Kurt Lancaster Read online

  Praise for Basic Cinematography:

  BASIC CINEMA

  “The most appealing aspect of Basic Cinematography is its focus on a holistic, story-driven approach to introductory With a foreword by Manuel Billeter, Cinematographer of Jessica Jones

  cinematography material, rather than the heavily technical explanations which dominate many textbooks. The author divides the discipline into useful and distinct creative processes across several chapters, illustrating each with a case study, which makes the craft easily accessible for a beginning filmmaker. The practice of cinematography involves tools and techniques that are changing at an increasingly rapid rate so this book’s emphasis on visual storytelling and creative principles is a great addition to the field that will continue to be relevant in cinematography education for many years.”

  Alexander Nevill, Cinematographer and Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University

  BASIC

  “This new book on cinematography is an ideal complement to the well-known ones that are widely used in academia. It is a very tangible book that allows teachers to provide and share the essence of cinematography into the classroom for the new generation of filmmakers to realize and push their new-found skillses to the next level.”

  Hans Rosenwinkel, Producer/Director/DP – Evolution Media TV and Associate Professor of Film & TV, College of Arts & Media, University of Colorado – Denver

  CINEMATOGRAPHY

  “Inspired by the narrative of the script, the characters, and the movement of the plot, it is the cinematographer’s mission to translate the script into a visual language, through images that echo both its inherent blueprint as well as what is also only hinted at… . While nothing can replace hands-on, immersive experience, Lancaster’s book Basic Cinematography provides strong tools for visual storytellers… breaking down and delineating the basic elements of the language of film that inspire TOGRAPHY

  conscious and thoughtful choices that will allow you to find your own voice when writing with images.”

  Manuel Billeter, Cinematographer, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher

  The cinematographer must translate the ideas and emotions contained in a script into something that can be physically seen and felt onscreen, helping the director to fulfil the vision of the film. The shots may look good, but they will not serve the story until the composition, lenses, and lighting express, enhance, and reveal the underlying emotions and subtext of the story. By making physical the ideas and emotions of the story, the cinematographer supports blocking as a visual form of the story through these tools.

  Rather than delve into technical training, Basic Cinematography helps to train the eye and heart of cinematographers as visual storytellers, providing them with a strong foundation for their work, so that they’re ready with creative ideas and choices on set in order to make compelling images that support the story.

  The book includes tools, tables, and worksheets on how to enhance students and experienced filmmakers with strong visual storytelling possibilities, including such features as:

  • Dramatic script analysis that will help unlock blocking, composition, and lighting ideas that reveal the visual story KUR

  • Ten tools of composition

  • Psychological impact of lenses, shot sizes, and camera movement

  • Six elements of lighting for visual storytelling

  T LANCASTE

  • What to look for beneath the “hood” of cameras, including using camera log, RAW, and LUTs

  • Dramatic analysis chart and scene composition chart to help plan your shoots

  • Case studies from such visually cinematic shows and documentaries as Netflix’s Godless, Jessica Jones, The Crown, and Chef’s Table, as well as examples from classroom exercises

  • Features insights from the cinematographer of Jessica Jones, Manuel Billeter, and the DP of Chef’s Table, Adam Bricker.

  Kurt Lancaster is the head of Creative Media and Film at Northern Arizona University and has written several books on filmmaking, including DSLR Cinema (3rd edition), Production House Cinema, and Cinema Raw. His documentaries have screened at national and international film festivals and his award-winning students have gone on to start their own production house businesses, work as freelancers, as well as securing other positions within the industry. His filmmaking A creative guide to visual storytelling

  clients include the Grand Canyon National Park, Timpanogos Caves National Monument for the National Park Service;

  R

  the American Community School in Amman, Jordan; Ha:san Preparatory and Leadership School in Tucson, Arizona for the

  National Institute of Health; Altez Ecofarm at Hasta Gard in Stockholm, Sweden; Louis L’Amour Enterprises, Inc; and the Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals at NAU.

