Roger Deakins: Beauty in Simplicity

[@axelfoley133]

I hate Roger Deakins for the exact reason that I love his work. Every movie he lights looks so simple and effortless that you mistakenly think "I could do that, that's pretty straightforward"... And then you realise you're wrong! :P

[@yudela1]

Alex Jackson Trust me. He is in a class of his own. I have tried to replicate some of his lighting techniques and by-god are they difficult to replicate.

[@axelfoley133]

I know. I'm a photographer and I always keep my lighting setups simple, mainly because I like to be efficient. 1 well placed light is better than 3 poorly placed ones. I also know Deakins tends to use just one or two lights and maybe a reflector. And even though he and I both embrace the simple approach, he's still light years ahead of me. Like I said, he makes it look so easy that I can't help but think 'Oh piss off, Roger! That's gorgeous!' :P

[@BlaBla-jj6sh]

Real skill looks effortless. But I've got a feeling you are on the right track.

[@brandontea3815]

My dad said the same when he saw his movies, and I shake my head silent, and have absolute confident that the simplest way are often must difficult.

[@MoroccanAnwar]

he is a graphic designer after all

[@TwoThreadsAhead]

It's in my opinion that No Country For Old Men is quite possibly one of the greatest films of all time, if you've never seen it I strongly recommend giving it a chance

[@Johnnymoo]

RellyAlexander I

[@kiribundi]

I saw it for the first time about 4 years ago without any expectations. I was looking forward to having my med school interviews, or at least pursuing a career in engineering... Well, this movie changed that outlined future. I was hit by an epiphany of beauty and nuanced meaning (gotta hand it to the Coens). And now my future looks as dim as any artist with all odds except his strong will against him. I'm either gonna be a DP or a director, I can't even dream up another future. Perhaps I already make money with photography, so that's a good start!

[@SabaDOP]

Hmm have you seen There will be blood? not putting down No country, but you gotta admire what Elswit does with anamorphic, thats if you're a fan of anamorphic and PTA. But yes Deakins is probably the most wide ranged successful craftsman in cinematography film history, id say more so than Vittorio Storraro or even Conrad Hall.

[@davidlean1060]

I love both movies for different reasons, but I was reminded watching TWBB recently how beautiful some of the shots are. There is one shot early on, from inside an oil well, with Plainview and co looking into the hole ....the way the smoke plays with the sun light shining in is beautiful...and we haven't begun to mention the shot of the oil well on fire!

[@SabaDOP]

Lets not forget how Robert Elswit shot the movie on 35mm and didn't do DI, did it the old school way by photochemical color correction.

[@DoveSharma]

Things that we find simply beautiful are often things that are beautifully simple... what an incredible amount of ideas are filled in one sentence

[@LKRaider]

Diptanu Chaudhuri reminded me of something Joe Pera would say

[@LucasPreti]

this is the kind of video that should go viral

[@NickPolak]

indeed!

[@MrGoldbaum]

Though I love the tone and the editing, it has very incorrect information on a cinematographer's involvement.

[@LucasPreti]

Marc Goldbaum how so?

[@MrGoldbaum]

Lucas Preti when he mentioned that the cinematographer doesn’t have much say in the color grade.

[@LucasPreti]

Marc Goldbaum yeah, that stuck out to me as well, but he did say he “may not have been very involved with the color grading”, so I’d hardly describe that as very incorrect information

[@TheElectricMrPJ]

Standing ovation for highlighting such incredible work

[@NicoleSeelig]

This is such a lovely and insightful video about an amazing cinematographer, possibly THE greatest living legend of cinematography.

[@Redwoodtree34567]

His works are so out of the world. Each frames were magnificent. Most recent, his work in 1917, blew me away.

[@GuiorPhotography]

I've always loved his work. Before even knowing who he was or knowing the projects he was in, or even the fact that he worked for directors more than once, I noticed his work and loved.

[@blakestake]

me too! it was really satisfying realizing that so many of the movies I love were shot by him :)

[@Rob-fi2pe]

This was absolutely excellent. Terrific work. I'm honestly shocked that you don't have more viewers and subscribers. Keep going! This is great content!

