About the show
About
The official home of The Cinematography Podcast.
A closer look at how films are made.
This website is the official home of The Cinematography Podcast as well as the occasional deep dive into the business and latest trends of both scripted and documentary production.
We cover important tech advances, not every technological blip. This site features contributions from published writers for industry trade publications and our Editor in Chief is Illya Friedman, co-host of The Cinematography Podcast and founder of Hollywood's Hot Rod Cameras.
Art. Craft. Business.
And everything in between.
CamNoir serves as a spin-off of the former popular content section of HotRodCameras.com, which for years was a trusted source of news on a wide variety of information relevant to both scripted and documentary production.
CamNoir is the place to find all the show notes for The Cinematography Podcast, learn, share and support great work as well as artistic and technological innovations happening all over the world. We are excited to have you as a reader and look forward to changing the production world for the better.
For more information or to submit a product or guest editorial for consideration, please contact: email@camnoir.com
Start with a conversation
From the audience
Illya, Ben… you guys are amazing! I’m currently on episode 49 of your podcast, having now surpassed my own age of 46, and I thank you for every single minute you’ve put into it.
The wealth of knowledge you bring to all of us through these interviews is truly priceless. And all your hard work work bears witness to your friendship, great sense of humor, passion for the medium and what great people you both are.
I no longer live in Los Angeles so I’ve missed my chance to walk into Hot Rod Cameras, ask for Illya and DEMAND my t-shirt just because “Ben said”. Damn! That would have been fun.
Anyhow, sending you and the rest of the team a big hug all the way from Spain.
Keep up the good work! It’s much appreciated!
Javier Alcina
Hi Ben and Illya, and Dan.
My name is Ben, and I’m currently working in-house at the BBC Natural History Unit as a Junior Camera Operator on a big wildlife series for BBC One and world wide. I’m currently writing to you during some down time whilst on location in Iraq.
I’ve long been a fan of the podcast, and cinematography in general, though this is the first time I’m writing in. Particular highlights of mine are hearing Greg Fraser talk about anything, the Bradford Young two parter and of course Bristol’s own John Downer and Richard Young.
I’m writing in for a little advice, and apologies for the waffly intro!
I first fell in love with film whilst repeatedly watching the special features of the Lord of the Rings extended editions as a young lad. So repeatedly, in fact, that I wore out two of the discs! That coupled with a great love of the outdoors has lead me to an exciting career in wildlife telly.
As excited and passionate as I am about the next few years/decade, I’m aware that the sheer physicality of being a wildlife camera person means I won’t be able to do it forever. This coupled with a sometimes overwhelming level of ambition means that I’m constantly looking to push and improve and follow my intuition. Finally, I had the opportunity to work as a wire cam assistant on the Tom Holland movie “Uncharted” towards the end of 2020 and very much enjoyed chatting to the Second Unit Director and DoP about their work in the evenings.
All this, along with the fact that we can be quite restricted in the way we use light (usually just one - the sun) and are able to show story through imagery due to our subjects being animals has lead me to wonder what an eventual transition into drama would look like, and I was hoping you could shed some light?
I know some of the big names in cinematography have come through documentary (the likes of Roger Deakins and Barry Ackroyd to name two of my favourites).
I also know the world of drama is quite different to that of wildlife. I’m not expecting to reach the level of “DoP” (or equivalent) in wildlife and then immediately transition to drama DoP, but would I have to completely retrain? Is there anything I can be doing right now that will help prepare me for an eventual switch?
I have no formal training in any sort of filmmaking, with a degree in zoology. Everything I’ve learned has been through YouTube or on the job. Would it be beneficial to take a course in cinematography for the connections and lighting know how?
I’m due to operate on a short film funded by kickstarter towards the end of the year (schedule depending) as a start - any further tips would be greatly greatly appreciated!
Apologies for the length of the email, please feel free to edit and abbreviate where you see fit!
I really, really enjoy the podcast and have learnt an immense amount from your astute conversations with your guests, so I’m forever in your debt. If I’m ever in LA I’d love to buy you a beer as a thank you.
Keep up the fantastic work.
Cheers
Ben
Hi there. (NOTE: This note/e-mail is not for the "public" viewers or for the podcast, it's more like a suggestion when you consider future guests)
I have been following your "The Cinematography Podcast" (BIG thank you for that) and just to let you know that the Finnish "genre film" SISU (IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14846026/ ) is coming to North American markets. Further more, I know for sure that the famed Finnish cinematographer Kjell Lagerroos (his site: http://lagerroos.com/ ) is doing some press/PR for Lions Gate in the upcoming weeks (not fully sure when, though). His English is very good (he has been doing commercials in 40-50 countries), so perhaps you could consider having him as a guest? The movie certainly interests Ben, at least (trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88f77kkiqDs ). Director Jalmari Helander's last feature film was "Big Game" with Samuel L. Jackson. He's "the future" of Finnish filmmaking.
NOTE, that I'm not in any way affiliated with Lions Gate, the movie "Sisu" and it's production company, or the management of Kjell Lagerroos, for that matter. Just throwing an ideas around. I have met Kjell and pretty much know that he would be pretty good for your podcast.
Some more (a bit technical) info about the film: https://www.facebook.com/kamerafirma/posts/pfbid032DeYHTpHVKq2poUZ7xctU1gmAJnv6CgFieZkuwrgrfTdHfh2beYxATTFX1XRtZbal?__cft__[0]=AZW8XbaF-ea3TwufenxQ9W27WM2fTdN3NRe0UmD7sgR2_iYGXKInlYP89JYXlngQ5HFAQ9MoYklFRyXVZ9lq2SQmDsBwOJ_ewU4tux88AC9BnBgw0WGS9SECTjiNNL9F4vZGbBw9amduGeXfz70eN7Z2nlYVsRlAqFin3lorykiLq0P4pJLugW7fvCHsm5gVbwY7nzK4MX6UFfI3W6s-MTL0&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
Thank you again.
t. Jari Kovalainen Helsinki, Finland
Thanks for the info! Sorry we didn't check the messages on the site sooner.