Behind the Screen Series: The Lightbenders, Part 1
In this special sub-series of Third World Cinema Club, we take a look at the people involved in film production, whose work audiences see and feel on screen, but might not know about. For this episode (and in celebration of International Women’s Month), we talk to two cinematographers: the people responsible for capturing the images we see on screen.
Tey Clamor is responsible for some of the most beautiful films in contemporary Philippine cinema. She has collaborated with directors like Prime Cruz, creating the lush cityscapes seen in films like Sleepless (2015) and Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B (2016). She has also done work in TV in series like Angelito: Ang Batang Ama. For her work, she has received several nominations from award-giving bodies such as FAMAS, the FAP awards, and the Star Awards for Movies. She garnered Best Cinematography for Ned’s Project (2016) at the Cinefilipino Film Festival.
Cesca Lee made her debut as cinematographer in Elwood Perez’s Otso (2013), but she already has an impressive body of work. She has collaborated frequently with director Joselito Altarejos, creating the surgically precise frames of films like T.P.O. (which garnered her a nomination for Best Cinematography) and Tale of the Lost Boys. She is also cinematographer in Carlo Enciso Catu’s mindbending Mga Anak ng Kamote (2018), creating that film’s peculiar visual style, and the visual dread in films like Kenneth Dagatan’s Ma (2018) and Derrick Cabrido’s Purgatoryo (2016).
Tey and Cesca talk to us about the collaborative process involved in creating images that move us, their most well-known work, the challenges facing women in the industry, and helping break the glass ceiling with their own hands.
notes:
This episode was recorded in Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Tomas Morato, QC.
*On the Basis of Sex.
Acronyms/Film production terms guide:
AC: Assistant Cameraperson
DIT: Digital Imaging Technician – responsible for image quality control, troubleshooting, on-set color correction, and managing the workflow of a production
LD: Lighting Director
DP/DoP: Director (of) Photography
Gaffer: the chief electrician in a motion-picture or television production unit.
Key Grip: the person in a film crew who is in charge of the camera equipment.
OTS: Over-the-Shoulder shot. Refers to a shot of someone or something taken from the perspective or camera angle from the shoulder of another person.
50mm, 85mm, 35mm: types of lenses. The numbers represent focal lengths.
F55 – a Sony PMW-F55 video camera.
About Behind the Screen:
This is the first part of a multi-part series about people involved in film production. Subsequent episodes aim to include cinematographers, colorists, production designers, composers, etc into the ever-widening discourse on film.
