![]() Usually the HODs, like the producer, 1st AD, the director, the cinematographer, the gaffer, the grip, the unit manager and the production designer will attend this scout so that they can make the necessary preparations for the shoot day.įor example, the grip may have to make measurements at the location so that they have the right sized rigging tools, or have enough space to fit large equipment through tight spaces. The crew will then do a recce of the chosen shooting locations. This can be done by visiting locations in person, by browsing location stills or even by looking on Google maps. Sometimes the director and production team would have already locked down shooting locations, but other times cinematographer's may be able to provide their thoughts and input on which location best suits the production’s needs. Having a visual plan will inform the next step of prep which is location scouting. I find it useful to compile a moodboard of images - which can also be used to establish the kind of colour palette that you’re after. What you're trying to do when coming up with visual ideas is not to directly copy a reference but rather to use them to inspire the kind of tone that is suitable for your project, when thinking about things like shot sizes, framing, camera movement and lighting. Other forms of reference such as music, photographs or paintings may also be used. If your story’s world is parched, dry, barren and bleak then you might find something in the language of There Will Be Blood that works. If you want to hit a polished, dark, satirical comedic tone then watch some films by Ruben Ostlund. One idea is to draw from films as references that hit the kind of tone that the director is after, or address a similar subject matter. There are a few different ways to do this. Now that you know what the project is and are better informed on the subject matter, it’s time to put together any ideas in the form of a visual plan. What this research covers will be entirely dependent on the context of the film. This may include noting questions about characters in the screenplay, looking at the architecture of the locations in the story world, familiarising yourself with a historical context for a documentary topic, or researching vintage lighting technology for a period film. What you’re doing throughout this process is slowly building up a better understanding of the story and world that it takes place in that will inform a perspective on how the visual language will be crafted in your head and, later, how it will be shot. Researching the topic of the film is a nice way of familiarising yourself with the subject matter. These early conversations lead into another task. The more time you spend together chatting the better you’ll be able to understand their perspective, how they work, references they may like and start to develop an idea of the visual picture that they have in their head. During this early phase when ideas for the project may still be in their infancy, probably the best thing you can do is to focus on building a relationship with the director themself. Or it may start by being sent a copy of a treatment or script. This may involve a meeting where the project is pitched and they have a conversation about it. Cinematographers usually receive an introduction to each project through directors or producers. Getting a job in the first place won’t happen without having some contacts in the industry. Nonetheless here’s a basic template for prepping for a film. Prep will always be flexible depending on the nature of the project, the working style of others, the budget and many other factors. Of course, since filmmaking can vary all the way from massive multi-month shoots to single day, single crew member corporate documentaries, this process will never be fixed. In this video I’ll try to create a basic guide for pre-production by listing all the respective tasks that are usually performed by cinematographers prior to shooting. It’s probably because they’ve done a large amount of the groundwork prior to stepping on to set.įor many cinematographers and HODs on high end jobs their workload is kind of like an iceberg, the little bit at the top that you see is the work done on set, while the massive chunk below the surface happens during prep. The reality is that there is an important reason why some DPs, to the untrained eye, do seemingly little work during production. ![]() After all, they have a huge technical team that carries all the heavy gear into remote locations, a gaffer and electrical crew who set up all the lights, someone who’ll bring them a cup of coffee in the blink of an eye, all while they sit on a dolly and play with the camera while a grip pushes it. ![]() Early on, when I first started working on film sets, I used to think that the job of the cinematographer was the cushiest job around.
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