[@seidmannalexander]

Please keep up creating those kind of videos! Thank you for this one!!

[@MaxamillianStudio]

I absolutely love this piece on Deakins. Thank you.

[@derekrichards1538]

Thank you for making this. This is incredible.

[@Redwoodtree34567]

Doubt was his? I didn't know that!! I loved that film because of one of the major major element- cinematography, so simple yet impressive. The next reasons were the performances by the cast!!! Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy. Thank you for these information, I got know so many things. Kudos to you.

[@dubeproductions2852]

This video was Incredible, a fantastic way to showcase the work of a phenomenal cinematographer.

[@nazart7830]

Dude you should make more like this one. You have a unique way to see things

[@AllThingsFilm1]

I love Deakins work. Having just now learned about other films he shot through this video, has made me respect him even more.

[@nimmasoda]

Your voice over taking this video to next level

[@limhawk7925]

It's funny how I never heard of Roger deakins until blade runner 2049.

[@prashanthadepu3013]

i knew him from skyfall

[@SALMANNNNNNN]

I knew him from the village

[@prithwirajgain]

I knew him from no country for old man.

[@thezeek2745]

The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

[@dineromoreno]

Blake.... Keep doing more man... We will voluntarily promote this video to as many people as we can if. Your video is awesome

[@Ellis_film]

He has such a perfect understanding of the world, colours and the environments the characters reside in.

[@AndrewSindt]

I hope you are trying to make more videos, this one was way to good to be a single! Simply great.

[@macdonaldthobang]

Do more with cinematographers as well (E.g Emmanuel Lubezki, Vittorio Storaro, Robert Elswi, Jeff Cronenweth etc). This video was absolutely informative. I loved it. Thank you.

[@jgquinton]

Thank you for sharing!! I'm a big Roger Deakins fan.

[@DeadpoolAli]

dude this is awesome. I really hope you make more. this video was a gift. thank you!

[@thinking924]

Ugh.......Now I need to watch skyfall again!

[@Leprutz]

what an amzing movie

[@BlaBla-jj6sh]

What a terrific video. A perfect hommage to Deakins' work. Well done.

[@nicklong7442]

I like how you probably love his cinematography so much and had to say something about it, so you just made this KZbin channel to make this one beautiful video essay. We need some more tho. This was great! Gonna subscribe just Incase you take this to heart 😉

[@mr.nobody6392]

When you made a channel just for one video of *ROGER DEAKINS* , RESPECT

[@madhavsharma5458]

Thank you for making this. This video is very well put together and its very simple, much like the content at hand.

[@filmmakerslife5381]

this doesn't feel like 6 minutes please keep going on

[@julianray]

Great peek into Roger's mind and your treatment was... well, Deakinsesque. I'm looking forward to your next exploration.

[@lavolka]

Beautiful analysis of an artist's beautiful work. Thank you.

[@kahsa1076]

Informative, well crafted, entertaining, good length. I watch a lot of these cinema-related analysis vids, and their most common problem is being too long (quickly followed by being too pretentious :D). Hope you continue those qualities. Now you just need more videos :D

[@gonaye1]

Excellent editing, sound editing, and sound mixing here. Your vocal timbre compliments rather than contrasts the beautiful music, and the narration is very well paced. Very good essay.

[@danielhf36]

Wow! Simple and overwhelming. More videos, please!

[@alehdez8495]

Amazing video, loved everything about it

[@CANNOTDIEFILMS]

Excellent video, mate. Well put.

[@gabe5525]

This is an exceptional video, sir. You earned my respect and my subscription.

[@darkknightwithanidea32]

Beautifully put. Avid fan of your work. Don’t wander too far. Your going places. 🎥🎥🎬👍🏻💪🏻

[@jamescleavefilms]

Great video. FYI, pronunciations for the two English places you've mentioned for future essays: Tork-ee, Buckingham-shir (almost like, "sure")

[@observatoire5497]

Very well written and Very well edited. Subscribed!

