Camera Operator - 2012 Awards Edition

2012

Display Until May 2012

SPECIAL AWARDS EDITION

US $7.00

WWW.SOC.ORG

CAMERA OPERATOR

DreamWorks Pictures thanks the Society of Camera Operators and proudly congratulates our nominees War Horse Mitch Dubin, soc The Help Will Arnot, soc

SPECIAL AWARDS EDITION 2012

KEITH BERNSTEIN ©2011 WARNER BROS

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 1

Features

Investigating J.Edgar

16

by Stephen Campanelli SOC Clint Eastwood’s film about the head of the FBI whose career spanned 8 Presidents.

Everything Old Is New Again: The Artist

24

by John Sosenko SOC and 1st AC Jennifer Ann Henry The making of a black-and-white silent film in the Twenty-First Century.

Cover

Taming the Dragon: Working on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

34

by David Wolsey Cold weather work in Sweden on one of the most talked-about movies of the year.

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Béjo in The Artist.

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.

Meeting The Descendants

44

by P Scott Sakamoto SOC Filming with George Clooney in the real Hawaii, the way the locals see it.

Making the Camera Fly on Hugo 3D

by Larry McConkey SOC Exploring the breathtaking Steadicam shots in Director Martin Scorsese’s epic family film.

Departments

2 Letter from the President

by Michael Frediani SOC

4 Editor’s Message

by Jack Messitt SOC

9 News & Notes

What’s happening with members

62 Transitions 63 Advertisers’ Index 64 Roster of the SOC as of 1/23/12

50

CAMERA OPERATOR

DreamWorks Pictures thanks the Society of Camera Operators and proudly congratulates our nominees War Horse Mitch Dubin, soc The Help Will Arnot, soc

SPECIAL AWARDS EDITION 2012

KEITH BERNSTEIN ©2011 WARNER BROS

VOLUME 21, NUMBER 1

Features

Investigating J.Edgar

16

by Stephen Campanelli SOC Clint Eastwood’s film about the head of the FBI whose career spanned 8 Presidents.

Everything Old Is New Again: The Artist

24

by John Sosenko SOC and 1st AC Jennifer Ann Henry The making of a black-and-white silent film in the Twenty-First Century.

Cover

Taming the Dragon: Working on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

34

by David Wolsey Cold weather work in Sweden on one of the most talked-about movies of the year.

Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Béjo in The Artist.

Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.

Meeting The Descendants

44

by P Scott Sakamoto SOC Filming with George Clooney in the real Hawaii, the way the locals see it.

Making the Camera Fly on Hugo 3D

by Larry McConkey SOC Exploring the breathtaking Steadicam shots in Director Martin Scorsese’s epic family film.

Departments

2 Letter from the President

by Michael Frediani SOC

4 Editor’s Message

by Jack Messitt SOC

9 News & Notes

What’s happening with members

62 Transitions 63 Advertisers’ Index 64 Roster of the SOC as of 1/23/12

50

Letter from the President

the cast, the directors, and our photographic contributions.

On the Set

As I write this column during my lunch break we have shot 15 episodes using 700 SXS cards so far, the equivalent of rolling one and a quarter million feet of film through my camera alone, not to mention the B-camera right alongside me. It’s not unusual to “keep the cameras rolling” while the director and writers dart onto the set to toss out new lines, thinking perhaps that not re-slating constitutes some sort of flow.

Not so sure about that, but my hat is off to the editors who ‘mine gold’ amidst hours of footage each week. Not sure either if continuous rolling would take place with film as it does with our trusty ARRI Alexa.

NICOLE FREDIANI

I

n recent months we’ve all heard the widespread murmurs of the demise of film. The jury is still out and I for one will rue the day were that to happen. The last new film cameras have been crafted in the past year, yet thousands are still in use.

Celluloid runs through our veins, while ‘Ones’ and ‘Zeros’ power our brains — there is convergence.

We consider ourselves artists with a voice and an eye for light, composition and manifestation of what we present to the audience, no matter the capture media. With the scripted words we interpret the concept, dovetailing our inventiveness with the imagination of the writer.

Working more and more with writers on the set, I think we can agree that nothing is written in stone. On my current series New Girl our scripts are crafted by the writing staff.

They are funny on the page and more hilarious with the contributions of the actors. It doesn’t stop there. We shoot single camera style like any non-sitcom series or movie, and writers come to the set armed with a variety of “alt” lines to throw at the actors. This works because of the creativity of

A major change

Archiving the product The story of what we do on the set is equally important as to what happens with all of this footage once we have ‘picture lock’ some weeks later. Studios and producers have a keen eye towards the future when they consider that each production can make them more cash down the line—but what if there isn’t a solid preservation plan in place? Which brings me to this observation: Some studios have been lax with their gold mine of product over the years. Then came the advent of VHS and DVDs. That was a good thing as the vaults opened up, old movies and series were repurposed and revenue flowed. This was possible mostly because everything was shot on film, carefully stored in limestone or salt mines that are naturally temperate. These days with so many productions originating digitally, there exists a new set of problems: how to archive all of this footage for future use? Film archival is less expensive and is not as fickle as digital files needing constant reformatting to newer digital hard drives.

Warner Bros. Pictures would like to thank the

Society of Camera Operators and congratulate

CLINT EASTWOOD for being honored with the

Governor’s Award and our nominee

STEPHEN CAMPANELLI

An aesthetic choice Caleb Deschanel ASC was on the set yesterday visiting his daughter Zooey, and mentioned to me his love for film, musing, “I do like the Alexa camera, but there is something about film—each frame is a separate photograph.” I couldn’t concur more. When I directed my short film Slick (http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gab6x8UwD_4&feature=you tube_gdata_player) I chose to shoot on Kodak 5218 35mm film with a Panaflex Gold. Why? Because I was comfortable with it and thrilled with the reliable results.

I encourage you to read this New York Times article entitled “The Digital Dilemma” in order to learn more about the potential consequences of digital production archiving: (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/business/ media/23steal.html?pagewanted=all) Let’s raise a glass to toast the brilliance that is celluloid.

Camera Operator of the Year in Feature Film

Michael Frediani, SOC President

2

CAMERA OPERATOR: LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Special Awards Edition 2012 © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Letter from the President

the cast, the directors, and our photographic contributions.

On the Set

As I write this column during my lunch break we have shot 15 episodes using 700 SXS cards so far, the equivalent of rolling one and a quarter million feet of film through my camera alone, not to mention the B-camera right alongside me. It’s not unusual to “keep the cameras rolling” while the director and writers dart onto the set to toss out new lines, thinking perhaps that not re-slating constitutes some sort of flow.

Not so sure about that, but my hat is off to the editors who ‘mine gold’ amidst hours of footage each week. Not sure either if continuous rolling would take place with film as it does with our trusty ARRI Alexa.

NICOLE FREDIANI

I

n recent months we’ve all heard the widespread murmurs of the demise of film. The jury is still out and I for one will rue the day were that to happen. The last new film cameras have been crafted in the past year, yet thousands are still in use.

Celluloid runs through our veins, while ‘Ones’ and ‘Zeros’ power our brains — there is convergence.

We consider ourselves artists with a voice and an eye for light, composition and manifestation of what we present to the audience, no matter the capture media. With the scripted words we interpret the concept, dovetailing our inventiveness with the imagination of the writer.

Working more and more with writers on the set, I think we can agree that nothing is written in stone. On my current series New Girl our scripts are crafted by the writing staff.

They are funny on the page and more hilarious with the contributions of the actors. It doesn’t stop there. We shoot single camera style like any non-sitcom series or movie, and writers come to the set armed with a variety of “alt” lines to throw at the actors. This works because of the creativity of

A major change

Archiving the product The story of what we do on the set is equally important as to what happens with all of this footage once we have ‘picture lock’ some weeks later. Studios and producers have a keen eye towards the future when they consider that each production can make them more cash down the line—but what if there isn’t a solid preservation plan in place? Which brings me to this observation: Some studios have been lax with their gold mine of product over the years. Then came the advent of VHS and DVDs. That was a good thing as the vaults opened up, old movies and series were repurposed and revenue flowed. This was possible mostly because everything was shot on film, carefully stored in limestone or salt mines that are naturally temperate. These days with so many productions originating digitally, there exists a new set of problems: how to archive all of this footage for future use? Film archival is less expensive and is not as fickle as digital files needing constant reformatting to newer digital hard drives.

Warner Bros. Pictures would like to thank the

Society of Camera Operators and congratulate

CLINT EASTWOOD for being honored with the

Governor’s Award and our nominee

STEPHEN CAMPANELLI

An aesthetic choice Caleb Deschanel ASC was on the set yesterday visiting his daughter Zooey, and mentioned to me his love for film, musing, “I do like the Alexa camera, but there is something about film—each frame is a separate photograph.” I couldn’t concur more. When I directed my short film Slick (http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gab6x8UwD_4&feature=you tube_gdata_player) I chose to shoot on Kodak 5218 35mm film with a Panaflex Gold. Why? Because I was comfortable with it and thrilled with the reliable results.

I encourage you to read this New York Times article entitled “The Digital Dilemma” in order to learn more about the potential consequences of digital production archiving: (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/business/ media/23steal.html?pagewanted=all) Let’s raise a glass to toast the brilliance that is celluloid.

Camera Operator of the Year in Feature Film

Michael Frediani, SOC President

2

CAMERA OPERATOR: LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Special Awards Edition 2012 © 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Cheers to the Unsung Heroes

E

very year at awards time, winners sprint to the podium to read from a long list of names of people they want to thank. Unfortunately, the below the line crew is very rarely mentioned during these speeches. Luckily, the SOC has sought to rectify this lack of recognition of a long overlooked segment of the industry with its Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Camera Operator of the Year Award.

As we celebrate, I would like to make my own personal shout-out to a few of the indispensible crew positions that will never grace any awards platform. These are people that are just names on a call sheet to those who receive awards.

These are people that get hired, or perhaps fired, without the higher ups even knowing what they look like. These people make up the real engine that makes this industry possible.

The PA—This amazing group barely gets recognition on the set, let alone during an awards speech. They are often just starting out in the industry. They are still full of idealism.

They are generally working on about five hours of sleep because of their lack of a turn-around and yet they still try to greet you with a smile. In the often cynical world that a set becomes, these fresh faces are a necessary ingredient for a good working environment. Your tireless efforts are not unseen.

The Day-Player—No matter what department you belong to, this is one of the hardest, if not the hardest jobs in Hollywood because you walk into a virtual unknown each and every day you head to work. You find a way to survive the politics of a set that is unfamiliar—a very careful dance indeed. You do your very best to shine in a way that gets you invited back—without calling too much attention to yourself in a way that disrupts the flow of the already established hierarchy. And when you do come to set, you bring the breath of fresh air that only someone out of the daily grind can bring. No TV show, and very few movies, could get through their schedule without you. You are the glue that holds every department together.

Craft Service—This thankless job will never reach the awards circuit. They hear many complaints about what their tables offer, but rarely do they get a compliment. And when there is a mess on set, who gets called in to clean it up… Yup, it’s them and they do it without a fuss. A huge thank you goes out for all your overlooked work!

The Camera Prep Crew—Every camera package needs to be prepped, but after production has started, rarely can the first unit spare someone to get it done. So we must call upon a trusted ally to come to our assistance and get our cameras into the same shape that we would have liked to get

them in ourselves. They are our eyes, ears and hands when we cannot be in two places at once. Without them, our on-set headaches would be much more severe and more frequent.

The Pre-Light Crew—The backbreaking work of a pre-light crew is enormous.

They are the ones that build the scaffolding.

They lay all the heavy cabling. In the sun, in the rain, in the cold… These brave souls make the work we do on the shooting day possible. They allow a production to stay on schedule and rarely get the upside of even seeing the on-camera talent utilize the fruits of their labors. This crew is indispensible to a tight schedule…

The Extra—This wonderful group of people can really make or break a shot. They are given little credit if they perform well—but the crackdown if they do something wrong can be devastating. They never see a set of sides and yet they are expected to be on the same page with the tone of the show or the scene. Many of the extras are still chasing their dreams of becoming a big screen talent. Many like the camaraderie that only a film set can offer. Many are there to make a small living in an exciting industry.

My first professional film production job was as an extra. I cheered and jeered at Babe Ruth. I saw him call that fateful homerun in Wrigley Field. I threw lemons at him as his career faded… all while wearing a wool suit in 90 degree Chicago weather. Sure, I was hot, but I had a ball.

I also had bigger dreams. I wanted to be a cameraman. I spent my downtime watching the camera department going about their work. I was amazed at their knowledge. As if fate was intervening, the DP happened to sit down next to me a few days into shooting. I instantly struck up a conversation with him and asked him for advice. He turned to his Camera Operator and said, “Scotty, this kid want to be a cameraman.”

The DP was Haskell Wexler, ASC and the operator was Scott Sakamoto, SOC. I spent the next few weeks bending their ear about what they did—yearning to soak in as much as I could. I only wish that I could have that same amount of time with them now because I would hope that I could ask much better questions and have much more in depth conversations. But at the time, they gave me exactly what I needed. I am eternally grateful to them both.

Like all awards speeches, I have only so much time and I hear the music starting to play… There are so many others I wish that I could recognize. So many whose valuable yet overlooked contributions are the reasons that those who receive their awards can do their very best work.

So the next time that you are on set, please be very mindful of all the “little people.” Be mindful of all those unsung heroes. And always remember that they are not only the forgotten stars of today, they may be the rising stars of tomorrow.

COURTESY OF JACK MESSITT SOC

Editor’s Message

Cheers to the Unsung Heroes

E

very year at awards time, winners sprint to the podium to read from a long list of names of people they want to thank. Unfortunately, the below the line crew is very rarely mentioned during these speeches. Luckily, the SOC has sought to rectify this lack of recognition of a long overlooked segment of the industry with its Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Camera Operator of the Year Award.

As we celebrate, I would like to make my own personal shout-out to a few of the indispensible crew positions that will never grace any awards platform. These are people that are just names on a call sheet to those who receive awards.

These are people that get hired, or perhaps fired, without the higher ups even knowing what they look like. These people make up the real engine that makes this industry possible.

The PA—This amazing group barely gets recognition on the set, let alone during an awards speech. They are often just starting out in the industry. They are still full of idealism.

They are generally working on about five hours of sleep because of their lack of a turn-around and yet they still try to greet you with a smile. In the often cynical world that a set becomes, these fresh faces are a necessary ingredient for a good working environment. Your tireless efforts are not unseen.

The Day-Player—No matter what department you belong to, this is one of the hardest, if not the hardest jobs in Hollywood because you walk into a virtual unknown each and every day you head to work. You find a way to survive the politics of a set that is unfamiliar—a very careful dance indeed. You do your very best to shine in a way that gets you invited back—without calling too much attention to yourself in a way that disrupts the flow of the already established hierarchy. And when you do come to set, you bring the breath of fresh air that only someone out of the daily grind can bring. No TV show, and very few movies, could get through their schedule without you. You are the glue that holds every department together.

Craft Service—This thankless job will never reach the awards circuit. They hear many complaints about what their tables offer, but rarely do they get a compliment. And when there is a mess on set, who gets called in to clean it up… Yup, it’s them and they do it without a fuss. A huge thank you goes out for all your overlooked work!

The Camera Prep Crew—Every camera package needs to be prepped, but after production has started, rarely can the first unit spare someone to get it done. So we must call upon a trusted ally to come to our assistance and get our cameras into the same shape that we would have liked to get

them in ourselves. They are our eyes, ears and hands when we cannot be in two places at once. Without them, our on-set headaches would be much more severe and more frequent.

The Pre-Light Crew—The backbreaking work of a pre-light crew is enormous.

They are the ones that build the scaffolding.

They lay all the heavy cabling. In the sun, in the rain, in the cold… These brave souls make the work we do on the shooting day possible. They allow a production to stay on schedule and rarely get the upside of even seeing the on-camera talent utilize the fruits of their labors. This crew is indispensible to a tight schedule…

The Extra—This wonderful group of people can really make or break a shot. They are given little credit if they perform well—but the crackdown if they do something wrong can be devastating. They never see a set of sides and yet they are expected to be on the same page with the tone of the show or the scene. Many of the extras are still chasing their dreams of becoming a big screen talent. Many like the camaraderie that only a film set can offer. Many are there to make a small living in an exciting industry.

My first professional film production job was as an extra. I cheered and jeered at Babe Ruth. I saw him call that fateful homerun in Wrigley Field. I threw lemons at him as his career faded… all while wearing a wool suit in 90 degree Chicago weather. Sure, I was hot, but I had a ball.

I also had bigger dreams. I wanted to be a cameraman. I spent my downtime watching the camera department going about their work. I was amazed at their knowledge. As if fate was intervening, the DP happened to sit down next to me a few days into shooting. I instantly struck up a conversation with him and asked him for advice. He turned to his Camera Operator and said, “Scotty, this kid want to be a cameraman.”

The DP was Haskell Wexler, ASC and the operator was Scott Sakamoto, SOC. I spent the next few weeks bending their ear about what they did—yearning to soak in as much as I could. I only wish that I could have that same amount of time with them now because I would hope that I could ask much better questions and have much more in depth conversations. But at the time, they gave me exactly what I needed. I am eternally grateful to them both.

Like all awards speeches, I have only so much time and I hear the music starting to play… There are so many others I wish that I could recognize. So many whose valuable yet overlooked contributions are the reasons that those who receive their awards can do their very best work.

So the next time that you are on set, please be very mindful of all the “little people.” Be mindful of all those unsung heroes. And always remember that they are not only the forgotten stars of today, they may be the rising stars of tomorrow.

COURTESY OF JACK MESSITT SOC

Editor’s Message

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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark August 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 Bookkeeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ana Chan Office PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erica Frediani Web Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . Alena Cochrane 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 SPECIAL AWARDS EDITION 2012

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Messitt SOC Managing Editor/Art Director . . . . . Lynn Lanning Post-ProductionManager. . . . Douglas Knapp SOC Cover Photo . . . . . . . . Courtesy Weinstein Group Production Coordinators. . . IngleDodd Publishing Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Dodd

CONTRIBUTORS

Stephen Campanelli SOC Steve Fracol SOC Michael Frediani SOC Jennifer Ann Henry Lynn Lanning

Larry McConkey SOC Jack Messitt SOC P Scott Sakamoto SOC John Sosenko SOC David Worley

PHOTOGRAPHY

cinemaeos.usa.canon.com

© 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.

Keith Bernstein Peter Iovino SMPSP Jennifer Braddock Douglas Knapp SOC Baldur Bragason Anders Linden Jaap Buitendijk Courtney Marsh Michael Cahill Merrick Morton SMPSP Nicole Frediani Dan Sherlock Kim French John Sosenko SOC Brad Greenspan Merie Wallace SMPSP 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) 382-7070 email: camopmag@soc.org © 2012 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 Camera Operator is published 3 times a year by the Society of Camera Operators Visit the SOC web site

6

CAMERA OPERATOR: CREDITS

www.SOC.org Special Awards Edition 2012

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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark August 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 Bookkeeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ana Chan Office PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erica Frediani Web Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . Alena Cochrane 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 SPECIAL AWARDS EDITION 2012

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Messitt SOC Managing Editor/Art Director . . . . . Lynn Lanning Post-ProductionManager. . . . Douglas Knapp SOC Cover Photo . . . . . . . . Courtesy Weinstein Group Production Coordinators. . . IngleDodd Publishing Advertising Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dan Dodd

CONTRIBUTORS

Stephen Campanelli SOC Steve Fracol SOC Michael Frediani SOC Jennifer Ann Henry Lynn Lanning

Larry McConkey SOC Jack Messitt SOC P Scott Sakamoto SOC John Sosenko SOC David Worley

PHOTOGRAPHY

cinemaeos.usa.canon.com

© 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.

Keith Bernstein Peter Iovino SMPSP Jennifer Braddock Douglas Knapp SOC Baldur Bragason Anders Linden Jaap Buitendijk Courtney Marsh Michael Cahill Merrick Morton SMPSP Nicole Frediani Dan Sherlock Kim French John Sosenko SOC Brad Greenspan Merie Wallace SMPSP 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) 382-7070 email: camopmag@soc.org © 2012 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 Camera Operator is published 3 times a year by the Society of Camera Operators Visit the SOC web site

6

CAMERA OPERATOR: CREDITS

www.SOC.org Special Awards Edition 2012

News & Notes Cinerama Rides Again

C

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CAHILL

inerama enjoyed a raucous heyday in the ’50s and ’60s.

In September of this year, the Cinerama Dome at the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood will be running completely new restorations of all the Cinerama films, including many thought to have been lost. And at this festival Dave Strohmaier will also premiere his short In the Picture, the latest addition to the Cinerama canon.

For the first time in fifty years, film is rolling through recently restored Cinerama Camera #3, producing a travelogue style short film, In the Picture. John Sittig is the director of Cinerama, Inc. The Camera Crew consists of Douglas Knapp, John Hora, Lance Fisher, David Tondeur, Ken Stone and writer/director David Strohmaier.

Cinerama camera crew. Standing: The camera, its magazines, three movements, batteries, Ken Stone, David Tondeur (camera cables, tripod, massive director’s viewfinder and triple slate assistant), Lance Fisher (camera are all original operator). Kneeling: Douglas Knapp hardware provided (DP) and Dave Strohmaier (Director)

by Cinerama. with the viewfinder.

There’s something mildly ironic about all this equipment that fifty years back in one way or another represented futuristic, bleeding edge technology. Now half a century down the road it is still in working order.

Three strip Cinerama Film is 6 perforations high by 3 Once upon 35mm film strips wide shown on a deeply curved screen a time the few Cinerama cameras remaining had suffered from disuse. But thanks to the mechanical ingenuity of Ken Stone, this particular camera was rebuilt and fully restored to its original state of rock solid precision.

Though this girthy contraption lacks the muscular and aerodynamic lines of more contemporary cameras, the design carries with it a sort of sturdy confidence. It’s not a cruiser; it’s an aircraft carrier doing triple duty with delicate synchronicity.

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

9

News & Notes Cinerama Rides Again

C

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CAHILL

inerama enjoyed a raucous heyday in the ’50s and ’60s.

In September of this year, the Cinerama Dome at the ArcLight Theatre in Hollywood will be running completely new restorations of all the Cinerama films, including many thought to have been lost. And at this festival Dave Strohmaier will also premiere his short In the Picture, the latest addition to the Cinerama canon.

For the first time in fifty years, film is rolling through recently restored Cinerama Camera #3, producing a travelogue style short film, In the Picture. John Sittig is the director of Cinerama, Inc. The Camera Crew consists of Douglas Knapp, John Hora, Lance Fisher, David Tondeur, Ken Stone and writer/director David Strohmaier.

Cinerama camera crew. Standing: The camera, its magazines, three movements, batteries, Ken Stone, David Tondeur (camera cables, tripod, massive director’s viewfinder and triple slate assistant), Lance Fisher (camera are all original operator). Kneeling: Douglas Knapp hardware provided (DP) and Dave Strohmaier (Director)

by Cinerama. with the viewfinder.

