Year: 2025

         Has anyone noticed the impenetrable look of so many streaming shows these days?  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m a cinematographer!  I love the look and feel of the dark, low-lit, subdued-exposure approach.  But in these cases, the photography can only be defined as an indecipherable mess.          I’ve commented on the subject before, but … Continue reading “A BAD TREND…”

         Billed as ‘The Industry’s Best Research Tool,’ ShotDeck (www.shotdeck.com) is one of those rare birds that actually lives up to the hype.  A creation of cinematographer Lawrence Sher, ASC, it’s an amazing repository of movie and television images that not only facilitates the creation of decks and look books, but inspires its users in … Continue reading “SHOTDECK”

         I can’t believe how often this happens: I have an idea or subject in mind, and out of nowhere I soon begin to encounter things – intellectually and physically – that have a direct connection to whatever the subject might be.  It could well be coincidence or happenstance, but I like to think of … Continue reading “SPOOKY STUFF”

            Well, how about that!             In Tuesday’s post about the fantastic launch of a wagon, horses and several people over a cliff and into a river in 1940’s The Dark Command, I mentioned that stunt performers have been rightfully campaigning for Oscar recognition since time immemorial.  Finally, their dream has come true.  Note the … Continue reading “PRETTY PRESCIENT”

            No, this sure as hell wouldn’t happen today, and with good reason!             Before watching the clip, read the background on this crazy stunt from Raoul Walsh’s 1940 western, Dark Command (shot by Jack Marta).  It’s drawn from the April 1940 edition of International Photographer, which was the long-time house organ of the cinematographers’ … Continue reading “THIS WOULDN’T HAPPEN TODAY…”

            Has anyone ever seen or heard about this camera, let alone shot with one?  The marketing team at the Texas General Cine Corp. must’ve been huffing a mountain of blow when they came up with the claims made in the accompanying ad (lifted from the March 1975 issue of American Cinematographer).             “…a product … Continue reading “THE TGX-16…?”

            Carl Fred Marquard, ASC – nicknamed ‘Brick’ as a child due to his red hair – was born in Burbank on September 26, 1915.  There’s not much information to be found about his life and career, but judging from what is available, he had quite the exciting ride.             Consider something he once said: … Continue reading “BRICK MARQUARD, ASC”

            If you haven’t seen the Netflix limited series Adolescence, you need to.  While the subject matter is nothing shy of dreary, the cinematography is spectacular.             What makes it so is that each of its four, sixty-minute-long episodes was shot in a single, unbroken take.  I’ve always thought that Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue … Continue reading “UNBROKEN, AGAIN”