Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

by Owen Roizman | Published February 3, 2007

Roizman and director Sydney Pollack on the Havana set.

Learn your job.

Learn your job and learn it well. Be considerate of other people. And work hard. If you do that, everything should come to you.

The relationship between director and DP.

It’s like a marriage between a man and a woman. Some go easier than others, but they’re all a lot of work. You’re usually talking about two strong personalities with the same ultimate goal but maybe different ways to approach it. It’s something you just have to feel out.

Communication between a director and DP.

You always have to talk and try to get on the same wavelength. Some relationships between directors and cinematographers are just the smoothest thing in the world; others are just the bumpiest roads. But by and large, the end result it what counts. So that product, whatever’s up there on the screen at the end, that’s the end result. And that part’s like the couple having the baby: “Here’s what we did!”

Today’s Cinematographer

There are a lot more projects being made today because there’s a need for material for television. I do believe that a cinematographer’s role has changed today in the sense that it’s often more about the money than the art.

Filmography for Owen Roizman

French Kiss (1995)
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Grand Canyon (1991)
The Addams Family (1991)
Havana (1990)
I Love You to Death (1990)
Vision Quest (1985)
Tootsie (1982)
Taps (1981)
Absence of Malice (1981)
True Confessions (1981)
The Black Marble (1980)
The Electric Horseman (1979)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
Straight Time (1978)
Network (1976)
The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976)
Independence (1976)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
The Stepford Wives (1975)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
Stop (1970)

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