Danish cinematographer Martin Kobylarz
Story telling is an art, when done well, it conveys emotion, time and place. When done to perfection it transcends these and connects people through the unique story of humanity and the evocation of oneness. If storytelling is the art, Martin Kobylarz is the artist and cinematography is his brilliant brush of choice.
Kobylarz’s belief in the holistic approach to cinematography, one where light, mood, atmosphere, honesty, symbolism, pixels and lenses all play an imperative role, bestows upon the artist a demanding list of arenas, both practical and emotional, in which to develop wisdom.
Kobylarz’s mastery of the required genius of cinematography is immediately discernable from his own captivating tales, experience in various roles in film production, appreciation for and knowledge of both digital and film imagery and award-winning work on everything from music videos to period dramas.
Making history since the start of his career, Kobylarz’s first feature film, “Adrift in Soho,” a period drama about the “free-cinema documentary filmmakers” was the first film ever to portray the origins of the peace sign as we know it today. Kobylarz’s dexterity in both digital and film imagery was necessary in order for the film to successfully embody the accurate feel of the time period, the 1950’s.
Kobylarz went on to receive an Honorable Mention in Cinematography at the 2013 ASC Heritage Awards and Excellence in Production Design from the Savannah Film Festival for “Wolves From Another Kingdom,” a film portraying two young brothers and their struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Without skipping a beat, Kobylarz is also making a name for himself in the music video scene working alongside four times Platinum artist DJ Aligator as the cinematographer on his recent video, “Fist Pump,” which you can check out below!
Kobylarz hasn’t forgotten the impact that a story well told can have, “I find a lot of reward in working on subject matter that are more socially relevant. That brings awareness to a cause or topic so it helps a group of people or a community.” He has demonstrated this by lending his artful imagery to his work with both the National Autistic Society and the British Government’s “Fire Kills Campaign.”
The power that Kobylarz attributes to the human story is apparent in his interview below. Read on to catch a glimpse into his love for imagery and its innate ability to portray a character’s emotion as well as his own exciting stories about his start in cinematography.
Hey Martin, thanks for joining us! Can you tell our readers where you’re from and a little bit about yourself?
MK: Thank you and hello. My name is Martin Kobylarz. I am Polish but was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark. I have always been fascinated by moving images ever since I can remember so it was natural for me to go into this line of work. I received my Bachelors in Media Arts at Royal Holloway University of London, and my Masters Degree in Cinematography from the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles in 2012. Since graduating I have joined the Danish Society of Cinematographers (DFF). And now divide my time between Copenhagen and London for work.
When did you first realize you wanted to become a cinematographer?
MK: When I was about eight I emulated all the crazy stunt scenes I saw in action films and I remember one time on a holiday in Poland I was jumping off of a tall haystack onto a smaller haystack. My brother came by and took a photo of me on a Kodak disposable camera hovering in mid-air. However the picture was the last one on the roll and only half of a frame came out but not enough for them to make a print out of. But I would stare at this half of the frame-exposed negative for hours and be like, “I wish I could make this into a print.” And I think that event kick started my interest in picking up a camera and starting to shoot stuff myself.
The other event was when I was stabbed in the eye socket during a brawl when I was about twenty. Coming close to loosing my eyesight reaffirmed my love of sight and how important vision is to me. After that I looked at the world in a much different way. I think I began to look for things that are beyond the surface. I began to want to understand the motivation of others and I feel even to this day that if you look a little harder and dig a little deeper maybe you can find things that reveal a little more about people. And that is what I like to look for and to capture. And in order to capture stuff like this I needed to understand the graphic weight of images and how to compose pictures for effect so I decided to take the path of cinematography.
How would you describe the cinematographer’s role on a production?
MK: Firstly, on the technical side he/she can be considered the guardian of the image. Making sure the quality of the image is the highest possible quality it can be (for the budget of the film) from the capture all the way to the delivery of the film.
On a literary level he/she is able to identify all beats of the story and makes sure they are all captured in such a way that it tells the story and conveys the right emotion. For this he uses all the technical and creative tools he has at his disposal to create striking visual images.
Then there are all the diplomatic aspects such as managing the crew, keeping the producers happy by giving them what they’re after and by being on budget and time, also he aligns himself to the vision of the director about what is trying to be achieved with the film, he understands the process of an actor and is able to always create the most comfortable, respectful and secure environment for the actor to give the best possible performance they can.
The one aspect of cinematography that is really unique to cinematographers is how they tell the story with light. Lighting truly is a unique aspect of cinematography that relies specifically to the aspect of the cinematographer.
