Peter James Scott

I think at the end of the day it is up to the Director. The Cinematographer is there to assist the directors vision, not make it up for him / her. That doesn't mean the Cinematographer can't have any creative input; in fact I would encourage it. But ultimately it is up to the Director to have the final word. As for defining micro managing, that is tricky because it depends on the relationship between the Director and the Cinematographer. Micro managing is unavoidable but it can be reduced. I have worked with people, not just in a film context, who don't need much directing at all. The vision is shared, we finish the end of each others sentences, and share the same though process. On the odd occasion disagreements will be voiced, but overall its compliant. The final product looks great. These are the people you want to cling onto and keep working with. Then there are other people who are on a different level. Talented or not, you need to constantly point them in the right direction, work to get them to see what look you are going for, and in the end the results are not really what you want. Needless to say I don't usually work with these people again if it can be helped. This is why you often see Directors collaborating with the same Cinematographer over and over. I guess it makes the industry more competitive. But it's not just limited to film; I've found this in many creative industries.

And Reuel, same goes for the Panasonic AG-LA7200. I've just had a look at some youtube videos with that lens. I'm not sure if the lens is worth that much money for the image it returns. Personal preference though. And I agree with Adrian's post above completely. And in spite of fear that I will be accused to fishing for blog hits, here are some images that I took with the aforementioned anamorphic projector lens and a DSLR. http://www.pjscottentertainment.blogspot.co.uk/#!http://pjscottentertainment.blogspot.com/2012/07/lenses-update.html Hope this helps.

I want one! Thanks for the post David. I searched the internet far and wide for something exactly like that to no avail. I ended up buying an old projector lens with some mounts, but it's not really the same.

The introduction of Tarsem Singh's "The Fall" is rather good. I believe it's on youtube.

Good to hear that there are good people out there, I'm sure there are. And I should add that in fairness one person did forward my details to someone who needed a production assistant a few months later, which was nice of them. And the producer gave me a reference. Overall though the whole experience was pretty shoddy though.

Unpaid jobs are simply the worst. I think if a profitable company can't pay interns then they should be labelled as illegitimate exploiters. The sooner the UK government steps in an stops unpaid "jobs" the better. I think that small independent films, such as student films can be okay. Usually everyone is on the same level with no money and can benefit more from learning from other people. Having said that I organised a student film not so long ago and even I managed to pay the actors and the crew a small fee for their time and effort. It wasn't much, but it's just courtesy more than anything. Larger companies will argue the same, that the unpaid intern will learn from them. But since when does making cups of coffee and printing photocopies count as learning? If you were to argue they would say it's bad attitude. I'm not saying walk in and demand an office, but there are limits. I recently worked on an independent feature which had some recognisable names in the title. For 4 weeks I worked 12 hour days unpaid sleeping in a cold unheated room. I got talked to like dog poop most days by the Assistant Directors, some of the rudest people I have ever come across. My tasks included making cups of tea for people and taking out the bins. That was about it. Once I got asked to carry a box for a spark. I kept my mouth shut though for the duration of the shoot, hoping for some renumeration or contact details at the end of the shoot. After the shoot finished, I emailed about 30 members of the crew asking if they would take a look at my work. Not a single one of them replied. I understand that they are not contractually obliged to look, but again it's just courtesy. It would have taken them five seconds for them to reply and say they are not interested. Maybe I had a bad experience, but I really had to consider what I wanted to do with my life afterwards. I don't really want to work in an industry full of unscrupulous and nasty people. I still haven't decided. I realise this unpaid malarky is not limited to the film industry. At the end of the day, if you provide a service and give up your time, you should be paid for it. Also one last thing. The other factor to consider is reputation. I recently got told by an Art Director to either charge full price or work for free, but do not work on the cheap. I would consider not working as a pushover as an addition to that list.

Thank you for your kind words Christopher. I must give credit to my friend Rob Skene for compositing the illustrations and 3D stuff together in the music video and Liam Wells for his acting in the Western, Frazer Merrick and Adam Clarke for their music and sound design. I’m not sure why the video isn’t loading so well it might just be a large file size though I compressed it as much as possible. Needless to say I’ll have a look it see if there is something wrong in the settings. Thanks again.

