introduction
Film production has changed massively in the last few years. In many ways it has been as big a change as started in 1929 when the introduction of dialog recording forced the entire industry to alter the basic methods of shooting film.
Digital is, of course, the big change this time. Cinematographers, camera assistants, loaders, and operators have to learn new skills and methods. New job categories have been added—Digital Imaging Technician (DIT), Digital Utility, and Digital Loader and, importantly, the workflow from camera to distribution has been radically altered.
Using the new technology as a DP, director, editor, and postproduction artist is still evolving, and exciting new developments emerge regularly. For directors, the changes have been more subtle but they are there; the same applies to producers. In all cases, the changes create new opportunities and possibilities.
At the same time, most of the traditional skills are still critical to success in the camera department. For the DP, a deep understanding of the tools, techniques, and artistry of lighting is still essential. For the camera crew, the protocols of ensuring that everything is good and proper with the equipment is still critical. Focus and optics remain much the same and, of course, elements of visual storytelling such as composition, camera movement, color, and staging are as important to the overall success of a project as they have ever been.
New challenges, new technology, and new tools to learn — these are things the camera department has loved and embraced since the days of Thomas Edison. Let’s get started!
