The best teacher about cinematography… experience.
The more time your spend perfecting your craft, the better you will be. I think it’s unrealistic to think that becoming an amazing cinematographer can be done over night. With how accessible technology is and how great cameras are, they are only tools used to help tell your story. You are the artist. Think about it this way. To become a concert pianist or professional athlete it often starts early on in life and takes years of practice. 10,000 hours or practice isn’t enough to master cinematography. It’s a lifelong process and experiences, on and off set, help with that.
How do you find your artistic voice?
Being able to establish your individual style is something that is hard to do when you are first starting out. When learning the basics, you are always emulating others that you respect in the industry but it’s easy to become a clone. A good way to avoid that from happening is to learn and follow many people, not only one person. Pick a few of the best cinematographers in different genres and study classic and modern film. The more you diversify your taste, the more blended your knowledge becomes in cinema and your own individuality starts to shine through that.
Here are some tips to help you develop your style:
- Make the films you love watching.
- Study the history of film.
- Remember to create not imitate.
- Press the boundaries and make mistakes.
- Learn other jobs that support the cinematographer.
- Keep your eyes open and note interesting real world experiences.
- Narrow down your focus.
Let me know if this has helped you by leaving a comment. This post is a little bit different in subject matter but I truly felt the need to communicate this to the audience. Remember to subscribe, if you already haven’t, to the newsletter to get future tips and techniques like this. Thanks…