Our workshop instructors

Garrett Brown is best known as the Oscar-winning inventor of the Steadicam. He has operated Steadicam on nearly 100 movies including Rocky, The Shining, and Return of the Jedi. Garrett holds 50 patents worldwide for devices which include the Steadicam Merlin, a smaller, handheld Steadicam for camcorders; Skycam, the robot camera that flies on wires over sporting events; and Mobycam, Divecam, Flycam et al that pursue athletes worldwide. Garrett is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has just been inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

Chris is an Irish Steadicam operator with decades of experience in the television and film industry. In the early 1990s, he trained with the BBC in Belfast on the Newsnight current affairs program. In 2000 he made travel and mountaineering documentaries and in 2004 his passion for camera movement led him to Steadicam, where he now specializes. Working mostly on feature films, he has shot everywhere from -40C at 7,000m to +40C in the Amazon rainforest and the Sahara desert. Chris has held more than 50 Steadicam workshops around the world and presents lectures on the aesthetics of camera movement. He is also the author of Steadicam Posture, inventor of Exovest, co-inventor (with Ulrich Kahlert) of the Steadiseg and co-founder (with Garrett Brown) of Exokinetics.

It is my honour to lead a team of five highly-experienced European operators that guide you in groups of four students through rotations from breakfast until dinner, with a break for lunch. Following dinner on our first four working days, we schedule a series of lectures dealing with Steadicam posture, aesthetics of camera movement, Steadicam accessories—the highlight of which is an interactive video conference with Garrett Brown. Our last evening is a celebration of our week together, with a small ceremony to welcome you into the world of Steadicam. You will leave in possession of an official Steadicam certificate, and all the skills in place with which to train yourself to a high degree of professionalism as a Steadicam operator.

Richard Dallimore Mallaby “Vaky” In 1986, at one of the first Garrett Brown’s Workshops in Italy, he got to know the Steadicam and fell in love with it.
He found in the Steadicam his ideal working companion and with it he expresses himself at his best in filming.
During his long career in film and television , he collaborated on countless feature films, commercials, music videos and documentaries.
He has participated as an instructor in many Gold Workshops.
He loves to transfer his knowledge to future Steadicam operators.

Following film school and a few years as a camera assistant, i took my Steadicam workshop in 2009 and trained by Garrett Brown and Jerry Holway. At the end of the workshop, they made us take a pledge of sharing this knowledge with who ever is interested and i tried to stay true to that promise since then. After my operator career of 12 years and counting, which included shooting a few hundred TV commercials, an absurd number of shorts and music videos, 4 seasons of TV series and 25 feature films both in my original hometown Istanbul and my adopted home, London, i still can’t believe how lucky i am every single time i put my vest on and fly. Since 2021, i dedicate part of my time as a regular instructor on Gold workshops few times each year all around the world.

Born in Paris, in 1965…
Cinema family, she editor, he, one of the first to introduce Steadicam in Europe. I was 13 years old …
Hence a life of gifts thanks to Garrett’s ingenuity.
From “Microcosmos”, to the France stadium with Zidane,
who gives the first football world cup,
from Johnny Depp and Jodie Foster, up to Maestro Vittorio Storaro forever.

Jo Vermaercke started his career as a freelance cameraman in 1989. He was filming the fall of the Berlin Wall, the burning oil wells during the Gulf War in Kuwait, the crisis in Rwanda and many other events that marked our history.

In 1991 he attended the International Steadicam Workshop with Ted Churchill and Andy Shuttleworth. Shortly after he started as a fulltime steadicam owner-operator and never regretted ever since.

My name is Jakob Bonfils and I was educated as an advertising photographer and some years later, I joined filmmaking, first couple of films as a stills photographer, then as as gaffer and grip , then as a grip and Steadicam operator at the same time (not a good combination !) for a number of films and finally continuing only as a Steadicam operator for a lot of years. I did not do much on video, I have worked mostly with film cameras, and because I have been doing fiction most of the time, it has been on 35 mm. I hardly did any TV studio stuff , as my heart always was connected to fiction in any form. I love teaching on workshops and seeing young folks being able to do Steadicam shots in a couple of days, whether you try it for the first time or you are more advanced and curious…. If you connect to Steadicam, it gets into your blood!

Robin Thwaites originally qualified as a photographer at what is now Richmond upon Thames College, near London and followed this education working in various studios. He moved to become involved with a major motion picture manufacturer and rental house where he first became involved with Steadicam®. He was involved in organizing the first major Steadicam® Workshop in the UK in 1987 with the late Ted Churchill as lead instructor. Since then, Robin has been instrumental in creating multiple workshop formats for the UK and EU and has participated as both joint instructor and technical advisor for Tiffen at affiliated workshops such as the workshops hosted by the Steadicam® Operators Association.

Danny has been working around Steadicam® for 16 years after attending his first own workshop at the BBC Wood Norton Studios in 2006. Now working alongside Robin Thwaites at Tiffen International primarily on the Motion Picture side of the business, he has helped expand the Steadicam Workshops format throughout the UK, Europe and beyond as an organizer and key instructor in Bronze, Silver and Gold standards. Alongside not only the esteemed Garrett, Jerry and Chris, but many other well known local professionals. He’s been on the instructor line up at Gold Workshops such as the Malibu Classic USA, Tenerife Gold, Turkey, Denmark, Australia, the UK, plus countless Bronze and Silver courses to date.

Born in Montepulciano, at the age of 12 he handled his father’s Kodak Retina and developed a passion for photography over the years. He graduated from CineTv Rossellini in Rome in 1982, where he moved in 1985. In 1987 he got to know Steadicam, and with a lot of willpower and passion he decided to attend the course for Steadicam operators in 1988 and bought his first Steadicam, model 1, number plate 0059. He worked a lot in television, then in 1994 he approached cinema at Cinecittà. The film increased his passion for the Steady, he participated in the Venice Master in 1997, with Garrett Brown, Jerry Holway, Larry McConkey. With the experience of more than 100 productions, including cinema, TV series, documentaries, video clips, commercials, as well as several short films, in 2016 he moved to Tenerife, where now passes on his passion by teaching and organising Steadicam Gold Workshops following the footsteps of Garrett Brown, assisted by his friend Chris Fawcett.

He falls in love with the magical enchantment of cinema after seeing Steven Spielberg’s Jaws at a very young age. But shortly after, with The Shining, his mind begins to focus on the love for the camera. He did all the bloody apprenticeship to be worthy of being able to do this wonderful job. Five Steadicam workshops, 2 as a student and 3 as an instructor. He has been flying with Steadicam since 1988. He has worked with most of the Italian directors. Loyal supporter of the green monitor. Tb6 addicted. He builds and invents accessories for the camera. Love what it does.

Hi, my name is Riccardo Brunner and I am a Swiss Cameraman, Steadicam Operator and Director of Photography. My passion for steadicam began in 1987, during a workshop held by Garrett Brown and Larry McConkey in Rockport, Maine. Throughout my career in film, advertising and television, I have had the opportunity to meet people who have inspired and taught me a lot, both professionally and personally. Currently, I am dedicated to consulting and training, and I am excited to share a week of professional knowledge and experience with you.