When I first looked into attending Colorado Film School, I had no idea what to major in. There is acting, directing, producing, writing, cinematography, and art direction. Of course all of these seem interesting but there was only one field that caught my heart; Cinematography. Cinematography is the art of the frame the director wants to portray. The shot size, camera angle, lighting, movement, even eye positioning for the actors is all done by the cinematographer. Most people think the director is in charge of how the frame looks, but when you get on set, it all comes down to the cinematographer.
The Cinematographer is not the only one touching the camera; if they even touch it. The camera crew is full of multiple people, including First Assistant Camera man, Second Assistant Camera man, the Camera Operator, Clapper Loader, and even a Focus Puller. The Cinematographer will set up the shots and makes sure it looks like what the director wants, but he may never touch the record button. The first time I ever saw this done was when i was on set for a short film called Buddy. I was the Camera Operator for three day and for every day, i was the one pushing record. At first I was a little confused as to why the Cinematographer wasn't touching the camera, until i realized why.
With the Cinematographer having such a big crew, it gives him the opportunity to focus on what is most important. Framing, lighting, and camera movement all have to be thought out before you start hitting record. Why would the Cinematographer do something that someone else can do for him? That question has helped me a lot on set. With so many positions and jobs to be done, it gets confusing who does what. You have to know what your position is and what needs to be done. If you are worried about someone else's job, or you don't know what you are suppose to be doing, you will be slowing down the process and wasting time. And for film, time is money.
Cinematography is one of the hundred jobs you can pick from in film. It has been a calling to me ever since i was in high school and i love teaching others about it. With many people who see a film, they don't realize that there are so many other tiny departments within another. They think it all comes down to the Director and Producer, when in reality, it all comes down to the faces behind the scenes.
