Directors of Photography, also known as cinematographers, are usually depicted as the person with the camera. But what does a director of photography actually do? Because you might be surprised to learn that often they actually aren’t the person with the camera. So let’s get into what a director of photography does and why they are essential to every film shoot.
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If directors are captains of the ship, then Directors of Photography, are the ship. Wait that’s confusing. Let’s use a different analogy.
Ok so let’s say the director is a painter and the final film as they envision it is the finished painting. Well in this case the director of photography, is the canvas that displays the painting.
You see, Directors of Photography are responsible for capturing all of the hard work from every other department on film. At the end of the day, they are solely responsible for making sure the director’s vision for the shot is indeed captured. They have a weird hybrid role of having to be both technical and artistic, which makes them a special breed.
Ok so now that you know what a director of photography is, let’s talk about what they do starting with pre-production. Once the cinematographer is hired by either the producer or director, they begin to assemble their own team, the camera department.
This consists of camera operators (the people who actually operate the camera), camera assistants (the people who maintain the camera), and so on. Usually directors of photography have a usual crew that they like to hire over and over again.
They’re almost like a camera crew gang, but way less threatening. The DP also works closely with the director in pre-production to come up with the storyboard and shot list to help the director’s vision come to life.
This might also include doing test shoots to make sure any film equipment, props, or wardrobe are working to achieve the visual look desired. And it can also dictate what type of camera will be used to best capture that look.
And speaking of equipment, they are also responsible for renting or purchasing all the camera and lighting equipment needed to make the film, within the bounds of the budget of course.
Once the film is in production, the director of photography is in charge of supervising the camera and lighting department and essentially directing them, thus the name director of photography. You see, a director of photography isn’t necessarily operating the camera or even putting up lights, that’s the camera operator and gaffer’s jobs, though on small indie shoots they can fill those roles. But on bigger shoots they are more like a conductor making sure their team is executing the director’s vision.
What this really boils down to is that the Director of Photography tells the camera and lighting crews where to put the camera and lights and which lenses and lights to use to best convey the look and story of the film.
Now we’re on to post production! If the film is shot on, well film, then the director of photography has a wide array of chemical altering choices when it comes to developing and processing the film. And they can also be heavily involved in the color correction and grading process to help bring out the color or exposure in a shot.
If the film is shot on digital, then there’s no chemical altering choices involved. But they can still be involved in the color correction and grading process. If the film is shot on digital, then there’s no chemical altering choices involved, but they can still be involved in the color correction and grading process. So now you know why they’re called Director’s of Photography.
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