THE CINEMATOGRAPHER

I. THE CINEMATOGRAPHER

• The Credit. Also known as, the Director of Photography, D.P., D.O.P, Cameraman, Cameraperson, Shooter, and Lighting cameraman (in the U.K.)

• The job description. The job is complex, and demanding. Each film presents a unique challenge depending upon size, budget, purpose and ambition of the production. In general, the D.P. is responsible for all of the production photography of a project.

• The overall goal of the Cinematographer is to maintain:

IMAGE CONTROL

…from pre-production all the way through the release print and DVD production.

Image control requires:

1. Understanding the directors vision, so that the DP can photographically create a

unique visual “theme” for the whole film.

2. Directing and Managing three departments:

Camera

Lighting

Grip

3. Creating and maintaining the Visual Continuity of the film. In other words, making

sure that there is a consistent “visual theme” to the film in terms of color, contrast,

texture, composition, framing and movement to name only a few important variables.

There will be variations upon the theme but visually the film should have a unity.

GOING BEYOND THE TECHNICAL

There are many elements that work together to create meaning in a motion picture.

Camera angles, movement, time, color, texture and lighting all carry Emotional Charges that can potentially operate to make a film much more than the sum of its parts.

It is the job of the cinematographer to visualize and organize these elements through the stages of production, including principal photography of a project.

II. THE VISUALIZATION PROCESS

1. When reading or considering a scene to photograph, you might become aware of its nature in terms of its’ potential photographic qualities, and potential artistic impact. Think of genre, mood, elements of story, character, setting, art direction, shooting for continuity. Think about various ways you could interpret the scene by altering some or all of the qualities (light, color, contrast, texture and compositional elements. Then, in your “minds eye”, try to see and predict the outcome.

2. Next, you engage in the planning of all technical procedures. Those that involve the equipment and crew necessary to achieve the outcome you have in mind.

3. Expressive Interpretation. Make decisions about processing, digitizing, and printing the film.

III. ESSENTIAL FILMMAKING TERMINOLOGY

Shot: a single uninterrupted filmed event. Scene: action that takes place in a single location.

Sequence: a series of scenes connected by a unity of

time or location. Unlike a shot, which stands on its own, scenes and sequences can be edited. Take: a shot that is defined by its length (long take) and

also designated by a number. A director will usually ask for several takes until the goal of the shot is achieved.

IV. CAMERA ANGLES

Camera Angles are defined by Shot Size and Camera Orientation. These are the lingua franca of Cinematographers, Directors, and Editors, the fundamental tools that enable them to build scenes and sequences.

Many textbooks and even professionals working in the industry often use these designations too loosely or with an over precision that creates unnecessary confusion.

WIDE SHOT/LONG SHOT:

The long shot frames the actor from the bottom of the shoes to the top of the head. When the subject of a shot is a landscape or a full view of a location, you might hear the long shot called a wide shot or even an extreme long shot (ELS). In this case it means that the frame includes a large amount of the area in front of the camera.

MEDIUM SHOT: The classic medium shot frames the actor either halfway between the knees and waist to the top of the head, or between the beltline and chest to the top of the head. Anything within that range is an acceptable medium shot. Clearly, this is the kind of shot that you have to be very specific about.

CLOSE-UP: In the Close-up, the bottom of the frame sits just at or above the breast-line including the shoulders and ends at the top of the head. When the bottom of the frame sits just below the chin and the top of the frame ends just above the eye or at the top of the head, you also have a Close-up that is referred to as a tight close-up. Another category of Close-up terminology is the extreme Close-Up. A typical extreme closeup would be a shot of just an actor’s eyes, or the hands, or a shot of an object or part of an object that fills the screen.

THE WIDE/LONG SHOT

THE MEDIUM SHOT

THE CLOSE-UP

Images from The Asphalt Jungle, 1950

MORE DISTINCTIONS OF SHOT SIZES…

V. CAMERA ORIENTATION

• Level Angle describes a camera position set at a height close to the “eye level” of the camera operator or the actor.

• Low Angles are positioned below the subject so that the camera is tilted upward. The low angle is often used to imbue the subject with visual dominance or power.

• High Angle shots are tilted downward on a subject and they can create quite a range of effects. In some cases they reduce the size and power of a subject. In other instances, they can provide a sense of awe and power when viewing a landscape from a great height.

CAMERA ORIENTATION CONT.

• Angle plus Angle shots are positioned at an angle from the subject and also from a high or low angle as well. In these positions, a strong sense of linear perspective is created.

• Dutch Tilts are angles where the vertical axis of the camera is at an angle to the vertical axis of a subject. The visual result creates a very distinctive tilt that implies emotional or dramatic instability.

DUTCH TILT (AKA CANTED ANGLE)

from The Third Man, 1949

LEVEL ANGLE

from Black Swan, 2010

HIGH ANGLE

from Psycho, 1960

ANGLE PLUS ANGLE

LOW ANGLE

VI. CAMERA ANGLE AND POINTS OF VIEW

• Objective camera angles are from the audience point of view and not from the point of view of a character within the film.

• Subjective camera angles are situated from a personal viewpoint. In other words, the camera represents the “eyes” of a character within the film. The effect is often experienced as a “shaky” camera effect with other actors looking directly into the lens and speaking to the camera “as if” that camera were a person.

• Indirect-Subjective (POV) camera angles appear to be objective shots of a scene taken from the approximate position of an actor’s viewpoint. An over the shoulder shot of actor #1 talking to another actor #2, is an objective shot. When we retain the same perspective and then get a close-up of actor #2 without actor #1 in the frame, we now have a Point-of-View shot. In other words, the camera is not literally the eye’s of actor #1, but the camera is in a position to see something very close to what actor #1 is seeing. POV shots often follow objective shots. The typical way that POV shots are used follows this pattern: A shot begins with an objective shot of an actor #1 looking in a particular direction. The second shot (a POV) is a close up of the person or object that the actor is looking to.

POV?

Psycho, 1963

POV?

Psycho, 1963

VII. CAMERA MOVEMENTS

Hollywood Camera Work: sample clips of camera movements/concepts in relationship to hypothetical plot scenarios. Illustrated using 3D-animation.

http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/mc_sampleclips.html

Setting/Place: what is done to reveal this?

Guess at what technical needs were required to achieve it – camera/optics, movement, exposure, filters, lighting style, art direction, costume…

Character/Who:

what reveals character in regards to action/behavior (misen scene)?

what role does the camera play in indicating character ?

TO CONSIDER WHEN VIEWING SHORTS/FILMS:

Plot & Conflict

Basic plot /premise . As a logline? What is the central dramatic

question of the story? What obstacles appear? What sub-plots (and sub-conflicts)

appear?

Climax & Resolution

What is the point of no return for

the main character or sub-character?

How is that moment built visually? Shots, sequences, editing, sound, manipulating POV,

What visual elements indicate the story is coming to a close? That things are resolved..for better or worse…

TO CONSIDER WHEN VIEWING SHORTS/FILMS:

Mood, Themes, Style

How would you describe the overall mood of the film?

What are its’ major themes?

Are there unique visual styles employed that defy established conventions of visual storytelling? Describe them.

TO CONSIDER WHEN VIEWING SHORTS/FILMS: