Conrad Hall
Conrad Hall
Conrad Lafcadio Hall, ASCwas an American cinematographer from Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia. Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he was best known for photographing films such as In Cold Blood, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty, and Road to Perdition. For his work he garnered a number of awards, including three Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCinematographer
Date of Birth21 June 1926
CountryUnited States of America
It was 100 feet of 16 mm black-and-white film of a car coming to a stop sign, and driving off. I had to decide how to frame and light it. It was magic. There was a sense of mystery.
I think one of the reasons people quit is because they're afraid they won't be able to get better and better; that they have to come to a zenith of some kind.
To me, the camera is like a musical instrument. You use it to control the flow, shape, size and colors of images.
It is also difficult to articulate the subtleties in cinema, because there aren't words or metaphors which describe many of the emotions you are attempting to evoke.
I hope I'm still shooting when I'm 80.
Every cinematographer I worked with had his own way of solving problems.
Billions of people have seen and been influenced by movies in the short history of this industry.
But you know you haven't done it all because you know everything keeps evolving and changing; and you know you can evolve with it if you grow and develop as a human being.
There are a lot of directors who are knowledgeable about images, and others who aren't.
There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.
I saw Tequila Sunrise as a romantic picture with complex, bigger than life characters.
I realize that every picture isn't a work of art.
My first semester, I got a D in creative writing.
I knew exactly how I wanted it to play, but you are never sure until you watch the projected images reflect off the screen. That's when you know it worked.