Interview with a Cinematographer.

This week, I took the time to talk to Mark Nitta (that's Lord Nitta to you), Video Production professor here at Hawaii Pacific University. The main topic, the future of technology and filmmaking.

1. What is your background in cinematography?
"Nothing, it's been a total farce *laughs.* It's goes to back to when I was in school, back in junior high. Always been involved in photography, video, graphic art. Just been involved with all these different fields over the years. I now have my own company, since high school, doing various things, like full-on multimedia centers before I came to HPU."

2. In your experience, how rapidly has technology improved through each generation?
"I don't know if you can use the word 'improve.' Just 'cause tech has evolved doesn't mean it has improved. There's no question that technology has evolved, but you can only go up to a point where the users can keep up. If you have an understanding of the tech sometimes it might be a step backwards. I'll give you an example: look at video, video necessarily hasn't gotten 'better' but we have gotten much better at fooling the human eye. Tech maybe has made it easier to do things, but it doesn't mean that what we're getting is any better."

3. Technology obviously allows us to do more things, but has technology necessarily made it easier to do things?
"One of the things that technology is supposed to do, is that it's supposed to shorten the time you do something, but now days we get hung up on the tech itself. Sometimes we get stuck deciding the ways in which we are to create something, which might be good for creativity, but when it comes down to it, you are crunched for time or you might not have enough, because you are too busy on the choices.

Like a production, I could constantly try to put things into a project, but there comes a time, I call it the 'point of no return', that you need to have something done.

Editing wise, we probably spend more time on a computer editing system than the old analog systems. Today, we can spend so much time devoted to something that with the old systems, we only had a few options, and thus, got the job done quicker."

4. Will there ever be a definite era where we can finally say, "This is as good as cameras will ever be, there's no need for a higher spec." (HD cameras and the like.)
"No. You want want to know why? Because, if humans thought in that way, we would never get anywhere. If humans were ever satisfied with what they had, we'd still be living in the stone age. If you look at still cameras, they came up with auto-focus. Then they improved the auto-focus. Clarity-wise, yeah you've hit the human eye, but there's always something you can figure out to make it better."

5. Concerning today's cameras, what do you think is the future of filmmaking: DSLR's or film?
 "Parts of the DSLR and parts of the video camera. DSLR is a fad right now. People are jumping on to it because it's the latest fad. But it's not totally functional from a video stand point. This has happened so many times in this industry, I've seen this happen all the time. Not to say that dslrs are bad, but videographers must not let that get to them. The needs of a photographer is not the same as a videographer. Some people may say that there is a convergence here, but they have to realize that they are two different mediums. Yes you can freeze the action at it's most intensity, but there are different emotions from stills and video. They are two different mediums that need to be handled in two different ways."

6. As technology gets cheaper and more widespread for consumers, do you see this affecting higher budget filmmaking?
"No, because a lot of people get into this industry for the money. Actors are paid a premium. You have all these above-the-line people; independent filmmaking doesn't really exist anymore. Every time you start up something, you have these big executives trying to take over everything. The equipment has come cheaper and allowed more people to shoot stuff, but at the same time, you can see a lot of garbage out there. Just look at Youtube- sure you have some people who are trying, and maybe they think it looks fantastic, but it may be only nice in their eyes. 'The Blair Witch Project' was a fluke and they were very lucky, but it's going to be real hard to duplicate that. People will come up with something unique and creative with low-budget filmmaking, but that talent will be swallowed up by the big studios. Once they get involved, you get so many more things involved; the executives, the money pushers… you get so many things that escalate. It takes money to make a film."

7. Do you feel professional cinematography is becoming a lost art?
"If we don't keep our standards up, then it will be. If a shaky camera is accepted, then it will be a lost art. You know you can have shaky cam, but it has to be used in a way. There's a reason why a director has the shots he has. Now there's too much imitation versus innovation. People have to pay attention to detail. We've made it so easy with software, but with all these tools, it comes down to the person and how critical they are of their own work and how much they want to push themselves in their work."

8. What constitutes a "professional" now days?

"It's more then what people think. It's not just that the person knows how to operate a camera or how to edit. A professional knows how to communicate the aesthetics of the message they are trying to communicate. They are critical of the whole, whatever you see in a  frame, they are aware of. The acting, the sound, the background, the color, the mood, the ambience, whatever it maybe, they're critical of all of that. It's now just the creation of all of that. It's the management of all of that. They have be a team leader and move the team forward. There's a whole lot more of what people think. They have to be able to notice things and be able to craft what the audience will then distinguish as a good film or a bad film."

9. If I'm a beginning filmmaker, should I go to school for it or should I jump right into it with the money I have ala Quentin Tarantino?
"Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, they were all people that were in the right place at the right time. These days, you got to have a lot of luck. I know people who have gathered their monies and tried to make the best thing in their eyes, but sometimes people don't agree with you. If you want to go the Hollywood route, go to school that will allow you to make the connections, 'cause that's what it comes down to. It's not what you know, it's who you know. You have to understand the business aspects, it's not just about the talents. It's the business culture of it. If you want to go the indie route, you should still go to school. At least know the basics."

10. I have a camera and a laptop to edit with. What can I do to get noticed?
"You want to know how you get noticed? Stop thinking just 'cause you have these things you will go anywhere. In this industry, you have to start from the bottom. If you wanted to get a backing or connections with money, you got to work your way up. Unless you have your own company or whatever, there's no way you can come in thinking you will be a director. You can't just come up with a demo reel and expect to be handed the reins, they don't care about that. What they do care about it is how good you are at listening and taking orders. How good you are at getting coffee. You have to bust your butt. People don't realize, on a set, it is run like a boot camp. You are waiting for orders and you need to get it done as fast as you can. That's the reality of production. We all start from the bottom and work our way up. We all have to pay our dues."