A community for cinematographers. Conversations on craft, light, and the industry, built on the idea that filmmaking is a collaborative practice and the people behind the camera deserve a space to think out loud, in public, about how the work gets made. Everything here is free.
Xavier Dolléans, AFC on High Value Target: a network that asked for a 2.39 frame without anamorphic lenses, a local crew he met during five weeks of prep in Cairo, two soft boxes craned over the desert for the capture of Saddam Hussein, and interrogations filmed on three cameras with the lights pushed far back.
Doug Emmett on Furious and Lucky: a studio pitch rehearsed until it ran under a minute, a penthouse of mirrored glass with nowhere to hide the lights, a desert chase lit by the full moon, and flying home to his daughters on the weekends.
Pat Scola, ASC on The Death of Robin Hood: a oner in the mud, mixing aspect ratios from 2.39 to 1.66, a Kodak stock so new it hadn't been rated yet, and a frantic call to his wife 48 hours into production.
Adam Newport-Berra, ASC on The Invite, Olivia Wilde's one-apartment comedy for A24, photographed on 35mm: hard ceilings with the softboxes built into them, walls and wardrobe kept dark so four faces carry the light, a camera that almost never leaves the dolly, and a reflection game that keeps a couple out of the same frame until it breaks.
Every episode, every article, and both of the Resources tools are free to use. No paywall, no membership fee, no login. That is not a growth tactic, it is the whole point: learning to light a scene should not depend on what you can afford.
Sponsors cover part of it. The rest is people chipping in.
Monthly or yearly, from $5 a month, less than the price of a coffee. It costs real money to keep the podcast, the writing, and the tools running, and supporting is what covers it.
Art salons have been held in Paris since the late 17th century: public exhibitions of artworks where painters, sculptors, and writers met to argue, collaborate, and look closely at each other's work. They were also where innovative artists, excluded by the official academy, organized their own shows around a shared aesthetic or political conviction.
Cinematography Salon is a community in that tradition. A place to talk about the craft of cinematography honestly, with the people doing the work.
