Camera Operator 2011 Fall/Winter

Display Until April 2012

FALL–WINTER 2011 US $7.00

WWW.SOC.ORG

CAMERA OPERATOR FALL /WINTER 2011

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AND DREAMWORKS II DISTRIBUTION CO., LLC © UNIVERSAL PICTURES

VOLUME 20, NUMBER 3

Daniel Craig in Cowboys & Aliens

Features

My Favorite Shot

21

by David Tolsky SOC A Cine Gear panel discussion reveals the secrets for making impossible shots possible.

Cover

Cowboys & Aliens Operator Journal

by Peter Rosenfeld SOC Creating a mash-up of a Western and a space thriller with a little 007 and Indiana Jones thrown in.

Riding into Battle on War Horse Jeremy Irvine in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

Photo by Andrew Cooper, SMPSP © DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC. All Rights Reserved

38

as told by Mitch Dubin SOC Horses, mud and mayhem: working on the set with Steven Spielberg.

Block, Light, Shoot…A Thing of the Past? Filming The Help

48

by Will Arnot SOC Taking an historic approach to filming a movie set in an historic era.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, F.S.F., N.S.C. A BEAUTIFULLY CONSTRUCTED THRILLER. FORMED WITH THE UTMOST CARE. Director Tomas Alfredson allows each character to emerge gradually but distinctly into a fully formed human being. Gary Oldman is remarkable. The lovely, understated score, with its whispering strings and muted trumpets, perfectly suits the movie’s palette of soft mauves and grays.

—STEPHANIE ZACHAREK, MOVIELINE

TINKER TAIL0R S0LDIER SPY For up-to-the-minute screening information and more on

this extraordinary film, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com

Departments

30

2 Letter from the President

14 What’s New

6 Editor’s Message

58 Hi-Def with Jeff

8 News & Notes

63 Last Take; Advertisers’ Index 64 Roster of the SOC

by Michael Frediani SOC

by Jack Messitt SOC

What’s happening with members and in the industry

The latest from SOC Corporate Members

by Jeffrey Cree SOC

as of 11/5/11

CAMERA OPERATOR FALL /WINTER 2011

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS AND DREAMWORKS II DISTRIBUTION CO., LLC © UNIVERSAL PICTURES

VOLUME 20, NUMBER 3

Daniel Craig in Cowboys & Aliens

Features

My Favorite Shot

21

by David Tolsky SOC A Cine Gear panel discussion reveals the secrets for making impossible shots possible.

Cover

Cowboys & Aliens Operator Journal

by Peter Rosenfeld SOC Creating a mash-up of a Western and a space thriller with a little 007 and Indiana Jones thrown in.

Riding into Battle on War Horse Jeremy Irvine in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

Photo by Andrew Cooper, SMPSP © DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC. All Rights Reserved

38

as told by Mitch Dubin SOC Horses, mud and mayhem: working on the set with Steven Spielberg.

Block, Light, Shoot…A Thing of the Past? Filming The Help

48

by Will Arnot SOC Taking an historic approach to filming a movie set in an historic era.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA, F.S.F., N.S.C. A BEAUTIFULLY CONSTRUCTED THRILLER. FORMED WITH THE UTMOST CARE. Director Tomas Alfredson allows each character to emerge gradually but distinctly into a fully formed human being. Gary Oldman is remarkable. The lovely, understated score, with its whispering strings and muted trumpets, perfectly suits the movie’s palette of soft mauves and grays.

—STEPHANIE ZACHAREK, MOVIELINE

TINKER TAIL0R S0LDIER SPY For up-to-the-minute screening information and more on

this extraordinary film, go to: www.FocusAwards2011.com

Departments

30

2 Letter from the President

14 What’s New

6 Editor’s Message

58 Hi-Def with Jeff

8 News & Notes

63 Last Take; Advertisers’ Index 64 Roster of the SOC

by Michael Frediani SOC

by Jack Messitt SOC

What’s happening with members and in the industry

The latest from SOC Corporate Members

by Jeffrey Cree SOC

as of 11/5/11

F

Letter from the President

Next Setup n behalf of the Society, I thank you for taking the time to read our magazine. We put in a great deal of time and effort contributing to this publication—with most articles written by our own members on a voluntary basis. As president of our nonprofit organization, I appreciate everybody who has contributed to what you hold in your hands today.

None of this would be possible without them and our valued advertisers who reach their target audience of industry professionals right here. Our readers use their products to create the magic in our chosen profession.

We now offer a What’s New section to highlight products of our new Corporate Members. Our Corporate Liaison Stan McClain SOC (corporate@soc.org) has spent countless hours bringing new companies into our organization, giving them great opportunities to reach out to our membership and feel more connected to the membership-at-large.

Fundraising I have asked Bonnie Blake SOC and Buddy Fries SOC to bring back our Commemorative Pin Series—where 100% of the revenue goes directly to the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. With the help of Buddy’s wife Karen we have this beautiful design which we can now offer to members and non-members alike for a donation of just $10.

We have a Limited Edition of only 500 pins and hope for a sellout with your help. Pins may be ordered by calling our office at 818.563.9110 or visiting Filmtools at 1400 W. Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506, where we have them on display and for sale. To date we have raised over $160,000 for the Vision Center and with your help, we will raise a lot more.

Awards Show Mark this date: February 19, 2012. We will hold our Lifetime Achievement Awards extravaganza to present our

NICOLE FREDIANI

O

O

R

U

R

C

O

N

S

I

D

Newsletter

Recording Secretary Dan Gold SOC edits our Newsletter which is distributed to all SOC members every 4–6 weeks via email. If you are among the few members without email, please call the SOC and we will be happy to mail you a copy. Without email you’ve been missing these informative Newsletters as well as email blasts of upcoming events and industry screenings.

In your mailbox By now all members should have received your updated Constitution & Bylaws, as well as your 2011–12 Membership Directory, and under separate cover your annual invoice.

If you’ve not received these items, please call the SOC office to request yours. Also included was a complimentary 3˝ full-color SOC sticker which we now offer to members and non-members alike for just $2, domestic postage included.

They’re available online at our website under “store.”

SOC Merchandise Please visit our website (soc.org) and check out the new merchandise in our store. Besides new T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, we now offer awesome water bottles, large canvas tote bags and much more.

Historical Committee I’ve asked past president Georgia Packard to chair the long dormant Historical Committee. Many years ago, we placed historical markers at two sites honoring notable movies. In Cottage Grove, Oregon we recognized Buster Keaton’s silent movie The General, and in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles we placed a historical marker at the iconic steps of the hilarious Laurel & Hardy movie The Music Box. I want to revitalize this great program and we have many emblematic locations that you will hear about soon.

Your ideas are welcomed: info@soc.org

B E S T C I N E M AT O G R A P H Y

Dariusz Wolski, ASC

SOC President

CAMERA OPERATOR: LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

O

coveted Cammy statues to many deserving members of the filmmaking community.

We will also present Technical Achievement Awards to companies for their outstanding tools of the trade. Keep updated with all things Awards related on our website (soc. org). Dave Frederick SOC and David Emmerichs SOC with their committees are working hard to create another exceptional presentation we do not want you to miss.

Michael Frediani,

2

Y

Fall / Winter 2011

www.WaltDisneyStudiosAwards.com ©2011 DISNEY

E

R

A

T

I

O

N

F

Letter from the President

Next Setup n behalf of the Society, I thank you for taking the time to read our magazine. We put in a great deal of time and effort contributing to this publication—with most articles written by our own members on a voluntary basis. As president of our nonprofit organization, I appreciate everybody who has contributed to what you hold in your hands today.

None of this would be possible without them and our valued advertisers who reach their target audience of industry professionals right here. Our readers use their products to create the magic in our chosen profession.

We now offer a What’s New section to highlight products of our new Corporate Members. Our Corporate Liaison Stan McClain SOC (corporate@soc.org) has spent countless hours bringing new companies into our organization, giving them great opportunities to reach out to our membership and feel more connected to the membership-at-large.

Fundraising I have asked Bonnie Blake SOC and Buddy Fries SOC to bring back our Commemorative Pin Series—where 100% of the revenue goes directly to the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. With the help of Buddy’s wife Karen we have this beautiful design which we can now offer to members and non-members alike for a donation of just $10.

We have a Limited Edition of only 500 pins and hope for a sellout with your help. Pins may be ordered by calling our office at 818.563.9110 or visiting Filmtools at 1400 W. Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91506, where we have them on display and for sale. To date we have raised over $160,000 for the Vision Center and with your help, we will raise a lot more.

Awards Show Mark this date: February 19, 2012. We will hold our Lifetime Achievement Awards extravaganza to present our

NICOLE FREDIANI

O

O

R

U

R

C

O

N

S

I

D

Newsletter

Recording Secretary Dan Gold SOC edits our Newsletter which is distributed to all SOC members every 4–6 weeks via email. If you are among the few members without email, please call the SOC and we will be happy to mail you a copy. Without email you’ve been missing these informative Newsletters as well as email blasts of upcoming events and industry screenings.

In your mailbox By now all members should have received your updated Constitution & Bylaws, as well as your 2011–12 Membership Directory, and under separate cover your annual invoice.

If you’ve not received these items, please call the SOC office to request yours. Also included was a complimentary 3˝ full-color SOC sticker which we now offer to members and non-members alike for just $2, domestic postage included.

They’re available online at our website under “store.”

SOC Merchandise Please visit our website (soc.org) and check out the new merchandise in our store. Besides new T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, we now offer awesome water bottles, large canvas tote bags and much more.

Historical Committee I’ve asked past president Georgia Packard to chair the long dormant Historical Committee. Many years ago, we placed historical markers at two sites honoring notable movies. In Cottage Grove, Oregon we recognized Buster Keaton’s silent movie The General, and in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles we placed a historical marker at the iconic steps of the hilarious Laurel & Hardy movie The Music Box. I want to revitalize this great program and we have many emblematic locations that you will hear about soon.

Your ideas are welcomed: info@soc.org

B E S T C I N E M AT O G R A P H Y

Dariusz Wolski, ASC

SOC President

CAMERA OPERATOR: LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

O

coveted Cammy statues to many deserving members of the filmmaking community.

We will also present Technical Achievement Awards to companies for their outstanding tools of the trade. Keep updated with all things Awards related on our website (soc. org). Dave Frederick SOC and David Emmerichs SOC with their committees are working hard to create another exceptional presentation we do not want you to miss.

Michael Frediani,

2

Y

Fall / Winter 2011

www.WaltDisneyStudiosAwards.com ©2011 DISNEY

E

R

A

T

I

O

N

SOCIETY OF CAMERA OPERATORS BOARD OF GOVERNORS OFFICERS President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Frediani 1st Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tufty 2nd Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Fracol 3rd Vice President . . . . . . . . . . David Frederick Recording Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Gold Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Turrett Sergeant-at-Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mark August BOARD MEMBER COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Frederick Charities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Blake Corporate Liaison . . . . . . . . . . . . Stan McClain COY Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rochelle Brown East Coast SOC Rep . . . . . . . . . . Alec Jarnagin Events . . . . . . . Mark August, Jennifer Braddock Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Fracol Historical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Georgia Packard Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher Tufty Merchandising . Dan Coplan, Rochelle Brown Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Messitt Technical Standards . . . . . . .David Emmerichs BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE Robert Reed Altman Robert Gorelick Will Arnot Chris Haarhoff Stephen Campanelli Kenji Luster Mitch Dubin Heather Page Samuel “Buddy” Fries Peter Rosenfeld Michael Scott STAFF AND CONSULTANTS Office Administrator . . . . . . . . . . Diana Penilla Publications Manager . . . . . . . Douglas Knapp Publications Layout . . . . . . . . . . Lynn Lanning Publishers . . . . . . . . . . . IngleDodd Publishing Calligrapher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carrie Imai Legal Reps. . . David Adelstein, Geffner & Bush is a registered trademark.

All rights reserved.

CAMERA OPERATOR FALL/WINTER 2011 Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Messitt SOC Managing Editor/Art Director . . . Lynn Lanning Post-ProductionManager . Douglas Knapp SOC Cover Photo . . . . . . . . . Andrew Cooper SMPSP Production Coordinators. IngleDodd Publishing Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Dodd CONTRIBUTORS Michael Frediani SOC Will Arnot SOC Mark August SOC Lynn Lanning Mark Bender Stan McClain SOC Jeffrey Cree SOC Jack Messitt SOC Mitch Dubin SOC Peter Rosenfeld SOC David Tolsky SOC PHOTOGRAPHY David Appleby Nicole Frediani Rochelle Brown Vince Gancie Andrew Cooper, SMPSP Douglas Knapp SOC Beth Dubber Dale Robinette Zade Rosenthal

cinemaeos.usa.canon.com

For display advertising information, contact: Dan Dodd (310) 207-4410 x236 fax: (310) 207-1055 Dan@IngleDodd.com For article submissions, please contact: SOC Attn Magazine PO Box 2006 Toluca Lake, CA 91610 Phone (818) 563-9110 (new phone #) email: camopmag@soc.org © 2011 by the Society of Camera Operators Subscription Rates: USA $20/year Outside USA $28/year (U.S. Funds Only) Subscribe online at www.SOC.org

© 2011 Canon U.S.A., Inc. Canon and EOS are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States, and may also be registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries. All rights reserved.

Camera Operator is published 3 times a year by the Society of Camera Operators

Visit the SOC web site www.SOC.org

4

CAMERA OPERATOR: CREDITS

Fall / Winter 2011

SOCIETY OF CAMERA OPERATORS BOARD OF GOVERNORS OFFICERS President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Frediani 1st Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tufty 2nd Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Fracol 3rd Vice President . . . . . . . . . . David Frederick Recording Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Gold Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel Turrett Sergeant-at-Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mark August BOARD MEMBER COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Frederick Charities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Blake Corporate Liaison . . . . . . . . . . . . Stan McClain COY Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rochelle Brown East Coast SOC Rep . . . . . . . . . . Alec Jarnagin Events . . . . . . . Mark August, Jennifer Braddock Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Fracol Historical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Georgia Packard Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christopher Tufty Merchandising . Dan Coplan, Rochelle Brown Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Messitt Technical Standards . . . . . . .David Emmerichs BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE Robert Reed Altman Robert Gorelick Will Arnot Chris Haarhoff Stephen Campanelli Kenji Luster Mitch Dubin Heather Page Samuel “Buddy” Fries Peter Rosenfeld Michael Scott STAFF AND CONSULTANTS Office Administrator . . . . . . . . . . Diana Penilla Publications Manager . . . . . . . Douglas Knapp Publications Layout . . . . . . . . . . Lynn Lanning Publishers . . . . . . . . . . . IngleDodd Publishing Calligrapher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carrie Imai Legal Reps. . . David Adelstein, Geffner & Bush is a registered trademark.

All rights reserved.

CAMERA OPERATOR FALL/WINTER 2011 Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Messitt SOC Managing Editor/Art Director . . . Lynn Lanning Post-ProductionManager . Douglas Knapp SOC Cover Photo . . . . . . . . . Andrew Cooper SMPSP Production Coordinators. IngleDodd Publishing Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Dodd CONTRIBUTORS Michael Frediani SOC Will Arnot SOC Mark August SOC Lynn Lanning Mark Bender Stan McClain SOC Jeffrey Cree SOC Jack Messitt SOC Mitch Dubin SOC Peter Rosenfeld SOC David Tolsky SOC PHOTOGRAPHY David Appleby Nicole Frediani Rochelle Brown Vince Gancie Andrew Cooper, SMPSP Douglas Knapp SOC Beth Dubber Dale Robinette Zade Rosenthal

cinemaeos.usa.canon.com

For display advertising information, contact: Dan Dodd (310) 207-4410 x236 fax: (310) 207-1055 Dan@IngleDodd.com For article submissions, please contact: SOC Attn Magazine PO Box 2006 Toluca Lake, CA 91610 Phone (818) 563-9110 (new phone #) email: camopmag@soc.org © 2011 by the Society of Camera Operators Subscription Rates: USA $20/year Outside USA $28/year (U.S. Funds Only) Subscribe online at www.SOC.org

© 2011 Canon U.S.A., Inc. Canon and EOS are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States, and may also be registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries. All rights reserved.

Camera Operator is published 3 times a year by the Society of Camera Operators

Visit the SOC web site www.SOC.org

4

CAMERA OPERATOR: CREDITS

Fall / Winter 2011

A Case of Need

I

came aboard as editor of Camera Operator magazine because I knew that it was a spot that no one wanted to fill. I had a journalism background and obviously knew the magazine’s focus from first hand experience, but I also knew how much work that editing a magazine would require. So when I came board, I knowingly jumped in with both feet and vowed to ultimately leave the magazine, not the same, but better than the way I found it.

In my time as editor, I have been lucky enough to be the first person to read the amazing articles that have graced these covers. In editing the submitted articles, I have been able to talk with and learn from many of the top operators in our business. Now and again, I would take up my own pen and personally make set visits, interviewing some wonderful camera crews about their craft. I always left the set visit excited to get to my computer to share the inner workings of the latest television show or movie. The whole experience has been extremely rewarding, not only professionally, but personally as well.

After four years at the helm, I announced that I was

stepping down as editor mainly because I felt that my wife and son deserved to see their husband and father on the weekends. So I typed up my resignation letter and printed it in the magazine. I knew that if I did not commit my intent in writing, I would not follow through… Yet here I am, almost a year later, overseeing another issue. Why? The SOC is such a wonderful organization, mainly because it is run entirely by volunteers; people with the drive and spirit to make the organization succeed. But the very thing that is such an advantage is also a curse — especially when it comes to something like the magazine. The hard part has been finding the right person to take over an unpaid position that includes a fair amount of work and very few accolades.

Volunteering is never easy. It means sacrifice. It means going out of your way for a cause that you believe in.

I believe in the SOC and it has been my privilege to be the editor of this magazine. I believe that Camera Operator is the strongest voice that we have to champion the virtues of the camera operator and the charitable causes of the SOC. For the past five years, I have helped that voice as best I could, but my time is coming to a close.

So I am putting out a challenge to every member of the SOC to find someone to take up the baton for the magazine and other BOG committees that can use the help; to find someone who will lift the message of the SOC to far greater heights; to find someone who will ultimately leave the SOC better off than the way they find it now…

COURTESY OF JACK MESSITT SOC

Editor’s Message

A Case of Need

I

came aboard as editor of Camera Operator magazine because I knew that it was a spot that no one wanted to fill. I had a journalism background and obviously knew the magazine’s focus from first hand experience, but I also knew how much work that editing a magazine would require. So when I came board, I knowingly jumped in with both feet and vowed to ultimately leave the magazine, not the same, but better than the way I found it.

In my time as editor, I have been lucky enough to be the first person to read the amazing articles that have graced these covers. In editing the submitted articles, I have been able to talk with and learn from many of the top operators in our business. Now and again, I would take up my own pen and personally make set visits, interviewing some wonderful camera crews about their craft. I always left the set visit excited to get to my computer to share the inner workings of the latest television show or movie. The whole experience has been extremely rewarding, not only professionally, but personally as well.

After four years at the helm, I announced that I was

stepping down as editor mainly because I felt that my wife and son deserved to see their husband and father on the weekends. So I typed up my resignation letter and printed it in the magazine. I knew that if I did not commit my intent in writing, I would not follow through… Yet here I am, almost a year later, overseeing another issue. Why? The SOC is such a wonderful organization, mainly because it is run entirely by volunteers; people with the drive and spirit to make the organization succeed. But the very thing that is such an advantage is also a curse — especially when it comes to something like the magazine. The hard part has been finding the right person to take over an unpaid position that includes a fair amount of work and very few accolades.

Volunteering is never easy. It means sacrifice. It means going out of your way for a cause that you believe in.

I believe in the SOC and it has been my privilege to be the editor of this magazine. I believe that Camera Operator is the strongest voice that we have to champion the virtues of the camera operator and the charitable causes of the SOC. For the past five years, I have helped that voice as best I could, but my time is coming to a close.

So I am putting out a challenge to every member of the SOC to find someone to take up the baton for the magazine and other BOG committees that can use the help; to find someone who will lift the message of the SOC to far greater heights; to find someone who will ultimately leave the SOC better off than the way they find it now…

COURTESY OF JACK MESSITT SOC

Editor’s Message

What’s going on with members and in the industry

PHOTOS BY HYDROFLEX AND ROCHELLE BROWN

News & Notes

SOC Underwater with HydroFlex

T

he underwater camera operator workshop has quickly become one of the most popular SOC workshops. With his love of underwater camerawork, Pete Romano SOC, ASC was on hand to help bring his vast underwater operating experience to the membership.

The first day of the two day workshop was held at HydroFlex. Both Pete Romano and Matt Brown kicked off the event by going over the basics of underwater cinematography.

With productions using so many different camera choices today, they discussed how these choices affect the craft, particularly the longer takes that shooting digitally has offered.

Pete went on to share his tips on the do’s and don’ts of underwater operating. Experienced scuba divers know that there are so many basic things to be thinking about (ie: depth, air consumption, etc.).

However when you’re working underwater, the diving end of things must become second nature because of the job you are there to perform. Your set is below the surface and so are the fixtures like lighting and grip gear. Pete also taught the

8

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

basics of camera lens calibration and using focusing charts underwater. Once underwater, this is always the first step.

With the HydroFlex staff there to help, the rest of the day was spent learning how to prep the cameras inside the proper waterproof housing. With the generous support of Clairmont Camera, Sony and Panavision Hollywood, SOC members had five different cameras to prep.

The real fun was the second day of the workshop—a hands on experience in the water.

Pete Romano started the camera operators going with underwater operating drills. Everyone took a turn behind each of the different cameras on hand. Pete was able to help each operator with individual advice by using an underwater microphone while those on the surface watched at video village. Ron Vidor SOC also swam side-by-side with the operators, helping facilitate Pete’s advice. Towie Bixby, an underwater script supervisor, was on hand in her scuba gear and showed her underwater slating tools.

Marc Casey, a new SOC member, flew in from Atlanta, Georgia specifically for the workshop.

“Learning operating from Pete Romano and HydroFlex was a dream come true,” said Marc. “Once I learned that the SOC had a underwater workshop, I booked a flight and Fall / Winter 2011

What’s going on with members and in the industry

PHOTOS BY HYDROFLEX AND ROCHELLE BROWN

News & Notes

SOC Underwater with HydroFlex

T

he underwater camera operator workshop has quickly become one of the most popular SOC workshops. With his love of underwater camerawork, Pete Romano SOC, ASC was on hand to help bring his vast underwater operating experience to the membership.

The first day of the two day workshop was held at HydroFlex. Both Pete Romano and Matt Brown kicked off the event by going over the basics of underwater cinematography.

With productions using so many different camera choices today, they discussed how these choices affect the craft, particularly the longer takes that shooting digitally has offered.

Pete went on to share his tips on the do’s and don’ts of underwater operating. Experienced scuba divers know that there are so many basic things to be thinking about (ie: depth, air consumption, etc.).

However when you’re working underwater, the diving end of things must become second nature because of the job you are there to perform. Your set is below the surface and so are the fixtures like lighting and grip gear. Pete also taught the

8

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

basics of camera lens calibration and using focusing charts underwater. Once underwater, this is always the first step.

With the HydroFlex staff there to help, the rest of the day was spent learning how to prep the cameras inside the proper waterproof housing. With the generous support of Clairmont Camera, Sony and Panavision Hollywood, SOC members had five different cameras to prep.

The real fun was the second day of the workshop—a hands on experience in the water.

Pete Romano started the camera operators going with underwater operating drills. Everyone took a turn behind each of the different cameras on hand. Pete was able to help each operator with individual advice by using an underwater microphone while those on the surface watched at video village. Ron Vidor SOC also swam side-by-side with the operators, helping facilitate Pete’s advice. Towie Bixby, an underwater script supervisor, was on hand in her scuba gear and showed her underwater slating tools.

Marc Casey, a new SOC member, flew in from Atlanta, Georgia specifically for the workshop.

“Learning operating from Pete Romano and HydroFlex was a dream come true,” said Marc. “Once I learned that the SOC had a underwater workshop, I booked a flight and Fall / Winter 2011

signed up! I can’t wait for the next underwater workshop!”

“We are looking forward to helping anyone with questions about our housings,” said Pete Romano. “I look forward to taking this to an even higher level next year.”

This workshop would not have been a success without the help of Local 80 members Tom Valentin and Justin Hansen. They handled all the grip support with gear donated by Wooden Nickel. The dive gear was sponsored by Hollywood Divers.

Many thanks go to SOC Events Chair Mark August, along with event co-chairs Jennifer Braddock, Rochelle Brown, Greg White and Stan McClain SOC. A special thanks to Matt Brown and the amazing HydroFlex staff, along with the above sponsors who made this workshop happen.

If you missed this year’s underwater workshop, keep an eye out for an announcement of the next one on the events page of the SOC website and on the SOC Facebook page.

10

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Fall / Winter 2011 © 2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

signed up! I can’t wait for the next underwater workshop!”

“We are looking forward to helping anyone with questions about our housings,” said Pete Romano. “I look forward to taking this to an even higher level next year.”

This workshop would not have been a success without the help of Local 80 members Tom Valentin and Justin Hansen. They handled all the grip support with gear donated by Wooden Nickel. The dive gear was sponsored by Hollywood Divers.

Many thanks go to SOC Events Chair Mark August, along with event co-chairs Jennifer Braddock, Rochelle Brown, Greg White and Stan McClain SOC. A special thanks to Matt Brown and the amazing HydroFlex staff, along with the above sponsors who made this workshop happen.

If you missed this year’s underwater workshop, keep an eye out for an announcement of the next one on the events page of the SOC website and on the SOC Facebook page.

10

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Fall / Winter 2011 © 2011 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Workshop Winner

A

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK BENDER

s the winner of an SOC newsletter contest, David Tolsky SOC was given a pass to the 4-day Sante Fe 3D Workshop. The workshop took place at AbelCine in Burbank, from August 13th–16th. The event covered a wide range of 3D information including Pre-Viz (featuring Frameforge 3D software) and a preview of the new Panasonic 3DP1 (the shouldermounted big brother of the AG-3DA1) shown by Panasonic’s Doug Leighton.

Dave Tolsky soc

3D in 2Days

adjustments that enable the proper control of 3D acquisition. On the enus, the makers of the Hurricane second day, the group was divided into three teams, each with a Hollywood 3D Rig, worldwide distributor Manfrotto, and Samy’s DV and Edit (a Hurricane member as a team leader. division of Samy’s Camera) sponsored Each participant was required to successfully mount up a rig and propa 2 day workshop and rig operator certification in June. Although certifi- erly align it. Then each group was given a scene to properly capture—including cation is normally $500 a person, the all sorts of visual challenges and 3D fee was generously waived for SOC artistic objectives. It was an intense members. hands-on experience, but a fun filled Mr Alister Chapman, the designer of the Hurricane rig, came in from the and rich learning session for all.

Many thanks to all the sponsors for UK to provide the hands on certificaproviding this very valuable experience tions. The workshop was packed over at no charge to SOC members. Look capacity—and far too many had to be for more about this seminar in an turned away.

Day one was an introductory lecture upcoming newsletter and on the SOC — Mark Bender, and demonstration of stereography, 3D website.

SOC Corporate Member capture, and the essential camera rig

VINCENT GANCIE

G

Workshop participants experimented with different convergence and interaxial settings on the Hurricane beamsplitter rig equipped with a pair of Sony EX-3s. Rounding out the workshop, participants were treated to a miniseminar on the high-speed Phantom 65 Z3D camera at AbelCine.

Noted workshop lecturers included DP Geoff Boyle, BSC (founder of CML), Ray Zone (experienced 3D filmmaker and author of 3D Filmmakers), Chris Mayhew (Vision 3 Imaging) and Ken Schafer (Frameforge). Will Lundy discussed the pros and cons of various underwater 3D housings as well as previewed the Sony’s new NX3D1U prosumer camera.

Vince Toto finished the seminar by discussing some unorthodox 3D techniques on the upcoming feature film, Judge Dread.

12

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Award Presented

A

t a recent board meeting Douglas Knapp SOC was presented with the award at left to commemorate his many years of service as a member of the Board of Governors.

Fall / Winter 2011

Workshop Winner

A

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK BENDER

s the winner of an SOC newsletter contest, David Tolsky SOC was given a pass to the 4-day Sante Fe 3D Workshop. The workshop took place at AbelCine in Burbank, from August 13th–16th. The event covered a wide range of 3D information including Pre-Viz (featuring Frameforge 3D software) and a preview of the new Panasonic 3DP1 (the shouldermounted big brother of the AG-3DA1) shown by Panasonic’s Doug Leighton.

Dave Tolsky soc

3D in 2Days

adjustments that enable the proper control of 3D acquisition. On the enus, the makers of the Hurricane second day, the group was divided into three teams, each with a Hollywood 3D Rig, worldwide distributor Manfrotto, and Samy’s DV and Edit (a Hurricane member as a team leader. division of Samy’s Camera) sponsored Each participant was required to successfully mount up a rig and propa 2 day workshop and rig operator certification in June. Although certifi- erly align it. Then each group was given a scene to properly capture—including cation is normally $500 a person, the all sorts of visual challenges and 3D fee was generously waived for SOC artistic objectives. It was an intense members. hands-on experience, but a fun filled Mr Alister Chapman, the designer of the Hurricane rig, came in from the and rich learning session for all.

Many thanks to all the sponsors for UK to provide the hands on certificaproviding this very valuable experience tions. The workshop was packed over at no charge to SOC members. Look capacity—and far too many had to be for more about this seminar in an turned away.

Day one was an introductory lecture upcoming newsletter and on the SOC — Mark Bender, and demonstration of stereography, 3D website.

SOC Corporate Member capture, and the essential camera rig

VINCENT GANCIE

G

Workshop participants experimented with different convergence and interaxial settings on the Hurricane beamsplitter rig equipped with a pair of Sony EX-3s. Rounding out the workshop, participants were treated to a miniseminar on the high-speed Phantom 65 Z3D camera at AbelCine.

Noted workshop lecturers included DP Geoff Boyle, BSC (founder of CML), Ray Zone (experienced 3D filmmaker and author of 3D Filmmakers), Chris Mayhew (Vision 3 Imaging) and Ken Schafer (Frameforge). Will Lundy discussed the pros and cons of various underwater 3D housings as well as previewed the Sony’s new NX3D1U prosumer camera.

Vince Toto finished the seminar by discussing some unorthodox 3D techniques on the upcoming feature film, Judge Dread.

12

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Award Presented

A

t a recent board meeting Douglas Knapp SOC was presented with the award at left to commemorate his many years of service as a member of the Board of Governors.

