Soraya Arghandawi

Cinematographers Journal

The cinematographers role is crucial within the production of the film, they are
responsible for the execution of shots as this is also essential for the editor so they
have they have the best possible shots to work with. The director works closely
alongside the cinematographer to ensure the directors vision can be bought to life
through the film.
I decided to take on the role of the cinematographer as I have had past experience in
this role within previous media productions, I also felt that being a cinematographer
allowed me to express my imagination and creativity with a variety of different shots,
angles and camera movements. I can also work well in a team and as an individual
which is important for the role.
Whilst filming I did encounter problems, one problem that seemed to happen quite a
lot was the lighting. The house we filmed in didnt have a lot of light coming in and so
the footage was grainy, because of this we had to go back and film again. Another
issue we experienced was the footage not being in focus at times especially when
the object was moving this was another reason for us having to go back and film
again. To overcome this we made sure to film every scene multiple times from
different angles so even if there were any issues we still had other shots to choose
from. When we first began filming we didnt have a shot list to work from, and just
thought we would experiment with shots, however this wasnt as easy as we thought
it would be. When we went back and looked over it was obvious we had not planned
the shots and therefore looked rushed after this we decided to work from a shot list
very precisely and this also saved us a lot of time when filming. We used the Canon
70D when filming and a tripod, both of these were very easy to use as I had used
them previously within media.
Nevertheless, there were also many things that went well during filming. All
production members and cast members were on time for filming and were very
professional, therefore we always had plenty of time and never had to rush to get it
done. They were also very flexible so were able to meet for filming often. Our group
also communicated well with each other and we had weekly meetings to make sure
we were always on task with our work and to ensure there were no issues.
Overall, this role as cinematographer has allowed me to apply my creative skills to
ensure this piece was as original as possible and enjoyed by audiences. I have been
able to use a range of techniques such as different camera shots and angles.
Through this role I have developed a deeper understanding on how to use a range of
filming equipment and using my time effectively.