Learning path · Camera
Focus pulling (1st AC)
The focus puller's craft: depth of field, measuring and marking, wireless follow focus, lens mapping and camera prep.
Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course. This one prepares you for Camera department Foundation.
Lesson 1
What A Focus Puller Does On Set: Crew Breakdown
In Depth Cine · 17:07 · original on YouTube
You will learn: See what a focus puller does on set from prep to wrap.
Watch for: Watch how marks are set during the rehearsal, not during the take, and how the focus puller talks to the operator.
By the end you will be able to
- Work out depth of field and explain T-stops and hyperfocal distance
- Measure, mark and pull focus cleanly on a moving shot
- Set up and map a wireless lens control system
- Run a structured camera prep and a 1st AC's day
Test yourself
Could you do it on a set?
4 real situations, one for each thing this path teaches. It's optional practice, not pass or fail, and your answers stay on this device.
Next: do it for real
This path prepares you for Camera department Foundation.
Eight lessons in the order a camera trainee meets the job: safety, who's who, prep, kit care, slates and camera reports, media, lenses and marks.
It's free and open in the pilot. Finish it to book a competency check, then a practical on our unit.
How learning with FIF works
Learning path. Free films in teaching order, for one craft. Watch, tick them off and test yourself. It's practice that prepares you for an Academy course.
- Learn onlineFree films, paths and Academy coursesYou are here
- Competency checkA short check with us, online or in person
- In-person practicalOn our unit at Pinewood or 3 Mills
- FIF CertificateFrom the practical only
The FIF Certificate comes only from the practical. How it works · Book a competency check
#FocusPuller "It's either right or it's wrong" - Focus Puller Andy Parziale on THE LUNCH BREAK Ep 6Phil Hawkins - Director · Lesson6 min.
ARRI Signature Primes Tech Talk: 4 things you have to knowARRIChannel · Lesson4 min.
Focus Pulling Tips and Tricks.Filmmaker Survival · Lesson27 min.
How to Set Up Teradek RTTeradek · Lesson3 min.
How to Setup the TOF.1 Rangefinder - Teradek RTTeradek · Lesson6 min.
HOW TO: CineTape 2Stratton Camera · Lesson2 min.
Calibrating Your Cinema Lens | How & Why To Shim A LensCVP · Lesson10 min.
Go further
Beyond YouTube, labelled honestly. Free first. Paid options are labelled.
- Guild of British Camera Technicians Paid (membership; trainee rate available)
GBCT. UK camera crew guild: trainee membership, events, kit days and a route into UK camera departments. - ARRI Academy courses Paid (varies by course, often several hundred pounds)
ARRI. Manufacturer training on ALEXA cameras, lenses, lighting and camera assistant skills. - ScreenSkills online learning (incl. Getting into the Screen Industries) Free with sign-up
ScreenSkills. UK industry skills body; free e-learning on set etiquette, safety and departments. - NFTS short courses Paid (varies)
National Film and Television School. UK national film school short courses, including camera and cinematography options. - Assistant Camera (Focus Pulling and Loading) diploma Paid (£7,950)
NFTS. One-year NFTS diploma; the UK's main formal route. - Camera Assisting Paid (£595)
NFTS. Three-day course. - Screen Craft Pathways: Assisting Camera Subsidised (Connery Foundation)
NFTS. Fifteen-day route into camera assisting. - GBCT training and Camera Trainee Scheme Paid courses; trainee scheme by application
GBCT. Includes 'moving up to focus puller' style courses. - Apprenticeship standard: Camera prep technician (Level 3) Free to the apprentice (paid job; employer and government fund training)
Skills England. Shows what the apprenticeship covers; find live vacancies on Find an Apprenticeship.
For learners and trainers
Every lesson is a free video by its original maker, played from YouTube with privacy-enhanced settings. Found a broken video? Email [email protected].