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The Second Sight Podcast, © 2007 Alexa D. O'Brien, (27:52)

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The Second Sight offers insight and analysis on the media and entertainment industry - an often misunderstood or mischaracterized sector of the American economic and cultural landscape in the midst of its own technological and cultural shifts - from globalization and the emerging creative economy; to digital technology and the evolving aesthetic and nature of content; to the growing technological cross fertilization between media, defense, and medicine.

My name is Alexa D. O'Brien . For the next two months, we will focus our attention towards understanding the evolving nature of the below-the-line training cycle for motion picture technicians, in the face of both digital technologies and newer end to end digital workflows; and the coming of age, so to speak, of the game generation - the older cusp of which, now in their mid thirties, having finally entered their productive years as journeymen technicians and content creators.

Jendra Jarnagin is one of a handful of New York based directors of photography who has shot with the Viper. She has over thirteen years of professional shooting and lighting experience, and her cinematography credits include numerous commercials and over thirty short films. She also worked as a lighting technician on major Hollywood films and episodic television, such as "Sex and the City" and "Law and Order". Jendra recently collaborated on the recent Alexis Krasilovsky documentary, Women Behind the Camera, featuring interviews with camerawomen from all over the world. Jendra Jarnagin, shot, field produced, and directed the projects New York interviews: including Ellen Kuras, ASC; Sandi Sissel, ASC; Lisa Rinzler; and Giselle Chamma. I am pleased to have Jendra Jarnagin for a Second Sight Podcast interview. Welcome.

Jendra Jarnagin

Thank you.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Tell me about Women Behind the Camera.

Jendra Jarnagin

Women Behind the Camera is a feature length documentary that has interviews...I think they interviewed over eighty women from all over the world. I am not sure the final count in the edit. Cinematographers, documentarians, journalists, camera operators, even some camera assistants...about their jobs in different countries and partly of course some of it deals with being a woman in that job.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What was the experience like listening to these camerawomen, because you are a camera woman yourself?

Jendra Jarnagin

Watching the documentary itself was really exciting to, I guess, identify with how international the struggles of women in a male dominated field, but also the triumphs of women and the universality of the job, gender aside, that transcended international boundaries. There are interviews from India and Afghanistan, China, you name it, it's in there. It's really a unique film in that way.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Was there anything about that project...that as you were working on it...that surprised you...that you learned...that you didn't know before?

Jendra Jarnagin

I had the opportunity to see a few rough cuts as the documentary was being shaped, so when the project was substantially longer than a feature documentary naturally gets paired down to. It was really interesting for me to see, I guess, the depth of experiences, and again, just the international side of it. I hadn't really though about that before. Being a New Yorker, I think about how things are different in L.A. and I am spending more time in L.A. and sort of feeling that out for myself, but the European women and the Asian women and everything like that, I guess, did surprise me.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What was one of the experiences that you heard in the process of either directing or shooting the interviews or in viewing the final product that you related to? Was there something that you heard from the women...that were involved...that were being interviewed...that you related to?

Jendra Jarnagin

There is one quote in particular that Ellen Kuras often says. I have seen her on different panels and different interviews; I sort of follow her career; being a sort of a role model of mine. And my favorite things that she says is that when people ask her what is it like to be a woman in a man's job, she says, "Its not a man's job, it's my job." So that has always stuck with me as a much better way to define it, and it really doesn't have to do with gender. People think that it does because of...historically or traditionally, but that is definitely changing now, and the documentary definitely shows that.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Tell me a little bit about how you chose to become a cinematographer.

Jendra Jarnagin

I was lucky enough to be invited into a gifted and talented extracurricular program in middle school and one of the choices was that we could spend one day out of school every month...one of the choices was to work at the local public access TV station. And I thought that sounded really cool. So I checked that box and started going there, and being twelve years old my options at that point for career choices were, you know, the things you hear about in elementary school, "I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut, a fireman...when I grow up." But I walk into this TV studio and see all these interesting people doing all these really interesting jobs and I decided that day that I wanted to be a filmmaker. It took probably about three more years of learning about the process and the break down of job responsibilities for me to understand the cinematographer's role and that is when I realized that I didn't actually want to be a director, I wanted to be a cinematographer.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What was it about cinematography that you found interesting?

