Alumni Award Nominee MATAN RADIN

Hannah Brecher, the Head of Alumni Relations, sat down with award-winning cinematographer and Watersprite alum (2014) Matan Radin to talk about what the role of a cinematographer means to him, how he approaches a project, academic background, experience of Watersprite and much more.

Q: What inspired you to pursue cinematography?

MR: I was always a technical nerd. I loved video cameras, photography and electronic gadgets. I got exposed to video editing when Apple released iMovie during my high school years. Very nerdy and atypical in Israel at that time. It was a hard struggle since it was so expensive. I then quickly figured out I needed to persuade her to get me a camera so I had something to edit. It was a dramatic time at home. 

When I was a teen and also later during my mandatory military service where I served as a video editor, video was in the DV/HDV phase, and I did not like the end results. I realised, through trial and error, that analogue photography with fix lenses had the cinematic feeling I wanted to achieve. I saw that the DFFB in Berlin had a special department for cinematography, which was an unknown field to me at that time. My family comes from Berlin originally, so I was always curious about the place. I applied and was pretty shocked to get accepted, because I barely knew what a c-stand was! I had no experience compared to others in the cohort. But that was the start.

It took me quite a while during and after becoming an alumni [of DFFB] to call myself a cinematographer. I always felt that with each project there was still so much to learn or invent from the ground up, until I learned that was just part of the deal. I am thankful to have found DFFB, where cinematography was a respected department. Many people ask me, don’t you want to direct your own film? I’m happy to have realised and feel that a cinematographer can team up with someone else with a big wish to tell a story and there is still so much space left for me to fill.

Q:  Could you share your memories of Watersprite in 2014 and if it had an impact on your work?

MR: Yes. It was this short, naïve period of being a student and having time to go to a student film festival. It’s something I miss having. 

What was nice was that we were treated with respect even though we were just film students, which surprised me. Getting personalised emails, someone taking care of our arrivals and so on. It was nice to know that someone appreciates what you do and sees you as a filmmaker already. 

At that time I felt like I was in the process of becoming a cinematographer, but was not there yet. And I think the experience of being invited with a short film that I worked a lot on, was amazing. For our director too it was a big deal because it was one of her first creations. 

Some films I watched during the festival, I remember until this day. I even have the names of these people written somewhere, I have tried to contact some of them. It influences you, like for example when you are thinking of references like, where did I see something like that? I noticed that a lot of the films I returned to are things that I watched during the festival.

Also, for me as a non-European, coming from Israel, it was a nice experience to go somewhere else in Europe back then, and meeting a lot of people from different places. I enjoyed it very much.

Q: For Watersprite student filmmakers who are unfamiliar with what it entails to be a cinematographer, could you explain what your process is? 

MR: Usually, I get a script, read it, get a feel for it, and make notes for myself. That’s the start. And it’s rather time consuming. I write down questions such as: why is this person doing this? Why am I feeling a certain way towards this character? And so on. It's hard for me to keep my emotions on the side, and I guess it’s crucial for my process. 

Then I read the script with the director and the script writer (if available) and try to get the essence of each scene. What is its tone? Do I enter this scene looking forward to something or am I in suspense? What is the camera perspective for the project? Will we share information and sights with our viewer, ones that our lead character is not aware of? Or are we tight and character-based? Is there a breaking point?

It’s like I’m interviewing the writer and director. Why did you write this scene? If someone is shown eating an ice-cream, is it because they are passing time? Or is it because they like it? And how much do time do we want to spend in this moment? I try to understand the essence of these things because it influences the way I am filming it. If someone’s just bored eating an ice-cream because they are waiting for someone, I might like to have a wider shot of them. If someone is eating because they are stressed, I might start with a close shot on them, tilting from the ice cream to their face, showing that their eyes are not even focused on their food and so on. This is what I try to understand first. Something was written, why? 

It is probably old fashioned to say this, but when I started film school, I thought a cameraman should make beautiful shots. There I understood that your job is to analyse the script and attach the right camera-language to it. 

You don’t just make a close-up, long shot or mid shot. You set the tone and have a decision about where to put the camera: when do I show someone’s face in the scene? For example, I might ask the director, how do you feel about keeping the first few lines of a character, off screen, where we’re following someone else in the room? Here I’m trying to help the director to visually direct the film. Some directors are visual and can describe things precisely. In those cases, you come in as a technical person and help them bring their wish to a technical reality. 

So, my job differs, but it is necessary for the director to have another person making sure that we stay in the language that’s decided for the film. Sometimes an actor could come for rehearsal and say I would like to do things this way or that and take things in a different direction to the original intent of the scene. In such instances, I might remind them about the tone of the scene, be the contra person, see if it’s “reasoned” and if we all feel like the new approach is right, go for it. But it’s the director who gets the last word on set.

