President’s Desk — September 2024
When an American cinematographer travels to a new country — often knowing nobody there — we can feel apprehensive about what the future may hold.
Since this month’s issue has a special focus on international production, it got me thinking about my experiences working globally over the years. When an American cinematographer travels to a new country — often knowing nobody there — we can feel apprehensive about what the future may hold, particularly if we’ll be working on a non-English-speaking set.
One of my earliest such experiences involved shooting a film in Italy. While a few crewmembers spoke English, most did not, so I was not sure how much of the nuance in my plans was being conveyed in my broken Italian or translated English. Things changed for the positive once we started shooting — I discovered that there is a worldwide language of visuals. Once the scenes began to unfold, assistants knew where to throw focus; grips understood where to place their shadows; and electricians had a feel for the types of lighting that were needed, even if the intent was conveyed through simple hand gestures. It was a fantastic discovery, and I saw, in an experiential way, just how universal the language of cinema really is.
Later, while shooting in Eastern Europe, I spent my weekends planning the lighting for a unit that would travel to Hong Kong to shoot a sequence in a large industrial space. Only the director and I would be traveling, and we would be picking up a local crew once there. I sent a lighting diagram ahead — hand-drawn on a page of the original blueprint, with my lighting added in pencil — rolled it up in a tube and sent it to the Hong Kong rigging team. The next time I would see anything was the day before shooting, upon our arrival!
The director and I made our way from Chek Lap Kok to our location, where we were greeted outside the facility by our grip-electric crew, standing in a row — with my hand-drawn lighting blueprint tucked under one crewmember’s arm. They proudly walked me through their entire pre-rigged set, which consisted of several dozen lighting placements that would service all our shooting for the next few days. I was astonished to see that the rig was absolutely perfect. I then noticed that on the plan, I had inadvertently drawn one of my soft boxes at an angle that was not parallel to a nearby wall — and darned if the actual soft box wasn’t hung at that exact oblique angle!
No matter where a cinematographer travels, there are people to be found that share the same passion for visuals and storytelling. In fact, experiencing this global community’s handshake contributes to the growth of any storyteller — and can confirm that your decision to become a cinematographer was, indeed, the correct one.
Best regards,
Shelly Johnson
ASC President
