The Return

For T.J. Williams Jr., cinematography is the family business. His father is a Steadicam operator and DP in Seattle. T.J. started helping him in high school and landed his first solo gig at 19, as 1^st AC for DP Sean Kirby on the indie film, Cthulhu.

The Return, directed by Jeremy Mackie and shot on Sony F3 and Zeiss MK3 Super Speeds, was part of the Seattle International Film Festival’s Fly Films program, which challenges local filmmakers to produce shorts with limited time and resources. That meant working with less equipment and a less-experienced crew.

“At first it was frustrating, but these guys put so much effort in that I couldn’t be upset for long,” Williams says. “Mistakes were made, but some of them were happy mistakes. We came out with a great product, and I came away a little bit more patient.”

Though he’s shot mostly digital, film has strong appeal. “Beyond the beautiful look, the medium itself engenders much more respect for the process. There’s a different ethos on set when film’s burning through the camera. Everyone’s quieter, more alert and serious,” he says. “I also really enjoy working without the clarity of HD monitoring. Digital sets seem to always end up with the DP and gaffer in the DIT tent, and the rest of the keys at video village – a certain amount of that collaboration is lost simply by not looking at the scene together from the camera with our own eyes. If I had a choice, I’d shoot much more film.”