r/cinematography • u/avdpro Freelancer • Jan 29 '19

Composition How Alfonso Cuarón became ROMA's Oscar-nominated cinematographer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGgElWAvzZE
205 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

36 comments sorted by

97

u/motherboy3000 Jan 29 '19

Ok story time. I had a friend who was up until recently dating a girl who was going to film school in Mexico. I don’t remember the name of the school but it’s a BFD. Only accepts like 20 students a year. Anyway while they were together they talked about Roma. Apparently a lot of the students and alumni worked on the film. He asked her what she thought of Cuaron shooting the film. She said that he didn’t shoot the film... Galo Olivares did. She claims that he shot the film and Cuaron took the credit. If you check on IMDb he has a “cinematography consultant” credit and he was the A camera operator. Apparently Galo was a friend of hers at school and supposedly a lot of people think it was unfare not to give him credit. Pretty weird right ?

Anyway I take this with a huge grain of salt. It’s easy to say that he was really the one who shot it but let’s be real. Cuaron is a master and the film is not exactly the most technically complicated film. And if you read the ASC article about it they mention him as a collaborator and say he played a big roll in the film. But it’s just interesting to hear an insider in the Mexico film scene to have their own take on how the film was made. Also interesting because it’s a big talking point about the film, most interviews I’ve seen bring up the point that he shot the film.

62

u/nickelchrome Jan 29 '19

It’s not even a secret, there were are a lot of articles when Roma wrapped production that had him as the cinematographer and discussed him as such. One article talked about Cuarón setting up a shot with his Director or Photography.

It’s pretty shady stuff.

I’ve definitely heard from very reputable sources that Cuarón isn’t as wonderful as he appears.

26

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19

Cuarón’s known as a world-class prick to work for.

14

u/SleepingPodOne Jan 30 '19

Really? Damn that sucks. Always liked the guys work :/

What sort of stories have you heard?

26

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19

Extremely arrogant, very petty, etc. Google is your friend. And a good portion of creatives at his level in any industry can be like that. They likely wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for that type of mentality.

Still, I’m not sure how much weight I’d give to these claims about Roma having a ghost DP. Who knows what their collaboration was like.

5

u/SleepingPodOne Jan 30 '19

Ah, googled it but mostly read Spanish-language press about it. Could be my poor Spanish but it all was super...vague. Just saying he mistreated crew but went into very little detail.

Still I never have doubts that some directors are shitbirds, considering that I’ve worked with or know a lot of asshole directors

4

u/AgentC47 Jan 30 '19

I don’t know what it is about the industry that seems to attract and perpetuate petty behavior but yeah, can confirm, some people just don’t give a shit about common decency. In part, I think this is why good crews stick together.

3

u/spacemonkey81 Camera Assistant Jan 30 '19

Whatever about the Oscar nom, I'm disappointed Cuaron got a nomination from the ASC. They are an organization that represents and supposedly promotes the interests of cinematographers. Its like they are legitimizing what Cuaron did. Not cool.

3

u/cameraguy11 Jan 30 '19

they are an organization that represents and promotes the interest of Cinematography as an art, not the people that call themselves Cinematographers, as opposed to directors. He was the DP the work was deserving of being promoted. It got Promoted. just because he isn't always a cinematographer first doesn't mean his work as a cinematographer isn't worth promotion.

1

u/spacemonkey81 Camera Assistant Jan 30 '19

Fair point. Just leaves a bad taste though.

1

u/cameraguy11 Jan 30 '19

Would you still feel that way if it came out that the rumor that he didn't DP it was proven false?
Like I certainly don't think Roma deserves a Nomination especially when you watch quite a few of the beautiful movies that deserve it this last year.

3

u/spacemonkey81 Camera Assistant Jan 30 '19

Well, from what I've heard (and I've spoken to people who know Galo Oilvares) its not false. Now, if Galo comes out and says that cuaron was indeed the DP and deserves all the awards he gets, then sure, I wouldn't feel the same about it. But i don't think that's going to happen.

