People who operate movie cameras and control the visual look of a film, deciding lighting, angles, and camera movement.
Plural of 'cinematographer,' from 'cinematography' (cinema + Greek 'graphia' meaning writing/recording) plus '-er' suffix for a person who does something.
Cinematographers are sometimes called 'Directors of Photography' and they're basically the visual artists of filmmaking—they make you feel sad or happy by how they light a scene and frame the shot!
Early cinema (1890s–1920s) restricted technical roles like cinematography to men; women were confined to acting. The masculine default in '-grapher' persists despite women's landmark contributions (Alice Guy-Blaché, pioneering film director and cinematographer).
Use 'cinematographers' as gender-neutral or specify gender only when relevant. Consider 'director of photography' as equally neutral alternative.
["director of photography","DP","camera operator"]
Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968) was cinema's first female cinematographer and director, creating 1000+ films before being erased from film history. Recognize women's foundational technical innovation in cinema.
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