Rodrigo Prieto Cinematographer Style: Deep Dive Into The Modern DP Master

Rodrigo Prieto was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He is a Mexican cinematographer of international stature winning an Academy Award for his work on Brokeback Mountain and Babel, as well as a BAFTA Award for The Wolfman, both directed by American director Ang Lee.

Prieto has been the recipient of numerous awards including three nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards and three nominations for the Satellite Awards.

He is a member of the Mexican Society of Cinematographers (SM de C) and has been honored with membership in the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

Prieto attended the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City where he studied Fine Arts and Painting. Later he studied photography at the Center for Advanced Cinematographic Studies at the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles, California.
 

Rodrigo Prieto Cinematography

Rodrigo Prieto is a Mexican cinematographer. He has worked frequently with director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Rodrigo Prieto grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico, where his father was a photographer and his mother was a dancer. 

He moved to New York City in 1990, where he studied photography at ITP (International Technical Photography).

In 1995 he met Alejandro González Iñárritu who offered him an assistant job on Amores Perros (2000).

He has since collaborated with Iñárritu on several projects; Babel (2006), Biutiful (2010), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), and The Revenant (2015).

Prieto’s work was characterized by dark photography, often taking advantage of low-light situations, resulting in only full use of available light.

He utilizes wide lenses to create both a sense of claustrophobia and grandness.

Rodrigo Prieto Cinematographer

Rodrigo Prieto is a Mexican cinematographer nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography three times, the most recent for “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

He has also been nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography four times, winning one.

   

Towards the end of his career, he shot many films in digital formats and film and still hits on both mediums. 

He is considered one of the top cinematographers working in modern film.

Prieto was born in Mexico City on December 2nd, 1962. He began his career at a young age, doing still photography and shooting documentaries.

When he was 21, he moved to New York to study at the School of Visual Arts but dropped out and went back home to Mexico, where he took on more photography jobs.

In 1991 Rodrigo got his first job as a cinematographer when he did a short called “El Paseo,” which many people consider his breakout film. 

He started working more in Mexican films and eventually made his way into Hollywood in 1997 with “Amistad,” which earned him a nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

After this success, Rodrigo then went on to work with directors such as Martin Scorsese.

More Incinematography & Cameras

So far, we’ve been talking about camera movement and framing, but there’s more to making a good movie than that. 

When you watch movies, there are several techniques that you might overlook but which make the difference between an amateur movie and a good one.

T-Cut

The most common technique is T-Cut, which refers to the line of action in a scene. As an illustration:

In the above example, the boy walks from point A to B. 

The T-Cut would be cutting from him at point A (his back facing us) to him at point B (his front-facing us); this gives us the impression that he has not stopped moving during this shot. 

   

You can also see it in motion here: https://youtu.be/2n0Hg5EJ9B4?t=164.

This technique is used in movies, TV shows, and commercials because it helps build tension and allows the audience to keep up with what’s going on in the scene. 

It’s hard to describe, but once you start looking for it!

Character Motivation, Another critical aspect of making a good movie is character motivation. If characters just do things.

The Irishman Cinematography Featurette By Rodrigo Prieto

Many people thought we would shoot this movie on film, but we were in 2017. Nobody shoots on film anymore.

I think that it’s nice for the film to get a chance to breathe and not have to worry about the technical difficulty of shooting on film or the post-production phase of getting it scanned. 

So from my point of view, digital is the way to go.

Tristar has been very good to me throughout the years, so they asked if I would shoot with their camera.

   

The Alexa 65 is a great camera. I’ve shot with other cameras, and there’s something about this one that’s just beautiful.

It’s got a very organic quality — a little bit like film, but without limitations, this is a new era for cinematography, and it’s going to be super exciting for filmmakers.

One visual element evident in most of Scorsese’s films is the close-up. It can be pretty challenging to shoot a close-up with a lot of depth.

Even if you are shooting a master shot, knowing where you place your actor(s) in the frame is essential to creating a good composition and getting the desired effect.