Fall / Winter 2011

What’s New

“A DAZZLING PIECE OF FILMMAKING, AND MUCH OF THE DAZZLE COMES FROM ADAM STONE’S CINEMATOGRAPHY, WHICH EXPRESSES THE SWIRLING STATE OF CURTIS’S MIND WITH RICHLY VARIED FLAVORS OF LIGHT.”

Archival Separation Film

-Joe Morgenstern, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Adam Stone

D

H

ere is an exciting showcase of the latest equipment and services from our Corporate Members, whose generous support and superior gear allow us to see it first and see it best.

Please welcome our newest Corporate Members: 3ality Technica, Bender and Associates, Matthews Studio Equipment, Preco (TV Logic), and Teradek.

igits come and digits go. Between digital and video in the last 25 years there are more than 50 formats and more continually evolving. Film is the ONLY truly archival media lasting hundreds of years or more!

Fujifilm Eterna-RDS 4791 Black & White Separation film is optimized for the laser recorder. Fujifilm developed this film for recording original images as three Y-C-M separations

TA K E S H E LT E R

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JEFF NICHOLS

“CINEMATOGRAPHER PETER SUSCHITZKY PROVIDES VISUALS OF A PRISTINE PURITY AUGMENTED BY THE IMMACULATE FIN DE L’EPOCH SETTINGS.” -Todd McCarthy, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Peter Suschitzky, ASC

on black and white film. It is built on the science of EternaRDI digital intermediate film—recipient of the Sci-Tech award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Fujifilm RDS 4791 provides exceptional photographic output with gradation linearity, wide latitude, excellent sharpness and low granularity with outstanding stability for both black and white negative (D-96) and positive ( D- 97) process conditions. It is built on a polyester base including a transparent antistatic layer to provide static electricity control and scratch resistance—even after processing.

Fujifilm Black & White 4791 Archival Separation Film: The Ultimate and ONLY answer to the dilemma of digits!

Your LIBRARY is your MOST valuable asset. Protect it!

Contact: Fujifilm 2220 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank CA 91506 1-888-3854 x8824

“AN EXTRAORDINARILY BEAUTIFUL NARRATIVE, PERHAPS ALMODÓVAR’S MOST VISUALLY RAVISHING FILM.” -Karen Durbin, ELLE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY José Luis Alcaine

“Polanski’s technical collaborators use every tool in their arsenal to achieve the illusion of seamlessness: the perspectives offered up by Pawel Edelman’s camera isolates the characters in stationary shots that express relationships visually.”

-Justin Chang, VARIETY

Professional Camera Accessories

E

rgonomic in design and refined by decades of experience, ARRI’s line of Professional Camera Accessories offers compatibility with film and digital cameras ranging from the ARRI ALEXA and other high-end models to small form factor digital video and DSLRs. The Mini Follow Focus MFF-2 is compatible with all ARRI drive gears and can be used with three different focus knobs. It features hard stops for lenses with infinite rotation and a reversing function for Nikon and Leica lenses.

The ARRI Shoulder Pad SP-1 is modular and fits onto 15 mm lightweight support rods and incorporates a Universal Mounting Bracket that can be used separately as a bracket tool for on-board recorders, batteries, or other accessories.

The ARRI Mini Matte Box MMB-2 is a modular system designed for the DSLR and smaller video camera market.

It features integrated handgrips, giving operators maximum control and stability.

The Ultrasonic Distance Measure UDM-1 sensor bounces ultrasonic signals off objects and calculates distance by the time taken for the reflected signal to return.

New Mini Base Plate adapters for the Sony NEX-FS100 and Ikonoskop A-cam dII are now available.

14

CAMERA OPERATOR: WHAT’S NEW

Cineped Roto-Slider

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Pawel Edelman

CARNAGE

C

ineped Roto-Slider is a tripod-mounting camera sliding device which brings the freedom of movement to the camera. Cineped Roto-Slider is the first device to bring transitional movement—forward, backward, left, right, and circular—to the tripod, while still maintaing the ability to use pan-and-tilt maneuvers. Cineped is a movement-oriented camera support system that offers basic, as well as advanced creative camera movement. Using super-precision bearing technology, Cineped opens the doors to transitional camera movements—forward, backward, left, right and circular—when in static position. Simply by pushing on fine surfaces, Cineped can make S-shaped, circular, and many other long movements. Cineped simplifies production for filmmakers looking to satisfy their budgetary and scheduling needs. www.cineped.com Fall / Winter 2011

SAÏD BEN SAÏD PRESENTS

A ROMAN POLANSKI FILM

“EXHILARATING! ‘Midnight in Paris’ opens with a prologue, shot with a poet’s eye by the great Darius Khondji, that shows off the City of Light from dawn to darkness in images of shimmering loveliness. Pity the actors who have to compete with such an object of desire.”

-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Jolanta Dylewska

IN DARKNESS A film by Agnieszka Holland

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Darius Khondji ASC, AFC

Midnight in Paris “AGNIESZKA HOLLAND’S BRAVE EPIC. SINGULAR AND SUPERBLY DRAMATIC. A passion for life drives a small group of Polish Jews to take refuge from Nazi collaborators in the sewers beneath Lvov during World War II. The suspense here, derived from a true story, is excruciating and inspiring in equal measure. The hero Socha, a perfect performance by Robert Wieckiewicz, brings Oskar Schindler to mind.”

-Joe Morgenstern, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

What’s New

“A DAZZLING PIECE OF FILMMAKING, AND MUCH OF THE DAZZLE COMES FROM ADAM STONE’S CINEMATOGRAPHY, WHICH EXPRESSES THE SWIRLING STATE OF CURTIS’S MIND WITH RICHLY VARIED FLAVORS OF LIGHT.”

Archival Separation Film

-Joe Morgenstern, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Adam Stone

D

H

ere is an exciting showcase of the latest equipment and services from our Corporate Members, whose generous support and superior gear allow us to see it first and see it best.

Please welcome our newest Corporate Members: 3ality Technica, Bender and Associates, Matthews Studio Equipment, Preco (TV Logic), and Teradek.

igits come and digits go. Between digital and video in the last 25 years there are more than 50 formats and more continually evolving. Film is the ONLY truly archival media lasting hundreds of years or more!

Fujifilm Eterna-RDS 4791 Black & White Separation film is optimized for the laser recorder. Fujifilm developed this film for recording original images as three Y-C-M separations

TA K E S H E LT E R

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JEFF NICHOLS

“CINEMATOGRAPHER PETER SUSCHITZKY PROVIDES VISUALS OF A PRISTINE PURITY AUGMENTED BY THE IMMACULATE FIN DE L’EPOCH SETTINGS.” -Todd McCarthy, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Peter Suschitzky, ASC

on black and white film. It is built on the science of EternaRDI digital intermediate film—recipient of the Sci-Tech award from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Fujifilm RDS 4791 provides exceptional photographic output with gradation linearity, wide latitude, excellent sharpness and low granularity with outstanding stability for both black and white negative (D-96) and positive ( D- 97) process conditions. It is built on a polyester base including a transparent antistatic layer to provide static electricity control and scratch resistance—even after processing.

Fujifilm Black & White 4791 Archival Separation Film: The Ultimate and ONLY answer to the dilemma of digits!

Your LIBRARY is your MOST valuable asset. Protect it!

Contact: Fujifilm 2220 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank CA 91506 1-888-3854 x8824

“AN EXTRAORDINARILY BEAUTIFUL NARRATIVE, PERHAPS ALMODÓVAR’S MOST VISUALLY RAVISHING FILM.” -Karen Durbin, ELLE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY José Luis Alcaine

“Polanski’s technical collaborators use every tool in their arsenal to achieve the illusion of seamlessness: the perspectives offered up by Pawel Edelman’s camera isolates the characters in stationary shots that express relationships visually.”

-Justin Chang, VARIETY

Professional Camera Accessories

E

rgonomic in design and refined by decades of experience, ARRI’s line of Professional Camera Accessories offers compatibility with film and digital cameras ranging from the ARRI ALEXA and other high-end models to small form factor digital video and DSLRs. The Mini Follow Focus MFF-2 is compatible with all ARRI drive gears and can be used with three different focus knobs. It features hard stops for lenses with infinite rotation and a reversing function for Nikon and Leica lenses.

The ARRI Shoulder Pad SP-1 is modular and fits onto 15 mm lightweight support rods and incorporates a Universal Mounting Bracket that can be used separately as a bracket tool for on-board recorders, batteries, or other accessories.

The ARRI Mini Matte Box MMB-2 is a modular system designed for the DSLR and smaller video camera market.

It features integrated handgrips, giving operators maximum control and stability.

The Ultrasonic Distance Measure UDM-1 sensor bounces ultrasonic signals off objects and calculates distance by the time taken for the reflected signal to return.

New Mini Base Plate adapters for the Sony NEX-FS100 and Ikonoskop A-cam dII are now available.

14

CAMERA OPERATOR: WHAT’S NEW

Cineped Roto-Slider

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Pawel Edelman

CARNAGE

C

ineped Roto-Slider is a tripod-mounting camera sliding device which brings the freedom of movement to the camera. Cineped Roto-Slider is the first device to bring transitional movement—forward, backward, left, right, and circular—to the tripod, while still maintaing the ability to use pan-and-tilt maneuvers. Cineped is a movement-oriented camera support system that offers basic, as well as advanced creative camera movement. Using super-precision bearing technology, Cineped opens the doors to transitional camera movements—forward, backward, left, right and circular—when in static position. Simply by pushing on fine surfaces, Cineped can make S-shaped, circular, and many other long movements. Cineped simplifies production for filmmakers looking to satisfy their budgetary and scheduling needs. www.cineped.com Fall / Winter 2011

SAÏD BEN SAÏD PRESENTS

A ROMAN POLANSKI FILM

“EXHILARATING! ‘Midnight in Paris’ opens with a prologue, shot with a poet’s eye by the great Darius Khondji, that shows off the City of Light from dawn to darkness in images of shimmering loveliness. Pity the actors who have to compete with such an object of desire.”

-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Jolanta Dylewska

IN DARKNESS A film by Agnieszka Holland

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Darius Khondji ASC, AFC

Midnight in Paris “AGNIESZKA HOLLAND’S BRAVE EPIC. SINGULAR AND SUPERBLY DRAMATIC. A passion for life drives a small group of Polish Jews to take refuge from Nazi collaborators in the sewers beneath Lvov during World War II. The suspense here, derived from a true story, is excruciating and inspiring in equal measure. The hero Socha, a perfect performance by Robert Wieckiewicz, brings Oskar Schindler to mind.”

-Joe Morgenstern, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

T

his lens control system from 3ality Technica offers a lower cost alternative to daisy chaining a pair of 2D-3axis lens controllers, while offering the most advanced 3D specific lens control functionality available outside of a complete 3ality Technica system. It is compatible with all legacy Element Technica and 3ality Digital systems currently in use, and with any 3D system requiring lens control. May also be used with 2D production. When used with the 3ality SIP as well as other 3rd party analyzers, lens profiling is automatic. It was designed from the ground up as a stereo lens controller as opposed to a 2D-3axis controller that has been adapted for stereo, so all electronics are in a single box.

It is preconfigured to work with Apple’s iPhone™ for system set-up, configuration, and monitoring. Can output metadata of the lens parameters during shooting which streams to the 3ality Technica IO Module.

It is compatible with lens drive motors from Heden, Preston, Scorpio, Arri, etc. User controls the system with the THC-L, a 3 input remote hand unit that connects wired or wirelessly to the 6-Axis Lens Control System.

MB-114 Clamp-On Matte Box

B

irns & Sawyer has released its third version of its popular clamp-on and tray-less matte box the “MB-114.” The tray-less matte box originated over ten years ago by Birns & Sawyer Owner/Cinematographer William Meurer and Lens Technician Stacy Strode. The need for a light weight clampon matte box was improved by a unique design that accommodated glass filters without trays held in place by ball-plungers and delrin set screws. The original MB-95 utilized 4x4 filters, the MB-105 used 4x5.65 filters and the NEW MB-114 comes in either a 2-stage or 3-stage version for 4x5.65 filters. The MB-114 has a 114mm clamp-on back and comes with 4 step-down rings to 110mm, 105mm, 95mm and 80mm.

As a more affordable alternative to comparable tray based matte boxes, the MB-114 can be used on most professional lenses from most Angenieux Zooms; Canon PL Zooms; Zeiss superspeeds, ultra primes, master primes and compact primes; Cooke S-4 primes; Illumina S35 primes; Leica Summilux C primes; Schneider Cine Xenar primes and most other lenses. Available in either 2-stage or 3-stage versions with eyebrow. More information is available at www.birnsandsawyer.com (323) 466-8211

16

CAMERA OPERATOR: WHAT’S NEW

T

he Teradek Cube™ is the world’s first camera-top video streaming solution. Cube™ Encoders are available with HD-SDI or HDMI inputs and can transmit 1080p60 H.264 video via ethernet, dual-band WiFi, or over 4G cellular networks.

Cube™ Encoders can stream directly to the Internet, to Cube™ Decoders, or to mobile devices such as laptops or iPads with little configuration or additional networking equipment. Every Cube™ comes with native LiveStream.com integration and can be upgraded with licenses for RED/ ARRI Proxy Recording, RTSP Multicast, and MPEG Transport Stream.

Cube™ Decoders are available in HDMI or HD-SDI varieties and are designed for placement on small handheld monitors, large HD displays, and projectors. Cube™ Decoders feature extremely low power consumption and a small form-factor that is ideal for mobile applications.

A pair of Cube™ Encoders and Decoders, known as a Cubelet™, provides videographers with an unequaled, end-toend streaming video solution for filmmaking, news gathering, and Pro A/V. Cubelets™ are designed to automatically connect to one another via an ad-hoc connection to eliminate unnecessary configuration and enables users to transmit video at an exceptionally low latency of 4 frames per second.

The Cube

6-Axis Lens Control System

Michael Condon, SOC VP Digital Division

CREATIVITY!

Phantom V

B

uilt for the fast moving modern world of broadcast, the Steadicam® Phantom V is a low cost, big rig that performs like the top of the line Steadicam Ultra2.

Phantom V allows the user to focus on the job, not the gear. The Steadicam stabilizing system with its patent protected features which can only be found on Steadicam rigs include: TILT Camera platform, Curley post cord, Iso-Elastic Stabilizer Arm, Arm adjuster mechanism, and the exclusive RIDE Control. Plus its total no-tools operation, low profile post clamps and dual monitor mounts make this an attractive addition to our complete line of Steadicam rigs.

Rod set for both monitor and batteries; 12/24 or dual 12 volt operation. The Steadicam Phantom V has a Dovetail Plate on base of sled for accessories, plus dedicated high definition wiring. Choice of high brightness industry leading monitors, and top loading stage. Its 25 to 38 inch telescoping carbon fiber post coupled to the Ultra2 stage—with a patented ± 20 degree tilt head and terminating in a new solid base, makes the Phantom V a versatile, reliable rig.

For more info, go to http://www.tiffen.com/phantomv_ homepage.html Fall / Winter 2011

Andree Martin VP Technical Services

Your Mind, Our Tools!

Let us help you pick the right tools for your job. Film or digital, we’re here for you. You can choose from a vast variety of 35mm and 16mm film cameras. These are coupled with the industry’s widest selection of lenses and accessories to give cinematographers the ability to maximize their creativity. We have a wide selection of anamorphic lenses both fixed focal lengths and zoom lenses, including the new Vantage Hawk V-lites in both 2x and 1.3x squeeze. Much attention has been focused on 3-perforation and now 2-perf cameras. Our Moviecam SL MK2 (tri-perf) is one stellar example, and we’ve recently introduced our 2-perf Arricams, 35 BL4, 35 BL3, Arri 435 and Arri 3 cameras. Our digital inventory

includes Arri Alexa and Alexa Studio, Canon EOS C300, 1D Mark IV & EOS 7D; all with PL mounts, Iconix, Panasonic, Red Epic and Red One MX, Sony F65, F35 and F3 cameras and the amazing high speed Weisscam HS2 and PS-cam X35. All supported with the latest in monitoring and DIT control equipment in addition to both file based and tape based recording options. Our goal is to provide outstanding service 24/7. The choices to express your creativity are endless. Feel free to call or drop by anytime and let us show you how we will take care of you and your creativity. Please visit our website to see what’s new in our inventory.

Sincerely, Clairmont Camera

www.clairmont.com

Hollywood 818-761-4440

Vancouver 604-984-4563

Toronto 416-467-1700

Albuquerque 505-227-2525

Montreal 514-525-6556

T

his lens control system from 3ality Technica offers a lower cost alternative to daisy chaining a pair of 2D-3axis lens controllers, while offering the most advanced 3D specific lens control functionality available outside of a complete 3ality Technica system. It is compatible with all legacy Element Technica and 3ality Digital systems currently in use, and with any 3D system requiring lens control. May also be used with 2D production. When used with the 3ality SIP as well as other 3rd party analyzers, lens profiling is automatic. It was designed from the ground up as a stereo lens controller as opposed to a 2D-3axis controller that has been adapted for stereo, so all electronics are in a single box.

It is preconfigured to work with Apple’s iPhone™ for system set-up, configuration, and monitoring. Can output metadata of the lens parameters during shooting which streams to the 3ality Technica IO Module.

It is compatible with lens drive motors from Heden, Preston, Scorpio, Arri, etc. User controls the system with the THC-L, a 3 input remote hand unit that connects wired or wirelessly to the 6-Axis Lens Control System.

MB-114 Clamp-On Matte Box

B

irns & Sawyer has released its third version of its popular clamp-on and tray-less matte box the “MB-114.” The tray-less matte box originated over ten years ago by Birns & Sawyer Owner/Cinematographer William Meurer and Lens Technician Stacy Strode. The need for a light weight clampon matte box was improved by a unique design that accommodated glass filters without trays held in place by ball-plungers and delrin set screws. The original MB-95 utilized 4x4 filters, the MB-105 used 4x5.65 filters and the NEW MB-114 comes in either a 2-stage or 3-stage version for 4x5.65 filters. The MB-114 has a 114mm clamp-on back and comes with 4 step-down rings to 110mm, 105mm, 95mm and 80mm.

As a more affordable alternative to comparable tray based matte boxes, the MB-114 can be used on most professional lenses from most Angenieux Zooms; Canon PL Zooms; Zeiss superspeeds, ultra primes, master primes and compact primes; Cooke S-4 primes; Illumina S35 primes; Leica Summilux C primes; Schneider Cine Xenar primes and most other lenses. Available in either 2-stage or 3-stage versions with eyebrow. More information is available at www.birnsandsawyer.com (323) 466-8211

16

CAMERA OPERATOR: WHAT’S NEW

T

he Teradek Cube™ is the world’s first camera-top video streaming solution. Cube™ Encoders are available with HD-SDI or HDMI inputs and can transmit 1080p60 H.264 video via ethernet, dual-band WiFi, or over 4G cellular networks.

Cube™ Encoders can stream directly to the Internet, to Cube™ Decoders, or to mobile devices such as laptops or iPads with little configuration or additional networking equipment. Every Cube™ comes with native LiveStream.com integration and can be upgraded with licenses for RED/ ARRI Proxy Recording, RTSP Multicast, and MPEG Transport Stream.

Cube™ Decoders are available in HDMI or HD-SDI varieties and are designed for placement on small handheld monitors, large HD displays, and projectors. Cube™ Decoders feature extremely low power consumption and a small form-factor that is ideal for mobile applications.

A pair of Cube™ Encoders and Decoders, known as a Cubelet™, provides videographers with an unequaled, end-toend streaming video solution for filmmaking, news gathering, and Pro A/V. Cubelets™ are designed to automatically connect to one another via an ad-hoc connection to eliminate unnecessary configuration and enables users to transmit video at an exceptionally low latency of 4 frames per second.

The Cube

6-Axis Lens Control System

Michael Condon, SOC VP Digital Division

CREATIVITY!

Phantom V

B

uilt for the fast moving modern world of broadcast, the Steadicam® Phantom V is a low cost, big rig that performs like the top of the line Steadicam Ultra2.

Phantom V allows the user to focus on the job, not the gear. The Steadicam stabilizing system with its patent protected features which can only be found on Steadicam rigs include: TILT Camera platform, Curley post cord, Iso-Elastic Stabilizer Arm, Arm adjuster mechanism, and the exclusive RIDE Control. Plus its total no-tools operation, low profile post clamps and dual monitor mounts make this an attractive addition to our complete line of Steadicam rigs.

Rod set for both monitor and batteries; 12/24 or dual 12 volt operation. The Steadicam Phantom V has a Dovetail Plate on base of sled for accessories, plus dedicated high definition wiring. Choice of high brightness industry leading monitors, and top loading stage. Its 25 to 38 inch telescoping carbon fiber post coupled to the Ultra2 stage—with a patented ± 20 degree tilt head and terminating in a new solid base, makes the Phantom V a versatile, reliable rig.

For more info, go to http://www.tiffen.com/phantomv_ homepage.html Fall / Winter 2011

Andree Martin VP Technical Services

Your Mind, Our Tools!

Let us help you pick the right tools for your job. Film or digital, we’re here for you. You can choose from a vast variety of 35mm and 16mm film cameras. These are coupled with the industry’s widest selection of lenses and accessories to give cinematographers the ability to maximize their creativity. We have a wide selection of anamorphic lenses both fixed focal lengths and zoom lenses, including the new Vantage Hawk V-lites in both 2x and 1.3x squeeze. Much attention has been focused on 3-perforation and now 2-perf cameras. Our Moviecam SL MK2 (tri-perf) is one stellar example, and we’ve recently introduced our 2-perf Arricams, 35 BL4, 35 BL3, Arri 435 and Arri 3 cameras. Our digital inventory

includes Arri Alexa and Alexa Studio, Canon EOS C300, 1D Mark IV & EOS 7D; all with PL mounts, Iconix, Panasonic, Red Epic and Red One MX, Sony F65, F35 and F3 cameras and the amazing high speed Weisscam HS2 and PS-cam X35. All supported with the latest in monitoring and DIT control equipment in addition to both file based and tape based recording options. Our goal is to provide outstanding service 24/7. The choices to express your creativity are endless. Feel free to call or drop by anytime and let us show you how we will take care of you and your creativity. Please visit our website to see what’s new in our inventory.

Sincerely, Clairmont Camera

www.clairmont.com

Hollywood 818-761-4440

Vancouver 604-984-4563

Toronto 416-467-1700

Albuquerque 505-227-2525

Montreal 514-525-6556

Join Today – Everyone is Eligible!

The DC-Slider

I

t’s a multifunctional camera platform that offers many creative possibilities to camera operators. By combining an unusually long variable-angled camera slider track with mini-jib functionality, the DC-Slider is truly remarkable displaying both state-of-the-art technology and precision engineering.

Additionally, the DC-Slider quickly transforms into a vertical 6-foot tower. In this configuration the DC-Slider’s counterbalancing feature ensures precision camera moves are smooth and steady.

Available in December 2011 Matthews will introduce the DC-Slider Motion Control System featuring programmable and manual movement, stop motion, time lapse, and memory capability.

Coming in January of 2012 Matthews will make available the HDDC-Slider having the same range of movement as the DC-Slider. This heavy-duty version will accommodate a camera package weighing up to 65 lbs.

Matthews. Technology That Complements Your Imagination.

Solutions for Aerial Images

P

ictorvision is the first and only aerial camera stabilization company to provide a suite of product solutions for capturing aerial images. Systems include Eclipse, Wescam and Cineflex to mount small and large cameras from 2D to 3D to suit nearly every professional camera and budget.

Revolutionizing a new generation of aerial camera systems, the Pictorvision Eclipse offers the highest performance in air. At the core of the Eclipse’s superior stability is the patented XR Motion Management™ technology, enabling the most advanced steering, stability and pointing capabilities ever available. The result is topple-free operation, fast starts and resets, and absolutely level horizons, enabling safe, agile, and repeatable shots, like never before.

The XR has exceeded expectations on some of the largest productions and is recognized for its stabilization performance and reliability over water, on land and other rugged terrain.

Versatile Eclipse state-of-the-art aerial system is available for most popular 2D to 3D set ups from RED EPIC to Arri 435 to IMAX® MSM 65mm camera systems. Regardless of payload, pilots can fly fast and aggressively, and DPs can enjoy the full range of steering and performance Eclipse offers.

18

CAMERA OPERATOR: WHAT’S NEW

IRND Filters

S

chneider’s new Platinum Series IRND filters limit the light striking the camera’s CCD or CMOS imager to the visible spectrum. By carefully calculating the cutoff frequency in nanometers, we have been able to produce a near-infrared cut filter that lets users of high definition cameras get the most out of their camera gear. This means the benefit of an extended color gamut without the worry of unwanted false colors. Eliminating the near-infrared light leakage lets the camera maintain true color rendition in the blacks while maintaining high MTF of its lenses and camera system.

Schneider Platinum Series IRND filters are free of off-axis color shift regardless of the focal length and can be stacked without introducing reflections common in dichroic filters.

They can also be used as a standard ND filter with all HD video and film cameras. These filters are available in all standard video and cine sizes, including: 4x4, 4x5.65, 5x5, 5.65x5.65, 6.6x6.6 sizes plus rounds in 138mm, 4.5˝ and Series 9. This filter is available in 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 stop densities. Higher densities can be achieved by stacking two or more filters.

A 7˝ Production Monitor

T

VLogic (www. tvlogicusa.com) has a brand new 7˝ production monitor that combines the durability and functionality of the popular LVM-071W with the light weight and DSLR/Compact Digital Cinema features of the award winning VFM-056WP. The result is the new LVM-074W—featuring a high-resolution (1024x600) 7˝ LED backlit LCD panel housed in a lightweight (600 grams) yet durable magnesium alloy case.

An ideal monitor for the latest compact cinema cameras, the LVM-074W offers a wide range of professional features including: Two HD-SDI input channels, Waveform/Vector Scope, HDMI in and out—with built-in HDMI to HD-SDI conversion output, Horizontal and Vertical Image Flip, Focus Assist, Audio Level Metering/Monitoring and more. A feature unique to the LVM-074W is TVLogic’s new user selectable ColorFast Sensor auto-adjusting color temperature system that measures LCD panel temperature and adjusts luminance and color automatically so that chroma and luma drift does not occur as temperature varies. This monitor packs in the features and performance like no other.

Fall / Winter 2011

The Best Thing to Come Out of Hollywood in Years.

Hollywood’s latest blockbuster release is not a movie – it’s us, First Entertainment Credit Union. We were born in Hollywood 44 years ago and now, with the opening of our 10th branch, our unique brand of better banking has made its way to Encino. Think of us as an “A List” performer – here’s what you can expect: t Free Checking t Free Online Billp@yer t Free Gourmet Coffee t Convenient Parking

F E AT U R I NG

HOME LOANS

2.50% t 5/1 Adjustable Rate t Up to $750,000 t No Points

t 24/7 onsite ATM access t Saturday Hours (9am - 2pm)

Our NEW ENCINO BRANCH – 17656 Ventura Blvd. is now open in your neighborhood.

Our 5/1 HYBRID Special Offer rate is 2.50%, Annual Percentage Rate of 2.433%This loan is based on a California refinance transaction of an owner-occupied, single-family residence with 80% loan-to-value,1st lien position and approved credit.

0 point, standard fees apply for loan amounts of $100,000 to $750,000. The 5/1 loan adjustable rate feature has a current index based on the 1-year UST CM (weekly) at 0.110%, initial change cap of 5%, annual cap 2%, life cap 5%, margin 2.25%.

As an example, a 5/1 HYBRID loan with a loan amount of $600,000, would have an estimated payment of $3.95 per $1,000 borrowed. The loan is fixed for the first 5 years, then recalculated annually through year 30. Standard underwriting, tax service, and flood monitoring fees apply. Estimated closing costs of $2,728.00 apply for loan amount of $600,000. Standard qualifying credit and ratios are required. This offer is only good for purchase loans or refinances of loans not currently held

by First Entertainment Credit Union. Property insurance is required. Other terms may apply for purchase transactions. Other rates and terms are available for loans up to $2,000,000. Rates and guidelines are subject to change without notice.

If you’re reading this ad, you’re eligible to join.

888.800.3328 t www.firstent.org

Join Today – Everyone is Eligible!

The DC-Slider

I

t’s a multifunctional camera platform that offers many creative possibilities to camera operators. By combining an unusually long variable-angled camera slider track with mini-jib functionality, the DC-Slider is truly remarkable displaying both state-of-the-art technology and precision engineering.

Additionally, the DC-Slider quickly transforms into a vertical 6-foot tower. In this configuration the DC-Slider’s counterbalancing feature ensures precision camera moves are smooth and steady.

Available in December 2011 Matthews will introduce the DC-Slider Motion Control System featuring programmable and manual movement, stop motion, time lapse, and memory capability.

Coming in January of 2012 Matthews will make available the HDDC-Slider having the same range of movement as the DC-Slider. This heavy-duty version will accommodate a camera package weighing up to 65 lbs.

Matthews. Technology That Complements Your Imagination.

Solutions for Aerial Images

P

ictorvision is the first and only aerial camera stabilization company to provide a suite of product solutions for capturing aerial images. Systems include Eclipse, Wescam and Cineflex to mount small and large cameras from 2D to 3D to suit nearly every professional camera and budget.

Revolutionizing a new generation of aerial camera systems, the Pictorvision Eclipse offers the highest performance in air. At the core of the Eclipse’s superior stability is the patented XR Motion Management™ technology, enabling the most advanced steering, stability and pointing capabilities ever available. The result is topple-free operation, fast starts and resets, and absolutely level horizons, enabling safe, agile, and repeatable shots, like never before.

The XR has exceeded expectations on some of the largest productions and is recognized for its stabilization performance and reliability over water, on land and other rugged terrain.

Versatile Eclipse state-of-the-art aerial system is available for most popular 2D to 3D set ups from RED EPIC to Arri 435 to IMAX® MSM 65mm camera systems. Regardless of payload, pilots can fly fast and aggressively, and DPs can enjoy the full range of steering and performance Eclipse offers.

18

CAMERA OPERATOR: WHAT’S NEW

IRND Filters

S

chneider’s new Platinum Series IRND filters limit the light striking the camera’s CCD or CMOS imager to the visible spectrum. By carefully calculating the cutoff frequency in nanometers, we have been able to produce a near-infrared cut filter that lets users of high definition cameras get the most out of their camera gear. This means the benefit of an extended color gamut without the worry of unwanted false colors. Eliminating the near-infrared light leakage lets the camera maintain true color rendition in the blacks while maintaining high MTF of its lenses and camera system.

