Film as dream, film as music. No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul. A little twitch in our optic nerve, a shock effect: twenty-four illuminated frames a second, darkness in between, the optic nerve incapable of registering darkness.
-Ingmar Bergman
The art or technique of motion picture photography, including both the shooting and development of the film is known as cinematography. The essential difference between photography and cinematography is that the latter not only records the image, but any movement associated with it. Cinematography involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and combining special effects to achieve the photographic images desired by the director. It focuses on relations between the individual shots and groups of shots that make up a scene to produce the effect of a film. It is an art form unique to motion pictures.
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A cinematographer is a person who directs the operation of motion pictures or video cameras. He has to do more than just point the camera and shoot. He helps the director with shot composition, lighting, angle and tries to assist in bringing the vision to the screen. While a film director may have a general idea about how a scene should look, a cinematographer is the person who makes it happen. A cinematographer has to be an expert of both the technical as well as the creative capabilities of a camera. He has to work closely with the director during the shooting of a film in order to properly frame each shot according to the script and the director's vision. Along with other things he has to discuss with the director the various aspects like what film stock to use, what lens to use, how to frame the shot, what moves (of the camera) might be needed during a shot and how to set up the lights.
Cinematography has 2 phases: 1. Capturing an image with a camera. 2. Showing this image with a projector.
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Numerous aspects contribute to the art of cinematography. One of the most important early decisions that a cinematographer has to make is regarding the format on which a film will be shot on. While majority of films are shot on 35 mm negative, the film gauges range from 8 mm to IMAX. IMAX films have to be screened in special cinemas. The 8 mm format is usually used by amateur film makers due to the low costs. In the era of digital film imaging various film stocks are no longer applicable because the cameras themselves have the feature of adjusting the image. The cameras can be adjusted to various degrees of image contrast, colour sensitivity and light sensitivity etc. various effects can be created in the laboratory at the time of processing the film by controlling the temperature and varying the duration for which the film is soaked in chemicals.
Filters are also a favourite of cinematographers to create the desired effect. Filters work by blocking certain wavelengths of light. Varying the focal length is also a method to produce certain special effects. The cinematographers achieve this by choosing lenses from a wide range. After deciding on the depth of field (i.e. how much of background, mid ground and foreground will be in focus), aspect ratio (the ratio between the width and the height of an image), lighting and camera movement the cinematographer decides on the special effects followed by frame rate selection (frame rate is the speed at which an image is captured).
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A cinematographer is responsible for the technical aspects of a film but he has to work in co-ordination with the director and the crew of the film to make sure that the look of the film is according to the vision of the team. Cinematographers are also known as directors of photography. If a film's budget allows then several cinematographers may be hired to work on different camera set-ups but smaller film companies are able to hire only one cinematographer who has to be present at the time of every shot. Very often a director will rope in the same cinematographer for his films; this is because the working relationship between a director and a cinematographer requires a shared vision regarding the look of a film. The cinematographer may also be involved with the post production of a film at the time of processing and printing to ensure that the special effects match the existing footage.
As compared to still photographers, cinematographers are supposed to be better personnel managers and should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills because unlike still photographers they can not work single handedly. They have to work in tandem with the director and the crew members. An experienced cinematographer can also act as a second-unit director and may shoot general background or establishing shots but if his decision-making power is minimal he has to be just a camera operator. Though a craftsperson, a cinematographer is just a part of a bigger picture. He can shoot a film but he can not direct it. He is not the storyteller and the real power of the film lies with the storyteller i.e. the director. Photography is just a part of the picture and not the picture itself
