Who is responsible? Director or Cinematographer? or Producer? Who is boss?

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vic777

Well-known member
Let's say as Cinematographer, (on a low budget) you set up the shot, and it needs more light. The Director/Producer and Gaffer all say, "No, this is what we want". You try to explain that the monitor image is not the same as what will be recorded, they are all uptight (assuming the Directors paranoia about the phoney self imposed schedule ... a certain festival) and they want the shot and they want it now! You adjust the lights, as you get back to the view finder you hear the Director say, "I don't like it", the Gaffer changes the setup. You use the only trick left in your arsenal and change the shutter speed to 1/24 doubling the exposure, they don't seem to notice and the camera rolls. Half way thru the day you say, "We're poo pooed!". They seem a little more interested in what you're talking about. OK, my question is ... when the movie gets shown ... and some scenes are criticized for being, "too dark", who gets the blame? That's all I'm worried about now. Who gets the blame?. I vow on my next project to have total control!
 
Sounds like a communication issue. The director should never dismiss the concerns of the cinematographer so cavalierly... and may I add that the gaffer and DP should always be on the same page.

Sounds like you've got issues more than just in the technical realm.
 
Blame isn't the right approach. Everyone learned something about their role. If the director wanted to be the cinematographer they shouldn't have been the director. When I'm directing I trust my cameraman or I stop directing. If there is a debate on the set, then stop and resolve it. But this business has always been about big egos. Can't really fight it, just try to learn and avoid these kind of people, as I understand it,the producer ultimately is the client, so will exercise final "approval" on the shot. You may have to say," if you don't trust my judgement, or think I don't know what I'm doing, get another cameraman." but say it nice.or just take it and do the best you can.
 
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Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Sounds like a communication issue. The director should never dismiss the concerns of the cinematographer so cavalierly... and may I add that the gaffer and DP should always be on the same page.

Sounds like you've got issues more than just in the technical realm.
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+1 There is also clearly a trust issue here. Your director should have enough confidence in you getting a proper exposure to let you do your thing. If he can't trust you do do that very basic thing then you are going to have major issues on all levels. Not to mention he is going to be so preoccupied with what you are doing he isn't going to be thinking about what the actors are doing. You need to pull him aside and point out that (I assume) he hired you based on your skill set, he should trust you to, at the least, get a proper exposure. Also point out that you are interested in getting the best shots you can, and if he trusts you then he can worry more about the actors and the way the scene is playing out. Also you need to talk to your gaffer, he should be your right hand man and you two NEED to be on the same page.
 
I agree with the above.
The director/producer has the final say, but a good director/producer trusts the people assigned to certain tasks. If he wants something different then he should Collaborate with you, not order you.
As far as blame, it is true that everyone learns (hopefully). The general public tends to give all blame and credit to directors and actors, but within film world people know what a cinematographer is, obviously. If it's really bad, you could always ask to be left out of the credits. On the other hand, a long list of movies can be nice on your record.... It just depends.
 
as a professional gaffer my only boss on set is the dop and safety guy.

i may take suggestions from the camera assistants and grips re cutters, reflections or stands in shot..

everybody else gets polite nods and a blank stare.........

the boom swinger is on his own with boom shadows but if i am feeling loved i may help
him out.....
 
I second what Ian said I just finished a hellacious two week shoot schedule where we shot everything from formal interviews to mock newscasts. To promo videos I worked as a grip and AC on all of them with two different DP's each of them have there own quirks. However I did not move, filter, bounce or gel anything without the DP's approval. We crafted the look and went and if the producer wanted something different they said so and then me and the DP figured out how to get that. But at no point did the producer try to be the DP that is not there role.
 
As an old Director/Producer, all I know is, hire the best Camera/Lighting people you can and then let them do their job. I've asked questions about a lighting set up before BUT never tried to tell a DP what to do.
If I had a gaffer telling me one thing and the DP telling me another, I'd think it was time for the DP and gaffer to have a little alone time in the grip truck to work it out. And don't worry about blame, a long time ago an Old Pro told me, "You get to tell them once how to do it right, if they don't listen to you, that's their problem."
 
dwelter said:
As an old Director/Producer, all I know is, hire the best Camera/Lighting people you can and then let them do their job. I've asked questions about a lighting set up before BUT never tried to tell a DP what to do.
If I had a gaffer telling me one thing and the DP telling me another, I'd think it was time for the DP and gaffer to have a little alone time in the grip truck to work it out. And don't worry about blame, a long time ago an Old Pro told me, "You get to tell them once how to do it right, if they don't listen to you, that's their problem."
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Agreed completely!

