Stills to Motion Transition Advice from David Darby ASC
David Harry Stewart put up a multi-part interview with Cinematographer David Darby ASC. In Part 4, David is asked about his path from stills to cinematography:
I said that telling my story was like describing my path over glaciers and crevasses while trying to find my own route up Mt. Everest, and that most of the ice-bridges I crossed on my journey had long since collapsed and were gone. The town had changed, the companies and production had changed, many people that were key players in my little drama had moved on to other aspects of the business or moved-on permanently; it’s a path that no one could even find today much less follow – David Darby ASC
He goes on to say:
Enter the HDSLR, and the Apple Computer. Enough said, I should think. With an HDSLR and Final Cut Pro in one form or another, I’d really have to wonder about somebody who couldn’t get the chops down in a lot less time, and without the whimsey of good fortune phone calls or tortoise-pace interference to hang you up. You should be screaming down the road with beautifully-shot spec spots that are at least nicely cut if not brilliantly so – David Darby ASC
and:
The most common way of making a move from stills to “motion” is to wait until you have that steady and “reliable” (if there is such a thing ) client-base, where those clients trust you completely as a result of your having served them well over a length of time. From that foundation, telling them that you’d like a crack at some of their broadcast work isn’t much of a stretch. As often as not, those clients will ask you if you’ve thought about making the jump and you go from there. You might not get your first shot at it with the national work, but you can offer to start out on their regional projects to work your way into it – David Darby ASC
The whole interview is worth a read. I really enjoyed hearing from David Darby and appreciate that David Harry Stewart took the time to craft such a good interview. His series of 5 Question blog articles is a great resource for photographer filmmakers trying to find their way.
