From the President

George A. Willis csc, sasc

When teaching cinematography to my students, the path that I take is to specifically discuss the merits of what I refer to as “getting back to basics.” I believe that this is a reasonable approach in circumventing the confusion that might initially result from too many camera options. For this initial path of creative exploration, it might be better to delay the choice of camera, lenses, support equipment, as well as the many items associated with assembling a package until the basics are better understood. These basics that I refer to are of course the three requirements necessary to produce an image – shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Understanding these is mandatory in order to capture images that fulfill the needs of successful visual interpretation. But there is an additional important requirement to add to the above and that is how one frames the image. The single most important aspect of creating visuals is to initially concentrate on an idea and imagine the frame. We have seen how directors and cinematographers use their fingers to create two “L” shapes (one inverted) and in turn use the technique to create a “frame,” which they need to plan or evaluate an intended composition. That is the first important step in understanding the process of creativity, for once the idea has been visually defined, it is somewhat easier to move beyond the peripheral visual clutter. As an example, if we sit in a movie theatre, we concentrate solely on the images projected on the screen (the frame), or in a live performance, such as an opera with a proscenium, that vertical plane of space that serves as the frame that the audience observes as the story unfolds. One can further explore the subject of framing by observing many of the older, classic black-and-white movies where much like the theatre stages, actors moved within the space. This is not to suggest that the sophisticated use of a camera is negated. On the contrary, that technology allows for the next stage of the exercise, that of capturing the images that have been created by using our imagination. In a recent column, I made mention of words that are important in the cinematographer’s vocabulary. “Imagination” ranks very highly, followed closely by “vision” or “visualization.” In fact, the new CSC Envisionist Award was unveiled at the Society’s Awards Gala held earlier this year. The question might be asked why the word “visualization” is so important. The answer is fairly simple because it is directly linked to one’s imagination. In our CSC Lighting Workshops, we ask participants to rely heavily on these words as they begin to plan a story for their lighting exercises. A typical example would be to choose an area within the lighting workshop space, and then, using their imagination and lighting skills, create a visual interpretation of their thoughts. It is often surprising what they are able to achieve because they have to use whatever is immediately available to them to address their creative endeavours, which most often is very little. As we consider these fundamental basics of creativity, all we need to do is learn from watching children play. Because of their uncluttered minds, their creativity results in ideas based on nothing more than imagination. And so, as we utilize these basics to define our thinking, the only thing left to do is to tell the story by using the frame.

CSC Annual General Meeting

Monday, December 9, 2019 at 6:30 pm Technicolor Toronto. Boardroom No. 1 49 Ontario Street

Following the meeting we will have a light dinner and refreshments, courtesy of the good folks at Technicolor. Great opportunity to meet and chat with your fellow cinematographers! Hope to see you there, CSC member!