the written word to life through the actors and the camera.
On set the director must delegate tasks and trust in the abilities of their crew. She or he maintains the pace of the set, meets the schedule, and has a whole crew of people waiting to hear what they have to say. For a director who has bonded with their cinematographer, they do not face the actors and crew alone. They have an ally in the cinematographer in capturing their vision.
■ Every day on set the director is faced with endless decisions about everything and making the right ones can be really difficult. (Tony) Gilroy once told me that is one of the most difficult things a director has to know is when to say, “That’s all I need from this setup; let’s go on to the next.” That is the scariest moment for him because he knows he’s never going to get back there again.
(Robert Elswit, ASC, Frost interview)
■ A good director is open to ideas. I like an interesting, creative person who can relate to actors. As a cinematographer, you don’t want to build a bridge to the actors; they are the director’s responsibility. I really love when there is that exchange between me and a director, when the director can be honest and direct and say, “Look, I don’t like that — but I like that,” and I can show things to them and they are honest about it instead of feeling either intimidated by what you are doing or afraid to say, “Look, that doesn’t fit with my vision.”
(Seamus McGarvey, Frost interview)
■ During preproduction, I really like to get into the director’s head and try to see what they’re thinking. Sometimes it’s a tricky collaboration because my job is not just about how the film looks, it’s also about making sure I’m communicating visually what the director intended because in the end it’s still the director’s film. I just try to just remain the partner. I’ve worked with a lot of first-time directors, and those collaborations can be really wonderful because they don’t necessarily know all the rules. They break them and challenge me to look at my own practices and beliefs, which shakes me up a little. They’ll ask things, and then you don’t want to say “no,” so instead you say, “Well, let’s figure out how we would do this.” So it can be exciting.
(Nancy Schreiber, Frost interview)
8. Nancy Schreiber, ASC (Photo courtesy of Nancy Schreiber, ASC)
■ It’s different with each director. With some directors, I will spend a lot of time with them to go over the script in a lot of detail and talk about it. Even if we’re totally wrong, to just sit down for a week and say, “This is the scene. How should we do it? How would we tell this information?” But in that situation, we are normally not on set, and usually at a dining room table just hashing it out. I love doing that, because in our heads we’ve kind of gone through it once, so I’ll walk onto a set understanding what that scene is. I think any preparedness that you have on a film is just money in the bank. It helps you get through without bankrupting the bank of time. All movies take on their own tone and life.
(Harris Savides, Frost interview)
During production, the director is in charge of the set and ultimately maintains the pace of the day with the aid of the first assistant director. A director should come to the set prepared and on time with shot lists, storyboards, and a clear idea of how they want to cover the scenes of the day. To make sure the coverage they are shooting works for editing, the director can previsualize it, either alone through storyboarding or working with the cinematographer. The director should be able to visualize the entire film completed in his or her mind before turning on a camera, to ensure that they will shoot all the footage necessary to tell the story the way they intend it to be seen on screen.
■ If the cinematographer is the captain of the ship, then the director is the admiral of the navy. He’s got an enormous responsibility and needs to take it very seriously.
(Richard Crudo, ASC, Frost interview, July 2007)
The director will be the first person praised if the film is successful or the first to be attacked by critics if it is not. The pressure is on during production with all the questions aimed at the director regarding various details of the film. Each department head will come to the director with their own set of questions. The wardrobe department, the art department, the first AD, the actors, and, of course, the cinematographer, who will want to know where to put the camera so that the gaffer and crew can start lighting. Because the number of questions can be overwhelming at times, the director often relies on the support and confirmation of their collaborators. Usually the first person they will look to for that support and confirmation is their cinematographer.
■ There are directors, as we know, who are very technical. They go deep into their language and they like shooting film the way they see, and they have an idea where to place the cameras, and that’s a very important communication issue to them, to their audiences. Then there are directors who may only see the story from a storytelling perspective, but with a literal interest, so they rely on the cinematographer much more to help them to devise a visual way of telling the story.
(Dante Spinotti, ASC, Frost interview)
The director should be thinking about each scene and how to cover it, how to handle the actors with a focus on whose scene it is. It is helpful if shot lists have been created in preproduction and a dialogue between director and cinematographer has been previously established so that once you are on set you already know how a scene is going to be shot, such as what focal length of lens will work best and whether it is a moving or static shot. The cinematographer will be there for consultation if needed. They are there to facilitate the visual realization of the script.
■ You have to trust the director and the director has to trust you. If you are in a situation where you feel that the director trusts you, you can take your work further, even if it’s as simple as exposing a shot a little darker. You don’t take those risks with people you don’t know, especially if you are doing a studio production. The last thing you want is to go into a screening room at dailies and have everyone whining because the shot is too dark.
(Roger Deakins, ASC, Moviemaker, July 2007)
The director, as noted, is often focused on the actors, eliciting the best possible performance from them. While the director is rehearsing the blocking of the scene with the talent, the cinematographer is watching for shadows and following the movement of the scene with the camera. Since it is ultimately the director’s vision being transformed to images on screen, she or he may have requested a specific focal length for the shot, which the cinematographer provides. Both are headed for the same completed scene, with the director focused on the performance and the cinematographer focused on the visuals. A smart director will be open to suggestions that a cinematographer may have regarding light, focal length, and movement.
What should a director know about cinematography?
■ It’s so much more exciting when directors understand my world. As a cinematographer it is my job to find out what the director’s strengths and weaknesses are so I can be of service wherever needed. I’ve worked with directors who know focal length and may say, “Let’s use a 35 mm or 27 mm,” and I’ve worked with directors that I have to make look through the lens just to see what’s happening.
(Nancy Schreiber, Frost interview)
There are many directors working today who have limited technical experience in film, particularly those who come from a theatrical background, or writers who have been given the opportunity to direct. Less technically inclined directors will need to
