The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP ) is the person responsible for the recording of a film , television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock , lenses , filters , etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography .
14-423: Joseph Patrick MacDonald, A.S.C. (December 15, 1906 - May 26, 1968) was a Mexico-born American cinematographer . An assistant cameraman from the early 1920s, he became a cinematographer in the 1940s and soon was working on Hollywood productions, mostly at 20th Century Fox . He was usually billed as Joe MacDonald. He was the first Mexico-born cinematographer, and only the second overall, after Leon Shamroy , to film
28-578: A cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture . A number of cinematographers have become directors, including Reed Morano who lensed Frozen River and Beyoncé's Lemonade before winning an Emmy for directing The Handmaid's Tale . Barry Sonnenfeld , originally the Coen brothers ' DP; Jan de Bont , cinematographer on films such as Die Hard and Basic Instinct , directed Speed and Twister . Nicolas Roeg , cinematographer on films such as The Caretaker (1963) and The Masque of
42-456: A commercial screening. The budget was eventually raised with the support of a consortium, credited in the film as being Peter Bridge, Peter Cadbury , Charles Kasher, Elizabeth Taylor , Richard Burton , Harry Saltzman , Peter Hall , Leslie Caron , Noël Coward and Peter Sellers , each member giving £1,000. Composer Ron Grainer was tasked to produce not a score but a sequence of sound effects, often metallic in nature, but which also include
56-536: A movie in CinemaScope ( How to Marry a Millionaire ), as well as the first Mexico-born cinematographer to film a movie in Deluxe Color . Nominations Cinematographer The cinematographer is a subordinate of the director , tasked with capturing a scene in accordance with the director's vision. Relations between the cinematographer and director vary. In some instances, the director will allow
70-528: The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC). Their aims include the recognition of the cinematographer's contribution to the art and science of motion picture making. There are a number of national associations of cinematographers that represent members (irrespective of their official titles) and are dedicated to the advancement of cinematography, including: The A.S.C. defines cinematography as: A creative and interpretive process that culminates in
84-604: The Red Death (1964), directed Don't Look Now (1973) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). Ellen Kuras, ASC photographed Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind as well as a number of Spike Lee films such as Summer of Sam and He Got Game before directing episodes of Legion and Ozark. In 2014, Wally Pfister , cinematographer on Christopher Nolan 's three Batman films , made his directorial debut with Transcendence , whilst British cinematographers Jack Cardiff and Freddie Francis regularly moved between
98-441: The authorship of an original work of art rather than the simple recording of a physical event. Cinematography is not a subcategory of photography. Rather, photography is but one craft that the cinematographer uses in addition to other physical, organizational, managerial, interpretive and image-manipulating techniques to effect one coherent process. The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to
112-442: The cinematographer are passed to the film editor for editing . In the infancy of motion pictures, the cinematographer was usually also the director and the person physically handling the camera. As the art form and technology evolved, a separation between director and camera operator emerged. With the advent of artificial lighting and faster (more light-sensitive) film stocks , in addition to technological advancements in optics,
126-477: The cinematographer complete independence, while in others, the director allows little to none, even going so far as to specify exact camera placement and lens selection. Such a level of involvement is less common when the director and cinematographer have become comfortable with each other. The director will typically convey to the cinematographer what is wanted from a scene visually and allow the cinematographer latitude in achieving that effect. The scenes recorded by
140-504: The old man. The film was made by a partnership of six people, none of whom took payment: Clive Donner, Donald Pleasence, Alan Bates, Robert Shaw, Harold Pinter and Michael Birkett . No distributor expressed interest in funding the film, which meant it was unable to attract investment from the National Film Finance Corporation , because it was unable to give money to projects without a reasonable chance of
154-410: The original cast repeating their stage performances on the screen, this is a very commendable example of the filmed play – worth making for the sake of bringing the authentic flavour of the original to a wider audience, and worth seeing if you missed it on the stage. Donald Pleasence's singularly vile tramp and Alan Bates's eccentric joker certainly deserve to be preserved on film, and Robert Shaw, playing
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#1732791058042168-599: The sound of a drip which occasionally falls from the attic ceiling and a squeak as Aston uses a screwdriver. Grainer used his previous experiences working with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the creation of the sound picture. The film was unable to obtain a release in London until it first screened in New York. The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "With a screenplay by Pinter himself, and with two of
182-504: The technical aspects of cinematography necessitated a specialist in that area. Cinematography was key during the silent movie era; with no sound apart from background music and no dialogue, the films depended on lighting, acting, and set. The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) was formed in 1919 in Hollywood , and was the first trade society for cinematographers. Similar societies were formed in other countries. For example,
196-788: The two positions. The Caretaker (film) The Caretaker (also known as The Guest ) is a 1963 British drama film directed by Clive Donner and starring Alan Bates , Donald Pleasence and Robert Shaw . It was based on the Harold Pinter play of the same name . It was entered into the 13th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize . While renovating his home in London, Aston, out of pity, allows an old homeless man to live with him while Aston's brother Mick torments
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