Questioning the Material

Over the last few years, filmmaking has become something I wanted to pursue. I dreamt of one day directing a movie, working with a team, and creating stories that would resonate with people. It then dawned on me that I never thought about the stories I would be showing to the world. After listening to my cinematography teacher's lecture, there were many things I hadn’t thought about. One important thing that a Cinematographer must look at is the material.

Knowing the material is a significant part because it not only affects how you envision the film but, showcases who you are as a person and your beliefs. When you are given a script breaking down the material is important. It helps you evaluate the story as you are the facilitator, the one presenting the vision of the Writer and Director. So you must read everything. My teacher says to read the script two or three times and see if the materials fit who you are. Your name will come up as the Director of photography or the cinematographer so you must ask yourself, is what I'm showing something I am proud of? What is the story saying? Do I agree with the themes? Is this theme something I want to put out on the screen? The same goes for looking at the character.

What do the characters represent in this world? Do they align with your beliefs? It's vital to ask these questions before you say yes to the project. My teacher shares “If it goes against your worldview and it goes against your beliefs, Don’t do it!”. In most situations, we might feel like “It’s a good opportunity”, so we just decide to say "Yes I’ll do it". But don’t compromise your beliefs for the job. Because you’ll be feeling uncomfortable filming if you just said yes to the project out of money. When saying yes to a film it needs to be a YES because the materials are really good.

As a cinematographer you are an artist as well, so it’s important that what you put out into the world is something you are proud of and something that you wanted to do. Asking yourself those questions even in your daily life becomes much more than just putting out something randomly into the world. It’s something you are proud of and is making the world a tiny bit better. So, look at that project or script, “is it a world that you want to create?”