Category: film director

Cinematography Interviews and Production Notes

Read the best of Director of Photography interviews and Cinematography notes from the to people working in the industry today:  Interview with Cinematographer Chad Griepentrog (The Bachelor Reality TV Series) https://matthewtoffolo.com/2016/02/17/interview-with-cinemtographer-chad-griepentrog-the-bachelor-reality-tv-series/ Interview with Cinematographer Albert Arthur (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad) https://matthewtoffolo.com/2016/02/16/interview-with-cinematographer-albert-arthur-better-call-saul-breaking-bad/ Notes on CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHOTS AND CAMERA ANGLES https://matthewtoffolo.com/2015/06/01/notes-on-cinematography-shots-and-camera-angles/ Photography in Film. The art of Cinematography https://matthewtoffolo.com/2015/05/14/photography-in-film-the-art-of-cinematography/… Continue reading Cinematography Interviews and Production Notes

Interview with Cinematographer Albert Arthur (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad)

I started prep three weeks before the first day of shooting. I asked Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould if the wanted to continue the style of Breaking Bad, and their answer was that they did not want a complete break, but they wanted it to be different as well. They stressed repeatedly that they felt TV shows were all starting to look the same, and that they wanted “Saul” to look like nothing else on television. They showed me stills from “The Conformist” and from Kubrick’s work. Our first day of shooting was in bright sunlight in a skate park. I kept looking for Jean-Louis Trintignant in a period tuxedo, but he was nowhere to be found.

One point of departure was that they didn’t want the handheld look that gave ”Breaking Bad” its’ nervous energy. In fact they did not want any camera movement that was unmotivated. This was quite a departure from my last few shows, where the producers would start twitching if the camera wasn’t moving at all times. It required retraining my operators to avoid movement unless absolutely necessary.

Vince kept pushing the look darker and darker, saying “we know who they are, we don’t need to see them all the time”, which is a departure from what is essentially a comedy.

Interview with Filmmaker Hojin Kim (BURGLAR)

This Irish oil painter had boyfriend named George Dyer. Bacon first met Dyer in 1964 when he broke into his apartment. The portrait of George Dyer was the first motivation to make the Burglar.

Interview with Filmmaker William Mussini (F**KING WORLD)

The short film F**KING WORLD is a must see 1 minute blast. It hits on a lot of emotions that many of us are feelings, plus it’s really funny. William Mussini’s film played to rave reviews at the WILDsound FEEDBACK January 2016 Film Festival.

Interview with filmmaker Jordan Inconstant (YO SOY PEDRO)

I was very surprised! There is no other festival that offers this, it’s great! To see the public reaction and to take part in the festival. There was a little debate about the fact that the film was shot in French while the atmosphere is American, it was interesting. This has pleased all the film crew, Sylvain Ott, composer joins me in thanking you for the price of the best music.

Interview with Animator Matt Burniston (The Mega Plush – Winner Best Film January 2016 Film Festival)

I loved it. It was a totally new experience for me. I’ve obviously shown the film to a lot of friends and people I meet, and it is great to see their reaction as they watch the film. But having people who know about film talk about and comment on your work is something very different. The fact that the audience picked up on some of the small details about the characters & story line gives me a renewed devotion to finish up the series.

Interview with Filmmaker Francesco Faralli (LIKE IN THE MOVIES)

I was interested and a little in apprehension. I think it’s very important to laugh about Tiziano’s errors because if you feel guilty to laugh about it it’s because you feel a kind of distance from him and your thought is something like “poor thing, I feel sorry for him and his condition, so I shouldn’t laugh about it”; instead, Daniele taught me that equality goes from here too, you can laugh as long as you can see and appreciate the efforts.

Interview with filmmaker Hani Eskander (OH MY OH AGAMI)

Here are actual people, physically there, physically commenting and reacting to something I had created earlier at home, almost alone. I loved what most had to say and I cannot descrivbe how happy it makes any filmmaker I’m sure, to watch audience feeling and reacting to the film he/she helped create. It’s a very reassuring feeling… that film is powerful… it DOES transcend space and time and gets a message and an emotion through very well.

Interview with Storyboard Artist Stephen Forrest-Smith (Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Dark Knight)

There really is no normal to my job anymore. Every project seems to be different and now and asks for different. A film project could call on a storyboard artist at any stage from pre-pre production, ( when the film is trying to get funding) right the way through to post production for VFX, (after principal photography has been completed). The bulk of my work tends to be early in the pre-production taking the first pass at sequences to get the ball rolling on them. Usually I’d start with a chat with a Director, though it could be VFX supervisor, production designer and then work on from there. I use to expect to finish when filming starts but now i might stay almost to the end of shooting then be called back for reshoots and post production.

Interview with 1st AD Mathew Dunne (War for the Planet of the Apes)

General crew members can work on three/ four movies a year, so they see all sorts. They know immediately if you know what you’re doing. They want information. They want to work as efficiently as possible and as soon as they see that you’re on top of it, you’re in.

You have two great opportunities to establish this with a large group of people. The Production Meeting before shooting begins and the safety meeting on the first d