Cinematographer Research

After exploring the cinematography techniques which 'The Princes Of Darkness' used, I thought that it would be beneficial to analyse other cinematographers. This is to ensure that I have the most effective cinematography within my own production that will engage audiences.

Christopher Doyle

Clip taken from Hero (2001)

Born in 1952, Doyle has created many effective commercial films. His focus was on Asian films, using his cinematography skills to craft productions such as The Quiet American and Infernal Affairs. He is noted for his efforts in the Asian New Wave cinema movement. As you can see from the clip above, Doyle's main focus is colour. He ensure that the colour in the scene set up portrays as much meaning as possible. This attention to colour also makes his films visually appealing. The shots in Doyle's films also tend to focus on the character within the scene, as opposed to nature shots. This allows the audience to see how prominent certain characters are within the narrative's progression. Despite the fact that my own production, Flight, and Doyle's production Hero, have many differences, I feel that exploring his work has allowed a greater insight into my own production. I will now consider colour to have more prominence in my short film, although I am more likely to use a darker pallet to portray the dark themes which reside within the film.

Sven Nykvist

Clip taken from 'Persona'

Nykvist is noted for his subtle ways of portraying the slightly surreal themes presented to him. He uses a lot of natural lighting within his productions, allowing the viewer to see a sense of realism which they can connect with upon watching his films. A website which I used to research Nykvist on said that " He was the first European cinematographer to join the American Society of Cinematographers, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ASC in 1996." This shows that he was a pivotal figure in the cinematography industry, and that his use of natural lighting seemed to be effective. I will filling many of the shots within 'Flight' with natural lighting, as I desire to portray the difference between dominant ideology - large urban areas, and primal roots. The scenes in which Sophie is contemplating purchasing the drug will be filled with natural lighting. From exploring Nykvist's work I have become more confident in this decision. 

Janusz Kaminski

Clip taken from 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Kaminski's most critically acclaimed film is 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998). However, he has also been the cinematographer of other successful films, such as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Minority Report. Kaminski's Ocscar-winning productions tend to have an almost surreal feel to theme, which represents some of the key themes within the films. For example, in 'Saving Private Ryan', there are many uses of cinematography that distort the audience, which is representative of the soldiers which are battling in the war-zone. This involves the audience on a deeper level, and portrays scenes of high intensity more effectively.

Wally Pfister



Clip taken from 'Inception'

Wally's most famous cinematography productions include 'The Dark Knight', 'Inception' and 'Memento'. All of these films have a slightly surreal feel to them, this is largely due to Pfister's unique cinematography skills. Many of his films have high-intensity sequences within them, yet Pfister seems to allow the scene to be smoothly played to the audience. This allows for a sense of realism within the film that makes the clip more engaging and believable. I will consider using longer takes as opposed to quick paced editing in the beginning of my film to engage the audience effectively with the narrative. Pfister also uses techniques involving a hand-held camera, although this has a much more professional edge than one may first assume. This technique is very subtle, and may go un-noticed by many viewers. This is because it is only a slight wobble used once in a while, as opposed to a continuous stream of shaky techniques. This slight edge engages the audiences and adds another layer of realism. Furthermore, Wally uses dark colours in many of his scenes to portray the gritty themes which reside in the narrative. He does not stick to using black and white, however, but prefers to use greys and whites to convey meaning to the audience.

Jeff Cronenweth

Clip taken from 'Fight Club'

Jeff's films include 'Fight Club', 'The Social Network', and, more recently, 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'.  All these films have realistic elements to them, which are portrayed in his techniques within the cinematography used. He is well known for using dim-lighting, portraying the gritty reality of life. This keeps the scenes as realistic as possible, yet also effectively connotes the tone of the film to audiences. He also uses a large amount of long shots in his films to portray isolation and detachment. In 'Fight Club', the audience's attention was needed to be focused on key scenes, so to do this Cronenweth used shallow depth of field - as shown in this quote - "Whether we were inside or outside, we always wanted to keep a shallow depth of field to keep the audience focused on what we wanted them to see." This focused audiences on key events by using subtle methods. I will consider using the shallow depth of field technique in my own short film production, to ensure that the audience focus their attention on Sophie's anguish.