At today`s event „IMAGO Master Chat with the Masters“, organized within the framework of the International Cinematographers Film Festival „Manaki Brothers“, the great cinematographers, Dante Spinotti, John Seale and Christian Berger, spoke at the Manaki Cinema. In front of numerous audience they shared information about the beginnings of their career, as well as events from film sets.

Australian cinematographer John Seale, winner of numerous awards and acknowledgements, including the BAFTA Award, said he began studying in Australia in the 1960s.

„I didn`t know what I was doing then. I looked at the camera and I was thinking, isn`t this an extraordinary machine that can record life? The producers in Australia at that time had money. We had innovative directors who had freedom. It`s been many years since I became a director of photography. The film must be shot in your head before it is actually shot. In your mind you have to know that every scene will be covered and good. The essence of making a film is to bring the audience to tears, and that can be done by either the script or the photography or by both of them at the same time“, says Seale.

Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti shared with the audience that since he was a child, he wanted to take and develop photographs.

“I started with football photos, where it was written „Photo: Spinotti“. It all started there. Before you start making a film, you have to have a lot of knowledge about making it. Our generation went through an interesting phase of the film industry when we did not have such a developed technology as today. How to use the camera, how to illuminate the scene on set, this was all part of the idea of making a film,“ Spinotti said.

He is known for collaborating with directors Michael Mann, Michael Apted, Ermanno Olmi, Bruce Beresford, Curtis Hanson and Brett Ratner.

The Austrian cinematographer Christian Berger, also took part in the discussion. He noted that the atmosphere in the scene depends on lighting and that the light is very important for the film. He also explained that during his career, he was working with several TV stations, but independently, so that he could produce his own films with his friends, because he had no budget.

“In the pre-recording discussions, it is easy to say you understand everything. But during the filming everything is different. Some believe more in the text, others in what they see. I prefer the latter“, Berger said.