British Cinematographer - Issue 103

UNITING CINEMATOGRAPHERS AROUND THE WORLD

www.britishcinematographer.co.uk

Issue 103 -- January 2021

M AT T H E W J E N S E N A S C

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MARTIN RUHE ASC | ERIK MESSERSCHMIDT ASC | SHABIER KIRCHNER | TAMI REIKER ASC | JOSHUA JAMES RICHARDS | ED WILD BSC | REMI ADEFARASIN OBE BSC

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CREDITS / BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER / ISSUE 103 / JANUARY 2021

BRITISH

CINEMATOGRAPHER

UNI T IN G C INE M AT O G R A P HE R S A R O UND T HE W O R L D

“The pandemic has been very hard on our industry… but it has reminded us how much we love our work.”

– CINEMATOGRAPHER HATTI BEANLAND

Publisher | STUART WALTERS | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | stuart.walters@ob-mc.co.uk Publisher | SAM SKILLER | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | sam@ob-mc.co.uk Editor | ZOE MUTTER | +44 (0) 7793 048 749 | zoe@britishcinematographer.co.uk Design | MARK LAMSDALE | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | mark.lamsdale@ob-mc.co.uk Sales | LIZZY SUTHERST | +44 (0) 7498876760 | lizzy@britishcinematographer.co.uk Sales | RUPINDER RANDHAWA | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | rupinder@ob-mc.co.uk Website | PAUL LACEY | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | paul@dickiebirds.studio Subscriptions | MATT HOOD | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | matt.hood@ob-mc.co.uk

SUPPORTERS

EDITOR’S LETTER

SHOWCASING EXCEPTIONAL TALENT

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CONTRIBUTORS ZOE MUTTER is the editor of British Cinematographer. She has more than 15 years’ experience covering creative and technical industries, writing for and editing titles including Televisual, Total Production International, AV Magazine, The Producer, Film Stories, Digital Photographer and Photoshop Creative. With a passion for the art and craft of TV and film production, from cinematography through to visual effects, Zoe also has experience covering the worlds of technology, photography and design.

ADRIAN PENNINGTON is British Cinematographer’s editorial consultant. He is an experienced journalist and editor whose work has appeared in Variety, Premiere, Screen International and The Hollywood Reporter. He is international editor for ACE Cinema Editor, co-author of Exploring 3D: The New Grammar of Stereoscopic Filmmaking, former film editor at Varsity and winner of the Anne Frank Award for Film Criticism. His favourite films are Gilda, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Blow Up. KEVIN HILTON is a freelance journalist who writes about technology and personalities in film and broadcasting, and contributes film reviews and interviews to a variety of publications in the UK and abroad.

JOHN KEEDWELL GBCT/UAV PILOT, the GBCT News Editor, is a documentary and commercials cameraman who has worked on many productions around the world. He crosses over in both film and tape productions and has great knowledge of the new file-based formats and their methods of production.

MARK LONDON WILLIAMS reports on analogue and digital moviemaking for publications such as Variety, LA Times and Below The Line in Los Angeles.

NEIL OSEMAN is a DP with 20 years’ experience on such films as The Little Mermaid (2018), Heretiks and Above the Clouds. He has also produced a successful online cinematography course, writes for RedShark News, and posts lighting breakdowns every Friday on his highly popular Instagram feed.

TREVOR HOGG is a freelance video editor and writer who composes in-depth filmmaker and movie profiles for such websites as AWN, CGSociety, 3DTotal, Live for Films and American Cinematographer. He is a fan of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Batman: The Animated Series, The Hobbit, Studio Ghibli and Peter Weir.

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Laws Publishing Ltd, Premier House, 13 St Pauls Square, Birmingham B3 1RB t. +44 (0) 121 200 7820 The publishers wish to emphasise that the opinions expressed in British Cinematographer are not representative of Laws Publishing Ltd but the responsibility of the individual contributors.

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he year may not have begun in the way we had wished, with England’s third national lockdown coming into force, but hopefully this action, along with global efforts to curb the pandemic and vaccine rollouts, ensure 2021 is a year of recovery. While it is an unusual and uncertain time, there is also cause for celebration as filmmaking super forces continue to shine.

One fine example was master craftsman Sir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC receiving a knighthood for his services to film in the Queen’s New Year Honours list - just the uplifting news the industry needed.

A recent email I received from a British Cinematographer reader and filmmaker at the beginning of their career also reinforced how valuable showcasing exceptional talent can be. The young DP explained how the pandemic’s impact on the production community had affected their mental health but reading issue #102’s articles had given them hope for the industry’s future and inspired them to get back on their feet.

It fills me with joy to hear of the articles’ positive influences.

It is further proof that there has never been a more pivotal time to celebrate inspiring cinematography. As a belated festive treat and to highlight filmmakers’ achievements we bring you a bumper January issue, featuring even more behind-the-scenes profiles about some of the many outstanding creations made by cinematographers and their collaborators.

We’re also introducing new sections we hope you enjoy and invite your feedback on. New offerings include the Point of View opinion page; Tech-nique which highlights interesting applications of technology and technical kit; the Cinematic Classic celebration of movie masterpieces from years gone by; The Craft which explores the art and craft of filmmaking; and The Big Picture analysis of pertinent industry issues. Elsewhere, Clapperboard has been repackaged into the Visionary big interview; Live and Let DI evolves into Set to Post; and Gaffers ‘R’ Us has been remodelled and expanded to become the In the Frame profile. In the Frame will celebrate cinematographers’ key collaborators, from gaffers, colourists, and production designers through to visual effects supervisors and focus pullers, to name but a few.

As we reflect on 2020, one positive takeaway is the filmmaking community’s sheer determination. Dedicated as ever, talented production professionals adhered to pandemic protocols and went above and beyond to allow work to continue safely. It was also a year when ever-evolving virtual production technologies such as game engines and LED screens played an even more essential role, immersing cast and crew into seemingly real environments. Film festivals and awards pivoted to online platforms and with the 93rd Academy Awards being delayed from February until April and films that debuted on a streaming service without a theatrical run being eligible for an Oscar, this year’s event is shaping up to be rather different.

Lockdown life brought a boom in demand for streaming services. Juniper Research’s report forecasts nearly two billion active subscriptions to on-demand video services in 2025 - a 65% increase over the end of 2020. But while streaming continues to soar, the past year’s increase in home viewing also highlighted how special watching films on the big screen is. We greatly miss this immersive and magical experience and eagerly await the safe reopening of cinemas across the globe, presenting movie masterworks in all their glory.

Until next time, stay safe and creative, everyone.

Zoe Mutter - Editor British Cinematographer Magazine British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 03

CONTENTS / BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER / ISSUE 103 / JANUARY 2021

IN THIS ISSUE...

07

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE Mike Eley BSC looks back at 2020, discusses pandemic production and considers Brexit’s effect on the industry

42

48

On the cover...

Matthew Jensen ASC on Wonder Woman 1984

Behind the scenes...

Martin Ruhe ASC on The Midnight Sky

08

PRODUCTION/POST & TECHNO NEWS

News from the filmmaking world

24

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? A rundown of DPs in action and their latest productions

32

NEW WAVE

Cinematography has the perfect balance of art and craft for Hatti Beanland

34

POINT OF VIEW

We kick off the new opinion section by discussing how the industry can support trainees

36

64

75

83

Matthew Jensen ASC reveals the production story behind Wonder Woman 1984 and how he helped bring Patty Jenkins’ vision of a bold, retro world of wonder to life

Is the increased global attention towards health and safety enough to transform the film and television industry?

Mark London Williams gives us the low down on the latest Covid-safe production protocols in the US as demand for content is anticipated to reach new highs in 2021

CAMERA CREATIVE

48 –73

BEHIND THE SCENES

Exploring the phenomenal filmmaking career and creations of Chris Menges BSC ASC

40

74

In the first of a new feature series examining the art and craft of cinematography we take a look at the DP-colourist collaboration

Celebrating movie masterpieces of years gone by, beginning with Gordon Willis ASC’s lensing of the Godfather trilogy

The spotlight is on gaffer extraordinaire Howard Davidson

38

VISIONARY

THE CRAFT

Behind the scenes...

Remi Adefarasin CBE BSC on Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story

42

Martin Ruhe ASC on The Midnight Sky; Shabier Kirchner on Small Axe: Mangrove; Erik Messerschmidt ASC on Mank; Joshua James Richards on Nomadland; Ed Wild BSC on The Wilds; Remi Adefarasin CBE BSC on Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story; Simona Susnea on Audrey: More Than an Icon; Tami Reiker ASC on One Night in Miami; and Alexander Dynan on After Love

IN THE FRAME

68

Behind the scenes...

Joshua James Richards on Nomadland

CINEMATIC CLASSIC

THE BIG PICTURE

76

INNOVATOR

The fascinating story of aerial cinematography specialists XM2 and founder, group CEO and camera operator, Stephen Oh

78

TECH-NIQUE

DPs share details of some of the kit and techniques they have used to tell stories with light

80

EVENT REVIEW: ENERGACAMERIMAGE 2020 The EnergaCAMERIMAGE film festival successfully pivoted to an online format this year and continued to shine a light on cinematography that inspires

LETTER FROM AMERICA

84

SET TO POST

Stellar examples of grading, post, and workflow wizardry

86

IMAGO NEWS

IMAGO’s Interim Chair Ron Johanson OAM ACS examines the global federation’s history and valuable work and shares details of its future strategy

88

GBCT NEWS

GBCT Chair Tim Potter looks at the year ahead and at what Brexit means for filmmakers; John Keedwell GBCT reminisces about a challenging 2020, lessons that can be learnt, and cinema vs streaming British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 05

O U R M O S T N AT U R A L , N E U T R A L , F U L L S P E C T R U M L I N E O F N D F I LT E R S , E V E R .

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PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE / MIKE ELEY BSC / BSC PRESIDENT

SUPPORT AND SURVIVAL BRITISH SOCIETY

OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS Board of Governors 2021 PRESIDENT: Mike Eley BSC VICE PRESIDENTS: Rob Hardy BSC Nigel Walters BSC GOVERNORS: Balasz Bolygo BSC HSC Oliver Curtis BSC John Daly BSC John de Borman BSC AFC Gavin Finney BSC James Friend ASC BSC Adriano Goldman ASC BSC ABC Angus Hudson BSC Phil Méheux BSC Tim Palmer BSC Ula Pontikos BSC Kate Reid BSC Laurie Rose BSC Christopher Ross BSC Oliver Stapleton BSC CO-OPTED ASSOCIATE MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE: Chris Plevin BOARD ADVISOR: Joe Dunton MBE BSC (non DoP) BSC IMAGO REPRESENTATIVE: Nina Kellgren BSC COMPANY SECRETARY: Audra Marshall TREASURER: Frances Russell

I write this piece during the last days of 2020 with as much uncertainty about the future as when I wrote ten months ago when the pandemic was still an unsettling but curious event that few people knew much about.

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t crept up on us in plain sight if you recall and, according to some, “took us by surprise”. The inquest into our national COVID response (or lack of it) will hopefully expose the facts but the bare truth is that now, as we enter a new year, uneasiness is still the predominant mood.

The second wave of the virus has delivered an almost crushing reminder of how vulnerable we still are in the face of this airborne catastrophe. Vaccines are being rolled out, but it will take time for them to make a difference. Meanwhile, the dreaded ‘variant’ is threatening to skew the escape plan.

It’s also difficult to ignore the self-inflicted hobbling known as Brexit which, unsurprisingly, is making it difficult for us to keep our eyes on the much-lauded sunny uplands. If there is unease about how the pandemic is going to pan out in 2021, it is only compounded by the knowledge that things will be more difficult now when it comes to almost anything to do with mainland Europe. Certainly no easier, at any rate.

Nobody really knows how Brexit will affect the film and TV industry. It is assumed that we will just deal with it. I can remember in the ‘80s and early ‘90s I was a camera assistant hauling tens of kilos of camera and lighting equipment to the airport with a carnet and the ritual of tracking down the customs office. Once found, I’d then play nice with the officers in the hope that they wouldn’t ‘take us apart’ (i.e ask to see every item listed). It was a ritual that could be painstaking or simply diverting, depending on the Customs Officer. It certainly added another hour or so to the airport experience, plus the associated stress. And that was in the days when airports were vaguely benign places.

Brexit will no doubt bring a whole load of unintended consequences - some bad, some perhaps even good - and it won’t be until a few years down the line that we will be able to tell one from t’other. But the rush for deregulation that will follow this divorce - the primary engine of Brexit - will loom large. In a year when we have seen the necessity for protection in the workplace as well as collaboration on the environment, it would be more than tragic if everything was now merely calculated in terms of monetary return.

A review of this year can only really concern itself, to a lesser or greater degree, with survival. From intensive care to worrying about bills; from 2am moments of doubt and anxiety to the trauma of vulnerable relatives being, literally, beyond reach. It’s been about getting through it rather than celebrating

its high points. But perhaps therein lies even greater reasons to accentuate the positive. The way the cinematography community rallied, supported and shared via online forums and platforms was extremely heartening and helped push back that sense of isolation to which we are all prone.

Our industry got up and running faster than perhaps anyone expected. I have written about my reservations regarding the way that happened - an aversion to bringing so-called belowthe-line voices to the table - but there is no doubt that everyone pulled together to make it a safe (though weird) return to set.

Crews and companies were busy again. A reason to celebrate.

It’s been a good year to re-visit old film favourites and to rediscover one’s love of movies. Responding to Kees van Oostrum’s prompt (see BC Issue 101), I watched Jules et Jim after I don’t know how many years. An extraordinary milestone in film history, full of risk-taking, youthful energy (photographed by the brilliant Raoul Coutard) that must have been explosive in its day. It makes you wonder, watching that film, where the reverential approach in period films comes from. Truffaut’s film was closer to its Edwardian subject matter than we are today to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I re-watched the 1957 movie Sweet Smell of Success, arguably the best work by James Wong Howe ASC during his amazingly productive and inventive career. The capture of New York’s waning glamour using real locations and noir lighting is certainly a thing to celebrate.

The New Year’s Honours list awards Roger Deakins a knighthood. The career of one of the Society’s most lauded sons has been recognised. I once gave a speech in honour of Roger in which I said that cinematographers, by and large, are not household names but if he wasn’t careful, he might become one. I might yet be proved right. This honour not only reflects the craftsmanship and dedication pursued by Roger over the years but also highlights the position and standing of the cinematographer generally. A reason to celebrate: our finest ambassador.

But I’ve missed cinema. I’ve missed going to my church.

Every film I’ve seen since March 2020 has been on a screen no bigger than 36 inches wide, diagonal. It’s OK. I’ve set the picture up as best I can, and it’s got decent speakers, and I can make the room dark (easier in the winter), but we should remember that this life, the lockdown life, is the aberration, not the one where we go to the cinema, take our seats and the lights go down.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2021. n British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 07

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

SIR ROGER DEAKINS CBE BSC ASC IS KNIGHTED

Sir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC receiving the Oscar® for Blade Runner 2049 in 2018

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ir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC has been knighted as part of the Queen’s annual New Year Honours list for his exceptional contribution to film.

The two-time, world-renowned Oscar winner and icon of British cinematography joined a host of high-profile names from the arts, music, entertainment, and sport who were knighted for their services and outstanding achievements along with those recognised for work in their communities.

Having lensed a vast array of masterpieces such as A Beautiful Mind, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption and enjoyed long-term collaborations with directors such as the Coen brothers and Sam Mendes, Deakins was awarded a CBE in 2013 and went on to win two Oscars - one for Blade Runner 2049 in 2018 and one for 1917 in 2020. He has also won five BAFTAs along with five ASC and seven BSC Awards.

Huge congratulations to Sir Roger Deakins for the latest recognition of his phenomenal work and valuable contribution to the world of film and culture. A well-deserved honour for a master craftsman who is a true inspiration to the filmmaking community and beyond.

BSC AWARDS 2021 DETAILS REVEALED

SHINFIELD STUDIOS DEAL WILL BRING £200M FILM STUDIO TO READING The University of Reading has entered into an agreement with affiliates of Commonwealth Real Estate LP, a film studios investor based in Los Angeles, for a long lease of land at the university’s Thames Valley Science Park campus, Berkshire, which will see the development of a major film studios and creative media campus. Following consultation with the local community, the campus will be known as Shinfield Studios, and is expected to open, subject to planning approval, in late 2022. The studios will bring major Hollywood film productions to the UK, creating around 1,500 new jobs, and supporting up to 1,500 further indirect jobs.

The scheme represents a significant investment in the British film and creative industries and is expected to create £500m of annual inward investment to the UK. The studios and associated creative and digital hub will provide new opportunities for people and businesses in the region, as well as for young people from a wide range of backgrounds, including students and graduates of the University of Reading, looking for opportunities in the growing creative and entertainment industries.

Nick Smith, managing director of Shinfield Studios, said: “Britain has an enviable array of filmmaking talent, but the industry is short of highquality studio facilities capable of catering for the new and emerging technologies that will form the core of television and film production in the future. Costing over £200 million, this development will create a new powerhouse of creative production and new talent, as well as generating up to 3,000 new jobs.”

08 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

2020 was quite a year for film and television; active viewing intensified in a very new way. With cinemas closed and streaming leaping to the forefront, there was still an incredible amount of brilliant and beautiful work which the British Society of Cinematographers wants to celebrate.

Plans have begun for the BSC Awards 2021, one of the most superlative, and now virtual, events in the awards calendar. The celebratory event will take place on Friday 9 April 2021.

Awards will be presented in the following categories: Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film; Best Cinematography in a Television Drama; BSC Bert Easey Technical Award; BSC ARRI John Alcott Memorial Award; Operators’ Award for Feature Film; and Operators’ Award for Television Drama. Also receiving their awards will be the winners of this year’s BSC Short Film Cinematography Awards.

MARK FURSSEDONN APPOINTED AS PANALUX MANAGING DIRECTOR

Panalux has announced that Mark Furssedonn will lead the company as managing director. Furssedonn joined Panavision in 1997 as operations director for the Grip & Remote Systems division.

Over the following years, his role has expanded to encompass more of the Panavision Group’s operations throughout EMEA. Most recently, he served as managing director, Mainland Europe and Africa, overseeing Panavision’s camera business in those regions as well as Panalux’s lighting operations in South Africa and France. Panavision’s offices in France and South Africa will continue to report to Furssedonn in his new position.

“Panalux has a strong heritage and incredible staff who bring their immense knowledge, experience, and talent to every job the company supports. Panalux is known for delivering first-class equipment and providing the highest level of service. Our customers work in features, TV series, commercials, and much more, and on every project they trust Panalux to deliver high-end service. That will always be our priority,” he said.

BSC WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

The following Full and Associate members have been welcomed by the BSC: Ollie Downey BSC; Neus Ollé BSC AEC; David Raedeker BSC; Dave Alex Riddett BSC; George Steel BSC; Alan Stewart BSC; Erik Alexander Wilson BSC; and Ilana Garrard Assoc. BSC.

BSC EXPO UPDATE

BSC Expo will return as a live event in 2022 on Thursday 10-12 February. In 2021, the BSC is considering running a series of digital presentations hosted by the Society with the support of patrons, manufacturers, and suppliers. Full details of this will be announced soon.

TOKINA CINEMA VISTA 40MM T1.5 LENS UNVEILED

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

PGGB AND BFC PARTNER TO LAUNCH COVID SUPERVISOR TRAINING

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he Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) and the British Film Commission (BFC) have partnered to roll out a new accredited programme of COVID supervisor training for film and television production professionals.

Backed by £100,000 investment from BFC, the new Helen Curston, High-Level Covid Supervisor PGGB’s new Director of Training Training Programme will be delivered by PGGB and is being developed in consultation with the US-based Producers’ Guild of America’s Production Safety Task Force. Targeted at production managers, line producers and location managers, it will build

On set of War of the Worlds (Credit: Urban Myth)

on the BFC’s ‘Working safely during COVID-19 in film and HETV drama production’ guidance published in July, to introduce an international standard of best practice for the COVID safety role during film and television production.

PGGB’s newly appointed director of training

Helen Curston will lead the delivery of the accredited programme. With a background in production, she gained more than a decade’s experience working at the BBC as a producer and director before moving into education, first as lecturer at the University of Kent and then programme director for the University of Creative Arts’ BA (Hons) Television Production degree at Maidstone TV Studios, for which she gained ScreenSkills accreditation. She also led on the UCA’s partnership with the BAFTA Albert programme.

