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Cinematographer A Conversation with DP Kelly Mason The path to becoming a cinematographer isn't always a clear one, nor is it the same for every person. In some cases, it is the craft that finds the person first. For cinematographer Kelly Mason, CSC the journey began with an early interest in still photography and the encouragement of a family friend into filmmaking. Mason worked her way up in the camera crew and recently transplanted from her native Canada to Los Angeles. It was in Canada that she established herself as the first female cinematographer in the western union of IATSE 669. Mason has also served as an instructor for camera assistant courses at both the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Last year, she was recognized as Best Cinematographer at the Caribbean Film Awards in the music video category. Despite a fruitful career in Canada, Mason made a strategic career decision to move to Hollywood in 2002. The migration has opened up an array of possibilities, some of which the cinematographer will discuss in this interview as she looks back at her career and shares some helpful advice about getting to where you want to be.
The first shot I experienced consisted of a seven camera set-up. The core of downtown Montreal was shut down and it was a shot of a BMW jumping the center meridien of a three-lane thoroughfare and crashing into oncoming traffic. I remember the 1st AD getting on the walkie-talkie and calling in the next BMW. Stephen Campanelli was one of the Steadicam operators and the rest of the camera crew were career assistants, some with more than 25 years of experience. I returned to Toronto, quit my job at the shoe store and got into the union as a camera trainee. I worked for free on the first couple of projects and then recieved minimum wage for six-week cycles on different shows. I felt so lucky that I was getting paid to learn. The program provided the opportunity to meet many people. Then it was series work with commercials in between for 10 years. Series was the greatest training ground because sometimes we'd do more than 30 set-ups a day so we were always hustling and thinking ahead. Since you have worked your way up the camera crew, how was it moving up from position to position? We have a lot of readers who are struggling their way up, any advice on this? I spent approximately five years in each position before upgrading. It was important to me to feel that I had exhausted my passion in each job. I also prepared myself for the next position by doing dailies or non-union jobs. I knew I needed to be strong moving into an upgrade. My advice is that one should prepare oneself for the job as much as possible, because the production is investing in you, and of course you want to be an asset so that your reputation remains favorable at all times. Do not upgrade until you feel strong and confident. If you are upgrading to a first assistant, go to the rental houses and practice threading the Panaflex, Moviecam, Aaton, whatever. Carry a tape measure everywhere and practice judging distances, know your depth-of-field charts for the different lens types, study conversion tables for filters or frame rates or shutter compensations, read Jon Fauer's book on the Arriflex system and the ASC manual. The most difficult transition of course has been going from operator to DP. The other positions in camera are, for the most part, technically warranted and more focused on the job at hand, however as a DP, one must be a visionary and at the same time, one must streamline the thought process to efficiently make choices to benefit the many areas of pre-production, production and post-production. When did you become interested in cinematography? I really didn't realize my love for cinematography until I had started operating. I had set a goal when I was 17 to be an operator by the time I was 30. When I was a camera trainee, I asked the gaffer what the names of the lights were, however, he advised me that I should only concentrate on the job at hand. So that was what I did. In my spare time, I shot still images. When I was 15 my father built me my first darkroom. To this day I have maintained a darkroom and am a bit of a proud silver gelatin archival printer. With the combination of my set knowledge and stills experience the role as a cinematographer has come naturally.
The transition has been an adventure discovering a new landscape and dissolving into a community that is charged with industry and industry events. The great advantage to being in Los Angeles is that there are so many tools to choose from as everything is at our fingertips and the masters of light (my mentors) are based here -- so I have the advantage of being able to attend lighting seminars or panels to listen and learn. That just generally isn't the case abroad. It hasn't been difficult to integrate myself into the industry as, like any activity, it is a matter of simply taking action and there are so many wonderful opportunities to move into this flow of events. You take advantage of helpful film organizations in Los Angeles. Why is it an important asset to new filmmakers out there to involve themselves with different organizations? It is important to involve yourself with helpful organizations like the American Society of Cinematographers and Women in Film because these foundations are outlets to experienced talented artists that are very enthusiastic about educating and encouraging anyone interested in the field. These organizations offer workshops which provide opportunities to learn more and meet more people. So much of the magic of the industry is based on the energy experienced between people and these organizations give us the opportunity to create relationships.I must mention American Cinematographer magazine is my monthly textbook.It provides real accounts of the cinematographers experiences in production, detailed lighting set-ups, post techniques and the latest on technology and speculations. What I would say to budding filmmakers is to busy yourself with informational literature, online and on paper; like creativePLANET, International Cinematographers Guild, Below the Line and American Cinematographer. Visit the websites of the rental houses, know what is out there. Learn how the tools can help you achieve your vision. Constantly engage yourself with activities related to cinematography. If you are sitting in a restaurant, think about how you might light the scene differently. Watch movies, decipher filters or color temperatures chosen to achieve the mood. What are you up to these days? When I first arrived in Los Angeles, I met the city manager from Boulder City, Nev. at a Hollywood party and he invited me on a road trip to the Grand Canyon with a natural healer from San Diego, a famous architect from Austria and a Tibetan monk. The next day I packed my truck and headed to Nevada. When I initially saw the monk I was awed by his peacefulness, as he sat mindfully in the lotus position with the prayer wheel smoothly spinning in his right hand. Then his cell phone rang, and the illusion was shattered. Anyway, I have ended up shooting a documentary on him and his practice in Buddhism. I also shot a documentary for a group of women called "Code Pink -- Women for Peace" we flew to Washington, D.C; to shoot the peace marches around the White House just days before the war in Iraq broke out.
There is always a way to survive financially, the real hardship is emotional. The value of family and friends is defined when we take these adventures. My future goals are to practice my art as a cinematographer -- and to be very conscious of the miracles that present themselves in the process. For the most part, I have experienced my adult life on set with a group of people that of course all have different ways of seeing, so it is most exciting to create room for everyone to do their job to the best of their ability with open lines of communication. Still photography is my immediate outlet for artistic expression so I am constructing a collection of images for a tabletop book that portrays spirit. Has it been challenging for you as a female cinematographer? How? I believe it is challenging for any cinematographer, male or female -- there are so many talented people to choose from. I look young for my age so some people are afraid to hire me. They aren't aware that I have close to 20 years of experience in the camera department. Kelly is also a man's name so sometimes people are surprised when they meet me. However, once I have the job, I have the opportunity to make great pictures, and so judgement eases off. The pressure then is to perform. Hopefully the people above-the-line are aware enough to give me a chance to prove myself and see past the gender politics. You also do still photography. Can you talk about how stills can play a vital role in developing a young cinematographer's eye? Stills photography is a concentrated version of motion picture. It's one moment rather than consecutive real-time moments captured. It is the same theory. Know how your film performs, understand what you want to achieve in-camera, what can be done in post (or the darkroom) and see your composition through the eyepiece so that you understand the angles from which light and shadow may be present. If a cinematographer can't afford to rent a camera package or the cost of processing he/she can bulk load the motion picture stock and shoot tests with an SLR. Same theory. What do you think of digital video as a tool? I think it is a tremendous tool if applied with creative technique and suitable to the story...No really, it's capture qualities are constantly improving and it is exciting. It is another means to exhibit images and ultimately transmit a story. Some stories will demand the look and the tool will fit the production dimensions. I am supportive of any system that can successfully capture a quality image. © Copyright 2003 by United Entertainment Media, Inc. |
