notes on cinematography, image-making, and how looking becomes intuition. lighting, framing, blocking, the references that shape an eye. no guides. just reflections.
the first note. taste, trained over time, and how looking becomes intuition.
taste doesn't appear out of nowhere. it builds over time. you train it by noticing, repeating, being present. it's like when you've had enough good coffee, you just know when something's off.
the frame size i keep coming back to. close enough to feel the character, wide enough to see their world.
over time, i found myself drawn to certain frames. and when i think of frame space, i always return to the medium-wide shot. it's where my eye naturally lands.
deeper depth of field, as a choice. when the frame asks for both the character and their surroundings to speak.
there's something honest about a deeper depth of field. it lets the world live with the character, forces the frame to hold more truth, no soft blur to hide behind.
before anything is lit, here's the question: what kind of feeling lives in this scene? key, fill, background, backlight .. the rhythm your eye begins to recognize.
lighting ratio isn't just about key:fill. each light plays a role in shaping the space. their differences create a rhythm. a pattern your eye begins to recognize.