‘PERSPECTIVE OF TOMORROW’ CALENDAR SEES INDUSTRY UNITE TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF FILMMAKERS

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he film and TV industry have joined forces to create Prints for Mark: Perspective of Tomorrow, a calendar to raise funds to help create more skills and opportunities behind the scenes in the film and television industry for people with lesser access.

Last November marked the third anniversary of the death of British cameraman Mark Milsome ACO, who was killed whilst filming a car stunt in Ghana on the set of Black Earth Rising. Following the tragic incident, the Mark Milsome Foundation was set up, inspired by the achievements and character of the talented camera operator. The Foundation has since made great strides in creating change through a variety of initiatives including the launch of a survey to help assess the current state of health and safety in the film and TV industry.

The Prints for Mark project saw Mark’s widow Andra team up with Mark Purvis of digital media company, Mission Digital. As Andra explains: “The idea was first conceived by Mark Purvis along with incredible cinematographers Adam Suschitzky and Seamus McGarvey who thought it would be great to auction off a couple of their photographic prints as a fundraiser for the Mark Milsome Foundation at the annual BSC show in Feb ‘19 and later that year at the summer lunch.”

As the Prints for Mark project snowballed - and as a result of the pandemic - it was felt the idea could evolve into a calendar entitled Perspective of Tomorrow, continuing to build a legacy in Mark Milsome’s memory.

“We have a debt of gratitude to all the camera and electrical department technicians who have contributed photographs over the past few months,” says Andra. “We have received so many submissions and it’s been such a tough choice being limited to 12 months. This year we are launching the inaugural calendar with 13 photo choices but have some book ideas for next year and a fundraising auction event when the current world situation allows.”

The calendar features stunning images from Tom Taylor; Spike Morris; Ben Wheeler; Ash Daniyan; Sally Low; Roberto Schaeffer ASC AIC; Dick Pope BSC; Fabian Wagner ASC BSC; Chris Ross BSC; Jonny Garwes; Seamus McGarvey ASC BSC; Andrew Dunn BSC; and Adam Suschitzky BSC. Funds raised will be used to create more skills and opportunities behind the scenes in the film and television industry for people with limited access.

10 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

PAUL SALVINI JOINS DNEG AS GLOBAL CTO Visual effects and animation company DNEG has appointed Paul Salvini as global chief technology officer. Salvini will develop a new and innovative technology vision for the company, managing its global technology and R&D teams and overseeing technology initiatives across all its key offerings: visual effects for film and episodic content, feature animation, stereo conversion, virtual production and its ReDefine division, which serves expanding international markets and independent filmmakers.

Based in Canada, Salvini has more than 25 years of experience in C-Suite roles, including 15 years as CTO at SideFX and several years as CTO of audio visual technology company Christie Digital. Outgoing DNEG CTO Graham Jack, who has been with the company since 2002, is assisting with the smooth transition of responsibilities.

“Grace manifests itself in the unobtrusive beauty of Joshua James Richards’ widescreen images, in the gentle curve of a highway or the sunlight gleaming over a crowded RV park.”

Justin Chang,

For Your Consideration in All Categories Including

Best Film Best Cinematography

Joshua James Richards, Director of Photography

’

A FILM BY CHLOE ZHAO NomadlandFYC.com

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

WOODEN CAMERA’S ACCESSORIES FOR THE SONY FX6

ASC AND DEAKIN UNIVERSITY LAUNCH WORLD’S FIRST CAMERA WORKFORCE CENSUS IN AUSTRALIA

Ron Johanson OAM ACS

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ooden Camera has announced a full range of accessories compatible with the new Sony FX6, adding to their long line of modular parts for Sony cinema cameras. A new Sony FX6 Top Plate contours to the shape of the camera body, wraps around the original top handle, and features rows of 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 mounting points, as well as several ARRI Accessory Mounts. The Unified Baseplate features 15mm rod supports and can be attached to standard tripod plates or ARRI standard bridge plates.

Power accessories for the Sony FX6 include the Battery Slide Pro with Gold Mount and V-mount options, which can be attached directly to the back of the camera without the need for rods. Position of the plates can be adjusted with a loosening thumbscrew slide mount. Additional power features include three D-Tap ports with a digital fuse that cuts off accessory power when usage exceeds specified amp rating, while camera power is maintained.

The E-Mount to PL Mount Pro (Sony FX6) is a shimmable adapter for mounting PL lenses onto the FX6. This mount includes a support ring that integrates with the new Top Plate (Sony FX6). Shims are provided for adjusting necessary flange depths, should the camera be out of calibration.

he Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) has collaborated with researchers at Deakin University to launch the Camera Workforce Census 2021, a census focused on equity, diversity, and career progression of all camera professionals in Australia.

As part of the world first for research in cinematography, the Camera Workforce Census 2021 seeks to gain a greater snapshot of the camera workforce and their working experiences by gathering as many voices as possible from all camera professionals in Australia, including assistants, freelancers, operators, camera crew and cinematographers both ACS members and non-members.

The Camera Workforce Census 2021 will ask questions about career paths, income, hiring processes, professional networks, training, and professional development opportunities. It will also enquire about any experiences of workplace bullying, harassment, and discrimination.

The final report will be delivered to the ACS National Executive who will then inform their members and the industry about policy and practice for the ACS and the broader Australian screen production sector moving forward.

Ron Johanson OAM ACS, National President, Australian Cinematographers Society, said, “The ACS passionately encourages all camera professionals to participate in this exceptional research facilitated by the team at Deakin University and thus help contribute to the history of cinematography in Australia and the world. The feedback and opinions provided will help inform and provide urgent insights into the important roles that camera professionals play in the Australian screen sector.”

Participation in the Camera Workforce Census 2021 is voluntary, anonymous, and confidential and the ACS will not have access to any of the individual responses or the raw data generated from the survey. The Camera Workforce Census 2021 closes on 31 January 2021.

PRODUCTION GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN LAUNCHES DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACTION GROUP

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he Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) has launched a new Diversity and Inclusion Action Group (DIAG) tasked with shaping an action plan to improve diversity in the UK’s film and television production workforce behind the camera. The group comprises 25 PGGB members working in high level positions in a range of fields across film and TV production. They will share personal testimonies of barriers or discrimination they have encountered throughout their careers and reflect on their own experiences, to help inform targeted initiatives to be taken forward by PGGB.

The DIAG is chaired by production manager Malika Keswani (UK nonfiction, London); Vice Chairs are Chika Anisiobi (production finance manager UK non-fiction, Netflix) and producer Mia Martell (moVRshaker productions).

Professor Lyndsay Duthie, PGGB CEO said: “Whilst we’re all focused on keeping UK production flowing through the pandemic, we know that a commitment to improving diversity and inclusion in film and TV workplaces must underpin all that we do. Our new Diversity and Inclusion Action Group is bringing the right people together to help us move forward initiatives that will create a more equal industry. There is much work to do, not just in senior roles DIAG chair Malika Kesw but in all parts of the production office, from producing to location management ani to accounting. We are the voice of UK ‘behind-the-camera’ talent and the lived experience of our members in the DIAG will be invaluable DIAG vice ch in deciding which steps to take to improve pathways and remove air Chika Anisiob barriers for those who are underrepresented, including on the basis of i ethnicity, disability, socio-economic background, sexuality, or gender.”

The group will meet monthly to devise and consider a range of initiatives to be actioned, DIAG vice chair from training to mentorship. The ll rte Mia Ma DIAG aims to increase visibility of diverse production personnel and help mid-level career progress through the ranks. PGGB members are directly involved with hiring production office personnel and crews, with a real opportunity to influence the makeup of production teams.

12 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

FUJIFILM’S FREE EXTENDED DATA FIRMWARE UPDATE FOR FUJINON PREMISTA

Fujifilm UK has announced the free ZEISS eXtended Data firmware update for the Fujinon Premista Series lenses. The 28-100mm T2.9 and the 80-250mm T2.9-3.5 can be updated at the Fujinon Service Centre in London.

This firmware release coincided with December’s Sony VENICE Version 6.0 firmware update, the RED DSMC2 Release Build Version 7.4.1, and the uptake in virtual production. The Fujinon Premista Version D firmware update has been tested and is fully compatible with camera manufacturers and third-party production software and technology companies such as Transvideo, Pomfort, and Ambient Recording, and the Unity and Unreal gaming engines prevalent in the virtual production space.

Based on Cooke’s /i1 technology, the ZEISS eXtended Data software streamlines and increases accuracy of the image capture and processing workflow. It transfers real-time information about lens distortion and shading characteristics, allowing VFX artists and other creatives to preserve the character of the lens without needing to shoot grid tests.

Fujifilm’s Fujinon Premista 19-45mm T2.9 - a wide-angle zoom lens, compatible with Large Format cinema cameras, which delivers a natural image with little distortion throughout the entire zoom range will also be available from 28 January. It will ship with full eXtended Data functionality.

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NETFLIX LAUNCHES DOCUMENTARY TALENT FUND

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etflix has announced a new Documentary Talent Fund to support emerging filmmakers from across the UK. The opportunity will give 10 filmmakers and their teams, the chance to make a short documentary film with a budget of between £20,000 and £40,000 each. All teams will be under the guidance of Netflix and other filmmaking professionals, to ensure that filmmakers and everyone involved in the production are fairly paid, and in a bid to open doors to those most under-represented in the industry.

Whether you’ve picked up a camera before or have limited experience, the Documentary Talent Fund is designed to guide you through every step of the way: to nurture and encourage. In their finished forms, each documentary must be between 8-12 minutes long and will live on Netflix UK’s social channels, with the potential for further development in the future. The brief for the fully funded short documentaries is ‘Britain’s Not Boring and Here’s a Story.’ Entries opened on 4 January and close on 31 January.

For the first round, applicants are required to submit a logline (one sentence); a short synopsis and creative statement about their documentary idea. The initiative is part of Netflix’s Hardship Fund, which aims to support creatives hardest hit by COVID -19 in the TV and film industries around the world. You must be a UK resident to apply and only one application will be accepted per person.

The Social Dilemma (Credit: Netflix © 2020)

BAFTA ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH UK AND US TALENT 2020

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced the 2020 BAFTA Breakthrough UK and US participants. Supported by Netflix, BAFTA Breakthrough 2020 is made up of 34 of the most promising future stars of film, games, and television.

Talent was selected by cross-industry global juries comprising leading industry professionals, including the likes of Paapa Essiedu, Fiona Shaw, Edward Enninful and Amma Asante.

The UK BAFTA Breakthrough participants in 2020 who will be celebrated and showcased in 2021 include Rina Yang, cinematographer (Sitting in Limbo); Aleem Khan, director/writer (After Love); Ben Sharrock & Irune Gurtubai, director/writer/ producer (Limbo); Bim Ajadi, director (Here Not Here); Catherine Unger, artist/co-writer (Tangle Tower); Chella Ramanan, narrative designer/writer (Before I Forget); Jordan Hogg, director (Ackley Bridge); Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, producer (Blue Story); Linn Waite & Kate Byers, producers (Bait); Abigail Dankwa, multi-camera director (Love Song); and Rubika Shah, director/writer (White Riot).

The US BAFTA Breakthrough participants include Aadip Desai, writer (The Goldbergs); Edson Oda, director/writer (Nine Days); Ekwa Msangi, director/ writer (Farewell Amor); Jim LeBrecht, co-director (Crip Camp); and Nicole Newnham, co-director (Crip Camp).

The successful Breakthrough applicants will receive one-to-one mentoring and career guidance, full voting membership of BAFTA, access to BAFTA events and networking opportunities in the UK and internationally.

BAFTA Breakthrough India, supported by Netflix, launched in November and BAFTA Breakthrough applications will open in China later this year.

14 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

COOKE OPTICS STRENGTHENS SALES OPERATIONS IN MEA/APAC

Cooke Optics has appointed Hon Ming Lai to the role of director of sales (Asia, Australasia, Africa, Middle East).

Reporting to Thomas Greiser, director of global sales, he will be based in Hong Kong.

Hon Ming Lai joins Cooke from Shriro (H.K) Ltd where he spent seven years as business manager, leading a sales and marketing team focused on high-end cine and video equipment including Zeiss, RED, Atomos, Tiffen and Kinoflo. Prior to that he held increasingly senior regional sales and business development roles with Kodak over 19 years, culminating in a 10-year stretch as country business manager.

KURT CHAPMAN JOINS ROTOLIGHT AS UK CINE AND BROADCAST SALES MANAGER

Rotolight has appointed Kurt Chapman as UK Cine, Broadcast and Rental sales manager. As former Central and Southern European sales manager at RED Digital Cinema Europe, Chapman is an industry veteran with a wealth of experience garnered across various leading sales roles and a proven track record in driving sales revenue and company growth.

Having worked directly with leading rental houses, production companies, broadcasters, gaffers and numerous international reseller channels for RED, Kurt is well placed to further develop a sales pipeline for the Rotolight Titan range in the UK, whilst supporting the company’s European sales team.

BIFA 2020 NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED The nominees in the 2020 British Independent Film Awards ((BIFAs) Best Cinematography category (sponsored by Dirty Looks) are His House (Jo Willems); Limbo (Nick Cooke); Mogul Mowgli (Annika Summerson); Rocks (Hélène Louvart); and Saint Maud (Ben Fordesman).

The nominations reveal a wealth of new UK filmmaking talent, with a strong showing for first-time filmmakers across the board. They also showcase the diversity of talent working in the UK. Winners will be announced in early February. Good luck to all the nominees! Head over to the BIFA website to see the nominees in the other categories.

EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS ANNOUNCES EXCELLENCE AWARDS WINNERS

For the first time, the European Film Awards (EFAs) were presented as a series of virtual events. A special eightmember jury convened online to decide on the winners, basing their decisions on the EFA Feature Film Selection and individual recommendations from the selection committee for the EFA Documentary Selection.

The Excellence Awards winners included cinematographer Matteo Cocco who won the award for Best Cinematography for Hidden Away; Maria Fantastica Valmori who won the award for Best Editing for Once More Unto the Breach; Cristina Casali was awarded the Best Production Design award for The Personal History of David Copperfield; and Iñaki Madariaga received the Best Visual Effects award for The Platform.

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN ANNOUNCES DAVINCI RESOLVE 17

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 17 is a major release with over 300 new features and improvements including HDR grading tools, redesigned primary colour controls, next generation Fairlight audio engine including Fairlight audio core and support for 2,000 real time audio tracks plus dozens of other time-saving tools for editors including a redesigned inspector, new bin sorting and metadata clip views. The DaVinci Resolve 17 public beta is available for download now from the Blackmagic Design website.

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP Operator Jamie Hicks (Photo: Simone Martinetto)

DP ADAM ETHERINGTON BSC ON A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES T he second season of A Discovery of Witches is a time-spinning adventure that enjoys the rare opportunity to explore both period and contemporary storytelling environments within the same narrative world. The show twists and turns through the ages as its heroes - including historian and witch Diana Bishop - navigate a perilous and emotionally charged journey back in time into a stunningly elaborate Elizabethan setting, whilst also maintaining a high-stakes and tension-filled game of cat and mouse within the contemporary era.

The challenge for the filmmakers was to create a new and exciting world for viewers within the expansive Elizabethan landscape, whilst retaining a connection to the show’s beautiful aesthetic that had contributed to the first season’s popularity. Series two represented a new partnership between cinematographer Adam Etherington BSC and director Farren Blackburn.

“Farren is a masterful and incredibly experienced director, with a real clarity of vision for the world he wants to create,” says Etherington. “It’s a wonderful gift for a cinematographer when a director is so communicative and has such assuredness. It enables you to really collaborate in defining the ideology and film language you are looking to curate in constructing the cinematic landscape of the production.”

During prep Blackburn and Etherington discussed a philosophy of bold cinematic imagery that was defined by its movement. “Each frame needed to develop in a way that was considered and

16 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

intentional, be that through blocking and/or camera shootout was carried out to explore and assess a range movement, with superfluous drifting movement and of options. The tests were then taken into a suite at handheld operation strictly against the ideology,” says Molinare post house in London where Etherington, Etherington. “Our operators were a huge part of this, Blackburn, colourist Gareth Spensley and executive with Jon Beacham (opening block), Jamie Hicks (closing producer Lachlan MacKinnon evaluated the possibilities. block) and Roger Tooley (Steadicam and B-camera) all

“Having Gareth’s and Lachlan’s insight and input offering great attention to detail and poise in executing at this stage was fantastic as they really enabled us to the strategy.” evaluate the options collectively as a creative team

One of the most crucial considerations in to reach a unified perspective and gave everyone realising the vision for the series was finding and confidence in the look,” says Etherington. selecting the perfect optics. “We “The clear winner of wanted a lens series that would the process for us all was elevate the drama and scale of the the rehoused Panavision Elizabethan world whilst delivering Superspeed lens series the high calibre aesthetic that the - the PV Vintage lenses. costume and production design They had a wonderful deserved. It was also important contrast rendition, bokeh that the lenses had personality,” and roll off that we felt explains Etherington. would heighten the drama

“We wanted the staged and scale of the series, interaction of light and flare whilst representing a to heighten the illustration of less aggressive but still Diana’s growing prowess with her defined projection in magical power, and to allow us terms of sharpness. to add depth and texture to the “As well as creating a image through light interaction, high-calibre look, this last something that Roger Tooley element would allow us to utilised to great effect in creating enjoy a softness for more ADAM ETHERINGTON BSC wonderful additional textural romantic beats within angles with the the narrative. The lenses B-camera. With all these attributes and the flared in a beautiful and distinctive manner, refracting beautiful, nuanced imperfections of vintage the light in a way that again offered us the perfect optics in mind, it felt like an older Panavision instrument with which to heighten the visual realisation lens series would be ideally suited.” of the moments of magic that become more prominent

Several vintage Panavision lenses as Diana’s skill with her power increases. were tested, alongside other optical

“The personality and character of the artisan elders of the cinema lens world. With the craftspeople behind the original lenses’ construction really generous assistance of Dean Oram and gives each lens series a unique personality and characterful Kirstie Wilkinson at Panavision and Andy individuality that you just won’t find in the mass-produced Cooper at Movietech, a nine-lens series computer-engineered lenses of the modern era. A crucial and defining factor in our selection process.”

When selecting a camera format, Etherington was conscious that larger format sensors would Roger Tooley significantly limit the available lens on Steadicam options. “The ARRI Alexa Mini was a format that allowed us to meet all our technical requirements, as well as to work with the beautiful optics that were so important to us,” he says. “The camera offers wonderful naturalistic rendering of skin tones, beautiful roll off in highlights and shadows, and fantastic low-light performance. It was a natural choice for us in combination with our elected lens selection.”

1st AD Seth Adams; director Farren Blackburn; and DP Adam Etherington

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COOKE OPTICS’ S7/i FULL FRAME PLUS PRIMES HELP AWAKEN EMOTIONS IN I STILL BREATHE

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ollowing the lifting of the first lockdown in London in July 2020, cinematographer Matteo Bangrazi and filmmaker Alfred George Bailey jumped on set with the rest of the team to film I Still Breathe. Relying on Cooke Optics’ S7/i series of lenses for full frame capture on an ARRI Alexa Mini LF, Bangrazi aimed to achieve the Cooke Look, with softer edges and cinematic framing to capture the strong visuals of this impactful short film.

I Still Breathe is a documentary about a group of socially aware young adults who give extraordinary and deeply emotional testimonies on being black, mixed race, and white in London, England. They passionately react to the impact of George Floyd’s brutal killing which has sent shockwaves globally. The response to this inhumane act has been an awakening in the collective social consciousness, as “Black Lives

Matter” echoes around the world. This short film acts as a statement of hope for the world.

Filming under tight timing and COVID-19 safety restrictions, combined with the natural movement desired in the shots, led Bangrazi to use a Steadicam for several scenes. For such a mission, Bangrazi, along with his camera team, Steadicam operator Tommaso Colelli and first assistant camera Oliver Munks, relied on the Cooke S7/i Full Frame prime lenses for the astonishing balance ratio, allowing for a super-fast lens swap, which would

PRODUCTION GUILD OF GREAT BRITAIN ANNOUNCES INNOVATION AWARDS WINNERS

frequently be required given the body movement and dancing in the scenes.

Bangrazi also chose the S7/i primes due to his preference to shoot in full frame format because of the greater field of view. “We didn’t want this documentary to be shot as a drama, nor did we want a dry statement of people talking to a camera.

The 2:1 aspect ratio speaks to me a lot. It provides the cinematic feel, enhancing the field of view without compromising the depth of field, and this could only be achieved with full frame.”

In terms of lighting, Bangrazi noted: “I wanted to portray the image of a body as a display, as if being watched in a theatre by the public. So, I looked at doing this through a mono light source that drives the attention to the character. This effect helped me symbolise how the people have been viewing the tragic killing of George Floyd through their smartphones and televisions.”

