RUSSELL CARPENTER - Cinematographer
Team Deakins
James Ellis Deakins
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 May 2023
⏱️ 77 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 35 - RUSSELL CARPENTER - CINEMATOGRAPHER
Team Deakins speaks with cinematographer Russell Carpenter (TITANIC, TRUE LIES, AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER) on this episode of the podcast. We dive headfirst into Russell's professional relationship with director James Cameron, beginning with a chance encounter at a local TV station that led to Russell working on some of the biggest movies in history. Russell also shares his appreciation for the technical challenges of working on Cameron's films and describes the sink-or-swim nature of filming TITANIC. We later discuss being submerged in anxiety when starting out and mustering the courage and discipline to put yourself out there. We also touch on developing a 'cinematic immunity' during production that instills the supernatural confidence needed to shoot a film. Wading through the years-long process of shooting AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, Russell describes the unique environment Cameron created to realize the film. Additionally, we compare working on smaller, less effects-heavy projects with the contrary and discuss the joys of knowing what you got on the day and the immediacy of that type of filmmaking.
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This episode is sponsored by TrueCut Motion
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi and welcome to season two of the Team Deakin's podcast. |
| 0:08.4 | A collection of informal conversations between Roger and James Deakin's and Aghest. |
| 0:14.3 | We never know where the conversation will take us, so listen in and see where it goes. |
| 0:22.0 | Today's podcast is being brought to you by True Cut Motion from Pixelworks. |
| 0:27.9 | True Cut Motion is an advanced motion grading technology that works seamlessly with both |
| 0:33.6 | theatrical and home streaming distribution, providing filmmakers with a broad new pallet |
| 0:40.0 | of motion looks previously not possible. |
| 0:43.4 | By unlocking tools for the adjustment of jutter, shutter angle, and speed ramps shot by |
| 0:49.0 | shot and post production, True Cut Motion gives the filmmaker unprecedented control of the |
| 0:56.0 | motion look of their work on any screen. |
| 1:02.7 | Today we're pleased to be speaking with a cinematographer. |
| 1:06.2 | His credits include True Lies, Ant-Man, Titanic, and Avatar the way of water. |
| 1:12.0 | We're so pleased to have Russell Carpenter with us today. |
| 1:15.0 | Russell, thank you for doing this. |
| 1:16.6 | Hey, Russell. |
| 1:17.6 | Hello. |
| 1:18.6 | Hi. |
| 1:19.6 | I think we'd like to start out asking you how you got to where you are today. |
| 1:23.3 | Is this something, did you always want to shoot films or did you find it later down the |
| 1:29.0 | path? |
| 1:30.0 | What's your story? |
| 1:31.0 | I found it later down the path. |
... |
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