How do you start your earliest discussions with a director about cinematography?

[Dillon Mak]

I'm curious how all of us like to start our earliest discussions with a director about cinematography for a production.

Some prompt questions to get your brain going:

• Do you start by going over specific visual ideas? 
• Talking in a general broad sense about the tone and/or mood of the story?
• Talking about how you specifically visualise scenes from reading the script?
• Talking about sources of inspiration? 

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I go from broad to specific, but some key scenes may give the clue for how to approach the overall project.

[Dillon Mak]

23 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

I go from broad to specific, but some key scenes may give the clue for how to approach the overall project.

Do you do this in your first session with the director or does the broad to specific happen over several sessions?

[David Mullen ASC]

It usually takes multiple meetings.

[Justin Hayward]

1 hour ago, David Mullen ASC said:

It usually takes multiple meetings.

Have you ever had several meetings before deciding you weren’t right for the project or had too many creative differences with the director that you pulled yourself out of the running?

edit: my question is referring to discussions with the director before you were hired.

thanks

Edited January 28, 2020 by Justin Hayward

[David Mullen ASC]

Oh, I've certainly had second thoughts but no, once I've gotten hired, I haven't ever pulled out of a project.

The job interview is the time to find out if you're on the same creative wavelength so the earliest discussions of the approach happen then.

[Justin Hayward]

3 hours ago, David Mullen ASC said:

 

The job interview is the time to find out if you're on the same creative wavelength so the earliest discussions of the approach happen then.

Sorry to berate this, but it's just interesting to me... Have you ever read a script that you really liked before you were hired, then met the director and backed out?

Edited January 29, 2020 by Justin Hayward

[David Mullen ASC]

More often, it's a script that I'm lukewarm on and it's the director that gets me interested rather than the other way around.

It's been years, generally these days, if I'm sent anything, it's pretty interesting and the only problem is that I'm not available.

There have been a few interviews in the past where it seemed clear to me that the director and I were not suited to each other, and before I had to figure out how to decline the job gracefully without hurting anyone's feelings, I didn't get the job after all because clearly the director also sensed that I wasn't the right person.

I remember back in the late 90's, a job interview where the director was great, but then we had to meet the producer together and the producer was so awful, telling us how he'd shoot each scene, that I was thinking "I hope I don't get this job... I hope I don't get this job..."  And I didn't get the job, I sense because the producer sensed that I wasn't going to take his side over the director's. I don't have a good poker face and he could see how appalled I was by him.