Cinematography for Directors. Jacqueline Frost

emotional effect.

      A director should consider what the visual palette of the film is: what they are saying to the audience about the characters and their environment through the use of color. It is also helpful to understand the basic look of the light and how it, too, underscores the theme of the film’s story. Some lighting decisions may be largely determined by the genre of the film (such as comedies tending to be bright and free of shadows). See more on genre in Chapter 6. But many other options are possible: soft quality light, harsh light, a bright soft image, or a shadow-filled light etched with grain. We will take up each of these qualities individually and in detail in later chapters.

      A director also has to know whether the image is moving or static and what is being communicated to the audience by that movement or lack of movement. Understanding the types of moves and the equipment to accomplish those moves is also quite important. The difference between the movement of the Steadicam and the movement of a handheld camera or dolly conveys very different visual information and emotional effect.

      Fundamentals of cinematography that a director should know:

      Focal length and lenses: Learn how to work with a director’s viewfinder or at least learn to use the camera as your viewfinder to check compositions and lighting. You don’t have to call the numbers of lenses, but know basically what type of shot you want — long shot, medium shot, or close-up (LS, MS, CU) — and where you want it.

      Blocking shots and the equipment necessary to move the camera: Is it a dolly move, a Steadicam move, a handheld move, a crane move, or a tracking move? Understand the aesthetic differences between them.

      Visual palette: In what color or colors do you see your film? Is it warm or cool, amber or blue? Understand why you are selecting a specific visual palette. What do the hues and gradients say about the film or the characters?

      The basics of lighting: whether to choose high- or low-key lighting, soft or hard lighting. Is the film dark and moody, or bright and cheerful?

      Film history: A director should also know movies, past and present. Knowledge of film history, genres, and styles, and the work of other directors is essential.

      Knowing these basic matters will make communication with the cinematographer more effective and also help the cinematographer do his or her job better. If they know what the director wants, they can make suggestions based on their technical knowledge and experience. Just as directors may profit from knowing some film technique, DP’s need to know something about directing, such as where to put the camera and what the director is trying to say with a particular shot. It is also helpful if the cinematographer knows something about the actors’ profession, so that the technical aspects of the DP’s craft enhances the film’s performances.

      THE CINEMATOGRAPHER

      ■ We are not directing … we are writing with light and motion to tell a story. That distinction is very important.

      (Vittorio Storaro, ASC, American Cinematographer, June 1998)

      A cinematographer is not the director of the material but the rather the visual interpreter. Through images, light, and movement, the thematic elements of the story are amplified. Behind the lens the cinematographer observes the actor’s performance, but does not provide feedback to an actor, that is the job of the director exclusively: to elicit, nurture, and guide the performance. The cinematographer is there to be reassuring that it was all captured for the screen.

      Cinematographers have not yet become familiar household names, but there are many in the ASC that are considered “masters” in their craft and all are members of the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers): Vittorio Storaro, John Seale, Roger Deakins, John Toll, Michael Chapman, Janusz Kaminski, John Bailey, Stephen Burum, Owen Roizman, Robert Richardson, Tak Fujimoto, Rodrigo Prieto, Ellen Kuras, Michael Ballhaus, Matthew Libatique, Seamus McGarvey, Dante Spinotti, Emmanuel Lubezki, Nancy Schreiber, and many others.

      Emerging cinematographers may have been inspired by the work of a particular cinematographer. Therefore, it is helpful to know the styles of some of the master cinematographers who may have inspired or influenced the cinematographer you are working with.

      ■ In my mind once a cinematographer starts working on a film and begins a collaboration with a director, they should never actually stop being a part of that film — ever.… Other than the director, they’re the only people on a film directly involved with the visual content throughout the entire production process. They essentially are the eyes of the film.

      (John Toll, ASC)

      ■ The DP (cinematographer) is about composition, light, and movement, and collaborates with the director to capture the mood and put it on screen.

      (Owen Roizman, ASC)

      To better understand the work of the cinematographer, we can look to the ASC, the American Society of Cinematographers, an elite group whose members have been invited into the society by their peers based on their body of work. Today there are approximately 340 members in the ASC, which is “an educational, cultural, and professional organization” dedicated to education and mentoring. The society’s mission is to “advance the art of cinematography through artistry and technological progress, to exchange ideas and to cement a closer relationship among cinematographers.” (American Cinematographer Manual, Ninth Edition, 7.)

      The ASC publishes the American Cinematographer Manual, American Cinematographer magazine, and other books written by its members. The American Cinematographer Manual is the bible for cinematographers, the text that defines the cinematographer’s profession. The Manual describes cinematography this way:

      ■ Cinematography is a creative and interpretive process that culminates in the authorship of an original work of art rather than the simple recording of a physical event. Cinematography is not a subcategory of photography. Rather, photography is but one craft that the cinematographer uses in addition to other physical, organizational, managerial, interpretive, and image-manipulating techniques to affect one coherent process. These visual images for the cinema, extending from conception and preproduction through postproduction to the ultimate presentation and all processes that may affect these images, are the direct responsibility and interest of the cinematographer. The images that the cinematographer brings to the screen come from the artistic vision, imagination, and skill of the cinematographer as he or she works within a collaborative relationship with fellow artists.

      (John Hora, ASC, American Cinematographer Manual, Ninth Edition [Hollywood, California: ASC Press, 2004], 1)

      The cinematographer is responsible for the visual interpretation of the film; she or he is the “author” of the images, whereas the director is the “author” of the performances. Basically what that means is that the cinematographer does not direct actors, and the director does not light the set or calculate exposure.

      The cinematographer translates the director’s vision into images with a specific mood, through the use of camera placement, focal length, and light. The cinematographer interprets the script into a visual language that speaks to the audience viscerally. If done well, the cinematography underscores the essence of the scene, subtly manipulating the audience’s emotional response to the film and enhancing the story.

      ■ The story is always the most important aspect of my work, and it always leads me to find the visual style that works for a given movie. Sometimes cinematographers get caught up in doing lighting that looks nice but doesn’t reflect the story. For me, finding a visual approach that’s relevant to the story is the part of my work that’s the most fun.

      (Janusz Kaminski, ASC, American Cinematographer, July 2004)

      The cinematographer is the main person on set who can make the vision in the director’s mind come to life. It is always best for the director to have a plan, either shot-listed or storyboarded, but the director should also be open to creative suggestions from the cinematographer that may occur spontaneously while shooting — the cinematographer may see additional angles or shots that would enhance the scene.