New to cinematography

[Christopher Norin]

Hello!

 

I'm Christopher Norin, a Sweden based writer /director. I'm at a turning point in my filmmaking career¨. My interest is shifting towards cinematography instead. I should also tell you I haven't done any doping myself yet.

Now...

 

1. I'm not really interested in still-photography. Do you think a genuine insterest in stills is essential to a cinematographer? Why cinematography interests me is the relationship with the actors and director. Equally fascinating is its role in telling the story. The two DPs that inspires me to photograph films are Rodrigo Prieto and of'course Christopher Doyle.

 

2. My eyes aren't the best. I'm half-blind. With my healthy eye I have almost 100% vision with a contact. How important is perfect vision in this job? Obviously it is important but how important is it to have both eyes in perfect condition? When I dedicate myself to something it is with 100% and I need to know there's nothing that stops me from becoming the best.

 

3. What made you intersted in cinemtography? Who inspired you?

 

Thank you for read this!

[Michael Nash]

I think still photography and cinematography are kind of like brother and sister -- very closely related yet completely different from each other. And it's natural for you to be attracted to one and not the other! :P

 

They share much of the same "genetics" of composition, image quality, technical basics and so on, so you can't really ignore the relavance of still photography when studying cinematography. Same thing with painting. But I wouldn't worry about being a dyed-in-the-wool stills enthusiast to do a decent job at cinematography. Motion picture images have their own appeal and work in a way that stills never will (and vice versa).

 

>Why cinematography interests me is the relationship with the actors and director.

 

What do you mean exactly? Are you talking about being physically closer to the actor by operating the camera? Or keeping a closer eye on peformance by seeing it through the viewfinder? Directors who have become their own DP's (like Steven Soderbergh) often cite these reasons.

 

Regarding eyesight, yes it's important. How well you can make your particular condition work for you is up to you, but it sounds like you're at a little disadvantage. But then again, operating is done primarily with one eye (although you use the other eye to scan for things outside the frame). Which eye is compromised? Most film cameras are set up for right-eye viewing, although there are some with swing-over viewfinders or can be angled out slightly for left-eye viewing. And nowadays with HD you can operate with a monitor in a more "heads-up" fashion if you like.

 

I think all directors should spend the time studying cinematography, especially in regards to using it as a storytelling device. It's good that you have an interest it, but if you have reservations about your ability to master it, don't worry. You can still put that skill and knowledge to good use as a director while relying on the skills of a DP.