HARBOR ADDS TO GROWING COLOUR TALENT ROSTER

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he Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) has announced the 2020 PGGB Innovation Awards, in association with Warner Bros.

Studios Leavesden. These recognise production professionals’ innovative work as they navigated new ways of working to keep UK Gareth Ellis film and TV production moving forward during lockdown.

-Unwin Producer and ScreenSkills head of film and animation, Gareth Ellis-Unwin, line producer Georgette Turner and production coordinator Marco Calabrese won the PGGB Innovation Award for a Production Team, sponsored by Warner Bros.

Studios Leavesden, for First Day: On Set. A special mention in the PGGB Innovation Award for Production Team category was also made for season two of War of the Worlds (Urban Myth for Canal+ and Fox TV).

Andy Hudson, film laboratory manager at Cinelab London, received the PGGB Innovation Award for an Individual, sponsored by Netflix. John McVay OBE, chief executive of Pact, and Hakan Kousetta, Pact Council Member and COO Television of See-Saw Films, received the PGGB Innovation Special Recognition Award, sponsored by MBSi, for their Andy Hudson extensive work with the government to put into place the £500m Film and TV Production Restart Scheme.

Hakan The Jurassic World: Dominion UK production Kousetta & John team won the PGGB Innovation Award for Special McVay Contribution to the Industry. It was the first major studio feature to get back underway in the UK after the government gave the greenlight to restart production.

The Pursuit of Love (Open Book and Moonage Pictures for BBC One and Amazon Studios) also received a special mention in the PGGB Innovation Special Contribution to the Industry category.

18 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Andrea Chlebak and Damien Vandercruyssen have joined the team at Harbor and will be available for filmmakers worldwide. Based out of Harbor’s LA post-production facility, colourist Chlebak’s recent work includes supervising colour for Seth Rogen’s An American Pickle for HBOMax, as well as collaborating for a third time with Gregory Middleton ASC to supervise colour for Netflix’s feature A Babysitter’s Guide to Monsterhunting.

NY-based senior colourist Vandercruyssen has a track record spanning 20 years. His wealth of knowledge in the art of grading and expertise in cinematography and colour science, have led to regular collaborations with Sofia Coppola and cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd on The Beguiled and On the Rocks, the Safdie brothers and cinematographer Darius Khondji on Uncut Gems, as well as Trey Edward Shults and cinematographer Drew Daniel on Waves.

Photo: StudioCanal

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“The lenses I chose for Supernova were based on the look that Director Harry Macqueen wanted for his film, which was somewhat old fashioned, warm and romantic in feel, offering a close and intimate chemistry between the two main characters. I arranged a screening for him of Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn, on which I had previously used Cooke Panchro/i Classic Primes, and Harry loved them on that film.

Subsequent testing for Supernova featuring the principal actors confirmed our thoughts. Harry described them as having a rounded and natural feel which reels in the viewer.

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Over the three films I’ve shot with both the original and updated versions, I have become very attached to the antique look of the Panchros, partly because they’re not clean, modern looking or super sharp, but really rather ‘painterly’ and cinematic. Like the originals they feature the eccentricities of the original Speed Panchro designs, and when used wide open, can if required, offer focus fall-off at the edges of frame along with a gentle fall off in the corners — in fact, all the attributes Harry and I really wanted for Supernova.”

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

DP MICHAEL WOOD REIMAGINES DICKENS’ CLASSIC IN A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Director of photography, Michael Wood, reveals the process of lensing A Christmas Carol, a radical retelling of Dickens’ classic in contemporary dance.

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hen director Jacqui Morris first approached me to shoot A Christmas Carol, I was incredibly excited. I had just come off shooting Carmilla, a great experience, but a very low budget independent film, shot very naturalistically with no more than two film lights and lots of candles. I knew instantly A Christmas Carol would be the antithesis of this.

This version of A Christmas Carol was going to be an incredibly theatrical, dance-driven re-imagining of the classic Dickens story, and so I wanted my cinematography to wholeheartedly reflect that. Also, having all my lights rigged enabled me to work fast. We shot the film in just 12 days in Kiev during the summer of 2018. The only additional filming was much later in winter, a day’s shoot in the UK to film the opening scene. We were hampered by, and equally blessed with the snowiest day of the year. All the snowfall you see outside the windows in that scene is real.

My visual inspiration began with production designer, Darko Petrovic’s incredible and bold twodimensional ‘theatre’ sets. I loved the 2D element in a three-dimensional world, and its transfer back again.

I wanted to enhance that theatrical

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element, as the whole production was, in effect ‘on stage’ over one night, so aside from working purely with theatrical/moving lights I decided to embrace a rich and overly saturated colour palette. I knew I would be using smoke and diffusion on the stage throughout, so I had to be bold enough or else it would become muted.

My initial inspiration - which remained my inspiration throughout production - were the colours and theatrical staging of director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Querelle (photographed by Xaver Schwarzenberger). My gaffer, Alexander Shvets, and I drew up a swatch card of colours we liked, and we would see what worked best on any given scene.

Alexander and his team did an incredible job on a very demanding shoot. They worked tirelessly and I remain indebted to them for that.

My initial lighting head list was 180 fixtures. Via Skype, the producers openly laughed at me as it was not a big budget production, but when they understood my vision and appreciated how fast we needed to work, they could not have been more supportive. I do not believe there was one theatrical light left in Ukraine! They were even bringing in additional ARRI SkyPanels and remotely operated RGB lights from other nearby countries. I am so thankful to the producers for enabling me to fulfil my vision and give A Christmas Carol the visuals it demanded.

Ultimately, my 180 was an underestimate, I ended up with over 240 lamps rigged at one stage. Aside from the moving lights I needed a 50m circular ‘soft box’ for the exterior streetscape that features on the outside of the theatre.

This was another inspired creation from Darko, and best appreciated in the wonderful transition from the children’s family Christmas into the young girl’s imagination. For this transition, Darko built a replica scaled set for the family Christmas, and I matched the line up on a 14mm lens before we continued the (Technocrane) move into the dancers ‘awakening’, and the shops opening on the live action set. Photography began on 30 July 2018 after a brief pre-production period and three days of intense pre-lighting with Alexander.

The theatre was a permanent set, and we had a second stage with sets being constructed, shot, and switched out, almost daily. The whole film takes place in a single night, so the only time I changed my modus operandi and moved away from theatrical lights rigged, was the morning Scrooge woke up (literally and figuratively). I lit this from the ground with three 24k Tungsten Dinos (dimmed to 2200° K) to recreate the warmth (colour and metaphorically) of sunrise, a new day (and a new life) beginning.

Scrooge’s rebirth needed a touch of ‘reality’.

We shot almost exclusively on a Technocrane and a Steadicam. Again, this was so we could move fast, but also so we could react to, and move with the dancers.

The camera also had to ‘dance’. For this, I was blessed to work with local Steadicam operator, Ruslan Bogdan.

He was phenomenal, and totally understood our intent. The beauty his movements brought to the dance performance was exceptional. Ruslan would watch the rehearsal, and with a nod of his head and a thumbs-up, he would throw himself into it and proceed to ‘dance’ like a ballerina with them! It was a joy to watch and he brought so much to the production.

I shot on an ARRI Alexa, with Cooke S4s (14mm-76mm) in 3.2k ProRes 4444, framing 2.39:1. Grading took place at Goldcrest Post in London with my usual colourist, the amazing artist and technician, Maria Chamberlain. The whole experience was a joy. It is such a beautiful and original retelling of Dickens’ classic Christmas story.

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DNEG AND BROMPTON TECHNOLOGY FORGE NEW VIRTUAL PRODUCTION WORLDS

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n recent years, and further driven by the impact of COVID-19, DNEG developed its virtual production offering, leading to a close collaboration with video processing manufacturer Brompton Technology. DNEG’s amplified focus in the area, and an upscaling in its work on episodic shows in addition to its traditional film work, involved creating a new in-house studio environment tailored to virtual production.

“We are seeing more and more filmmakers becoming interested in the developing possibilities for virtual production,” said Paul Salvini, Global CTO, DNEG. “This interest has intensified in the last few months due to the effects of social distancing on travel and the number of people who can safely be on set.

Our team was excited to work with Brompton because of their expertise and a shared passion for excellence and innovation.”

The Brompton team has worked closely with DNEG’s virtual production team, and particularly head of virtual production Isaac Partouche, for the past nine months. “We’ve developed a great working relationship with DNEG, working closely with the entire virtual production team from the start to give them a thorough understanding of how to get the best out of their LED panels on set,” said Brompton Technology’s technical project manager, Adam Callaway.

Partouche, who supervised DNEG’s virtual staging requirements for its upcoming shows, said: “The Tessera SX40 4K processors have been a great addition to our virtual production set-up. The image processing is impressively fast, the Genlock options synchronise the content correctly across the LED volume with significantly less latency response and by using Brompton’s Hydra dynamic calibration tools we’re able to get the best HDR results from the wall.”

NEW ANGÉNIEUX OPTIMO PRIME LENSES DELIVERING WORLDWIDE

CHROMA-Q ANNOUNCES POLE OPERATED PAN & TILT YOKE Chroma-Q has launched the Pole Operated Pan & Tilt Yoke accessory for their Space Force Octo and Space Force onebytwo fixtures. Over the past few months Chroma-Q has seen a large increase in demand from their film and TV customers, specifically for their Space Force range of fixtures.

In such a fast-paced industry, having the ability to make changes quickly and easily is essential. Operators will now be able to make adjustments whilst keeping both feet on the ground.

Removing the need for ladders on set not only keeps things tidier but also removes a potential safety hazard.

(l-r): Gérard Frison, Industry Director; Gaetan Pitiot, Warehouse Manager; Charles Farra, Warehouse department; Severine Serrano, Managing Director, Angénieux International Sales

The first six-lens Silver Sets of Full Frame Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses left Angénieux facilities in France to join some of the most prestigious rental houses worldwide. Originally announced at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019 and following the previous successful collaboration on Angénieux Type EZ zoom series, the Optimo Primes Series is another joint effort by Band Pro Film & Digital Inc., Jebsen Industrial Technology Co LTD, and Thales LAS France SAS.

The first seven rental houses to receive Optimo Primes will be coordinated through Angénieux regional sales partners Band Pro Film & Digital Inc., Jebsen JCinecast, Vocas, Camera Nordic, with deliveries going to Keslow Camera; Hand Held Films; Koerner Camera; TCS (US); Beijing Hai Yang You Chuang Television & Culture Development Co Ltd (China); Camalot (Netherlands); and Ljud & Bildmedia (Sweden).

Optimo Primes capture the signature Angénieux look in a complete prime lens set. The series was designed to meet the growing worldwide demand from professional cinematographers for high quality full frame primes. The Silver Set includes 21mm, 28mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm and 135mm focal lengths. The following six focal lengths, 18mm, 24mm, 32mm, 60mm,100mm, and 200mm, will be delivered between now and Spring 2021.

Sales and distribution of Optimo Prime lenses will be overseen in the Americas by Band Pro, in Europe, India and Africa by Angénieux, and in Asia

by Jebsen JCineCast.

22 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

PIXIPIXEL SECURES INVESTMENT FROM MERINO PRIVATE EQUITY London-based camera and lighting rental house Pixipixel has secured a significant investment from Merino Private Equity.

With its two specialist divisions - Cameras in Hoxton, East London and Lighting in Tottenham, North London - Pixipixel serves short and long form hire.

The investment will propel Pixipixel’s growth plans as the company continues expanding its lighting and camera packages to the feature film, television, commercials and stills industries. As part of the transaction, Steve Knight will move from his current role as COO to the role of managing director. Founder Toby Newman will take up a new role as director of lighting and Vince Wild, ex Take 2, will continue as director of cameras.

THE TANK FACTORY STUDIO COMPLEX OPENS IN WEST LONDON

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large custom-built studio complex has opened, with a special COVID-19busting air purification system in place to help protect staff and crews.

The Tank Factory in Acton offers four studios spanning 45,000 square feet, each with drive-in access and equipped with massive white CYCs.

The scale of the studio complex is one of the largest of its kind in London providing everything needed for high quality productions of TV dramas and features, commercials, multi-camera TV, music videos, and photographic shoots.

Every studio features a production office space, a hair and makeup station, a green room as well as a private bathroom.

Additional on-site facilities include kitchen and catering, bar, lighting equipment from Pixipixel, 4KUHD for TV production provided by ProLink, and super-fast WiFi throughout the building.

ERNST LEITZ WETZLAR UNVEILS CINEMATOGRAPHER’S VIEWFINDER HENRI Ernst Leitz Wetzlar’s cinematographer’s viewfinder Henri is designed for Leica’s SL2 camera and consists of a newly designed support system, with a pivoting handle including integrated camera controls. By flipping in the handle, the system can be easily attached to a monopod or tripod plate.

The upgraded cine application of the new Leica SL2S camera was the main trigger for optics manufacturer Leitz to collaborate on this project.

The modular system allows the camera to be easily taken on and off with L-PL and L-LPL mounts available.

Henri - weighing in at only 4lb - and the Leica SL2 Camera are a comfortable and practical ultra-lightweight solution for cinematographers and directors on set.

DOPCHOICE’S LATEST RELEASES

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oPchoice has added light directing tools for Rotolight Titan X1 and Velvet Kosmos. For the Rotolight Titan X1, DoPchoice offers a dedicated, lightweight, patented Snapbag softbox that slides out of its own matching carry bag, snaps up, and mounts directly on the fixture in seconds, tool-free.

For versatility with other lights DoPchoice offers its exclusive Rabbit Ears mounting system. To go with Titan X1, the Rabbit Ears Mini combined with a dedicated Titan bracket offers compatibility with six DoPchoice softboxes: Octa 3’, 5’, and 7’ popular softeners with or without matching grids, Lantern 3’ and 5’, and the Snapbag Medium. DoPchoice also offers a similar array of light controlling solutions adequately sized for the Titan X2.

For Velvet’s newest entry, the Kosmos Studio 400, DoPchoice unveiled softeners and shapers optimised to accentuate the light’s luminous spread including a new ring-shaped Rabbit Rounder mount for the dedicated Kosmos Snapbag that smoothly interfaces with the rectangular, instant snap-up Snapbag.

DoPchoice is also now offering light directing tools to work with Aputure’s justlaunched LS600D LED fixture. To complement this daylight-balanced point source, DoPchoice has designed two new Snapbag softboxes to directly fit the light’s Bowens mount as well as a double bracket which enables a pair of 600D fixtures to accommodate other Snapbags.

Also new from the company are two new Snapbags for single tube Helios and Titan lights from Astera. Made to give filmmakers maximum control of their lighting, both premiere similar softbox benefits including intensified output, adjustable beam spread, simplified pack-up, and an easy track mounting system - all in a lightweight Snapbag.

EPIC GAMES RELEASES UNREAL ENGINE 4.26 Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4.26 delivers powerful new tools that extend the ability of creators to craft believable real-time environments and characters for games, film and TV, visualisation, training, and simulation; as well as continued advancements to Unreal’s virtual production toolset; higher-quality media output; improved design review tools; and more.

Hair and Fur is production-ready in 4.26, delivering the ability to edit, simulate, and render true strand-based hair, fur, and feathers. The Volumetric Cloud component is also introduced which can interact with Sky Atmosphere, Sky Light, and up to two directional lights, improving the quality of both realistic and stylized skies, clouds, and other atmospheric effects.

ROTOLIGHT INTRODUCES THE TITAN X1 1X1 LIGHT Rotolight’s Titan X1 LED offers power and an innovative feature-set that is ideal for studio and location work. It features the world’s first electronic diffusion technology, SmartSoft, control diffusion, focus and spread without the need for gels, whilst a full-colour touchscreen display saves time on set. Building on the success of the Titan X2, the 1x1 light features powerful high-speed sync RGB flash, built-in wireless connectivity (Bluetooth/wDMX) and energy efficiency.

Featuring SmartSoft lighting control, Titan X1’s diffusion, focus and spread can be adjusted without the need for gels. SmartSoft provides the flexibility of a beautiful soft output and a harder light source in one.

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 23

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP

SUPER SHARP SHOOTERS

B

erlin Associates: Will Baldy completed shooting The Pact for Little Door Productions, produced

by Catrin Lewis Defis and directed by Jennifer Perrot and Eric Styles. Sarah Bartles Smith completed shooting Vicar of Dibley Shorts for Tiger Aspect Productions with director Barbara Wiltshire and producer John Plowman. Len Gowing has completed shooting Still So Awkward, Channel X North for CBBC. Alvaro Gutierrez is filming Around the World in 80 Days with director Steve Barron. Nick Martin is filming The Offenders for Big Talk with director Stephen Merchant and producer Nickie Sault. Toby Moore is shooting episodes four and five of Call the Midwife series 10 with director Noreen Kershaw. Ian Moss has completed shooting Innocent series two in Dublin, TXTV for ITV, directed by Tracey Larcombe and executive produced by Jeremy Gwilt. Benjamin Pritchard is shooting The Intruder in Dublin for MK1 Productions. Andrew Rodger is shooting Confession for Dagger Films. Pete Rowe is shooting Partridge for Baby Cow Productions. Simon Walton is shooting Lagging for BBC with director Julian Kemp and producer Gert Thomas. Matt Wicks finished shooting Red Election for Subotica in Dublin with director Paul Murphy and shot commercials pre-Christmas.

Casarotto Ramsay & Associates: Eben Bolter BSC is working on Armando Iannucci’s second series of Avenue 5 for HBO and Sky. Sturla Brandth Grøvlen is prepping War Sailor for Mer Films with director Gunnar Vikene. Sam Care is starting on The Beautiful Game with Gilles Bannier for Emirates. Greg Duffield has finished shooting the third series of Motherland for Merman. Matt Gray BSC is

Zac Nicholson shooting The Pursuit of Love

grading Vigil with director James Strong for World Productions. Frank Lamm is fresh off Munich with director Christian Schwochow for Netflix and will start prep on Star Wars: White Snake for Lucasfilm in January. Helene Louvart AFC is working on Jaime Rosales’ upcoming feature Girasoles Silvestres, shooting in Barcelona. Zac Nicholson BSC is working on the second series of Avenue 5 for HBO and Sky, having recently wrapped on The Pursuit of Love with director Emily Mortimer for Amazon Studios. Tim Palmer BSC is filming the fifth season of The Last Kingdom for Carnival Films. Tudor Vladimir Panduru is in Romania working on Radu Muntean’s new feature.

Annika Summerson has completed the second series of Breeders with director Ben Palmer, together with working on the grade for Prano Bailey-Bond’s horror feature Censor which is heading for Sundance Film Festival.

Murren Tullett has recently finished lensing Brian & Charles for Film4 with director Jim Archer. Gerry Vasbenter will begin prep on Susie Searches in January with Sophie Kargman for 141 Entertainment. Mark Wolf is shooting Time with Lewis Arnold for the BBC, to be followed by Home for The Forge with director Marc Munden. Michael Wood has finished Whitsable Pearl for Buccaneer Films, directed by Jon Jones.

Echo Artists: Stuart Bentley BSC is shooting season four of Top Boy for Netflix and Cowboy Films. Nadim Carlsen is prepping for The Long Night, his regular collaborator director Ali Abbasi’s new film. Federico Cesca has wrapped on Tereza Nvotova’s Nightsiren and is shooting Ballywater with director Prasanna Puwanarajah. Rachel Clark is operating on the series Ray James for Apple TV.

Focus Motion Canning Action99

Andrew Commis ACS is prepping on Robert Connely’s Blueback. Nick Cooke has wrapped on Lynsey Miller’s Anne Boleyn. Edgar Dubrovskiy is working on Felicity Morris’ The Tinder Swindler (Working Title) documentary for Netflix and Raw Television. David Gallego ADFC is working with Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego on Cortes. Will Pugh is shooting The Story of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, for Netflix and John Dower. Felix Wiedemann BSC has wrapped on Mrs Harris Goes to Paris with director Anthony Fabien and has begun prep on Amazon’s The Power. Joe Anderson; Bonnie Elliott ACS; David Chizallet AFC; Charlie Herranz; MacGregor; Lachlan Milne ACS; Christopher Miles; Michael Paleodimos; Noel Schoolderman; Niels Thastum DFF; Maria von Hausswolff and Sean Price Williams have been busy shooting commercials.

Independent Talent: Chas Bain is shooting A Discovery of Witches until mid-January with director Jamie Donoughue. Ole Birkeland BSC is in Australia filming Pieces of Her with Minkie Spiro. Jordan Buck finished shooting in South Africa with RSA’s Nolan Goff for Nivea.

