Cinematography

I have been thinking a lot about cinematography. I once felt guilty about using other director’s films as reference and inspiration, that all changed some years ago when I read an interview with Quentin Tarantino in which he explained just how many films he watched for inspiration while making his movies.

I have found that there are many ways to watch a film, you can study the script, mis en scene, the lighting or the cuts and camera movement. I have recently been looking at the camera work, how angles and movement are tied into the acting and sound.

I have been using different films as reference while working on this project. Rear Window, Saving Private Ryan, The Game, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Generals Daughter, The Governess, Asoka and a host of other films have all been consumed for various elements. From Rear Window, the Hitchcock classic comes the act of looking, Private Ryan the intimate struggle and ensuing horror, The Governess the lewd expression, O' Brother the expressions of lust again, Asoka for water bathing and so on.

At the moment I am managing to consume at least one film each day and I feel the benefits are returning ten fold. I still need to work on some camera movements, but I'm getting there.