American Cinematographer - February 2014 - 4

The International Journal of Motion Imaging

SEE AND HEAR MORE CINEMATOGRAPHY COVERAGE AT WWW.THEASC.COM
Left: Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) implores
P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) to trust
him. Right: John Schwartzman, ASC
(pointing) on set with (from left) director
John Lee Hancock, dolly grip Moose
Schultz and A-camera operator Ian Fox.

In an exclusive podcast, cinematographer John Schwartzman, ASC will discuss his work on Saving Mr. Banks, in which
Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers locks horns with Walt Disney over his plans for a movie adaptation of her work.

THIS MONTH'S ONLINE QUESTION: Which painters or artists have influenced your approach to cinematography?

Mark Mercuri: "Frank Lloyd Wright, for scale,
sight lines and angles."
Beth Gosnell: "Frida Kahlo."
Joe Barzz: "Rembrandt and van Dyck, for their
use of light and shadow. But in some assignments I follow [cinematographer] Gabriel
Figueroa; he based his works in the style of the
Mexican painters - the forced perspective of
Siqueiros, the low angles of Rivera. In a documentary, I tried to mimic the colors of Tamayo's
paintings using Kodak reversal film."
Brian D. Hallett: "Vermeer and Edward Hopper."
Evan Spielman: "Basquiat."
Oliver Ryan: "Frank Frazetta and Edvard
Munch."
Eric Abramson: "Vermeer and the rest of the
Dutch masters rock natural light. I am also influenced by many photojournalists, especially from
the 1970s and '80s."
Jolon Dante: "Obviously lighting, but also the
feel of movement, would be key elements for
me in making this choice: Peder Severin Krøyer
and Edgar Degas."

Leandro Brentlie Samuel: "I'd have to say Norman Rockwell."

Daniel Watkins: "El Greco brought a sense of
time to what is objectively a medium of finite
space. As such, his paintings have almost felt like
tracking shots, your eye standing in for the camera. He's the only painter that comes to mind
Kevin Powell: "Two artists really inspired me at whose work approaches cinema."
a young age with their use of light: J.M.W. Turner, especially his painting The Slave Ship; and Car- Miguel Angel Rivera Alvarez: "William
avaggio, specifically The Calling of Saint Blake."
Matthew."
Cesar Guerrero: "Goya."
Matthew Antonino: "Renoir, for his use of
color and composition. His paintings give beauty Tobias Dodt: "Mostly Dutch landscape painters,
and life to otherwise ordinary moments. His light in particular members of the Hague School, and
is never too heavy or dark for my taste. I love the Caspar David Friedrich of the Romantic era. Also
soft, golden quality of his lighting. I just really like Adolph Menzel and Lesser Ury, who used light so
the idea of having a more beautiful reality for my beautifully. Georges de La Tour and Caravaggio I
films."
found extremely influental. And, of course, John
Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper and the French
John Ned: "I like to think of Bruegel as the first Impressionists."
great cinematographer."
Jean-Louis Bompoint: "Norman McLaren,
Mahboob Alam Qazi: "Bonjour, Monsieur Edward Hopper, Yves Tanguy, Mondrian and
Courbet (1854), a Realist painting by Gustave Picasso."
Courbet."
Rajendra Biswas: "Delacroix."
Luca Travaglini: "Monet."
Franz Salvatierra: "Claude Monet. He had an
David Dunsmoor: "For me, it would have to be impressive way of capturing the nuance of real
the sculptures of Alberto Giacometti and the lighting and colors of environments and appropaintings of Adolf von Menzel. Giacometti's priating them for expression, something I
sculptures show a grotesque and worn side of a attempt to do in my own work."
tortured soul, and Menzel's use of light and
shadow is brilliant!"

To read more replies, visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AmericanCinematographer

Photos by François Duhamel, courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures.

Ken Hull: "Rembrandt, for how he lit faces. Ver- Richard Vialet: "Painters: Jack Vettriano,
meer, for his clarity of composition and for light- Edward Hopper, Rob Hefferan and John Salmiing an environment."
nen. Photographers: Gordon Parks, Gregory
Crewdson, Nan Goldin, Saul Leiter and Roy
Adam Chambers: "M.C. Escher - one object, DeCarava. These artists inspire me because their
different ways to view it, [and] each one makes work has a strong sense of place and evokes a
sense to the viewer."
strong story with the imagery."

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American Cinematographer - February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2014