Why I Want to be a Cinematographer
The stylistic visual choices behind a shot is something that I’ve been drawn to for a long time, which started with a love for photography and any type of craft, including drawing, or sewing characters. I began to get more indulged in movies and TV series and I always questioned in my head how they would get certain shots. I do the same thing now every time I see something new, or old that I re-watch, like Star Wars; I wonder about something different each time and must search up any behind-the-scenes information I can (this video was an eye-opener and goes deep into how things were made in the original trilogy).
All in all, being creative is what I really enjoy doing and want to do as a career. Whenever I’m planning a project, I’m always looking forward to creating the shot list and storyboard, where I’m able to put all my ideas onto paper and later on film them – I always look forward to working with a director someday to create a visual story from scratch.
Some say that films are ‘50% visual and 50% sound’ and I agree with this fully, if one is perfect but the other is not good, it can really take away from the world we’re meant to be in. That’s why, for me, working in a team is important to fulfil every aspect of a film to the best quality, and why I find the industry so incredible. There are so many elements that go into a production and I love to learn about roles that I didn’t know before – Attending the BFI Film Academy has been great for this exact reason, and it’s a lot of fun to learn more about cinematography from those that have had experience in that area.
Inspiration
As well as an actor, Jon Favreau is an incredible director of films and series such as ‘Chef’ and ‘The Mandalorian’. Being a big fan of the Star Wars saga, I quickly watched The Mandalorian when the first season came out in 2019 and I was immediately in awe at the whole show. Each episode felt like it was shot like a movie, which isn’t a surprise for the franchise, but I find it incredible just how much structure and ambience they were able to make, and just the music alone is an amazing mix of western and sci-fi.
If you look up ‘The Mandalorian’, every screen capture of the series shows that every second seems to be planned out to achieve a cinematic and meaningful appearance – good job Favreau and Baz Idoine (DoP). Not only am I inspired by the look of the scenes, I love how they were able to intertwine tasteful comedy throughout, which is something that I like in any show if it’s fitting and it’s what I like to incorporate in my own work (for example, my ‘Emma’ adaptation).