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.
production design is an underrated profession (or maybe most people don’t know what it is) but it’s definitely one of the most important jobs in film
sometimes good production design can save an otherwise mediocre film because even if the story isn’t the best, at least I can enjoy living in the world they’ve created