Renowned cinematographer conducts a masterclass on cinematography

‘It is better to enter cinema after proper study. One should learn first and then experiment in films. Nowadays, most people say they will enter the industry first and learn later. In such cases, there is no opportunity to experiment. In this regard, every filmmaker must possess discipline. It is because of such discipline that even today, 65 and 70-year-olds are still working in Hollywood’ said the nation’s famous cinematographer, R. Rathnavelu.

Speaking at a session titled ‘When Light Becomes Language,’ he shared his experiences regarding cinematography. ‘I read the script two or three times first. I try to understand the director’s vision. Then, I look at how the director’s story and its emotions can be presented through visual language in a way that is different and better than what they imagined. I remain involved from the writing stage until the film reaches the theater’ he said.

Discussing commercial and experimental films, he remarked, ‘I enjoy doing both small-budget and commercial films. However, commercial cinema is a bit of a challenge. There, when stars arrive in the morning, they say they have to leave by 3 PM and ask to shoot quickly. One has to work within those time constraints. You have to score runs like in a T20 match. We must be ready to change our plans according to the situation.’

Sharing his experience of working with Pushpa director Sukumar, he said, ‘While making a film with Sukumar, if I get any idea related to the movie, I call him even if it is 11 PM. I had called him during the making of Rangasthalam. I suggested we use the camera to show a snake slithering through the grass. He was so excited he came over immediately. I used a gimbal for the first time in that movie. We shot 90% of the film on a gimbal. The camera constantly moves behind the hero. Sukumar was delighted, saying this was exactly the visual language the film needed. Every film has a visual language. When we understand cinema, we can form that visual language’, he said, emphasizing their passion by adding, ‘For both Sukumar and me, cinema is the first priority; everything else comes later.’

‘We must make the audience deeply involve themselves in the story through visuals. Light is very important in cinematography. To me, light itself is an emotion. Light is what makes a character special. Light creates the mood. Every cinematographer must learn how to use light. The stunt filming for the movie 1: Nenokkadine was happening in London. The shoot was in an underground parking lot. They asked how much light was needed. I said three or four LED lights would be enough. The people there were astonished. I filmed using the lights of the cars and bikes present there. The entire team cheered’ he recounted.

‘I have learnt a lot from my predecessors. I have been amazed by watching their films and techniques. Our seniors brought excellent visuals to the screen even when there were no facilities. Now we have all the facilities. We can use them to create better visuals. Learning from seniors is very important. It took me ten years to learn how to recreate sunlight on a set, but my assistant cinematographers can learn it in just ten months’ he said.

‘Life became easier after the arrival of digital cameras. But one gets bored very quickly because most movies look the same. I shot a portion of the movie ‘Peddi’, starring Ram Charan Teja, using negative film. Ram Charan was very happy. The sound of negative cameras was being forgotten, but now negative cameras are coming back to the forefront. Even YouTubers in Hollywood are using negative film’ he noted.

‘Cinema is something close to the heart. To create intense visuals, everyone must work together’ he said. On this occasion, he explained in detail how scenes from movies like ‘Devara’, ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’, ‘Enthiran’, ‘1: Nenokkadine’ and ‘Rangasthalam’ were filmed and which cameras were used. He also spoke about how work happens with VFX artists and colorists. The session turned out to be a masterclass in the true sense.