Watch: What Cinematographers Can Learn from Comic Book Artists

“You will get shot down, you will get let go, you will get rejected…filmmaking being such a beautiful experience and field to work in, and absolutely suicidal.” – Sarah Thomas Moffat, Cinematographer, CSC

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Welcome to the first episode of Raindance Step & Repeat, a video series for independent filmmakers who want to make a living telling stories.

Celebrated comic artist and writer Ty Templeton explains, “In art school I taught a course called the Cinematography in Comics, and my first lesson to the class was: ‘alright everybody, there isn’t any cinematography in comics. Now let’s move on.'”

Wait – aren’t comic books basically just storyboards? Isn’t that why comics have been adapted into films since the 1940s and comic-book-franchises-cum-blockbusters dominate the box office?

Templeton, the award-winning writer and illustrator whose penned for Marvel & DC Comics, including “Batman Adventures” and “The Simpsons,” asserts that the biggest mistake a cinematographer can make is to copy a comic shot-for-shot. Film is a dynamic medium, not a static one, and experienced cinematographers learn how to manipulate visuals to serve the story – not their portfolio.

Watch the video below and hear Ty talk about universal story skills, the myth of talent, and the hidden connections between comics and cinematography. Find out more about Templeton here and visit Raindance here.

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