Bjorn Bratberg is prepping for The Long Call with Lee Haven Jones. Chris Clarke shot spots for Johnnie Walker with Alex Southam and Tesco with Rosie Gaunt Mathieson. Ben Davis BSC finished filming Cry Macho with Clint Eastwood. Anthony Dod Mantle BSC ASC DFF is in prep for Lonely Boy with Danny Boyle. Sam Goldie has been shooting commercials with directors Sharon Horgan, Tyler Manson and Jonas McQuiggin.

Catherine Goldschmidt has completed work on A Discovery of Witches series three with Debs Paterson.

Stuart Howell is in prep for The Peripheral with Vincenzo

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Cameras & Optics | Bespoke MoVi Solutions | Tracking Vehicles Custom Engineering | Lens Services

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24 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

14/01/2020 10:54

Robin Whena the Call the ry shooting on the set M of (Credit: Laur idwife Christmas Special a Neal Street Radford, Copyright: Productions )

rson (r) and DP Annika Summe Jonathan B camera operator series 2 Tyler on Breeders

DP Chas Bain is shooting A Discovery of Witches with director Jamie Donoughue

Matt Wicks shooting Red Election in Dublin for Subotica

Natali. Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC has finished Cyrano de Bergerac for Joe Wright in Italy. Andreas Neo shot a spot for Gillette with director Noah Conopask and episode six of The Show with Ellyn Daniels. Mark Patten has finished shooting a short film with Luke Scott.

Stephan Pehrsson BSC is prepping for SAS: Rogue Heroes with Tom Shankland. Tat Radcliffe BSC is in prep on Matthew Warchus’s Matilda. George Richmond BSC is about to finish the third instalment of Fantastic Beasts with David Yates. Ashley Rowe BSC has finished grading Finding Alice with directors Roger Goldby and Juliet May. Ben Seresin shot a spot for Land Rover with Macolm Venville. Alan Stewart BSC is shooting with Guy Ritchie on Five Eyes, starring Jason Statham. Erik Wilson is about to start filming Landscapers with Will Sharpe.

Lux Artists: Rob Hardy BSC has wrapped on The Man from Toronto, directed by Patrick Hughes. Natasha Braier ASC ADF is shooting David Hollendar’s series American Gigolo. Adolpho Veloso is shooting Justin Chadwick’s new series Becoming Elizabeth. Giuseppe Favale shot a music video for Sufjan Stevens, directed by Luca Guadagnino. Arnau Valls Colomer AEC is prepping for Hugo Blick’s series The English. Jessica Lee Gagne continues to shoot Ben Stiller’s new series Severance. Ben Fordesman has wrapped on Origins, directed by Andrew Cummin. Matyas Erdely HSC shot a Formula E commercial with Marcus Soderlund. Rina Yang shot a Peugeot campaign, directed by Fleur Fortune. Adam Scarth has wrapped on the new season of Top Boy for Netflix, directed by Brady Hood. Nicolai Niermann shot an SKP-S commercial, directed by Jonas Lindstroem.

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Rina Yang shooting a commercial project

Guillermo Garza continues to prep for Desert Warrior, directed by Rupert Wyatt. Daniel Landin BSC shot an Anti-Knife Crime campaign with Seb Edwards. Benjamin Loeb has started shooting Jesse Eisenberg’s new feature When I Finish Saving the World. Luckasz Zal shot an NDA fashion brand commercial with director Jonathan Glazer.

Thimios Bakatakis has wrapped on Master of None, directed by Aziz Ansari. John Lynch shot additional photography for Crock of Gold, directed by Julian Temple.

McKinney Macartney Management: Stuart Biddlecombe continues to shoot season four of The Handmaid’s Tale on location in Toronto, with Elizabeth Moss and Daina Reid directing. Ben Butler has been shooting commercials. Mick Coulter BSC has finished shooting Netflix feature film A Castle for Christmas, with director Mary Lambert, and is due to start prepping the next season of Outlander on location in Scotland. Denis Crossan BSC has been shooting commercials. Sergio Delgado continues to shoot Channel 4’s Close to Me, with Michael Samuels directing. Gavin Finney BSC is shooting Tailspin (aka Suspicion) for Keshet TV on location in London.

Jean Philippe Gossart continues to shoot season two of Netflix’s The Witcher with director Sarah O’Gorman, on location in the UK. Sam McCurdy BSC is shooting season three of Netflix’s Lost in Space on location in Canada. Andy McDonnell has finished shooting Ackley Bridge on location in Leeds and is about to start prep on BBC drama You Don’t Know Me, with Sarmad Masud directing. John Pardue BSC has completed principal photography on Angela Black with director Craig Viveiros for Two Brothers Pictures. Alessandra Scherillo has been shooting

commercials. Richard Stoddard continues to shoot the third series of Sky One’s Brassic with director Rob Quinn.

Clive Tickner BSC has been shooting commercials. Robin Whenary is shooting Doctor Who on location in Cardiff, with Jamie Payne directing.

DP Edgar Dubrovsk

Murtha with director Felicit iy Skouras: Simon Morris on an upcomy Dennis is shooting Netflix document ing ary American Crime Story: Impeachment, directed by Ryan Murphy.

No Agency: Tobias Datum is shooting Netflix limited drama series True Story, starring Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes. Jonas Schneider has finished shooting documentary Rio Negro, directed by Anna-Sophia Richard.

Didier Daubeach shot The Scent of My Man commercial mini-series for Dior Fragrance.

Plan B: Plan B is now also representing Steadicams operators, with these operators in their roster: Sacha Naceri; Christopher Kechichian; Pau Reig; and Alberto Ojeda. Plan B has welcomed the following cinematographers to the roster: Beatriz Sastre; Manel Ruiz Bardají; Leo Calzoni; Mariano Monti; and Nauzet Gaspar. Beatriz Sastre has finished shooting feature >>

STUDIO LOCATION FEATURES COMMERCIALS DRAMA TELEVISION EQUIPMENT GENERATORS TRANSPORT SUPPORT INNOVATION SAFETY SUSTAINABILITY 30/10/2020 11:03 British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 25

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP DP Bertrand Rocourt shooting documentary Gaïa which follows a community of cave explorers in the French Alps

Camera operator Tony Kay on Britannia

O Dan Nightingale AC l for filming a commercia er Chief in Manchest

Federica Montseny, La Mujer Que Habla, directed by Laura Mañá. Pau Castejon has finished shooting feature Fuimos canciones, directed by Juana Macias. He was also nominated for Best Cinematography in a Music Video at Energa Camerimage Festival 2020 for his work on Taylor Swift’s music video Lover.

Oscar Faura has finished shooting the first episodes of TV series Peter Roberts Lord of the Rings by Assoc. BSC AC on O on Amazon Prime. Alex de the set of Cyran o Pablo has finished shooting the Movistar+ series Antidisturbios. Elias M. Felix has finished shooting the Movistar+ series Paraiso and shot feature film No Matarás. Josep Civit shot feature films Baby and La Vampira de Barcelona. Marc Miró was nominated for Best Cinematography in a Music Video at Energa Camerimage Festival 2020 and at UKMVA 2020 for his work on Ferran Palau’s music video Flora Caic. Daniel Fernández Abelló finished shooting feature film La Abuela and is now grading. Uri Barcelona finished shooting feature film La Otra Casa and now is in post-production.

PrinceStone: Peter Robertson Assoc. BSC ACO is A camera operator and Steadicam on Cyrano, with director Joe Wright and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC. Joe Russell ACO is shooting A camera and Steadicam on Suspicion, a new series for Apple TV+, directed by Chris Long and Stefan Schwartz, with Gavin Finney BSC and Adam Suschitzky BSC as the two DPs across eight episodes.

James Layton ACO is shooting

26 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

A camera and Steadicam on the second series of The Great for Hulu, with director Colin Bucksey and cinematographer John Brawley. James is also camera operator and Steadicam on Little Island/Apple TV’s production Invasion/ Ray James, directed by Jamie Payne. The series is inspired

by H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. Simon Baker ACO is filming splinter/2nd unit on The Witcher series two. The cinematographers are Gavin Struthers and Jean-Phillipe Gossart. Sean Savage Assoc. BSC ACO and Soc. ACO President has finished filming A camera on Pennyworth season two, directed by Jon East with DPs Mark Patten and Si Bell and additional photography by Matt Windon.

Sean is now A camera operator and steadicam on The Witcher series two. Peter Wignall ACO has finished shooting A camera (Morocco unit) on Little Island/Apple TV’s production Invasion/Ray James. He was filming on location in Morocco with DP Julian Court and director Jamie Payne. Peter is now camera operator on A Discovery of Witches series three, directed by Alice Troughton.

Fabrizio Sciarra Soc./Assoc. BSC GBCT ACO has finished shooting Temple series two, directed by Chris Smith. The DP is Ben Wheeler. Rob Hart ACO is shooting A camera on four-part thriller Ridley Road, directed by Lisa Mulchaly.

Matt Fisher ACO, a camera, Steadicam and AR operator who has recently joined PrinceStone, has finished shooting Foundation, a sci-fi series for Skydance Television and Apple TV+. Dan Nightingale ACO has gone into prep for Wolfe, shooting B camera, with director Adrian Shergold and DP Tony Slater Ling BSC. Dan has also been filming dailies on The Great, a series for Hulu directed by Colin Bucksey with cinematographer John Brawley.

Sara Putt Associates: Giulio Biccari has wrapped on McDonald and Dodds and will start prepping on Stay Close in January for Red Productions. Jan Jonaeus is soon to wrap on My Name is Lizzie for Story Films for director Niall MacCormick. Duncan Telford has recently wrapped on Bloods, a new series he was lighting for Roughcut TV. Tom Debenham has wrapped on The Matrix reboot for Lana Wachowski. Sashi Kissoon has been shooting Tesco Christmas TVCs. He is finishing prep on She is Love, a feature film directed by Jamie

Adams. Emily Almond Barr has wrapped commercial work for Adobe and Audible as well as Casualty episodes with directors John Maiden and Miranda HowardWilliams. Sean Francis has wrapped on a short film for BBC New Creatives, commissioned by BBC Arts. He is prepping for Ndixakiwe, a short film set on location in South Africa.Andrei Austin ACO, Assoc. BSC SOC has been busy doing dailies on the new series of McDonald and Dodds for Mammoth Screen. Danny Bishop ACO Assoc. BSC SOC has wrapped on the new series of Baptiste and will start prep on All Quiet on the Western Front in the new year. Ed Clark ACO continues as operator/Steadicam operator on Close to Me. James Frater ACO SOC is busy operating on the new series of The Witcher for Netflix. Ilana Garrard ACO is working on Anatomy of a Scandal with DP Balazs Bolygo. She has recently been accepted into the BSC as an associate member (the first woman to be accepted as an associate member). James Leigh ACO has returned to Stephen Merchant’s new series The Offenders which was paused due to COVID. Since wrapping on Till Death, which shot on location in Budapest, Will Lyte ACO has been busy doing dailies on Top Boy and Starstruck. He will then return to the new series of Sex Education in January. Vince McGahon ACO Assoc. BSC is prepping on Embankment/ Slow Horses for Apple TV, starring Gary Oldman. Julian Morson ACO Assoc. BSC GBCT continues on The Batman. Alastair Rae ACO Assoc. BSC has been operating dailies on Manhunt in Bristol. Tom Walden Associate ACO continues on the new series of Netflix show Sex Education. Rick Woollard has been on location in Rome working on a Gucci campaign for Iconoclast.

The Characters: C. Kim Miles ASC is in prep, joining Netflix’s Lost Ollie, being directed by Peter Ramsey. His work on Project Blue Book for History Channel won him an ASC Award. Toby Gorman is on his second season of the Disney YA series Gabby Duran & the Unsittables. Tom Harting is shooting a Hallmark movie in Banff, Alberta.

United Agents: Remi Adefarasin OBE BSC is shooting Shekhar Kapur’s new feature film What’s Love Got to Do with It, in London.

Philippe Kress DFF has wrapped on feature film Centervagt for director Rasmus Heise in Denmark. John Lee BSC is grading Viewpoint with director Ashley Way for Tiger Aspect/ITV. Mark Nutkins is shooting The Last Bus with director Drew Casson for Wildseed Studios/Netflix. >>

Eira Wyn Jones shooting short film Toke, directed by Nono Ayuso for the JJTC dance company, part of a global series of performance films

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WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP

Damian Daniel shooting brand film I Remember

Nic Morris BSC is back in the UK, having returned from Christensen is lighting feature film All the Old Knives for has been working on a Sam Walker project in Spain c/o of teaching cinematography in Singapore. Gavin Struthers director Janus Metz. James Friend BSC ASC is Pulse Films London. Philipp Blaubach has been busy with BSC ASC is back from Vancouver where he’s been shooting continuing to prep feature film All Quiet on the Western commercials in London, shooting with David Kerr at Superman and Lois for Warner Bros TV. Haris Zambarloukos Front for director Edward Berger. David Marsh will be Hungry Man and Paul Gay at Darling. Daniel Bronks is BSC GSC is currently reading several scripts. Marcel lighting an episode of Call the Midwife for director Afia working on feature film Genuine Fakes with director Pat Zyskind is reading scripts in Denmark. Falling, which Marcel Nkrumah. Anton Mertens SBC is lighting the second Holden, shooting in the UK. Simon Chaudoir has recently lensed and was directed by and starring Viggo Mortensen, series of COBRA for director Al McKay. Milos Moore is shot a Barclays commercial in London for Antoine Bardouhas been released in UK cinemas. Alwin Kuchler BSC is in available. Neus Ollé BSC AEC Jacquet at Partizan and Glasgow shooting Falling Blocs with director Jon S. Baird for is available. David Raedeker a D&G commercial for Marv Film. The Mauritanian, shot by Alwin and directed by BSC is prepping The Essex director Mert and Kevin Macdonald, is attracting attention. Alan Almond BSC Serpent for director Clio Marcus in Paris. Sara is reading for various projects. Damian Paul Daniel is Barnard and Apple TV+.

Deane has been working on short form projects and will shooting a Vimto begin shooting Una, directed by Topher commercial for Seb Campbell, early next year. Damian’s nd Jamous at Quiet Toby Gorman is on his seco es documentary Against the Tides can now Storm. Lasse Frank season of Disney YA seri les be watched via Sky’s documentary Gabby Duran & the Unsittab has been shooting an channel. Danny Cohen BSC is shooting Amazon commercial Embankment, directed by James Hawes. for director Andreas Martin Fuhrer BSC is meeting for various Nilsson in Prague for Simon Dennis shooting American Crime projects. David Higgs BSC is shooting Biscuit Films. Stephen Story: Impeachment at Fox Studios with the Sony Venice/Panavision’s Panaspeeds the third series of Das Boot (Sky/Bavaria).

Keith Roach has shot Kieran McGuigan BSC has finished an Ocado commercial shooting the sixth series of Inside Number with director Dom & 9, created by Steve Pemberton and Reece Nic in London c/o Shearsmith. Laurie Rose BSC is working Outsider. Tim Mauriceon Ray James (Apple TV), directed by Jones BSC has completed two Jakob Verbruggen, jobs for Traktor c/o Stink in and will then resume London and has commenced work on Working prep for TV show The Ipcress Title’s Catherine File with director James Called Birdy, directed Watkins. Alex Melman has

by Lena Dunham. been busy with commercials Bet Rourich is including a Fanta commercial working on short for Big Red Button c/o of has been busy Will Lyte ACO s on Top Boy form projects. John Biscuit. Ben Moulden has doing dailie Sorapure is wrapped on feature film Jet prepping the first Ski for director James Nunn block of the in Malta and has finished grading feature All My Friends second series of Niels Reedtz Johansen Hate Me for director Andrew Gaynord. Matías Penachino Ted Lasso before is available. Kate Reid is shooting an Olumiant commercial with director Martin resuming work as BSC is reading and Kalina in Barcelona. Simon Richards has wrapped Vera second unit meeting for a variety of with director Paul Gay. Chris Sabogal worked on a Emily Almon director/DP on projects. Joshua James Census commercial with Max Fisher c/o of Knucklehead d Barr on se wrapped co t. She recent m Disney’s The Richards is available.

London. Glynn Speeckaert ASC AFC SBC is shooting 8 and Audible mercial work for Adob ly e as well as Ca Little Mermaid.

Miles Ridgway is rue de L’Humanité for director Dany Boon in Belgium. sualty episo des Simon Tindall is available. Ed Rutherford

Vision Artists: James Blann has wrapped on the concluding work on has recently wrapped on second series of TV comedy Feel Good, produced through Netflix’s The Bus. Ollie Downey is shooting a an exciting feature film.

Objective Fiction with direction by Luke Snellin, due on block of COBRA, for Sky, directed by Mo Ali. Laurens De Anna Valdez Hanks will be Neflix in 2021. Docu-drama series The Mystery of DB Geyter is shooting Professor T, directed by Dries Vos. Sam lighting The Magpie Murders for Eleventh Hour Films and Cooper also premiered recently. James shot the drama Heasman is shooting two episodes of Warner Brothers/ director Peter Cattaneo. Ben Wheeler will be lighting the reconstructions for John Dower through Storyville Netflix’s Sandman, directed by Jamie Stone. David Rom is opening block of The Tourist, out in Australia for Two Productions. Benedict Spence has continued prep on TV prepping series two of Ted Lasso for Apple TV. Simon Brothers Pictures and director Chris Sweeney in the new dramedy This is Going to Hurt, produced through Sister Stolland is reading scripts. Si Bell is prepping drama series year. Barry Ackroyd BSC has been busy with commercials Pictures and directed by Lucy Forbes. Jonas Mortensen has Crossfire for Dancing Ledge Productions and director Nick including an EE job with director Johnny Hardstaff at begun prep on the second series of This Way Up. Jonas shot Rowland. Sam Chiplin has wrapped on The Unknown Man Independent. Alex Barber has shot a Greenies commercial episodes of the first series with director Alex Winckler. Nick for director Thomas Wright in Australia. Charlotte Bruus with the Bobbsey twins c/o of Blink, filming in Lisbon and Morris’ short film Sudden Light continues its festival run. >> 28 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

CONGRATULATIONS Sir Roger Deakins CBE, ASC, BSC on your knighthood for services to film.

Fitting recognition for one of the industry’s most inspiring cinematographers and a global ambassador for British filmmaking talent.

Warmest wishes from all of your friends at ARRI and ARRI Rental.

www.arri.com

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WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP English National Ballet commercial Senseless Kindness. Director Thomas James; DP Ann Evelin Lawford (l); focus puller Derrick Peters; clapper loader Will Gething; grip Ashton Lunn (r).

(Photo: Morgan Sinclair)

DP Aman K Sahota shooting a Panalux commercial, directed by Christina Salampassis and Jake Stickley

DP Arran Gree n in action

After picking up a nomination at Cannes last month, the film, directed by Sophie Littman, has been nominated by BIFA for a Best British Short. The film also won Cork Film Festival’s Grand Prix International Short Award and was selected for the London Short Film Festival.

Nick’s surrealist short Stilts has been selected for this year’s Slam Dance film festival, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams and produced through Channel 4’s Random Acts series. Dan Atherton’s The Passenger, directed by Roland Kennedy, won the BSC’s Best Cinematography Award for a Short Film. This is the second win for Dan’s cinematography through the BSC. Ann Evelin Lawford has been shooting second unit for Jenny Ash on the TV drama series My Name is Lizzie for Channel 4. She also wrapped the short period drama Farewell She Goes for Back Scatter Productions and directed by Sophie King. Anna MacDonald’s Good Thanks, You? was nominated for a BIFA for Best British Short Film. The film was directed by Molly Manning Walker and produced by Socha Bacon through Try Hard Films. In commercials, Jaime Feliu-Torres has been shooting Adidas commercials with Stink Films. Courtney Bennett has been shooting fashion and editorial spots with Familia. Eoin McLoughlin has been lighting fashion and charity commercials. Dan StaffordClark has been lensing gambling and tech commercials with Chief and OB. Jim Jolliffe has been back shooting with regular collaborators Rogue Films. James Watson has been shooting car commercials with VCCP. Richard Mott has been shooting festive advertising with Sky and Rogue. Ian Murray has been lighting a selection of food and tech commercials for Hogarth and Recipe. Martin Hill has continued shooting a range of food commercials with Hunky Dory. Ryan Eddleston has been lighting finance commercials with new collaborators Snapper. Spike Morris has been working with Agile Films, shooting commercials and content for McVities and home brands. Tim Green has been lensing product and beauty spots with Man Vs Machine and Art Partner. Arthur Loveday is shooting a range of fashion and home brand commercials. New signing Dutch cinematographer Jurgen Lisse has forged ahead shooting episodes of a currently NDA TV series for Apple.

