While much of the awards season tends to focus on the directors behind the camera who yell action, and the actors in front of the camera who make movie memories, the technicians and artists sometimes get forgotten. And indeed, it’s the cinematographer who often makes the work of the filmmaker shine, and recently some of the best in the game sat down for a chat.
Roger Deakins ("Unbroken"), Dion Beebe ("Into The Woods"), Jeff Cronenweth ("Gone Girl"), Benoit Delhomme ("The Theory Of Everything"), Matthew Libatique ("Noah") and Dick Pope ("Mr. Turner") recently gathered for a THR roundtable talk, and as always, it’s illuminating stuff.
The conversation is wide ranging, from their earliest experiences, finding common ground when working with a director for the first time, the difficulty of outdoor shooting and more. But at the end of the day it’s all about the work, and according to Deakins, he’d prefer it if he didn’t get noticed. "People confuse pretty with good cinematography. [The late cinematographer] Freddie Francis said there is good cinematography and bad cinematography, and then there’s the cinematography that’s right for the movie," he said. "I often feel that if reviewers don’t mention your work, it’s probably better than if they do."
Check out the full conversation below.