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Transcript
of Dean Cundey Live Chat
Held February 5, 2000
(Please
Note: All questions from attendees appear in transcript as being from
Moderator)
Moderator (05-Feb-00 3:52:55 PM)
When you were shooting "Halloween," did you have any idea that would be
a pivotal piece of work in your career?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:54:33 PM)
At the time, I was aware of working on a film with a director who knew
how to tell...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:54:51 PM)
the story visually. It was a great experience and relief for me to do
that.. We were all...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:55:12 PM)
hoping we could make a low budget film that would be highly regarded for
its craftmanship...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:55:29 PM)
and well accepted by an audience at the box office, but none of us had
any idea ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:55:47 PM)
how tremendously popular it would become and how much it would jumpstart
all of our careers.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 3:55:55 PM)
How will digital post change the role of the cinematographer?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:56:30 PM)
I haven't heard that question except for the last 5 film festivals and
seminars I've been involved in!
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:57:01 PM)
But it's an extremely important question and one which needs our close
attention...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:57:09 PM)
as we go through this digital transition...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:57:32 PM)
Just as digital visual effects has given the director and all the filmmaking
people a new tool...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:57:48 PM)
I think it will continue to expand into one of the valuable tools the
cinematographer will have...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:58:17 PM)
It will allow us to create and alter our images to better suit the film's
we shoot.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 3:58:31 PM)
In comparing Halloween with many later horror films, there seems to be
remarkably little blood. Was this conscious at the time?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:59:12 PM)
Absolutely. One of the things that John Carpinter and I (and everybody
involved in the creative decisions)...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:59:29 PM)
wanted to do was create suspense, horror and an emotional response from
the audience...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 3:59:47 PM)
without the blatant use of blood and many of the slasher techniques that
have followed.
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:00:13 PM)
I think we succeeded well since we never used an ounce of artificial blood
and the movie...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:00:25 PM)
has scared the pants off several generations of moviegoers.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:00:32 PM)
Many people in the film industry have the ambition to become directors.
Being a cinematographer seems to be a direct line to that end. Have you
ever wanted to direct? If so, what type of project would you like to take
on as your first project?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:01:08 PM)
I am currently developing two or three projects that I would love to direct...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:01:32 PM)
Since cinematographers work so closely with directors, they seem to be
the natural inheritors of that job...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:02:11 PM)
It can be frustrating, however, because most producers seem to not understand
how closely the cinematographer works with the director, actors, production
designer, editor, etc...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:02:44 PM)
And so I feel cinematographers have one of the broadest backgrounds for
making the transition. For some reason...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:03:11 PM)
studios and producers seem to think that writers and actors are somehow
better suited. I don't get it. Do you?
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:03:13 PM)
In regard to Cinematographer's Sample Reels, in your experience, both
as a Cinematographer and as a Director, which do you think is more effective,
a reel showing a varied amount of images, cut quickly and set to music,
or a reel which shows a few scenes in their entirety?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:04:21 PM)
My personal opinion is that you can learn more about a cinematographers
work from contiguous scenes...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:04:45 PM)
rather than short, glitzy sequences made up from the best images you ever
shot...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:05:04 PM)
The reality is, we all get lucky with certain images and if we only chose
the best ones...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:05:32 PM)
it doesn't show your ability to be consistent or effectively serve the
story. I always...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:06:02 PM)
try to make up a reel out of longer pieces, but include a montage at the
beginning out of various features and commercials to get their attention
first.
dpramos (05-Feb-00 4:06:07 PM)
Can you discuss the differences between studio and location work and which
you prefer? Is it easier to walk onto an empty sound stage and start from
scratch or work on location?
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:06:08 PM)
have you always worked with the same gaffer?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:07:08 PM)
I think the realtionship that you build from working successfully with
a variety of your collaborators is extremely important...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:07:30 PM)
I've worked with only three or four gaffers. The first one for about 15
years...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:08:00 PM)
and my current one about 7 years and my camera operator was my collaborator
for 25 years...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:08:24 PM)
It provides for quick path of communications and maximum creative input...
