Moving image 2

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1             What is the role of the cinematographer in film making?

The role of the cinematographer is to make sure the set is exactly how they want it to look, it is about making sure the lighting is correct to create the right mood or atmosphere, they have to decide what is in the scene and where things are placed to make the film look as convincing as possible and keep the audience involved and as though it is real. This can even include under or over exposure to decide how you want your characters to look.

 2       Why did director Roman Polanski insist on using hand held camera in the film Chinatown?

In Chinatown a hand held camera was used in the bathroom where normally it would be a set on a stage and have walls moving around however the fact that it was in a real bathroom allowed the scene to be very intimate and spontaneous as the camera was in there with them. The use of a handheld camera was said to be distracting but he still wanted to use one as he liked to make people intimidated and liked the effect and look it created.

3       Name two films which use colour in a very symbolic way, and describe what they suggest.

Godfather one used a lot of yellow and red which created a very brassy feeling because he thought it was right. Yellow was related to period movies after that.

The last Emperor 1987 the light was like the stages of life and different light represented different stages. There was also the use of different colours when cut his own vein there was the colour red which is the colour of beginning as he sees the blood remember he remembers the emperor.  Orange was used to represent the warm colour of the family and also the Forbidden City and maternal embrace, yellow is used as a sign of identity and leads you to look somewhere and is also used to represent the sun, then green is used as the colour of knowledge and shows when the tutor is coming.

4       In the film Raging Bull why was the fight scene filmed at different speeds?

This film is based on the Life magazine images as this is how everyone saw fights with flash so they tried to film it in the same way. This was a way of showing off as they used panning and 360 degree filming. It was filmed at 24 frames per second and 48 frames per second, they used two different speeds to create atmosphere and tension as they made the fights quicker and then slowed it down when they were walking to the ropes and sat breathing as it created more drama.

5       Who is the cinematographer for the film Apocalypse Now, and what is his philosophy?

The cinematographer for the film Apocalypse Now is Vittorio Storaro and his philosophy was that cinematography involves a lot of people who all have different ideas. He describes the film as difficult, dangerous, dealing with emotion and uses the light and possibilities to express theirself. He also likes to have the light at opposites at all time, such as hot and cold, harsh and soft.