Watch this video for some helpful tips on making your close-ups more interesting.

What Is Subjective Cinematography Rodrigo Prieto

What is Subjective Cinematography Rodrigo Prieto?

Subjective cinematography is used in close-up shots that involve the subject’s perception of what they are seeing. 

A camera is physically removed from the character, or it may be so close to them that the audience feels they are part of the scene.

The subjective shot considers how the viewer will interpret a particular scene, and it usually involves an over-the-shoulder attempt. 

This technique allows for more intimacy between the subject and the camera.

The goal is to have the viewer feel as though they are experiencing what the characters are experiencing.

Rodrigo Prieto has directed some of Hollywood’s biggest movies, including Amores Perros and Brokeback Mountain, and other critically acclaimed films such as Babel, Revolutionary Road, and Monster’s Ball.

He has won numerous awards for his work and has been nominated for three Oscars for his cinematography skills alone.

Prieto uses subjective cinematography when he needs to create a more intimate relationship between characters and their surroundings. 

He accomplishes this through extreme close-ups of eyes or mouths during moments of intense emotion or action.

This technique puts the audience in a place where they can see what the character sees and feel.

Rodrigo Prieto On Collaboration

The past few years have been some of the most fulfilling of my career. I’ve had the opportunity to work with great directors and talented actors on powerful stories that have resonated with audiences worldwide.

I love being a part of this process, but I also know that a film is more significant than one person or department. 

It’s a complex collaboration between all the different artists who bring it to life.

You may be familiar with some of my work from movies like Argo, The Wolf of Wall Street, Babel, and Brokeback Mountain. 

These films were nominated for dozens of awards and received many accolades, including Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Director.

   

But these are just a handful of projects I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in over the last 15 years.

I’m grateful for every project that has come my way and am proud of my contributions.

However, these achievements belong to all the people—directors, producers, actors, crew members, post-production staff, and everyone else—who worked so hard to make these movies what they are today. 

None of this would have been possible without their hard work and dedication.

Description: The process of creating a film is an exciting journey that offers you many opportunities for personal growth.

Basics Of Cinematography

The Basics Of Cinematography

Many people claim to be professional cinematographers who have never gone to film school. 

On the other hand, many people with film degrees have never had a job as a director of photography.

I think it’s safe to say that the term “cinematographer” has become a bit ambiguous over the years. 

The truth is that there are only two types of cinematographers: those who want to direct and those who don’t want to control.

The first type, who wants to direct, is what you see when you see a movie in the theater or on DVD. 

They’re the ones who’ve figured out how to make movies look great but don’t necessarily know how the camera works itself (an exposure meter, for example).

They’ve learned how to use the camera as a tool to get the shot they want, but they may not know how it works. 

   

The second type is your camera technicians, people that have been trained in camera operation and understand all the functions of a digital cinema camera inside and out.

They can set up lighting and shoot in any format imaginable, including 3-D. 

They understand exposure and light theory and have no problems reading a script or communicating with actors.

Academy Award-nominated Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto

Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC (born 1962), is a Mexican-American cinematographer.

He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography four times, winning twice for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and The Wolf of Wall Street in 2014.

Rodrigo Prieto was born in Mexico City in 1962. His father was the director of photography for América TV, a national TV network in Mexico.

He started as an apprentice working on commercials and music videos with his father before moving to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 17 to work on the television show Miami Vice.

Prieto began shooting independent films and documentaries while living in Los Angeles.

His first major film credit came with the 1991 film Mi Familia. 

In 1993, he shot Little Buddha starring Richard Gere, followed by Glory Road with Josh Lucas and Sam Elliott.

It was on this film that he first worked with director Ron Howard. 

The two have worked together ever since and became close friends while working on A Beautiful Mind in 2001.[1]

One of Prieto’s most notable early career projects was Selena (1997), which won him several accolades, including recognition from the National Board of Review.[2] 

His next project was working again.