Top 80 Cinematography Quotes

Life is unpredictable, and I feel, to some extent, lighting and cinematography should be a reflection of that.

I believe if you come out of a movie and the first thing you say is, ‘The cinematography was beautiful,’ it’s a bad movie.

Cinematography is so much about instinct and intuition – you want the same range of experience going into behind the camera as what you see in front of it. Your life experience will come through the lens.

Writing, of course, is writing, acting comes from the theater, and cinematography comes from photography. Editing is unique to film. You can see something from different points of view almost simultaneously, and it creates a new experience.

You can be technically strong, and focus all your efforts on elements like casting, music, cinematography and sets, but they are all just add ons. End of the day, filmmaking is really about how well you tell a story.

I think ‘GoodFellas’ is just a perfect film. From an efficiency of storytelling standpoint, from an entertainment standpoint, from a performance standpoint, from a use of music standpoint, from a cinematography and editing standpoint – to me, it’s just a perfect movie.

I think there were some dubious feelings about it, that the first ‘Scarface’ would not be surpassed by the second ‘Scarface.’ We were wrong; it surpassed it. The acting talent, the cinematography – we were propelled into a real class action film. Long after I kick the bucket, it’ll be played.

Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities… much more so than music or language.

In old movies, the cinematography is a thousand times better than anything today. Writing, a thousand times better.

Cinematography is so much about instinct and intuition – you want the same range of experience going into behind the camera as what you see in front of it. Your life experience will come through the lens.

I started out with this dream of being a director and doing cinematography and bought my first film camera at 15.

Right before ‘American Dreams,’ I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a couple night courses to really study photography and cinematography, and the language of visual storytelling.

I started out with this dream of being a director and doing cinematography and bought my first film camera at 15.

Everything that is somehow related to direction and filmmaking fascinates me, like cinematography.

I found there are a lot of advantages to being on a small budget and having a small crew. You get some very intimate performances and naturalistic cinematography.

I thought of learning cinematography, so I assisted a cinematographer for an ad.

And later I thought, I can’t think how anyone can become a director without learning the craft of cinematography.

The reason why I wanted to direct is because there are personal stories that I want to tell, but also because I love every part of movie making – from the wardrobe to the set decoration to cinematography.

Let me tell you something about Joe Manganiello – I don’t care, dude. The most impressive thing that you have on your cinematography is that you got beat up by Spiderman.

I want to challenge my cinematography and my editing.

I am interested in all aspects of filmmaking, so I have an opinion on every aspect, so sound design, score, cinematography, editing – all that stuff I have experience doing myself, so I had a very strong idea of what I wanted, and I got, for the most part, people that were able to articulate that idea, which was nice.

I was not getting work, even after auditioning for films. So I started working in a studio as a photographer; I assisted a cinematographer for two ads. I was thinking that I will get into photography or cinematography or assist someone. But then the ‘Dangal’ offer came, and I was busy with the auditions.

My father would tell anyone who would listen that this dentist thing he was doing was not his passion; cinematography was.

Ashok Mehta was the man who brought contrast and lighting back to mainstream Hindi film cinematography.

My attention is more on the technical process of filmmaking; I like to observe cinematography and direction.

I am interested in all aspects of filmmaking, so I have an opinion on every aspect, so sound design, score, cinematography, editing – all that stuff I have experience doing myself, so I had a very strong idea of what I wanted, and I got, for the most part, people that were able to articulate that idea, which was nice.

I think ‘GoodFellas’ is just a perfect film. From an efficiency of storytelling standpoint, from an entertainment standpoint, from a performance standpoint, from a use of music standpoint, from a cinematography and editing standpoint – to me, it’s just a perfect movie.

I don’t love cinematography that’s very flashy because I find that it keeps the audience from becoming a part of the film; it becomes sort of self-reflective.

I believe that filmmakers have to internalize the story and subtext so well that all of the departments can start to speak to each other – that music can speak to cinematography can speak to writing and back again.

