A Reel Annoyance

G

Gary Huff

Carbonite Member
Is it just me, or do others also get annoyed by "Cinematography" reels that feature all outdoor event shooting with natural light?
 
I'm probably guilty of this... aside from interviews and demonstration subject lighting, I rarely do much rigging... maybe popping open a few flags and reflectors for doc and ENG.

What's the proper term, then? Cinematographer? DP? Camera Operator? Pudgy Bearded Guy with Electronics?
 
Snazzy Flapper said:
What's wrong with using natural light?
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There is nothing wrong with natural light...if you are doing it for a specific reason. But if your reel consists of only natural lit, event videography, then that's a problem is it not? I don't have any one specifically in mind, BTW. This stems from a conversation I had with a director who was asking about finding a DP and I mentioned this as something to watch out for to help weed out prospects. Pretty much anyone can deliver amazing visuals if given an amazing event to shoot. I'm more concerned with reliability and consistancy in crafting amazing visuals, and that's what makes the difference to my mind.

mcbob said:
What's the proper term, then? Cinematographer? DP? Camera Operator? Pudgy Bearded Guy with Electronics?
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"Cinematography" starts off with "Cinema", so I would take that to mean that if you refer to yourself as one, that you are able to deal with controlled shooting scenarios, i.e. taking a space and lighting it for a specified effect. If someone asked my opinion on whether or not they should hire someone for that kind of shooting, and the person's reel consists solely of shooting outdoor events in the sun, then I would tell them to pass. I would even consider interview lighting to be in that realm because a) it makes use of the fundamentals of lighting and b) sometimes interview lighting setups can get complicated.

Personally, I term anything where I have no control over the light (and especially if I have no control over the subject) to be "videography". Like this:



Then I refer to my work where I setup lighting and had control over the final image as "Cinematography":



Hope that helps explain things.
 
mcbob said:
I'm probably guilty of this... aside from interviews and demonstration subject lighting, I rarely do much rigging... maybe popping open a few flags and reflectors for doc and ENG.

What's the proper term, then? Cinematographer? DP? Camera Operator? Pudgy Bearded Guy with Electronics?
Click to expand...

Camera Operator
 
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