“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
– Picasso
“It took me thirty years to learn to be simple.”
– Gordon Willis, ASC
Let those quotes (and the heavyweights behind them) sink in for awhile…especially when you’re thinking of adding another lamp, another splash of color or another layer of technology to whatever you might be shooting.
How many times have you found yourself moving away from the clarity you once had as a beginner? Without being conscious of it, cinematographers tend to add complexity to their work, and it’s rarely to the betterment of the product. Over the long-term, I’ve found that stripping away the clutter is invariably the better choice. It makes what’s important more apparent, if only on a subtle level. This applies as much to how you think about something as it does to the amount of hardware used to turn those thoughts into reality. Ironically, it’s often the light you turn off that means the most.
Simplicity isn’t a limitation; it’s a discipline that keeps us honest. It helps to reconnect us with the instincts that drew us to this craft, and by doing so lets the work speak in a way that no amount of piling-on can improve.
Sometimes I think of the motto of doctors: “Do No Harm”… when it comes to lighting. Also the phrase “perfect is the enemy of good” comes to mind as well.
You state the reasons why I have always been a fan of Nestor Almendros. Whether it was a lack of tools or a desire for simplicity in his early work, it is magical.
Such a true and profound statement on creating as a cinematographer.
“Less is more.”
Mies van der Rohe
Yes, Ken…and more is more, too!
Exactly!