and ask how this person likes to work. I want someone as passionate about the script as I am. You have to judge the person and what they are going to bring to the project.
Besides the other qualities a director looks for when selecting a cinematographer, intuitive factors also come into play. Because the director and cinematographer will be working together for the next three months, six days a week, twelve to fifteen hours a day under highly stressful conditions, it is important for personalities to be congenial. The cinematographer is the person the director leans on during production, the one the director will turn to or confide in if she or he strays off track. The cinematographer is there to help put the director back on course.
After viewing a cinematographer’s reel, the director will send the cinematographer the script, so they can see if the material inspires them or if they feel they can add to it with their photography. Once the cinematographer has read the script, the director and prospective cinematographer will have the important face-to-face meeting to see if their personalities are compatible and if they share the same vision for the project. The cinematographer will generally listen to what the director is looking for before they start commenting on the script. This is usually not a technical conversation but focused on the thematic concepts in broad strokes. Understanding the underlying theme of the film can lead to a visual interpretation.
■ I’m very attracted to a first-time director that by definition is the author of the script and has a clear vision into the material because they have created it. For me that’s the most compelling thing. I don’t necessarily expect anything more of a first-time director than an understanding of the screenplay, the characters, the development, the intertwining of the relationships, the evolution of the relationships, and finally how it resolves itself. That’s everything and it’s a lot. If I’m meeting with a director who has written a screenplay and doesn’t really know what it’s about, which seems impossible but isn’t, or can’t articulate it, then it’s a much easier pass for me.
(John Bailey, ASC, Frost interview)
As a director selecting a cinematographer, it is important to talk to them about what you want and what you envision and then ask questions, such as how your visuals can be accomplished cinematographically. If the cinematographer understands and likes the script, they will have thought about how they can enhance the script with visual images.
■ Oftentimes I’ve gone to a DP with visuals, pictures from magazines, but more often than not DP’s have come to me with kind of a book they have put together from pictures ripped from magazines of how they think the film should look. It helps a lot — then I can say, hate it, love it, etc.
(Donald Petrie, director, Frost interview, December 2006)
10. Donald Petrie, photo courtesy Donald Petrie
Everyone who gets a copy of the script looks for specific things. Actors mark a script for performance and how much dialogue they have; directors mark the script for shots and blocking. The cinematographer will be looking for how many night shots there are, how much movement is in the film, whether it is a location or studio shoot, how many special effects are needed, and how they emotionally respond to the material. The cinematographer will have visual ideas regarding composition, too, but with the understanding that the director may already have storyboarded the entire film with compositional ideas.
■ If I like the story and my imagination is piqued by it then great, I know that I can do something interesting photographically. Of course, I also have to meet the director, and it’s important that we have a good rapport because films are pretty high-octane places and tempers can rise. So I think if you meet a director that you know you can go through the fire with, survive, and still be friends at the end of it that’s the right person to work with.
(Seamus McGarvey, Frost interview)
There are some cinematographers who like to operate their own cameras, because they feel more connected to the actors and to the action. That also eliminates one step of communication, so that the director is talking to both the cinematographer and operator at the same time. Others feel it is better to allow an operator to focus on the action while the cinematographer focuses on the light. Be prepared for both schools of thought and decide which you prefer. A cinematographer who is also operating will be behind the camera and not with the director watching the monitor for shadows. The Union, I.A.T.S.E. Local 600, does stipulate between the two positions quite clearly: the director of photography is the first in command of the camera and lighting crew; the operator is the second.
■ I love to operate the camera.… When you are close with the director, you know what they want photographically, but also the emotion of the camera, how it shoots the actors.
(John Seale, ASC, Frost interview, October 2007)
■ I think the main reason I operate when I can, although I don’t always, is to see the performance. I do get involved when I am looking through the camera and the actors are feeling these emotions. I will get emotional, too; several times I have cried on camera. You get the front seat of the best performances of the best actors in the world and you are right there, best seat in the house — it is really amazing.
(Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, Frost interview, July 2007)
■ I love handheld, I’m good at it. I love having the earpiece in and hearing the dialogue and following the action, just going with the flow because you feel connected with the scene that way. I get a real buzz out of that and so I miss it when someone else is operating.
(Seamus McGarvey, Frost interview)
■ The DP (director of photography) watches the light and the actor, the operator watches four corners of the frame, and not operating allows you to focus on the light and the actors’ faces.
(Owen Roizman, ASC, Frost notes, ASC workshop, ASC clubhouse, Hollywood, California, 2006)
■ For me, two things about a cameraman are fundamental. The first is that he shall be technically absolutely perfect, and at the same time first-class on lighting. The second (is) that he must be first-class at operating his own camera. I don’t want any camera operators on my films. The cameraman and I come to an agreement about what is to be included in the image. We also go through everything to do with lighting and atmosphere in advance. And then the cameraman does everything in the way we’ve agreed on.
(Ingmar Bergman, Bergman on Bergman [New York: Simon and Schuster, 1973], 35)
When operating the camera, a cinematographer often becomes connected to the talent through the lens and can begin to anticipate their movements in a scene. It is important for the cinematographer to be in tune with the actor’s performance without letting equipment or technology get in the way. When watching the scene, the director is looking for what they want from an actor, generally the emotional beats and the blocking. The cinematographer is seeing through the lens what the actor is giving the director, and that can be very helpful in making the final decision as to whether or not they “got it.” Most cinematographers will agree that they see their role as “the gatekeeper of the image.”
Some directors know more about the technical aspects of cinematography than others, so they may be more vocal about specifics regarding the cinematography of the film, such as suggestions for lenses or lighting. The few directors who also choose to shoot their own films are working with talented gaffers and camera crew. A director cannot take the time to focus on the lighting and camera movement as well as work with their actors, because these two tasks are usually happening at the same time. A director should
