American Cinematographer - March 1989 - 60

*1

The world's

brightest
controllable

light source

vidual

personality. It took me many

years to bring a creative balance to
the technological lessons I learned

of this

ways changing and evolving, but I
usually wait a long time, until 1
know that any new element is ex¬
actly right, before I use a new stock.
As far as technology goes, I try to
reject the brush. I don't care which
brush you give me to paint with, I
care about what a film is
trying to
say, and I hope I can say the same
thing with any brush."

and

oration with Francis

in film school. The

technology is
only a part of photography and it is
not the most difficult

part.

"There is another

aspect

problem, this purely techni¬
cal rather than artistic approach to
cinematography. Recently, so many
pictures look exactly alike, mostly
because of the advances in using
available light, the very fast film
lenses, and the Steadicam.

Many cinematographers today are
just working as fast and as cheap as
they can, trying to prove that they
can do the
job with the least
amount of light. There is no proper
input of an individual personality,
and it is difficult to recognize spe¬
cific creative and expressive ideas
from one picture to another. To me,
this is not true photography.
"No doubt the technology
is necessary and important," con¬
tinues Storaro. "You choose what is

right for the specific picture, but the
good director of photography has
learned which choices to make

why this lens, how to get
effect, what result
will

MOBILE LIGHTING. LTD.

Corporate Offices: 800/354-4448
Los Angeles-Sequoia: 818/768-6200
New York-Ferco: 212/245-4800

Atlanta-PC&E: 800/537-4021
Ft. Lauderdale-Film Trade: 305/989-5999

58

the lab, the timing, the camera, the
film stock company. Stocks are al¬

a

a

-

certain

certain stock

and he can concern
himself with more important ques¬
tions. I chose my tools long ago,
and I really haven't changed very
give

you

-

much since that time. Once in
while

a

new

technology is

sented, and I do

some more

a

pre¬
tests.

Very rarely, however, do I change

March 1989

Storaro's fruitful collab¬

Coppola be¬
brief introduction in
Paris, when Coppola visited Ber¬

gan

with

a

nardo Bertolucci

on

the set of Last

Tango in Paris. A second meeting
came when
Coppola was shooting
The Godfather, Part II in Rome. Later,
after discussing the conceptual ba¬
sis of Apocalypse Noio, Storaro and
Coppola gained a mutual under¬
standing and began a lengthy
working relationship. "Francis and
I found that we were traveling in the
same artistic direction,"
explains
Storaro. "Working together on a se¬
ries of films

seems

to be

a

more

European way of doing things. I
have basically the same crew that I
had 30 movies ago - it's a kind of
professional family. When you feel
comfortable working together, and
you don't have to explain every¬
thing from the beginning, it's natu¬
ral to continue the journey. It's a step
forward.
Francis

"For 'Life Without Zoe',
to me with the main

came
American Cinematographer - March 1989

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - March 1989
