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[István]

Even though I mostly work as a photographer, in the past years, a growing percentage of my work is creating wedding short films with my customers. I am trying to capture their special day and use those little moments to tell a beautiful and emotional love story. Of course, it is a major difference between capturing the moment in photos and making an actual short film. The process is completely different and so is the technicality.On the other hand, I can use my creativity in different ways and I love it so much that I’d love to make short films with professional actors, which are not related to weddings.

And this makes me question myself: what makes a good cinematographer? Is it having the latest gear? Great communication skills? Or visualizing the scene in a creative way?

Discussion

[Maura]

The cinematographer (also known as the director of photography – DP or DoP on short) is the one who turns the vision of a movie into reality. This person needs to take care of the camera, he needs to work together with the Gaffer in regards of lights and with the rest of the crew. If you do not have a big technical crew and you are a bit of a one man show, I believe what can make you a great cinematographer is your vision and technical knowledge. You need to get creative and work with what you have. Make the most of what you have

[Alex]

it is difficult to give a standard response to this question. Every cinematographer has is style and everyone becomes better with every movie they make. In my opinion, I value a cinematographer that is humble and hard working and that lets the work speak for itself. Other people value cinematographers that are the opposite.

[Lili]

Talent can make a good cinematographer but it is talent combined with knowledge and hard work that make a very good cinematographer! 🙂

[Julia]

Empathy makes a good cinematographer. Sure, knowing your gear and all those technical details are a must however you also need to be a human being and understand your crew at a human level. We are not robots working on a project, we are a team and the DoP can inspire us to work together for the same common goal.

[Kim]

I think there is a lot that goes into being a good cinematographer. It is an art. Telling a story visually involves many elements of lights, color, camera angles, framing, and action. In a photo, you don’t need to light for the actor’s movement say walking through a door or across the room, or down a dark city street. Also, the way a scene is shot is like a note in a musical score. Each note on its own has a value that relates to all the notes before and all the notes to come after. I think that with all this in mind the most important thing for a cinematographer to have is vision and imagination.