Transcript
of Live Chat with Donald
M. Morgan, ASC
July.
10, 2004
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:06:54 AM)
Greetings. Hello everybody. I'm ready to take the first question.
SBDP (Jul 10, 2004 10:07:05 AM)
You have probably more than 20 pictures with Joe Sargent and Roger Young. Does
it get easier working with the same directors that many times, or are you
always trying to top what you did the time before?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:09:07 AM)
I think it's a lot easier working with someone I've worked with for many years.
I've done 13 pictures with Roger Young and about the same with Joe Sargent.
We don't have to do a lot of dialogue with each other. With both these gentlemen,
I've gained a long standing trust. They both explain what they want and then
we go to work.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:09:41 AM)
And we are always trying to top what we've done before. That's not always possible.
CoryBlue (Jul 10, 2004 10:10:05 AM)
You mentioned in your interview that you knew John Alonzo really well. How
did you get to know him? Was it on aerial projects or commercials, or were
you personal friends? What was he like as a person? Do you think he ever
truly got the recognition he deserved?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:11:35 AM)
I worked with John on a picture where he did an aerial shot of Petula Clark
standing on the Queen Mary. He was the cameraman and I served as his assistant.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:13:09 AM)
The way that I got know John Alonzo was through his help getting my union classification
changed. John knew all the tricks because he fought the union for years.
His wife, Jan, knew all the answers. We called her a Philadelphia lawyer
because she researched all the ways to change your classification within
the union
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:14:52 AM)
I think John was a terrific person. He was always helpful to me as I was coming
up through the ranks.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:16:57 AM)
One of the early connections was when I became a DP. John was working on Sheila
Levine is Dead and Living in New York. That film kept getting postponed
so John took on another project, Chinatown, and I got to do Sheila.
I feel that since John came in the backdoor like I did, there was some early
resentment. He was treated like an outsider by his peers.
Air_Jordan (Jul 10, 2004 10:20:13 AM)
Now that you've switched almost exclusively to ground work, do you miss the
aerial shots? Why?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:21:50 AM)
I switched many years ago, I still miss it enough to do it on occasion. I haven't
done it in a few years, but whenever a film I'm working on calls for it,
I usually end up doing it. I miss the excitement of doing aerial work and
also the freedom it offered.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:22:52 AM)
No one tells you what to do!
Jorge (Jul 10, 2004 10:23:06 AM)
I'm curious about you experiences working with musicians. Especially on The
Arturo Sandoval Story. Why type of relationship does a cinematographer
have with the music supervisor and is that important?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:26:16 AM)
My relationship was with Joe Sargent, the director. We collaborated with Arturo
Sandoval and Andy Garcia about the way to cover the musical numbers. On any
of the music that we covered, we had three cameras and three monitors. Joe
and I would sit and look at the monitors, while they were playing live, and
tell them to go to the drums, go to strings, etc.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:28:15 AM)
I don't think that many cinematographers deal much with music supervisors.
Most of our relationships are conducted through the director.
kosmodog (Jul 10, 2004 10:29:02 AM)
Your lighting and shot design on Out of the Ashes gave a tremendous
sense of horror to the depiction of Aushwitz Concentration Camp. How if at
all were you able to research any of that?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:30:43 AM)
The research pictures I was shown were black and white – which was interesting
though we weren't shooting in black and white.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:32:34 AM)
My approach to the lighting was to ask the production designer to paint all
the bungalows in Auschwitz a drab, dark green. I used a lot of top light
on Christine Lahti to give her deep shadows in her eyes. We introduced a
lot of green back light – which I feel is an annoying color – mixed with
a warm searchlight to give it an eerie look.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:35:24 AM)
My idea was to use a more pleasant look as she was younger all the way up to
when she became a young doctor.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:35:58 AM)
After the Nazis took her to the ghettos we changed the look to a real dark
contrasty, harsh look. When we went to Auschwitz, I introduced some of the
green back light and top lighting.
