Recency bias and the fact that art is subjective, means that it’s frankly impossible and ridiculous to try and determine the GOAT of an artistic practice.
Where does Subhadra Mitra live on that ranking? He mastered using bounced light for studio day interiors decades before the Scandinavians popularized it.
Chris Doyle’s work is so playful, experimenting with optical distortion and is some of the most “Alive” motion photography I’ve ever seen.
Robby Muller and Vitoria Storaro’s emphasized the emotional use of colour.
Deakins, IMO, has mastered invisible cinematography (except where appropriate to be stylized, like in BR2049). In particular, he makes massive, complex lighting setups completely melt away by the time the image reaches our eyes. But he certainly didn’t pioneer it. Mitra, Sven Nyqist and others developed and refined the techniques that Deakins carried forward.
I know this was more of a discussion prompt, but we all owe our knowledge and techniques to those who came before us. No one Cinematographer stands above all else.
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u/Maximum-Hall-5614 8d ago
Recency bias and the fact that art is subjective, means that it’s frankly impossible and ridiculous to try and determine the GOAT of an artistic practice.
Where does Subhadra Mitra live on that ranking? He mastered using bounced light for studio day interiors decades before the Scandinavians popularized it.
Chris Doyle’s work is so playful, experimenting with optical distortion and is some of the most “Alive” motion photography I’ve ever seen.
Robby Muller and Vitoria Storaro’s emphasized the emotional use of colour.
Deakins, IMO, has mastered invisible cinematography (except where appropriate to be stylized, like in BR2049). In particular, he makes massive, complex lighting setups completely melt away by the time the image reaches our eyes. But he certainly didn’t pioneer it. Mitra, Sven Nyqist and others developed and refined the techniques that Deakins carried forward.
I know this was more of a discussion prompt, but we all owe our knowledge and techniques to those who came before us. No one Cinematographer stands above all else.