Roger Deakins Cinematography: What We Can Learn From The Master

As a filmmaker, there are a variety of shots that you can use in order to create an engaging cinematic experience for your viewers.

These different shots range from extreme close-ups, long establishing shots with no dialogue or sound effects – just music and visuals – to more immersive shots like helicopter flyovers.

There are many other categories as well which I will cover below, but knowing these basics about shot composition will give you a strong foundation for progressing in filmmaking and telling stories through the film!

How Roger Deakins Learned To Light Films

Roger Deakins is known for his work as a cinematographer in the film industry. He’s been nominated an astonishing thirteen times and has won four Oscars.

Roger Deakins shares with us how he learned to light, what inspires him, and what it means to be a cinematographer.

He was born in Torquay, Devon, England on May 14th, 1949 to his parents Margaret (née Wilson) and Arthur Charles Deakins.

Roger attended Torquay Boys’ Grammar School before going to the University of Western Ontario with his brother John where they both studied mathematics

Roger Deakins has had quite an amazing career so far in Hollywood.

He’s been nominated 13 times but only won 4 Oscar awards which may not seem like much compared to other nominees or winners of the Academy Awards but without Roger, many movies wouldn’t have looked as good on screen because of the lighting used in them.

The way Roger Deakins lights a scene is unlike any other. He’s been called “The Master of Light” and has earned four Academy Awards for his work on films like Blade Runner, Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There, No Country for Old Men, and Sicario. But how did he learn to light?

   

Who Is Roger Deakins?

Born in England in 1949, Roger Deakins started learning about photography at the age of 12 when his father bought him a camera as a Christmas present.

His first photographs were taken at school where he experimented with black-and-white film processing techniques using orange juice jars as developing tanks.

Roger then moved to the United States in 1974 after being offered a job as an assistant cameraman.

Roger Deakins is one of the most influential cinematographers working today. His work includes films such as Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, and Blade Runner 2049.

His first major film was 1984’s The Killing Fields in which he worked with director Roland Joffe.

For that production, Roger had to learn quickly how to use lighting creatively because it was filmed in Cambodia where there were not many lamps or electric lights available for him to use.

He has since been nominated thirteen times for an Academy Award but never won it until 2018 when he won Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049.

Roger Deakins’ Cinematic Lighting

His signature technique is using deep focus which creates separation between foreground and background subjects by blurring out one area more than another; this technique can be seen most notably in films like “Blade Runner” (1982) or “The Big Lebowski”.

His style of photography can be found in many popular movies including Fargo and The Shawshank Redemption, Skyfall, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (2000) “No Country for Old Men” (2007).

What Camera Does Roger Deakins Use?

Roger Deakins is a cinematographer who has been nominated for an Oscar twice.

His first nomination was in 1998 for the film “The Shawshank Redemption” and his second nomination was in 2008 for the film “No Country For Old Men”.

His style has changed over time from a more traditional film-making approach to a more modern digital process. Roger Deakins’ camera choice is not as well known as some other filmmakers, but he does use both ARRI Alexa cameras and RED Epic cameras depending on the project he’s working on at this time.

Roger’s most recent camera was the ARRI ALEXA XT M with Cooke S4 Prime Lenses which he used on Bladerunner 2049 to shoot in 6K mode with anamorphic lenses for 2:1 aspect ratio shooting.

The ARRI ALEXA XT M is able to capture images at greater sensitivity than standard digital cinema cameras such as those from RED.

Who Is The Best Cinematographer In The World?

As a cinematographer, you have to be aware of the type of camera and lens that you are using.

For example, if you were working on a documentary film about the history of Hollywood in California, it would be best to use a large-format camera with an ultra-wide-angle lens.

   

This helps your audience focus on what is important in your narrative while still capturing all the details and colors around them.

The best cinematographers know how to capture their shots with creativity and precision so they can tell their story without missing any crucial moments or details.

Who is the best cinematographer in the world? It’s a question that has been asked and debated for decades.

There are many great filmmakers who have put their own stamp on cinema, but only one can be considered the best of all time. After much research into this topic, I’ve come to a conclusion…

Every day people are making lists of the best in every industry. For example, there is a list of the best cinematographers in the world.

So who actually is on this list? On this list, you will find some of Hollywood’s most talented directors and their favorite cinematographers such as Martin Scorsese and Robert Richardson.

These two men have worked together many times over to create masterpieces including Raging Bull (1980) and The Aviator (2004).

Another talent that has made it onto this powerful list is Emmanuel Lubezki who won his first Academy Award for being one of the most influential members of Alfonso Cuaron’s crew on Gravity (2013).

The best cinematographer in the world is, without a doubt, Roger Deakins. He has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards (winning three) and five BAFTA Awards. If you need to know who the best cinematographer is then it’s him!

Who Is The Highest Earning Cinematographer?

For many a film buff, they may have had to face the tough question: who is the richest cinematographer? It can be difficult to know which cinematographer has made more money.

So for all you aspiring filmmakers out there, here are just a few of the most successful and wealthiest in Hollywood’s history.

So who is the richest cinematographer? There are a few contenders. The first one we’ll look at is Matthew Libatique, who was the cinematographer for Black Swan and Iron Man among other films.

He has won an Academy Award for his work on Black Swan, so he’s no slouch in this arena of filmmaking. His net worth as of 2016 was $8 million dollars.

Next up is John Toll, whose filmography includes Braveheart, Legends of the Fall, and The Thin Red Line.

He also has an Oscar win to show off: he won Best Cinematography for both Avatar and The Thin Red Line during his long career in cinematography that spanned four decades as of 2016.

The three best-paid cinematographers have an annual salary that ranges from $3 million up to $5 million per year.

So without further ado, here are my top 3 picks for richest cinematographer:

1. Caleb Deschanel.

2. Roger Deakins.

3. Wally Pfister.