Schneider Platinum Series IRND filters are free of off-axis color shift regardless of the focal length and can be stacked without introducing reflections common in dichroic filters.

They can also be used as a standard ND filter with all HD video and film cameras. These filters are available in all standard video and cine sizes, including: 4x4, 4x5.65, 5x5, 5.65x5.65, 6.6x6.6 sizes plus rounds in 138mm, 4.5˝ and Series 9. This filter is available in 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 stop densities. Higher densities can be achieved by stacking two or more filters.

A 7˝ Production Monitor

T

VLogic (www. tvlogicusa.com) has a brand new 7˝ production monitor that combines the durability and functionality of the popular LVM-071W with the light weight and DSLR/Compact Digital Cinema features of the award winning VFM-056WP. The result is the new LVM-074W—featuring a high-resolution (1024x600) 7˝ LED backlit LCD panel housed in a lightweight (600 grams) yet durable magnesium alloy case.

An ideal monitor for the latest compact cinema cameras, the LVM-074W offers a wide range of professional features including: Two HD-SDI input channels, Waveform/Vector Scope, HDMI in and out—with built-in HDMI to HD-SDI conversion output, Horizontal and Vertical Image Flip, Focus Assist, Audio Level Metering/Monitoring and more. A feature unique to the LVM-074W is TVLogic’s new user selectable ColorFast Sensor auto-adjusting color temperature system that measures LCD panel temperature and adjusts luminance and color automatically so that chroma and luma drift does not occur as temperature varies. This monitor packs in the features and performance like no other.

Fall / Winter 2011

The Best Thing to Come Out of Hollywood in Years.

Hollywood’s latest blockbuster release is not a movie – it’s us, First Entertainment Credit Union. We were born in Hollywood 44 years ago and now, with the opening of our 10th branch, our unique brand of better banking has made its way to Encino. Think of us as an “A List” performer – here’s what you can expect: t Free Checking t Free Online Billp@yer t Free Gourmet Coffee t Convenient Parking

F E AT U R I NG

HOME LOANS

2.50% t 5/1 Adjustable Rate t Up to $750,000 t No Points

t 24/7 onsite ATM access t Saturday Hours (9am - 2pm)

Our NEW ENCINO BRANCH – 17656 Ventura Blvd. is now open in your neighborhood.

Our 5/1 HYBRID Special Offer rate is 2.50%, Annual Percentage Rate of 2.433%This loan is based on a California refinance transaction of an owner-occupied, single-family residence with 80% loan-to-value,1st lien position and approved credit.

0 point, standard fees apply for loan amounts of $100,000 to $750,000. The 5/1 loan adjustable rate feature has a current index based on the 1-year UST CM (weekly) at 0.110%, initial change cap of 5%, annual cap 2%, life cap 5%, margin 2.25%.

As an example, a 5/1 HYBRID loan with a loan amount of $600,000, would have an estimated payment of $3.95 per $1,000 borrowed. The loan is fixed for the first 5 years, then recalculated annually through year 30. Standard underwriting, tax service, and flood monitoring fees apply. Estimated closing costs of $2,728.00 apply for loan amount of $600,000. Standard qualifying credit and ratios are required. This offer is only good for purchase loans or refinances of loans not currently held

by First Entertainment Credit Union. Property insurance is required. Other terms may apply for purchase transactions. Other rates and terms are available for loans up to $2,000,000. Rates and guidelines are subject to change without notice.

If you’re reading this ad, you’re eligible to join.

888.800.3328 t www.firstent.org

Michael Scott soc

路

Bob Gorelick soc

路

Stephen Campanelli soc

My Favorite Shot: The SOC panel at Cine Gear 2011

by David Tolsky soc

Photos by Beth Dubber

Michael Scott soc

路

Bob Gorelick soc

路

Stephen Campanelli soc

My Favorite Shot: The SOC panel at Cine Gear 2011

by David Tolsky soc

Photos by Beth Dubber

Please go to www.soc.org and access the My Favorite Shot video before reading this article. It’s the same video shown to participants at Cine Gear 2011.

This is a learning opportunity not to be missed.

Background photo from Letters From Iwo Jima

I

“In some situations,” continued Campanelli, “those types of shots can take forever to set up with multiple cameras. For the most part, Clint [Eastwood] only shoots with one camera. We would start out with 5 cameras for the massive battle scenes and dwindle it down to one or two. We’ll do one take most of the time and then switch a lens to get a different angle. For that shot, we just used a skateboard dolly and forty or fifty feet of dolly track, and I was handheld on some shot bags.”

Because of Eastwood’s run and gun style, Campanelli believes he’s now known as the “shoot the rehearsal guy.”

“It’s great energy,” said Campanelli. “Especially for the actors because they don’t know what they are going to do, and I’m not sure what The Last Kiss has a tracking shot that follows the I’m going to do.” actors down the stairs and outdoors…

Campanelli’s second example was from The Last Kiss. A long Steadicam tracking shot follows actor Zach Braff as he frantically tries to keep up with love interest Jacinda Barrett. The shot starts inside a house and moves down the stairs, through the front door, down more steps, and finally to the car parked in the driveway. After a brief confrontation, Barrett gets in the car and drives off as Zach pursues, doing all he can to reason with her.

“In this case, the challenge was giving the director what he wanted,” continued Campanelli.

“He said to me, ‘I kind of want a handheld feel but if you’re going to be running down the stairs it’s going to be too shaky and the Steadicam will be too …ending as she drives off. smooth, not enough action.’

n its continuing quest to educate camera operators of all skill levels, the SOC sponsored a panel discussion at Cine Gear 2011 with three prominent SOC operators. Michael Scott SOC, Bob Gorelick SOC, and Stephen Campanelli SOC were on hand for “My Favorite Shot,” to talk about how they achieved some of the amazing shots in their films. But this panel discussion went beyond just that. Thanks to terrific questions by both the audience and moderator Jessica Sitomer, the “Greenlight Coach,” the panel also answered questions about how to survive in the business as a camera operator.

I

t was a packed house on Stage 17 at Paramount Studios on June 3rd. The morning began with a screening of the panelists’ clips on high-def monitors.

Stephen Campanelli SOC got things started with Letters From Iwo Jima. In the clip, we are immediately thrust into the heat of combat; bullets flying, shaky-cam action of soldiers firing weapons. We are led to a tracking shot left to right showing soldiers taken out, one by one, as bullets fly.

“Everything worked out absolutely perfectly,” began Campanelli. “Stunt guys fell exactly where they said they would; explosions went off when they were supposed to, along with the smoke and special effects. It was all perfectly aligned. We may have shot the rehearsal as I just had a few seconds to figure out what I was going to do. As a camera operator, that’s what you have to do. Sometimes you have to play those political games and just get in there. I’m really proud that it all worked out so perfectly, done in one take and we moved on.

22

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

Fall / Winter 2011

I said, ‘I can do it with the Steadicam but not make it look the movie and I get a call to go to this warehouse in Culver too drastic.’ So I picked that shot today because it was a nice City,” revealed Gorelick. “Quentin [Tarantino] wanted to combination of both. As a camera operator you’ve got to talk to me. Naturally I got nervous and thought, ‘Uh oh, choose the right tool to get what the director wants and create Anyone familiar with that magic.

“I was a little behind Zach’s the Steadicam rig who back and you can see around the gets a good look at car,” Campanelli recalled. “So it this ripped out hole was a little confusing, but it added to the excitement of the would conclude that scene. When he came flying out, Gorelick was I had to back up super quick. attempting the Then when she peels out in her car, I could only hope that she impossible. wasn’t going to crush me when Pulp Fiction she puts it in forward or reverse…

“Again, that was a rehearsal and you can see the intensity in it,” said Campanelli. “The what’s going on here?’ So I got there and he had me sit down actors weren’t sure what they were going to do and I wasn’t with the special effects coordinator and his assistant. He said sure what I was going to do. The director said, ‘Go for it’ and he had this idea for a shot and he wanted us to figure out how we did, and it worked out perfectly. to do it. Larry, the special effects guy, really had it figured out “I picked those two shots,” said Campanelli, “because of already. He had the fence cable-rigged so that it would break the stories behind them, how we got the shots, and using the away to allow me to pass, but it had to break away quickly. right tool for the right job. Thank God I have one of the best There was actually a hole in the fence and there was about a focus pullers in the world with me—Bill Coe. I don’t know two and a half foot step to get through it…and no, I did how he keeps it all in focus as we pull into wicked close-ups NOT step through the hole [laughs from audience]. and he gets it all sharp. Having a great dolly grip, great focus puller and the PICTURE THIS ...

PRODUCTS & SERVICES coordination of all departments is That makes banking just a little easier! what defines great filmmaking. You’re all collaborating. That’s the way Clint Here at MICU we’re showing off our talent and letting our creative side show, by finding ways to bring you simple banking. works. He just trusts everybody to do their job and do it well.” * Bill Pay - Convenient Money Management * New Auto Loan rates as low as 2.75%** up to 60 months * Used Auto Loan rates as low as 3.50%** up to 60 months (**Contact Credit Union for Details) * Free access to over 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs and 800,000 ATMs worldwide through links to the NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, Pulse and Plus networks * Car buying services through Autoland, Redbook, & Executive Car Leasing * Our free checking account offers you both ATM and free debit cards with REWARDS * We also offer CURewards™ for our VISA credit card * Free Online Teller and Money Maestro Audio Teller * Real Estate loan services through West Coast Realty (personal service). If we can’t fund the loan we’ll help you find a lender who can help you.

B

ob Gorelick SOC gave the crowd another example of crew working together to achieve a shot. His example from Pulp Fiction began with Bruce Willis driving his car to a seedy neighborhood, exiting the car and beginning what would be a long Steadicam tracking shot down walkways, into a backyard, through a hole in a chain link fence, and continuing on to another street. What is most impressive is the fact that Willis climbs through a ripped out hole in the chain link fence and is followed through flawlessly by Bob and his rig.

Anyone who is familiar with the Steadicam rig who gets a good look at this ripped out hole would conclude that Gorelick was attempting the impossible.

“I had only worked a few days on

Fall / Winter 2011

We offer guaranteed lowest loan rates for all consumer loans.

We’ll MEET or BEAT other approved rates from financial institutions.

For DETAILS, call us toll free at 1-800-393-3833 or visit us online at www.musicianscu.org Hollywood Branch 817 N. Vine Street, Suite 200 Hollywood, CA 90038

Studio City Branch 11440 Ventura Blvd, Suite 101 Studio City, CA 91604

Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Phone: 323 / 462-6447 Fax: 323 / 462-4411

Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Phone: 818 / 763-7005 Fax: 818 / 505-8407

Cuadpro Marketing 11-52

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

23

Please go to www.soc.org and access the My Favorite Shot video before reading this article. It’s the same video shown to participants at Cine Gear 2011.

This is a learning opportunity not to be missed.

Background photo from Letters From Iwo Jima

I

“In some situations,” continued Campanelli, “those types of shots can take forever to set up with multiple cameras. For the most part, Clint [Eastwood] only shoots with one camera. We would start out with 5 cameras for the massive battle scenes and dwindle it down to one or two. We’ll do one take most of the time and then switch a lens to get a different angle. For that shot, we just used a skateboard dolly and forty or fifty feet of dolly track, and I was handheld on some shot bags.”

Because of Eastwood’s run and gun style, Campanelli believes he’s now known as the “shoot the rehearsal guy.”

“It’s great energy,” said Campanelli. “Especially for the actors because they don’t know what they are going to do, and I’m not sure what The Last Kiss has a tracking shot that follows the I’m going to do.” actors down the stairs and outdoors…

Campanelli’s second example was from The Last Kiss. A long Steadicam tracking shot follows actor Zach Braff as he frantically tries to keep up with love interest Jacinda Barrett. The shot starts inside a house and moves down the stairs, through the front door, down more steps, and finally to the car parked in the driveway. After a brief confrontation, Barrett gets in the car and drives off as Zach pursues, doing all he can to reason with her.

“In this case, the challenge was giving the director what he wanted,” continued Campanelli.

“He said to me, ‘I kind of want a handheld feel but if you’re going to be running down the stairs it’s going to be too shaky and the Steadicam will be too …ending as she drives off. smooth, not enough action.’

n its continuing quest to educate camera operators of all skill levels, the SOC sponsored a panel discussion at Cine Gear 2011 with three prominent SOC operators. Michael Scott SOC, Bob Gorelick SOC, and Stephen Campanelli SOC were on hand for “My Favorite Shot,” to talk about how they achieved some of the amazing shots in their films. But this panel discussion went beyond just that. Thanks to terrific questions by both the audience and moderator Jessica Sitomer, the “Greenlight Coach,” the panel also answered questions about how to survive in the business as a camera operator.

I

t was a packed house on Stage 17 at Paramount Studios on June 3rd. The morning began with a screening of the panelists’ clips on high-def monitors.

Stephen Campanelli SOC got things started with Letters From Iwo Jima. In the clip, we are immediately thrust into the heat of combat; bullets flying, shaky-cam action of soldiers firing weapons. We are led to a tracking shot left to right showing soldiers taken out, one by one, as bullets fly.

“Everything worked out absolutely perfectly,” began Campanelli. “Stunt guys fell exactly where they said they would; explosions went off when they were supposed to, along with the smoke and special effects. It was all perfectly aligned. We may have shot the rehearsal as I just had a few seconds to figure out what I was going to do. As a camera operator, that’s what you have to do. Sometimes you have to play those political games and just get in there. I’m really proud that it all worked out so perfectly, done in one take and we moved on.

22

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

Fall / Winter 2011

I said, ‘I can do it with the Steadicam but not make it look the movie and I get a call to go to this warehouse in Culver too drastic.’ So I picked that shot today because it was a nice City,” revealed Gorelick. “Quentin [Tarantino] wanted to combination of both. As a camera operator you’ve got to talk to me. Naturally I got nervous and thought, ‘Uh oh, choose the right tool to get what the director wants and create Anyone familiar with that magic.

“I was a little behind Zach’s the Steadicam rig who back and you can see around the gets a good look at car,” Campanelli recalled. “So it this ripped out hole was a little confusing, but it added to the excitement of the would conclude that scene. When he came flying out, Gorelick was I had to back up super quick. attempting the Then when she peels out in her car, I could only hope that she impossible. wasn’t going to crush me when Pulp Fiction she puts it in forward or reverse…

“Again, that was a rehearsal and you can see the intensity in it,” said Campanelli. “The what’s going on here?’ So I got there and he had me sit down actors weren’t sure what they were going to do and I wasn’t with the special effects coordinator and his assistant. He said sure what I was going to do. The director said, ‘Go for it’ and he had this idea for a shot and he wanted us to figure out how we did, and it worked out perfectly. to do it. Larry, the special effects guy, really had it figured out “I picked those two shots,” said Campanelli, “because of already. He had the fence cable-rigged so that it would break the stories behind them, how we got the shots, and using the away to allow me to pass, but it had to break away quickly. right tool for the right job. Thank God I have one of the best There was actually a hole in the fence and there was about a focus pullers in the world with me—Bill Coe. I don’t know two and a half foot step to get through it…and no, I did how he keeps it all in focus as we pull into wicked close-ups NOT step through the hole [laughs from audience]. and he gets it all sharp. Having a great dolly grip, great focus puller and the PICTURE THIS ...

PRODUCTS & SERVICES coordination of all departments is That makes banking just a little easier! what defines great filmmaking. You’re all collaborating. That’s the way Clint Here at MICU we’re showing off our talent and letting our creative side show, by finding ways to bring you simple banking. works. He just trusts everybody to do their job and do it well.” * Bill Pay - Convenient Money Management * New Auto Loan rates as low as 2.75%** up to 60 months * Used Auto Loan rates as low as 3.50%** up to 60 months (**Contact Credit Union for Details) * Free access to over 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs and 800,000 ATMs worldwide through links to the NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, Pulse and Plus networks * Car buying services through Autoland, Redbook, & Executive Car Leasing * Our free checking account offers you both ATM and free debit cards with REWARDS * We also offer CURewards™ for our VISA credit card * Free Online Teller and Money Maestro Audio Teller * Real Estate loan services through West Coast Realty (personal service). If we can’t fund the loan we’ll help you find a lender who can help you.

B

ob Gorelick SOC gave the crowd another example of crew working together to achieve a shot. His example from Pulp Fiction began with Bruce Willis driving his car to a seedy neighborhood, exiting the car and beginning what would be a long Steadicam tracking shot down walkways, into a backyard, through a hole in a chain link fence, and continuing on to another street. What is most impressive is the fact that Willis climbs through a ripped out hole in the chain link fence and is followed through flawlessly by Bob and his rig.

Anyone who is familiar with the Steadicam rig who gets a good look at this ripped out hole would conclude that Gorelick was attempting the impossible.

“I had only worked a few days on

Fall / Winter 2011

We offer guaranteed lowest loan rates for all consumer loans.

We’ll MEET or BEAT other approved rates from financial institutions.

For DETAILS, call us toll free at 1-800-393-3833 or visit us online at www.musicianscu.org Hollywood Branch 817 N. Vine Street, Suite 200 Hollywood, CA 90038

Studio City Branch 11440 Ventura Blvd, Suite 101 Studio City, CA 91604

Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Phone: 323 / 462-6447 Fax: 323 / 462-4411

Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Phone: 818 / 763-7005 Fax: 818 / 505-8407

Cuadpro Marketing 11-52

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

23

“I seem to remember seven as the lucky number of takes it took to get the shot,” recalled Gorelick. “Pretty sure it was a 40mm wide angle anamorphic lens, and the trick was to make sure the camera matte box and [Steadicam] sled got through the hole in time for the breakaway fence to separate, without breaking the momentum of my movement. Honestly, I basically showed up, Larry showed me how the fence was rigged, and if I did my part, we could keep it simple.

“I believe in simplicity whenever you are trying to accomplish working with a rig. But more, it’s also my approach to operating: usually the simpler, the better.”

wanted to play the room too. Besides, anything below the table was boring. They decided to do the shot with a fixed prime lens and live with tons of extra headroom.”

But what if you are in a situation where you cannot operate remotely, and have to execute the shot on the dolly? Michael

Sometimes as a camera operator your best friend is the production designer or art director.

M

Scott illustrated an example of using a little creativity to solve ichael Scott SOC came armed with 2 clips, the first a camera operating problem… from a film entitled Mrs. Harris, starring Annette “[You might be] in a situation like I was,” said Scott, Bening and Ben Kingsley. Bening sits at the table as Kingsley approaches with a tray of snacks. On Kingsley’s approach, the “where you don’t have back pan compensation, like dollying down straight track and you hit a corner, it jerks you around camera begins a continuous circular loop around the two a little bit, like this [Scott illusactors as they carry out the scene, trates with mangled hands]. So culminating in an extreme close-up trying to keep what you’re kiss. shooting at least halfway smooth “Circular dolly track is really not is impossible unless you happen to that difficult,” began Scott. “But guess at just the right moment. I when you have dolly track that tried having people warn me makes corners, then the difficulty ahead of time by tapping on my starts. You’re changing the torque shoulder but the timing would of the dolly’s center post, yet you always be a little off. don’t want to change the direction Mrs. Harris: The camera begins to circle them…

“In this case,” recalls Scott, “DP of the camera. You have to do a lot Jan De Bont placed a background of back panning—you have to pan extra right on the curve, so just as in the opposite direction, against the camera hit the curve, the extra the movement of the dolly arm, or crossed right in front of me, hiding if you’re lucky you have some back the fact that I was operating pan compensation and do it poorly! He actually saved me on remotely. We did that shot that one.” remotely and had we not done it “What a great point to bring that way, it would have been much up!” interjected Campanelli. more difficult. Going around the goes completely around the table twice,…

“Sometimes as a camera operator, corners you have to start panning your best friend is the production as you go in. designer or art director. As an “We did the shot in four or five operator, you should always be takes,” said Scott, “but the only aware that there’s probably reason for the extra takes was that something you can do to hide we had some focus issues going little blemishes or that will help into that extreme close-up at the you hide a bad shot. There might end. It was an important scene and be a light in the shot and you’ll it had to be absolutely in focus. just tilt down to someone’s foot There was very little depth of field leaving lots of headroom on wider angles… and come back up. Someone at the end there. The first few takes might ask, ‘Why are we looking at were close and then we got it! his foot?’ and I’d answer, ‘Because “Keep in mind,” continued Scott, I don’t want to look at a light.’

“I’m trying not to see the dolly [audience laughs]. That stuff track obviously, so there is more happens, but it works! When you headroom than usual as you see the movie, you don’t know observe in the shot. There were a we’re trying to hide something.” lot of stuffed animals and things in The final clip of the morning the room to accentuate the Ben was Michael’s second example, Kingsley character so [the director] and pulls in for a tight closeup to end the shot.

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

25

“I seem to remember seven as the lucky number of takes it took to get the shot,” recalled Gorelick. “Pretty sure it was a 40mm wide angle anamorphic lens, and the trick was to make sure the camera matte box and [Steadicam] sled got through the hole in time for the breakaway fence to separate, without breaking the momentum of my movement. Honestly, I basically showed up, Larry showed me how the fence was rigged, and if I did my part, we could keep it simple.

“I believe in simplicity whenever you are trying to accomplish working with a rig. But more, it’s also my approach to operating: usually the simpler, the better.”

wanted to play the room too. Besides, anything below the table was boring. They decided to do the shot with a fixed prime lens and live with tons of extra headroom.”

But what if you are in a situation where you cannot operate remotely, and have to execute the shot on the dolly? Michael

Sometimes as a camera operator your best friend is the production designer or art director.

M

Scott illustrated an example of using a little creativity to solve ichael Scott SOC came armed with 2 clips, the first a camera operating problem… from a film entitled Mrs. Harris, starring Annette “[You might be] in a situation like I was,” said Scott, Bening and Ben Kingsley. Bening sits at the table as Kingsley approaches with a tray of snacks. On Kingsley’s approach, the “where you don’t have back pan compensation, like dollying down straight track and you hit a corner, it jerks you around camera begins a continuous circular loop around the two a little bit, like this [Scott illusactors as they carry out the scene, trates with mangled hands]. So culminating in an extreme close-up trying to keep what you’re kiss. shooting at least halfway smooth “Circular dolly track is really not is impossible unless you happen to that difficult,” began Scott. “But guess at just the right moment. I when you have dolly track that tried having people warn me makes corners, then the difficulty ahead of time by tapping on my starts. You’re changing the torque shoulder but the timing would of the dolly’s center post, yet you always be a little off. don’t want to change the direction Mrs. Harris: The camera begins to circle them…

“In this case,” recalls Scott, “DP of the camera. You have to do a lot Jan De Bont placed a background of back panning—you have to pan extra right on the curve, so just as in the opposite direction, against the camera hit the curve, the extra the movement of the dolly arm, or crossed right in front of me, hiding if you’re lucky you have some back the fact that I was operating pan compensation and do it poorly! He actually saved me on remotely. We did that shot that one.” remotely and had we not done it “What a great point to bring that way, it would have been much up!” interjected Campanelli. more difficult. Going around the goes completely around the table twice,…

“Sometimes as a camera operator, corners you have to start panning your best friend is the production as you go in. designer or art director. As an “We did the shot in four or five operator, you should always be takes,” said Scott, “but the only aware that there’s probably reason for the extra takes was that something you can do to hide we had some focus issues going little blemishes or that will help into that extreme close-up at the you hide a bad shot. There might end. It was an important scene and be a light in the shot and you’ll it had to be absolutely in focus. just tilt down to someone’s foot There was very little depth of field leaving lots of headroom on wider angles… and come back up. Someone at the end there. The first few takes might ask, ‘Why are we looking at were close and then we got it! his foot?’ and I’d answer, ‘Because “Keep in mind,” continued Scott, I don’t want to look at a light.’

“I’m trying not to see the dolly [audience laughs]. That stuff track obviously, so there is more happens, but it works! When you headroom than usual as you see the movie, you don’t know observe in the shot. There were a we’re trying to hide something.” lot of stuffed animals and things in The final clip of the morning the room to accentuate the Ben was Michael’s second example, Kingsley character so [the director] and pulls in for a tight closeup to end the shot.

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

25

Have a missing link in your digital workflow?

INGEST

EDITORIAL

OUTPUT

Final Cut Studio Workows for Digital Cinema Cameras Renderless Alexa LogC to Rec 709 Workow

from The Rules of Attraction.

It begins as split-screen dual shots of actors James Van Der Beek and Shannyn Sossemon walking toward us to have a dialogue with each other.

Eventually the split screen transforms into a singleframe two-shot after Shannyn removes Van Der Beek’s sunglasses. We now have a Rules of Attraction : Split screen tracking of two actors‌ perfect profile with the school hallway background wall lining up perfectly. “It was done with motion control,â€? revealed Scott. “It really wasn’t that difficult a shot technically. From my standpoint, it was just operating a camera and doing the pull around. The only tricky part was that I had to do the same pull around for ‌brings them face to face. both people and end up with the same background. It didn’t have to be exact because they could take care of that a wall. He wanted to do what would amount to almost a 360 with the computers, but it had to be close. They could shift it around the bed and end on a close-up without zooming in. around a little bit, but that’s it. To look at the sequence, you “I spoke up and said ‘I think I know how to do this.’ What I might think that we shot the scene backwards and then had them do was take the bed completely away but leave the started it from the other end in post, but this was not the case. “I’ve always liked split screens,â€? said Scott. “Because they’re very seldom used, and when they are used, very seldom are they used correctly. One of the best I’ve seen was in Boston Strangler, because they had people doing totally different things at the same real-time, sometimes in multiple screens. “I picked this shot because I’d not seen it done before,â€? said Scott. “When that last dolly shot comes around and becomes bed frame on the far end. Then I had them lay dance floor all one combined shot. That’s the first time I ever experienced it, around the actor and I could still start the shot behind her. and I’ve not seen it done since, but of course that’s not to say When I described this, I looked over and saw my dolly grip it hasn’t been done before. It’s one of those shots that actually going ‘Nooooo! It will take an hour!’ ‘Yeah,’ I responded, ‘but works.â€? we’ll be done in an hour instead of 2 hours trying to make something else work.’ “The shot worked flawlessly and we all went home an hour later, but what I remember most is that the next day when I Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve said, came to work, the director approached me and said, ‘I just “How am I going to get this shot?â€? wanted to thank you. You got the shot and you really bring a Campanelli: “We all have been in that situation. It’s a lot to the table and I wanted you to know I appreciate it.’â€? collaborative effort. Somebody comes up with a great idea‌ Scott: “I’ve had quite a few instances over the years when I you have to figure it out so you talk to whoever you have to, wondered how I would get the shot. Usually the DP told me to get it done. You brainstorm and somebody will come up how I was going to do it [laughs]. I used to fight that a lot but with a solution. When you get the shot it’s a phenomenal finally found out that if I just do as asked, it generally worked. feeling.â€?

Gorelick: “Last February I was working on a pilot. We were It might not work as easily as if it were set up a different way, but there are times when you just can’t do that. in the 14th hour; everyone was tired and wanted to go home. “The main thing to make a shot work is to be there from We were on the last scene in a small bedroom in the valley the start. Hopefully several days before if you have an inkling somewhere. The director wanted to do a shot and he as to when it’s going to happen. You want to have the proper described it while he blocked it with a finder. A girl sits on a equipment when it does happen. That previous shot in bed leaning against the headboard, and the bed is up against

Read the script and keep your ears open about what shots are coming up and how they’re going to plan it.

BEFORE

AFTER

ARRIRAW Toolkit for the ARRIFLEX Alexa & D-21 Cameras

Phantom Cine Toolkit

Cineon/DPX Pro

for Vision Research Phantom Cameras

Cineon/DPX Integration for Final Cut Studio

TM

gluetools.com SALES GLUETOOLS COM s

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

27

Have a missing link in your digital workflow?

INGEST

EDITORIAL

OUTPUT

Final Cut Studio Workows for Digital Cinema Cameras Renderless Alexa LogC to Rec 709 Workow

from The Rules of Attraction.

It begins as split-screen dual shots of actors James Van Der Beek and Shannyn Sossemon walking toward us to have a dialogue with each other.

Eventually the split screen transforms into a singleframe two-shot after Shannyn removes Van Der Beek’s sunglasses. We now have a Rules of Attraction : Split screen tracking of two actors‌ perfect profile with the school hallway background wall lining up perfectly. “It was done with motion control,â€? revealed Scott. “It really wasn’t that difficult a shot technically. From my standpoint, it was just operating a camera and doing the pull around. The only tricky part was that I had to do the same pull around for ‌brings them face to face. both people and end up with the same background. It didn’t have to be exact because they could take care of that a wall. He wanted to do what would amount to almost a 360 with the computers, but it had to be close. They could shift it around the bed and end on a close-up without zooming in. around a little bit, but that’s it. To look at the sequence, you “I spoke up and said ‘I think I know how to do this.’ What I might think that we shot the scene backwards and then had them do was take the bed completely away but leave the started it from the other end in post, but this was not the case. “I’ve always liked split screens,â€? said Scott. “Because they’re very seldom used, and when they are used, very seldom are they used correctly. One of the best I’ve seen was in Boston Strangler, because they had people doing totally different things at the same real-time, sometimes in multiple screens. “I picked this shot because I’d not seen it done before,â€? said Scott. “When that last dolly shot comes around and becomes bed frame on the far end. Then I had them lay dance floor all one combined shot. That’s the first time I ever experienced it, around the actor and I could still start the shot behind her. and I’ve not seen it done since, but of course that’s not to say When I described this, I looked over and saw my dolly grip it hasn’t been done before. It’s one of those shots that actually going ‘Nooooo! It will take an hour!’ ‘Yeah,’ I responded, ‘but works.â€? we’ll be done in an hour instead of 2 hours trying to make something else work.’ “The shot worked flawlessly and we all went home an hour later, but what I remember most is that the next day when I Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve said, came to work, the director approached me and said, ‘I just “How am I going to get this shot?â€? wanted to thank you. You got the shot and you really bring a Campanelli: “We all have been in that situation. It’s a lot to the table and I wanted you to know I appreciate it.’â€? collaborative effort. Somebody comes up with a great idea‌ Scott: “I’ve had quite a few instances over the years when I you have to figure it out so you talk to whoever you have to, wondered how I would get the shot. Usually the DP told me to get it done. You brainstorm and somebody will come up how I was going to do it [laughs]. I used to fight that a lot but with a solution. When you get the shot it’s a phenomenal finally found out that if I just do as asked, it generally worked. feeling.â€?

