Frames of Presence is a six-module cinematography workshop drawn from 25 years behind the camera — from feature films, television dramas and high-pressure location shoots. It is not a technical school. It is a school of seeing.
Each module is a five-day intensive: theory in the morning, practice in the afternoon, screening and reflection in the evening. The aim is not to learn rules — but to develop the instinct that lets you break them with intention.
Intuitive cinematography as a discipline. How to trust the first impulse — and earn it through preparation.
Magic hour as an ethical choice. Natural light only. Non-professional actors. Their reality becomes the film.
A place is a story
waiting to be seen.
The continuous shot as the most honest grammar of cinema — from Hitchcock’s Rope to Adolescence.
A pseudo one-take in 39 cuts. Transitions hidden in darkness, doors, water, black frames. Trimmed to daylight.
The take is not the goal —
subjectivity is the goal.
Lighting in 40 minutes. The discipline of working fast and still painting with light — from Caravaggio to Deakins.
One single dominant light source. Vast negative spaces. Atmospheric depth through fog and dust.
You don’t need many lamps.
You need one right one.
The lens as empathic counterpart. Distance, breath, eyelines — and what they ask of the actor.
The camera as a secret third party. Hidden vantage points, slow motion, doorframes as an architecture of longing.
What the camera withholds
is an image just the same.
Multi-camera grammar. From Rashomon to multi-cam concert cinema. Many points of view, one authored film.
Three Cinerama cameras on Formula 1. Helicopter crane, POV mount, wide shot — all in sync.
Speed doesn’t need studios —
it needs logistics.
VFX, virtual production and AI — and where the cinematographer remains responsible for the image.
LED volume StageCraft. The background runs live in Unreal Engine. The camera tracker feeds parallax back in real time.
When the wall breathes with you,
a greenscreen is beside the point.
“Frames of Presence is not a
technique school.
It is a school of seeing.”
Theory, film analysis, reference dissection. We watch and we read the image.
Practical exercise on location. Limited gear, real conditions, no rehearsal.
Screening of the day’s footage, group reflection, honest critique.
Workbook, worksheets, reference cards, glossary — every page typeset.
Frames of Presence is taught at film schools, studio crews, broadcasters and independent productions across Europe and Latin America. Each module can be delivered as a five-day intensive, a weekend masterclass, or a custom format.