Gordon Willis
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Cinematographer Gordon Willis Explains the Elegance of Simplicity
The simpler the better, or so says Gordon Willis, celebrated cinematographer of The Godfather, Manhattan and Annie Hall. Willis echoes Steve Jobs in his belief that simple outshines complex and stresses sticking only with the necessary in making choices. As he sees it, one natural window light can do much more than six artificial ones, and the bare bones of an idea often do the heavy lifting in communicating the story to an audience. The full Craft Truck interview with Willis can be viewed here.
by Nadia Ismail on Jan 7, 2014 -
Gordon Willis: “I Never Got Fired”
Gordon Willis, the legendary cinematographer who shot The Godfather and Annie Hall, reveals in this clip from Craft Truck‘s cinematographer series how to be a valuable crew member and the norm of the relationship between the director and d.p. Watch the full interview here.
by Terisa Thurman on Oct 16, 2013 -
Gordon Willis on the Faux Pas of “Dump Truck Directing”
We’re back to legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis in a Craft Truck interview as he cautions against “dump truck directing” — a term he coined to describe the bad habit of directors who aren’t discerning when shooting and overwhelm editors with footage. Willis’ sage advise comes in handy for the digital filmmaker whose temptation to fix everything in post can overshadow the simplicity of doing it right the first time. You can watch the rest of the interview here.
by Nadia Ismail on Sep 12, 2013 -
Gordon Willis on Lighting Marlon Brando in The Godfather
Gordon Willis is one of the truly great cinematographers of the second half of the 20th century, the man responsible for shooting everything from Woody Allen’s Manhattan and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather to such lesser-known (but also brilliantly lensed) movies such as Hal Ashby’s The Landlord and Alan Arkin’s Little Murders. In the second of our ongoing series of exclusive Craft Truck videos, Willis talks about the approach he took to lighting Marlon Brando in the iconic opening scene of The Godfather.
by Nick Dawson on Aug 8, 2013