Phil (Jul 10, 2004 10:37:08 AM)
I read that Harry Stradling was an early influence in your career. Didn’t they
use to call him “the prince of darkness?” Did he influence your use of darkness?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:38:27 AM)
Harry Stradling, Jr was an influence of mine.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:42:00 AM)
I don't think Harry Jr. was called the Prince of Darkness. My introduction
to Harry was on a picture called Skyjacked. I was the aerial camera
man and Harry helped me get my first agent. He also recommended me for my
second feature as a director of photography – a picture called Santee with
Glenn Ford. We've stayed friends for many years.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:42:51 AM)
My main influence on dark, moody pictures was Gordon Willis and films like Klute and The
Godfather.
CoryBlue (Jul 10, 2004 10:43:45 AM)
You said that if you can prove to HBO that you need to take your key crew members
with you, they listen. How do you convince them? Do they want to hear that
you'll be able to work faster, or that it is going to be a better film, or
both?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:46:34 AM)
Unfortunately, almost all answers come down to money. But I think HBO does
respect the fact that you need to bring some key people with you to make
the very tough schedule work.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:47:51 AM)
I think the way to convince them is to look at the local talent and be truthful
with them. If they don't have the experience it takes to move fast, that's
your chance to suggest some key people need to be brought in.
garrett (Jul 10, 2004 10:49:43 AM)
You've obviously had your share of young directors, I'm curious as to whether
or not the personal experience of the director has played a role in the amount
of control available to the cinematographer on a film set?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:52:11 AM)
My job as a cinematographer is to try and figure out what his vision is. Sometimes
they don't even know. I make it very clear that I don't want to be the director
on their picture. I want to help and make constructive suggestions.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:54:52 AM)
I was a cinematographer on Robert Zemeckis' first film, I Want to Hold Your
Hand.
Robert had great ideas, but what I admired most was he was not embarrassed
to ask me or Steven Spielberg, the executive producer, questions on how he
should cover a certain scene. I loved the fact that he wasn't he embarrassed
to ask. If he liked the idea, we'd do it. If he didn't, we wouldn't
Gino (Jul 10, 2004 10:58:52 AM)
How did directing commercials teach you about cinematography?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 10:59:38 AM)
What I learned about cinematography through commercials was to be a little
bit bolder with my photography. I worked with some pretty creative directors.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:01:55 AM)
I would light a set and Stan Dragoti, the director, would look at my work and
say, ‘You're not done are you?’ He'd tell me, ‘Put a shadow on the wall.
Put more backlight on that woman. That window looks too flat. Put a tree
shadow on there. Now you're done lighting the set.’
Deep Focus (Jul 10, 2004 11:02:25 AM)
You said Joe Sargent is attracted to character-driven movies about underdogs.
How about you? Is there a type of film that really appeals to you?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:05:15 AM)
I like any film that I can believe can really happen. I have fun doing movies
like Starman and Christine. I love the character driven reality
movies.
Noni (Jul 10, 2004 11:05:52 AM)
Christine is one of the scariest films ever. What made it so
frightening? And how did the cinematography contribute to it?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:07:37 AM)
I think that Christine is an example of dark and moody photography.
John Carpenter, the director, is a master of scary moody. I think my contribution
was mainly in the lighting.
SBDP (Jul 10, 2004 11:08:08 AM)
It was interesting reading that you worked with John Carpenter on both Elvis and Christine.
You probably couldn’t have two more different films. You mentioned learning
a lot from him about camera movement. Can you recall any examples?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:10:36 AM)
My early training was when you did a dolly shot with the camera, the dolly,
the pan, the zoom all stopped at the same time. John loved to do steady cam
shots that just kept moving. Sometimes I would tell John we should do this
again. He didn't stop at the right place. John's reply was ‘Who cares?’
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:11:29 AM)
I learned to be a little freer with the movement. This does not work on all
movies. The next director might say you went too far.
Top Gun (Jul 10, 2004 11:11:36 AM)
I'd love to hear a list of do's and don'ts for aerial photography. What advice
would you offer a young aerial cam guy?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:12:11 AM)
Don't fall out of the helicopter.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:17:12 AM)
When I first started out, you had to keep the horizon line straight. All of
the mistakes I made early on now seem to be in. On commercials I've been
told go ahead and dutch the camera. My experience as an aerial camera man
was with the Tyler mount so I had a lot of freedom.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:17:57 AM)
My suggestion would be to go to Tyler camera systems and learn all you can
about helicopter mounts.
