BILL BENNETT - Cinematographer

Team Deakins

James Ellis Deakins

Tv & Film, Filmlighting, Deakins, Movies, Filmmaking, Production, Film, Cinematography, Film Interviews

4.8 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 June 2024

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 94 - BILL BENNETT - CINEMATOGRAPHER

On this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, cinematographer Bill Bennett speaks with us about the world of commercial filmmaking. Born into a family of engineers, Bill came to love art through his mother’s own development as an artist, and he quickly changed majors in college to pursue his passion. Finding his way to LA, Bill built sets for commercials for years until breaking his way into camera operating and eventually cinematography in the field. Bill reveals how commercial filmmakers transitioned from film to digital formats and of his involvement in the development of the Arriflex 435 camera, a major breakthrough at the time. Bill later reflects on the impact of the Arri Alexa camera on the design of digital cameras at large and on the moment a digital camera demonstrated its value as a viable replacement for film cameras to him on a car commercial shoot. Bill also shares plenty of advice for young filmmakers looking to enter the world of commercial production and what his own views are on what makes someone stand out from the crowd. Towards the end, we discuss how commercial filmmaking is changing with new technologies like artificial intelligence and volume lighting systems.

This episode is sponsored by Aputure

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome to season two of the Team Deacons podcast, a collection of
0:08.8	informal conversations between Roger and James Deacons and a guest.
0:13.0	We never know where the conversation will take us,
0:16.0	so listen in and see where it goes.
0:19.0	This episode is sponsored by Aperture, a global company pioneering LED lighting technology for cinema with cutting edge hardware and software solutions.
0:33.2	Recently, Aperture expanded its lighting ecosystem
0:36.6	with the new Infinomat series of mat lights.
0:39.8	They offer unmatched output, IP65 weatherproofing, and full pixel control over DMX.
0:47.0	Discover more about the Infinemats and Aperture's lighting ecosystem at Aperture.com.
0:55.0	Today we're doing something different.
0:58.0	We're looking into the world of commercial production.
1:01.0	We're speaking with the cinematographer who not only has vast
1:03.9	experience but has also designed devices along the way. We're pleased to welcome
1:09.6	Bill Bennett. Bill, thank you for doing this.
1:13.0	I am so happy to be here.
1:15.0	It's an honor.
1:16.0	Yeah, we want to start with our normal question, which is,
1:19.0	how did you get to where you are today?
1:21.0	Is this something you always had in mind doing or did you start out
1:26.0	in another path and then find this? What's your story?
1:29.8	Kind of a little of both. My father was an Air Force career pilot. Spent 30 years, flying airplanes, transport airplanes for the Air Force, and because of that we moved all over the country, lived in some really amazing places like Alaska.
1:45.0	My mom, once the children a little bit older and she had more time in her hands, started taking art lessons.
	...

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