In in the present day’s trendy and digital world, studying one thing is straightforward in case you put within the time and know the place to look. Nearly all data is only a click on away, both within the type of an internet site, article, or video.
However this cornucopia of information can include its personal pitfalls as we should navigate a wonderful line between reality and outright lies and one thing in between.
That is why curating your individual supply of educators is necessary, and for cinematographers, Jay Holben has been an exquisite supply for studying methods to craft your subsequent mission.
His most up-to-date e book, American Cinematographer’s Shot Craft: Lessons, Tips & Techniques on the Art and Science of Cinematography, is an incredible assortment of all this digital data, multi functional e book.
However what’s in it, and why must you make this e book part of your library? Let’s dig into a duplicate and discover out.
Who’s Jay Holben?
Primarily based out of Los Angeles, Jay Holben is an unbiased director, producer, and educator who has authored three books on cinematography (and lenses).
He was additionally the contributing technical editor for American Cinematographer Magazine, an Affiliate member of the ASC, a school teacher for the International Cinematography Institute, and has a number of movie credit underneath his belt.
He additionally wrote the Cine Lens Guide with Christopher Probst, ASC, which was one in every of my favourite non-fiction books of 2022 (I am a gear nerd).
Suffice it to say that Holben has a wealth of information to share with creatives within the leisure group and has been one of many few educators I’ve used to curate my schooling funnel.
His Shot Craft collection for American Cinematographer Journal explored the technical facet of cinematography and included matters corresponding to lighting, optics, and sensible workflows.
Now, Holben has printed a curated choice of the primary 5 years of the Shot Craft collection in a single e book.
5 Years of Shot Craft
Whereas I went to highschool movie faculty for screenwriting, my total technical data base was acquired via hands-on coaching or self-education through No Movie College and the myriad of creatives on-line.
However having a reference e book for all of the issues I’ve realized or for filling my data gaps is equally necessary as I transfer ahead as a filmmaker.
I have been studying the American Cinematographer’s Shot Craft: Lessons, Tips & Techniques on the Art and Science of Cinematographyfor the previous month, and it has been a boon to my technical toolkit.
Listed below are a couple of of my favourite components which can be lined within the e book.
Chapter 2: Codecs
I will not lie, I am a bit obsessive about codecs. From movie to digital and the totally different body sizes that make up the visible medium, it has been a cornerstone of my inventive course of. I consider the world in shapes, and having a concrete understanding of my body, and methods to obtain it, is how I start all my tasks.
In Chapter 2, Holben discusses totally different facet ratios and the way they got here to be. It wasn’t that somebody determined we must always all shoot in 1:33 or 16:9. These codecs grew from the technical limitations of expertise or from a necessity to raised make the most of the small piece of movie initially used for cinema.
I by no means fully knew how the various totally different codecs we use in the present day got here to be. And whereas having this information feels pointless, it creates a basis for now cinema (and video) might proceed to develop sooner or later.
Excerpt from American Cinematographer’s Shot Craft: Classes, Ideas & Methods on the Artwork and Science of Cinematography
Here is a small however meaty historical past lesson from Chapter 2:
“In the course of the 10 years following This Is Cinerama, from 1952 to 1962 , greater than 20 totally different movie codecs competed for trade dominance. Paramount cropped off the highest and backside of the 1.33:1 body to create the broader 1.66:1 facet ratio for titles corresponding to Shane. Todd-AO, a 70mm format with a facet ratio of two.20.1, was used on options corresponding to Oklahoma!, Across the World in 80 Day, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. MGM Digital camera 65 and Extremely Panavision 70 used anamorphic lenses with 65mm movie to create a 2.76:1 facet ratio for Raintree County, Ben-Hur, and others.”
If you happen to do not assume a historical past lesson will make you a greater filmmaker, I’ll argue that you just’re flawed. With how straightforward it’s in the present day to acquire superb digital camera instruments, we generally neglect the why and the way of how they had been created. Studying the historical past of our medium helps us develop the language all filmmakers must make the most of when working collectively.
Chapter 4: Lighting & Electrical energy
Two of my different favourite issues when engaged on my tasks are the lenses and lighting I select. However simply turning on a softbox, as some YouTube creatives are likely to do, is not sufficient. Not by an extended shot.
form mild, understanding your electrical energy wants (and limitations), and the way your lens alternative impacts your story are completely essential. And whereas there are a lot of guidelines to comply with, studying and implementing them is barely step one. We should additionally discover ways to break them.
Chapter 4: Lighting & Electrical energy is the most important a part of Holben’s Shot Craft. In it, he covers all the pieces from Photometrics, Shade Principle, and diffusion to reflections, the grip truck, and the great (and misleading) world of LEDs.
Excerpt from American Cinematographer’s Shot Craft: Classes, Ideas & Methods on the Artwork and Science of Cinematography
Chapter 5: Optics
This chapter alone is price the complete value of admission and provides cinematographers, gaffers, and electricians a wealth of information to dig into. With the rise of LEDs, newer filmmakers usually neglect the restrictions and obstacles that we battled when utilizing tungsten, so I urge people to look past the advertising and marketing jargon and social media creatives to raised perceive the instruments they’re working with.
Whereas we’re right here, Shot Craft is an effective place to start out.
Very similar to The Cine Lens Guide, Chapter 5: Optics covers many issues filmmakers must learn about glass. When must you use cine lenses, and when are nonetheless lenses relevant? What are the professionals and cons of every?
What about impartial density filters, polarizers, or flairs? How must you implement these instruments into your workflow?
Positive, you possibly can watch a couple of dozen movies on YouTube or learn a bunch of articles on-line to grasp these instruments, however Shot Craft supplied me a holistic schooling on these matters. Nothing within the filmmaking world exists in a vacuum. Each software we use relies on one thing else.
These are simply three chapters from Shot Craft. On their very own, they’re an incredible start line for cinematographers (and different creatives). However from what I’ve learn, Shot Craft can be an awesome useful resource for veterans.
The opposite chapters in Holben’s e book cowl elementary ideas like utilizing movie and script evaluation, studying all about publicity, location scouting and touring, filmmaking methods, and constructing relationships.
If you happen to’re a creatives simply beginning their journey, a duplicate of American Cinematographer’s Shot Craft: Lessons, Tips & Techniques on the Art and Science of Cinematographycould be your finest buddy. If you happen to’re a veteran, it will be like seeing an previous buddy.
No matter your wants are, as filmmakers, we must always by no means cease studying. If we do, we danger turning into a relic of a distinct time.
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