There’s something mildly ironic about all this equipment that fifty years back in one way or another represented futuristic, bleeding edge technology. Now half a century down the road it is still in working order.

Three strip Cinerama Film is 6 perforations high by 3 Once upon 35mm film strips wide shown on a deeply curved screen a time the few Cinerama cameras remaining had suffered from disuse. But thanks to the mechanical ingenuity of Ken Stone, this particular camera was rebuilt and fully restored to its original state of rock solid precision.

Though this girthy contraption lacks the muscular and aerodynamic lines of more contemporary cameras, the design carries with it a sort of sturdy confidence. It’s not a cruiser; it’s an aircraft carrier doing triple duty with delicate synchronicity.

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

9

LA Steadicam Workshop sponsored by SOC, IDEAS

Winner of the 2011 Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

BRAD GREENSPAN

10

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Special Awards Edition 2012

““We We sshot hot tthe he first first sseven even sseasons easons ooff ‘‘Desperate Desperate 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 gave gave us us our our look look on on True-Pol ffilm. ilm. T he oonly nly iissue ssue w ad w as IR IR pollution pollution The wee hhad was w hen shooting shooting outdoors outdoors on on Wisteria Wisteria Lane.

Lane. when SSchneider chneider ccame ame tthrough hrough ffor or uuss w ith ssome ome with ooff tthe he ffirst irst ssets ets ooff ttheir heir ggreat reat nnew ew P latinum Platinum IIRNDs, RNDs, and and all all our our color color matching matching pproblems roblems ddisappeared.” isappeared.”

Photo of Lowell Peterson ASC by Paul Plannette

ecember was a busy month on the Education side for the SOC. We spoke at AFI and Chapman with the help of Marc Miller. We also had our first ever SOC College “Introduction to the Steadicam” workshop. This was sponsored by Tiffen Steadicam and put on at LA Valley College in association with Nick Marks at IDEAS at LA Valley.

IDEAS’ main goal is to provide education and support for both working industry professionals and future industry professionals—which Steve Fracol SOC with a participant hopefully, brings more production and employment to Hollywood. The event was open to all college students at no charge and was attended by 21 students from 5 different colleges in the Los Angeles area.

“I tried to get the students in the rigs as much as possible,” said SOC 2nd VP/ Education Chair Steve Fracol, “because the only real way to know what it feels like to be a Steadicam operator is to fly a rig. So after a safety overview and some basic instruction, each student was in a rig.”

“Many paid workshops stick with either big rigs or lightweight rigs,” said instructor David Shawl. “These lucky students each got to try a big rig, middle-weight rig, and a light-weight rig throughout the day! I wish I had an opportunity like this free workshop when I was first starting out in my career!”

“I think the best thing about teaching Jerry Franck, co-instructor/student member (in green) works with a workshops to people who are new and participant somewhat awed by Steadicam,” says instructor/student member Jerry Franck, “is that it reminds you of your first time in the rig and how awkward it felt, but yet so addictive as well.”

“We were extremely pleased to have SOC present such a fabulous Steadicam workshop, said IDEAS’ Nick Marks, “and we look forward to having SOC and IDEAS provide many more.”

Thanks also go to Mark August SOC for arranging the insurance, Rochelle Brown and Rachel Hudson for their organizing skills, Holiday Toy delivery to the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on December 23, 2011. We delivered 38 toys that had been donated by our members at our Holiday Party and past SOC president Dan held at Filmtools. In the photo are Dr S Chien Wong (Pediatric Vitreoretinal Clinical and Kneece who stopped by to Research Fellow), Dr Thomas Lee (Director of the Retina Institute), Luci Orr and her mother share stories of his experiFlorencia Perez Cardenal (ASM), Bonnie Blake (BOG) and Andy Sydney (ASM). ences with Steadicam.

PHOTOS BY COURTNEY MARSH

D

Peterson Goes Platinum on Wisteria Lane 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

h television l i i work. k He H is i currently l other shooting the eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives.

B+W • Century • Schneider

www.schneideroptics.com

•

Phone: 818-766-3715

•

800-228-1254

It Starts with the Glass tm

LA Steadicam Workshop sponsored by SOC, IDEAS

Winner of the 2011 Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

BRAD GREENSPAN

10

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Special Awards Edition 2012

““We We sshot hot tthe he first first sseven even sseasons easons ooff ‘‘Desperate Desperate 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 gave gave us us our our look look on on True-Pol ffilm. ilm. T he oonly nly iissue ssue w ad w as IR IR pollution pollution The wee hhad was w hen shooting shooting outdoors outdoors on on Wisteria Wisteria Lane.

Lane. when SSchneider chneider ccame ame tthrough hrough ffor or uuss w ith ssome ome with ooff tthe he ffirst irst ssets ets ooff ttheir heir ggreat reat nnew ew P latinum Platinum IIRNDs, RNDs, and and all all our our color color matching matching pproblems roblems ddisappeared.” isappeared.”

Photo of Lowell Peterson ASC by Paul Plannette

ecember was a busy month on the Education side for the SOC. We spoke at AFI and Chapman with the help of Marc Miller. We also had our first ever SOC College “Introduction to the Steadicam” workshop. This was sponsored by Tiffen Steadicam and put on at LA Valley College in association with Nick Marks at IDEAS at LA Valley.

IDEAS’ main goal is to provide education and support for both working industry professionals and future industry professionals—which Steve Fracol SOC with a participant hopefully, brings more production and employment to Hollywood. The event was open to all college students at no charge and was attended by 21 students from 5 different colleges in the Los Angeles area.

“I tried to get the students in the rigs as much as possible,” said SOC 2nd VP/ Education Chair Steve Fracol, “because the only real way to know what it feels like to be a Steadicam operator is to fly a rig. So after a safety overview and some basic instruction, each student was in a rig.”

“Many paid workshops stick with either big rigs or lightweight rigs,” said instructor David Shawl. “These lucky students each got to try a big rig, middle-weight rig, and a light-weight rig throughout the day! I wish I had an opportunity like this free workshop when I was first starting out in my career!”

“I think the best thing about teaching Jerry Franck, co-instructor/student member (in green) works with a workshops to people who are new and participant somewhat awed by Steadicam,” says instructor/student member Jerry Franck, “is that it reminds you of your first time in the rig and how awkward it felt, but yet so addictive as well.”

“We were extremely pleased to have SOC present such a fabulous Steadicam workshop, said IDEAS’ Nick Marks, “and we look forward to having SOC and IDEAS provide many more.”

Thanks also go to Mark August SOC for arranging the insurance, Rochelle Brown and Rachel Hudson for their organizing skills, Holiday Toy delivery to the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles on December 23, 2011. We delivered 38 toys that had been donated by our members at our Holiday Party and past SOC president Dan held at Filmtools. In the photo are Dr S Chien Wong (Pediatric Vitreoretinal Clinical and Kneece who stopped by to Research Fellow), Dr Thomas Lee (Director of the Retina Institute), Luci Orr and her mother share stories of his experiFlorencia Perez Cardenal (ASM), Bonnie Blake (BOG) and Andy Sydney (ASM). ences with Steadicam.

PHOTOS BY COURTNEY MARSH

D

Peterson Goes Platinum on Wisteria Lane 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

h television l i i work. k He H is i currently l other shooting the eighth and final season of Desperate Housewives.

B+W • Century • Schneider

www.schneideroptics.com

•

Phone: 818-766-3715

•

800-228-1254

It Starts with the Glass tm

Scenes from the SOC breakfast and general meeting, Sunday January 22, 2012 Bonnie Blake soc and Tom Priestley soc

checking out Alexa

Mike Frediani, current SOC president

Bill Russell of ARRI

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER BRADDOCK

Bob Marta, 1st SOC president, visiting from Montana

Stephan Ukas-Bradley of ARRI

ELECTRIC MOTORIZED CAMERA PLATFORMS

GRIP TRIX NOW IN: West (Los Angeles) Midwest (Chicago) Northeast (New York) Southeast (Atlanta) EXPANDED REGIONAL COVERAGE! Call for agent opportunities in your business area.

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the rt of film optics Thank you: CINE POWER PACK True sine wave 120VAC, 2,500-watt auxiliary power pack now available.

Call for details!

2011 S.O.C. AWARD Technical Achievement

2009 EMMY AWARD Outstanding Engineering

optimo lightweight zoom lenses capture the dream. Recognized around the world for their elegant lightweight design and outstanding performance.

Available in 15-40mm, 28-76mm and 45-120mm. angenieux@tccus.com • www.angenieux.com

12

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Special Awards Edition 2012

Scenes from the SOC breakfast and general meeting, Sunday January 22, 2012 Bonnie Blake soc and Tom Priestley soc

checking out Alexa

Mike Frediani, current SOC president

Bill Russell of ARRI

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER BRADDOCK

Bob Marta, 1st SOC president, visiting from Montana

Stephan Ukas-Bradley of ARRI

ELECTRIC MOTORIZED CAMERA PLATFORMS

GRIP TRIX NOW IN: West (Los Angeles) Midwest (Chicago) Northeast (New York) Southeast (Atlanta) EXPANDED REGIONAL COVERAGE! Call for agent opportunities in your business area.

WWW.GRIPTRIX.COM 800-409-3445 | 818-982-0035

the rt of film optics Thank you: CINE POWER PACK True sine wave 120VAC, 2,500-watt auxiliary power pack now available.

Call for details!

2011 S.O.C. AWARD Technical Achievement

2009 EMMY AWARD Outstanding Engineering

optimo lightweight zoom lenses capture the dream. Recognized around the world for their elegant lightweight design and outstanding performance.

Available in 15-40mm, 28-76mm and 45-120mm. angenieux@tccus.com • www.angenieux.com

12

CAMERA OPERATOR: NEWS & NOTES

Special Awards Edition 2012

6:00pm

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Paul Babin, SOC Camera Operator

Clint Eastwood Governors Award

Zoran Veselic Camera Technician

Networking followed by the theatrical awards presentation.

Harry Rez Mobile Camera Platform Operator

Cocktails & Sumptuous Hors d’oeuvres

Andrew Cooper,

4:30pm

Phil Radin President’s Award

Sunday, February 19, 2012 Black Tie Event

Sol Negrin Distinguished Service

The Society of Camera Operators recognizes the Lifetime Achievements of outstanding Camera Operators, crew members and technical innovations, and supports the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

HONOREES

George Richmond Historical Shot

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS CELEBRATION

Finish with Cordials, Coffee, Tea and Desserts To top off the evening.

Leonard Goldenson Theater of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 5220 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601 Hosted Parking

RSVP Levy, Pazanti & Associates 310.201.5932 or Email: Mike Standifer at mike@lpaevents.com or Tickets are also for sale on the soc.org website

Kn ow t h e G l o w

Still Photographer

8:30pm

SMPSP

Inspiring speakers interspersed with moving video segments.

6:00pm

Lifetime Achievement Awards

Paul Babin, SOC Camera Operator

Clint Eastwood Governors Award

Zoran Veselic Camera Technician

Networking followed by the theatrical awards presentation.

Harry Rez Mobile Camera Platform Operator

Cocktails & Sumptuous Hors d’oeuvres

Andrew Cooper,

4:30pm

Phil Radin President’s Award

Sunday, February 19, 2012 Black Tie Event

Sol Negrin Distinguished Service

The Society of Camera Operators recognizes the Lifetime Achievements of outstanding Camera Operators, crew members and technical innovations, and supports the Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

HONOREES

George Richmond Historical Shot

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS CELEBRATION

Finish with Cordials, Coffee, Tea and Desserts To top off the evening.

Leonard Goldenson Theater of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 5220 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601 Hosted Parking

RSVP Levy, Pazanti & Associates 310.201.5932 or Email: Mike Standifer at mike@lpaevents.com or Tickets are also for sale on the soc.org website

Kn ow t h e G l o w

Still Photographer

8:30pm

SMPSP

Inspiring speakers interspersed with moving video segments.

Investigating J.Edgar

by Camera Operator Stephen Campanelli soc

Photos by Keith Bernstein Š2011 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover and Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson

Investigating J.Edgar

by Camera Operator Stephen Campanelli soc

Photos by Keith Bernstein Š2011 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover and Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson

D

irected by Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Hereafter), J.Edgar is a hard look at the man who ran the FBI for nearly 50 years and would rise to become the most powerful man in America. Through eight presidents and three wars, J. Edgar Hoover (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe.

His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted, if ever elusive, prize.

To help capture his vision, Eastwood turned to two longtime visual collaborators; cinematographer Tom Stern (Letters From Iwo Jima, Invictus, Mystic River) and camera operator Steve Campanelli SOC (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, Hereafter).

Steve Campanelli SOC reflects on his experiences with J.Edgar:

The Shoot

We shot the film for 39 days in Los Angeles and one week in Washington DC. Normally we have a lot of half days with Clint, but because of the scope and enormity of this story, we actually did 12 hour days—maybe a few 10 hour days. But we had a lot to do in little time and were averaging about five pages a day.

The Process

KIM FRENCH

When we are starting a new scene, I’m standing by Clint’s side all the time watching, listening and figuring out the best way to shoot and tell the story. The way Clint works, he goes to me right away for shot suggestions and ideas with Tom listening in to make sure he can light the scene with whatever shots we come up with. It is a real collaboration between the three of us. So when one of Clint’s films comes out, I feel a great sense of pride for being so involved in the final product!

Clint loves to shoot with one camera. The entire movie was shot with one camera. We hardly ever do multiple camera set-ups. I love that because I feel all my work ends up in the final product.

I am honored to be nominated for Camera Operator of the Year for this film and I’m up against all these other great

Steve Campanelli, soc

Working With Clint

I have been with Clint for 17 years now, starting with Bridges of Madison County in 1994. I am lucky not to have missed one of his films in 17 years!

Clint’s style is that he empowers all of us to do our best.

Through his direction, we are efficient and streamlined. Not a lot of talking, just shooting and telling the story. That’s what we camera operators do right—tell the story through visuals—and Clint so gets that!

He works at a great pace and it’s a great way of making

Leonardo DiCaprio as an aging Hoover

18

CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

movies. We usually get the first shot of the movie off before crew call on day one. In one case the camera was set up for an establishing shot before Clint arrived. He signed off on it and it was in the can before official crew call. On J.Edgar, scheduling reasons had us in the interior of a house, so we had to light and rehearse first. But I think we got it within one hour of crew call, which is still pretty amazing.

When I get on other people’s films, I get so frustrated that things take so long. Too many people talking and deciding about things… Clint’s ideals are shoot it now; go with your gut and instincts, because they are usually right!

It’s not easy. You have to have confidence and have a great crew that understands that philosophy. I wish that more people worked like this, but they don’t because they are not Clint! We just love the man, and the feeling is mutual. We are a family and we all trust each other. And Clint leads by example: he stands out in the rain and cold with the rest of us!

Special Awards Edition 2012

Leonardo DiCaprio as a young Hoover with his mother, played by Judi Dench

operators. But the one thing that I can say that is true about Clint Eastwood movies is that I’m the only camera operator on the entire movie. We rarely, rarely use two cameras. So I feel responsible for every shot that’s in a movie that Clint does—it’s my shot.

There are no second units, no 4 or 5 operators (most of the time). So that’s just one thing that I bring to the table.

When I see one of his movies or do get nominated, I feel like I’ve done my fair share of the work you see on the screen.

Rehearsals

Working with Clint, we usually don’t get any rehearsals. You really have to be ready for the first take and often that’s the rehearsal and sometimes that’s all you’re going to get. The actors aren’t sure what’s happening and neither are we. Sometimes it’s a disaster, but usually it works out being great.

Because of this shooting method, I feel very responsible for the visuals when the movie does come out—that the shots are pretty decent and the acting is good and all that—because we managed to capture it on the very first take or maybe second at most.

Visual Approach

Leonardo DiCaprio with Director Clint Eastwood Special Awards Edition 2012

We researched Hoover through the internet, and we discussed certain techniques that we would use to tell the story to keep it “real.” We used sets identical to what he really had back then and mimicked the same angles CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

19

D

irected by Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Hereafter), J.Edgar is a hard look at the man who ran the FBI for nearly 50 years and would rise to become the most powerful man in America. Through eight presidents and three wars, J. Edgar Hoover (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) waged battle against threats both real and perceived, often bending the rules to keep his countrymen safe.

His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted, if ever elusive, prize.

To help capture his vision, Eastwood turned to two longtime visual collaborators; cinematographer Tom Stern (Letters From Iwo Jima, Invictus, Mystic River) and camera operator Steve Campanelli SOC (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, Hereafter).

Steve Campanelli SOC reflects on his experiences with J.Edgar:

The Shoot

We shot the film for 39 days in Los Angeles and one week in Washington DC. Normally we have a lot of half days with Clint, but because of the scope and enormity of this story, we actually did 12 hour days—maybe a few 10 hour days. But we had a lot to do in little time and were averaging about five pages a day.

The Process

KIM FRENCH

When we are starting a new scene, I’m standing by Clint’s side all the time watching, listening and figuring out the best way to shoot and tell the story. The way Clint works, he goes to me right away for shot suggestions and ideas with Tom listening in to make sure he can light the scene with whatever shots we come up with. It is a real collaboration between the three of us. So when one of Clint’s films comes out, I feel a great sense of pride for being so involved in the final product!

Clint loves to shoot with one camera. The entire movie was shot with one camera. We hardly ever do multiple camera set-ups. I love that because I feel all my work ends up in the final product.

I am honored to be nominated for Camera Operator of the Year for this film and I’m up against all these other great

Steve Campanelli, soc

Working With Clint

I have been with Clint for 17 years now, starting with Bridges of Madison County in 1994. I am lucky not to have missed one of his films in 17 years!

Clint’s style is that he empowers all of us to do our best.

Through his direction, we are efficient and streamlined. Not a lot of talking, just shooting and telling the story. That’s what we camera operators do right—tell the story through visuals—and Clint so gets that!

He works at a great pace and it’s a great way of making

Leonardo DiCaprio as an aging Hoover

18

CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

movies. We usually get the first shot of the movie off before crew call on day one. In one case the camera was set up for an establishing shot before Clint arrived. He signed off on it and it was in the can before official crew call. On J.Edgar, scheduling reasons had us in the interior of a house, so we had to light and rehearse first. But I think we got it within one hour of crew call, which is still pretty amazing.

When I get on other people’s films, I get so frustrated that things take so long. Too many people talking and deciding about things… Clint’s ideals are shoot it now; go with your gut and instincts, because they are usually right!

It’s not easy. You have to have confidence and have a great crew that understands that philosophy. I wish that more people worked like this, but they don’t because they are not Clint! We just love the man, and the feeling is mutual. We are a family and we all trust each other. And Clint leads by example: he stands out in the rain and cold with the rest of us!

Special Awards Edition 2012

Leonardo DiCaprio as a young Hoover with his mother, played by Judi Dench

operators. But the one thing that I can say that is true about Clint Eastwood movies is that I’m the only camera operator on the entire movie. We rarely, rarely use two cameras. So I feel responsible for every shot that’s in a movie that Clint does—it’s my shot.

There are no second units, no 4 or 5 operators (most of the time). So that’s just one thing that I bring to the table.

When I see one of his movies or do get nominated, I feel like I’ve done my fair share of the work you see on the screen.

Rehearsals

Working with Clint, we usually don’t get any rehearsals. You really have to be ready for the first take and often that’s the rehearsal and sometimes that’s all you’re going to get. The actors aren’t sure what’s happening and neither are we. Sometimes it’s a disaster, but usually it works out being great.

Because of this shooting method, I feel very responsible for the visuals when the movie does come out—that the shots are pretty decent and the acting is good and all that—because we managed to capture it on the very first take or maybe second at most.

Visual Approach

Leonardo DiCaprio with Director Clint Eastwood Special Awards Edition 2012

We researched Hoover through the internet, and we discussed certain techniques that we would use to tell the story to keep it “real.” We used sets identical to what he really had back then and mimicked the same angles CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

19

we don’t rehearse or anything.

I have the camera on the sandbag on a slider really low because at the end of this fight, they fall to the ground— they’re about to punch each other but they end up kissing— in profile, which is backlit from the window behind them. I get the whole thing set up and we lit it with the stand-ins.

Then as the actors were coming in, I had to ask Clint about it because I didn’t know how long they were going to kiss for or whatever. So I went up to him while the actors were

says that the sets seem to dictate how you shoot it and how the actors perform in it. It’s very true.

Even when we are on sets, we never ever pull a wall. And that is one hundred percent of the time. It’s very strange. You think if you’re on a set you’re able to get out there and pull walls and put the camera somewhere, but he never ever pulls a wall because a) it takes too much time and b) he just wants to keep going and have four walls for the actors to perform in.

So one of my challenges is that sometimes I get on really

Armie Hammer as Tolson and Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, beginning the argument that ends in a kiss.

that they used back then for his “press conference” speeches too! We were always going to give the film a “film noir” look—dark contrast. Tom did some great DI work and we desaturated the color to give the film an older look. We shot it on Fuji 35mm and it looks amazing.

So far, luckily, Clint is still old-school and we’re still shooting film—although he does embrace the digital world including CGI. He’s a big fan of that. But so far, we’ve been shooting on film, so the digital revolution hasn’t affected me

too much. I have done movies with the Arri Alexa, but I haven’t had much RED experience. But I do like the Alexa— they’re good cameras and I’m looking forward to its coming optical viewfinder which will really help me—old-school as I am, I really like looking through the lens.

The Technical

We have always used Panavision Platinums and XLs on all of Clint’s shows. We usually do a lot of Steadicam. Clint likes to keep the camera and actors free. I would say about 70% of his movies are Steadicam. But J.Edgar was a little different.

There was very little Steadicam on this film. Because of the long dialogue scenes, we stayed more on the dolly than most of his movies.

Our lens choices have a Clint Eastwood method as well.

We use a 25mm for our wide (seeing the set, wide shots), then usually do another “mini master” with a 27mm. Then we move into a medium shot with the 40mm, then do close-ups with the 75mm. That’s how we usually do it. But on J.Edgar, Clint really wanted to capture Leo’s performance so we even did 100mm, and 135mm shots too. We use C series anamorphic lenses with the 135 and 180 being E series. Tom Stern, Clint and myself really like the look of the C series lenses.

Stand Out Moment

Director Clint Eastwood

20

CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

There’s one scene where Armie Hammer and Leonardo DiCaprio are having a big fight and they end up having a quick kiss. I remember having to set up that shot—of course, Special Awards Edition 2012

Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, testifying at a Senate hearing, with Armie Hammer as Tolson

getting put into position and I said to him, “Clint, when am I going to do my push in and how long are they going to kiss for?” And without missing a beat, he turns to me and says, “I don’t know—I’ve never kissed a guy before.”

He made me laugh so hard. I just shook my head and went, “Okay, good to know,” and went back to my camera. We did the shot and it was flawless. They hit the ground; they kissed for maybe a second and split up, and I dollied back to make sure I kept them both in the frame on the slider. It worked out great and it’s in the movie. It’s a really great shot.

