Allen Daviau (E.T., The Color Purple, Empire Of The Sun) and Sacha Vierny (Hiroshima mon Amour; The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Prospero’s Books) are given the same script and set. Daviau creates a series of intricate setups, clearly explaining each problem he encounters and the solutions he finds by using filters, lights and F-stop changes.

Vierny experiments with a simple and elegant camera move that encompasses much of the action but presents him with a new challenge: hiding the dolly track. Computer graphics of the lighting setups as well as side-by-side comparisons of the finished scenes help you to better understand the techniques and appreciate the results.

Robby Muller’s credits include Repo Man, Paris Texas, To Live and Die in L.A. Peter James shot Alive!, Rich in Love and Driving Miss Daisy. Both were given the same script and set constraints. The beautiful images they created reflect their different backgrounds and philosophies on the art and business of film making.

Muller creates a moody and impressionistic feel that is characteristic of his approach. James on the other hand neatly sidesteps the problems caused by a cyc too close to the set and creates a wider view of the windswept dusty cafe. Both men prove to be generous teachers, sharing many creative and technical insights that come from years behind the camera. The video culminates with a split screen comparisons of each cinematographer’s finished piece.

French cinematographers Denis Lenoir (Monsieur Hire, Paris Awakes, Shuttlecock Zone) and Sacha Vierny (Hiroshima mon Amour, Prospero’s Books, Stavisky) explore the world of cinematic fantasy and magic.

Vierny generously shares one of his special secrets, showing how to create a magical beam of light without the usual need for a smoked filled room. The effect is electric. Lenoir takes you through each step of his lighting design and also gives invaluable information about the use of fluorescent lights.

This program explores the techniques that make magic on the screen, but more importantly the cinematographer’s creative thought process behind the magic.

Allen Daviau (The Falcon and the Snowman, Avalon, Bugsy, Twilight Zone, The Color Purple) takes students back to the golden age of cinematography – the 1920’s.

He painstakingly recreates the shooting style by employing the filtration, vignetting, aspect ratios and shot coverage of the period. In doing so he evokes the spirit and dynamic of the B&W silent screen masterpieces. Denis Lenoir (Monsieur Hire, Daddy Nostalgie/These Foolish Things, Paris Awakes, Shuttlecock) creates an intriguing comparison to the work of Daviau by using modern cinematic techniques featuring a moving camera. He shoots with both color and B&W stock to make the comparison complete.

Dean Semler (Road Warrior, City Slickers, Dead Calm) demonstrates the techniques that won him an Academy Award for the cinematography of “Dances With Wolves.”

Dean’s background in documentary films is a major influence on his visuals. This workshop recreates the lighting of an interior fireside scene from “Wolves”, using an exact replica of the teepee set. The workshop footage was shot anamorphic, using a Panavision camera and a crane.

Location lighting, utilizing the equipment one truck can carry, is the most common task a young cinematographer will face. Geoff Burton (The Year My Voice Broke, Flirting, Wide Sargasso Sea) condenses his many years of location lighting experience in this highly practical and useful workshop.

Geoff’s approach emphasizes maximum use of natural lighting resources (daylight and practicals) and imitating these sources with the light he adds. Geoff shows how to work with the limitations of location space and design (in this case three rooms of a cramped apartment) rather than against them. He demonstrates how fast stocks and fast work can be critical to success.

John Seale (Rainman, Gorillas in the Mist, Witness) conducts an intensive and inspirational lighting workshop in the studios of the Australian Film, Radio and Television School. The dormitory set from “Dead Poets Society” was painstakingly reconstructed for this workshop.

Even more important than the technical knowledge it contains is the insight this program gives into Seale’s working philosophy.

Two internationally renowned cinematographers light the same shots from the same dramatic script in this back-to-back workshop. Don McAlpine (Patriot Games, Breaker Morant and My Brilliant Career) and Denis Lenoir (Monsieur Hire, Clear and Present Danger and Mrs. Doubtfire) vividly demonstrate how differences in creative style and approach affect the impact and tone of the scene.

This program is packed with technical information, demonstrations & insights into the cinematographer.