what is the most the DP is required to do?

Steve Laramie

Steve Laramie

Veteran
Just curious. Is the bare minimum choosing angles and where and what lights to put? Or is the DP mostly in charge of camera operation? Just wondering because I have DPed on 2 movies so far and both of them I was the camera opp and I was wondering if that was normal. (I know big studio produced movies have camera opps and ac's but I am indy) So this new film starting monday that Im dping on has a camera opp who is either going to be the camera op or the ac with me being the camera op. Would it be unprofessional to let him take over camera operations? If so what exactly would my job be since the director already made the damn shot list.
 
My DP operates most of the time on the A camera.

He also:

1. Frames the shots
2. Tells the gaffer what lighting he wants
3. Assists in the blocking of the scenes where they pertain to camera angles
4. In some cases chooses coverage points
5. Chooses the lens about 50%of the time.

As the director I can overrule any of what he says, but I often don't. I choose where the camera goes and he goes from there.

My DP is the number two guy on set and frees me up to be more creative. I communicate what I want him to achieve and he figures out how to do it.

He would be just as effective if he did not operate. Operating is the least of his job!
 
so its un natural for the DP to take the script and totally decide where he wants a tracking shot and where he wants a long take then allow the director to tweak it? Or is it the directors first pick for what types of shots he wants?
 
Oh yeah it's unnatural.

I chose the bulk of the camera placement and shots in my movie - I'd say 80% of them. My DP chose the rest with my agreement. Anything artsy or complicated was usually my call.

It's my job as a director to call the shots - the DP is there to tell me it can either be done, or why it cannot be done and suggest a workaround.
 
You need to sit down with the director ASAP and talk. This is part of pre production. It's where you work out your working together arrangment so there will not be rough surprises on set. The cast & crew deserve a few pros on set so there is direction, progress and confidence. The two of you need to work together as a team, and the teaming starts before you arrive at the set. Make a list of all these little issues and agree on each one, leave nothing untouched.
 
Some directors are very specific about the framing and how they want shots set up and some are not. It's never the same and you can't apply some rule to what percentage of control the DP has over the director when it comes to the shots.

I've been in situations where it was ALL on me (as DP) and I've been in situations where a director storyboarded the entire film. I always ask a director if what I'm doing (with a shot) is what they want.

Obviously the director has the last word, but sometimes a director just doesn't know anything about how he wants the shots to be made. Which means you better (as mentioned) sit down and talk about what the director's expectations are or if said director even has any.

.
 
Depends on who you work with....

Some directors are very specific, and want full control, which is fine. Some like me to take on the Visuals and give them some options in terms of look and camera placement and blocking etc...

The DOP should sit by the Video monitor, tell the Camera crew where and what he wants in terms of lenses and movement ( or the Director wants) and be on a walkie with the Key Grip, and Gaffer. The 1st AC 2nd AC and Cam Operator are responsible for the Camera. They are under DIRECT control of the DOP.
 
yeah the real answer is that it's different for every working relationship and the variation goes 100% either way from virtually all DP, to virtually all director.

just like the gaffer DP relationship, sometimes the gaffer is just doing the DP's bidding, and sometimes it's highly collaborative and the DP gives the gaffer a ton of leeway and he's more of a lighting designer and every combination in between.

BUT if you are the director you have the final say on how it will work. But it can be any of the above arrangements or relationships.
 
And I really think you have the basic understanding of the position confused, as a DOP's main concern is the lighting of the frame, only coming second to the direct management of the camera and G&E crews as Timur mentioned. Operation, camera placement, etc. may all be a part of it, but lighting is the priority.

It sounds like your describing the duties of a camera operator more so than a cinematographer.
 
My perception of a cinematographer has been warped through the last few films I DPed on. But I think I was making things over complicated and now I get what I really have to worry about on set. So is the cinematographer basically second in command next to the Director. (not including producers).
 
Also become as well versed in directing as you can. There will be shows when the director is oblivious and you'll have to carry the film.

And do we really have that many international Directors of Photography(DPs) living here in the states and posting on these boards?
Or is becoming trendy to use the foreign abbreviation, DOP?
 
