A BAFTA Tribute to Billy Williams OBE

A BAFTA TRIBUTE TO

BILLY WILLIAMS OBE 6 DECEMBER 2015

SUPPORTED BY PANAVISION

Whenever I do a film, I’m always very emotionally involved in the story and work closely with all the other departments beforehand to build up a picture of how the film will look.

BI L LY W I L L I A M S

O N TH E SE T O F GA N D H I (1982) WITH SI R BEN K I N GSLE Y

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OVERVIEW

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hooting a scene successfully requires more than an eye for framing actors or action. It lies in how that scene is lit.

John Alton described it as “Painting with light”. A subtle change, from a cloud passing overhead on location to the way a shadow falls under a studio’s lights, can alter our perception of a scene. Knowing how to control light is one of the cinematographer’s greatest challenges. And time and again, Billy Williams proved himself a master of it.

He was born into cinematography. His father, William D Williams, was a documentary and newsreel cameraman who made Billy his assistant when he was just 14. Billy travelled with the Colonial Film Unit and, after his military service, British Transport Films. It was through his work on commercials that he met Ken Russell, who gave him his break in cinema with the third Harry Palmer thriller, Billion Dollar Brain (1967). Opening in London, the action swiftly moves to Finland, with Billy capturing both the chilly environment and frenetic action with crisp clarity.

He joined Michael Caine in Greece for The Magus (1968), which earned him his first BAFTA nomination, before returning to Ken Russell for their ravishing adaptation of DH Lawrence’s Women in Love (1969). The film’s lustrous imagery, which vividly contrasts the central characters’ bohemian lives with the mining town around them, earned Billy another BAFTA nod and his first Academy Award nomination. Twenty years later, Ken and Billy reunited for another evocative Lawrence adaptation, The Rainbow (1989).

by Ian Haydn Smith

Atmosphere is everything. Billy captured a unique vision of the West with Kid Blue (1973) and made the most of an arid landscape in Eagle’s Wing (1979). He shot the opening section of The Exorcist (1973) in Iraq, gradually drawing us into an unerring world that presages the shocks to follow. In stark contrast, one summer transforms into a reverie of intergenerational communion as sun-dappled water ripples through the exquisite family drama On Golden Pond (1981). It earned him his second Oscar nomination.

Billy eventually won an Academy Award, with Ronnie Taylor, for his work on Richard Attenborough’s epic Gandhi (1982). For every scene that employed thousands of extras, Billy and Ronnie’s camera also captured the nuances of Gandhi’s emotional and spiritual journey.

His considerable skill and subtlety was also brought to bear on the tragic journey of the SS St Louis in Voyage of the Damned (1976), while the line between myth and reality, played out on the grandest scale, was beautifully rendered in The Wind and the Lion (1975).

A wintery Washington provided the backdrop to Peter Yates’ taut thriller Suspect (1987). Along with Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), The Silent Partner (1978) and Stella (1990), it displayed a grittier side to Billy’s style as he captured the speed of modern urban life.

Once again, he is painting with light, only employing a different palette.

These films, like all his work, highlight the immeasurable skill Billy brought to each project, his eye always noting the smallest of details, no matter the size of the canvas.

Ian Haydn Smith writes on film and the arts, and is the editor of Curzon Magazine.

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AN

INTERVIEW

WITH

BILLY WILLIAMS

Billy Williams on how he got started…

My father [Billie Williams] started working at a studio in Walthamstow called Precision Films in 1910. He started as an apprentice to two brothers, Thomas and David Gobbett. He spent his whole life as a cinematographer, doing everything from newsreels to documentaries to expedition films. He went into the Royal Navy in 1916 and filmed the surrender of the German fleet at Scapa Flow in 1918, which is in the Imperial War Museum archive.

When I left school in 1943, my mother wanted me to work in the city with my uncle, as it would have been a regular job, but I chose to become my father’s apprentice. I went with him all over the UK, making training films for the Ministry of Defence, travelogues, all kinds of things.

