|
In last month’s issue I spoke to you about living the dream. One of the great privileges of my position is that I get to interact with many up and coming camera craftspeople, of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, in all economic circumstances, and the common thread in most of those conversations is that by practicing this craft of cinematography, they are living their dream.
In that issue I reiterated my belief that the primary quality that allows us to live our dreams is perseverance. All the skill and talent in the world will not make our dreams come true if we do not keep trying.
In this month’s issue of ICG magazine we will focus somewhat on the cinematographer’s role in post-production. We touch on the interaction between the cinematographer and the colorist. We talk about the digital intermediate role in bringing the director and cinematographer’s vision to the screen. We also talk about the changing needs of archiving the new mediums in which we create and the workflow issues that have created new challenges in data management.
All of these post-production discussions show a strong parallel to last month’s discussion of the perseverance required to create a career in this craft. We learn to nurture and develop an image from imagination through creation, from the image captured in the camera, to the colorist’s room, to the editor’s suite, and on, and on, and on, until that image is shown, exactly as we intended it—on the screen. But our job as guardian of the image is still not done because from that point forward, we must preserve the image we created, to insure its continued, even perpetual, integrity.
In much the same way we learn to first imagine, then create, our own careers. But we do not stop there. If our career is to grow, it must be nurtured as carefully and lovingly as the pictures we create. We create pictures that tell the story the way we want to tell it. We find ways to make original, bold statements that will stay in the mind of the moviegoer or television-viewer. We grow from that knowledge gained, but we find that we must forever seek bold and original images because the original images shot on the last project are no longer original. We change constantly, while maintaining the same core commitment to our craft.
The same dedication is required whether we work as a cinematographer, operator, publicist, assistant or loader.
There is a commitment to that follow-through that is common to our post-production experience, and to our life as crafts people and artists.
Follow-through; it’s what makes the dream a reality.
 |
Fraternally,
Steven Poster, ASC
National President
International Cinematographers Guild
Local 600 |
|
