Help me name this collective of cinematographers

December 17, 2014 9:49 AM

Can you help me come up with a name for a group of very talented cinematographers based in New York? Naturally the first place I went to was the dictionary (word by word), jotting down everything that had to do with the craft. The technical terms are not interesting to them because they prefer a nice name that focuses on the artistic/storytelling aspect of it. Help?

Another approach I am taking is asking myself: "If Emmanuel Lubezki (cinematographer of films like The Tree of Life, Gravity, Birdman) had a company, what would he name it?", "If Roger Deakins (Shawshank Redemption, No Country for Old Men, Revolutionary Road) founded one, what would the name be?

posted by cyrusw8 to Writing & Language (18 answers total)

Do they have anything in common other than location? What brought them together? What makes them a group?
posted by amtho at 10:35 AM on December 17, 2014

If you want a name that is actually relevant to cinematography in some way but also gets into the artistic/narrative stuff, what about Mise En Scene?

That said, if you're planning to incorporate or be official at all, know now that Mise En Scene is almost certainly taken as a business name.

Most working cinematographers do have "companies", in that they have LLCs for tax purposes, mostly related to renting their equipment to the productions they work on. (Also a lot of prominent DPs also direct, and it's important to have some kind of shell production company in that case.) So you could probably find out what these types of companies are called by googling a name and "loanout" or just a name and "production company". FWIW, a lot of them are really, really random and it's rare to see anything that directly refers to cinematography or filmmaking at all. Because it's much easier to incorporate a company called HB Pencil Productions (example taken from my desk) than F Stop Productions or Raw Stock Films or whatever.
posted by Sara C. at 10:38 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: They can't be anymore different, they hail from different backgrounds. They just love telling stories, they love making each shot a masterpiece.
posted by cyrusw8 at 10:39 AM on December 17, 2014

I would stay far, far away from the "just love telling stories" angle unless you're hoping to be confused with a screenwriters' group.
posted by Sara C. at 10:40 AM on December 17, 2014 [2 favorites]

Then, what makes them a "group" instead of just several cinematographers who happen to live near each other? Do they share some resource, or meet for some reason (if so, what's the reason), or critique each others' work (as a regular goal)?
posted by amtho at 10:45 AM on December 17, 2014

Response by poster: They are just old friends that get together to promote each other's work, much like Errol Morris and Werner Herzog. They critique each other's work, they share their love for the craft, they promote an ongoing dialog about cinematography to better visual storytelling, .... That's pretty much it.
posted by cyrusw8 at 10:55 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

Is this for marketing/business purposes, or just an exercise in self-naming? Ultimately, their work will speak for itself, so I wouldn't be too hung up on creating a name for them that's "perfect". The best names, I think, are always organically chosen. Some questions to answer: How "serious" is this? What is the tone of the name that you want? Do you want to make reference to other historical groups (like dogma 95)?
posted by johnnydummkopf at 11:15 AM on December 17, 2014

Not that you asked, but Roger Deakins has a website with a forum. You can register and chat with others.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:47 PM on December 17, 2014

Do they get together at a particular time or place? Is there some particular small ritual involved, like coffee?

It might be best to name it something like "Tuesday Afternoon Coffee" or "The Tuesday Afternoon Coffee Group" or something like that.
posted by Michele in California at 4:35 PM on December 17, 2014

How about:

The Salonamatographers
posted by amtho at 5:00 PM on December 17, 2014

Also:

Cinema Amitié (pronounced "uh-MEE-tee-ay")

The Sounders

Lux and Burgers

Lux and Love Club

Luxit

Friends in Lux

Lux and Bagels

Light Soup

Light Dinner

Light's Out

Moving Light
posted by amtho at 5:11 PM on December 17, 2014

Are they based in New York City? You could go with "Manhatta", or something with that in the name, like "Film Manhatta", etc.
posted by Wemmick at 7:30 PM on December 17, 2014

I'd go with something kind of plain-sounding but still relevant, like 'The Muybridge Group.' (Or any other vanguard of cinematography whose name is probably obscure to most laypeople. You could also reference an early technology like the zoetrope in a similar way (just not that one, since Coppola already took it, heh.))
posted by argonauta at 7:57 PM on December 17, 2014

You could pay homage to "The Linked Ring" with "The Focus Ring."
posted by starman at 6:38 AM on December 18, 2014

Circle of Confusion
The Primes
Magic Hour
Latent Image
The Zeiss Guys
Minus Green
Field of Depth
Viewfinders
Panavisionaries
n-Arri-tive
Bolex Scheherazade
A Thousand and One Lights
Take-up Reel
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 10:52 AM on December 18, 2014

Reel Friends
posted by Michele in California at 11:08 AM on December 18, 2014

How about adopting one of the collective nouns used for animals?

Just need to figure out what kind of animal a cinematographer is…. Something with good eyes perhaps?

Cast of Falcons? There are peregrines in NYC, no? (Though I suppose you guys would be crew, not cast.)

Parliament of Owls? I like just "The Parliament" with a group of wide-eyed owls as a logo.
posted by Kabanos at 12:48 PM on December 18, 2014

Wait, aren't Cinematographers also called Directors of Photography?

NYDP

You're welcome.
posted by Kabanos at 12:51 PM on December 18, 2014 [2 favorites]