30 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Wizzo & Co: Wizzo & Co. welcomes Håvard Helle, who shot the features Killer’s Anonymous and Twist alongside director Martin Owens, and Arran Green, who recently wrapped a BBC pilot with director Charlotte Regan.

Congratulations to Molly Manning Walker whose short film The Forgotten C has been nominated for a BIFA. Molly has now begun prepping a BBC ck (l) drama with director Dawn DP Christian Hu born Slo s rie se shooting TV Shadforth. Tim Sidell wraps National Theatre feature Romeo & Juliet, directed by Simon Goodwin. Christophe Nuyens SBC has begun prepping an embargoed drama for Sky. Jan Richter-Friis DFF is shooting COBRA series two with director Sallie Aprahamain. Nicola Daley ACS is shooting Gentleman Jack series two alongside director Amanda Brotchie. Aaron Reid wrapped Britannia series three alongside director Joasia Goldyn, and immediately began prepping an embargoed drama with director Alrik Riley. Diana Olifirova will shortly begin grading Nida Manzoor’s The Band. Karl Oskarsson ÍKS wraps Cheaters, directed by Elliot Hegarty. Oli Russell continues shooting Sex Education series three. Gary Shaw wraps Baptiste series two alongside director Hong Khaou. Sverre Sørdal FNF shot short film Pops, directed by Lewis Rose. Richard Mott completed the grade on Intergalactic. Ryan Kernaghan shot Line of Duty series six alongside director Jennie Darnell and is now prepping a drama for Apple. Adam Gillham will shortly grade Danny Boy, directed by Sam Miller. Steven Ferguson wrapped Sliced series two with director Phil Bowker. Luke Bryant is shooting feature Statistical Probability, directed by Vanessa Caswill. Nick Dance BSC completed the grade on The Irregulars and is now prepping Gentleman Jack series two alongside director Ed Hall. Franklin Dow continues grading an Orlando von Einsiedel-directed documentary. Matthias Pilz is shooting an upcoming drama for C4 and completed the grade on Netflix documentary Once Upon a Time in Yorkshire. Fede Alfonzo shot with Simon Ratigan and Jamie Rafn, Hamish Anderson with Tom Day and Will Bex with Scott Lyon. Ruben Woodin Dechamps shot with Max Weiland, Joe Douglas with KC Locke, and Theo Garland with Fatal Farm. Charlie Goodger worked with director Peter Lee Scott and Ben Magahy with Stylewar.

Patrick Meller shot with Los Perez, Antonio Paladino with James Rouse and David Procter with Luke Seomore and Joseph Bull. Congratulations to Susanne Salavati whose feature documentary White Riot, directed by Rubika Shah, has been nominated for a Best Documentary BIFA.

Worldwide Production Agency: Colin Watkinson BSC ASC has wrapped principal photography on the fourth series and co-directed the opening episode of critically acclaimed drama The Handmaid’s Tale. Colin is continuing principal photography on the new Amazon original series The Power with director Reed Morano in South Africa and London. Nathalie Pitters wrapped a

new feature documentary on professional UK boxer Nicola Adams with director Helena Coan. Nathalie then shot an Ellie Goulding promo with Ana Sting and Savage TV, as well as a short film with acclaimed directorphotographer Kes Glozier. Baz Irvine ISC wraps the second series of Manhunt: The Nightstalker with director Marc Evans for Buffalo Pictures and ITV. Arthur Mulhern wraps the second series of Trying with director Jim O’Hanlon for BBC and AppleTV+. Angus Hudson BSC wraps on the BBC political thriller series Ridley Road with Red Production Company and director Lisa Mulcahy.

Mattias Nyberg finishes the grade on the second series of War of The Worlds with director Ben A. Williams for Urban Myth Films and Canal+. Ed Moore BSC wraps principal photography on Britannia with director Ben Gregor. Ed also begins shooting the third block on the post-apocalyptic series The Last Bus with director Steve Hughes for Wildseed Studios and Netflix. Tony Slater Ling BSC is shooting the upcoming drama Wolfe with director Adrian Shergold for Sky and AbbottVision. Tibor Dingelstad NSC continues to shoot the first block of the third series of Hanna with director Sacha Polak in London and Prague for Amazon and NBC Universal. PJ Dillon ASC ISC continues principal photography on That Dirty Black Bag, a new series shooting in Italy with director Brian O’Malley for Palomar, TIMVision, and Sundance TV. Mattias Troelstrup DFF continues to shoot the second block of the third series of Hanna with director Weronika Tofilska in London and Prague for Amazon and NBC Universal. Vanessa Whyte begins to shoot the third block of Whitstable Pearl with director Chanya Button for Buccaneer Media and Acorn TV. Andy Hollis wraps the second series of McDonald & Dodds with director Rebecca Rycroft for Mammoth Screen and ITV. Catherine Derry finishes grading with director Elliot Barnes-Worrell on the short film Digging for Film4 and producer Fiona Lamptey. Joel Honeywell and Matthew Emvin Taylor wrap the Comedy Central short series The Motherf**king Pep Talk with director Theo Davies. Jaime Ackroyd shoots the feature film Breakfast in Beirut, shooting in Bulgaria, Lebanon and UK for Millennium Films and director Tina Gharavi. Kanamé Onoyama wraps a new spot for Sky with director Dan Defelice and Biscuit Filmworks. Ruairi O’Brien ISC is grading the second block of the new BBC thriller series Vigil with director Isabelle Sieb and produced by World Productions. Ruairi wraps on a pilot with director David Kerr for Objective Fiction and Channel 4. Callan Green ACS shoots with Just Fred and director Vaughan Arnell on a new promo for George Cosby. Marcus Domleo wrapped recent spots for Play Ojo with Gas and Electric and directed by Tom King. Marcus also wrapped a spot for Jamesons with Hogarth and directing duo The Queen.

Matt Fox wraps principal photography on multiple commercials. Matt worked with Partizan on a spot for the NHS with director Anthony Wonke. He then shot a new spot for Deliveroo with Pulse and director Helen Downing. Thomas Hole wrapped with Riff Raff on Tom Grennan’s new promo with frequent collaborator director Keane Shaw. Tom continued to wrap with director Josh Cohen for Adidas with We Are Social. n

AWARD WINNE R CINEGEAR 2015 Technical Award

BRIGHTER LIGHTER BETTER Made in Germany. sumolight.com

MEET THE NEW WAVE / HATTI BEANLAND

ART AND CRAFT

Filmography so far: Feature films: Listen (2020), Ashland (2018) and Dark Fibre (2018). Documentaries: Brother from Another (2019). Various shorts.

When did you discover you wanted to be a DP? As the daughter of two painters, I followed my hunch and went to art school. It wasn’t until I found myself on a conceptual fine art course that I realised that from this broad experimental place I wanted to learn a craft and commit to one medium. For me, cinematography had a balance: art and craft together. Pretty quickly I covered up my art school hair with a baseball cap and got stuck in. My first ‘job’ was cleaning techno cranes at Panavision Grips in London with Alan Moffitt.

Where did you train?

I went to The Glasgow School of Art to study Fine Art and then worked in the camera department for eight years in London before attending The American Film Institute Cinematography MFA in Los Angeles.

What are your favourite films, and why?

Different films have been important at different times.

Ermanno Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) for the exquisite dignity in its depiction of people; Mike Leigh’s Naked (1993) for its tortured and existential central character; Terence Davies’ Distant Voices, Still Lives (1998) for its biographical

point of view and understanding of growing up in the Liverpool of Davies’ post war childhood; and Abbas Kiarostami’s films for their humanity and respect of the audience and mixing of reality and fiction. Perhaps it’s a truth that links these films together.

What’s the best advice you were ever given?

From a professional point of view, when I was about 25, one evening at Camerimage, Amy Vincent ASC said to me: “Never miss out on your life because of this profession.” I have always held her words very dear, despite the all-encompassing nature of our work.

Who are your DP/industry heroes?

Too many to mention! Cinematographers Robby Müller NSC BVK; Vilmos Zsigmond ASC; Sven Nykvist ASC; and directors Les Blank and Abbas Kiarostami were both a big influence. I’m also lucky to have worked under a few greats: Emmanuel Lubezki AMC ASC; Seamus McGarvey ASC BSC; Alwin Küchler BSC; and Anthony Dod Mantle BSC ASC DFF, to name a few.

Have you won any awards or received any nominations?

Not yet. I was selected as BAFTA Newcomer in LA and last year I shot a feature that won two Lions and four other awards at Venice Film Festival 2020. No special awards for my work, but when a film reaches and effects an audience, I feel I have succeeded.

Hatti Beanland filming Listen, pictured with grip Adam Zimmerman (Courtesy of Pinball London and Bando a Parte.

Photo: Alfie Sambataro)

What’s your proudest moment?

I’m my own harshest critic. I feel proud at the end of a shoot when my crew want to work with me again or when I’ve been a good communicator and leader. It also meant a lot when someone I hugely respect saw something I’d shot and praised my work.

What was your worst knock-back or rejection?

Too many to mention, but here’s the king pin of them all. Being fired from a film two days after my father’s funeral. “Very ouchy,” as my three-year-old niece said at the time.

What have been your best moments on set?

The best is always watching a first take of an actor’s performance. It’s a privilege to be the first audience watching through the viewfinder.

What’s your most hilarious faux pas?

When I was a camera trainee I ‘borrowed’ a kettle from a hot set because the camera truck kettle had broken, and the camera crew needed tea. When I returned to set, the whole production had paused because the hero kettle which was vital to the next scene was missing from the set. The focus puller took me aside after the incident. Cringe.

Away from work, what are your greatest passions?

Friends, travel, running, art, reading, wine, diving, and cheese. Living in the US is hard. Besides the presence of Trump, you really have to look for the good cheese.

Listen (2020)

What was your biggest challenge on your latest production?

Weather, the changing light, and maintaining consistency on exteriors with natural light. It’s such an art.

What is your most essential piece of kit?

A decent cup of coffee and a cup holder so I don’t spill it whilst driving.

The height of luxury.

Do I sound spoilt?

32 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to light/frame?

In a way, the documentary work I’ve done. I’ve spent a lot of time filming in subzero temperatures, being pelted with sea water and snow on the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Straight, Alaska, which required a lot of physical stamina to remain focused and competent. At the other end of the spectrum, when I was operating for Alwin Küchler BSC on a commercial in LA, we spent a long time perfecting the back light of a small orange with a 12K mounted on a crane.

That day we both felt like we’d hit the big time.

Ashland (2 018)

“I’VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME FILMING IN SUBZERO TEMPERATURES, BEING PELTED WITH SEA WATER AND SNOW ON THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS IN THE BERING STRAIGHT, ALASKA, WHICH REQUIRED A LOT OF PHYSICAL STAMINA TO REMAIN FOCUSED AND COMPETENT.” HATTI BEANLAND

Which films are you most proud of to date?

It seems silly to mention as it was years ago, but I shot a film at AFI called Terp about an army interpreter in the US military. It was the first time I felt I consistently got the camera in the right place, and by doing so put the audience right in the story. This was a breakthrough for me. Also, my documentary work on a film called Ashland about an Amish community has a raw energy that feels free and unconfined. The S16mm and 7219 stock were good choices too.

What are your current top albums?

The track that got me through deep lock down was Liam Gallagher growling Be Still on his Why me? Why Not? album. It was pure nostalgia on my part.

Can you tell us your greatest extravagance?

Owning two cars - one in the US and one in the UK.

Tell us your hidden talent/party trick?

I can drink most people under the table. Does that count?

What’s the best thing about being a DP? Constantly growing and expanding your experience; never working in the same place; being paid to travel (especially with documentaries); collaborating with and meeting new people; making new crew families; and having friends and colleagues all over the world.

What’s the worst thing about being a DP? The pandemic has been very hard on our industry. It’s been tough on us all, but it has reminded us how much we love our work and miss each other. Being away from loved ones on location for long periods of time can be hard too.

What are three adjectives that best describe you and your approach to cinematography?

Story, story, story.

If you weren’t a DP, what job would you be doing now?

I think I would be a curator of site-specific art. Perhaps I’d be working with the Marina Abramović institute (MAI) in New York. If I was living in the 1970s, I’d be helping Gordan Matta-Clark split buildings in half.

What are your aspirations for the future?

Professionally, to contribute to stories worth telling. To be part of projects that leave audiences with a gift of understanding or insight. To continue to shoot feature films with directors where we share a point of view. n

What’s Next.

Advanced results for advanced expectations. studio.etcconnect.com

visual environment technologies | etcconnect.com

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 33

POINT OF VIEW / TRAINEES

If I could ask the industry to do one thing to support trainees, it would be...

“To work with us at ScreenSkills – the skills charity for the UK’s screen industries. Contribute to the ScreenSkills Skills Funds that help pay for the work we do in careers information and training in the industry. We offer a range of support and training for new entrants (as well as for people at all stages of their career).

And please offer work opportunities, for example, through our Trainee Finder paid placement programme that operates across film, high-end television and children’s TV, so that new entrants can receive proper hands-on experience, working alongside industry practitioners, building their understanding and skills in a practical and supported environment. All our Trainee Finder trainees receive an induction with advice on set etiquette and health and safety and managing your finances as a freelancer so that they stand the best chance of doing well. On an individual basis, also consider volunteering as a mentor through the ScreenSkills Mentoring Network.”

Gareth Ellis-Unwin, head of film and animation, ScreenSkills

“To encourage crew to look upon trainees as a golden opportunity to train the next generation of creatives and allow trainees to learn by doing rather than just watching. By utilising them and making them feel part of the team rather than just someone watching from the side-lines, you will eventually create a more skilled, confident, and able trainee who will thrive in this competitive industry.

Mentoring a trainee should also be looked on as an opportunity to improve your own skills.

Even though a trainee is at the beginning of their creative journey, you should never be afraid to learn from them. They may offer you a different perspective or bring a fresh new idea to a project.

Allowing a trainee to teach you something new not only improves their experience, but also further adds to your skills as a professional.

Recruiting trainees from a diverse range of backgrounds is also vitally important in this industry.

I believe we should be targeting as many people as possible, especially those who are overlooked and believe the industry is a closed door for them. The industry as a whole would benefit from encouraging and including a creatively and culturally diverse generation of future professionals, trained by those already respected in their fields.”

Allison Dowzell, managing director, Screen Alliance Wales

“To contribute budget and time to taking on more trainees, more than you think you need and across all roles within the department, creating extra opportunities for young and diverse talent to get hands-on experience, network and push forward with their careers.

With supportive HoDs and mentors on set, this extra resource can add real value to the production as well as allowing trainees to secure those vital credits and contacts they need to move from show to show.

We hear the industry calling out for diverse talent (which you can find at all career stages if you look outside of your core network), but to get continuous diverse talent coming through and up in the industry we need to go out of our way to create opportunities, implement equitable hiring practices, and make the working environment we offer truly inclusive and sustainable for all people. We must listen and act urgently, and put money and energy behind our good intensions, including partnering with and directly funding the training and diversity and inclusion organisations already doing amazing work in this area.”

Kate Rolfe, Digital Orchard Foundation

“To stop asking trainees to fit into your existing culture and to instead explore how different ways of working can enhance your working environment. If they do things differently, don’t always assume it’s because they’re not up to the job. Think about whether the job they are being asked to do should be done differently.

A new entrant comes into our industry with an innocence and optimism that too often is swiftly knocked out of them, instead of being nurtured and valued as a fresh breath of air. Invest in them and they’ll invest in you. Understand and support them through their personal and professional challenges and they will support you to build a better, more inclusive, more accessible, more equitable workplace and sector for us all.”

Dominique Unsworth MBE BEM MBA MIoD FRSA, CEO, producer and trainer, Resource Productions CIC

34 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

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IN THE FRAME / HOWARD DAVIDSON

ABSOLUTE PASSION

Age: 58 Born: Brooklyn New York Education: Newfield High School, Selden, New York / Buffalo State College, New York / on set Hobbies: Art, music, allotment, travel, Bob Dylan

Selected filmography (as gaffer unless stated): The Score (2020) After Love (2019) The F1rst Team (TV series) (2019) The Reluctant Landlord (Series 2) (2019) Click & Collect (BBC comedy) (2019) Scarborough (2018) Famalam (TV series) (2018) Vogue/Victoria Beckham Nowness (Branded content) (2018) Urban Myths: Backstage at Live Aid (Sky Arts comedy) 2017) Detectorists (Series 3) (2017) Ray & Liz (2017) Rise of the Foot Soldier 3 (2017) Midnight of My Life (Short) (2015) Blackwood (2014) Pardon the Intrusion (Short) (2014) Snow in Paradise (2013) Roger & Val Have Just Got In (TV Series) (electrician) (2010) Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (B dolly grip) (2007) School of Rock (lighting grip) (2003) Bringing Out the Dead (lighting grip) (1999) Meet Joe Black (lighting grip) (1998) Living in Oblivion (dolly grip) (1995) Jumpin’ at the Boneyard (lighting grip) (1991)

How did you first get started in the industry?

In the mid-eighties I was a bike messenger in NYC. I met another messenger who worked in film. I told him I always wanted to work in film, although to this day I’m not sure I knew what that meant. The following Saturday I spent 17 hours in a warehouse in Brooklyn as a PA (runner) on a music video. I was immediately hooked.

What was your career progression?

As a PA (runner), I found myself mostly helping the grips and eventually got work as a grip. I did non-union lowbudget work for six years until I got into IATSE Local 52 in 1995. I met my future wife from Yorkshire in NYC. She and I lived in Manhattan for four years and then we moved to London. As I preferred set lighting - although I do miss pushing dolly - I got work as a spark. There were some struggles, as could be expected in a new place, but guys like Shaun Mone, Sol Sahati, and Larry Prinz were so supportive from the beginning, finding my hybrid skill set a positive. I can still rely on them for advice, ideas, and most importantly, friendship.

Did you always want to be a gaffer?

The American system is different to here in the UK. In the States, the electricians deal with “anything with a plug” and the grips pretty much do all the rest. Shaping light, laying dolly track, pushing dolly, building sets, rigging, you name it. In NYC, as a company grip I did fine financially. To be a key grip meant having a truck or two full of kit, storage, and so on. I was a guy living in a studio flat on the East Side of Manhattan. That wasn’t going to happen.

After a few years of sparking in the th wi n so vid Da Howard UK, I realised I could take on a bigger Nick Damian Ansell, ell, rw role; meet my own DPs, have a crew of Clarke, Will Ho ey on om more like-minded individuals, and go and Hamza Tw ndlord La t tan luc The Re my own way. So I did.

How did you learn the trade?

I learned absolutely everything I know from others.

In the mid ‘80s I was lucky to work with folks like Paul Nickason, Todd Klein, Paul Candrilli, and Rich Audino.

In ’95, when I got into the union, I was fortunate to work on Richard Guinness Jr.’s crew as a lighting grip, and Mitch Lillian’s team on his rigging crew (in the States, the grips do rigging as well as lighting). We worked with DPs such as Emmanuel Lubezki AMC ASC, Robert Richardson ASC, Roger Deakins BSC ASC CBE, Robert Elswit ASC, and so many more. I also worked with gaffers such as ‘Rusty’ Engles, Ian Kincaid, Michael ‘Moishe’ Moyer, Mo Flam, Bill O’Leary, and countless others. You couldn’t help but learn when you work with that caliber of people.

And it wasn’t just DPs, key grips and gaffers that I learned from; it was scenics, sound guys, props. By nature, our industry is a team, and everyone has something to offer that makes you a better all-round technician.

What was your big break?

I hit the ground running in October ’95 when I got in Local 52. I was hired as a daily on Donnie Brasco. By lunch, the best boy Glen Engels asked if I wanted to finish the job and of course I said yes. The key grip was Richard Guinness Jr. I was on his team from that point on. In my mind, I still am!

Who or what are your biggest inspirations?

Local 52 key grip Richard Guinness Jr. is easily my greatest inspiration. He is a hard taskmaster and has a different personality and lifestyle to me, but he really knows his stuff. There are so many others that inspire me, many of them are no longer with us. I often look around on set and I see the team working hard, all the kit out, on a beautiful location or big studio, maybe in another country, and I silently thank them for helping me get there.

What are the fundamentals of a successful gaffer/DP relationship?

Communication and understanding the DP/director/project’s vision. To be honest, I work with a different DP on almost every project. Maybe that shows I’m not the best person to answer that question; or maybe it just means I get to keep trying to figure out those fundamentals.