Operating Challenges

On J.Edgar, we actually used a few more sets than we normally do. Clint likes to use real locations, because he Special Awards Edition 2012

small sets with a lot of actors or a lot of people—you know the boom and sound and grips and all that stuff—and I have to end up either like on a kitchen sink operating the camera or if it’s in the bathroom, I’ve got the camera on the toilet or in the shower or whatever because we never have any other space because we never pull a wall. So sometimes, I’m in kind of a real contortionist position to get the shot. But it’s always a pleasure working with Clint, of course.

The Cast

Working on J.Edgar with such an amazing cast—Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Judi Dench—it was just phenomenal. I had such a good time on it. Not only are they great actors, but also very technical: they really know, they just hit CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

21

we don’t rehearse or anything.

I have the camera on the sandbag on a slider really low because at the end of this fight, they fall to the ground— they’re about to punch each other but they end up kissing— in profile, which is backlit from the window behind them. I get the whole thing set up and we lit it with the stand-ins.

Then as the actors were coming in, I had to ask Clint about it because I didn’t know how long they were going to kiss for or whatever. So I went up to him while the actors were

says that the sets seem to dictate how you shoot it and how the actors perform in it. It’s very true.

Even when we are on sets, we never ever pull a wall. And that is one hundred percent of the time. It’s very strange. You think if you’re on a set you’re able to get out there and pull walls and put the camera somewhere, but he never ever pulls a wall because a) it takes too much time and b) he just wants to keep going and have four walls for the actors to perform in.

So one of my challenges is that sometimes I get on really

Armie Hammer as Tolson and Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, beginning the argument that ends in a kiss.

that they used back then for his “press conference” speeches too! We were always going to give the film a “film noir” look—dark contrast. Tom did some great DI work and we desaturated the color to give the film an older look. We shot it on Fuji 35mm and it looks amazing.

So far, luckily, Clint is still old-school and we’re still shooting film—although he does embrace the digital world including CGI. He’s a big fan of that. But so far, we’ve been shooting on film, so the digital revolution hasn’t affected me

too much. I have done movies with the Arri Alexa, but I haven’t had much RED experience. But I do like the Alexa— they’re good cameras and I’m looking forward to its coming optical viewfinder which will really help me—old-school as I am, I really like looking through the lens.

The Technical

We have always used Panavision Platinums and XLs on all of Clint’s shows. We usually do a lot of Steadicam. Clint likes to keep the camera and actors free. I would say about 70% of his movies are Steadicam. But J.Edgar was a little different.

There was very little Steadicam on this film. Because of the long dialogue scenes, we stayed more on the dolly than most of his movies.

Our lens choices have a Clint Eastwood method as well.

We use a 25mm for our wide (seeing the set, wide shots), then usually do another “mini master” with a 27mm. Then we move into a medium shot with the 40mm, then do close-ups with the 75mm. That’s how we usually do it. But on J.Edgar, Clint really wanted to capture Leo’s performance so we even did 100mm, and 135mm shots too. We use C series anamorphic lenses with the 135 and 180 being E series. Tom Stern, Clint and myself really like the look of the C series lenses.

Stand Out Moment

Director Clint Eastwood

20

CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

There’s one scene where Armie Hammer and Leonardo DiCaprio are having a big fight and they end up having a quick kiss. I remember having to set up that shot—of course, Special Awards Edition 2012

Leonardo DiCaprio as Hoover, testifying at a Senate hearing, with Armie Hammer as Tolson

getting put into position and I said to him, “Clint, when am I going to do my push in and how long are they going to kiss for?” And without missing a beat, he turns to me and says, “I don’t know—I’ve never kissed a guy before.”

He made me laugh so hard. I just shook my head and went, “Okay, good to know,” and went back to my camera. We did the shot and it was flawless. They hit the ground; they kissed for maybe a second and split up, and I dollied back to make sure I kept them both in the frame on the slider. It worked out great and it’s in the movie. It’s a really great shot.

Operating Challenges

On J.Edgar, we actually used a few more sets than we normally do. Clint likes to use real locations, because he Special Awards Edition 2012

small sets with a lot of actors or a lot of people—you know the boom and sound and grips and all that stuff—and I have to end up either like on a kitchen sink operating the camera or if it’s in the bathroom, I’ve got the camera on the toilet or in the shower or whatever because we never have any other space because we never pull a wall. So sometimes, I’m in kind of a real contortionist position to get the shot. But it’s always a pleasure working with Clint, of course.

The Cast

Working on J.Edgar with such an amazing cast—Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Judi Dench—it was just phenomenal. I had such a good time on it. Not only are they great actors, but also very technical: they really know, they just hit CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

21

their marks, find their light, are not confused. It’s really just a pleasure. It makes the job of a camera operator that much easier when you know that they understand your job as well as their own job. On some movies, you get actors that aren’t as technical or don’t understand and it becomes a little more frustrating for the camera operator. But with this amazing cast on J.Edgar, it was so good.

CHAPMAN/LEONARD Studio Studio Equipment, Equipment, Inc. Inc. www.chapman-leonard.com

My Advice

Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood

Steadicam is a great tool, but no not everyone has to do it.

Today, there are some amazing tools out there that mimic some of the moves that you can do with the Steadicam.

My advice for up-and-coming camera operators is to just work hard and be prepared. Be a pleasant person and have people like you and support you. Trust everybody around you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Knowledge is power.

Study your craft really well. Look at movies, especially old movies. Look at the beautiful compositions and see what works and what’s pleasing to your eye. You also need to be tough enough to take everything that productions throw at you, and to do it with grace, professionalism and pride.

Most of all, you need to have a great sense of dedication and love of what we do. I think being a camera operator is the greatest job in the world and I wouldn’t change it for anything. When you look through that eyepiece and you see that magical performance, there is nothing better in the world, really. So I wish every up-and-coming camera operator all the best—but don’t try to take any of my jobs from me.

TELESCOPING CRANES 15ī, 20ī, 32ī ... Introducing the 73ī Hydrascope Equipment that works in any environment weather resistant and tough With Stabilized Remote Camera Systems

Super PeeWee® IV Part of the PeeWee® series

DOLLIES...

Pedestals, Mobile Cranes, Arms & Bases

Hustler IV

Time Saving Camera Support for all your needs!

LOCATIONS: California: 888 883 6559 New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio & Florida: 888 758 4826 UK: +44 1 92 326 5953 Ask about our Sound Stage in Florida

Naomi Watts as Hoover’s secretary, Helen Gandy, with a precursor to the teleprompter

22

CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

Special Awards Edition 2012

their marks, find their light, are not confused. It’s really just a pleasure. It makes the job of a camera operator that much easier when you know that they understand your job as well as their own job. On some movies, you get actors that aren’t as technical or don’t understand and it becomes a little more frustrating for the camera operator. But with this amazing cast on J.Edgar, it was so good.

CHAPMAN/LEONARD Studio Studio Equipment, Equipment, Inc. Inc. www.chapman-leonard.com

My Advice

Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood

Steadicam is a great tool, but no not everyone has to do it.

Today, there are some amazing tools out there that mimic some of the moves that you can do with the Steadicam.

My advice for up-and-coming camera operators is to just work hard and be prepared. Be a pleasant person and have people like you and support you. Trust everybody around you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Knowledge is power.

Study your craft really well. Look at movies, especially old movies. Look at the beautiful compositions and see what works and what’s pleasing to your eye. You also need to be tough enough to take everything that productions throw at you, and to do it with grace, professionalism and pride.

Most of all, you need to have a great sense of dedication and love of what we do. I think being a camera operator is the greatest job in the world and I wouldn’t change it for anything. When you look through that eyepiece and you see that magical performance, there is nothing better in the world, really. So I wish every up-and-coming camera operator all the best—but don’t try to take any of my jobs from me.

TELESCOPING CRANES 15ī, 20ī, 32ī ... Introducing the 73ī Hydrascope Equipment that works in any environment weather resistant and tough With Stabilized Remote Camera Systems

Super PeeWee® IV Part of the PeeWee® series

DOLLIES...

Pedestals, Mobile Cranes, Arms & Bases

Hustler IV

Time Saving Camera Support for all your needs!

LOCATIONS: California: 888 883 6559 New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Ohio & Florida: 888 758 4826 UK: +44 1 92 326 5953 Ask about our Sound Stage in Florida

Naomi Watts as Hoover’s secretary, Helen Gandy, with a precursor to the teleprompter

22

CAMERA OPERATOR: J.EDGAR

Special Awards Edition 2012

Everything Old Is New Again: The Artist

by Camera Operator John Sosenko soc and 1st AC Jennifer Ann Henry

Photos Š2011 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.

Jean Dujardin as George Valentin with his dog, played by Uggie

Everything Old Is New Again: The Artist

by Camera Operator John Sosenko soc and 1st AC Jennifer Ann Henry

Photos Š2011 The Weinstein Company. All Rights Reserved.

Jean Dujardin as George Valentin with his dog, played by Uggie

T

he Artist is a black and white silent film (or mostly silent) about Hollywood matinee idol George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and his struggle with the dawn of talkies. With a marriage that is far from ideal, he becomes smitten with up-and-coming chorus girl named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Béjo), much to the disgust of his wife (Penelope Ann Miller). As Peppy’s acting career begins to rise in the era of sound movies, George sinks every last dime into one last epic silent film.

Shot in Los Angeles, The Artist brought writer/director Michel Hazanavicius and cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman all the way from France to create a minimalist period piece that pays homage to so many Hollywood masterpieces.

B-camera operator John Sosenko (JS) and A-camera 1st AC Jennifer Ann Henry ( JH) remember the project vividly:

CD of it. I don’t remember that I actually stopped to listen, but I enjoyed it. I like working that way. It created such a great environment for everyone. It got everyone involved, kind of put everyone in the mood. We’d all be on the same page emotionally. For the sake of the scene and the actors, I think it’s a great thing.

Jack, played by Uggie, and George, played by Jean Dujardin

26

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

Getting Started

JH: The second that the producer told me the project was a black and white silent film, I wanted the movie!

Badly! Like that moment! They sent me the script, I read it, and I immediately started trying to learn French that night, which I failed to do. I just knew I wanted to be a part of this. This is the type of movie I got into this industry for—a real, creative, art type project. And I love black and white photography. I really miss black and white film. I shot a project in black and white once, myself. It was fun. This is the only professional blackand-white feature I’ve done. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime project.

JS: I got the call to come in on The Artist as a day player on a multi-camera shoot at the Orpheum Theater in downtown LA. I knew nothing about the production when I walked in. I was told we were shooting a blackand-white silent movie with French filmmakers. I was impressed that in this day and age someone was taking such a huge risk with this format—and they were French, no less! How wonderful! Plus I came in as a day player, and stayed on as B-camera and B-unit operator.

My first day, I met the writer-director Michel Hazanavicius and Guillaume Schiffman, the DP. The Orpheum is such a beautifully restored theater. I watched Guillaume and gaffer James Plannette light up the theater and call up the ghost of the silent movie era.

By the time we started to shoot, I was infatuated with Special Awards Edition 2012

JH: Guillaume double checked, he paid attention. But for the most part, he left it to me as soon as I learned his style. His choice of diffusion and how much diffusion per shot all depended on the field of view. I’m not used to not having a DP say specifically, “I want this now, I want this now, I want this now.” And he would change his mind, too, so I would check with him, because he’s an intuitive guy who’s got this feeling, so I would need to check with him. I knew the script and I had the storyboards, and they included me in everything during the prep, so I knew what we were going for. But I still needed to ask him for confirmation all the time. That was another great thing about this project for me—they included me in all the prep. I only wish I could live here and France so I could have been part of their process over there too.

We went to see black-and-white silent movies. We tested everything anyone could think of testing—cameras, equipment, lights, shooting shadows, shooting wardrobe, makeup, the lens elements that we built, different filters, interiors, exteriors, conversations, looking at books. I can’t remember exactly, but I want to say I worked with Guillaume for about 6 weeks before we started shooting. I don’t remember exactly how long he was here before we began shooting. I think he came and went a couple of times to. We

this movie. The energy from the director, the DP, the actors and all—there was such an unmistakable creative joy – and I just knew this film was a hit—without a question. I fell in love.

JH: As soon as I heard Harvey Weinstein bought it four days before Cannes—I thought, oh my goodness! I knew it was great. I knew it was great when I read it. I knew it was going to be great when I watched Michel’s and Guillaume’s and Jean’s prior projects.

JS: There was an obvious uniqueness working on The Artist: the fact of a French film, a French writer-director, French DP, French film stars and that they were recreating the Hollywood silent film era in Hollywood using all the real locations and studio resources to bring it to life. You couldn’t help but know that the film itself was going to be something very special.

Guillaume and Michel were very exuberant, serious, and sometimes very playful leaders. They really knew what they wanted—which made my job as camera operator enjoyable and easy. They had done all the extensive tests with the black and white, the filtration, the lighting, had watched every silent film ever made, before embarking on this wild ride and as a result, they were very clear in communicating what they wanted and needed.

JH: The composer has been winning more awards than anyone. At the festivals, the movie has only won one award— for the score. They actually played the music for us when we were shooting. The music was great. Michel gave us each a Special Awards Edition 2012

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

James Cromwell plays George’s majordomo.

Penelope Ann Miller as George’s wife.

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

Prep Work

Peppy (Bérénice Béjo) gets romantic with George’s jacket.

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

27

T

he Artist is a black and white silent film (or mostly silent) about Hollywood matinee idol George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and his struggle with the dawn of talkies. With a marriage that is far from ideal, he becomes smitten with up-and-coming chorus girl named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Béjo), much to the disgust of his wife (Penelope Ann Miller). As Peppy’s acting career begins to rise in the era of sound movies, George sinks every last dime into one last epic silent film.

Shot in Los Angeles, The Artist brought writer/director Michel Hazanavicius and cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman all the way from France to create a minimalist period piece that pays homage to so many Hollywood masterpieces.

B-camera operator John Sosenko (JS) and A-camera 1st AC Jennifer Ann Henry ( JH) remember the project vividly:

CD of it. I don’t remember that I actually stopped to listen, but I enjoyed it. I like working that way. It created such a great environment for everyone. It got everyone involved, kind of put everyone in the mood. We’d all be on the same page emotionally. For the sake of the scene and the actors, I think it’s a great thing.

Jack, played by Uggie, and George, played by Jean Dujardin

26

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

Getting Started

JH: The second that the producer told me the project was a black and white silent film, I wanted the movie!

Badly! Like that moment! They sent me the script, I read it, and I immediately started trying to learn French that night, which I failed to do. I just knew I wanted to be a part of this. This is the type of movie I got into this industry for—a real, creative, art type project. And I love black and white photography. I really miss black and white film. I shot a project in black and white once, myself. It was fun. This is the only professional blackand-white feature I’ve done. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime project.

JS: I got the call to come in on The Artist as a day player on a multi-camera shoot at the Orpheum Theater in downtown LA. I knew nothing about the production when I walked in. I was told we were shooting a blackand-white silent movie with French filmmakers. I was impressed that in this day and age someone was taking such a huge risk with this format—and they were French, no less! How wonderful! Plus I came in as a day player, and stayed on as B-camera and B-unit operator.

My first day, I met the writer-director Michel Hazanavicius and Guillaume Schiffman, the DP. The Orpheum is such a beautifully restored theater. I watched Guillaume and gaffer James Plannette light up the theater and call up the ghost of the silent movie era.

By the time we started to shoot, I was infatuated with Special Awards Edition 2012

JH: Guillaume double checked, he paid attention. But for the most part, he left it to me as soon as I learned his style. His choice of diffusion and how much diffusion per shot all depended on the field of view. I’m not used to not having a DP say specifically, “I want this now, I want this now, I want this now.” And he would change his mind, too, so I would check with him, because he’s an intuitive guy who’s got this feeling, so I would need to check with him. I knew the script and I had the storyboards, and they included me in everything during the prep, so I knew what we were going for. But I still needed to ask him for confirmation all the time. That was another great thing about this project for me—they included me in all the prep. I only wish I could live here and France so I could have been part of their process over there too.

We went to see black-and-white silent movies. We tested everything anyone could think of testing—cameras, equipment, lights, shooting shadows, shooting wardrobe, makeup, the lens elements that we built, different filters, interiors, exteriors, conversations, looking at books. I can’t remember exactly, but I want to say I worked with Guillaume for about 6 weeks before we started shooting. I don’t remember exactly how long he was here before we began shooting. I think he came and went a couple of times to. We

this movie. The energy from the director, the DP, the actors and all—there was such an unmistakable creative joy – and I just knew this film was a hit—without a question. I fell in love.

JH: As soon as I heard Harvey Weinstein bought it four days before Cannes—I thought, oh my goodness! I knew it was great. I knew it was great when I read it. I knew it was going to be great when I watched Michel’s and Guillaume’s and Jean’s prior projects.

JS: There was an obvious uniqueness working on The Artist: the fact of a French film, a French writer-director, French DP, French film stars and that they were recreating the Hollywood silent film era in Hollywood using all the real locations and studio resources to bring it to life. You couldn’t help but know that the film itself was going to be something very special.

Guillaume and Michel were very exuberant, serious, and sometimes very playful leaders. They really knew what they wanted—which made my job as camera operator enjoyable and easy. They had done all the extensive tests with the black and white, the filtration, the lighting, had watched every silent film ever made, before embarking on this wild ride and as a result, they were very clear in communicating what they wanted and needed.

JH: The composer has been winning more awards than anyone. At the festivals, the movie has only won one award— for the score. They actually played the music for us when we were shooting. The music was great. Michel gave us each a Special Awards Edition 2012

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

James Cromwell plays George’s majordomo.

Penelope Ann Miller as George’s wife.

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

Prep Work

Peppy (Bérénice Béjo) gets romantic with George’s jacket.

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

27

mostly Arri 3s for our extra cameras. That gave me some challenges.

I had some curve balls thrown at me a few times. I’d bring in another unit and they’d have to shoot something as a Libra shot.

The Arri 3 doesn’t fit on the Libra head because of the video door.

So all of a sudden, I’d find myself separating my camera package and turning my A-camera package over to the 2nd unit and taking their Arri 3 and all of their gear that I would not have allowed myself to shoot a movie with! If that was not enough for one day, one of the Arri 3s burned out while we were shooting massive plate shots. Everything had to be reshot and that didn’t help our tight schedule.

We shot a 1:33 aspect ratio on this film and very specifically wanted to make sure we could use every inch of the frame, even if it was things that were photographed outside the frame line. Michel just wanted to have that extra space, to use, to manipulate, possibly in post or in DI or whatever. So keeping an eye out for hairs in the gate and things like that was a must. We didn’t have the leeway for mistakes. If there was the slightest little thing, I had to call “go again” and people aren’t really used to that. You’re always careful about that when working with anamorphic, but if you’re shooting 1:85 or you’re shooting television you have more room for these things. So if you see a small hair in the gate, you don’t always have to say anything. But on this film, I had to say “stop” every time.

People became so used to hearing me, as the 1st AC, say “stop, you’ve got to go again.” I’m sure that they were wondering what I was doing wrong or what was wrong with the film (we shot Kodak Vision 3 500 Tungsten). There was absolutely nothing wrong. We just had no safety room.

The movie was shot at 22 fps most of the time, but that didn’t really affect my job at all. Much like shooting at 24 frames a second, I just had to make sure the camera remained at the proper frame

Equipment and Framing Challenges

JOHN SOSENKO SOC

On the set of The Artist —Jean Dujardin and Uggie await their cue.

Technocrane operator Henry Flores with Jennifer Ann Henry

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

JS: There were four cameras the day I started—all shooting film. I was using an Arri 3. Because everything seems to have turned digital, I can’t remember the last time I had looked through an Arri 3 eyepiece or watched someone thread it. It was amusing in a way.

JH: We had a day—a couple days maybe—where there were four cameras in the Orpheum downtown. Because of budget and the subject matter in that location, we chose

COURTESY OF JENNIFER ANN HENRY

communicated by e-mails a lot. The challenges of my accent and his accent and a cell phone didn’t work out so well.

There was just a little bit of a language challenge. They both spoke English very well, but sometimes the DP and director would communicate with each other in French, and then we’d roll another shot and I wouldn’t know what had changed. Guillaume and I get along extremely well, which is great. But it took me some time to adapt because we didn’t have a camera operator and that’s the way he’s used to working in France. [Editor’s note: that’s the European style.]

The lack of an operator put a lot more responsibility on me than I was used to, as far as paying attention to reflections out there and lens flares. You know, I always look for lens flares with the help of the key grip. I just became more of an assistant cinematographer on this one, more than I was accustomed to being. It turned out to be a fantastic experigess—go s—go goodd ence for me. But it did bring on some more challenges—good challenges though.

At the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles

28

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

Special Awards Edition 2012

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

29

mostly Arri 3s for our extra cameras. That gave me some challenges.

I had some curve balls thrown at me a few times. I’d bring in another unit and they’d have to shoot something as a Libra shot.

The Arri 3 doesn’t fit on the Libra head because of the video door.

So all of a sudden, I’d find myself separating my camera package and turning my A-camera package over to the 2nd unit and taking their Arri 3 and all of their gear that I would not have allowed myself to shoot a movie with! If that was not enough for one day, one of the Arri 3s burned out while we were shooting massive plate shots. Everything had to be reshot and that didn’t help our tight schedule.

We shot a 1:33 aspect ratio on this film and very specifically wanted to make sure we could use every inch of the frame, even if it was things that were photographed outside the frame line. Michel just wanted to have that extra space, to use, to manipulate, possibly in post or in DI or whatever. So keeping an eye out for hairs in the gate and things like that was a must. We didn’t have the leeway for mistakes. If there was the slightest little thing, I had to call “go again” and people aren’t really used to that. You’re always careful about that when working with anamorphic, but if you’re shooting 1:85 or you’re shooting television you have more room for these things. So if you see a small hair in the gate, you don’t always have to say anything. But on this film, I had to say “stop” every time.

People became so used to hearing me, as the 1st AC, say “stop, you’ve got to go again.” I’m sure that they were wondering what I was doing wrong or what was wrong with the film (we shot Kodak Vision 3 500 Tungsten). There was absolutely nothing wrong. We just had no safety room.

The movie was shot at 22 fps most of the time, but that didn’t really affect my job at all. Much like shooting at 24 frames a second, I just had to make sure the camera remained at the proper frame

Equipment and Framing Challenges

JOHN SOSENKO SOC

On the set of The Artist —Jean Dujardin and Uggie await their cue.

Technocrane operator Henry Flores with Jennifer Ann Henry

PETER IOVINO SMPSP

JS: There were four cameras the day I started—all shooting film. I was using an Arri 3. Because everything seems to have turned digital, I can’t remember the last time I had looked through an Arri 3 eyepiece or watched someone thread it. It was amusing in a way.

JH: We had a day—a couple days maybe—where there were four cameras in the Orpheum downtown. Because of budget and the subject matter in that location, we chose

COURTESY OF JENNIFER ANN HENRY

communicated by e-mails a lot. The challenges of my accent and his accent and a cell phone didn’t work out so well.

