Cinematography : Looking to learn by Diane Lansing

Ha good point! Okay will do and will go back to my post and be more clear. Thank you! I wish I could make that trip.

So I need to point out that I'm in Los Angeles.

Don't go to film school. Learn it on YOUTUBE.

Yes I'm amazed at how much great education is there. But I want to have hands on experience also. I'm learning by doing so no film school for me.

Hi Diane, Stage 32 has great educational webinars and classes. This is a webinar I think would be perfect for you https://www.stage32.com/webinars/The-Camera-Conundrum-Choosing-the-Best-...

Thanks Shannon, I appreciate the suggestion. I'll definitely check it out.

Hey Diane, the best way to learn how to deal with equipment (without going to a film school) is hands on. You say you are a director means you must be making films and in the process having a cinematographer with you. Start with him. Observe him carefully, help him carry his gear, request to help him assemble it on location and re pack at the end of the day. Handle the camera and accessories, help in relocating the tripod after shots AND without trebling him/her ask as many questions as you can. Cinematography is not only the gear and technical stuff, it is all about 'seeing'. This is the most difficult part as the training is long and personal AND never ending. Educate yourself with art books and keep your eyes open all the time to observe 'light'. I have been and am still an active DP since fifty years and now spend a lot of time teaching in film schools in India.

That is such great advice Navroze. I have been starting to do that and it's definitely helping. I'm just starting to direct and will be taking on new projects. I am willing to even shadow a DP and help when needed. Thank you so much for that feedback.

Most welcome anytime

Until you can work with high end crews, study high end films by top directors in all genres. Then get the cheapest camera you can find and copy their shots. In the process you'll learn about lighting, blocking, etc.

Read GRAMMAR OF THE FILM LANGUAGE by Daniel Arijon. It's all about how shots build a scene. You won't learn how to shoot from it but it's a superb text on the basics of using moving images to tell a story, and in a way of thinking. I am not convinced a director needs to ever operate cameras, but your intentions are your own. The main thing to know when you pick up a camera is not to look through it and frame up, but instead to intentionally place the lens with a viewpoint, and select what goes in front of it, what does not and how it is or is not lit ( I believe camera and lighting are inseparable components of the same thing). Sometimes that is an organic process and sometimes technical. There is no "right" way to shoot, but certainly how one shoots much serve the subject and mood... the best shot may often be simpler than you think.

Two books; 1) Cinematography for Directors from MWP, is an excellent book, which I use in my Cinematography: camera work class at FDU. 2) Grammar of the Shot from Focal Press is a very nice simple book about how shots work.

Excellent David, I will get them both.

'Don't go to film school, learn it on you tube'!!!! What an absurd suggestion. First of all never forget that film making is a collective activity and you need to interact with people as much as you need books/films/ and this new You Tube. If you have not come face to face with a good teacher/workshop/school you have no idea what I am talking about...

Yes I'm amazed at hoe generous people are with their willingness to share what they know on YouTube. That has been my foremost teacher along with books.

I came up through the traditional Hollywood union deal and a great many guys were forever locked at first assistant because they couldn't get the camera operating thing. It is a sense of composition that is very much intuitive and some people have it and some don't. Try this... Find a large picture of something, maybe a long shot of a city. Then take a small 3X2 frame and attempt to frame up everything that looks like a well composed shot to YOU.

It's funny you posted this today. I went on a hike and photo shoot the other day and my friend mentioned that i had a good eye for framing. I think that is another reason this beautiful craft fascinates me. I don't see myself holding the camera necessarily, but I've found that the more I understand, the better I become as an artist. Thank-you!

Hi, Raindance do micro courses in technical subjects, for film. Check out the L.A site!

Thanks Debbie I will. Someone suggested Grammar Of The Film Language as a good book also.

As per your friend, you have a "good eye" Go with that, trust that, polish it...You're lucky. While chasing a high-energy, med two-shot with 10 dolly marks, you don't think about the rule of thirds.