What I mean by favorite here is
“what I often find myself greatly admiring when I notice it’s done really well”
gonna go with Director of Photography (cinematographer). with emphasis on the photography.
Some things I’ve watched recently that illustrate this role.
- Saltburn, great use of vertical space with the 4:3 aspect ratio, lots of color and natural light. Summer is captured well.
- Crash (1996), Lots of night scenes (always tough to get right), the setting looks appropriately dark, grimy, and mechanical.
- Fight Club, also a (literally) dark film and looks great.
I’ve always been a screenplay guy. If the script sucks, you got nothing. And I’ll tolerate bad production if the writing is good enough.
Edit: wait does the screenwriter actually count as part of the crew?
I think so? Everyone who’s not cast, right?