Gorelick: “Last February I was working on a pilot. We were It might not work as easily as if it were set up a different way, but there are times when you just can’t do that. in the 14th hour; everyone was tired and wanted to go home. “The main thing to make a shot work is to be there from We were on the last scene in a small bedroom in the valley the start. Hopefully several days before if you have an inkling somewhere. The director wanted to do a shot and he as to when it’s going to happen. You want to have the proper described it while he blocked it with a finder. A girl sits on a equipment when it does happen. That previous shot in bed leaning against the headboard, and the bed is up against

Read the script and keep your ears open about what shots are coming up and how they’re going to plan it.

BEFORE

AFTER

ARRIRAW Toolkit for the ARRIFLEX Alexa & D-21 Cameras

Phantom Cine Toolkit

Cineon/DPX Pro

for Vision Research Phantom Cameras

Cineon/DPX Integration for Final Cut Studio

TM

gluetools.com SALES GLUETOOLS COM s

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

27

what they’re planning.

Mrs. Harris when I had back pan compensaUnfortunately the You’ll learn a lot. And if tions using a remote head made all the you have a day or two, difference in the world and is a good example. best way to learn is through you can get what you Read the script and keep your ears open need.” about what shots are coming up and how experience. they’re going to plan it. If you hear grumbles —Michael Scott, soc about circular track or curved track then you have to find out what they want out of the Can you describe a shot so that you can then prepare for it. challenging shot you’ve “When you’re doing crane shots,” explained executed successfully Scott, “I think one of the most important that a beginning things to know is where the post is going to operator might struggo. It’s been my experience that the DP will gle with? not put the post in the proper place. They Scott: “Whip pans have a different agenda when they’re laying can be very difficult to the shot out. The crane operators and dolly do when you have to grips are usually pretty good at that. They stop at a certain spot know where to put the post and as a camera and be perfectly framed operator you should know too. You want the crane arm to while you’re doing it. Unfortunately the best way to learn is have the proper arc so that you don’t create additional through experience. If you do it a lot, you learn how to set problems.” your body. It’s like in Star Wars where they say, ‘Let the force Gorelick: “There’s something I wanted to touch on that be with you.’ You kind of have to learn the art of ‘Zen’ Michael said earlier about preparing for an upcoming shot operating and feel that the camera is pointed in the right and understanding the technical and creative aspects of it. I direction when you stop. It really comes through years of think this is really important. It’s funny because operators are experience. I’ve done a lot of whip pans and got to the point never invited to prep or location scouts. I’ve often showed up, where I was pretty good at it, but I couldn’t have done those at the start of my career. I would have been fired.”

Campanelli: “What Michael said is very true. It really does It’s about making come with experience. You obviously have to start somethe shot work. where. We’ve all started screwing up some great shots and you just move on. We’ve all been doing this for many years, —Bob Gorelick, soc but I feel you should never ever think that you know everything. You should never think, ‘I’ve got this nailed’ or every shot’s going to be the same. Every day I go to work, absolutely every shot is going to be a new challenge. There’s always something that’s going to screw you up when you think ‘this is going to be an easy pan’ or whatever. It’s not! It’s always something, so you should never ever feel total confidence.

Just go out there and do the best you can, taking all the variables in. Have everyone around you support and help you. Be good to people and they will be good to you.”

How do you deal with the politics of getting a shot, knowing your place on the set and dealing with demanding directors?

whether it’s a Steadicam shot or a crane shot, and everyone seems to have been at the scout except the guy who actually has to execute it! I’ve had to say, ‘This isn’t going to work.’

But you have to find a way to make it work. One of the things I’ve learned to do based on that is check the advance schedules that production prints out. They never actually hand them to the operator, so I seek them out. Sometimes I’ll look through the AC’s notebook to see if something is going to be ordered in upcoming days. If there’s something on the advance schedule with a crane or something, I’ll ask the DP

28

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

Campanelli: “It’s a good question. There’s a lot of psychology and politics to deal with. You’re right in the front lines with the actors. Directors and producers are looking over your shoulder making sure you get the shot right. There are egos to deal with apart from your typical duties as an operator. I always say, it’s 90% psychology and trying to figure it out. Adapting is a major part too. Some DPs give you more control of the shot and some don’t. Some just want it their way and that’s fine; you just have to have your self-confidence and say ‘All right, if he wants it that way, that’s fine, he knows what he’s doing.’

“If you can adapt to every different situation, you will Fall / Winter 2011

survive in this business. You could have an ego and people won’t want to work with you.”

What risks have you taken over the years to get ahead in the business? Which risks have worked and which ones haven’t?

When you’re first starting out and don’t have a lot of experience, you’re nervous to take a risk and don’t know if it’s okay to do so. I imagine you three have taken a lot of risks in your career. For instance, how would you challenge what would seem like an impossible shot?

Jessica Sitomer, interviewer and moderator

Scott: “I’ve always operated (pun intended) on the theory that I’ll take help from whoever’s out there. It could be a dolly grip, electrician, production designer, I don’t care who it is. I’ve never hesitated to ask for help. On a few occasions, I’ve resorted to quietly telling the DP and director that this is a very difficult shot, but I’ll just do my best. If we get it, we get it and if we don’t we don’t. I always stress that there’s a lot of people working on the shot. The assistant’s and dolly grip’s timing has to be perfect, the crane operator’s timing has to be perfect and the actor’s as well. There’s a lot of variables going into it, and it’s not a bad idea to have a plan B.” Gorelick: “I think that it’s a little more difficult for new operators because you don’t have the track record to back you up. I think if you’ve worked with that group If you can adapt to before or you’ve done every different hundreds of successful shots, more often than situation, you will not they’ll understand. survive in this “I remember working business. on a movie about ten years ago, he continues, —Stephen Campanelli, soc “not a very complicated shot, just a timing thing, a tilt-up from one actor to another. I must have tried it twelve times and never did get the timing right. I was a newer, less experienced operator than I am now. I was taking the instruction I was given about the shot literally and was trying to do exactly what they told me to do. It really wasn’t working. Finally the DP asked, ‘Can I have a shot at it?’ I answered, ‘Yes, please,’ and he did it in one take. What I noticed and what I learned was that he changed the shot. It was a big lesson for me. What I learned was it’s about making the shot work. You don’t have to take what they’re describing so literally. You can give them ‘close’ to what they want.”

Fall / Winter 2011

What is something you know now that you wish someone would have told you when you first started out?

Campanelli: “Be a doctor” [crowd erupts in laughter]. In building up your career, there are a lot of sacrifices involved.

You’re sacrificing a lot of relationships, personal things, and you miss some family things. There is a lot of dedication to what you want to do and it’s hard.

In the end it’s all worth it. I love going to work every day, still love what I do. It’s exciting, thrilling and every shot is different. I wish someone had told me that in the beginning, but I went through it all and made it. It’s survival of the fittest. It’s really tough going through all that, but once you have, it’s the most rewarding thing you can do.”

Gorelick: “A DP I worked with about fifteen years ago said to me, ‘Whatever you do, try to think like the person who’s above you. If you’re a 2nd, try and think like a 1st. If you’re a 1st, try and think like an operator.’ I try and remind myself of those words because if you can anticipate what the person above you needs you will become invaluable.”

Scott: “This is going to sound like a smart-ass answer, but it’s really valid to the question. Keep six months worth of money in the bank [laughs]. Seriously, it is so important to do that. If you don’t work a single day for six full months you can still pay the bills.

You might have to cut back on a lot of things, but you won’t have the debt collectors calling you up.

That’s for a good six months— keep it in the bank, don’t invest it, don’t do anything with it, just have it in a savings account. You may never use it, I hope you don’t, but if it’s there, it will get you through a lot, might even get you to say ‘no’ to a few shows you really don’t want to do…”

Campanelli: “Speaking of which, if there are any producers out there, I’m totally available right now…” [That one brings the house down…]

David Tolsky is a Local 600 camera operator and Active member of the SOC. His contact information can be accessed at www.davidtolsky.com.

Acknowledgements go to Mark August soc, Jennifer Braddock and Jessica Sitomer for organizing a successful Cine Gear event.

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

29

what they’re planning.

Mrs. Harris when I had back pan compensaUnfortunately the You’ll learn a lot. And if tions using a remote head made all the you have a day or two, difference in the world and is a good example. best way to learn is through you can get what you Read the script and keep your ears open need.” about what shots are coming up and how experience. they’re going to plan it. If you hear grumbles —Michael Scott, soc about circular track or curved track then you have to find out what they want out of the Can you describe a shot so that you can then prepare for it. challenging shot you’ve “When you’re doing crane shots,” explained executed successfully Scott, “I think one of the most important that a beginning things to know is where the post is going to operator might struggo. It’s been my experience that the DP will gle with? not put the post in the proper place. They Scott: “Whip pans have a different agenda when they’re laying can be very difficult to the shot out. The crane operators and dolly do when you have to grips are usually pretty good at that. They stop at a certain spot know where to put the post and as a camera and be perfectly framed operator you should know too. You want the crane arm to while you’re doing it. Unfortunately the best way to learn is have the proper arc so that you don’t create additional through experience. If you do it a lot, you learn how to set problems.” your body. It’s like in Star Wars where they say, ‘Let the force Gorelick: “There’s something I wanted to touch on that be with you.’ You kind of have to learn the art of ‘Zen’ Michael said earlier about preparing for an upcoming shot operating and feel that the camera is pointed in the right and understanding the technical and creative aspects of it. I direction when you stop. It really comes through years of think this is really important. It’s funny because operators are experience. I’ve done a lot of whip pans and got to the point never invited to prep or location scouts. I’ve often showed up, where I was pretty good at it, but I couldn’t have done those at the start of my career. I would have been fired.”

Campanelli: “What Michael said is very true. It really does It’s about making come with experience. You obviously have to start somethe shot work. where. We’ve all started screwing up some great shots and you just move on. We’ve all been doing this for many years, —Bob Gorelick, soc but I feel you should never ever think that you know everything. You should never think, ‘I’ve got this nailed’ or every shot’s going to be the same. Every day I go to work, absolutely every shot is going to be a new challenge. There’s always something that’s going to screw you up when you think ‘this is going to be an easy pan’ or whatever. It’s not! It’s always something, so you should never ever feel total confidence.

Just go out there and do the best you can, taking all the variables in. Have everyone around you support and help you. Be good to people and they will be good to you.”

How do you deal with the politics of getting a shot, knowing your place on the set and dealing with demanding directors?

whether it’s a Steadicam shot or a crane shot, and everyone seems to have been at the scout except the guy who actually has to execute it! I’ve had to say, ‘This isn’t going to work.’

But you have to find a way to make it work. One of the things I’ve learned to do based on that is check the advance schedules that production prints out. They never actually hand them to the operator, so I seek them out. Sometimes I’ll look through the AC’s notebook to see if something is going to be ordered in upcoming days. If there’s something on the advance schedule with a crane or something, I’ll ask the DP

28

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

Campanelli: “It’s a good question. There’s a lot of psychology and politics to deal with. You’re right in the front lines with the actors. Directors and producers are looking over your shoulder making sure you get the shot right. There are egos to deal with apart from your typical duties as an operator. I always say, it’s 90% psychology and trying to figure it out. Adapting is a major part too. Some DPs give you more control of the shot and some don’t. Some just want it their way and that’s fine; you just have to have your self-confidence and say ‘All right, if he wants it that way, that’s fine, he knows what he’s doing.’

“If you can adapt to every different situation, you will Fall / Winter 2011

survive in this business. You could have an ego and people won’t want to work with you.”

What risks have you taken over the years to get ahead in the business? Which risks have worked and which ones haven’t?

When you’re first starting out and don’t have a lot of experience, you’re nervous to take a risk and don’t know if it’s okay to do so. I imagine you three have taken a lot of risks in your career. For instance, how would you challenge what would seem like an impossible shot?

Jessica Sitomer, interviewer and moderator

Scott: “I’ve always operated (pun intended) on the theory that I’ll take help from whoever’s out there. It could be a dolly grip, electrician, production designer, I don’t care who it is. I’ve never hesitated to ask for help. On a few occasions, I’ve resorted to quietly telling the DP and director that this is a very difficult shot, but I’ll just do my best. If we get it, we get it and if we don’t we don’t. I always stress that there’s a lot of people working on the shot. The assistant’s and dolly grip’s timing has to be perfect, the crane operator’s timing has to be perfect and the actor’s as well. There’s a lot of variables going into it, and it’s not a bad idea to have a plan B.” Gorelick: “I think that it’s a little more difficult for new operators because you don’t have the track record to back you up. I think if you’ve worked with that group If you can adapt to before or you’ve done every different hundreds of successful shots, more often than situation, you will not they’ll understand. survive in this “I remember working business. on a movie about ten years ago, he continues, —Stephen Campanelli, soc “not a very complicated shot, just a timing thing, a tilt-up from one actor to another. I must have tried it twelve times and never did get the timing right. I was a newer, less experienced operator than I am now. I was taking the instruction I was given about the shot literally and was trying to do exactly what they told me to do. It really wasn’t working. Finally the DP asked, ‘Can I have a shot at it?’ I answered, ‘Yes, please,’ and he did it in one take. What I noticed and what I learned was that he changed the shot. It was a big lesson for me. What I learned was it’s about making the shot work. You don’t have to take what they’re describing so literally. You can give them ‘close’ to what they want.”

Fall / Winter 2011

What is something you know now that you wish someone would have told you when you first started out?

Campanelli: “Be a doctor” [crowd erupts in laughter]. In building up your career, there are a lot of sacrifices involved.

You’re sacrificing a lot of relationships, personal things, and you miss some family things. There is a lot of dedication to what you want to do and it’s hard.

In the end it’s all worth it. I love going to work every day, still love what I do. It’s exciting, thrilling and every shot is different. I wish someone had told me that in the beginning, but I went through it all and made it. It’s survival of the fittest. It’s really tough going through all that, but once you have, it’s the most rewarding thing you can do.”

Gorelick: “A DP I worked with about fifteen years ago said to me, ‘Whatever you do, try to think like the person who’s above you. If you’re a 2nd, try and think like a 1st. If you’re a 1st, try and think like an operator.’ I try and remind myself of those words because if you can anticipate what the person above you needs you will become invaluable.”

Scott: “This is going to sound like a smart-ass answer, but it’s really valid to the question. Keep six months worth of money in the bank [laughs]. Seriously, it is so important to do that. If you don’t work a single day for six full months you can still pay the bills.

You might have to cut back on a lot of things, but you won’t have the debt collectors calling you up.

That’s for a good six months— keep it in the bank, don’t invest it, don’t do anything with it, just have it in a savings account. You may never use it, I hope you don’t, but if it’s there, it will get you through a lot, might even get you to say ‘no’ to a few shows you really don’t want to do…”

Campanelli: “Speaking of which, if there are any producers out there, I’m totally available right now…” [That one brings the house down…]

David Tolsky is a Local 600 camera operator and Active member of the SOC. His contact information can be accessed at www.davidtolsky.com.

Acknowledgements go to Mark August soc, Jennifer Braddock and Jessica Sitomer for organizing a successful Cine Gear event.

CAMERA OPERATOR: MY FAVORITE SHOT

29

Cowboys & Aliens Operator Journal

by Camera Operator Peter Rosenfeld soc Photos by Zade Rosenthal/Universal Studios and DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC Š Universal Pictures Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford

30

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

31

Cowboys & Aliens Operator Journal

by Camera Operator Peter Rosenfeld soc Photos by Zade Rosenthal/Universal Studios and DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC Š Universal Pictures Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford

30

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

31

1st AD called for an evacuation, the rain became a downpour and that little trickle of water down the narrow canyon floor started to grow. After making that soggy trip to the camera truck, I quickly changed into rain gear and came back down canyon to pick up the “C” body and tripods left behind. By the time the teamsters came to pick me up, the water was up to my knees and a raging torrent. The four-wheel drive stake bed crawled up sideways against the current and almost did not make it out.

Welcome to Cowboys & Aliens.

W

eeks earlier, I was in Director of Photography Matty Libatique’s office in Santa Monica. The walls here were covered with visual references and the halls had posters of Sergio Leone movies. He described to me an integration of two styles, one a classically filmed Western very much in the style of John Ford; where the camera moved only when appropriate and the actors and action moved within the frame. When the science fiction appears, the visual esthetic changes gear. The camera is now moving constantly and often handheld or Steadicam.

In many pre-production discussions on other shows, I’ve seen ‘master plans’ or a visual esthetic described in great detail that sadly is abandoned

Peter Rosenfeld soc in New Mexico filming Cowboys & Aliens.

Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde ride thru heavy rain in Cowboys & Aliens.

S

anta Fe, NM The rain is coming down in sheets. A fast moving river flows around my ankles as the company scrambles to evacuate the narrow canyon where we had been shooting.

Drenched and carrying two mag cases, I look down at the sodden feet of the person in front of me. Tilting up I see the back of a soaked Harrison Ford. He is carrying the “A” primes cases. Two of them, the longs and the shorts.

“Hey Harrison!” I call out. “There are more people behind us! We’re good! Take off !”

“I’m fine!” he hollers back, not breaking stride, “Let’s just get the f*** out of here!”

I glance to my right as a figure passes me. It’s Daniel Craig.

He is as soaked as the rest of us and is carrying the tripod with my OConnor 2575 head still on it.

32

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

It’s very possible that this movie may have been the toughest of my career.

T

his moment somewhat encapsulates the Cowboys & Aliens experience in New Mexico. The weather was a constant reminder of the power of Mother Nature out in the New Mexican desert and she reminded us constantly of who actually was in charge here.

That particular rain squall had started only 15 minutes earlier when a few innocent drops splattered down on our set.

A group of 50 or so filmmakers with a complement of horses and gear were filming in a ‘slot canyon.’ It got that narrow from the thousands of flash floods that rushed through here in years past.

As those first drops fell a local grip standing beside me said, “We should pack up and split right now.”

This is a guy who hardly says anything. I looked at him and then the sky. Didn’t seem too bad to me. By the time our Fall / Winter 2011

—Peter Rosenfeld soc

Fall / Winter 2011

to some degree during the hard realities of a tough shoot. However in this case, Cowboys & Aliens the movie is exactly what the pre-production concept was — to the letter. It is to the credit of the determined and creative genius of Matty Libatique and director Jon Favreau that the movie never ‘got away from us’ in spite of the extreme conditions.

The team assembled for the task was some of the finest filmmakers I have had the pleasure of working with. The seasoned eyes of Chris Moseley operating “B” camera and refreshing artistry of Magela Crosignani on “C” turned in incredible footage. Late in the show, when Moseley had to leave early, Joe Cicio capably stepped in.

Much of the movie takes place at night and is shot nearly wide open on the Panavision anamorphic “G” series lenses.

The great work of focus pullers Mark Santoni, Matt Stenerson, Paul Santoni and Chris Toll are prominently displayed.

Dolly grip John Mang proves yet again who is the operator’s best friend on set.

It would be hard to find a more talented and fun bunch of people to make a movie with.

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

33

1st AD called for an evacuation, the rain became a downpour and that little trickle of water down the narrow canyon floor started to grow. After making that soggy trip to the camera truck, I quickly changed into rain gear and came back down canyon to pick up the “C” body and tripods left behind. By the time the teamsters came to pick me up, the water was up to my knees and a raging torrent. The four-wheel drive stake bed crawled up sideways against the current and almost did not make it out.

Welcome to Cowboys & Aliens.

W

eeks earlier, I was in Director of Photography Matty Libatique’s office in Santa Monica. The walls here were covered with visual references and the halls had posters of Sergio Leone movies. He described to me an integration of two styles, one a classically filmed Western very much in the style of John Ford; where the camera moved only when appropriate and the actors and action moved within the frame. When the science fiction appears, the visual esthetic changes gear. The camera is now moving constantly and often handheld or Steadicam.

In many pre-production discussions on other shows, I’ve seen ‘master plans’ or a visual esthetic described in great detail that sadly is abandoned

Peter Rosenfeld soc in New Mexico filming Cowboys & Aliens.

Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde ride thru heavy rain in Cowboys & Aliens.

S

anta Fe, NM The rain is coming down in sheets. A fast moving river flows around my ankles as the company scrambles to evacuate the narrow canyon where we had been shooting.

Drenched and carrying two mag cases, I look down at the sodden feet of the person in front of me. Tilting up I see the back of a soaked Harrison Ford. He is carrying the “A” primes cases. Two of them, the longs and the shorts.

“Hey Harrison!” I call out. “There are more people behind us! We’re good! Take off !”

“I’m fine!” he hollers back, not breaking stride, “Let’s just get the f*** out of here!”

I glance to my right as a figure passes me. It’s Daniel Craig.

He is as soaked as the rest of us and is carrying the tripod with my OConnor 2575 head still on it.

32

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

It’s very possible that this movie may have been the toughest of my career.

T

his moment somewhat encapsulates the Cowboys & Aliens experience in New Mexico. The weather was a constant reminder of the power of Mother Nature out in the New Mexican desert and she reminded us constantly of who actually was in charge here.

That particular rain squall had started only 15 minutes earlier when a few innocent drops splattered down on our set.

A group of 50 or so filmmakers with a complement of horses and gear were filming in a ‘slot canyon.’ It got that narrow from the thousands of flash floods that rushed through here in years past.

As those first drops fell a local grip standing beside me said, “We should pack up and split right now.”

This is a guy who hardly says anything. I looked at him and then the sky. Didn’t seem too bad to me. By the time our Fall / Winter 2011

—Peter Rosenfeld soc

Fall / Winter 2011

to some degree during the hard realities of a tough shoot. However in this case, Cowboys & Aliens the movie is exactly what the pre-production concept was — to the letter. It is to the credit of the determined and creative genius of Matty Libatique and director Jon Favreau that the movie never ‘got away from us’ in spite of the extreme conditions.

The team assembled for the task was some of the finest filmmakers I have had the pleasure of working with. The seasoned eyes of Chris Moseley operating “B” camera and refreshing artistry of Magela Crosignani on “C” turned in incredible footage. Late in the show, when Moseley had to leave early, Joe Cicio capably stepped in.

Much of the movie takes place at night and is shot nearly wide open on the Panavision anamorphic “G” series lenses.

The great work of focus pullers Mark Santoni, Matt Stenerson, Paul Santoni and Chris Toll are prominently displayed.

Dolly grip John Mang proves yet again who is the operator’s best friend on set.

It would be hard to find a more talented and fun bunch of people to make a movie with.

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

33

Keep in mind that there is nothing up there as the 40 ft spacecraft will be added in post.

Daniel Craig learns the power of his strange bracelet in Cowboys & Aliens.

T

here is one shot that stands out on this picture for me.

It’s the nighttime speeder crash in the town of Absolution. The camera picks out Daniel Craig walking through the drifting smoke towards us. He now knows that his mysterious wrist bracelet is a powerful weapon and is going to attempt to fire it at the strange aircraft blowing up the town. We track backwards with him, then circle behind him to see what he sees. He raises his arm and the targeting display activates.

He tracks a speeder moving past the buildings with his arm and we continue circling behind him as we line up to look straight down the main street as the speeder now races towards us. Keep in mind that there is nothing up there as the 40 ft spacecraft will be added in post. He blasts the aircraft and clips the wing. It whizzes by his head at 60 mph as we whip pan 180 degrees and follow it to the crash in the street behind us.

This shot had many challenges. It required perfect coordination between Craig and myself over exactly where the speeder was at any moment.

There were explosions on the ground that had to be timed to match with Gaffer Mike Bauman’s lighting effects.

Background artists, stuntmen and horse wranglers all had specific action cues. When the speeder finally got hit and I followed the imaginary ship to the ground the impact had to be timed to an explosion,

34

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

later augmented in CGI. I operated this shot handheld with the Swedish made “Easy Rig” off a monitor with the lens at chest height, using 75mm “G” series anamorphic.

I

t’s very possible that this movie may have been the toughest of my career. For me it exemplifies a lot about our business.

The simple joy of working as a tight team toward a common goal. The bond that develops between us when forced to work and survive in harsh conditions. Also the survival of the creative concept in face of adversity. A producer who I admire (Butch Kaplan) once told me years ago that “long after this movie is gathering dust on a shelf, the experience of making the movie will be with us forever.” It will never be more true than Cowboys & Aliens.

A composite photo shows the townspeople reacting to Daniel Craig shooting down the speeder, which was added later in CGI. Fall / Winter 2011

Keep in mind that there is nothing up there as the 40 ft spacecraft will be added in post.

Daniel Craig learns the power of his strange bracelet in Cowboys & Aliens.

T

here is one shot that stands out on this picture for me.

It’s the nighttime speeder crash in the town of Absolution. The camera picks out Daniel Craig walking through the drifting smoke towards us. He now knows that his mysterious wrist bracelet is a powerful weapon and is going to attempt to fire it at the strange aircraft blowing up the town. We track backwards with him, then circle behind him to see what he sees. He raises his arm and the targeting display activates.

He tracks a speeder moving past the buildings with his arm and we continue circling behind him as we line up to look straight down the main street as the speeder now races towards us. Keep in mind that there is nothing up there as the 40 ft spacecraft will be added in post. He blasts the aircraft and clips the wing. It whizzes by his head at 60 mph as we whip pan 180 degrees and follow it to the crash in the street behind us.

This shot had many challenges. It required perfect coordination between Craig and myself over exactly where the speeder was at any moment.

There were explosions on the ground that had to be timed to match with Gaffer Mike Bauman’s lighting effects.

Background artists, stuntmen and horse wranglers all had specific action cues. When the speeder finally got hit and I followed the imaginary ship to the ground the impact had to be timed to an explosion,

34

CAMERA OPERATOR: COWBOYS AND ALIENS

later augmented in CGI. I operated this shot handheld with the Swedish made “Easy Rig” off a monitor with the lens at chest height, using 75mm “G” series anamorphic.

I

t’s very possible that this movie may have been the toughest of my career. For me it exemplifies a lot about our business.

The simple joy of working as a tight team toward a common goal. The bond that develops between us when forced to work and survive in harsh conditions. Also the survival of the creative concept in face of adversity. A producer who I admire (Butch Kaplan) once told me years ago that “long after this movie is gathering dust on a shelf, the experience of making the movie will be with us forever.” It will never be more true than Cowboys & Aliens.

A composite photo shows the townspeople reacting to Daniel Craig shooting down the speeder, which was added later in CGI. Fall / Winter 2011

Riding into Battle on War Horse as told by Camera Operator Mitch Dubin, soc Photos by Andrew Cooper, smpsp, and David Appleby Š DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC All Rights Reserved Jeremy Irvine on Joey. Photo by David Appleby.

38

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

39

Riding into Battle on War Horse as told by Camera Operator Mitch Dubin, soc Photos by Andrew Cooper, smpsp, and David Appleby Š DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC All Rights Reserved Jeremy Irvine on Joey. Photo by David Appleby.

38

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

39

I

t rains in England.

There were days when you couldn’t recognize anyone on set—we were all head to toe in black rain gear and mud. At the end of the day, we’d line up to have the mud and gunk powerwashed off of us. Those realistic World War I trenches Rick Carter created in an abandoned World War II airfield near London were very realistically filled with water. We were walking in them one morning with Steven [Spielberg] setting the shot. We were all paying attention to Steven, when he stepped into an unknown hole and was suddenly up to his neck in water and mud.

When I think about making War Horse, that’s one of the things that stands out—the rain and the mud. We were in mud up to our knees, trying to move heavy equipment, swing cranes, lay dolly track, and trying to look professional doing it. It was difficult, but somehow fun.

I look back on it with fond memories. That’s an operator’s trait, I’m sure, and probably an act of survival. You always filter your memory away from all the bad stuff and you just remember the

You never see the soldiers getting killed. All of a sudden, you cut to the horses running without riders on them. good stuff. I have worked on movies that were just horrendous, horrible experiences and then a year or two later you’ll be talking to somebody and you’ll say, “I loved that movie, that was a great experience.” And then you think “Wait a minute, what are you saying? That was a terrible job!”

I guess it’s like giving birth—if women remembered how horrible it was to give birth they would never do it again. I look back on War Horse and I know it was a very hard movie to do, but I mainly remember what a blast it was.

S

teven likes to put a different tone to all his movies. When we did Amistad, he decided not to use the dolly, to do everything without physically moving the camera. The camera wasn’t really static, of course. Except for two dolly shots, everything was a sweeping 180°+ pan with very complicated choreography. And then on Saving Private Ryan, he said, “I want to do this whole movie handheld.”

War Horse has a big old-fashioned look to it. It’s like a David Lean movie. It’s like Ryan’s Daughter or Dr. Zhivago—big sweeping epic shots—the type of movie we haven’t seen in a long time.

It was fun working with the horses. They were incredible. That was probably the most unique thing about the movie. I hadn’t worked with horses since The Black Stallion [see sidebar “Getting Started,” page 45], and I’d forgotten how powerful and big and dramatic these animals are. They’re wild beasts—all they want to do is run. It’s their first instinct, to run.

I

’ve since worked with actor Tom Hiddleston who plays one of the British officers in War Horse and he also plays Loki in The Avengers, which I just finished. Working with Tom on the set of The Avengers, all we would talk about is War Horse and how incredible it was to be around the horses. Tom learned how to ride on the movie. Charging along at full gallop on these huge

40

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

There were days when you couldn’t recognize anyone on set—we were all head to toe in black rain gear and mud.

Foreground right: Director Steven Spielberg and Camera Operator Mitch Dubin soc in the World War I trenches of War Horse. Photo by Andrew Cooper, smpsp.

thoroughbred horses took a lot of courage and guts.

T

here was this one shot we did of Joey, the hero horse, running full speed through the forest without a rider on him. This horse wanted to run, and Bobby [Lovgren] the trainer had to do everything he could just to hold the horse back from running until it was time.

We were in a pursuit car, a Mercedes-Benz with a crane on it and a flight head—a remote camera. I was Fall / Winter 2011

operating from inside the pursuit car. Bobby would bring the horse into position and as soon as he let the horse go, it would instantly be at a full gallop, charging through the forest.

We were waiting for the horse to go—the driver of the pursuit car had one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. When the horse was released we were already fully accelerating. But that high-performance vehicle could barely keep up with that horse. It was a great ride!

Bobby is American. He came over to England to do the Fall / Winter 2011

movie. His specialty is training liberty horses—horses that are running free without a rider on them. To control a horse without a rider is a very difficult thing to do. Except when there were a lot of explosions in the shot, and we would have to use a rider with a green screen suit, the horses did it all.

The shot where Joey is running through the forest after the massacre of the British cavalry by German machine guns is a great moment, very emotional, because you never see the soldiers getting killed. All of a sudden, you cut to the horses running without riders on them.

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

41

I

t rains in England.

