What is good Cinematography? (Video Essay)

Hey Flick fanatics here is a new video essay to celebrate the art of cinematography and one that looks into what makes good cinematography,
Enjoy!

[TheCh]

Absolutely great video. Substantive explanations, compelling arguments coupled with a plethora of excellent examples. This was such a concentrated yet accessibly concise insight into the nature of cinematography. Seriously, awesome work. Don't stop making these types of video essays.

[rileyspeck]

One of the best YouTube video essays I’ve seen in a while, nice work

[alexwalton]

Love the callout to Half-Blood Prince. I remember watching it a few times in a good IMAX theater and being blown away by the vivid dark and distinctive imagery, one of my most memorable cinema experiences

[beamslinger]

Wonderful video! Cinematography is my favorite aspect of film

[jjackomin]

Thanks. Cinematography is, without question, the most misunderstood and underappreciated aspect of filmmaking. You did an excellent job explaining it in a short period of time. The only thing I would have added would be a few examples of bad cinematography which, I feel, would have heightened the quality of the examples you provided as a point of comparison.

[yeremiahangeles]

Beautiful. If you can capture the beauty of life no matter how dark and down the character gets is also breathtaking.
Because even in a dark room, light from a warm dated lamp and even faint softy glow of a sun piercing the blinds and into a drab dull dusty home of a grieving man. Is also spectacular. Because the light almost shows the character what he might have missed before. Like the Markings eched into the wooden frame of the door, or how dusty his shelves had become by his unwillingness to fully recover from his families passing 20 years ago. Is beautiful.
I love James Bond because it shows so much in one scene.

I am not in the fim industry nor do I make movies of my own, but many have told me I have an eye for cinema.

[yeremiahangeles]

I see cinematography like capturing fireflies in a jar. It takes skill and patience, love and story telling, art and imagination. Do all this and you can capture the most stunning images.

[deni]

dude I just watched a couple of your videos, they're well researched, informative and brilliantly well put together. im subdscribing - really looking forward to checking out the rest of your vids. well done dude, keep it up!

[rahulranot]

Loved this video. Word of advice - if you start adding captions to your video it would be easier to understand for everyone. Again, thanks for the explanation.

[skmalladi]

The most beautiful cinematography is alike to the most beautiful soundtracks. The best ones are invisible.
They blend into supporting the story, the characters, the moods, and the situations. They _invoke emotions_ that are natural to the storytelling and subtly enhance and powerfully support the director's vision of story.
Without good cinematography, there simply is no visual storytelling. And without that, there cannot be good cinema.

[rottensquid]

I don't know that I'd call Buster Scruggs "cartoony." It's more illustrative, in that particular N.C. Wyeth style popular at the beginning of the 20th century, that first romanticized the old west. It's romantic imagery, which admittedly is the same thing as cartooning, in that it aggressively stylizes the world. I think the cinematic style you're pointing out in Buster Scruggs and a lot of these other films, could be called "aggressively stylized".

I think this is why the Coens wanted Bruno Delbonel rather than Roger Deakins for the film. Deakins can do this kind of cinematography, but his specialty is more the discovered image that happens to look amazing, but feels like it just happened that way, rather than being the result of careful staging. Some films just want Deakins' skillful naturalism, that sense that the camera just stumbled on the scene, and the stunning beauty of the shot is accidental. While movies like Buster Scruggs really benefit from the sense that it's all been arranged for us, like an elegantly composed illustration rather than a masterfully captured snapshot.

These two different approaches serve to make one movie feel like a real event we might find meaning in, while another feels more like a parable filled of deliberate messages. Since Buster Scruggs is framed as a collection of classic short fictions set in the American west, it makes all the more sense that its images appear composed rather than captured.

[Juno_Beach]

regarding post movie credits... is there a particular encyclopedia or dictionary of terms ?

[sophiecooper]

The most stunning cinematography i've ever seen is from the NBC show Hannibal

[JiosX]

Could you write the movie titles on the bottom right or anywhere next time? I'm only relying on closed captions so I couldn't follow what movies you've shown starting at 05:35

[roryleslie]

Great video! insightful and well made! :D

[CrypticlyEncrypted]

Do you think grey bland color pallets or ever okay to use in movies?

[dcc]

0:20 whats the movie
so beautiful and green

[richardblakeweddings]

Great video. Thank you for sharing, I really enjoyed it. what is that font called that you have used in the centre of the screen? It looks epic!

[marioparra]

Dude, I can't hear what you saying! Lower the music next time

[mlmefwk]

I stopped watching because the music is too loud and intrusive!!