Emiko Omori

Dec. 22, 1999

A few words about cinematography.

Cinematography is a constant tension between the right and left brain. There is a concern with aesthetics (lighting, framing, background, foreground) while simultaneously dealing with the mechanics of focus and exposure, and, if it's any scene where the sound is crucial, listening to content. You're also thinking about the editing, trying to anticipate the subject's movements, whether this is the end of the shot or will something interesting continue to develop and how close am I to the end of the roll. At the same time, if it is a direct cinema (aka cinema veritŽ) situation, your concerns might include: will I step off the cliff or fall into the swimming pool or get gassed by the cops or will the sun go behind a cloud which necessitates keeping both eyes open.

Shooting with both eyes open is an exercise in concentration. Try to imagine that your right eye sees a close up while your left eye sees a wide shot. Not only are you anticipating the movement of your subject, but you have to be aware of what's happening outside of the frame and whether it will intrude in your frame or, should you decide to include this outside (of the frame) activity, how to do it in a graceful, elegant way, in other words, a usable, cut-able way.

So what does all of this mean?

In all of the years I have spent looking through a viewfinder, it's become "natural" to perceive the world with multiple perspectives and both eyes open (but not necessarily on the same scene). I think it's a very prudent way to get through life. I feel as though I need to be a bit like Musashi Miyamoto, the great Japanese samurai (if I may be so immodest as to compare myself to the greatest of samurai) who was so in harmony with his intuition and environment that he appeared to have eyes in the back of his head and was never defeated in battle. Later in his life he gave up the sword and became an artist and a poet. So, my advice to those who take up the sword of cinematography is to study the ways of the samurai, the artist and the poet. I wish I had.