The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games.

The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen industries to see firsthand the work of NFTS’ graduating students and to meet the next generation of film, television and games makers that will be shaping the industry for years to come.

British Cinematographer takes you behind the scenes to explore the 10 films screened at the Fiction Graduate Showcase, including interviews with the cinematographers, stills and shots taken during filming for each incredible production.

Here, Dylan Bruce explains how he used creative camera movement to tell a medieval story with a difference in Hand to God.

Please can you share an overview of your film?

Hand to God is all about believing in one’s truth and what the truth might mean to different people at different times. This is the idea director Jake Kuhn pitched to me very early on. The story itself quickly followed: “Desperate for coin, a medieval bard dusts off the tale that’s haunted him for 50 years – his fateful encounter with the mythical Yoric ‘the baby-eater’, a night that defined his life.” 

What were your initial discussions about the visual approach for the film? What look and mood were you trying to achieve? 

During our early discussions, Jake and I were keen on the idea of really exploring how to move the camera in ways that were focused on longer takes and fewer setups. We were inspired by some older films, including Macbeth (1971) and Virgin Spring (1960). These films had the feeling of longer, crafted takes, that might hold the frame for extended periods. We were really fired up after rewatching Boogie Nights (1997), and the idea of a moving, intentional camera quickly stuck.

The film is an interesting mixture of drama and back-handed comedy, so I wanted to make sure that it had a classical feel to it, something that would allow the comedic moments to shine through in unexpected ways. We were also keen on the idea of warmth and grit in the film, as if the two knights were cooking in a stone oven. It was important to us that skin tones and sweat were always visible and an claustrophobic part of the world.

Creating a distinct visual identity for the two visual worlds was important to us, one where the bard retells his story, and the other between the two knights in the castle tower. This involved a camera that felt more improvised/documentary-like for the former, and more ‘dramatic’ and lavish in the latter. We never wanted to repeat the same angle or setup, particularly in the castle tower – each scene had to have its own flavour and feeling. This was an interesting challenge considering one of the main characters spends most of the film skewered to the floor. We spent a lot of time on the stage, blocking out the scenes and figuring out exactly how the camera would move and what this would express. 

What were your creative references and inspirations? Which films, still photography or paintings were you influenced by? 

Some of our main references included Macbeth (1971), The Green Knight (2021), The Northman (2022), Virgin Spring (1960) and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). We generally stuck to filmic references, I think they were all fairly varied in their nature. Macbeth was the one that really stood out to me, something about the way the warmth and its Technicolor saturation played in. It has this fever-dream quality and theatricality which I love. 

What filming locations were used? Were any sets constructed? Did any of the locations present any challenges? 

From our earliest discussions, producer Igor Engler, director Jake Juhn, designer Yelynn Sim and I agreed that the castle set should be shot on a stage at NFTS. It was also a large draw to the project for me to have the experience of dealing with a stage and all the benefits and difficulties that can come with it. It was amazing to have the time to talk with Yelynn about exactly how large the windows should be, what kind of size, wall texture/colour, ceiling types etc… Perhaps the trickiest bit about shooting on the stage was space. We were often slightly up against the wall with trying to get enough distance from windows to the backdrops. This meant at times it was a little tricky to hide lamp/mirrors out of the windows when roaming around the stage.

The village exterior was shot in Little Woodham Living History Village. It was definitely a bit of a shock to move out there after five days with lots of control on stage. We had a similar amount of pages to shoot, but in less than half the amount of time. In classic British manner, the weather was the biggest obstacle here – the sun was in and out and weather conditions were regularly changing. Jake and I were constantly figuring out how to reorder scenes and shots depending on the weather conditions. I think we did well to get these scenes where they needed to be. 

Can you explain your choice of camera and lenses and what made them suitable for this production and the look you were trying to achieve? 

I chose to shoot all of the castle sequences on the Cooke Anamorphic 2x SF prime lenses rented out at ARRI, with a 65mm Macro from Carey Duffy at Cooke. For the village scenes we switched out to the Cooke Varotal 25-100mm, going spherical instead. I was interested in the castle sequences feeling elevated and expansive, hinting at a story that might be fabricated. Anamorphic widescreen felt like a good way to do this, with the spherical widescreen grounding us back in the “real” world. Testing modern anamorphic glass, with a more vintage spherical zoom, I found there was enough visual coherence for it not to be jarring, but different enough that it could definitely be felt. I also frequently used chocolate filters to bring earthy feeling tones into the world. 

What role did camera movement, composition and framing, and colour play in the visual storytelling? 

Camera movement became an important way for us to express the emotion of certain characters in the scene – I think Jake and I responded quite instinctively a lot of the time. A good example was for Enoch, played by Joe Barber, the knight who spends most of the film pinned to the floor. Camera movement would often become the way to physically explore his internal situation, pushing in slowly, circling around him like a predator or disorientating the frame by flipping up side down. These were generally movements on the dolly and an underslung head expertly rigged by grip Josh Bull. It’s amazing what camera movement was able to do for a character who is totally restricted and unable to move.

In the castle, I wanted to start with a straw like, sweaty warm colour palette, that slowly drifted to something more pale and washed out as Yoric’s situation becomes more dire. 

What was your approach to lighting the film? Which was the most difficult scene to light? 

Whilst we were shooting on the stage, I wanted to figure out how we could keep the interior feeling dark and gloomy with faces emerging from the shadows. We recced some castles during the prep process – particularly impressive was Portchester Castle. I was captivated by how the interiors absorbed so little light with little windows and arrow slits highlighting the gloom, creating these oppressive, dusty interiors.

With gaffer Amarjeet Singh, we used larger Nanlux fixtures like the 2400B and 900C from Glo Lighting. This created punchy shafts of light that we could quickly switch the colour temperatures of, depending on the time of day, which changes a lot in the castle tower. Initially, I wanted to use more tungsten units, but the speed at which we were able to change the time of day and having everything linked up to the iPad was incredibly helpful and freeing.

It was only some of the way through prep that I realised I would have to treat lighting through the windows slightly differently than I had been used to. With the fictional tower being set very high off the ground, it was important that ambient light poured through the windows from every direction. Amarjeet rigged large muslin sources above the windows and to the sides and we bounced the light back in using the larger Nanlux lamps. 

On a technical level, the night time scenes in the castle were some of the trickiest to light. The idea of the room is that it was derelict and bare, so a lot of the motivation was a single lantern carried around by Yoric. We would often sneak in small LED fixtures around the set, with open face tungsten heads creating ambience around the top, but it was definitely more challenging when shooting the wides. 

I am so thankful to Glo Lighting for all their help with this film, they helped us to really flesh out the lighting on the stage.

Which elements of the film were most challenging to shoot and how did you overcome those obstacles? 

I think easily one of the most challenging elements were our exterior scenes with the bard and the crowd. With this taking place over two short shooting days, and scenes that felt like they needed to gradually progress, the need to be flexible was important. Sometimes, we were pulling little shots here and there from other scenes depending on how the weather was changing. With the time pressure and making sure we had what was needed for the cut, this was definitely one of our more challenging moments. Flexibility and just waiting as long as possible for the right moments was the best ally in the end. 

What was your proudest moment throughout the production process or which scene/shot are you most proud of? 

One of my favourite shots in the film happens right at the end of the castle scenes. Yoric (played by Os Leanse) meets his demise and Enoch watches on in terror. I was very lucky that Jim Morton at The Grip Company lent us a jib for the duration of the shoot. I didn’t have a lot of experience operating remote heads, but nailed a jib shot at the last minute of overtime. It was right on the edge, but a shot Jake and I were super adamant we had in the film.

I think the other aspect was constructing these more elaborate camera moves with Josh on the dolly. Watching the takes together and plotting out these dynamic movements was a really rewarding process. 

What lessons did you learn from this production that you will take with you onto future productions? 

My biggest takeaway from shooting Hand to God was something that happened more in the prep process. Jake and I sat and spoke about the film a lot, we drew plans and storyboards extensively, taking the time to figure out how this film would piece together. Sometimes we just stood on the stage together as the set was slowly constructed, plotting our where Yoric and Enoch would be. Every time we talked about moving the camera in a certain way, we would quickly ask why, what is it doing? Does it help push the narrative forward? This level of planning and thought is something I want to take into future projects. I think it allowed me to be very free and creative on set, with so much of the gritty details having been thought out before.

The other aspect was that less does feel like more when it comes to the amount setups in a day. It’s an easy thing to say but not always an easy thing to do, and I think Jake and I pushed each other to stay focused and true to this idea. It meant we really got creative with the takes, and what we were doing in the shot. 

I’m very grateful for all the support and guidance of my tutors, Stuart Harris BSC, Oliver Stapleton BSC and coordinator Duncan Bruce.