[Commlist] CfA: Lights, Camera, Education: Preparing Cinematographers for the Future

Lights, Camera, Education: Preparing Cinematographers for the Future

Edited Volume by Dr Levi Dean (1), Dr Sadia Jamil (1), Nick Manley (2) 
and Dr Simon Weaving (1)


1) The University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) 2) Falmouth University

Cinematography—the art and craft of "writing with light in motion" 
(Greenhalgh, 2018)—is an essential pillar of filmmaking. The role of the 
cinematographer, or director of photography (DoP), is multifaceted, 
requiring both technical command and artistic vision. As Susan Kerrigan 
and Phillip McIntyre (2019) highlight, the DoP must coordinate “the 
camera, grip, and lighting teams in different crew combinations on a 
film to complement a visual strategy for a project.” This balance of 
creativity and technical expertise makes cinematography one of the most 
demanding yet rewarding aspects of film production and a cornerstone of 
film education.

However, as the filmmaking industry undergoes a global transformation 
driven by the digital revolution and the democratisation of audio-visual 
technology, the tools and practices available to cinematographers are 
evolving rapidly. While consumer tools, such as mobile phones and 
mirrorless cameras, have made filmmaking more accessible, professional, 
high-end film productions typically remain reliant on expensive, 
specialised equipment. This creates a contrast between the tools 
students may be familiar with through amateur media creation (Dooley 
2019) and the high-end equipment they encounter in professional film 
production.

This contrast is particularly significant in the role of the 
cinematographer, which exemplifies the challenge of bridging the gap 
between technical knowledge and artistic vision. As Blain Brown (2016, 
p. 11) notes, cinematographers must “understand the practical side of 
dealing with the camera, lenses, digital aspects, file types, workflow, 
and so on, but also have their minds firmly planted in the artistic side 
of creating a visual world.” This dual responsibility highlights the 
importance of access to professional tools and practices that enable 
students to develop these skills in tandem. However, such high-end 
industry equipment not only adds a layer of technical complexity but 
also expense, as evidenced by ARRI camera and lighting systems and 
others such as Sony Venice and RED, which are widely used in 
professional productions.

This use of such industry-standard tools–including grip equipment–poses 
challenges for academic institutions striving to provide students with 
such authentic, professional-level experiences. For practice-based 
academics teaching cinematography, the challenge is twofold: preparing 
students to meet the demands of the film industry while navigating the 
financial resource constraints of academia, as well as time constraints 
required to familiarise themselves with high-end industry equipment. 
This often sparks debates about whether film education should prioritise 
creativity over technical expertise, given the resource-intensive nature 
of teaching advanced cinematography. At the same time, the need to 
prepare students for industry expectations while facilitating 
experimentation adds another layer of complexity, raising important 
questions for academia, as we are not simply ‘serving the industry.’

Call for Contributions
In light of the above, this call for chapters invites contributions from 
scholars and industry practitioners to explore and contribute to 
meaningful dialogue about the challenges and opportunities involved in 
teaching cinematography in higher education. Contributions can address a 
variety of topics, including (but not limited to):

•	Pedagogical strategies for teaching cinematography in resource-limited 
contexts.
•	The balance between creative and technical skills in film education.
•	Equity and accessibility in cinematography education, especially in 
the context of expensive equipment and accreditation programs.
•	Case studies of innovative approaches to teaching cinematography.
•	Perspectives on industry accreditation programs and their impact on 
higher education.
•	The evolving role of the cinematographer and its implications for 
curriculum design.
•	Integrating emerging technologies (e.g., virtual production and AI) 
into cinematography education.
•	Interdisciplinary approaches to cinematography education.
•	Sustainability and environmental considerations in cinematography 
education.
•	The impact of consumer technology (e.g., mobile phones, mirrorless 
cameras and drones) on professional cinematography education.
•	Strategies for fostering diversity, inclusion, and representation in 
cinematography education.
•	Developing assessment frameworks for evaluating creative and technical 
aspects of cinematographic work.
•	Collaboration skills in cinematography education, focusing on the 
DoP's role in working with (but not limited to) directors, editors, and 
production designers. •	Teaching composition and framing techniques, 
exploring how students can understand and apply principles of spatial 
storytelling.
•	The role of colour in cinematography, examining how advances in file 
formats (e.g., RAW, Log) and the emergence of the digital colourist are 
reshaping the cinematographer’s creative and technical responsibilities.

We strongly encourage contributions that balance academic rigor with 
practice-based insights, offering actionable recommendations for film 
educators, industry practitioners and academic institutions navigating 
these challenges.

Submission:

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit, on or before 16th 
June 2025, a 500-word abstract and 200 words outlining how their chapter 
fits within the aims of the book. Submissions should be sent to Dr. Levi 
Dean ((Levi.Dean /at/ nottingham.edu.cn)), Dr. Sadia Jamil 
((Sadia.Jamil. /at/ nottingham.edu.cn)), Nick Manley 
((Nick.Manley /at/ falmouth.ac.uk)) and Dr. Simon Weaving 
((Simon.Weaving /at/ nottingham.edu.cn)).
Key Dates:

•	Abstract submission deadline: 16th June 2025
•	Selection results announced: 18th July 2025
•	Full chapters due: Not required until confirmation from the publisher

Contact Information:

For inquiries, please contact Dr Levi Dean at 
(levi.dean /at/ nottingham.edu.cn).  We look forward to receiving your 
contributions and advancing the conversation on the future of 
cinematography education in higher education.

