Rick Bay
Cinematographer / Photographer / Filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA
www.rickbayphoto.com
instagram @rickbaywatch
Q What do you do?
“Using cameras and lights, I arrange time within a frame to tell stories and convey emotion.”
The camera is the tool I use to capture a segment of time so that it may be experienced again. Part of making that captured time perceivable to the camera is the careful arrangement of lights both inside and outside of the frame.
As a cinematographer and filmmaker, this means orchestrating and recording shots that can then be joined to create a one-time mosaic.
As a photographer, this means composing and recording solitary moments that can be reviewed and enjoyed at the leisure of the viewer.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
It was years and years of failure and frustration that helped me build a knowledge base. Countless hours spent shooting and failing to actualize my vision forced me to start problem-solving. I sharpened my skills to a point where I can now confidently and consistently execute in reality what I have developed conceptually.
When I started out, I was specifically drawn to photojournalism as an art form. I liked the idea of the photographer going out with the absolute bare minimum amount of gear and prep and coming back with incredible story-telling images. The roots of photojournalism are in street photography, and so that became a starting point for me as a serious visual artist.
What held me back, however, was shooting an image on a digital camera and "chimping" as it's called in the business. Chimping is when a photographer shoots a photo and then immediately holds up the camera to look at the back LCD screen and see what the photo they just took looks like. While I was out shooting the streets, if I made a frame that just didn't look the way I wanted it to, I would get discouraged. The way I combated this was by shooting exclusively analog - just on film. When shooting on film, there is no way to know if you as the photographer just got the shot the way you saw it in your mind, so there is nothing to be discouraged by. By the time the film was developed, it had been maybe two weeks since the day I had actually shot it, and I used that time to emotionally distance myself from the photographs I had taken that day. In this way, I was able to make mistakes and learn from them rather than just get discouraged by them.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
I stand out as a calm and down-to-earth professional in an industry that moves at a break-neck pace. It is the ability to operate comfortably under intense and persistent pressure that sets me apart in my field. I can execute stylish and substantive material on a tight budget and a tight deadline.
Q What are you working on right now?
Right now I am working on crafting my cinematography reel into something that can stand on its own as something worth watching and engaging with; making my reel into a form of poetry.
Q What’s your style?
Check out my reel here
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
Right now I am focusing specifically on honing my lighting skillset. As a cinematographer, it is always important to understand light and how it reacts both with the camera and with the natural world. I am working on further developing my lighting technique.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
The most frustrating thing for me is marketing myself and acquiring new clients. I can retain the clients I work with, but generating new cold leads has been tricky!
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
I would have them optimize my social media and online presence. I would have them prioritize attracting new clients and collaborators.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
When I was young, I used to write short stories and poetry for fun. I really enjoyed writing, and if you'll forgive me for a moment of blowing smoke, I was pretty good! However, I had an English teacher just before high school who deeply and publicly disliked my writing. Run-ins with this teacher caused me to slow down my creative output until eventually, I stopped writing for fun altogether.
If I had a time machine, I would have absolutely encouraged myself to keep writing. It is a skill I wish I still had at this point in my life. While I am capable, I am not as in tune with my inner-self when I write. I have lost the connection between my soul and my pen. So it is part of my lifelong mission to get that back. If the solution was as easy as popping back in time and giving my younger self a pat on the back, I'd already be a more complete and fulfilled human being!
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I think if I could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, it would be the science of how human beings experience rhythm. Filmmaking in many ways revolves around rhythm, and having a more complete understanding of it would make me a more potent filmmaker.
In filmmaking, there are already two main schools of rhythm: the editing school and the shot school. The editing school believes that the rhythm of a film is generated in the edit. The main thought is that no matter what is shot, it can always be cut in such a way as to generate the necessary rhythm. This is the theory that most contemporary filmmakers follow, and if you mention rhythm to one, they will immediately associate that with editing.
The shot school is championed most notably by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky in his book "Sculpting in Time." His belief is that the rhythm of a film comes from inside the frame rather than from the splices between frames. This contradicts the former school of thought by supposing that if the rhythm is not present in the footage, it can absolutely not be generated in the edit.
Rhythm remains a mysterious and elusive concept to modern filmmakers and audiences alike, but think of your favorite films and ask yourself about their rhythm. Are they fast, are they slow, and is there an intensity of pressure that builds throughout the film? That building of pressure across the film can be considered part of the film's rhythm. A modern audience, when asked, might simplify rhythm down to "the time between cuts," but this only goes to show the lack of understanding of what rhythm is in cinema. I truly think talking to an expert about the physiological and psychological history and phenomena of rhythm could make me a better filmmaker. If I can understand its principles outside of cinema, maybe I can translate that into cinematic techniques.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
My goal is to eventually work on feature films, so I always have my ear to the ground for those opportunities. That said, I also enjoy working on short films, music videos, portraits, and creative marketing material!
I do my best to take advantage of any opportunity to flex my visual arts muscles as my schedule and budget allow.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
I feel that I have succeeded as a professional when the client is proud of what we have made together. That is the best feeling I get as a professional. So with that in mind, my ideal collaboration is when someone comes to me with a vision that they would like us to execute together. Once they have their vision as clear as they can get it, I am put in a position where my creative and technical knowledge can turn their concepts into reality.
Q: What is your rate?
I always try to be flexible and work within a client’s budget, but a shoot day costs between $350 - $1,000 depending on the scope and scale of the project.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Shoot me an email at my personal email, or slide into my DMs on Instagram!
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Markus Rowntree is one of my favorite production designers in the business!
Kevyn Delgado is a commercial and product cinematographer I love collaborating with.
Ian Hussey is a gaffer and cinematographer who is massively talented.
Rachel Comeau is a hardworking actress with endless talent and class.
Madeleine Ours is a professional model and personal friend with an incredible portfolio.
Angeline Mirenda is a powerhouse choreographer, dancer, and actress.
Elisa Legrain is a wonderful writer and native French speaker.
Alex Kugelman is a writer extraordinaire with several features under his belt.
Evan Washington is a reliable producer, actor, writer, and renaissance man.
Alexa Babin is both a published author and screenwriter with courage and integrity.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Beginning to stir. The mind-legs stretched outwards. Time for a daydream.
This member profile was originally published in May 2022.