Roman Polanski: "It's simple"

[David W. Jones]

Those are both very good apps.

I use pCAM all the time.

 

[combatentropy]

How Roman Polanski Made 'Macbeth' in 1971

Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir

 

[Policar]

I always thought that Roman Polanski's films had a unique and vivid look. And here I find out that basically all he does is watch the actors rehearse, then puts the camera where he stood. From an interview:

Is it true that you put the camera close to her, and that added to this jitteriness of her performance?

No, I put the camera where it's required for the given shot, for the given scene. I do not put, just arbitrarily, the camera closer to an actor's face. . . . I put the camera where I stand. I stand and watch the action. And then I'm just trying to film it the way I saw it. It's simple.

And it’s classic filmmaking in that scene, isn’t it? There’s, like, no camera moves.

I'm mainly an invisible witness to the events, and my camera follows me. And for that, I hate these convoluted moves which make you nauseous and interfere, in fact, with the story very often. I think if you have a story to tell, try to tell it in a simple or maybe elegant manner, and care about the emotions that it can evoke in those who are kind enough to watch it.


And from an article:

Roman Polanski is one of the directors I always go to whenever I’m looking for inspiration, cinematography-wise. His Knife in the Water is also my all-time favourite film, which makes studying his visual language an even more enjoyable experience.

Polanski came from a background in painting, which probably had an impact on his meticulous attention for composition. One of his trademarks is the use of wide-angle lenses. In Masters of Light, John Alonzo, A.S.C, who worked with the French director in Chinatown, said the only lens used in the entire film was a 40mm anamorphic, which produces an angle of vision similar to that of a 20mm spherical lens.

These are the lenses used in some of his films:

Rosemary’s Baby:	18mm and 25mm
Chinatown:	40mm (anamorphic)
The Ghost Writer:	27mm and 35mm
The Pianist:	27mm and 32mm
Oliver Twist:	21mm and 27mm
Carnage:	21mm and 27mm
The Ninth Gate:	25mm and 32mm (he used a 75mm for just a few close-ups)

Brilliant, he's also a master of staging so rarely needs to get so complex with lenses (and favors similar if slightly wider focal lengths to Spielberg, another master of staging).

But remember his preferred genre: DRAMA.

For comedy and even tragedy or a more epic feel, a longer focal length might be better. Ridley Scott goes much longer. Comedy plays best at a distance.

But for drama, close and wide is great advice.

For anywhere, PUT THE CAMERA WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE THE SCENE SPEAKS TO YOU MOST FOR THE PROPER EMOTIONAL RESPOINSE AND DISTANCE FROM IT is the only advise you need.