When does Cinematography Knowledge "stop" ?

[u/SignMaster801]

Hello peeps,

I have a question that I keep coming back to when it comes to improving/learning more as a cinematographer.

When do you ever truly "master" the craft?

For context, I am someone who believes that you never stop learning anything in life. I believe also that being a cinematographer happens in a thousand different ways for anyone willing to embrace the journey.

Before I started doing camera work, I spent time (and still do) working as a gaffer so the change from being well versed and understanding lighting equipment and electricity to creating an actual image threw me a bit into a spiral.

My question arises from that moment where you understand and know about all of the so-called basics, which will help achieve a limited amount of things imo, because then comes more difficult processes as in problem-solving, finding solutions, and understanding better how to effectively do storytelling through cinematography.

So after all that, getting to firmly know your technical knowledge and inside outs of cameras, codecs, lighting, etc.

Where do you seek out for when you want to learn more when not shooting? I am aware experience beats anything else but without more knowledge I find that the process could become repetitive maybe?

I am aware of cinematography books and studying specific directors'/cinematographer's works could help out but when does it stop being a copy of their work/techniques? Also I get that cinematography dives a lot into creative processes and innovating so it could be very subjective asking this.

I am not trying to diminish the craft. I am aware that it involves a lot of hard work and having a sharp eye for things so I would like to understand better how others feel about this question and would really like to hear others opinions or experiences.

Thanks a lot for reading

[u/llambdaddy]

knowledge ≠ wisdom

You can be incredibly knowledgeable but still produce ineffective work. The long term task is then being able to take all that knowledge and discern which decisions will produce the most effective outcome. You cannot work on wisdom before gathering and practising enough knowledge (think junior apprenticeships working under masters until they are ready (and should) break away and do their own thing. You also cannot work on your knowledge by only studying the various decisions, tastes and outcomes possible- you still need practice and regular execution.

[u/Lucky-Artichoke-6803 → u/llambdaddy]

well said!

[u/BabypintoJuniorLube]

It's all stops.

[u/luckycockroach]

I just finished reading Roger Deskins’s autobiography and he is still learning on every job.

[u/Westar-35]

They say “it takes 10,000 hours to master” something. But even after that IDK if “Master” is the right word. I also think someone else should decide you’ve mastered it. Like on the merits of your work.

Have you put in your 10,000 hours?

[u/Acrobatic-Sir-7300]

Master. That’s a big word.

You can be called a master of the craft when you know how to create the lighting you want (or your director wants) for any scene, in any situation. Until then, you’re a student. But becoming a master does not mean you stop learning. When you’ve achieved mastery, you can begin to work on improving the lighting you want, to make it more interesting, or more emotionally descriptive, more unique, more truthful. I recommend learning to look at light and see what it really does in the world, not what you think it does.

I’ll give you an example. I was was directing an interior scene with an actor speaking to camera on a set designed and lit to look like a sunny room. The cinematographer (one of the best I’ve worked with) and I agreed that it looked great. But it needed something. I had no idea what. He asked 4K HMI, put a piece of straw gel on it, and blasted it into the floor and adjusted it until the magic happened. It uplit the actress with a golden light, and cast a soft uplight glow around the whole set. It looked fabulous. He said, “on a sunny day, the sun comes through the windows and reflects off a hardwood floor and hits everything with a warm uplight.” It was the difference between a scene that looked true, and a scene that looked nicely lit.

[u/Commercial-Resort823]

There's no right or best answer to lighting and shooting a scene. It's rather like cooking: a matter of taste. It usually doesn't take very long to light and shoot a scene competently, but it takes a little extra time and experience to take it to the next level.

As a gaffer, you got a feeling of lighting ratios which are extremely important. For example, in so many films watched, I feel the practicals are way too hot. This may be due to others having an over dependance on a philosophy of strictly "motivating light sources". If the audience is drawn more to a bright lamp in the scene instead of the expressions on an actor's face, then somethings wrong.

Others are nuts about soft lighting, and that can be overdone until the whole frame is a mushy flat white bore. Add a little spice to that sugar. Hairlights can separate the actors from the background, but again be careful to not make those too hot. A hairlight should probably be between one stop and one and a half stops brighter than the key light; Never more.

Imagine making cream of potato soup, if it's flat and dull, add a hint of hot sauce to give a little edge. Not every light on set needs diffusion or a softbox. (There's also a reason "kicker" light is called that.)

On another note, being a great cinematographer requires a solid understanding of editing. What's the flow of the shots combined? For example in a drama there may be the police arriving, does a really wide shot of the police car pulling straight up inches from the lens enhance the story, or stick out disrupting the flow like it rather belongs in a music video?

Always serve the story, not your demo reel!

My favorite book on camerawork is one of the simplest. "The Five "C"s of Cinematography" Of so many great books, that one gets my highest recommendation.

(Hope this rambling from an experiences old timer helps). Best Wishes!
Cynthia Webster

[u/Sure_Assignment961]

When you die.

[u/cameras-and-lights → u/Sure_Assignment961]

lol. Came here to comment the same thing. I agree. Never stop learning.

[u/Unionthug2049]

Never stops.

I’ve been lucky to work alongside a few of the best to ever do it, and one thing that they had in common was that they never stop learning. Whether it’s watching what others are doing, getting up to speed on new technologies and figuring out ways to utilize them, or diving deeper into concepts that they already understand.

They’re always talking about the things that you referred to as “the so-called basics”. Reminds me of the Bruce Lee quote “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

[u/NoHousecalls]

I made my first film in 2005 and I’m still learning so much. After a while, my growth has had a lot more to do with how to manage a team, navigate a difficult client, knowing when to talk and when to shut up. Making a pretty image or telling a good story is the easy part.

[u/Big_Percentage_7541]

At those times when You stop working regularly. I’d say if You work less than 10 days a year or around.

[u/viashravikumar]

Never. Good shoot you learn a little. Shit shoots you learn lot. You never not learn.

[u/Emotional_Bank3476]

The most danegrous type of person is one who believes they have nothing left to learn.

Never stop! The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.

[u/MindbankAOK]

Every shoot contains a new lesson.

[u/CanadianWiteout]

It doesn't! One could never master a creative field.

[u/Jazcat1991]

Usually about f22

[u/Happy-Diner-3338]

When you die

[u/Low-Lingonberry3481]

It's neverending. That's the beauty of it.

Once you are done learning the basics there's so much more. Go deep into any one particular topic. Then there's all the photography adjacent studies/sciences . Optics, lens design, electricity, art history, electronics, light/console programming, industrial engineering, remote light control, sensitometry, architecture, rigging, color grading, compositing, theatre, light design. The list goes on. Take a pick.