36 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

The Reluctant Landlord

Who are your regular crew?

Hamza Twomey is my on-set guy and I’ve loved watching him grow. Nick Clarke is my best boy, when I’m lucky enough to get him. Beyond that, I have a rotating posse of sparks that each have their own skill sets and personalities. I can’t name them all, but I can easily say I wouldn’t be anywhere in this game without them.

Which movie/production has been your biggest challenge?

Each job (hopefully) has a challenge. Recently I did a feature (The Score) that took place in one day, but we filmed it over five weeks. Our locations had windows running down both sides of the set as well as exteriors and maintaining lighting continuity was a challenge, as was working in a COVID-safe environment at the same time.

I think we did one hell of a good job on both fronts!

Which have been your favourite movies to work on?

When I was still a grip back in NYC I loved working on Bringing Out the Dead (1999).

The chance to work with Robert Richardson ASC and Martin Scorsese was a dream - an experience I was able to recreate on the set of Hugo (2011). I’m also proud to have worked with Sidney Lumet on Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007). No matter how long my CV gets, my having worked on School of Rock (2003) seems to get the most attention. Deservedly so, I loved that job. Here in the UK, I loved working on Hugo and World War Z (2013).

Shooting a commercial for Vertu phones

What advice would you give aspiring gaffers?

I come from a very cerebral place. Obviously, technical training is important, but reading is also important. I recommend The Lighting Technician’s Handbook by Harry C. Box, Backstage Handbook

by Paul Douglas Carter, and Film Lighting by Kris Malkewicz. Watch classic movies - Talking TV Pictures is great for that in the UK. They don’t have to be old and black-and-white, but those are my favourites.

And of course, be inspired by art. I know I’m supposed to mention Caravaggio and Rembrandt, but I’m a big fan of so many others: Grimshaw, Sorolla, Edward Hopper, Thomas Hart Benton, and the German Expressionists.

“HE’S ONE OF THOSE RARE TECHNICIANS WHO IS VERY MUCH AN ARTIST IN HIS OWN RIGHT - FINDING SUBTLETY AND SHAPE INSTEAD OF JUST BASHING A LIGHT AT TALENT.” ALEXANDER DYNAN

Which are you most proud of?

As a gaffer, I’m most proud of my work on Series 3 of The Detectorists (with DP Mattias Nyberg), and the Richard Billingham film Ray & Liz (with DP Daniel Landin BSC). I think After Love (with DP Alexander Dynan) looked really great and is an excellent film.

What is your favourite piece of kit?

Blackout Lighting Console and all the RatPac wireless DMX kit. I’m amazed by how LED lights, WDMX and controls have changed the on-set experience. I look at some of the young folks on my team and think ‘they have no idea this isn’t how it always was’.

How do you keep up with the latest innovations in lighting?

I go to the trade shows, scour the internet, and rely on my younger, more tapped in sparks to turn me on to things. When I come across a lighting gag or set-up that is challenging, I carry out research to see what’s out there.

What new lighting kit have you been impressed by?

Blackout Lighting Console is a fantastic piece of kit developed by Jeff Brink out of NYC. It’s a lighting control unit that you use on your iPad. The control it gives you is mind-blowing, and he keeps making it better.

Cinematographer Mattias Nyberg says: “Ever since I first worked with Howard, I admired his absolute passion for his job and our industry. His dedication to getting it right is second to none. He loves collaborating, embraces new technologies and techniques, and is always up to speed on the latest gadgets and lamps.

But perhaps it’s Howard’s background in the American system as a lighting grip on big budget Hollywood movies that taught me the most about the role of textiles and why they are so important to the quality of light hitting the set and the actors. I’ve benefitted from his knowledge and experience on many occasions when we’ve collaborated on commercial campaigns and on narrative jobs such as the final season of Detectorists.

I also love working with Howard because we have so much fun together. He’s a lovely guy with a big heart and a great sense of humour.”

Howard Davidson with key grip Richard Guinness Jr. on Blindspot

I’m really grateful that he saw merit in my most recent project (After Love) and invested so deeply in our process. I think that reflects not only his work ethic but his level of character.”

Cinematographer Alistair Upcraft says: “Howard was recommended to me by his fellow gaffer Shaun Mone when I was looking for a gaffer for the second series of Sky’s The Reluctant Landord. From the first conversation, I knew we were going to get along.

Howard has a great energy on and off set, aways full of ideas and suggestions to solve the inevitable challenges of filmmaking. His positive attitude and the fact he’s a genuinely decent guy makes him a great collaborator.

One of the best things about working with Howard is the attention he gives to shaping, sculpting and manipulating light. Taking away and controlling light is just as important to him as the placement of the lamp. He comes with a great team too. On Landlord we ran two stages and due to artist availability we had to regularly jump between sets incredibly quickly. Howard and his crew were always well ahead of the game.

His refreshing eye for the latest lighting technologies and techniques, his willingness to experiment and creativity is a real benefit to you as a DP.” n

Cinematographer Alexander Dynan says: “Howard is an incredible collaborator. As a fellow New Yorker, I really appreciated his fluency in both UK and US film terminology. He’s one of those rare technicians who is very much an artist in his own right - finding subtlety and shape instead of just bashing a light at talent.

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 37

VISIONARY / CHRIS MENGES BSC ASC / BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON Chris Menges lensed After a Lifetime (1971)

LABOUR OF LOVE

Personal integrity defines the work of Chris Menges BSC ASC, whose storied career ranges from classic observationally-shot working class drama Kes to the Oscar-winning masterpiece of the Cambodian genocide The Killing Fields.

T

he composer and conductor Herbert Menges introduced his son to West End theatre. “Going with him as a kid to The Old Vic and listening to concerts had quite a huge influence on me,” Chris Menges tells British Cinematographer. “Very early on I became fascinated with photography and had the lucky break to meet Alan Forbes after I’d left school.”

The American documentary filmmaker took the teenager under his wing and was the first of many influences that Menges absorbed. “Alan was a complete inspiration. His big influence was the cinema of Roberto Rossellini and the realist movement that came after WW2. I became hooked on what might be called a free style of cinema. He taught me about sound, editing, camerawork and basic film construction.”

This “maverick left-of-centre education” was a godsend to a young man who had applied and failed three times to join the BBC’s trainee scheme because, he feels, “of my lack of education.”

Other influences included the Czech New Wave, notably director Miloš Forman and DP Miroslav Ondříček, the love for which he shared with director Ken Loach. He and Loach had met on Poor Cow (1967) where Menges was camera operator to Brian Probyn BSC.

“We talked about Czech cinema and how Chris Menges (r) it exhibited a kind of freedom. By some extreme with Michael good fortune, I happened to be asked to assist Parkinson for Miroslav on [Lindsey Anderson’s classic satire] World in Action (1963) If…. During the shoot, Ken phoned me up about Kes. He said I should learn all I could from Miroslav. So I did. I learned the technical and Menges’ first feature as solo DP on Kes (1969)

38 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

logistic problems of being a DP and I learned about his way of lighting.”

Kes (1969) was Menges’ first feature as solo DP. His relationship with Loach burgeoned over decades to include The Gamekeeper (1980), Fatherland (1986) and Route Irish (2010).

Equally formative was Menges’ career as a documentary maker which for a time ran parallel to his dramatic work. He joined Granada TV’s World in Action as a cameraman in 1963. Much of the rest of the ‘60s was spent covering conflicts around the world in such places as Angola, Burma, Cyprus, Nepal, South Africa and Vietnam, often undercover and with writerdirector Adrian Cowell.

“If you’re in a news situation you are in competition with the other crews, so you have to learn to be smart,” he says. “In the jungle you are up every morning before dawn and you try to catch the truth of what you are seeing. You learn about composition and the power of light and how the sun reflects different colours. All these little things are learned the hard way.

“With some documentaries you have a long time to digest light and composition and where the camera should be without all the pressures of a cinema film. You learn how not to chase the dialogue and how to be receptive to the people you are filming so you become, as much as possible, part of their community not an outsider.”

He also credits an apprenticeship with Canadian documentary maker Allan King with teaching him how to capture image with sound. “In those days, the only sound camera was an Auricon – a big cumbersome thing. Later came the Éclair NPR. From Allan I learned about the relationship between the camera and recording sound and that the picture was of no importance without the dialogue that came with it.”

Menges defers to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s concept of the “decisive moment” in his own quest for finding the perfect second to press the shutter. “It is like the image is enduring,” he says. “It burns in your brain.”

However, being embedded with local communities in conflict zones came at a cost. “I covered the Zanzibar revolution with Michael Parkinson in 1964 and

The Boxer (1997)

Raid Into Tibet (1963) Chris Menges second from left

Chris Menges on the set of Black Jack (1979) with director Ken Loach

“I’VE NEVER CHASED AFTER A PARTICULAR FILM. I’VE JUST BEEN LUCKY THAT I’VE BEEN CHOSEN. TO ME, THE CINEMA IS ABOUT HOW CERTAIN STORIES INSPIRE YOU.” CHRIS MENGES BSC ASC we were arrested and imprisoned in a hotel straight after we arrived. After a few days we were taken by guards to a compound surrounded by barbed wire within which were 2-3,000 Arab men of considerable age. All squatting on the ground. We get inside, the gates are locked behind us and there’s a couple of soldiers escorting. I whipped out my Bolex to film and this old man turned away from the camera. He didn’t want to be a part of it. Then — bang! — he was smashed in the side of the head with a rifle by one of the soldiers.

A thing like that stays with you forever because if I hadn’t been there, he wouldn’t have got his head smashed. So, there’s a huge price to pay.”

Menges manoeuvred away from documentaries and began collaborations with Neil Jordan (Angel, The Good Thief, Michael Collins - for which he was Oscar nominated) and Bill Forsyth (Local Hero, Comfort and Joy). He shot Steadicam for Alan Clarke’s coruscating skinhead drama (Made in Britain) and with Stephen Frears made noir pastiche Gumshoe (1971), several TV plays (including Walter with Ian McKellen in 1982) and Dirty Pretty Things (2002).

He has also worked with directors John Mackenzie (A Sense of Freedom), Niki Caro (North Country), Roger Donaldson (Marie), Jim Sheridan (The Boxer), Steven Knight (Redemption), Sean Penn (The Pledge), Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal), and Stephen Daldry (The Reader). The thread connecting these films is one of social conscience and stories about the outsider, the marginalised, the political activist.

“I’ve never chased after a particular film. I’ve just been lucky that I’ve been chosen. To me, the cinema is about how certain stories inspire you.”

None more so than in the masterpieces for which he won the Academy Awards. Both The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986) were directed by Roland Joffé and produced by David Puttnam. In typical self-effacing fashion, the cinematographer refuses to take credit for either and in 1984 even declined an invite to the Oscars ceremony.

“The Killing Fields is a special film to me,” he says. “It was storyboarded by Roland and we had the opportunity to do a lot of research in Thailand. We had a great production designer, Roy Walker, and special effects supervisor, Fred Kramer, and a Chris Menges turned to directing with the apartheid drama A World Apart (1988)

great operator in Mike Roberts. My focus puller Jeremy Gee pulled off so many tricks. So, in a way you could say it was the pooling of a lot of talent that came together at that moment to tell Sydney Schanberg’s story in a devastating but poetic way. What we shot is in the writing really. It was Bruce Robinson’s screenplay that made it work. That and Roland’s storyboard.”

The Mission, shot on location in the Amazon, won the 1986 Best Picture Academy Award and always seemed like a Herculean shoot. “The hardest thing was shooting in the jungle without generators because we were in an inaccessible place,” Menges recalls. “It was a hard slog. Despite having worked in the Amazon before, it was a big teaching curve for me personally. Everybody contributed hugely to the production. You can’t achieve anything without them. The icing on the cake was Ennio Morricone’s score which is so beautiful.”

If there’s an anomaly on his C.V it’s the second unit work on Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Typically, he did it to broaden his craft.

“When Peter Suschitzky ASC asked me to do his second camera, he chose me because he knew I would do what I was told,” Menges says wryly. “He would be on another stage at Elstree and I’d be shooting away and he’d jump on his bike and cycle over from his part of the studio and tell me I’d got it all wrong.

“I was thrilled to do it because my kids thought that I was finally doing something that impressed them and, secondly, I did it because I wanted to learn about blue screen and vfx. It definitely helped me later on.”

Menges turned to directing in 1988 with the well-received apartheid drama A World Apart

featuring the acting debut of Jodhi May. Crime drama CrissCross with Goldie Hawn, Second Best with William Hurt and The Lost Son (1999) with Nastassja Kinski followed without attaining similar heights.

He says he loved working on The Reader “because of the power of the acting and the simplicity of the story” and reteamed with Daldry for 9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which was the first film shot on ARRI Raw.

“What I miss about electronic imagery is the chance to be able to feel the composition, the light and the performance. When you look through a reflex camera you have a certain feeling, knowledge, and response. That’s why I love operating because when you operate you are working out in your mind about coverage and where you are going and how much longer you have to shoot. If you’re the operator you can actually make those decisions.

“But in the end it’s the word that counts and if you are inspired by a great story then it is immaterial what system you use.”

Aged 78 he shot Waiting for the Barbarians, an adaptation of J. M. Coetzee’s novel which Menges had wanted to direct 35 years ago as a follow-up to A World Apart.

“At the time, I couldn’t convince the people who owned the rights to the book that I was the right director. They wanted somebody a bit more ‘presentable’,” he says.

In 2003 he was invited to direct a version from Coetzee’s own screenplay, by producer Michael Fitzgerald who had met Menges while making Tommy Lee Jones’ directorial debut Three Burials.

This time, Menges declined. “I didn’t think I could pull it off. It’s a very internalised story about a man struggling with his masters, the Empire and the suppression of indigenous people. It’s a searing indictment.”

Fitzgerald never forgot the attachment that Menges had to the story and in 2018 finally enticed him on board to shoot for director Ciro Guerra. Shot in a fort on location in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco with Mark Rylance and Johnny Depp, the film was released last year.

Typically, Menges credits the visual energy of the film, shot widescreen on Alexa SXT and Mini, to his crew and the work of the “brilliant” art and costume departments. A camera was Serb Barraclough, 1st AC Olly Tellet. On the B camera David Gallego operated, Mouna Khaali was 1st AC. “Ben Appleton was DIT and kept our work feeling alive,” Menges says.

“Jonathan Spencer was our gaffer and with his crew got us to the winning post thanks to their dedication. Jac Hopkins as key grip excelled.

“It was always a labour of love,” he says. n British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 39

THE CRAFT / THE DP-COLOURIST RELATIONSHIP / BY TREVOR HOGG FotoKem senior colourist David Cole

COLOUR MY WORLD

The final creative to have an impact on the look of a movie or television series is the colourist who works closely with the director and cinematographer. To better understand the dynamics and evolution of the grading process, several cinematographers and colourists discuss their collaborations, whether it be for the first time or over the course of multiple projects.

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here has been a shift in the grading process going from celluloid to digital, believes Ross Emery ACS (The Wolverine). “Where we’re moving into now with DI is not baking in your look quite so much and having an intention that you still have to communicate to the colourist, getting to that point, and from then on using a lot of tools where you can start enhancing and working in some interesting spaces.”

The intention of a shot must be kept in mind.

“The grade is about presenting the best possible version of the DP’s work, and that grade should be sympathetic to everything they have captured,” says Goldcrest Post colourist Maria Chamberlain (World on Fire). “It’s also important to be able to offer up alternative suggestions and solutions that enhance the storytelling and photography when required.”

A guiding principle to successful grading is respecting the natural colour palette of an environment or set. “The DI is for making your images as good as they can be, but you don’t force them to somewhere where they don’t want to be,” says John Mathieson CAL, BSC (Gladiator). “If you’re dealing with a good colourist, they’ll know where it wants to sit and understand what we’re trying to do.”

Grading archive footage in documentaries is an interesting challenge. “You talk to the filmmakers to find out what their expectations are of what you’re going to receive and the results they expect at the end of it,” says Technicolor senior colourist Paul Ensby (Senna). “You have to get the BSC , CAL on hies John Mat best you possibly can out of it. If you have talking heads and still photographs, that is where you can play and use different tricks.”

Technicolor colourist Jodie Davidson

Even though digital moviemaking has overtaken film, the aesthetic of celluloid remains the desired end result. Greig Frasier ASC ACS has collaborated with FotoKem to employ a chemical process on his last couple of movies. “We’re putting a digital image onto a film emulsion and scanning it back in. By doing that, you inherently get some of the great attributes of film that we’ve lost in the digital age as well as the great attributes that digital gives us that film would never allow us.”

LED walls and virtual production have gained more prominence because of the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “You have to make sure you do your testing and due diligence to get the LUT or colour calibration of those screens right with the sensor of the camera,” notes FotoKem senior colourist David Cole (Dune). “It’s important that you’re as colour accurate as possible through the whole process because then people don’t get surprised.”

James Friend BSC ASC collaborated with Technicolor senior colourist Douglas Delaney for the first time on the Showtime series Your Honor staring Bryan Cranston. “Doug did this promising thing that I admired where he asked to see my visual references,” recalls Friend. “I’ve got my ideas for where I want the show to go; however, it is interesting to have someone else’s fresh take.”

One must have the ability to read between the lines. “It is not necessarily about hearing the words spoken but how they’re spoken and reading the body language,” observes Delaney. “You do miss a little bit of that, not being co-located physically in the same space. Those kinds of nonverbal cues are important to quickly get in sync.”

Camera testing is a critical part of the preproduction process. “We did tests for the Panasonic VariCam and Sony Venice because I had a show in Australia where we had some scenes that were Martin Ruhe ASC (r) on The Midnight Sky

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Sebastian Thaler on 7500

“THE DI IS FOR MAKING YOUR IMAGES AS GOOD AS THEY CAN BE, BUT YOU DON’T FORCE THEM TO SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY DON’T WANT TO BE.” JOHN MATHIESON CAL, BSC candle lit and complete darkness, but everyone is seeing what the actual drama and action is at the same time,” explains Nicola Daley ACS (I Am a Girl). “[Technicolor colourist] Jodie Davidson [The Souvenir] and I did a lot of tests in her suite as to how dark is dark and if we did 2500 ISO on those cameras what the noise level would be.”

Scheduling impacts the workflow. “Due to time pressures, often picking the camera, lens and filtration as well as us trying to build a LUT takes place at the same time,” notes Davidson. “There are a lot of things happening. We usually try to find a few different things the LUT will work on. You don’t want to be going in heavy-handed. It’s a gentle approach.”

“When I shoot on film there are years of colour science from Kodak and Fuji, so to get a certain kind of look there may be slight differences but it would be all constant,” observes cinematographer Sebastian Thaler (7500). “There are no standards anymore for colour science. ARRI, RED and Sony do it differently.

It’s like a colour jungle.”

Visual effects are part of the grading process. “[Most of the time] I’m not doing a 100 per cent of an effect,” says The Grand Post colourist Matthias Tomasi (Die Weltherrschaft). “The visual effects artist will prepare the mattes and give me an image that is about to be integrated into the live-action. I’m not given more time for the grading of the show, but it allows me to sit there to tweak and light with the DP or director, thereby, giving them more control.”

“We all have to work much faster these days and get to conclusions quicker but at the same time you have more post involved and more visual effects happening,” says Martin Ruhe ASC.

“On The Midnight Sky, I didn’t have a clear feeling as to where we should go to compared to Catch-22 so I wanted to keep it open and discover it along the way.”

Decisions are continually evolving throughout the various stages of filmmaking. “I don’t know if people realise that you start off with a visual effects movie one way, half of the stuff usually gets thrown out, directions change constantly throughout, and when you begin cutting it starts changing all over again,” says Company 3 founder and president Stefan Sonnenfeld (Wonder Woman 1984). “It is hard to lock into certain things when so much of the stuff isn’t understood until you actually start working on it, seeing the product in the final visual effects, and matching practical stuff into the visual effects footage.”

Assisting the cinematographer and colourist in the grading process are the DIT and dailies colourist, explains Matthew Lloyd ASC CSC (The Water Man).

“The lasting impact is what they were able to do organisationally to make sure that the look and work that was done onset is both tracking and translatable to someone like [Company 3 senior colourist] Sean Coleman, who could see what was going on in dailies.”

Coleman (Bird Box) makes a point of meeting with the dailies team. “I want them to colour lightly and use one layer of colour, like primary colour correction, so when I get the CDLs

Matthew Lloyd ASC CSC (second from left) on The Water Man

it will translate into my room exactly as we’ve all been seeing it so it will be a smooth process.”