There were days when you couldn’t recognize anyone on set—we were all head to toe in black rain gear and mud. At the end of the day, we’d line up to have the mud and gunk powerwashed off of us. Those realistic World War I trenches Rick Carter created in an abandoned World War II airfield near London were very realistically filled with water. We were walking in them one morning with Steven [Spielberg] setting the shot. We were all paying attention to Steven, when he stepped into an unknown hole and was suddenly up to his neck in water and mud.

When I think about making War Horse, that’s one of the things that stands out—the rain and the mud. We were in mud up to our knees, trying to move heavy equipment, swing cranes, lay dolly track, and trying to look professional doing it. It was difficult, but somehow fun.

I look back on it with fond memories. That’s an operator’s trait, I’m sure, and probably an act of survival. You always filter your memory away from all the bad stuff and you just remember the

You never see the soldiers getting killed. All of a sudden, you cut to the horses running without riders on them. good stuff. I have worked on movies that were just horrendous, horrible experiences and then a year or two later you’ll be talking to somebody and you’ll say, “I loved that movie, that was a great experience.” And then you think “Wait a minute, what are you saying? That was a terrible job!”

I guess it’s like giving birth—if women remembered how horrible it was to give birth they would never do it again. I look back on War Horse and I know it was a very hard movie to do, but I mainly remember what a blast it was.

S

teven likes to put a different tone to all his movies. When we did Amistad, he decided not to use the dolly, to do everything without physically moving the camera. The camera wasn’t really static, of course. Except for two dolly shots, everything was a sweeping 180°+ pan with very complicated choreography. And then on Saving Private Ryan, he said, “I want to do this whole movie handheld.”

War Horse has a big old-fashioned look to it. It’s like a David Lean movie. It’s like Ryan’s Daughter or Dr. Zhivago—big sweeping epic shots—the type of movie we haven’t seen in a long time.

It was fun working with the horses. They were incredible. That was probably the most unique thing about the movie. I hadn’t worked with horses since The Black Stallion [see sidebar “Getting Started,” page 45], and I’d forgotten how powerful and big and dramatic these animals are. They’re wild beasts—all they want to do is run. It’s their first instinct, to run.

I

’ve since worked with actor Tom Hiddleston who plays one of the British officers in War Horse and he also plays Loki in The Avengers, which I just finished. Working with Tom on the set of The Avengers, all we would talk about is War Horse and how incredible it was to be around the horses. Tom learned how to ride on the movie. Charging along at full gallop on these huge

40

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

There were days when you couldn’t recognize anyone on set—we were all head to toe in black rain gear and mud.

Foreground right: Director Steven Spielberg and Camera Operator Mitch Dubin soc in the World War I trenches of War Horse. Photo by Andrew Cooper, smpsp.

thoroughbred horses took a lot of courage and guts.

T

here was this one shot we did of Joey, the hero horse, running full speed through the forest without a rider on him. This horse wanted to run, and Bobby [Lovgren] the trainer had to do everything he could just to hold the horse back from running until it was time.

We were in a pursuit car, a Mercedes-Benz with a crane on it and a flight head—a remote camera. I was Fall / Winter 2011

operating from inside the pursuit car. Bobby would bring the horse into position and as soon as he let the horse go, it would instantly be at a full gallop, charging through the forest.

We were waiting for the horse to go—the driver of the pursuit car had one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. When the horse was released we were already fully accelerating. But that high-performance vehicle could barely keep up with that horse. It was a great ride!

Bobby is American. He came over to England to do the Fall / Winter 2011

movie. His specialty is training liberty horses—horses that are running free without a rider on them. To control a horse without a rider is a very difficult thing to do. Except when there were a lot of explosions in the shot, and we would have to use a rider with a green screen suit, the horses did it all.

The shot where Joey is running through the forest after the massacre of the British cavalry by German machine guns is a great moment, very emotional, because you never see the soldiers getting killed. All of a sudden, you cut to the horses running without riders on them.

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

41

Training Horses to Fall This is an interesting story that I never knew about. When they were doing Westerns movies in the ’40s and ’50s and had all these battle scenes when the horse would get shot and fall, they would put up these tripwires to bring the horses down. It was very abusive and inhumane. A lot of horses were injured or killed from these tripwires.

But I thought what we did on War Horse was really fascinating. There are a group of horse trainers—they only come from this one ranch in this one town in Spain— who have trained horses to fall safely. It’s like training a horse to trot in a circle or do those dance steps. They breed and train these horses to fall.

The rider will give the horse a cue and the horse will literally fall to the ground even if it’s at full gallop! It was just amazing!

The way they train these horses is they just do it very slowly, one step at a time and they always make a very soft spot for the horse to fall so the horse knows it’s never going to hurt itself.

When they start training, they dig out the ground where the horses can fall. They teach in a natural progression. They first train the horse to fall from standing. Then, they teach it to fall walking and running and, finally, at a full gallop. They always do it so when the horse falls, it’s always falling on soft recently dug, turned-out earth so it never gets hurt. It’s phenomenal to watch these guys working these horses, running at full speed and then the horse is tumbling head over heels, and then it’s fine and gets up and walks away.

—Mitch Dubin, SOC

42

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

It was just incredible to see these horses running.

They’re so big and fast and they’re very dangerous. You just have to always be aware. Bobby [Lovgren] the trainer was very good about making sure that we were never in harm’s way with the horses. There was only one time when we were in close space with a horse, where it was rearing and doing horse things. I felt a little cornered then, but in general, everyone was so professional and safety was always such a concern that I never felt threatened or in danger as a result.

A representative of the SPCA was on the set from call to wrap, a very nice lady who was there to make sure that the horses were treated with respect—that we didn’t injure or harm them at all. It was a big concern because everyone wants to get that seal at the end of the movie that says “No animals were harmed in the making of this movie.” We never put the horses in a bad situation and we never put ourselves into a bad situation that might injure a horse, so it was all good. Even when the horses fell, they didn’t get hurt. [See sidebar.]

The horse trainers were amazing, but it’s not just the trainers. There are the grooms and all the horse makeup and hair people. The horses had their own hair and makeup team—it was hilarious. All the principle horses had to be made up to look exactly like Joey, so they had people to braid extensions into the horse’s mane and makeup people to do the blaze correctly on the forehead Fall / Winter 2011

ANDREW COOPER, SMPSP

Tom Hiddleston (far right) was one of the British cavalry officers. Photo by David Appleby.

Training Horses to Fall This is an interesting story that I never knew about. When they were doing Westerns movies in the ’40s and ’50s and had all these battle scenes when the horse would get shot and fall, they would put up these tripwires to bring the horses down. It was very abusive and inhumane. A lot of horses were injured or killed from these tripwires.

But I thought what we did on War Horse was really fascinating. There are a group of horse trainers—they only come from this one ranch in this one town in Spain— who have trained horses to fall safely. It’s like training a horse to trot in a circle or do those dance steps. They breed and train these horses to fall.

The rider will give the horse a cue and the horse will literally fall to the ground even if it’s at full gallop! It was just amazing!

The way they train these horses is they just do it very slowly, one step at a time and they always make a very soft spot for the horse to fall so the horse knows it’s never going to hurt itself.

When they start training, they dig out the ground where the horses can fall. They teach in a natural progression. They first train the horse to fall from standing. Then, they teach it to fall walking and running and, finally, at a full gallop. They always do it so when the horse falls, it’s always falling on soft recently dug, turned-out earth so it never gets hurt. It’s phenomenal to watch these guys working these horses, running at full speed and then the horse is tumbling head over heels, and then it’s fine and gets up and walks away.

—Mitch Dubin, SOC

42

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

It was just incredible to see these horses running.

They’re so big and fast and they’re very dangerous. You just have to always be aware. Bobby [Lovgren] the trainer was very good about making sure that we were never in harm’s way with the horses. There was only one time when we were in close space with a horse, where it was rearing and doing horse things. I felt a little cornered then, but in general, everyone was so professional and safety was always such a concern that I never felt threatened or in danger as a result.

A representative of the SPCA was on the set from call to wrap, a very nice lady who was there to make sure that the horses were treated with respect—that we didn’t injure or harm them at all. It was a big concern because everyone wants to get that seal at the end of the movie that says “No animals were harmed in the making of this movie.” We never put the horses in a bad situation and we never put ourselves into a bad situation that might injure a horse, so it was all good. Even when the horses fell, they didn’t get hurt. [See sidebar.]

The horse trainers were amazing, but it’s not just the trainers. There are the grooms and all the horse makeup and hair people. The horses had their own hair and makeup team—it was hilarious. All the principle horses had to be made up to look exactly like Joey, so they had people to braid extensions into the horse’s mane and makeup people to do the blaze correctly on the forehead Fall / Winter 2011

ANDREW COOPER, SMPSP

Tom Hiddleston (far right) was one of the British cavalry officers. Photo by David Appleby.

DAVID APPLEBY

Getting Started

Albert ( Jeremy Irvine) and his best friend Joey.

and paint the socks on the legs of the horse. When the actors were being touched up between takes, the horses had their touch ups as well. It was a lot of work.

The only difference was that the horses ate hay and slept in barns. They didn’t get their own Star Wagon. But they were probably happier as they were—they got the best quality hay.

A

nother shot that really stands out in my mind is a big crane shot when the troops are going over the trench and into battle. There were some shots that Steven had designed with previz in pre-production. This was one of those shots. The problem with previz is that once you take into account the set and the actors and the physical limita-

In some ways, it was scarier and more violent without the blood. tions the shot can’t always be done like it was designed. This was the case with this shot. Jimmy Kwiatkowski [key grip] and Rick Carter [production designer] had spent a lot of time, unsuccessfully, trying to figure out how to make this shot work. After wrap, the day before we did the shot, they asked me to come over to the set with Adam Somner [first AD] and help figure it out. Steven uses the previz as a guide, as notes to himself, but he doesn’t necessarily execute them exactly. Steven is always open to the possibilities of the shot that present themselves at that moment.

44

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

The problem with this previz was that it took too long to start on a closeup of Albert and then take him over to the trench with the hundreds of other soldiers. I know Steven well enough to know that the prevized shot wasn’t going to work, but there was a spectacular shot that would work just as well if not better. We set up the shot with some stand-ins and the next day we showed Steven a couple of options to the previz. He made a few changes and was very happy. We did the shot in two takes and moved on. It was a beautiful sweeping crane shot with hundreds of soldiers charging over the trench and running towards the German line. We used a fully extended Akela Crane. When we had rehearsed the shot the day before we didn’t take into account Steven’s video village. These big cranes have a huge amount of mass and inertia. On the first take, the bucket of the crane crashed into the top of the video village tent, ripping it apart. Luckily no one was hurt, but it did make for a very dramatic behind the scenes moment. Hence take two.

I

’d go into more detail about the shots, but I haven’t seen the completed movie [which opens December 25]. The specifics of the shots are all pretty distant images. I call it “shooting amnesia,” and I know it’s an experience not unique to me. As an operator, you concentrate so specifically and diligently on the shot at hand, that once that shot is complete and the gate is checked, you’re moving onto the next shot. In that moment your mind clears, and everything about the previous shot is gone. When I go to dailies the next day, I have no idea what I’m going to see—it’s always a surprise.

Fall / Winter 2011

The very first movie set I ever worked on—in fact the reason why I decided to work with camera—was The Black Stallion. I started as a PA at Zoetrope Studios in San Francisco and was involved in post-production during Apocalypse Now. I would project dailies, carry Moviolas and KEMS up three flights of stairs, make coffee, and so on.

One of the jobs I had was to stick Zoetrope inventory stickers on everything. Francis Coppola had bought a Technovision camera and lenses for Apocalypse Now. When it came back to San Francisco I had to put the inventory stickers on all the pieces and put it all away. Later on, while they were editing both Apocalypse Now and The Black Stallion, they needed to do some additional photography for The Black Stallion. Since I knew where all the pieces to the camera were, they asked me to go with them and I became a sort of camera PA. I’ll never forget that first moment that I spent on the set. It was on the beach in Oregon. It was the scene where the kid, Kelly Reno, rode the horse for the first time. It was an incredible experience for me! Here we were on the beach with a big Titan crane and horses and horse trainers and cameras, galloping through the surf on all these huge horses. I had spent all my time in post-production, in editing rooms and screening rooms. To be outside with this was so exciting and dramatic.

I said to myself, “This is what I want to do! I want to work with the camera!” I’m remembering this now because it was my first experience on a set with horses and since then I haven’t worked again with horses, until War Horse.

—Mitch Dubin, SOC

We used Arricams and film. This was the first movie Steven edited digitally, but we still shot on film.

I

did Saving Private Ryan with Steven. It had a lot more battle scenes than War Horse does. There are a few battle scenes in War Horse, and a good part of the film takes place in the trenches in World War I; Saving Private Ryan’s story was more about the battles of World War II and a particular group of soldiers.

War Horse is about a boy and a horse, so we shot in these beautiful locations—country villages and farmlands in and around London and Dartmoor. I know Steven was very specific about not wanting the movie to be as bloody and violent as Saving Private Ryan.

We shot two charges—one was a cavalry charge and one was the group of soldiers going over the trench—there were never any squibs, as opposed to Saving Private Ryan, where we had squibs and blood flying and limbs being blown off.

Looking at the footage and seeing the dailies of War Horse— even Steven commented on how violent it seemed.

In some ways, it was scarier and more violent without the blood. When you see all these soldiers running over the trenches and running through all this havoc—I think it’s the possibility of what lies ahead that gives the whole scene an aura of violence, of fear, of sweat and blood— even if you don’t see it.

Fall / Winter 2011

Saving Private Ryan was more visual in its violence. War Horse is more implied, but the effect is very similar.

T

his was Jeremy Irvine’s first movie [he plays the boy, Albert]. He’s done some television work, but I think he’s had more experience in live theatre. War Horse is a huge film and he had a lot of pressure on him to carry that part. He’s a good kid, but we really didn’t get to know him very well.

I think he was overwhelmed by this whole process and he was really inside himself just dealing with his role. It actually made it sort of difficult for us because he was just unaware of the technical limitations of cinematic acting, which is much different from theatrical acting.

Actors that have more experience understand performing with the camera. There is a dialogue between the actor and the camera operator. Not just in terms of the shot size or the restrictions of the frame, but they want to have a relationship with the crew because making a movie is a collaborative process. Seasoned actors realize the complexity of the process; they depend on the crew to help them through it.

Tom Hiddleston, for instance, who’s a young British actor, was always really interested in what’s going on behind the Driving Wrong While filming War Horse, we didn’t really work in London so much; we worked in the English countryside—which is gorgeous.

It was a unique experience that I’ll always treasure. But there was a part of the production that was terrifying actually—driving.

I really didn’t want a car. In fact, when I was there on Saving Private Ryan, I had a driver who took me wherever I wanted to go.

And since we were staying in London, it didn’t really matter if we didn’t have a car because we could always use the Underground.

We had a driver that would take us to location in the morning and take us home in the evening.

I thought I was going to have a driver on War Horse as well, but production said, “No, no, we’re going to give you a car.” To this I said, “Oh you’re kidding,” but they weren’t.

I didn’t get the car for the first week and then production finally insisted: “You need your car. You have to drive yourself to set.”

So I had to learn how to drive on the other side of the road.

I’ll never forget when the driver took me to the rental car place to drop me off. He said, “I’ll follow you to make sure that you’re okay.” I said, “No, I want you to leave me alone and go away. I’m just going to drive really slowly and figure this out myself.”

You get used to it. The roundabouts were a little confusing. I hit a few curbs on the other side—my left side—but I didn’t knock off any side mirrors and I didn’t have any actual accidents. It was fun driving.

People drive much faster there than they do here. So when you drive to work on the M4 or the M5, you’re driving 90 or 100 miles an hour down the road. But driving is nice. It’s that moment you have by yourself before you go to work so you can reflect and get yourself in the right mode. I enjoyed that. Every day we were driving long distances—45 minutes to an hour to get to locations. I didn’t mind because I wanted to stay in London.

—Mitch Dubin, SOC

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

45

DAVID APPLEBY

Getting Started

Albert ( Jeremy Irvine) and his best friend Joey.

and paint the socks on the legs of the horse. When the actors were being touched up between takes, the horses had their touch ups as well. It was a lot of work.

The only difference was that the horses ate hay and slept in barns. They didn’t get their own Star Wagon. But they were probably happier as they were—they got the best quality hay.

A

nother shot that really stands out in my mind is a big crane shot when the troops are going over the trench and into battle. There were some shots that Steven had designed with previz in pre-production. This was one of those shots. The problem with previz is that once you take into account the set and the actors and the physical limita-

In some ways, it was scarier and more violent without the blood. tions the shot can’t always be done like it was designed. This was the case with this shot. Jimmy Kwiatkowski [key grip] and Rick Carter [production designer] had spent a lot of time, unsuccessfully, trying to figure out how to make this shot work. After wrap, the day before we did the shot, they asked me to come over to the set with Adam Somner [first AD] and help figure it out. Steven uses the previz as a guide, as notes to himself, but he doesn’t necessarily execute them exactly. Steven is always open to the possibilities of the shot that present themselves at that moment.

44

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

The problem with this previz was that it took too long to start on a closeup of Albert and then take him over to the trench with the hundreds of other soldiers. I know Steven well enough to know that the prevized shot wasn’t going to work, but there was a spectacular shot that would work just as well if not better. We set up the shot with some stand-ins and the next day we showed Steven a couple of options to the previz. He made a few changes and was very happy. We did the shot in two takes and moved on. It was a beautiful sweeping crane shot with hundreds of soldiers charging over the trench and running towards the German line. We used a fully extended Akela Crane. When we had rehearsed the shot the day before we didn’t take into account Steven’s video village. These big cranes have a huge amount of mass and inertia. On the first take, the bucket of the crane crashed into the top of the video village tent, ripping it apart. Luckily no one was hurt, but it did make for a very dramatic behind the scenes moment. Hence take two.

I

’d go into more detail about the shots, but I haven’t seen the completed movie [which opens December 25]. The specifics of the shots are all pretty distant images. I call it “shooting amnesia,” and I know it’s an experience not unique to me. As an operator, you concentrate so specifically and diligently on the shot at hand, that once that shot is complete and the gate is checked, you’re moving onto the next shot. In that moment your mind clears, and everything about the previous shot is gone. When I go to dailies the next day, I have no idea what I’m going to see—it’s always a surprise.

Fall / Winter 2011

The very first movie set I ever worked on—in fact the reason why I decided to work with camera—was The Black Stallion. I started as a PA at Zoetrope Studios in San Francisco and was involved in post-production during Apocalypse Now. I would project dailies, carry Moviolas and KEMS up three flights of stairs, make coffee, and so on.

One of the jobs I had was to stick Zoetrope inventory stickers on everything. Francis Coppola had bought a Technovision camera and lenses for Apocalypse Now. When it came back to San Francisco I had to put the inventory stickers on all the pieces and put it all away. Later on, while they were editing both Apocalypse Now and The Black Stallion, they needed to do some additional photography for The Black Stallion. Since I knew where all the pieces to the camera were, they asked me to go with them and I became a sort of camera PA. I’ll never forget that first moment that I spent on the set. It was on the beach in Oregon. It was the scene where the kid, Kelly Reno, rode the horse for the first time. It was an incredible experience for me! Here we were on the beach with a big Titan crane and horses and horse trainers and cameras, galloping through the surf on all these huge horses. I had spent all my time in post-production, in editing rooms and screening rooms. To be outside with this was so exciting and dramatic.

I said to myself, “This is what I want to do! I want to work with the camera!” I’m remembering this now because it was my first experience on a set with horses and since then I haven’t worked again with horses, until War Horse.

—Mitch Dubin, SOC

We used Arricams and film. This was the first movie Steven edited digitally, but we still shot on film.

I

did Saving Private Ryan with Steven. It had a lot more battle scenes than War Horse does. There are a few battle scenes in War Horse, and a good part of the film takes place in the trenches in World War I; Saving Private Ryan’s story was more about the battles of World War II and a particular group of soldiers.

War Horse is about a boy and a horse, so we shot in these beautiful locations—country villages and farmlands in and around London and Dartmoor. I know Steven was very specific about not wanting the movie to be as bloody and violent as Saving Private Ryan.

We shot two charges—one was a cavalry charge and one was the group of soldiers going over the trench—there were never any squibs, as opposed to Saving Private Ryan, where we had squibs and blood flying and limbs being blown off.

Looking at the footage and seeing the dailies of War Horse— even Steven commented on how violent it seemed.

In some ways, it was scarier and more violent without the blood. When you see all these soldiers running over the trenches and running through all this havoc—I think it’s the possibility of what lies ahead that gives the whole scene an aura of violence, of fear, of sweat and blood— even if you don’t see it.

Fall / Winter 2011

Saving Private Ryan was more visual in its violence. War Horse is more implied, but the effect is very similar.

T

his was Jeremy Irvine’s first movie [he plays the boy, Albert]. He’s done some television work, but I think he’s had more experience in live theatre. War Horse is a huge film and he had a lot of pressure on him to carry that part. He’s a good kid, but we really didn’t get to know him very well.

I think he was overwhelmed by this whole process and he was really inside himself just dealing with his role. It actually made it sort of difficult for us because he was just unaware of the technical limitations of cinematic acting, which is much different from theatrical acting.

Actors that have more experience understand performing with the camera. There is a dialogue between the actor and the camera operator. Not just in terms of the shot size or the restrictions of the frame, but they want to have a relationship with the crew because making a movie is a collaborative process. Seasoned actors realize the complexity of the process; they depend on the crew to help them through it.

Tom Hiddleston, for instance, who’s a young British actor, was always really interested in what’s going on behind the Driving Wrong While filming War Horse, we didn’t really work in London so much; we worked in the English countryside—which is gorgeous.

It was a unique experience that I’ll always treasure. But there was a part of the production that was terrifying actually—driving.

I really didn’t want a car. In fact, when I was there on Saving Private Ryan, I had a driver who took me wherever I wanted to go.

And since we were staying in London, it didn’t really matter if we didn’t have a car because we could always use the Underground.

We had a driver that would take us to location in the morning and take us home in the evening.

I thought I was going to have a driver on War Horse as well, but production said, “No, no, we’re going to give you a car.” To this I said, “Oh you’re kidding,” but they weren’t.

I didn’t get the car for the first week and then production finally insisted: “You need your car. You have to drive yourself to set.”

So I had to learn how to drive on the other side of the road.

I’ll never forget when the driver took me to the rental car place to drop me off. He said, “I’ll follow you to make sure that you’re okay.” I said, “No, I want you to leave me alone and go away. I’m just going to drive really slowly and figure this out myself.”

You get used to it. The roundabouts were a little confusing. I hit a few curbs on the other side—my left side—but I didn’t knock off any side mirrors and I didn’t have any actual accidents. It was fun driving.

People drive much faster there than they do here. So when you drive to work on the M4 or the M5, you’re driving 90 or 100 miles an hour down the road. But driving is nice. It’s that moment you have by yourself before you go to work so you can reflect and get yourself in the right mode. I enjoyed that. Every day we were driving long distances—45 minutes to an hour to get to locations. I didn’t mind because I wanted to stay in London.

—Mitch Dubin, SOC

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

45

I

t was a wonderful experience shooting in England. It’s the second time that I’ve worked there. We did Saving Private Ryan there and even though the gap has to be at least 10

crew does everything with the lighting, including setting flags.

In the American tradition, the grips set the flags, do the rigging, work with the electricians and the lighting process. In England, the grip crew only works with camera. It’s great that way! The key grip, who’s usually also the dolly grip, is always by the camera. He pushes the dolly, sets the track and works with the cranes. Any camera rigging is done by the grips.

They’re just devoted to the camera. It means that the grips are not always split up between the electrical work and the camera work. I think it works really well that way, but it’s just a difference of work style. The grips that we had were wonderful and they did a great job. Any movie with Steven is very camera intensive, so they had their hands full, as we all did.

from previous adventures in England and they’re really hard-working and hilarious. They love a practical joke, and I had a blast with them. One of the most important things I learned from the English crew was what “Poets” day was.

Every Friday the grips would keep saying “Hurry up boys; it’s Poets day.” They finally revealed it meant “Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday.” I loved that!

ANDREW COOPER, SMPSP

W

Albert (Jeremy Irvine) is about to see his horse go off to war.

years between it and War Horse [Editor’s Note: Ryan was in 1998], we still had a lot of the same crew. The crew that works with Steven is pretty much the same crew every time. Obviously not everyone went from the United States to England.

But on the actual shooting crew, there was myself, Mark Spath the 1st AC, Dave Devlin the gaffer, Jim Kwiatkowski

In the American tradition, grips set the flags, do the rigging, [etc]. In England, the grip crew only works with camera. key grip. The B camera crew were English: George Richmond and his brother Chunky Richmond. They became dear friends.

Mickey Pugh was the same prop master we had on Saving Private Ryan. So was the armorer, Simon Atherton. The English crew were just fantastic. We knew a lot of the crew

46

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

I

n general, the working process is very different over there.

The crews tend to be bigger in size. The caterer said some days they were feeding 700 or 800 people—it was like an army. Obviously the vast majority of those people had never worked with Steven before. It’s always interesting to watch new people work with Steven because he’s so quick. He works really fast and he’s very demanding about what he wants and, of course, very impatient which is a character trait of all directors.

I would watch the grips on the crane or on the pursuit car and they would have a glazed look over their faces like “What’s going on? Help!” I’d tell them, “Don’t worry. We just take it one shot at a time and do the best job we can and it’s going to be great.” But it gets to the point where you’re just overwhelmed by the complexity of everything. After some shots, I would have to calm everybody down with “We can do this. Just do this the way you always do,” and everybody worked together to get it done.

Another thing that’s different over there is that the electrical Fall / Winter 2011

I’ve done more than a dozen movies with Steven so far, so I know what Steven wants and what he likes. But I have found that I have to hear it directly from Steven when he’s setting

There is never a simple close-up; the camera is moving around involving wide shots, a two shot and a close-up, all orchestrated within one shot. the shot. I’ve got to make sure I’m there because if I hear it from anybody else, there always seems to be something missing. I might be busy getting out of the rig or the pursuit car, so I have to run over to make sure I’m there to hear what comes out of Steven’s mouth. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve just done so many movies with him, but I understand exactly what he wants and what he means—it’s become a sort of shorthand communication.

And I know how to explain to Steven what the problems

orking with Steven is the hardest I’ve ever had to work. His shots are always extremely difficult and complicated, and the pressure on you is always enormous—not just from the size of the shot, but from Steven’s expectations—he doesn’t want to do it more than once. We have to get it right the first time. There is never a simple close-up; it’s always a very complicated shot: the camera is moving around involving wide shots, a two shot and a close-up, all orchestrated within one shot. Later on it might get cut up but you always shoot it as one piece.

The thing about working with Steven that I treasure is that he pushes you to your limits. You’ll never do better work. He’s inspiring and he demands this excellence in everyone.

Even though it’s hard, you know you’re doing a good movie and you know the work you’re doing is beyond what you’ve ever done before. It’s hard, tough, complicated work and you’re exhausted at the end of the day, every day, but you’re rewarded by doing great work. When that movie comes out, you look Steven Spielberg checks a scene with DP Janusz Kaminski. at it up on the screen and are with the shot and how we need to fix them. I have a go, “Wow! Did I do that? That’s incredible!” relationship with him after doing all these movies that I Steven is a master of using the camera as a storytelling element in cinema. He just knows how to use the camera like know is as helpful for him as it is for me. Probably the most important relationship for an operator on the set is with the no one else. Whether you like his movies or not, you can’t director. You really are working in most cases for the director ever argue the fact that he’s a genius with the camera. He has as much if not more than you’re working with the DP, revolutionized the way you use the camera to tell the story. especially on Steven’s movies. Having done all these movies Steven sets everything for the shot. He calls the lenses, with Steven is a big help. It’s a great experience and an honor instructs us where the camera goes and how the camera working with Steven Spielberg. moves. It all comes from Steven.

The thing about working with Steven that I treasure is that he pushes you to your limits. You’ll never do better work.

He’s inspiring and he demands this excellence in everyone.

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

47

ANDREW COOPER, SMPSP

camera and how it affected what he needed to do. He knew that he needed us to capture the performance he wanted to get on camera.

I

t was a wonderful experience shooting in England. It’s the second time that I’ve worked there. We did Saving Private Ryan there and even though the gap has to be at least 10

crew does everything with the lighting, including setting flags.

In the American tradition, the grips set the flags, do the rigging, work with the electricians and the lighting process. In England, the grip crew only works with camera. It’s great that way! The key grip, who’s usually also the dolly grip, is always by the camera. He pushes the dolly, sets the track and works with the cranes. Any camera rigging is done by the grips.

They’re just devoted to the camera. It means that the grips are not always split up between the electrical work and the camera work. I think it works really well that way, but it’s just a difference of work style. The grips that we had were wonderful and they did a great job. Any movie with Steven is very camera intensive, so they had their hands full, as we all did.

from previous adventures in England and they’re really hard-working and hilarious. They love a practical joke, and I had a blast with them. One of the most important things I learned from the English crew was what “Poets” day was.

Every Friday the grips would keep saying “Hurry up boys; it’s Poets day.” They finally revealed it meant “Piss Off Early Tomorrow’s Saturday.” I loved that!

ANDREW COOPER, SMPSP

W

Albert (Jeremy Irvine) is about to see his horse go off to war.

years between it and War Horse [Editor’s Note: Ryan was in 1998], we still had a lot of the same crew. The crew that works with Steven is pretty much the same crew every time. Obviously not everyone went from the United States to England.

But on the actual shooting crew, there was myself, Mark Spath the 1st AC, Dave Devlin the gaffer, Jim Kwiatkowski

In the American tradition, grips set the flags, do the rigging, [etc]. In England, the grip crew only works with camera. key grip. The B camera crew were English: George Richmond and his brother Chunky Richmond. They became dear friends.

Mickey Pugh was the same prop master we had on Saving Private Ryan. So was the armorer, Simon Atherton. The English crew were just fantastic. We knew a lot of the crew

46

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

I

n general, the working process is very different over there.

The crews tend to be bigger in size. The caterer said some days they were feeding 700 or 800 people—it was like an army. Obviously the vast majority of those people had never worked with Steven before. It’s always interesting to watch new people work with Steven because he’s so quick. He works really fast and he’s very demanding about what he wants and, of course, very impatient which is a character trait of all directors.

I would watch the grips on the crane or on the pursuit car and they would have a glazed look over their faces like “What’s going on? Help!” I’d tell them, “Don’t worry. We just take it one shot at a time and do the best job we can and it’s going to be great.” But it gets to the point where you’re just overwhelmed by the complexity of everything. After some shots, I would have to calm everybody down with “We can do this. Just do this the way you always do,” and everybody worked together to get it done.