  FILM/VIDEO

  Cover design © Kurt Lancaster

  ISBN 978-0-8153-9645-1

  Cover images © Kurt Lancaster

  Kurt Lancaster

  Performers: Eric Carver and Kelcie Weber

  www.routledge.com

  9 780815 396451

  A Focal Press Book

  Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats

  Basic

  Cinematography

  Basic Cinematography

  A Creative Guide to Visual Storytelling

  by Kurt Lancaster

  First edition published 2019

  by Routledge

  52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

  and by Routledge

  2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

  Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

  ©2019 Taylor & Francis

  The right of Kurt Lancaster to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in

  accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by

  any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying

  and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the

  publishers.

  Notices

  Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience

  broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment

  may become necessary.

  Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating

  and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such

  information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including

  parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

  Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for

  identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

  Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

  Names: Lancaster, Kurt, 1967– author.

  Title: Basic cinematography : a creative guide to visual storytelling / Kurt

  Lancaster.

  Description: London ; New York : Routledge, 2019] | Includes bibliographical

  references and index.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018052081| ISBN 9780815396444 (hardback : alk. paper) |

  ISBN 9780815396451 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781351182126 (e-book)

  Subjects: LCSH: Cinematography. | Motion pictures--Technique.

  Classification: LCC TR850 .L34 2
019 | DDC 777--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018052081

  Contents

  FOREWORD by Manuel Billeter ...................................................................... vii

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................... ix

  v

  INTRODUCTION the Foundation oF Visual storytelling ................................ xiii

  CHAPTER 1 Visual storytelling through Blocking .........................................1

  Section 1: Think like a director ......................................................................... 2

  Section 2: Visual storytelling through the blocking of subtext ........................ 8

  Section 3: Hitchcock’s key rules of filmmaking .............................................. 14

  Section 4: Body language and blocking in Girl with a Pearl Earing ............... 20

  Section 5: Discovering dramatic action through script analysis in

  Ozu’s Tokyo Twilight .................................................................................... 26

  Section 6: Visualizing subtext through blocking and body language in

  Ozu’s Tokyo Twilight .................................................................................... 31

  Section 7: Body language and subtext in documentary ............................... 40

  CHAPTER 2 Visual storytelling through lenses and composition ................. 51

  Section 1: Ten tools of composition ................................................................ 53

  1. Shot size and lenses: 56

  2. Camera height and angle: 61

  3. Camera motion: 63

  4. Focal depth of field: 66

  5. Light and dark: 70

  6. Line and linear perspective: 71

  7. Layers: 73

  8. Weight: 74

  9. Color: 76

  10. Texture: 78

  Section 2: Shooting for the edit .......................................................................... 83

  1. Coverage: 83

  2. Eye lines: 83

  3. Point of view and cutaways: 84

  4. 180 degree rule: 84

  5. Jump cuts: 86

  6. Kuleshov effect: 88

  Section 3: Case study in lenses and composition from Jessica Jones

  with DP Manuel Billeter ................................................................................ 95

  Section 4:Case study in lenses and composition from Chef’s Table

  with DP Adam Bricker ................................................................................... 98

  Section 5: Case study in lenses and composition from Ozu’s

  Tokyo Twilight class reinterpretation .......................................................... 102

  vi

  CHAPTER 3 Visual storytelling through lighting .................................. 119

  Section 1: The psychology of lighting ........................................................... 120

  1. Foundation: 120

  2. Light placement terminology: 122

  3. Six elements of lighting: 123

  1. Quality: 123

  2. Intensity: 126

  3. Direction: 128

  4. Texture: 129

  5. Contrast: 136

  6. Color temperature: 141

  Section 2: Some basic tools of exposure ...................................................... 144

  1. The zone system: 144

  2. Histogram: 148

  3. Waveform: 150

  4. Aperture and ISO: 152

  5. ND filters: 154

  6. Shutter angle and frame rates: 154

  7. Lighting modifiers: 155

  Section 3: Indoor day and outdoor day setup examples from

  “Fragments” ............................................................................................ 156

  Section 4: Outdoor night case study from Jessica Jones with

  DP Manuel Billeter ................................................................................. 162

  Section 5: Indoor night case study from Ozu’s Tokyo Twilight

  class project reinterpretation ................................................................ 166

  Section 6: Documentary lighting case study from Chef’s Table with

  DP Adam Bricker .................................................................................... 176