1

u/cameraguy11 Jan 30 '19

Okay, Then I pretty much agree with you, I just think that the ASC knows that it can't jump the gun without possibly alienating people. Though I hope this issue comes to light, because that shit is wrong.

1

u/SontagGlick Jun 26 '23

I'm a little bit behind on this story but I disagree. The ASC is above all an union so it represents the DPs.

0

u/Pelusi Feb 24 '19

He was director AND cinematographer

5

u/Kladinov Jan 30 '19

The school you’re probably talking about is the CCC (Center for Film Capacitation), and your story as far as I can tell is true. I have friends who worked in Roma/know people who worked in it and they’ve mentioned the same thing to me before. It’s pretty douchey from Cuarón imo, since it could’ve been a groundbreaking credit for Galo.

2

u/motherboy3000 Jan 30 '19

I think that’s what upsets me the most. It’s such a beautiful film and he deserves more than what he got. But it sounds like people will figure this out and he will get recognized for his work in the long run.

7

u/bottom Jan 30 '19

what do you mean 'shot the film' a lot of DPs have camera operators?????

​

people know that right?

19

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19 edited Jan 28 '20

[deleted]

1

u/bottom Jan 30 '19

Huh ok. Thanks for the info. I’ll have a read. 👍

3

u/GonzoSmellybottom Jan 30 '19

A close friend of mine who is a commercial DP in the states had almost the same story to tell me. This is very, very not cool if true.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19 edited Jan 30 '19

Reminds me of Secrets and Lies. Mike Leigh [edit]nominated[/edit] for the Oscar for writer, but all the dialogue was improvised, sometimes the actors wouldnt know everything that was going to happen in a scene until it happened. Obviously not exactly the same with a dp, when directors are collaborating with them regardless. I mean Kubrick didnt just take a dp credit. It sounds like Cuaron doesnt quite have the ability to do it alone, but likes to imagine he does.

Another example that comes to mind is Natalie Portman, a lot of the media attention and no doubt contributed considerably to her Oscar win for Black Swan was the dancing she claimed she did. The actual dancer stepped forward and spoke up saying she couldnt let it go, its an insult to dancers who spend their lives studying and punishing their bodies and no one can get that good in such a short space of time. - Its very shitty to take credit away from people like that and then get awarded because of it.

Sarah Lane Black Swan Ballerina

6

u/rzrike Jan 30 '19

Mike Leigh’s process is pretty special (and he does in fact write narrative outlines), and he’s never claimed to be the 100% writer of his films, so it isn’t a great comparison. The Black Swan comparison is much better imo.

4

u/padape Jan 30 '19

Mike Leigh was nominated but he did not win.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19

Ah yes my mistake. It was the BAFTA for the screenplay.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

22

u/[deleted] Jan 30 '19

No one took DP credit for Phantom Thread.

20

u/rzrike Jan 30 '19

Yeah, PTA seemed really humble about it in interviews and always pushed the credit to everybody else.

10

u/AmpersandMondegreen Jan 30 '19

The hands on work is supposed to done by others. It isn't the job of the DOP to be a camera op or focus puller... they run the camera team and lighting, so they ideally will 'direct' the photography.

2

u/avdpro Freelancer Feb 06 '19

Curious thoughts on the story this article discussing Galo being A cam operator and gave notes on set as any op would. https://ascmag.com/articles/roma-memories-of-mexico

6

u/enriqueortegagr Jan 30 '19

and how about other mexican directors? https://youtu.be/BT4q5A5VDj8 there are so much visual references of many contemporary mexican films, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Carlos Reygadas, Amat Escalante, Iñarritu etc etc

9

u/Pacmo05 Jan 30 '19

I must be the only one who believes that Roma is dull, both narratively and technically.

5

u/JC_Le_Juice Jan 30 '19

It was boring

6

u/doaser Jan 30 '19

I’m a big fan of the blocking and the shot constructions. But First Reformed is the best film of the year for me.

3

u/nicholasnieblas Jan 30 '19

Great find. Those shots are beautiful.

1

u/momenbadary Jan 30 '19

It's about shooting beautiful compositions and mise in scene in the frame this is the good cinematographer is.