# Cinematography — Hollywood Directing Techniques Master Guide

Complete reference for professional cinematography techniques applied to AI video and image generation (March 2026). Every technique includes actionable prompt keywords that work with current AI models on fal.ai.

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## Quick Reference

### Core Principles

1. **Lighting determines emotion** — Low contrast = approachable; high contrast = dramatic. Always define key light angle and fill ratio first.
2. **Focal length shapes reality** — Wide (24mm) distorts and energizes; normal (35-50mm) is invisible; telephoto (85-200mm) compresses and isolates.
3. **Camera angle = power dynamic** — Low angle = power/hero; high angle = vulnerability; eye level = neutrality.
4. **Shallow DOF isolates, deep focus informs** — `f/1.4 shallow bokeh` for intimacy; `deep focus f/11` for world-building.
5. **Golden hour is always the right answer for beauty** — When in doubt: `golden hour, warm directional light, long shadows, amber glow`.

### Camera Movement Keywords

`dolly in` · `slow push forward` · `dolly out` · `pull-back reveal` · `lateral tracking shot` · `arc shot orbiting camera` · `Steadicam following shot` · `handheld documentary` · `static locked-off` · `aerial drone establishing` · `whip pan` · `crane shot rising`

### Lighting Setups

| Setup | Keywords | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Rembrandt | `Rembrandt lighting, triangle shadow on cheek` | Drama, portraits |
| Soft natural | `diffused window light, soft fill, naturalistic` | Dialogue, realism |
| Golden hour | `magic hour, amber backlight, warm directional` | Beauty, romance |
| Chiaroscuro | `extreme contrast, deep shadows, single hard source` | Thriller, noir |
| Rim/edge | `rim lighting, edge separation, backlit halo` | Sci-fi, action |

### Cheat Sheet

**Dramatic portrait**: `medium close-up, 85mm f/1.4, Rembrandt lighting, shallow bokeh, film grain, Kodak Portra 400`

**Epic landscape**: `extreme wide shot, 24mm, golden hour, atmospheric haze, 2.39:1 anamorphic, teal-orange grade`

**Tense thriller**: `tight framing, cool desaturated, one-point perspective, fluorescent overhead, negative space`

**Romantic scene**: `soft diffused window light, warm amber, 85mm shallow DOF, dreamy bokeh, Kodak Portra`

**Sci-fi/futuristic**: `cool blue-teal palette, volumetric light shafts, anamorphic lens flare, atmospheric fog, 2.39:1`

**Action/kinetic**: `wide-angle 24mm, handheld energy, low angle hero shot, rim-lit, neon accents, motion blur`

**Base formula**: `[subject + action], [shot type + angle + lens], [lighting + direction], [color grade], [atmosphere + time], [film stock + aspect ratio]`

---

## Camera Movements

### Dolly

Physical camera movement toward or away from the subject on a track or wheeled platform.

- **Dolly in**: Camera moves toward the subject. Builds intimacy, focuses attention, increases tension. Use when a character realizes something, or to draw the viewer into a moment.
  - Keywords: `dolly in, slow push forward, camera advancing toward subject, creeping dolly`
- **Dolly out**: Camera retreats from the subject. Creates isolation, reveals context, emotional distancing. Use for endings, reveals of scale, or abandonment.
  - Keywords: `dolly out, camera pulling back, retreating camera, slow pull away, widening reveal`
- **Dolly zoom (Vertigo effect)**: Camera dollies in while zooming out (or vice versa). Background warps while subject stays same size. Conveys disorientation, sudden realization, existential dread. Made famous by Hitchcock in Vertigo (1958).
  - Keywords: `dolly zoom, Vertigo effect, background warping, contra-zoom, zolly, trombone shot`

### Tracking / Trucking

Camera moves laterally alongside, in front of, or behind moving subjects.

- **Lateral tracking**: Camera moves parallel to subject. Maintains relationship, creates rhythm, suggests journey. Classic for walk-and-talk, chase sequences.
  - Keywords: `lateral tracking shot, camera tracking alongside, side-tracking, parallel camera movement`
- **Arc shot**: Camera orbits around the subject in a semicircle or full circle. Reveals environment, builds energy, creates visual dynamism. Iconic in The Matrix bullet-time.
  - Keywords: `arc shot, orbiting camera, camera circling subject, 360 orbit, rotating around`
- **Push-in**: Slow forward movement toward subject. Builds tension, draws attention, creates anticipation. More subtle than a dolly in, often used for reveals.
  - Keywords: `slow push-in, camera creeping forward, building tension, gradual approach`
- **Pull-out**: Reverse of push-in. Reveals context, creates breathing room, signals resolution or resignation.
  - Keywords: `pull-out shot, camera retreating, reveal pull-back, expanding frame`

### Crane / Jib

Camera mounted on a crane arm for sweeping vertical and horizontal movements.

- **Crane up**: Camera rises from ground level. Reveals scope, signals triumph, transitions from intimate to epic. Classic for endings and celebrations.
  - Keywords: `crane shot rising, ascending crane, camera lifting upward, soaring camera movement`
- **Crane down**: Camera descends from height. Focuses attention, grounds the viewer, moves from overview to detail. Often used for character introductions.
  - Keywords: `crane shot descending, camera lowering, descending into scene, crane down reveal`
- **Jib sweep**: Horizontal arc at height. Elegant, sweeping coverage of large spaces, grand establishing shots.
  - Keywords: `jib sweep, sweeping crane movement, elevated arc, grand sweeping camera`

### Steadicam / Gimbal

Stabilized, floating camera movement following subjects through space.

- **Following shot**: Camera glides behind or beside a character. Creates immersion, maintains continuity, puts viewer alongside the character. The Shining hallway sequences are the gold standard.
  - Keywords: `Steadicam following shot, smooth floating camera, gliding behind subject, continuous following`
- **Walk-and-talk**: Camera tracks alongside characters in conversation. Energy, urgency, efficiency. Aaron Sorkin / West Wing signature.
  - Keywords: `walk-and-talk, Steadicam dialogue, characters walking and talking, moving conversation`
- **Exploration shot**: Camera drifts through a space, discovering details. Creates wonder, mystery, spatial awareness.
  - Keywords: `exploration shot, camera drifting through space, wandering camera, floating through environment`

### Handheld

Camera operated by hand, intentionally showing human movement and imperfection.

- **Documentary handheld**: Subtle shake, observational. Authenticity, realism, "you are there" feeling.
  - Keywords: `handheld camera, documentary style, slight camera shake, raw and authentic`
- **Chaos handheld**: Aggressive shake, disorienting. Panic, violence, confusion. Saving Private Ryan Omaha Beach.
  - Keywords: `shaky cam, aggressive handheld, chaotic camera movement, frantic camera shake, war documentary`
- **Intimate handheld**: Close, breathing camera movement. Vulnerability, emotional proximity. Dardenne brothers style.
  - Keywords: `intimate handheld, close observational camera, breathing camera, naturalistic handheld`

### Aerial / Drone

Camera positioned high above the scene, either static or in motion.