Also for anyone who is interested, here are some links to my work. These video’s unravel the mystery of why I’m asking the above question. I’ve got to the point where I don’t know which road to take and I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m now heading towards the directing path but the camera still intrigues me. “Lights” by Feeds music video. A mixture of illustrated animation, 3D and live action. “Death was the West”; a short film I made in front of a green screen. My future plan is to do something which is completely live action/ not animated but we shall see. Thanks again for your help.

Thank you Freya for once again replying to my questions you have been very helpful on this forum! Firstly, not having the DP present whilst grading is very surprising. Sounds like that approach is a job half done! From what you said it is more the Directors responsibility to make these creative decisions, and the Cinematographer to carry these ideas out. It’s still a fine line but you’ve helped me to define the two roles with you’re answer. I was bewildered particularly with cinematography in the context of animation/ VFX, as many of the VFX programs I used have controls for adjusting depth of field, shutter speed and focus. But again, like you said, I guess it is up to the Director and the VFX house to decide on these aesthetic qualities. Moreover, I’m guessing the creative skills used in Cinematography such as shot composition and understanding how light and shadows work and storytelling are transferable to other work positions such as Director or Animator. This adds to my confusion, but thanks to your answer Freya I am a little more clear on the subject. Thanks again!

Hello cinematography people. These are several related questions that have been bugging me for a while. I believe the answers are in a bit of a grey area, but being relatively inexperienced in the field of film I thought I would get some other opinions. Here it goes... With the onset (some would say onslaught) of CGI and digital in contemporary film, does true cinematography still exist, or has its definition changed? For example, if we look at films such as the Star Wars prequels, 300, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, we can see that there is a heavy use of CGI and greenscreen. If everything is virtual, does the Cinematographer have to make decisions in a virtual sense (i.e deciding camera movement, designing set pieces within a 3D environment) or do they have to take a back seat and leave it to the Digital production house? Furthermore, if it's a sequence in a movie made entirely from CGI with no actor intervention, does this class the film as an animation? If so, doesn't this make the DP's role defunct, or do they have an ongoing creative input? I hope I have worded my question correctly. The reason I am asking is that I'm having difficulty making a career choice. I'm finding it difficult figuring out the boundaries of the director, the cinematographer and the animating director, all career paths I have thought about pursuing. I am confused as to how much these roles overlap and furthermore how they are defined. I would like to be in a position where I can have a real input into the creative decision making and not let my ideas get watered down too much. Maybe I'm just scared of collaboration and should trust my fellow man to do a great job! Anyway, if you have a look in my other posts you will be able to find some of my work and judge whether it is cinematography, directing or animation, or a mixture of all three and end my confusion. I know I have rambled, but I think the question of cinematography as a true existence is an interesting point of contention. Thanks for reading and please discuss!

Yes I bought one of these not so long ago and I was also very impressed by its value for money. Would much rather buy these lenses than spend a fortune on Canon equipment.

Coming from a more positive place, your showreel is good. The scene with the toy boat is especially strong; I’m looking for the original video now!

If you want to raise funds so you can make a film and give a product back that everyone can enjoy (perhaps in the form of a dvd) then it is fine to ask for donations. I would avoid asking people for money so you can socialise and drink. I would also refrain from retorting back to unhelpful comments in front of potential donators. $3000 is not that much money if you expect to make some financial gain from the program. I would suggest getting a loan if this is viable.

Hi Tadas. Nice to see a video on here which isn’t a narrative film. The shots you have set up are of a decent quality i.e no tripod wobble and the focus is great. I would recommend that the next step you take, if you want to develop your work, is to get a narrator to give us some factual information and make a full nature documentary. From a cinematographers point of view the work is top notch.

Hi guys I made this reel just for fun, I don’t really have any intent on sending it to anyone. It’s not even really a reel in the conventional sense, as its just made up of camera experiments and unfinished projects. But if anyone has an opinion on it then don’t hesitate to vocalise them on this thread. My intentions are to get a short film project off the ground, using my own style of cinematography, but as I’m a beginner I don’t really have much experience outside the experiments on this reel and a couple of animated pieces. Any pointers are greatly appreciated. Also, the footage in the reel is shot on a mixture of a Canon 5D, an old Sony DV camera, a home made camera dolly and some portable lights. Here is the link to the reel: Thanks, Pete Twitter: @pjscott89 http://www.pjscottentertainment.blogspot.co.uk/

