HEART OF CINEMA - CINEMATOGRAPHY

Aspiring students interested to enter film industry ask us, in film making which aspect has much wider scope? This question has helped us understand the most vital problem prevailing in the industry.

Lot of aspirants enters in to the industry without the right kind of education in this field. From today all you aspirants can find an article on each of the crafts of film making and take a decision on the basis of facts and your interest area Today we start with the heart of cinema – “CINEMATOGRAHY”. Cinematography played the most vital role during the era of silent movies where their used to be no sound, dialogue the films depended on lighting, acting and sets. Before this let me tell you what a cinematographer does. Cinematographer is a technician who gives life to a director’s vision of a particular scene. Without the right tuning between the two no screenplay can be given due justice. The lighting, set design, placement of props in proper coordination makes a good scene. If any of the aspect goes wrong it directly depicts on the screen.

ASPECTS OF CINEMATOGRAPHY –

Film Stock

Filters

Lens

Depth

Aspect ratio and framing

Lighting

Camera Movement

Cinematography is an art form unique to motion pictures. Although the exposing of images on light-sensitive elements dates back to the early 19th century motion pictures demanded a new form of photography and new aesthetic techniques.

In the infancy of motion pictures, the cinematographer was usually also the director and the person physically handling the camera. As the art form and technology evolved, a separation between director and camera operator emerged. With the advent of artificial lighting and faster (more light sensitive) film stocks, in addition to technological advancements in optics and various techniques such as color film and widescreen, the technical aspects of cinematography necessitated a specialist in that area.

In today’s cinema world it’s impossible to think about making a movie without cinematographer. This is a hardcore technical field in which you need to have an inclination towards geometry as it’s very important to understand angles for lighting purposes. The physics and chemistry part plays a vital role in creating the right set for a scene. This aspect clearly indicates that you need to be highly interested in learning the technicalities of cinema and your interest and creativity to give life to a particular scene.

The positions that you hold as a cinematographer is “DOP – Director of Photography” and commonly referred as DP’s

Some of the movies that is known for its fabulous cinematography are stated below –

Hollywood –                                                                                      Bollywood -

Godfather -1 &2                                                                                1. Raavan

Titanic                                                                                               2. Dil Se

The new World                                                                                  3. Bombay

Legends of the fall                                                                            4. Udaan

Braveheart                                                                                         5. Dev D

Nicolas Roeg, English film director and cinematographer, rightly quotes,” And later I thought, I can't think how anyone can become a director without learning the craft of cinematography.”

All the aspirants a humble request, know your basics well before you get in to anything thing you wish.