DOP EGO...

[Lorenzo Levrini]

I think Mark Allen has hit it right on the head. I feel like we have an easy ride compared to all the cats who deserve as much credit as us and get much less. Everyone knows who Storaro is, yet most have never even heard of Scarfiotti.

 

[Stephen Pruitt]

I'm new to this game, of course, just about having wrapped up our second low-budget indie feature (with a third on the way), but, from my perspective, the folks who really lose out on the recognition side aren't the DPs and directors vis-a-vis the actors, but, rather, the writers and the production designers! A director can't direct what hasn't been written, and a DP can't shoot what has been set before them. While the importance of story/script would seem obvious to everyone, it plainly isn't.

Visually, in my opinion, well over three-fourths of the beauty I see in any particular shot or scene has almost nothing to do with the camera work and everything to do with the production design and art department. Put the two together and you've got a real work of art.

None of this, of course, negates the importance of great lighting and camera work. Rather, it just means that all the great lighting and camera work in the world won't matter much at all if it wasn't for the people who actually design and build the sets they are shooting!

Stephen