- **Establishing aerial**: Sets location, scale, geography. Opens scenes, introduces worlds.
  - Keywords: `aerial establishing shot, drone shot, bird's eye view, overhead establishing`
- **Reveal aerial**: Camera flies over an obstacle to reveal something beyond. Dramatic discovery, geographic storytelling.
  - Keywords: `aerial reveal, drone flyover reveal, sweeping aerial reveal, landscape reveal`
- **Chase aerial**: Following action from above. Speed, pursuit, geographic context during action.
  - Keywords: `aerial chase shot, drone tracking, overhead pursuit, following from above`
- **Orbit aerial**: Circling a subject or location from above. Grandeur, focus, epic scale.
  - Keywords: `aerial orbit, drone circling, overhead orbit shot, spiraling aerial`

### Static / Locked-Off

Camera fixed in position, no movement. The world moves within the frame.

- **Tableau**: Carefully composed, painterly static frame. Characters arranged like a painting. Formality, observation, control.
  - Keywords: `static shot, locked-off camera, tableau composition, fixed camera, still frame`
- **Observational**: Camera as silent witness. Distance, objectivity, documentary truth.
  - Keywords: `observational static, unmoving camera, fixed perspective, voyeuristic camera`
- **Symmetrical locked**: Dead-center, perfectly symmetrical frame. Order, control, unease, beauty. Kubrick and Anderson signature.
  - Keywords: `symmetrical static shot, centered locked camera, perfectly composed still frame`

### Specialized Movements

- **Whip pan**: Ultra-fast horizontal camera swing. Energy, surprise, comedic timing, transitions between scenes.
  - Keywords: `whip pan, fast camera swing, snap pan, motion blur transition, speed pan`
- **Snap zoom**: Rapid zoom in or out. Surprise, emphasis, retro 70s feel, urgency. Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson staple.
  - Keywords: `snap zoom, crash zoom, rapid zoom in, sudden zoom, 70s zoom`
- **Dutch angle / canted angle**: Camera tilted on its axis. Unease, instability, madness, disorientation.
  - Keywords: `Dutch angle, canted frame, tilted camera, skewed horizon, diagonal composition`
- **Roll**: Camera rotates along the lens axis. Disorientation, dream state, zero gravity.
  - Keywords: `camera roll, barrel roll shot, rotating frame, spinning camera, Inception hallway`
- **Zolly (zoom + dolly)**: Simultaneously zoom and move in opposite direction. Background stretches or compresses while subject remains fixed. Uncanny, anxious, revelatory.
  - Keywords: `zolly, dolly zoom, Vertigo effect, Jaws zoom, background distortion, contra-zoom`

---

## Shot Types & Framing

### By Distance

- **Extreme Wide Shot (EWS)**: Subject tiny in vast environment. Isolation, insignificance, epic scale, establishing geography. Lawrence of Arabia desert shots.
  - Keywords: `extreme wide shot, vast landscape, tiny figure in frame, epic establishing, EWS`
- **Wide Shot (WS)**: Full subject visible with significant environment. Context, setting, spatial relationships.
  - Keywords: `wide shot, full body in environment, establishing wide, WS`
- **Medium Wide Shot (MWS / Cowboy Shot)**: Subject from roughly knees up. Named for Westerns showing gun holsters. Casual distance, group dynamics, body language visible.
  - Keywords: `medium wide shot, cowboy shot, knees-up framing, American shot, MWS`
- **Medium Shot (MS)**: Subject from waist up. Conversational distance, natural, most common narrative framing.
  - Keywords: `medium shot, waist-up framing, conversational distance, MS`
- **Medium Close-Up (MCU)**: Chest and head. Emotion becomes primary, environment secondary. Interview and dialogue standard.
  - Keywords: `medium close-up, chest-up framing, emotional medium, MCU`
- **Close-Up (CU)**: Face fills frame. Emotion, reaction, intimacy, detail. The most powerful dramatic tool in cinema.
  - Keywords: `close-up, face filling frame, emotional close-up, tight on face, CU`
- **Extreme Close-Up (ECU)**: Single feature — eye, mouth, hand, object. Intensity, detail obsession, psychological pressure. Sergio Leone eyes.
  - Keywords: `extreme close-up, macro detail, eye close-up, tight detail shot, ECU`
- **Insert Shot**: Close-up of an object or detail relevant to the scene. Information delivery, emphasis, narrative focus.
  - Keywords: `insert shot, detail shot, object close-up, cutaway detail`

### By Angle

- **Eye level**: Camera at subject's eye height. Neutral, relatable, natural perspective. Default for most dialogue.
  - Keywords: `eye level angle, neutral camera angle, natural perspective`
- **Low angle**: Camera below subject looking up. Power, dominance, heroism, threat, grandeur. Hero shots in superhero films.
  - Keywords: `low angle, looking up at subject, hero angle, imposing perspective, empowering angle`
- **High angle**: Camera above subject looking down. Vulnerability, weakness, surveillance, overview, judgement.
  - Keywords: `high angle, looking down at subject, overhead angle, diminishing perspective, vulnerable framing`
- **Bird's eye**: Directly above, looking straight down. God's perspective, abstraction, pattern, detachment. Kubrick overhead shots.
  - Keywords: `bird's eye view, top-down, directly overhead, God's eye view, planimetric overhead`
- **Worm's eye**: Ground level looking straight up. Extreme power, towering, surreal, childlike perspective. Tarantino trunk shots.
  - Keywords: `worm's eye view, ground level looking up, extreme low angle, ant's perspective`
- **Over-the-shoulder (OTS)**: Camera behind one character's shoulder, facing another. Dialogue, connection, spatial relationship.
  - Keywords: `over-the-shoulder, OTS shot, shoulder framing, conversational angle, dialogue framing`
- **POV (Point of View)**: Camera represents character's eyes. Immersion, subjectivity, empathy, horror tension.
  - Keywords: `POV shot, first-person perspective, subjective camera, through character's eyes`

### By Composition

- **Rule of thirds**: Subject placed at intersection of thirds grid. Natural, dynamic, visually pleasing. The default for most balanced compositions.
  - Keywords: `rule of thirds, off-center subject, thirds grid composition`
- **Center frame**: Subject dead center. Power, confrontation, symmetry, direct address. Kubrick, Anderson, Fincher.
  - Keywords: `center framed, dead center composition, centered subject, symmetrical framing`
- **Golden ratio / Fibonacci**: Subject placed along golden spiral. Organic elegance, classical beauty, subconsciously satisfying.
  - Keywords: `golden ratio composition, Fibonacci spiral, classical proportion, divine proportion`
- **Symmetry**: Left-right mirror balance. Order, obsession, beauty, institutional power, formality, unease.
  - Keywords: `perfect symmetry, mirror composition, bilateral symmetry, symmetrical architecture`
- **Leading lines**: Lines in the frame direct eye toward subject. Depth, direction, narrative guidance, perspective emphasis.
  - Keywords: `leading lines, converging perspective, vanishing point, linear depth, perspective lines`
- **Frame within frame**: Subject framed by doorways, windows, arches. Isolation, focus, voyeurism, layered depth, trapped characters.
  - Keywords: `frame within frame, doorway framing, window frame, natural frame, nested framing`
- **Negative space**: Large empty areas around subject. Loneliness, minimalism, breathing room, contemplation, dread.
  - Keywords: `negative space, minimal composition, vast empty space, isolated subject, sparse framing`
- **Deep staging**: Action arranged at multiple depth planes simultaneously. Complexity, richness, cinematic depth. Citizen Kane, Villeneuve.
  - Keywords: `deep staging, foreground midground background, layered depth, deep focus staging, z-axis blocking`

---

## Lighting Techniques

### Three-Point Lighting

The foundational lighting setup for film and photography.

