Director of Photography

Giving a job description of a cinematographer is a bit difficult because the term “cinematographer” can apply to various jobs ranging from camera operator to director of photography. Most often, the term refers to the director of photography, or top cinematographer on a film, so let’s focus on that.

Basically, cinematography means bringing a story to life visually. The word’s Greek roots are “kinema” (movement) and “graph” (writing). Bringing movement to screenwriter’s script requires more than simply shooting photos or video of a scene. The primary cinematographer, or director of photography, works with the film’s director to capture the underlying story in a way that will captivate the movie audience. Camera operators and cinematographers for specific scenes or types of scenes work to fulfill the overall vision.

The director of photography has a lot of specific responsibilities related to making a movie. In fact, the cinematographer’s job starts before a single frame of film is shot.

Preproduction

The cinematographer discusses the director’s vision for the film with him, both overall and scene by scene. Based on that, the cinematographer determines what’s needed for each scene, within budget, and hires the camera crew, arranges for equipment and buys film and supplies. The cinematographer also works with other departments, like sound and lighting, to coordinate production needs.

Production

The cinematographer coordinates the crew and works with the director to make sure each scene is set up and shot to match the director’s vision of the story. For each scene, the cinematographer decides on the best combination of cameras, filters and lenses, as well as where the cameras will be placed, what the lighting should be and when the scene will be shot. On large films, several cinematographers may oversee different camera set-ups. Others may serve as second-unit directors, shooting background or locations without the actors. The director of photography oversees them all, often also managing the photography budget.

Postproduction

The cinematographer works with the processing lab to make sure the film retains the color and mood that he and the director wanted. The cinematographer also reviews dailies, as well as the first and final print of the film. Being a critical eye and part of quality control is important throughout postproduction.

Required Skills of a Cinematographer

Whether a cinematographer is a director of photography or a camera operator, he needs both creative and technical skills to succeed, as well as knowledge of the most up-to-date equipment and technology and the flexibility to change and work as a particular film or the movie industry requires.

Here are some of the most important cinematographer skills:

• Having a good artistic eye for photography, or in other words, being able to frame shots and recognize good shots, as any photographer would.

• Knowing the technical basics of photography – how to make lighting work to your advantage, how to use lenses, and how film speeds and exposures work.

• Having knowledge of film-specific photography equipment and techniques, such as film cameras on dollies, hand-held cameras, the Steadicam and blue screen. This includes both set-up and operation.

• Being experienced with the filmmaking process from preproduction through postproduction, including working with a film house to prepare the final print.

• Being able to collaborate with a movie director in developing an artistic vision for a film and then producing it.

• Having the flexibility and problem-solving skills to handle production when scenes don’t go as planned due to weather, equipment problems, budget limitations or artistic changes. This includes being able to make fast, instinctive decisions about which film, technique or equipment works best for a particular scene.

• Keeping up with ever-changing advances in film technology and knowing when to shift to or drop in new technology instead of the old.

• Being able to manage a budget and staff, and coordinate with other departments like lighting, to keep production running smoothly.

Because filmmaking is a collaborative art, bringing many people together in the production process, a cinematographer needs the ability to get along and work with everyone. As cinematographer John Schwartzmann phrases it in the book “100 Careers in Film and Television”, “The most important skill that you need to be successful in the film business is to be able to play well with others.”

SUMMARY

The director of photography has a lot of responsibilities.

During pre-production he

• discusses the director’s vision of the film with him scene by scene;

• determines what they need for each scene, within budget;

• hires the camera crew;

• finds equipment.

During production the DP:

• coordinates the crew;

• works with the director;

• decides on the best combination of cameras, filters and lenses for each scene;

• determines where to place the cameras, what the lighting should be and when to shoot the scene;

• watches dailies.

During post-production the director of photography:

• works with the processing lab;

• watches the first and final print of the film.

No matter whether a cinematographer is a director of photography or a cameraman, he needs creative and technical skills and knowledge.

A cinematographer should:

• be able to frame shots and to recognize good shots;

• know the technical basics of photography;

• know film-specific photography equipment and techniques, such as film cameras on dollies, hand-held cameras, the Steadicam and blue screen;

• be able to collaborate with a movie director; 

• be flexible, because scenes don’t always go as planned;

• coordinate with other departments.

And of course, a cinematographer should have good communication skills because he needs to collaborate with everyone.

Exercise 59. Choose the correct letter.

1) It is difficult to describe what a cinematographer does because

1. the word comes from Greek.

2. the word covers a number of different jobs.

3. because it is a very sophisticated job.

2) The general purpose of cinematography is

1. to show a story in colors.

2. to make it popular.

3. to give a visual side to the story.

3) During the preparation stage the director of photography

1. reads the script to determine how much money the crew will need.

2. discusses every bit of the film with the film director.

3. gets engaged in discussing the special effects.

4) For each scene during the shooting the director of photography

1. chooses the equipment and its position.

2. decides who will play in each scene.

3. may sometimes perform the director’s functions.

5) After the shooting the director of photography

1. changes the shots if the director wants him to do it.

2. ensures the proper color and feelings.

3. tries to apply criticism to everything he has done.