Chapter 1

Cinematography
Cinematographer transforms ideas in the mind and the words on
paper into moving images on film
Responsible for Lighting, Camerawork and an overall look of the
Motion Picture
This process has three pre-requisites: Left Rameshwar Dayal Mathur with K.Asif
1. Technical knowledge Above, Subrata Mitra with Satyajit Ray

2. Artistic sensibility
3. Open and vulnerable on ideas for the collective end result

The head of a production unit is the director, and all films bear his
imprint first and foremost. But the Cinematographer is the vital link in
getting the director's idea on to the screen and can make or mar the
final result.
Preparatory Work
Preproduction
Conceptual Research and Design
Practical Research and Design
Implementation and Testing

Conceptual Research and Design

Discuss all aspects of script and directors approach to picture
Analyze the narrative structure
Analyze characters
Decide on the research period
Discuss and come to agreement with production designer
Discuss and come to agreement with technical advisers
Determine the visual style of the picture
Make practical planning for the film to come in on schedule
Budget - a crucial element
Preparatory Work
Preproduction
Practical Research and Design
Prepare the budget requirements
Help create and approve storyboard
Scout and approve locations
Check local weather
Review, discuss and approve set plans, props
Check with Lighting Designer details of lighting-plot plan
Walk locations and stages with all departments to discuss requirements
Approve set colors and textures
Approve costume colors and textures
Approve makeup and hair
Make practical preparations for the film to come in on schedule
Preparatory Work
Preproduction
Implementation and Testing
Walk locations and stages with director and device shooting plan
Work with assistant director on shooting schedule (order and days required for
each scene)
Visit cast run-throughs and rehearsals
Advise and back up director on any problems
Shoot tests for style
Shoot tests for camera and lenses
Shoot tests for lighting
Creating a Mood
The overall aim of the cinematographer is to create a mood and an
atmosphere appropriate to the subject.
Imagination, Visualization and Realization
Photographic Style
Photographic style is controlled by:
Character of Colour tones
Character of the Lighting
Use of composition
Visual Style
Decisions taken at the preparatory stage about the visual style of
film has to be followed

Every single scene or sequence presents varied problems of staging

and lighting that it is only too easy to forget what follows and what
precedes it.

"Every frame a Rembrandt" is therefore not a satisfactory ideal to

aspire to in motion picture shooting.
Colour Tone
Vital to maintain continuity of, colour tones, lighting mood and style
with scenes that may have been shot weeks before in a totally
different place, or that have not yet been shot at all.
Lighting of a scene can be characterized, by terms:
High Key & Low Key
High Key - a high general light level, with dark shadows filled-in to
light or medium grey with a low overall contrast
Low Key - the contrast is relatively high, shadows are allowed to go
black or very dark and highlights are maintained at full brilliance
Further variation of Photographic Style:
Use of reflected, rather than direct light
Further variation of Photographic Style:
Available light with only the minimum supplementary photographic
lighting units. This combined with natural interiors rather than sets,
gives rise to a distinctive style similar in atmosphere to a TV reportage.
Further variation of Photographic Style:
At the other end of the stylistic scale lies a glossy, glamorous
technique, making use of spotlights under studio conditions.

Role of the Cinematographer in lighting:

Detailed planning is required in order to create a mood and an
atmosphere appropriate for the subject on screen.
Composition
Good frames and compositions are created, Seldom found
Largely a matter of individual taste
At its most basic level, composition is a conscious and deliberate
arrangement of elements / Images on a given space or within a scene to
create a pleasingly "balanced" picture.
Composition
At its best, composition enhances the photographer's message, building
an emotional as well as physical dimension in an image.
The Rule of Thirds
Basic technique helps realize the underlying structure of good
composition.

Imagine that the viewfinder is divided in a grid of thirds along both the
horizontal and vertical axis, forming nine equal rectangles.

Use these lines as references for the placement of grounds, horizons or

other large features.

The space near the points where the lines intersect can be used for the
placement of the subject or a critical element of the subject.

Composition is governed by this classic rule in painting and modified

by the additional factor of movement.
*The Rule of Thirds is a useful aid to realize a good composition, but rules are made to be broken
The Rule of Thirds
An equally divided frame allows only formal balance
- usually dull and monotonous.
Divide screen in 2:3 or 3:5 ratio to achieve a far more pleasing balance
Few hours before the shooting begins
Cameraman tours the proposed locations, stating the numbers and
types of lighting required and takes the decision for the camera angles
and shot characteristic to be used.
Note - Economizing here can cost dearly, for though lamp hire is expensive, being short of light at the time
of shooting is a disaster.

Tests are often made of artistes and of make-up and costumes to be

sure that every thing captures as expected.