- **Key light**: Primary light source, defines shadows and shape. Placed 30-45 degrees from camera axis. Controls the overall look.
  - Keywords: `key light, primary light source, directional main light`
- **Fill light**: Softens shadows created by key. Controls contrast ratio. Lower intensity than key. Determines mood (low fill = dramatic, high fill = flat).
  - Keywords: `fill light, shadow fill, soft secondary light, contrast control`
- **Back light / rim light**: Behind subject, creates edge separation from background. Adds depth, dimension, and a halo of definition.
  - Keywords: `back light, rim light, edge light, hair light, separation light, backlit subject`
- **Ratios**: 2:1 (subtle, beauty, commercial), 4:1 (dramatic, editorial), 8:1 (noir, extreme contrast), 16:1 (near-silhouette).

### Named Lighting Patterns

- **Rembrandt**: Key light at 45 degrees creates signature triangle of light on shadow-side cheek. Named after the Dutch master. Classic dramatic portrait lighting with deep character.
  - Keywords: `Rembrandt lighting, triangle shadow on cheek, dramatic portrait light, chiaroscuro portrait`
- **Butterfly / Paramount**: Key light directly above and in front of face. Creates butterfly-shaped shadow under nose. Glamour, beauty, Hollywood Golden Age. Named for Paramount Studios where it was standard.
  - Keywords: `butterfly lighting, Paramount lighting, overhead beauty light, glamour lighting, shadow under nose`
- **Split lighting**: Light illuminates exactly half the face. Duality, mystery, drama, moral ambiguity, internal conflict.
  - Keywords: `split lighting, half-face shadow, 50/50 light and shadow, dramatic half-lit face`
- **Loop lighting**: Key light slightly to one side, creating a small shadow loop from the nose across the cheek. Flattering, natural, versatile. The most common portrait setup.
  - Keywords: `loop lighting, natural portrait light, slight nose shadow, soft directional`
- **Broad lighting**: Lit side of face is toward camera. Opens up features, flattering for narrow faces, approachable feel.
  - Keywords: `broad lighting, lit side toward camera, open portrait lighting`
- **Short lighting**: Shadow side of face is toward camera. Slimming, moody, more dramatic, sculpted.
  - Keywords: `short lighting, shadow side toward camera, narrow lighting, moody portrait, sculpted face`

### Dramatic Lighting

- **Chiaroscuro**: Extreme contrast between light and dark. Renaissance painting technique applied to cinema. Deep blacks, bright highlights, minimal fill. Caravaggio in motion.
  - Keywords: `chiaroscuro, extreme light-dark contrast, Caravaggio lighting, dramatic shadows, Renaissance lighting`
- **Silhouette**: Subject completely in shadow against bright background. Mystery, anonymity, graphic impact, dramatic reveal, iconic imagery.
  - Keywords: `silhouette, backlit figure, contre-jour, shadow figure, dark outline against light`
- **Rim / edge lighting**: Thin line of light along subject edges only. Separation, ethereal quality, sci-fi, angelic, heroic.
  - Keywords: `rim lighting, edge light, halo effect, outlined in light, glowing edges`
- **Practical lights**: Light sources visible in frame (lamps, candles, neon signs, screens, fires). Realism, atmosphere, motivated light, texture.
  - Keywords: `practical lighting, in-scene light sources, visible lamps, candlelit, neon-lit, screen glow`
- **Motivated lighting**: All light appears to come from a logical source in the scene. Naturalism, immersion, believability. The Roger Deakins principle.
  - Keywords: `motivated lighting, naturalistic light source, window light, realistic lighting`
- **Underlighting**: Light from below the face. Horror, unnatural, menacing, campfire ghost story, demonic.
  - Keywords: `underlighting, lit from below, horror lighting, uplight, sinister lighting, demon light`

### Natural Lighting

- **Golden hour**: 20-30 minutes after sunrise or before sunset. Warm, directional, long shadows, universally flattering. The "magic" light every cinematographer chases.
  - Keywords: `golden hour, magic hour, warm directional sunlight, long golden shadows, sunset light, amber glow`
- **Blue hour**: 20-40 minutes before sunrise or after sunset. Cool, ambient, twilight blue, melancholic, serene, ethereal.
  - Keywords: `blue hour, twilight, deep blue ambient light, cool dusk, pre-dawn blue`
- **Overcast**: Cloud cover acts as giant softbox. Even, diffused, no harsh shadows. Moody, flattering for skin, melancholic.
  - Keywords: `overcast lighting, soft diffused daylight, cloudy day light, even ambient, no harsh shadows`
- **Dappled light**: Sunlight filtered through leaves or lattice. Organic patterns, nature, tranquility, romance, innocence.
  - Keywords: `dappled light, sunlight through leaves, shadow patterns, filtered natural light, forest light`
- **Harsh midday**: Direct overhead sun. Extreme contrast, unflattering face shadows under eyes and nose, bleached look, desert heat.
  - Keywords: `harsh midday sun, overhead direct sunlight, high-contrast daylight, bleached sunlight, scorching noon`

### Atmospheric Lighting

- **Volumetric / God rays**: Visible beams of light through atmosphere. Dust, fog, haze make light tangible and sculptural. Spiritual, epic, cinematic.
  - Keywords: `volumetric lighting, god rays, light shafts through fog, visible light beams, crepuscular rays`
- **Haze**: Subtle atmospheric diffusion. Softens background, adds depth layers, cinematic quality, separation between planes.
  - Keywords: `atmospheric haze, soft haze, diffused atmosphere, hazey background, light haze`
- **Fog lighting**: Dense atmospheric obscuring. Mystery, isolation, horror, dreamlike, liminal spaces.
  - Keywords: `fog, dense fog, foggy atmosphere, mist-shrouded, light diffused through fog`
- **Dust particles**: Visible floating particles catching light. Nostalgia, age, abandoned spaces, textured atmosphere, warmth.
  - Keywords: `dust particles in light, floating dust motes, dusty atmosphere, particle-filled light shaft`
- **Lens flare**: Light hitting lens elements, creating artifacts. Warmth, optimism, JJ Abrams style, dreamy, sci-fi energy.
  - Keywords: `lens flare, anamorphic flare, sun flare, light streak, flare artifact`

### Color Temperature

- **Warm (2700K-3500K)**: Tungsten, candle, firelight. Intimacy, comfort, nostalgia, romance, safety.
  - Keywords: `warm color temperature, tungsten warmth, 3000K warm light, golden warm tones, candlelight warmth`
- **Neutral (4000K-5000K)**: Daylight-balanced. Natural, truthful, clean, objective.
  - Keywords: `neutral color temperature, daylight balanced, natural white light, 5000K`
- **Cool (5500K-7500K)**: Overcast, shade, moonlight. Sadness, isolation, clinical, eerie, detachment.
  - Keywords: `cool color temperature, blue-tinted light, 7000K cool light, cold blue cast`
- **Mixed temperature**: Warm and cool in same frame. Tension, visual contrast, urban realism, cinematic complexity. Deakins uses this masterfully.
  - Keywords: `mixed color temperature, warm-cool contrast, tungsten vs daylight, opposing color temperatures`

---

## Color Grading & Palettes

### Classic Color Grades

- **Teal & Orange (Blockbuster)**: Skin tones pushed warm orange, shadows pushed cool teal. Complementary color contrast. Dominates modern blockbusters since Transformers (2007).
  - Keywords: `teal and orange color grading, warm highlights cool shadows, blockbuster color grade, complementary color grade`
- **Bleach Bypass**: Desaturated, high contrast, metallic highlights. Simulates silver retention in film print. Gritty, wartime, neo-noir.
  - Keywords: `bleach bypass, silver retention, desaturated high contrast, metallic highlight, Saving Private Ryan grade`
- **Cross-Process**: Film developed in wrong chemistry. Saturated, shifted colors, unpredictable. Retro, experimental, fashion.
  - Keywords: `cross-processed, color shift, oversaturated, experimental color, lomography`
- **Day-for-Night**: Shot in daylight, graded to look like night. Blue grade, underexposed, artificial moonlight.
  - Keywords: `day-for-night, blue moonlight grade, faux night, artificial moonlight`
- **Tobacco grade**: Heavy warm amber/brown toning. Mexico flashback, desert heat, 2000s action films (Traffic, Sicario).
  - Keywords: `tobacco color grade, amber tint, warm brown grade, desert color grade, Mexico filter`
- **Skip bleach / ENR**: Variation of bleach bypass with retained silver. Lower saturation, increased contrast, metallic sheen. Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report.
  - Keywords: `skip bleach, ENR process, desaturated metallic, high contrast retained silver, war film grade`

### Mood-Based Palettes

- **Warm romantic**: Soft golden tones, gentle highlights, rose and peach accents. Love, tenderness, intimacy.
  - Keywords: `warm romantic palette, soft golden tones, rose-tinted, peach and amber, tender warmth`
- **Cool thriller**: Desaturated blues and greys, steel tones, muted palette. Danger, unease, paranoia.
  - Keywords: `cool thriller palette, desaturated blue-grey, steel tones, cold muted colors, tense atmosphere`
- **Neon cyberpunk**: Vivid magenta, electric blue, toxic green. Futurism, rebellion, night city, dystopia.
  - Keywords: `neon cyberpunk palette, magenta and cyan, electric blue, neon-drenched, synthwave colors`
- **Muted indie**: Low saturation, earthy tones, soft contrast. Realism, melancholy, understated emotion, A24 aesthetic.
  - Keywords: `muted indie palette, low saturation, earthy muted tones, desaturated naturalistic, A24 color`
- **High contrast noir**: Deep blacks, bright whites, minimal midtones. Hard shadows, moral absolutism, stark truth.
  - Keywords: `high contrast noir, deep black shadows, stark contrast, graphic black and white, film noir grade`
- **Pastel dreamlike**: Soft, washed-out pastels. Innocence, memory, dreamscape, whimsy, childhood.
  - Keywords: `pastel color palette, soft washed-out colors, dreamy pastels, cotton candy tones, ethereal`
- **Monochromatic intensity**: Single dominant hue across entire frame. Obsession, mood purity, stylistic boldness, immersion.
  - Keywords: `monochromatic, single color dominant, tonal unity, one-hue palette, color wash`

### Color Theory in Film

- **Complementary**: Opposite colors on wheel (blue/orange, red/green, purple/yellow). Maximum visual contrast and energy. Creates dynamic tension.
  - Film examples: Mad Max Fury Road (orange/blue), Amelie (red/green), The Grand Budapest Hotel (purple/peach).
  - Keywords: `complementary colors, color contrast, opposing hues, visual tension`
- **Analogous**: Adjacent colors on wheel. Harmony, cohesion, tonal unity, visual comfort.
  - Film examples: Blade Runner 2049 (orange/amber/yellow), The Revenant (blue/teal/grey).
  - Keywords: `analogous color palette, harmonious tones, adjacent hues, tonal cohesion`
- **Triadic**: Three equally spaced colors. Dynamic, balanced vibrancy, comic-book energy.
  - Film examples: Superman (red/blue/yellow), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
  - Keywords: `triadic color scheme, three-color palette, balanced vibrancy, dynamic color`
- **Monochromatic**: Single hue in various saturations and values. Focus, mood purity, stylistic boldness.
  - Film examples: The Matrix (green), Traffic (blue/yellow/sepia by storyline), Ozark (blue).
  - Keywords: `monochromatic palette, single hue variations, tonal range, one-color story`

---

## Lens Language

### Focal Length Personality

- **Ultra-wide (14-20mm)**: Extreme distortion, bending verticals, warped edges. Surreal, disorienting, immense scale, architectural drama.
  - Keywords: `ultra-wide angle lens, 16mm, extreme perspective distortion, fisheye-adjacent, expansive warped`
- **Wide (24-35mm)**: Moderate distortion, environmental storytelling, spatial context. The workhorse for establishing shots and environmental portraits.
  - Keywords: `wide angle 24mm, 28mm lens, environmental wide, spatial context, slight barrel distortion`
- **Normal (35-50mm)**: Closest to human vision. Natural, unmanipulated, truthful, "invisible" lens. 35mm is documentary standard, 50mm is portrait classic.
  - Keywords: `35mm lens, 50mm natural perspective, standard lens, human eye perspective, documentary lens`
- **Short telephoto (85-135mm)**: Gentle compression, flattering for faces, shallow depth of field. The portrait king. Isolates subject from environment.
  - Keywords: `85mm portrait lens, 100mm, shallow depth of field, compressed background, flattering telephoto`
- **Telephoto (200mm+)**: Heavy compression, flattened depth planes, subject isolation, voyeuristic distance. Makes backgrounds feel close.
  - Keywords: `200mm telephoto, 300mm, compressed perspective, flattened planes, distant observation, voyeuristic`
- **Macro**: Extreme close-up capability. Reveals invisible details, textures, miniature worlds, molecular beauty.
  - Keywords: `macro lens, extreme close-up, microscopic detail, texture detail, macro photography`

### Aperture / Depth of Field

- **Shallow DOF (f/1.2-2.8)**: Subject sharp, background melts into creamy blur. Isolation, intimacy, dream quality, attention focus, romance.
  - Keywords: `shallow depth of field, f/1.4, bokeh background, blurred background, subject isolation, dreamy focus`
- **Medium DOF (f/4-5.6)**: Subject and near background in focus. Balanced, versatile, environmental portrait with context.
  - Keywords: `medium depth of field, f/4, balanced focus, environmental portrait, moderate bokeh`
- **Deep DOF (f/8-16)**: Everything sharp from foreground to infinity. Context, information density, Citizen Kane deep focus, epic landscapes.
  - Keywords: `deep focus, f/11, everything in focus, sharp foreground to background, deep depth of field`

