Learning The Basics Of Cinematography
In this article, we will be talking about how to pronounce cinematographer! If you are looking to advance your career in the movie making industry, then learning how to pronounce his or her first name is very important.
A lot of people mispronounce cameramen’s last names. This isn’t too big of an issue unless you make it into a job interview. Because they likely use their correct professional pronunciation, employers may assume that you know what they mean when they refer to them.
Fortunately, there’s no need to worry about this because we have done some work for you! By studying the basics of how to say cinematographers’ first names, you will be ready for almost any situation.
C is for camera
The word “camera” comes from the Latin word camerus, which means small room or chamber. This term was first used in the 1600s to refer to large telescopes that had lenses made of glass or metal. These days we typically think of cameras as having moving parts such as shutters and lenses, but those aren’t technically part of the camera!
The word “lens” is actually what makes a camera work. A lens is an optical component that focuses light by its thickness and how it curves. For example, your eyeball is not a good lens-it doesn’t focus light very well. Camera lenses are designed to do this precisely so that a close approximation of soft focus can be achieved when the lens is moved away from the object being photographed.
Camera lenses usually have several elements, including plastic (which does most of the focusing) and glass (the actual element that bends light). Lenses with too many components are no longer called a “lens” because they lose their ability to focus properly.
A film roll is another integral piece of equipment needed for cinematographers - until digital technology came along, there was simply no way to make more than one exposure per strip of photographic material like spooling up some extra cash supply tape!
Film rolls were long strips of paper or heavy card stock that would hold enough exposed photos to last a few minutes of shooting time.
A is for aperture
The term “aperture” has gotten a little complicated over the past few years. Some people seem to use it as both an abbreviation of its full name, as well as a completely separate entity.
The most common way to explain what an aperture is depends mostly on which part of the camera or lens you are talking about. If we refer to the hole in the front of the camera where light enters, then that is usually how people describe it.
However, if we refer to the part of the lens beyond the shutter, then some people instead use the word "gate". This is because they associate this area with creating darkness (or gate-the-light) before taking a picture.
Both terms mean the same thing, but depending on who you ask, there are different levels of accuracy when using them.
Z is for zoom
As you probably know, cinematographers use a tool called a zoom lens to capture more of the scene being filmed than what we could with normal filming equipment.
A movie z-lens gets closer as it moves away from your subject, effectively creating a longer exposure time. The longer exposure times allow more light to pass through and create sharper images.
By having longer exposures, faster moving cars can be shown in full detail without becoming blurry. This also allows for smoother transitions between shots which creates an immersive feel.
Zooming in close is very important since this is how much of the scene will appear in the final cut. If there are too many empty areas left after zooming in, then the viewer may lose focus or wonder if something is missing.
E is for exposure
A good starting place to learn how to pronounce cinematographer is by looking at the word’s root. The roots of “cinematograph”, “camera” and “lens�” are all related to the word “expose” or “exposed”. So if you just focused on that syllable, your pronunciation would be correct!
However, most people don’t say it like that. They drop the first e sound and instead say either camera-ah or lens-ay. But they're not right.
The correct way to say it is really complicated. And there's no agreed upon rule book so everyone says their way is best. Some even mix up where the -o goes in certain sounds! - ey comes after the a and before the o, as in camer-aa or lensee. (I know this because I made my own version years ago.)
And yes, these are proper ways to say it. If you can't get the hang of it, try asking a professional photographer or director what their preferred method is.
N is for noise
Beyond establishing shot-lenses, shutter speed, lighting source, and so on, there are two other important terms in cinematography that determine how much “noise” you see in your images.
One is aperture and the other is ISO. Let me explain what each one does.
Aperture is the iris of the lens
When taking pictures with a camera, you usually have to choose between having a wide-angle view or a tall (zoomed out) perspective.
By choosing a wider angle, you get more content in the frame, but it may not be as tight or close due to the length of the focal length. A longer focal length means that you need to move farther away from the subject to achieve the same amount of coverage.
By choosing a shorter focal length, you can keep things closer, but you will lose detail because there is a limited area through which to focus.
This is why we sometimes say that a long lens has a ‘wide-angle’ effect and a short lens has a ‘narrow angle of view’ - both give us an overall sense of space, but at the cost of clarity.
The way around this limitation is by using a lense with an f/2.8 or smaller diameter! This allows you to get the same depth of field as normal lenses, while still keeping the image crisp and clear.
G is for gobos
Gobos are typically referred to as gels, but that’s not quite right! The correct way to say it is “gobs.” As you probably already know, gels are usually used to increase or reduce light in an exposure, but some cinematographers use them for something totally different!
Gobos are sometimes called scatterware. What this means is they're used to add natural ambient light to your photo. When shooting outside, there may be times when part of the scene needs more light than just from direct sunlight. Ambient light can come from many sources - even the sun itself after sunset.
By adding these scattered bright lights into the picture, the overall effect is to create warmer shadows and brighter areas. This contrasts with the strong daylight source which creates sharper edges and heavier shading. It also helps make photos look more natural.
K is for key light
A key light is any source of lighting that helps direct attention towards your subject or away from it depending on what effect you want to create. This typically means having someone else work as your main light, like a photographer with natural sunlight as their key light or an additional camera body with a strong internal flash used as a key light.
The intensity of a key light can be adjusted to make changes in tone and how bright it is. When using a key light, people tend to look more into it, making it helpful for creating eye-focused pictures.
Using a key light does not necessarily mean having a headshot style photograph; this could be using the sun as a key light. More advanced photographers use key lights for professional filming.
P is for perfect balance
When talking about cinematography, sometimes people get very passionate about what styles they like and don’t like. A lot of it has to do with personal preference, but some of it also has to do with how well you pronounce the word.
When someone pronounces “cinematographer” as if it were spelled “camera-göter” then it can be hard to take them seriously. On the other hand, when someone says their favorite style is “vérité documentary” or “realism,” that brings to mind different meanings depending on where you are from.
A vérité documentary might refer to an overall feel - something that gives off a sense of truthfulness. Realism could mean creating settings and scenes that look natural and not overly stylized or abstracted.
Both of these things have to do with making the film seem authentic and telling the story in a way that feels honest and straightforward. That’s why professional cinematographers spend so much time filming documentaries and real life events![1]
So how do you say cinema-göters in your own language? We bet you’ve got at least one friend who loves this term and wants to know how to say it properly! Luckily for you, we're here to help.