Jendra Jarnagin

I had always loved photography and storytelling, and the visual storytelling aspect of filmmaking is what really appealed to me. It wasn't writing. It wasn't directing actors. It was interpreting the drama of the story through light and color and camera movement that really spoke to me, and I sort of considered...I kind of feel like it's my calling in life to be a cinematographer.

Alexa D. O'Brien

And do you feel drawn to any particular genre of filmmaking or are you more varied?

Jendra Jarnagin

I am varied. I guess my favorite genre would be quirky comedies. I really like independent films that present things in a new and interesting way, that are not just sort of your generic romantic comedy, or your blockbuster action film. Though I think action films have gotten more sophisticated over the last few years. I really like the 'Bourne' movies and the way that they are portrayed visually is, I guess, far more interesting to me then to some of the earlier action films, which I find to be a lot more cookie cutter.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Do you think there are differences between men and women cinematographers?

Jendra Jarnagin

I don't want to get in trouble for saying so, but I think there are. I think a lot of people, and other women that where interviewed in the documentary said, "No, that's rubbish." But, I do think that the generalizations of how women differ from me are pluses to being a cinematographer: That women are more emotional, I think makes women have the potential to be better artists; that women are more detail oriented; that women are better communicators; that they are more team builders, are all things that I think are beneficial in the role of being a cinematographer. Which isn't to say that a man can't be any or all of those things; but I do think that women are more inherently so...and that those are all real benefits.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What are some of the challengers that you face on your road to becoming a working cinematographer?

Jendra Jarnagin

It's always challenging to consistently find the kind of work that you actually want to do. Sure there are all kinds of content and all kinds of projects out there, but the more advanced you get in your career, the more selective that you want to be...that you want to take on projects that are really going to reward you creatively. So I guess the biggest challenge is choosing to be an artist who works in such a collaborative medium is that we need to be chosen for projects in order to have the opportunity to express our art. So I have found that I need to feed my own soul between projects. Sometime you take a project that is more of a 'money job', or maybe doesn't turn out as well as you thought it would, and just that...that drive for creative fulfillment...if you are relying on the projects that you get chosen to shoot can be frustrating without taking that into your own hands, and finding your own creative work to augment that.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Do you think that the culture of shooting and filmmaking is changing, or do you think it is plugging along in the way that it has been in the last twenty years?

Jendra Jarnagin

The rate at which filmmaking and the culture of filmmaking is changing is alarming. Well, I don't know if alarming is the right word. I don't know if it has a...if I really want to put that negative of a spin on it, but it is certainly more and more work to keep up with the changing technology, and to stay one step ahead be competitive, on the one hand.

One the other hand, I am interested in all of these new tools and technology. So I am finding that it is taking a lot more of my effort, and what would otherwise be free time between jobs, to just stay abreast of everything: trends, technology...and I don't really get to have time to do other things.

Even the way that we as filmmakers relate to each other...we are all just talking about the technology so much, because we are all so interested in it...that people don't seem to talk about the art as much any more. They don't talk about their creative challenges. Everyone really focuses on the technology.

On the other hand, I see the democratization of filmmaking that has gone along with the digital revolution, that there has been a devaluing of cinematographers, but of filmmakers in general. Especially with some of the marketing hype of some of the camera manufacturers...that it is portrayed and a lot of people have come to believe that anyone who can afford to buy a twenty five hundred dollar camera can go out and call themselves a shooter, or buy themselves a two thousand dollar laptop and a thousand dollar software package and call themselves an editor. People don't respect the experience, the knowledge, the talent in the same way that they use to when everything was shot on film...there was...it was all magic to people. Now a lot of people think that they can just do it themselves and they don't need to pay qualified people, or they don't understand the contribution that a real experienced professional can make to their production.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What is driving that? Is it just simply the affordability of the technology? What do you see as driving that?

