• Home
  • About
  • Skills & Kit
  • Films
  • Photos
  • Credits
  • Punt Wars
  • Drones
  • Fluvial Films
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer

James Bayliss-Smith

Documentary Cameraman & Filmmaker

Documentary Cameraman & Filmmaker

Blog

Should I call myself a Cinematographer?

What’s in a name?  This question has been vexing me for a while now.  I’ve always been happy with the term Cameraman, but at the recent Wildscreen Film Festival in Bristol I re-assessed my opinion on this after attending a panel with and about female wildlife “cinematographers”.  They quite understandingly don’t like the term camerawoman or camera operator and the ladies were confidently calling themselves cinematographers.  Camera operator denotes a lower ‘rank’ in traditional film…

Read more

Natural History Network: 2018 Emerging Talent Feature

Very honoured to be featured by Bristol’s own globe spanning Natural History Network as an “Emerging Camera Talent”. I was highlighted alongside such talented individuals as Tania Rose Esteban, Ben Tutton, Paul Klaver, Yuzuru Masuda, Oliver Mueller and Louis Labrom. The NHN has chosen to feature us as “One’s to watch: 2018”. They are all great camera people with promising futures ahead of them. Sam Stewart was also on the list but he is off…

Read more

Run n’ Gun – Feature in pro moviemaker magazine

Below is a magazine article I featured in about run n’ gun filmmaking.  run n’ gun refers to the type of shooting I’ve often had to do where you are shooting documentary footage and you have no real control of what is happening.  You are following events and building sequences dynamically as you shoot.  It’s a particular skill and is pretty hard compared to when you can control the environment you are in.  I have a…

Read more

Tailfin: shooting a successful Kickstarter video with the Sony FS5 and Helix Jr Gimbal, a match made in heaven?

After much deliberation I put in a pre-order for the FS5 last autumn. I’d read the specs, liked what I saw and took the plunge, replacing my C100 that I’d had for the previous year. It was a no-brainer for me, I started out in this business over 10 years ago by buying a Sony Z1 as soon as it was launched. Owning the Z1 at that early stage literally launched my career as a…

Read more

SHAPE Sony FS5 Base Kit review

I had the opportunity to test out the SHAPE FS5 Base Kit on a recent shoot in Durban, South Africa.  The kit comprises of the FS5 Base Plate, Top Plate, Remote Extension handle and two sets of 15mm rods. For me the most interesting part of this kit is the Remote Extension handle.  This attaches to the camera using an Arri style rosette screwed into the side of the FS5 with 4 screws.  If you…

Read more

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Next →

Footer

  • +44 (0)7801 287924
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
Tweets by JBaylissSmith

Copyright © 2025 James Bayliss-Smith All Rights Reserved
Terms and Conditions Privacy and Cookies Policy Site designed and built by Pilcrow + Pixel

jamesbaylisssmith.com uses cookies to analyse traffic via Google Analytics and to improve your experience while visiting the site.OKLearn more