American Cinematographer - February 1995 - 48

Some of that is

going to disappear.
becoming homoge¬
neous. Too
many buttons. I hope
they don't take all the cream off the
milk
again.

everything in sight, and there's
nothing left, and I'll figure it out
later. This is what I call "dumptruck directing." And then you
throw it in an editor's lap and he or

What exactly do you
by the process overwhelm¬
ing the film itself?
Willis: To me, filmmaking

she makes the movie

Things

are

-

mean

should be this: what I like to do is
come in to work with the director,
set up

and shoot the movie. In the

movie, but

some

-

not

your

movie.

Without

subtractive

thinking, pretty

soon you get so
muscle-bound that your ability to
thin
in

a

things out and think of things
straightforward way is lost.
It's related to another of

I

shot

never

the

major problems in the business
getting motion confused with
accomplishment. It's a big, big dis¬
ease. It
puts everyone into a state of
parade rest. You're doing a lot, but
you're not accomplishing any¬
thing. It's better to make one cut

-

something with
bulb

on

one

because I

thought it was
unique; I shot it that
way because I
thought it was right.
scheme of things, this is not
difficult. But there is so much

PYROMANIA!

gage
such

fires, cataclysms, bombs

must

ROMANCE!

that comes with that now,
huge, lumbering wad that
be set in motion
the poli¬

a

And then there

are

movies

BLAST OFF!

they say, "This is going to be a
lousy movie." What they're talking

strobe effects to 2000W

about is not the movie, but their

SPE-5
FLICKERMASTER from GAM gen¬

personal relationships within the
structure of making the movie.
They no longer have their eye on
the ball. They have the making of

new

variety of flickering
moving light effects. With the
choice of random flicker or pulsing
strobe, variable threshold, dimmer
and speed controls, the SPE-5 is
erates an infinite

and

your new

special lighting effects tool.

*

RANDOM FLICKER FIRE EFFECT

*

PULSING STROBE

the movie confused with the
movie. That

2000W SOLID STATE DIMMER

SPE-5 FLICKERMASTER

Subtractive

thinking is
important in my mind,
meaning less is better than more.
You learn to take away and not
add. Much of what goes on is
people adding, not taking away. If
something's not working, they put
also very

AC

or

220/240V models available,

only. Write or call for information

it.

Generally speaking,
subtractive thinking works out
your problems. If something's not
working, you're generally doing
too much
a

120V

seriously impairs

judgment.

more on

*

director

-

or

as a cameraman or as

anything.

Willis: A

foundation, and

right people. Sometimes the
people you're working with are
more
important than the script.
I really would just like to
find another movie that makes
sense to me and shoot it. I'd like to
do another period movie some¬
time. I always thought that in a
period movie there should be a cer¬
tain distance between the story and
the audience. I've seen period mov¬
ies where they've got the right
clothes on, and they're on the right
horses, but visually it looks like it
was shot last week. I
say to myself,
"Why don't these people under¬
stand that there's something miss¬
ing here?"
How do you achieve that
visual distance?

Willis: It doesn't

really
achieve that dis¬
people, "Tear the
top off a box and put it over the
camera and
you've got it!" -
which is what they want to hear.
People ask, "What exactly did you
matter how you
tance. I can't tell

philosophy can be
applied to all areas of filmmak¬

do to make

ing?

when I can't

This

Willis: In

great(Qm0american
^^MARKET

logue than twenty that are lousy.
It's applicable everywhere.
What do you look for in
feature scripts?
the

candles, fireplaces, etc.

versatile

have three fabulous words of dia¬

-

tics of decision.

where people hate each other, or
it's difficult for some reason, and

The

thinking about

Godfather look the way
is stunned

it looked?" The person
answer

The best

that.

answer

I

can

give

a scene, you should de¬
cide whether it works in one cut or

is that it has to do with you. You
have to have some reference. But it

ten. The alternative is to

should be interwoven within the

shooting

826 N. COLE AVENUE HOLLYWOOD CA 90038
TELEPHONE 213/461-0200 * FAX 213/461-4308
46

that
bag¬

that works than ten that don't. It's
better to set one light that works
than twenty that don't. It's better to

February 1995

just shoot
American Cinematographer - February 1995

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