Jendra Jarnagin

It is hard to say what is driving that. I guess attitudes and change in culture need to come from somewhere. I guess that there is just such a need for content that not every kind of content has the budgets for people to even consider paying anything more than what they have to. But it has become so competitive that people are willing to give it away, and as long as that continues to happen, people don't see the need to go beyond that.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What can an experienced cinematographer like yourself bring to a project that a kid who buys a camera can't? Give me an example....draw that out for the audience, so that they know what you mean.

Jendra Jarnagin

Well I think in any job, having experience is a benefit to not having experience. To give a specific example: Going into a location and knowing how to light it instinctually, or drawing from your own experience could be a lot faster and a lot more efficient, than if someone needs to tinker around and find what they are trying to do. Also, in preproduction, an experienced person can put together a lighting package that will serve the needs of the production, without necessarily needing to order extra stuff, which they know that they are not to need because they have done it before. Also just better results that come from the confidence of having done it before, and I guess better communication and a more fulfilling creative relationship as well.

Alexa D. O'Brien

How is narrative changing...the aesthetics of narrative in terms of the movement of the camera and the way in which...I mean obviously lighting is going to be specific to the script, and what is going on and the mood that you are trying to create...but in terms of camera movement and it terms of editing, how do you think that that has changed, lets say, in the last fifteen years?

Jendra Jarnagin

Well I do want to address what you said about lighting reflecting mood. I think that lighting trends do along with the camera trends as far as reality television and documentary being a more mainstream medium than it use to be as far as having mass appeal...are definitely influencing narrative filmmaking...where people think that in order for it to feel more 'real.' or more immediate that it should be this frenetic camera movement...this shaky cam trend that you see maybe in TV shows like "The Office" or things that are trying to have a 'mock-umentary' look to them, but the lighting as well...where people don't want...or not everyone wants a beautified look, or overly glossy look that has come to be interpreted as unnatural...like to have it look more real, people will often want to do things more intentionally sloppy and non glamorized.

So I do think lighting plays into that, and of course editing...I guess we have gone beyond the MTV generation but certainly the speed at which music videos and even still commercials...the attention spans of the audience...or at least the assumed attention spans of the audience...I think people tend to not give the audience enough credit...has affected the pace of editing, the number of shot to cover a scene, that you do not see people holding on a two shot in the editing the way that they use to, or staging the action within a wide shot the way that Woody Allen is famous for...even in some degrees Hitchcock. It is just a lot more, fast paced.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Tell me about the experience of working with the Viper and how it compares to more traditional acquisition for you?

Jendra Jarnagin

By more traditional acquisition do you mean film or...?

Alexa D. O'Brien

I mean film.

Jendra Jarnagin

I come a film background, and I still love film...and I really wasn't very interested in digital when I had a choice. Certainly if a project had to be done digitally and there was something about that project that I still wanted to do I understood that the budget was an issue...when budget was the main reason to shoot something digitally.

Only since the Viper, which I would say is probably the first of the next generation of extended dynamic range cameras...did I really feel like digital was a viable choice for narrative filmmaking. Without the extra information and the tonal range that these new cameras offer, I just found that it was...that shooting on video or the older styles of HD was just too much of a compromise visually and artistically and I do think that audiences do notice that, and there was definitely...I even hears a backlash from independent films trying to sell their movies that distributors...that distributors were far less likely to be interested in something shot on digital than they were something shot on film, no matter how good the movie was.

So the Viper...I really enjoyed shooting with the Viper and I didn't feel...when I started shooting with the Viper...that is when I really started to focus on the pros of digital acquisition versus the cons, and I had one epiphany in particular where I was shooting this scene...there was a movie that I shot some additional photography for, called The Wreck. I was not the DP for principal photography, but I did the reshoots; and there was this scene where...it was the beginning of the film...and it was the introduction of one of the principal characters and we shot him in a complete and total silhouette.

