David Licata | April 26, 2012
We all need some kind of reassurance from time to time. One of the things I need it for is my skill as a cinematographer. So on my corkboard is a print out of an email from Andy Bowley, a very fine cinematographer who shot much of A Life’s Work. Thank you, Andy. Your email [...]
David Licata | December 10, 2011
I am always awed by how cinematographers see so much more than I do. We can be looking at exactly the same thing, the same angle, the same frame, and they’ll register all sorts of details, big and small, on an initial viewing that I won’t see until I’ve viewed the footage they shot several [...]
David Licata | November 9, 2011
Before I get to the clip, some background. My first meeting with Bob Darden of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project was in Chicago, August 2009. During our sit down interviews it became clear very quickly that I would have to go to Baylor University (Waco, TX) to shoot audio engineer Tony Tadey in action. [...]
David Licata | September 2, 2011
The “vacation” continues, so here are some … what did Saturday Night Live call reruns, Encore Presentation? Well, here are some Encore Presentations of some earlier posts. Hope you enjoy them. From Concept to First Day of Shooting Why Do I Love These Shots? A Clip “How Do You Find These People?” The Cinematographers (I’m [...]
David Licata | June 28, 2011
Last week, the A Life’s Work blog turned two years old. That sounds pretty insignificant, and in the scheme of things, it is, but to me it’s kind of staggering. I track, list, and calculate many things, as you’ll see if you continue reading, but one thing I don’t dare track, list, or calculate is [...]
David Licata | March 25, 2011
Someone else shoots and someone else edits. So what exactly do I do on A Life’s Work besides sit opposite these amazing people and ask them a bunch of questions? I make a lot of decisions. Who, what, where, when? I decide those. I come to a location with a shot list, knowing that in [...]
David Licata | December 31, 2010
What were the most viewed posts on the A Life’s Work blog? Glad you asked. The list is a little misleading, because some posts have been up for a lot longer than others, and so naturally will have more views. Still, a few posts are telling, like 2 and 13, which lit up the stats [...]
David Licata | August 13, 2010
That’s me behind the camera at Arcosanti, shooting … the windshield of the rental car? Yes, I’m shooting the transformation of sunray, the win-free-art-created-by-me prize in this summer’s contest. You have until tomorrow night to enter the contest. Click here for the details. Photo by Andy Bowley.
David Licata | June 29, 2010
Today’s post was written by cinematographer Andy Bowley. Hardest? That’s easy. I was in Monrovia’s largest cemetery, documenting “Decoration Day,” a Liberian national celebration devoted to cleaning up gravesites and (it must be said) drinking. It was unbearably hot, a storm was gathering, and I was stepping very, very carefully for two reasons: 1) Much [...]
David Licata | June 23, 2010
Today’s post was written by cinematographer Andy Bowley. I know. You’ve been wondering after reading this blog: what’s Licata really like to work with in the field? Sure, he seems measured and nice and all when he’s tapping away in his socks, all warm and cozy in his New York apartment–but what’s he like in [...]
