Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 1.1. (previous page). A youngOrson Welles in preparation.WRITING WITH MOTIONThe term cinematography is from the Greek roots meaning “writingwith motion.” At the heart of it, filmmaking is shooting — but cinematographyis more than the mere act of photography. It is the processof taking ideas, words, actions, emotional subtext, tone, and allother forms of nonverbal communication and rendering them in visualterms. As we will use the term here, cinematic technique is the entirerange of methods and techniques that we use to add layers of meaningand subtext to the “content” of the film — the dialog and action.The tools of cinematic technique are used by both the director andDP, either working together or in doing their individual jobs. Asmentioned, cinematography is far more than just “photographing”what is in front of the camera — the tools, the techniques and thevariations are wide ranging in scope; this is at the heart of the symbiosisof the DP and the director.Building a Visual WorldWhen we create a film project, one of our primary tasks is to createa visual world for the characters to inhabit. This visual world is animportant part of how the audience will perceive the story; howthey will understand the characters and their motivations.Think of great films like On the Waterfront, Apocalypse Now, or TheBig Sleep. They all have a definite, identifiable universe in which theyexist: it consists of the locations, the sets, the wardrobe, even thesounds, but to a large extent these visual worlds are created thoughthe cinematography. All these elements work together, of course— everything in visual storytelling is interrelated: the sets mightbe fantastic, but if the lighting is terrible, then the end result will besubstandard.Let’s look at this sequence from early in Blade Runner: (Figures 1.2,through 1.5) Without a single line of dialog, we know it is a hightech,futuristic world; giant electric signs and flying cars tell us this.The extravagant skyscrapers and squalid street life tell us a great dealabout the social structure. In addition, it always seems to be raining,hinting at dramatic climate change. Picked up by the police, Deckard(the Harrison Ford character) is taken by flying car to police headquarters,landing on the roof.Once inside, there is a sudden shift: the interior is not futuristicat all; in fact it is the inside of the Los Angeles train station — it isMission Revival in its architectural style. Why an 18th-century lookingbuilding as a location choice? One thing you will learn as a filmmakeris that everything has to be for a reason — for every choiceyou make, whether in the story, the location, the props, whatever.Random choices do not help you tell your story. These choices maynot always be conscious decisions (although all the major ones shouldbe), but to simply “let things happen” will almost never result in acoherent, smooth flowing story that conveys your original intentionsin the way you wanted.The camera cranes down to the roof of an office and we discover...trash. The camera continues down and we find ourselves in the captain’soffice. Again, its style and set dressing seems completely anachronisticand odd: wood filing cabinets, a desk fan, an old TV. Whyis this?Then Deckard enters and his trench coat with the upturned collarprovides the final clue: this could easily be a scene from a film noirdetective story. The director is sending us a simple message: thismay be the future with flying cars and replicants, but at the heartcinematography2