Carly Crocker Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I am a beginner and I am wondering what movies are good to watch for exaples of good cinematography? -I have seen days of heaven and the beginning of Manhatten. What other ones are good? Please and thank you ~Carly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dzyak Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hi, Carly. You're probably about to get deluged with lists of movies, which undoubtedly look great for lots of reasons, but just watching a movie isn't necessarily going to "teach" you anything about it. To really learn from a movie, you'd have to have other information about it available or access to the people who were there making it. You can sit and be "wowed" by pretty movies, or you can find the information (if it exists) so you can learn from them too. So take those inevitable lists, and before you sit down to start watching any of the films, search through the archives of magazines and websites and books that might have interviews with the DPs and others who were there. Unfortunately, those in charge of deciding the content on DVDs don't think the public cares about the technical aspects of what it takes to make a movie, particularly the cinematography (unless it is tied to VFX), so DVD "extras" are mostly a waste of time. Here is a list of resources for you to take a look at as you decide which movies you can learn from: Local600forum.com A forum by, for and about Motion Picture Professionals Below the Line Magazine Online Below the Line is a newspaper that strives to be the editorial voice of the crew. A publication that mirrors the attitude of the below-the-line crew community, providing an insider's reverence for the craft of filmmaking with all the humor and intelligence of the craftspeople it celebrates. Cinematography.com Professional Motion Picture Camera People, News & Resources http://www.cinematography.com Cinematography. net A place for professional cinematographers to talk and exchange ideas about cinematography. Steadicam Operators Association http://www.steadicam-ops.com Steadicamguild.com The Steadicam Guild was formed in September of 2002, is an organization dedicated to the promotion and education of the art and craft of the Steadicam http://www.steadicamguild.net SteadiShots.org http://www.steadishots.org Demystifying Digital Camera Specifications, http://media.panavision.com/ScreeningRoom/...ox_Office.html The American WideScreen Museum: In the Cyber Museum we feature extensive coverage of Cinerama, CinemaScope, Technirama, Panavision, Vistavision, Superscope, Todd-AO, Technicolor, Cinecolor, Kinemacolor and other motion picture audio systems. http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/ Below the Line is a newspaper that strives to be the editorial voice of the crew. A publication that mirrors the attitude of the below-the-line crew community, providing an insider's reverence for the craft of filmmaking with all the humor and intelligence of the craftspeople it celebrates. www.btlnews.com Backstage West www.backstage.com Filmmaker www.filmmakermagazine.com American Cinematographer www.theasc.com ICG: International Cinematographer’s Guild www.cameraguild.com Indie Slate, www.indieslate.com P3 Update, www.p3update.com IATSE Bulletin, subscribe at bulletin@iatse-intl.org MovieMaker, www.moviemaker.com British Film Magazine, the British Film World on one site. http://britishfilmmagazine.com 16:9, The magazine for media pros http://www.16by9.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Rich Steel Posted January 18, 2009 Premium Member Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hey Carly, I'd suggest you watch the first movie that inspired you to become a cinematographer. Watch it over, again and again and get to understand how and why it made that strong emotional bond with you. On a personal note though I love Conrad L. Halls genius on "Road to Perdition" and Gordon Willis's use of light in the "Godfather" but no doubt this thread will have other masterpieces added as time goes by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lary Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 There are many books that give lighting diagrams with screen grabs and other pertinent technical information about specific films. You can read about the films, then watch them, then go back and re-read the articles. "Reflections" and "Film Lighting" are a couple. If you're just looking for a list of movies with great Cinematography, that could be huge. I'll throw out a handful of my favorites: Sophie's Choice The New World Road to Perdition Paris, Texas Serenity Barry Lyndon Anatomy of Hell Manhunter eXistenZ Unforgiven Walkabout Birth Last Tango in Paris Solaris (the original by Tarkovsky) The Mirror The Sacrifice The Virgin Spring The Shining Morvern Caller Last Life in the Universe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Weidemann Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 (edited) If I would have to reduce my list to five titles, I would recommend: - Apocalypse Now (!!) (Vittorio Storaro) - Road to Perdition (Conrad Hall) - The Deer Hunter (Vilmos Zsigmond) - Schindler's List (Janusz Kaminski) - The Fabulous Baker Boys (Michael Ballhaus) But you should also take a look at the work of Roger Deakins (I would recommend "The Asassination of Jesse James..." and "O Brother where art thou?") Edited January 19, 2009 by Henry Weidemann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Martin Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 OK, it isn't a movie BUT the book "Film and Digital Lighting" by Dave and Maria Varia includes many examples of classic film images and also a great section on how to "read" shots and work out how they were done. Also, start flicking through back issues of AC. I picked up the entire lot from 1991 for ten pounds on eBay the other day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Rosen Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 This might sound a little weird, it being an animated film and all, but the 3-disc edition of WALL*E is a terrific resource for the amount of time its special features spend on cinematography (in both real world and digital universes). They show fairly big chunks of a seminar hosted by Roger Deakins (The Shawshank Redemption, almost every Coen Bros film) that he put on for the Pixar crew. Then you can see how his lessons were put into practice on the film itself. Deakins is probably my favorite cinematographer, and his website has a user forum where you can ask specific questions and get detailed answers. I recommend No Country For Old Men as a great example. I'm pretty new to the field myself, but I have to concede that you're not going to learn that much from watching movies. Almost everything I've learned so far, I've learned from personal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Bill DiPietra Posted January 19, 2009 Premium Member Share Posted January 19, 2009 Here are a few to start with... The Passion of Joan of Arc Winter Light Fellini's 8 1/2 Persona Apocalypse Now The Insider Raging Bull ...and all of Kubrick's films! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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