I don’t really believe in the mystery of cinematography – what happens in the camera is what the cinematographers create and all that nonsense – I want the director to see what I’m trying to do.

Playing with light is something that is very important, especially when you want cinematography in your game.

In the James Cameron blockbuster ‘Avatar,’ 3-D cinematography is the real star. The bugs and crawling creatures seem to slither into the theater seats. The floating mountains of the planet Pandora hover gloriously overhead. And the Na’Vi, Pandora’s 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned natives, come convincingly to life.

In ‘Tree of Life,’ the cinematography records a small story, a celebration of the courage of everyday life. But it does it so up close and so effortlessly that it has the effect of elevating the intimacy of the story to a grand scale.

I don’t come from a film background. I haven’t learned anything about films or film-making. But I have a thirst to know everything about my profession. I want to learn about cinematography, about editing, about music recordings, about post-production. So when people in the know talk, I willingly listen.

I want to challenge my cinematography and my editing.

I don’t really believe in the mystery of cinematography – what happens in the camera is what the cinematographers create and all that nonsense – I want the director to see what I’m trying to do.

I stopped playing the drums when I was ten, and I picked up Rubik’s Cubes. I was doing that for a while, and then I got into cinematography.

Professional cinema image-taking should integrate, serve, interest, and enhance the story. I judge cinematography not just for a story well told but for what the story is.

The reason why I wanted to direct is because there are personal stories that I want to tell, but also because I love every part of movie making – from the wardrobe to the set decoration to cinematography.

Some directors don’t get involved in the cinematography and are just about story, but I’m definitely more tactile than that in terms of my involvement in the minutiae.

The only consistency in the work I do is that I try to use cinematography to best tell the narrative and do justice to the character arcs, but not to do it in such an overt way that people are distracted by it.

I feel for Veronica Mars so much when I’m watching at home. It is a wonderful story. The writing is consistently funny, biting, charming, heart-wrenching, etc. I also like the look of it. The cinematography – different from any other show.

Writing, of course, is writing, acting comes from the theater, and cinematography comes from photography. Editing is unique to film. You can see something from different points of view almost simultaneously, and it creates a new experience.

I like Rob Morgan in ‘Mudbound.’ Most of the attention being paid to this movie has focused on Rachel Morrison’s cinematography and Mary J. Blige’s stiff but intensely stoical performance.

If there’s an opportunity to tell a story through acting or directing or cinematography or a book, I will embrace that opportunity.

Life is unpredictable, and I feel, to some extent, lighting and cinematography should be a reflection of that.

Usually, if you notice good cinematography, then the cinematographer’s failing. I try to make light feel like it’s always motivated and natural in some way and hope that the lighting goes unnoticed.

I was in film school as an undergrad with a focus on directing. Once I started working on shoots, I realized, ‘Oh, I really like this cinematography thing.’

I was not getting work, even after auditioning for films. So I started working in a studio as a photographer; I assisted a cinematographer for two ads. I was thinking that I will get into photography or cinematography or assist someone. But then the ‘Dangal’ offer came, and I was busy with the auditions.

I thought of learning cinematography, so I assisted a cinematographer for an ad.

When I was studying photography, I became interested in conflict photojournalism, and that got me interested in lighting. Then I realized there was this amazing thing called cinematography where you could kind of tell more complete stories photographing for film. So I ended up going to AFI grad school for that.

You make the movie through the cinematography – it sounds quite a simple idea, but it was like a huge revelation to me.

When ’36 Chowringhee Lane’ was released in 1981, I was a student of the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu. Everyone who had seen the film was very impressed with its flawless direction and acting. But we, cinematography students, were stunned by the visual style, which was truly international.

In the James Cameron blockbuster ‘Avatar,’ 3-D cinematography is the real star. The bugs and crawling creatures seem to slither into the theater seats. The floating mountains of the planet Pandora hover gloriously overhead. And the Na’Vi, Pandora’s 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned natives, come convincingly to life.

