The DP in the new economy and why relationships still really matter.

(Editor's Note: We revisit an enlightening interview with Barry Markowitz, ASC from last summer. His collaboration with director Billy Bob Thornton, which includes the visually stunning All The Pretty Horses, continues in this year's Jayne Mansfield's Car, which unspooled last month in Berlin. Read what Indiewire had to say about it.)

Barry Markowitz, ASC, was born in Brooklyn, New York to parents who survived the Holocaust. He left NYC to earn a degree in Jewish History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His early success on James Toback's The Big Bang led to other films, most notably directed and/or produced by Billy Bob Thornton and Robert Duval.

In 2005, Barry was inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers, recommended by Titanic’s Russell Carpenter, among others. He received the Las Vegas Film Critics Society “Sierra Award” for All The Pretty Horses in 2000. He has shot nearly a dozen films and 500 television commercials, working with many of the industry's top directors. Barry lives in New York City where he enjoys playing ice hockey with his two boys.

We jumped at the chance to ask the DP of Crazy Heart, Sling Blade and The Apostle a few questions:

Createasphere: How did you get started as a DP?

Barry: I started with a job cleaning camera cases at a rental facility. I learned about lenses, lighting, film stocks and cameras. I worked my way up the ranks as a camera assist, camera operator and eventually as a Director of Photography. In 1989, I broke into independent features with Director James Toback's The Big Bang.

Createasphere: From your point of view as a DP, what has been the biggest change in how movies are made in the last 5 years?

Barry: I think the economy is reflected in every aspect of life, including making movies. Decisions are made with a close eye on the budgetary bottom line. Producers need to save money so they are always looking for ways to accomplish that. They want the best quality but are always asking, “Do we need all those lights? Can we go with existing light or a different and less expensive camera?” It’s a time of faster films, faster cameras and faster shooting schedules. The producers also look for ways to shave off time because that gets expensive too. So the biggest change is the push to save money, at every level, even hiring the DP. The producers actually hire the DP’s on most projects and that’s another shift.

Createasphere: In the past, it was commonly up to the director to hire the DP. Why has that changed?

Barry: Again, I think it’s about economics. We are in a cautious time. The producers have to answer to investors and studio executives; there’s a whole committee. And so there is a lot of vetting that goes on before a DP is finally hired. I’ve heard of projects where 20 DP’s were interviewed before a decision was made and that’s not out of the norm. Producers and studio heads want to know for certain that you can do the job so if there’s a car crash in the movie and you don’t have one on your reel, they’ll worry that you might not be able to do it. I’ve been lucky to work with directors who have been able to bring me onto their projects over and over. I’ve worked with Billy Bob Thornton on 4 movies, one that will be released called Jayne Mansfield’s Car.

Createasphere: When you work with the same director over a 15-year time period, do you start to finish each other’s sentences?

Barry: It’s like a long marriage (a successful one!) but beyond the typical stuff of reading each other’s minds, it’s just great to watch Billy Bob grow into the great director that he is today. When I read the script for Jayne Mansfield’s Car, I was blown away. We started researching some classic old movies, like Touch of Evil, a 1958 black and white film by Orson Welles. It was a great way to start the conversation of his vision of the film. Jayne Mansfield’s Car is a period piece starring Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duval, John Hurt and Kevin Bacon, just to name a few of the star studded cast. It’s a drama set in 1969 Alabama and as Robert Duval recently said in an interview, the film is like “putting Tennessee Williams in the back seat.”

Createasphere: How would you describe this recent collaboration with Billy Bob Thornton?

Barry: More so than in the past, I followed Billy Bob’s lead on the shooting of Jayne Mansfield’s Car. After I set up a shot, sometimes he would come by and move the lens an inch or two and I would look at him like, “what’s up?” and he would just say quietly, “Be patient, watch.” And as the scene developed, it would become clear why he moved the lens or camera an inch here or there. I had my say but he knew it so well, it would be in vain for me to try to change things that had been in his head for 3 years. And after 4 movies, you have a trust that’s there. It’s such a good movie; I absolutely cannot wait till it comes out.

Createasphere: Your resume boasts the kind of films that filmmakers would kill for. How important is it that you’re excited or moved by a project?

Barry: I love what I do and I hope I’m working till I drop dead. If I read a script and I’m just not feeling it, I turn it down. And when I do, God bless them, I hope the film is okay and does great, but if it’s not right for me, then I’m not the right guy for the film. But when it is right, I just can’t believe I get to do it.

Createasphere: Thank you Barry!