### Special Lens Effects

- **Anamorphic**: Horizontally squeezes image onto sensor, then stretches in projection. Creates oval bokeh, horizontal lens flares, subtle edge distortion, breathing on focus pulls. THE cinema look.
  - Keywords: `anamorphic lens, oval bokeh, horizontal lens flare, anamorphic squeeze, 2.39:1 anamorphic, blue streak flare`
- **Tilt-shift**: Selective plane of focus creates miniature effect or corrects architectural perspective. Whimsical, surreal, architectural.
  - Keywords: `tilt-shift, miniature effect, selective focus plane, toy-like perspective, diorama effect`
- **Vintage glass**: Older lens designs with "imperfections" — lower contrast, soft edges, character flares, swirly bokeh. Cooke Speed Panchro, Helios 44-2.
  - Keywords: `vintage lens, soft focus edges, low contrast glass, character lens, Helios swirly bokeh, classic optics`
- **Prism / fractal filter**: Refracts light creating kaleidoscopic fragments, rainbow edges, psychedelic doubling. Music videos, dream sequences.
  - Keywords: `prism effect, fractured light, kaleidoscopic refraction, rainbow prism, prismatic distortion`

---

## Film Stock & Texture

### Classic Film Stocks

- **Kodak Vision3 500T (5219)**: Tungsten-balanced motion picture negative. Clean grain, wide latitude, rich shadows. The workhorse of modern cinema shot on film. Nolan, Tarantino, PTA all use it.
  - Keywords: `Kodak Vision3 500T, 5219 film stock, tungsten motion picture film, cinematic film grain, movie film texture`
- **Kodak Portra 400**: Still photography legend. Warm, flattering skin tones, fine grain, wide exposure latitude. Portrait gold standard.
  - Keywords: `Kodak Portra 400, warm skin tones, fine grain film, soft color rendering, portrait film`
- **Fuji Eterna 500T**: Slightly cooler than Kodak, subtle grain, clean highlights. Used on many 2000s-era films. Discontinued but iconic.
  - Keywords: `Fuji Eterna, cool film tone, subtle grain, clean highlight, Japanese film stock`
- **Kodak Tri-X 400**: High contrast black and white. Punchy grain, rich blacks, classic photojournalism look. Pushed to 1600 for grittier texture.
  - Keywords: `Kodak Tri-X 400, black and white film, high contrast grain, gritty B&W, photojournalism texture`
- **Kodachrome 64**: Legendary reversal (slide) film. Saturated reds and greens, warm, unmistakable nostalgic quality. Discontinued 2009. Paul Simon wrote a song about it.
  - Keywords: `Kodachrome, saturated vintage color, warm nostalgic film, 1970s film look, rich reds and greens`
- **Cinestill 800T**: Kodak Vision3 500T re-spooled for still cameras with remjet removed. Tungsten-balanced, notorious red halation around bright light sources. Night photography icon.
  - Keywords: `Cinestill 800T, red halation, tungsten night film, neon halation glow, moody night photography`
- **Ilford HP5 Plus 400**: Classic B&W with softer grain than Tri-X. Versatile, pushable, good shadow detail. British elegance.
  - Keywords: `Ilford HP5, black and white, soft grain, classic monochrome, pushable B&W film`
- **Kodak Ektar 100**: Finest grain color negative film ever made. Vivid saturated color, razor sharp, punchy contrast. Landscape photography champion.
  - Keywords: `Kodak Ektar 100, ultra-fine grain, vivid saturated, razor sharp, landscape film`

### Digital Cinema Cameras

- **ARRI Alexa / Alexa 35**: Industry gold standard. Organic highlight rolloff, beautiful skin tones, wide dynamic range, film-like texture. Most Oscar-winning films of the 2010s-2020s.
  - Keywords: `ARRI Alexa, organic highlight rolloff, cinematic digital, film-like digital, natural skin tones`
- **RED Monstro 8K VV**: High resolution, sharp, slightly clinical. Punchy image, detail-obsessive. Blockbuster action, David Fincher's weapon of choice.
  - Keywords: `shot on RED, RED Monstro, high resolution digital, sharp digital cinema, RED color science`
- **Sony Venice 2**: Dual base ISO (500/2500), beautiful color science, filmic quality. Exceptional low light. Expanding rapidly in Hollywood.
  - Keywords: `Sony Venice, dual ISO, filmic digital, low light cinema, Venice color science`
- **Blackmagic Pocket / URSA**: Accessible cinema cameras. Raw latitude, slightly gritty digital texture. Indie film standard, documentary workhorse.
  - Keywords: `Blackmagic cinema camera, indie digital, raw digital footage, accessible cinema look`
- **Canon C500 / C70**: Rich color science, Canon skin tones, reliable broadcast-cinema hybrid. Documentary and indie narrative.
  - Keywords: `Canon cinema, Canon color science, warm digital, broadcast-cinema hybrid`

### Texture Keywords

These keywords add physical texture and analog character to AI-generated images and video.

- Keywords: `film grain, heavy grain, fine grain, 35mm film grain, 16mm texture, 8mm home movie, Super 8, halation, light bloom, lens distortion, barrel distortion, vignette, dark vignette edges, chromatic aberration, color fringing, light leaks, film scratches, dust and scratches, analog texture, photochemical process, celluloid texture, sprocket holes, film burn, gate weave`

---

## Director Signatures

### Christopher Nolan
**Visual DNA**: IMAX large-format, practical effects over CGI, non-linear narrative structure, deep staging with foreground/background action, cool blue-grey palette, epic scale, temporal complexity.
**DP collaborators**: Wally Pfister (Batman Begins through Inception), Hoyte van Hoytema (Interstellar onward).
- Keywords: `Christopher Nolan style, IMAX cinematography, practical effects, epic scale, cool blue tones, deep staging, non-linear, Hoyte van Hoytema, 70mm IMAX, monumental`

### Denis Villeneuve
**Visual DNA**: Vast desolate landscapes dwarfing human figures, minimal dialogue scenes, orange/teal palette, atmospheric haze, architectural geometry, meditative pacing, oppressive scale.
**DP collaborators**: Roger Deakins (Sicario, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049), Greig Fraser (Dune).
- Keywords: `Denis Villeneuve style, vast desolate landscape, architectural scale, IMAX, atmospheric haze, orange-teal, contemplative, monumental, silence as weight`

### Wes Anderson
**Visual DNA**: Perfect bilateral symmetry, pastel color palettes, planimetric (flat, head-on) staging, whip pans, centered framing, dollhouse compositions, top-down inserts, graphic typography in frame.
**DP collaborator**: Robert Yeoman.
- Keywords: `Wes Anderson style, symmetrical composition, pastel palette, centered framing, whimsical, planimetric, dollhouse aesthetic, storybook visual, 4:3 aspect ratio`

