American Cinematographer - October 2014 - 71

the director a reason, and sometimes it
has to make sense not only to him, but
to the producers and actors as well.
Sometimes you have to place things in
the context of the overall priority list -
'Let's do this instead of that, for this
reason.' Your hope is that logic will win
out, if all else fails. I might say, 'The
light's gonna be gone in 40 minutes, so
why don't we just do the last line where
she says 'no' - okay?'
You also have to take into
account the fact that a director is
usually under immense pressure.
Willis: Of course. Sometimes a
director is being beaten over the head by
everybody - actors, producers, the
studio and sometimes, I'm sorry to say,
me. As a result, priorities can change.
They can change for the better, or you
may find yourself, along with the director, shooting junk. A director is always
running in front of a moving train.
Some do it well, and some don't.
If a cinematographer is involved
in a production at an early stage, a lot
of those problems can be avoided.
Willis: That's true. I don't think
directors of photography should be
hired hands, because the whole thing
boils down to what goes through that
little hole. The cinematographer has to
lace it all together and present it as a
moving picture, a film. There's so much
that has to be filtered through your head
based on other people's decisions.
Sometimes you have to suck up a lot of
slack, and deciding how long the shoot
is, and where it is, can affect how much
or how little slack that is.
Smart producers and directors
will run things by the director of
photography early in the game - when
the schedule's being set up, and before
the sets are built and the locations are
picked. They can save an enormous
amount of money that way. Half the
time they don't need what they think
they need, and preparation and planning
are the keys to getting a film done well.
When it's a really tight shoot and the
people in charge know they have to do it
in a certain amount of time, they should
be very specific with the people who are

actually going to do the work. No
stroking, no secrets - open communication is very important.
Unfortunately, most of the business is very deal-oriented. For example,
the producer and/or the director may
have a scene planned that will take 10
days to shoot at exterior locations, but
they hire an actor who's only available
for five. 'We can do it!' the director yells.
But shortly thereafter, he asks, 'Can we

do this in five?' Then it rains for two
days, and the actor has a penalty clause
in his contract for every day he goes over
the five. The suggestion may then be
made to shoot the scene inside, since it
will cut the shooting time in half. But it's
hard to tell people that their clothes are
on fire after the fact.
You directed the 1980 thriller
Windows. What insights did you glean
from that experience?
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American Cinematographer - October 2014

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