There was just a little bit of a language challenge. They both spoke English very well, but sometimes the DP and director would communicate with each other in French, and then we’d roll another shot and I wouldn’t know what had changed. Guillaume and I get along extremely well, which is great. But it took me some time to adapt because we didn’t have a camera operator and that’s the way he’s used to working in France. [Editor’s note: that’s the European style.]

The lack of an operator put a lot more responsibility on me than I was used to, as far as paying attention to reflections out there and lens flares. You know, I always look for lens flares with the help of the key grip. I just became more of an assistant cinematographer on this one, more than I was accustomed to being. It turned out to be a fantastic experigess—go s—go goodd ence for me. But it did bring on some more challenges—good challenges though.

At the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles

28

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

Special Awards Edition 2012

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

29

Filming the fire scene

30

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

Special Awards Edition 2012

COURTESY OF JOHN SOSENKO SOC

to ask for an explanation. It’s his choice.

Focus brought some interesting challenges because there were times when Michel wanted some mistakes—deliberate mistakes. He didn’t always necessarily say “screw this up” or whatever, but there were parts of the film where that’s what he wanted. We built lens elements. Dan Sasaki at Panavision made the lens elements for us, and we told him that we were looking to have specific things out of focus in the frame. This would make today’s sharp lenses match the look of the lenses in the golden age of cinema; old stuff, astigmatisms and things like that. There’d be times where because of miscommunication with the language, I would blow a shot and would tell the director and he’d be like “good!” And he wouldn’t give me another take. And then he would jokingly say, “I say that it’s okay to you now, but I’ll blame you later to the producer.” (Laugh) There’s not that much of it in the film really but it was hard for a focus puller to give up that control. Or anybody in camera—we’re all control freaks.

We used a mix of lenses. They were all housed in Zeiss superspeed S series housings, but some of them had different glass elements. Some of them had glass, and some had Zeiss glass, and they were from many different eras. There was nothing older than COURTESY OF JENNIFER ANN HENRY

rate and that no switches got hit, that it didn’t change. It’s such a slight difference in the speed that it doesn’t affect exposure. It was just a matter of always making sure that if there were five cameras that all five cameras were running at 22 frames,. There were couple of times when Michel switched it and I don’t really know why, but there were a couple shots at 20 and a couple shots at 24. But I didn’t stop the director

concerned about it and be doing a lot of eye focus. It’s hard to do that and Guillaume would look at me once in a while and ask, “Are you sure?” And my feeling would be, “If you’re asking if I’m sure, I think we should do another one.”

It’s all there on the screen. There’s nothing there that I see when I watch the movie that I’m disappointed with or think I should’ve done better with. There are things in there that they defocused in the DI—nothing I could’ve done about that anyway. Mostly edge stuff. There are a couple shots of Peppy Miller that they softened up because they always wanted a real soft look for her, across the board. And we did use diffusion, and he did use extra lighting on her. She’s the director’s beautiful wife, after all. And she was great.

JS: The scene of the first meeting between Peppy and George and the scenes of the dueling movie theater premieres—George’s decline and Peppy’s rise—were shot on the Warner Bros back lot. Michel had storyboarded the sides and was very attentive to the framing. Both Michel and Guillaume were very specific about what they wanted—center punch and more headroom than normal—that was it. all they needed me to know—and to make a beautiful frame, of course.

That was the style of the silent film era and just the opposite of what is standard framing today. To keep the look, even in the antique car stunts and drive bys, the cars had to be center-punched pretty much. So, working on The Artist challenged some of my ingrained instincts as an operator.

JH: That was a challenge for Guillaume as well. Guillaume mentioned that because Michel wanted it to be authentic and wanted to make full use of that 1:33 frame. Michael would have to come over and say, “Center it up.” Everybody’s

Camera Operator John Sosenko SOC

Gerting the Libra head ready for the dog’s race down the sidewalk.

Special Awards Edition 2012

COURTESY OF JOHN SOSENKO SOC

COURTESY OF JENNIFER ANN HENRY

Jennifer Ann Henry on the dolly as they follow George ( Jean Dujardin) down the street.

1940s. We couldn’t get any 1920s, 1930s glass. But we used that glass with the special housings. This allowed me to mount the other elements that Dan [Sasaki] manufactured.

We initially designed those to work with certain focal lengths, and then we discovered that we could mix and match and get even more effects out of them. Guillaume would tell me what he’d want, and as quickly as I could, I would figure out which one would work best to accomplish that.

I had surplus lenses, but they didn’t all focus. So I had to have some other lenses with different calibrations. Some of my lenses had two focus rings on them, and that was definitely a challenge. My 40, my 50, I had two 75s and two 100s.

My 35, 40, and 50 had two sets of focus marks on them. I remember on one lens I tore off the second focus mark because I was looking at the wrong one and got angry. Of course there was a lot of eye focusing and stuff like that.

We also used the Panavision lightweight Zoom-2 which we carried for one specific shot. It’s not your typical Panavision super sharp zoom lens; it had its own interesting soft quality.

We tested it to make sure it would do what we wanted. They didn’t have zoom lenses in those days, but there is one zoom shot in the movie. It’s buried in a dolly move. It’s in the tap dancing scene. We just needed to utilize the space, and the room itself wasn’t quite large enough for what the director wanted to accomplish. And he knew that going in. Michel was extremely specific. Everything was very specifically designed.

We shot at 2.8 sometimes 2.8 1⁄2, but if you’re doing stuff really close to the camera it doesn’t really matter what the stop is. There was a lot of stress for me there on the Zoom-2.

There was so much diffusion in front of the lens. I would get

“I’m ready for my closeup.”

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

31

Filming the fire scene

30

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

Special Awards Edition 2012

COURTESY OF JOHN SOSENKO SOC

to ask for an explanation. It’s his choice.

Focus brought some interesting challenges because there were times when Michel wanted some mistakes—deliberate mistakes. He didn’t always necessarily say “screw this up” or whatever, but there were parts of the film where that’s what he wanted. We built lens elements. Dan Sasaki at Panavision made the lens elements for us, and we told him that we were looking to have specific things out of focus in the frame. This would make today’s sharp lenses match the look of the lenses in the golden age of cinema; old stuff, astigmatisms and things like that. There’d be times where because of miscommunication with the language, I would blow a shot and would tell the director and he’d be like “good!” And he wouldn’t give me another take. And then he would jokingly say, “I say that it’s okay to you now, but I’ll blame you later to the producer.” (Laugh) There’s not that much of it in the film really but it was hard for a focus puller to give up that control. Or anybody in camera—we’re all control freaks.

We used a mix of lenses. They were all housed in Zeiss superspeed S series housings, but some of them had different glass elements. Some of them had glass, and some had Zeiss glass, and they were from many different eras. There was nothing older than COURTESY OF JENNIFER ANN HENRY

rate and that no switches got hit, that it didn’t change. It’s such a slight difference in the speed that it doesn’t affect exposure. It was just a matter of always making sure that if there were five cameras that all five cameras were running at 22 frames,. There were couple of times when Michel switched it and I don’t really know why, but there were a couple shots at 20 and a couple shots at 24. But I didn’t stop the director

concerned about it and be doing a lot of eye focus. It’s hard to do that and Guillaume would look at me once in a while and ask, “Are you sure?” And my feeling would be, “If you’re asking if I’m sure, I think we should do another one.”

It’s all there on the screen. There’s nothing there that I see when I watch the movie that I’m disappointed with or think I should’ve done better with. There are things in there that they defocused in the DI—nothing I could’ve done about that anyway. Mostly edge stuff. There are a couple shots of Peppy Miller that they softened up because they always wanted a real soft look for her, across the board. And we did use diffusion, and he did use extra lighting on her. She’s the director’s beautiful wife, after all. And she was great.

JS: The scene of the first meeting between Peppy and George and the scenes of the dueling movie theater premieres—George’s decline and Peppy’s rise—were shot on the Warner Bros back lot. Michel had storyboarded the sides and was very attentive to the framing. Both Michel and Guillaume were very specific about what they wanted—center punch and more headroom than normal—that was it. all they needed me to know—and to make a beautiful frame, of course.

That was the style of the silent film era and just the opposite of what is standard framing today. To keep the look, even in the antique car stunts and drive bys, the cars had to be center-punched pretty much. So, working on The Artist challenged some of my ingrained instincts as an operator.

JH: That was a challenge for Guillaume as well. Guillaume mentioned that because Michel wanted it to be authentic and wanted to make full use of that 1:33 frame. Michael would have to come over and say, “Center it up.” Everybody’s

Camera Operator John Sosenko SOC

Gerting the Libra head ready for the dog’s race down the sidewalk.

Special Awards Edition 2012

COURTESY OF JOHN SOSENKO SOC

COURTESY OF JENNIFER ANN HENRY

Jennifer Ann Henry on the dolly as they follow George ( Jean Dujardin) down the street.

1940s. We couldn’t get any 1920s, 1930s glass. But we used that glass with the special housings. This allowed me to mount the other elements that Dan [Sasaki] manufactured.

We initially designed those to work with certain focal lengths, and then we discovered that we could mix and match and get even more effects out of them. Guillaume would tell me what he’d want, and as quickly as I could, I would figure out which one would work best to accomplish that.

I had surplus lenses, but they didn’t all focus. So I had to have some other lenses with different calibrations. Some of my lenses had two focus rings on them, and that was definitely a challenge. My 40, my 50, I had two 75s and two 100s.

My 35, 40, and 50 had two sets of focus marks on them. I remember on one lens I tore off the second focus mark because I was looking at the wrong one and got angry. Of course there was a lot of eye focusing and stuff like that.

We also used the Panavision lightweight Zoom-2 which we carried for one specific shot. It’s not your typical Panavision super sharp zoom lens; it had its own interesting soft quality.

We tested it to make sure it would do what we wanted. They didn’t have zoom lenses in those days, but there is one zoom shot in the movie. It’s buried in a dolly move. It’s in the tap dancing scene. We just needed to utilize the space, and the room itself wasn’t quite large enough for what the director wanted to accomplish. And he knew that going in. Michel was extremely specific. Everything was very specifically designed.

We shot at 2.8 sometimes 2.8 1⁄2, but if you’re doing stuff really close to the camera it doesn’t really matter what the stop is. There was a lot of stress for me there on the Zoom-2.

There was so much diffusion in front of the lens. I would get

“I’m ready for my closeup.”

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

31

instinct is to frame differently these days. It’s changed over the years. I think adapting to the 1:33 was a bit of a challenge for everyone.

Challenging Scenes

Michael Condon, SOC VP Digital Division

JOHN SOSENKO SOC

Andree Martin VP Technical Services

JH: The fire scene was really challenging because everything was on fire. And we weren’t quite properly protected. I thought it all looked much more tame when I watched the movie. Some of the fire angles were cut down. It didn’t look anything like it felt when we were shooting it. We were not very happy campers that day.

JS: Gaffer Jim Plannette and I did a lot of the drive-bys and some of the stunt set-ups Director Michel Hazanavicius contemplates Peppy’s poster. as second unit. I have always admired Jim’s work—really thinking of him and his family as a Hollywood institution— dialogue but they also have a lot of improv. They said different things and there’s so much wonderful stuff that did and was delighted to get to know him. go on that I feel fortunate that I witnessed. But it’s lost and For the sequence of the mocking public close-ups, faces that makes me a little sad. It’s not what the movie was about, swirling in George’s head, Jim and I set up “Studio B” on and you certainly didn’t need it to tell the story. The story is set—a little portrait studio. Michel and Guillaume told us told anyway. But I enjoy actors so much. I really love their what they wanted and sent us extras to film. They had a performances. I just wish I’d had a little tape recorder in my monitor feed on the main unit to watch. Actors were pocket the whole time. brought in one at a time to elicit reactions and because the film was silent, we were able to talk them through the takes Future Plans as we were filming.

JH: I’m no longer a camera assistant—I’m a camera Jim and I also shot the scenes where Jack the dog is racing operator now. Paid up union. I’ll have to get out there and along the sidewalk to get help for George as his apartment do some more networking and see how it goes, and be patient burns. Dogs run fast, so we used a Libra head mounted on for a little while. I studied cinematography with Vilmos the quad runner to keep pace.

Zsigmond last Septemer, and then I went to Paris and saw JH: Uggie [who played Jack] was your typical motion Michel and Guillaume. I did an interview with the ASC mag picture dog. They had more than one of him. For the most with Benjamin B. I’m kind of curious about working in other part he did a really good job. There were times where we had parts of the world. I definitely would like to do some travelto give him many, many, many takes, and struggled with it.

But Jean Dujardin has such a great demeanor, such a wonder- ing in my life—or some more I should say, that was my first ful sense of humor, and he’s a patient guy. He seems to be the trip to Europe.

My goal is to be a director of photography, so I’m doing kind of actor who is about getting it done without getting camera operator as the next natural step to climb the ladder. too frustrated.

I’ve worked with him twice now. The second time was on a As a camera assistant, it was very hard for me to concentrate French film called Les Infidèles. There are five directors on the on lighting, because I was so focused on focus. No pun totally intended. I want to work more as an operator. This is what I film. Michel is one of them. Jean is the director producer enjoyed about working with Guillaume, because I want to be of the film. They came to Vegas to do a couple of weeks. that assistant cinematographer and not a focus puller. I think Guillaume came over with James Canal and Isabel Rivas, The Artist’s 1st AD and script supervisor. When I joined them for there’ll be opportunities for me. that shoot last July, it was like a mini reunion.

Guillaume let me operate some on the Vegas portion of Les Infidèles and he’s mentioned that he’ll give me a shot. I One Regret don’t think he’s necessarily changing his mind about wanting JH: Even though the movie was filmed as a silent movie, to be an operating DP and keeping control of the camera. But it wasn’t of course silent for the crew. One of the biggest I think he also sees the value of having someone there to step mistakes was that we really should’ve have recorded at least a in when his job has too much going on to concentrate on scratch track. There was so much fun. The actors had a lot of operating.

CREATIVITY! 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

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

33

instinct is to frame differently these days. It’s changed over the years. I think adapting to the 1:33 was a bit of a challenge for everyone.

Challenging Scenes

Michael Condon, SOC VP Digital Division

JOHN SOSENKO SOC

Andree Martin VP Technical Services

JH: The fire scene was really challenging because everything was on fire. And we weren’t quite properly protected. I thought it all looked much more tame when I watched the movie. Some of the fire angles were cut down. It didn’t look anything like it felt when we were shooting it. We were not very happy campers that day.

JS: Gaffer Jim Plannette and I did a lot of the drive-bys and some of the stunt set-ups Director Michel Hazanavicius contemplates Peppy’s poster. as second unit. I have always admired Jim’s work—really thinking of him and his family as a Hollywood institution— dialogue but they also have a lot of improv. They said different things and there’s so much wonderful stuff that did and was delighted to get to know him. go on that I feel fortunate that I witnessed. But it’s lost and For the sequence of the mocking public close-ups, faces that makes me a little sad. It’s not what the movie was about, swirling in George’s head, Jim and I set up “Studio B” on and you certainly didn’t need it to tell the story. The story is set—a little portrait studio. Michel and Guillaume told us told anyway. But I enjoy actors so much. I really love their what they wanted and sent us extras to film. They had a performances. I just wish I’d had a little tape recorder in my monitor feed on the main unit to watch. Actors were pocket the whole time. brought in one at a time to elicit reactions and because the film was silent, we were able to talk them through the takes Future Plans as we were filming.

JH: I’m no longer a camera assistant—I’m a camera Jim and I also shot the scenes where Jack the dog is racing operator now. Paid up union. I’ll have to get out there and along the sidewalk to get help for George as his apartment do some more networking and see how it goes, and be patient burns. Dogs run fast, so we used a Libra head mounted on for a little while. I studied cinematography with Vilmos the quad runner to keep pace.

Zsigmond last Septemer, and then I went to Paris and saw JH: Uggie [who played Jack] was your typical motion Michel and Guillaume. I did an interview with the ASC mag picture dog. They had more than one of him. For the most with Benjamin B. I’m kind of curious about working in other part he did a really good job. There were times where we had parts of the world. I definitely would like to do some travelto give him many, many, many takes, and struggled with it.

But Jean Dujardin has such a great demeanor, such a wonder- ing in my life—or some more I should say, that was my first ful sense of humor, and he’s a patient guy. He seems to be the trip to Europe.

My goal is to be a director of photography, so I’m doing kind of actor who is about getting it done without getting camera operator as the next natural step to climb the ladder. too frustrated.

I’ve worked with him twice now. The second time was on a As a camera assistant, it was very hard for me to concentrate French film called Les Infidèles. There are five directors on the on lighting, because I was so focused on focus. No pun totally intended. I want to work more as an operator. This is what I film. Michel is one of them. Jean is the director producer enjoyed about working with Guillaume, because I want to be of the film. They came to Vegas to do a couple of weeks. that assistant cinematographer and not a focus puller. I think Guillaume came over with James Canal and Isabel Rivas, The Artist’s 1st AD and script supervisor. When I joined them for there’ll be opportunities for me. that shoot last July, it was like a mini reunion.

Guillaume let me operate some on the Vegas portion of Les Infidèles and he’s mentioned that he’ll give me a shot. I One Regret don’t think he’s necessarily changing his mind about wanting JH: Even though the movie was filmed as a silent movie, to be an operating DP and keeping control of the camera. But it wasn’t of course silent for the crew. One of the biggest I think he also sees the value of having someone there to step mistakes was that we really should’ve have recorded at least a in when his job has too much going on to concentrate on scratch track. There was so much fun. The actors had a lot of operating.

CREATIVITY! 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

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE ARTIST

33

Taming the Dragon: Working on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Photos Š 2011 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

BALDUR BRAGASON

by Camera Operator David Worley

Taming the Dragon: Working on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Photos Š 2011 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

BALDUR BRAGASON

by Camera Operator David Worley

T

he Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is based on the worldwide best selling novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. Already made into a successful Swedish film, this version features Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara as journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but unconventional young computer hacker. They team up to search for a woman who has been missing for forty years.

Director David Fincher (The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club) and his frequent collaborator, DP Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network, One Hour Photo, Fight Club) set out to re-create this film in all its chilling passion. They brought in camera operator David Worley (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2; V for Vendetta) to handle A-camera responsibilities.

Worley has vivid memories of the project:

Connections

Mosys Remote Head, which we used in restricted sets and a Technocrane on designated occasions.

I’d had very little experience with RED cameras prior to this project but, like it or not, this is the future, so we all have to adapt. The main difference in shooting with these cameras is operating with a monitor as opposed to an eyepiece— which I did find strange at first, but I soon got used to it.

In fact, Fincher asked me after a few weeks whether I missed the eyepiece. In truth, I didn’t that much, except I would have preferred it on big close ups, where focus is so critical—and we were shooting almost wide-open the whole time.

Having said that, David would instantly point out any slight ‘buzz’ from his monitors—I couldn’t really judge focus from these on-board monitors. The monitor on the Epic is

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

BALDUR BRAGASON

ANDERS LINDEN

I first met David Fincher on a production in Iceland when he was still with ILM, but I first worked with him on Alien 3, which was his first feature film as a director—almost 6 months shooting in Pinewood Studios, England. And I hadn’t worked with David again until The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I had been approached about doing The Panic Room, but I was already committed to another project. I also first met Jeff Cronenweth on Alien 3, during the time that his father, Jordan, was photographing it.

We started shooting in Sweden in September 2010 and continued until the end of November. Then we moved to Zurich for a week. In January, interior shooting started at Paramount Studios for 10 weeks. (I was involved in a good two-thirds of that.) Then, there were four days in London at

David Worley filming Rooney Mara

the end of March and back to Sweden for about 10 more weeks from April to June. 160 shooting days in all.

MERRICK MORTON

Equipment

Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig

36

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Special Awards Edition 2012

The basic camera equipment consisted of RED Ones and Arri Master Prime lenses. It was intended to use the Red Epic cameras from the start, but due to workflow issues, the RED One was our main camera until March. When the workflow issues were sorted out, the RED Epic took over for the remainder of the shoot, when they became available. In the end, we shot about 80% of the film with the RED One and the remaining 20% on the Epic.

We had all the normal/standard heads and dollies plus a Special Awards Edition 2012

much more reflective than that of the One, which wasn’t a problem on interiors, but did present one on exteriors, to the extent that I had to put a black cloth over me and the monitor.

As Daniel Craig said to me, standing by the camera for off-lines, “This is like going back to Fox Talbot!” [Editor’s note: Fox Talbot was a nineteenth-century British inventor and pioneer of photography.]

Work style David rarely uses a viewfinder on set. He appreciates what each lens will give him. Jeff, David and I would sometimes have a discussion about which lenses we should use but, once CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

37

T

he Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is based on the worldwide best selling novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. Already made into a successful Swedish film, this version features Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara as journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but unconventional young computer hacker. They team up to search for a woman who has been missing for forty years.

Director David Fincher (The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club) and his frequent collaborator, DP Jeff Cronenweth (The Social Network, One Hour Photo, Fight Club) set out to re-create this film in all its chilling passion. They brought in camera operator David Worley (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2; V for Vendetta) to handle A-camera responsibilities.

Worley has vivid memories of the project:

Connections

Mosys Remote Head, which we used in restricted sets and a Technocrane on designated occasions.

I’d had very little experience with RED cameras prior to this project but, like it or not, this is the future, so we all have to adapt. The main difference in shooting with these cameras is operating with a monitor as opposed to an eyepiece— which I did find strange at first, but I soon got used to it.

In fact, Fincher asked me after a few weeks whether I missed the eyepiece. In truth, I didn’t that much, except I would have preferred it on big close ups, where focus is so critical—and we were shooting almost wide-open the whole time.

Having said that, David would instantly point out any slight ‘buzz’ from his monitors—I couldn’t really judge focus from these on-board monitors. The monitor on the Epic is

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

BALDUR BRAGASON

ANDERS LINDEN

I first met David Fincher on a production in Iceland when he was still with ILM, but I first worked with him on Alien 3, which was his first feature film as a director—almost 6 months shooting in Pinewood Studios, England. And I hadn’t worked with David again until The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I had been approached about doing The Panic Room, but I was already committed to another project. I also first met Jeff Cronenweth on Alien 3, during the time that his father, Jordan, was photographing it.

We started shooting in Sweden in September 2010 and continued until the end of November. Then we moved to Zurich for a week. In January, interior shooting started at Paramount Studios for 10 weeks. (I was involved in a good two-thirds of that.) Then, there were four days in London at

David Worley filming Rooney Mara

the end of March and back to Sweden for about 10 more weeks from April to June. 160 shooting days in all.

MERRICK MORTON

Equipment

Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig

36

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Special Awards Edition 2012

The basic camera equipment consisted of RED Ones and Arri Master Prime lenses. It was intended to use the Red Epic cameras from the start, but due to workflow issues, the RED One was our main camera until March. When the workflow issues were sorted out, the RED Epic took over for the remainder of the shoot, when they became available. In the end, we shot about 80% of the film with the RED One and the remaining 20% on the Epic.