I thought that that was pretty bold for an exposure standpoint, and if I had been shooting film I would have, to be honest with myself I would have put a little more exposure into his face, because I would for fear of being fired, when the dailies came back...that the producer, the director, even the actor seeing that after the fact when it was too late would be like, "What are you doing? We can't see the actor's face. It's the introduction of this character you can't do that!" But because the director and producer were on set, and we did have monitoring capabilities on set, they could see what I was doing, and they really liked it. They signed off on it on the spot and that gave me more freedom to be more bold, and it was a liberating feeling that makes me, I guess more excited to be able to continue to do that in the future shooting digitally.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What opportunities, aesthetically, practically, in whatever way, do you see happening in the next ten years lets say with this new technology?

Jendra Jarnagin

Well the new technology is exciting to me from a...you know, I always like learning new things...and there is a lot out there right now and I think that 2007 is sort of a figure of the sea change that digital acquisition became a reality as far as what filmmakers and cinematographers wanted it to be....instead of the tools that we are being made to use reluctantly.

So I am excited about were things are going, even where things are at now, that they weren't even a year ago, and I don't know if I have been thinking about how its artistically exciting more than the technologically exciting. I am a technical person and I have been thinking about it from the technical angle, but I am just taking the opportunity to learn as much as I can about all these new cameras as they hit the market or if possible, even before they hit the market to sort of position myself as on the cutting edge of these kind of things, and hopefully that will help edge me out of some of my competitors when I am interviewing for jobs.

So I guess I have been thinking of it more of a career strategy standpoint and not so much an artistic standpoint...I still love 35mm film. I still think that the organic quality speaks to our soul in a way that electronic doesn't. But just like with digital still cameras I do see that the writing is on the wall...that the image quality is approaching close enough...that that isn't the biggest factor, that that the pros outweigh the cons in terms of convenience, immediate viewing and even cost, though of course these fancy new cameras are not exactly cheap right now.

Alexa D. O'Brien

There is definitely a difference between high-end digital and 35mm film, in my opinion. How would you describe it for yourself?

Jendra Jarnagin

It is definitely hard to define and hard to verbalize how film is different than even the best digital. All of the specifics that cinematographers have been defining over the years have been addresses in newer and newer cameras. I thought that digital couldn't look as good as it does today, and it does. We saw the 35mm frame size and depth of field characteristics with new cameras, such as the Genesis, the D-20, the Dalsa. The highlight detail was the worst thing about video and then that has been solved with all the new next generation extended dynamic range cameras.

Though we have pinpointed these things and they are being addressed better than any of us, well maybe somebody knew, but better than most of us thought would even be possible, there is still something about film; and I really don't know how to describe it, other than that it is organic...that it is beautiful . The subtleties of the color...maybe that is the only thing that I can still pinpoint as the subtlety of film, but I don't know, as we are being bombarded by more and more digital content, I don't know that the viewer will continue to see of feel the difference.

I think I feel right now film buffs, connoisseurs, people who love to go to the cinema: they can tell. They may be not able to articulate it, but they can tell. But as we have our big home entertainment systems and people are watching everything on DVD, and even television shows have gotten so good that more and more people are watching television shows instead of movies all the time. I don't know that, you know that that is going to continue to matter to the viewer. The only way that the viewer gets to speak their opinion is with their pocketbooks. So if people are still seeing digitally shot films in the same numbers in the same number of films shot on film then the studios aren't going to care.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Tell me what you are going to be working on in the near future.

Jendra Jarnagin

My next project, I am really excited about. Its a short film, a kung fu action Film in 3D. It's called "Heavy Metal Ninjas in 3D". I think the title says it all. Of course shooting 3D is an opportunity that does not come around very often, so I am very excited about that. I am waiting to here about a feature...I don't have the job yet so I can't speak about it, and I don't want to jinx it either. I am also talking to someone right now about doing a documentary in New Orleans.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Awesome...well I really appreciate your time Jendra.

Jendra Jarnagin

Thank you very much....apleasure talking to you.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Thank you. To find out more about Jendra Jarnagin visit her website at http://www.floatingcamera.com. To find out more about Women Behind the Camera visit http://www.womenbehindthecamera.com/ Until next time, this is Alexa D. O'Brien for The Second Sight.