However, all in all I think he should aim to be an excellent craftsman and appreciate all the art forms. Filmmaking is not really a compartmentalized subject. I shouldn’t just understand pixels and lenses but how meaning can be conveyed through all of the art forms and that gives me a better idea of how meaning can be captured.
What do you think makes good cinema?
MK: When story and meaning is conveyed through assembled images. I love when images reveal things or traits about the characters, when it’s the images that drive the story forward, and when images manage to focus on mood/atmosphere to set the tone of scenes. I like cinema when I feel I know it’s good on an intuitive and emotional level. I don’t really like over-analyzing why it’s good or to talk about it too much… but I can spend hours myself thinking about how to design meaningful images…
What is your favorite part of the job?
MK: Figuring out how to tell the story with the camera. I had a great teacher once who said the role of the cinematographer is not to put meaning in the images but rather to assist in making the images meaningful and I think that’s a pretty good description of what I like to do as a DP. I love it when I have a script and work with the director to find or make the images that go along with it. When I understand the theme the director wants its like being a creative investigator. And you go looking for the images that could give them material to tell their story.
Do you have a favorite type of project to work on?
MK: No not really. I love to work. But I find a lot of reward in working on subject matters that are more socially relevant. That brings awareness to a cause or topic so it helps a group of people or a community.
You’ve shot a pretty impressive variety of commercials over the years; can you tell us about a few of them?
MK: The best commercial I shot was a commercial for the National Autistic Society. The whole commercial is seen from a first person perspective of a child with autism so it was up to me to find the right gear to give this a realistic feel. I think my role to the production was important because I came up with technical suggestions and ideas as to how to increase the level of autism in a visual way the more the narrative progresses and his conditions worsen. When reading about autism they give very specific definitions as to how they feel and perceive the world when they have sensory overload. So it was about paying attention to that and then find a couple of things that could show this and then heighten it a bit in post.
Then I also shot a Public Service Announcement for the Fire Kills Campaign called “Tick Tock Test.” It is a British Government awareness campaign commercial reminding homeowners to change the batteries in their smoke alarm. The commercial shows a five year-old girl breathing in poisonous smoke whilst sleeping at night.
Instead of using real smoke, my role included communicating with the visual effects house about the technical intricacies required to best shoot the visual plates with the sleeping girl in order to digitally overlay smoke effects on the video image.
My role was important because I had to research, understand and execute various lighting and camera techniques to give the postproduction house the best possible material for them to be able to do their work.
How about some of the music videos you’ve done to date?
MK: I shot a music video called “Sidste Gang” for DBKing featuring FaceIt. It was a Danish hip-hop music video portraying different non-actors from the street environment of Copenhagen.
The music video is shot on a soundstage. The challenge here involved creating honest and sincere portrayals of real people without intimidating them with a large professional cinematographic setup. In order to create the most comfortable shooting atmosphere, it was decided to keep crew to a minimum. I took on all duties in the cinematographic department – cinematographer, camera assistant, chief lighting technician, and key grip.
The music video has been viewed more than 136.000 times on Youtube and Danish hip-hop blog “Sorte Får” (Black Sheep) awarded it song of the week.
Then I also shot a music video called, “Fist Pump” for DJ Aligator. It was a music video about a guy who goes to a club to dance and have a good time. On this production, besides serving as the cinematographer I was the only crew member in my department, serving as camera assistant, chief lighting technician and key grip.
Due to my experience in various roles on film production sets, my role on this production was pivotal in achieving a high production value despite a lack of crew. DJ Aligator is a celebrated artist in Denmark. He is one of the few Danish artists to appear on the BBC show “Top of the Pops”. His previous song “The Whistle Song” went four times Platinum. The “Fist Pump” music video reached number one on the Iranian top ten music video charts. It has been viewed more than 220.000 times on Youtube.
What has been your favorite camera to use so far and why?
MK: I shot a music video recently where we also used an 8mm camera on some of the shots. And I was way more interested in how those images came out rather than the digital camera we mainly used. I think there is something about the unpredictable nature and analogous aspect of film capture that feels more rewarding than digital. There is just more craftsmanship in film capture than digital where it feels like all the hours you have put into your craft finally gets a chance to come out.
What was the first film you worked on as a cinematographer?
MK: The first feature I shot was called “Adrift in Soho,” and deals with a group of filmmakers known as the “free-cinema filmmakers,” which was a style of filmmaking that started in Soho, London, UK. They were documentarians who wanted to film the real people on the streets and everyday life. Coincidentally this was the same time that people started protesting about nuclear bombs and this was when they invented the peace sign that we know today. They used the symbol in their March to Aldermaston, which was a protest march the filmmakers captured. Our film is the first film ever to portray the origins of the peace symbol.
