If it weren‘t for the film camera, movie-goers would find themselves facing a black screen – with no interplay of light and shadows, no darkness, no brightness, no delicate colors in the first light of dawn, no flash of lights amidst bustling after-dark city streets. To capture all this, it takes a camera.

Moreover, their work presents camera people with a variety of very diverse challenges. On the one hand, they must acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the various technologies related to the film camera; while, at the other end of the spectrum, esthetic competence is what makes them true artists of light.

The job comes with another requirement: To create proper images, an in-depth examination of the narrative content involved is just as essential as developed team-building and communication skills.

Fictional and documentary story-telling, music videos, advertising, art films – the range of camera work is as incredibly varied as it is universal. Camera people can practice their craft anywhere in the world – an undismissable advantage these days, as our trade grows increasingly internationalized.

Highly involved in the process of digitizing visual content, camera people have become pioneers of profound social change.

Today, the reality of our films is no longer defined purely by the photographic takes themselves, but also by their computer-aided modification (VFX).

In the past, our profession was one practiced almost exclusively by men. In actual fact, though, gender is absolutely irrelevant to successful camera work! Therefore, HFF’s Department VII – Cinematography offers special encouragement to women to discover this extraordinarily intriguing profession for themselves.

The study program comprises eight semesters, with basic studies preceding the main core studies.