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| Conversations | |||||||
| Written by Noralil Ryan Fores | |||||||
| Monday, 23 July 2007 | |||||||
 By now a staple of the feature film, commercial and music video scene, Rebisz revels in the collaborative nature of the cinema. He says: “You learn how to give constructive criticism so that it’s not only pointing out weaknesses but seeing how you can invent. That way, when you work on set, when you want to achieve something, then it’s not about a fight of egos but rather how are we going to accomplish something great..” From making the music video for Plus/Minus’ Let’s Build a Fire to the festival acclaimed short Between You and Me, shot with a digital still camera, Rebisz approaches his craft with the minute attention to detail given to any of his paintings. They are quite intimate, inviting and innovative, all. Jumping off his bicycle while riding through the streets of Manhattan, Rebisz stopped to catch his breath before answering a few quick questions about his work. SM: I know you’ve done a ton of collaborations with directors from (Michael J. Narvaez’s) I Believe in America to (Kevin Arbouet & Larry Stron’s) Serial, but I was hoping that you could talk a bit about your own work including Between You and Me and Let’s Build a Fire. Specifically with regards to using still shots in Between You and Me, you took— PR: Two thousand pictures. SM: Then, it was running, what, five frames per second? PR: Yeah, there were technical limitations that we had to overcome at any given moment because photography is a bit different than moving image. Photography is a concern with this very second: how to get the great light for this very second…With moving images, you have to have assistants lighting, and so it takes half an hour, 45 minutes, an hour, however long the scene is. So, (Between You and Me) was merging something in between. We had the freedom of finding lots of pictures really quickly as only five frames per second, and each day would have to be only 12 seconds or less [to contribute to the overall runtime.] So, it was meaty as it relates to photography. However, at the same time, there were definitely issues that we had to fight against so it doesn’t end up being too junky, too cutty or whatnot. Sometimes the movement had to be a bit slower. SM: In both the music video and that piece, there’s an incredible intimacy in frame. You don’t feel as if you’re imposing on their worlds but as if you’re being invited into them. So, how do you approach the ideas behind the cinematography? PR: First of all, you have to establish in one way or another, whether you’re a cinematographer or director, a certain relationship with your people and set them on track so that they trust you 100 percent. There’s no written formula about how you can achieve it. Beyond that, it’s also working on a project with belief from the people in front of the camera, knowing that they are actually part of something that’s really cool, something unique, something beyond, “Oh, some douchebag is trying to be a filmmaker.” That’s awfully important. It shows that people have trust in you, and you also have trust in them. It’s the importance of having a love for your craft. If you approach a project with a total love, then it’s something—not metaphysical crap that ends up showing somehow in nine different definitions. SM: Because you’ve done so much work, what have you seen develop in the years you’ve been working professionally? And, what do you hope to see evolve more with your work? PR: It’s a different approach when you’re directing or shooting for someone else. There’s a different calmness as a DP…You know how it’s going to be; you get to the location; you know if it’s going to be a great location or a crappy location; you know the best angles and how to achieve it with the lenses. Then something surprisingly different happens—even when you have all that DPing experience—when you’re DPing for yourself. Then all of the sudden when you’re also directing, simple things get much more complicated. So, that’s an advice to someone if they are a DP, and they want direct as well: Get yourself a DP so you have an extra set of eyes. I’ll probably be shooting for other people because it’s great. Sometimes when I’m in love with a specific project, I’ll make it myself because it’s a great, great, great feeling, this idea of total control of the project. SM: You’ve just come off shooting [David Jakubovic’s Stream], so what’s the new project? PR: I finished color correcting two music videos that I shot back in LA and two other videos I directed here in New York. So, it’s a crazy computer-driven week. SM: Do you like it though despite it being crazy? PR: Of course. You go up and down from boredom, having nothing to do, and then all the sudden it shifts, and you’re running crazy. It’s moments of calmness, moments of craziness. It’s a never-ending, revolving thing. You’ve got to love this gypsy lifestyle where you don’t know what you’re next project is going to be, what the schedule is going to be and things like that. Some people just don’t enjoy it and prefer something more calm. SM: Do you think at some point soon you’ll want to say, ‘Alright, I’m stable in my job,’? PR: I have no clue, girl. I’ll see what happens. Ask me the same question in 20 years, and then I’ll tell you what’s up. Right now, I’m chilling, enjoying it. For more information, visit www.patrykrebisz.com. | |||||||
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