I will be attending The Met Film School at the Berlin campus in September 2024.
I will be studying an MA in Cinematography.
The art and craft of cinematography is fundamentally about the use of light and lenses to bring characters and stories to life. Being a cinematographer is one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding jobs in the screen industries.
The MA in Cinematography is designed to help you develop as a visual storyteller and valued collaborator in the business of bringing ideas and content to audiences across an ever-expanding range of screen platforms.
Topics covered by the course range from storytelling to visualisation and communication of ideas, from filming actors and other contributors to the challenges of working on set and location. You will learn by engaging in practical production exercises with cinematography peers and with students from other disciplines, developing and refining craft through reflection on work and engaging constructively with feedback.
You are entering screen industries transformed by innovative technology and formats. Industries that are growing in awareness of diversity, sustainability, progressive workplace practices and globalisation. Industries experiencing change – and we want you to be part of that change. On the course, you will be with a like-minded group of aspiring industry professionals. Alongside your acquisition of skills and understanding, you will create your own professional profile and have the option of developing additional skills including editing and sound recording.
This programme is for students who are passionate about screen content and production, love to learn and lead by example, are aware of the world around them and have the ambition to become professionals in an ever-expanding industry sector.
At the completion of your course you will have:
o Deep understanding of the roles and responsibilities relating to being a cinematographer for a range of screen platforms
o The ability to interpret and craft creative projects suitable for industry and audiences o The skills needed to deliver content that is of a professional standard and fresh in its approach o The ability to articulate the role visual screen storytelling plays in contributing positively and progressively to an increasingly globalised and inclusive world
o Developed to a high level productive ways of working with directors, producers and crew in the realisation of compelling and meaningful content
o A detailed, structured and ethical approach to content production including incorporation of lighting and exposure principles that acknowledge a range of skin tones and other characteristics of inclusive production
o A positive engagement with the use of non-discriminatory language and conventions in relation to role and filming processes
o Understanding of the role of research and intellectual enquiry as an integral part of academic development and professional practice
o The knowledge, skills and understanding to enable you to develop professionally as an enlightened and contemporary screen industry professional
Content by Level: how does the course build and develop over time
Level 7 The MA Cinematography course is designed to enable you to develop a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the frameworks, skills and attributes required to work as a director of photography and/or member of the camera team in today’s screen industries.
Over three trimesters you will gain advanced insight into not only the work of a cinematographer but also into the implications of crafting and delivering screen content to a wide variety of audiences and contexts.
Trimester 1 focuses on the essential elements of cinematography: camera, light, exposure and interpretation in a range of circumstances including the film or television studio.
Alongside that you will explore your own qualities as you build a career profile that will develop as the course – and your understanding – increases.
In Trimester 2 you will put your understanding into practice through an ambitious production exercise where you will experience the expectations of delivering to a brief with external clients.
You will also be given opportunity to explore your cinematographic style and signature through a series of filming exercises. Alongside this you will join with students from all disciplines to explore in depth the role of research in both your academic and professional development.
In Trimester 3 you will draw together your practical, theoretical and industry understanding into a final piece, working with producers and directors on a filmed artefact and complete your career plan as part of your progression into real world employment.
Trimester 1
Your course begins with three concurrent modules: Cinematography Craft, Industry/Shooting Interior & Exterior/Professional Profile.
The approach to each is to explore image and light as well as the role and responsibilities of the cinematographer alongside the development of practical skills and understanding that will grow as the course progresses.
Cinematography Craft and Industry 20 credits
This module sets a template across all MA courses for shared understandings of screen content production and context and begins with establishing principles including fundamentals of screen storytelling and the landscape of the screen industries. Following that, through seminars and practical exercises you will explore the core craft skills a cinematographer needs in today’s screen industries, including the roles and function of the camera department including rejection of gendered or other terminology that may discourage crew diversity, fundamentals of camera movement and lighting techniques, the role of the cinematographer as part of a diverse and ethically aware industry. You will gain insight into your collaborative role in realising the story and its interpretation, and the various creative tools to aid composition and visual storytelling. During the early weeks of the module you will work with students from other pathways to make a short video using a camera phone based on something that you want to say. In the twelfth week of the module you will pitch verbally and visually ideas to develop your video into a film or television series to an industry panel.