When I was 18, I did my National Service for two years. After that I felt I needed to broaden my horizons, so I got a job in a newly formed company called British Transport Films, which was making films about the nationalised industries, rail, the docks, the waterways. I spent five or six years there as

B I LLY WITH H IS FATH ER, B I LLI E WI LLIA M S, M A K I N G A N R A F TR A I N I N G FI L M I N SCOTL A N D I N 194 4

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OBE

an assistant cameraman before I finally got an opportunity to become a cameraman. I spent my entire savings on a camera, as my father had always owned his own cameras.

On his big break…

Because I’d been in documentary, there really wasn’t a bridge into features until commercials arrived in the 1950s. Commercials were a stepping-stone because all kinds of talent converged there. I met Ken Russell, John Schlesinger and Ted Kotcheff there – I did pictures with all of them afterwards.

Ken Russell was engaged by Harry Saltzman to direct Billion Dollar Brain (1967).

It was the third of the Harry Palmer films and a very well-known cinematographer, Otto Heller, had photographed the first two.

They went on the recce to Finland, and the production manager said he thought Otto ought to have a medical because it was going to be very cold. Otto refused the medical, so he was off the picture.

I took the cutting copy of a musical I’d been working on with Tony Richardson called Red and Blue to show them. I remember Harry turned to Ken and said, “OK, let’s give the kid a break.” I was 38!

On Women in Love (1969), for which he was BAFTA and Oscar-nominated…

Women in Love was a gift for a cinematographer, because it had day and night, interiors and exteriors, firelight and candlelight, dusk and dawn and day-for-night. I said to Ken it would be nice to emphasise the difference in colours of light during the different times of the day using filters on the camera or lamps and he agreed. At that time, skin tones were very neutralised.

I’ve always worked with a colour temperature meter so when we came to the wrestling scene, I measured the colour of firelight, which is about 2,000 Kelvin. I put a full orange filter on all

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SH O OTI N G WOM EN I N LOVE (1968) WITH O LIVER REED, G LEN DA JACKSO N A N D K EN RUSSELL

the lamps and the electricians were doing this flickering effect using some branches to create movement with the light.

We shot just one day with Oli [Reed] and Alan [Bates] fully nude, with two handheld cameras and a real blazing log fire, which was crackling away. It was 10 years before Steadicam.

We used an Arriflex IIC, which was an ideal handheld, very flexible, so we could follow the wrestling very quickly. What we wanted were very sharp moves, which you can’t do with Steadicam because it smoothes it out. The next day we did the close-up shots with the dialogue, which we did with the blimp camera.

We finished all the filming in England, including a drowning scene, which was shot at magic hour. It took three evenings to do, because you only get five or ten minutes at

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magic hour. Oli went in the water three nights in a row and never complained. He was very good and it was a very dramatic scene.

On what attributes make a good cinematographer…

Observation. Experience and understanding of light. How to get the best out of available light. To think about the direction of light when shooting exteriors and how that can change the look.

Young filmmakers are obsessed about the technicalities of digital cameras, but it doesn’t matter how advanced your camera might be, it’s not going to make you a better cinematographer if you don’t understand how to use it to tell a story. We’re visual storytellers. Whenever I do a film, I’m always very emotionally involved

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FI L M I N G GA N D H I I N 1981 WITH D I RECTO R RI CHA RD AT TEN BO RO U G H (FO REG RO U N D) A N D FI RST A SSISTA NT CA M ER A M A N TED D E A SO N (LEF T )

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B I LLY WI LLIA M S REL A XI N G AT H O M E (2015)

It doesn’t matter how advanced your camera is, it won’t make you a better cinematographer if you don’t understand how to use it to tell a story. in the story and work closely with all the other departments beforehand to build up a picture of how the film will look.

I’m always closely engaged with the director over where to put the camera and what the coverage is going to be. When I’m thinking about what lens to use and where the camera is going to be, I’m also thinking about where I’d like to put the light and what effect I’ll get. It’s a combination of those things.

On his early influences…

Jack Cardiff’s work was always so lush, beautifully designed and had wonderful colours. He only

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worked in colour. He was a wonderful artist. The Red Shoes (1948) and Black Narcissus (1947) are just two of his magnificent films. If you think how slow the film stock was back then, how much light he had to use on interiors to get the effect he did, he was just a master.

