Have you ever wanted to know what goes into the cinematography and special effects portion of movies? In this page, I will discuss how award-winning films, specifically those by Steven Spielberg, use cinematography and special effects, and the influence that all of our new technology is having on films today. Read on to find out more!
| Who Is Steven Spielberg? | His Works | Cinematography | His Contributions to Film Today | Fun Facts | Bibliography |
Steven Spielberg was born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He went to Long Beach University, during which he dropped out so as to continue on with his dream of a career in entertainment. He began his career working on the movie, Wagon Train. In 1968, he directed a movie called Amblin, which became the name of his production company. They produced many famous films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He has since become one of the most famous people in film. He is one of the best known directors, producers, and writers in the world.
Back to TopAccording to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, cinematography is the discipline of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. Cinematography, specifically that which you see in the cinema, relates to the design, and the relation between that and the story being told. Sometimes, cinematographers are called "The Directors of Photography", because one of their main jobs on the set of a movie is to manage the crew, and everyone working behind-the-scenes. Another main job of the cinematographer is to work on the overall feel that a viewer gets from watching the movie. They focus on the way that they shoot the film, incorporating their knowledge of the lensing, focus, exposure, and distance of the shot. Special effects are another form of cinematography that are very important, especially to many of Steven Spielberg's movies, such as War of the Worlds and Jurassic Park.
A picture from the set of War of the Worlds
One of the main cinematographers who works on many of Steven Spielberg's films is Janusz Kaminski.
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His Contributions to Film Today
Steven Spielberg has made many important contributions to the film industry over the course of his career. He, for example, integrated his own personal fears and experiences into his movies, making them more relatable. This is has made his scary movies scarier, his funny movies funnier, and all of his movies more interesting and intriguing for the viewer. When you can relate to a movie, it is usually compelling, and that is one of the things that has made his movies so popular. Another contribution he made was an advancement in the special effects part of movie-making. In Jurassic Park, for example, all of the shots of full dinosaurs are computer-generated. In many of his movies the special effects are made on the computer. With all of the new technology he has brought special effects to a whole new level. Another example is Jaws, in which they had to spend a lot of money to build a mechanical shark, and to get the shark to work with all of its components, they had to use computer technology to program it. A third contribution he has made is that in cinematography. Special effects are a form of cinematography, but cinematography is a way of making a film more appealing to watch and more relatable to the viewer. With the ways that he has incorporated different angles and set designs and lighting choices, the films have become much more realistic and eye-catching.
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