Chris Cunningham

How did Bjork and Chris collaborate on the “All is Full of Love” video?

Bjork had the idea for the concept of the video prior to the production of it and Cunningham worked around this to create this conceptual idea.

What techniques were used in the Portishead video to create the unusual, slow motion-motion effects?

The slow motion effects were achieved by filming the subjects in large, water tanks that were lit dimly. The air bubbles were removed afterwards through digital editing.

What other music video directors have gone on to direct feature films? Name 2 and the feature films they’ve made

Michael Gondry:

Made the music video, ‘The White Stripes – The Hardest Button to Button’ and the feature film, ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’

Spike Jonze:

Made the music video, ‘Sonic Youth – 100%’ and the feature film, ‘Being John Malkovich'

Which famous sci-fi did Chris work on before he became a director?

A.I

What makes his work different to the original compared to other similar directors?

Chris Cunningham’s work has a very unique visual style; there is a deep atmosphere to them that he achieves by every aspect of his work (lighting, editing .etc.). His videos can be very disturbing and can often convey political messages.

Cinematography

What is the role of the cinematographer in filmmaking?

To give the film a certain look or style appropriate to the story.

Why did director Roman Polinski insist on using a handheld camera during the film, “Chinatown”?

Roman Polinski filmed a scene with a handheld Pentaflix in a bathroom (this would usually have been filmed in a bathroom on stage). By doing this, he was able to get an intimate and spontaneous response from the actors by being so close to the subjects.

Name 2 films which use colour in a very symbolc way? And describe what they suggest?

‘Days of Heaven’

The story of this film was told mainly visually rather than by the actors. It was filmed in the “magic hour”, a term associated with the time when the sun sets before it is night, which gave them about 20-25 minutes of film time each day. The light is very soft and gave the whole film a certain colour effect that had a powerful impact on the entire film; it gave it a sort of romantic look, also adding a lot of impact to the emotion.

“The Last Emperor”

Colours in the film represent different stages in the Emperor’s life;  red symbolises the beginning, where if refers to his birth, orange symbolises the warm colour of family and a sort of maternal feel, yellow symbolises consciousness and identity and the colour green symbolises knowledge. The first time green is introduced to the film (colours generally on one side of the colour spectrum; red, yellow .etc.) when the tutor arrives with his green bike.

In the film, “Raging Bull”, why was the fight scene filmed at different speeds?

One of the fight scenes in “Raging Bull” was filmed at different speeds (24fps, 48fps .etc.) to add a dramatic effect and show the intensity of the fight; it draws the audiences “emotional attention” towards the scene.

Who is the cinematographer for the film, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and what was his philosophy?

Vittorio Storaro believes photography to be a single art form and that cinematography is a group effort, led by a director.

Genius 6

How many photos are taken in a year?

80 million

What is Gregory Crewdsons modus operandi?

A single photo created by Gregory Crewdson(and others) that is set up much like a film with lights, scenery .etc. He and his team made a series of different photos using different exposures which are later digitally combined before the photo is complete.

Which prints command the highest price and what are they called?

“Vintage photos”, which are photographs that are printed by the photographer around the time of them being taken.

What is a fake photograph?

Photos taken that are often stolen and re-produced for profit.

Who is Li Zhensheng and what is he famous for?

A photojournalist in the 1960’s and 70’s that attracted middle-classes; he had the ability to make them look very appealing.

What is the photographers “holy of hollies”?

The magazine “Magnum” was known as the “holy of hollies” due to it’s extremely recognised photographers, such as Ansel Adams.

How does Ben Lewis see Jeff Walls?

Ben Lewis believes Jeff Wall looks back to the 19^th century to paintings, where everything is created and constructed.

Which famous photo was taken by “Frank Mustard”?

“The River France”

Genius 5

Who said “The camera gave license to strip away what you want people to know about you, to reveal what you can’t help knowing about you?

Diane Arbus

Do photographers tend to pray on vulnerable people?

It can appear as though photographers seem to prey on vulnerable people because people who aren’t considered “normal” are often captured. This, however, is not the case. These supposedly vulnerable people can be captured for several reasons; out of curiosity, interest or because they are being shown or representing in a way that we are unfamiliar with.

Who is Colin Wood?

Colin Wood was the skinny boy in one of Diane Arbus’ famous photographs, taken in 1962. She photographed him in Central Park and took several photos of him; the selected one was of him clutching a grenade in one of his hands. This manic looking boy described violence.

Why do you think Diane Arbus committed suicide?

I believe Arbus committed suicide because she wanted to be anyone but herself and this can be seen through her photographs; she recognised the anxieties of her subjects and could empathise with them.

Why and how did Larry Clark shoot ‘Tulsa’?

Tulsa was the home town of Larry Clark, his photos from ’Tulsa’ by were captured being an insider on the situation he was photographing rather than an outsider. The photos were like a personal and confessional diary of the situations he was around.

Try to explain the concept of “confessional photography” and what is the “Impolite genre”?

Confessional photography is like an inside, candid account of real life, with transsexuals, drug, addicts .etc. The impolite genre refers to photographs of subjects that don’t want to be known about in a lot of respects, generally nasty representations of real life.

What is the premise of Post-Modernism?

An obsession with the media.

Genius 4

Why did Gary Winogrand take photos?

“To see what the world would look like photographed”

Why did “citizens evolve from blurs to solid flesh”?

When photography was first invented, photographers struggled to capture people in street life. This was because of the long exposure times; the subjects simply moved too fast to be captured. Some of the first street scenes were set up and photographers were forced to do this because of the technological struggle of the time. As technology advanced, cameras were able to have much shorter exposure times, enabling photographers to capture people moving more easily.

What was/is the “much misunderstood theory”?

The Decisive Moment.

Who was the Godfather of street photography in USA?

Garry Winogrand

Who was Paul Martin and what did he do?

Martin was a British photographer, born in 1896. One of the things he is well known for is his seaside photos. He went to Great Yarmouth and photographed the people there with a camera disguised as a brown paper bag. His photos have a positivity about them and made it possible to forget about the Victorian times.

Who said “When I was growing up, photographers were either nerds or pornographers”?

Ed Ruscha, who is most well-known for his series of black and white photographs of gas stations.

Why did William Eggleston photograph in colour?

Eggleston wants to know if he can still capture the world if colour was the hierarchy; since colour is so predominant in photos, he explored how it was able to twist the content of photographs with colour.

What is William Eggleston all about?

Photographing life to date