CHECK THIS OUT…

A man after my own heart…

            “Forget the camera.  The nature of the story determines the photographic style. Understand the story and make the most out of it.  If the audience is conscious of tricks and effects, the cameraman’s genius, no matter how great it is, is wasted.”

            This quote, made by the legendary Gregg Toland, ASC, was pulled from an article by George Turner that’s currently appearing on the ASC website.  It’s a reasonably deep dive into the great cinematographer’s life and career – and I highly recommend reading it.  I’ve included the link below:

https://ascmag.com/articles/gregg-toland-asc-an-enduring-legacy

5.27.2022

6 thoughts on “CHECK THIS OUT…”

  1. This point came home to me while teaching g during the worst of the pandemic. The students could not shoot so I held them to storyboards and animatics and during these semesters the stories they created were better than any others. It changed my approach to teaching. The step of creating animatics (I should mention we only produce short form content) included recording audio and foley work timed to the animatic has made the students much more proficient and conscious of their work. It has also reduced the anxiety of when they finally get a camera in their hands. By the time they start filming they have really honed their short stories, have a clear idea for execution and see the camera as the tool that it is.

  2. Russ – I’m sure you miss Conrad and all those guys as much as I do…and man, could we use some of their common sense today!

  3. A wonderful retrospective of Toland providing me with some new information about the legendary cameraman. $13,000/year in 1929 is about $220,000 today, a nice salary, but did it include health care or was that provided by IATSE? Thanks, Rich!

  4. Health care? People didn’t get sick back then. They just drank, smoked and ate red meat until they suddenly died!

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