We had all the normal/standard heads and dollies plus a Special Awards Edition 2012

much more reflective than that of the One, which wasn’t a problem on interiors, but did present one on exteriors, to the extent that I had to put a black cloth over me and the monitor.

As Daniel Craig said to me, standing by the camera for off-lines, “This is like going back to Fox Talbot!” [Editor’s note: Fox Talbot was a nineteenth-century British inventor and pioneer of photography.]

Work style David rarely uses a viewfinder on set. He appreciates what each lens will give him. Jeff, David and I would sometimes have a discussion about which lenses we should use but, once CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

37

Filming on a cold night.

BALDUR BRAGASON

selected, these would seldom change. So A and B shots would be lined up with myself and Jeff on the cameras, while David finessed via the monitors.

He is extremely precise in regards to this, so I knew the exact framing he was aiming for prior to shooting. It’s well known that he likes to do many takes, whether for technical or non-technical reasons. He is a perfectionist and expects—and gets—the higher standards of expertise from all the participants on set.

My involvement in this project was very much ‘on the day.’ Fincher was quoted as saying, “Worley knows what I want.” Because of this reasoning, I wasn’t included in any pre-production or technical scouts. I wouldn’t know in advance what issues there may have been, in regards to lighting or restrictions on particular locations, etc.

As Jeff was operating the B camera, and as he’s worked with David many times before, we would work together with David to achieve whatever was required. There wasn’t a particularly traditional DP/Operator relationship—we were more like ‘fellow travellers!’

Filming on a cold night.

BALDUR BRAGASON

selected, these would seldom change. So A and B shots would be lined up with myself and Jeff on the cameras, while David finessed via the monitors.

He is extremely precise in regards to this, so I knew the exact framing he was aiming for prior to shooting. It’s well known that he likes to do many takes, whether for technical or non-technical reasons. He is a perfectionist and expects—and gets—the higher standards of expertise from all the participants on set.

My involvement in this project was very much ‘on the day.’ Fincher was quoted as saying, “Worley knows what I want.” Because of this reasoning, I wasn’t included in any pre-production or technical scouts. I wouldn’t know in advance what issues there may have been, in regards to lighting or restrictions on particular locations, etc.

As Jeff was operating the B camera, and as he’s worked with David many times before, we would work together with David to achieve whatever was required. There wasn’t a particularly traditional DP/Operator relationship—we were more like ‘fellow travellers!’

BALDUR BRAGASON

Filming Daniel Craig in a scene from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

40

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Jeff and I were supported by great crews in Sweden, Zurich and London. Joe Maples, Clive Mackey and Pier Housemer were our 1st ACs with Patrick Mellor as 2nd AC and Darren Holland as key grip with Dave Cross as best boy/B camera grip. In LA, we had John Connor and Paul Santoni as 1st ACs and Liam Sinnott our 2nd AC.

Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth ( seated behind camera), Daniel Craig (center) and Christopher Plummer (far right) on the set of Columbia Pictures’ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Our dolly grip was Mike Brennan, a veteran of many David Fincher productions—a real class act! Incidentally, we had two Swedish grips—Emil Hall and Fredrik Johansson—who constructed some fantastic 200ft tracks over rough ground with heavy timber at short notice, which really impressed David Fincher, amongst others.

conditions in Sweden in October and November, and in particular night work on a tracking car! In fact, the effects team spent a weekend laying artificial snow at the Venger Mansion location, only for it to snow the night before shooting—at least we got the real stuff !

A great cast

Nearly every shot we did had a precise start and end, so no particular shot stands out technically. But there was one scene that I remember, bringing Rooney Mara from one room, down a corridor, tracking right laterally and panning left with her into another room, dead centre and symmetrical onto her see-through screen in foreground. I knew that I had panned a little far too left on the first take—I looked over at Jeff and he gave me a wry smile—but, between us all, we nailed the other 4 or 5 takes!

There were very few handheld scenes in the film. One involved a fight on an escalator in an Underground station— taking two full nights to complete. In another handheld sequence, I was closely following an actor running from a room, along a passage and up a narrow flight of stairs, off at right angles. I was holding the camera at knee height with a very wide lens, with our first AC and grips holding batteries, cables etc, bringing up the rear.

At first David said, “Try to get so you can see up the stairs at the end of the shot.” But, by the time we had done quite a few takes with Fincher yelling, “Wilder, Worley!” I managed

Memorable shot

Special Awards Edition 2012

Cleaning condensation off the lens filter Special Awards Edition 2012

ANDERS LINDEN ANDER

Our cast, led by Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, were very adept with marks, eye lines etc. I would particularly mention Rooney had to do a lot of tough, harrowing stuff on camera, which she performed with great stoicism—a real trouper!

There were many challenges: braving the extremely cold

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

MERRICK MORTON

Three great crews

MERRICK MORTON

When shooting a new scene I would normally join in the end of blocking and could see the extent of the coverage discussed.

So, although we would rehearse set-ups, the first few takes would iron out any small details and preferences from the camera side and that of performance.

Sometimes A and B shots would be alternatives—say, on a 27mm and a 25mm lens. But more often than not, the B camera was used to get what I would call ‘proper shots’ (not what sometimes happens, that the B camera reaches in on a long lens to get a closer angle, then the A camera covers the same action in a ‘proper shot’ later. In other words, why bother with the B camera if you’re going to reshoot it anyway?)

Whether shooting with 4K resolution on the Red One or 5K on the Epic, we created our own 2.40 frame lines for a smaller image rather than using the whole sensor area. This allowed for stabilization on travelling shots as well as any other necessary repositioning without any shot-to-shot difference in picture quality.

There was a lot of camera movement with crane arms or tracking, often with a low camera angle. But there was always a reason for the movement. It was never gratuitous. And we never tracked with a crane—all movements seemed to be horizontal or vertical, hardly diagonal, and we very rarely used anything wider than a 21mm or tighter than a 50mm.

Fincher has always disliked using Steadicam—I’m sure he hasn’t used it since Fight Club. But he relented on this film and used it for two shots! This was for the Salander character walking through an office complex, turning corners and such on a set in the studio. It took major coordination with the extras, and the print take was 26 takes later! And that had nothing to do with with David Emmerichs SOC, our excellent Steadicam operator.

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

41

BALDUR BRAGASON

Filming Daniel Craig in a scene from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

40

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

Jeff and I were supported by great crews in Sweden, Zurich and London. Joe Maples, Clive Mackey and Pier Housemer were our 1st ACs with Patrick Mellor as 2nd AC and Darren Holland as key grip with Dave Cross as best boy/B camera grip. In LA, we had John Connor and Paul Santoni as 1st ACs and Liam Sinnott our 2nd AC.

Director of Photography Jeff Cronenweth ( seated behind camera), Daniel Craig (center) and Christopher Plummer (far right) on the set of Columbia Pictures’ The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Our dolly grip was Mike Brennan, a veteran of many David Fincher productions—a real class act! Incidentally, we had two Swedish grips—Emil Hall and Fredrik Johansson—who constructed some fantastic 200ft tracks over rough ground with heavy timber at short notice, which really impressed David Fincher, amongst others.

conditions in Sweden in October and November, and in particular night work on a tracking car! In fact, the effects team spent a weekend laying artificial snow at the Venger Mansion location, only for it to snow the night before shooting—at least we got the real stuff !

A great cast

Nearly every shot we did had a precise start and end, so no particular shot stands out technically. But there was one scene that I remember, bringing Rooney Mara from one room, down a corridor, tracking right laterally and panning left with her into another room, dead centre and symmetrical onto her see-through screen in foreground. I knew that I had panned a little far too left on the first take—I looked over at Jeff and he gave me a wry smile—but, between us all, we nailed the other 4 or 5 takes!

There were very few handheld scenes in the film. One involved a fight on an escalator in an Underground station— taking two full nights to complete. In another handheld sequence, I was closely following an actor running from a room, along a passage and up a narrow flight of stairs, off at right angles. I was holding the camera at knee height with a very wide lens, with our first AC and grips holding batteries, cables etc, bringing up the rear.

At first David said, “Try to get so you can see up the stairs at the end of the shot.” But, by the time we had done quite a few takes with Fincher yelling, “Wilder, Worley!” I managed

Memorable shot

Special Awards Edition 2012

Cleaning condensation off the lens filter Special Awards Edition 2012

ANDERS LINDEN ANDER

Our cast, led by Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, were very adept with marks, eye lines etc. I would particularly mention Rooney had to do a lot of tough, harrowing stuff on camera, which she performed with great stoicism—a real trouper!

There were many challenges: braving the extremely cold

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

MERRICK MORTON

Three great crews

MERRICK MORTON

When shooting a new scene I would normally join in the end of blocking and could see the extent of the coverage discussed.

So, although we would rehearse set-ups, the first few takes would iron out any small details and preferences from the camera side and that of performance.

Sometimes A and B shots would be alternatives—say, on a 27mm and a 25mm lens. But more often than not, the B camera was used to get what I would call ‘proper shots’ (not what sometimes happens, that the B camera reaches in on a long lens to get a closer angle, then the A camera covers the same action in a ‘proper shot’ later. In other words, why bother with the B camera if you’re going to reshoot it anyway?)

Whether shooting with 4K resolution on the Red One or 5K on the Epic, we created our own 2.40 frame lines for a smaller image rather than using the whole sensor area. This allowed for stabilization on travelling shots as well as any other necessary repositioning without any shot-to-shot difference in picture quality.

There was a lot of camera movement with crane arms or tracking, often with a low camera angle. But there was always a reason for the movement. It was never gratuitous. And we never tracked with a crane—all movements seemed to be horizontal or vertical, hardly diagonal, and we very rarely used anything wider than a 21mm or tighter than a 50mm.

Fincher has always disliked using Steadicam—I’m sure he hasn’t used it since Fight Club. But he relented on this film and used it for two shots! This was for the Salander character walking through an office complex, turning corners and such on a set in the studio. It took major coordination with the extras, and the print take was 26 takes later! And that had nothing to do with with David Emmerichs SOC, our excellent Steadicam operator.

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

41

to get halfway up the stairs with the others panting behind. But each time I returned breathlessly to get ready for another take, there seemed to be a lot a laughing coming from the monitor.

ANDERS LINDEN

Chasing a blonde-wigged Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) down a long corridor; author and camera operator David Worley is third head from right.

I guess he hadn’t seen me run before!

Anyway, a great experience filming in many different countries with very talented crews.

• Four PL Mount Zoom Lenses, 14.5 - 400 mm • Unequaled T speed and 4K+ Optical Performance • Matched to Industry Leading Prime Lenses • Ready for Today's Highest Performance Film & Digital Cinema Cameras

www.fujinon.com

to get halfway up the stairs with the others panting behind. But each time I returned breathlessly to get ready for another take, there seemed to be a lot a laughing coming from the monitor.

ANDERS LINDEN

Chasing a blonde-wigged Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) down a long corridor; author and camera operator David Worley is third head from right.

I guess he hadn’t seen me run before!

Anyway, a great experience filming in many different countries with very talented crews.

• Four PL Mount Zoom Lenses, 14.5 - 400 mm • Unequaled T speed and 4K+ Optical Performance • Matched to Industry Leading Prime Lenses • Ready for Today's Highest Performance Film & Digital Cinema Cameras

www.fujinon.com

Meeting The Descendants

by Camera Operator P Scott Sakamoto soc

Photos by Merie Wallace, smpsp Š2011 Fox Searchlight. All Rights Reserved.

George Clooney and Shailene Woodley as Matt King and his daughter Alexandra

Meeting The Descendants

by Camera Operator P Scott Sakamoto soc

Photos by Merie Wallace, smpsp Š2011 Fox Searchlight. All Rights Reserved.

George Clooney and Shailene Woodley as Matt King and his daughter Alexandra

T

Getting the Job

George Clooney as Matt King

Phedon [Papamichael, ASC] was familiar with my body of work and we had crossed paths many times, but never worked together. He called me one day and offered the job, saying it was a film in Hawaii and the director was Alexander Payne, who he had worked with previously on Sideways. That was all I needed to hear and I said, “Yes.” Also another plus was I have worked with George Clooney before on Michael Clayton and feel he’s an outstanding actor and makes good choices in movies.

At this stage of my career, having operated for nearly 20 years, most of my jobs come from past films and recommendations, so there wasn’t an interview process, which is fairly standard now.

On Location

Hawaii always seems to be shown as a romantic postcard paradise. Alexander wanted the locals’ version. You won’t find shots of bikini clad models or surfers on pristine waves. The location homes were modest and authentic, down to the furnishings and the leaves in the pool. The crew was even required to take their shoes off before entering any home. We focused on everyday life and the challenges we all face—like work, family and our desire to do the right thing.

We were filming on Kauai, the Garden Isle. A pivotal scene takes place in a local bar, Tahiti Nui, while a local band plays traditional music. Again, everything is authentic in keeping with Alexander’s quest for a true look at modern Hawaii. We see the real patrons of the bar just playing themselves. The bar served not only as a set

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE DESCENDANTS

Movie Moments

Shooting on water is always a challenge. [Spoiler alert.]

One of the final scenes of the movie is also one of the most emotional and involves the burial at sea of Matt King’s wife. Matt and his daughters are in a traditional Hawaiian outrigger canoe, ceremoniously pouring mom’s ashes into the clear blue water. Each of them takes a turn and offers up their own silent prayer.

Due to the limited budget, our shooting options were simplified. We shot the scene handheld from a small inflatable boat, using a Panavision XL. No camera platforms, no stabilizing heads, no crane arms. As the operator, I found the handheld solution very satisfying.

It gave us the intimacy for a very touching scene in the movie.

Another moment that stands out for me is a scene where Matt King (Clooney) is jogging on the beach in Kauai. Jogging towards him, he suddenly realizes, is his wife’s lover (played by Matthew Lillard). This is a face he has seen before only in a picture on a real estate ad.

George turns to follow him to a beachside cottage, spying along the hedges in a comical Clooney way. The jogging sequence was shot on Steadicam mounted on an ATV and we chased George, then reversed to chase Brian down the beach. The moving camera gave us George’s perspective, caught his surprise and reveals the beach cottage.

George Clooney as Matt King, peeking over hedges as he follows his wife’s lover in The Descendants.

Shailene Woodley as Alex King and Nic Krause as Sid, at the Tahiti Nui bar on Kauai.

46

for us but also as an after hours watering hole for the crew.

We all felt comfortable and welcomed as we absorbed the local flavor of Kauai.

Special Awards Edition 2012

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE DESCENDANTS

47

MERIE WALLACE SMPSP

he Descendants is a dramedy about Matt King (George Clooney), an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to reevaluate his life when his wife is put into an irreversible coma by a boating accident.

And this all happens while he is in the middle of a multi-million-dollar sale of his family’s land, handed down from Hawaiian royalty.

Director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways) brought on Phedon Papamichael (Walk the Line, The Pursuit of Happiness, Sideways) to lens the project.

Knowing the film would need one of the best camera operators around, Papamichael brought in P Scott Sakamoto SOC (Road to Perdition, Salt, Moneyball).

The following are some of Scott’s memories of the project:

T

Getting the Job

George Clooney as Matt King

Phedon [Papamichael, ASC] was familiar with my body of work and we had crossed paths many times, but never worked together. He called me one day and offered the job, saying it was a film in Hawaii and the director was Alexander Payne, who he had worked with previously on Sideways. That was all I needed to hear and I said, “Yes.” Also another plus was I have worked with George Clooney before on Michael Clayton and feel he’s an outstanding actor and makes good choices in movies.

At this stage of my career, having operated for nearly 20 years, most of my jobs come from past films and recommendations, so there wasn’t an interview process, which is fairly standard now.

On Location

Hawaii always seems to be shown as a romantic postcard paradise. Alexander wanted the locals’ version. You won’t find shots of bikini clad models or surfers on pristine waves. The location homes were modest and authentic, down to the furnishings and the leaves in the pool. The crew was even required to take their shoes off before entering any home. We focused on everyday life and the challenges we all face—like work, family and our desire to do the right thing.

We were filming on Kauai, the Garden Isle. A pivotal scene takes place in a local bar, Tahiti Nui, while a local band plays traditional music. Again, everything is authentic in keeping with Alexander’s quest for a true look at modern Hawaii. We see the real patrons of the bar just playing themselves. The bar served not only as a set

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE DESCENDANTS

Movie Moments

Shooting on water is always a challenge. [Spoiler alert.]

One of the final scenes of the movie is also one of the most emotional and involves the burial at sea of Matt King’s wife. Matt and his daughters are in a traditional Hawaiian outrigger canoe, ceremoniously pouring mom’s ashes into the clear blue water. Each of them takes a turn and offers up their own silent prayer.

Due to the limited budget, our shooting options were simplified. We shot the scene handheld from a small inflatable boat, using a Panavision XL. No camera platforms, no stabilizing heads, no crane arms. As the operator, I found the handheld solution very satisfying.

It gave us the intimacy for a very touching scene in the movie.

Another moment that stands out for me is a scene where Matt King (Clooney) is jogging on the beach in Kauai. Jogging towards him, he suddenly realizes, is his wife’s lover (played by Matthew Lillard). This is a face he has seen before only in a picture on a real estate ad.

George turns to follow him to a beachside cottage, spying along the hedges in a comical Clooney way. The jogging sequence was shot on Steadicam mounted on an ATV and we chased George, then reversed to chase Brian down the beach. The moving camera gave us George’s perspective, caught his surprise and reveals the beach cottage.

George Clooney as Matt King, peeking over hedges as he follows his wife’s lover in The Descendants.

Shailene Woodley as Alex King and Nic Krause as Sid, at the Tahiti Nui bar on Kauai.

46

for us but also as an after hours watering hole for the crew.

We all felt comfortable and welcomed as we absorbed the local flavor of Kauai.

Special Awards Edition 2012

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE DESCENDANTS

47

MERIE WALLACE SMPSP

he Descendants is a dramedy about Matt King (George Clooney), an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to reevaluate his life when his wife is put into an irreversible coma by a boating accident.

And this all happens while he is in the middle of a multi-million-dollar sale of his family’s land, handed down from Hawaiian royalty.

Director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways) brought on Phedon Papamichael (Walk the Line, The Pursuit of Happiness, Sideways) to lens the project.

Knowing the film would need one of the best camera operators around, Papamichael brought in P Scott Sakamoto SOC (Road to Perdition, Salt, Moneyball).

The following are some of Scott’s memories of the project:

My Work Style

I approach each movie the same whether it’s a big budget feature or small independent. It is all about what you bring to the movie. I go into every picture with an open mind and the commitment to do the best work I can. The director’s leadership, the DP’s vision and my contribution are what makes the experience satisfying.

Rehearsals vs Takes

All of the actors in The Descendants were well prepared and Alexander didn’t need to rehearse much. When starting a new scene, he would review the scene with the actors and Phedon and I would watch and see how the physical blocking would develop.

Alexander, being a good communicator with keen insight on human emotions, would perfect his performances during the takes versus rehearsals. The three of us would discuss the scene and agree on a shot selection and shooting order. On a daily basis, both Phedon and Alexander were open and encouraged any input of opinions about blocking, lighting, camera movement and placement.

That on-set attitude resulted in a wonderful crew atmosphere which made this movie experience most enjoyable.

with Alexander Payne, though I was familiar with his work.

He has a classic approach to film-making where the camera is a quiet observer. There are many shots of static frames or slow pans to tell the story of Matt King. Alexander also has a knack for finding the humor in the heartbreaking moments.

Both Phedon and Alexander challenged me, made me laugh and made me extremely proud of my work on The Descendants.

Working with Alexander Payne and Phedon Papamichael made the work experience so relaxing and enjoyable that this experience will be remembered as one of my favorite films.

Great Crew

This was my first time working with DP Phedon Papamichael, though I’ve known of his work for years. I was excited for the opportunity and found we had a great visual connection. He has an amazing visual eye and stunning lighting design, and he collaborates with the camera crew in visualizing the director’s story telling.

Despite being the first time with Phedon, I have worked many times with the camera crew (1st Assistant Trevor Loomis, 2nd Assistant James Goldman) so I had full confidence with all the camera gear and any focus challenges. Key Grip Ray Garcia and Gaffer Rafael Sanchez, whom I have done several films with, were also very instrumental in achieving Phedon’s natural lighting and visual look for The Descendants.

Together, we were all on the same page.

This was my first time working

48

Camera Operator Scott Sakamoto soc, Writer/Director Alexander Payne and DP Phedon Papamichael ASC set up a shot.

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE DESCENDANTS

Special Awards Edition 2012

My Work Style

I approach each movie the same whether it’s a big budget feature or small independent. It is all about what you bring to the movie. I go into every picture with an open mind and the commitment to do the best work I can. The director’s leadership, the DP’s vision and my contribution are what makes the experience satisfying.

Rehearsals vs Takes

All of the actors in The Descendants were well prepared and Alexander didn’t need to rehearse much. When starting a new scene, he would review the scene with the actors and Phedon and I would watch and see how the physical blocking would develop.

Alexander, being a good communicator with keen insight on human emotions, would perfect his performances during the takes versus rehearsals. The three of us would discuss the scene and agree on a shot selection and shooting order. On a daily basis, both Phedon and Alexander were open and encouraged any input of opinions about blocking, lighting, camera movement and placement.

That on-set attitude resulted in a wonderful crew atmosphere which made this movie experience most enjoyable.

with Alexander Payne, though I was familiar with his work.

He has a classic approach to film-making where the camera is a quiet observer. There are many shots of static frames or slow pans to tell the story of Matt King. Alexander also has a knack for finding the humor in the heartbreaking moments.

Both Phedon and Alexander challenged me, made me laugh and made me extremely proud of my work on The Descendants.

Working with Alexander Payne and Phedon Papamichael made the work experience so relaxing and enjoyable that this experience will be remembered as one of my favorite films.

Great Crew

This was my first time working with DP Phedon Papamichael, though I’ve known of his work for years. I was excited for the opportunity and found we had a great visual connection. He has an amazing visual eye and stunning lighting design, and he collaborates with the camera crew in visualizing the director’s story telling.

Despite being the first time with Phedon, I have worked many times with the camera crew (1st Assistant Trevor Loomis, 2nd Assistant James Goldman) so I had full confidence with all the camera gear and any focus challenges. Key Grip Ray Garcia and Gaffer Rafael Sanchez, whom I have done several films with, were also very instrumental in achieving Phedon’s natural lighting and visual look for The Descendants.

Together, we were all on the same page.

This was my first time working

48

Camera Operator Scott Sakamoto soc, Writer/Director Alexander Payne and DP Phedon Papamichael ASC set up a shot.

CAMERA OPERATOR: THE DESCENDANTS

Special Awards Edition 2012

Making the Camera Fly on Hugo 3D

by Steadicam Operator Larry McConkey

Photos by Jaap Buitendijk Š2011 GK Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved Asa Butterfield as Hugo Cabret

Making the Camera Fly on Hugo 3D

by Steadicam Operator Larry McConkey

Photos by Jaap Buitendijk Š2011 GK Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved Asa Butterfield as Hugo Cabret

H

ugo is the story of a 12-year-old boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station and takes care of the station’s clocks. Based on the bestselling Brian Selznick book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film follows Hugo through a mystery involving an automaton left to him by his late father. In his quest to get the automaton to work, he becomes entangled with a toyshop owner, his ward Isabelle, the wonders of the early days of cinema, and the work of Georges Méliès.

