Posted by sean at threshold8n.jpmorgan.com on July 31, 2002 at 18:38:15:
In Reply to: Director...Cinematographer...I'm so confused... posted by MrWhiteChocolate on July 31, 2002 at 17:53:14:
: Ok, I used to think that the director of a movie setup how they wanted a scene in a movie to look, but now I've been getting the impression that cinematographers do everything that involves the camera, in addition to their work with lights. Can someone clear this up for me?
... because, honestly, it varies from set to set. But, roughly:
Director - the director's primary job is supposed to be working with actors, and secondarily how best to tell the story of the film. They certainly have final say over how the film should look, but will rarely go much beyond camera moves/placement. It's rare for a director to actually take an active part in the lighting, for instance. (Kubrick is a notable exception to this; his films rarely, if ever, (after a point in his career) have a Director of Photography credit because he himself took such an active role in every part of it.
Director of Photography (aka cinematographer) - primary job is the lighting (or, more accurately, telling the gaffer what they want, sorting out electrical issues, and then the gaffing crew and the grips set shit up, then they spend as long as they possibly can trying different variations of flags in front of the lights). They'll also come into play in terms of camera moves, especially if the director isn't focused on that sort of thing, and framing of shots (as much as anybody other than the projectionist at the theater can control framing; but, for DVD purposes, you can see the proper framings). If you get knowledgable enough, you can pick up on little things to distinguish DPs. For instance, Conrad Hall will ALWAYS cut off foreheads and tops of heads in close-ups. (This really pulled me out of the otherwise amazingly shot "Road to Perdition", because here they went to all the trouble to ugly-up Jude Law, and we never see what they did to his hair except in really long shots from behind.) Also, the D.P. is usually the one who chooses the lens that the shot will be shot on, though most directors have at least enough knowledge of lenses to know if they should over-rule the D.P. for a specific reason. (Each lens has some things it does well and some it doesn't ... that you can buy a book on, I'd only muck it up anyway.)
Camera Operator - Largely overlooked by people, the camera op actually gets input too, especially on framing and movements. Unless the DP is operating himself.