Emmy Winner Stephen Beres Teaches Full Sail DC3 Cinematography Course

The Emmy-winning producer and technologist will share his real-world experience with film technology in The Craft of Cinematography: Mastering Visual Language.

Full Sail DC3, an online education platform from Full Sail University, offers courses for remote students. All of the platform’s classes are taught by professionals with years of industry experience, and DC3’s recent addition is no exception. The Craft of Cinematography: Mastering Visual Language is a six-week online class taught by Stephen Beres, an Emmy winner and Full Sail Hall of Fame inductee.

Stephen has worked on some of television’s biggest hits, including Succession, Game of Thrones, and Westworld, has helped networks transition to digital productions, and worked with innovative post-production companies.

The Craft of Cinematography focuses on how productions test and use technology to create visual languages for television shows and movies. Both new filmmakers and seasoned professionals can benefit from the class. Stephen’s experience working with industry tech on a variety of productions will give students a behind-the-scenes look at film production and technology.  

Students in The Craft of Cinematography will learn how to use visual elements like composition, texture, and color to create a cohesive visual language for a production. They’ll discover how to recognize those elements in movies and television shows and how to effectively use pre-production, on-set, and post-production equipment to express that language. They’ll also learn how to create and use visual tests to determine the best technology for their visual language. 

“What I’m really excited about teaching in this DC3 project is the actual process that we go through to test new technology on real film and television shows. Because once we’ve found the capabilities and limitations of that new equipment, we can use it to empower creativity,” Stephen says. 

Some of the practical skills taught in the class include setting up cameras for movement tests, creating mixed and available light tests and dynamic movement tests, and putting the finishing touches on a visual language in post-production. ASC Director of Photography Dave Klein will also contribute to the class by explaining how he creates a mood with cinematography. 

At the end of The Craft of Cinematography, students will use footage they’ve shot throughout the course or footage provided by Full Sail DC3 to create camera tests and practice post-production skills. They’ll put together a final video that expresses a visual language for a final project showcase. 

The Craft of Cinematography: Mastering Visual Language starts monthly at Full Sail DC3. Find out more here