Making movies is the dream of many; But it is not only the act of writing, producing and directing a film, cinema refers to the opportunity to reach several people and transmit a message. Make people laugh, cry, smile and sometimes even wake people up on a topic. Cinema is undoubtedly an audiovisual tool, but it is also one of the most expensive and difficult tools to produce. Not only because of the cost of hiring staff, renting technical equipment, costumes, props, etc. The cost comes, especially in Venezuela, in the cans or rolls of film, necessary to be able to film. Cinematography, consisting of the two Greek words kinema – meaning movement – and graphein – meaning recording – is the art of capturing images in the process of making a film.
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ٌWhat is Cinematography?
The cinematographer, the director of photography, or DP for short, is responsible for capturing all the images in the film. With the passage of time and the advancement of video recording technology, cinematographers play a key role in the production of cinematic works as the director of lighting and cameras. The main task of cinematographers is to capture beautiful and powerful images to better tell the story.
Cinematography has many similarities with photography, so familiarity with the concepts of photography is essential to get started. To get started, you can use the following tricks and concepts:
- Exposure
- Diaphragm
- Shutter speed
- Shot size
- camera angle
- Camera movement
What are the main responsibilities of a Cinematographer?
With the start of the pre-production phase, this person must also make fundamental and important decisions about the look and feel of the film; Is it better to record images in black and white or in color? What kind of camera (digital or analog) is smarter to use?
cinematographers are turning to use digital-based cameras, this is due to the technology in digital film cameras that allows it to continue to grow. The final product produced can be said to be similar to the video produced together using a digital camera.
Even so, cinematography still stands as a discipline of science that prioritizes the visual elements that are important in building a film. The same medium does not make the goal of creating a product the same.
What is Videography?
Videography is a combination of images, text and sounds that are used to make work more attractive; This will greatly help the effectiveness of the advertising content.
Making motion graphics sometimes puts a lot of costs on companies and individuals, especially start-ups. But video is an economical and cost-effective advertising teaser that, although it does not have the charm and dynamics of motion graphics, but it works well in conveying the advertising message.
These types of projects take less time to create than motion graphics and even movies or industrial ads and are delivered much faster.
Combining live video with graphic elements has many advantages. On the one hand, it is the human being who explains, and on the other hand, the graphics add a new and attractive layer to the video that will provide a better description of the product or service.
The reason for paying so much attention to this method is that it has the power to engage the audience and gain people’s trust.
What are the main responsibilities of a Videographer?
The videographer is a designer and producer of video programs. In this sense, we can consider the videographer as a person in charge of video production whose main mission is to design and offer new audiovisual programs for individuals or professionals.
Videography VS Cinematography
The transition of analog to digital can be said to contribute quite a bit to the development of technology in various fields of industry. Not to mention the technology in the field of audio/visual, especially the film industry. This can be said because the transition can change or even give birth to terms that have never existed before.
Previously, the term “cinematography” only referred to a discipline that is one of the aspects that make up a film. However, today it is not uncommon for us to hear the term used outside the film industry. It is often used in the art of producing a video, which is more appropriate when using the term “videography”.
Although both are terms in the audio / visual field and the differences are slight, the differences between videography and cinematography are quite clear. To avoid ongoing confusion, consider what is the difference between videography and cinematography!
Videography usually includes post-production stages such as editing, and it is common for these stages to be done by the same person. A videographer can work alone or in a team, while cinematography is required for teamwork due to different production scales.
Usually, the cinematographer does not work to operate the camera directly but requires a camera assistant at the production stage. The confusion that often occurs can also be said to be due to the use of the same terms in videography and cinematography which later became ambiguous.
Digital-based videography focuses on the techniques of operating the camera, capturing the art, and producing high-quality video. However, considering these elements does not mean that the resulting video is intended for the benefit of cinema or film.
While cinematography can be said to be an art in conveying a message and representing it through visuals. The cinematography itself is a form of visual communication or a second language after the story to be told through a film.
History of Videography & Cinematography
Since the birth of the film industry, the term cinematography refers to a discipline that is studied and applied by the profession of the cinematographer or commonly referred to as DP / DoP (Director of Photography) in film production. Cinematography includes all the visual elements that will be displayed on the screen when a movie is shown.
These elements include framing, zooming, exposure, lighting, composition, camera movement, camera angles, film selection, lens selection, focus, color, filter usage, and depth of field. While the term videography emerged after the advent of electronic media to capture a digital image based on the video camera because the video produced is intended to be shown on an electronic media such as for the benefit of television, the internet, and other electronic screens.