Conrad Hall Quotes

#1. It's important to know that if you are dealing with shadows.

Conrad Hall

#2. I saw Tequila Sunrise as a romantic picture with complex, bigger than life characters.

Conrad Hall

#3. I realize that every picture isn't a work of art.

Conrad Hall

#4. The audience has to understand that if the film is going to have any meaning for them. If they are going to empathize with the characters, they have to visualize the process of concentration involved in making every move.

Conrad Hall

#5. You have to understand the nature of light.

Conrad Hall

#6. The closer the source of light is to a subject, the broader the beams are.

Conrad Hall

#7. Cinematography is infinite in its possibilities ... much more so than music or language.

Conrad Hall

#8. Contrast is what makes photography interesting.

Conrad Hall

#9. I suppose I would still be a communicator, maybe a musician.

Conrad Hall

#10. 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.

Conrad Hall

#11. 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.

Conrad Hall

#12. I was very happy sitting alone at a dining room table, writing a script.

Conrad Hall

#13. 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.

Conrad Hall

#14. You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.

Conrad Hall

#15. I hope I'm still shooting when I'm 80.

Conrad Hall

#16. There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.

Conrad Hall

#17. There are infinite shadings of light and shadows and colors ... it's an extraordinarily subtle language. Figuring out how to speak that language is a lifetime job.

Conrad Hall

#18. It took a while for me to grasp that my colleagues believe I have made an impact on the history of cinema.

Conrad Hall

#19. I don't think of myself as a director or writer. I think of myself as a filmmaker.

Conrad Hall

#20. Manipulating shadows and tonality is like writing music or a poem.

Conrad Hall

#21. But at heart, I am more than a cinematographer.

Conrad Hall

#22. My first semester, I got a D in creative writing.

Conrad Hall

#23. I want to tell a story and shape it all the way through to the end.

Conrad Hall

#24. Every once in a while, when the audience is expecting to see one thing, you have to show them something else.

Conrad Hall

#25. Painting and writing are solitary arts.

Conrad Hall

#26. Photography is a very important part of my life.

Conrad Hall

#27. 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.

Conrad Hall

#28. The sun is the most parallel light source because it is so far away.

Conrad Hall

#29. 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.

Conrad Hall

#30. Every cinematographer I worked with had his own way of solving problems.

Conrad Hall

#31. Billions of people have seen and been influenced by movies in the short history of this industry.

Conrad Hall

#32. There are a lot of directors who are knowledgeable about images, and others who aren't.

Conrad Hall

#33. Dad, wherever you are, you are gone but you will never be forgotten.

Conrad Hall

#34. With today's fast films, you can light the way your eye sees the scene. You can abuse the film and create subtleties in contrast with light and exposure, diffusion and filters. That's what makes it an art.

Conrad Hall

#35. My peers say I have made a difference. That means more to me than winning an Oscar.

Conrad Hall

#36. I can still recall the thrill of shooting my first film.

Conrad Hall

#37. That's why I like fast film. It gives you more freedom to light more naturally.

Conrad Hall