A passion project for director Martin Scorsese, Hugo illuminates the screen with a strong message for film preservation wrapped up in a story for all ages.

Larry McConkey was the Steadicam operator for the epic family film:

My History

in LA? Afterwards we would “see what happened.” It would be shot in 3D and it was a family film. What?! I had worked with them several times before, most recently on Shutter Island, but this sounded very different and definitely out of my comfort zone.

I had never used 3D equipment before and wasn’t sure I wanted to, as the little I had heard about 3D rigs wasn’t encouraging: “big,” “heavy” and “awkward.” I immediately bought the book on which the movie is based, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and found it fascinating and unique. If you haven’t read it you should, even if you’ve already seen the movie. It alternates between text and hand drawings in a truly imaginative format, and as I found out later, Marty took the drawings as seriously as the words.

Once during the filming he came by to check on the progress of a 2nd unit shot I was working on—chasing Asa [Butterfield, who played Hugo] through an underground passage in the bowels of the train station. Marty pulled out a copy of the drawing which that shot was meant to represent.

I thought the framing was a little odd and I had “improved” it. He chastised me gently, letting me know that in this case the picture was more than a suggestion. There were large sections of the film that were wholly invented, but when drawings told the story in the book, they often served as Martin Scorsese shows an illustration from the book to his child stars. storyboards.

to give them my ideas and concerns. Their previous design Hugo is the 7th film I have worked on with Marty and the used a separate motorized battery stage on the bottom of the 9th film I have worked on with Bob Richardson. The first film Steadicam sled which moved side to side, acting as a counterwith Marty was After Hours which was released in 1985, just balance for the IA (Inter Axial Difference*) and Convergence one year after I started my career as a Steadicam operator. shifts of the moving camera. I wanted it to be lighter and That experience helped me to shape my personal sense of more compact, particularly at the bottom of the sled, which what I wanted to do with a Steadicam. is closest to the operator’s body. And I wanted a design that Working as Steadicam operator challenges me on every could be used on any model Steadicam. I might not be the level: aesthetically, physically, and technically. I am constantly operator on the movie, after all; I wanted the new design to trying to get past the limits of my ability and imagination. I work with anyone’s rig. wake up at night worrying about shots I am planning to do We agreed that the new rig should have a built-in counterand reliving those I have already done, cursing myself for having overlooked some detail of a shot I could have done better. I analyze and practice technique, modify my existing equipment, design new pieces of gear… all in pursuit of the unattainable—a perfect, ethereal shot.

In an NYC panel discussion about Hugo, a student asked Marty to talk about the collaborative process.

First he said it wasn’t something that could really be talked about, but then after a pause 3D rig (left); Ben Kingsley (center right, as Georges) confers with director/producer Martin Scorsese (far right). he said it was about trust. That is what I have felt from him ever since working for balancing base that would move the entire system from side to side on top of the sled, thereby making it a self-balancing him on After Hours. system. That would minimize weight, size and complexity. I The Gear—Creating a Rig That Would Work assured them the rig would get a smooth ride so it could be A few days after Bob’s first message I was awakened from a made lighter and less rigid than they were initially comfortdeep sleep at four in the morning by a phone call: “There’s a able with. I hoped I was right! flight leaving for LA in about 2 hours. You have to be on it.

I then visited Tiffen where they rewired my new U2 sled to Hold on for the details.” As I struggled to wake up, I realized handle the heavy amperage required by two cameras and we it was Bob calling from London. PACE was designing figured out how to mount the stage electronics module away systems to handle the brand new Alexa cameras and their from the front of the post. This would allow the PACE rig to Steadicam rig needed to be redesigned. Bob wanted them to slide further back for dynamic balance. Dynamic balance is get input from me. I had only one experience with shooting very important as it allows the sled to spin like a top when 3D and that was with a process that did not require a 3D rig, panned. A sled that is not in dynamic balance can make an but I was willing to try. audience feel at sea. In 3D, that sea would likely be stormy.

I got a whirlwind introduction to the current state of 3D There were lots more details to work out than I had when I arrived in LA—first from Jeff Zachary who showed anticipated—it’s probably best not to think through a job me the existing PACE design, and then at various rental houses and 3D manufacturers around the city. A few days *previously referred to as IO (Inter-Ocular Difference), but later, I met with Vince Pace and his partner Patrick Campbell Inter Axial is the term now used by stereographers

52

Special Awards Edition 2012

Hugo hides from the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen).

The Start

Preparing for Hugo required the greatest effort I have ever undertaken for a single job.

It began in late April of 2010 when I got a brief message from DP Bob Richardson ASC, letting me know he was starting a film with Marty [Martin Scorsese] in London. He wasn’t sure the production would be able to bring me over, but would I be available for prep work starting the next week

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

53

H

ugo is the story of a 12-year-old boy who lives in the walls of a Paris train station and takes care of the station’s clocks. Based on the bestselling Brian Selznick book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film follows Hugo through a mystery involving an automaton left to him by his late father. In his quest to get the automaton to work, he becomes entangled with a toyshop owner, his ward Isabelle, the wonders of the early days of cinema, and the work of Georges Méliès.

A passion project for director Martin Scorsese, Hugo illuminates the screen with a strong message for film preservation wrapped up in a story for all ages.

Larry McConkey was the Steadicam operator for the epic family film:

My History

in LA? Afterwards we would “see what happened.” It would be shot in 3D and it was a family film. What?! I had worked with them several times before, most recently on Shutter Island, but this sounded very different and definitely out of my comfort zone.

I had never used 3D equipment before and wasn’t sure I wanted to, as the little I had heard about 3D rigs wasn’t encouraging: “big,” “heavy” and “awkward.” I immediately bought the book on which the movie is based, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and found it fascinating and unique. If you haven’t read it you should, even if you’ve already seen the movie. It alternates between text and hand drawings in a truly imaginative format, and as I found out later, Marty took the drawings as seriously as the words.

Once during the filming he came by to check on the progress of a 2nd unit shot I was working on—chasing Asa [Butterfield, who played Hugo] through an underground passage in the bowels of the train station. Marty pulled out a copy of the drawing which that shot was meant to represent.

I thought the framing was a little odd and I had “improved” it. He chastised me gently, letting me know that in this case the picture was more than a suggestion. There were large sections of the film that were wholly invented, but when drawings told the story in the book, they often served as Martin Scorsese shows an illustration from the book to his child stars. storyboards.

to give them my ideas and concerns. Their previous design Hugo is the 7th film I have worked on with Marty and the used a separate motorized battery stage on the bottom of the 9th film I have worked on with Bob Richardson. The first film Steadicam sled which moved side to side, acting as a counterwith Marty was After Hours which was released in 1985, just balance for the IA (Inter Axial Difference*) and Convergence one year after I started my career as a Steadicam operator. shifts of the moving camera. I wanted it to be lighter and That experience helped me to shape my personal sense of more compact, particularly at the bottom of the sled, which what I wanted to do with a Steadicam. is closest to the operator’s body. And I wanted a design that Working as Steadicam operator challenges me on every could be used on any model Steadicam. I might not be the level: aesthetically, physically, and technically. I am constantly operator on the movie, after all; I wanted the new design to trying to get past the limits of my ability and imagination. I work with anyone’s rig. wake up at night worrying about shots I am planning to do We agreed that the new rig should have a built-in counterand reliving those I have already done, cursing myself for having overlooked some detail of a shot I could have done better. I analyze and practice technique, modify my existing equipment, design new pieces of gear… all in pursuit of the unattainable—a perfect, ethereal shot.

In an NYC panel discussion about Hugo, a student asked Marty to talk about the collaborative process.

First he said it wasn’t something that could really be talked about, but then after a pause 3D rig (left); Ben Kingsley (center right, as Georges) confers with director/producer Martin Scorsese (far right). he said it was about trust. That is what I have felt from him ever since working for balancing base that would move the entire system from side to side on top of the sled, thereby making it a self-balancing him on After Hours. system. That would minimize weight, size and complexity. I The Gear—Creating a Rig That Would Work assured them the rig would get a smooth ride so it could be A few days after Bob’s first message I was awakened from a made lighter and less rigid than they were initially comfortdeep sleep at four in the morning by a phone call: “There’s a able with. I hoped I was right! flight leaving for LA in about 2 hours. You have to be on it.

I then visited Tiffen where they rewired my new U2 sled to Hold on for the details.” As I struggled to wake up, I realized handle the heavy amperage required by two cameras and we it was Bob calling from London. PACE was designing figured out how to mount the stage electronics module away systems to handle the brand new Alexa cameras and their from the front of the post. This would allow the PACE rig to Steadicam rig needed to be redesigned. Bob wanted them to slide further back for dynamic balance. Dynamic balance is get input from me. I had only one experience with shooting very important as it allows the sled to spin like a top when 3D and that was with a process that did not require a 3D rig, panned. A sled that is not in dynamic balance can make an but I was willing to try. audience feel at sea. In 3D, that sea would likely be stormy.

I got a whirlwind introduction to the current state of 3D There were lots more details to work out than I had when I arrived in LA—first from Jeff Zachary who showed anticipated—it’s probably best not to think through a job me the existing PACE design, and then at various rental houses and 3D manufacturers around the city. A few days *previously referred to as IO (Inter-Ocular Difference), but later, I met with Vince Pace and his partner Patrick Campbell Inter Axial is the term now used by stereographers

52

Special Awards Edition 2012

Hugo hides from the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen).

The Start

Preparing for Hugo required the greatest effort I have ever undertaken for a single job.

It began in late April of 2010 when I got a brief message from DP Bob Richardson ASC, letting me know he was starting a film with Marty [Martin Scorsese] in London. He wasn’t sure the production would be able to bring me over, but would I be available for prep work starting the next week

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

53

extreme load. I arranged a rental PRO arm from Chris Edwards at Optical Support in London, equipped with the strongest set of springs they could find. It was much heavier, but I had to trade off weight for rigidity. (Tiffen is now working on a new design that should address this limitation.)

Finally, I asked Optical Support to fabricate a very stong non-adjustable socket block (the part that connects to the Steadicam vest or harness) modeled after one I had designed.

Chris and I were both worried about the standard block failing under the extreme load.

Learning 3D I arrived in London two weeks before the start of shooting.

Every waking hour was spent testing, redesigning gear, developing systems with my assistants to move the beast around and, finally, practicing with the rig.

After several weeks of testing, Bob and Marty had committed to adjusting 3D ‘live,’ that is, physically controlling the alignment of the cameras as we shot, so playbacks showed the final look I was getting. Without this constant feedback, you would be able to shoot much faster, but the end results could be surprising and disappointing.

The convergence of the two cameras is the point or plane in space where the two images are aligned. This plane appears to the audience to be even with the screen: objects in front of

this point in space appear to be protruding from the screen and those behind this point in space appear to be behind the screen plane. It is much easier on the eyes to have most things of interest either at or behind the screen and reserve the protrusions for special effect or emphasis.

The IA or Inter Axial Difference is the distance between the two cameras, or more precisely between the two image sensors. The greater that distance, the more profound the 3D effect on the audience. You might think that a “normal” sense of 3D would result from displacing the two approximately the same distance as a typical human’s eyes are separated, but in fact, this would result in an unusually strong sense of 3D. There are no real rules here: it really does come down to what you see is what you get—which is why it is so important to monitor and control that aspect when shooting.

The degree of overlap of the two images, which is really what the degree of convergence results in, can be modified a great deal in post. The IO is baked in, however, so you have to be right about that when you shoot. These two separate controls really interact a great deal, however, so if you are not working with both, you are somewhat blind to how the 3D will ultimately look.

I started rehearsing with Demetri Portelli, the Stereographer. I began by simply staging shots around the camera room. The results were disappointing. I could not use

Asa Butterfield as Hugo and Chloë-Grace Moretz as Isabelle with the automaton.

like this before doing it anyway, or you might never start.

Over the years, I have put together a pretty good machine shop at my house and I put it to good use building brackets for the new monitor, recorder and a mount for an additional battery. The two-battery system I normally use could not quite handle the load. I decided to use the sled’s 12v mode and add a single additional battery. I would need a total of four batteries in the 24v mode and every pound saved was precious.

My rig was only set up for SD video and this was clearly the time for an upgrade. I tested all the available HD monitors and decided on the Nebtek SolarHD7. I ordered two of those and two nanoFlash recorders. The project was starting to get expensive and I didn’t know if I had the job!

A jungle of new interconnecting cables were needed for the PACE rig, two cameras and accessories. To save precious ounces, I stripped the outer jackets from many of the cables. I discarded the metal shells of the large power connectors, potting new ones by hand from epoxy. I designed an interface to an external standby power supply I could use between shots—digital cameras draw power continuously, and with only three batteries, the system would have a runtime of about 15 minutes.

54

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My invaluable gyro system also needed modification.

Whenever I need the extra stability, I can quickly remove the batteries from my sled and replace them with 2 Kenyon Stabilizers, leaving the weight and balance of the sled unchanged. The batteries are placed in a remote pack alongside an AC inverter for the gyros (120v at 400 MHz) with an umbilical cable back to the rig. But there was now a large voltage drop on the 12 volt line because of the high current needed to run two cameras. I had to wait many anxious weeks for custom parts to be delivered and it took another week on location to build the converter, but it was ready just in time.

In addition to modifying the gear, I had been practicing with additional weight on my sled to build up my own strength and endurance. My previous experience with an extremely heavy Steadicam had been shooting IMAX on several films. I assumed that 3D work might have more in common with that format than just the sheer weight and size.

Fine control of the frame would be paramount, particularly working with Bob Richardson—the resulting shot is all that matters to him.

I finally reached a point where I could handle the weight, but my Steadicam arm was in trouble, twisting under the Special Awards Edition 2012

Practicing card tricks: Hugo (Asa Butterfield) and Georges (Sir Ben Kingsley) Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

55

extreme load. I arranged a rental PRO arm from Chris Edwards at Optical Support in London, equipped with the strongest set of springs they could find. It was much heavier, but I had to trade off weight for rigidity. (Tiffen is now working on a new design that should address this limitation.)

Finally, I asked Optical Support to fabricate a very stong non-adjustable socket block (the part that connects to the Steadicam vest or harness) modeled after one I had designed.

Chris and I were both worried about the standard block failing under the extreme load.

Learning 3D I arrived in London two weeks before the start of shooting.

Every waking hour was spent testing, redesigning gear, developing systems with my assistants to move the beast around and, finally, practicing with the rig.

After several weeks of testing, Bob and Marty had committed to adjusting 3D ‘live,’ that is, physically controlling the alignment of the cameras as we shot, so playbacks showed the final look I was getting. Without this constant feedback, you would be able to shoot much faster, but the end results could be surprising and disappointing.

The convergence of the two cameras is the point or plane in space where the two images are aligned. This plane appears to the audience to be even with the screen: objects in front of

this point in space appear to be protruding from the screen and those behind this point in space appear to be behind the screen plane. It is much easier on the eyes to have most things of interest either at or behind the screen and reserve the protrusions for special effect or emphasis.

The IA or Inter Axial Difference is the distance between the two cameras, or more precisely between the two image sensors. The greater that distance, the more profound the 3D effect on the audience. You might think that a “normal” sense of 3D would result from displacing the two approximately the same distance as a typical human’s eyes are separated, but in fact, this would result in an unusually strong sense of 3D. There are no real rules here: it really does come down to what you see is what you get—which is why it is so important to monitor and control that aspect when shooting.

The degree of overlap of the two images, which is really what the degree of convergence results in, can be modified a great deal in post. The IO is baked in, however, so you have to be right about that when you shoot. These two separate controls really interact a great deal, however, so if you are not working with both, you are somewhat blind to how the 3D will ultimately look.

I started rehearsing with Demetri Portelli, the Stereographer. I began by simply staging shots around the camera room. The results were disappointing. I could not use

Asa Butterfield as Hugo and Chloë-Grace Moretz as Isabelle with the automaton.

like this before doing it anyway, or you might never start.

Over the years, I have put together a pretty good machine shop at my house and I put it to good use building brackets for the new monitor, recorder and a mount for an additional battery. The two-battery system I normally use could not quite handle the load. I decided to use the sled’s 12v mode and add a single additional battery. I would need a total of four batteries in the 24v mode and every pound saved was precious.

My rig was only set up for SD video and this was clearly the time for an upgrade. I tested all the available HD monitors and decided on the Nebtek SolarHD7. I ordered two of those and two nanoFlash recorders. The project was starting to get expensive and I didn’t know if I had the job!

A jungle of new interconnecting cables were needed for the PACE rig, two cameras and accessories. To save precious ounces, I stripped the outer jackets from many of the cables. I discarded the metal shells of the large power connectors, potting new ones by hand from epoxy. I designed an interface to an external standby power supply I could use between shots—digital cameras draw power continuously, and with only three batteries, the system would have a runtime of about 15 minutes.

54

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

My invaluable gyro system also needed modification.

Whenever I need the extra stability, I can quickly remove the batteries from my sled and replace them with 2 Kenyon Stabilizers, leaving the weight and balance of the sled unchanged. The batteries are placed in a remote pack alongside an AC inverter for the gyros (120v at 400 MHz) with an umbilical cable back to the rig. But there was now a large voltage drop on the 12 volt line because of the high current needed to run two cameras. I had to wait many anxious weeks for custom parts to be delivered and it took another week on location to build the converter, but it was ready just in time.

In addition to modifying the gear, I had been practicing with additional weight on my sled to build up my own strength and endurance. My previous experience with an extremely heavy Steadicam had been shooting IMAX on several films. I assumed that 3D work might have more in common with that format than just the sheer weight and size.

Fine control of the frame would be paramount, particularly working with Bob Richardson—the resulting shot is all that matters to him.

I finally reached a point where I could handle the weight, but my Steadicam arm was in trouble, twisting under the Special Awards Edition 2012

Practicing card tricks: Hugo (Asa Butterfield) and Georges (Sir Ben Kingsley) Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

55

foreground elements as I had in 2D; in fact, anything close to the lens became distracting as it crossed the edges of the frame—one camera, or “eye,” continues to have the object in frame for a brief moment after it has already passed out of the other eye. At that moment the brain struggles to make sense of the unexpected disappearance and this causes short but acute distress in your brain.

I was assured that this could be ameliorated in post, but I hate to leave problems to be solved later—in part because this can lead to a habit of not paying attention to details which may later prove to be important, but also because it makes it harder to appreciate the overall flow of shots when some aspects are flawed. I had to abandon my 2D skills, many of which were based on the desire to create a sense of depth, and

was like as I shot, and check playback to confirm the results.

The new PACE rig faithfully compensated for side to side shifts but I ran into some unanticipated problems. The rotation of the moving camera, as Demetri adjusted convergence, caused the entire Steadicam to pan slightly in the opposite direction, and the entire 3D rig tracked slightly left and right on my sled to counterbalance the shift caused when changing the IA. In a wide shot this was not discernible, but up close, it made for a small but visible displacement of the frame. With practice, I was able to anticipate his adjustments and counteract these deviations. For his part, Demetri concentrated on being gentle with the controls and buried them as much as possible in my moves.

Hugo takes Isabelle to her first movie —Georges Méliès’ The Man in the Moon

rely instead on the new power of 3D while working hard not to show the mechanics of the process.

Even static shots have lots of depth. The slightest movements in every dimension were immediately apparent especially because Bob tried to give the air itself some dimension by adding small feathers, dust or smoke to every set. But this new dimension in the frame meant it also revealed any weakness in my operating. I briefly tried operating with a 3D monitor on the Steadicam, but quickly found it more distracting than useful and the additional weight was prohibitive, so I had to imagine what the 3D effect

58

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

Watching playback would let me see what he was doing with the 3D and I could figure out how to make my operating accommodate the 3D better as well. At first, we talked about it, but after a while the process became wordless. I found it very similar to working with great focus pullers. If my assistant is consistently having trouble with focus during a particular part of a shot, that tells me that something about the shot should be changed. If the focus pulls don’t happen when I expect them to, I have to consider whether I am the one who is out of rhythm with the shot. If necessary, we discuss the problem before the next take, but after years of Special Awards Edition 2012

kidding… he loved it!” It was a great relief for all of us to finally be able to move a 3D rig through the crowd so effortlessly.

Bob and Marty then had me try a high angle shot chasing after the Inspector. We were all a little giddy with the new-found freedom, and so we upped the ante and added a stunt: Sacha now would trip over a stunt person and immediately drop out of frame. With each take I worked up my courage, getting closer and closer to Sacha, until the fall suddenly went wrong and Sacha went down right in front of me. The Segway was in a narrow wheel configuration and it wasn’t very good with quick turns.

The best-known frame of Georges Méliès’ The Man in the Moon I don’t remember it happening, but a number of people told me afterwards that they had working with Gregor Tavenner, there is rarely any discushelped break my fall when I swerved to avoid him. Thanksion—we just do it. It is a truly magical feeling when the fully, nobody was hurt and the equipment was completely actors, the operator, the focus puller, and now the converundamaged except for a crack in the 3D mirror. We went gence puller, suddenly all share the rhythm of a shot. back to “slow and steady wins the race.”

The grips had their hands full as well: no piece of equipment seemed adequate to the task, and modifications were The Zen of Steadicam needed to dollies, cranes, fluid and remote heads to accomI enjoy a freedom in operating a Steadicam since I don’t modate the massive 3D rigs. There were some long tracking shots planned and a camera vehicle was built from an electric need to coordinate with a crew of crane grips. If the shot is truck chassis with a crane arm and a stabilized head, but it cut straightforward and fairly simple, I try to work as a human dolly. But when the shots get longer and more complex I a wide swath and was potentially dangerous as well. become more independent. Long continuous shots, several of The Opening Shot which I have made for Marty, require me to control everyThe opening shot in the movie took most of a day to thing, just as Bob usually does, or there is no chance to get choreograph with stunt people and extras, carefully building through without a mistake. I cannot depend upon editing to up the speed a little bit at a time. I was working on solutions finesse the overall structure and tempo—it all has to work in for fast moving Steadicam shots including very low angles. I one take. Seemingly small changes in choreography can did not want to run with this behemoth. On the advice of Steve Fracol SOC and Garrett Brown, I got in touch with Chris Fawcett, who brought his Handsfree Segway (nicknamed Betty) for me to test.

Chris graciously offered to stay with me for a week of training and a “makeover” for Betty. I designed a sliding seat that allowed me to crouch down low and still have good control of the Segway. Special Effects fashioned a fender to protect the rig from the wheels in low mode and we designed bracketry to mount the codex, video transmitter and gyro case.

