Cinematography ·
Getting the shot in the snow
This photograph was taken in 2017. Nine years later, it still speaks to my willingness to get the shot—and to how much experience can add to that willingness.
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Cinematography
Journal notes by James Alton about cinematography, image-making and the work around it.
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Cinematography ·
Testing old lenses and Black Pro-Mist for black and white
Before filming Last of a Dying Breed, I thought I wanted the softness and character of vintage lenses. We put Roark Critchlow on a couch and compared older glass, modern lenses and Black Pro-Mist in black and white. Watching the test changed my mind: I wanted a modern, sharp, crisp, high-contrast image, with diffusion added only where we wanted it.
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Cinematography ·
The Older Bastard Brother: faces and warm interiors
The Older Bastard Brother brings a contemporary western into a wood-panelled interior. James Alton directed, produced, photographed and edited the short, written by Dave Kenneth MacKinnon.
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