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:08:29 PM)
Can you discuss the differences between studio and location work and which
you prefer? Is it easier to walk onto an empty sound stage and start from
scratch or work on location?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:09:02 PM)
Each has their up and down sides...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:09:24 PM)
The studio, if equipped properly and the set is well designed and thought
out, provides you with the most control...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:09:51 PM)
However, it is hard to create a realistic look sometimes, particularly
exterior sets built on a stage...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:10:26 PM)
Location work gives you that realism, but offers a lot of challenges in
controlling the light and visual aspects effectively...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:10:52 PM)
That's why working with a director and production designer early on can
help prevent the problems of each.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:10:58 PM)
Roger Rabbit was obviously planned and storyboarded extensively. Since
that film have you found yourself doing as much precise in-depth preparation,
and has the nature of similar preparation changed with the advent of newer
digital technologies.
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:12:01 PM)
Because we were so much groundbreaking on Roger Rabbit, we did a great
deal of prethinking, planning and storyboarding...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:12:29 PM)
But I always feel story boards and prep should be the blueprint for you
to take advantage of creative inspiration as you're working...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:12:50 PM)
So as we progressed with Roger Rabbit, and were feeling confident in the
techniques we were developing...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:13:10 PM)
we began to get a little more "seat of the pants," in our creative decision
making...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:13:28 PM)
This allowed us the flexibility to take advantage of inspiration as it
occurred...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:13:41 PM)
I found in subsequent films, I've been able to draw upon that experience...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:14:06 PM)
and apply them Jurassic Park, Casper and others and expand on the storyboarding...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:14:16 PM)
and prethinking we were doing on each of those films...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:14:44 PM)
So I feel it's important to have a roadmap of where you're going with
storyboards, etc., but don't be afraid to push the envelope...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:14:53 PM)
by using your past experience and intuition.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:15:05 PM)
I would be interested in your opinion of Agents, are they a necessary
evil.....
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:15:13 PM)
do they really have the ability to get one work, and have you ever rlanded
a job, a new contact, through your agent?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:15:55 PM)
Sometimes an agent will have access to information about upcoming pictures
or relationships with producers in studios...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:16:11 PM)
and can offer your name up as a possible choice...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:16:25 PM)
Very often, however, most of your work, especially as your career develops,
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:16:43 PM)
comes from people who know your credits and abilities and an agent at
that point...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:17:03 PM)
becomes the deal maker. He's good for keeping a buffer between you ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:17:20 PM)
and the studio and producers who are dealing with the business aspects
of your employment...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:17:39 PM)
and allows you to concentrate on the creative. I would say, however,...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:18:11 PM)
that a small portion of my work has come through the agent and the majority
through my relationships with directors and producers....
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:18:20 PM)
What advice can you give a dp working on the lower budget films where
there is not much access to larger lights, dollies, and all the great
tools larger budgets bring with them?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:18:55 PM)
Some of my fondest memories are of working on low budget film...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:19:11 PM)
with very little equipment. You're left to your creative devices in those
instances...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:19:35 PM)
For this reason, I think I've maintained my "low budget reflexes" and
always try to ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:20:03 PM)
think of the most effective way to shoot a scene or movie. Very often
a lot of equipment can bog you down...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:20:15 PM)
and dull your creative senses...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:20:39 PM)
Don't ever be afraid of a lack of equipment, only a lack of creativity
in yourself, the director or the people working around you.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:20:42 PM)
How do you get ready for the changing role of the cinematographer with
the developments in digital technology?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:21:19 PM)
Because the cinematographer is the bridge between the creative aspects
of filmmaking...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:21:41 PM)
and the technology, it's important to always stay up on the latest tools
and techniques...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:22:00 PM)
Just as we would try to understand and use new lighting equipment, new
camera equipment or film...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:22:23 PM)
we have to understand the digital world, how it works and what it means
to us as new tools...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:22:37 PM)
A lot of the "nuts and bolts" aspects of the digital world...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:22:51 PM)
can be learned by being computer literate and playing with photoshop...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:23:06 PM)
and some of the other software readily available...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:23:30 PM)
It also can be learned by visiting post and visual effects houses, watching
the process and asking questions...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:23:51 PM)
Most visual effects people readily welcome explaining current techniques
because they know...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:24:03 PM)
they will be interfacing with the cinematographer more and more...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:24:13 PM)
Just go out and ask, read, and experiment.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:24:16 PM)
Do you try to keep to a single printer light on a film, or do you get
"timed" dailies - based on your relationship and conversations with the
timer. And do you have any advice for those of us who more and more get
to see only video dailies?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:24:46 PM)
I always try to get "one light middle of the scale" dailies...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:25:03 PM)
It's the best way to evaluate your own performance. You're not chasing
your own tail...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:25:17 PM)
by seeing dailies that are "pre interpreted" by the lab timer...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:25:46 PM)
And then you are trying to figure out exactly how well you're doing with
a particular scene or sequence as far as visual style...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:26:03 PM)
Conversations with the timer and the lab slips that come with each roll
of dailies are crucial...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:26:48 PM)
One of the difficulties in the video dailies world, particularly for people
who work almost entirely in video (ie music videos, commercials and episodics)
is that ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:27:00 PM)
they have a lot more control over color, contrast, etc...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:27:19 PM)
The tele cine colorist often takes advantage of all these controls...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:27:34 PM)
and because you have no "middle of the scale" reference you don't know
how a film print...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:27:56 PM)
will look. Often, I've heard that people doing their first film finish
project...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:28:18 PM)
like a feature, are surprised by the lack of control they have in film.