I got it all finished just in time for my first “Behemoth and Betty” shot. It was a POV of the dog chasing Hugo through the crowded train station. I shot across the stage like a low Hugo with his father (Jude Law) who taught flying cruise missile; never hesitating or deviating from my path. Stunt people were just him to fix clocks and appreciate silent films missing the lens as they crossed through the interrupt the flow of a shot drastically. I talk to the extras as frame. Immediately after the first take, I heard yelling from well as the actors and I make a kind of pact with each one of the direction of Marty’s tent on the far side of the set. Bob them about the timing of their actions. I do mini-rehearsals met me with a somber face as I wheeled back to the start without the camera, until they each understand completely mark. “Marty’s not happy—I guess we will have to try something else.” I struggled to figure out how I had miscalcu- what matters and what doesn’t. I want all the components of the shot to be locked down before picking up the camera. lated so badly. After a few moments, he relented—“Just Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

59

foreground elements as I had in 2D; in fact, anything close to the lens became distracting as it crossed the edges of the frame—one camera, or “eye,” continues to have the object in frame for a brief moment after it has already passed out of the other eye. At that moment the brain struggles to make sense of the unexpected disappearance and this causes short but acute distress in your brain.

I was assured that this could be ameliorated in post, but I hate to leave problems to be solved later—in part because this can lead to a habit of not paying attention to details which may later prove to be important, but also because it makes it harder to appreciate the overall flow of shots when some aspects are flawed. I had to abandon my 2D skills, many of which were based on the desire to create a sense of depth, and

was like as I shot, and check playback to confirm the results.

The new PACE rig faithfully compensated for side to side shifts but I ran into some unanticipated problems. The rotation of the moving camera, as Demetri adjusted convergence, caused the entire Steadicam to pan slightly in the opposite direction, and the entire 3D rig tracked slightly left and right on my sled to counterbalance the shift caused when changing the IA. In a wide shot this was not discernible, but up close, it made for a small but visible displacement of the frame. With practice, I was able to anticipate his adjustments and counteract these deviations. For his part, Demetri concentrated on being gentle with the controls and buried them as much as possible in my moves.

Hugo takes Isabelle to her first movie —Georges Méliès’ The Man in the Moon

rely instead on the new power of 3D while working hard not to show the mechanics of the process.

Even static shots have lots of depth. The slightest movements in every dimension were immediately apparent especially because Bob tried to give the air itself some dimension by adding small feathers, dust or smoke to every set. But this new dimension in the frame meant it also revealed any weakness in my operating. I briefly tried operating with a 3D monitor on the Steadicam, but quickly found it more distracting than useful and the additional weight was prohibitive, so I had to imagine what the 3D effect

58

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

Watching playback would let me see what he was doing with the 3D and I could figure out how to make my operating accommodate the 3D better as well. At first, we talked about it, but after a while the process became wordless. I found it very similar to working with great focus pullers. If my assistant is consistently having trouble with focus during a particular part of a shot, that tells me that something about the shot should be changed. If the focus pulls don’t happen when I expect them to, I have to consider whether I am the one who is out of rhythm with the shot. If necessary, we discuss the problem before the next take, but after years of Special Awards Edition 2012

kidding… he loved it!” It was a great relief for all of us to finally be able to move a 3D rig through the crowd so effortlessly.

Bob and Marty then had me try a high angle shot chasing after the Inspector. We were all a little giddy with the new-found freedom, and so we upped the ante and added a stunt: Sacha now would trip over a stunt person and immediately drop out of frame. With each take I worked up my courage, getting closer and closer to Sacha, until the fall suddenly went wrong and Sacha went down right in front of me. The Segway was in a narrow wheel configuration and it wasn’t very good with quick turns.

The best-known frame of Georges Méliès’ The Man in the Moon I don’t remember it happening, but a number of people told me afterwards that they had working with Gregor Tavenner, there is rarely any discushelped break my fall when I swerved to avoid him. Thanksion—we just do it. It is a truly magical feeling when the fully, nobody was hurt and the equipment was completely actors, the operator, the focus puller, and now the converundamaged except for a crack in the 3D mirror. We went gence puller, suddenly all share the rhythm of a shot. back to “slow and steady wins the race.”

The grips had their hands full as well: no piece of equipment seemed adequate to the task, and modifications were The Zen of Steadicam needed to dollies, cranes, fluid and remote heads to accomI enjoy a freedom in operating a Steadicam since I don’t modate the massive 3D rigs. There were some long tracking shots planned and a camera vehicle was built from an electric need to coordinate with a crew of crane grips. If the shot is truck chassis with a crane arm and a stabilized head, but it cut straightforward and fairly simple, I try to work as a human dolly. But when the shots get longer and more complex I a wide swath and was potentially dangerous as well. become more independent. Long continuous shots, several of The Opening Shot which I have made for Marty, require me to control everyThe opening shot in the movie took most of a day to thing, just as Bob usually does, or there is no chance to get choreograph with stunt people and extras, carefully building through without a mistake. I cannot depend upon editing to up the speed a little bit at a time. I was working on solutions finesse the overall structure and tempo—it all has to work in for fast moving Steadicam shots including very low angles. I one take. Seemingly small changes in choreography can did not want to run with this behemoth. On the advice of Steve Fracol SOC and Garrett Brown, I got in touch with Chris Fawcett, who brought his Handsfree Segway (nicknamed Betty) for me to test.

Chris graciously offered to stay with me for a week of training and a “makeover” for Betty. I designed a sliding seat that allowed me to crouch down low and still have good control of the Segway. Special Effects fashioned a fender to protect the rig from the wheels in low mode and we designed bracketry to mount the codex, video transmitter and gyro case.

I got it all finished just in time for my first “Behemoth and Betty” shot. It was a POV of the dog chasing Hugo through the crowded train station. I shot across the stage like a low Hugo with his father (Jude Law) who taught flying cruise missile; never hesitating or deviating from my path. Stunt people were just him to fix clocks and appreciate silent films missing the lens as they crossed through the interrupt the flow of a shot drastically. I talk to the extras as frame. Immediately after the first take, I heard yelling from well as the actors and I make a kind of pact with each one of the direction of Marty’s tent on the far side of the set. Bob them about the timing of their actions. I do mini-rehearsals met me with a somber face as I wheeled back to the start without the camera, until they each understand completely mark. “Marty’s not happy—I guess we will have to try something else.” I struggled to figure out how I had miscalcu- what matters and what doesn’t. I want all the components of the shot to be locked down before picking up the camera. lated so badly. After a few moments, he relented—“Just Special Awards Edition 2012

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

59

Inspector’s shiny new leg brace. As I did so, I cued him to stand up, showing off the complicated clockwork design.

With the Inspector’s new girlfriend (Emily Mortimer) at his side, I asked him to stride across the room demonstrating his new prowess. I placed the band along his path and asked them to protect their instruments from another unfortunate stumble, and Sacha proudly assured them that he was “a new man.” And instead of shoe leather, this became one of the more engaging parts of the shot!

didn’t need any help from me at all, timing his card tricks perfectly, and Chloë carried me faithfully through her part of the scene, gracefully hiding the sliding motion of her seat and getting the book into just the right place each time. It was also another great performance by Martin Scorsese getting us all into the party mood and sustaining it over the entire day.

To see this final shot in its entirety, as well as a wide angle witness cam which shows the walls in motion, an actor on a hidden dolly and the other intricate movements and visual effects involved in this amazing shot, please visit the following links:

Why It Worked

COURTESY OF LARRY MCCONKEY

This was the best crew I have ever worked with. The first AD, For just the end portion of the reel at Chris Surgent, was calm, inven1080P: tive and resourceful throughout. I http://files.me.com/benghiskhan/ don’t think Gregor ever missed a p5z6hu.mov single moment in all the takes we did. Demetri consistently and For the witness Cam: subtly improved the 3D pulls http://files.me.com/benghiskhan/ Larry McConkey and his from take to take. My team of phbzy2.mov Steadicam on “Betty” assistants was dedicated and tireless. The cast was magnificent.

Many thanks to Hugo visual effects What can I say? Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen, in supervisor Ben Grossmann and Pixomondo for access to this particular, were eager to do whatever I asked and more. Asa wonderful footage.

Larry McConkey (right) filming Chloë-Grace Moretz (Isabelle) and Asa Butterfield (Hugo) as they walk through the train station.

The Last Shot I was told by Bob Richardson several weeks ahead of time that I would be shooting the last scene of the movie. The responsibility I was being given was sobering. Marty then described a single shot, first approaching Georges Méliès and Professor Tabard as they come towards us down the hallway, then following them into the living room as we enter a party with all the principal characters. He asked that I pass by each one of them, discovering Isabelle last as she sat down in the far corner of the room and began to write in her notebook.

Marty then had a very specific request: the camera should circle all the way around Isabelle, even though there was clearly not enough room for the camera! After that I was to leave her, pass through the party one last time and cross the hall to end in a close up of the automaton in Georges’s bedroom, lovingly restored and brilliantly polished, smiling enigmatically at the camera. He left me to figure out how to do it.

In keeping with the grand nature of this film, I thought about starting from outside the building. The set was constructed two stories above the studio floor so I asked for a scaffold deck to be erected. I had the window removed after marking the position of the pane of glass that I wanted to pass through (Rob Legato’s VFX team would later digitally create the outside of the building with the window in place).

I started the shot riding a dolly as it boomed down towards the open hallway. Walking down the hallway was a piece of cake, but next was figuring out that ‘magic trick’ in the corner

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CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

with Isabelle. I came up with a plan to fly the first wall out of my way. It was mounted to a large dolly and pulled away just before I ran into it.

The second wall was an exterior wall. A quick estimate to erect more scaffolding resulted in a strong request from Production that I find another way. I decided to put her chair on a very low profile dolly. Tracks were built into the floor and covered with a rug. Cables connected that dolly to a dolly mounted on tracks two floors below. My dolly grip used a video feed for his timing on the move which had to counter the camera exactly.

There were a few more obstacles to deal with. It was suggested that I remove the table in the center of the room entirely, but I loved the idea of moving around a tightly packed room seemingly without restriction. Set dressers became extras: they picked up the dining room table and danced it out of the way as I went around the room; a large dresser (fitted with wheels) was rolled out of the way as I approached; the low hanging chandelier was raised up as I passed underneath.

The middle of the shot was my final worry—it could easily become “shoe leather” as the audience waited for the camera to make its way around the room. I had learned how to avoid this problem while shooting the Copa shot in GoodFellas by working closely with Ray Liotta, who improvised dialogue with people he passed in the long walk to the Copacabana.

This time it was Sacha to the rescue!

Marty wanted a very deliberate push-in to a close up of the Special Awards Edition 2012

Inspector’s shiny new leg brace. As I did so, I cued him to stand up, showing off the complicated clockwork design.

With the Inspector’s new girlfriend (Emily Mortimer) at his side, I asked him to stride across the room demonstrating his new prowess. I placed the band along his path and asked them to protect their instruments from another unfortunate stumble, and Sacha proudly assured them that he was “a new man.” And instead of shoe leather, this became one of the more engaging parts of the shot!

didn’t need any help from me at all, timing his card tricks perfectly, and Chloë carried me faithfully through her part of the scene, gracefully hiding the sliding motion of her seat and getting the book into just the right place each time. It was also another great performance by Martin Scorsese getting us all into the party mood and sustaining it over the entire day.

To see this final shot in its entirety, as well as a wide angle witness cam which shows the walls in motion, an actor on a hidden dolly and the other intricate movements and visual effects involved in this amazing shot, please visit the following links:

Why It Worked

COURTESY OF LARRY MCCONKEY

This was the best crew I have ever worked with. The first AD, For just the end portion of the reel at Chris Surgent, was calm, inven1080P: tive and resourceful throughout. I http://files.me.com/benghiskhan/ don’t think Gregor ever missed a p5z6hu.mov single moment in all the takes we did. Demetri consistently and For the witness Cam: subtly improved the 3D pulls http://files.me.com/benghiskhan/ Larry McConkey and his from take to take. My team of phbzy2.mov Steadicam on “Betty” assistants was dedicated and tireless. The cast was magnificent.

Many thanks to Hugo visual effects What can I say? Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen, in supervisor Ben Grossmann and Pixomondo for access to this particular, were eager to do whatever I asked and more. Asa wonderful footage.

Larry McConkey (right) filming Chloë-Grace Moretz (Isabelle) and Asa Butterfield (Hugo) as they walk through the train station.

The Last Shot I was told by Bob Richardson several weeks ahead of time that I would be shooting the last scene of the movie. The responsibility I was being given was sobering. Marty then described a single shot, first approaching Georges Méliès and Professor Tabard as they come towards us down the hallway, then following them into the living room as we enter a party with all the principal characters. He asked that I pass by each one of them, discovering Isabelle last as she sat down in the far corner of the room and began to write in her notebook.

Marty then had a very specific request: the camera should circle all the way around Isabelle, even though there was clearly not enough room for the camera! After that I was to leave her, pass through the party one last time and cross the hall to end in a close up of the automaton in Georges’s bedroom, lovingly restored and brilliantly polished, smiling enigmatically at the camera. He left me to figure out how to do it.

In keeping with the grand nature of this film, I thought about starting from outside the building. The set was constructed two stories above the studio floor so I asked for a scaffold deck to be erected. I had the window removed after marking the position of the pane of glass that I wanted to pass through (Rob Legato’s VFX team would later digitally create the outside of the building with the window in place).

I started the shot riding a dolly as it boomed down towards the open hallway. Walking down the hallway was a piece of cake, but next was figuring out that ‘magic trick’ in the corner

60

CAMERA OPERATOR: HUGO

with Isabelle. I came up with a plan to fly the first wall out of my way. It was mounted to a large dolly and pulled away just before I ran into it.

The second wall was an exterior wall. A quick estimate to erect more scaffolding resulted in a strong request from Production that I find another way. I decided to put her chair on a very low profile dolly. Tracks were built into the floor and covered with a rug. Cables connected that dolly to a dolly mounted on tracks two floors below. My dolly grip used a video feed for his timing on the move which had to counter the camera exactly.

There were a few more obstacles to deal with. It was suggested that I remove the table in the center of the room entirely, but I loved the idea of moving around a tightly packed room seemingly without restriction. Set dressers became extras: they picked up the dining room table and danced it out of the way as I went around the room; a large dresser (fitted with wheels) was rolled out of the way as I approached; the low hanging chandelier was raised up as I passed underneath.

The middle of the shot was my final worry—it could easily become “shoe leather” as the audience waited for the camera to make its way around the room. I had learned how to avoid this problem while shooting the Copa shot in GoodFellas by working closely with Ray Liotta, who improvised dialogue with people he passed in the long walk to the Copacabana.

This time it was Sacha to the rescue!

Marty wanted a very deliberate push-in to a close up of the Special Awards Edition 2012

Film and sound editor Rick Mitchell passed away from natural causes on October 2, 2011, in his apartment in Los Angeles. A noted film historian specializing in all things widescreen and anamorphic, Rick was born September 9, 1946, in Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from Lafayette High School in Lexington, and went on to attend Transylvania University. In 1967, when 20th Century-Fox’s The Flim-Flam Man came to Lexington for filming, Rick hung around the set so much that he caught director Irvin Kershner’s attention, which led to a letter of introduction to USC’s film school. Rick immediately transferred to USC and there pursued an education in filmmaking.

After graduating, Rick got a job at Universal Studios building loops for the looping stage. One of his employment high points was landing an assistant editor job on Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The crew jacket he earned from that show came to be Rick’s movie-going uniform for the rest of his life.

Among his assistant film editor credits are Car Wash, The Last Remake of Beau Geste, and The Jesse Owens Story. His film editing credits include In God We Tru$t, Legion of Iron, Breathing Fire, and Mind, Body and Soul. While his sound editing credits are lengthy, Rick Mitchell Rick would only take credit on a show if it was an anamorphic film.

1946–2011 Rick had an encyclopedic knowledge of movie history, particularly with the widescreen developments of the 1950s and ’60s. He was a regular fixture at American Cinematheque and Academy screenings, and many in the film history community PICTURE THIS ...

PRODUCTS & SERVICES were eagerly awaiting the completion That makes banking just a little easier! of his magnum opus on widescreen cinema. Sadly, that work will stay Here at MICU we’re showing off our talent and letting our creative side show, by finding ways to bring you simple banking. unfinished. But his research writings, studies, and monographs have been * Bill Pay - Convenient Money Management * New Auto Loan rates as low as 2.75%** up to 60 months accepted at the Margaret Herrick * Used Auto Loan rates as low as 3.50%** up to 60 months Library of the Motion Picture (**Contact Credit Union for Details) * Free access to over 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs and 800,000 Academy, and his sizeable collection ATMs worldwide through links to the NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, of rare 16mm and Super 8mm Pulse and Plus networks * Car buying services through Autoland, Redbook, & Executive anamorphic films has gone to the Car Leasing * Our free checking account offers you both ATM and free debit Academy film archives. cards with REWARDS For several years, Rick was a * We also offer CURewards™ for our VISA credit card * Free Online Teller and Money Maestro Audio Teller regular contributor to Camera * Real Estate loan services through West Coast Realty (personal service). If we can’t fund the loan we’ll help you find a lender Operator magazine, with many who can help you. articles on various widescreen and color processes. His love of anamorphic and Technicolor IB prints was We offer guaranteed lowest loan rates for all consumer loans. evident in his personal film collecWe’ll MEET or BEAT other approved rates from financial institutions. tion. Rick was an Honorary member For DETAILS, call us toll free at of SOC. 1-800-393-3833 or visit us online at Poor health plagued Rick in his www.musicianscu.org later years, forcing him to retire from Hollywood Branch Studio City Branch film and sound editing. His film 817 N. Vine Street, Suite 200 11440 Ventura Blvd, Suite 101 history work, however, continued Hollywood, CA 90038 Studio City, CA 91604 unabated.

Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Rick Mitchell is survived by three Phone: 818 / 763-7005 Phone: 323 / 462-6447 sisters, and a brother.

Fax: 818 / 505-8407 Fax: 323 / 462-4411 Cuadpro Marketing 11-52 —Dan Sherlock and Douglas Knapp

62

CAMERA OPERATOR: TRANSITIONS

Special Awards Edition 2012

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

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 3ality Technica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3alitytechnica.com Angénieux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.angenieux.com Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . .usa.canon.com/cusa/home Chapman Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 . . . . . . . . . . . www.chapman-leonard.com Cinematography Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 . . .www.cinematographyelectronics.com Clairmont Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.clairmont.com Deluxe Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bydeluxe.com Dreamworks/Touchstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dreamworks.com Filmtools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.filmtools.com Fox Searchlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.foxsearchlight.com Fujifilm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fujifilm.com Fuji Optical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fujifilm.com Glidecam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.glidecam.com Grip Trix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . griptrix.com Hot Gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hotgears.com IATSE Local 600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cameraguild.com JL Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.jlfisher.com Musicians Interguild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.musicianscu.org Pictorvision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.pictorvision.com Schneider Optics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.schneideroptics.com VariZooom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.varizoom.com Warner Bros Photo Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wbphotolab.com Warner Bros Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.warnerbros.com

Special Awards Edition 2012

818.785.9282

Please join us on

February 19th at the

SOC Lifetime Achievement Awards to benefit the

Vision Center of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

CAMERA OPERATOR: AD INDEX

63

Film and sound editor Rick Mitchell passed away from natural causes on October 2, 2011, in his apartment in Los Angeles. A noted film historian specializing in all things widescreen and anamorphic, Rick was born September 9, 1946, in Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from Lafayette High School in Lexington, and went on to attend Transylvania University. In 1967, when 20th Century-Fox’s The Flim-Flam Man came to Lexington for filming, Rick hung around the set so much that he caught director Irvin Kershner’s attention, which led to a letter of introduction to USC’s film school. Rick immediately transferred to USC and there pursued an education in filmmaking.

After graduating, Rick got a job at Universal Studios building loops for the looping stage. One of his employment high points was landing an assistant editor job on Robert Wise’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The crew jacket he earned from that show came to be Rick’s movie-going uniform for the rest of his life.

Among his assistant film editor credits are Car Wash, The Last Remake of Beau Geste, and The Jesse Owens Story. His film editing credits include In God We Tru$t, Legion of Iron, Breathing Fire, and Mind, Body and Soul. While his sound editing credits are lengthy, Rick Mitchell Rick would only take credit on a show if it was an anamorphic film.

1946–2011 Rick had an encyclopedic knowledge of movie history, particularly with the widescreen developments of the 1950s and ’60s. He was a regular fixture at American Cinematheque and Academy screenings, and many in the film history community PICTURE THIS ...

PRODUCTS & SERVICES were eagerly awaiting the completion That makes banking just a little easier! of his magnum opus on widescreen cinema. Sadly, that work will stay Here at MICU we’re showing off our talent and letting our creative side show, by finding ways to bring you simple banking. unfinished. But his research writings, studies, and monographs have been * Bill Pay - Convenient Money Management * New Auto Loan rates as low as 2.75%** up to 60 months accepted at the Margaret Herrick * Used Auto Loan rates as low as 3.50%** up to 60 months Library of the Motion Picture (**Contact Credit Union for Details) * Free access to over 28,000 CO-OP Network ATMs and 800,000 Academy, and his sizeable collection ATMs worldwide through links to the NYCE, STAR, Cirrus, of rare 16mm and Super 8mm Pulse and Plus networks * Car buying services through Autoland, Redbook, & Executive anamorphic films has gone to the Car Leasing * Our free checking account offers you both ATM and free debit Academy film archives. cards with REWARDS For several years, Rick was a * We also offer CURewards™ for our VISA credit card * Free Online Teller and Money Maestro Audio Teller regular contributor to Camera * Real Estate loan services through West Coast Realty (personal service). If we can’t fund the loan we’ll help you find a lender Operator magazine, with many who can help you. articles on various widescreen and color processes. His love of anamorphic and Technicolor IB prints was We offer guaranteed lowest loan rates for all consumer loans. evident in his personal film collecWe’ll MEET or BEAT other approved rates from financial institutions. tion. Rick was an Honorary member For DETAILS, call us toll free at of SOC. 1-800-393-3833 or visit us online at Poor health plagued Rick in his www.musicianscu.org later years, forcing him to retire from Hollywood Branch Studio City Branch film and sound editing. His film 817 N. Vine Street, Suite 200 11440 Ventura Blvd, Suite 101 history work, however, continued Hollywood, CA 90038 Studio City, CA 91604 unabated.

Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Toll Free: 800 / 393-3833 Rick Mitchell is survived by three Phone: 818 / 763-7005 Phone: 323 / 462-6447 sisters, and a brother.

