- This topic has 11 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 8 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
Greetings from Italy!
My name is Luca and i’ve just joined the forum.
I’m sorry for the problems for the old forum, i’m sure it was a treasure of informations and i hope you’ll find a way to recover it. This said, i’m really appreciating the podcast (i travel a lot for work and it’s very nice to be able to listen to it while driving) and the “Looking at lighting” section, it’s incredible to be able to be guided by somebody like sir Deakins in the understanding of cinematography.
I’ve got million dollar question, for Roger and you all. Besides the movies quoted in the “Musing” article which are the 5 “must see” movies to understand lighting and cinematography? Not necessarily masterpieces, but still movies that can teach something about that.
Thanks in advance!
-
Replies
-
I once wrote my own list of personal favorites of cinematography and there were dozens of titles per decade of the history of cinema. Anyone can recommend five movies with great cinematography… but as soon as you watched them, there would be five more to watch, and so on! I think what movies you want to learn for depends more on what specifically would you like to learn.
It’s similar to when someone asks what five books they should read on filmmaking. In my mind, if someone is a fan of a subject, they will read everything they can find, good or bad. Imagine someone saying they were a huge fan of U.S. Civil War history but then saying they want to only read a couple of books on the topic.
I would just start watching good movies.
I once wrote my own list of personal favorites of cinematography and there were dozens of titles per decade of the history of cinema. Anyone can recommend five movies with great cinematography… but as soon as you watched them, there would be five more to watch, and so on! I think what movies you want to learn for depends more on what specifically would you like to learn. It’s similar to when someone asks what five books they should read on filmmaking. In my mind, if someone is a fan of a subject, they will read everything they can find, good or bad. Imagine someone saying they were a huge fan of U.S. Civil War history but then saying they want to only read a couple of books on the topic. I would just start watching good movies.
Yes, i understand your point and i agree with you, but that would apply to every subject. There’s always something new to learn , new artists, new scientific discoveries, etc.
Cinematography is a wide subject – and i know so little about it – that i am not aiming to collect a global knowledge about it, let’s say just a valid starting point (even if i realize that there’s a subjective element in it) . 🙂Hi Luca,
Here’s five films that have heavily impressed and helped mold me into what I am today:
1. Manhattan (1979) and The Lighthouse (2019). I’m a big fan of the gothic genre, and more importantly, Edgar Allen Poe. I find the use of black and white photography, framing, and hard light in these films fascinating.
2. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980). I’m a big admirer of Kubrick’s films, and although I was tempted to pick others, The Shining really stands out with its steadicam shots, blocking, zooms and framing.
3. The Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems (2019). This was the film that really introduced me to ‘cinema.’ I find the use of framing with its long lenses nothing short of astounding. Really cements the film as a two hour panic attack.
4. Sicario (2015). It was on a second viewing where I noticed and appreciated the POV of the camera, there’s such a menace and presence to the way the camera moves and frames the shot, that went right through me on the first viewing. Along with a few other films, this is one where I wish I could watch again with no memory.
This is my list of films that shaped me and my perception, you might not agree with me or find it as inspiring and helpful as I did, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.
It is possible to learn something from every film. The more you use your eyes the more you can settle on what you like and how you want to translate an idea into an image. There are some films that I do not think are well shot and I know I am in the minority of opinion on that. But that is my taste. It is not universal and, obviously, not that of the film’s director and cinematographer.
As the saying goes – there is good cinematography and bad cinematography and there is the cinematography that is right for the film.
Tough to find a movie to study good lighting because if it has good lighting, you won’t even realize it has been lit. Roger is one of the, probably the, best in that regard.
The overuse of film lights is in my opinion the biggest giveaway of unexperienced cinematographers/filmmakers.
“As the saying goes – there is good cinematography and bad cinematography and there is the cinematography that is right for the film.”
Many of my favorite movies of the 80’s have Over The Top (pun intended) lighting but it works in their cases, so there’s that 🙂
There are two films, ‘In Cold Blood’ and ‘Fat City’, that are indisputably brilliant pieces of film making with cinematography that could not be more perfect. Of course, there are so many films one could mention but these two, so different in style and tone, reflect how ‘right’ cinematography can be. Again, only my opinion and ……
Thanks to you all for your replies and suggestions, about the subject and about the suggested movies to watch!
I think that the point is finding what i really like and focus on that, to understand why i like that. And i realized i tend to like the movies done always by the same cinematographers, so at least i have a starting point, let’s say a style that i constantly like.
About the “bad cinematography”, would you include in it great movies with stunning images but that are so beautiful that you tend to forgot what’s their purpose and you simply stare at them?
“About the “bad cinematography”, would you include in it great movies with stunning images but that are so beautiful that you tend to forgot what’s their purpose and you simply stare at them?”
Good question, I just know that whenever film critics start with “The visuals are stunning” or “The landscapes are breathtaking”, I can be quite sure that the story is lacking 🙂
Absolutely! A beautiful sunset doesn’t necessarily further the narrative.
In one of the first podcast episodes you talk about telling a director that the cool shot he wanted was didn’t suit the story and you rejected his idea (i am going by memory, sorry if i am not correct). I find it very interesting.to see a DP “stepping back” to preserve the story. In my ingenuity i thought that should be the director first interest, not the cinematographer’s one. You were caring about the story more than the director himself. Have you ever thought to direct your own movie?
It isn’t that the director is not concentrating on the story, well it wasn’t in the case in point, just that in discussions we had agreed on a set of ‘rules’ and we each kept each other on track. That kind of back and forth exchange of ideas is when I am most happy on a film.
Yes, I was looking to direct a couple of projects but some years ago now. The problem is I love being on a set and working with a great team, so when offers came up that I couldn’t turn down I didn’t.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.