Customer Reviews

Cinematography for Directors: A Guide for Creative Collaboration

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The first thing I did when I decided to make my feature film was to bring in a DP. Mike was a guy I worked with backstage on some musicals and a guy I knew who was a hard worker, easy to get a long with, didn't put up with crap and someone that I could trust. I also had a chance to work with a guy who had professional lights, professional equipment and was willing to "help out." Though this other guy was available, I went with Mike because I had relationship with him. And I'll be honest with you: He taught me more than I realize.

Ms. Frost book is about those relationships. Those "getting on the same page" moments that define the film-making process. When you think about it - you need to have EVERYONE on the same page - from the sound guy, to the actor, to the home owner whose home you're abusing in the process of making your film.

What Ms. Frost does in her extremely detailed book - is give the director all the tools he or she needs to find that common ground with the Cinematographer. To get on the same page. To recognize what it is that the Director of Photography (or the guy who showed up with the really nice camera) brings to the ENTIRE process. She takes you through everything from lens choices and film stock to cameras and aspect ratios so that you have some understanding of what is going on in your DP's head to create an environment of trust and understanding. To create the magic that is film-making.

What magic? When I made my film we were filming at night a poignant scene at the loudest cemetery in Washington State (in which we had no official permission to film). We were using a consumer Canon HV20 camera. My daughter, who was on pain meds and kind of drowsy, held up a box light we purchased from Ikea - power fed by a generator 20 feet away. We got the actors in place and Mike looked through the camera. Like a kid on Christmas morning he motioned me over: "Look at this!" The shot was beautiful. It was magical. It conveyed everything I could have ever wanted in the scene. Could I have got that shot myself? I highly doubt it.

Still...what makes Jacqueline Frost's book stand out is not only the great information that she provides, but the hundreds of quotes from cinematographers about all the aspects of cinematography. This is THE book that takes you into the mind of the cinematographer and helps you, the director, become better at your craft. Excellent.

Frost explains exactly what every director needs to know about cinematography.

She covers everything, including: creative collaboration, script, visual palettes (colors), lighting, genre films, lenses, and cameras. She also has a very useful chapter on classic creative collaborations in film.

As a freelance cinematographer, teacher and film industry insider, Frost knows exactly what she is talking about, and all her explanations are drawn from first-hand experience. She explains exactly how to forge a collaborative relationship between director, cinematographer and production designer. The history of film shows that this collaboration is the single best way to get the highest production value for any film. Absolutely essential information!

Although Cinematography for Directors is clearly written for professionals by a professional, Frost's explanations apply directly to low-budget films.

Any filmmaker--including documentary--can usefully use the chapters on Visual References and Color Palette. These chapters tell exactly how you can use specific color palettes to differentiate between characters or locations or time periods, to establish a specific tone or mood, or to maintain the stylistic mood of a genre.

When I asked Frost if it was possible to shoot a "decent" film with a small prosumer camera, she said "Absolutely. What really matters it is the way in which you use the camera. Shoot film style with carefully

selected shots and compositions, light it softer to avoid the harsher video look, and tell a good story. People generally don't care about format they care about story."

If I were ever to produce a film, I would make sure that my director, cinematographer and production designer all spent a day with Jacqui Frost.

Recommended for: film students, film teachers, independent filmmakers, directors, production designers, cinematographers, camera operators and anyone even remotely interested in producing an independent film.

I just finished reading this book and I have to tell you this is the book aspiring directors have been waiting for.It clears all the misconceptions and mystery of cinematography for the none cinematographer.This book is great for the the Director who wishes to know more about what the DP has to do make his vision an reality.(Well not really reality since it's fiction but you get the point.)Don't go on your next project without this.It will definitely come in handy on the set.

