9

The Director of Photography’s preparation

The recces

The recce, the English colloquial abbreviation for reconnoitre, or scouting as it is known in the USA, comes in two parts. Recceing with the director and/or the location manager some time prior to principal photography is usually productive and enjoyable. The technical recce, which usually occurs just a week or two before the shoot commences, when the DoP has to finalize all the technical requirements, is usually straightforward hard work.

Recceing with the director and as few other personnel as possible is a most creative process. It is the time, if you haven’t worked together before, to get to know each other and understand each other’s visualization of the piece. At this stage there is ...

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