American Cinematographer - March 2004 - 115

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[Bill Dill, ASC
of art called The Penitent Magdalen. I've spent hours standing in front
of that painting, mesmerized by his use of lighting and by his extreme
visual economy. Gustave Caillebotte made a painting called Paris
Street Rainy Day. The compositional brilliance of this painting is

inspiring. I've studied Caillebotte's
extremely instructive.

process

in making it. This is

How did you get your first break in the business?
I did a movie called Sidewalk Stories. It was a very low-budget movie.
I'm not sure what it did for me in "the business" but I learned a
tremendous amount about the art of visual storytelling on that film. It
was a silent black-and-white movie. This required careful
thought
about every aspect of the image to make sure that it is powerfully yet

subtly conveying your true meaning to the audience. It's also important
image work on a fundamentally emotional level because
merely understanding isn't enough. Feeling the image is more impor¬
tant than understanding it.
that the

What has been your most satisfying moment on a
project?
The Five Heartbeats was a life-altering experience. I had a wonderful,

talented, hard-working, truly committed crew. I was working with a
tremendously talented producer and director (Loretha Jones and
Robert Townsend, respectively). I was also working with an editor
whom I deeply respected (John Carter), and I had an extremely collab¬
orative and

As
As

a

child, what film made the strongest impression on you?

child I was deeply moved by still photography. I saw films as
mostly escapist entertainment. Then, just after high school, I saw a
film called The Education of Sonny Carson. That film helped me to see
that a motion picture could accurately reflect reality in such a way that
I looked at the world differently afterwards.
a

Which cinematographers, past or present, do you most
admire?
Roland Totheroh (I particularly like City Lights); Stanley Cortez, ASC

(The Night of the Hunter anti The Magnificent Ambersons; I also liked
the work he did with Samuel Fuller); Arnold Tover (the portraiture in
The Day The Earth Stood Still]', Nestor Almendros, ASC (Days of
Heaven is stunning and a real landmark); Juan Ruiz Anchia, ASC, AEC
(I loved his work in The Seventh Sign)] Jean Yves Escoffier (Bad Blood
is extraordinary); Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC (The Last Emperor meant
a lot to me); John Bailey, ASC (The Accidental Tourist and
many
others); Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC (21 Grams is as good as anything
I've

seen

in

a

long while).

What
sparked your interest in photography?
It was the work of still photographers that first caught my

attention,
particularly Moneeta Sleet (his work for Ebony magazine was this
little boy's first eyes on the world); Walker Evans (his series Let Us
Now Braise Great Men moved me to tears); and W. Eugene Smith (his
Minamata Harbor series is the very definition of the work of a commit¬
ted artist).
Where did you study and/or train?
I have a degree in Communications Studies from Oberlin College. I
studied under a number of fine instructors in still photography and
motion photography. Then, I made it my business to find my way onto
the sets of as many fine cinematographers as possible. I even took

jobs making behind-the-scenes documentaries. This sometimes gave
me weeks on sets with cinematographers like Michael Ballhaus, ASC,
Miroslav Ondricek, ASC, ACK and Laszla Kovacs, ASC.

Who were your early teachers or mentors?
While I was at Oberlin, I studied with a gifted documentary filmmaker
named Alvin Tokunow. He was the first person to encourage me to
think seriously about becoming a filmmaker. Before that I had inten¬
tions of going to law school. He forced me to think about the commit¬
ment

gifted production designer (Wynn Thomas).

Have you made any memorable blunders?
I was shooting a large concert sequence on The Five Heartbeats and
let's just say that I learned not to talk on my Walkie-Talkie while taking
a

meter

reading of a follow spot. Actually, I liked the results better
originally planned!

than what I had

What's the best professional advice you've ever received?
Look at the big picture, and ask yourself, "What made me want to
shoot this movie in the first place?" Don't let your role sink into mere
execution. Every choice should have a specific, identifiable, underlying

philosophical basis in the story. Elowever, be careful with this. As soon
that basis becomes apparent to the audience, you've moved into
their consciousness. Our work has its greatest effect on the uncon¬
as

scious emotional involvement the audience has with the movie. The
I put this to my students is, "Never let your metaphor become a
metafive."

way

What recent books, films or artworks have inspired you?
I think it's important to have a broad creative life that goes beyond just
movies. I like Walter Mosley's books. I've read all of John Irving's
books. I love the music of Wayne Shorter. I'm excited about the exhibit
of Diane Arbus' work, which is now in New York at NYU's Grey Art

Gallery.

Do you

have any favorite genres, or genres that you would like
try?
psychological thrillers. The extreme characterizations in these
films give the cinematographer a lot to sink his/her teeth into. I mean
films like The Silence of The Lambs, Psycho, The Sixth Sense, The
Exorcist, What Lies Beneath and The Seventh Sign. I'd like to shoot

to

I like

one

of those.

If you

weren't

a

instead?

cinematographer, what might

you

be doing

Right now I do more teaching than shooting, and it took me a long time
"legitimate." I learned from two great teachers (Woody
Omens, ASC and a former teacher at Temple University named James
Ambandos) that teaching filmmaking is extremely important.
to see this as

Which ASC

cinematographers recommended

you

for member¬

ship?

Steven Poster, Francis Kenny, Robert Primes and

Their

sponsorship

was a

Stephen Lighthill.

tremendous honor.

required to do anything great.

What

of your

key artistic influences?
There is a painting by Georges de La Tour at the Metropolitan Museum
are some

How has ASC membership impacted your life and career?
I've genuinely enjoyed the camaraderie with so many talented, knowl¬

edgeable

men

and

■

women.
American

Cinematographer 111
American Cinematographer - March 2004

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