Guy Green worked mainly in black and white, Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948). He had such wonderful control of light and shade. When you’re working with black and white, it is all about light and shade and separation.

Those were my two British heroes. And then there was Gregg Toland for Citizen Kane (1941), which I think is still a landmark film photographically, technically and in every respect.

Because I grew up with black and white, I still photograph colour as if it was black and white. If you get the tonal separation between the characters and the background so they don’t blend into each other, you can direct the audience’s attention to the person who is speaking. You then add light to create the right atmosphere.

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INSPIRATION

CONTEMPORARIES AND COLLABORATORS

BEN DAVIS I first had the pleasure of working (as a young clapper loader) with Billy Williams in 1988 on Ken Russell’s The Rainbow. Billy immediately made an impression on me: tall, elegant, with an air of confidence and control, he exuded calm on what was a pressurised set and always had time for a question from an inquisitive mind.

I was immediately struck by Billy’s lighting technique, which to a naive mind seemed to involve large amounts of polly and flags.

This was, of course, because he bounced and shaped his lighting in the most beautiful way.

It was very different from the techniques I had witnessed being used by other directors of photography at the time and very much an approach ahead of its time. I realised I was witnessing something special and made sure I paid attention. Billy’s record speaks for itself and when you look back through his work, you can really appreciate this through the way he lights the close-up, which is, after all, the backbone of most films.

I didn’t work with Billy a great deal after that, as I pursued my own career goals, but then I attended a lighting workshop/ masterclass with Billy as my teacher. It’s my opinion that teaching is a gift and a good teacher is a rare gift; a great teacher… well, that’s very rare, but that’s what Billy is. That short class was one of the most rewarding times I have had in cinematography, and I’m sure there are many out there who have experienced that same pleasure. I will always be grateful. Thank you, Billy.

Ben Davis worked with Billy Williams as a clapper loader on The Rainbow (1989). He has since become a cinematographer in his own right, with credits including Layer Cake (2004), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 8

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OFFER THEIR MEMORIES OF WORKING WITH BILLY WILLIAMS

M A K I N G H IS 'ACTI N G' D EBU T A LO N GSI D E CA N D I CE BERG EN I N TH E WI N D A N D TH E LI O N (1975)

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IAN WHITTAKER I regret very much that I am unable to join you at this well-deserved tribute. At this very moment I am winging my way down to Cape Town to join yet another ‘cruise of a lifetime’ to Singapore and on to Australia.

Believe me it is perfectly possible to dress a set with loving care and to have absolutely nothing that one has contributed appear on the screen. To have such an ally against the powers of darkness heading the camera department is a rare treat.

I notice, like myself and my dear and faithful colleague [production designer] Luciana Arrighi, Billy was one of the many talented people who were given their first chance by Ken Russell.

I am proud to be among their number.

Ian Whittaker worked with Billy Williams on The Rainbow (1989) as art director. His set decorator credits also include Howards End (1992), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999) and From Time to Time (2009)

O N SE T WITH ACTO RS SA M M I DAVIS A N D PAU L M CGA N N A N D D I RECTO R K EN RUSSELL FO R TH E R A I N BOW (1989)

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WITH K ATHA RI N E H EPBU RN A N D SCRI P T SU PERVISO R M A RSHA LL SCH LO M FO R O N G O LD EN PO N D (1981)

NIK POWELL I got to know Billy personally when I became a director of the NFTS. Of course I knew about his brilliant Oscar-winning work on Gandhi and his wonderful work on Women in Love, On Golden Pond and a host of other British films, going all the way back to Billion Dollar Brain.

However, it is as a teacher that I first met him. His desire to pass on what he had learnt over 60 years – his wisdom and his knowledge – to the younger generation deeply moved me.

But most of all his enthusiasm for all things

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new – new technologies especially – was infectious. For all of this and his outstanding camera work, generations of NFTS and other students of film and film lovers everywhere will always be deeply grateful, as will I. This is a richly deserved tribute to a deeply impressive man.

