Camera Placement

[filmsforever]

Who decides the camera placement in the films you shoot? Are there times when the director tells you where he wants it shot from and what action he wants to be the focal point? Or is this mostly up to you?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

It's a collaboration between the DP and director, though the director has the final choice, so all I can do is make suggestions and discuss the camera angle, let the director say yes or no. But we discuss it, maybe look through a lens and agree on something.

 

[filmsforever]

If he asks you is that your job?

If he asks you is that your job?

If the director asks you is that your job to come up with suggestions? What do you look for in a scene and script that help you decide what you are focusing on and where the camera goes and what kind of shot it is?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Of course it's your job to offer suggestions to a director, especially if asked for one. You're the expert in cinematography after all.

You base lens selection on so many factors. Personal taste is one -- maybe you or the director has a leaning towards long or short focal lengths for personal aesthetic reasons.

You base it on compression of perspective. Do you want to elongate the space or collapse it?

You base it on how close you need to get to the subject and how tight.

You base it on the limitations of your lenses, speed, minimal focus distance, etc.

And you try to make a lot of these decisions based on the story point you are trying to make, the mood you are trying to create, and how to best capture the action of the scene.