

Sometimes a shoulder mounted ENG camera is exactly what a project needs. Not every shoot will need a fully decked out Alexa package with cinema zooms. CINEMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE Use the right gear for the job The better you know the project the better you’ll be able to help serve it. Have conversations about styles to emulate, other film’s this story reminds you of. Bring up visual suggestions, questions, and ideas.
#Settings for cinema picture style how to#
Without a focus on how to serve the story, such innovation would have been rendered meaningless. If you get too crazy all the time you might have some issues staying employed.Ī great early example of a DP and Director innovating together and serving the story is Citizen Kane.ĭP Gregg Toland kept his depth of field, and used light and shadow to direct the eye, creating a more dramatic look. Your best cinematography might appear when you think out of the box. Playing it safe leads to getting into the habit of average/mundane shooting.

Dogmatic cinematography techniques can be detrimental to innovation. If they are calculated ones that you run by others.ĭon’t be afraid to break some of those rules that instructors drilled into heads. The overall idea here is to emphasize that taking risks can pay off. We touched on this a bit in other cinematography techniques, but emphasis never hurt. CINEMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE Take creative chances The tools of creating powerful images may have changed, but the basic principles have remained the same for hundreds of years. Take some time to familiarize yourself with great artwork. There are many excellent camera techniques you can implement to achieve this. At the same time, treat your shots, and each frame, like a work of art you want to get right.Įven if you’re doing it on the fly, make sure your framing works from a purely visual standpoint. Time is of the essence and great cinematography need not be painstaking. It can be great shorthand with your Director and Production Designer, as well as others. While you shouldn’t get too precious with your work, and alway serve the story, be versed in visual art and design terminology. Here's Brent Barbano how cinematographers should work ADs to understand the shooting schedule: CINEMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE Be an artist (but a reasonable one) That means working with film scheduling software and seeing how logistics will affect everything you do. Communicate with your AD so you can prioritize the order you'll be shooting which scenes. The shooting schedule is just as critical.
#Settings for cinema picture style professional#
In the video below, DP and ShareGrid cofounder, Brent Barbano, walks us through his process of creating a professional shot list. Use shot list software to know the ins and outs of every shot. The crew will often look to you to move forward. In film school you probably learned how to light.īut did you learn how to light fast? Or how to efficiently adjust when daylight is almost gone? When you might not make the day and you feel the the entire production waiting as you get a little fill on the lead actress?

Know it all backwards and forwards and how you’ll move efficiently between them. So before you even step on set, know the coverage. Because the Producers will be asking HIM how long until picture is up constantly. The 1st AD will be asking how low until picture is up constantly. You will ALWAYS be under the gun for time. Using the proper tools are cinematography techniques unto themselves. Which means having and respecting storyboards and a shot list. This means always having a plan and executing it. You are going to be interacting with all of those department heads, and you are directly (or indirectly) in charge of all of them and their work. The camera and lighting crew is often the biggest crew on a film set. CINEMATOGRAPHY TECHNIQUE Manage your time effectively