For this reason...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:28:42 PM)
I think it's essential to ask for film dailies even if only one or two
shots a day, so you can evaluate how you're doing.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:28:48 PM)
How will you go about choosing the Cinematographer for your next directorial
effort?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:29:46 PM)
If you just look at a reel of someone's work, you can evaluate the end
result...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:30:07 PM)
of what they do. But it doesn't tell you about the working relationship,
how fast, how creative...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:30:26 PM)
they work and how much of a collaborative partner they will be...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:30:59 PM)
I like to think that by understanding the challenges of cinematography,
I will be able to communicate in a meaningful way exactly what I would
want in a scene or film...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:31:10 PM)
without necessary imposing too much on the cinematographer...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:31:50 PM)
And I would probably look to past relationships with the people I work
with (for instance my operator for many years, Ray Stella, who is now
shooting...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:32:05 PM)
as a viable choice)...
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:32:12 PM)
What is the most valuable thing you learned from cinematographer James
Wong Howe
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:32:36 PM)
The semester he taught at UCLA was one of the most important...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:32:50 PM)
experiences I had as a film student and as I look back...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:33:13 PM)
some of the most valuable advise I've had. He made the class become the
working crew...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:33:31 PM)
as he would demonstrate lighting techniques. The practical experience...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:33:53 PM)
of working lights, flags, nets and all of the "light modelling" equipment...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:34:16 PM)
gave me the practical skills to work as a cinematographer. But one of
the most surprising thing....
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:34:40 PM)
was his advise, which he said came from working for so many years, of
learning to work...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:34:51 PM)
simpler. With all of the equipment at his disposal...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:35:08 PM)
he said he found himself using fewer and fewer lights than he would have
early in his career...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:35:24 PM)
It became important advise as I began working in low budget features.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:35:26 PM)
What are some of the films that have influenced your visual style?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:36:06 PM)
As I was a film student in the mid and late '60s, I started to become
more aware of the photography and how important it was...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:36:37 PM)
Besides being aware of cinematographers and their contributions, I began
to look at the guys who were working at that time...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:37:05 PM)
I remember being particularly impressed by Conrad Hall's work at that
time working on In Cold Blood...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:37:19 PM)
The Professionals, and some of his other films...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:37:38 PM)
The lighting always was restrained, but important to the film
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:37:46 PM)
film's storytelling...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:38:08 PM)
Since that went along with limitations of low budget filmmaking...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:38:25 PM)
I realized that some of the most effective cinematography is the work
that ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:38:31 PM)
"doesn't get noticed."
