Any huge cinematography websites/books?

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Snapper123

Well-known member
Honestly, I think this is an emergency topic; where in the world is the education for cinematography?

The thing is, cinematography is the #1 most important part of filmmaking; it doesn't matter which camera settings you use, you can mess up the picture style and whatever, but as long as you apply correct cinematography, you'll be making a film that psychologically sticks out to people in the same way the great films have (it takes all of 5 minutes for someone to forget a bad texture or color as long as the movement is captivating). Everything is cinematography is extremely specific; it's not just a aesthetic choice, rules like line of vision matter so much in order to get the audience to feel what the actors are seeing, how they are conversating, or building suspence or subject matter to what is going to happen next.

The tough thing though is that there literally are so many techniques that work great to the point you almost simply have to copy a scene from some film you've seen just to decide on what you want. If someone tells me "I need a dialogue scene of two people on a porch, talking and joking to each other from opposite sides, and then a scary homeless man appears from a distance and the characters tense up to see who it is." - I can envision so many ways to capture this scene so that every shot conveys a message and looks right, the problem is that there's just too many ways! I really wish I had a book or website that broke things down in a super-specific way so that I can always rule out shots that may not "fit" with the purpose, even if aesthetically they look good. Even things like shooting your actor with the camera below or above the face can make a huge difference, and there's so many extreme factors that it's really so tough - it gets tougher the more you learn!

So yeah, enough with the rule of thirds, where's a good place to learn a billion things like line of vision, angle height, movement, off-screen subject factors (say a character that will come into the scene later on and you have to create a line of vision in advance that correlates well with that.), focal length considerations, ways to get the perfect rule of thirds, and just any extreme in-depth considerations that go with cinematography. I mean, I want pages and pages of in-depth learning! Cinematography is one of my favorite things, that's why I love watching horror films because the cinematography is always so impacting (especially in the new Chainsaw Massacre remakes, they were done so well!) and to me, cinematography is something that simply makes the magic. You can go outdoors and switch your camera to your favorite picture style, and simply apply all the official cinematography rules and get an amazing product worthy of distribution. I just think that's neat, but I wish I had more education in it!
 
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Google:cinematography books

Reflections

The 5 C's of cinematography

Painting with light by john alton.

The list goes on.
 
I've seen that thread before but honestly I gathered nothing more than how "The 5 C's of Cinematograpghy" may be a decent choice. I really want to stress that I'm looking for extensive information on framing and camera cinematograpghy only - a book that only has a couple chapters on it is already going to be everything I already know. I definately want a book that's plain out filled to the brim with rules on dialogue shots, establishing shots, all sorts of perception and line of vision rules, and tips that range from different genres like documentary or natural-esque filmmaking. Things like camera height, position, ect ect stuff that'd really take up an entire book. Any book that spends 45 chapters talking about some other filmmaking department (lighting, sound, acting, format, budget) probably wouldn't cover my needs for camerawork as a whole to the point I'm really looking for.
 
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Snapper123 said:
I really want to stress that I'm looking for extensive information on framing and camera cinematograpghy only - a book that only has a couple chapters on it is already going to be everything I already know.
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Start with The Filmmaker's Eye and continue on to The Visual Story.

Cinematography is damn important, but I'd find it difficult to argue that it's the most important aspect in most filmmaking. Usually it's the story, but there have been good films made with the story still in rewrites during production--those films are usually saved by quick witted actors and masterful direction. I would say, though, that the most important aspect of a film like 2001 was its cinematography. It depends really.
 
Snapper123 said:
I've seen that thread before but honestly I gathered nothing more than how "The 5 C's of Cinematograpghy" may be a decent choice. I really want to stress that I'm looking for extensive information on framing and camera cinematograpghy only - a book that only has a couple chapters on it is already going to be everything I already know. I definately want a book that's plain out filled to the brim with rules on dialogue shots, establishing shots, all sorts of perception and line of vision rules, and tips that range from different genres like documentary or natural-esque filmmaking. Things like camera height, position, ect ect stuff that'd really take up an entire book. Any book that spends 45 chapters talking about some other filmmaking department (lighting, sound, acting, format, budget) probably wouldn't cover my needs for camerawork as a whole to the point I'm really looking for.
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Do you own the Five C's?

Cinematography, for better or for worse, is a craft that isn't well communicated through books. There are a few choices that really stand out - including the relatively new Filmmaker's Eye by Gustavo Mercado - but most working photographers learn through working.
 
I think perhaps you should become a 2nd ac, and learn first hand from a dp. Helluva lot better than any book.
 
oftentimes mastery of an art form is not in knowing some secret advanced technique, but just in mastering and applying the basics. The hard part isn't finding the information, it's in learning to use it consistently and well (also, equipment factors in).