The Second Sight Podcast, © 2006 Alexa D. O'Brien, (26:35)

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The Second Sight offers insight and analysis on the media and entertainment industry - an often misunderstood or mischaracterized sector of the American economic and cultural landscape in the midst of its own technological and cultural shifts - from globalization and the emerging creative economy; to digital technology and the evolving aesthetic and nature of content; to the growing technological cross fertilization between media, defense, and medicine.

My name is Alexa D. O'Brien . For the next two months, we will focus our attention towards understanding the evolving nature of the below-the-line training cycle for motion picture technicians, in the face of both digital technologies and newer end to end digital workflows; and the coming of age, so to speak, of the game generation - the older cusp of which, now in their mid thirties, having finally entered their productive years as journeymen technicians and content creators.

Today, we are talking with cameraperson, John Clemens. For seventeen years now, Clemens has ac'ed and operated for directors of photography like Lance Acord (Buffalo 66 and Lost in Translation). His most recent work with Acord was on a Mercedes Benz spot that Acord shot and directed. John has also worked with Joseph Yacoe, known for his commercial and music videos work. Clemens most recent job with Yacoe included a hair product commercial with Penelope Cruz. Director of photography, Darren Lew, who has shot commercials for the likes of Clinique, Versace, Nike, and Adidas, and who began his own career as a still assistant to renowned fashion photographer, Steven Meisel, has said of John Clemens:

"I have never worked with a camera assistant who had it more in his blood than John. He has got a sixth sense for focus and a working method of military precision and consistency, it is no wonder he works with the greatest DP's from all over the world. His skill goes beyond the technical--he quietly contributes to the art of camera work each time we work together everyone else becomes second best after working with John."

John Clemens' credits include Buffalo 66, Naqoyqatsi: Life as War, and Requiem for a Dream. I am honored to have John Clemens on the line for a Second Sight pod cast interview.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Hi, John. How are you?

John Clemens

Good. How are you doing?

Alexa D. O'Brien

I'm good, thank you. John, why did you become a camera assistant?

John Clemens

I primarily became a camera assistant...I was studying photography. I studied photography my whole life. I was in college at the time, and I just felt like I wasn't getting enough of both film and photography in college. So, I left college and eventually, a number of months later, became a production assistant with hopes of moving into the camera department.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What was one of your first projects as a camera assistant?

John Clemens

I guess one of the most memorable projects...Sandy Hayes, a wonderful steadicam operator, had called me up to assist for him on a music video that we were doing. This was early on, and we were shooting, Hype Williams was directing, and I met Mike Garofalo on the set, and from that day forward I went to work with Mike as well as a second AC, and things just really flourished from there.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Sandy Hayes credits include Garden State staring Natalie Portman. In 2006, Hype Williams became the recipient of the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, and his more recent work includes music videos like Kanye West's "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx. Mike Garofalo's has also been around for years, and his more recent credits include "Dave Chappelle's Block Party."

What is one lesson that stands out for you as you were rising through the ranks of the camera department?

John Clemens

Just maintain, stay focused. Be very even keeled, and try to keep your ears open. Listen to the director, director of photography, assistants and the other crewmembers as they are communicating; and in essence, they are all trying to get the job done, you know, fulfill an idea that is being put forth to them.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Tell me about one of your more challenging jobs?

John Clemens

You know, they have all been challenging in certain respects...in their own respects. Looking back on it, I sort of still get a little nervous on Buffalo 66, due to the fact that we were shooting Ektachrome film for that project, and we were doing clip tests for each scene; but ultimately we had most of the...I would say 90 percent of the movie in the can without developing a single stretch of film for dailies. So, that was probably the most nerve wracking project I have worked on.

Alexa D. O'Brien

How do you handle stress on a job?

John Clemens

At this point, I try not to get stressed out about much. Stress just adds another level that you really don't need to think about in the process of doing your job. You know, occasionally you will be thrown a loop...thrown into a situation where you are really fighting yourself...and stress really works against you, when you are trying to figure out an answer to a problem in a certain situation.

