Every cinematographer—from the student making a first film to a commercial DP shooting a multi-million dollar campaign—knows that breathtaking, agonizing moment before his footage appears on screen for the first time. Janusz Kaminski, the feature film cinematographer turned commercial director/DP, describes the moment of revelation as "a tremendous mystery." This from a man who has been to the Academy Awards ceremony three times as a nominee for film cinematography—and was twice the winner, for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.
Nevertheless, the Polish émigré feels that award-night feeling every time he watches his dailies. "From the first time I shot a little student film, I feel that big surprise when I see my own work for the first time. I wonder, ‘What will the footage look like? Will I be able to tell the story with these images? Will I be able to move people with these images?’"
Invariably, in the commercial world as well as in features, the answers have been: Great, yes, and yes. Kaminski’s latest spot is Visa’s "Convent," via BBDO New York, in which a cloistered nun uses the Web and her Visa card to connect with the divine sounds of Hank Williams. The concept might have been a joke in other hands, but Kaminski’s shot of the young nun quietly enjoying country music on her Walkman is as serene as a stained-glass window. Kaminski also recently helmed two Minolta spots—"New York" and "San Diego"—via Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston.
Before he signed on as a director with bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures in ’99, Kaminski had DP’d spots for David Kellogg of bicoastal/international Propaganda Films for clients such as Mercedes, Gatorade, and Duracell. (Kellogg has since shifted representation to bicoastal Anonymous.) Kaminski has also shot spotwork for Michael Bay, also of Propaganda.
Feature Habit
While Kaminski could easily find continual work in commercials, he spends much of his time as a cinematographer on features. He has shot Steven Spielberg’s four most recent films: Schindler’s List, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Amistad, and Saving Private Ryan. Kaminski’s cinematography has been praised for its detailed, deep-focus shots. "I am interested in what’s going on in the background," he says. "Normally, the audience only focuses on what’s going on in the foreground, but the background action should be as realistic and as good as the foreground action."
Kaminski has already directed his first film: a thriller called Lost Souls, which is scheduled for October release. By then, he will be shooting Spielberg’s next film, which may be Minority Report, a science fiction thriller, or Memoirs of a Geisha, a literary adaptation. "Steven is toying with several ideas right now. Whatever he chooses, I will do, and it will be a four- to six-month commitment," Kaminski says.
Kaminski’s own story might make a great movie. Born in Poland, he came to the U.S in ’81, at age 20, as a political refugee. Though he had no idea of what he might do for a living, he had a strong sense of where he wanted to be. "Ever since I was a kid, I loved America and wanted to come here," says Kaminski, who is now 41. "Twenty years old is young in Poland; your parents pretty much shelter you from the realities of life." Kaminski landed in Chicago, where he developed an interest in movies. "Acting, directing, the way the movies looked—I liked it all, and thought I might go to film school."
That he did, enrolling as an undergraduate at Columbia College, Chicago. At the time, he had no sense that he wanted to become a cinematographer—or even much of an idea of what a cinematographer does.
"In film school, everybody wants to direct," explains Kaminski. "If you’re unfamiliar with the process of filmmaking, there are two jobs: directing or producing. That was my perception when I entered film school. But during the first semester, when we were divided up into groups of four—director, writer, producer, and editor—I realized there was more."
Though Kaminski’s student work was good, he says it was difficult for a graduate of a Chicago film school to get respect in Hollywood. After studying cinematography at the American Film Institute, Hollywood, and shooting some low-budget and no-budget films for no pay, Kaminski’s first professional job was for Roger Corman’s Concorde Pictures, on a science fiction saga called The Terror Within II, which was shot in ’88 and released in ’90. "We worked sixteen-or eighteen-hour days, and shot the whole thing in eighteen days," says Kaminski. "It was fun, but I couldn’t do that now."
His real break came when Spielberg hired him, on the strength of his demo reel, to shoot Schindler’s List. Filmed in Kaminski’s homeland, the Holocaust drama was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven. Over the next five years, Kaminski shot seven more feature films, which left him little time to think about another goal: directing. That changed last year, when he signed with Chelsea Pictures.
"Shooting films, shooting commercials, directing films, and directing commercials are all very different mediums," Kaminski says. "Directing is different from what I was used to. As a director, you are the one who makes all the decisions, which is really frightening and really stimulating. If you want to express yourself fully, this is the job for you."
To maintain that perspective, though, Kaminski says he had to struggle against the stereotype that cinematographers don’t become directors. "I am a rebel. If someone says I cannot do something, I want to do it. No, it’s not a natural progression, any more than being an editor or a writer makes a natural progression to directing. But somehow I arrived at this point—and it doesn’t mean that I am abandoning cinematography."
Kaminski recently demonstrated yet another talent: still photography. The New York Times Magazine recently ran a 14-page fashion spread by Kaminski, who had never before published his photos. The model was Kaminski’s wife, the actress Holly Hunter.
Having several careers means that Kaminski sometimes has to let others handle part of the job. What does Kaminski look for when hiring his DPs? "I look for someone who sees the world in a similar way, and who sees light in a similar way: as an element of storytelling, as an expression of the story, and as an element in creating a pleasurable image."c
