ALL THE GEAR NO IDEA · ONE DAY · KWAZULU‑NATAL
Make the
mistakes here.
FORMAT
One full day, in person
SEATS
8 deliberately
WHERE
A studio, KwaZulu‑Natal
FROM
R4 125
Almost nobody who comes to this day has a knowledge problem. They
know what an f‑stop is. They know what 180° shutter means. They've
watched more YouTube than I have.
What they haven't done is shoot. Not properly, not under pressure, not with
someone waiting. So the mistakes are all still ahead of them — the white
balance nobody checked, the rig that wasn't balanced, the key light half a
stop hot, the interview with the aircon running.
You cannot read your way past that. You have to make the mistakes. The
only question is whether you make them on a paying job or in a studio where
they cost you nothing but a bit of pride.
THE DIAGNOSIS
You're not
shooting enough.
Depending on the day and the venue, a car set runs as a fourth. Sets are shot in rotation, so everybody operates on every one.
01
Settings, properly understood
Frame rates, shutter, ISO, white balance, codecs and what your camera is actually recording.
Not definitions — the reasons one choice closes doors later in the edit.
02
Rigging and build
How a camera gets built for the shot in front of it, and why a badly balanced rig ruins more takes
than a bad lens. Hands on the gear, building and rebuilding.
03
Lighting, from first principles
Key, fill, separation. Shaping and killing light. What one good light and a bounce can do that four
bad ones can't.
04
Live set — product
A real product, lit and shot properly. Where product reveals its shape and where it turns to
plastic.
05
Live set — movement
A model, doing something physical. Tracking a moving subject, choosing a frame rate with
intent, and keeping focus when the subject won't hold still.
06
Live set — interview
The format most of you will actually be paid for. Two-camera setup, eyeline, sound, and a
background that isn't an accident.
THE DAY
Theory until 11.
Camera in hand
after that.
The morning is the stuff you need so the afternoon isn't
wasted. The afternoon is why you came.
A studio, booked for the day
Three live sets, built and lit
A model, briefed and directed
An interview subject
Product to shoot
Lighting kit, modifiers and grip
Eight people, not forty
Me, on the floor, all day
You bring your own camera and glass — you should be learning on the body you'll
actually use on Monday.
WHAT'S IN THE ROOM
The bit that makes
it worth R4 125.
Most workshops at this price are a talk and a
slide deck. This is a working set with people in
front of it.
SET 03 — INTERVIEW
WHAT YOU LEAVE WITH
Cards full, and a reason
for every frame on them.
YOUR FOOTAGE
Everything you shot, on your own cards, yours to use
THE MANUAL
A printed workshop manual to work from afterwards
CERTIFICATE
A Conniston Studios certificate of completion
THE GUARANTEE
Leave without footage you can actually use and I refund your seat
That last one isn't a marketing line. If the day doesn't put usable material
on your card, it didn't work, and I'm not keeping your money for a day that
didn't work.
THE SEAT
Eight seats.
No waiting list
theatre.
Eight is the number where everyone still gets to operate on every set. Twelve would be
easier money and a worse day. The next date is Tuesday 1 December, at Creative Sprout in Ballito.
Whatever you own and will actually use. Mirrorless, cinema body, even a capable hybrid — the principles hold. Bring your lenses, batteries, cards and a way to offload. I supply the lighting and grip.
If you own a camera and have shot with it, yes — even if the results have been bad. If you've never taken it off auto and aren't sure which end the card goes in, you'll spend the day catching up instead of shooting. Email me and I'll tell you honestly which side of that line you're on.
Yes. The sets are product, movement and interview, which is most of what a business needs to make in-house. You'll be in a room with freelancers, which is usually the fastest education available.
No. This day ends when the cards are full. What happens to that footage afterwards is Make The Cut, and the two can be booked together.
A studio in KwaZulu‑Natal, being confirmed now. Dates go to the list before they go anywhere else — join it and you'll hear first.
Seats transfer to the next running of the day, or to someone else, up to seven days before. Just tell me.
STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Before you ask.
If it isn't here, email me. I'd rather talk you out of a seat than take R4 125 for a day that was never going to help you.
BOTH DAYS
R5 625
BOOKED SEPARATELY
R6 620 — you save R995
THE OTHER HALF