Author Biographies
Dr. Levi Dean is an Assistant Professor, the Director of Audio-Visual 
Technology, and the founder and Co-Director of the Institute of Screen 
Production at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), where he 
has led the transformation of the university’s filmmaking 
infrastructure. He successfully project-managed the creation of several 
state-of-the-art labs, including ARRI’s first Virtual Production & 
Motion Capture Studio in Asia. As an accredited ARRI lecturer in Camera 
Systems, Levi, alongside his colleague, delivered UNNC’s first ARRI 
Certified Camera Systems Course in 2025. His recent filmmaking projects 
include serving as Cinematographer for IC’s MA Digital Screen Production 
commercial video, using the ARRI Alexa Mini-LF, and as Focus Puller on 
the award-winning Chinese film Half the World is Sleeping (2024), 
utilising the ARRI Hi-5 system. Notably, his screenplay Rock Paper 
Scissors was brought to life by Oscar-winning cinematographer Philippe 
Rousselot. Outside of practice, Levi’s research has been published in 
numerous reputable journals, and he is a co-author author for The 
Bloomsbury Handbook to Global Contemporary Documentary (under contract).

Dr. Sadia Jamil is an Assistant Professor and Director of Research at 
the School of International Communications, The University of 
Nottingham, Ningbo, China. She is also the Director of Institute of 
Mobile Studies at UNNC.  She earned a PhD in Journalism (University of 
Queensland, Australia), a Master of Science in Media Management 
(University of Stirling, Scotland), and a M.A. in Mass Communication 
(University of Karachi). Dr. Jamil is the recipient of University of 
Queensland's prestigious awards including UQ's Centennial Award (2010) 
and IPRS Award (2010). She is the recipient of Cairo Air Crash 
Journalists Victim Memorial Gold Medal and Sardar Ali Sabri Memorial 
Gold Medal in Pakistan (2007). Dr Jamil’s key areas of research include: 
(i) journalism and communication, (ii) AI and new media technology, 
(iii) digital divide and digital inclusion, (iv) sustainability and 
sustainable development and (v) virtual production. More recently, as 
Director of Research at the School of International Communications (IC), 
she has contributed to the development of practice-based research. She 
initiated a research project with UNNC’s partner, ARRI, to better 
understand Virtual Production and Motion Capture workflows. This project 
aims to create educational deployments worldwide and generate a global 
impact.

Nick Manley is a Lecturer at Falmouth University and Fellow of the 
Higher Education Authority. As practice lead on the MA Film and 
Television and Cinematography lead on BA (Hons) Film he brings over 30 
years of industry experience as a professional Director of Photography. 
He has worked in over 70 countries worldwide in documentary and drama 
production for international broadcasters. His documentary work has been 
recognised in programme awards from the Royal Television Society, his 
work for the UN (1994) is held as part of the Imperial War Museum 
(London) archive, other work has awards across several international 
film festivals including A very British Gangster (2007), winner Gran 
Prix Madrid Film Festival, Winner Cognac Film Festival, Irish Film and 
Television Awards nomination, Sundance Jury prize Nomination. His 
current professional drama work as Director of Photography includes 40 
hours, 4 seasons, of crime drama on the BBC I-Player, Prime TV and Acorn 
(USA) with London Kills (2024). He maintains his professional standing 
as a working professional within the Guild of British Camera Technicians 
and is a member of Directors Uk and Screen Craft Rights. As an educator 
he is an ARRI accredited lecturer who brings a strong industrial and 
professional background alongside a deep desire to support students in 
making their best work and achieving high goals. His changes to how 
practice is taught at the Falmouth University School of Film and 
Television have been significant and hugely beneficial to the students’ 
experience and in the quality of work being produced. He has re-written 
much of the teaching approach in cinematography to include the why we 
shoot, our creative visual input to narrative, not just how, the ever 
changing access to professional tools and practice.

Dr. Simon Weaving is the Director of the MA in Digital Screen Production 
course at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and is ARRI 
Certified in Camera Systems. He has written and directed several films, 
including Almost the Night (2022), The Competition (2012), and Waiting 
for Robbo (2011), which had its World Premiere at the Cannes Film 
Festival. In his most recent filmmaking project, he served as Director 
for the School of International Communications’ commercial video 
promoting their new practice-based MA program. He has published articles 
on film genre, screenwriting for virtual reality, and the cinema-going 
experience, the latter stemming from a long-term research project with 
industry partners in cinema exhibition and distribution. Simon also 
served as President of the Australian Screen Production and Education 
Research Association from 2021 to 2023 and was the film critic for the 
Canberra Times from 2009 to 2019.

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