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5 Tools Every Cinematographer Needs - HowToFilmSchool

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PRODUCTION GRIP & LIGHTING ASSISTANT DIRECTING CINEMATOGRAPHY

SET ETIQUETTE OTHER

Cinematographer Tools: Be a Pro with these


5 Tools
December 12 By Iggy — 2 Comments

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Cinematographer Tools are as important as the tools grips and electrics use on set. Investing in these will
be very helpful to your work and ensure you are doing the best job possible.

Cinematographer Tools:
Light Meter
This one is a bit of a no-brainer. A light meter will be a fantastic aid
in lighting your scenes and especially for relighting, matching,
inserts and close ups. All the Sekonic digital meters have a memory
function, so you can take a reading of your keylight, backlight and fill
and see all 3 readings displayed so you can compare their stop
differences.
Sekonic Corporation 401-478 LITEMASTER PRO L-478D on
Amazon

Youtube Videos about this light meter

Gaffer’s Glass
Even though it is called a “Gaffer’s Glass” it is still very handy for a DP.
You wont always have a great gaffer and techs that can help aim
lights for you, so often times you’ll have to stand on set instructing
your crew. A Gaffer’s glass will allow you to look directly into the light
fixture without damaging your vision.

Blue Gaffer’s Glass on Amazon

Laser Pointer
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Laser Pointer
Communication is really important on a film set and a laser pointer will
really aid that. Often times you will have to explain a specific light
position or show where you want a cut on a wall. A laser pointer is the
most efficient way of doing so.

Laser Pointer on Amazon

Sun Seeker
This fantastic app is a must have for tech scouting and shooting
on location. It will allow you to see the course of the suns position
through out the day. I find it very handy for windows too. By
standing inside your location and pointing your phone’s camera
toward a window you will be able to tell if the sun will be coming
through at any point during the day and get a rough idea of the
angle the light will be coming in at.

Sun Seeker Itunes

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Directors View Finders and/or Artimis


FILM DICTIONARY LIBRARY REVIEWSview finder
A director’s CONTACT
will allow you to give your director an idea of
the framing with out setting up the camera. I find it very handy
especially if they are unsure of what shots they want. You can let you
director hang on to it and play with some frames, or you can find a
shoot with it yourself, then allow your director to see the shot.

Director’s Viewfinder on Amazon

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Artemis Itunes

Bonus!

DSLR
A DSLR is great for a new cinematographer to own for many reasons. You can use your DSLR to get an idea
of exposure and colour when shooting on film or even as an aid in story-boarding or finding shots of set.
Not to mention that new DSLRs can shoot HD video.
Canon DSLRs on Amazon

American Cinematographer Manual


This book is a must own, especially for shooting film!
American Cinematographer Manual on Amazon

I hope this list of Cinematographer Tools has been helpful. More new stuff coming soon.

Iggy
Currently a Digital Producer for a Television Production Company. Igor also works
as a Cinematographer & got his start in the industry as a Gaffer.
More Posts - Website
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Randolph Sellars • 2 years ago


I also carry a color temperature meter even though I don't use it quite as often as I did in the film days. It's
most useful on scouts to determine how much green or magenta might exist in fluorescent, mercury vapor,
or sodium vapor fixtures. With the meter, I have a larger square size color correction gel swatch book for
placing over meter to test possible corrections. This larger gel swatch book also comes in handy on some
lower budget shoots with little anticipated post CC. I might want to "bake in" a warmer or cooler white
balance by "fooling" the camera with a slight amount of the opposite color.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Iggy > Randolph Sellars • 2 years ago


Agreed. These days I very rarely see a colour meter and even the light meter is starting to
disappear or it is still carried but very rarely pulled out.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

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