The Role of a Director of Photography.
The American Cinematographer Manual describes the responsibilities of the director of photography (DoP) as the assistant architect and executor of the visual landscape of a film or piece of video content. The director of photography is the head over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, television production, commercials, and virtual productions. They are responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image.1 The director of photographer's role extends deep into all three aspects of a project including pre-production, production, and post-production. Let's explore these in more depth.
Pre-Production
"Always set yourself up for success" - Shane Hurlbut ASC
Shane said it best, it is all about setting yourself up to hit a home run, every time you're up to bat, and that means DoPs do their homework. This includes meeting with the other creative leads to start creating and shaping the look of the images. They ask the director how do you see the light in the scene, what is the color palette, how does the camera move, what is the goal of the project? All of these questions will help us get closer to the director's vision, look, and feel of the project. Then, we get down to the nuts-and-bolts, so to speak. This including gear requirements, testing cameras, and lenses. We ask ourselves what equipment is going to give us the director's look while maintaining the producer's budget and time restrictions.
This is HUGE, you can want everything, but what do you need to take to keep the project in control and achieve the vision. It is the DoP's job to be a responsible steward of the resources the production has allowed. On-time and under budget is always the goal. That is really the pleasure of pre-production, problem-solving, and helping design the look. Pre-production can range from 2 days for a commercial to 8 months on a blockbuster feature.
Personally, I love to collaborate on overhead drawings and lighting diagrams for the director and lighting team. This allows me to think through the setups and start problem solving before we are on set and time is money. It is much cheaper to think through all of the issues ahead of time, then it is to come unprepared and face them on set.
Pre-Production Responsibilities
Bring visual references to the production team
Get in the minds of the creative leads
Work through the various logistics of shots and scenes
Help source, manage, and test lighting and camera equipment
Create a game-plan for the look
Production
"I feel every shot, every camera move, every frame, and the way you frame something and the choice of lens, I see all those things are really important on every shot" - Roger Deakins ASC BSC
The director of photography is then responsible for taking those visions and plans discussed in pre-production and executing them in a timely manner. This involves supervising the lighting, grip, and camera crews to become an efficient unit. Not only is the role of a DoP executing a specific plan, but a lot of the time on set we collaborate with creative leads on how to improve the content throughout the shoot. Unexpected things come up all the time during production. What you thought would work does not. Creative inspiration comes about on set. It is the job of the DoP, to solve those unforeseen situations and help achieve the very best out of any given situation, regardless of the obstacles thrown at the production. Also, the DoP is chiefly concerned about quality control for the project's images. We make sure that the lighting, composition, and camera movement being captured are the very best they can be.
Production Responsibilities
Execute the director's and producer's vision
Lead the lighting and camera crews to capture all the content for a given day, on time
Problem solve any issues that may arise throughout the production
Oversee the quality of the images being captured
Collaborate with the creative leads to capture the very best content.
Post-Production
The cinematographer's role extends deep into post-production with the goal of assuring that the "look" that he or she rendered is what the audiences see on cinema, television [computer] screens. - American Cinematography Manual
With the advent of raw and extremely flexible digital workflows, it is the job of the DoP to help guide the producers and creatives through the final stages of the image development and achieve the final look. We can help implement a proven and efficient workflow that works for your specific project. It is about bringing a cohesiveness to the project and letting the intentionality shine through from pre production to final deliverable.
Post Production Responsibilities
Supervise the coloring of the images
Advise any CG elements that are incorporated
Advise on the format of deliverables.