[@agm9525]

I love cinematography I watch gangs of New York 2 days ago Amazing cinematography!

[@DanielAldamiz]

Dude you are a Genius. You have a great capacity. Proud of you!

[@andreathode3782]

Thank you for putting this together!

[@stormedbyhippiesc3966]

Great video, well done. Deakin is legend

[@francis2255]

need more videos like this

[@djamesvideography]

A big aspect of his skill is his ability to work directly with production design to achieve the aesthetic he's looking for as well.

[@helgebrekke]

Randomly stumbled across this video, subscribed the moment it ended.

[@Maros_Mari]

Thank you, I really enjoy looking at Roger Deakins' work and video essays. This one had similar effect as when I hear him talking about something, soothing and informative, calm and confident. ps. in the last scene - the one from the Village, the kiss then pan left to one chair, I could connect the dots, how the camera subtly suggests a dissonance - struggle to come in the contrast 2 to 1.

[@dp.savchenko9277]

Thank You m8

[@RobertAlexanderHunter]

This was a really great watch thanks :)

[@julianvoltmann212]

Beautiful video. Thank you!

[@fromtheouterrim9405]

Cindy- it was simply amazing

[@aaronvanmaanen]

This is a great video! Really appreciate the break-down of his style.

[@mttprk]

Great first upload looking forward to more

[@MrYetiASX]

Ok that's a damn good video, wanna see a lot more from you.

[@GiTxSHuM]

My Professor a few years back worked for Deakins department on set a few times for him. He said he liked to keep things at a minimal, which I see in a lot of the BTS. You are right though about getting the shot of the character. I think the hardest thing about a director, cinematographer, designer for both production and costume, editor, and sound designer is the character development. You pointed out that he works great with the director but the other departments really made him shine. Great video overall, I am still waiting to meet with him on set or in public like I have with other great talents in the industry.

[@Wa7edmenalnass]

interesting who did you meet and what it was like I am sorry for my Rudeness

[@GiTxSHuM]

احمد محمد well I went bananas over the phone hearing David fincher cause a professor I am close with worked on flubber in the VFX back in the day. My professors are the reasons I meet these people cause they do a lot of commercials and films together. I got to meet Anne Coates , Thelma schoonmaker, and Metallica chilling in the classroom. Lol. I missed an opportunity with the Franco brothers and especially Tim Burton. There is a ton to mention but mostly I prefer meeting editors and some of the great films you see today are from my professors who either director or worked on them. Great talent cause they are normal people but deeply talented when it comes to the screen.

[@Wa7edmenalnass]

wow Anne Coate and Thelma schoonmaker what school did you go to

[@GiTxSHuM]

احمد محمد I attended Academy of Art in San Francisco

[@wajhson5666]

Nice work!

[@opqrst7]

Let's look at the subject: Roger Deakins. Born in 1949 (he is in his 70's today). He is in the industry since the 1980s. Got his first awarded recognition in 2007. It seems like for a super talent like him, reaching to the point of maturity took about 25 years. The Zen wisdom says "to be a master (a legitimate simple recognition to get a title) one must spend at least 10.000 hours practising in doing that". This makes more or less about five years in minimum. To achieve a master level (if you have the talent and passion for what you are doing) this hits about 10+ years of continuous practice. Very interesting, but there is a truth in that numbers. The pop culture stars that achieve easy fame and recognition -like fireworks- they come and go, for they are empty inside, like a balloon. Easy come, easy go...

[@mooreg87]

This was really great. I’m subscribing. Good job and keep up the good work.

[@nebulaoperator]

Nice find. Thanks!

[@yourtube2784]

Beautiful video, thank you.

[@NickPolak]

Great video, Deakins is a master in simplicity, but in the end it's all not that simple!

[@v.e2035]

Excellent

[@davidalanmedia]

Well done. Thank you!

[@jefvarnadore2267]

Bro you need to make more content you’re talented.

