American Cinematographer - May 2019 - 56

Visions of Wonder

recording cameras - animation,
insert, water-tank, matte-painting,
rotoscope, miniatures, optical, and
high-speed cameras. My job there was
'director of photography' for all
cameras. The modern equivalent
would be 'digital supervisor.'

The Real-Time Realm
Legato: I'm fascinated with the
idea of using a computer and VR to
help replicate what real life is, allowing
me to 'shoot' like it was a real scene on
a real set. The tremendous amount of
knowledge and experience you have as
a cinematographer is now invaluable,
because you are often asked to create a
scene that looks like it's been 100percent naturally photographed even
though not one stitch of it is real. The
exciting part is, if you do your job well
enough, it can now be indistinguishable from the real thing.
Logan: Even scenes with 100percent CG imagery still use the basics
of cinematography, even though the
camera, lights and dolly are all virtual.
I believe all the creative skills of the DP
are required to create great CG images.
And the skills required for managing a
crew at 4 a.m. - lighting, cabling, placing wind and rain machines, and
getting it done in the time allotted -
that is a unique skill of the director of
photography. On the other hand,
getting 1,400 shots done in six months
by multiple vendors also has challenges.
Nicholson: [Supervising major
visual effects] today requires being a
technology expert, but also being a
good cinematographer - and being
able to connect with other cinematographers, since now we are bringing
complex imaging out of postproduction and putting it onto the set. That is
why new methods like [virtual cinematography] are becoming a cinematographer's dream. Instead of
having somebody else screwing with
your image in post, you are doing it
live, and you can adjust.
Beck: New techniques allowing
camera tracking, 3D CG rendering,
May 2019

and compositing - all on set in real
time - are actually making complex
shots simpler to shoot in an artistdriven, organic manner. At the same
time, regular cinematography is
seeing more VFX tricks in use to
refine the original image - contrast,
lighting, composition, etc. - in the
DI.
Nicholson: Visual effects are
about finding ways to manipulate
and combine images together. It was
that way starting with optical print-

"The knowledge
and experience
you have as a
cinematographer is
invaluable because
you are often asked
to create a scene
that looks naturally
photographed even
though not one
stitch of it is real."

ing and all the various in-camera
tricks. Ironically, it is now going back
in that direction, in the sense that
visual effects are now moving out of
the non-real-time realm and into the
real-time realm, thanks to game
engines for real-time rendering.
For high-concept imaging,
taking visual effects out of the postproduction, non-real-time realm -
where it is separated from the cinematographer - and bringing it into
the live-action realm, is exciting. I
think that's where everything is
going. That puts a lot of power back
into the cinematographer's hands to
achieve the look they want to achieve
in-camera.
ASC 100th Anniversary

Logan: I believe there is a blurring of the lines today between cinematography and visual effects, with
the advent of virtual photography to
drive CG characters and environments. If it is done well, you really
don't know what you are looking at
- the work of the cinematographer or
the work of a digital artist.
Legato: You still have to photograph it well. If you shoot on a set and
you are a mediocre cinematographer,
it will look like a set; if you are
Gordon Willis [ASC], it looks like you
are in a totally realistic location. The
same is true of virtual cinematography. It's not good enough to know
how to operate a computer - you
have to be an artist, a cinematographer. You need to know where and
how to aim a camera dramatically,
when to move, when not to move,
how to compose, what appropriate
lens choice to make. Since the
outcome appears to be the same, does
it suspend disbelief and follow the
same dramatic story requirements as
any other real-world shot would? Our
work now needs to be judged on these
merits alone and can no longer rest on
the laurels of technical achievement.
Those days are over, and the art form
is all the better for it.
Shared Spirit
Foerster: When it comes to
visual effects, it's crazy and exciting
how fast the tools and parameters
evolve. You are constantly behind
the curve, no matter what. But what
doesn't change is the approach: How
do we plan? What do we need to do
on set to allow for the full potential of
the VFX? And how do we do this in
the most clever way, within the schedule and budget?
Nicholson: Now you are
designing moves in virtual space, but
you are still a cinematographer. You
are choosing lenses, depth of field,
lighting things. So, in that sense, what
is the difference between a virtual
cinematographer and a real-world
photographer? They are both

American Cinematographer - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2019