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In this month's edition of ICG Magazine, we cover seemingly the broadest possible spectrum-the opposite ends of the art of cinematography. One article is devoted to Plus Camerimage, the cinematographic-centric film festival in ?ód?, Poland, while another covers the career and life of my friend, Buddy Squires, the esteemed documentary cinematographer.
Plus Camerimage gathers the finest films from around the world in a competition centered largely on the power of the image on the screen. It is really the only film festival so thoroughly focused (no pun intended) on cinematography. These narrative films are honored for the way in which the cinematography contributes to the art of storytelling. An ongoing theme at the festival is the comparison of the art of the moving visual image to the art of the great painters and other visual artists.
While the stunning images that are to be found at Plus Camerimage may seem to be the pinnacle of visual storytelling, there are other stories to be told, and other ways to tell them.
Narrative filmmaking is not the only filmmaking we, at the International Cinematographers Guild, represent, nor is it the only art form we honor. News and documentary film and video, inch for inch, are probably created in more volume than narrative theatrical and television films. I, myself, began my career as a documentary cameraman. (I apologize for the gender-specific classification title; it was just what we were called in those times.) Many of our most illustrious members started the same way.
And many of our most illustrious members continue to elevate that art form, as the public returns to this medium for information and entertainment. The documentary film is once again very present in the consciousness of the American public. The resurgence of popularity of the documentary art form is largely due to filmmakers like Ken Burns and his cinematographer, Buddy Squires, who we profile in this magazine.
The intimacy that Buddy captures with the subjects of his interviews is legendary, and creates a very compelling and personal connection to the stories he serves. The ability to take a camera inside the story as it is being told puts us, the viewer, inside the experience and lets us feel the story, instead of just hearing it.
Didn't some other cultures believe that photographs steal the subject's soul? Perhaps in some ways it can. But I prefer to believe that it just allows us to share our soul as we share our story, brings us closer and makes us more connected. That, my friends, is the art of cinematography.
So perhaps we are not so far apart, after all.
The International Cinematographers Guild and ICG Magazine: bringing us together.
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Fraternally,
Steven Poster, ASC
National President
International Cinematographers Guild
Local 600 |
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