American Cinematographer - January 1993 - 34

ference, you have to paint in ten dif¬

springboard that bounced him into

ferent shades and

commercials, which in turn gave
him more experience to bring to
feature work. On music videos, he

give the agency
exactly what they want. You have
to get into a different mindset
working on commercials. It's like
working with a finer set of con¬
trols."
How

aspiring com¬
cinematographers get into
the "commercial mindset" if they
haven't done any commercials be¬
fore? Mayers recommends making
up a good reel "from whatever you
have, or a spec reel. Make up a
storyboard and shoot it, make sure
it's exactly :30 long, and put narra¬
tion on it or use music you like.
People want to see that you can
can

mercial

work in the commercial format."
That's how

so
many music video
shooters won their way into the
commercial world; Mayers points
out that commercials are a cousin
of the music video. "Music videos

try to get you to buy the record and

*

IN A CLOSET

*

IN A TAXI

*

BEHIND A DOOR

*

IN BED

*

HANDHELD

*

UNDER A DIVING BOARD

*

IN JAIL

*

AT A ROCK CONCERT

audience. It's hard to be a slave to
those two masters, entertainment
and sales. But I try to infuse the spot
with a sense of drama in whatever

*

ON A STAGECOACH

way

*

AT A FASHION SHOW

*

UNDER A LUNCH COUNTER

It will make your

they entertain you. Commercials
do the same thing-the good ones,
anyway. They create something
enjoyable to watch. The bad ones
are
painful and embarrassing to the

lighting

more

source.

Stik-up, ideal for film, TV, stills.
Up to 200 W. Also 12 V for
battery operation. Weighs only
8

ozs.

with cord. Stick it any¬

precedent in commercial
editing and lighting styles. "People
wanted to see your music videos
instead of your commercial reel,"
he reminisces. Luckily, he was one
of the people who had a music
video reel. Today, Collister notices
that agencies take note of cinema¬
tographers with feature experience.
a new

ing to go along with that choice. But
they always insist on seeing the
cinematographer's reel. Today,
they're impressed by cinematogra¬
phers who have done feature work.
The feature world still holds
kind of

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*

some

It's a lofty goal."
Music videos were a good

aura.

training ground for Collister,

HOLLYWOOD CA 90038

TELEPHONE 213/461-0200

directors, gaining experience by

setting up shots and by working
closely with art directors. "In com¬
mercials more than in features, di¬
rectors have more of an interest in
the lighting and the lens and filters,
which is fine with me. I don't have
a
big ego problem. One director I
work with likes to operate. That's

OK with

me. Some directors are
skilled enough to be shooter/direc¬

tors, but they still choose to work
with a cinematographer." Collister
believes that this is because many
commercial directors want to break
into
on

features, and thus concentrate
get a breakthrough

the talent to

performance.
coming Poetic Justice, directed by

the cinematographers they want to
work with, and the agency is will¬

tmH

Collister has learned a lot
from visually-oriented commercial

John Singleton. "John left all of the

Write

StiK'UD

time.

Peter Collister remembers
when music video came of age and

"Most of the time directors choose

call for info.

techniques to cater to a faster
cutting style. With this kind of
background, Collister can offer
more
diversity to commercial
projects. Or, if the storyboard is so
specific that it is shot literally, he
can
zip through the required num¬
ber of setups to complete the job on

Collister's work in features
includes Columbia Pictures' up¬

I can."

where. Kit available.
or

and

Peter Collister

set

effective wherever you need to
conceal a small compact light

worked with more abstract lighting

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January 1993

a

technical

lighting and camera
placement up to the cinematogra¬
pher. That would never happen in
a

commercial," Collister observes.

Armed with commercial savvy and
music video experience, he made

good use of the independence
Singleton gave him.
One feature a year, with
commercials in between, is
Collister's ideal workload. Some¬
times his commercial crews look at
him askance when he leaves the
lucrative spot market to shoot a fea¬
ture. "It's important for me to be

part of telling a story, watching ac¬
tors work. In a commercial, you're
working on your visual eye. You're
selling a product. But doing both

helps keep
high."

my

creative

energy

▲
American Cinematographer - January 1993

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