Alright, alright. I think Roger Deakins has been named dropped in nearly every post I've done this semester. He's an amazing photographer capable of creating anything, but my respect for him goes beyond the stunning images he creates. The biggest reason he's my favorite cinematographer is because of his commitment into giving back and helping grow the interest of other DP's. If you've never been to his site - www.rogerdeakins.com - it's an invaluable tool for an filmmaker, especially cinematographers. Here he runs an open forum to which he and a community of other filmmakers provide answers, advice, and feedback to aspiring, curious filmmakers. Besides running the gamut of topics from cameras and lights, there's great insight here (both from Deakins and others) into the mind of a good cinematographers.
Deakins began painting at a very young age which developed into an interest in photography. From here, he moved into shooting documentaries. He shot around the world for nearly seven years before moving into features. For me, shooting documentary was probably the most valuable education experience I ever had. It teaches you about movement, interaction, and most importantly how to start thinking like a visual storyteller. Listening to Deakins talk, he seems completely free of pretension. In the documentary "Cinematographer's Style" I found him to be the most consistently interesting voice. He speaks openly and honestly about his passion: He shoots because he likes it. I like that mantra, and I feel like it's one I've adopted as I've grown. It's as simple as that most of the time. When asked about metering his exposures, Deakins has said on multiple occasions that he lights mostly by eye, and only checks his meter for reference.
Deakins' straightforward, old school personal approach always seems to carry into his work. There's a reality to every scene he shoots. I think a big part of that is that he approaches things from a practical standpoint. When asked about how he lit a particular shot, his answers always seem surprisingly simple - bounces, practicals, natural (or atleast augmenting natural light). He respects the details the shots. It seems like people are always talking about getting that "film look" by crushing their depth of field, but Deakins doesn't rely on this. In fact, actively seeks to preserve details. His focal length of choice? A 32mm. Deakins has said (both in "Cinematographer's Style" and on his forums) that he's shot entire films almost exclusively on a 32 mm lenses. His camera movements are so beautiful you often don't even realize their moving because they flow so well from shot to shot.
I actually feel kind of stupid posting pictures or clips from some of the films Deakins has shot, mainly because of been harping on them throughout the semester (Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford being among my three favorites). So now I'll just highlight a few among them that I haven't touched on.
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"The Ladykillers" It's not the most popular Coen Brothers film, but I really like it. The period-feeling photography is beautiful too.
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"The Shawshank Redemption" I think this was one of his first movies in American that really drew him lot of attention.
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The Coen Brothers remake of "True Grit". It's our Christmas Day, and it's going to be insane.
The end
P.S. honorable mentions to Robert Elswitt, Nestor Almendros, and Sven Nykvist ( I haven't actually seen too may of the movies he shot, but I watched a very good documentary on him called "The Light Keeps me Company" - it's on Netflix instant
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