Cinematography

James Cameron

There is so much that lighting is capable of doing that people don't realize!

I trained to be a colorist at a post-facility, seen amazing raw dailies by the best DP's. Two that stood out above the field are Bob Richardson & Rodrigo Prieto.

Also when you're working with top ppl, the work stress is ramped 10x. Nobody wants to screwup.

It may be ideas from directors but the Director of Photography and the lighting team - Gaffer and Key Grip that actually set the lights. My dad was a gaffer on many, many feature films. He and his DP worked together - while the DP set up the cameras and shots with the director, my dad would do most of the lighting - Not only setting the look of the movie, but in places that are often challenging. Pat Blymyer if you have interest in looking at what he worked on. He would let actors know that if they hit their mark (very important) they would look beautiful and that was the actors job to know where the light was. If only I had paid attention more and learned from him!

Lighting = Mood :-)

Great demo reel, Mario Leone. The "Yule Be Sorry" scene still cracks me up. I like the big letters in the intro. I'm not sure if they were in your last reel.

I don’t think so. I agree…

I think the big letters make the reel feel more "action" and "fight," if that makes sense, Mario Leone.

I haven't seen the film but this was a really cool piece and I am definitely going to see it now. Thanks for the share, Ashley Renee Smith!

Looks like an amazing film, I'll be adding to my running list of films to see. Thanks for sharing!

I know, I can't wait to see it now!

Ashley Renee Smith It's high on my list after a number of people told me to watch it. I'll loop back around when I do.

Please do, Gareth Taylor!

The key with natural light is to utilize what's existing in a practical manner. Example, if you have a window with light coming through, and someone enters the room, they should either walk through that light or pause there. Whenever I film a project, I always look at a space and see what's currently available as my starting point.

Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome, Stephen Folker. Thanks for sharing the advice.

Wanted to get one . It was a hardy little camera with nostalgia .

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth I remember when it came out it was a flat 3k. I almost bought it but settle with a Blackmagic.

Agree with Stephen Folker - more dramatic lighting would create a sense of story instead of this corporate style lighting, which feels very commercial instead of dramatic.

Huh, I would agree with TY, Stephen and Sam. The part I wonder is "best cinematography" is pretty vague. Like for comedy or drama or as Sam said for corporate? Super general would be soften that key. Angle it for more contrast on the left side of the face or add negative fill there. Color grade it, add contrast between light and dark and colors as well.

As Stephen said, at least to me, there is nothing cinematic about vertical. I would go a step further to say there is nothing cinematic about a non DCI format. For me 2.39:1, DCI Scope is really the only "cinematic" film format, unless you're going for some other aspect ratio for some reason.

There is no such thing as "best cinematography" Brian Odhiambo, but rather different ways to craft an image. We all have varying tastes and opinions, but only you know why you made those choices. Every project is different and without any context, it's not possible to give you feedback. The image looks fine as is. Like Stephen said, it feels corporate. I agree but it doesn't mean it's a bad thing if your intent and project were in that vein.

Vaí fotografando, chegará na maestria.

If the photo was telling a story it might be different..

Mood and Atmosphere

Character Perspective

Composition and Framing

Movement, Direction and Pace

Lighting Design

Color Grading, and tones.

This is a great and important post, Mario Leone - preparation and rehearsal and time and money and safety measures and the proper amount of experienced crew all matter when doing a practical stunt heavy movie. Stunts will always be risky but safety at all costs is always the key.

Sam Sokolow what we pay in safety when it comes to rehearsal time is going to be a lot cheaper than the cost of court fees, and lawsuits that can drag on for years… not to mention destruction of reputation.

Safety should always be the top priority on set, @Mario Leone. I don't understand why a gun with real ammo was on set (for "The Crow").

Maurice Vaughan I wonder what it would mean for the creators, Maurice. I’m thinking that the resolution and scale of it all must mean a whole load of additional work? But at a cost of $2.3bn for the Sphere, I can’t imagine that there’ll be many more of them built in the world. I think only the US could afford to do this.

Gareth Taylor (sorry, tagging isn’t working…again) I wonder what the spec of the new camera is, Gareth. Do you have any information about that?

Maurice Vaughan and I were just talking about animation potential and the Sphere. How do you think that would work?

Maybe creators will be able to show audiences characters, objects, action scenes, and set pieces in new ways because on the Sphere screens, Geoff Hall. And maybe creators will be able to come up with visuals and scenes that we've never seen before.

Yeah, I think the resolution and scale of the screens would mean a lot of extra work. I see studios and big production companies using the screens. I don't see indie companies and smaller production companies using them.

Geoff Hall, love the quote, "The Sphere makes IMax look like an iPhone."

Geoff Hall https://theasc.com/articles/sphere-studios-big-sky-camera

Gotcha, Jonathan Pope. Thanks for the extra insight.

What interesting questions, answers, and comments from all here. Jonathan, your wide-ranging background and experience certainly come through with insights and advice. I especially like the idea of a 'special signal' to the crew to keep filming. Back in the 80's/90's the director Leslie Dektor did that on commercials and it soon became a "thing". Certainly like you note, it can be helpful to capture times and doings that aren't necessarily on the shot list but do support the mood and message. Thanks for all the helpful advice!

Jonathan - Yes, on the signal to roll! Even on scripted shows I've worked on, sometimes I see the camera pointing at a great sunset or something cool happening that gets filmed maybe while we are waiting for something. And some of these make it into the final cut. That's fun!

Parabéns pela experiência! Jonatan Papa, dizem que bons cineastas vêm da Geórgia? Gostaria de saber mais sobre isso.

Jonathan Pope thank you, Jonathan. The screenplay title is called “Breathe” and I wrote it during last year’s November Write Club. It’s on my bio page.

It’s a poetical conversation between a young poet and her older self, so there is a rhythm to it, that you wouldn’t get with say a drama. So not ‘dialogue heavy’ more dialogue light!!

It’s set in a forest, so it is location over studio shoot. There may be one shot which calls for SFX.

Thanks for your reply and apologies that I’ve only just seen your reply.

I felt sorry for Illya, Ashley Renee Smith. He seemed very pained by the constant drum of iPhone-making-movie questions.

My takeaway boils down to this: Easy doesn't necessarily equal good. If you're making a home movie, sure the iPhone suits that task, but unless you mac out the iPhone as they did in the making of Tangerine (2015), the cinematic experience will have limitations.

Ty Strange, I completely agree. It was clear that he'd rather talk about something else, but the question kept coming back around. It definitely takes a lot of extras to film something of quality on an iPhone and one you've spent money on all of that, you could have just invested in a strong starting camera that has more professional features.

Ashley, I can certainly appreciate the challenge in filming something with everyday equipment or tech, but it strikes me as more about bragging rights than proof of concept. I don't feel a cinematic seismic shift in the making.

I could not even finish watching this interview. The questions are so redundant and it's painful really. Everyone is so focused on tech that it has become a hindrance to filmmaking and the process as a whole.

People are so consumed by the thought of proving what you can and can't do with a certain tool that they pay no attention to what the tool is for, which is to tell a story and make a piece of art.

So true, Gareth Taylor!