Three Cinematography Masterclasses

Sharpen your skills! Enjoy a masterclass experience from three top directors of photography.

Hearing top filmmakers talking about their craft is always a treat. If you’re looking to develop as a director of photography, camera man or assistant looking to work your way up, there is plenty to learn from these three master craftsman of light and lens.

Christopher Doyle On Changing Cinema

In The Mood For Love, Hero, Lady In The Water, The Quiet American, 2046, and Rabbit-Proof Fence are all beautifully shot films by sought after DP Christopher Doyle. In this hour long intimate behind the scenes portrait Doyle shares many insights into how he finds the look and feel of each film.

In this second low-res clip from a BBC Culture Show episode Christopher Doyle provides a 9 minute masterclass on how he researches, discovers and enhances a scene through a deep sense of place and careful control of the light and colors within it. Thanks to NoFilmSchool.com for the find.

Ed Lachman – Through The Lens

Although Ed Lachman might not be a household name, he really is a master of photography and has lit many of my favorite Soderburgh films like The Limey and Erin Brokovich. In this excellent two part interview from The Craft Truck, Ed discusses his philosophy of filmmaking with plenty of technical detail and creative insights into his process. Its a fascinating watch for any film lover but especially for any aspiring cinematographer.

Pawel Edelman – Ray & The Pianist

Oscar nominated for shooting The Pianist Pawel Edelman is also known for his brilliant work on Ray Charles biopic Ray. In this career charting interview from Filmforia Pawel talks through his journey from Eastern Europe to Hollywood including plenty of anecdotes about his way of working with directors like Roman Polanski. There is a lot packed into this short but excellent read.

Roman is a director who knows exactly what he wants. We didn’t have a long conversation at the beginning, we just met very briefly in Berlin, because that’s where the movie was to be shot, in Berlin and the second part in Warsaw. We were briefly talking about the style of the film and the only thing was said was that it should be as natural and as documentary (in style) as possible and everyday when I went on set I kept in mind that it should be as simple as possible. Because if I can make it like that it will be believable.