How to become a cinematographer

Cinematographer vs director
Cinematographer salary
Cinematographer vs videographer

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In more words...

I was born in Switzerland of a Swiss mother and British/American father. Except for a few years living in Connecticut and New Mexico, I mainly grew up in the peaceful land of cheese and Toblerone, which provided a lovely upbringing. I was exposed to many different cultures and fortunate to travel around Europe and Northern Africa at a young age - all of which had a strong impact on my growing consciousness.

There are no stories of me making movies as a kid or taking tons of pictures, but I do remember always observing the world around me.

I loved watching films, especially those of Chaplin and Hitchcock, which typically aired on saturday afternoons. I also enjoyed reading, which is where I felt the power of storytelling the most. It was incredible to discover my imagination at work and how the brain creates images and feelings based on ideas and words. Opening a book was magical - it allowed me to drift into a completely foreign world populated with fascinating characters.

Jumping forward a few years and I was on my way to California with d

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Matthew Williams was born in Los Angeles and graduated from the Academy of Photographic Arts in North Hollywood, specializing in commercial still photography. After developing an interest in film and motion picture work, he went back to school at UCLA to study cinematography.

In addition to several feature films, which include the WWII Drama “American Pastime,” for Warner Brothers, “Saving Sarah Cain” with Michael Landon, Jr, for the Lifetime Network, (7) TV series, which include “Touched By An Angel” and “Promised Land,” for CBS, "Big Love" 2nd Unit for HBO, and “State of Mind” for Lifetime Network.

Matt has also photographed (7) IMAX films, which include, “Journey to Mecca," “Stephen Hawking’s: Beyond the Horizon," “India: Kingdom of the Tiger," “NSYNC: Bigger Than Live," the dramatic story segments for “Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France," and “Hearst Castle: Building the Dream” for National Geographic.

Matt has also shot hundreds of television commercials incl

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Cinematographer

Creative head of a motion picture's camera and lighting decisions

The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography.

The cinematographer is a subordinate of the director, tasked with capturing a scene in accordance with the director's vision. Relations between the cinematographer and director vary. In some instances, the director will allow the cinematographer complete independence, while in others, the director allows little to none, even going so far as to specify exact camera placement and lens selection. Such a level of involvement is less common when the director and cinematogr