The place to discuss, share content and offer advice and tips on all things lighting, framing, cameras, lenses and technique
As a DP, I'm always looking for ways to enhance the story, and more often than not, the best way to bring that extra emotion, clarity, or focus to a frame is by executing the simplest of moves.
For instance, I love a good push-in. Not a zoom, mind you, and not an optical enlarging of the frame, but a...
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In addition to running a film production company, I've been teaching an intro to film production course for two semesters at a local college. One of my favorite parts of the class is where we dig into lighting and how it informs a scene, character or mood.
I bring out films like Goodfellas, Another...
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2001, Stan Kubrik - The lighting was pure, harsh and cold, like space. In space there was no diffusion and they sold the effect with perfect blacks and harsh whites. Inside the ship, the lighting hint...
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Perhaps some scenes from the 2024 movie Conclave. They use lot's of practical lighting and natural lights to light the scene for purpose. And it is stunning!
Dragged a gimballed camera with an anamorphic lens down a narrow passage and the result is... educational.
The walls bow and smear in all the fun anamorphic ways, but the camera is also doing a very honest impression of my skeleton reacting to gravity one footstep at a time. So instead of sleek menac...
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A few options depending on your situation and what you have available.
The most reliable technique fix is ninja walking -- heel to toe, knees slightly bent, moving from your core rather than your legs....
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BTS: The Return does something quietly radical with its cinematography — director Bao Nguyen handed each of the seven members their own camcorders and just... let them shoot. No instructions, no shot lists. The result is a visual diary that feels genuinely personal rather than polished-for-consumpti...
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This approach resonates. The best unscripted work often comes from getting out of the way, and Nguyen understood that the most honest footage was going to come from the subjects themselves rather than...
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I’m watching the Netflix Nordic series DETECTIVE HOLE starring Joel Kinnaman and I have to say the cinematography on this show is unreal.
Great question. Sam McCurdy comes to mind immediately -- his work has a real physicality to it. The way he handles low light and practical sources gives everything he shoots a lived-in quality that fe...
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This Wednesday, April 1st, Stage 32 is hosting a FREE webinar you don’t want to miss:
How to Navigate the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film
We’re bringing in Guillaume Esmiol, Executive Director of the Marché d...
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Most people think photography is about the camera. It’s not.
It’s about how you see!
The difference between a good photo and one that makes you feel something often comes down to presence. Slowing down long enough to notice the way light hits a surface, how someone shifts when they think no one’s watc...
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This applies directly to cinematography as well. The DPs who leave a lasting impression are rarely the ones who lead with their gear list -- they are the ones who have spent years developing a genuine...
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I absolutely love this, Sydney S - time to stop and think, and notice what you're actually shooting. I came from the dark and distant past of film (you know, that stuff that has emulsion and costs a l...
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For those of us who follow this category closely, last Sunday was a night worth remembering.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw won Best Cinematography at the 98th Academy Awards for Sinners, becoming the first woman and first Black person to ever win the award. She is also of Filipino and Creole descent, and had...
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I was talking to a friend today about the latest feature he worked on as First AD, and he told me the project was shot full frame. Now, I don't know about you, but I have a hard time making this transition to FF when it comes to feature work. True, full-frame offers a wider field of view, shallower...
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I always shoot full frame. Sure, I'll put a S35 grid/guide on the viewer, but by crikey, why waste CCD real estate? I'm always astonished at what surprising little gems you can find in the margins when it comes to rough cutting.
Depends on the camera you use and it's limitations. Personally, I prefer a more shallow depth of field and wider field of view. Full frame is where things are at today.
S35
It's all fluff and marketing. And a fad. It's not about a "modern" look or something "immersive". Lenses give an image a look, not the sensor. Films in the 70s were shot on Vistavision which is the sa...
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Well said, Gareth Taylor !
There was a time when shooting with anamorphic lenses was all the rage. EVERYONE was doing it, and some were doing it whether it served the project or not. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a wide frame, but I've never been a huge fan of anamorphic lenses. I don't like what can happen at the edges of...
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Spherical for me, nine times out of ten.
Anamorphic can be gorgeous when the story actually wants that swagger. But too often it’s just “look, Mom, we rented character.” Then you’re babysitting smeary...
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Anamorphic adds character.
Spherical protects the story.
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Good, simple medium shot where we can see much of the character and their emotion. Especially for a hard emotional hit or silent revelation. Many times there's a close up cut to capture the emotion when it's unnecessary.
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I agree, the amount of emotion in something as small as a push in is so impactful. I also love a good tracking shot to convey energy and motion, nothing too fancy like from the show Adolescence but something to keep the scene flowing and moving.
and color!