Name: Martin McGreal
DOB: November 1994
Place of Birth: Manchester, United Kingdom
Occupation: Content Creative
Since a very early age I’ve continuously held a strong interest in art, whether that’s sketching, music, graphic design, or like the past six or seven years, television and film, more so the latter. Nothing fuels me more than being tested creatively, and whilst the arts I’ve listed above were all respectively invigorating, their processes never stimulated me to the degree filmmaking did, which is no doubt the motive for devoting the past seven years of my life studying such an art, to a level in which I know feel equipped to stamp my mark creatively on the industry, potentially as a young, established, working cinematographer.
Irrespective of a projects client, budget or deadline, as a cinematographer, my process – or at the least the philosophy of my process – remains the same. Prep, prep, and prep again. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. I treat pre-production similar to principal photography; ‘shoot’ the piece in advance as close as possible via the medium of mood boards, storyboards, shot lists and lighting diagrams. Indeed, many directors and dp’s prefer to work more spontaneously, however my stance is; detailed prep is what permits you the freedom to work spontaneously on set, since if all else fails, you always have the security of the ‘Plan B’ you arrived with.
In terms of style – when operating as either a director or cinematographer, and withstanding action scenes – I do attempt to encourage as minimal coverage as possible, with a ‘quality over quantity’ approach. I favor blocking scenes in three or four shots, then painting the frame for each respective shot with meticulous composition, lighting and production design, allowing the action to unfold within the frame, as opposed to the frame unfolding with the action. Such an approach likewise licenses actors the time to deliver their performance to the audience, and too, usually means my camera is locked onto some form of grip equipment; though this isn’t to say I’m not a handheld enthusiast either.
Like many, my style owes credit to some of the most successful directors and cinematographers working in the industry today. Jeff Cronenweth’s interoperation and application of light to deliver cinematic images set in a world of reality has influenced me greatly, proving you don’t always need to be bold and loud with your use of light to create beautiful, powerful filmic images. Nicholas Winding Refn’s use of color and minimal coverage inspired me to be more brave with color pallets and the blocking of scenes, whereas the likes Bob Richardson and Hoyte van Hoytema opened my eyes to the cinematic qualities of anamorphic shooting.
“A City Called Home” is a dramatized documentary portraying a personal perspective of the city of Manchester, through the eyes and heart of a born and bred Mancunian. Captured in both an intimate and grand scale, it’s together a visual and informative journey, exploring locations from the most renowned in the city, to the more anonymous.