Shooting Interior & Exterior 20 credits
Alongside the Cinematography Craft and Industry module, you will spend your time on a filming stage exploring lighting and framing still life, portraiture and the zone system. You will cover a range of skills appropriate to your role, including the mechanics of lighting and camera movement across a range of shooting scenarios, with emphasis on exposure, depth of field, lens choice and camera placement, and how to use these techniques to tell the story. Throughout you will be made aware of the historical use of gendered terminology for crew roles and procedures and that this is to be rejected. Using your deepening skills and knowledge, you will shoot a short scene using either interior or exterior lighting, where its use is explored as a means of contributing to the narrative.
Professional Profile 20 credits
This module is largely self-directed. Through it you will develop authentic and detailed career paperwork and supporting materials including a CV and personal profile. You will also research relevant career opportunities and contacts as part of the evolution of a career plan that will be presented and assessed at the completion of your course. Assessment of your paperwork and industry research will come through presentations of your developing portfolio to a project advisor and through an online share site. A range of career-focussed tools and guest speaker slots will support your work. In addition, upskilling sessions will be offered throughout the year which give you the opportunity to widen your skill base and add to your CV, beyond your chosen discipline.
Trimester 2
Your second trimester consists of three modules designed to synthesise the skills and knowledge acquired around the cinematographer’s role as a visual storyteller into contributing to a collaborative production exercise with students from other disciplines and a series of exercises designed to enable the evolution of your style and craft. In the third concurrent module, you will work with students from all pathways on the vital role of research in developing ideas and understanding context, with a focus on diversity and ethical screen practice.
Client-driven Cinematography 20 credits
This module draws together creative and craft elements of cinematography explored in the first trimester into a collaborative digital video-making exercise. Working together with production teams drawn from the other pathways, you will develop visual ideas, engage in appropriate preparatory work including testing and recceing, alongside gaining insight into a range of production roles and responsibilities. Sessions on key elements of location filming, green screen compositing and shooting tabletop for commercials as well as discipline-specific feedback will support you in your work.
Creative Cinematography 20 credits
This module consists of a series of workshops and exercises in advanced aspects of cinematography and colour grading, that includes night shoots and a more sophisticated look at lighting and camerawork including the importance of inclusive lighting and exposure principles. This module will further consider the creative and collaborative working relationships between the cinematographer and other members of the creative team, e.g. director and gaffer etc and rejection of gendered or other terminology that may discourage crew diversity. The module emphasises the relationship between technical and creative principles of cinematography and your own emerging signature in preparation to working professionally as a cinematographer in today’s creative industries.
Practice-based Research 20 credits
In this module you will join with students from other MA courses to contextualise your practice, broaden understanding of screen culture and engage with current debates in global screen studies. Building on the work of previous and concurrent modules, you will gain a deeper insight into current theories, principles and discussions relating to issues of diversity, sustainability and ethics within the screen industries and continue to engage with content about/from diverse cultural/social/gender groups of contributors in the UK and across the world. Students will reflect on and discuss the responsibilities of content creator and draw up your own ‘Inclusion Guidelines’ as a formative assignment. The aim is for you to develop transferrable research & reflective skills essential for employment in the screen industries, culminating in the development of an individual portfolio of references.
Trimester 3
Your final Trimester takes a holistic approach to the conclusion of your present student journey and your ongoing future. Its two key elements are a short film, video or agreed alternative project made in collaboration with other MA students and your completed career plan which will be presented to potential employers. Although this module concludes your course, it should not be seen as an end point. Rather it is a staging post in your deepening understanding of the industry and your developing skill set as an employable screen industry contributor.
Final Project and Career Plan 60 credits
Your third collaborative project gives you the opportunity to work independently to create work that demonstrates your development as a cinematographer/DOP. This is an opportunity to deliver work that is creatively exciting, distinctive, industry-facing, based in research and reflecting awareness of a diverse and inclusive world wherein sustainability of resources and progressive work practices are essential.
Supplemental skills training will continue throughout the module so that your career plan, including a cinematography showreel and portfolio can be developed further before presentation to potential employers in written form, filmed and/or in person.
