destination then you can work backwards and make decisions accordingly.
Working with a system can improve your results overnight no matter what situation you are in.
The goal of A Cinematography System: The Playbook Approach is to present the way I approach the work and show you why using a specific system will make you more effective as a DP.
I designed this course to teach anyone what are the major questions they need to answer before they start a project, while they are shooting a specific scene, and even in after the job is done.
I use this system everyday I am on a job and even experienced DPs can benefit from seeing a different approach.
- The Most Common Scene FormatThis course focuses on the most common of the "5 Scenarios" which I refer to as the Office Scenario. Many well known cinematographers have built their entire careers off of understanding how to approach an Office Scenario and we discuss the most common approaches in depth.
- A Solid Launch Pad You will learn why having a systematic approach improves your results exponentially faster than not using one. The faster we can get better, the more we can focus on the interesting aspects of storytelling through imagery.
- Instant Access. There are 8 unique modules that outline in great detail all of the elements we need to cover to produce the best images possible for a given project, from why a system is important to watching every decision on set as we deploy the plans.
- Lifetime Access There is an enormous amount of content in this course. You have lifetime access to the material so you are free to consume and revisit it when necessary at your own pace.
Across eight distinct course stages, you’ll learn all about:
- The Benefits a System: Why have a system in the first place and how do you structure the decision tree to help maximize the effectiveness of your choices.
- Blocking Best Practices: You can't light what you can't block. Learn what the best way to orient the camera to the talent is to put yourself and the production in the best possible position to succeed.
- Know Your Options: The job of a cinematographer is to translate the director's vision from the text on the page to the images on the screen. Learn all of the options available to you regardless of the location or equipment and decide for yourself what direction the project should go in.
- Predict the Future: It is a cinematographer's job to look in to the future and see any potential issues that might appear because of decision being made by cast and crew. You need to be aware of all of the possibilities so you can make informed decisions and become an asset for any production.
I spent years of my career not knowing the techniques laid out in the course and my progress was held back because of it.
Don't make the same mistake I did in terms of educating yourself on the importance of understanding blocking and coverage in very specific scenarios
A Cinematography System: The Playbook Approach is designed for cinematographers looking to take their knowledge and efficiency to the next level.
Up until now the only real way to develop a system for cinematography was to do so on your own.
Through real world trial and error an individual could start putting together techniques and approaches for common situations. This limited learning because it put real world constraints on a person's time and energy.
This course is for people looking to build upon a proven system and take their work a step further. If you liked Voume I of the Playbook Approach then you are going to love this instalment. We dive in to the most common scenario for any film set and break down how to tackle every possible element.
The techniques discussed in this course have changed the quality of my professional work multiply times over. Every job, every project, every scene, every shot I am a part of is an opportunity to put these ideas in to practice.
There is nothing in this course that you can't immediately try out for yourself on your very next project. It doesn't require any specific gear or circumstances. Once you understand the system you can begin to reap the benefits immediately.
This course walks you through my system for evaluating coverage, framing, and lighting opportunities in a given environment. Once you understand how the system is structured you can build on it to meet your own unique styles.
I look forward to seeing you in the course.