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:38:33 PM)
Is there a type of genre film that you haven't done which you would like
to do?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:39:01 PM)
I've been fortunate in having done all kinds of genres...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:39:12 PM)
from low budget horror to high budget effects...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:39:31 PM)
I always wanted to do a good western and was able to do that to a small
extent in Back to the Future III...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:39:39 PM)
And I've always loved period films...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:40:03 PM)
So I would have to say I would love to do a tasty Western or perhaps a
big musical if they ever make them again.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:40:04 PM)
Did you start out as a camera assistant and move up through operating
to being a Director of Photography, or did you take another route, i.e.,
were you lucky enough to "arrive" as a DP, albeit on lower budget projects?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:40:40 PM)
Some of my first work out of film school was doing a variety of "odd jobs"
on low budget features...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:40:59 PM)
I did a little bit of makeup, special effects and edited a couple of films...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:41:14 PM)
But I had always intended to go into cinematography. I had that opportunity...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:41:24 PM)
when I was going to be a gaffer on a low budget film...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:41:40 PM)
and the cameraman quit the day before we were going to begin production...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:41:52 PM)
I convinced the director to let me take over as the cinematographer...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:42:09 PM)
and he recommended me to several other productions after that...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:42:42 PM)
I was never legitimately a camera assistant although I had to "assist
myself" on ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:42:58 PM)
documentaries, etc. and I was never officially an operator, although I
operated and...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:43:18 PM)
was the DP on my first 10 or so features. So I guess you can say...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:43:32 PM)
I started at the top, having done a lot of other jobs on the way.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:43:34 PM)
Dean, which digital EFX houses do you perfer to work with and why?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:44:02 PM)
In the early days of visual effects...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:44:19 PM)
that is, a few years ago, when everything was still photochemical...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:44:40 PM)
there were not a lot of choices. ILM was (and still remains) one of the
top houses...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:44:55 PM)
but the computer has started to level the field...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:45:17 PM)
Often the big effects houses have such high overheads that their costs
put them out of the range...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:45:32 PM)
of smaller productions. But the truth is it isn't just the house...\
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:45:55 PM)
but the creative talent of the people doing the work that is important
and makes the difference int he results...\
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:46:16 PM)
For this reason I think that the effects houses are less important than
looking around...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:46:36 PM)
for smaller, but creative companies that can do particular kinds of work
in a cost effective way.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:46:38 PM)
How do you mix feature film and TV commerical work?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:47:15 PM)
I enjoy both worlds (and they are in many ways separate worlds)...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:47:51 PM)
Features offer certain creative collaborations, longform storytelling
and relationships with the story ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:48:06 PM)
and the actors that can be extrememly rewarding to a cinematographer...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:48:41 PM)
As a cinematographer and director of commercials, I find the relationships
different and creatively challenging in another way...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:49:02 PM)
Often you are asked to very specifically interpret the needs of the client
and the ad agency...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:49:13 PM)
that has worked on storyboards for a long time...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:49:29 PM)
The creative challenge is applying the skills and sensibilities you develop
in features...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:49:52 PM)
to the very specific selling job of commercials...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:50:14 PM)
I enjoy switching back and forth because it makes you reflect on the...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:50:22 PM)
work you need to do as a cinematographer.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:50:24 PM)
How closely do you work with the actors on the set? And do you give them
feedback regarding their performances?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:51:10 PM)
As I pursue work as a director...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:51:32 PM)
one of the frustrating questions and comments I hear is "...but can he
work with actors."
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:52:03 PM)
Anybody who has been on a set knows that the cinematographer works very
closely with the actors in refining the blocking of the scene, explaining
the reasons for...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:52:13 PM)
the dolly move, the lighting, etc...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:52:49 PM)
As a matter of fact, I'm often surprised that some of the directors I've
worked with are less articulate with actors than I would have expected...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:53:14 PM)
And I become the interpreter between the director and the actors...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:53:32 PM)
Usually, it just involves explaining matters of blocking, lighting and
visual...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:53:59 PM)
but sometimes I help clarify something the actor is asked to do by the
director regarding the character or dramatics of the scene...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:54:15 PM)
Being able to do that is one of the t hings that has intrigued and encouraged
me...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:54:22 PM)
about moving into directing.
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:55:00 PM)
Are you talking about the time I showed up nude -- oops. I promised I
wouldn't...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:55:13 PM)
reveal that! Working on the set...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:55:33 PM)
can be such a great social experience because of the many creative and
talented people (and not just the director ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:56:00 PM)
and actors, but also grips, electricians, props and all of the collaborators
on a movie)...
