Visium: The Hidden Language of Images
How do images tell stories? Discover the hidden language everyone understands but few can truly “speak.” Cinematographer and educator Tal Lazar unveils the most sought-after lessons from his workshops at the American Film Institute Conservatory, Columbia University, Sundance and other top institutions. Whether you’re a filmmaker, photographer, or any other visual storyteller, this is your chance to learn how movies communicate through images—and apply it to your own work.
- Update frequency
- every 12 days
- Average duration
- 14 minutes
- Episodes
- 13
- Years Active
- 2025
Expression with Color
In the middle of the Great Plague, a young Isaac Newton sat alone in his dorm room and uncovered one of the most fundamental truths about light: white light is made of all colors combined. That revel…
Design Elements
What makes an image feel powerful, even when it breaks all the “rules”? In this episode we start with Edgar Degas, the artist who scandalized 19th-century critics by framing scenes in ways that felt …
The Cinematic Composition
In this episode of Visium, we examine what it really means to compose an image, starting not in the world of cinema, but with a scandal in the art world. When Gustav Klimt’s commissioned paintings fo…
The Perfect Lens
When you walk into a camera store and see ten different 50mm lenses, each with a wildly different price tag, what exactly are you paying for? This episode dives deep into that question, unpacking the…
Selecting A Lens
We often think of camera lenses in terms of how much of the scene they capture: wide for big spaces, long for faraway subjects. But what if that’s only scratching the surface? In this episode, we cha…
The Language of lenses
In this episode of Visium we demystify the world of camera lenses by tracing their origins back to a medieval Venetian monk struggling to read. Drawing parallels between our intuitive understanding o…
Placing the Camera
In this episode we unpack what makes you lean in, and what makes you pull away from a movie? We explore how physical space and emotional instinct intertwine, not just in life, but on screen. We follo…
Narrative Perspective
Ever wondered why some stories are just captivating, while others fall flat? In this episode of Visium, we dive into one of filmmaking's most fundamental yet often overlooked aspects: narrative persp…
The Visual Strategy
What happens when a perfectly planned shot list collides with the unexpected reality of actors on a set? In this episode of Visium, we explore a common yet critical moment filmmakers face: when reali…
From Words to Images
There’s one question that never fails to make filmmakers squirm: What’s your story? It sounds simple, but the answer isn’t always obvious. In this episode of Visium, we unpack why that question is so…
The Visual Story
Would you walk onto a stage in front of 500 people without knowing exactly what you want to say? Probably not. Yet, many filmmakers do something similar when they step onto set without a clear vision…
Unforgettable Images
What makes an image truly unforgettable? Think of the Afghan Girl’s piercing stare, Muhammad Ali towering over his opponent, or Neo stopping bullets in The Matrix. These images don’t just capture a m…
Unforgettable Images
Discover how images become iconic by tapping into a universal visual language that resonates with audiences. This episode explores how filmmakers and visual artists can use that language to craft pow…