What is a director of photography.

by Charles G. Clarke, ASC

As some confusion exists about the title “director of photography”, perhaps a brief summary at this time would be in order. Since the inception of the movies, there have been cameramen. Then, as the peculiar technique of cinema was developed, the cameraman became the cinematographer. As the industry progressed, cinematography took on specialized fields. The cinematographer now devoted more of his talents to composition and lighting and left the mechanics of the camera to members of his staff. Today he directs and supervises the efforts of a large crew of workers, and is known as the director of photography. He selects the composition, sets the exposure, conceives the lighting, and designates the filters or other photographic controls to be employed.

Some may well ask, “How does motion picture photography differ from regular photography?” While photography is the basis for this field, the requirements for telling a story on motion picture film have created a technique quite unique from that which went before. The use of moving figures, the lighting technique utilized to obtain plasticity, the effective use of relatively short-focus lenses, as well as the mobile camera, are all examples peculiar to cinematography. In the very early days, cameramen invented the fade-out and fade-in, the lap-dissolve, the matte shot, the process shot, and numerous other special effects that have been incorporated into the technique of writing for the screen.

One of the great problems of picture production is securing stories for the screen. Several hundred productions are turned out annually by the industry, and any author will concur that no such number of new plots exists. The studios are therefore obliged to revamp many of the old reliables, give them new casts and dialogue, a change of locale, and depend heavily on new photographic treatment. This continual search for a new photographic approach is one of the most exciting aspects of the industry. Thousands of workers throughout the land have a hand in it: the physicist creating a new or better product; the chemist perfecting a better formula; the engineer fabricating a machine that will do that which could not be done before. The writer devising a scene in some new and unusual setting, and the producer, director and cinematographer translating it finally to film are all part of a team striving to do something better and more interesting than it was ever done before.

That the director of photography will contribute his share is taken for granted in Hollywood. Every production attempts to be different from another one, and each presents a challenge for a new photographic approach. The director and cinematographer work as a team, and exchange suggestions about the lighting and staging of scenes. Whenever possible, the style of lighting is varied from sequence to sequence so as to add interest and impact to the photographic effects.

At all times must the players be photographed to their best advantage. The studios have made tremendous investments in building their stars. Every effort is expended to display them most ideally. As no retouching is possible on movie film, our stars must be very carefully lit so that they appear their most glamorous. The science of lighting is therefore highly developed among the directors of photography, and is an art that is constantly being refined.

We strive to obtain photographic interest combined with a sense of reality, yet being on guard that the photography never detract nor overpower the story being unfolded upon the screen. Our lighting technique has lent its influence to other branches of the arts. Commercial and portrait studios frequently adopt our style and use much of the equipment developed by cinematographers.

The economics of motion picture production invariably fall on the director of photography. He is expected to utilize more tricks and lighting devices to cover lack of actual construction, yet create the illusion that such construction exists. More and more of our scenes call for process photography, whereby a still or motion picture is projected from the rear on a translucent screen. To affect a composite scene realistically, ingenious lighting must be devised to illuminate the subject naturally, yet keep the screen in darkness.

In recent years, there has been an increasing tendency to utilize natural interiors for motion picture settings. Many of our current productions transpire in Macy’s, in some courthouse, private home, or public building. This has given our productions a sense of authenticity, but in doing so it has presented new problems to the cinematographer. To light such interiors and the players therein to the standards expected of us is a challenge. To meet with these conditions, huge filters often need to be placed over windows and doors to balance exterior light with that available inside. As lights can seldom be placed overhead, horizontal sources must be employed. Reflections from glass, marble and other shining surfaces add to the complications of natural reproduction.

As action is the motivating force of the cinema, the majority of our scenes today require the mobile camera technique. Our cranes, velocilators, dollies and camera mounts are wonders of engineering and construction. Few realize, however, the difficulties of lighting these moving shots. The actors must be well-photographed under all conditions, yet there can be no shadows from these traveling monsters.

The ever-present microphone, constantly hovering close overhead, darting here and there as the actors speak, creates a shadow problem of no mean proportion. To cope with the microphone situation in sound films, a whole new lighting technique had to be devised. Ingenious light shields and masks have been evolved to eliminate stray, shadow-casting light.

Our sets are broken up with light patterns that stay clear of the microphone. We use dimmers for incandescent lamps and shutters for arc lights to bring their illumination into play where needed. The sound blimp encasing the camera is a bulk in itself that is an obstacle to lighting and in moving shots it is a shadow-maker. Thus, many moving scenes cannot entirely be pre-lit because of shadows cast by the equipment. Until the precise moment shadows are clear, offending lights remain out. They are then brought on, and dimmed out after they have fulfilled their use.

With color taking over more and more as the preferred photographic medium for both theatrical and television filming, the role of the director of photography has become even more important. He has had to adapt his camera techniques and lighting methods to keep abreast of the requirements of production in color on an industry-wide scale. He is being aided, of course, by the development of faster and better color emulsions, advanced laboratory processes and innovations in camera, lens and lighting equipment. But in the end, it is his own individual creativity that is the most important determinant of the artistic result.

The technology of motion picture production is undergoing a dramatic revolution as new and more efficient tools of the cinematographer's trade are being developed. He has the responsibility, not only to the film industry, but to his own integrity as a camera artist, to keep pace with these innovations so that he may use them to photograph motion pictures as artistically and economically as possible.

Indeed, the modern director of photography is in the very vanguard of the research and development from which this new technology is evolving. He assists in new technical development by suggesting improvements and by testing new materials before they become commercially available. Our own cultural and educational organization, the American Society of Cinematographers, is particularly active in furthering the development of new processes and new techniques in cinematography. Our clubhouse in Hollywood is equipped with the finest of projection facilities, which make it possible for manufacturers and others in the industry to demonstrate new films, new color processes and new photographic innovations to the cameramen of Hollywood, enabling them all to keep abreast of those developments which are so vital to the progress of the art. We invite cooperation from all sources that will enhance that miracle of the modern age — motion picture photography.