14.
04.
2014.
Others
Others
Arkadiusz Tomiak: - It’s a very subjective cinematography workshop, not always following the knowledge students acquire during lectures. I share with the students what I find the most important.
Arkadiusz Tomiak’s workshop, which took place on April 14 and was organized for first year cinematography students was also popular among the students of other years. The leading theme was "Lighting small interiors and compensating natural light in exterior conditions."
Arkadiusz Tomiak graduated from cinematography at the Lodz Film School in 1995. He worked as a director of photography on the films "Żurek" by Ryszard Brylski, "Obława" by Marcin Krzyształowicz (Polish Film Academy Award, Eagle for best photography) and "Dziewczyna z szafy" by Bodo Kox.
http://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=1121943
- I came here as an experienced cinematographer to share with the students my knowledge which I was given by the school as well as my professional work. - says Arkadiusz Tomiak. – It’s a very subjective cinematography workshop, not always following what was said during the lectures. I share with the students what I personally find the most important. The job of a cinematographer is fantastic because we never work on the same project twice. Whenever I can I try to share “the wisdom” with the students as well as practical hints about the use of light. I talk to them about psychological aspects of work on the set, team work, making use of the knowledge of others, and about encouraging others to work together for the final result. I tell them what’s important and what to pay attention to in order to achieve a desired result. I advise cinematographers to bear in mind the fact that it’s not advisable to totally accept the decisions of other film crew members, despite the fact they may be specialists on costume and art direction, since the costume colour and other art direction elements can be crucial to the final effect. It is not the number of lights that matters but the fact which light you use when you start a film. The fewer lights you use the more natural and better effect you get, with no extra shadows. I told the students an anecdote that I once had missed a class and I already needed the knowledge I had missed then during the first shoot after I left school. If I had attended the class it wouldn’t have been a problem for me to load the camera. When at school it was an assistant’s job so it didn’t seem essential to know it. It turned out that a month before the shoot I had to go by myself and take some shots of a stork nest – and I had to learn myself what I had missed in school on that particular day.
- I have fond memories from the time spent at the school. One learns most at the beginning and at the end of one’s career - claims Arkadiusz Tomiak. – In the first and second years of the studies our leading tutor was prof. Stanisław Szymański, who was very demanding. We were also taught by prof. Janusz Tylman. We had to absorb all the theory – I know today it’s very useful like the multiplication table in maths. In the 3rd year I was taught by prof. Mieczysław Jahoda, who had his own way of narration through images. In the final year I had classes with Jerzy Wójcik and Witold Sobociński who are my masters. While I was a student I made friends with Witek Płóciennik and Bartek Prokopowicz. I met my wife on the film set too.
Photos: Mikołaj Zacharow
Arkadiusz Tomiak graduated from cinematography at the Lodz Film School in 1995. He worked as a director of photography on the films "Żurek" by Ryszard Brylski, "Obława" by Marcin Krzyształowicz (Polish Film Academy Award, Eagle for best photography) and "Dziewczyna z szafy" by Bodo Kox.
http://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?osoba=1121943
- I came here as an experienced cinematographer to share with the students my knowledge which I was given by the school as well as my professional work. - says Arkadiusz Tomiak. – It’s a very subjective cinematography workshop, not always following what was said during the lectures. I share with the students what I personally find the most important. The job of a cinematographer is fantastic because we never work on the same project twice. Whenever I can I try to share “the wisdom” with the students as well as practical hints about the use of light. I talk to them about psychological aspects of work on the set, team work, making use of the knowledge of others, and about encouraging others to work together for the final result. I tell them what’s important and what to pay attention to in order to achieve a desired result. I advise cinematographers to bear in mind the fact that it’s not advisable to totally accept the decisions of other film crew members, despite the fact they may be specialists on costume and art direction, since the costume colour and other art direction elements can be crucial to the final effect. It is not the number of lights that matters but the fact which light you use when you start a film. The fewer lights you use the more natural and better effect you get, with no extra shadows. I told the students an anecdote that I once had missed a class and I already needed the knowledge I had missed then during the first shoot after I left school. If I had attended the class it wouldn’t have been a problem for me to load the camera. When at school it was an assistant’s job so it didn’t seem essential to know it. It turned out that a month before the shoot I had to go by myself and take some shots of a stork nest – and I had to learn myself what I had missed in school on that particular day.
- I have fond memories from the time spent at the school. One learns most at the beginning and at the end of one’s career - claims Arkadiusz Tomiak. – In the first and second years of the studies our leading tutor was prof. Stanisław Szymański, who was very demanding. We were also taught by prof. Janusz Tylman. We had to absorb all the theory – I know today it’s very useful like the multiplication table in maths. In the 3rd year I was taught by prof. Mieczysław Jahoda, who had his own way of narration through images. In the final year I had classes with Jerzy Wójcik and Witold Sobociński who are my masters. While I was a student I made friends with Witek Płóciennik and Bartek Prokopowicz. I met my wife on the film set too.
Photos: Mikołaj Zacharow