Alexa D. O'Brien

You mentioned Buffalo 66, are there any other projects that stand out in your memory?

John Clemens

You know, there are just so many to be honest with you. Looking back, I would really have to think at length to try to pull out the one that really sticks in my mind. They have all played a really important part through out the years.

I mean going back, Sandy Hayes and I had the opportunity to work on Woodstock, the Barbara Koppel documentary, that still hasn't been released yet. Sandy and I were on one of the crews that were send out to pick up and photograph three days of the festival all on our own; and that was just a real thrill, especially with my love for music videos as well as music.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Why do you love music videos?

John Clemens

You know, that is a great question. Probably, because I remember the first time MTV came on the air over cable; and it was just a point in my life where I was at the right age, very into music, and then it was really groundbreaking to have these wonderful commercials for songs that you absolutely love. Ultimately that is really what drove me into the film business. I really wanted to spend the rest of my days making music videos.

Alexa D. O'Brien

We seem to be at another crossroads in terms of the nature and aesthetics of content...what do you think about what is going on in music videos or shorter format for Internet distribution?

John Clemens

I think it is all very exciting. I mean, there are still a number of music videos being made, lots of features, lots of commercials. In terms of the advent of the Internet, you know, more and more, we are shooting stuff that is both for television, for commercials before movies, feature length movies in theaters, as well as for Internet content. So, it just provides, in my opinion, another great opportunity to work in the film business.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Is there a common denominator that all great AC's share?

John Clemens

I guess with anything you chose to do, I tend to believe that you choose to do something because you are really passionate about it, not so much because of the money. The money is not necessarily secondary - it is nice. Don't get me wrong. But, ultimately you have to be happy with what you do, and I think if you are passionate about anything, ultimately you will be successful.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Why are you so passionate about photography or cinematography? What is it? Have you thought about that? Do you know why you are passionate about it?

John Clemens

You know, I have been passionate about photography ever since I was a child; my grandfather teaching me photography, color photography, black and white photography. It has always been just a part of my life. So, other than that I really can't tell you much more, why I am so passionate about it, except that it has always been such a part of me.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Do great ac's approach their job differently or do they all sort of approach the job in the same way?

John Clemens

I would imagine that somebody who is successful at what they do, tend to do things just a little bit differently. They have a different approach, different style, different personality, a different way that they see things. I would imagine, more often than not, that would be the case. Back to being very passionate, enjoying their job very much, being a part of the crew and the film making process. Honestly, I fell that that is ultimately what makes a great ac, a great gaffer, a great director of photography. Just having a great passion, a great source of pride, you know, in their craft.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Has the training cycle changed since you began your career?

John Clemens

No, I don't think it has changed that much. It is interesting because there is no specific training cycle, so to speak. Some people come through camera houses. Some people come out of film school. Some people just....myself I was a stage manager at Peter Corbett and Co., and, you know, for example on the weekend when the stage was closed, I use to go over there and play around with the cameras and do some shooting there. So, it's just a matter of...there are so many roads to Rome. There are so many ways to approach the jobs, as well as your background...background in education and personality. Taking that all into account, I wouldn't say there was a generational difference with becoming an assistant cameraperson.

Alexa D. O'Brien

So, if I understand you correctly you wouldn't say that there are major differences between your generation and the one that is coming up now.

John Clemens

No, I don't think so. There is definitely lots more opportunities. Well, lots of opportunities for an assistant to hone his skills and gain the experience. They are still shooting both lots of independent and higher budget films. Music videos are still being photographed. We live in an age where cultures can get enough information, and couple that with the fact that we are now working video as well as film, it seems like the opportunities are just ever so abundant, in terms for working technicians, artists, in the film business.

Alexa D. O'Brien

I have heard from several older professionals that the younger generation coming up seem more afraid to admit when they do not know something. Some have even gone so far as to characterize that propensity as a form of arrogance. Would you respond to that?

