Beyond the Frame

The technological debate matters to me much less than the technique (especially because film is still undoubtedly superior).  Janusz Kaminski, nominated for Steven Spielberg’s War Horse and cinematographer of Oscar-winning films Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, discusses the “mystery” of shooting film.  I love shooting film because it endears a level of simplicity and fore-thought as to what you’re attempting to accomplish.  The mystery comes from the fact that it is absolutely intangible until it is projected on the screen.  If you’re creative and confident, this is incredibly empowering.  

Kaminski, from the link above:

Though he recently shot in digital for the first time while working on a commercial, he decried digital as a harbinger of “the death of the cinematographer.” “Generally speaking, I don’t have respect for digital media just yet,” he added.

His concern is that the cinematographer is no longer allowed to fully control the image as other technicians become a larger part of the process and that digital monitors create a laissez-faire attitude on-set toward image-making. “If you see the image on the digital screen I think people become lazy, they get satisfied with just seeing the image, they’re not going for visual panache, not getting the story through metaphors,” he said. “With film there is still mystery.”

Using your imagination as the primary tool, rather than monitors and scopes, will ultimately yield the best results.

~ü