What if visual storytelling were simple, acting as just another tool to help actors enhance their performances?
In this unique workshop, we go beyond standard acting-for-camera classes. Instead of just freeing actors from cameras and lenses, the focus is on empowering them to collaborate with directors and cinematographers as equal visual storytellers. By integrating cinematography into their performances, actors can connect with audiences in new and powerful ways.
Read Tal Lazar’s OpEd on CineD to discover how actors can benefit from working with cinematographers.
Whether a short session or multiple classes, in a studio or online, the Cinematography for Actors workshop adapts to participants’ needs, drawing from these key topics:
Scene breakdown is a task every actor knows well, but here, we take it a step further into the world of visual storytelling. How do cinematographers interpret characters from the script, and how do character traits inspire visual motifs? Exploring these questions offers a new perspective on visual choices and allows actors to take part in shaping them.
Lighting isn’t just about placing lamps—their placement shapes the effect of lighting just as much as an actor’s position does. This means lighting is as much within the actor’s control as it is the cinematographer’s. In this workshop, actors learn to observe light and recognize its essential qualities in storytelling. We then put this knowledge into practice, working alongside cinematographers to shape lighting collaboratively.
In theater, the audience has a fixed viewpoint that guides blocking. In film, this viewpoint is constantly shifting, altering the narrative perspective—sometimes observing characters from a distance, other times drawing the viewer into their experience. Discover how camera placement shapes storytelling and see how it can instantly elevate a performance.
Lenses may seem mysterious, but unlocking their storytelling potential doesn’t require deep technical knowledge. Using examples from powerful scenes, we explore how different lenses shape both the image and the audience’s experience. By testing various lenses on the same performance and observing our own reactions, it becomes clear just how impactful they can be.
Cinema differs from photography by introducing the element of time. Explore how viewers engage with a static shot and how the human eye moves through a scene. Then, see how movement—both within the frame and of the frame itself—enhances visual storytelling.
Explore how cinematic compositions trace their origins to paintings and how the masters of visual storytelling conveyed meaning in a single frame. These timeless techniques remain central to filmmaking today and can be seamlessly integrated into movie scenes. By recognizing them in the work of filmmakers you collaborate with, you can amplify their impact even further.
Understanding the relationship between the cinematographer, director, and their technical collaborators will help you find your own creative role on set. How are shots designed? How does blocking influence lighting and camera positioning? Explore what happens in pre-production—before you even step on set—and learn how to collaborate effectively once you’re there.
Cinematic Impact workshops are offered to educational institutions, companies and organizations of all types. Individuals are welcome to reach out too!