John Clemens

I would respond to that, it depends on the person's experience in the film business for starters. I would imagine that perhaps, not so much the arrogance but the naivety of the people not seeking any sort of advice. You know, I would imagine that they are a lot less experienced within the film business. I would take a guess at and the reason being is because the film business overall is a communicative art form and the people making it, the best projects ultimately turn out with how well the crew members are communicating on set. The flow of ideas within the set, from the top from the director, down through even the production assistants. As much as anyone would deny it, it is a very collaborative form of art and communication. So, you know, I would just imagine that the lack of experience, it just boils down...a by-product of that lack of experience would boil down to the lack of communication between the different technicians on set. I wouldn't...it seems to me to be a very large call that it would be a little bit arrogant, you know. I wouldn't be able to say that that particular example is a matter of arrogance as much a s a lack of experience, more than anything.

Alexa D. O'Brien

I often think to myself that there are so many different forces changing the culture of below the liners from one of craftspeople who goes through a formal apprenticeship to a culture of technicians who very often approaches the job from the point of view of perhaps self education, perhaps climbing the ladder faster than their predecessors, would you comment on that?

John Clemens

You bump into a situation where someone jumps a rung on the ladder or whatnot, but ultimately it is the relationships that you have within a business, that you have formed through out your lifetime even...not just in art school or, it could be a social gathering, or it could be someone who is self-taught could possibly have made their own movies and just excelled in a certain craft whether it being shooting, focus pulling, you know. Again, it brings us around to that there are a lot of approaches into, you know, any particular type of filmmaking. If you wanted to narrow it down and say whether it be commercials or you have to be a little more specific in terms of you know what kind of work is being produced. But ultimately it is a funny system in how, you know, very experienced ac's, very experienced craftspeople, tend to do larger budget type shows, quite possibly. That is not to say that somebody with less experience wouldn't be invited along as well.

Alexa D. O'Brien

What I hear you saying is that the skill set or even art remains the same, it is the tools that change...

John Clemens

To a degree. You know like any craft, you need to learn new tools on a daily basis, you know. It is a wonderful thing there is always going to be change. There is always going to be new tools, better tools. There is also going to be tools that are not better, but they fit a particular application for a different look or a different situation. You know, it is an ever evolving process, you know, not too much stays the same these days; although things within the film business tend to be a little bit slower changing. If you look at how memory and computers, and computer systems and how quickly they change and how quickly you have to learn new systems, the film business is still offered new film stocks, new lenses, new cameras, new technology, all the time, and that is an evolution of any given thing. And it keeps it exciting and you have to not only reinvent yourself, but, first and foremost, you have to relearn and along with relearning a new tool, film stock, camera et cetera. Ultimately, the new tools create new possibilities for new looks and new projects and new ideas of how to approach a new shooting style or situation, and it is quite a growing bit, it keeps the business growing with fresh ideas as well as a lot of new tools are culturally based. Different filming styles are based on what is happening within pop culture, and not to throw away old cultural filming values, but just to give you an idea of the ever-changing possibilities that you are handed on a daily basis.

Alexa D. O'Brien

How has digital technology changed the aesthetics of motion picture imaging?

John Clemens

From my perspective, it has given a whole other opportunity to stylize as well as capture imaging as well as to present ideas in essence of director, director of photography as well as the technicians. So it is a wonderful opportunity, it is a wonderful new tool and it has at times, it has very specific applications, if you are going to video Internet. It just opens up many more doors for opportunity within the business.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Are you referring in part to the immediacy of digital technology vis-à-vis film?

John Clemens

To a degree, I mean I was reading an article...that is one of the main reason's Roberto Rodriguez really enjoys shooting digital is the immediacy of it, the immediacy of being able to play back a particular scene to see if that was a selected take for him or if he would like to do it again. There are some people who are very into the immediacy of it. My experience with it so far, we are in the midst of doing an HD project right now both in New York and New Orleans and San Francisco, and we haven't really had the need for the immediacy. To see the exposed image that quickly, actually we have photographed everything and then we have handed off the tapes to the editor. We haven't even taken a look at them. It is a commercial, although that shouldn't mean too much. We are not playing back anything. It is documentary style. So, you know, for some people it would be a matter of the immediacy of capturing on video. More often than not it really boils down to multi-camera shooting, whether it be for broadcast as well as it seems that there is a feeling that...there is a feeling that there are the economics of shooting video as opposed to shooting film. And I haven't quite figured out the economic yet, it doesn't seem to make sense for me. So, I really cannot make a judgment call on that.

