Early 2021, I took the decision to learn cinematography because of reasons —post-pandemic— and I, like many people, felt I could be doing more with my life and creativity as a whole. Started taking production classes and then school actively set me back a couple of months but with the ongoing academic strike, I decided to pay a friend and take on post-production classes and last month, I started putting out videos.
Now, I’ve been a photographer for the better part of five years so I can say I have the expertise and know-how on lock but navigating the world of motion pictures has me in the mud and rolling.
I formulated a theory for my Mass Communication Theories class called Visual Obsession Theory. This essentially postulates that photographers are obsessed with attaching a deeper story to their image even when it’s obvious that some images are created for the sole purpose of being visually pleasing but the class is different for motion picture (or currently at this time it is).
Your motion picture has to have a narrative that follows a sequence; start – mid-point – third act – conclusion or at least, that is what’s obtainable with any standard motion picture narrative. Some filmmakers implore twists where they bring part of the mid-point or third act forward to grab the attention of the audience but regardless, it still returns to the same sequence; start – mid-point – third act – conclusion.
With photography the story is implied, an image of someone laughing implies the said person is having fun. Tears connote sadness but with film, sound and visuals go hand in hand to relay what’s happening. While you might think this is easy, the opposite is the case; the right sound elevates everything and if that isn’t available, all the footage available won’t have the expected impact.
I’m just a couple of months in and I’m excited to explore this new field of knowledge. I hope to take you on this journey with me.
