Documentaries are generally the director’s vision, but the audience sees them through the eyes of the cinematographer. On many documentaries the cinematographer is often a co-director. Aside from lighting responsibilities, the cinematographer is the one capturing the image, framing the compositions, choosing the length of the shot and deciding which element within the frame to emphasize – all in a series of split-second decisions.

Relationship with the Director

The collaboration between the documentary director and the cinematographer is one of the most important elements of the filmmaking process. Since the cinematographer’s task is to help realize the director’s vision, it is of utmost importance that the director is as clear as possible about what he or she wants before you start shooting. And throughout the process there has to be an ongoing refinement of what the film is about.

The cinematographer should have a good understanding of the story from prior conversations with the director and should fully understand the director’s aims and intent and the needs of the project. It is then not necessary for the director to micro manage all the time – if the crew get caught up in events it may appear that the cinematographer is out there working independently but if the cinematographer is worth his salt, he/she will know what the director wants/needs and will be serving their interest and the interest of the story. I guess the key is to work with people you know, respect and trust.
Ultimately the director has to trust the cinematographer more than anybody else. And like any other relationship, it takes time to develop and that is probably why many director-cinematographer couples work together for years on many projects.

Role and Responsibility

The cinematographer has several responsibilities on a documentary film which is mainly taking care of all camera equipment needs. Order the camera equipment if it is hired, test and adjust it and master all its needs and working principles.

He or she is responsible for:

• Scouting locations to assess light and electricity supplies,
• Lighting aesthetics,
• Setting up lighting instruments,
• Deciding camera positioning in collaboration with the director, and
• Making all camera movements.

A cinematographer should know his equipment inside-out, have a great eye for composition, a solid understanding of shadow and light, broad technical knowledge of cameras and workflow and be able to think and adapt quickly to capture the moment. All those skills are all learnable and a cinematographer should develop these skills to tell stories with as little intrusion of technology as possible. Storytelling should be the preeminent issue.

The two Types of Situations

If you think about the diversity of types documentary films you could say that there are two major types of documentary situations. One situation is where a cinematographer has lots of control of a set. He/ she controls the lights, the set design, the camera movement, is directing the characters what to do, as for example in an interview setting.
Then there are documentaries that focus on a story that happened in the past and it is told through interviews with witnessed, reconstructions or reenactments which are basically like narrative film. In these projects things like style, design, lighting, might play a much greater role and might be the more valued skill set that a director is looking for in a cinematographer.

The other situation is where the cinematographer has no real control about the situation. Like or example a kindergarten class. Or the most extreme example of an observational documentary like Direct Cinema from the 60s. The cinematographer can anticipate action as it unfolds – in which case he/she essentially becomes the co-director. The cinematographer should always answer to the director, but take initiative when shooting handheld action footage, because he/she has to make crucial choices on the fly.
Those in which the story is in the present, the event is happening in front of the camera and the camera itself is witness. The events and the story unfold in front of you and the story almost has the opportunity to tell itself. The qualities most valued in cinematographers in these situation may be instinct, improvisation and flexibility.

A good Camera Operator

Although both scenarios demand a different skill set a good documentary cinematographer should be good at both situations. Especially for documentary work the second situation is the one that is most challenging and the cinematographer needs the abilities of a good camera operator, who…

• Is highly images conscious, preferably from training in photography and fine art,
• Has a highly developed sense of composition and design,
• Has an eye for the sociologically telling details that show in people’s surroundings,
• Is sensitive to the behavioural nuances that reveal so much about character,
• Is interested in people, not just photography.

Novices often make the mistake of “firehosing” (the overuse of zoom) or make uncertain, slow camera movements that are distracting to the viewer. Especially handheld shooting should be a series of held compositions linked by efficient movements – each keyed, when possible, to movement within the frame, such as the movement of a character.

The most important Skill

Some documentaries have stunning, beautiful imagery, but sometimes the character does not drive the story or the editing is distracting. The prettiest images don’t make up for a bad story. On the other hand a good story will still be a good film even if the cinematography is mediocre. A cinematographer has to make a lot of compromises and should always make sure his images support the story. If he can contribute beautiful, meaningful  images to the story he/she is a true visual poet.

Nonetheless it all comes down to the, in my opinion, most important skill for a documentary cinematographer:

The ability and desire to LISTEN.

Unlike narrative film where the cinematographer’s job is to create images, with documentaries his job is finding images. The cinematographer needs a sensitivity to what is going on in front of him/her to be able to pick up on small cues, fleeting facial expressions, telling hand gestures – the little things that reveal characters and moments. He/she needs to perfect the skill of finding these images and image sequences that director’s mean when talking about the “emotion of the moment”, “documentary moment” or “documentary butterfly”. Most of  those moments happen only once in a lifetime, so when the cinematographer needs to observe and listen and always be ready to shot it, or it’s gone.

Feedback

Let me know what you think. What are the essential cinematography skills needed to make an award-winning documentary?

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