He attended art college, originally studying photography, where he was taught by the legendary street photographer Roger Mayne who he idolises. Roger Deakins was born in Torquay in South Devon, very near to where he still keeps a flat and boat. Though I’m coaxed towards asking more about his photography than his film work, the two are so inextricable that the conversation ends up landing in a terrain not far away from either. These names are vastly impressive, but perhaps a little redundant in both attempting to explain the man behind the ‘career’, and also perhaps a little misleading on the nature of this interview, which is demonstrably about his photography. Denis Villeneuve on Sicario, Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049, and Sam Mendes on Jarhead, Revolutionary Road, Skyfall, and 1917. He has worked frequently with trusted collaborators. He was the Director of Photography for the number one IMDb film: The Shawshank Redemption. He has been the Director of Photography for most of the films by the Coen Brothers: Fargo, True Grit, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men. In his nearly 45 year career the cinematographer has worked on a number of superb films, winning two Oscars.
Using the word legend to describe Deakins is not done flippantly. And in both his photography and his videography, the control of light that Roger Deakins possesses is peerless.
This is perhaps surprising – it’s easy to imagine their primary role as deciding on the lens, the position of the camera, the speed of shutter and even the blocking of the characters, but no: the cinematographer is the master of light. The cinematographer is the master of light. We speak to Roger Deakins, cinematographer extraordinaire, on his new photography book, Byways.
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