The article “Peaks and Valleys” by John Calhoun investigates what shaped the film style of Brokeback Mountain. Calhoun interviewed the director of photography Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC, who offered a surprising amount of insight into how many of the films stylistic choices were made – many of them falling into the categories we discussed in class.
It turns out, that even the director Ang Lee’s choice to recruit Prieto – and subsequently shape the style of the film – was partially driven by pragmatics. Lee told Calhoun that Brokeback Mountain “was a very low-budget film, but it’s not written like one…I needed someone who uses natural light smartly, whose sets out the shots without changing them and gives most of the time to the actors” (59-60).
Within the first paragraph Prieto is quoted as saying that one of the main primary directorial objectives was to use the camera work to reflect the ideational concept that, “when [the characters] talk, they don't adorn what they say with fancy words; they’re direct. [Director] Ang Lee and I felt the camerawork had to be like that as well. Ang said he wanted to shoot it very much like the characters are: very stoic in a way, and simple” (58). Similarly, another primary directorial objective that is discussed is the desire for the light to be mimetic, a task that was not always the easiest …show more content…
At one point in the interview, Prieto tells Calhoun that picking lenses for Brokeback Mountain “required a collaborative attention to detail” (60). While Lee wanted to use Cooke Panchros, Prieto usually used Ultra Primes; so they did a few side-by-side comparisions and eventually decided upon Cooke S4 primes. I am not sure if artistic/collaborative compromises could be encompassed underneath another category or if it could be turned into section of aspects that shape film
It turns out, that even the director Ang Lee’s choice to recruit Prieto – and subsequently shape the style of the film – was partially driven by pragmatics. Lee told Calhoun that Brokeback Mountain “was a very low-budget film, but it’s not written like one…I needed someone who uses natural light smartly, whose sets out the shots without changing them and gives most of the time to the actors” (59-60).
Within the first paragraph Prieto is quoted as saying that one of the main primary directorial objectives was to use the camera work to reflect the ideational concept that, “when [the characters] talk, they don't adorn what they say with fancy words; they’re direct. [Director] Ang Lee and I felt the camerawork had to be like that as well. Ang said he wanted to shoot it very much like the characters are: very stoic in a way, and simple” (58). Similarly, another primary directorial objective that is discussed is the desire for the light to be mimetic, a task that was not always the easiest …show more content…
At one point in the interview, Prieto tells Calhoun that picking lenses for Brokeback Mountain “required a collaborative attention to detail” (60). While Lee wanted to use Cooke Panchros, Prieto usually used Ultra Primes; so they did a few side-by-side comparisions and eventually decided upon Cooke S4 primes. I am not sure if artistic/collaborative compromises could be encompassed underneath another category or if it could be turned into section of aspects that shape film