Blog 1 Role Research for Script to Screen

I have struggled with time management, length of my written work and teamwork in previous units so my starting point for this project was to reflect on what I can do to improve this time. I intend to use these blogs to record some of my progress and ongoing challenges. 

I have now begun my research for our new group project. Reading is not my strong point, so I recognise I have to do my research in small chunks and use voice notes wherever possible to ensure I don’t forget what I research. In this blog I want to reflect on my research so far and my understanding of my role in the project overall. 

I started off my research by researching my role by looking into the role of a cinematographer, which was really interesting. 

The role of a cinematographer is key in the industry brining the director’s vision to life and also advising the scenes lighting conditions. The relationship of the cinematographer with the director and other crew is inherently important in creating the director’s vison work effortlessly and that the teamwork be of a professional slandered.

I looked at the movie “Poor Things” to better understand the impact of a cinematographer. The cinematographer, Robbie Ryan, enthesis the importance of choosing the correct lenses for different scenes specifying the needed “lenses good for zooming”. He also explains that experimenting with lenses that aren’t known for a specific style or angle.

Robbie Ryan uses a variety of different specialist lenses that he discussed with the director to make sure they fit the aesthetic correctly. I found it particularly interesting that if the cinematographer has a solid relationship with the director, then their recommendations can be really helpful in the creative process.

I found the initial research really helpful, and I am stating to think about how I can apply some of my findings into my role when we start filming.  It has also been good to talk to the rest of the team especially the Director and I have valued hearing their feedback and thoughts. 

I am particularly interested in being a cinematographer because I like the idea of bringing the director’s vision to life and guiding the influence of the equipment based off of your technical expertise and or advice. I feel I can make a real difference to a project by advising the director how I think certain scenes will be more impactful with a specific lenses or techniques. Also, it is clear that if the lighting needs more thought I can tailor it to match each individual scenes aesthetic and look.

In order to understand this further I am reading more articles and also some of the suggested reading/ books for the course. I have set my set some targets for the next 2 weeks. I have noticed that I sometimes do not fully concentrate or remember all of the key points when reading books or lengthy articles. Therefore, I will now take more notes and record voice notes where possible to better my understanding. 


Bibliography:

Casey, B., Casey, N., Calvert, B., French, L., & Lewis, J. (2005). Television Studies: the Key Concepts. Routledge.

Bignell, J. (2012). An introduction to television studies. Routledge

Mitchell, W. (n.d.). Cinematographer Robbie Ryan on bending the rules for ‘Poor Things’: “It’s not meant to be a realistic look.” Screen. Available at: https://www.screendaily.com/features/cinematographer-robbie-ryan-on-bending-the-rules-for-poor-things-its-not-meant-to-be-a-realistic-look/5189260.article 

Variety. (2023, December 14). “Poor Things” cinematographer Robbie Ryan breaks down Yorgos Lanthimos’ hilarious ball room scene [Video]. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-sZZzsVw0A 


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