In the world of cinematography Christopher Doyle is a rock star. I go through some of his cinematography lighting and camera techniques to help you understand his unique style.
Just to be clear: Christopher Doyle changes his style to suit the movies he shoots. The goal of this video and article is to drum up enthusiasm and a yearning to learn more.
Warning: I do not claim this knowledge is 100% accurate. Just think of it as an endorsement of his work. If you want accuracy, look someplace else.
The circumstances Christopher Doyle worked in
At the beginning, he had to contend with low budgets and tight spaces. This limits camera movement and operation…to most people. Doyle used these constraints to find rhythm and energy in his shots.
He used the chaos that are Neon lights to his advantage, and managed to isolate pockets of light and mood for this actors to work in. One must also not overlook the importance of production design and locations for such low budget work.
Even when he became famous, his work with Won Kar-wai was under similar circumstances. They didn’t have a script, just actors and locations, and whatever was in the director’s mind at the time. This gave Doyle the freedom to find the absolute best shots and lighting he could…and he succeeded.
When he transitioned to big-budget Hollywood flicks he was surprised to find they built sets after having visualized the movie first. This was totally different to the way he knew, but he adapted and created some great work for lesser known films like Psycho (the remake), Lady in the Water, etc.
Cameras, formats and lenses
He shot most of his work on film, on both Fuji and Kodak stock (even some Agfa). He used both Zeiss and Cooke primes, and almost always carries an Angenieux Optimo as well.
He has shot on most aspect ratios and formats, whatever the director decides. Recently, he has shot on digital media, and has even used Red cameras and the Alexa for his commercial work.
Some of the experimental work he has done:
- Dragging the shutter, or creating excessive motion blur
- Slow motion
- Moving the camera rhythmically
- Moving the camera arbitrarily
- Flashing lights
- Using color filters
- Switching off the camera during a take (or blackening it out, I’m not totally sure)
- Photography and Montage work
- Extreme wide angle compositions, even for close ups