Hi guys. I'm looking to start some projects in the near future, preferably a short film, but maybe a music video or a still photography shoot. It would be great to meet some people in the area (Essex UK) who are looking to do similar things, so we could throw some ideas together and hopefully get something of the ground. Anyway, if you are interested, give us a message on here and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible. If you want to see any of my work, take a look on here: http://pjscottentert...blogspot.co.uk/ Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at: @PJScott89 or on Facebook. Cheers P. J. Scott

Hello guys, Just thought you might like to see my latest music video. It’s not cinematography in a photographic sense; it’s mostly animation. That said, I’m sure lots of the same creative thought processes can be applied to both animation and photography. Let me know what you think. Thanks to Rob Skene who helped me make the video. Some other notes, it was made using Final Cut Pro 7, Blender 3D, After Effects, Photoshop, a Canon 550D,a green screen, and lots of pen and ink. Also it cost 0 money to make. http://www.pjscottentertainment.blogspot.co.uk/#!http://pjscottentertainment.blogspot.com/2012/12/lights-by-feeds-music-video-p-j-scott.html More information about the band can be found on my blog. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at: @PJScott89 or on Facebook. Thanks for reading, P. J. Scott

Ha I’ve just graduated myself in the same position as you, but I’m glad my opinion is valued! I’m envious of your reel I would put your work far above the average quality for a graduate. How did you get into film making?

That’s quality! What camera did you use?

Hi Amy, This is my opinion, and not the only option, but I think it’s important to go to university and attain a degree. Employers will look favourably on a person with a degree than someone who has not, even if the degree is not related to to the job in question. I have heard of many stories of people who take degrees in one subject but go on to do something completely different. The point is having a degree shows that you are willing to learn and study and have the skills to go on and learn any job. Due to the economy and shortage of jobs, employers are look for specific qualities, and having your degree will do you no harm. Having a degree also helped me to figure out what I wanted to do. At the beginning of the course I new I wanted to do something in art, such as illustrating, but at the end of the three years I found out that film making was really something I could focus on and work hard at and enjoy. You are lucky as you already seem to know what you want to do, so you can really focus on it over the next three years, without having to worry too much about money and job searching. No I don’t think going somewhere prestigious helps you much more in an education. If you go to a prestigious film school then you may come into contact with more of the right people in the industry. The best thing to do would be to try and get on sets. I learned more in one week about film on a set than I did at university in 3 years. (I suppose this is the counter argument for uni). As Adrian said, a lot of it will come down to luck. A lot will also come down to hard work. Also don’t be afraid of volunteering! As for how much a minor film maker will earn after leaving university? I would say not much at all, and you may find yourself getting part time jobs while you work for free on low budget films. I am in this position now. Things were a bit slow at first but stuff has started to pick up now and I’m getting more involved in the film industry. In between jobs I try and improve my portfolio with private work so things are constantly on boil. Hope this helps and good luck I have every faith! P. J. Scott Twitter @PJScott89

Hi Alex, I think the strong points of your work are definitely the slow motion parts and some of the beach scenes. The first shot of the girl in the field at the beginning of the video particularly stands out and is beautiful piece of footage. The basement/underground music video also looks cool. You seem to have a clear understanding of lighting and composition within a frame. If I’m going to be harsh a few bits in the middle seem a bit amateurish, such as the part with the cars, the woman poisoning the man and the domestic abuse bit. I would cut those out. Hope this helps, P. J. Scott Twitter: @pjscott89

Nice looks very pro! One of the few film reels that you can’t really find much wrong with. Did you go to film school or work on various peoples projects? Keep up the good work!

Hallo. I liked the first movie you had on there and parts of the second. They looked great and overall quite professional I didn’t think the movies afterwards added anything though and were a bit amateurish. I would leave them off. Also, just out of curiosity, why are you promoting a 2011 video? Twitter @pjscott89

Here is the link. Hope you enjoy the article. Thanks P. J. Scott Twitter @pjscott89

This is so odd I’m literally writing about doing this write now. I used 3d animation software for storyboards on all my projects now. Drawing is good for tone and mood, but sometimes its hard to explain camera movement by just using drawing and pictures. The program I use is Blender 3d, also freeware. They used it on spiderman 2 to figure out all the fight sequences. I’ll post the address up for the article I’m writing when I’ve finished it later today. Also, this definitely falls under the cinematography category. No good saying what you want unless you can plan it and get your ideas across!