Looking for a 3 to 6 month Cinematography program

Zahi Farah · March 14, 2018

Hey everyone, I've been looking for a solid, hands-on introductory class for a while now and I'm looking for some advice, recommendations, tips, things to look (out) for.

The program should give me a foundation on which I can build for the coming years. I want to learn the tools and craft, not how to use a particular camera.

I've found three solid options so far, and they are:

1- Maine Media Workshops (Maine, USA): 10 week intensive cinematography workshop.
PROS: Asked around and this program is definitely solid with some world class instructors. CONS: Extremely expensive. (16k)

2- Global Institute (LA, USA): The foundational programs.
PROS: World class program and instructors, located in L.A.
CONS: Asked a friend, apparently even the foundational programs are a bit too advanced for someone who's never worked in the camera department. Pretty expensive (expensive at about 10k for a bunch of classes).

3- Afilms (Barcelona, Spain): 3 month Feature Film Cinematography.
PROS: Solid program, but not as good as the other two though significantly cheaper.
CONS: Starts in a year, that's in quite a long time. I feel like doing this in a couple of months.

I don't mind studying anywhere in the world, as long as I can justify it to myself. The class should be technical. I've been curating and improving my eyes for a while now and I'm pretty familiar with filmmaking at many levels, but I want to demystify light (or at least start the process), as I feel it will benefit me greatly as a director. I also feel like shaping light, so being able to DP my own little projects, explore studio photography etc. is something I'm interested in.

I'm not under the illusion that I will become a DP after this workshop, I just want to be able to think like one at a basic level, so I can improve myself in the future.

Director's showreel if anyone's curious.

Thanks in advance.