Lenser (Jul 10, 2004 11:18:02 AM)
One thing that comes across in your interview is how much respect you have
for the audience. You believe they understand the nuances in images. Do you
have trouble convincing the studios that production values matter? How do
you do it?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:19:18 AM)
The statement that bothers me more than anything is when they say, "If
they're looking at that, they're not looking at the movie.’ Meaning they don't
think the audience can look at more than one thing at time. I know this is
not true. I think when you're in the business a long time a lot of people become
jaded.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:23:37 AM)
Sometimes it is hard to convince producers, directors, etc. I always do the
best I can at convincing directors to keep it honest. Sometimes this doesn't
work. At other times we're aware that there are mistakes, but time and money
won't allow them to do it better. So you have to move on. Hopefully these
mistakes can be worked out in preproduction.
Retroman (Jul 10, 2004 11:24:24 AM)
I want to thank you for your comments about not being able to fix it in post.
The problem is that there is so much propaganda by technology vendors that
some producers believe they can take short-cuts while they are shooting.
How do you convince producers that you have to get the original photography
right?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:26:23 AM)
First of all, I never let that leave my mouth: that we can fix it post. At
best, we can enhance in post. Some producers who really care about their
project don't seem to need much convincing.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:28:30 AM)
The ones you have the most trouble with are the ones who don't seem to really
care. I've worked on movies where producers have been willing to spend some
of their own money to make things better. They seem to be very rare. I don't
mean to take pot shots at producers because I've worked with some very caring
individuals. A lot of the problems always come down to money. What a shame.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:30:00 AM)
I personally have gone out on my own and shot things that would make the picture
better on my own time. I think if we all were willing to give a little and
not be greedy we'd have a much more pleasant industry.
sally (Jul 10, 2004 11:33:03 AM)
How important is your relationship with your timer? At what point in the production
do you need to start talking to him/her?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:36:27 AM)
It's very important. Your daily timer should be contacted immediately whether
your dailies are projected or taped. You want to immediately put the director
and producers at ease with what you're doing. The dailies are usually not
perfect, but you want to keep as close to the look as possible. That way
when you go to post-timing, there's no big surprise. The answer is very important.
Nacha (Jul 10, 2004 11:36:40 AM)
I've heard it said before that cinematographers are part technician and part
artist. Where do you fit in this formula?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:37:33 AM)
I hope I'm an artist because I'm a lousy technician.
Remmy (Jul 10, 2004 11:39:27 AM)
During the course of your career, what has been the most unsettling development
or change in the industry that you've experienced?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:42:35 AM)
The lack of respect for each other. It seems to me that years ago when I first
started, the producer picked a director that he trusted to direct his picture.
The director picked the cinematographer to shoot the picture. The cinematographer
picked his crew and we let each other do their job.
Cap (Jul 10, 2004 11:43:39 AM)
Looking back, what is the project you're most proud of? That you think you
did the best work on?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:44:55 AM)
I hate to make this answer so short, but I haven't done it yet.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:48:36 AM)
To elaborate, Miss Evers' Boys was a very rewarding experience. It was
about the government's involvement in a test on African-Americans with syphilis
to see if they reacted the same as whites. The experiment was terrible. They
had ways to cure the disease, but did not treat the blacks with the proper
medication and let them go insane and die. The picture was so powerful that
President Clinton apologized to the last remaining man still alive. That was
a proud moment for me.
Ernie (Jul 10, 2004 11:51:24 AM)
I really admire your longevity. Are there any secrets to having a long and
full career?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:51:52 AM)
Don't die!
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:52:52 AM)
But in between time don't lose your passion, your enthusiasm, your respect
and always give it 100 percent.
Moderator (Jul 10, 2004 11:53:34 AM)
One last thought Don, what's your next project?
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:55:43 AM)
My next project is Hercules. The director is Roger Young. As I said
earlier, this will be our 13th project together. It'll be shot in New Zealand.
It's a miniseries and will take four months. Production starts July 19th.
Donald M. Morgan (Jul 10, 2004 11:56:12 AM)
Goodbye and thanks to everyone for the great questions.
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