Cinematography Oscars 2009

[Tom Lowe]

Set design factors into cinematography. As does everything else...

"It's all about the frame."
"All the work, money, time, sweat and energy of a working set is all for the frame."

The award should go to the best example of the craft serving the story. Doesn't matter if it's beautiful or ugly photography as long as it serves the story.

"We're slaves to the story, not the cool shot."

"The Joker" was beautiful and shot very well. Kudos for the IMAX. It's not the best cinematography of 09 though. (IMO)

I actually agree with Craig Ryan's original statement that the major achievement on Button was the FX, not the photography. The photography was very good, no doubt, but it was the set design and FX that made that movie.

One little pet peeve of mine is that many of the Best Cinematography winners over the years have actually been films where (IMO) regular Academy members confused great cinematography with great costumes and set design. This happens a lot with period pieces, I think. While the nominees are chosen by professional cinematographers, the final vote goes out to the full Academy, and all too often, it seems like voters--who probably do not understand much about the actual craft of cinematography--are wowed by fancy costumes and sets and think, "Best cinematography!"

While what you are saying is true in general, I do not think it is true for awards.

 

[Phillip R Lopez]

If conrad Hall was alive and still working with Sam Mendes, would have been a done deal. Mendes just hasn't been the same (compositionally speaking)

 

[Roberto Lequeux]

I would also lean towards saying that if the award goes to the cinematographer then it should be the placement of the camera, it's movement, lighting, lens and medium choice...

It would be a shame if a few hundred people slaved for months upon months upon months on VFX, set design, costume design, props... researching, trying things out only to scratch them and start all over again and they gave the statue to some jerk that didn't say he was sharing it with them or something of the sort...

but of course a DP also arranges these beautiful works of art within the frame... often has a say on set design, and sometimes has his hands on every aspect

I wouldn't want that job... lol, what am I saying? who in their right mind would ever give me vote anyway, hahaha

any non-nominated films you guys feel might have been left out?

 

[Sanjin Jukic]

I saw DK in a theater and now have got BD bundle with Batman Begins.

The Batman stories are for 15 years old kid I would say but what kept me to watch again DK is

Heath Ledger's Joker performance, cinematography (IMAX) and VFX.

All other candidates saw in trailers. Coming to Europe soon.

CCBB and Slumdog Millionaire I could smell and consider as a "kitsch" movie aesthetics even looking from cinematography point of view.

"Changeling" and "The Reader" could be a classic type of Hollywood high end cinematography achievement.

 

[Andreas Reischl]

As far as the American Cinematographer goes, the RED One was first choice for Danny Boyle on Slumdog Millionaire (according to an email conversation between him and his DOP), but Anthony Dod Mantle chose the SI2K in the end.

I would most likely give my vote to DK - made the overall best impression on me cinematography wise.

But as mentioned before, it usually comes down to inner Hollywood politics rather than real personal decisions....

If conrad Hall was alive and still working with Sam Mendes, would have been a done deal. Mendes just hasn't been the same (compositionally speaking)

I still think Roger Deakins did a very good job given the locations he was up against.
Sure he ain't a Conny Hall, but he can absolutely hold his own.

 

[J. Eric Camp]

Wait a sec.

If a photographer took a photo of a model in a gorgeous looming gothic castle wearing a dress made out of fireflies we would all say... wow thats a great photo.

So why is it that when the same happens in a movie you all say, ehh it was all the set design and costumes. The DP is still part of those set designs and costumes.

 

[jpp]

While the nominees are chosen by professional cinematographers, the final vote goes out to the full Academy, and all too often, it seems like voters--who probably do not understand much about the actual craft of cinematography--are wowed by fancy costumes and sets and think, "Best cinematography!"

And many Academy members are well beyond retirement age, and are voting on films they didn't even see in theaters -- they get screener DVDs and VHS cassettes(!) and watch them on vintage 1987 TV sets. No joke!

You can't blame an industry as big as this one for pretending that it represents the height of art, culture and moral responsibility, but it's not hard to wish someone would have the bad manners to denounce the whole exercise from the podium, once in a while. 3 hours of unrelieved kitsch and self-congratulations is pushing it, even for Hollywood.

 

[Rudi Herbert]

Set design, make up, costumes and locations play a fundamental part in the quality and aesthetics of what gets put in front of the camera, but ultimately it is up to the cinematographer to capture those images in a way that does justice to the work done by all those other artists, while serving the sensibilities and dynamics of the story AND managing to elevate the final result to something bigger than the sum of its parts. Films that have won Oscars for cinematography that fall into that category that come to mind are Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves, where the cinematography managed to convey the vastness of the landscapes and the solitude and spirituality of the characters, or The Last Emperor and Amadeus, where the camera captures the richness and sumptuousness of the settings while still making us feel like we're sort of catching a glimpse into the forbidden world of the high court. The wrong approach could have very well rendered those films into lifeless visions of lavish splendor and nothing else.

And I would urge posters to stop making statements like "Deakins is no Hall" or such is better than such, for that is disrespectful to their work and craft.

 

[Digital Upstart]

If conrad Hall was alive and still working with Sam Mendes, would have been a done deal. Mendes just hasn't been the same (compositionally speaking)

He has only made two movies since Conrad Hall died...

If I was Mendes I would be looking at different compositional ideas for each film anyway. That's not to say I wouldnt try to emulate visual themes that worked well previously.

On a different note, if I was Mendes I'd just be the happiest guy in the world going home in the evening.

 

[Zack Birlew]

Well, after seeing "Slumdog Millionaire", I can honestly say that I'm torn for Oscars this year. I could see "Slumdog Millionaire" taking home every Oscar it has been nominated for, including cinematography. Would I like to see it take all the gold? Eh, not really, but I would understand if it did.

Cinematography-wise, the film was great, very natural looking and vivid at the same time with a lot of great camera angle choices. However, as far as aesthetics go, 2K resolution is clearly not enough for me. Softness was noticeable with the SI-2K footage, I was shocked! I think some lens choices played into that as well because there were some particular close ups that were pretty sharp while others were blah. That's just me though, I like image sharpness. But overall, the cinematography was terrific.

 

[Sean Sweeney]

I've got to say I was pretty disappointed with the cinematography in Slumdog. Not really anything to do with the DOP, Anthony's work is brilliant. I think the SI-2K was a poor choice. I got to the movie just before it started and landed a seat close to the front, so maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion, but the digital noise during many of the low-light shots seemed unforgivable. I was surprised at how many times it came up.

I'm not sure if the RED would've been a better choice, considering it's performance in low-light situations - I do think though that in Slumdog's case the camera can definitely take at least part of the blame for some of the lacklustre images.

My vote goes to TDK - wonderful use of anamorphic and IMAX photography.