Why I started CamerAcademy, a camera school in Queenstown

On almost every shoot, someone asks me the same thing while I am packing up: how would I do that myself? A café owner who wants to post more than once a month. A visitor with a good camera stuck on auto. A small business sick of paying someone for every thirty-second clip.

For a long time my answer was a few quick tips and a promise to write something up one day. CamerAcademy is me finally doing it properly.

What it is

CamerAcademy is a camera and content creation school that began in Queenstown. Groups are small on purpose, so everyone gets time with the gear and time with me. The lessons come straight from commercial work: the settings, framing and lighting decisions I make on client jobs, explained without jargon.

There are three ways in:

• Camera Fundamentals for people who want to get off auto, with further levels for anyone aiming at professional work.
• Content Training, built for business owners making content on the phone they already carry.
• Corporate training, shaped around a team's real needs, from filming social posts to running Meta ads.

Classes now run in Queenstown, Cromwell and Dunedin.

Why a production company would teach its own craft

It can look odd for a video company to show clients how to film. I see it the other way round. Plenty of businesses should be posting everyday content themselves and bringing in a crew for the pieces that genuinely need one, like a brand film, an event or a campaign. Teaching the first part makes the second part better.

It also grows the pool of people who can pick up a camera properly here. Some of the people learning today will be on local sets in a few years.

If you want to learn

Have a look at cameracademy.com, and if you know someone who keeps meaning to learn their camera, point them our way. And if you would rather we just made it for you, that is what FanCast is for.

Dave Maguire
Founder, FanCast Productions and CamerAcademy