What Does a Background Cinematographer Do?

A New Way to Make Films

In traditional filmmaking, actors are brought to each location, where their performances are filmed and edited into scenes.

In contrast, the “Super Previz Method” I advocate begins by filming only the background footage first.

Next, puppets are filmed using green screen techniques and composited into the backgrounds. The entire film is first assembled using puppet footage.

This allows you to preview the flow of the film before shooting any live actors, saving significant time and cost on reshoots and adjustments.

You can also prepare background music and sound design before filming the actors.

Finally, the actors are filmed against a green screen and swapped in for the puppets.

Each actor is filmed individually, according to their schedule, in a single location. This allows for actors to “co-star” without ever meeting, or for one person to play multiple roles.

This is the Masuda-style “Super Previz Method.”

The Power of Background-First Filmmaking

While there are minor drawbacks, the biggest advantage is that it allows you to produce narrative films in a short time and at low cost.

If you believe “that’s not real filmmaking” or “there’s no point in making something like that,” this method isn’t for you.

But I’ve chosen to leave traditional filmmaking to those with time and money, and focus on mass-producing films using the Super Previz Method.

The Unique Role of the Background Cinematographer

In this method, after writing the story, you create a rough storyboard and then shoot the backgrounds based on it.

It’s similar to traditional location scouting, but with a twist.

Location scouting usually involves checking:

• Whether the location is suitable for actors
• How long it takes to get there
• Whether there are restrooms nearby

But a background cinematographer doesn’t need to worry about any of that.

They simply go to the location, shoot the background footage alone, and the job is done.

No one else ever needs to visit the location. The scene is built later using compositing.

How to Shoot Backgrounds

Background shooting isn’t overly strict.

You just need to capture the kinds of backgrounds that would normally appear in the scene.

Still images are often enough, but to avoid missing anything, I use a video camera.

I set the camera to a wide angle, hit record, and slowly pan around the area to capture the surroundings.

This process is repeated to ensure full coverage of the location.

If using stills, handheld cameras are fine. You can extract still frames from the video later.

If the background includes movement—like:

• Flowing water
• Falling cherry blossoms
• Blowing leaves
• Swaying grass

…then I fix the camera on a tripod and record for about one minute.

That’s usually enough.

Building a Background Stock Library

The footage you shoot becomes reusable stock.

Even if you shoot backgrounds for one film, you can reuse them in another.

You might even shoot backgrounds just because the scenery is beautiful, without knowing how you’ll use them yet.

For example, if you visit the beach, it’s worth capturing the shoreline for future use.

The more stock you accumulate, the more flexible your future productions become.

You can even build scenes around the backgrounds you already have.

And the more stock you have, the shorter your shooting schedule becomes.

A New Way to Collaborate

By learning this background cinematography method, people in distant locations can contribute to a film by shooting local backgrounds.

If someone wants to create a beach scene but lives inland, they can request beach footage from someone near the coast.

In this way, the role of the background cinematographer becomes a key part of a new filmmaking model.

I hope this inspires you.