Another thing that’s different over there is that the electrical Fall / Winter 2011

I’ve done more than a dozen movies with Steven so far, so I know what Steven wants and what he likes. But I have found that I have to hear it directly from Steven when he’s setting

There is never a simple close-up; the camera is moving around involving wide shots, a two shot and a close-up, all orchestrated within one shot. the shot. I’ve got to make sure I’m there because if I hear it from anybody else, there always seems to be something missing. I might be busy getting out of the rig or the pursuit car, so I have to run over to make sure I’m there to hear what comes out of Steven’s mouth. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve just done so many movies with him, but I understand exactly what he wants and what he means—it’s become a sort of shorthand communication.

And I know how to explain to Steven what the problems

orking with Steven is the hardest I’ve ever had to work. His shots are always extremely difficult and complicated, and the pressure on you is always enormous—not just from the size of the shot, but from Steven’s expectations—he doesn’t want to do it more than once. We have to get it right the first time. There is never a simple close-up; it’s always a very complicated shot: the camera is moving around involving wide shots, a two shot and a close-up, all orchestrated within one shot. Later on it might get cut up but you always shoot it as one piece.

The thing about working with Steven that I treasure is that he pushes you to your limits. You’ll never do better work. He’s inspiring and he demands this excellence in everyone.

Even though it’s hard, you know you’re doing a good movie and you know the work you’re doing is beyond what you’ve ever done before. It’s hard, tough, complicated work and you’re exhausted at the end of the day, every day, but you’re rewarded by doing great work. When that movie comes out, you look Steven Spielberg checks a scene with DP Janusz Kaminski. at it up on the screen and are with the shot and how we need to fix them. I have a go, “Wow! Did I do that? That’s incredible!” relationship with him after doing all these movies that I Steven is a master of using the camera as a storytelling element in cinema. He just knows how to use the camera like know is as helpful for him as it is for me. Probably the most important relationship for an operator on the set is with the no one else. Whether you like his movies or not, you can’t director. You really are working in most cases for the director ever argue the fact that he’s a genius with the camera. He has as much if not more than you’re working with the DP, revolutionized the way you use the camera to tell the story. especially on Steven’s movies. Having done all these movies Steven sets everything for the shot. He calls the lenses, with Steven is a big help. It’s a great experience and an honor instructs us where the camera goes and how the camera working with Steven Spielberg. moves. It all comes from Steven.

The thing about working with Steven that I treasure is that he pushes you to your limits. You’ll never do better work.

He’s inspiring and he demands this excellence in everyone.

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: WAR HORSE

47

ANDREW COOPER, SMPSP

camera and how it affected what he needed to do. He knew that he needed us to capture the performance he wanted to get on camera.

Block, Light, Shoot…

A Thing of the Past?

Filming The Help

by Will Arnot soc Photos by Dale Robinette © DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC All Rights Reserved

We used the old Chapman Super Nova crane (in full electric drive mode so it remained silent) in order to hard-mount the Steadicam so the shot would remain smooth following Aibileen (Viola Davis) as we drove down the street with her when she finally leaves for good. The street was not smooth and we wanted to travel closely with her emotion as she left, then rise and remain high in the air as we celebrate her courageous triumph.

—Will Arnot soc

Block, Light, Shoot…

A Thing of the Past?

Filming The Help

by Will Arnot soc Photos by Dale Robinette © DreamWorks II Distribution Co, LLC All Rights Reserved

We used the old Chapman Super Nova crane (in full electric drive mode so it remained silent) in order to hard-mount the Steadicam so the shot would remain smooth following Aibileen (Viola Davis) as we drove down the street with her when she finally leaves for good. The street was not smooth and we wanted to travel closely with her emotion as she left, then rise and remain high in the air as we celebrate her courageous triumph.

—Will Arnot soc

A

s the saying goes, “There is no ‘I’ in Team”. Working on the The Help was a testament to this.

It was my pleasure to work again with Cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC and his great crew.

Our first time director, Tate Taylor, wrote the screenplay based on the bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett.

Dreamworks and 1492 Pictures were backing the project. Tate and Kathryn grew up as childhood friends in Jackson, Mississippi. With a new tax incentive in place Tate was able to get the film made in his home state.

Nothing could have prepared us for the unrelenting heat of the Mississippi Delta in July and August.

On days when we knew we would be working outdoors in the stifling heat, Stephen made a point of asking for 5 am call times. There was some grumbling about this, but everyone soon realized that the early start enabled us Camera Operator Will Arnot soc with 1st AC Larry Huston to take a big bite out of the day’s work by 11 am. Often we would schedule work in the afternoon shade of a veranda or nearby interior. right time. Don Sparks, our wonderful AD, understood what Having early calls was a double triumph for Stephen. In Stephen was up to and helped him schedule accordingly. addition to beating the heat, the early calls allowed us two Stephen spent many hours in pre-production mapping out very usable shooting opportunities where we could match the sun’s path to determine the shooting directions. Having the quality of light: the early morning and the late afternoon. seamless lighting sequences demanded a very specific This served the pervasive need to have seamless sequences approach in terms of coverage on The Help. Ironically, this instead of ending up with a lot of shots that had to be edited meant forsaking a lot of additional coverage. So the concept around, where close ups were a necessity in order to control here was “Sequence” vs. “Coverage.” the light. Stephen was a master at working with all departIt’s all well and good to have tons of coverage, but that ments in order to make sure we were in the right place at the doesn’t necessarily achieve an effective sequence, i.e. an

editable scene. If the lighting does not match or the shot design doesn’t have a good progression, then the arc of the scene will be weak. I learned a lot on this movie about cooking down the day’s coverage to include only what was needed. This highlights the need for an operator to understand what it is that the DP and director have decided to do.

It certainly unnerved our editor Hughes Winborne to find that he didn’t have a ton of options. But Stephen’s intentions were well informed by his extensive light studies and a healthy dialogue with Tate.

Hughes came to see that we really weren’t trying to subvert him. Rather, we were giving him all that we could in the time allotted, and he actually did have a very effective sequence, in spite of not having as many options as he was used to getting.

Stephen and I came to be fast friends with Hughes. It highlighted the importance of inter-departmental communication, and how we can make a better project with positive involvement and collaboration rather than finger-pointing. Once Hughes understood what limitations we were dealing with and what we could do, he knew to ask for something very specific if needed, and a great working relationship developed from there.

My Historical Perspective The Help was my 5th project with Stephen Goldblatt. The script was one of the best I had read in a very long time: about 1960s America in the South and the birth of Civil Rights, heavy with politics, discrimination, bullying, humility, deceit, camaraderie, love and friendship.

Many of those concepts resonated with my own life. I was an “army brat” until the age of 15, although not in a military family. My father’s career as a doctor consistently took us

The early calls allowed us two very usable shooting opportunities where we could match the quality of light…

Director and screenwriter Tate Tayler discusses a scene with Skeeter (Emma Stone, left, and Aibileen (Viola Davis, right) in Aibileen’s kitchen.

50

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Fall / Winter 2011

overseas. I was always the new kid, bounced around between many schools in many countries, enduring my share of bullying and ostracism along the way.

I was born in Capetown, South Africa to British parents.

We immigrated back to England while I was still young, and lived in several cities around the country. Subsequently we lived in Saudi Arabia and Australia. This nomadic lifestyle was good training for the movie business as I learned to Fall / Winter 2011

constantly adapt to my new surroundings and social challenges as we do on each new job.

I learned a great deal by playing sports. Soccer, the universal sport, taught me the common language and importance of teamwork. As captain of my tennis team I learned that in order to get better I had to play against people better than

DP Stephen Goldblatt, asc, bsc

myself, and I’ve guided my career in camera by trying to work with seasoned veterans who have the experience of time in the saddle and aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel. As I found my strength in endurance sports I learned to dig deep and persevere—another good lesson for long days wearing the Steadicam or simply working for weeks in harsh environments.

When we moved to the USA in the early ’80s, we lived for three years in Virginia before heading for New York. I don’t pretend to really know what it must have been like in the American South before or during the Civil Rights movement, or to make judgment. It was what it was. In many ways, it has changed and in others, it has not. I find it interesting, however, that there is a healthier dialogue in the South regarding race relations than in most of the rest of the country. There is a more honest acknowledgement of how things used to be, and therefore it is talked about more openly.

On Location We were welcomed with open arms to Greenwood, Mississippi where we had come to make The Help. It didn’t hurt that, at the time, the book was still riding high on the New York Times Bestseller list where it had been for more than two years.

Greenwood in its heyday was a bustling crossroads in the booming cotton trade: on the banks of the Tallahatchie River, perfect for transport, and nestled at the edge of the Mississippi Delta with its endlessly flat land perfect for growing cotton. Ten miles up the road from Greenwood, CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

51

A

s the saying goes, “There is no ‘I’ in Team”. Working on the The Help was a testament to this.

It was my pleasure to work again with Cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt, ASC, BSC and his great crew.

Our first time director, Tate Taylor, wrote the screenplay based on the bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett.

Dreamworks and 1492 Pictures were backing the project. Tate and Kathryn grew up as childhood friends in Jackson, Mississippi. With a new tax incentive in place Tate was able to get the film made in his home state.

Nothing could have prepared us for the unrelenting heat of the Mississippi Delta in July and August.

On days when we knew we would be working outdoors in the stifling heat, Stephen made a point of asking for 5 am call times. There was some grumbling about this, but everyone soon realized that the early start enabled us Camera Operator Will Arnot soc with 1st AC Larry Huston to take a big bite out of the day’s work by 11 am. Often we would schedule work in the afternoon shade of a veranda or nearby interior. right time. Don Sparks, our wonderful AD, understood what Having early calls was a double triumph for Stephen. In Stephen was up to and helped him schedule accordingly. addition to beating the heat, the early calls allowed us two Stephen spent many hours in pre-production mapping out very usable shooting opportunities where we could match the sun’s path to determine the shooting directions. Having the quality of light: the early morning and the late afternoon. seamless lighting sequences demanded a very specific This served the pervasive need to have seamless sequences approach in terms of coverage on The Help. Ironically, this instead of ending up with a lot of shots that had to be edited meant forsaking a lot of additional coverage. So the concept around, where close ups were a necessity in order to control here was “Sequence” vs. “Coverage.” the light. Stephen was a master at working with all departIt’s all well and good to have tons of coverage, but that ments in order to make sure we were in the right place at the doesn’t necessarily achieve an effective sequence, i.e. an

editable scene. If the lighting does not match or the shot design doesn’t have a good progression, then the arc of the scene will be weak. I learned a lot on this movie about cooking down the day’s coverage to include only what was needed. This highlights the need for an operator to understand what it is that the DP and director have decided to do.

It certainly unnerved our editor Hughes Winborne to find that he didn’t have a ton of options. But Stephen’s intentions were well informed by his extensive light studies and a healthy dialogue with Tate.

Hughes came to see that we really weren’t trying to subvert him. Rather, we were giving him all that we could in the time allotted, and he actually did have a very effective sequence, in spite of not having as many options as he was used to getting.

Stephen and I came to be fast friends with Hughes. It highlighted the importance of inter-departmental communication, and how we can make a better project with positive involvement and collaboration rather than finger-pointing. Once Hughes understood what limitations we were dealing with and what we could do, he knew to ask for something very specific if needed, and a great working relationship developed from there.

My Historical Perspective The Help was my 5th project with Stephen Goldblatt. The script was one of the best I had read in a very long time: about 1960s America in the South and the birth of Civil Rights, heavy with politics, discrimination, bullying, humility, deceit, camaraderie, love and friendship.

Many of those concepts resonated with my own life. I was an “army brat” until the age of 15, although not in a military family. My father’s career as a doctor consistently took us

The early calls allowed us two very usable shooting opportunities where we could match the quality of light…

Director and screenwriter Tate Tayler discusses a scene with Skeeter (Emma Stone, left, and Aibileen (Viola Davis, right) in Aibileen’s kitchen.

50

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Fall / Winter 2011

overseas. I was always the new kid, bounced around between many schools in many countries, enduring my share of bullying and ostracism along the way.

I was born in Capetown, South Africa to British parents.

We immigrated back to England while I was still young, and lived in several cities around the country. Subsequently we lived in Saudi Arabia and Australia. This nomadic lifestyle was good training for the movie business as I learned to Fall / Winter 2011

constantly adapt to my new surroundings and social challenges as we do on each new job.

I learned a great deal by playing sports. Soccer, the universal sport, taught me the common language and importance of teamwork. As captain of my tennis team I learned that in order to get better I had to play against people better than

DP Stephen Goldblatt, asc, bsc

myself, and I’ve guided my career in camera by trying to work with seasoned veterans who have the experience of time in the saddle and aren’t trying to re-invent the wheel. As I found my strength in endurance sports I learned to dig deep and persevere—another good lesson for long days wearing the Steadicam or simply working for weeks in harsh environments.

When we moved to the USA in the early ’80s, we lived for three years in Virginia before heading for New York. I don’t pretend to really know what it must have been like in the American South before or during the Civil Rights movement, or to make judgment. It was what it was. In many ways, it has changed and in others, it has not. I find it interesting, however, that there is a healthier dialogue in the South regarding race relations than in most of the rest of the country. There is a more honest acknowledgement of how things used to be, and therefore it is talked about more openly.

On Location We were welcomed with open arms to Greenwood, Mississippi where we had come to make The Help. It didn’t hurt that, at the time, the book was still riding high on the New York Times Bestseller list where it had been for more than two years.

Greenwood in its heyday was a bustling crossroads in the booming cotton trade: on the banks of the Tallahatchie River, perfect for transport, and nestled at the edge of the Mississippi Delta with its endlessly flat land perfect for growing cotton. Ten miles up the road from Greenwood, CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

51

Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone, left) discusses some key points with Aibileen (Viola Davis, right).

in a little one-horse town called Money, a 14 year old African American teenager named Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. Many historians suggest this as one of the primary sparks of the Civil Rights movement.

For once, we were filming in a location that was not just about the tax incentives!

Studios and Cooks in the Kitchen

watchful eye on the work we were doing in Mississippi.

There are many things I love about my job. In a lot of ways I consider myself an outsider looking in. This has been a strong motivator of my love for the power of the lens to observe, calibrate and enumerate. Shooting in strange places not only reminds me of what shaped me, but it reminds me to be flexible and open to anything that comes my way.

Ultimately I’m talking about the importance of humility.

Strong wills and egos are often a part of set politics so as an

operator I think it is important to recognize this and work to keep focused on what it is the director and DP are going for and help steer the ship to that end.

Stephen Goldblatt’s approach to making the most of the summer daylight saved a lot of busy work fighting to control the light, and allowed us to move through the day’s work with great efficiency. Often that meant shooting scenes out of order which leads to a common dilemma between the director and DP: actors’ performances or being in the right place at the right time to allow optimal shooting of that performance—which can enhance the performance! With mutual respect, Tate and Stephen were Always in charge, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, left) takes the lead as her mother Missus Walters (Sissy Spacek, center) and housekeeper Minny Jackson able to preserve what was most important to both the cinematography (Octavia Spencer, right) follow her to a social engagement. and the performances.

On a technical level, Tate was quite happy to leave all the with the actors. Then we lit it and shot it. There seems to be cinematography to Stephen. Just like the period piece story such an aversion to this time-tested, simple and effective we were telling, a style quickly evolved where Stephen and I methodology these days. Just as Dreamworks was leaving us were left to the camera work while Tate concentrated on the to do our business, much of the hierarchy on The Help had script and performances... Just like they used to do it in the great mutual respect to not interfere with each other’s work, old days! We rehearsed it and blocked it based on Tate’s work and a stronger film resulted.

A lot of the rhythm on The Help was dictated by its meager $25 million budget and a 58 day schedule. For the sweeping scope of the 150 page script, we had a lot to do. The novel was a runaway hit in bookstores so Dreamworks were fairly confident of the material, but Tate being a first time director meant that the budget would remain very tight. At the same time Dreamworks was also throwing a lot of money and attention at Cowboys & Aliens which was shooting concurrently in New Mexico.

As our schedule on The Help progressed it was inspiring for us to see hand written letters from Steven Spielberg to Tate encouraging him and telling him to let his crew know what a good job was being done. Evidently while Spielberg was in England shooting Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis, left) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) cautiously observe the local women enjoying what is quickly becoming the local scandal. the War Horse, he was keeping a

52

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Fall / Winter 2011

Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, seated center) hosts a shower for her friend Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly, seated left), while Aibileen Clark (Academy Award® nominee Viola Davis, background left) and Yule Mae Davis (Aunjanue Ellis, background right) serve refreshments.

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

53

Skeeter Phelan (Emma Stone, left) discusses some key points with Aibileen (Viola Davis, right).

in a little one-horse town called Money, a 14 year old African American teenager named Emmett Till was murdered in 1955. Many historians suggest this as one of the primary sparks of the Civil Rights movement.

For once, we were filming in a location that was not just about the tax incentives!

Studios and Cooks in the Kitchen

watchful eye on the work we were doing in Mississippi.

There are many things I love about my job. In a lot of ways I consider myself an outsider looking in. This has been a strong motivator of my love for the power of the lens to observe, calibrate and enumerate. Shooting in strange places not only reminds me of what shaped me, but it reminds me to be flexible and open to anything that comes my way.

Ultimately I’m talking about the importance of humility.

Strong wills and egos are often a part of set politics so as an

operator I think it is important to recognize this and work to keep focused on what it is the director and DP are going for and help steer the ship to that end.

Stephen Goldblatt’s approach to making the most of the summer daylight saved a lot of busy work fighting to control the light, and allowed us to move through the day’s work with great efficiency. Often that meant shooting scenes out of order which leads to a common dilemma between the director and DP: actors’ performances or being in the right place at the right time to allow optimal shooting of that performance—which can enhance the performance! With mutual respect, Tate and Stephen were Always in charge, Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, left) takes the lead as her mother Missus Walters (Sissy Spacek, center) and housekeeper Minny Jackson able to preserve what was most important to both the cinematography (Octavia Spencer, right) follow her to a social engagement. and the performances.

On a technical level, Tate was quite happy to leave all the with the actors. Then we lit it and shot it. There seems to be cinematography to Stephen. Just like the period piece story such an aversion to this time-tested, simple and effective we were telling, a style quickly evolved where Stephen and I methodology these days. Just as Dreamworks was leaving us were left to the camera work while Tate concentrated on the to do our business, much of the hierarchy on The Help had script and performances... Just like they used to do it in the great mutual respect to not interfere with each other’s work, old days! We rehearsed it and blocked it based on Tate’s work and a stronger film resulted.

A lot of the rhythm on The Help was dictated by its meager $25 million budget and a 58 day schedule. For the sweeping scope of the 150 page script, we had a lot to do. The novel was a runaway hit in bookstores so Dreamworks were fairly confident of the material, but Tate being a first time director meant that the budget would remain very tight. At the same time Dreamworks was also throwing a lot of money and attention at Cowboys & Aliens which was shooting concurrently in New Mexico.

As our schedule on The Help progressed it was inspiring for us to see hand written letters from Steven Spielberg to Tate encouraging him and telling him to let his crew know what a good job was being done. Evidently while Spielberg was in England shooting Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis, left) and Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) cautiously observe the local women enjoying what is quickly becoming the local scandal. the War Horse, he was keeping a

52

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Fall / Winter 2011

Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard, seated center) hosts a shower for her friend Elizabeth Leefolt (Ahna O’Reilly, seated left), while Aibileen Clark (Academy Award® nominee Viola Davis, background left) and Yule Mae Davis (Aunjanue Ellis, background right) serve refreshments.

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

53

Towercam to the Rescue Stephen called me during pre-production, explaining the need for a straight vertical rise from the ground floor foyer to the 2nd floor landing in an old house where we didn’t have room in the practical location to do it on a crane. I knew about the Towercam, a telescoping vertical column, and, with The Help of my dolly grip Andy Crawford, we were able to track one down and adapt it to our needs.

The Towercam is generally applied to live shows like awards shows and concerts, and so it isn’t built with the rigors of feature films in mind. This presented us with two challenges, height restrictions and payload. The standard Towercam lens height range is 5 ft to 15 ft which was above the low height we wanted to begin with and two feet shy of our finishing height. Andy came up with a great rig to mount the Towercam to the boom arm of our Chapman Hybrid dolly that would allow us to raise the entire column up during the shot and enable us to achieve the finishing height we needed at the 2nd floor.

The cinema zoom lens and remote focus and zoom controls brought us very close to the maximum payload of the Towercam (130 lbs). This dictated using the lightest remote head possible. It also needed to be gyro stabilized since we were mounting it to a moving booming dolly and taking it to full extension.

The Libra head worked extremely well for our payload and stabilization needs. Unfortunately, a lapse in communication meant we got a Libra without the slip rings that would allow continuous revolutions. We needed a 390 degree pan—more than a complete circle—and the non-slip ring Libra only gave us 350 degrees.

Andy Crawford saved the day on Day 1—and I knew that we would be fast friends from then on. Without letting the column flex, Andy had to delicately work out a moment in the rather brisk move to pan the dolly while the Towercam was booming and extending. He is one of those amazing dolly grips who pays attention to all the variables and gracefully applies his experience with very little dialogue from me. We shared a wonderful relationship that quietly supported one another.

Less Is More This almost silent communication perhaps leads to one of my mantras with operating: “Less is More.”

I find that this applies to so many aspects of my job. The politics and dialogue are very important in the operator’s role of treading a delicate line between the director, DP and actors. It is important to make sure that what we say has been whittled down to an important point. Be concise.

Many people on set need information from the operator about what the shot entails. It is our job to give that information in a quiet and efficient manner that helps keep the process flowing smoothly. In this respect, we have a direct effect on the climate of the set. If we are loud and boisterous, then chaos will usually ensue. It is up to us to keep calm amongst all the busy work, and help set an atmosphere that is concentrated and controlled, so that everyone has an opportunity to do their job to its full potential.

From left to right: Key Grip Charlie Saldana operating the telescope of the Towercam, Best Boy Grip Doug Wall, Camera Loader Blake Alcantara, 1st AD Don Sparks, Dolly Grip Andy Crawford. On landing, 1st AC Larry Huston.

54

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

Never Let Them See You Operate In this day and age we have so many toys and techniques at our disposal. I first learned to operate a Steadicam in the early ’90s and got to experience the tail end of what I call the “Golden Years” of Steadicam—when that was the only role you were hired for. With the evolution of the combined role of an A-camera operator, I feel a great responsibility to not use the rig as a crutch, but to utilize the best method on hand in order to tell that particular story. In fact, as time goes on, I find myself less and less happy with the Steadicam as I am constantly trying to make it be a crane or a dolly in terms of accuracy.

Many operators have mentored and inspired me through my career. Pat Capone, Dave Dunlap, Dave Knox and Bruce MacCallum in New York taught me a lot about professionalism and calmly being effective. Chris Hayes told me, “Never let them see you operate!” which is so important. It speaks to what I aspire to be as an operator, effective yet invisible. Tas Michos taught me about always having the camera in position to let everyone know what is happening next. This sounds elementary, but I’ve come to see how that simple need can easily be thwarted and cause unnecessary confusion.

—Will Arnot SOC

One of my favorite tools is a video viewfinder. It can eliminate a lot of unnecessary discussion about what is required to achieve the shot. Mine is a Kisch Director’s finder with a custom battery handle, LCD display and video transmitter. Being able to transmit the image wirelessly means the director and ADs can watch the shot setup and quickly know the parameters of the shot. I can see exactly what the DP is lining up and ask him about the framelines before any equipment has started to move. For directors who have difficulty visualizing what the camera will see, it is priceless in being able to show them exactly what you are talking about. There is always the hazard of handing off a non-video viewfinder to someone and saying, “Look at this,” and they will be looking at a completely different framing.

As soon as a camera is placed in the shooting position, a number of good things happen right away. Everyone knows which way you are looking and equipment naturally begins to move. More importantly, the DP can quickly be making decisions about the lighting.

Any number of things can stop a camera from getting into position, including rebuilding a camera configuration, equipment, obstacles etc. So the more you can think ahead to what is needed in order to show everyone what is next, the faster things can move along. Sometimes this can mean simply moving the dolly into the new position and then re-building the camera there, rather than the other way around. Anticipation and multitasking are the name of the game.

Simplicity also applies to the physical aspect of operating, whereby I try to have a clear picture in my mind of every composition that I want to hit. In this way, I avoid guessing and “fishing.” I go through all the permutations of what CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

55

Towercam to the Rescue Stephen called me during pre-production, explaining the need for a straight vertical rise from the ground floor foyer to the 2nd floor landing in an old house where we didn’t have room in the practical location to do it on a crane. I knew about the Towercam, a telescoping vertical column, and, with The Help of my dolly grip Andy Crawford, we were able to track one down and adapt it to our needs.

The Towercam is generally applied to live shows like awards shows and concerts, and so it isn’t built with the rigors of feature films in mind. This presented us with two challenges, height restrictions and payload. The standard Towercam lens height range is 5 ft to 15 ft which was above the low height we wanted to begin with and two feet shy of our finishing height. Andy came up with a great rig to mount the Towercam to the boom arm of our Chapman Hybrid dolly that would allow us to raise the entire column up during the shot and enable us to achieve the finishing height we needed at the 2nd floor.

The cinema zoom lens and remote focus and zoom controls brought us very close to the maximum payload of the Towercam (130 lbs). This dictated using the lightest remote head possible. It also needed to be gyro stabilized since we were mounting it to a moving booming dolly and taking it to full extension.

The Libra head worked extremely well for our payload and stabilization needs. Unfortunately, a lapse in communication meant we got a Libra without the slip rings that would allow continuous revolutions. We needed a 390 degree pan—more than a complete circle—and the non-slip ring Libra only gave us 350 degrees.

Andy Crawford saved the day on Day 1—and I knew that we would be fast friends from then on. Without letting the column flex, Andy had to delicately work out a moment in the rather brisk move to pan the dolly while the Towercam was booming and extending. He is one of those amazing dolly grips who pays attention to all the variables and gracefully applies his experience with very little dialogue from me. We shared a wonderful relationship that quietly supported one another.

Less Is More This almost silent communication perhaps leads to one of my mantras with operating: “Less is More.”

I find that this applies to so many aspects of my job. The politics and dialogue are very important in the operator’s role of treading a delicate line between the director, DP and actors. It is important to make sure that what we say has been whittled down to an important point. Be concise.

Many people on set need information from the operator about what the shot entails. It is our job to give that information in a quiet and efficient manner that helps keep the process flowing smoothly. In this respect, we have a direct effect on the climate of the set. If we are loud and boisterous, then chaos will usually ensue. It is up to us to keep calm amongst all the busy work, and help set an atmosphere that is concentrated and controlled, so that everyone has an opportunity to do their job to its full potential.

From left to right: Key Grip Charlie Saldana operating the telescope of the Towercam, Best Boy Grip Doug Wall, Camera Loader Blake Alcantara, 1st AD Don Sparks, Dolly Grip Andy Crawford. On landing, 1st AC Larry Huston.

54

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

Never Let Them See You Operate In this day and age we have so many toys and techniques at our disposal. I first learned to operate a Steadicam in the early ’90s and got to experience the tail end of what I call the “Golden Years” of Steadicam—when that was the only role you were hired for. With the evolution of the combined role of an A-camera operator, I feel a great responsibility to not use the rig as a crutch, but to utilize the best method on hand in order to tell that particular story. In fact, as time goes on, I find myself less and less happy with the Steadicam as I am constantly trying to make it be a crane or a dolly in terms of accuracy.

Many operators have mentored and inspired me through my career. Pat Capone, Dave Dunlap, Dave Knox and Bruce MacCallum in New York taught me a lot about professionalism and calmly being effective. Chris Hayes told me, “Never let them see you operate!” which is so important. It speaks to what I aspire to be as an operator, effective yet invisible. Tas Michos taught me about always having the camera in position to let everyone know what is happening next. This sounds elementary, but I’ve come to see how that simple need can easily be thwarted and cause unnecessary confusion.

—Will Arnot SOC

One of my favorite tools is a video viewfinder. It can eliminate a lot of unnecessary discussion about what is required to achieve the shot. Mine is a Kisch Director’s finder with a custom battery handle, LCD display and video transmitter. Being able to transmit the image wirelessly means the director and ADs can watch the shot setup and quickly know the parameters of the shot. I can see exactly what the DP is lining up and ask him about the framelines before any equipment has started to move. For directors who have difficulty visualizing what the camera will see, it is priceless in being able to show them exactly what you are talking about. There is always the hazard of handing off a non-video viewfinder to someone and saying, “Look at this,” and they will be looking at a completely different framing.

As soon as a camera is placed in the shooting position, a number of good things happen right away. Everyone knows which way you are looking and equipment naturally begins to move. More importantly, the DP can quickly be making decisions about the lighting.

Any number of things can stop a camera from getting into position, including rebuilding a camera configuration, equipment, obstacles etc. So the more you can think ahead to what is needed in order to show everyone what is next, the faster things can move along. Sometimes this can mean simply moving the dolly into the new position and then re-building the camera there, rather than the other way around. Anticipation and multitasking are the name of the game.

Simplicity also applies to the physical aspect of operating, whereby I try to have a clear picture in my mind of every composition that I want to hit. In this way, I avoid guessing and “fishing.” I go through all the permutations of what CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

55

Best Boy Grip Doug Wall keeps Camera Operator Will Arnot soc safe for a crane step on.

might affect the composition while the lighting and setup is going on. It is not responsible to wait for all the other people (who are equally focused on their jobs) to clear out just so I can see what is really going on. I have to anticipate and imagine what frames I can get while all the set dressing and lighting is taking place. This helps serve everyone, especially other departments who need to know specific frame lines to concentrate their work within.

This concept of less is more applies to the Steadicam as well. Once the initial blocking has been mapped out, I go about focusing on the simplest route to achieve the shot.

Perhaps it is left over from my days as a dolly grip, but I really try to emulate the dolly as a way of blending the Steadicam with the rest of the operating. The key to this is moving in straight lines. Once I deviate from a straight path, then the background shifts and it becomes obvious you are no longer on a dolly. So when possible, I will fine tune the actor’s blocking or the placement of furniture in order to eliminate bobbing and weaving my way through a shot.

Riding the Crane Stephen forfeited having select days with an expensive Techno Crane and was instead able to carry the Chapman Super Nova for the entire show for the same cost. It lent a wonderful feel to the type of shots that we designed. They became more “old school” and were limited to the arc of the fixed-length crane arm, rather than some fancy move with a telescoping crane arm. I think it really helped me get a feel for the era we were shooting for. I especially liked a shot of Minnie and Aibileen rushing into a lovely old church. There is a certain energy and path that the shot takes because we were using the old-fashioned technology. It just felt right— a perfect example of Less is More.

