The most important thing in my opinion is adaptability. Good framing and lighting skills are definitely important, but in the larger picture it is your ability to adapt to different stories and understanding their language is what sets you apart. You may have your own style, but you need to adapt and learn according to the demand of the narrative.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
After my graduation, I explored wildlife cinematography, working on projects spanning the entire India. From then on, there was a gradual shift from wildlife to tourism cinematography to advertisement to ultimately films.
My father is a wildlife filmmaker, who shot the Kerala forest which was shown in the BBC’s documentary Land of the Tiger. So my father has definitely been a very strong influence on me from childhood!
2. How did you realize your passion for creating films?
After college, I was drawn towards wildlife filmmaking. However, it did not prove to be very economically sustainable. I was interested in shooting wildlife films in a very cinematic way however, it was quite expensive. In India, we still don’t have productions of wildlife films of that scale!
The people I met after college helped influence my result which led to my shift from wildlife films to ultimately movies. The shift took around 3-4 years as I was unsure of plunging into unexplored territories. To be honest, I’m still open to exploring more! Change is a constant, and it is important to keep reinventing yourself!
3. What are the important skills one should have to be a successful cinematographer?
The most important thing in my opinion is adaptability. Good framing and lighting skills are definitely important, but in the larger picture it is your ability to adapt to different stories and understanding their language is what sets you apart. You may have your own style, but you need to adapt and learn according to the demand of the narrative.
4. What has been your biggest learning from your job?
I think learning is a curve, and it never stops. On every film set you get to learn something different from all your co-workers. In my first film, I was very restless and impulsive. Over time, my work has taught me to be calm and slow down according to the need of the work.
In my previous film, I got to learn from many experience professionals, who definitely helped me shape a better opinion! I also have learnt to listen and observe better.
5. What is your advice to aspiring filmmakers?
I believe all the information you need to learn the work, is available online. I, myself am an example of the same! I learnt a huge part of my job, by watching behind the scenes videos of many films. From there, I got to observe and learn how people work and interact on a film set and how a film is shot. In today’s day and age there is no excuse to not learn when you have the will!
All the information you need is available with the click of a button. Whether it is a script of a film or behind the scenes of a film set, everything is available right in front of you. Just never stop and keep expanding the curve of your learning!
Sudeep Elamon
Cinematographer
Instagram id : @sudeepelamon
Interviewed by : Shubham Nayak
){kind=link}
0 Comments