Cinematographers on location

Roger Deakins is a well-known cinematographer, particularly noted for his work on Shawshank Redemption (1994) and Skyfall (2012). He is a member of both the American and British Society of Cinematographers, and received thirteen nominations for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. One of Deakins biggest tips when shooting is to be selective, ‘I’m picky about the sort of material I want to work with, always have been. But usually I’m drawn to scripts that are about characters’ (Deakin, 2014). Deakins is extremely keen on the use of location and what an incredible part it plays within your film. It can alter the lenses, lighting and camera set up used. In an interview with Johnathon Paul for a blogging site he said ‘I would suggest the choice of location is the most important one if you have little money in the budget for lights. You might consider the films of Terry Malick. They utilize very few artificial sources.’ He goes on to highlight how location and story work very much together almost intertwined as one. Neither can work on its own without the other, the audience needs to believe where they are and the time in which the story is based for them to invest in the importance of the story being told.

Feeney-Hart, A. (2017). Top 10 Tips: Roger Deakins. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26987466 [Accessed 14 Nov. 2017].

Paul, J. (2017). 10 Tips from Master Cinematographer Roger Deakins. [online] The Beat. Available at: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/10-tips-from-master-cinematographer-roger-deakins/