At this point in the semester I’m terribly far behind. I had a few unforeseen obstacles, and have had a hard time catching up. I’m currently working diligently in the hopes of getting back on schedule by the end of midterms. The fact that I need to do things hurriedly unfortunately means I’ve also made more mistakes. I can’t spend the time that I’d like to on projects, research, reading, practicing, essays, learning and sharpening my craft as a cinematographer. At this point I feel that I’ve made little progress to no one’s fault but my own. Some lack of planning, but mostly my lack of skill in coming up with alternative plans on the spot.
I’ve learned a great deal about the things we’ve talked about in class, but in my own self reflection I realize I have not learned much in my own abilities outside camera work alone. The moving image is my passion. I get behind the camera I think different, I see different, I listen different. I know the image I want, and I know what I need to do to get it there. I’ve owned an HVX since the end of February, and am quickly becoming expert with the camera. What I have become aware of is that I’m concentrating all of my efforts on camera work, both technically and aesthetically, and I pretty much continue doing the same things otherwise. Because of this I seem to run into the same problems repeatedly. Poor planning to start with, lack of backup plans, disorganized scheduling, and my own blind thinking that nothing will go wrong. All of this became screamingly apparent to me after two things, I had a very good talk with Cyan, and I read one of the readings Cyan sent to us, the introduction to ‘writing with motion’.
While this is only a four-page introduction, it has a lot of very useful information. It talks about cinematography, and the jobs that a DP and a director have when it comes to cinematography. They both want the same goal but from different angles. It also talks about how they work together and how they work independently. There is also a listing of many of the jobs the DP would have. Some of that list I knew already. Some of the things I hadn’t thought of but made sense, and there was some I had no idea of. Now this is just the introduction to a book, and while I’m reading it, I realize how stupidly focused I’ve been on just one or two subjects. I cannot continue to do that if I want to be better than what I am now at being a cinematographer. I need to widen my scope while continuing to sharpen my skills with a camera. While I’m not a big fan of editing, I understand that it’s good to understand how editing works because it makes me a better cinematographer. I understand more of what can and can’t be used when editing, and the importance of what an editor needs to be able to use a shot. I know very little about lighting other than where I like for it to be, and I like how it looks. My vocabulary as far as the terms and concepts of directing are slim at best.
Any profession has their own vocabulary. Until that vocabulary is learned, basically you’re an outsider. Like learning another language, until you know the meaning of the words you won’t understand what anybody is talking about.
I need to be less methodical about my learning and begin being more practical. When I am able I intend on ordering the series of books that include writing with motion. I’m sure this would be a good place to start. While I hope, as I’m sure all of us do, that I don’t have any more unplanned difficulties, undoubtedly I will. Now with a new way of thinking, I believe I am one step closer to freeing myself of this rut. I excitedly look forward to what comes next.
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