In my experience (as both a Director and DP) is that if you select the right people to work with, these problems don't crop up. A director hires a DP because they feel they are accomplished enough to pull off the directors vision. When you are assembling crew, that's when you hash everything out.

Once, on set, I had a director tell me that no matter what I said, he wanted X shot with X light on X stock. I told him verbatim "I'll shoot it, but it won't work"...he didn't care. It didn't come out. We had to reshoot. Sometimes people need to be allowed to make a mistake to learn for the future
 
Who is in charge .... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The Director (If it's Cameron)

No wait

The Producer if it's Bruckheimer

No wait

The DP

If it's ........................

No that's it.
 
i once read somewhere that a very successful DP learned a valuable lesson early on in his career. The Director wanted a shot to be done a certain way. The DP didn't think it would work, but he was young and still developing his craft, so he went along with what the Director wanted. The next day while watching dailies/rushes one of the Producers was upset because the shot/scene didn't work and the Director passed ALL OF THE BLAME onto the DP. so, the DP decided from there on out that he'll shoot the way he thinks is best, because at least he'll be happy with the shot even though some Producer/Director may not be completely happy with it.

I'd rather be fired knowing I did what i thought was best for the scene/script then to be fired after being manipulated into something i knew deep down inside wouldn't work.

so kids, the moral of this story is: Try your best to collaborate, best trust your instincts in the end.
 
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Michael B. McGee said:
i once read somewhere that a very successful DP learned a valuable lesson early on in his career. The Director wanted a shot to be done a certain way. The DP didn't think it would work, but he was young and still developing his craft, so he went along with what the Director wanted. The next day while watching dailies/rushes one of the Producers was upset because the shot/scene didn't work and the Director passed ALL OF THE BLAME onto the DP. so, the DP decided from there on out that he'll shoot the way he thinks is best, because at least he'll be happy with the shot even though some Producer/Director may not be completely happy with it.

I'd rather be fired knowing I did what i thought was best for the scene/script then to be fired after being manipulated into something i knew deep down inside wouldn't work.

so kids, the moral of this story is: Try your best to collaborate, best trust your instincts in the end.
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I couldn't disagree with you more. As a Producer, as a Director, and as a DP. The Producer is at the top of the food chain. The Director and DP are Department heads. They report to the Producer.

If someone's on my set and won't do what they're told, they're likely to get fired for insubordination and made an example of for everyone else. Another thing, I know everyone wants to be the Director or the DP but Directorial suggestions or lighting and camera suggestions are only to be made by the Director. That's his responsibility.

You have to know people are going to cover their asses if they get called out on a mistake. The DP in the story should not have been singled out publicly. He would have learned a different lesson had he been dealt with professionally.
 
i have to agree michael.

berate me in front of the crew and i will respectfully tell you to go f**k yourself and to
stand clear of the tail gate as i drive the truck home.
say what you want to me face to face and in private, as a producer or dop thats your right
but on set i get treated with respect, thats my right.
 
WhiteMonkey said:
I couldn't disagree with you more. As a Producer, as a Director, and as a DP. The Producer is at the top of the food chain. The Director and DP are Department heads. They report to the Producer.

If someone's on my set and won't do what they're told, they're likely to get fired for insubordination and made an example of for everyone else. Another thing, I know everyone wants to be the Director or the DP but Directorial suggestions or lighting and camera suggestions are only to be made by the Director. That's his responsibility.

You have to know people are going to cover their asses if they get called out on a mistake. The DP in the story should not have been singled out publicly. He would have learned a different lesson had he been dealt with professionally.
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disagree all you want. its a matter of opinion and artistic merit. some DPs are robots and some are true artists.

..."
If someone's on my set and won't do what they're told, they're likely to get fired for insubordination and made an example of for everyone else. Another thing, I know everyone wants to be the Director or the DP but Directorial suggestions or lighting and camera suggestions are only to be made by the Director. That's his responsibility."..
 
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WhiteMonkey said:
If someone's on my set and won't do what they're told, they're likely to get fired for insubordination and made an example of for everyone else. Another thing, I know everyone wants to be the Director or the DP but Directorial suggestions or lighting and camera suggestions are only to be made by the Director. That's his responsibility.
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say what?????....what type of projects do you mostly work on?
 
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