Well theres a big difference in "indie" Sets and more "organized" sets. Theres a more "Thats not my job, im not picking up that Cstand" kind of mentality on "real" sets.

But for good reason. There are Grips for that... That sounds awful but its a safety thing....

on Real sets, Art has the set until they are satisfied, then the DP has the set with G&E until hes ready, then the director has set with actors. This is what happens between setu ups..

The DP really needs to sit by monitor and carefulyl asses whats happening with the G&E crew through the lens of the camera.
 
TimurCivan said:
... then the DP has the set with G&E until hes ready, then the director has set with actors. ..
Click to expand...

Yes. Variation on bigger production: art has the set, then director and actors rehearse, then go away, then DP has the set with G&E and stand ins until ready, then Dir comes back or has been observing the DP lighting and framing the stand ins, then actors are back, then shoot.

And again, more variations thereof depending on how the team wants to work and the budget. Some directors / dps have everything boarded and light with a stand in then plug the talent in and shoot. Some have nothing boarded or have one or two shots in mind then work with the actors and base everything off responding to that. Some work with boards but are ready to discard them based on the rehearsal with the actors, like Cronenberg. Classic example is from History of Violence BTS. Maria Bello decided that her character would go to the bathroom and throw up while visiting Viggo Mortensen in the hospital. Only problem, when you open the bathroom door in the hospital room, you saw the back of flats and the sound guy eating a donut. So everything was halted for 2 hours so that art dep could build a bathroom set for her to throw up in. My understanding is that Cronenberg goes in with a plan but does not blindly stick to it should lightning strike in other places. Probably the best approach if your production can handle it in terms of time and money.

So as necessity dictates all dep.s may overlap. For example, on set for a shoot in New Orleans' Hard Rock Cafe which was being shot for New York's Hard Rock Cafe. Art covered up all the maritime and jazz references. The shoot began with 3 or 4 big name stars and about 65 extras. There were large wood columns through out the location. The top halves of which were mirrored. Last second before the first take, art was running back out, tacking paneling over the large mirrors, and painting the panelling with a stain that exactly matched the rest of the column. This was done insanely quickly after art had already had the set, after DP and G&E had it, after the director had blocked the stars, sent them back to their tailers then blocked the extras. Probably somebody last minute said - these mirrors are killing us we gotta do something about that. Maybe it was said while art had the set initially and they had been running around getting the paneling cut to the exact shape etc. during all the rest of the above. That was a Disney movie, but the more indie, the more those kinds of things will overlap or happen all at once.
 
So when you say "organized" sets, I'm guessing you mean sets where union rules must be followed.

How much of the DP job is defined by the unions?

What jobs can a DP perform on the set?
 
In the end, DPs are, like everyone else on set, there to suppport the director's vision. So, the DP does as little or as much within his department as is necessary to realize the director's vision, depending on how the director likes to work. If a director is very inexperienced, or simply prefers to concentrate on other things, theDP raises his own game to fill in the gaps. If the director knows exactly what he wants and how to get it, the DP supports that by figuring out how to get it accomplished and troubleshooting any problems the director might not have foreseen in striving for the particular shot.
 
lairhair said:
My perception of a cinematographer has been warped through the last few films I DPed on. But I think I was making things over complicated and now I get what I really have to worry about on set. So is the cinematographer basically second in command next to the Director. (not including producers).
Click to expand...

Just curious, how much Dping does a fifteen year old do? I didn't even know what a Dp was responsible for when I was 15.
 
its not that union crew is disliked, they are just expensive, but they have expertise. thats why you go union. They know their business...
 
Unions usually specify jobs and the various different functions that job can perform.

I was just wondering what those functions are for a DP. Usually, different job classes have an entry level, journeyman level, xxx level, etc. I'm thinking that the DP job class would be able to perform multiple other jobs because the DP would have that accumulated knowledge and training.

There may be jobs that the DP is not qualified for, such as wiring electrical components. On the less technical side, however, I don't consider plugging in a light fixture as a job reserved for an electrician; but some unions do.
 
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