[@marceloalejandrodecon9538]

Impressive. Sometimes I ask myself if art direction isn't the true meaning of filmmaking. I think it is.

[@TheFilmLook]

Lovely breakdown! Thank you :)

[@TheUndeadGaucho]

Loved this, great work.

[@CraigGood]

One of the highlights of my life was getting to meet Deakins when he helped us with WALL-E. He gave a demo to the crew about simplicity in lighting that you can find in one of the extras on the disc. He's my hero.

[@akashdeep-db1ff]

That's so cool, dude!!

[@gravityimage5]

Awesome job man!

[@gtm2479]

You should be more popular.. plz keep making more videos.. anyways new subscriber!

[@muhammadshahzil204]

Amazing video

[@PrasanthPrasanthpraveen]

Thank you for the video

[@jamesellisdeakins8152]

And, I should have said, very interesting and thoughtful video.

[@antoniovaldespino6650]

I didn't know that Mr. Deakins shot "A Beautiful Mind".

[@clearstreamfilm6353]

Excellent vid .

[@SAHB10]

Please make more videos like these!!

[@mediaplanetnepal9931]

Great info for at least for me sir. Such video provides nuances of the subjects that is hard to get in even film schools. Great sir gonna subscribe your channel. Keep making more indepth videos on the subject.

[@harshjoshi1364]

Great work! Do make and upload more stuff bro.

[@user-yx2jm4oq3s]

This guy is a genius.

[@jared9362]

thank you

[@Niklasbrock]

Great essay! I hope you go a bit deeper in future videos though.

[@Winduct]

I watched The Goldfinch just for him.

[@zoanyway]

Great video, thanks. I think you left out Sicario in your credits/film reference list.

[@whothetechknows]

I saw Deakins speak recently and he explained that he doesn't shoot in log or RAW. He gets the color on set. So what you see when filming is what will be on screen.

[@blakestake]

@@whothetechknows oh whoa! that makes his work even more impressive! I made this video for a school project years ago and I definitely could have done deeper research than I did, I didn’t expect anyone to see it outside of my class 😅

[@whothetechknows]

@@blakestake your video is well done. Thanks for making it.

[@manuprasadgopinath]

Awesome vid

[@blakestake]

@@manuprasadgopinath thank you! glad you liked it! :)

[@gabrielogungbade7175]

Am I the only one who noticed that he only has this one video after one-plus years?

[@MarlonPerez44]

Magnificent.

[@sinematographers3344]

Great VO

[@Clickumentary]

Nice work

[@estuardolopez992]

amazing

[@ChrisChan126]

The greatest ever!

[@nianderwallace4776]

The moment i saw blade runner trailer i knew the winner in cinematrography immediately

[@jaredgariti1146]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that scene from Skyfall pretty saturated? 2:25

[@BrokenFrameProductions]

You're correct. It's almost monochromatic, but it isn't desaturated. Those two are sometimes mixed up.

[@daniels4209]

like will be given.

[@daniels4209]

subscription given.

[@delonge5000]

from what film is the opening from?

[@jacobfleck9116]

Entertainment_account The Village

[@PiCheZvara]

Deakins likes to go for simple aesthetics and for symmetric visuals (or as symmetric as they can be). There was a time not too long ago when I considered this too simple, or even cheap in the sense that going for an overly symmetric visual is too obvious, uncreative. But as I've gotten older, I came to appreciate simplicity and clean, sensible structure more than experiments. Or I'd rather say, I now appreciate both conservative and progressive approaches to lighting, camera angles, etc. Deakins' cinematography is a thing of beauty, it's refined, everything has its place, it's easy on the eyes. His work on Skyfall is stellar. No disrespect to Hoyte van Hoytema, but his work on Spectre doesn't hold a candle to what Deakins did in Skyfall.

[@prasantabehera7461]

Master of simplicity in cinematography. Just watch Shyamlan's Village, how he turns a jungle so haunting with no artificial lights at all.

[@hassanabodoma117]

Why don't you make more videos about other cinematographers? That was really a great one, I liked it!