Prof. Gil Bettman from Chapman University conducted a "Moving Camera" workshop at TNUA in May, showing the more than 30 participants from the Department of Filmmaking the techniques of camera movements.

With more than 30 years of experience working in the film and TV industries, Prof. Bettman has worked as action director for TV series such as "The Twilight Zone" and "Knight Rider," and he has taken part in the productions of numerous films.

In recent years, he has been keen on teaching how to use the camera to tell stories.

His publications include "First Time Director" in 2003 and "Directing the Camera" in 2014. During the workshop, which started on May 17, Prof. Bettman demonstrated how camera movements can enhance the senses of action and depth of a scene and enrich the narrative.

Prof. Bettman, who was on his fourth visit to TNUA, explained in detail the concepts of camera movements and the techniques in actual practice.

The participants of the workshop were divided into six groups, with each member of the group being assigned a specific role – such as director, cinematographer and actor – in their respective filmmaking project. Each group had to make a film based on the scenes from one 15 Hollywood films selected by Prof. Bettman.

After a few days of intensive training and filming, their productions were screened openly on May 24 and 25, with Prof. Bettman giving comments on each of them.


Caption: Prof. Gil Bettman (right) works with students during his "Moving Camera" workshop at TNUA in May.