European films had art. And it was easy to make a European film. They didn't come from the studio system, they weren't shot in sound studios, and that's a good thing, because in the studio system those movies would never have had a chance. And since we were coming from Europe, it was natural for us to use that simple style. Small budgets, less equipment, that was just how it was.

Vilmos Zsigmond

Categorized in : Art Europe Simple

I like to say that lighting is about taking the light away. I often like to use the shadows more than the light.

Vilmos Zsigmond

shadow light dark

There is something missing in a lot of digital filmmaking, something I call "poetic reality." That's something you see played out in film noir, where the technique establishes the mood.

Vilmos Zsigmond

technique missing reality

I think that the audience should not be able to tell if it is real or not real - it should be an enhanced version of reality, or an artistic view of reality, that captures not only what is physically there, but what is not visible - the mood.

Vilmos Zsigmond

real views thinking

I should mention Vittorio Storaro, who was Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematographer. You watch those films and they are exceptional.

Vilmos Zsigmond

film should watches

I encourage film students who are interested in cinematography to study sculpture, paintings, music, writing and other arts. Filmmaking consists of all the arts combined. Students are always asking me for advice, and I tell them that they have to be enthusiastic, because it's hard work. The only way to enjoy it is to be totally immersed. If you don't get involved on that level, it could be a very miserable job. I only have one regret about my career: I'm sorry that we are not making silent movies any more. That is the purest art form I can imagine.

Vilmos Zsigmond

movie music art

If you do not bother to take the time to compose and to light properly, then you end up with something almost less than reality. You end up without the soul, the heart, the art of the moment.

Vilmos Zsigmond

light reality art

The best way to know when there's good lighting is when you don't notice it.

Vilmos Zsigmond

good-lighting knows way

I think too many film students in America are losing the artistry and not learning lighting the right way.

Vilmos Zsigmond

america way thinking

For me, movies should be visual. If you want dialogue, you should read a book.

Vilmos Zsigmond

should want book

You can't just stick with what you know, you have to evolve.

Vilmos Zsigmond

evolve sticks knows

I'm always looking in the lighting to tell the story in a different way than it actually looks in real life because it's, for me, more contrast sometimes has to mean it's softer than normal.

Vilmos Zsigmond

different real mean

Sometimes the shots serve as homages to other movies and other directors, like Hitchcock.

Vilmos Zsigmond

shots sometimes directors

There is something more to "reality" than just the tangible. There is also mood, and you cannot skip that.

Vilmos Zsigmond

tangible mood reality

I hope that film is going to stay as an artform and that people won't forget that there are good movies also to be made.

Vilmos Zsigmond

good-movie film people

I think film is about images. Cinema needs good images. I think that if you don’t have good images, it’s not going to be a good film. I think all films should be really visual.

Vilmos Zsigmond

cinema needs thinking

You used to feed a piece of celluloid into an editor. [Digital] is not expensive and that is an advantage, but I must say that I don't love it.

Vilmos Zsigmond

digital editors pieces

I always try to tell the story the best possible way. I create the mood for each scene in a way that the audience feels that they are right there with me and they feel actually in the mood that was right for the scene.

Vilmos Zsigmond

stories trying way

I think that film is still an artform and it doesn't really matter if you're using a digital camera or a film camera.

Vilmos Zsigmond

cameras matter thinking

These days that wouldn't happen - waiting for the light to be exactly right. Because it takes time and time is money. And with these big productions with expensive actors, you just don't have the time to get every shot exactly right.

Vilmos Zsigmond

actors light waiting

I'm not really satisfied with the technology today. Using film was so much easier than the digital technology of today. But digital is still at the beginning of what it can be and they'll be fixing all those problems.

Vilmos Zsigmond

fixing technology today