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I feel that the best cinematographers have that photographic eye. The ability to compose a scene which in itself, can speak even louder than what the actors are saying. It is an intricate skill where most movie goers may not even notice. I wonder if the fact that I'm a photographer makes me enjoy films with stunning cinematography more than the person who's never framed a shot through a professional still camera?
I'm someone who appreciates indoor cinematography just as much as stunning nature scenes. The way two people are lit and composed in a room, the decor, and most of all, the stillness of the scene. While I can stomach a film with handheld scenes, I definitely prefer still shots. I'd much rather see a scene where a camera is moving on wheels down a street, following someone running, than someone running alongside the actor with a handheld camera. The final scene in The 400 Blows particularly comes to mind. When someone is moving with the camera, my photographic framing instinct takes over and I want to reach into the screen and hold that camera still!
Out of the films nominated this year for an Oscar in cinematography, I've only seen Captain Philips and Gravity. Captain Phillips was a lot of handheld camera work in tight spaces. I didn't mind it here, as it went with the style of film, and being on an ocean is never still. Gravity is in an entirely different realm of digital cinematography, and it's probably the only film I had to turn my head away from, where it wasn't something gory. The scenes in the beginning of the film where Sandra Bullock kept continuously spinning head over heels was just nauseating to me; I couldn't watch. However, I did enjoy the weightlessness scenes inside the space pods, and found them to look very realistic.
I'm curious to know how other photographers view cinematography. Is it something you never even notice, or does it tie in to your photographic intuitions?
I'm someone who appreciates indoor cinematography just as much as stunning nature scenes. The way two people are lit and composed in a room, the decor, and most of all, the stillness of the scene. While I can stomach a film with handheld scenes, I definitely prefer still shots. I'd much rather see a scene where a camera is moving on wheels down a street, following someone running, than someone running alongside the actor with a handheld camera. The final scene in The 400 Blows particularly comes to mind. When someone is moving with the camera, my photographic framing instinct takes over and I want to reach into the screen and hold that camera still!
Out of the films nominated this year for an Oscar in cinematography, I've only seen Captain Philips and Gravity. Captain Phillips was a lot of handheld camera work in tight spaces. I didn't mind it here, as it went with the style of film, and being on an ocean is never still. Gravity is in an entirely different realm of digital cinematography, and it's probably the only film I had to turn my head away from, where it wasn't something gory. The scenes in the beginning of the film where Sandra Bullock kept continuously spinning head over heels was just nauseating to me; I couldn't watch. However, I did enjoy the weightlessness scenes inside the space pods, and found them to look very realistic.
I'm curious to know how other photographers view cinematography. Is it something you never even notice, or does it tie in to your photographic intuitions?
I definitely notice the cinematography in movies. I find myself analyzing scenes and wondering how they lit them or wondering who composed the scene or why they made certain choices--and I suppose I might be blurring the distinction between art direction and cinematography in some of this wondering (watching City of Lost Children by Jeunet and Caro, for instance; it is of the most intriguing films I've ever seen--how much of that intrigue is due to cinematography and how much to art direction, I don't know. I suppose it is a skillful blending of the two). Whenever I watch Downton Abbey, I find myself watching the focus pulling (I don't know if I've ever seen it done so often or so obviously as they do--love that show…even the opening credits are gorgeous). I find good cinematography inspiring and sometimes try to figure out how I can use it to inform my still photography.