Telling the Story... How it is!

[tomfsykes]

Hello again Roger.

One thing I have been wondering quite a lot recently is what level of input, from your experience, does a Cinematographer have on the plot of a film or script?

I say this in a way that spawns from a question that I ask myself often, "Should I be making propositions for adaptation in relation to certain aspects of the script?", That is if I see them fit.

This meaning not, How the lighting can affect the mood of a sequence or How the composition can connote a certain feeling, I mean it in literal terms like, Have you ever been on set and proposed Ideas for the script say with locations, character sub plots or maybe even things like pacing of a scene etc, all things which the Director can choose to alter if he sees fit, or more precisely if somebody else makes him/her realise this new idea by simply bringing it up during pre production.

Coming from a background (as do most people early on) where budgets are tight and crew is minimal, I often find myself trying to write short films wondering that when you finally acquire a true career for yourself as a Cinematographer, do you still have that kind of input on the storyline aside just visuals, or is it purely a you are the Director of Photography role, you'll be directing solely the visuals? I'm guessing often it could possibly come down to who the Director is?

I'd like to think i'd still have some sort of input on the storyline.

Regards,


Tom.

[Roger]

That will depend on who the director is and on your relationship with that person. I do often talk through a script with a director and make suggestions about the story and the way it develops. I find that most of all I am trying to suggest ways of getting rid of dialogue and exposition.

[ruby]

'I find that most of all I am trying to suggest ways of getting rid of dialogue and exposition.'
Yep.... when will I ever learn?