Alexa D. O'Brien

How has optical technology changed or advanced for cinematography in the last decade?

John Clemens

Being the purchaser of new motion picture lenses I can attest that they are just... the technology on the glass is just so superior, whether it be computer-designed elements within a zoom lens for example, or within a prime lens. Lens design these days is so far superior and complex, probably due to the computer. Lens coatings and the technology that laid down those lens coatings on a lens for the same reasons, are much more advanced. You know, they are constantly striving for lenses with better resolution, better optical quality, better physical performance in terms of moving gears, and moving elements within each other, and lenses that are faster, are longer, and have in essence a better minimum focus on them; and all these just add to the experience and improvements within the image capture on both motion picture cameras as well as video cameras.

Alexa D. O'Brien

Has the workflow change with higher end digital technology, whether it be HD or larger chip cameras?

John Clemens

Not too much for the camera assistant. You still have the same issues, or the same workflow, not necessarily issues, but that is more part of the job: maintaining the camera in a good working order, making sure the focus is coming up and is collimated correctly both on the lenses and the cameras. You do have a back focus issue on some of the Sony cameras, the Panasonic cameras, but ultimately the workflow is the same. You are maintaining the cameras so they work properly, and they will for the long run, and they hold up very well. You are maintaining the focus, and that the lenses are calibrated properly. The same situation on motion picture cameras. The workflow on set: you are still getting marks, you are still pulling focus on them, and the lens manufacturers have done a wonderful job with making film style lenses for the video cameras that make it that much more comfortable as well, both comfortable for the assistant and the operator. But as well, to somewhat give a more filmic depth of field to the video cameras. Ultimately, the only thing that changes within the workflow is you most of the time you'll have a...on the Sony and Panasonic cameras, smaller chip cameras that are manufactured by Sony, Panasonic, Fuji, you will have a digital imaging technician to keep a better eye on your color rendering as well as your highlights and low lights, to make sure that you are within the boundaries of capturing those highlights and lowlights and everything in between. Panavision and Arriflex have done a wonderful job with their two video cameras, digital HD cameras that they came out with, that maintain the exact workflow of the film cameras that are being utilized today. There is no back focus issues on them. The menus are relatively the same as, you know, a standard thirty-five motion picture camera. So, they have done a wonderful job in maintaining the workflow on their end. So, overall with the question that you have asked: the workflow is, I would say, is still the same regardless of which cameras you are shooting ultimately your responsibilities haven't changed.

Alexa D. O'Brien

I recently spoke with a director of photography who made the point to me that with digital technology there are so many more variables in the digital work flow that affect image quality. Do you think that that is a fair thing to say?

John Clemens

I think that is truly a fair thing to say. For example, with film you are using...just a small number of film stocks, whether it be Fuji, Agfa, or Kodak. And with experience with those film stocks, you can narrow it down quite well and pinpoint the look that you want to achieve. Now with the digital HD cameras there is no flat-line between the...there is no starting point for example within...even from camera to camera, but let me not jump ahead of myself, there is no baseline between a Sony, a Panasonic chip and even within the same series of cameras. There are little anomalies inherent within each camera that it is hard to gauge a baseline off of. They are good in giving you the tools necessary to change those little nuances whether it be between cameras within a particular manufacturer or a cameras from different manufacturers. But ultimately there is a little bit more work in coming to a known with digital cameras as there is with film and the experience that you have with a certain film stock for example, so there is a...the tolerances are squeeze down a bit on you.

Alexa D. O'Brien

John I really want to thank you for your time today.

John Clemens

Oh, thank you Alexa. It has been a pleasure. Have a good day.