A revealing and instructive exploration of the delicate dance which inevitably takes place between cinematographer and director, greatly enriched by the inclusion of interviews with top cinematographers. Frost sheds much needed light on the rather mysterious issue of what a cinematographer actually does. Hint: it's more than just look through the camera- much more! Fascinating sections on such subjects as the colour palette of film, lighting for genre and the inside story of how to achieve "The Look" leave the reader vastly more educated about this key craft. This book will ease the trepidation of the first time director with tons of detailed technical information, nicely broken down into easily digestible chunks and lots of insight into how the technical can be applied toward better communication. At the same time, it will deepen the knowledge base of the experienced director leading to a better collaborative process. Without question, a real gem.

Cinematography for Directors is truly an excellent resource for directors. I have spoken with numerous DPs who, off the record, talk about how too many directors just don't know the basics of filmmaking. It's the "I work with actors...you shoot the pictures" syndrome. Often, that attitude comes from fear. "I'll make a fool of myself if I try to 'talk camera' with the DP." This book is therefore a great equalizer. It gives directors the language and insight they need to communicate with DPs. The benefits can be huge. Imagine real, productive conversations about how to get your vision across through camera and light. If as a director, you want knowledge, insight and ideas, this book will not steer you wrong.

Deke Simon, filmmaker, teacher and author, "Film & Video Budgets"

"A cinematographer is a painter with light," writes cinematographer/producer/director/professor Jacqueline Frost. In this well-organized, well-written book, she sheds light on every phase of cinematography: From the pre-production phase when the professional connection begins between director and cinematographer through the production phase when the movie is filmed to the post production phase when the cinematographer oversees telecine, the lab, and the DI process to yield the final theater or broadcast ready show.

As a writer-editor who plans to produce her own documentary in the future, I appreciated her clear guidance from the aesthetic to the technical on lighting, blocking, film genres, and camera lenses, movements and types of cameras - film and digital - themselves. Stressing the importance of the creative collaboration between director and cinematographer, she steers the neophyte director as well as the experienced director to make the right choice in a cinematographer. Her interviews with illustrious cinematographers bolster her points.

A superb handbook from a seasoned pro who loves her calling and shares her knowledge with us via text, interviews, shots of equipment, movie frame grabs and, pictures of painting. I highly recommended this loaded book to anyone who wants to understand cinematography. Follow her guidance and you will achieve great movies.

Tomorrow I'll be sending out crews of college video-makers, and this books has proved invaluable. Professor Frost avoids academic jargon, and uses clear and useful examples of great story-telling and filmmaking technique from classic to cutting edge films. Few books tell about the interplay of directors and production designers at all, and this book explains what both roles contribute to making good movies.

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The book clearly stems from years of teaching young filmmakers and film students as well as the author's experience directing and designing productions. It also uses material from the writer's interviews with some of the finest living cinematographers, masters of their craft. Part of the discussion also explains how young filmmakers can negotiate today's industry. This volume will help people who love film deepen their experience as viewers and seems invaluable for novice directors and cinematographers. The cinematographers have a lot of insightful things to say that professionals in the industry would enjoy too.

I love love love this book! If you're like me, as a director all the actors stuff I got down. However, the technical stuff not so much. I bought a DSLR camera with lenses to get an understand of photography and I have a hard time understanding exposer and how to use a light meter, DoF and how all those work together to get a great shot. I don't understand the language of a cinematographer. I've read the most complicated Cinematography books when I was in film school and this book was the first time it all just clicked for me. The author explains the information in a way that not only do I understand but I can take out into the field immediately. I can read a chapter about lenses and take my camera out and use what I've learned. That is so refreshing to do. I spent so much time with other material trying to understand some mathematical foreign language. Also it's a great resource to carry around and refer back to, but the information is so easy to understand that you will get it in your head quickly and use less of the book as a reference.

I feel a lot more technically savvy now thanks to this book.

I'm a writer and director and I bought this book because it appeared to be written for directors, meaning I thought it would teach me what basic shots I should storyboard, the shots I should expect to get from a DP, the jargon I should use, etc.

I found this book to have more fluff than useful information. There are too many quotes from other people - pages of quotes.

Most of the pages for preview are just listings of credits without showing the actual use in the book. What is the point? How about showing some pages so one may get the overall flavor of the book??? How DUMB!