Hollywood Camera Work Seminar In Italy

Big news! There’s a new Hollywood Camera Work blocking master class by Per Holmes coming up in Italy in May 2024.

This is a 4 day intensive structured as 2 + 2 days with a weekend gap in the middle for sightseeing, socializing and a pizza party at Per’s house.

We have additionally arranged accommodations for those who are interested, in two Tuscan villas with many bedrooms and a pool at modest prices. And since all the rooms are Queen Size, you can bring a partner with you at no additional cost.

The Class

The class is an updated version of Per’s previous master class that has been taught in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, as well as at Disney, Weta and ILM.

The goal is to become an ace at blocking scenes from scratch, and to do a good job even under pressure. Most creative camera work falls apart on the set, which makes for sad editing. We need a rock-solid set of skills so this doesn’t happen.

The class builds up a vocabulary of techniques that are then put to immediate use in scenes that we block, shoot and edit. The class emphasizes that everyone physically blocks and executes shots.

While we do many fancy techniques, the focus is on perfecting core skills, so that you can solve any scene at a moment’s notice, even while juggling a whole production.

The class is taught by Per Holmes, and assisted by Martin Kløft, a Danish Producer/DP who is intimately familiar with the course.

Price / Dates

The seminar is in two parts, Thursday-Friday May 9-10, and continues Tuesday/Wednesday May 14-15, allowing three days of recreation over the weekend.

The price is €990 + 22% Italian Sales Tax, and includes a traditional Tuscan lunch on every seminar day, transportation to/from the venue if you’re staying at one of the accommodations below, and a pizza party at Per’s house.

We can additionally help with accommodations, and have reserved two Italian villas, which allows you, and optionally a partner at no extra cost, to stay in beautiful surroundings for €56 or €69 per night depending on where you stay (see below). We do not profit from these accommodations, and are simply helping out as a courtesy.

Booking / Refunds

The class is limited to approx. 25 participants, and is booked first-come-first-served. To book, simply email us, and we’ll raise an invoice. The seminar fee must be paid in full to reserve a seat.

All seminar fees are deposited into a separate bank account that is not accessed until after the seminar. If the seminar is canceled, the fee is refunded in full.

Booking can be canceled for a 100% refund up to 30 days before the seminar date, a 75% refund up to 14 days before the seminar, and is non-refundable after that. Accommodations cannot be canceled once committed to, unless we can find someone to replace you.

Accommodations

We have reserved two beautiful Italian vacation villas with pools, which is the most cost-effective way to stay in Tuscany as a large group of people. The price comes in at €56 or €69 per room per night. Most rooms have a queen size bed, so you can bring a partner at no extra cost.

You’re not required to use these accommodations. We’re simply helping out as a courtesy, and don’t derive any profit from it.

Villa #1

The first villa is slightly more expensive than the other, and is located a bit closer to the venue. It’s also within walking distance of the small village of Barberino Val D’Elsa. This villa has 9 queen size rooms.

Villa #2

Villa #2 is located slightly further away from the venue. The closest village is Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, but a car is recommended to reach it. This villa has 8 queen size rooms.

Transportation

It's important to be aware that we are in the countryside in Chianti, south of Florence, and the villas are not in immediate walking distance to a larger city. We provide transportation to/from the venues, and are in general happy to give people a lift. But if you want to go to Florence, or go exploring on your own schedule, we strongly suggest renting a car.

For those arriving by air, the airport options are Florence, Pisa and Bologna. Florence airport is about 45 minutes away by car. Once we know when people are arriving, we'll arrange a number of airport pick-ups at Florence airport for those who are not renting a car. If you arrive at the Pisa or Bologna airports, which are 1 ½ hours away, it's necessary to take an airport bus to Florence or rent a car.

Recreation

Per occasionally gets lucky with his pizza dough, and has a wood-fired oven at his house, so we’ll do a pizza party at his house on the Sunday between the two parts of the seminar.

And if anyone is up for it, there are excellent hiking trails starting just behind the venue location.

What People Say About The Seminars

"A fantastic opportunity to sharpen your filmmaking skills by analyzing, discussing, blocking, shooting and editing several challenging scenes in a collaborative and tremendously enjoyable atmosphere!"

- Brad Blackbourn, Pre-Viz/Layout/Virtual Production Supervisor, Avatar, Batman, Kung Fu Panda, Maleficent, Ant-Man And The Wasp, Men In Black.

"I found the Master Class Seminar the perfect way of rounding off everything I had learned from the video course. I gained a huge amount from putting them into practice with Per on hand. The rest of my career will be about absorbing the techniques into my creative tool-kit."

- Nigel Levy, Drama and Documentary Producer/Director: “Formula 1: Drive To Survive” (Netflix), "Fatal Attraction" (Discovery), "The Da Vinci Detective", "Horizon" (BBC), “Nova” (BBC).

"The workshop gives you the necessary tools to set up shots and create shooting strategies like a pro, no matter what level you're at or medium you work in. The experience was truly invaluable."

- Tony Leondis, Director, Dreamworks Animation, Emoji Movie.

"Attending the Hollywood Camera Work Seminar really built upon what I had already learned and gave me new insight to the theory and techniques of camera blocking. Comparing the videos to the seminar is like the difference between practicing guitar in your bedroom vs. playing a live gig with a band!"

- Joe Pavlo, Filmmaker and Emmy Award winning Visual Effects Supervisor, Compositor, Halo, X-Men First Class, The Chronicles Of Narnia, The Da Vinci Code, Batman Begins, Star Wars Episode II, Sleepy Hollow

"Just a quick note to say thanks again. I went straight from the workshop onto a shoot which I was 2nd ADing. Thursday morning, the Director had a nervous breakdown. Tears, hyperventilating, the lot. We just managed to coax him through and finish off the day. Friday lunchtime, and it has been a slow morning. Really slow. The 1st AD is at his wits end, so I step in to take over. I am sitting on set with the Director and DP, and the Director has no idea what he wants. And I mean NO IDEA. He has a few images in his head, and emotional moments he wants to create, but other than that, nothing. So we go through the scene together. I draw a rough plan of the space, and every time he describes a shot I just block it straight onto the diagram, shot listing it down the side. I got him to make quick sketches of each frame as he sees them. Before too long we have a shot list and diagram. I quickly rearrange them into shooting order, and we had a schedule. The Director hardly knew what had happened. Within 10 minutes, I had extracted all the Director dust from his head, and turned it from a blocking plan, into a shot list, into a shooting schedule, and we were off. And it's all thanks to you."

- Anonymous, for obvious reasons.