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:56:11 PM)
What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you on a shoot?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:56:21 PM)
that it's hard to pick out the "funniest thing." I've always subscribed
to the theory...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:56:28 PM)
if it isn't fun, why do it? ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:56:54 PM)
Directors and others who feel creating tension and stress on the set ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:57:21 PM)
is part of the filmmaking process are only cutting out the valuable contributioins...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:57:28 PM)
of everyone around them.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 4:57:29 PM)
Do you think it's important for a Director of Photography to have experience
in both Gaffing and camera operating?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:57:44 PM)
Absolutely...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:58:04 PM)
Which is why I recommend film students and young filmmakers to try doing
that and other...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:58:17 PM)
roles in the filmmaking process...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:58:40 PM)
Editing and working with the production designer are also important skills
to understand...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:59:11 PM)
By working as a gaffer and operator and doing editing (if at all possible),
gives you an understanding ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:59:37 PM)
of not only the creative challenges in those jobs, but also the technical
and logistical...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 4:59:51 PM)
problems that the gaffer and others must consider in doing their work
well...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:00:09 PM)
If you as the cinematographer understand these problems, you can help
your crew people...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:00:22 PM)
be more effective in interpreting your needs.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:00:24 PM)
Who usually hires you---the director, producer, or studio?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:01:20 PM)
Usually it is the director who "hires" you by either having seen your
work or having been recommended to him by someone...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:01:44 PM)
The producer and/or studio often has a say in your employment because
they want to be sure...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:02:14 PM)
you're not going to fritter away their hard-earned money with excessive
artistic demands and tyranny.
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:02:51 PM)
For this reason I think it's important to not only be creative as a cinematographer
visually, but also responsible economically and logistically...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:03:15 PM)
as much as possible. It strengthens your desireability from all of the
above-named parties.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:03:22 PM)
I have been taking a Photoshop class, in Photography courses in college.
Adobe Photoshop 5.5, have you had a chance to use it yet and what do you
think about it, if so?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:04:21 PM)
Photoshop can teach you essentially all of the techniques...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:04:29 PM)
that are used in digitial visual effects..
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:04:46 PM)
It's one of the most effective ways to learn the techniques and limitations
that are used...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:05:02 PM)
in visual effects work. I haven't used 5.5 myself, but I see it used all
the time...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:05:36 PM)
and I think each version of Photoshop has been not only an improvement
for its purposes, but also what it can teach.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:05:40 PM)
when I shoot I wind up doing the gaffing, operating and the job of the
DP. Have you ever done a low budget job where you had to take on all those
jobs?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:06:00 PM)
Yes indeed...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:06:18 PM)
And it's one of the best ways to learn how to integrate all of those skills...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:07:00 PM)
The DP, as I mentioned eariler, is in charge of all of those areas. The
more you understand how to do those jobs, the more effective you can be
as a cinematographer. ..
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:07:18 PM)
While sometimes it can be stressful and nerve-wracking to do all three
jobs...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:07:32 PM)
it can also be some of the most creatively rewarding and even fun.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:07:34 PM)
What is your opinion of HDTV vs 35mm film. Do you think Lucas will change
the course of feature film making?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:07:56 PM)
We've been hearing about the death of film for years now...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:08:22 PM)
And yet, there's almost no one who doesn't concede that 35mm film is the
best quality image, the highest resolution...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:08:27 PM)
and the best archiving medium...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:09:06 PM)
While there are proponents and, in fact, even advantages in some cases
of digital capture, the ability to equal or surpass film...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:09:15 PM)
quite a ways off...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:09:32 PM)
For this reason, I think HD will remain for a while a specific tool ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:09:56 PM)
but I do not think in the near future it will be medium that will replace
film.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:09:58 PM)
How long do you think it will be before film goes away?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:10:45 PM)
That's one of the issues and questions that everybody would like to know...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:11:04 PM)
It took 7 years or more to convert theaters to digital sound...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:11:16 PM)
which was a cheap and easy fix. To replace film...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:11:30 PM)
as a source of entertainment in over 106,000 theaters around the world...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:11:45 PM)
seems like something that could possibly never occur...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:12:08 PM)
As digital exhibition slowly evolves (first in just larger cities)...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:12:37 PM)
film will still be needed in most of the rest of the world..
