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Embrace "happy accidents" and allow yourself to learn from new things.

6 Things Legendary DP Roger Deakins Wants You to Know About Cinematography


Even though every interview and sound bite Deakins has given is worth watching and listening to in full, the video acts as a convenient compendium of expert cinematographic insight from one of the greatest DPs of all time. Here are the six tips StudioBinder goes over:

Give each film a unique style: As a cinematographer, part of your job is capturing the director's vision for the project, but the other part is figuring out the style. Deakins quotes DP Freddie Francis when he says that there's "good cinematography and bad cinematography and then there's the cinematography that's right for the movie."

Use references for inspiration: The world is full of things to draw inspiration from. Look at films and paintings, talk to different kinds of people, read all sorts of books, magazines, and articles, and really study everything around you.

Roll with the punches: Things never go as planned when shooting a movie, so rolling with the punches and adapting to change is one of a cinematographer's greatest assets.

Keep an open mind: Embrace "happy accidents" and allow yourself to learn from new things.

Operate the camera: If you're the one operating the camera, it gives you the ability to react to what's going on during the shot.

Embrace intimacy: Even though the tool you use to do your work is humongous and intrusive, what it has the potential to capture is something incredibly intimate. So, find ways to "get closer" to your subjects, whether that's by using certain lenses or moving your camera closer.

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