Q: In pre-production you’re working with the director and the screenwriter to establish the tone of each shot. Do you use storyboards before you start shooting? How does your pre-production process work?

MR: It varies. So, while I sketch for myself, I am not talented at drawing. But I don’t go to the set without a shot list and floor plans. It is not necessarily something like ‘dialogue, kitchen, close-up you, close-up them’, and so on, but more of a table, working with linear scene numbers, noting the first visual impression you see in the scene and how we feel a scene should end. I then add an estimated shot number so we can time ourselves. For example, if it’s a water kettle, I write something like: ‘camera tilts up to character A, dialogue continues until ___’ Since I come from an editing background, when I write shot lists, they look like I imagined the scene being edited on the timeline. Sometimes it could become redundant because you are doing reverse shots, for example, cross-cutting A and B. For the director and assistant director, I make a lighter version of this. I also need to do this because the other departments have to know what to prepare and when things are needed, and for what duration.  

All this is after I’ve gained the trust of the director or if they have seen the work I did before or have reference shots. If we are lucky, we might go to the sets with a still camera and take photos of things. So, it’s a mixture of things. 

Q: Are you involved in post-production as a cinematographer, especially with an editing background?

MR: Very much so. I like to get involved but since budgets are low and getting lower, it is something I discuss with production that my job doesn’t end with filming. 

Colour grading is a huge thing for [post production because] it sets the tone. When I’m shooting a TV series I shoot it as close as I want it to look because I know that I won’t get enough shifts in post-production to achieve the look I want. But I try to find the balance so as to not be blocked later. For example, say I imagined the whole film in a green tint. I don’t want to ruin the material when filming but would like to be able to check later in post. But you don't always get that time. Some scenes might appear strange combined with music (for example) and must be adjusted colorwise. At the end of the day, it’s about working with the editor and director to bring the material to the most perfect condition fitting for the final product. It is for me to stay connected to the discussion after filming. 

Q: You’ve done long and short films, installations, TV series, videos and now a feature film. Do you have different approaches to these or how do these change your typical process?

MR: The beginning is the same. First, I try to understand what was written, why, where are we coming from and so on. That discussion is the same for a short film, a feature or a TV series. The last music video I did was four years ago, and it had a plot line, so it was a bit like a film. But if it’s not plot based, it’s all about the tone and feelings we wish to evoke.

Then, for example, in a TV series with at least thirty-something scenes per episode, the amount of content is so much that no one can finance special cameras for all the scenes. So, I’m bound to select the moments where my camera department can bring added value to the content. In a feature, I don’t do this because it flows from one scene to the other whereas in a TV series, I need to put some anchors. You need to quickly be able to say that I need a steady cam, and so on and lock your things quickly. I developed that system so I can say I need this here, that there and so on. It is not always ideal and can be a bit like maths but for now it is beneficial to work this way.

Q: What compels you to work on a project?

MR: I need a connection to the script. Sometimes you need to do something to develop your repertoire even if you don’t find it interesting, but it is hard for me to film something that I don’t connect with. Once I get to know the director and sometimes the script writers to a degree, their passion gets me hooked. Then I fall in love with their imagination and try to transform written words into a visual world and give the other person the film that they imagined. 

Q: What tips would you give to our Watersprite filmmakers, or cinematographers starting out today?

MR: I hope for them that it is not a surprise to aim for cinematography, as it is becoming accepted now. I used to get insecure by having to explain to people what a DOP [Director of Photography] does in the beginning. It was frustrating because you are not sure of it yourself and you must convince people that it’s a job. Getting projects was tough. 

For young filmmakers, I think you have to remind yourself that you learn from every project. In my student years, to make money, I used to film medical lectures for an organisation. It was annoying, but you learn from everything. 

I can’t imagine being a cinematographer without editing. Like a long shot: how long will a long shot hold? What is a close-up, when do I need it? How many pages is the scene? If it’s over two pages,  how many blocking changes do I need so it is not boring? Sometimes it’s hard to feel things on set, but when editing, after about a page-length of script, the characters have to get up or do something. It’s a sense you gain as an editor. It depends on the tempo of the series but for me, sitting with shot material on an editing software is crucial. My experience as an editor before cinematography was important. It was even more important than knowing how to expose the light and so on (we have great Cam ACs and Gaffers for that). Also editing takes time to learn and not until you start working in your professions will you master it. So work the material first and don’t get frustrated. Then, know how to edit. You need to have some sort of security on the set to know that you have the scene.

The other recommendation is to work with the right people and be nice. In film, there is nothing you can do on your own. Be kind to those around you, and learn from each other.