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:13:01 PM)
while there are still people saying 3 years, 7 years, or 10 years for
the death of film..
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:13:19 PM)
I can't see it occurring that fast. It will be a slow change...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:13:26 PM)
if it occurs at all.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:13:39 PM)
Do you think today's cinematographers get more or less recognition than
your predecessors, like James Wong Howe, Gregg Toland, etc, and what's
the outlook for the future?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:14:42 PM)
I think that the awareness of cinematography as a contributing element...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:14:59 PM)
to a film has become more heightened in recent years...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:15:26 PM)
I am still asked by "regular film-going folks" exactly what does a cinematographer
do?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:15:43 PM)
But they are more aware of the importance of the visual image in the storytelling...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:16:17 PM)
In the early days, James Wong Howe, Gregg Toland, Leon Shamroy were all
contract cinematographers for various studios...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:16:34 PM)
and as such, they, like the directors, were considered by the studios...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:16:41 PM)
to be just the employees who make their films...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:16:55 PM)
Now that actors and directors and writers have become their own superstars...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:17:09 PM)
the cinematographers are still regarded by producers...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:17:21 PM)
on one hand as just "below the line" employees...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:17:40 PM)
but secretly they understand the importance of the cinematographer. They
just don't want to admit it...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:18:04 PM)
I think our roles have in some way become more acknowledged, but only
within the circle of the industry. And certainly...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:18:19 PM)
not to the general public like the stars and some directors.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:18:20 PM)
What do think is the best technique for lighting a exterior night scene?
Especially for a scene where the main light source would be the moon itself?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:19:01 PM)
We have always considered blue light to be the convention for moonlight...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:19:18 PM)
The reality is that extremely low light level of the moon...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:19:33 PM)
really does not allow the eye to pick up color...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:20:04 PM)
I am looking forward to the ability of using the digital world to allow
us to use the computer...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:20:20 PM)
to desaturate the color out of night exteriors for that realistic look...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:20:58 PM)
In the meantime, I tend to use HMIs or "half blue" on tungsten lights
to create cool blue light...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:21:10 PM)
for night exteriors. The difficulty in moonlight...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:21:21 PM)
is getting the light source high enough and far enough away...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:21:36 PM)
to create the "single source" look of the moon. For this reason...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:22:22 PM)
a large light in a high condor basket or, if the budget allows, a Musco
or similar large night exterior light system can be very effective.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:22:48 PM)
Photoshop is a lot of fun you should try it if you have time. I know you're
a busy man and all that but I think that digital photography is going
to change cinematography as we know it today. Very soon now! As a Director
of Photography are you ready for the big change? If so what adjustments
are you making?
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:23:48 PM)
That really come down to the definition of what we do as cinematographers...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:24:05 PM)
The film, the cameras, the lenses, the lights and all of the other tools
we use...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:24:18 PM)
have changed constantly over the years, yet our job remains to use these
tools...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:24:33 PM)
to visually interpret the needs of the story and to help the director
accomplish these...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:24:56 PM)
As radical a change as digital photography would seem to be, it will still
be a change of our tools...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:25:20 PM)
We may have to relearn how this new medium responds to light and how we
can make it serve our needs...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:25:42 PM)
but there will always be the need for someone to do the visual interpreting...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:25:54 PM)
I'm not afraid that digital will replace us...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:26:08 PM)
anymore than it will replace the writer or director...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:26:27 PM)
The writer was not replaced by the word processor. He only learned to
use it...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:26:38 PM)
to create more effective stories faster and easier...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:26:54 PM)
I think it's the same with digital and the cinematographer.
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:27:42 PM)
I have to leave now. But I want to thank everyone who participated for
some of the most perceptive questions I've heard...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:28:22 PM)
Thanks for your interest. Even though we're out of time if any questions
did not get answered, please email them on the website and I will receive
them and try and ...
Dean Cundey (05-Feb-00 5:28:37 PM)
answer as many of them as I can. Thanks and have a nice weekend.
Moderator (05-Feb-00 5:39:25 PM)
Chat participants, please email your questions for Mr. Cundey to the web
administrator on the site and we will post the questions and answers.
Thanks again.
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