DP stands for Director of Photography. DP’s are responsible for the photography and cinematography of all films. If there is no DP,  there is no good film.

But you may ask that the directors are the ones responsible for how the movie is made. That is true, but a director of a film is not necessarily a specialist in film shooting. That is the job of a DP.

In this article, we will explain the work and role of a DP in filmmaking. We will also explain how a DP is different from a director.

Who is a DP in filmmaking and how is he/she different from the director?

As mentioned previously, a DP is the director of photography. You can also call them cinematographers. They are responsible for the visual look of the film. They oversee all operations of sets, visual settings, lighting, camera movement, and picking the best shots for matching the story of the director.

The difference between the Director and the DP is that the director is responsible for how the story of the film will unfold. The director of photography is responsible for how the imagery of the film will be recorded to best represent the story of the film. So that is the core difference between the two.

The work of the DP depends on the story choice made by the director. Thus the DP needs to work closely and side by side with the director.

What does a DP do in filmmaking?

A DP is responsible for the visuals of the film. All camera angles, lighting, set design, everything is decided by the DP. The DP does this to match the story of the director.

We have divided the work of a DP into the following.

Consulting with the director

One of the main tasks of a DP is to consult with the film director regarding various matters. The director hires an experienced DP for this reason. The director is the storyteller in the film, and the DP is responsible for best representing that story visually.

So he/ she needs to continuously work with the director on every footage. The director will tell the DP what he/she is expecting from this shot and the DP will prepare the shot according to the director’s description.

At the end of filming, the DP will sit with the director again on deciding which shots to keep and which shots to edit out of the film.

Selecting the matching visual styles

The director of photography will set the set style to match the description of the director. For this, the DP will collaborate with the production staff who are responsible for prop and set design.

How can visual styles make a difference in the story? Put a disturbing element in the background to create a suspense environment. Remove all distracting elements from the set to put the focus on the character. Make the set vibrant and illuminated for a happy scene. There are lots of ways of doing such shots.

You may recall that color grading is responsible for visual stylization. But without the proper visual set, color grading will have no effects.

Create the best lighting

The director of photography is also responsible for the lighting of the sets. The DP will consult with the director first for every scene. He/she will try to understand what the director is expecting from the scene.

Lighting makes a big difference in the scene. If you want to represent joy and liveliness, you need to put bright and warm light on the set. If it is a critical plot point scene, you need to put most of the light on the place where the director wants to focus.

Even geo-locations can be visualized with lighting. The best example could be the representation of Mexico in Hollywood films. In most cases, Mexican scenes are filtered with a warm orange color. It has become so repetitive that whenever we see an orange filtered scene and sand in the background, we think of that scene to be in Mexico.

That is the magic of the DP who chose the perfect lighting and filters for representing the scene.

Instructing camera operators

The DP is also responsible for instructing the camera operations of filmmaking. You can think of DP as the camera director.

The DP does not operate the camera. The cameras are operated by camera operators/ cameramen. It is instructed in the International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) basic agreement

The DP will discuss with the director about a scene and then decide how to shoot the scene and how many cameras to use. Then he/ she will instruct the camera crew of the film about how to shoot footage and which direction to move the camera.

Selecting the best shots

You may have known this before. There are multiple alternatives shot in a film. You can see those leaked on Youtube. Many Marvel movies do this. But not all of them make it into the final product.

So which ones make it in the final cut? That is decided by the DP and the director. They both will sit together at the end of filming and examine each footage. From there they will choose the best footage.

Sometimes, a scene is shot again after the film has ended. That is to fix minor issues that are impossible to fix. The DP is responsible for identifying those errors and fixing them with the director.

Conclusion

So that was all about the Director of photography/ DP. They are the heart of cinematography in any film. Without their directions, no movie would have had perfectly executed shots.

A director can be a great storyteller, but without a Director of Photography, he/she cannot bring the story to the screen.

So yes, a DP is one of the most important parts of the filmmaking crew. Without their direction, the film could not be made perfect.

We hope that our article was helpful enough to introduce you to the role of a DP in filmmaking.