Arts & Entertainment

Cinematography

Lesson time 19:33 min

Ron thinks about cinematic choices almost like a character in the movie. Learn how lighting, lenses, and stylistic choices can add visual power to your film.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: Let the Movie Talk to You • Use Light as a Character • Experiment with Lenses • Mix the Medium • Learn from Hobbyists • Borrow From Documentaries

Ron Howard

Teaches Directing

Ron Howard teaches directing, editing, and storytelling in his exclusive video lessons.

Preview

I've never been a director who wants to put a personal stamp on a project based on a look or an aesthetic. I've always thought of myself, more like a-- I guess the way an actor understands a character and tries to inhabit that character. I want to understand the character of a movie and sort of inhabit it as a director and try to fulfill the possibilities that I think are most appropriate. Now, of course, my personality, my taste, it's going to influence movies in similar ways. And I try not to work in opposition of that. But I like to try to understand a movie and let it begin to talk to me. I like to begin to understand what's visually possible and what would most reflect, I suppose, the themes, the story. It always keeps coming back to me, to supporting those ideas. What's it about? What's it trying to convey? And how is it supposed to transport the audience? How is it supposed to feel? And then begin to understand what sort of visual style will enhance that. How will it help us understand the characters? How will it help engage the audience? There's a kind of an ironic thing that happens, that suddenly you're going to hear a lot more about that subject. So now I'm thinking about becoming a doctor, and suddenly there's a great documentary about what it means to be an ER doctor. And oh, look at this. I'm really noticing that those people over at Starbucks, they're nurses. And I think I see a doctor over there, and they're talking. And maybe I'll go up and just talk to them about what med school they went to. It's all-- boy, this is amazing. Suddenly everywhere I look, it's all about medicine and doctors. Well, it's just that your antenna is tuned. My sense of this is that that information has always been there, but now you've focused your train of thought. I think as a director, you have the opportunity to do the same thing, to begin to focus on your subject. And you'll be amazed how many ideas can start flooding your way. And a lot of that comes to you as visual language. And it's great to start taking notes. You see a photograph. Pull it out-- well, if you can. If you already own the magazine, pull it out. Collect it. Give yourself something to talk about, to think about, to dream about, and just begin the process of understanding what that movie could be. At least that's how I like to work. And I never have any interest in having a particular kind of shot that I always do to start the movie or end the movie-- no signatures like that. For me, it's about a story finding its proper voice, its existence within the medium of cinema. A lot of what we perceive in life has to do with light. Bright shafts, stark backlight, so that things are a little bit muddled. Distance is often about-- the way the optics work is you start to lose detail and the light isn't registering with you on a distant figu...

About the Instructor

Ron Howard made his first film in 15 days with $300,000. Today, his movies have grossed over $1.8 billion. In his first-ever online directing class, the Oscar-winning director of Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind decodes his craft like never before. In lessons and on-set workshops, you’ll learn how to evaluate ideas, work with actors, block scenes, and bring your vision to the screen whether it’s a laptop or an IMAX theater.

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Ron Howard

Ron Howard teaches directing, editing, and storytelling in his exclusive video lessons.

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