Training Courses

Self Shooter Guru

Do you want to brush up on your camera skills? 

  • Are you a researcher looking to step up to AP roles?
  • Are you a content creator or are you looking to become a self-shooter and want to improve your camera skills? 
  • Do you want to build your confidence or improve the quality of your camera work and audio capture?

Then this course will have something for you. We offer hands on practical training courses with our most experienced in-house broadcast camera operators. Each session is tailored to your skillset allowing you to focus on the areas that matter to you.

This experience is open to all skill sets from beginners, students and those already in the industry.

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What this course covers

Intro to Cameras

Don't be afraid, they're all the same really! From white balance and exposure to fitting lenses and filters.

Lenses

What do different lenses do? We cover questions like what is F-Stop, Focal Length and Depth of field.

The Basics of Sound

"I'm not a sound recordist, but I'm doing my own sound, help!" We'll cover the basics of sound to get you going.

Shooting GVs

We cover the basics of shooting good GVs and cutaways and why they're so important.

Shooting Vox Pops

We'll cover the basics of framing and the importance of eye lines and when to reframe and why.

Q&A Session

Ending with a Q&A session to make sure it all went in and made sense so you leave feeling confident!

Experienced gurus

3 hours of 1 to 1 guidance with an experianced professional broadcast camera operator

Get hands on

Practical hands on with one of our  broadcast camera kits, or if you have your own equipment bring that too!

Camera confident

Become confident shooting GVs, B-Roll, Vox Pops and Interviews. We'll explain the theory and have a go so you can put it into practice

Relaxed learning

Learning on set is possible, but stressful! Learn with us in a non pressured enviroment and ask as many questions as you need

Testing, one two

It's not all lights, camera, action, we also cover sound from mic placement to recording levels and monitoring

Bespoke learning

Our aim is for you to come away feeling confident and ready to shoot. We will tailor the learning to your skills, speed and interest

Meet our gurus

James Bailey seen here wrangling footage using a Apple Macbook pro

James Bailey

Technical Supervisor

Blessed with superb technical knowledge and an eye for detail. James has been guiding crews and clients for years on complex shooting techniques. Specilisting in DIT and Data management on complex long term projects he’s also an expert at timelapse, a seasoned multi-cam shooter and director of photography. 

James is both a camera operator and technical supervisor with a vast array of broadcast credits. Graduate of Southampton Solent 2007 Television and Video production BA Hons

Andrew Davis seen here operating a Sony PXW FX9 Camera

Andrew Davis

Director of Photography

With Maddogs since 2004 he has been supporting self-shooters with technical support even before he started shooting himself. From minicams guy to camera assistant, camera and jimmy jib operator, now director of photography who has been surrounded by kit ever since he arrived at Maddogs and he cut his teeth on documentary, reality and entertainment shows. 

A multi-cam shooter and experienced single camera operator with over 20 years experience of shooting broadcast content. Graduate of Bournemouth Uni 2004 Film & Television BA Hons.

Craig Hale seen here operating a Sony ILME-FX3 Camera on a DJI Ronin RS2

Craig Hale

Lighting Cameraman and Drone Pilot

Began as an assistant to Andy and James putting in years of training and shadowing others operators he is now a fully-fledged camera operator and earning his first director of photography credits.

He frequently mixes it up between camera, gimbal and drone work these days having gained extensive knowledge of equipment and shooting techniques. Graduate of Bournemouth Uni 2012 Video production BA Hons

Why learn with us?

We have been supplying experienced crews, broadcast equipment and technical support to production companies & self-shooters for over 20 years. We support our clients to be confident shooters, share our expertise and provide training to all those who use our equipment. We are experienced in sharing our knowledge and tailoring our support for all skill sets. We have quality kit to suit any production requirements.
Andy, Craig and James standing in on a green screen during lunch having a go on autocue.

Frequently Asked Questions

1When do these courses run?
We run these courses on request and are very flexible about when we run them, we like to keep these sessions as one on one or limited to small groups (max 3 people), so run them on demand and can be very flexible on when. This means you get our full attention and the most out of the training.
2Where do these courses run?
The course runs out of our offices in Southampton, as a rental house it means we have a vast array of equipment available to train on and can tailor what we use depending on your needs and experience. It also means we can react to any questions that arise and get extra kit or go off on a tangent if we need to. If you have any specfic equipment you'd like to practice with let us know and we will try and make it available for you. If you've never shot before we go over the basics of all cameras, the most common questions and an overview of basic filming and sound.
3I can't get to Southampton, can I use Zoom?
Yes! But it's not quite a good if we're honest. We can, and have done our courses via zoom but find if you can make it in person, it’s much easier, and more fun, to get hands on with kit! If you do want to learn over zoom, if you can source a camera of your own locally, you'll be able to follow along as we go through menus and settings. Even if you don't have hands on access to a camera, we can share camera menus and screens with you live, and we'll provide materials you can keep and refer to after the session which serve as a useful cheat sheet. Our remote sessions are all run a 1 on 1 with yourself and one of our gurus. As these remote sessions can be a little more complex to run, we don’t offer these as a group booking at this price point. We’ll still tailor the session to you, and your needs to let us know in advance any areas or specific equipment you’d like to cover so we can focus on the information that’s most useful to you.
4Can I bring my own equipment to learn?
Yes! We love when people do that. These courses are very much tailored to you, so let us know what you'd like to learn and if its your camera, or one of ours we'll help you get the most out of it.
5I've never shot before, is this course for me?
Yes! We cater for all skillsets, no previous shooting experience is required. We can cover the very basics and get you confident enough to start shooting.

What does it cost?

All sessions run as a 3 hour course with breaks as needed. Our in person sessions are charged per session, not per person, so feel free to bring along a freind of colleague. Maxmimum 3 people per session. Remote sessions are run on a 1 on 1 basis only.

Self Shooter Guru - In Person

£150

For yourself and up to three colleagues or friends.

This includes a 3 hour long 1 on 1 training session and support materials to take away with you.

Sessions are bespoke to your needs to cover the areas you'd like to improve or freshen up on.

Get hands on with real world equipment, play around and learn in a non-pressured environment.

  • 1 on 1, face to face training
  • Tailored course to your needs
  • Hands on access to equipment
  • Take-away reference cheat sheets
  • Explore specific equipment subject to availability
Book now

Self Shooter Guru - Remote

£120

For individuals who cannot attend in person.

This includes a 3 hour long 1 on 1 training session and support materials sent to you.

Sessions are bespoke to your needs to cover the areas you'd like to improve or freshen up on.

Whilst you can't sadly get hands on you can learn at home or work in a non-pressured environment.

  • 1 on 1, dedicated remote training
  • Tailored course to your needs
  • Hands on access to equipment
  • Take-away reference cheat sheets
  • Explore specific equipment subject to availability
Book now

Not sure if this is for you? Why not have a look at some of the other training courses we offer. Or get in touch to discuss your needs and we'll do what we can to help. We aim for everyone to leave a session with us feeling like they've got the most out of the time and more confident in their skills. We're always happy to tailor our training to you and your skill level or specific requirements.

Training Courses