Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.

10 Of The Very Best Cinematographers Working Today

The paradox of the various departments of film production, whether it’s design, music, photography or others, is that when they’re executed with the highest level of skill they stand out, but they’re not really meant to. Most agree that a movie’s score, for instance, is operating at its best when it is affecting the audience’s response to and understanding of a particular scene or moment in a film but on a completely unconscious level. It’s only afterward, perhaps on repeat viewings, that we notice how beautifully composed the music was throughout, and in particular segments of the movie. If it stands out too much, it can be overbearing, and overly noticeable, and actually distract from the story that we’re supposed to be engaging in.
This article is over 11 years old and may contain outdated information
[h2]9) Rodrigo Prieto[/h2]

Brokeback Mountain

Recommended Videos

Another excellent DP who has been under-recognized despite consistently giving us outstanding work is Rodrigo Prieto, whose most recent work was done on a moderately successful film called Argo. He has accumulated quite the resume over the past couple of decades, including Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution with Ang Lee, Babel and 21 Grams with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 25th Hour with Spike Lee, Frida with Julie Taymor, and worked with Martin Scorsese on the upcoming Wolf of Wall Street.

That’s quite the track record, and with a remarkably diverse group of filmmakers. And yet every one of those films is memorable for how much its imagery contributed to the experience of its story. Brokeback Mountain in particular is a beautiful example of a kind of throwback, classical Hollywood love story told from a contemporary history context, employing the traditional visual dichotomy of boundless country landscapes representing freedom and crippling, claustrophobic city scenes where the characters are inhibited by society and its mores. Sometimes seemingly simple cinematography can contain more meaning than all the words spoken in an entire film.

Continue reading on the next page…


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy