Centre for Arts and Technology’s Kelowna campus is honoured to have a great mentor come to our campus to provide a workshop for our Digital Filmmaking students again!
Richard Walden is a Director of Photography who has worked on films such as American Gigolo with Richard Gere, How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey, and Top Gun with Tom Cruise. Richard told us that being in the film industry wasn’t something he chose, “it was decided for [him].”
During the Vietnam War, Richard was attending university and decided to volunteer for bartending for the Marine Corps in fear of being drafted. After countless IQ and aptitude tests, it was determined that Richard was best suited to be a Motion Picture Cameraman. After completing a six month motion picture technical school he was stationed at a Marine base 40 miles south of Los Angeles where he served a tour of duty in Vietnam. After he was discharged he decided to go to Hollywood to become a camera man.
Richard has come to visit the Kelowna Centre for Arts and Technology campus many times to host workshops for the Digital Filmmaking students. He explains that he “speaks about the interaction of different crafts and professions within the industry from the point of view of a cinematographer”. He also encourages students “to stress the importance of keeping an open mind to different styles and techniques of movie making”.
Richard does everything from demonstrating different types of shots to illustrating the different forms of lighting used on set. Richard also makes a point of giving one on one help to each student during the workshops. He explains that his favourite part of doing the workshops is “the small classes; as it’s much easier to give more attention to the students.”
Graham Cairns, Digital Filmmaking Department Head at Centre for Arts and Technology’s Kelowna campus commented “Richard is a Director of photography, the workshops are all about lighting, camera operation and composition, and all the visual parts of filmmaking. Basically what the director of photography is responsible for.”
The workshop is part of the Cinematography 1000 class, giving students a direct connection into the film industry. The students have the benefit of working with a professional, who has not only worked on some amazing movies, but has also worked with well-known names such as Steven Spielberg.
Graham stated that “this is [Richard’s] seventh trip to the school, he’s been a great ambassador for the school and we’re so grateful he is willing to come out here when we ask him”.
We’d like to thank Richard for taking the time to meet with our students as he is truly an asset to their growth within the industry. We look forward to seeing him again in the near future!