The film was a period drama about the “free-cinema documentary filmmakers” in 1950 Soho, London, England who captured the “March To Aldermaston,” a group of protesters for nuclear disarmament. It is the first film ever to portray the genesis of the peace symbol.
Due to budget restraints one of the major challenges included making the modern city of Nottingham, England stand in for a 1950s central London. My role was important because the production required the skill set of a cinematographer to shoot on a variety of formats, both digital and film, in order to document the accurate feel of the time period. The film is an American, South American and English co-production with a budget of $1,000,000. It is currently in the last stages of post-production receiving its color grading and VFX work from celebrated post-production house Framestore.
Can you tell us about some of the other films you’ve shot over the years?
MK: I shot a film called, “Do It Yourself,” which is a revenge drama about a man who discovers his wife is having an affair but does not have the strength or will to confront her. Instead he tracks down his wife’s lover. My role included camera testing, location scouting, shot listing, attending rehearsals, gear preparation, and finding a skilled camera and lighting crew to join the production. In post-production my role involved communicating with the post-production house to achieve the right look for the film.
This was my first ever collaboration with production company JAM Flicks and my role was important because of incorporating a professional etiquette to the shooting days and involving a post-production facility to garner a group of skilled and talented film artists to achieve a higher production value.
The film received a “Vimeo Staff Pick Award” as well as being featured on short film blog, “Short of the Week.” It has been viewed more than 77,000 times on Vimeo and has been selected to screen at 18 Film Festivals. More than any of their previous short films ever.
“Wolves From Another Kingdom” is a post-apocalyptic film with a cast of 25-30 minors, ages varying from 5-17. The film follows two brothers who try to survive in a desolate wasteland scavenging for food until they stumble upon a group of kids who help take care of them.
My role included being a key creative figure and maintaining production efficiency whilst working under strict child labor laws. My responsibilities also including overseeing and ensuring on-set safety rules and guidelines within my department were upheld since the power distribution and heavy film gear involved in film production can be lethal to both cast and crew if improperly handled.
The film received an Honorable Mention in Cinematography at the 2013 ASC Heritage Awards as well as an Excellence in Production Design award from the Savannah Film Festival 2013.
What made you choose to participate in these projects?
MK: I generally choose to work on a project because I either really respect the sensibilities of the director or feel strongly about the subject matter of the script. In the case of “Wolves From Another Kingdom,” it was both. The director didn’t have the script complete by the time he came to me but I knew he was going to do something incredible with it. Other times I choose projects because the subject matter is close to my heart or because I feel like I have similar life experiences where I can contribute with some level of honesty to the project.
What has been your favorite project or projects so far and why?
MK: It’s difficult to single out a project when I have worked with many talented people who are all great in their own right and have wonderful sensibilities as storytellers but I think my favorite project was “Wolves from Another Kingdom.” I liked working on it because we had very limited means to make the project work, but everyone was very passionate about telling that story. We worked very hard in prep, across all departments plus I had time to read the script 100 times over and really get into the world of the film and align myself to the directors vision. I feel like every shot we made was discussed and thought about in prep. Of course we were open to spontaneous moments of inspiration when we got to the shooting but because we were so prepared we knew if it was something that fit the project or not.
What has been your most challenging project and why?
MK: “Wolves from Another Kingdom” for the same reason. We had limited financial means so we really had to be economical and creative about how we told that story. Working under a lot of restrictions and seeing that the film come out well was a huge moment of satisfaction.
What would you say your strongest qualities are as a cinematographer?
MK: I don’t feel like I have any particular special talent. Everything I have achieved has been due to hard work. If anything I feel like I have good observational skills. I can tell how a person may feel just by looking at their posture or how they carry themselves. Or I try to find things in the dressing of the environment that reveals something about the character or gives depth to who they are and thereby the narrative. I feel like I have strong emotional intelligence and have experienced quite a lot that makes me able to relate to a lot of things.
What projects do you have coming up?
MK: There are a couple of projects in the pipeline but I am waiting for them all to get the green light. I have a film that I am shooting in London soon. I have been approached about some documentary work in the States but we’ll see how that comes along.
What do you hope to achieve in your career?
MK: I hope to be able to work on projects that are both entertaining and socially relevant topics. I’d like to bring awareness to causes that will help a lot of people. And to have worked on a body of films that I can look back on that makes sense to me as a person. I don’t want to just feel selfishly satisfied but also satisfied when I see my work helps a lot of other people as well.
Why are you passionate about working as a cinematographer and why is it your chosen profession?
MK: Being a cinematographer is not really a lucrative profession. It gets dirty gritty and it is a lot of hard work. But it is the best thing in the world to tell stories. I do it for the love of it.
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