Nik Powell became director of the National Film and Television School in 2005, where Billy Williams has lectured numerous times about his craft

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ROGER DEAKINS Women in Love, The Wind and the Lion, Gandhi, Sunday Bloody Sunday: just four films which highlight the diversity and artistry of Billy Williams. It would be any cinematographer’s dream to accomplish what Billy accomplished on just one of these films.

He is an original. He started out as his father’s assistant at the age of 14 and, like many a cinematographer, honed his craft through shooting documentaries. His list of credits speaks for itself, but it is Billy’s enthusiasm and energy to pass on his knowledge to students of film, from all parts of the globe, that will form an even greater and long-lasting legacy.

I am extremely honoured to know him and, like so many, to have learnt so much from him.

TA K I N G A BRE A K FRO M FI L M I N G SU N DAY BLO O DY SU N DAY (1971) WITH D I RECTO R J O H N SCH LESI N G ER (WITH G L A SSES) A N D CRE W

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Cinematographer Roger Deakins is a three-time BAFTA winner for his work on True Grit (2010), No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

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SH O OTI N G SUSPECT (1987) I N WA SH I N GTO N DC

LIA M NEESON Billy, I’m delighted that BAFTA is honouring you tonight and justly so.

I know that Suspect was almost 30 years ago, but I always remember you as the quiet professional’s professional, going about your craft with focus and precision.

Even though Suspect was mainly a courtroom drama, your lighting was subtle and dramatic with delicate shifts in mood. You’re a master. I raise a glass to you. Have a great night.

Liam Neeson starred in Suspect (1987), alongside Cher and Dennis Quaid. It was directed by Peter Yates, with Billy Williams as cinematographer

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BA F TA TRI BU TE

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECT) 1997 1992 1990 1989 1987 1986 1985 1985 1984 1983 1982 1982 1981 1980 1979

Driftwood Shadow of the Wolf Stella The Rainbow Suspect The Manhattan Project Eleni Dreamchild Ordeal by Innocence The Survivors Gandhi Monsignor On Golden Pond Saturn 3 Eagle’s Wing

1978 1977 1976 1975 1973 1973 1973 1972 1971 1970 1969 1969 1968 1967 1965

The Silent Partner The Devil’s Advocate Voyage of the Damned The Wind and the Lion The Glass Menagerie Night Watch Kid Blue X, Y and Zee Sunday Bloody Sunday The Ballad of Tam Lin Two Gentlemen Sharing Women in Love The Magus Billion Dollar Brain San Ferry Ann

AWARDS BAFTA NOMINATIONS 1983 Gandhi 1972 Sunday Bloody Sunday 1970 Women in Love 1970 The Magus ACADEMY AWARD WINS 1983 Gandhi

WITH K EN RUSSELL O N WOM EN I N LOVE (1969)

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ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS 1982 On Golden Pond 1971 Women in Love

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WITH SPECIAL THANKS Billy Williams oBE Anne Williams THANKS Beege Barkette Kate Buckley Ray Butcher Joana Cannon James Ellis Deakins Ramon Estevez Taylor Estevez Imagery courtesy of Billy Williams.

Cover portrait by Jonathan Birch B I LLY WI LLIA M S CA P T U RED I N 1955

CONTRIBUTORS

EVENT PRODUCTION

Lucia Arrighi Sir Michael Caine Stuart Craig Ben Davis Roger Deakins CBE Jane Fonda Sir Ben Kingsley Liam Neeson OBE Nik Powell Mark Rydell Sir Sydney Samuelson Martin Sheen Sam Waterston Ian Whittaker

Event Host Ian Haydn Smith Event Producer Cassandra Neal Film Programme Manager Mariayah Kaderbhai Learning and New Talent Officer Julia Carruthers Director of Learning and New Talent Tim Hunter Learning and New Talent Assistant Ciara Teggart

Learning and New Talent Intern Evan Parker Production Manager Georgina Cunningham Set Design Marc Baker Photography Director Janette Dalley Event Photographer Jonathan Birch Brochure Editor Toby Weidmann Brochure Design Joe Lawrence, Russell Seal

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