The Case of Cinematography
This week we released our longest episode to date! It’s about the art of cinematography. Here are our show notes as well as some clips to help guide you through the episode!
Cinematography
What is it?
Simply put, it is the art or science of making motion pictures.
Comes from the Greek words ‘kinema’ (meaning movement) and ‘graphein’ (to record)
Cinematography emphasizes what is going on in each scene to produce a certain emotion out of the viewer.
Walter Murch in his book In the Blink of an Eye says “What they finally remember is not the editing, not the camerawork, not the performance, not even the story–it’s how they felt.” So essentially if the cinematographer made you feel the way they wanted you to, they have done their job.
Who uses it?
Cinematographers
Are Cinematographers and Directors of Photography the same thing?
Yes they are synonymous
When did they come about? Have they been around since the beginning of cinema?
Muybridge
In 1878 he used 24 stereoscopic cameras with trip wires that the horse ran through to activate the shutters
WKL Dickson
Assistant to Thomas Edison
Created the Kinetograph and Kinetoscope
Charles Francis Jenkins- He invented the The Phantoscope (essentially a projector) He was the first to get viewers but did not profit from the viewers
1895 The Lumier Brothers “The Arrival of the Train”
First people to present a “movie” to a paying audience
When it first aired in France it reportedly scared the viewers
Difference between Cinematographer and Director
The Director of the film has the final say about all decisions regarding the film and how it will look. Directors are often the ones controlling the actors.
The Cinematographer however controls the camera and gives input on the best way to shoot the scenes using lighting, angles, etc. Essentially the techniques that convey the emotion.
A director can also be a cinematographer (ex. Alfonso Cuarón Orozco)
Specific things that must be paid attention to
Lighting
Color of light
Warmer- Candle, Tungsten
Cooler- Fluorescent, Daylight, Moonlight
Lighting Techniques
Chiaroscuro or Rembrandt Lighting
Result of side lighting and characterized by an upside-down triangle on a person’s cheek
Key Lighting
This is the main light for your shoot, and it can be anywhere in regards to your subject. Placing it right next to the camera will create flat lighting that lacks contrast and isn’t very dynamic
Fill Lighting
Placed in the opposite direction as the key light, this fills in the dark shadows created by the light
Usually it is placed farther away or covered by a diffuser to make the light as soft as possible
This with the key light adds depth to the scene
Back Lighting
This light sits above and behind the subject and sets them apart from the background
This is also diffused lighting for a softer effect
Side Lighting
This is a light set up parallel to your subject, sometimes alone or with a faint fill light
Chiaroscuro is an Italian word meaning light and dark
In order to achieve it, have a strong side light with weak or no fill light to create the dramatic contrast that accentuates the contours of your subject
Rembrandt Lighting is essentially the same technique characterized with an upside-down triangle on the fill light side of the face
Practical Light
This is the use of regular, working light sources like lamps and candles
This is usually added by the set designer, and adjustments are usually made to them to light the subject better or in such a way
Hard Lighting
Though this is usually unwanted or something to avoid, there are benefits to using hard light
It creates harsh shadows, can draw attention to your subject, and creates strong silhouette
Usually sunlight or just a strong light source
Soft Lighting
Doesn’t refer to any lighting direction, but still sets the tone for a scene
It eliminates harsh shadows
Bounce Lighting
Bouncing light from a strong source using a reflector or light surface like a wall or ceiling
High Key
This is a bright scene that’s visually shadowless or overexposed
All light sources have the same intensity
It is incredibly popular today, and is often used to convey an upbeat mood; Back in the 30s, it was used when film was not able to pick up on high light contrast ratios
Low Key
Lots of shadows and sometimes just one strong key light source
The focus is on the shadows and how they create mystery or suspense
Motivated Lighting
This is meant to imitate a natural light source like sunlight
Ambient Light
Steady camera vs shaky (stabilizer vs. handheld)
Color (ex. What the characters are wearing and the background they are against)
In Schindler’s List the girl with the red coat
In Fiddler on the Roof in order to bring a brown hue to the film Oswald Morris used brown pantyhose over the lens which also in some scenes gives it a strange faint grid
Composing the Camera Frame and movement: high angles (power), low angles (weakness), crooked angles (unsettling), depth of field, wide lenses, close-ups
Are there any formal rules typically followed?
Cinema=Language
Language has rules and uses letters, words, sentence structures and paragraphs to convey meaning. Cinema is similar because it has structures of its own such as: lighting, shots, and shot sequences.
Creative Devices
Dominant foreground, contributing background (the rooftops)
Detail shots; the camera is not afraid to get uncomfortably close to objects
Silhouette
Rule of Thirds
Slow pan (not really a device but important to include)
Pan is the sweeping motion of the camera across a scene
Wide, medium, tight shots with details
Is the equipment or cinematographer more important?
While both are important the equipment must match what the story is seeking to tell.
You may have the best equipment but that does not mean that it will fit the story.
Common Types of Lenses
Fish-eye
Used for panoramic, city shots, landscapes, abstract
Wide-angle
Interiors, landscapes, architecture
Standard
Portraits and documentary
Zoom
Tight shots, wildlife documentaries
Macro
Super close up, small objects
Telephoto
Far away, sports
Tilt-shift
“Tilt–shift” encompasses two different types of movements: rotation of the lens plane relative to the image plane, called tilt, and movement of the lens parallel to the image plane, called shift.
Tilt is used to control the orientation of the plane of focus (PoF), and hence the part of an image that appears sharp; it makes use of the Scheimpflug principle. Shift is used to adjust the position of the subject in the image area without moving the camera back; this is often helpful in avoiding the convergence of parallel lines, as when photographing tall buildings.
Why should the Director or Cinematographer not be the editor of the film?
Since they were on set during filming it is hard to separate what happened during filming. If there was extra emotion on set one day and everyone was unhappy, when editing it they may only see the upset from that day. In order to remove that frustration from viewing the scene an editor is necessary. An editor only sees what they have been given and will view it as an audience member would.
Examples of great Cinematographers
John Alcott- Worked with Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining
John L. Russell for Psycho
Birdman
Emmanuel Lubezki
Lord of the Rings
Andrew Lesnie
What kind of awards are there out there?
Oscars: The Academy Award for Best Cinematography
ASC Awards (American Society of Cinematographers)
The American Society of Cinematographers
Founded in Hollywood in 1919 (100th Anniversary!)
Originally consisted of 15 members: Joe August, L.D. Clawson, Arthur Edeson, William C. Foster, Eugene Gaudio, Fred Le Roy Granville, Walter L. Griffin, J.D. Jennings, Roy H. Klaffki, Victor Milner, Robert S. Newhard, Philip E. Rosen, Charles G. Rosher, Homer A. Scott and L. Guy Wilky
The declared purpose: “ to advance the art of cinematography through artistry and technological progress, and to cement a closer relationship among cinematographers to exchange ideas, discuss techniques and promote cinema as an art form.”
In essence they are about education and furthering cinematography as an art form
To be a member it is by invitation only. The credentials you must have is to have demonstrated outstanding ability in the field and have as the website says “good personal character.”
In the last 20 years, only three films awarded an Oscar for Best Picture have also received the ASC award for cinematography or the cinematography Oscar: Birdman, Slumdog Millionaire, and American Beauty.
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Robert Yeoman: He also worked on The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom