I'm a Director of Photography for film and video, HD and 3D. I also teach film production at Seattle Film Institute. SFI is the leading hands on film production school in the pacific northwest. Students produce films in Super 8, Super 16 and HD digital video as part of the 10 month immersive full time program. SFI also offers part time classes in film history, documentary, editing, camera etc.
When I first uploaded this page in 1995, I started out with the links below on various video tech topics. Now, to better organize them, I've set up a blog, Lenses And Lights.
Over there I'll continue explaining basic principles of cameras and lighting, along with passing along useful links and tutorials by others. I'll also be writing reviews and recommendations for lighting and camera gear. Here are the pages I wrote on video topics I started with originally, that have been so popular:
- The NTSC Video Signal, monitoring and setup--
- Lighting and Shooting Blue Screen and Chroma Key-
- My listing of helpful film and video books.
Here's my Current Resume plus a page of videos some of my work here.For more information on 3D Stereoscopic Video, (Which is what I'm shooting in the picture at the shuttle launch pad, left) hop over to StereoMedia, the leader in broadcast grade Stereoscopic Video Production and Display. The camera in the picture is the revolutionary Ikegami LK33 stereoscopic zoom lens video camera.
Plus some links to other pages you may find interesting or useful:
In 1982, when I was in film school at USC, I wrote a term paper about this new thing called HDTV. I thought people might find it amusing and interesting, a look back at what people were thinking about the future of film and television. HD Future Term Paper. It's very hard to resist the temptation to go in and fix some things and clean it up, but it is what is, even though I cringe at my writing style. I hope to find the illustrations soon.
Cinematography.net Excellent site, with compilations of advice from working cinematographers on a large number of topics.
Cinematography.com Many good links listed here.
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers Web Site
Video Formats (up to date to 2000)
DVD Demystified -- Excellent web site packed with information for creating and using DVDs.
When were the first television recordings made? And when were they first successfully played back? The answer will surprise you. If you've ever felt guilty about all those tapes you've recorded, but never got round to viewing, click here to find about the longest time shift recording ever!
911 Media Arts Center / Seattle's non-profit resource for video editing, desktop video, non-linear online and offline. For Artists, documentarians, and anyone who wants to create hands on video. Workshops, classes and screenings are also offered
Collins College / From 2004 to 2007 I was the Chair of the Film and Visual Effects Program at Collins College in Phoenix, Arizona. Excellent Associates and Bachelor degree programs with high end HD, Super16 and Visual FX gear, and fantastic instructors. This is not a miniDV school; Collins has full size sound stages, Sony CineAlta HDCam, Panasonic Varicam HD, and Super16 film cameras. The effects program goes beyond After Effects, to teach Autodesk Flame and Combustion. And it's not just a computer effects program-- students work with live action and mode scenes; check out this project: Portal
I am located in Seattle, Washington.
I welcome your E-Mail comments, etc. to:
bradford@seanet.com