Learning Cinematography: 1 Narrative Fundamentals

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Bill Dill, ASC Cinematographer and welcome to my foundations course on narrative film cinematography. Combining my love for cinematography, and technical expertise, I'll take you through the basic concepts you'll need to create your own narrative film as a cinematographer. First, I'll touch on a brief history on the motion picture. I'll talk about the importance of pre-production planning and why this is necessary before you even think about touching a camera.

Next, we'll take a look the principles of visual storytelling. Then, we'll investigate the elements of composition in motion pictures. And how that differs from still photography. I'll discuss keeping the audience oriented in the fictional world you've created and how to convey which characters are driving your scenes. Next, I'll discuss some digital camera options and how to record, compress, and store your media once you've completed your shoot. We'll go through choices in optics, and explore the creative use of lens focal length as well as depth of field.

Finally, we'll explore the creative use of exposure, lighting, and camera movement, needed to tell your story expressively. Cinematography is not only my livelihood, but also my passion. And I'm very excited to share my industry insight with you. Let's get rolling.