So here it is...the debut of my monthly column, "From the Middle of the 6th row." To me, there is nothing better than the image which is why I have started out this new series with cinematography. For those of you who don't know, cinematography is technically the discipline of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. Etymologically, it means "writing in the movement", from the French word cinéma, shortened from cinématographe, the camera invented by the Lumière brothers in the 1890s.
It is one of the most essential jobs on any film set and the choices made by the cinematographer (sometimes called the director of photography) can make something a masterpiece or a piece of shit. It is closely related to still photography and you can see that influence in a number of the cinematographers work in some recent indie (and some not so indie releases).
George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck was shot by Robert Elswit who also shot Magnolia and Boogie Nights for Paul Thomas Anderson. Each of these films have multiple characters who are almost always in constant motion. They live in the "densely packed moments" that are reminiscent of the great photographer Gary Winogrand.
Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain was shot by Rodrigo Prieto who also shot Oliver Stone's Alexander and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Amores Perros and 21 Grams. These films, though, seemingly different on the surface are all films that deal with intimate moments within the scope of vast environments so familiar in Walker Evans' work.
Phil Morrison's Junebug was shot by Phil Donahue who has previously shot documentaries for Errol Morris such as The Fog of War. Junebug is a film shot in a way that holds the life of each character in the image. There a long shots of a bicycle on a lawn, of a woman standing on a corner, of a character's face. Each of these images telling a hidden story just beneath the surface. No photographer did that better than Diane Arbus.
I could go on forever but you get the picture (no pun intended).
In case you were wondering about the name of this series - it is my favorite place in a theater to watch a film (well, that is until recently but that is for a later blog). In any case, I am what you call a "close-sitter." I didn't start out that way. In fact I was, up until about 8 years ago, a "middle to far back" person. Everything changed for me though, my first year attending the Sundance Film Festival. I walked into the massive Eccles Theatre and saw one of the indie film industry's most well known and respected people, film consultant and producer, Bob Hawk. With his characteristic warmth, he called out and waved to me from his seat in the middle of the first row. As I was sitting much further back, I walked up the aisle to chat. I asked him how he could sit so close to the screen. His answer," The more movies you see, the closer you sit." This was from a man who saw hundreds of films a year at festivals all over the world. I was just starting out my programming career. I think the middle to back would be just fine for me. Sure enough, as my years of programming and number of films increased, I got closer and closer to the screen. Never will I be in Bob Hawk's league but I now wave to him from my seat in middle of the 6th row.
This monthly will hopefully take its own shape and form as it goes along but that doesn't mean I don't want to hear your comments or suggestions for future pieces. If there is a topic you are interested in and want to see more about it on this blog or on indieIN as a whole, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can email me at julie@indieIN.com.
Next month: Music. I think :)
Keeping it indie,
Julie
It is one of the most essential jobs on any film set and the choices made by the cinematographer (sometimes called the director of photography) can make something a masterpiece or a piece of shit. It is closely related to still photography and you can see that influence in a number of the cinematographers work in some recent indie (and some not so indie releases).
George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck was shot by Robert Elswit who also shot Magnolia and Boogie Nights for Paul Thomas Anderson. Each of these films have multiple characters who are almost always in constant motion. They live in the "densely packed moments" that are reminiscent of the great photographer Gary Winogrand.
Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain was shot by Rodrigo Prieto who also shot Oliver Stone's Alexander and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Amores Perros and 21 Grams. These films, though, seemingly different on the surface are all films that deal with intimate moments within the scope of vast environments so familiar in Walker Evans' work.
Phil Morrison's Junebug was shot by Phil Donahue who has previously shot documentaries for Errol Morris such as The Fog of War. Junebug is a film shot in a way that holds the life of each character in the image. There a long shots of a bicycle on a lawn, of a woman standing on a corner, of a character's face. Each of these images telling a hidden story just beneath the surface. No photographer did that better than Diane Arbus.
I could go on forever but you get the picture (no pun intended).
In case you were wondering about the name of this series - it is my favorite place in a theater to watch a film (well, that is until recently but that is for a later blog). In any case, I am what you call a "close-sitter." I didn't start out that way. In fact I was, up until about 8 years ago, a "middle to far back" person. Everything changed for me though, my first year attending the Sundance Film Festival. I walked into the massive Eccles Theatre and saw one of the indie film industry's most well known and respected people, film consultant and producer, Bob Hawk. With his characteristic warmth, he called out and waved to me from his seat in the middle of the first row. As I was sitting much further back, I walked up the aisle to chat. I asked him how he could sit so close to the screen. His answer," The more movies you see, the closer you sit." This was from a man who saw hundreds of films a year at festivals all over the world. I was just starting out my programming career. I think the middle to back would be just fine for me. Sure enough, as my years of programming and number of films increased, I got closer and closer to the screen. Never will I be in Bob Hawk's league but I now wave to him from my seat in middle of the 6th row.
This monthly will hopefully take its own shape and form as it goes along but that doesn't mean I don't want to hear your comments or suggestions for future pieces. If there is a topic you are interested in and want to see more about it on this blog or on indieIN as a whole, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can email me at julie@indieIN.com.
Next month: Music. I think :)
Keeping it indie,
Julie
posted by indieIN | 6:01 PM
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