Mentoring
The BSC mentoring scheme is designed to nurture young cinematographers by pairing them with more experienced colleagues who are members of the BSC. If you feel that you have reached a stage in your career where meeting up on a regular basis with a more experienced colleague then this scheme might be for you.
Mentorship for 2026 is now closed.
Why be a mentor?
You have reached a point in your career where you have the confidence and time to consider helping the next generation of cinematographers. You might surprise yourself with how much you have learned over the years.. and this will become apparent both to yourself and your mentee as you start to engage with them.
Those of us who have done this in the past have found it a deeply fulfilling task, and sometimes the mentor/mentee relationship has endured long past its due date.. but that’s up to you and your mentee.
What kind of person might be a mentee?
Your mentee will be someone who is already working as a cinematographer, and might be anything from a novice to someone more in the mid point of their career. Perhaps someone working successfully alone or with small crews who is seeking the next step.
Below are some brief guidelines to help you decide if you would like to participate in this program.
What’s Involved?
The basic commitment is 6 x 1hr contact time with your mentee across a 6 -12 month period. This can be on zoom or a phone call but we encourage the first meeting to be in person if possible.
Beyond this commitment we suggest / encourage:
- A set visit (where possible)
- Previous mentees have got so much from the experience of being on set - even one day can be hugely beneficial. The mentee would be on set to observe only and is not a working member of the camera department. It is up to you as to how you organise this time..
- Previous mentees have got so much from the experience of being on set - even one day can be hugely beneficial. The mentee would be on set to observe only and is not a working member of the camera department. It is up to you as to how you organise this time..
- Joining you for a recce / or part of pre production.
- If you are in pre-production your mentee might appreciate joining you on a recce or sitting in on a production meeting. We take it for granted what we already know as it is so familiar to us, but for a developing DP who hasn’t yet had the chance to work on a larger scale, such insight is invaluable.
- If you are in pre-production your mentee might appreciate joining you on a recce or sitting in on a production meeting. We take it for granted what we already know as it is so familiar to us, but for a developing DP who hasn’t yet had the chance to work on a larger scale, such insight is invaluable.
- Joining you in the grade
- Many mentees will not have seen a professional grading suite and this is a startling and inspiring process for them. You will normally need permission from your Producer to bring in your Mentee: this can usually be obtained but might require the Mentee to sign an NDA.. so prepare for that.
So how do I join up?
If you would like to sign up please click here.
Please note that at this stage you are just making an enquiry or you can just sign up.. up to you!
If you have any questions or would like to speak to discuss the above in more detail please contact Oliver Stapleton: [email protected].
Mentors will have an opportunity to accept or reject a potential Mentee before the Mentee is informed.