Here’s the fifth book from prolific Vittorio Storaro, AIC, ASC. It is a lavish, large volume visual feast with more than 400 new images, paintings and photographs. This is the jewel in the crown of Vittorio’s visual references for every cinematographer, director and working member of the motion picture community, and for film aficionados as well.
The photographs in Storaro–Writing with Light, Colours, Elements represent the images that are part of his photographic exhibitions and retrospectives.
Vittorio, who is currently filming on location, described the meticulous process he established to create the book. He said, “In my exhibitions, I wanted to use only double exposure photographs. In this latest book, about 90% of the double exposure photographs were done in-camera with my Nikon F2. Only some of his very early films are represented by images that were combined in Photoshop.
“The subtitle of my photo exhibition was ‘Double Impressions between Photography and Cinematography.’ I decided that because I don’t think of myself as a Photographer but rather as a Cinematographer. Photography means WRITING WITH LIGHT ON A SINGLE IMAGE. Cinematography means WRITING WITH LIGHT ON MULTIPLE IMAGES. I know very well that I’m not a good Photographer but I believe I’m a good Cinematographer. In expressing myself in this art form, I needed to put at least two images together, so the relation between the two of them would be a sort of dialogue.
“Practically on every film set and location, I used two different still camera bodies. One was to be used as an archive of single images. The other camera was for the double exposures. Of course, I was careful to record information on the beginning of every roll: the roll number and the part of the elements that each roll contained. This was done so I could composite a new scene later on by putting a particular roll of film back in the still camera. I also kept notes about details and subjects: for example, frames 5 to 10 are to be used to search for a special composition between two different subjects.”
Vittorio Storaro was born in Rome in 1940. His father, a projectionist at Lux Film, encouraged him to attend the Istituto Tecnico Fotografico Duca D’Aosta from 1951 to 1956. After getting his Master of Photography diploma, he attended the Centro Italiano Addestramento Cinematografico from 1956 to 1958, graduating as an assistant and cameraman. In 1958 he was admitted to the prestigious Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografica as one of its youngest students.
He won 3 Academy Awards for Cinematography—for Apocalypse Now, Reds and The Last Emperor. Among his many films, credits include The Conformist, Ladyhawke, and The Sheltering Sky.
Vittorio Storaro’s most recent book is a brilliant journey of discovery that includes art, painting, literature and a comprehensive look into the many elements that have gone into a brilliant career of moving images from the imagination to award-winning films.
For more information on Storaro–Writing with Light, Colours, Elements visit the website: www.aureaweb.com
