I've rewritten this seven times.

But I know how many times directors rewrite, so I figured one more wouldn't hurt. This is the eight; you just can't see the seams, which, if I'm doing my job, is also true.

At this point, I feel most at home on a set somewhere I've never been before, checking whether what we planned still makes sense, and adjusting when it doesn't. Which it often doesn't, and that's fine.

A director shows up with a thing they can see and can't quite say a feeling, a temperature, a film they half-remember. My job is to see what they see, then give it grammar. Composition, camera movement, and light are part of the metaphor, not decoration around it. Everything you see in the frame is a decision.

Most of that happens in prep. By the time we're on set, the hard thinking is done, so the day is free for the better idea that always shows up.

There’s a type of DP who treats the budget like a personal insult and the schedule like a hate crime. I’ve met him. I’ve been him for about a week in 2014, and then I grew up.

Now, what I'm actually interested in is finding the strongest version of an idea within what's real: the time, the money, the location, the weather. Not compromising, knowing what matters enough to protect.