vittorio storaro trilogy

[pascal Boyer]

Hi ,

i was looking at the Asc store ( http://www.theasc.com/cgibin/store/acsstor...catalogno=11247 ) and i was wondering if it really worths paying this HUUGE amount of money in order to have these books. Did someone here have read them ?Is it also technicals books ?

thank you

[David Mullen ASC]

I have two out of three. They are coffee table art books with essays by Storaro.

 

Mainly you'd get them for the gorgeous stills (and art references) -- there is no technical information attached, or much about the technical side of cinematography, so unless you are feeling rich, as a film student, you can probably find better ways to spend your money.

 

I wish Storaro had made them a more definitive book on his career and covered both the artistic, technical, and logistical side of filmmaking behind the images, partially just so we finally have a historical account as to how these movies were actually shot.

[pascal Boyer]

I have two out of three. They are coffee table art books with essays by Storaro.

 

Mainly you'd get them for the gorgeous stills (and art references) -- there is no technical information attached, or much about the technical side of cinematography, so unless you are feeling rich, as a film student, you can probably find better ways to spend your money.

 

I wish Storaro had made them a more definitive book on his career and covered both the artistic, technical, and logistical side of filmmaking behind the images, partially just so we finally have a historical account as to how these movies were actually shot.

 

i see ...it's for collectors

thank you :D

[David Mullen ASC]

If you can ever dig up the old documentary on Storaro called "Writing with Light", it's quite good -- it was made in the U.K. I think.

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

It seems Storaro is probably one of those DP's who treats his craft almost as a magician would, that is by not revealing too many of his secrets.

 

I find I'm this way sometimes around other aspiring DP's. Around miscellaneous crew members I feel free to say whatever I want, but it's around the "DP's" that I stay semi-tight lipped (except for on this website of course)

 

Sure, we should all be working towards the progress of visual filmmaking, but a certain percentage of your own craft should probably be reserved to the set, just for one's own sake as a paid professional or even as a student trying to get his first few gigs.

[David Mullen ASC]

I don't think Storaro is keeping secrets, anymore than most DP's do -- there are no secret technical tricks that make a DP better than another, or more marketable.

 

Storaro, while being a technical master, ultimately does not believe that technology is what matters nor does he think that film students should overtly concentrate on it.

 

I tend to have a different philosophical approach in that I believe that art is a personal matter and all I can do is supply technical and practical advice that might help a student achieve an artistic idea... but I can't supply them with the artistic idea itself. This is why these questions like "how do I light a night exterior?" drive me nuts when a student has no vision as to what they want the night scene to look like. You can't use a tool if you don't have a clue as to what you want to use the tool for. This is probably the main reason Storaro would rather a student talk about their artistic ideas than worry about technology.

 

When I've spoken briefly to Storaro at events, I've found him forthcoming about technical details, but it's really not what interests him as a person. You'll note that he uses fairly basic tools: medium speed Kodak film stock, well-exposed, sharp lenses. His only unique technical trick is the extensive use of dimmers, which he doesn't feel is revolutionary, just practical, so he can't understand why everyone else doesn't work that way. Ultimately it's his creative interpretation of dramatic material that makes him unique, or anyone else for that matter.

 

I'm interested in his technical approach more for historical reasons, how his style evolved over time with the available tools at hand.

 

Most of us have learned technique from others, either directly or through books, articles, or analysis, so it seems silly to learn something and then "keep it a secret". I'll tell anyone anything I can about how I shot something -- it's not going to make them shoot exactly like me anyway, and how we shoot something is so dependent on the particular moment in time, that particular subject, etc. that perfect re-creation is impossible anyway.

[Chris Keth]

If anything, it seems like a DP's personal tools are shared much more often in cinematography than in other arts. Where else are so many job-specific tools invented by and often named after their creators? The obielight comes to mind as an example.