For a successful film production, the cinematographer (DOP) or cinematographer has to work in coordination with the film director at various stages. For this, the cinematographer must have a high knowledge of filming techniques and concepts. Also, if a director knows the cinematographic techniques, he could be successful using all the talents of a cinematographer. His real strength is using the full potential of the team to make the movie a huge success. The role of a cinematographer in this is to act as the director’s eye.
The main purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of the interplay between the DOP/Director roles, as there may be a situation where sudden clashes of ideas and thoughts can become problematic for the film. So, for it to function well, it is necessary to make the director agree to what he is looking for. If there is a problem in principle with the photography on the film set, it is the duty of the cinematographer to handle and resolve it. It is true that the verbal narration is a little easier than the visual narration because in the verbal one we only need sound, but in the visual one we need to manage the light, the camera and a suitable location to film, but nevertheless, the visual narration is more interesting and impressive.
While the director gives instructions to the crew, the DOP is responsible for the shooting, lighting, theme, mood, color scheme, etc., which clearly means that he/she is responsible for the proper implementation and seamless from the given creative brief. It works like the administration in the government; while the government makes schemes and plans, the Administration implements those plans. The entire DOP crew, including the Gaffer, 1st Cameraman, 2nd Cameraman, Best Guy, Electricians, and Support Crew to fulfill the director’s artistic vision through his technical knowledge.
Cinematographers have some duties that are purely technical, just like the film director has duties with talent and script, but in between they are both involved in common tasks such as location scouting, on-camera storytelling practice, backgrounds, costumes and any other aspect that may affect the scene to be shot. Film Education can improve the basic communication between the director and the DOP so that they can achieve a common goal. The main objective of a filmmaking course is to teach students what points a director should know about the camera and what a cinematographer should know about film directing in order for their coordination to be smooth and fruitful.
