OTHER: Cinematography demo reel
- Thread starter tslesicki
- Start date
morgan_moore
Major Contributor
exceptional
jghenderson
Well-known member
Very good for your age. Would be nice to see more variation in style, but that will come as you get more experience.
tslesicki
Member
Thank you! It's great to hear such a comment from you. I love your Half Inch Rails designs, wish I had one these in some future!
Thank you! I'm currently grading a black and white short we've shot on Alexa that shows a bit different angle of view. Still famillar, though. I adore cinematography by Darius Khondji, Roger Deakins, Arthur Reinhart and Bogdan Dziworski, they all have very distinct styles that are easly recognizable right from the first frame. That's the aesthetics I've been rised in and I guess that's the way I want to shoot. Guess that's my point of view
I adore cinematography by Darius Khondji, Roger Deakins, Arthur Reinhart and Bogdan Dziworski, they all have very distinct styles that are easly recognizable right from the first frame. That's the aesthetics I've been rised in and I guess that's the way I want to shoot. Guess that's my point of view
I believe what he meant was that pretty much all of your clips appear to be from projects that have that sort of gritty and harsh style to them, which reflects more upon the projects themselves as oppose to you as a cinematographer. You wont go far if say you're up to to do a sweet romantic comedy and you insist on harsh shadows and that gritty look just because you want to create a "trademark style" for yourself. Truth is, Deakins could shoot a kids show for Disney Channel and we'd still be like "Oh that's so Roger".
This reel lacks that variety of locations and scenarios that one would perhaps wish to see your take on - Say a scene set on a green field on a sunny day, or even a simple dining-room setup. As it is now I'd only dare consider you for music videos and horror films, because the only straight take on a daytime shot I spotted was the final clip, which to be honest was the worst of them. That said though, you have some absolutely stunning shots and display true talent - Just make sure you show us that you're able to pull off more than just the dark barn & basement type of scenes (which I'm positive you are) :beer:
tslesicki
Member
Wow, I think that's the most constructive feedback I've recently recieved! Thank you for that! I guess the reel needs some more work. I'll make sure to include some non-gritty and non-horroresque shors too!
jghenderson
Well-known member
Agree 100% with Tolin. A cinematographer needs to be versatile. A Director needs to know that they can put you in ANY situation and get a top quality picture. Yes, a great cinematographer develops a "style", but this style must be adaptable to anything you are needed for.
By the way, you are incredibly blessed to be 21 and working on an Alexa. I'm a bit jealous.
By the way, you are incredibly blessed to be 21 and working on an Alexa. I'm a bit jealous.
tslesicki
Member
Yup, I agree with that too! I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood your first reply
It's not mine, obviously
But yeah, it's a great camera, the dynamic range and color reproduction is just incredible. It's a bit heavy, though.
Justin Kuhn
Veteran
Great work! It's true that you can get pigeon-holed in that style too, and by extension subject and genre. It just kind of happens, if you like what you like and it comes out in the work you pick up, you're going to get hired based on what people see. Duh, right? But if you look at my reel it's scary long-haired white dudes, lots of high-contrast, low-key lighting, and lots of black people, because I work with one director doing a lot of urban content. It goes kind of like oh, this guy has a long haired scary white guy in his reel, just like my friend I'm casting in this script, I can really imagine this happening, let's send him the script. Also the music and the cutting on the reel make a lot of impact, even if they shouldn't necessarily. But I think maybe I don't get some gigs (corporate stuff) because I hit too hard with too much style in the reel. So maybe I need to go shoot some sunny fields and a dining room scene, I might get more calls.