  CHAPTER 4 Visual storytelling with camera log, raw, and luts ..........191

  Section 1: An overview of a dozen key camera features ................................ 193

  Section 2: Shooting in log ............................................................................. 205

  Section 3: Shooting in RAW .......................................................................... 211

  Section 4: Shooting with LUTs ..................................................................... 216

  CHAPTER 5 workflow tools for the Beginning cinematographer ........... 221

  Section 1: Preproduction for cinematographers .......................................... 221

  Section 2: Production for cinematographers ................................................. 235

  Section 3: Postproduction for cinematographers......................................... 236

  CONCLUSION .......................................................................................... 260

  INDEX ........................................................................................................ 277

  Foreword

  vii

  Manuel Billeter, DP of Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Luke Cage

  Filmmaking is a highly subjective endeavor. Filmmaking is also a collabora-

  tive endeavor. This apparent contradiction lays bare that there is no formula

  or equation that could explain or solve all the decisions to be made when

  approaching the visual translation from script to images. Where should we

  begin? I have always considered image-making an expression of non-verbal

  writing, of finding what’s between the written lines, and composing it into a

  visual language that supports the underlying ideas of story, character, and set-

  ting—representing the script with evocative images.

  The most basic building block to the visual language is the single shot, or take.

  That is “Basic Cinematography,” if you will. But from my own experience, early

  during my own learning about cinema while in Berlin, I learned a curious

  linguistic fact about the term “shot” in German: Einstellung. Beyond the technical

  settings of lens, aperture, height, or movement, it also means attitude—or

  opinion, approach, perspective. In that sense, a shot not only technically

  reproduces the reality it captures, but more importantly, it also conveys an idea,

  an emotion, a tone.

  In that sense, the “shot” has a much bigger responsibility than to merely capture

  a fact. Inspired by the narrative of the script, the characters, and the movement of

  the plot, as cinematographers it is our mission to write this vision down in images

  that echo what is inherent in the blueprint of the script, and also what it is only

  hinted at. In col aboration with the director and al the creative forces present

  during the preparation of the shoot, and then on set, all the minds and hands

  come together in creating images and emotions that continue to attract and

  fascinate audiences around the world. Shaping these images with composition,

  movement, lighting, color, and texture is one of our roles as cinematographers.

  viii

  Foreword

  Writing with a sequence of images that are shaped t
o support the narrative

  almost becomes a musical or lyrical act. The pairing of colors, the play of

  contrast, the framing of the settings and landscapes, the sensuality of the light,

  the texture of materials—they all interact and create an additional layer of

  meaning to the material at hand.

  A good eye is more important than the most advanced or “best” camera

  equipment. There are many tools that are given to us, and most of them lay

  outside the confines of the equipment list. Getting to know all the functions

  of our given instruments cannot possibly be experienced in a book. Nothing

  can really replace hands-on, immersive experience. But a book can summarize

  some ideas and categorize many aspects of what can help find conscious and

  thoughtful decisions when “writing with images.” Reading before doing can be

  a simple and inspirational process.

  Lancaster’s book, Basic Cinematography, provides a strong foundation to do just

  this, offering tools that will help you become a better visual storyteller.

  Manuel Billeter

  15 October 2018

  aCknowledgments

  Many thanks to Emily McCloskey for accepting the idea for this book during

  lunch at NAB a couple of years ago. Sheni Kruger has adeptly taken over the

  ix

  book and shepherded it to Sarah Pickles, who has kept me on schedule, as well

  as my production editor, Kris Siosyte. I also want to thank Simon Jacobs and

  John Makowski. Susan Leaper and Victoria Kelly are eagle-eye proofreaders

  and I thank them for the detailed task of finding and pointing out errors. The

  team at Focal Press/Routledge all rock!

  Thanks to all of the manufacturers, artists, and photographers—too many to

  name individually—for permission to use their images in this book. Without

  the pictures, it would have just been words, which would just not have been as

  exciting.

  Furthermore, much appreciation for the critical eyes of peer reviewers. Their

  thoughts made this book better.

  Manuel Billeter and Adam Bricker are tour de force with cameras and light-

  ing. Their cinematography is top notch and I’m privileged that they wanted