Rachel Morrison Quotes

I am very much open to doing cinematography for any talented filmmaker, if the script is good.

I design my shots. I walk the rehearsal as the camera and say 'this is where I want to be... I want this look.

Yes, if I had it my way I would do all the shots myself - I used to do that when I was just a cameraman, an operator - but there's no way; you can't do that anymore.

A lot of directors in my experience are very receptive. They see what you do first, and then they want to find a place to put the camera, and they tweak you here and there.

I don't like to watch playback. But being on the set, watching the way the camera is being moved and the way the light is being used, you do get an idea of it.

In my films that I've directed, and my work in commercials and videos, I've rarely used handheld. It's just not something I'm drawn to, but I've seen it done very well.

I've always wanted to be behind the camera in some capacity.

As a DP who mostly does features, I'm normally in a director's pocket, 24/7.

I was in film school as an undergrad with a focus on directing. Once I started working on shoots, I realized, 'Oh, I really like this cinematography thing.'

I've discovered that being behind the camera is more fascinating. If I had to choose a profession today, it would have been something behind the camera.

I really enjoy being behind the camera. A ton of projects I've done that are my most favorite projects would be where I actually executive produce and I'm behind the camera.

You have to give directors and cinematographers a word blueprint for visuals, but I had to learn that from experience.

The way you present a stunt is tied in to the way you photograph it, so you're hanging out with the cinematographer.

I learned a lot about how to shoot and how to put together sequences.

The way I work with my cinematographer is not based on general principles, but the ideas are triggered by the locations where we shoot.

People who are good at film have a relationship with the camera.

You talk about what a director, he was smart. He said, Turn the camera on!

When you shoot a movie, the camera is always taking, taking, taking and not giving anything back.

All my film ideas and subjects have come from photography.

TV, it's a director's medium, and they wanna make it look interesting. To be rehearsing mostly for the sake of where you're standing so they can do the lighting, that's what I don't like.

I'm one of the few directors that actually shoots a lot in camera.

You make the movie through the cinematography - it sounds quite a simple idea, but it was like a huge revelation to me.

I feel every shot, every camera move, every frame, and the way you frame something and the choice of lens, I see all those things are really important on every shot.

A lot of the time with an independent production, you go onto the set, and you rehearse it in front of the crew, and at that point, the cinematographer takes over. You start accommodating the camera instead of the camera accommodating you.

Finding where to put the camera is probably the most important thing you have to learn when you're a young director, and it's something that's a mixture of instinct and technique.