### David Fincher
**Visual DNA**: Dark, desaturated yellow-green tint, meticulous camera movement (often CG-assisted), overhead shots, cool clinical precision, institutional spaces, obsessive detail, cold beauty.
**DP collaborators**: Jeff Cronenweth, Erik Messerschmidt.
- Keywords: `David Fincher style, desaturated green-yellow, clinical precision, dark atmosphere, overhead shot, meticulous framing, cold institutional, obsessive detail`

### Wong Kar-wai
**Visual DNA**: Saturated neon color, step-printing (frame skipping for staccato motion), expired film stock look, claustrophobic spaces, handheld intimacy, reflections, rain-soaked streets, unrequited longing as visual motif.
**DP collaborator**: Christopher Doyle (iconic partnership through In the Mood for Love).
- Keywords: `Wong Kar-wai style, neon-saturated, step-printed motion, expired film look, Christopher Doyle, claustrophobic intimate, rain reflections, romantic longing`

### Ridley Scott
**Visual DNA**: Atmospheric smoke, haze, and rain in every frame, practical lighting through industrial spaces, epic wide shots, textured environments, backlit silhouettes, wet reflective surfaces, dense production design.
- Keywords: `Ridley Scott style, atmospheric fog and smoke, backlit silhouettes, wet reflective surfaces, industrial texture, epic scale, rain atmosphere, dense world-building`

### Stanley Kubrick
**Visual DNA**: One-point perspective (vanishing point dead center), perfect symmetry, Steadicam pioneering, long takes, cold analytical precision, available-light photography (Barry Lyndon candlelight scenes), unsettling beauty.
- Keywords: `Stanley Kubrick style, one-point perspective, perfect symmetry, Steadicam, cold precision, long take, analytical framing, vanishing point center, unsettling beauty`

### Terrence Malick
**Visual DNA**: Almost exclusively natural light, magic hour obsession (often only shoots during golden/blue hour), whispered voiceover, handheld wandering camera, nature intercut with human drama, wide-angle lenses intimately close to subjects.
**DP collaborator**: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life, The New World, Knight of Cups).
- Keywords: `Terrence Malick style, natural light only, magic hour, wide-angle close, Emmanuel Lubezki, flowing nature, whispered, contemplative, spiritual`

### Park Chan-wook
**Visual DNA**: Baroque composition with ornate detail, bold color symbolism (green for jealousy, red for passion, blue for melancholy), long elaborate takes, intricate mise-en-scene, elegant violence, mirror reflections, symmetry of obsession.
- Keywords: `Park Chan-wook style, baroque composition, color symbolism, ornate detail, elaborate mise-en-scene, elegant visual, Korean cinema aesthetic, obsessive symmetry`

### Quentin Tarantino
**Visual DNA**: Low-angle trunk shots, extended dialogue scenes in single setup, crash zooms, split screen, 70s exploitation aesthetic, bold primary colors, pop-culture-drenched visual style, feet in frame, retro typography.
- Keywords: `Quentin Tarantino style, low angle trunk shot, crash zoom, 70s exploitation, bold primary colors, retro aesthetic, extended dialogue framing, grindhouse`

---

## Genre-Specific Cinematography

### Film Noir
Low-key lighting with extreme contrast, venetian blind shadow patterns cast across faces and walls, wet reflective streets at night, Dutch angles for psychological tension, smoke-filled rooms, single hard light sources casting long dramatic shadows, femme fatale backlighting.
- Keywords: `film noir, low-key lighting, venetian blind shadows, wet street reflections, smoke-filled room, hard shadow, 1940s noir, femme fatale lighting, chiaroscuro noir, high contrast black and white, pool of light`

### Horror
Tilted/canted angles, excessive negative space (something could be lurking), underlighting from below, slow creeping camera push-in, desaturated or sickly green palette, deep shadows hiding threats, wide-angle distortion close to faces.
- Keywords: `horror cinematography, unsettling angle, negative space threat, underlit face, creeping camera, desaturated dread, deep shadow, something lurking, slow push-in tension, sickly green tint, wide-angle horror`

### Romantic Comedy
Warm golden tones, soft diffused lighting, shallow depth of field for dreamy backgrounds, golden hour exteriors, clean bright interiors, flattering beauty lighting, lens flare romance.
- Keywords: `romantic comedy lighting, warm golden tones, soft focus, dreamy background blur, golden hour romance, bright and airy, flattering warmth, soft glow, romantic lens flare`

### Action / Thriller
Dynamic camera angles, tracking shots following movement, handheld energy, wide lenses for distortion and speed, cool desaturated palette, dramatic side-lighting, fast push-ins, motivated practical lights.
- Keywords: `action cinematography, dynamic tracking shot, handheld energy, wide-angle action, cool desaturated, dramatic side-light, high-speed camera, kinetic movement`

### Science Fiction
Cool blue-teal palette, lens flares from futuristic light sources, volumetric lighting through fog/atmosphere, clean geometric compositions or gritty industrial texture, anamorphic widescreen, holographic light.
- Keywords: `sci-fi cinematography, cool blue tones, lens flare, volumetric future, geometric clean, industrial gritty, anamorphic sci-fi, otherworldly light, holographic glow`

### Documentary
Natural available light, handheld observational camera, standard focal lengths (24-50mm), minimal artificial lighting, raw unpolished texture, 16mm film grain look, vérité immediacy.
- Keywords: `documentary style, natural available light, handheld observational, raw and unpolished, 16mm texture, vérité, candid camera, unscripted feel`

### Music Video
Highly stylized color grading, creative unconventional lighting (colored gels, neon tubes), dynamic camera movement, slow motion, lens effects (prisms, flares), bold visual concepts, editorial fashion lighting.
- Keywords: `music video aesthetic, stylized color, neon gel lighting, slow motion, dynamic camera, bold visual, creative lighting, high production value, editorial`

### Western
Wide vistas stretching to horizon, dusty golden light, long shadows at low sun angles, extreme wide establishing shots of Monument Valley landscapes, tight close-ups on eyes during standoffs, earth-tone palette, practical dust.
- Keywords: `western cinematography, dusty golden light, vast landscape, cowboy standoff close-up, earth tones, long shadow, wide vista, frontier light, Monument Valley`

---

## Aspect Ratios & Their Feel

- **2.39:1 (CinemaScope / Anamorphic Widescreen)**: Epic, cinematic, theatrical. Action, sci-fi, sweeping landscapes. The "movie" look. Letterboxed on standard displays.
  - Keywords: `2.39:1 aspect ratio, CinemaScope, anamorphic widescreen, ultra-wide frame, cinematic letterbox`
- **2.00:1 (Univisium)**: Modern cinema compromise. Netflix standard. Wide but not extreme. Clean, contemporary, versatile.
  - Keywords: `2:1 aspect ratio, Univisium, modern widescreen, Netflix cinematic`
- **1.85:1 (Academy Flat Widescreen)**: Standard theatrical widescreen. Balanced, versatile, slightly wider than 16:9. Most dramas.
  - Keywords: `1.85:1 aspect ratio, flat widescreen, theatrical standard, American widescreen`
- **16:9 (1.78:1)**: Television and streaming standard. Familiar, modern, ubiquitous. Default for most digital content.
  - Keywords: `16:9 aspect ratio, HD widescreen, television standard, 1080p frame`
- **4:3 (1.33:1 Academy)**: Classic television, vintage film, pre-widescreen cinema. Intimate, nostalgic, claustrophobic, portrait-friendly. Recently revived (The Lighthouse, First Reformed).
  - Keywords: `4:3 aspect ratio, Academy ratio, vintage frame, classic television, boxy frame, retro`
- **1:1 (Square)**: Instagram origin, equal weight all directions, graphic, modern, constrained, gallery art.
  - Keywords: `1:1 square aspect ratio, square frame, equal proportion, Instagram square`
- **9:16 (Vertical)**: Mobile-first, social media, immersive mobile viewing, TikTok/Reels/Shorts. Towering compositions, portrait orientation.
  - Keywords: `9:16 vertical, portrait mode, vertical video, mobile-first, social media vertical, TikTok format`

---

## Time of Day

- **Dawn (pre-sunrise)**: Deep blue transitioning to warm at horizon. Rebirth, hope, quiet beginnings. Minimal shadows, ambient glow.
  - Keywords: `dawn light, pre-sunrise, blue-to-gold transition, first light, early morning, new beginning`
- **Morning**: Clean, fresh, slightly warm. Clarity, optimism, energy. Low-angle soft shadows stretching long.
  - Keywords: `morning light, fresh daylight, clean morning sun, low sun angle, crisp morning`
- **Midday**: Harsh overhead sun. Extreme contrast, unflattering shadows under eyes/nose. Heat, exposure, confrontation, desert.
  - Keywords: `midday sun, harsh overhead light, high contrast, bleached, scorching noon, overhead shadows`
- **Afternoon**: Slightly warmer than midday, lower angle. Active, warm, lengthening shadows, comfortable.
  - Keywords: `afternoon light, warm afternoon sun, moderate shadow, pleasant daylight`
- **Golden hour**: 20-30 min before sunset. Warm amber-gold, long dramatic shadows, universally cinematic. THE light for beauty.
  - Keywords: `golden hour, magic hour, amber sunset light, long golden shadows, warm directional, cinematic sunset`
- **Dusk / Blue hour**: After sunset. Cool blue ambient, fading warmth on horizon. Melancholy, transition, mystery, contemplation.
  - Keywords: `blue hour, dusk, twilight, deep blue ambient, post-sunset, fading horizon warmth, melancholy light`
- **Night**: Darkness with selective artificial light. Mystery, danger, intimacy, urban energy, moonlight, noir.
  - Keywords: `nighttime, darkness, moonlit, streetlight illumination, night scene, shadows, artificial light at night`
- **Twilight (civil)**: Very last ambient light, deep blue sky, Venus visible. Brief, magical, otherworldly, precious minutes.
  - Keywords: `civil twilight, deep twilight, last ambient light, Venus in sky, deep blue dusk`

---

## Weather & Atmosphere

- **Clear sky**: Clean light, sharp shadows, vivid color. Optimism, clarity, openness, truth.
  - Keywords: `clear sky, sharp shadows, vivid color, clean atmosphere, blue sky, high visibility`
- **Overcast**: Diffused soft light, no harsh shadows. Moodiness, contemplation, even illumination, melancholy.
  - Keywords: `overcast sky, cloudy diffused light, soft shadowless, grey sky, muted daylight`
- **Rain**: Wet reflections, dark skies, isolated umbrellas, streaming windows. Sadness, renewal, drama, texture, romance.
  - Keywords: `rain, wet streets, rain reflections, downpour, puddle reflections, rainy atmosphere, dark sky rain`
- **Snow**: High reflectance, cool blue shadows, bright, clean, muffled. Isolation, silence, cold beauty, purity.
  - Keywords: `snowfall, snowy landscape, white snow, blue snow shadows, winter atmosphere, crisp cold`
- **Fog / Mist**: Reduced visibility, layered depth, soft edges. Mystery, isolation, dream, danger, liminal.
  - Keywords: `thick fog, rolling mist, foggy atmosphere, obscured background, misty depth, fog layers`
- **Storm**: Dramatic clouds, dark sky, directional wind, lightning. Conflict, power, catharsis, survival, apocalypse.
  - Keywords: `storm clouds, dramatic sky, dark thunderstorm, lightning, ominous clouds, storm approaching`
- **Wind**: Visible movement in hair, fabric, vegetation. Energy, change, unrest, freedom, wildness.
  - Keywords: `wind-blown, hair blowing in wind, fabric in wind, windswept, gusty movement`
- **Dust / Sand**: Warm diffusion, reduced contrast, particles. Desert, apocalypse, texture, ancient.
  - Keywords: `dust storm, sandy haze, dusty atmosphere, particles in air, desert dust, warm diffusion`
- **Haze / Smog**: Urban diffusion, warm tones, reduced clarity. Heat, pollution, density, megacity atmosphere.
  - Keywords: `haze, smog, urban haze, warm atmospheric haze, distant haze, smoky air`

---

## Practical Prompt Patterns

### Cinematic Portrait Formula

**Template**: `[Subject description], [shot type] [angle], [focal length] [aperture], [lighting pattern], [color palette/grade], [atmosphere/texture], [reference style]`

**Example**:
```
A weathered jazz musician holding a saxophone, medium close-up at eye level, 85mm f/1.8
shallow depth of field, Rembrandt lighting with warm practical lamp as key source,
warm amber tones with deep shadow, slight film grain Kodak Portra 400 texture,
smoky jazz club atmosphere, Roger Deakins naturalistic cinematography
```

### Epic Landscape Formula

**Template**: `[Environment description], extreme wide shot, [focal length], [time of day], [weather/atmosphere], [color grade], [aspect ratio], [reference]`

**Example**:
```
Vast alien desert with towering monolithic rock formations, extreme wide shot, 24mm
wide angle, golden hour with long dramatic shadows, atmospheric dust haze hanging in
warm amber light, teal and orange color grade, 2.39:1 anamorphic CinemaScope,
Denis Villeneuve Dune cinematography, ARRI Alexa look, epic scale
```

### Action Sequence Formula

**Template**: `[Action description], [dynamic shot type], [lens choice], [camera movement], [lighting], [grade], [energy keywords]`

**Example**:
```
A figure leaping between rooftops in a rain-soaked city at night, low angle dynamic
tracking shot, 24mm wide angle, handheld following the action, rim-lit by neon signs
with rain catching colored light, cool desaturated teal with hot neon accents,
motion energy, anamorphic lens flares, shot on ARRI Alexa, kinetic action cinematography
```

### Moody Thriller Formula

**Template**: `[Subject/scene], [tight framing], [cold lighting], [desaturated grade], [tension keywords], [director reference]`

**Example**:
```
A lone figure standing at the end of a dimly lit hospital corridor, medium shot
centered framing with deep one-point perspective, cool fluorescent overhead light
creating hard shadows, desaturated green-yellow tint, sterile and clinical atmosphere,
deep staging with figure small in frame, David Fincher style, 35mm lens, unsettling
negative space, silent tension
```

