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4 Reasons Why You’ll Love Using a Cable Camera in Your Film Class

4 Reasons Why You’ll Love Using a Cable Camera in Your Film Class

Mastering filmmaking techniques is less about reading about it, and more about testing, failing, and improving. Filmmakers learn by doing. Here's how using a cable camera kit helps students improve.

What’s one of the most important goals you as a teacher can achieve when working in a class in filmmaking? Quite possibly making sure you can explain complex techniques to your students in a straightforward and streamlined manner. Show, don’t tell. And get them to the practice part as soon as possible. Much like with many other professions, mastering the various filmmaking techniques is less about reading about it, and more about testing, failing, and ultimately improving. Filmmakers discover and learn by doing.

Inspire creativity in your students with a new filmmaking tool

How can filming with a cable camera boost your students’ creativity? One clear way is by offering alternative ways of creating standout shots while allowing you to use fewer pieces of gear. Think slider / tracking shots that cover more ground than a slider can. Think drone-like shots flying between narrow spaces, trees, indoor to outdoor transitions and back. At the same time, your students will film knowing at all times that the shots they create are achieved with more precision, predictability, and with more regard to safety measures. 


The repeatable nature of the cable camera movement lands itself well to use by your students. Using it, they can do several takes, change the position of the camera or the location while the cable camera is securely placed on the line, waiting for the filmmaker’s next move. This means more freedom for students to test and get creative with different shots.

Teach your students new filmmaking skills with a cable camera

We’ve discussed how using a cable camera can encourage your students’ creativity and curiosity. Now let’s focus on the skills they can gain from filming with a cable camera kit. First, it’s important to note that in some real-life cases, certain filming gear cannot be used on a shoot, whether due to filming permission limitations, or lack of resources. For example, using a drone requires practice as well as a drone piloting licence in many regions, special filming permissions, etc. Making sure your students are well-versed with the alternative ways of filming certain shots is essential if your goal is to empower them and get them to practice resourcefulness.  

In this article on the blog, we talk about why Wiral LITE is a great alternative to drones, both for practical and creative reasons. With a cable camera kit, you can not only teach your students how to use a cable camera, but also help them understand how to create tracking/dolly shots, low angle shots, and closeup shots with a cable camera.

Wiral LITE is an affordable way to showcase the cable cam technique

One of the main reasons why teaching filmmaking using a cable cam or a rig may be challenging is the scale of the setup. With the Wiral LITE cable camera kit, that’s not a problem. Weighing at just around 1.5k/3.33lbs, it’s taken the cable camera concept to its lightest and most portable yet. This is also why Wiral LITE is a great tool for filmmaking on a budget. The cable camera kit is reliable, super affordable and compatible with an array of cameras, giving you more options when filming.


We’re seeing an increasing number of high schools and universities permitting students to use and loan Wiral for their projects without the fear of expensive equipment getting destroyed or lost. With our travel case in tow, it’s easy for everyone to store and carry Wiral LITE on the go. Since Wiral LITE is considerably more affordable compared to other cable camera kits, you can acquire several units and provide your students with a more personal experience, working individually or in smaller groups versus only being able to showcase an expensive product to the entire class and not being able to let them actually interact with it.

Make your filmmaking class stand out from the rest with Wiral LITE

As an educator, you’re probably always looking for new ways to improve your teaching, engage your students and create material that’s both educational and fun for your class. Using Wiral LITE in your classroom will add dynamic to your process, and make your class content stand out from most. Many filmmaking classes teach standard camera movements, but not many cover cable camera usage or are able to illustrate how a cable camera use may lead to more efficient filmmaking and help filmmakers reach desired results quickly and easily.

To sum up, with Wiral LITE in your filmmaking class, you will be able to:

  • Inspire your students to be more creative by practically applying their knowledge and activating their curiosity, learning by doing

  • Teach an important lesson in camera movements that can be achieved using a cable camera kit

  • Have an affordable and simple way to illustrate how a cable camera works as part of filmmaking gear without the limitations of budget or logistics

  • Present a fresh approach to filmmaking in your course by teaching your students about gear that’s less talked about/used in most film classes

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