I will be studying an MA in Cinematography.
The art and craft of cinematography is fundamentally about the use of light and lenses to bring characters and stories to life. Being a cinematographer is one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding jobs in the screen industries.
The MA in Cinematography is designed to help you develop as a visual storyteller and valued collaborator in the business of bringing ideas and content to audiences across an ever-expanding range of screen platforms.
Topics covered by the course range from storytelling to visualisation and communication of ideas, from filming actors and other contributors to the challenges of working on set and location. You will learn by engaging in practical production exercises with cinematography peers and with students from other disciplines, developing and refining craft through reflection on work and engaging constructively with feedback.
You are entering screen industries transformed by innovative technology and formats. Industries that are growing in awareness of diversity, sustainability, progressive workplace practices and globalisation. Industries experiencing change – and we want you to be part of that change. On the course, you will be with a like-minded group of aspiring industry professionals. Alongside your acquisition of skills and understanding, you will create your own professional profile and have the option of developing additional skills including editing and sound recording.
This programme is for students who are passionate about screen content and production, love to learn and lead by example, are aware of the world around them and have the ambition to become professionals in an ever-expanding industry sector.
At the completion of your course you will have:
o Deep understanding of the roles and responsibilities relating to being a cinematographer for a range of screen platforms
o The ability to interpret and craft creative projects suitable for industry and audiences o The skills needed to deliver content that is of a professional standard and fresh in its approach o The ability to articulate the role visual screen storytelling plays in contributing positively and progressively to an increasingly globalised and inclusive world
o Developed to a high level productive ways of working with directors, producers and crew in the realisation of compelling and meaningful content
o A detailed, structured and ethical approach to content production including incorporation of lighting and exposure principles that acknowledge a range of skin tones and other characteristics of inclusive production
o A positive engagement with the use of non-discriminatory language and conventions in relation to role and filming processes
o Understanding of the role of research and intellectual enquiry as an integral part of academic development and professional practice
o The knowledge, skills and understanding to enable you to develop professionally as an enlightened and contemporary screen industry professional
Content by Level: how does the course build and develop over time
Level 7 The MA Cinematography course is designed to enable you to develop a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the frameworks, skills and attributes required to work as a director of photography and/or member of the camera team in today’s screen industries.
Over three trimesters you will gain advanced insight into not only the work of a cinematographer but also into the implications of crafting and delivering screen content to a wide variety of audiences and contexts.
Trimester 1 focuses on the essential elements of cinematography: camera, light, exposure and interpretation in a range of circumstances including the film or television studio.
Alongside that you will explore your own qualities as you build a career profile that will develop as the course – and your understanding – increases.
In Trimester 2 you will put your understanding into practice through an ambitious production exercise where you will experience the expectations of delivering to a brief with external clients.
You will also be given opportunity to explore your cinematographic style and signature through a series of filming exercises. Alongside this you will join with students from all disciplines to explore in depth the role of research in both your academic and professional development.
In Trimester 3 you will draw together your practical, theoretical and industry understanding into a final piece, working with producers and directors on a filmed artefact and complete your career plan as part of your progression into real world employment.
Trimester 1
Your course begins with three concurrent modules: Cinematography Craft, Industry/Shooting Interior & Exterior/Professional Profile.
The approach to each is to explore image and light as well as the role and responsibilities of the cinematographer alongside the development of practical skills and understanding that will grow as the course progresses.
Cinematography Craft and Industry 20 credits
This module sets a template across all MA courses for shared understandings of screen content production and context and begins with establishing principles including fundamentals of screen storytelling and the landscape of the screen industries. Following that, through seminars and practical exercises you will explore the core craft skills a cinematographer needs in today’s screen industries, including the roles and function of the camera department including rejection of gendered or other terminology that may discourage crew diversity, fundamentals of camera movement and lighting techniques, the role of the cinematographer as part of a diverse and ethically aware industry. You will gain insight into your collaborative role in realising the story and its interpretation, and the various creative tools to aid composition and visual storytelling. During the early weeks of the module you will work with students from other pathways to make a short video using a camera phone based on something that you want to say. In the twelfth week of the module you will pitch verbally and visually ideas to develop your video into a film or television series to an industry panel.
