Quotes About Cinematography

The beauty of film is that you can get closer than you can in theater, you know? I come from theater, and I remember feeling like I was almost cheating when I would put the camera so close to somebody's face when I was filming them.

In the James Cameron blockbuster 'Avatar,' 3-D cinematography is the real star. The bugs and crawling creatures seem to slither into the theater seats. The floating mountains of the planet Pandora hover gloriously overhead. And the Na'Vi, Pandora's 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned natives, come convincingly to life.

I remember, at one point, I was actually studying it kind of intensively around 2001, when Hrithik Roshan was big. I wanted to learn more about it, as I've always been intrigued by the craft of Bollywood, in that how well they were shot in glorious widescreen. I would actually go to see Bollywood films in the theaters in New York and New Jersey.

I feel that film, as opposed to theatre, is about capturing that one, real moment.

Fundamentally, whether directing in the theatre or a film, you have to be a good storyteller, regardless of the form. The thing I had to work hardest at was thinking in shots.

Movie-making is telling a story with the best technology at your disposal.

I never say "Action" or "Cut." Never. I think that would disturb the life from happening in and around everything.

I learned very quickly that the hard thing in life is to make good films. Technically, filmmaking is the camera and the actor telling the story and that's what I'm more interested in doing.

I like films that go a little more daring visually, and story-based stuff that usually reflects pretty closely to what real life is.

I've seen so many period pieces in my life, I really enjoy them so much, a lot of my favorite movies are period pieces.

I love Quentin Tarantino; I love Harmony Korine, Larry Clarke.

If I could meet Quentin Tarantino, I don't know if I'd just ask him one question. I'd probably milk it into, like, 500 questions.

Raft told me how to walk with him in a scene: We'd start off in a long shot normal, and about the time we got together in a close-up, I'd be bending my knees so I'd be shorter.

When we were cutting 'Raging Bull,' Martin Scorsese was watching 'The Films of Hoffmann' on a 16-mm print over and over and over again.

I mean, Scorsese's a genius, and that's one way of shooting.

Characters, conflict and geography are things that must be considered while making movies from adaptations.

Germany's fascinating. It's a really rich landscape to film and dramatise.

Films are about lies. They're about making things look glamorous.

I don't really make films in Denmark. 'Bronson' was shot in Rottingham, 'Valhalla Rising' was made in Glasgow, and 'Drive' was made in Hollywood.

There are so many elements that make a good film. You need a great director who's driving it.

If you can make a color show or movie seem like it's in black-and-white, then you've done a really good job.

My sensibility is such that I automatically get drawn to films that have a good story, good characterization.

I think the good thing about Dogme is that it forces you into an extreme sense of reality because there's no artificial light and no set design and all of those icings on the cake that you usually have on a movie.

I wish they taught green screen acting classes.