The talented Roger Deakins needs no introduction. As one of the great living cinematographers working today, Deakins is a perfect example of a filmmaker striving for artistic excellence while being aware that it is all in the service of the film. Beauty and utility should meet in perfect harmony, and one needs only to watch the works of this cinematographer to see these elements in union.

Spark your filmmaking passion with Filmmaking Wisdom from Roger Deakins, 5 tips of cinematic goodness presented by A-BitterSweet-Life.

1) Never Compromise Performance

In the end a film can look lousy but work because of a great performance but not the other way round. That’s something always worth remembering.

This statement reflects what John Cassavetes said about cinema: Art films aren’t necessarily photography. It’s feeling. If we can capture a feeling of a people, of a way of life, then we made a good picture. We as filmmakers must value the image, however, never at the cost of our actors. The actor in the end is the vessel through which the audience experiences the film. Emotional weight comes from performance. Think what Maria Falconetti means for Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc or Daniel Day-Lewis for Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood.

2) Make Your Resources Work for You

Make use of what light is available simply through your positioning of the camera–and the subject if you are controlling what you are shooting. For me, using extra equipment, whether it was a tripod or a reflector, was usually a distraction and counterproductive.

Filmmakers of all experience levels need to be able to adapt to the ongoing changes and obstacles that occur during the different stages of film production. One way to understand the art of cinema and the craft behind it is to acknowledge this simple equation: filmmaking = creative problem solving. A filmmaker’s imagination benefits the production when no budget can. If a set is not accessible, how can you make the locations at your disposal work for your film? Let your imagination’s wheels roll.

(stills from Prisoners)

3) Make Your Tools Work for You

There is an obsession with technology that I don’t care for. You pick the camera for the job based on cost and many other factors. I think In This World or Slumdog Millionaire are good case studies in this regard.

The advancement of technology is in a state of flux, and with each new year new tools are being offered to filmmakers. However, some of those tools are not readily attainable to all, whether for financial or locational reasons. Still, in the same way you can make the most of your resources, you can make the most of the tools available to you. As a filmmaker, look at your tools and their capabilities in imaginative ways by understanding what you as a filmmaker can do with them. You may want to use a Red camera, but a DSLR camera may be just the right tool for you to make your magic work–as long as you understand how to make the best of it.

4) The Vision Not the Camera Makes the Film

Cinematography is more than a camera, whether that camera is a Red an Alexa or a Bolex. There is a little more to it than resolution, colour depth, latitude, grain structure, lens aberration etc. etc. etc. The lenses used for Citizen Kane were in no way as good as a Primo or a Master Prime and the grain structure in that film is, frankly, all over the place. But the cinematography? Well, you tell me.

Vision controls the tools. As Steven Soderbergh stated in his State of Cinema speech, Cinema is a specificity of vision…It means that if this filmmaker didn’t do it, it either wouldn’t exist at all, or it wouldn’t exist in anything like this. The most important instrument you possess is your approach to visual storytelling, or, in other words, your filmmaker’s style. It is your “specificity of vision” that dictates how your film will engage an audience and what emotions it will stir in the viewer. Hone in on how you want the audience to experience your story.

5) Understand Filmmaking through Discovery

I genuinely feel that cinematography, like photography in general, is not something that can be learned but, pretentious as it may sound, can only be discovered.

Experience is the best teacher since it furthers your awareness of the film process. Difficulties are bound to arise, and learning how to deal with them is essential for the filmmaker both in terms of the production and your sanity. More importantly, in the same way we as individuals grow and mature through life experiences, we as filmmakers continue our development by living our passion and our work.

(stills from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)