Cinematographer Style

Michael Collier · October 18, 2006

I just read about it in AC, and my eyes bugged out. Has anyone seen this film or know where I can get trailers (thier websites trailer doesn't seem to work, at least on my computer.) Has anyone seen this and have any comments? Is this the doc I have been waiting for since I was 11?

for those who haven't read about it: its 86 minutes, shot on 35mm kodak stock, 110 cinematographers talk about their art. I couldn't beleive someone actually did it. And in film too. Impressive.

Anyway, obviously, I want to see it now, but doubt it will find its way up here. We have a lack of good theater chains. We will show the remake of badnews bears on 15 screens in town, but not one will show indie or arthouse films (its a shame, because in the winter due to lack of things to do, we usually beat the lower 48s average theater going attendance.)

if anyone has seen an advance screening, feel free to comment on it, I am very interested in this film.

Edited October 18, 2006 by Michael Collier

Nathan Milford · October 18, 2006

I saw it at the NY premiere.

Wonderfully done. It's very much like a filmic version of Kris Malkiewicz's book Film Lighting, just a bunch of cinematographers' anecdotes and advice. I imagine a very difficult film to edit as it was completely talking heads (they fit in 110 cinematographers in 86 minutes) with no outside material or cutting to examples.

I think I heard one person complain that it's all done with single source soft lighting for the interview setups... but you'll notice subtle differences between cinematgraphers as Brian Heller and the other cinematographers tried to add little bits of each of the subjects style to the lighting. Even the colorist, John Dowdell, got into the 'spirit' (allbeit on an ARRISCANNER, pun intended) when doing the D.I. you'll notice.

Our very own David Mullen, ASC made an appearence.

I loved listening to Storraro's passion and Willis' cynicism. I wish somone would put those two in a 50's screw-ball comedy together, it'd be classic. Also when Roger Deakins criticises the choice of camera position for the interview...

Jon Fauer promised that the DVD would have much more material on it. I have a DVD of it here on my desk, but I'm not sure if it's just the film alone as the period between when they screened it and when I got the DVD was too soon for them to process the 10 additional hours of material he mentioned.

Either way, it's very well done considering the constraints of fitting that many people in that space. It's very different from Visions of Light, but they complement each other very well.

Kevin Masuda · October 20, 2006

I was hoping this would be shown here in San Francisco but oh well, our film industry here hasn't really picked up in a while now.

Kev

Francesco Bonomo · October 20, 2006

I was hoping this would be shown here in San Francisco but oh well, our film industry here hasn't really picked up in a while now.
Kev

The dvd (ntsc) will be available soon from the ASC store.

The official website says there's a screening here in Rome in mid-October, but frankly the AIC (Italian Association of Cinematographers) knows nothing about it. I guess I'll wait for the pal dvd.

The trailer is online, although unfortunately not available in quicktime hd.

Dan Salzmann · October 20, 2006

While it will be great to see such a wide variety of cinematographers expressing their ideas, it seems like each only gets an average of about 45 seconds on the screen. That is hardly enough time to more tahn just scratch the surface. Anyone know of plans to release a long version?

Francesco Bonomo · October 20, 2006

While it will be great to see such a wide variety of cinematographers expressing their ideas, it seems like each only gets an average of about 45 seconds on the screen. That is hardly enough time to more tahn just scratch the surface. Anyone know of plans to release a long version?

from what i've heard, there are plans to include more footage on the dvd, and the authors are willing to invest more time in a "sequel" to include even more cinematographers (as mentioned in the AC article).

Jonathan Bowerbank · November 14, 2006

I was hoping this would be shown here in San Francisco but oh well, our film industry here hasn't really picked up in a while now.
Kev

I guess we missed it Kevin. It played in San Rafael at the Rafael Theatre during the Mill Valley Film Festival in early October. :(

Can't wait for the DVD

:)

Francesco Bonomo · November 16, 2006

Can't wait for the DVD

there you go :)

ASC Store: Cinematographer Style DVD

NTSC only...Pal version coming soon...I hope....

Michael Collier · November 23, 2006

I got my DVD yesterday, and it was just as good as I would hope it would be. My favorite story was vitto storaro telling of how he walked off the first movie he worked on, when he had only $50 in the bank. If he can take risks like that for his art, maybe I can slug out a decade or two of near-poverty for a chance to make it in film.