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| Jeff Cronenweth on the set of K-19 with director Kathyrn Bigelow. |
For Jeff Cronenweth, cinematography was in the gene
pool. The son of legendary DP Jordan Cronenweth, Jeff’s career got
an early jumpstart when he began assisting his father-first on Peggy
Sue Got Married (1986) and next on Gardens of Stone (1987), both for Francis Ford Coppola.
In the past three years, he has made a name of his
own, first working behind the camera on David Fincher’s stylish Fight Club (1999). Most recently, Cronenweth’s work can
be seen in Kathryn Bigelow’s at-sea adventure, K-19: The Widowmaker,
as well as in Mark Romanek’s highly-anticipated One Hour Photo.
While wrapping up Peyton Reed’s Down With Love, a romantic-comedy
starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, Cronenweth took a few
minutes to chat with MM about the key to finding
your own style and the challenges of having your father as your
boss.
Jennifer Wood (MM): Usually I start
out by asking how someone decided to become a cinematographer, but
in your case the source of inspiration seems obvious. Did your father
encourage your desire to pursue his craft?
Jeff Cronenweth (JC): I was introduced to the
industry at quite an early age, but as I got older it was the comradery
and teamwork with a common goal that first attracted me. My father
was very open-minded about the field of cinematography and allowed
me and my siblings the opportunity to experience it, but never forced
or even steered us in its direction. And I think because it was
my choice alone it made him all the more proud. Unfortunately, he
never had the chance to view any of my work.
MM: You had the great fortune to work with
your father early in your career. What were some of the benefits
of being so close to the cinematographer on the set? Were there
any drawbacks?
JC: Working with my father as his camera assistant
had both benefits and drawbacks. The benefits are the obvious: working
with one of the more gifted cinematographers ever to shoot afforded
one the insight into his creative process, and the chance to watch
him conquer the most challenging situations. It also put me in a
position to work on the highest profile, quality-driven projects.
That’s where some drawbacks came into play. Early on, assisting
responsibilities on such big shows is an overwhelming task on its
own. Then add in the fear of embarrassing and disappointing the
cinematographer-your father-as any son would have. So you overachieve
to offset the stereotype of nepotism.
MM: What were some of the lessons your father
taught you about the craft that you’ve carried forth to today? What
are some of the lessons you wish he’d taught you?
JC: There are so many ideas and concepts that
he instilled in me that I don’t know where to begin. But in general
I would say that ultimately your responsibility is in guiding the
audience and enhancing the story through photography and composition,
but never distracting from it. Don’t let your ego get in the way
of the story.
As far as missed lessons, there is not a working day
that goes by that I don’t wonder how he would have solved this situation
and that I wish I had paid a little more attention to the lighting
and not the extras.
MM: In one of your first films, Fight
Club, your own assistant, Conrad Hall, Jr. was the son of another
great DP. I assume your backgrounds and introduction to film were
similar; did this commonality help to strengthen your working relationship?
JC: Yes, on Fight Club I was fortunate
enough to have Conrad Hall, Jr. as my camera operator. We had been
friends for many years and had both worked for David Fincher on
other projects, so we had a common understanding of his style and
approach. This allowed us to multitask, if you will, and keep up
with a rather demanding pace-not to forget that my father had operated
for Conrad Hall, Sr. on five or six films.
MM: Can you talk a bit about how you became
involved with both K-19 and One Hour Photo?
JC: One Hour Photo was photographed
first and I had a long working relationship with Mark Romanek. We
had made maybe a handful of music videos together, many winning
awards, so there was a great artistic relationship that existed. K-19, on the other hand, came about from Kathryn Bigelow’s
appreciation of Fight Club and some of those videos with
Mark. She loved the camera movement and knew a submarine would be
the greatest challenge. I also had a history with two of the producers,
Steve Jaffe and Joni Sighvatsson.
MM: How do you go about choosing projects?
Once you have accepted a project, what are the first steps you take
in preparing?
JC: Finding a good script that is compelling
enough to give up your family and friends for six months and allow
you the artistic license to apply your craft is always a daunting
task. And the first thing you need to do is make sure you have the
creative and financial support that would allow you to make the
film as you see it.
MM: You’ve worked with a number of directors
who have a very clear idea about visual style-David Fincher being
the most obvious; Mark Romanek as well. How does this affect your
own work? Do you prefer a director with a definite vision of how
the film will look, or do you like to experiment on the set?
JC: I think a combination of both is ideal.
By that I mean working with someone who has a clear vision, but
has the knowledge, capacity and confidence to let you take things
beyond the limit and push the boundaries of photography and composition.
This makes a true collaboration and that is very rewarding.
MM: Many cinematographers have a distinct
visual style that leaves as much of an imprint on a film than that
of the director, screenwriter, etc. What would you say are the keys
to your own consistent style?
JC: In my short career I have Fight Club,
One Hour Photo, K-19 and, will complete by the end of this week, Down With Love, a romantic comedy. They are all very different
in approach, so I would hope that if a signature existed, it would
be the use of a fluid camera to tell the story through composition
and beautiful images that marry the audience emotionally to the
screenplay.
MM: Working in so many genres, and with
various visual results, do you have a preferred film stock?
JC: Once again, I think that the situation
to some degree will tell you the film stock to go with. But in most
low light situations I prefer to go with Kodak 5279 (500ASA Tungsten
balanced), and for day exteriors 5248 (100ASA Tungsten balanced).
But for Down With Love I chose to go with 5274 (200ASA Tungsten
balanced), as I wanted a great deal of color saturation and very
fine grain structure. This is story-driven because the film is a
romantic comedy based on the old Rock Hudson-Doris Day comedies
such as Pillow Talk, and I wanted to get back some of that
quality.
MM: What’s up next for you?
JC: Finishing Down With Love and then
going back to the commercial world until summer is over.
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