Meet the DP: Forrest Sandefer
The great director Akira Kurosawa used to say that a script is the flag a crew will follow as they battle to make a movie.
I think we feel pretty good about the script for “Dead Votes Society.”
But a script can only lead. One person on the crew who the ability to follow that lead and take the movie even farther is the cinematographer (or DP, for director of photography).
Far from being just a camera op, the DP, by definition, is an artist, breathing the script to life with light.
Next to editing or direction itself, there is no greater case of Green! No, Blue! Ahhhh! than cinematography in movies. Do we need another f stop? Maybe we need more light? Diffused? How? Bounced? With what?
Comedies, like “DVS,” have a special need for a good DP. The overly (and evenly) lit comedy is a cliche that must die in our lifetime. While a nice bright set makes for an easy to follow comedy, it also makes for nothing more.
And comedy PLUS something else – beauty (the color schemes of Pedro Almodovar, the ditzy smile of Carol Lombard), formal elements (the absurd symmetry of Jacques Tati, the character names of W.C. Fields) or sense of place (Steve Martin’s sunny SoCal in “LA Story,” the three story house in “Arsenic and Old Lace“) gives you a real thing of wonder.
So, the DP – important person. We now have a DP. Ladies and Gentlemen, Forrest Sandefer.
We’ll hear from Forrest and the rest of the DVS crew as we get into the shoot, but right now I wanted to share some of his previous work with you. Enjoy!
Welcome aboard, Forrest!
