Cinema Masterclass with Trevor A Brown
In May, I was lucky to join a Cinematography Masterclass course at Panavision Studios in Cape Town with Trevor A Brown, which ran for two weeks. “The course explores how cinematographers shape performance, emotion and story through light, lens, camera movement, blocking and shot design. Led by award winning Cinematographer Trevor A Brown SASC, each workshop delivers hands-on, practical training”
The week started with driving through violent storms on Monday morning to get to Blouberg, and meeting my five fellow classmates. Meeting Trevor was a pleasure as he is a patient, creative person with a world of experience in the movie business (he has shot 44 movies during his career). His advice and guidance during the two weeks allowed us to each learn valuable lessons…even coming from different backgrounds and levels of experience.
We got to play with amazing equipment, most of which I had never had access to before. This includes an Arri Mini camera, Zeiss Cine T1.5 Cine primes as well as a beautiful (big) Cooke zoom. We also had access to a proper dolly and tracks, HMI lighting and even a Wheel camera control system for precise camera pan/tilt…such fun! We also spent some time on a tour through Panavision, checking the lighting, grips and camera departments. Their rental lens collection is amazing…loads of specialized glass.
We all got a chance to work on the equipment and assist each other. My twenty-year-old photo lighting lessons came back to me and I realized how much I enjoy assisting on a shoot (light, supports and grips). I could happily do this full time if it was available to me, although I think I’m bit old to be for 14 hour days again 😉…I love working with lighting and creating atmosphere and a look as needed by the photographer or cinematographer, ask me and I’ll find a way.
The highlight of the course for me was the chance we got to put together a short scene, set it up with our crew and shoot it with Trevor’s professional advice and encouragement (“only use one light, less is more”…lol). My short car scene below is so simple, but I love the way it gathers some life with some audio/sound…creating a narrative from one simple shot.
Surprising enough, seems like I can act, I played my first ever role as a psycho in a scene put together by Hanna Tayla, see the scene below…took us a few hours to shoot but it works. The camera work was by Yazeed Karriem. Chante Sheree, Davina Mabel Hall and Gizela du Plessis helped with lights and styling…thanks.
Please see Trevor’s adverts for his follow up classes in Johannesburg and Cape town, well recommended for practical experience as well as helping with a good understanding of the responsibilities and creative choices of a professional DP. Thanks also to Jean-Marc Clarke and his Team at Panavision who welcomed us and looked after us so well, give them a shout if you ever need studio space or good rental equipment.