56

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Rarely do we ride cranes any more since so much is achieved with remote heads—which work very well. But wow, there is nothing more fun than doing a whip pan drive-by using the trusty old turret pan wheel. The turret wheel replaces the pan wheel of the camera geared head and pans the entire column on which everything— the camera, myself and my great assistant on this job, Larry Huston— are in complete synchronicity. It also keeps my body aligned to the camera so I don’t have to twist around the camera as I would on a set of tripod legs. The trick is getting a feel for how heavy the two of us and the camera are, then starting to pan the turret soon enough that I can ramp up enough inertia to get us all through the pan quickly enough. Lots of fun!

Working with this older technology reminded me of some important lessons that are quickly being eclipsed with the advent of Hi-Definition cameras and monitors. Now that we are starting to operate by staring at a Hi-Def monitor, a precious sensibility is lost by not being with the camera or being able to look through the lens. As accurate as the monitors are getting, it is easy to be lulled into complacency about patrolling the frame. Hopefully the much anticipated arrival of the Arri Alexa optical viewfinder will help this cause. But there is a lot to be said for lighting with your eye rather than a vectorscope, and operating through the lens rather than from a monitor. When we are at the camera we more clearly see the world in its true 3D self, which really gives us the best understanding of what is in front of the lens.

Afterthoughts I write this article as I currently work on a large Studio picture of double the shooting days and vastly greater financial resources. It makes me appreciate the power of simply having a great script, practical equipment, and Stephen’s great team. In his words, “Filmmaking is so fraught with problems, you might as well control the things you can.”

To this end Stephen has been working with the same team for over 20 years now. His gaffer Colin Campbell gaffed Grease and key grip Charlie Saldana worked on the I Love Lucy show. His camera operator until recently was our SOC brother Ray De La Motte, a wonderful man and great operator who generously taught me so much. I am so grateful to this team for continuing to show me the importance of teamwork and humility. At the start of every movie we bring the experience of our past, which often leads me to believe I will be better prepared to handle whatever comes my way.

Despite my loftiest ambitions something always makes me feel like a novice. When I stop experiencing this it will be my cue to make a quick exit from this business!

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

57

Best Boy Grip Doug Wall keeps Camera Operator Will Arnot soc safe for a crane step on.

might affect the composition while the lighting and setup is going on. It is not responsible to wait for all the other people (who are equally focused on their jobs) to clear out just so I can see what is really going on. I have to anticipate and imagine what frames I can get while all the set dressing and lighting is taking place. This helps serve everyone, especially other departments who need to know specific frame lines to concentrate their work within.

This concept of less is more applies to the Steadicam as well. Once the initial blocking has been mapped out, I go about focusing on the simplest route to achieve the shot.

Perhaps it is left over from my days as a dolly grip, but I really try to emulate the dolly as a way of blending the Steadicam with the rest of the operating. The key to this is moving in straight lines. Once I deviate from a straight path, then the background shifts and it becomes obvious you are no longer on a dolly. So when possible, I will fine tune the actor’s blocking or the placement of furniture in order to eliminate bobbing and weaving my way through a shot.

Riding the Crane Stephen forfeited having select days with an expensive Techno Crane and was instead able to carry the Chapman Super Nova for the entire show for the same cost. It lent a wonderful feel to the type of shots that we designed. They became more “old school” and were limited to the arc of the fixed-length crane arm, rather than some fancy move with a telescoping crane arm. I think it really helped me get a feel for the era we were shooting for. I especially liked a shot of Minnie and Aibileen rushing into a lovely old church. There is a certain energy and path that the shot takes because we were using the old-fashioned technology. It just felt right— a perfect example of Less is More.

56

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

Rarely do we ride cranes any more since so much is achieved with remote heads—which work very well. But wow, there is nothing more fun than doing a whip pan drive-by using the trusty old turret pan wheel. The turret wheel replaces the pan wheel of the camera geared head and pans the entire column on which everything— the camera, myself and my great assistant on this job, Larry Huston— are in complete synchronicity. It also keeps my body aligned to the camera so I don’t have to twist around the camera as I would on a set of tripod legs. The trick is getting a feel for how heavy the two of us and the camera are, then starting to pan the turret soon enough that I can ramp up enough inertia to get us all through the pan quickly enough. Lots of fun!

Working with this older technology reminded me of some important lessons that are quickly being eclipsed with the advent of Hi-Definition cameras and monitors. Now that we are starting to operate by staring at a Hi-Def monitor, a precious sensibility is lost by not being with the camera or being able to look through the lens. As accurate as the monitors are getting, it is easy to be lulled into complacency about patrolling the frame. Hopefully the much anticipated arrival of the Arri Alexa optical viewfinder will help this cause. But there is a lot to be said for lighting with your eye rather than a vectorscope, and operating through the lens rather than from a monitor. When we are at the camera we more clearly see the world in its true 3D self, which really gives us the best understanding of what is in front of the lens.

Afterthoughts I write this article as I currently work on a large Studio picture of double the shooting days and vastly greater financial resources. It makes me appreciate the power of simply having a great script, practical equipment, and Stephen’s great team. In his words, “Filmmaking is so fraught with problems, you might as well control the things you can.”

To this end Stephen has been working with the same team for over 20 years now. His gaffer Colin Campbell gaffed Grease and key grip Charlie Saldana worked on the I Love Lucy show. His camera operator until recently was our SOC brother Ray De La Motte, a wonderful man and great operator who generously taught me so much. I am so grateful to this team for continuing to show me the importance of teamwork and humility. At the start of every movie we bring the experience of our past, which often leads me to believe I will be better prepared to handle whatever comes my way.

Despite my loftiest ambitions something always makes me feel like a novice. When I stop experiencing this it will be my cue to make a quick exit from this business!

Fall / Winter 2011

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE HELP

57

Hi Def with Jeff

The Sony F65 First Look

By Jeffrey Cree SOC Vice President/Technical Services Band Pro Film & Digital Inc

T

The introduction of the new Sony F65 camera is the first totally new camera system from Sony for some time. Prior to the F35 introduction, we had the Panavision Genesis, which shared many of the components of the F35 so everyone had an idea how the camera would and would not perform. That is not the case for the F65. Everything is new: the image sensor, the camera processing and the recording system. If we look at the specifications of this camera it should look stunning and, for those of us that have had an opportunity to see the F65 producing live images, the numbers have not deceived us. This camera is everything that we anticipated it would be and maybe more. The shocking thing is that the complete camera system with this type of performance sells at a price below the $100,000.00 mark.

That was unheard of five years ago, but technology and markets change and we are seeing the results in Sony’s new F65.

The F65 is the centerpiece for a completely new 4K production system generated by Sony and its partners. Yes, I said partners. Sony has decided to make the new 4K system open to development by companies like Adobe, Avid, AJA, Blackmagic Design, CO3, Quantel, Light Iron, EFILM, FotoKem, YoYotta and others. The primary purpose of this open structure is to accelerate the development of 4K production and postproduction. Yes, we are talking about true 4K production. Sony went beyond the standard 4K Bayer sensor design in the development of the F65 and developed an 8K image sensor with 20 million pixels to derive a true 4K image.

58

CAMERA OPERATOR: HI DEF WITH JEFF

The F65 Camera System includes the camera itself and an all-new recording system based on a new recording media called SRMemory and a series of data transfer devices. Due to the development of a true 4K system, Sony was required to build the core of the system to make the camera viable in the market. Since it is an all-new system, Sony has taken some divergences from their current product lines. The F65 camera system will record only 16-bit linear RAW (F65RAW) or S-Log using the 10- or 12-bit MPEG-4 SStP (SR Codec). No fully processed images or traditional ITU-709 images will be recorded. To facilitate monitoring, the camera will provide HD-SDI 4:2:2 signals derived from the 4K image that may have LUTS applied to give you an image more like the finished product to monitor on set.

Except for the viewfinder, these will be the only outputs other than to the recorder. The F65 camera has been specifically designed to record to the onboard SR-R4 SRMemory Recorder and no other way of recording is currently supported. The other major change is the camera does not support “Interlace Scanning.” Frames rates from 0 to 60fps are a full 4K and 60 to 120fps are sub-sampled in the vertical and the preliminary product information indicates “Progressive” and not PsF scanning is used. Therefore, you must be aware that some older HD monitors may be unable to display the HD-SDI output of the F65.

Like any other new camera, the image sensor is the key feature of the product and Sony put their new multimilliondollar image sensor research facilities to work developing a new benchmark for the market. Sony has a long history in the development of CCD image sensors, but when it came to selecting the new sensor for the F65, they selected a CMOS design. Until recently, the main advantage of CMOS for sensors was lower power consumption, less heat generation, faster transfer rates, and lower cost production. New developments in the design and structure of the image sensor have improved the sensitivity, dynamic range, lowered the noise floor, and eliminated most of the rolling shutter effects of the CMOS image sensors used in lower cost cameras. This made it possible to use a CMOS image sensor in a camera like the F65.

One of the downfalls of the typical 4K CMOS sensor is the Bayer pattern applied to the pixels. The pattern assigns 50% of the pixels to the Green channel and 25% to both the Red and Blue channels. The adaptive processing and interpolation algorithm provides the additional data Typical Bayer to fulfill the data requirements of the output Pixel Pattern signal. This results in a resolution loss of approximately 30% from the pixel resolution of the imager.

Sony has taken a very new approach to the 4K imager.

First, they have selected to extract the 4K image from an 8K design that does not use the traditional Bayer pattern.

Beyond the change of pixel layout they have elected to use Fall / Winter 2011

Stabilized camera systems For motion picture & broadcast production worldwide Featuring • Eclipse • Eclipse 3D • Cineflex • Wescam

W W W. P I C TO R V I S I O N . C O M

800.876.5583

818.785.9282

Hi Def with Jeff

The Sony F65 First Look

By Jeffrey Cree SOC Vice President/Technical Services Band Pro Film & Digital Inc

T

The introduction of the new Sony F65 camera is the first totally new camera system from Sony for some time. Prior to the F35 introduction, we had the Panavision Genesis, which shared many of the components of the F35 so everyone had an idea how the camera would and would not perform. That is not the case for the F65. Everything is new: the image sensor, the camera processing and the recording system. If we look at the specifications of this camera it should look stunning and, for those of us that have had an opportunity to see the F65 producing live images, the numbers have not deceived us. This camera is everything that we anticipated it would be and maybe more. The shocking thing is that the complete camera system with this type of performance sells at a price below the $100,000.00 mark.

That was unheard of five years ago, but technology and markets change and we are seeing the results in Sony’s new F65.

The F65 is the centerpiece for a completely new 4K production system generated by Sony and its partners. Yes, I said partners. Sony has decided to make the new 4K system open to development by companies like Adobe, Avid, AJA, Blackmagic Design, CO3, Quantel, Light Iron, EFILM, FotoKem, YoYotta and others. The primary purpose of this open structure is to accelerate the development of 4K production and postproduction. Yes, we are talking about true 4K production. Sony went beyond the standard 4K Bayer sensor design in the development of the F65 and developed an 8K image sensor with 20 million pixels to derive a true 4K image.

58

CAMERA OPERATOR: HI DEF WITH JEFF

The F65 Camera System includes the camera itself and an all-new recording system based on a new recording media called SRMemory and a series of data transfer devices. Due to the development of a true 4K system, Sony was required to build the core of the system to make the camera viable in the market. Since it is an all-new system, Sony has taken some divergences from their current product lines. The F65 camera system will record only 16-bit linear RAW (F65RAW) or S-Log using the 10- or 12-bit MPEG-4 SStP (SR Codec). No fully processed images or traditional ITU-709 images will be recorded. To facilitate monitoring, the camera will provide HD-SDI 4:2:2 signals derived from the 4K image that may have LUTS applied to give you an image more like the finished product to monitor on set.

Except for the viewfinder, these will be the only outputs other than to the recorder. The F65 camera has been specifically designed to record to the onboard SR-R4 SRMemory Recorder and no other way of recording is currently supported. The other major change is the camera does not support “Interlace Scanning.” Frames rates from 0 to 60fps are a full 4K and 60 to 120fps are sub-sampled in the vertical and the preliminary product information indicates “Progressive” and not PsF scanning is used. Therefore, you must be aware that some older HD monitors may be unable to display the HD-SDI output of the F65.

Like any other new camera, the image sensor is the key feature of the product and Sony put their new multimilliondollar image sensor research facilities to work developing a new benchmark for the market. Sony has a long history in the development of CCD image sensors, but when it came to selecting the new sensor for the F65, they selected a CMOS design. Until recently, the main advantage of CMOS for sensors was lower power consumption, less heat generation, faster transfer rates, and lower cost production. New developments in the design and structure of the image sensor have improved the sensitivity, dynamic range, lowered the noise floor, and eliminated most of the rolling shutter effects of the CMOS image sensors used in lower cost cameras. This made it possible to use a CMOS image sensor in a camera like the F65.

One of the downfalls of the typical 4K CMOS sensor is the Bayer pattern applied to the pixels. The pattern assigns 50% of the pixels to the Green channel and 25% to both the Red and Blue channels. The adaptive processing and interpolation algorithm provides the additional data Typical Bayer to fulfill the data requirements of the output Pixel Pattern signal. This results in a resolution loss of approximately 30% from the pixel resolution of the imager.

Sony has taken a very new approach to the 4K imager.

First, they have selected to extract the 4K image from an 8K design that does not use the traditional Bayer pattern.

Beyond the change of pixel layout they have elected to use Fall / Winter 2011

Stabilized camera systems For motion picture & broadcast production worldwide Featuring • Eclipse • Eclipse 3D • Cineflex • Wescam

W W W. P I C TO R V I S I O N . C O M

800.876.5583

818.785.9282

some of the technology from earlier Exmor image sensors and rotate the pixels so that rows can be interlocked. This provides a sharper image as well as limits the amount of aliasing. They have also used some new technology that allows more of the front surface of the image sensor to collect light. This combination allows the pixel density F65 Pixel Pattern to create an 8K imager that is 24.7 mm x 13.1 mm in size for a super 35mm size image sensor. It also produces a 1 to 1.9 aspect ratio that conforms to the current DCI standards. Due to the gross oversampling of the 8K imager producing a 4K image in the F65 the Green channel provides one pixel for every pixel displayed on the screen. No other 4K production camera provides this level of resolution in the green channel, which is a distinct advantage for the F65. It clearly develops full resolution vertically, horizontally and diagonally in the green channel while the two additional color channels have full resolution vertically and horizontally. This allows Sony to produce a full 4K image with very little compromise in quality. The typical 4K image sensor only provides full resolution vertically and horizontally for the Green channel and only half resolution vertically and horizontally for the Red and Blue channels the remaining data needs are interpolated.

To solve the rolling shutter issues that are prevalent with most CMOS imagers Sony has a model option that includes a two-bladed mechanical shutter. The shutter operates from 0 to 60fps and provides shutter angles from 11.2 to 180 degrees. Above 60fps the sampling times are short enough that the electronic shutter functions sufficiently and does not exhibit the rolling shutter problems of the slower frame rates.

Included in this option is a filter wheel assembly that carries a Clear, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5 ND filters. These internal filters provide a definite advantage over placing ND filters in front of the lens are definitely need for day exterior work with the high base EI of the camera.

To extract all of the information that the image sensor is generating Sony has gone to a 16-bit A/D that creates over 65,500 levels of gradation. The imager design provides a color gamut wider than that of the F35 camera that was already wider than most film stocks used on most of today’s projects. The level of sampling and the advancements of image design have produced a camera with a base rating of 800EI, but with an operating range of 200EI to 3200EI. I had the opportunity to test the camera using the new DSC labs 20-stop dynamic range chart and found using the base 800EI you will achieve a full 14 stops of dynamic range.

The camera I was testing was a very early prototype so the menu system was not fully functional, but you can already see that everything you need will be provided in the enlarged EL Display on the side of the camera. Frame Rate, EI Selection,

60

CAMERA OPERATOR: HI DEF WITH JEFF

Shutter Angle, Monitoring LUT, Color Balance Presets, and Assignable Buttons are programmed from the EL Panel. The camera can also use the RCP or RMB panels from the previous cameras as well as the LAN browser interface as we found in the F35. What is new is the Wi-Fi interface to an iPad or Android tablet, which gives you full remote control of the camera on a single page display.

To record the large amount of data Sony has supplied the SR-R4 onboard recorder.

This recorder is designed to mate with the F65 through a very firm interface that screws the recorder securely to the camera, replacing the lever system on the F35. The interface uses fiber optics so a solid mount was very important to maintain full functionality of the unit. Playback feeds through the monitoring outs of the F65. Control of the unit is performed through the camera interfaces or with an optional control panel that looks very much like that of the SRW-1 recorder. The recorder only has two analog audio inputs but can record 16 channels of embedded audio.

This unit is using a newly design solid-state storage system called SRMemory. The SRMemory cards come in three transfer rates, but only the 2.5 Gbps and 5.5 Gbps are practical for use on the F65. At first delivery the 2.5 Gbps card will come in 512 GB and 1 TB, and the 5.5 Gbps will be available in 256 GB and 512 GB with a 1 TB coming the middle of 2012. These cards are designed to maintain their

transfer characteristics for over five years of daily use. This is a major breakthrough as most flash memory slows down with every use. A 1 TB card will provide 59 minutes of 23.98P 16 bit linear RAW (F65RAW) or 311 minutes of 23.98P 4:2:2/4:4:4 S-Log data using the SR-SQ codec.

Transferring data in such volume requires some special handling and Sony has developed a series of products for this purpose. The SRPC-4 is the most basic and is provided in the introductory package Sony has created for the initial sales of the F65. The unit provides a 1GbE network interface to transfer your data to your network. This will be upgradable to 10GbE mid-2012. Once on your network a Sony-provided GUI allows sorting, selecting and viewing of the clips. The SRPC-4 has an interface slot to install an eSATA interface for direct transfer of clips to an external data drive. Mid-2012 the SRPC-4 can be upgraded to allow SRMemory WRITE and viewing of the F65RAW data via an HD-SDI output on the back of the unit.

Fall / Winter 2011

The few times that I have had an opportunity to test and experiment with the F65, even in the prototype units that have been available, have surpassed all my expectations of the product. Even viewing the derived 1920 X 1080 monitoring output has been stunning. Up to now, I have only had the ability to test the recording function and performance of the SRMemory cards using the studio SR-R1000 recorder, but their

performance has been flawless. Sony has taken a big step from their comfort zone with the design of this product, but the customer response has proven that it was the right direction. Sony has built a true 4K product that may be elevated beyond this level when and if it is required. I can see the product having a lifespan like that of the popular BVW-D600 or HDW-F900 due to the advancements in design that Sony has included in this product. There are so many new features and functions it was impossible to include them all in this article. When you get a chance check it out for yourself and you will not be disappointed.

Please join us for the SOC

Lifetime Achievement Awards

• Four PL Mount Zoom Lenses, 14.5 - 400 mm

• Matched to Industry Leading Prime Lenses

• Unequaled T speed and 4K+ Optical Performance

• Ready for Today's Highest Performance Film & Digital Cinema Cameras

on

February 19, 2012 To learn more, please visit:

SOC.org

www.fujinon.com

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: HI DEF WITH JEFF

61

some of the technology from earlier Exmor image sensors and rotate the pixels so that rows can be interlocked. This provides a sharper image as well as limits the amount of aliasing. They have also used some new technology that allows more of the front surface of the image sensor to collect light. This combination allows the pixel density F65 Pixel Pattern to create an 8K imager that is 24.7 mm x 13.1 mm in size for a super 35mm size image sensor. It also produces a 1 to 1.9 aspect ratio that conforms to the current DCI standards. Due to the gross oversampling of the 8K imager producing a 4K image in the F65 the Green channel provides one pixel for every pixel displayed on the screen. No other 4K production camera provides this level of resolution in the green channel, which is a distinct advantage for the F65. It clearly develops full resolution vertically, horizontally and diagonally in the green channel while the two additional color channels have full resolution vertically and horizontally. This allows Sony to produce a full 4K image with very little compromise in quality. The typical 4K image sensor only provides full resolution vertically and horizontally for the Green channel and only half resolution vertically and horizontally for the Red and Blue channels the remaining data needs are interpolated.

To solve the rolling shutter issues that are prevalent with most CMOS imagers Sony has a model option that includes a two-bladed mechanical shutter. The shutter operates from 0 to 60fps and provides shutter angles from 11.2 to 180 degrees. Above 60fps the sampling times are short enough that the electronic shutter functions sufficiently and does not exhibit the rolling shutter problems of the slower frame rates.

Included in this option is a filter wheel assembly that carries a Clear, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.5 ND filters. These internal filters provide a definite advantage over placing ND filters in front of the lens are definitely need for day exterior work with the high base EI of the camera.

To extract all of the information that the image sensor is generating Sony has gone to a 16-bit A/D that creates over 65,500 levels of gradation. The imager design provides a color gamut wider than that of the F35 camera that was already wider than most film stocks used on most of today’s projects. The level of sampling and the advancements of image design have produced a camera with a base rating of 800EI, but with an operating range of 200EI to 3200EI. I had the opportunity to test the camera using the new DSC labs 20-stop dynamic range chart and found using the base 800EI you will achieve a full 14 stops of dynamic range.

The camera I was testing was a very early prototype so the menu system was not fully functional, but you can already see that everything you need will be provided in the enlarged EL Display on the side of the camera. Frame Rate, EI Selection,

60

CAMERA OPERATOR: HI DEF WITH JEFF

Shutter Angle, Monitoring LUT, Color Balance Presets, and Assignable Buttons are programmed from the EL Panel. The camera can also use the RCP or RMB panels from the previous cameras as well as the LAN browser interface as we found in the F35. What is new is the Wi-Fi interface to an iPad or Android tablet, which gives you full remote control of the camera on a single page display.

To record the large amount of data Sony has supplied the SR-R4 onboard recorder.

This recorder is designed to mate with the F65 through a very firm interface that screws the recorder securely to the camera, replacing the lever system on the F35. The interface uses fiber optics so a solid mount was very important to maintain full functionality of the unit. Playback feeds through the monitoring outs of the F65. Control of the unit is performed through the camera interfaces or with an optional control panel that looks very much like that of the SRW-1 recorder. The recorder only has two analog audio inputs but can record 16 channels of embedded audio.

This unit is using a newly design solid-state storage system called SRMemory. The SRMemory cards come in three transfer rates, but only the 2.5 Gbps and 5.5 Gbps are practical for use on the F65. At first delivery the 2.5 Gbps card will come in 512 GB and 1 TB, and the 5.5 Gbps will be available in 256 GB and 512 GB with a 1 TB coming the middle of 2012. These cards are designed to maintain their

transfer characteristics for over five years of daily use. This is a major breakthrough as most flash memory slows down with every use. A 1 TB card will provide 59 minutes of 23.98P 16 bit linear RAW (F65RAW) or 311 minutes of 23.98P 4:2:2/4:4:4 S-Log data using the SR-SQ codec.

Transferring data in such volume requires some special handling and Sony has developed a series of products for this purpose. The SRPC-4 is the most basic and is provided in the introductory package Sony has created for the initial sales of the F65. The unit provides a 1GbE network interface to transfer your data to your network. This will be upgradable to 10GbE mid-2012. Once on your network a Sony-provided GUI allows sorting, selecting and viewing of the clips. The SRPC-4 has an interface slot to install an eSATA interface for direct transfer of clips to an external data drive. Mid-2012 the SRPC-4 can be upgraded to allow SRMemory WRITE and viewing of the F65RAW data via an HD-SDI output on the back of the unit.

Fall / Winter 2011

The few times that I have had an opportunity to test and experiment with the F65, even in the prototype units that have been available, have surpassed all my expectations of the product. Even viewing the derived 1920 X 1080 monitoring output has been stunning. Up to now, I have only had the ability to test the recording function and performance of the SRMemory cards using the studio SR-R1000 recorder, but their

performance has been flawless. Sony has taken a big step from their comfort zone with the design of this product, but the customer response has proven that it was the right direction. Sony has built a true 4K product that may be elevated beyond this level when and if it is required. I can see the product having a lifespan like that of the popular BVW-D600 or HDW-F900 due to the advancements in design that Sony has included in this product. There are so many new features and functions it was impossible to include them all in this article. When you get a chance check it out for yourself and you will not be disappointed.

Please join us for the SOC

Lifetime Achievement Awards

• Four PL Mount Zoom Lenses, 14.5 - 400 mm

• Matched to Industry Leading Prime Lenses

• Unequaled T speed and 4K+ Optical Performance

• Ready for Today's Highest Performance Film & Digital Cinema Cameras

on

February 19, 2012 To learn more, please visit:

SOC.org

www.fujinon.com

Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: HI DEF WITH JEFF

61

DALE ROBINETTE

Will Arnot soc flying high on the Chapman Super Nova, filming The Help.

“We sshot hot tthe he first first sseven even sseasons easons ooff ‘‘Desperate Desperate “We Housewives’ oonn ffilm ilm bbut ut tthis his year year I decided decided Housewives’ to ttake ake tthe he sshow how H D, w ith A lexa. A fter a to HD, with Alexa.

After lot ooff ttesting, esting, w nded uupp uusing sing tthe he ssame ame lot wee eended lenses aand nd ssame ame SSchneider chneider B lack FFrost rost & lenses Black True-Pol® filters filters tthat hat ggave ave us us our our llook ook oonn True-Pol ffilm. ilm. T he oonly nly iissue ssue w ad w as IIR R ppollution ollution The wee hhad was w hen shooting shooting outdoors outdoors oonn W isteria LLane. ane. when Wisteria SSchneider chneider ccame ame through through for for us us with with some some ooff tthe he ffirst irst ssets ets ooff ttheir heir ggreat reat nnew ew P latinum Platinum IRNDs, and and all all oour ur ccolor olor m atching IRNDs, matching pproblems roblems ddisappeared.” isappeared.”

Photo of Lowell Peterson ASC by Paul Plannette

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

Peterson Goes Platinum on Wisteria Lane other h television l i i work. k He H is i currently l shooting the eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives.

