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What is Cinematography?

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 You might have heard the term Cinematography on various occasions but what is it actually. Here is a detailed information on Cinematography. In this post I will cover the definition of Cinematography, what is a job of Cinematographer? And most common asked questions on Cinematography.

Photo by Jakob Owens from Unsplash


Definition of Cinematography?

Photo by Jakob Owens from Unsplash

The dictionary defines Cinematography as the "art of making motion pictures." That is true but what else? There is more to it than just what dictionary defines it to be.


The in depth defition for Cinematography is that it is an art and craft of making pictures by capturing a story visually. Though, technically, cinematography is the art and the science of recording light either electronically onto an image sensor or chemically onto film.


Cinematography composes each shot, considering, where everything in frame demands attention. It is the creation of images you see on screen. A series of shots that form a cohesive narrative.


What is Cinematography used for?

Photo by Jakob Owens from Unsplash

Cinematography is basically used to bring a story or a vision especially of a Director on a camera reel. It is used to make a perfect sense of a story visually. Cinematography is also used very well to construct the meaning of the sequence, which is to let us question what has happened, and why it has happened.

What does Cinematography consists of?


There is a long list of answer for this question and I am not going to bore you with it as you are probably a beginner or just curious to know about cinematography. 


Here are some most important things Cinematography is consists of:

  • Camera Angles
  • Camera Movement
  • Framings
  • Shot Size
  • Focus
  • Lighting
  • Lenses

Who is Cinematographer?

Cinematographer is an individual who has knowledge or education of cinematography and use it to perform his/her job. So, basically the term cinematographer is a job designation. A Cinematographer has to perform the important things of cinematography mentioned above to give the perfect results which will help a sequence make a meaning of a story.


A cinematographer has to use his/her knowledge or education of the important things cinematography is consists of. Here, is the detailed information the those things:

Camera Angles


The camera angle marks the specific location at which the movie camera or video camera is placed to take a shot. A scene may be shot from several camera angles simultaneously. This will give a different experience and sometimes emotion. The different camera angles will have different effects on the viewer and how they perceive the scene that is shot. There are a few different routes that a camera operator could take to achieve this effect.

Camera Movement

Photo by Tony Pham from Unsplash


Camera movement is one of the most expressive tools available to a filmmaker. It alters the relationship between the subject and the camera frame, shaping the viewer's perspective of space and time and controlling the delivery of narrative information. As the camera frame orients the viewer within the mise-en-scène, movement of the frame provides the illusion of the viewer journeying through the world of the narrative. The camera height and angle, the distance to a subject, and the composition of a shot may change during camera movement, as the framing travels above, below, around, into, and out of space. Types of camera movement are distinguished by their direction and the equipment used to achieve motion. Although the basic forms of camera movement were in place by the 1920s, the equipment that facilitates camera motion continues to evolve.

There are many various camera movement. Here, are some basic camera movements. They are as follows:

  • Zoom
  • Pan
  • Tilt
  • Dolly
  • Truck
  • Pedestial
  • Rack Focus

Framing

In visual arts and particularly cinematography, framing is the presentation of visual elements in an image, especially the placement of the subject in relation to other objects. Framing can make an image more aesthetically pleasing and keep the viewer's focus on the framed object(s).

Shot Size

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Generally speaking, we can break this down into three main shot sizes: Long, Medium, and Close. Long shots(also commonly called Wide shots) show the subject from a distance, emphasizing place and location, while Close shots reveal details of the subject and highlight emotions of a character.

Focus

Part of a cinematographer’s job is to play with focus to emphasize different aspects of the story. A basic example of this is showing how intoxicated the character is by going in and out of focus. 

Lighting

While there is a separate lighting person, cinematography demands this knowledge. After all, cinematography is what we see on-screen, and how well or horribly the scene is lit is a huge aspect of the craft.

Lenses

Photo by Cinescope Creative from Unsplash

A part of Cinematographers job is to decide what lens to use to achieve best results for a particular shot. Choosing a perfect lens will give you your desired results.


So, this is it for this post. I hope you found what you were looking for. If you like this post please do share. Subscribe to this blog or follow by email. Thank you for visiting and giving your precious time.


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