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.
The best boy.
Not only a hilarious title, but also is basically the right hand of production. Generally speaking they are going to be more hands-on than the producer, and when the best boy does their job well, nobody notices, but if the best boy fucks up, everybody knows and complains about it onset.