FUTURE PROOF…?

            On a recent morning I caught pieces of Casablanca in Blu-ray format on a 65” television.  A few hours later I sat in a screening room and saw an optically projected 35mm print of some film I’d shot a few days earlier.  Over lunch I was shown a sequence from Lawrence of Arabia on … Continue reading “FUTURE PROOF…?”

4.27.2021

THE IMPORTANCE OF CRAPPY MOVIES

The Turner Classic Movie channel is amazing…  It always provides something watchable, even if you’re not interested in the subject matter.  The other night I stumbled upon a picture that got me thinking in a way much too sophisticated for such trash.  It! The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) is certainly no Citizen Kane.  It’s … Continue reading “THE IMPORTANCE OF CRAPPY MOVIES”

4.20.2021

LIGHTING DIAGRAM #38 – JUSTIFIED

            One of the biggest challenges a cinematographer can face is an expansive night exterior located far from motivated light sources.  I’m referring to such places as the open ocean, the plains, a forest, a mountainside…or, as in this case, the remote desert.              There’s no shortage of heavy artillery available to help define the … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #38 – JUSTIFIED”

4.16.2021

CINEMATOGRAPHER AS PRODUCER

            How is it that some smart executive hasn’t recognized the benefits of offering their cinematographer a hand in producing?  Along with the Line Producer, UPM and First AD, we are acutely sensitive to the money-time-equipment-manpower conundrum.  With so many critical elements under our control – and a profound understanding of how the pieces fit … Continue reading “CINEMATOGRAPHER AS PRODUCER”

4.13.2021

UNSUNG HEROES

            Seeing as it’s awards season and everyone’s in a froth about who’s hot, we should refocus some of that energy toward the majority of cinematographers, the unsung heroes of what we do.  You know who I mean: The lunch-pail gals and guys, the ones who always deliver first-class work yet for inscrutable reasons are … Continue reading “UNSUNG HEROES”

4.6.2021

LIGHTING DIAGRAM #36 – ISHTAR

            This’s the final entry in my series of Ishtar lighting charts, beloved relics of my days as an assistant cameraman.  I don’t quite know what I’ll be posting next in this department…but I promise it will be exciting and educational.             The Emir’s palace…and yet another scene between two people across a flat surface.  … Continue reading “LIGHTING DIAGRAM #36 – ISHTAR”

4.2.2021