In late May of 2026, Ben Staley boarded a sailboat on the Alaskan coast with one Lumix camera, one 45mm anamorphic lens and one day to make a film. The result was The Sailor, a 12-minute documentary created entirely by a one-person crew and now approaching 100,000 views on YouTube.
This presentation breaks down the making of the film, not simply as a technical exercise, but as a study in creative limitation. How do you tell a cinematic story when you’re simultaneously directing, shooting, recording sound, managing equipment and staying aware of what’s happening around you?
We’ll look at the choices that mattered, the gear that disappeared into the process, and how reducing options can create space to actually see the story happening in front of you.
Topics Covered:
• An overview of Ben’s career, working on 6 continents for Nat Geo, Netflix
• One-person documentary filmmaking
• Shooting anamorphic with Lumix Open Gate
• Anamorphic monitoring and stabilization
• Building a minimal camera package
• Capturing usable audio as a solo filmmaker
• Working in a fluid 360° environment
• Finding story rather than manufacturing it
Instructor Bio:
Filmmaker • Photographer • Two-Time Emmy Winner
Ben Staley is an Emmy-winning filmmaker and photographer whose career has taken him from remote Alaska to productions around the world.
Over more than two decades, he has worked as a director, cinematographer and producer across documentary, unscripted television and commercial filmmaking, with work appearing on Netflix, National Geographic, Discovery, History and other major platforms.
A longtime Lumix photographer and filmmaker, Ben’s work centers on people, place and authentic storytelling—whether photographing musicians backstage, making documentaries in remote environments or creating personal photographic projects.
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