Robbie Ryan - IFTA Cinematography Masterclass

IFTA was delighted to present a special Cinematography Masterclass with Robbie Ryan, two-time Oscar nominated Director of Photography of Poor Things, Marriage Story, The Favourite, American Honey and I, Daniel Blake.

This masterclass was be moderated by Darren Thornton, IFTA-winning Director of Four Mothers and A Date for Mad Mary. It took place on Thursday, 2nd July at the Savoy Cinema, Dublin.

Robbie shared his knowledge as one of the world's leading cinematographers with insights into how he brings a filmmaker's unique vision to the screen. Drawing on his collaborations with Directors including Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold and Ken Loach, he explored the creative relationship between Director and Cinematographer, and how working closely with fellow Heads of Department helps shape the distinctive visual language of a film. Attendees also gained behind-the-scenes insights into his work across acclaimed films including Fish Tank, Catch Me Daddy, The Favourite and Poor Things.

Speaking about his collaborations with Andrea Arnold, Robbie described the director's instinctive filmmaking style as hugely influential on his own approach to cinematography.

"With Andrea it’s handheld for me. It's very apparent that she's into that. She doesn't have a tripod on set, it's not allowed. So that was from the get-go, and it's kind of genius, because it's her energy kind of personified through the way the camera moves. You get really close to the actors, you're always on top of the actor, and it's always point-of-view driven.

She's all about the little details, like the poetic close-up. For instance, in Wasp, where she's taught to turn the dial in the car and her toes kind of crunch. I remember that one, I was like, 'What do I want to film her feet for?' Then you see it serving the story and you go, 'Oh, that makes total sense.' The more I realised that style, I was able to enjoy it. She's somebody who knows the little special things that will click for the film."

Turning to his collaborations with Yorgos Lanthimos, Robbie discussed Lanthimos' distinctive rehearsal process, which places less emphasis on discussing character psychology and instead encourages actors to respond instinctively through physical exercises and games.

"A lot of people talk about Yorgos' rehearsal process because he is completely the opposite of what a director would normally be like. Instead of saying, 'Let's talk about your arc or your character,' he's completely like, 'Let's play games,' and go physical, where the actors all have to do things that have nothing to do with the film, but in a way it's everything to do with the film.

You write a film, you cast a film. His talent, and he has many talents, one of them is knowing what he thinks a good actor is going to bring to the role he's written, or co-written."

Robbie Ryan also reflected on what keeps drawing him back to short films, explaining how they continue to play an important role in his career, both creatively and personally.

"I feel that they got me so far that it'd be unfair not to always pass that on in a way. Hopefully, from selfish reasons, it's a chance to meet new directors. When I moved to London, I was able to do a lot of music videos, and I found the music videos and the short films were the best fun to do, because you're under pressure to do something good in a short amount of time.

That kind of pressure felt like it brought a lot of creativity, and I liked the energy of it. Then you're exhausted at the end of the day, maybe two or three days later, and you're like, 'Wow, that's taken it all out of you.' It's rare to get that battering."

Robbie has received acclaim for his Oscar-nominated collaborations with iconic filmmakers including Yorgos Lanthimos on Poor Things, The Favourite, Kinds of Kindness and Bugonia; Noah Baumbach on Marriage Story and The Meyerowitz Stories; Andrea Arnold on American Honey, Fish Tank and Bird; and Ken Loach on I, Daniel Blake, Jimmy’s Hall and The Old Oak. His credits also include Philomena, C’mon C’mon, Slow West, Brick Lane, Kathryn Ferguson’s IFTA-winning short Nostalgie, and music videos for Fontaines DC, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, PinkPantheress, Jessie Ware and Paolo Nutini.

In addition to his two Oscar nominations, Robbie has won two IFTA Awards, seven Camerimage Awards, a European Film Award, a British Society of Cinematographers Award and two British Independent Film Awards, and received six additional IFTA nominations, two BAFTA nominations, and two American Society of Cinematographers nominations. 

This masterclass is supported by Screen Ireland through the Screen Stakeholders Funding Scheme.