Lets make a cinematographers FILM !

[Dimitrios Koukas]

I feel like Hitch shooting "North by Northwest"(god bless him).

A feature film of this stature requires a lot of money. I disagree about your take on

sound,in polls I've taken public says sound very important.

 

Greg Gross

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hey Algis.

Some production tips for a feature film:

1. Find a good script

2. Find the best cast

3. With the cast you go for sponsors

4. With the cast and sponsors go for more funds

5. When u ve got the funds the cast and the sponcors, find a crew.

6. If you ever do the movie try to screen it, the sponcors won't give you anything if u wanna screen it in your living room.You see everyone needs a motivation.

The actors, the sponsors, even KODAK or Fuji needs some.

 

Regards

Dimitrios Koukas

Edited September 22, 2005 by Dimitrios Koukas

[Andrew Koch]

Hey guys,

 

I might be a student and most of the people on this forum know a lot more than I do, but after reading this topic, I have to put my two cents in for what it's worth.

 

With the exception of certain art films, I thought the most important aspect of a film is the story. What is this film trying to say? The audience connects with the story if it rings true. That is why truthfull performances are the bare minimum. I think it is unfair to say that many directors have an untrained eye. Some of them may not have a trained eye for a specific lens or film stock, lighting setups, etc... (however many of them do) But they might have an eye that can see into the soul of an actor and be able to help an actor tap into their subconsciousness in a way that even a cinematographer might not be able to see.

 

I would never want to discourage anyone from trying something new, but the idea of a movie made completely by cinematographers sounds like a problematic one. What is your motivation for doing this? Is it that you have an incredible story and you want to tell it the best way possible? Or is it designed so that people will be able to shoot lots of cool stuff for their reels. I hope it is not the latter.

 

I would say be careful. If you have someone write a script for this particular project, there is a risk that the script would be written speciffically so that the cinematographer gets lots of opportunitiess to get cool visuals when what you really want is a script written to tell a story that is meaningful and truthful. Another thing is that it sounds like an expensive endeavor. You would need an audience to get the money back. How many people are going to pay 11 dollars soley on the premise that it is visually stunning? (I know I would, but that's because I'm a cinematography student and I'd be curious, but I wonder about the rest of the world who doesn't share that interest).

 

What I am trying to say is that people in film all have different talents that they bring to the project. Many of them do not have the training, expertise, skill, etc... of a cinematographer, but that's because it's your job to know that stuff, not theirs. This also means that a cinematographer might not be particularly skilled at sound mixing or working with actors. Let's not downplay the skills of others.

 

I hope my post does not come across as harsh. You guys are all incredibly talented people and I have learned so much from you. I just thought I'd share with you my opinion from a student's point of view.

 

-Andrew

[Dimitrios Koukas]

Hey guys,

 

I might be a student and most of the people on this forum know a lot more than I do, but after reading this topic, I have to put my two cents in for what it's worth.

 

With the exception of certain art films, I thought  the most important aspect of a film is the story.  What is this film trying to say?  The audience connects with the story if it rings true.  That is why truthfull performances are the bare minimum.  I think it is unfair to say that many directors have an untrained eye.  Some of them may not have a trained eye for a specific lens or film stock, lighting setups, etc... (however many of them do) But they might have an eye that can see into the soul of an actor and be able to help an actor tap into their subconsciousness in a way that even a cinematographer might not be able to see.

 

I would never want to discourage anyone from trying something new, but the idea of a movie made completely by cinematographers sounds like a problematic one.  What is your motivation for doing this?  Is it that you have an incredible story and you want to tell it the best way possible?  Or is it designed so that people will be able to shoot lots of cool stuff for their reels.  I hope it is not the latter.

 

I would say be careful.  If you have someone write a script for this particular project, there is a risk that the script would be written speciffically so that the cinematographer gets lots of opportunitiess to get cool visuals when what you really want is a script written to tell a story that is meaningful and truthful.  Another thing is that it sounds like an expensive endeavor.  You would need an audience to get the money back.  How many people are going to pay 11 dollars soley on the premise that it is visually stunning? (I know I would, but that's because I'm a cinematography student and I'd be curious, but I wonder about the rest of the world who doesn't share that interest).

 

What I am trying to say is that people in film all have different talents that they bring to the project.  Many of them do not have the training, expertise, skill,  etc... of a cinematographer, but that's because it's your job to know that stuff, not theirs.  This also means that a cinematographer might not be particularly skilled at sound mixing or working with actors.  Let's not downplay the skills of others.

 

I hope my post does not come across as harsh.  You guys are all incredibly talented people and I have learned so much from you.  I just thought I'd share with you my opinion from a student's point of view.

 

-Andrew

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Andrew,

The movie ''Speed'' was the first movie of a D.o.P.

And I believed he got both the movie and Sandra Bullock in the box-office for years.Also K.Reeve I believe?

Dimitrios Koukas

[Andrew Koch]

Andrew,

The movie ''Speed'' was the first movie of a  D.o.P.

And I believed he got  both the movie and Sandra Bullock in the box-office for years.Also K.Reeve I believe?

Dimitrios Koukas

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You are absolutely right. There are certainly cinematographers who are good directors like Haskell Wexler. (Medium Cool - Director, Cinematographer, Actor). I hope my post did not not come across as saying that cinematogrpahers should not ever direct or write. If it came across that way, I apologize.

 

What I meant to say was that each role on the set is unique and has specific artistic and technical requirements separate from other roles (but still collaborative). A cinematogrpaher may turn out to be a great director, but not soley because he/she is a cinematographer. His/her ability to direct would have have to incorporate some ablities outside of cinematography.

 

-Andrew