Quotes By Conrad Hall

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

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

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

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

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

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

There is a kind of beauty in imperfection.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Photography is a very important part of my life.

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.

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

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

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

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

But at heart, I am more than a cinematographer.

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.

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

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

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.

Contrast is what makes photography interesting.

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

Painting and writing are solitary arts.

In aptitude tests, I scored highest in music.