There are particular images that I like. Allegro is composed of a series of still life photographs that has been put to speed. There is so much care that has gone into the composition of the cinematography.

‘Meadowland’ was the reason I got ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ and probably my experience in cinematography helped. Everything was like a stepping stone to the next thing.

I feel for Veronica Mars so much when I’m watching at home. It is a wonderful story. The writing is consistently funny, biting, charming, heart-wrenching, etc. I also like the look of it. The cinematography – different from any other show.

Right before ‘American Dreams,’ I started to pursue these avenues, like short films and getting into a couple night courses to really study photography and cinematography, and the language of visual storytelling.

It’s infrequent that that happens – great performances and magical cinematography and great direction.

Obviously, the cinematography of films is art, just as a still shot can be art. If I’m watching a Wes Anderson movie, the colour palettes alone, and the way they’re painted, could be art. With music, you’re a little bit limited, of course, because it’s only audio.

The phenomenon that is ‘Game Of Thrones’ has propelled many actors associated with it into the minds of directors and producers, and it’s a fabulous position to be in. It’s because it’s so adored and respected, of such high quality with such amazing cinematography.

I think there were some dubious feelings about it, that the first ‘Scarface’ would not be surpassed by the second ‘Scarface.’ We were wrong; it surpassed it. The acting talent, the cinematography – we were propelled into a real class action film. Long after I kick the bucket, it’ll be played.

I believe that filmmakers have to internalize the story and subtext so well that all of the departments can start to speak to each other – that music can speak to cinematography can speak to writing and back again.

The phenomenon that is ‘Game Of Thrones’ has propelled many actors associated with it into the minds of directors and producers, and it’s a fabulous position to be in. It’s because it’s so adored and respected, of such high quality with such amazing cinematography.

The incredible cinematography makes ‘A Walk to Beautiful’ almost like a poem; there is a tenderness on display that seems to emanate from the camera. There is also great sensitivity to the women whose stories are being told – never did I have a sense of the subjects being exploited.

If there’s an opportunity to tell a story through acting or directing or cinematography or a book, I will embrace that opportunity.

In old movies, the cinematography is a thousand times better than anything today. Writing, a thousand times better.

Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It’s multitasking, it’s empathy, and it’s channeling visuals into human emotion.

I am very much open to doing cinematography for any talented filmmaker, if the script is good.

Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities… much more so than music or language.

I think the cinematography in ‘Mr. Robot’ is some of the best I’ve ever seen, honestly. Not even as being part of the show but as somebody who enjoys cinema and movies in film and TV.

The cinematography and the conditions in which ‘Meru’ was filmed drew me to the project. It’s remarkable to think that everything in the film is real; these three men set out to attempt this impossible climb and to film it at the same time.

‘Meadowland’ was the reason I got ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ and probably my experience in cinematography helped. Everything was like a stepping stone to the next thing.

I was in film school as an undergrad with a focus on directing. Once I started working on shoots, I realized, ‘Oh, I really like this cinematography thing.’

When I was studying photography, I became interested in conflict photojournalism, and that got me interested in lighting. Then I realized there was this amazing thing called cinematography where you could kind of tell more complete stories photographing for film. So I ended up going to AFI grad school for that.

Obviously, the cinematography of films is art, just as a still shot can be art. If I’m watching a Wes Anderson movie, the colour palettes alone, and the way they’re painted, could be art. With music, you’re a little bit limited, of course, because it’s only audio.

I’ve always really loved cinematography and glamorous old Hollywood movies and they go hand in hand.

You make the movie through the cinematography – it sounds quite a simple idea, but it was like a huge revelation to me.

A lot of cinematography is intuition. It’s an art, not a formula.

Professional cinema image-taking should integrate, serve, interest, and enhance the story. I judge cinematography not just for a story well told but for what the story is.