“You always want to be doing things that are directing the viewer towards the information, whether it be someone’s face or something in the frame using lighting,” says Ben Kutchins (Ozark). “I’m doing a lot of that now in postproduction. If there’s an object in frame that is part of the storytelling, I’ll often create a special window around that, brighten it and darken the things around it to make it that much easier for the viewer’s eye to go to it.”

Company 3 senior colourist Tim Stipan (Black Swan) has worked with a variety of high-profile filmmakers. “Steven Soderbergh is massively different than Darren Aronofsky in terms of how they would want it to look. For example, you try to lower all the highlights of a blown-out window to get a little more detail in it. Aronofsky might love that whereas Soderbergh would be like, ‘Take that off.’ There are some people who are all about the detail and others who want to throw a detail away. You have to figure out what they are going for and roll with it.” n

Greig Frasier ASC ACS has collaborated with FotoKem to employ a chemical process on his last couple of movies

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 41

42 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

CAMERA CREATIVE / MATTHEW JENSEN ASC / WONDER WOMAN 1984 / BY ZOE MUTTER

Matthew Jensen ASC reunites with director Patty Jenkins to help bring a vision of an optimistic, pure, pop-oriented movie to fruition, enhanced by bold colour, authentic ‘80s styling and action sequences of epic proportions.

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he year is 1984 and a 12-year-old Matthew Jensen is immersed in film classes in the basement of the Natural History Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., dreaming of one day becoming a filmmaker. Cut to an early morning in 2018, and ASCaccredited cinematographer Jensen is lighting the same Natural History Museum rotunda for director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984.

“That 12-year-old kid in me was grinning from ear to ear, amazed that a dream came true,” says Jensen, who became familiar with Jenkins’ unique filmmaking style when their talents combined on Wonder Woman (2017) and on two episodes of mini-series I Am the Night (2019).

“Having spent many hours together behind the camera, by the time we started Wonder Woman 1984 I really knew what Patty likes and responds to thematically and visually. I had a sixth sense for where she was going,” says Jensen. “Patty wanted to make a film that looked different to the first Wonder Woman. This more pop-oriented and glamourous movie would be set in a brighter, more cheerful world with intense colour.”

Bursting with retro vibrancy and action, Wonder Woman 1984 transports us to an ‘80s version of Washington, D.C. and sees Amazonian Princess Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) take on supervillains Max Lord and Cheetah - quite a contrast to Wonder Woman which was mostly set during World War I. Jensen enjoyed the script’s commentary on consumer culture’s emptiness and the belief material items can improve or fill a void in one’s life.

“The film ultimately says that is not the correct path forward which I thought was a wonderful message. The fact Patty connected this to the 1980s is also very prescient. Of course, I loved the fact it is set in Washington, D.C. where I grew up in that era,” he says.

Films made in the late ‘70s to early ’80s were revisited for inspiration as the filmmakers endeavoured to create a similar scope to early Steven Spielberg productions such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Richard Donner’s Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). The look and feel of films such as 9 to 5 (1980) and Heaven Can Wait (1978) were also referenced.

“The key takeaway from those movies is their uncynical approach. They unabashedly have fun and shift tones between drama and action to outright comedy whilst still having a level of pathos and character development. That’s quite different to what we experience in many current blockbusters. They’re more self-aware and seem to reference themselves with each subsequent sequel.

Patty wanted to make a pure movie with a slightly more innocent tone,” explains Jensen. He also looked to ‘80s fashion photography and modern fashion photography referencing the ‘80s in its lighting, saturated or neon colour and glamorous presentation of models.

AN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR The globe-trotting production visited three countries between principal photography commencing in June 2018 until filming ended that December, with additional photography taking place for a month in August 2019.

Four weeks spent in Washington, D.C. allowed them to capture many of the large exterior scenes including iconic locations such as the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and riot scenes on Pennsylvania Avenue with the Capitol in the background.

Shopping mall scenes were filmed at an abandoned mall in Alexandria, Virginia. Split across three levels and featuring an open atrium, the mall offered the scale to stage a big action sequence when Wonder Woman swings from level to level.

The art department recreated more than 60 stores of the period - a massive design and lighting undertaking. “We had to put ballasts back in, rewire many of the fluorescent fixtures and find old fluorescent fixtures to power them,” says Jensen. “I think we used every last fluorescent fixture in the United States just to get the raw power to light the stores.”

The team also spent a month shooting in Spain, Almeria and Tenerife and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands to recreate Cairo and parts of Wonder Woman’s homeland Themyscira.

Many interior scenes were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and additional sequences were captured in London, which doubled up as some locations in Washington, D.C.

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British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 43

CAMERA CREATIVE / MATTHEW JENSEN ASC / WONDER WOMAN 1984 / BY ZOE MUTTER

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Matthew Jensen ASC adopted a mixture of formats including IMAX which he said produced “stunning results” (Credit: Clay Enos)

The filmmakers’ exploration of ‘80s films and fashion photography shaped the production design as Jensen worked alongside production designer Aline Bonetto and her team and set dresser Anna Lynch-Robinson to produce an authentic retro world. “I was very involved in the details of the mall as we were on my home turf in the ‘80s. I told the production design team about an arcade with a unique design in Washington, D.C. called Time Out. They used reference photos to recreate it down to the smallest detail for the scene set in the video game arcade,” he says.

Detailed lighting fixture discussions between Jensen and Lynch-Robinson led to the introduction of neon in the background of certain scenes. “In a close-up shot when Diana dines alone in Georgetown she is lit in a beautiful soft white light. It’s great for flesh tone, but there are spots of colour in the background, not only from the streetlight but from lighting from the stores,” he explains.

Jensen, the lighting crew and set design team created LED fixtures to mimic the look of neon from the era, with LED being easier to use and offering greater colour control. “Our approach was to put all the saturated colours in the background but keep the talent nicely lit and glamorous with beautiful flesh tones,” he adds.

Bonetto also shared design ideas for the other spaces the narrative would unfold in, of which there were many due to the film’s immense scope. “There are locations in Cairo, missile silos in the US and in Russia, and many more. The look of each was different and all the fixtures had to be integrated into the design. Aline was great at communicating exactly what she wanted to do throughout.”

Jensen’s vision for the film’s lighting was in line with Jenkins’ overall aesthetic goal - to be brighter and more saturated. He wanted to let the costumes, art direction and practical lighting do the heavy lifting in terms of the colour.

“I would then light the faces in a glamorous way and in the appropriate mood before focusing on lighting the different environments and selecting colours, which was a little trickier,” he says.

To achieve this, Jensen relied predominantly on classic lighting tools including large 20K tungsten lights and ARRI Studio T12s. “These were used through 8x8 or 12x12 frames, full grid, close to the actors, when I was shooting close-ups, to wrap the light around them,” he explains.

HMIs were chosen for outdoor shots. LED - a combination of SkyPanels and LED tubing - helped achieve more saturated colours in scenes such as one sequence in the Smithsonian when Quasar LED tubes mimicked neon fluorescent tubes in glass casing behind Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) and Diana.

“Gaffer David Sinfield and his whole lighting team were brilliant. I really value their hard-work and intelligence.

They often gave up their weekends to pre-light sets so we were ready to shoot during the week,” says Jensen.

The art department recreated more than 60 stores of the period in an abandoned mall in Alexandria, Virginia

Helicopter Film Services shot plates for VFX, including passes directly through exploding pyrotechnics

SHOOTING DISCIPLINES

Advocates of shooting on film, Jensen and Jenkins adopted a mixture of formats, shooting on 35mm, 65mm 5-perf and IMAX. “Scenes we shot on IMAX were technically difficult, but the results are so stunning that it was worth all the effort,” says Jensen.

Director Jenkins agrees, believing the immersive medium of IMAX helps create the spectacle required. For her, film still has a quality that is hard to duplicate. According to Gadot, who also produced the movie, Wonder Woman 44 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

‘80s fashion photography’s lighting, saturated or neon colour and glamorous presentation of models was a source of inspiration

Matthew Jens en ASC is an ad on film. He sh vocate of shoo ot on the Panavis the 35mm scenes primarily ting ion Millennium Panavision Pr imo lenses (Cre camera with dit: Clay Enos)

Amazonian Princess Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) takes on supervillains Max Lord and Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984 (Photos: Clay Enos/ ™ & © DC Comics) © 2020 Warner Bros.

Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved

1984 - a film already so visceral, vivid, and beautifully shot - is taken to the next level by being shot on IMAX.

“There have been a lot of advances in digital and I’ve achieved very good results, but I still prefer film for certain things. Patty and I agree it’s a little kinder and gentler on faces than digital. I just love shooting 35mm,” says Jensen.

Film also allows Jensen to adopt an on-set working method he enjoys. “There’s a discipline to shooting film because everybody’s on their A game when you clap the slate and the film rolls through the camera. There isn’t the sense that you can just roll and roll,” he says.

Jensen also enjoys the process of lighting when shooting on film. “Everything is in my head, so it comes down to my eye, my light meter and looking through the lens. It makes me more present on set whereas on digital I’m always running back to the monitor and I feel like I’m a little removed from the process.

“However, one challenge when shooting on film is each LED manufacturer’s fixture has a different colour response. With digital, you can see it on the monitor and tweak accordingly but on film you must test out all the manufacturers’ products to see how they respond, so we tended to stick primarily to mixing SkyPanels and Litepanels with the kind of tungsten lighting we were working with.”

Wonder Woman 1984 was primarily shot on Kodak VISION3 5219 500-speed tungsten stock. “All interiors were shot with that stock. I love its colour saturation, response to flesh tones and speed. It allows me to light in a manner I’m comfortable with and to try to not overheat the sets as much as possible,” says Jensen. “It’s been a workhorse stock for me. It holds overexposure very well, so I feel like I can be bold when I need to blast sunlight.

When recreating sunlight on stage, for instance, I know I can produce the feeling of daylight by overexposing three stops and the film handles it beautifully.”

The day exteriors, particularly in Themyscira and the chase scene in Cairo, were shot on Kodak VISION3 50D 5203 50-speed stock. “It’s beautiful and clean and offers incredible colour rendition. I used Kodak’s 250 daylight stock for the more mixed colour temperature environments because it handles extremes in tungsten light and daylight very well. For the darker days in the UK, it was nice to have that extra speed.”

All 35mm dailies were scanned by Company 3 in 4K because the filmmakers wanted a 4K finish to produce the highest quality 35mm image which would compete with IMAX. “This allowed us to scan that material once and not have to go back at the end,” says Jensen. “We scanned the IMAX and 65mm 5-perf at 2K. That material was processed in the USA at Fotokem, splitting scanning duties with IMAX in Canada before the IMAX material was re-scanned at 8K for the final version.”

Jensen shot the 35mm scenes primarily on the Panavision Millennium camera with Panavision Primo lenses,

IMAX sequences with IMAX’s cameras and proprietary lenses, referring to the 50mm and 80mm “as IMAX workhorse lenses”. The IMAX MSM 9802 65mm 5-perf cameras with large-format lenses were chosen for dialogue portions within the IMAX sequences. “The IMAX cameras can be quite loud, making it difficult to record dialogue, so we used the quieter 5-perf sync sound camera,” he says.

ARRI’s Alexa XT was selected for shooting sequences in Washington, D.C. such as scenes underground in the Metro where supplemental lighting could not be used, and Jensen needed the digital format’s ability to work at a high ISO. “Those sequences were shot at 1280 ISO with Primo lenses. The night-time scene when Diana and Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) walk around the Lincoln Memorial was also shot on digital because it was such a huge space. There were many permit restrictions on the amount of lighting I could bring in and I couldn’t light the Washington Monument in the background.”

To overcome this, Jensen balanced the whole scene to the Washington Monument and again worked at a very high ISO on the Alexa XT, finding it blended well with the footage shot on film once a grain layer was added in post.

As Wonder Woman was shot in 2.40 (super 35mm, spherical), Jensen and Jenkins wanted to maintain a consistency in the sequel’s 35mm material. But when switching formats to IMAX, Jensen opted for a 1.90 aspect ratio as it offered the required size and scope without being too jarring a transition back to 2.40. “When we tested this aspect ratio transition in an IMAX theatre, we found the 1.90 gently filled your peripheral vision when you were used to watching a 2.40 image,” he says.

Static shots are rare in Wonder Woman 1984 as Jenkins likes to keep the camera moving, wanting the imagery to flow. “So even in simple scenes the camera gently drifts. The camera is particularly attuned to Diana’s emotional state and physical rhythms, so we move it to keep up with her. We tend to use dollies, cranes and Steadicam to achieve this as they have a graceful feel and Patty and I are averse to hand-held,” says Jensen.

The spectacular camera crew was headed up by camera operator and Jensen’s close collaborator for

over a decade Simon Jayes. He worked on the US, UK, and travel portions of the film. “Along with Sam Barnes, A camera first AC; Simon Finney, B camera operator; and René Adefarasin, B camera 1st AC, they dealt with the myriad of formats with skill and grace. Key grip Kevin Fraser is also an artist when it comes to rigging and moving the camera to tell the story,” says Jensen.

The many filmmaking triumphs include an epic scene that opens Wonder Woman 1984 with impact, complete with colossal crowds and battles. Most of the stunt work in the opening was shot by 2nd unit DP Tim Wooster with 2nd unit director Dan Bradley. Wooster and Jensen’s rapport from the first film helped them communicate clearly about how to hand off to each other this time around. Following extensive storyboarding and pre-vis the DPs and ADs divided the work and assessed how to shoot the scene.

“It required a lot of thought because it was on IMAX. It’s a large camera that is hard to move and the film loads take three minutes,” says Jensen. “Visual effects supervisor John Moffatt and his team were also heavily involved, and we talked at length while on scouts about where the sun was supposed to be and what time of day to shoot certain action elements.”

Each shot was broken down to determine which rig to use and how. “For example, should the IMAX camera be on a crane with a G-3 head or on the dune buggy with the G-3 head? Those questions and decisions loomed over every set-up. Terrain, sun position, action of the horses or the actors also needed to be considered.”

SOARING SHOTS

Aerial sequences throughout the movie were shot on a variety of formats, including 65mm IMAX film by Helicopter Film Services using a Shotover K1 and Airbus Twin-Star helicopter in Spain, and 35mm film on an ARRIFLEX 235 mounted to the company’s Aerigon drone in the UK. Additional aerial sequences were captured using ARRI Alexa Mini and the Angenieux 10:1 zoom lens in the Shotover F1. “It was great that we were able to shoot film on a drone and that we had a camera that was light enough to do that,” says Jensen.

Helicopter Film Services were initially required to shoot plates for VFX which involved close-up filming of pyrotechnics, capturing sequences at a disused airfield in the UK, including passes directly through the bursting fireworks at 300ft.

Intense planning and coordination with Toby Alloway at Titanium Fireworks produced stunning results.

Helicopter Film Services’ specialist six-camera array, the Typhon, comprising six ARRI Alexa Minis and 20mm Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses in a toeout configuration offered a large field of view for the fireworks scene.

The Shotover K1 gimbal and Typhon camera array rig were driven very close to the pyros, which were suspended on a wire stretching down the runway 100 feet above ground. “We were on a Lenny III crane from Chapman Leonard - a 50-foot crane arm mounted on the back of a three axle Bickers tracking vehicle. The crane was locked off at about 30 feet in the air, with the vehicle driving forwards and then turning to come back down the runway in >> British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 45

CAMERA CREATIVE / MATTHEW JENSEN ASC / WONDER WOMAN 1984 / BY ZOE MUTTER

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“SCENES WE SHOT ON IMAX WERE TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT, BUT THE RESULTS ARE SO STUNNING THAT IT WAS WORTH ALL THE EFFORT.” MATTHEW JENSEN ASC the other direction,” says Helicopter Film Services’ Jeremy Braben, Assoc. BSC aerial DP/camera operator.

The crew used a variety of camera angles, driving along the line to capture the fireworks exploding, and achieving motion as they passed through the pyros. “You could see lots of individual elements from each starburst and the perspective was interesting as the debris passed quite close to the camera,” says Braben.

As production wanted a high frame rate, the crew shot in 2.8K ARRI RAW, allowing 48 frames per second to capture more detail of the explosions. “Normally we’d use the Alexa Minis in Open Gate Raw, but this format was limited to 30 per second,” explains Braben. “This requirement meant each camera’s field of view was reduced, so we used 20mm ARRI Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses to maintain the overlap between the cameras. Normally we’d use the 24mm Ultra Prime.”

Helicopter Film Services integrated the use of a focus and iris control via remote control on each lens for the first time, working with six iris motors and six focus motors. This meant they could individually calibrate each lens to counter any mechanical difference in the scales of the focus and iris.

A cowling was fabricated as a first line of defence to deflect any burning debris that could get lodged inside the kit. Clear optical flats were used as filters to protect the lenses and Helicopter Film Services’ secondgeneration Typhon now has a custom carbon fibre dome to protect the array.

46 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Joining Braben on the aerial crew were Oliver Ward, senior engineer, Helicopter Film Services; Alan Perrin, drone pilot; and Sam Thurston, drone AC.

visual effects work across key sequences, creating a blend of fully digital environments, extensive set extensions, VFX development for key characters and events, full digidoubles and character animation work, plus full CG shots.

Framestore created the Cheetah character and lightning PHOTOREAL AMBITIONS lasso effects, helped Wonder Woman fly through the Visual effects supervisor John Moffatt and Jensen worked clouds, and augmented environments. closely from the outset, with a shared desire to make

The final colour grade was completed by Company everything as photoreal as possible. “If we created anything 3’s Stefan Sonnenfeld. “He’s a talented artist and I trust digitally, John wanted a plate or a reference shot on film his taste,” says Jensen. “I had limited availability for the DI that the animators could work from. That was great and led due to another project, so I checked in with Stefan and us to shoot a lot of plates in Tenerife that served as a basis Patty after I set some initial looks. It was helpful we are all for the opening shots of Themyscira,” says Jensen. in sync and have a shorthand from the first movie.”

A model of the stadium was built to use as a

Many of the decisions Jensen made in the dailies reference and Jensen was in constant contact with Moffatt with James Slattery from Company 3’s UK office were and his previs team when they designed shots for the big carried through to the final colour grade. “James is an visual effects sequences. Moffatt provided Jensen’s team extraordinary dailies timer,” adds Jensen. “He was my with Simulcam, a fusion of a real and virtual camera, for closest confidant throughout the production. I would scenes including those in the Themyscira stadium. check in with him very early in the mornings before

“So even though much of the stadium wasn’t there, going to set and we would tweak and finesse the fine through Simulcam we could see where it would be and work he had begun. could then line up our shots to work out how high the

“Many of the ideas for the film’s look were stadium was or how low we needed to be to incorporate set in those days while shooting. The final DI is an the upper part of the stadium. Using an iPad, we could enhancement of these ideas when more tools were visualise where the stadium would be behind some of available and as the VFX work was integrated, colour and the actors,” says Jensen. “If I needed help erasing a light contrast shifted to accommodate the blending of live stand I couldn’t get out of the frame, John would just say action with the CGI.” ‘no problem, shoot a clean plate and we’ll take care of

Not only was Wonder Woman 1984 shot in it’. Whatever lighting they create in the virtual multiple countries, but the crew also worked with world has been suggested by me in the real a myriad of formats, with teams in the US and UK world, so we have to be in close communication coordinating and cooperating to guarantee success - an about how to blend those environments.” exciting filmmaking challenge Jensen admits is “not for Visual effects studio DNEG delivered the faint of heart”. varied and challenging

“That was just background to the size and scope of the movie, with action set pieces, quiet dramatic moments, visual effects, stunts, period details and costumes. You name it, we faced it on this movie,” he says.

“Productions only work when there is mutual respect between co-workers and I’m so lucky to have worked with so many talented people in every department.

Everyone pulling together and communicating was key.”

Wonder Woman 1984 is available to rent on Premium Helicopter Film Matthew Jensen Services shot on ASC (r) reunited with Video on Demand. n 65mm IMAX film director Patty Jenkins,

using a Shotover K1 and Airbus Twin-Star helicopter in Spain

who also co-wrote Wonder Woman 1984 (Credit: Clay Enos)

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48 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

BEHIND THE SCENES / MARTIN RUHE ASC / THE MIDNIGHT SKY / BY ZOE MUTTER

ON A MISSION The filmmaking maestros behind sci-fi epic The Midnight Sky shot in snowstorms, created photorealistic virtual environments, and seamlessly blended stellar visual effects with stunning cinematography to tell a tale of two disparate environments.

W

hen the opportunity arose to explore two worlds - the Arctic and space - while lensing apocalyptic space drama The Midnight Sky, cinematographer Martin Ruhe ASC was thrilled to accept the ambitious mission.