Fax: 818 / 505-8407 Fax: 323 / 462-4411 Cuadpro Marketing 11-52 —Dan Sherlock and Douglas Knapp

62

CAMERA OPERATOR: TRANSITIONS

Special Awards Edition 2012

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

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 3ality Technica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3alitytechnica.com Angénieux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.angenieux.com Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . .usa.canon.com/cusa/home Chapman Leonard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 . . . . . . . . . . . www.chapman-leonard.com Cinematography Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 . . .www.cinematographyelectronics.com Clairmont Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.clairmont.com Deluxe Laboratories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.bydeluxe.com Dreamworks/Touchstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.dreamworks.com Filmtools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.filmtools.com Fox Searchlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.foxsearchlight.com Fujifilm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fujifilm.com Fuji Optical Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.fujifilm.com Glidecam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.glidecam.com Grip Trix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . griptrix.com Hot Gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hotgears.com IATSE Local 600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.cameraguild.com JL Fisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IBC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.jlfisher.com Musicians Interguild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.musicianscu.org Pictorvision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.pictorvision.com Schneider Optics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.schneideroptics.com VariZooom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.varizoom.com Warner Bros Photo Lab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.wbphotolab.com Warner Bros Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.warnerbros.com

Special Awards Edition 2012

818.785.9282

Please join us on

February 19th at the

SOC Lifetime Achievement Awards to benefit the

Vision Center of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

CAMERA OPERATOR: AD INDEX

63

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

64

David Richert Jim Hunter Claudio Rietti Carrie Imai Alicia Robbins Toshiyuki Imai Ken Robings Gregory Irwin Peter J Rooney Blake B Jackson David Rosner Leo Jaramillo Melissa Roth Morgan Jenkins Douglas Roth John Chancell Jennings Colin Sabala Peter J Johnson Shereen L Saiyed Frank E Johnson, ASC Mehran Salamati Quenell Jones Danny Salazar Robert Joyce William O’Drobinak Germano Saracco, AIC David Kane Michael D Off Steve Saxon Kevin N Kemp Russell Ofria Ronald High Carl Martin Schumacher, Sr Mark H Killian Mark D O’Kane Charles M Hill, Jr Christian Sebaldt, ASC Douglas Kirkland James Olcovich Joachim Hoffmann Charles A Simons Michael Klimchak Andrew William Oliver Abe Holtz Michael Skor Craig Kohlhoff Mark Richard Olsen Jerry Holway Jan Sluchak Michael Kowalczyk John Orland Casey Hotchkiss Robert F Smith Cindy Kurland William Stephen Howell II Rafael Ortiz-Guzman Brian Sowell Robert La Bonge Georgia Tornai Packard Gary Huddleston Brent A Spencer Laurence Langton George Paddock ASSOCIATE Colin Hudson Don Spiro Thomas Lappin Heather Page Amy H Abrams Jeffrey G Hunt Joe B Stallworth Lee David Laska-Abbott Nick Paige Art Adams Philip Hurn Doug Stanley Greg Le Duc Andrew Parke John Addocks Levie C Isaacks Owen Stephens Dr Thomas Lee Patrick J Pask David S Adelstein Dave Isern Aymae Sulick Taggart A Lee Christopher T Paul Lance Allen Christopher Ivins Sulekh Suman Mark R Leins William F Pecchi, Jr Jon L Anderson Eugene W Jackson III Tara Summers Alan J Levi George Peters Jillian H Arnold Jerry M Jacob Andy Sydney Mark Levin Terry Pfrang Jacob Avignone Francis G James John Tarver Adrian Licciardi Jonathan F Phillips Eddie Barber Alec Jarnagin Joe Tawil Ilya Jo Lie-Nielsen Mike Pierce Josh Barrett Michael Jarocki Christopher Taylor Stephen Lighthill, ASC Alan Pierce Karen Beck Simon Jayes David Roy Tondeur Stuart T Lillas Theo Pingarelli Bruce Bender Peter C Jensen Matthew Turve Jong Lin Jens Piotrowski Stephen Blanor Michael A Johnson John Twesten Colleen Ann Lindl Joseph Piscitelli Jeffrey D Bollman Christopher D Jones Caitlin Rae Tyler Jefferson K Loftfield Robert Presley Peter Bonilla Kurt Jones Daniel Urbain Jessica Lopez Louis Puli Jean-Paul Bonneau Steven Jones Sandra Valde Jasmine Lord Ryan Purcell David Boyd Jacques Jouffret Nina Varano Roland J Luna Elizabeth Radley John Boyd John H Joyce Craig W Walsh Christopher Lymberis John Radzik Jennifer Braddock David Judy Leonard P Walsh,II Tony Magaletta Juan M Ramos Rochelle Brown David C Kanehann Brian Watkins Dominik Mainl Mark A Ritchie Maja Broz Mark Karavite Shaun Wheeler Darin Mangan Randall Robinson Clyde E Bryan Michael Karp Gregory L White Adam Mansfield Rick Robinson Anthony Q Caldwell Wayne L Kelley Rex Allan Worthy Jesus A Marcano Brooks Robinson David S Campbell Vernon Kifer Pol C Wright Emily Marchand David Robman Bruce Cardozo David Kimelman Tony Yarlett Jorge A Marcial Andy Romanoff Richard T Cascio Douglas H Knapp Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC James Mathers Peter Rosenfeld Marc Casey Dan Kneece Dave Rutherford Stephen Mark Ciappetta Jim R Matlosz Rory Robert Knepp HONORARY Dr Ellen Matsumoto P Scott Sakamoto Chad Courtney Bud Kremp John Bailey, ASC Tisha Matthews Tom O Sanders Michelle Crenshaw Kris Krosskove Tilman Buettner John Matysiak Michael Santy Richard P Crudo, ASC Erwin Landau James Burrows Krystal A Maughan Martin Schaer Ronald Deveaux George F Lang Alexander Calzatti Joseph T McDonnell III Ron Schlaeger Jorge Devotto Per Larsson Trevor Coop Hilda Mercado Mark Schlicher David Dibble Robin Lawless Roger Corman Gregory J Schmidt George Spiro Dibie, ASC Charles Minsky, ASC John Lazear Dean Cundey, ASC K Adriana Modlin Thomas J Schnaidt Paul A Duclos Eric Leach Bruce Doering Larry Mole Parker Bob Scott Bert Dunk, ASC Sergio Leandro Silva Jack Green, ASC Shauna Morgan Brown Brian D Scott Keith Dunkerley Richard Leible Tom Hatten Dana Morris Brian Scott Steven Duval Joshua Lesser Ron Howard E Gunnar Mortensen Alicia Craft Sehring Brian James Dzyak Sarah Levy Ron Kelley Matthew C Mosher Benjamin Semanoff Jonathan Edwards Jimmy W Lindsey Kathleen Kennedy-Marshall Khallid J Shabazz Keith “Iceberg” Eisberg Richard Mosier Hugh C Litfin Jerry Lewis Shah Mundell Geoffrey C Shotz Christopher Ekstein Lynn Lockwood Larry McConkey John Newby Osvaldo Silvera Shane English George Loomis A Linn Murphree MD Natalie Newman Jamie Silverstein David T Eubank David Luckenbach Diana Penilla Derek Nickell Guy Skinner Daniel Fernandez Allan Lum Li Steven Spielberg Kurt Nolen John Sosenko Paul Ferrazzi Greg Lundsgaard Robert A Torres Russell C Nordstedt Andy Sparaco Robert C Fisher Kenji Luster Crescenzo GP Notarile, ASC George Toscas Mark Sparrough Archie Fletcher Rob Macey Robert “Obie” Oberlander, Sr Roy Wagner, ASC Mike Spodnik John C Flinn III, ASC Vincent C Mack Haskell Wexler, ASC John O’Shaughnessy Sandy Spooner Mark Forman Heather MacKenzie Steven D Parker Edward B Springer Peter F Frintrup Paul S Magee RETIRED Florencia Perez Cardenal Lisa L Stacilauskas Fred M Frintrup David Mahlmann Gary Olyn Armstrong Mark W Petersen Robert Starling Raquel Gallego Kim Marks Eugene Ashbrook Matthew A Petrosky Scott Stelle Richard Garbutt Cedric Martin Lou Barlia Jon Philion George B Stephenson James P Garvey Jim McConkey Al Bettcher Astrid Phillips Daniel Stilling Hank Gifford BJ McDonnell Joe Blaisdell Robert G Pittman Sandra Stojanovic Michael Goi, ASC Michael P McGowan James Blanford W S Pivetta Michael R Stumpf David Goldenberg Maurice K McGuire Vee Bodrero Ted Polmanski David L Svenson Wayne Goldwyn Christopher TJ McGuire Donald R Burch Serge T Poupis James H Sweeney Mary Gonzales Aaron Medick Philip Caplan Boris Price Paul Taylor Al Gonzalez Robert L Mehnert Bruce Catlin Taj Teffaha Frederic Goodich, ASC Robert Primes, ASC Jack Messitt Jim Connell Andrea Quaglio David James Thompson John M Goodner Marc Miller Ivan Craig Liz Radley Richard Tiedemann Afton M Grant William E Mills Joe Epperson Udo Ravenstein John Toll, ASC Dave Gregory Andrew Mitchell Robert Feller Richard Rawlings Jr, ASC David Tolsky Phil Gries William Molina Hiroyuki Fukuda Marcia Reed Remi Tournois George Eric Griffith David Monroe Jerry Fuller Bill Reiter Neil C Toussaint David E Grober Jeff Moore Gil Haimson Sandy Rentmeester John Trapman Kevin M Haggerty Denis Moran Wynn Hammer Brian D Reynolds Michael Tsimperopoulos Bob Hall Josh Morton Lutz Hapke Lawrence Ribeiro James Hammond Manolo Rojas Moscopulos Chris Tufty Dan Turrett Anthony Hardwick Don Muirhead Brian Tweedt James W Hart Michael James Mulvey Joseph Urbanczyk Robert Hayes Scott T Mumford Matt Valentine Jennifer Ann Henry Sean Murray Paul D Varrieur Anthony P Hettinger Jon Myers Ron Veto Ken Hilmer Leo J Napolitano Stefan von Bjorn David Hirschmann Julye Newlin Bill Waldman Scott Hoffman William R Nielsen, Jr Current as of 1/23/12 Michael J Walker Melissa Holt Randy Nolen Adam S Ward Rachel A Hudson Tamas P Nyerges

CAMERA OPERATOR: SOC ROSTER

Mark Warshaw Gretchen Warthen William Webb Aiken Weiss Thomas Weston Mande Whitaker Kit Whitmore, CSC Brian Keith Wilcox Jeffrey Wilkins Bill Williams Joe “Jody” Williams Ken Willinger Chad Wilson Dana D Winseman RL Wise David A Wolf Ian D Woolston-Smith Noel Adrian Wyatt Peter C Xiques Elizabeth Ziegler

Terence A “Terry” Harkin Gary Holt Robert C Horne Bob Keys George La Fountaine, ASC Norm Langley Steve Lydecker James Mann Owen Marsh Bob Marta Stan McClain Michael McClary Ron McManus Emmanuel Metaxas Robert “Bob” Moore Ed Morey Lee Nakahara Sol Negrin, ASC King Nicholson John G Nogle David L Parrish Aaron Pazanti Robert H Peebles Arnold Rich Sam Rosen Frank Ruttencutter Richard Salvatore Chuck Schuman Philip D Schwartz Hal Shiffman Phil Stern David Sutton Gene Talvin Pernell Tyus Sven Walnum Ben Wolf CORPORATE 3ALITY TECHNICA Sakae Manning Steve Schklair, CEO Stephen Pizzo, SVP BIRNS & SAWYER, INC Bill Meuer CAMERA DYNAMICS INC. Jim Davis CAMERON-PACE GROUP Vincent M. Pace CLAIRMONT CAMERA Mardrie Mullen DIGIHOLLYWOOD Chol Kim FILMTOOLS INC Stan McClain FUJIFILM NORTH AMERICA CORPORATION Sandra Kurotobi HYDROFLEX, INC. Matt Brown JL FISHER Jimmy L. Fisher Frank Kay MARK BENDER AND ASSOCIATES Mark Bender MATTHEWS STUDIO EQUIPMENT Ed Phillips PANAVISION Phil Radin PRECO, INC. Wes Donahue SCHNEIDER OPTICS CENTURY DIVISION David Contreras Bill Turner SIM VIDEO Marty Meyer TERADEK Michael Gailing TIFFEN Frank Rush ZEISS Richard Schleuning

Roster of the

Society of Camera Operators Special Awards Edition 2012

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

64

David Richert Jim Hunter Claudio Rietti Carrie Imai Alicia Robbins Toshiyuki Imai Ken Robings Gregory Irwin Peter J Rooney Blake B Jackson David Rosner Leo Jaramillo Melissa Roth Morgan Jenkins Douglas Roth John Chancell Jennings Colin Sabala Peter J Johnson Shereen L Saiyed Frank E Johnson, ASC Mehran Salamati Quenell Jones Danny Salazar Robert Joyce William O’Drobinak Germano Saracco, AIC David Kane Michael D Off Steve Saxon Kevin N Kemp Russell Ofria Ronald High Carl Martin Schumacher, Sr Mark H Killian Mark D O’Kane Charles M Hill, Jr Christian Sebaldt, ASC Douglas Kirkland James Olcovich Joachim Hoffmann Charles A Simons Michael Klimchak Andrew William Oliver Abe Holtz Michael Skor Craig Kohlhoff Mark Richard Olsen Jerry Holway Jan Sluchak Michael Kowalczyk John Orland Casey Hotchkiss Robert F Smith Cindy Kurland William Stephen Howell II Rafael Ortiz-Guzman Brian Sowell Robert La Bonge Georgia Tornai Packard Gary Huddleston Brent A Spencer Laurence Langton George Paddock ASSOCIATE Colin Hudson Don Spiro Thomas Lappin Heather Page Amy H Abrams Jeffrey G Hunt Joe B Stallworth Lee David Laska-Abbott Nick Paige Art Adams Philip Hurn Doug Stanley Greg Le Duc Andrew Parke John Addocks Levie C Isaacks Owen Stephens Dr Thomas Lee Patrick J Pask David S Adelstein Dave Isern Aymae Sulick Taggart A Lee Christopher T Paul Lance Allen Christopher Ivins Sulekh Suman Mark R Leins William F Pecchi, Jr Jon L Anderson Eugene W Jackson III Tara Summers Alan J Levi George Peters Jillian H Arnold Jerry M Jacob Andy Sydney Mark Levin Terry Pfrang Jacob Avignone Francis G James John Tarver Adrian Licciardi Jonathan F Phillips Eddie Barber Alec Jarnagin Joe Tawil Ilya Jo Lie-Nielsen Mike Pierce Josh Barrett Michael Jarocki Christopher Taylor Stephen Lighthill, ASC Alan Pierce Karen Beck Simon Jayes David Roy Tondeur Stuart T Lillas Theo Pingarelli Bruce Bender Peter C Jensen Matthew Turve Jong Lin Jens Piotrowski Stephen Blanor Michael A Johnson John Twesten Colleen Ann Lindl Joseph Piscitelli Jeffrey D Bollman Christopher D Jones Caitlin Rae Tyler Jefferson K Loftfield Robert Presley Peter Bonilla Kurt Jones Daniel Urbain Jessica Lopez Louis Puli Jean-Paul Bonneau Steven Jones Sandra Valde Jasmine Lord Ryan Purcell David Boyd Jacques Jouffret Nina Varano Roland J Luna Elizabeth Radley John Boyd John H Joyce Craig W Walsh Christopher Lymberis John Radzik Jennifer Braddock David Judy Leonard P Walsh,II Tony Magaletta Juan M Ramos Rochelle Brown David C Kanehann Brian Watkins Dominik Mainl Mark A Ritchie Maja Broz Mark Karavite Shaun Wheeler Darin Mangan Randall Robinson Clyde E Bryan Michael Karp Gregory L White Adam Mansfield Rick Robinson Anthony Q Caldwell Wayne L Kelley Rex Allan Worthy Jesus A Marcano Brooks Robinson David S Campbell Vernon Kifer Pol C Wright Emily Marchand David Robman Bruce Cardozo David Kimelman Tony Yarlett Jorge A Marcial Andy Romanoff Richard T Cascio Douglas H Knapp Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC James Mathers Peter Rosenfeld Marc Casey Dan Kneece Dave Rutherford Stephen Mark Ciappetta Jim R Matlosz Rory Robert Knepp HONORARY Dr Ellen Matsumoto P Scott Sakamoto Chad Courtney Bud Kremp John Bailey, ASC Tisha Matthews Tom O Sanders Michelle Crenshaw Kris Krosskove Tilman Buettner John Matysiak Michael Santy Richard P Crudo, ASC Erwin Landau James Burrows Krystal A Maughan Martin Schaer Ronald Deveaux George F Lang Alexander Calzatti Joseph T McDonnell III Ron Schlaeger Jorge Devotto Per Larsson Trevor Coop Hilda Mercado Mark Schlicher David Dibble Robin Lawless Roger Corman Gregory J Schmidt George Spiro Dibie, ASC Charles Minsky, ASC John Lazear Dean Cundey, ASC K Adriana Modlin Thomas J Schnaidt Paul A Duclos Eric Leach Bruce Doering Larry Mole Parker Bob Scott Bert Dunk, ASC Sergio Leandro Silva Jack Green, ASC Shauna Morgan Brown Brian D Scott Keith Dunkerley Richard Leible Tom Hatten Dana Morris Brian Scott Steven Duval Joshua Lesser Ron Howard E Gunnar Mortensen Alicia Craft Sehring Brian James Dzyak Sarah Levy Ron Kelley Matthew C Mosher Benjamin Semanoff Jonathan Edwards Jimmy W Lindsey Kathleen Kennedy-Marshall Khallid J Shabazz Keith “Iceberg” Eisberg Richard Mosier Hugh C Litfin Jerry Lewis Shah Mundell Geoffrey C Shotz Christopher Ekstein Lynn Lockwood Larry McConkey John Newby Osvaldo Silvera Shane English George Loomis A Linn Murphree MD Natalie Newman Jamie Silverstein David T Eubank David Luckenbach Diana Penilla Derek Nickell Guy Skinner Daniel Fernandez Allan Lum Li Steven Spielberg Kurt Nolen John Sosenko Paul Ferrazzi Greg Lundsgaard Robert A Torres Russell C Nordstedt Andy Sparaco Robert C Fisher Kenji Luster Crescenzo GP Notarile, ASC George Toscas Mark Sparrough Archie Fletcher Rob Macey Robert “Obie” Oberlander, Sr Roy Wagner, ASC Mike Spodnik John C Flinn III, ASC Vincent C Mack Haskell Wexler, ASC John O’Shaughnessy Sandy Spooner Mark Forman Heather MacKenzie Steven D Parker Edward B Springer Peter F Frintrup Paul S Magee RETIRED Florencia Perez Cardenal Lisa L Stacilauskas Fred M Frintrup David Mahlmann Gary Olyn Armstrong Mark W Petersen Robert Starling Raquel Gallego Kim Marks Eugene Ashbrook Matthew A Petrosky Scott Stelle Richard Garbutt Cedric Martin Lou Barlia Jon Philion George B Stephenson James P Garvey Jim McConkey Al Bettcher Astrid Phillips Daniel Stilling Hank Gifford BJ McDonnell Joe Blaisdell Robert G Pittman Sandra Stojanovic Michael Goi, ASC Michael P McGowan James Blanford W S Pivetta Michael R Stumpf David Goldenberg Maurice K McGuire Vee Bodrero Ted Polmanski David L Svenson Wayne Goldwyn Christopher TJ McGuire Donald R Burch Serge T Poupis James H Sweeney Mary Gonzales Aaron Medick Philip Caplan Boris Price Paul Taylor Al Gonzalez Robert L Mehnert Bruce Catlin Taj Teffaha Frederic Goodich, ASC Robert Primes, ASC Jack Messitt Jim Connell Andrea Quaglio David James Thompson John M Goodner Marc Miller Ivan Craig Liz Radley Richard Tiedemann Afton M Grant William E Mills Joe Epperson Udo Ravenstein John Toll, ASC Dave Gregory Andrew Mitchell Robert Feller Richard Rawlings Jr, ASC David Tolsky Phil Gries William Molina Hiroyuki Fukuda Marcia Reed Remi Tournois George Eric Griffith David Monroe Jerry Fuller Bill Reiter Neil C Toussaint David E Grober Jeff Moore Gil Haimson Sandy Rentmeester John Trapman Kevin M Haggerty Denis Moran Wynn Hammer Brian D Reynolds Michael Tsimperopoulos Bob Hall Josh Morton Lutz Hapke Lawrence Ribeiro James Hammond Manolo Rojas Moscopulos Chris Tufty Dan Turrett Anthony Hardwick Don Muirhead Brian Tweedt James W Hart Michael James Mulvey Joseph Urbanczyk Robert Hayes Scott T Mumford Matt Valentine Jennifer Ann Henry Sean Murray Paul D Varrieur Anthony P Hettinger Jon Myers Ron Veto Ken Hilmer Leo J Napolitano Stefan von Bjorn David Hirschmann Julye Newlin Bill Waldman Scott Hoffman William R Nielsen, Jr Current as of 1/23/12 Michael J Walker Melissa Holt Randy Nolen Adam S Ward Rachel A Hudson Tamas P Nyerges

CAMERA OPERATOR: SOC ROSTER

Mark Warshaw Gretchen Warthen William Webb Aiken Weiss Thomas Weston Mande Whitaker Kit Whitmore, CSC Brian Keith Wilcox Jeffrey Wilkins Bill Williams Joe “Jody” Williams Ken Willinger Chad Wilson Dana D Winseman RL Wise David A Wolf Ian D Woolston-Smith Noel Adrian Wyatt Peter C Xiques Elizabeth Ziegler

Terence A “Terry” Harkin Gary Holt Robert C Horne Bob Keys George La Fountaine, ASC Norm Langley Steve Lydecker James Mann Owen Marsh Bob Marta Stan McClain Michael McClary Ron McManus Emmanuel Metaxas Robert “Bob” Moore Ed Morey Lee Nakahara Sol Negrin, ASC King Nicholson John G Nogle David L Parrish Aaron Pazanti Robert H Peebles Arnold Rich Sam Rosen Frank Ruttencutter Richard Salvatore Chuck Schuman Philip D Schwartz Hal Shiffman Phil Stern David Sutton Gene Talvin Pernell Tyus Sven Walnum Ben Wolf CORPORATE 3ALITY TECHNICA Sakae Manning Steve Schklair, CEO Stephen Pizzo, SVP BIRNS & SAWYER, INC Bill Meuer CAMERA DYNAMICS INC. Jim Davis CAMERON-PACE GROUP Vincent M. Pace CLAIRMONT CAMERA Mardrie Mullen DIGIHOLLYWOOD Chol Kim FILMTOOLS INC Stan McClain FUJIFILM NORTH AMERICA CORPORATION Sandra Kurotobi HYDROFLEX, INC. Matt Brown JL FISHER Jimmy L. Fisher Frank Kay MARK BENDER AND ASSOCIATES Mark Bender MATTHEWS STUDIO EQUIPMENT Ed Phillips PANAVISION Phil Radin PRECO, INC. Wes Donahue SCHNEIDER OPTICS CENTURY DIVISION David Contreras Bill Turner SIM VIDEO Marty Meyer TERADEK Michael Gailing TIFFEN Frank Rush ZEISS Richard Schleuning

Roster of the

Society of Camera Operators Special Awards Edition 2012

2012

Display Until May 2012

SPECIAL AWARDS EDITION

US $7.00

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