The Basics of Cinematography

Hello creatives!

Let’s dive into the wonderful world of filmmaking with the basics of cinematography. For those of you have been following my creative journey, you’ll know that I’m an indie author who has recently joined the NYC Women Filmmakers Network to dabble in scriptwriting and hopefully someday executive producing as well.

The art of film has always captured my heart. When I was in middle school, I thought I was going to be a subsidiary rights agent: someone who helped negotiate the contracts to get scripts and books turned into movies and TV shows. When I took a film class in college, it opened my eyes to the world beyond the story on paper so I ended up taking some basic audio/video production classes and a scriptwriting class to round out my growing interest in filmmaking.

While I still have a lot to learn, here’s some basics to get you started on your journey.

What is cinematography?

Simply put, cinematography is the art and mechanics of creating a visual story. When I say mechanics, I mean everything from the type of lighting, the precision of the camera angles to the meticulous choice of color in the scene and so much more.

Essentially, cinematography sets the mood for the whole film. It plays with light and tone and exposure and layered effects to establish the essence of the narrative being told within thee story.

What is a Cinematographer / Director of Photography?

The cinematographer’s job is to support the director’s vision for the film and to work with the lighting crew to ensure the story is told in an impactful way that aligns with the overall direction of the film. This can mean the cinematographer ends up assisting with set location, overseeing the camera equipment’s placement on set, creating the perfect lighting for the scene, and also working with the director to look at new ways of approaching a scene.

What does a novice Cinematographer need to learn?

Well, here is a pretty good list of tutorials on various topics of cinematography. But to sum it up, a novice cinematographer needs to learn the ins and outs of the camera they have access to at the moment and how to best optimize it’s settings. A few basic terms to keep in mind include:

White Balance is the setting that accommodates for the lighting in the shot and adjusts to ensure the white in the scene looks white. It’s a little more complicated than that in reality but that’s the gist.

F-Stop, Aperture and Bokeh are all terms for the same thing which is the setting that determines the focal point and how much depth is shown in the shot.

Not mention all the different types of shots to play around with to determine what will leave the most impact on the scene such as:

• extreme wide shot

• wide shot

• full body shot

• medium full shot

• medium shot

• medium close up

• close up

• extreme close up

• and so much more

And that’s some basics of cinematography! It can be a little overwhelming, but little-by-little it all begins to click and you see how it is all pieces of a puzzle. I hope this was helpful as a jumping off point for you to learn more about what it means to be a cinematographer.

Until Next Time,

Rochele

P.S. If you are a creative professional or creative brand who needs creative consulting, I’m here to help!