Whether or not they get full credit, cinematographers are often the ones making sure everything seen on screen looks the way it should.
Also called the director of photography, the title is often confused with the more commonly discussed director’s position — yet the two have very different roles behind the scenes.
Sven Latzke, a 2009 MFA School of Film alumnus and freelance cinematographer in Germany, stepped into his cinematographer shoes for the first time for the feature-length film Bela Kiss: Prologue, which will be released in Germany in January.
Latzke explained that, while the director works with the actors, it is the cinematographer that handles the visual aspects of storytelling, including composition, camera movement, lighting and color.
Although some directors leave the visual style completely up to the cinematographer, some are very precise about what they have in mind in terms of framing and movement.
For Bela Kiss, Latzke’s director, though precise, was also willing to work together to let Latzke’s vision come through.
“(Director) Lucien Förstner has a very strong sense for visuals,” Latzke said. “During the shoot, I framed the shots accordingly with adjustments here and there. If Lucien didn’t like the framing, he came over, explained what he had in mind and we worked out the final shot together.”
He added: “For me, this is the best kind of collaboration between director and cinematographer.”
Annie Howell, a professor in the School of Film, noted that directors of photography “add his or her own sense of style and movement to how the camera behaves, his or her own articulation of light and shadow, as well as how he or she understands the frame as an aesthetic device.”
Great cinematographers, she added, form strong relationships with their actors and are critical in solidifying a bond that elicits their performance.
Based on a true story, Bela Kiss: Prologue tells the story of a sadistic Hungarian serial killer from the early 20th century who returns a hundred years later when a group of bank robbers hide in a remote hotel. It stars Rudolf Martin (NCIS) and Kristina Klebe (2007’s Halloween).
“I had the sense that Lucien, Sven and (visual effects supervisor) Steven (Weber) knew exactly what they were going for visually, and they always went about together and with a real focus,” Martin, who plays the title character in the film, said in an email. “As an actor, you don’t always get that feeling and you certainly don’t expect it with a team that young. I can’t wait to see the result.”
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