Spaced Ranger said:

ww12345 said:

... "old school" cinematographers shot like that. ... I always over-frame shots, knowing that I can crop it in the darkroom to the image that I really wanted. ... a lot of cinematographers who came over from still photography (a la Stanley Kubrick) knew and practiced these methods.

George Lucas never had that background -- he began on motion pictures. What he framed was what he wanted (or the best he could get). Interesting that you mentioned Kubrick. I read where he was on the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey with a square camera viewfinder composing the shots for his cinematographer! How's that technique for a Cinerama extravaganza. :)

Yeah, I know George Lucas never had that background - I was referring to the various TV cinematographers (like that example from Star Trek TOS) who I would imagine would have some background in traditional photography... Personally, I think that Lucas just got lucky with his framing and various techniques, especially in American Graffiti and Star Wars.