It's cool your hunting for information, but also there's gold in the books you own. 5 C's is the bomb, don't sleep on it:

"shot through or over foreground objects as often as possible.", "use every practical depth device", "light the background lighter to create depth through semi-siluoette":

see? I can do this now:

http://www.totalmediabridge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/citizen_kane_3.jpg

ummm...err....or...maybe not. Yet, at least.

here another quote (my own): "you've memorized something when you can quote it, you've learned it when you can apply it"

<turns of pc, goes off to practice making movies>
 
TimurCivan said:
I think perhaps you should become a 2nd ac, and learn first hand from a dp. Helluva lot better than any book.
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Or better yet an electric and help them light the scenes they're shooting. ; )

You should really just start taking pictures, I found that that really helped me with my framing and composition.
 
I'd recommend the Hollywood Camerawork DVD master course: http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/mc_index.html

Although primarily about directing, staging and blocking, it covers everything you need to know about camera work from the "what to do to make it look beautiful" standpoint. It won't teach you about lighting or the technical sides of camera operation, but it will teach you what makes movies come to life and work as moving pictures, which is very important.

A lot of the lighting skills are common with stills photography and rather easier to practice there, so shooting stills is a great way to learn about lighting in a less hectic high pressure environment than a film set.

John Alton's book Painting With Light is very cogent but very outdated especially on the technical side. Blain Brown's Motion Picture and Video Ligting is good on the technical side of what to use for lighting, but not so hot on why you should light in a certain way to create artistic effects. Flick through a book in a bookstore to find a stills lighting book that you like the photos in, and that tells you how to do it. Buy that. Practice with a stills camera, a willing stand-in and some lights.

I think the reason that there aren't any really good cinematography books is the moving pictures move, and without being able to properly show it you can't communicate what is needed to create a certain effect. That's why the Hollywood camerawork DVD course is so good- it moves. (It is also EXTREMELY dense and will take repeated watching, in short spells, to even begin to understand it all).

Cheers, Hywel
 
I got a number of the books that have been suggested in this thread, as well as others. I was disappointed as I spent a good chunk of money expecting to be taught something new and pretty much read the same stuff that I have heard and read in a lot of threads here and on other sites.

That doesn't even count all the practice I've done trying to mimic stuff in movies, which has taught me a lot too..

My suggestion is to read all the stickies in the lighting and cinematography sections and then do a lot of searching online. You'll quickly notice the right suggestions keep popping up over and over.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
I've got a collection of American Cinematographer Magazines (370 different issues) for sale on Ebay right now. It's probably got over a thousand top feature films discussed (some in great detail) in regards to lighting, lens selection, and other stories from the set. Many interviews with DP's, and discussion about technique.

:P

http://cgi.ebay.com/American-Cinema...230594468330?pt=Magazines&hash=item35b08059ea
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The Reflections series of articles are among my favorite things in AC. In these features, they show screen grabs and then break down through BTS photos, lighting instument list and plan view of the set-up precisely how they achieved the shot. Often times, the pictures are re-creations of shots from feature films by the DP who originally took them. I learned a great deal from these articles.
 
I have never turned off a movie because the camera movement is not captivating enough. I have turned them off because of a bad script, or terrible acting, So if cinematography is in the top three, it's third. When making a movie whatever you feel is last on this list is still inportant, because you are making a whole movie.

I believe you are trying to make something more difficult then it really is. Cinematograghy is a creative art form. Once you learn the basics it is up to you to develop a style. If it was all in one book, no one would need a DP, they could just buy the book and all movies would look the same. (Come to think of it, maybe there is a book and Hollywood has it.) If you cannot develop a style, maybe you do not have the creativity that is required. I would suggest taking notes of what you like when watching movie (good and bad) and then practice what you see, But also work on way to improve the shots you see and turn them into your own.

Think of the line in Pirates of the Caribbean "There not really rules, it's more like guidelines.
 
No I don't believe so, but if you read the beginning of this thread the original poster believed it was #1. Without story there is no funding.
 
Well the truth is this, the simple basics are whats in the books because everything from that point on is based on creativity and experience. Move to a film industry city, and become a 2nd AC, and work your way up from there. No book, camera, lens, light, nor magicbullet, are going to make you a good DP without putting in 15 years of shooting/working experience.
 
pirate40 said:
Without story there is no funding.
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Yeah, mostly true, but there have been plenty of examples of studios sinking money into a property pre-story. Hell, plenty of films have reached production before the script was even finalized.
 
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