Patrick Jones on blurring the line between subject and object in 'By Design'

Five features into their collaboration, cinematographer Patrick Jones and director Amanda Kramer have developed a creative shorthand that makes projects like 'By Design' come together with surprising speed. Patrick opens up about his first reaction to the concept and the foundation that makes their collaboration so instinctive and enduring.'By Design' presented a fascinating cinematographic challenge at its core: the similarities and differences in framing, lighting, and handling human beings versus inanimate objects in front of the camera. Patrick shares how the film demanded a fresh perspective on what it means to observe and capture a subject, blurring the line between the animate and the still.We explore choreography as a visual language, from dance to general movement, and how Patrick approaches the camera's relationship to bodies in motion. He also expands on the distinct experience of shooting Amanda Kramer's music videos compared to her feature films, and what each format demands from him as a cinematographer. We close our conversation with Patrick looking ahead, sharing where he sees both their creative partnership and his own craft evolving from here.(Photo credit: Terra Gutmann-Gonzalez)