Cinematographer Alex Buono describes the process of shooting the SNL sketch “History of Punk” a satirical tribute to Margaret Thatcher that required recreating different looks of the punk era on an extremely tight schedule. For starters, let’s talk about the weekly schedule at SNL. The writers and cast members have to reinvent the show every Read MoreRead More
Not many cinematographers get specific mention in a Roger Ebert review, nevermind on their first feature. But such was the case for Amy Vincent on “Eve’s Bayou” and she’s been making beautiful images ever since. With an eye for consistency, beauty, texture and tone, Amy is a great DP who has worked as the lead Read MoreRead More
This is a cinematographer who has left an indelible mark on the history of film making. Not just a man who has traversed pretty much every genre–horror, action, drama, comedy, western, etc.–but also always shown a commitment to storytelling first. Dean Cundey just knows a tonne about how to make images work. He’s been dealing Read MoreRead More
Reed Morano talks about starting out in the business and lensing indie success, “Frozen River”, drama “The Magic of Belle Isle”, and “Shut Up and Play the Hits”, the final concert and doc of LCD Soundsystem. New Episodes of Craft Truck available every ThursdayRead More
For the movie Zero Dark Thirty DoP Greig Fraser had his hands full with extreme weather, local protests and custom’s delays but before that he had to decide which camera was going to excel in high sun days and black ‘full action’ nights. Zero Dark Thirty’s contrast range goes from the boiling midday sun of Read MoreRead More
The art of great cinematography begins with great photography – here are a few ideas to start working your eye when it comes to still photographs. How to simplify a scene The secret of effective composition is to remember that it’s not only what you frame within your viewfinder that’s important. Just as critical is what you Read MoreRead More
Shane Hurlbut discusses his camera test in order to find the right camera to shoot with for Need for Speed. As I embark on a long creative, exciting journey on Need for Speed with DreamWorks, I wanted to share some of my most recent findings from a five day camera test that pushed every camera to its breaking Read MoreRead More
Just because a film’s office supply budget is more than your entire film budget doesn’t mean you can’t learn something about aesthetics that you can apply to your own film. Here are 7 Elements we can pull from The Hobbit. 1. Dramatic Lighting You will notice that in the majority of good portraiture, dramatic lighting is often a Read MoreRead More
DSLR filmmakers love the freedom of shooting all the way wide open. But the results of shooting with a wide aperture and shallow depth of field is dull and soft images, especially if you’re not shooting on the top-of-the-line pro lenses. Fortunately, there are several techniques to that may help get more sharpness out of Read MoreRead More
This segment from Videomaker examines a scene from Director Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. Released in 1975 the film won an Oscar for best cinematography for Director of Photography John Alcott.Read More
Hands-on test with Blackmagic Cinema camera. Rick Young tests the camera in many different situations; getting a feel for the camera in terms of operation, usability, working with different lenses, with a good look at the images the camera produces.Read More
The man credited for ushering in the DSLR revolution offers a detailed and reasoned review of the Black Magic Design Cinema Camera.
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