L Lowell ll P Peterson ASC received i d an E Emmy nomination for the series Six Feet Under, and three ASC nominations for his

B+W • Century • Schneider

www.schneideroptics.com

•

Phone: 818-766-3715

•

800-228-1254

3ality Technica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3alitytechnica.com/ Animal Legal Defense Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ElephantAbuse@aldf.org Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . .usa.canon.com/cusa/home Chapman Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 . . . . . . . . . . . www.chapman-leonard.com Cinematography Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . .www.cinematographyelectronics.com Clairmont Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.clairmont.com Deluxe Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bydeluxe.com Filmtools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24, 36–37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.filmtools.com First Entertainment Credit Union. . . . . . . . .19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.firstent.org Focus Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . focusfeatures.com Fujinon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fujinon.com Glidecam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.glidecam.com Glue Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gluetools.com Hot Gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hotgears.com JL Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.jlfisher.com Musicians Interguild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.musicianscu.org Paramount Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5, 7, 9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.paramount.com Pictorvision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.pictorvision.com Schneider Optics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.schneideroptics.com Sony Pictures Classics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.sonyclassics.com VariZooom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.varizoom.com Walt Disney Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . waltdisneystudios.com Warner Bros Photo Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wbphotolab.com

SOC Lifetime Achievement Awards February 19, 2012

to benefit

It Starts with the Glass tm Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: LAST TAKE

63

Chad Wilson Dana D Winseman RL Wise David A Wolf Ian D Woolston-Smith Noel Adrian Wyatt Peter C Xiques Elizabeth Ziegler Carolina Zorrilla de San Martin

SOC Roster CHARTER Parker Bartlett Paul Basta Michael Benson Jerry G Callaway William Jay Gahret Peter Hapke Jay Nefcy Leigh Nicholson David B Nowell, ASC Wayne Orr Ernie Reed Michael Scott Michael St Hilaire Ray Stella Joseph F Valentine Ron Vidor

Andrei Cranach Jeff Cree Rod Crombie Caleb Crosby White Lyndel Crosley Richard Crow Jeff L Crumbley Richard A Cullis Michael L Culp Grant Culwell Joseph C D’Alessandro Nicholas Davidoff Markus Davids Bruce E Davis Richard W Davis Mark G Dawson Ray de la Motte Andrew A Dean ACTIVE Michael S Dean Jonathan S Abrams Kris Andrew Denton Art Adams Joel Deutsch Steven A Adelson David E Diano Michael R Alba Troy Dick Bret Allen Jason Dittmer Derek M Allen Ian Dodd Lee Allison Todd A Dos Reis Robert Reed Altman Rick Drapkin Colin Anderson Mitch Dubin Jack Anderson Jerry Dugan Aldo Antonelli Simon Duggan, ACS Miguelangel Aponte-Rios Louis R Duskin Francois Archambault Lou Dustin Joseph Arena Barry P Dycus Will Arnot Allen D Easton Ted Ashton Jr William Eichler Mark August David E Elkins Grayson Grant Austin Jason Ellson Paul Babin David Emmerichs Randall B Baer Kevin J Emmons Christopher Baffa Alex Esber Lonn Bailey Brant S Fagan James Baldanza Tom Faigh Vincent Baldino Diane L Farrell Jerry Banales Dianne Teresa Farrington Jeff Barklage Jesse Michael Feldman Ricardo Barredo Michael Ferris Angel Barroeta Kenneth Ferro Tom Barron Craig Fikse Gary H Baum Dick Fisher Timothy D Beavers Lance Fisher Jaswinder S Bedi Aaron Fitzgerald Guy Norman Bee Eric Fletcher Tim Bellen Houman Forough Richard Benda Felix Forrest Nils Benson Steve G Fracol Jeb Bergh Keith Francis Marc Andre A Berthiaume Nick Franco George M Bianchini Candide Franklyn Lance Billitzer Tom “Frisby” Fraser Howard H Bingham David J Frederick Bonnie S Blake Michael Frediani Jason Blount Michael A Freeman Bob C Boccaccio Samuel Buddy Fries Richard Bolter Jeff Fry Harry C Box Paul M Gardner Katie Boyum Jack Garrett Kevin D Braband David Gasperik Denise Brassard Rusty Geller Michael Brennen Michael Genne Gerard Brigante Mark Gerasimenko Garrett Brown Vito J Giambalvo Kenny Brown Bill Gierhart Pete Brown Laurie K Gilbert Scott Browner Mark Goellnicht Robin Buerki Daniel Gold Gary Bush Allen Gonzales Stephen S Campanelli Robert Gorelick Susan A Campbell David Allen Grove Richard Cantu Lee Grover Jose A Cardenas Robert Guernsey Peter Cavaciuti Pedro Guimaraes Michael W Chambliss John C Gunselman Lou Chanatry Chris C Haarhoff Joe Chess Jr Anette Haellmigk Julian Chojnacki Daniel Hagouel Joseph V Cicio John Hankammer Jeff L Clark Tim Harland Jeffrey R Clark Kent Harvey Anthony Cobbs Chris Hayes Craig Cockerill David Haylock Steven Cohen Alan Hereford Gregory Paul Collier Steven F Heuer Kris A Conde Kevin Hewitt Andrew Glenn Conder Ronald High Michael Condon Charles M Hill, Jr Tom Connole Joachim Hoffmann Brown Cooper Abe Holtz Dan Coplan Jerry Holway Javier A Costa Casey Hotchkiss Richard J Cottrell William Stephen Howell II Tom Cox Gary Huddleston

64

George Paddock Heather Page Colin Hudson Nick Paige Jeffrey G Hunt Andrew Parke Philip Hurn David L Parrish David Insley Patrick J Pask Levie C Isaacks Philip Pastuhov Dave Isern Christopher T Paul Christopher Ivins William F Pecchi Jr Eugene W Jackson III George Peters Jerry M Jacob Terry Pfrang Francis G James Alan Pierce Alec Jarnagin Mike Pierce Michael Jarocki Theo Pingarelli Simon Jayes Jens Piotrowski Peter C Jensen Joseph Piscitelli Michael A Johnson Robert Presley Steven Jones Louis Puli Jacques Jouffret Ryan Purcell John H Joyce John Radzik David Judy Juan M Ramos David C Kanehann Mark A Ritchie Mark Karavite Timothy Roarke Michael Karp Brooks Robinson Wayne L Kelley Randall Robinson Vernon Kifer Rick Robinson David Kimelman David Robman Douglas H Knapp Andy Romanoff Dan Kneece Peter Rosenfeld Rory Robert Knepp Mike S Roth Bud Kremp Dave Rutherford Kris Krosskove P Scott Sakamoto Jules Labarthe Tom O Sanders Erwin Landau Michael Santy George F Lang Martin Schaer Per Larsson Ron Schlaeger Robin Lawless Mark Schlicher John Lazear Gregory J Schmidt Eric Leach Thomas J Schnaidt Sergio Leandro Silva Bob Scott Richard Leible Brian D Scott Joshua Lesser Brian Scott Sarah Levy Alicia Craft Sehring Jimmy W Lindsey Benjamin Semanoff Hugh C Litfin Khallid J Shabazz Lynn Lockwood Brad Shield George Loomis Geoffrey C Shotz David Luckenbach Osvaldo Silvera Allan Lum Li Jamie Silverstein Greg Lundsgaard Guy Skinner Kenji Luster John Sosenko Rob Macey Andy Sparaco Vincent C Mack Mark Sparrough Heather MacKenzie Mike Spodnik Paul S Magee Sandy Spooner David Mahlmann Edward B Springer James Mann Lisa L Stacilauskas Kim Marks Robert Starling Cedric Martin Scott Stelle Jim McConkey George B Stephenson BJ McDonnell Daniel Stilling Michael P McGowan Sandra Stojanovic Christopher TJ McGuire Michael R Stumpf Maurice K McGuire David L Svenson Aaron Medick James H Sweeney Robert L Mehnert Paul Taylor Jack Messitt Taj Teffaha Marc Miller David James Thompson William E Mills Richard Tiedemann Andrew Mitchell John Toll, ASC William Molina David Tolsky David Monroe Remi Tournois Jeff Moore Neil C Toussaint Denis Moran John Trapman Josh Morton Michael Tsimperopoulos Manolo Rojas Moscopulos Chris Tufty Don Muirhead Dan Turrett Marty F Mullin Brian Tweedt Michael James Mulvey Joseph Urbanczyk Matt Valentine Scott T Mumford Paul D Varrieur Sean Murray Ron Veto Jon Myers Stefan von Bjorn Leo J Napolitano Bill Waldman Julye Newlin Michael J Walker William R Nielsen Jr Adam S Ward Randy Nolen Mark Warshaw Tamas P Nyerges Gretchen Warthen William O’Drobinak William Webb Mark D O’Kane Aiken Weiss Michael D Off Thomas Weston Russell Ofria Mande Whitaker James Olcovich Kit Whitmore, CSC Andrew William Oliver Brian Keith Wilcox Lucio Olivieri Jeffrey Wilkins Mark Richard Olsen Bill Williams John Orland Joe “Jody” Williams Rafael Ortiz-Guzman Ken Willinger Georgia Tornai Packard

CAMERA OPERATOR: SOC ROSTER

ASSOCIATE Amy H Abrams John Addocks David S Adelstein Lance Allen Jon L Anderson Jillian H Arnold Jacob Avignone Josh Barrett Karen Beck Bruce Bender Stephen Blanor Jeffrey D Bollman Peter Bonilla Jean-Paul Bonneau David Boyd John Boyd Jennifer Braddock Rochelle Brown Maja Broz Clyde E Bryan Carmen Cabana Anthony Q Caldwell David S Campbell Bruce Cardozo Paolo Cascio Richard T Cascio Stephen Mark Ciappetta Chad Courtney Michelle Crenshaw Richard P Crudo, ASC Ronald Deveaux Jorge Devotto David Dibble George Spiro Dibie, ASC Kevin Downey Paul A Duclos Bert Dunk, ASC Keith Dunkerley Steven Duval Brian James Dzyak Jonathan Edwards Keith “Iceberg” Eisberg Christopher Ekstein Shane English David T Eubank Robert C Fisher Archie Fletcher John C Flinn III, ASC Mark Forman Fred M Frintrup Peter F Frintrup Hiroyuki Fukuda Richard Garbutt James P Garvey Hank Gifford Michael Goi, ASC David Goldenberg Wayne Goldwyn Mary Gonzales Al Gonzalez Frederic Goodich, ASC John M Goodner Afton M Grant Dave Gregory Phil Gries George Eric Griffith David E Grober Kevin M Haggerty Bob Hall James Hammond Anthony Hardwick James W Hart Robert Hayes Jennifer Ann Henry Anthony P Hettinger John Hill Ken Hilmer Scott Hoffman Melissa Holt Chris Hood Jim Hunter Carrie Imai Toshiyuki Imai Gregory Irwin Blake B Jackson Leo Jaramillo Morgan Jenkins John Chancell Jennings Peter J Johnson Frank E Johnson, ASC Kurt Jones Quenell Jones Robert Joyce David Kane Kevin N Kemp Mark H Killian Douglas Kirkland

Michael Klimchak Craig Kohlhoff Michael Kowalczyk Cindy Kurland Robert La Bonge Laurence Langton Thomas Lappin Lee David Laska-Abbott Greg Le Duc Dr Thomas Lee Taggart A Lee Mark R Leins Alan J Levi Mark Levin Adrian Licciardi Ilya Jo Lie-Nielsen Stephen Lighthill, ASC Stuart T Lillas Jong Lin Colleen Ann Lindl Jefferson K Loftfield Jessica Lopez Jasmine Lord Roland J Luna Christopher Lymberis Tony Magaletta Dominik Mainl Darin Mangan Adam Mansfield Duane C Manwiller Jesus A Marcano Emily Marchand Jorge A Marcial James Mathers Jim R Matlosz Dr Ellen Matsumoto Tisha Matthews John Matysiak Krystal A Maughan Joseph T McDonnell III Hilda Mercado Charles Minsky, ASC K Adriana Modlin Larry Mole Parker Shauna Morgan Brown Dana Morris E Gunnar Mortensen Matthew C Mosher Richard Mosier Shah Mundell Joshua S Narins John Newby Natalie Newman Derek Nickell Kurt Nolen Russell C Nordstedt Crescenzo GP Notarile, ASC John O’Shaughnessy Robert Obie Oberlander,Sr Steven D Parker Florencia Perez Cardenal Mark W Petersen Matthew A Petrosky Jon Philion Astrid Phillips Robert G Pittman W S Pivetta Ted Polmanski Serge T Poupis Boris Price Robert Primes, ASC Andrea Quaglio Liz Radley Udo Ravenstein Richard Rawlings Jr, ASC Marcia Reed Bill Reiter Sandy Rentmeester Brian D Reynolds David Richert Claudio Rietti Alicia Robbins Ken Robings Peter J Rooney David Rosner Douglas Roth Melissa Roth Marvin Rush, ASC Colin Sabala Shereen L Saiyed Mehran Salamati Danny Salazar Germano Saracco, AIC Steve Saxon Carl Martin Schumacher Sr Christian Sebaldt, ASC Charles A Simons Michael Skor

Jan Sluchak Robert F Smith Brian Sowell Brent A Spencer Don Spiro Joe B Stallworth Owen Stephens Tara Summers Andy Sydney John Tarver Joe Tawil Christopher Taylor David Roy Tondeur Matthew Turve John Twesten Caitlin Rae Tyler Daniel Urbain Sandra Valde Nina Varano Craig W Walsh Leonard P Walsh,II Brian Watkins Shaun Wheeler Gregory L White Jennifer Woldrich Rex Allan Worthy Pol C Wright Tony Yarlett Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC

Richard Salvatore Chuck Schuman Philip D Schwartz Hal Shiffman Phil Stern David Sutton Gene Talvin Pernell Tyus Sven Walnum Ben Wolf

CORPORATE MEMBERS 3ALITY TECHNICA Sakae Manning Steve Schklair, CEO Stephen Pizzo, SVP ARRI, INC. Bill Russell BIRNS & SAWYER, INC Bill Meuer CAMERON-PACE GROUP Vincent M Pace CANON Robert Schall CHAPMAN-LEONARD STUDIO EQUIPMENT Leonard T Chapman Christine J Huenergardt CLAIRMONT CAMERA Denny Clairmont HONORARY DIGIHOLLYWOOD John Bailey, ASC Chol Kim Tilman Buettner DOGGICAM James Burrows Gary Thieltges Alexander Calzatti DOLBY IMAGING Trevor Coop Bill Admans Roger Corman EASTMAN KODAK Dean Cundey, ASC COMPANY Bruce Doering Judy Doherty Jack Green, ASC FILMTOOLS INC Tom Hatten Stan McClain Ron Howard FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE DIVISION Ron Kelley Sandra Kurotobi Kathleen Kennedy-Marshall FUJINON,INC Jerry Lewis Thom Calabro Larry McConkey Chuck Lee A Linn Murphree MD GEO FILM GROUP, INC. Diana Penilla George Nolan Steven Spielberg HYDROFLEX, INC. Robert A Torres Matt Brown George Toscas JL FISHER INC. Roy Wagner, ASC Jimmy L Fisher Haskell Wexler, ASC Frank Kay MARK BENDER AND RETIRED ASSOCIATES Gary Olyn Armstrong Mark Bender Eugene Ashbrook MATTHEWS STUDIO Lou Barlia EQUIPMENT Al Bettcher Ed Phillips Joe Blaisdell Bob Kulesh James Blanford MOLE-RICHARDSON Vee Bodrero Larry Mole Parker Donald R Burch OASIS IMAGING Philip Caplan Cassie Crosse Bruce Catlin OCONNOR ENGINEERING Jim Connell LABORATORIES Ivan Craig Joel Johnson Joe Epperson Bob Low Robert Feller OTTO NEMENZ Hiroyuki Fukuda INTERNATIONAL, INC. Jerry Fuller Fritz Heinzl Gil Haimson Otto Nemenz Wynn Hammer Alex Wengert Lutz Hapke PANAVISION Terence A “Terry” Harkin Phil Radin Gary Holt PHOTO-SONICS, INC. Robert C Horne Conrad Kiel Bob Keys George La Fountaine, ASC PICTORVISION Tom Hallman Norm Langley PRECO Steve Lydecker Wes Donahue Owen Marsh SCHNEIDER OPTICS Bob Marta CENTURY DIVISION Stan McClain David Contreras Michael McClary Bill Turner Ron McManus SONY ELECTRONICS, INC. Emmanuel Metaxas Reginald Watson Robert “Bob” Moore TERADEK Ed Morey Michael Gailing Lee Nakahara TIFFEN Sol Negrin, ASC Frank Rush King Nicholson VINTEN, INC. John G Nogle Peter Harman Aaron Pazanti Peter Vinten Robert H Peebles Ramsey Wilson Arnold Rich Sam Rosen Frank Ruttencutter

Roster of the

Society of Camera Operators Current as of 11/5/11

Fall / Winter 2011

DALE ROBINETTE

Will Arnot soc flying high on the Chapman Super Nova, filming The Help.

“We sshot hot tthe he first first sseven even sseasons easons ooff ‘‘Desperate Desperate “We Housewives’ oonn ffilm ilm bbut ut tthis his year year I decided decided Housewives’ to ttake ake tthe he sshow how H D, w ith A lexa. A fter a to HD, with Alexa.

After lot ooff ttesting, esting, w nded uupp uusing sing tthe he ssame ame lot wee eended lenses aand nd ssame ame SSchneider chneider B lack FFrost rost & lenses Black True-Pol® filters filters tthat hat ggave ave us us our our llook ook oonn True-Pol ffilm. ilm. T he oonly nly iissue ssue w ad w as IIR R ppollution ollution The wee hhad was w hen shooting shooting outdoors outdoors oonn W isteria LLane. ane. when Wisteria SSchneider chneider ccame ame through through for for us us with with some some ooff tthe he ffirst irst ssets ets ooff ttheir heir ggreat reat nnew ew P latinum Platinum IRNDs, and and all all oour ur ccolor olor m atching IRNDs, matching pproblems roblems ddisappeared.” isappeared.”

Photo of Lowell Peterson ASC by Paul Plannette

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

Peterson Goes Platinum on Wisteria Lane other h television l i i work. k He H is i currently l shooting the eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives.

L Lowell ll P Peterson ASC received i d an E Emmy nomination for the series Six Feet Under, and three ASC nominations for his

B+W • Century • Schneider

www.schneideroptics.com

•

Phone: 818-766-3715

•

800-228-1254

3ality Technica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3alitytechnica.com/ Animal Legal Defense Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ElephantAbuse@aldf.org Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . .usa.canon.com/cusa/home Chapman Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 . . . . . . . . . . . www.chapman-leonard.com Cinematography Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . .www.cinematographyelectronics.com Clairmont Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.clairmont.com Deluxe Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bydeluxe.com Filmtools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24, 36–37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.filmtools.com First Entertainment Credit Union. . . . . . . . .19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.firstent.org Focus Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . focusfeatures.com Fujinon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fujinon.com Glidecam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.glidecam.com Glue Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.gluetools.com Hot Gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hotgears.com JL Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.jlfisher.com Musicians Interguild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.musicianscu.org Paramount Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5, 7, 9, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.paramount.com Pictorvision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.pictorvision.com Schneider Optics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.schneideroptics.com Sony Pictures Classics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.sonyclassics.com VariZooom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.varizoom.com Walt Disney Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . waltdisneystudios.com Warner Bros Photo Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wbphotolab.com

SOC Lifetime Achievement Awards February 19, 2012

to benefit

It Starts with the Glass tm Fall / Winter 2011

CAMERA OPERATOR: LAST TAKE

63

Chad Wilson Dana D Winseman RL Wise David A Wolf Ian D Woolston-Smith Noel Adrian Wyatt Peter C Xiques Elizabeth Ziegler Carolina Zorrilla de San Martin

SOC Roster CHARTER Parker Bartlett Paul Basta Michael Benson Jerry G Callaway William Jay Gahret Peter Hapke Jay Nefcy Leigh Nicholson David B Nowell, ASC Wayne Orr Ernie Reed Michael Scott Michael St Hilaire Ray Stella Joseph F Valentine Ron Vidor

Andrei Cranach Jeff Cree Rod Crombie Caleb Crosby White Lyndel Crosley Richard Crow Jeff L Crumbley Richard A Cullis Michael L Culp Grant Culwell Joseph C D’Alessandro Nicholas Davidoff Markus Davids Bruce E Davis Richard W Davis Mark G Dawson Ray de la Motte Andrew A Dean ACTIVE Michael S Dean Jonathan S Abrams Kris Andrew Denton Art Adams Joel Deutsch Steven A Adelson David E Diano Michael R Alba Troy Dick Bret Allen Jason Dittmer Derek M Allen Ian Dodd Lee Allison Todd A Dos Reis Robert Reed Altman Rick Drapkin Colin Anderson Mitch Dubin Jack Anderson Jerry Dugan Aldo Antonelli Simon Duggan, ACS Miguelangel Aponte-Rios Louis R Duskin Francois Archambault Lou Dustin Joseph Arena Barry P Dycus Will Arnot Allen D Easton Ted Ashton Jr William Eichler Mark August David E Elkins Grayson Grant Austin Jason Ellson Paul Babin David Emmerichs Randall B Baer Kevin J Emmons Christopher Baffa Alex Esber Lonn Bailey Brant S Fagan James Baldanza Tom Faigh Vincent Baldino Diane L Farrell Jerry Banales Dianne Teresa Farrington Jeff Barklage Jesse Michael Feldman Ricardo Barredo Michael Ferris Angel Barroeta Kenneth Ferro Tom Barron Craig Fikse Gary H Baum Dick Fisher Timothy D Beavers Lance Fisher Jaswinder S Bedi Aaron Fitzgerald Guy Norman Bee Eric Fletcher Tim Bellen Houman Forough Richard Benda Felix Forrest Nils Benson Steve G Fracol Jeb Bergh Keith Francis Marc Andre A Berthiaume Nick Franco George M Bianchini Candide Franklyn Lance Billitzer Tom “Frisby” Fraser Howard H Bingham David J Frederick Bonnie S Blake Michael Frediani Jason Blount Michael A Freeman Bob C Boccaccio Samuel Buddy Fries Richard Bolter Jeff Fry Harry C Box Paul M Gardner Katie Boyum Jack Garrett Kevin D Braband David Gasperik Denise Brassard Rusty Geller Michael Brennen Michael Genne Gerard Brigante Mark Gerasimenko Garrett Brown Vito J Giambalvo Kenny Brown Bill Gierhart Pete Brown Laurie K Gilbert Scott Browner Mark Goellnicht Robin Buerki Daniel Gold Gary Bush Allen Gonzales Stephen S Campanelli Robert Gorelick Susan A Campbell David Allen Grove Richard Cantu Lee Grover Jose A Cardenas Robert Guernsey Peter Cavaciuti Pedro Guimaraes Michael W Chambliss John C Gunselman Lou Chanatry Chris C Haarhoff Joe Chess Jr Anette Haellmigk Julian Chojnacki Daniel Hagouel Joseph V Cicio John Hankammer Jeff L Clark Tim Harland Jeffrey R Clark Kent Harvey Anthony Cobbs Chris Hayes Craig Cockerill David Haylock Steven Cohen Alan Hereford Gregory Paul Collier Steven F Heuer Kris A Conde Kevin Hewitt Andrew Glenn Conder Ronald High Michael Condon Charles M Hill, Jr Tom Connole Joachim Hoffmann Brown Cooper Abe Holtz Dan Coplan Jerry Holway Javier A Costa Casey Hotchkiss Richard J Cottrell William Stephen Howell II Tom Cox Gary Huddleston

64

George Paddock Heather Page Colin Hudson Nick Paige Jeffrey G Hunt Andrew Parke Philip Hurn David L Parrish David Insley Patrick J Pask Levie C Isaacks Philip Pastuhov Dave Isern Christopher T Paul Christopher Ivins William F Pecchi Jr Eugene W Jackson III George Peters Jerry M Jacob Terry Pfrang Francis G James Alan Pierce Alec Jarnagin Mike Pierce Michael Jarocki Theo Pingarelli Simon Jayes Jens Piotrowski Peter C Jensen Joseph Piscitelli Michael A Johnson Robert Presley Steven Jones Louis Puli Jacques Jouffret Ryan Purcell John H Joyce John Radzik David Judy Juan M Ramos David C Kanehann Mark A Ritchie Mark Karavite Timothy Roarke Michael Karp Brooks Robinson Wayne L Kelley Randall Robinson Vernon Kifer Rick Robinson David Kimelman David Robman Douglas H Knapp Andy Romanoff Dan Kneece Peter Rosenfeld Rory Robert Knepp Mike S Roth Bud Kremp Dave Rutherford Kris Krosskove P Scott Sakamoto Jules Labarthe Tom O Sanders Erwin Landau Michael Santy George F Lang Martin Schaer Per Larsson Ron Schlaeger Robin Lawless Mark Schlicher John Lazear Gregory J Schmidt Eric Leach Thomas J Schnaidt Sergio Leandro Silva Bob Scott Richard Leible Brian D Scott Joshua Lesser Brian Scott Sarah Levy Alicia Craft Sehring Jimmy W Lindsey Benjamin Semanoff Hugh C Litfin Khallid J Shabazz Lynn Lockwood Brad Shield George Loomis Geoffrey C Shotz David Luckenbach Osvaldo Silvera Allan Lum Li Jamie Silverstein Greg Lundsgaard Guy Skinner Kenji Luster John Sosenko Rob Macey Andy Sparaco Vincent C Mack Mark Sparrough Heather MacKenzie Mike Spodnik Paul S Magee Sandy Spooner David Mahlmann Edward B Springer James Mann Lisa L Stacilauskas Kim Marks Robert Starling Cedric Martin Scott Stelle Jim McConkey George B Stephenson BJ McDonnell Daniel Stilling Michael P McGowan Sandra Stojanovic Christopher TJ McGuire Michael R Stumpf Maurice K McGuire David L Svenson Aaron Medick James H Sweeney Robert L Mehnert Paul Taylor Jack Messitt Taj Teffaha Marc Miller David James Thompson William E Mills Richard Tiedemann Andrew Mitchell John Toll, ASC William Molina David Tolsky David Monroe Remi Tournois Jeff Moore Neil C Toussaint Denis Moran John Trapman Josh Morton Michael Tsimperopoulos Manolo Rojas Moscopulos Chris Tufty Don Muirhead Dan Turrett Marty F Mullin Brian Tweedt Michael James Mulvey Joseph Urbanczyk Matt Valentine Scott T Mumford Paul D Varrieur Sean Murray Ron Veto Jon Myers Stefan von Bjorn Leo J Napolitano Bill Waldman Julye Newlin Michael J Walker William R Nielsen Jr Adam S Ward Randy Nolen Mark Warshaw Tamas P Nyerges Gretchen Warthen William O’Drobinak William Webb Mark D O’Kane Aiken Weiss Michael D Off Thomas Weston Russell Ofria Mande Whitaker James Olcovich Kit Whitmore, CSC Andrew William Oliver Brian Keith Wilcox Lucio Olivieri Jeffrey Wilkins Mark Richard Olsen Bill Williams John Orland Joe “Jody” Williams Rafael Ortiz-Guzman Ken Willinger Georgia Tornai Packard

CAMERA OPERATOR: SOC ROSTER

ASSOCIATE Amy H Abrams John Addocks David S Adelstein Lance Allen Jon L Anderson Jillian H Arnold Jacob Avignone Josh Barrett Karen Beck Bruce Bender Stephen Blanor Jeffrey D Bollman Peter Bonilla Jean-Paul Bonneau David Boyd John Boyd Jennifer Braddock Rochelle Brown Maja Broz Clyde E Bryan Carmen Cabana Anthony Q Caldwell David S Campbell Bruce Cardozo Paolo Cascio Richard T Cascio Stephen Mark Ciappetta Chad Courtney Michelle Crenshaw Richard P Crudo, ASC Ronald Deveaux Jorge Devotto David Dibble George Spiro Dibie, ASC Kevin Downey Paul A Duclos Bert Dunk, ASC Keith Dunkerley Steven Duval Brian James Dzyak Jonathan Edwards Keith “Iceberg” Eisberg Christopher Ekstein Shane English David T Eubank Robert C Fisher Archie Fletcher John C Flinn III, ASC Mark Forman Fred M Frintrup Peter F Frintrup Hiroyuki Fukuda Richard Garbutt James P Garvey Hank Gifford Michael Goi, ASC David Goldenberg Wayne Goldwyn Mary Gonzales Al Gonzalez Frederic Goodich, ASC John M Goodner Afton M Grant Dave Gregory Phil Gries George Eric Griffith David E Grober Kevin M Haggerty Bob Hall James Hammond Anthony Hardwick James W Hart Robert Hayes Jennifer Ann Henry Anthony P Hettinger John Hill Ken Hilmer Scott Hoffman Melissa Holt Chris Hood Jim Hunter Carrie Imai Toshiyuki Imai Gregory Irwin Blake B Jackson Leo Jaramillo Morgan Jenkins John Chancell Jennings Peter J Johnson Frank E Johnson, ASC Kurt Jones Quenell Jones Robert Joyce David Kane Kevin N Kemp Mark H Killian Douglas Kirkland

Michael Klimchak Craig Kohlhoff Michael Kowalczyk Cindy Kurland Robert La Bonge Laurence Langton Thomas Lappin Lee David Laska-Abbott Greg Le Duc Dr Thomas Lee Taggart A Lee Mark R Leins Alan J Levi Mark Levin Adrian Licciardi Ilya Jo Lie-Nielsen Stephen Lighthill, ASC Stuart T Lillas Jong Lin Colleen Ann Lindl Jefferson K Loftfield Jessica Lopez Jasmine Lord Roland J Luna Christopher Lymberis Tony Magaletta Dominik Mainl Darin Mangan Adam Mansfield Duane C Manwiller Jesus A Marcano Emily Marchand Jorge A Marcial James Mathers Jim R Matlosz Dr Ellen Matsumoto Tisha Matthews John Matysiak Krystal A Maughan Joseph T McDonnell III Hilda Mercado Charles Minsky, ASC K Adriana Modlin Larry Mole Parker Shauna Morgan Brown Dana Morris E Gunnar Mortensen Matthew C Mosher Richard Mosier Shah Mundell Joshua S Narins John Newby Natalie Newman Derek Nickell Kurt Nolen Russell C Nordstedt Crescenzo GP Notarile, ASC John O’Shaughnessy Robert Obie Oberlander,Sr Steven D Parker Florencia Perez Cardenal Mark W Petersen Matthew A Petrosky Jon Philion Astrid Phillips Robert G Pittman W S Pivetta Ted Polmanski Serge T Poupis Boris Price Robert Primes, ASC Andrea Quaglio Liz Radley Udo Ravenstein Richard Rawlings Jr, ASC Marcia Reed Bill Reiter Sandy Rentmeester Brian D Reynolds David Richert Claudio Rietti Alicia Robbins Ken Robings Peter J Rooney David Rosner Douglas Roth Melissa Roth Marvin Rush, ASC Colin Sabala Shereen L Saiyed Mehran Salamati Danny Salazar Germano Saracco, AIC Steve Saxon Carl Martin Schumacher Sr Christian Sebaldt, ASC Charles A Simons Michael Skor

Jan Sluchak Robert F Smith Brian Sowell Brent A Spencer Don Spiro Joe B Stallworth Owen Stephens Tara Summers Andy Sydney John Tarver Joe Tawil Christopher Taylor David Roy Tondeur Matthew Turve John Twesten Caitlin Rae Tyler Daniel Urbain Sandra Valde Nina Varano Craig W Walsh Leonard P Walsh,II Brian Watkins Shaun Wheeler Gregory L White Jennifer Woldrich Rex Allan Worthy Pol C Wright Tony Yarlett Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC

Richard Salvatore Chuck Schuman Philip D Schwartz Hal Shiffman Phil Stern David Sutton Gene Talvin Pernell Tyus Sven Walnum Ben Wolf

CORPORATE MEMBERS 3ALITY TECHNICA Sakae Manning Steve Schklair, CEO Stephen Pizzo, SVP ARRI, INC. Bill Russell BIRNS & SAWYER, INC Bill Meuer CAMERON-PACE GROUP Vincent M Pace CANON Robert Schall CHAPMAN-LEONARD STUDIO EQUIPMENT Leonard T Chapman Christine J Huenergardt CLAIRMONT CAMERA Denny Clairmont HONORARY DIGIHOLLYWOOD John Bailey, ASC Chol Kim Tilman Buettner DOGGICAM James Burrows Gary Thieltges Alexander Calzatti DOLBY IMAGING Trevor Coop Bill Admans Roger Corman EASTMAN KODAK Dean Cundey, ASC COMPANY Bruce Doering Judy Doherty Jack Green, ASC FILMTOOLS INC Tom Hatten Stan McClain Ron Howard FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE DIVISION Ron Kelley Sandra Kurotobi Kathleen Kennedy-Marshall FUJINON,INC Jerry Lewis Thom Calabro Larry McConkey Chuck Lee A Linn Murphree MD GEO FILM GROUP, INC. Diana Penilla George Nolan Steven Spielberg HYDROFLEX, INC. Robert A Torres Matt Brown George Toscas JL FISHER INC. Roy Wagner, ASC Jimmy L Fisher Haskell Wexler, ASC Frank Kay MARK BENDER AND RETIRED ASSOCIATES Gary Olyn Armstrong Mark Bender Eugene Ashbrook MATTHEWS STUDIO Lou Barlia EQUIPMENT Al Bettcher Ed Phillips Joe Blaisdell Bob Kulesh James Blanford MOLE-RICHARDSON Vee Bodrero Larry Mole Parker Donald R Burch OASIS IMAGING Philip Caplan Cassie Crosse Bruce Catlin OCONNOR ENGINEERING Jim Connell LABORATORIES Ivan Craig Joel Johnson Joe Epperson Bob Low Robert Feller OTTO NEMENZ Hiroyuki Fukuda INTERNATIONAL, INC. Jerry Fuller Fritz Heinzl Gil Haimson Otto Nemenz Wynn Hammer Alex Wengert Lutz Hapke PANAVISION Terence A “Terry” Harkin Phil Radin Gary Holt PHOTO-SONICS, INC. Robert C Horne Conrad Kiel Bob Keys George La Fountaine, ASC PICTORVISION Tom Hallman Norm Langley PRECO Steve Lydecker Wes Donahue Owen Marsh SCHNEIDER OPTICS Bob Marta CENTURY DIVISION Stan McClain David Contreras Michael McClary Bill Turner Ron McManus SONY ELECTRONICS, INC. Emmanuel Metaxas Reginald Watson Robert “Bob” Moore TERADEK Ed Morey Michael Gailing Lee Nakahara TIFFEN Sol Negrin, ASC Frank Rush King Nicholson VINTEN, INC. John G Nogle Peter Harman Aaron Pazanti Peter Vinten Robert H Peebles Ramsey Wilson Arnold Rich Sam Rosen Frank Ruttencutter

Roster of the

Society of Camera Operators Current as of 11/5/11

Fall / Winter 2011

Display Until April 2012

FALL–WINTER 2011 US $7.00

WWW.SOC.ORG