Determines the placing of the lighting units and rails on the sets and
also prepares for any special camera or lights that could be needed
The Shooting Floor
Director

Cameraman Cameraman is the key person on the floor after the director
The final look of a sequence and time taken to shoot it
depends on him

Selects the camera position together with the director and

his own second-in-command, the camera operator and then
lights the scene.

Camera operator works out the details of the camera set-up and movement that has been
Camera operator decided upon, and operates the camera during the shot.

His main function is to keep the shot continually in focus.

Focus puller
He also changes the film magazines and is in charge of all the camera equipment.

Loads the film into the magazines

Clapper/Loader Keeps the camera notes or sheets
Announces the scene number before clapping to ensure a synchronized audible and visible
signal with the clapper board.

Grip Maneuvers the dolly during the tracking shots

Does most of the heavy work in getting the camera into position.
Setting up
Shooting script is written not in terms of shots but of master scenes
which is broken down on the floor into actual set-ups for shooting.

This work, or decoupage, is done by the director and the camera

person

The director indicates how he wants the action to be staged, and the
characters to move

Camera person makes suggestion as to the most effective and

economical way of covering this in set-ups and camera movement.

Some directors consider breaking down the scenes into film shots
with the key-frame and plan out in larger details
At this stage the scene as it finally appears on the screen is created
Any given scene can be staged in many ways for the camera - in long
shot, medium shot, over-shoulder shots and close-ups or in one
continuous tracking and panning shot.
Here the director's as well as the cameraman's style shows itself.
What happens & What we see?
Detailed planning is required to
achieve the original design
What is a Shot?
What is a Shot?
A framed image placed on record by a cameraman who thinks it holds a
meaning.

Framing: boundaries of an image that limits how much we see of the

scene that it depicts

How do you decide what to include and what to exclude?

Why, How and What often depends on the intent and approach
What is a Shot?
Basic division of a film into elements within which spatial and temporal
continuity is preserved.

Shots are characterized according to camera angle and distance between

camera and subject

In each case the kind of synthesis of which they would form a part must
be borne in mind
Shot Characteristics
Extreme Long Shot (XLS): An overall shot which depicts a very large area. Often
filmed from a high vantage point to set a scene.

Establishing Shot: A long shot which establishes the whereabouts of a scene, or

shows a group of actors who take part in a scene.

Extra Long Shot (ELS): Less than XLS

Long Shot (LS): An establishing shot which contains all the actors in a scene; a shot
in which the object of principal interest appears distant from the camera.

Full Length Shot (FLS): Entire body plus short distance above and below

Medium Long Shot (MLS): Intermediate in distance between a medium shot and a
long shot.
Extreme Long Shot (XLS), Extra Long Shot (ELS)
From Long Shot (LS) to Full Length Shot
(FLS) to Medium Long Shot (MLS) as the
subjects come closer to the camera
Medium Shot (MS): Shows a scene at normal viewing distance
Close Medium Shot (CMS): Close medium Shot, Waist Shot
Medium close-up (MCU): frames actors from head to chest.
Two-Shot: A medium shot in which two people appear
Close-Up, Close Shot (CU, CS): Gives closer view of subject than
a medium shot.
Extreme close-up (ECU) or Very close-up (VCU): Face Shot, From
mid forehead to above chin
Big Close Up: extremely tight shot
Mise en Scene

Mise en scene refers to all the objects and characters in a

particular frame. More specifically, it refers to the composition
of the frame. When you use the term mise en scene, you are
discussing where the composer or director has placed all the
elements of the scene within the frame.
Zoom: shortening or lengthening the focal length of the lens to give
a closer or wider view. It also affects the figure-ground relation,
making the background appear to be coming closer or moving
further away
Looking Room: Direction in which your subject looks
must have sufficient empty looking space.
Reaction Shot (RS): A shot which shows the
effect of an actor's words on his hearers. Usually
a close-up and shot silent.
Moving Shot: A shot from a moving vehicle.
Dolly, Trucking or Tracking Shot: A shot in which
the camera moves bodily from one part of the set or
scene to another on a dolly tracking the subject's
movement .
Knee Shot: Three quarter length shot - cuts just below the
knee. Also a medium long shot.
Pan Shot: A shot in which the
camera pans or sweeps across the
scene rotating sideways (laterally)
parallel to the ground

Tilt: where the camera rotates

upwards or downwards at right
angles to the ground
Lead room: The direction in which your subject moves must have
empty space in front of the subject.
POV: Shot taken from the
subject's point of view. Appears
in consecutive continuity to
present the subjects point of
view.
Over the Shoulder shot: Shot taken with camera positioned over the
shoulder of a subject. Used when people are conversing or during a
silent reaction shot. Line of Action Axis must be maintained while
shooting.
Remember that a Sequence is a combination of shots