Hello,
I'm Sebastien (22) when I was 13 or so I got fascinated by comic books, I was spending my time drawing and learning more about them. After high school I got into a college of classical animation, it was 2 years of hard work and yes learning to enhance my skills and imagination. A little before my peers graduation I meet with a recruiter from Warner Bros. I skipped through my small portfolios pages briefly making a few comments as he had looked though hundreds of them. He closed it and told me it seems I was pretty much "there" and he suggest that I might find interest in...Cinematography. Later I sat on a bench and started thinking...Cinematography? What’s that?? And what made him say that looking through my portfolio??
I always had a love for films, but I don't think I never really understood what was it that I loved in particular. So I thought about what I notice first when at looked at films...a picture that sums the movie...pretty pictures yeah. Then good acting. And finally problems with the script. Pretty pictures...isn't this what cinematography is made off? I think of the bright white horse in Gladiator with the headless rider galloping in the scene in the opening act or Tom Hanks looking pale loss in is emotions after delivering a long monologue, a straight ahead shot of him holding on his life support machine in Philadelphia...the silhouette of a bike riding by a full moon? Is this all the cinematography that I know? Would I have to learn all technical...hardware stuff? Would I be making a good career decision here, or am I just thinking more like a Director? I don't know. I've never been on the set of a film.
But considering my artistic and intellectual knowledge, my practice, my work. I may belong in films and Cinematography seems like the sum of all visual skills. And I think that I’m finally understanding what I love. Isn't knowledge love itself? Making an effort to understand to ultimately connect with something.
At the moment I’m spending my time painting digitally, drawing and just looking for freelance work though game or animation companies.
I'm seeking help from the professionals out there, what do you think or feel of all this after reading it? What does a cinematographer do in your own words? Is it a person who collaborates with anyone who as a say visually in the picture (director, concept artist, set designer, camera man...makeup)?? I'm wondering if there's cinematographers who I guess are more close to directors, or would I have to spend countless hours learning all the camera brands?? X-003, SD-23A, TR-2-da *sight* lol.
sincerely,