Shooting Interior & Exterior 20 credits
Alongside the Cinematography Craft and Industry module, you will spend your time on a filming stage exploring lighting and framing still life, portraiture and the zone system. You will cover a range of skills appropriate to your role, including the mechanics of lighting and camera movement across a range of shooting scenarios, with emphasis on exposure, depth of field, lens choice and camera placement, and how to use these techniques to tell the story. Throughout you will be made aware of the historical use of gendered terminology for crew roles and procedures and that this is to be rejected. Using your deepening skills and knowledge, you will shoot a short scene using either interior or exterior lighting, where its use is explored as a means of contributing to the narrative.
Professional Profile 20 credits
This module is largely self-directed. Through it you will develop authentic and detailed career paperwork and supporting materials including a CV and personal profile. You will also research relevant career opportunities and contacts as part of the evolution of a career plan that will be presented and assessed at the completion of your course. Assessment of your paperwork and industry research will come through presentations of your developing portfolio to a project advisor and through an online share site. A range of career-focussed tools and guest speaker slots will support your work. In addition, upskilling sessions will be offered throughout the year which give you the opportunity to widen your skill base and add to your CV, beyond your chosen discipline.
Trimester 2
Your second trimester consists of three modules designed to synthesise the skills and knowledge acquired around the cinematographer’s role as a visual storyteller into contributing to a collaborative production exercise with students from other disciplines and a series of exercises designed to enable the evolution of your style and craft. In the third concurrent module, you will work with students from all pathways on the vital role of research in developing ideas and understanding context, with a focus on diversity and ethical screen practice.
Client-driven Cinematography 20 credits
This module draws together creative and craft elements of cinematography explored in the first trimester into a collaborative digital video-making exercise. Working together with production teams drawn from the other pathways, you will develop visual ideas, engage in appropriate preparatory work including testing and recceing, alongside gaining insight into a range of production roles and responsibilities. Sessions on key elements of location filming, green screen compositing and shooting tabletop for commercials as well as discipline-specific feedback will support you in your work.
Creative Cinematography 20 credits
This module consists of a series of workshops and exercises in advanced aspects of cinematography and colour grading, that includes night shoots and a more sophisticated look at lighting and camerawork including the importance of inclusive lighting and exposure principles. This module will further consider the creative and collaborative working relationships between the cinematographer and other members of the creative team, e.g. director and gaffer etc and rejection of gendered or other terminology that may discourage crew diversity. The module emphasises the relationship between technical and creative principles of cinematography and your own emerging signature in preparation to working professionally as a cinematographer in today’s creative industries.
Practice-based Research 20 credits
In this module you will join with students from other MA courses to contextualise your practice, broaden understanding of screen culture and engage with current debates in global screen studies. Building on the work of previous and concurrent modules, you will gain a deeper insight into current theories, principles and discussions relating to issues of diversity, sustainability and ethics within the screen industries and continue to engage with content about/from diverse cultural/social/gender groups of contributors in the UK and across the world. Students will reflect on and discuss the responsibilities of content creator and draw up your own ‘Inclusion Guidelines’ as a formative assignment. The aim is for you to develop transferrable research & reflective skills essential for employment in the screen industries, culminating in the development of an individual portfolio of references.
Trimester 3
Your final Trimester takes a holistic approach to the conclusion of your present student journey and your ongoing future. Its two key elements are a short film, video or agreed alternative project made in collaboration with other MA students and your completed career plan which will be presented to potential employers. Although this module concludes your course, it should not be seen as an end point. Rather it is a staging post in your deepening understanding of the industry and your developing skill set as an employable screen industry contributor.
Final Project and Career Plan 60 credits
Your third collaborative project gives you the opportunity to work independently to create work that demonstrates your development as a cinematographer/DOP. This is an opportunity to deliver work that is creatively exciting, distinctive, industry-facing, based in research and reflecting awareness of a diverse and inclusive world wherein sustainability of resources and progressive work practices are essential.
Supplemental skills training will continue throughout the module so that your career plan, including a cinematography showreel and portfolio can be developed further before presentation to potential employers in written form, filmed and/or in person.