Motion Picture Photography

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Motion Picture Photography (MPP) programme is under the Film Techniques Department. MPP is at the heart of filmmaking and a game-changer, that differentiates cinema and television programmes from theatre and radio. Without MPP there is no film or television.  It is this unique attribute of MPP that compels the target audience to deliberate long after the final credit roll, viewers are often left with a shot(s) or image(s) on their minds, in addition to the dialogue and performances, many movies are made or broken on the merits of their imagery. At the National Film and Television Institute, Cinematography students professionally learn the theoretical, and technical competencies necessary to create appropriate images and visual language to structure and or write the film, television, and new media programmes. Specialization students of the Motion Picture Photography Unit (MPPU) would collaborate with their colleagues and function as the cinematographer to produce images for the various productions in both factual and non-Factual genres of filmmaking of various durations. These applied and or practical experiences help to prepare the student for the film and television industry.

Students will also be provided with thorough training on professional lighting, a camera, a quadcopter (Drone), and grip equipment throughout their specialization period. In addition to having unprecedented access to equipment and facilities, students in this course will also learn and practice the fundamental truth that a cinematographer’s job is a holistically hybrid field of endeavor that requires both confident execution of technical crafts as well as a willingness to explore and execute one’s own artistic vision.

The Motion Picture Photography Programme offered at the National Film and Television Institute would enable students to explore the aesthetics of filmmaking, Elements of Structure, Visual Storytelling, and creative problem solving on location and in the studio. This program provides students the techniques to be able to draw the best from any given situation.  On the creative side of a cinematographer’s role, the students will practice their own ‘visualization’ and then produce key aesthetic elements under his/her command, including the composition of the visual elements and appropriate lighting styles in these scenes to be shot. As inspiration for their exercising these creative options, the student will also study how powerful the role of script and art direction play in Cinematographer’s design process.

Students will be assisted by the finest faculty members and highly sort after industry practitioners – locally and internationally to explore the creative and technical possibilities of Cinematography in both factual and non-factual filmmaking processes in Cinema, Electronic Field Production (EFP), and Electronic News Gathering (ENG).