Director of Photography Yauheni Tsitko: December 2015

Friday, December 11, 2015

"My Business" TV-show

Director of Photography: Yauheni Tsitko (www.thedirectorofphotography.com)

Second national TV-channnel Belarus www.ont.by

STAGE TOP

Thursday, December 10, 2015

10 DIY Production Tips That Will Save Your Ass

http://www.indiewire.com/article/10-diy-production-tips-that-will-save-your-ass-20150708?utm_campaign=Indiewire&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1447691444

By Julian Grant | IndiewireИюль 8, 2015 at 9:23AM

Flickr/Vancouver Film School

Here are 10 tips, tricks and ideas to consider when setting out to make your own personal DIY cinema. Consider these options to shoot your best Cinema 2.0 film.

1. Shot list everything. Storyboards don't help most microbudget productions.

Shot lists are an easier and more adaptable way to work in smaller microcinema productions. You run the risk of trying to shoot the storyboards only once you have pretty pictures to obsess over and you must learn to adapt to ever-changing circumstances, opportunities and even locations. Don’t limit yourself. Keep a running total and check them off as you go. Use an app like Shotlister to keep on track. Go here to find out how to use this smartphone powerhouse.

2. Create set-ups list based on shots.

There's a lot of confusion between filmmakers on this one. Every time you move the camera, you have a new set-up – but you may use several shots from the same camera position in the edit just by changing the lens or the edit structure (eg. getting two shots from one set up in a dialogue scene between two people, each person gets a close-up and usually a tighter lens for emphasis. They will be used four times minimum with only two set ups). Microcinema requires you work quickly. Twenty set-ups a day is a good number to hit. Do more if possible. You’ll thank me.

3. Look at your time allocations for each day.

"Be open to changes based on time, weather and equipment malfunction." - Julian Grant

Watch the clock like a hawk and time out your day to the minute. Use your scheduling software to estimate times to shoot each scene and publish this on your daily call sheet and production paperwork. Nothing like a public statement to keep you on time. Have a good 1st AD if you can get one. An Assistant Director can make your set run smoothly and organize all of the various departments – but if you can’t get one, you have to learn how to schedule the day accordingly.

4. Use a shot numbering system for your slate and stick with it.

I prefer Scene Number and then an Alpha Numeric Code on the slate (plus Take number) for each set-up within a scene (e.g. Sc. 34, Take 1, Sc. 34, Apple, Take 1, Sc. 34 Baker, Take 1 and so on. Again, film production software helps you create a shooting script and the onset camera/continuity department (often one person on our micro productions) keeps us honest – and does the slate as well. Avoid following an edit order and number your set-ups based on your advance breakdowns and pre-planning. Prior preparation prevents poor performance.

5. Avoid dolly and crane shots (unless you have time).

Camera sliders and doorway dollies are used on my productions as we often have very little time for more elaborate crane shots. Not that they cannot be done, you just have to plan for them.

6. Pan, zoom, handheld and sticks are cool.
"Shoot the film in your mind and get it out on paper however you can." - Julian Grant

Please have a motivation for your camera action or movement. Avoid chasing actors in search of coverage. Block and plan in advance using paper and careful consideration before you get to set. Shoot the film in your mind and get it out on paper however you can. Share this plan with others. Don’t keep everyone guessing. Be open to changes based on time, weather and equipment malfunction. Be open to suggestions in advance from your camera operator if you have one.

7. Rehearse and revise often.

Before you begin spend time with the actors blocking, staging and reading the material aloud. Get into performance and character study. Have drinks discussing their stories and character flaws. With no clock ticking on non-union talent, schedule rehearsals as often as your cast and you can to build your relationships before you hit the floor. It will pay off huge dividends.

8. Pay what you can to cast and crew.

Take care of gas, buy them a coffee, spring for a communal pack of cigarettes, take care of tolls, pay for parking – be a mensch and make sure that all know you appreciate their help. We are our deeds – and they way we treat others makes a huge difference. Practice gratefulness.

9. Have production meetings to discuss your intentions.

I like having casual cast and crew get-togethers before we shoot. Nothing like a communal dinner, a slideshow or themed screening to acquaint everyone with your goals, ideas and influences. Spend time answering casual and detailed questions and have parting gifts of updated scripts, paperwork and illustrations of your influences and film designs if available. Take pictures of everyone, allow your actors to post about the event on social media and tell the world you are getting started

10. Rehearse cast as required (and get to know them).

Book time to work with pairs and groups of actors as possible. Spend time examining the text, making discoveries about characters and just hanging out. Arrange for a full read-through of the material before you begin just to hear the words. It's a nice icebreaker and helps keep everyone focused on the tasks soon at hand. The more you know the cast, the easier it is to communicate your intentions. Rehearsals in advance equal success when shooting.