### Romantic Scene Formula

**Template**: `[Subjects], [soft framing], [warm lighting], [romantic palette], [dreamy texture], [mood keywords]`

**Example**:
```
Two lovers facing each other in a sunlit Parisian cafe, medium shot with shallow depth
of field, warm golden hour light streaming through lace curtains creating dappled
patterns, soft warm romantic palette with peach and amber tones, gentle lens flare,
Kodak Portra 400 film texture, 85mm f/1.4 creamy bokeh, tender and intimate,
Terrence Malick natural light sensibility
```

### Sci-Fi Environment Formula

**Template**: `[World description], [scale shot], [lens], [futuristic lighting], [cool palette], [texture], [reference]`

**Example**:
```
A colossal underground city carved into crystal caverns, extreme wide shot looking up
from ground level, 16mm ultra-wide angle with dramatic perspective distortion, bioluminescent
cyan and magenta volumetric lighting, cool blue-teal palette with purple accents, atmospheric
haze revealing light shafts, anamorphic 2.39:1, Blade Runner 2049 scale, IMAX cinematography,
otherworldly and monumental
```

---

## Cinematographer References

### Roger Deakins
**Style**: Naturalistic light sculpting using large diffused sources, muslin bounces, 2-3 stop shadow-to-highlight ratio. Motivated by real-world sources. Never calls attention to itself. Master of single-source simplicity that looks effortless but takes hours to achieve.
**Notable films**: Blade Runner 2049, 1917, Skyfall, No Country for Old Men, The Shawshank Redemption, Prisoners, Sicario.
- Keywords: `Roger Deakins cinematography, naturalistic lighting, shadow sculpting, single-source motivated, elegant simplicity, sculpted natural light`

### Emmanuel Lubezki ("Chivo")
**Style**: Natural light purist, magic hour obsession, extreme wide-angle lenses held close to subjects, long unbroken takes, handheld intimacy, nature as co-star, lens flares embraced.
**Notable films**: The Revenant, Gravity, Birdman, The Tree of Life, Children of Men, The New World.
- Keywords: `Emmanuel Lubezki, Chivo, natural light, magic hour, wide-angle intimate, long take, flowing camera, nature and light`

### Hoyte van Hoytema
**Style**: IMAX large-format grandeur, naturalistic with epic scale, cool desaturated palette, deep staging, practical-light emphasis, immersive proximity. Makes vast feel intimate and intimate feel vast.
**Notable films**: Interstellar, Dunkirk, Tenet, Oppenheimer, Nope, Ad Astra, Her.
- Keywords: `Hoyte van Hoytema, IMAX large format, epic naturalism, cool palette, deep staging, immersive scale, practical light`

### Robert Richardson
**Style**: Bold dramatic shafts of light, aggressive backlighting, smoke-filled atmospherics, high contrast, operatic visual flair, motivated hard sources. Painterly with deliberate artifice.
**Notable films**: Kill Bill, The Aviator, Hugo, Inglourious Basterds, JFK, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
- Keywords: `Robert Richardson, dramatic light shafts, bold backlighting, smoke atmosphere, high contrast, operatic cinematography`

### Janusz Kaminski
**Style**: Overexposed highlights, backlit haze, diffused ethereal quality, blown-out windows, harsh contrast, angelic light. Spielberg's exclusive DP since 1993 — defined the modern Spielberg look.
**Notable films**: Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, War of the Worlds, The Fabelmans.
- Keywords: `Janusz Kaminski, overexposed highlights, diffused haze, blown-out windows, harsh ethereal, Spielberg cinematography, angelic backlight`

### Bradford Young
**Style**: Dark, underexposed beauty, rich shadow detail, deep skin tone rendering, warm earth tones, low-key naturalism, painterly darkness. Finds beauty in the absence of light.
**Notable films**: Arrival, Selma, A Most Violent Year, Solo: A Star Wars Story, When They See Us.
- Keywords: `Bradford Young, dark underexposed beauty, rich shadows, warm earth tones, painterly darkness, low-key natural, deep skin rendering`

### Greig Fraser
**Style**: Atmospheric large-format, desaturated natural palettes, infrared photography techniques (Dune), immersive scale, sand/dust/atmosphere mastery, vintage lens character on modern sensors.
**Notable films**: Dune (Parts 1 & 2), The Batman, Rogue One, Zero Dark Thirty, Lion.
- Keywords: `Greig Fraser, atmospheric large-format, infrared technique, desaturated natural, dust and haze mastery, vintage lens on digital, immersive IMAX`

### Christopher Doyle
**Style**: Saturated neon color, handheld intimacy, step-printing for staccato motion, claustrophobic compositions, rain and reflections, expired film warmth, pure visual poetry. Hong Kong cinema incarnate.
**Notable films**: In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Hero, 2046.
- Keywords: `Christopher Doyle, neon saturation, step-printed motion, intimate handheld, rain reflections, expired film, visual poetry, Hong Kong cinema`

---

## Prompt Construction: SCLCAM Formula

A systematic approach to building complete cinematic prompts.

1. **S**ubject — Who or what, with specific physical details and action
2. **C**omposition — Shot type, camera angle, framing, lens focal length
3. **L**ighting — Setup, direction, quality, color temperature, source
4. **C**olor — Grade, palette, temperature, symbolism
5. **A**tmosphere — Weather, particles, haze, time of day, mood
6. **M**eta — Film stock or camera, aspect ratio, texture, director/DP reference

**Full example using SCLCAM**:
```
A lone detective in a rain-soaked trench coat standing under a flickering streetlight [S],
medium shot slightly low angle with 35mm anamorphic lens [C], single practical
streetlight creating pool of light with deep shadows, Rembrandt triangle on face [L],
desaturated teal shadows with warm amber highlights, bleach bypass [C], heavy rain
with steam from manhole, neon reflections on wet pavement, night [A], Cinestill 800T
red halation, 2.39:1 anamorphic, film grain, Ridley Scott x Roger Deakins style [M]
```

---

## Quick Reference: Universal Modifiers

**Aspect ratios**: `16:9` (standard), `2.39:1` (cinema), `2:1` (modern), `4:3` (vintage), `1:1` (square), `9:16` (vertical)

**Atmosphere**: `fog, mist, rain, dust particles, smoke haze, steam, snow, lens flare, bokeh, light leaks, volumetric rays`

**Time**: `golden hour, blue hour, dawn, dusk, midnight, overcast noon, harsh midday sun, civil twilight`

**Texture**: `film grain, halation, chromatic aberration, vignette, light leaks, lens distortion, soft focus edges`

**Motion**: `slow motion, time-lapse, speed ramp, freeze frame, step-printed, long exposure motion blur`

**Quality**: `8K, IMAX, 35mm film, 65mm large format, shot on ARRI Alexa, photorealistic, hyperdetailed`

**Camera**: `Steadicam, handheld, tripod locked, crane, drone, dolly, gimbal stabilized`

**Period**: `1940s noir, 1960s New Wave, 1970s gritty, 1980s neon, 1990s indie, 2000s digital, modern cinema`
