Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ben Nurhaci Lu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Ben, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
II am a cinematographer and it all started with a film project we did as undergraduates. At the time, I knew nothing about cinematography, but had the opportunity to become a cinematographer and shoot on film. After that, I was amazed at how the camera can transform our imagination, even the most basic, into something special and relevant to the audience. After that, I started learning about the technical side of things, from googling what aperture and shutter speed were, to learning about different technicolor film processes.
Then I became a dedicated cinematographer, but in retrospect, I was so caught up in the technical aspects of my work that I lost sight of the real driving force behind it – aesthetics. For a long time, I’d just followed what the light meter was telling me instead of feeling the light. It made my work drab and lifeless.
It was an epiphany moment for me when I realized that narrative and aesthetics were the fundamental forces driving all decisions. I began studying painting, photography, philosophy and Buddhism. Observation of everyday life was another important aspect of my learning process; I was able to see things from different perspectives and even notice things that were present but often overlooked.
In hindsight, the reason I don’t think I could or wanted to speed up the learning process is because I believe that there are no good or bad steps, as long as you learn from them. Some steps may take a detour from your goals, but at the same time they will make you more mature and acquire a different but useful skill. One eventually realizes that there are no detours, they are the journey itself.
A mindset of continuous learning is necessary for constant progress. Humility and respect allow one to shed a condescending and judgmental perspective and experience the world with more open eyes. Thus these are the most essential skills to have.
Ben, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Blockbuster is a cherished memory of my childhood. As a child, my father and I would immerse ourselves in the rows and rows of metal shelves in search of movies. From then on, I was introduced to the world of movies. Sometimes, there were a few foreign movies without subtitles, and I was surprised that I could still understand the narrative through visual storytelling. They forced me to pay more attention to acting. I was amazed that I could feel the emotion despite the screen and the cultural barrier. From then on, I was obsessed with movies.
While studying at the National Taiwan University of Arts, I moved through the various disciplines of the film department, and one of the positions immediately attracted me. After shooting a short film on an ARRI SRIII camera, I was amazed at how images can transform reality into our imagination.
In my sophomore year of college, I made up my mind to start studying cinematography, and used my free time to go to the library to study the technical details of cinematography. After one semester, my notebooks were filled with pencil drawings and text, from the early color negatives by Technicolor to the mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras that were so prevalent at that time. interchangeable lens cameras.) All these laid a solid foundation for the future. Soon it was time for my graduation, and my team and I were lucky enough to be selected for the PBS Student Film program, which was not only well-received domestically, but also in international film festivals. In the following year, I took the opportunity to shoot six graduation projects as a cinematographer. During my four years at university, I also worked as a camera assistant on commercials and short films.
After graduation, during the epidemic, I was preparing to apply for overseas graduate school while serving in the military. It was a combination of frustration with the film and television environment in Taiwan at the time, and a desire to explore the depths of my craft. I longed to explore a deeper dissection of storytelling and the use of images to tell a story; I longed to stand on the shoulders of the great artists of the past and look out over the landscape, secretly wishing that I could be the one who piles up the scenery; and I longed to contribute to cinema, the seventh form of art.
When I arrived at the Cinematography Department of Chapman Dodge College in Orange County, Southern California, I met Michael Grady. His first class gave me a shocking education, as I had never known that visual narratives could be systematically and efficiently split up into a series of elements, and that they could be freely combined and utilized without being formulaic. So it changed the way I prepared for pre-production, especially learning Vittorio Storaro’s design of color in film and extending it to other elements such as space, line, tone, etc. I was very impressed with the way I was able to use it in my work. During these two semesters, I worked on more than twice the amount of films I normally would have, and tried my best to work with different directors and experiment with different genres.
Living on my own abroad has made me reflect on a lot of things, and practicing Buddhism has made me inquire about things in a different and deeper way. Reflecting on the balance between individual willfulness and group work in film, I began to study various Western schools of painting, from Classical to Impressionist, Fauvist, Cubist, and Surrealist, motivated not only by the aesthetic presentation that appealed to me from the outside, but also by the inspiration, motivation, and how to form a meaningful and skillful interpretation of objective reality through subjective consciousness.
I became more and more serious about my work, and whenever possible, I would conduct elaborate pre-production tests to try out the looks I was aiming for. Gradually, I have learned to translate vague imagery and intentions into concrete and understandable language that faithfully conveys the concepts I am pursuing.
I hope to make films that are thought-provoking to the audience, especially in this fast-paced modern society. Filmmaking gives me the opportunity to humbly offer more creative content, while at the same time allowing me to delve deeper into who and what I am.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Buddhism is one of the most important, significant, and transformative event in my life, which changed me from the basics. Religion inspires me not to be mesmerized by appearances, but to dig for the meaning behind them. It also encourages me to be more open to possibilities and not to be presumptuous. Apart from that, I was taught not to stay in my comfort zone and to constantly reflect on myself at all times. Thus for each project, I will always push myself to my boundaries, as long as it suits the story. For instance, even when facing a similar location that I had shot before, I will always try a different approach to the scene. And after each shoot, notes are taken and reviewed so the mistakes can be sorted out and improvements can be made on the next.
It also affects the way I deal with problems or accidents. Anger and impatience were the emotions that I would show when I encountered issues in the past, which not only worsened the problems but also implied my lack of confidence and ability to solve them. For now, I will deal with problems with patience and wisdom, skipping the angry process allows me to calm myself down and focus on the issues. As a result, I will have a higher probability of sorting the problems out earlier, to the point when they can be solved less painfully. More often than not, they turned out to be even better.
Student projects generally have modest budgets, as did my assignments in university. In the past, I would insist on ordering several equipment or fixtures in terms of camera and lighting regardless of the budget. And what was even worse, other departments would even have to cover for me and make sacrifices from time to time. Taking a step back and looking at all that from now, most of them were unnecessary because the excessive set-up time hindered the production. However, after altering my philosophy, I came to realize that tight budget projects can actually boost our creativity, since they force us to come up with creative ideas to achieve the effects or gimmicks that would be considered expensive. We had to come up with devices that aim the same intent but with cheaper materials bought from grocery stores, and often we get the opportunities to achieve a deeper comprehension about the idea we were after. Though they are usually not perfect in their appearance, they can serve a similar purpose. Furthermore, I’m always improving them and bringing them to the next project to become a tool that I can pull out from my toolbox whenever I want.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
As a filmmaker, I think the most gratifying moment is always when someone truly understands the essence of the movie. If a movie is well made, people will love its story, visual effects or characters. But behind all the packaging, form and story, the essential message is what I value most and what I look for when dissecting a movie. Sometimes a film may just be pure entertainment, some may not agree with it, and some may resonate with it. Whether strong or weak, we cherish those who can connect, albeit seemingly insignificantly, as we strive to contribute to the the world through the spread of goodwill and giving.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://benlu10120719.wixsite.com/1012?fbclid=IwAR2SJXCl-Fzpax083uPEScaQgua-n3QrdqZo7QwtDobyZybXJ1-uMesmiHs
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benludp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002993705985
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/dbGBWZ1A_ZY
Image Credits
Lily Chen Margot Moore Daniel Alexander