We are taking a unique approach to the exploration of script and story. After having spent four weeks dissecting how an actor breaks down a screenplay, via study, observation, research and technical preparations; we are now going to look through the lens and the POV of the DOP: Director of Photography (DP) and their relationship to the roadmap known as the script (oh such wonderful puns await us!)

DPs occupy a very sacred space in the creative movie making process. He/she is the individual closest to the story being told. They’re the first and most intimate outsider receiving what’s being created (specifically when they’re not just a DP but also an operator) and are therefore the first audience. But because the DP is such a crucial influencer of story, they're thrust into a unique relationship with the filmmaking process - as an audience they must be passive to receive, but as a DP they must be active in the modeling of the story.

Today we’re going to take a look at this dichotomy, as well as the many nuances that go into this relationship.