Shooting DIY Cinema means working smart AND hard. You have to take advantage of what you don't have - and stop whining about the latest gear, big-budget or trust fund movie your friend worked on. You wanna make your own cinema? #PrepRight. #DoTheMath. #AdvanceToGo.

Julian Grant is an award-winning filmmaker and tenured professor at Columbia College Chicago. Over the last 20 years he's created motion picture, television and independent feature films for a variety of distributors. Now, Julian's actively teaching and lecturing about micro-cinema, DIY filmmaking and is available for consultation and lecture opportunities. This post was original published on the Raindance blog and has been republished here with permission.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

The Role of the Director of Photography

Filmmaking is a collaborative art form and one that requires the skills and talents of many individuals. One only has to read the production credits for a film to realize the number of trades and professions involved in filmmaking. Each professional contribution that scrolls by on the screen represents a career opportunity in the film industry.

One profession, of particular interest, is that of Director of Photography (DP). The great film director Cecil B. De Mille wrote:

"The Director of Photography is the custodian of the heart of film making.. as the writers are of its soul.. his tool is a box with a glass window, lifeless until he breathes into it his creative spirit and injects into its steel veins, the plasma of his imagination....the product of his camera, and therefore of his magic,means many things to many persons - fulfillment of an ambition...realization of dreams." Source: Rajeev Jain

The Director of Photography (DP) is head of the production unit and is directly responsible to the film's Director. During the pre-production phase, the DP works with the Director on the visualization of scenes that involves issues related to framing,camera angle and movement, lighting, and the technical requirements to translate a script and storyboard into images on film.

If the film has a large budget there may be a Lighting Director who works with both the DP and film's Director. Sometimes, it is the Director of Photography who will be directly responsible for lighting a scene and working with technicians on indoor and outside shoots. In this capacity the DP determines the look, feel, and mood of a scene through lighting. This may include the use of table lamps, candles, lighting fixtures as well as movie stage lighting.

The Director of Photography often operates the camera as a cinematographer unless the budget is sufficient to hire a camera operator. Operating a camera requires composing the image,adjusting focus, exposure, use of filters, and when appropriate audio level settings if not done separately by a sound person.

As a professional, a DP keeps informed of the latest research and development in the areas of film and video technology. Some directors are actively engaged in the innovative evolution of camera equipment and lenses and share their work through professional associations such as the American Society of Cinematographers. This experimentation is evident in the work of Willy Kurant (Sous le soleil de Satan, Le jour et la nuit, The New Swiss Family Robinson, Delivering Milo, and PC and the Web)

"I think of filmmaking as a collaborative art form. Cinematographers play first violin in a symphony orchestra with the director conducting, but it has always been a very interpretative role. I experimented with using contrast to affect the look on my first film, Les Creatures, and before that I experimented on short films. I learned that when I was working in that research lab which was experimenting with creating color by combining three strips of black and white film. I learned how to read and manipulate a gamma curve. It's like a painter understanding how to use your brush. You don't have to be obsessed by technique, but you have to understand what sensitometry is and how to use that knowledge to get the colors and contrast you want."

Some directors work exclusively with a Director of Photography who shares the same vision of filmmaking. An example is Eduard Tisse (a.k.a. Edward Tissé) who made visual the ideas of the great Russian director Sergei Eisenstein.

Tisse was known for his carefully-composed, classic, black-and-white frames. Not only was Tisse able to capture the image Eisenstein desired, but also contributed much to the director's knowledge about film technique. Some Directors of Photography become as famous as film directors with whom they work. Among these are Billy Bitzer, Laszlo Kovacs, Gregg Toland, Vittorio Sotraro, and Haskell Wexler.

The Director of Photography is the person who gives a movie a certain visual style throughout. It is this style that viewers often recall about the look or feel of a film. Dutch-born cinematographer Theo Van de Sande (De Illusionist,De Wisselwachter,and De Aanslag)writes about this role as Director of Photography:

"Movies are reflections of light coming from a two-dimensional screen - just static flashes of light and color interrupted by short moments of darkness. These impulses manipulate the brain to experience the emotions of a story and its characters, and that's a form of magic. Every time I set up a shot, I'm making a moral commitment to the director and audience. The subtlest things can influence the perception of the audience. When people start telling me how wonderful the first dailies look, I feel a bit sad because the emotional experience of the audience has now become a reality. It takes the place of the magic - the imaginary world I created in my head."

Filmmaking requires many talented and skill artists and technicians.The role of the Director of Photography is key to making visual the ideas of the director and screen writer.

References:

A Conversation with Willy Kurant, ASC, AFC "Everyone thinks of me as a French cameraman, but I was raised in Belgium and was influenced by the Dutch master painters and the metallic blue light in the Northern sky."

Kodak on Film: Featured Cinematographers

What is a Director of Photography? By Charles G. Clarke, ASC A veteran cinematographer defines the duties of the artist most directly responsible for the visual style of a film.