“We see these environments quite often in film, but rarely in one production,” Ruhe says. “It was a joy to cover such large canvases and epic ground, but through an intimate story.”

The film marks the second director-DP collaboration between George Clooney and Ruhe, who teamed up for mini-series Catch-22 (2019). “There was something exciting about the premise of The Midnight Sky which, as George describes it, is like Gravity meets The Revenant. Both films provided inspiration early on as well as stills from Russian photographer Evgenia Arbugaeva,” says Ruhe.

In what is fundamentally a story of hope as well as a warning of the damage humans are inflicting on the planet, Augustine Lofthouse (George Clooney), a terminally ill scientist living in isolation in the Arctic, battles to contact astronauts on a return mission exploring Jupiter moon K23.

They are unaware of the global catastrophe awaiting them on Earth. As Augustine endeavours to warn Sully (Felicity Jones) and the crew of the deadly radiation destroying the planet, he encounters Iris (Caoilinn Springall), a young girl he must also protect from the elements.

Having starred in other space epics such as Gravity (2013) and Solaris (2002), Clooney brought with him knowledge of the techniques that could help create The Midnight Sky’s intergalactic scenes and an appreciation of the complexities of zero-gravity work.

“We didn’t have the year or more of prep time Gravity had, so we simplified the process,” says Ruhe. “We also wanted our version of space to have a grain to it and to feel older than some space films which look so pristine.”

Camera and lens choice helped realise these aesthetic ambitions. Clooney suggested shooting 65mm digital early on, partly because the film, which streamed on Netflix and at the time of writing was set to become one of the streaming service’s most-watched films, was originally intended as a cinema release and possibly an IMAX production. As Ruhe

had not yet shot 65mm digital, he and Clooney carried out camera tests before committing to the format.

“We liked the results when testing the ARRI Alexa 65 and Prime lenses because the field of view is quite unique - you have to get closer to the actors and their faces. It worked well for the landscapes and some of the space work due to the detail and richness.”

For select scenes Ruhe paired the Alexa 65 largeformat camera with custom designed detuned ARRI Prime DNA LF lens prototypes he was introduced to by ARRI Rental. “They create an effect where the image gets darker at the edges and loses focus. It can be tough for focus pullers, but it’s so beautiful,” he says. “This was useful for scenes in which we needed to get inside the characters’ heads and fade out everything around them, such as during the spacewalk when astronaut Maya spots the first blood drops in her helmet and realises she is hurt.”

BATTLING AGAINST THE ELEMENTS The tale of two worlds demanded an assortment of diverse shooting locations. Iceland provided the stark, harsh setting for exterior Arctic scenes while the Barbeau Research Station where Augustine discovers young Iris, spaceship interiors and a night-time sequence in which Augustine and Iris sink under water were filmed at Shepperton Studios. Flashback sequences and those taking place on the moon of K23 were filmed in La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain, where the gigantic Gran Telescopio Canarias optical telescope is located.

The 10-week prep period commenced in June 2019, during which time production designer Jim Bissell travelled to Iceland and Spain multiple times to scope out potential shooting locations before presenting ideas. Ruhe then visited the locations in July before shooting began in Iceland in October 2019, ending in La Palma in February 2020, just prior to the pandemic.

>>

oney Director George Clo er ph (l) and cinematogra Martin Ruhe ASC

Credit: Philippe Antone llo/NETFLIX

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 49

BEHIND THE SCENES / MARTIN RUHE ASC / THE MIDNIGHT SKY Martin Ruhe ASC working his magic behind the camera

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The crew and cast battled against extreme conditions in Iceland, filming some sequences in a real snowstorm for authenticity. “It was an amazing experience but totally exhausting for the crew, and even more so for the actors. Ice even formed on George’s eyebrows,” says Ruhe.

Although most of the snowstorm sequence was shot in Iceland, the final part was filmed on a stage in Shepperton. “If we hadn’t experienced it first-hand, I think we would have filmed it much softer and less violent on the stage, but we knew it was really brutal,” he adds.

Each day the crew drove for an hour from the hotel to base camp 1,000 metres above sea level, where equipment was loaded into mini vans designed to withstand the rough terrain of the glacier, equipped with heavy-duty tyres to avoid sinking into the ice.

“You could set off in good visibility and three minutes later the car bumper 10 feet ahead wasn’t visible,” says Ruhe. “We had to be flexible and react quickly, but simple things such as changing the lens took 20 minutes because you had to take the camera into the mini van to unpack it.”

In addition to Prime and detuned DNA lenses, Ruhe took a selection of ARRI zoom lenses to Iceland for flexibility. Exterior Arctic scenes were shot with two 65mm cameras, using Steadicam when possible and switching to hand-held when the wind was too strong.

“We used a Dolly a few times and a Technocrane once because it was a logistical challenge just to get it up on to the glacier,” he adds. “We thought about lighting on the glacier, but quickly gave up on that idea because the conditions limited us so we couldn’t just put up a light.”

Aerial shots of the Icelandic landscape were captured by OZZO, drone operators from Reykjavik, Iceland, whose footage, particularly of the Northern Lights, had impressed Ruhe. “It was breathtakingly beautiful. He also knew all the areas we wanted to film and was used to the extreme conditions.”

Ruhe wanted to avoid the tone often adopted when filming snowy scenes. “We experimented with a version that was really cold and blue, but it just didn’t work. We didn’t want to superimpose a look that was a cliché. And then, when we shot whilst the sun was out, it looked beautiful and dangerous simultaneously, even with a warmer tone.”

AD Lee Grumit, focus puller Julian Bucknell, cinematographer Martin Ruhe ASC, George Clooney (Augustine) and Caoilinn Springall (Iris) getting ready to shoot at Shepperton Studios

50 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Industrial Light & Magic’s StageCraft integrated virtual production platform created three-dimensional realistic backgrounds surrounding the sets at Shepperton Studios using LED screens

Intuitive camera movement was used during the glacier shoot, driven partly by the circumstances and the speed shots needed to be captured. “Once we were in Iceland we wanted to shoot as much as possible within the limited hours of daylight. We were also working with a seven-year-old actress [Caoilinn Springall] who we needed to protect, so we wanted to avoid spending more time than necessary in conditions that could be exhausting and dangerous,” says Ruhe.

ANOTHER DIMENSION A different approach to camera movement was adopted for scenes in space. “When the astronauts embark on a spacewalk, there’s no centre of gravity. When they float, there would naturally always be some people who are upside down. This was something George mentioned from the beginning and that we wanted to achieve.

We looked to the spacewalk in Gravity for inspiration because there’s never a straight shot,” explains Ruhe.

The DP did not want to use cranes too heavily for space scenes due to the number of people required to move the camera into position. “We needed to be more intimate, so we tried to film a lot with Steadicam and

Alexa Mini LFs, with operator Karsten Jacobsen walking around actors and reacting to the moment. We also went handheld for certain space scenes such as in the airlock or when the asteroids hit the spaceship; it was intuitive and felt like a natural choice.”

When exploring the available options for capturing the spacewalk shots using Steadicam, Jacobsen discovered a device that allowed the camera to be rotated around the optical axis – the Rock-a-bye true horizon system. “In one shot the camera travels along the spaceship - the first time Maya goes into space and is nervous about it. We move around her head and then see what she sees before returning to her. Using Steadicam and the rotation system makes the audience lose their sense of gravity in the moment,” explains Ruhe.

SEEING INTO SPACE Matt Kasmir, The Midnight Sky’s visual effects supervisor, and the visual effects team at Framestore introduced Ruhe to a virtual camera system to previsualise scenes and walk around the spaceship set to determine which elements should be repositioned.

“Production designer Jim Bissell had already conducted so much research and was talking to NASA to decide how to develop the space world, but the virtual system gave us a good sense of the environments. Tape marks were made on the floor in scale with the spaceship and then I walked around the 3D spaces and collected shots on an iPad to show George. Editor Stephen Mirrione then edited them together so we could work out where additional shots might be needed.”

Moving the camera in space allowed the team to decide which moments would be best captured using crane shots, Steadicam or handheld. The data from the virtual camera system also informed the programming of the wires for the zero-gravity scene wire work. “The stunt people could then begin rehearsing and training the actors, apart from Felicity Jones who was pregnant and never on a wire,” says Ruhe.

In parallel, pre-production supervisor Kaya Jabar used the art department’s CAD model for the Barbeau set to plan for the LED work. The VFX team

Credit: Philippe An tonello/NETFLIX

“WE WANTED OUR VERSION OF SPACE TO HAVE A GRAIN TO IT AND TO FEEL OLDER THAN SOME SPACE FILMS WHICH LOOK SO PRISTINE.”

MARTIN RUHE ASC

shot camera tests with the camera and lens package to monitor aliasing and moiré effects and built it into a simulation that could be walked around with an iPad to explore the set and highlight any screens that would need images replacing in post.

“This helped everyone understand the scope of work as well as being a reassuring preview of what the technology would ultimately bring to the shots,” says Chris Lawrence, VFX supervisor, Framestore.

As well as guiding the previs for key production challenges such as the spacewalk and the LEDs for the windows of the Barbeau Research Station interiors, Framestore helped Jim Bissell’s team realise the design of the Aether spacecraft. VFX art director Jonathan Openhaffen worked on materials and finish and collaborated with the previs team to support the staging of the spacewalk as the blocking evolved.

When the spaceship design was being refined and colour palette decisions were yet to be finalised, LED technology lent a helping hand. Thousands of metres of RGBW LED ribbon and pads were installed inside the spaceship set at Shepperton, comprising several kits of Astera Helios and Titans and Kino Flo FreeStyle 31 in all the sets and around camera. The ability to change their colour easily gave Ruhe and the lighting team extra flexibility as they explored how best to illuminate the private quarters where the astronauts experience personal memories. “Access was also limited in the spaceship set, so the fixtures and LED strips we chose to achieve these effects had to be very small,” says Ruhe. “As we experimented, we felt warmer tones best suited the personal pods, whereas the command areas would be colder.”

Other techniques were introduced to simulate backgrounds with interactive and perfectly matching lighting in night and day scenes such as an Arctic night-time sequence in the pod where Augustine and Iris take shelter.

Gaffer Julian White suggested using a large 280’ by 40’ grey Rosco rear projection screen, but instead of projecting an image behind the screen, it was illuminated by a large array of ARRI SkyPanels which blended into an extensive soft light. All lighting equipment was supplied by MBSE.

“Using this method, we could dial in the colour

from a still or video of a sunset or the Northern Lights, for example. In a snowstorm the white would constantly change due to the sun, which we could alter with the rear projection screen set-up, using around 500 Sky Panels that we could make any colour we liked,” says Ruhe.

“We added a diffuse sun by placing a Sumolight Super 7 right behind the screen,” adds White. “As it was on electric hoists, we could raise and lower it quickly to place a sun in the back of shot for the blizzard scene. An 18kw ARRIMAX with 1/4 CTS on a scissor lift was used for a harder sun and the studio ceiling was rigged with SkyPanels through grid cloth.”

Opting for this technique over blue or green screen helped immerse the cast and crew in the shots and avoided losing some colour information. It also enhanced the realism of the final comps created at Framestore because the complexity of the lighting was reflected in the snow on the studio set. “It saved a lot of money as VFX had less to do in post and we could also use smoke and snow effects without causing problems in post,” says White.

PHOTO REALISTIC MAGIC The production leveraged Industrial Light & Magic’s effects experience by deploying the company’s StageCraft integrated virtual production platform. The system, which was also used to great effect on Disney+ sci-fi series The Mandalorian created three-dimensional realistic backgrounds surrounding the sets at Shepperton Studios using LED screens made up of more than 1,400 ROE Visual Black Pearl 2.8mm panels supplied by VSS, using Brompton Tessera SX40 processors.

ILM chose to work with VSS following collaborations including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the Peacock sci-fi series, Brave New World. The company was involved early in the design process, testing with ILM in the lead-up to the build at Shepperton, and consulting on screen types to be used in-camera for the main walls and lighting panels.

Aside from the 1,400 Black Pearl 2.8mm modules in the 30ft by 130ft and 50ft by 50ft screens, VSS also supplied 264 panels of ROE BO3 3.47mm for lighting panels. During the shoot, VSS was on hand to advise on removing panels to accommodate new

camera positions, switch feeds to the screens and make any required colour corrections.

Six weeks before principal photography began, visual effects supervisor Matt Kasmir shot plates using an Alexa 65 three-camera array for selected scenes’ virtual backgrounds. ILM produced several digital layers to add to the projected environment including levels of atmosphere, falling snow and an Aurora Borealis effect.

“These were projected over 3D geometry before principal photography started. We 3D mapped the environment we would project our camera array onto using a lidar system and photogrammetry. A lot of visual effects work began during prep which meant we could get 100 to 200 shots in camera before we hit post,” explains Kasmir.

The set was quite reflective and featured huge panoramic windows. Kasmir and the team knew the LED StageCraft system would be best suited as it made the world outside the windows in the space control room, or the Barbeau Research Station, look realistic for scenes including when Augustine looks out the window while drinking an early morning coffee. “ILM’s system was the best I’d seen. It had in-camera parallax, meaning the screen position and angle change depending on where the camera is looking to give genuine in-camera movement,” says Kasmir.

“If we’d used green screen it would have caused a lot of reflections on the large windows in some scenes,” adds Ruhe. “If you take those out, you need to replace them with other reflections. Using ILM’s system the actors could look out at a realistic Arctic scene because the reflection on the window is a real reflection projected from an LED screen.”

Gaming engine Unreal Engine 4 was vital, permitting manipulation of the 3D environment in real time and camera tracking using mocap technology throughout the set. “The geometry of the area from the plates shot in Iceland was taken into Unreal Engine and projected and then the images were stitched together from the 365-degree footage and projected onto the geometry,” says Kasmir.

“We could rotate and move that around, create snow flurries, change the sky, so it became a fully functioning 3D environment within the gaming engine.

Unreal Engine knew where our camera was and what lenses were on our cameras so the LED’s curved surface area could be adjusted accordingly.”

REALISING THE VISION Although filming concluded just ahead of the pandemic, the coronavirus restrictions impacted The Midnight Sky’s already tight post-production schedule, forcing grading to be carried out remotely. When COVID restrictions permitted, Ruhe viewed the film on a cinema screen in Company 3’s London location, while Company 3 cofounder and colourist, Stefan Sonnenfeld, Clooney and producer Grant Heslov worked remotely in LA.

“It was great that they wanted me so heavily involved in this stage of the process which saw us collaborate for two weeks of remote grading sessions,” says Ruhe. “As impressive as the technology that allowed us to do this is, working remotely just isn’t the same as being in the same room and discussing more immediately.”

To help realise scenes that could not be created in camera, visual effects supervisor Matt Kasmir and executive producer Greg Baxter sourced a stellar selection of visual effects specialists. Framestore played a pivotal role in the zero-G work and exterior space VFX shots and most of the CGI Arctic environments, delivering over 450 of the film’s 600 VFX shots and drawing on valuable experience gained whilst working on Gravity. >> British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 51

BEHIND THE SCENES / MARTIN RUHE ASC / THE MIDNIGHT SKY /

BY ZOE MUTTER

Before and after visual effects shots showing the work of One of Us

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The team was involved from the outset, helping explore production methodologies and planning for the use of ILM’s vendor services such as StageCraft for the LED environments and Anyma for facial capture. “We wanted to give Martin as much control and input as possible, presenting technology as a tool to enable him to realise his vision as a cinematographer and making sure it didn’t become something that was so complicated it got in the way,” says Chris Lawrence, VFX supervisor for Framestore.

Framestore delivered digital face replacements which were initially required due to travel and availability restrictions. They shot plates for the close-ups of actors’ faces and combined them with a subtle zero-G body performance, courtesy of animation supervisor Max Solomon, who Lawrence collaborated with on Gravity.

“The tests were so promising that we pursued this for all characters in the spacewalk scene, meaning our shot creation was less constrained by the practical limitations of shooting on wires with revolving sets,” adds Lawrence.

Wider shots combined innovative techniques with facial capture. Head direction and eye direction were manipulated to ensure eyelines were accurate, but every other facet of the actors’ performance were as they performed it during the capture shoot, resulting in subtle, invisible visual effects work.

In one interior zero-G scene, Clooney wanted a continuous roll on the camera to disorient the audience.

Framestore achieved this in post, digitally extending the set and actors’ costumes to create a circular shooting format that could be rotated continuously throughout the sequence with perfect editorial continuity.

“Ultimately, The Midnight Sky is a character piece, a drama that needed to be complemented by the VFX rather than letting them take over,” says Lawrence. “I think what we did, and the collaborations involved, are exactly what contemporary filmmaking should be about.”

Visual effects studio One of Us handled a variety of conceptual and storytelling challenges. Oliver Cubbage, One of Us supervisor, travelled with Kasmir to La Palma to film background plates that provide the backbone of the planet K23 dream sequence. “La Palma’s beautiful, alien- looking landscape was the perfect backdrop to build upon to realise this new world. Close-up green screen shots were then

52 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

filmed in a studio with Felicity Jones who was far enough along in her pregnancy to not be able to travel,” says Cubbage.

Once One of Us had constructed the digital environment for K23 they The lighting crew explored the creative for The Midnight Sky storytelling challenges of the holographic environments onboard the spaceship, an interactive three-dimensional table and computer game astronaut Mitchell interacts with.

Collaborating closely with Kasmir and Clooney, they designed the look and feel of the emotive set pieces of the holographic environments which provide important character-building moments and shed light on their back stories. “We were sensitive in how we treated these shots so they wouldn’t end up feeling gimmicky,” says Cubbage.

Other holographic environments were designed to tell the story of the Aether ship’s journey from K23 to earth. “We felt

these sequences should be downplayed from an aesthetic point of view. The shots are simple and elegant and designed to inform rather than distract from the actors’ performances.”

The team created the interactive map table in a similar vein, featuring just enough information on display to support the actors’ performances without being distracting.

“The table needed to feel like something from the future, but not too far into the future, harmonious with the other digital devices seen in the rest of the film,” says Cubbage.

Helicopter Film Services captured aerial plates on the island of La Palma for use in post. The aerial unit also took the production crew on an island-wide aerial recce and ferried them up the mountain on shooting days.

Aerial unit equipment included a Shotover F1 stabilised platform; Alexa Mini LF camera body; Fujinon Premista 28-100mm large format zoom lens; an Airbus AS355N Twin Squirrel helicopter for filming; and an Airbus EC135 helicopter for cast and crew transport. Drone unit equipment included the company’s custom-built First Person View drone and GoPro Hero 8 camera body to create an animal POV shot for VFX to use for a monkey chase sequence.

Some of the sequences Ruhe is most impressed by integrate CGI seamlessly. “I love the spacewalk and Maya’s story that unfolds in that moment. It’s such a powerful combination of CGI when everything comes together because we collaborated to design the shots.

“I’m also proud of the end of the snowstorm scene which sees Augustine collapse as the sun breaks through and he finds Iris. You would not know which parts of that were shot in Iceland and which were filmed in a stage in Shepperton.

“I just love the scope of this project and what we made possible. I’ve never done anything quite on that scale or which was that demanding, and yet I think we achieved what we set out to do in a delicate and sensitive way. That’s one of the great things about working with George - he trusts his team and allows you to discover which helped make this journey so beautiful.” n

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THE TRUTH SHALL PREVAIL Mangrove - the first film in the monumental five-part Small Axe series - unites cinematographer Shabier Kirchner with director Steve McQueen to tell personal stories of resilience and triumph that are both steeped in history and vibrant with culture.

54 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

“I

f watching Small Axe can inspire one youth in the Caribbean to become a cinematographer then that would be incredible,” director of photography Shabier Kirchner tells me during an interview which sees his belief in the power of film to create change shine through.

The theme of telling stories that inspire runs through the latest productions he lensed, Steve McQueen’s epic and ambitious five-film series Small Axe, which uses an assortment of creative techniques to tell compelling narratives of London’s West Indian community in the 1960s through to the 1980s.

The first film in the anthology, Mangrove, ties in with the 50th anniversary of the Mangrove March and tells the story of the landmark event which saw 150 black protesters organise a peaceful march in London’s Notting Hill against police harassment, racial discrimination and the unfair targeting of Frank Crichlow’s Mangrove Caribbean restaurant.

Mangrove also examines the 55-day trial in which the Mangrove Nine group of protesters including Crichlow (Shaun Parkes), leader of the British Black Panther movement Altheia Jones-LeCointe (Letitia Wright) and activist Darcus Howe (Malachi Kirby) - were wrongly arrested and charged with incitement to riot and affray and the challenges The Nine made to the fairness of the judicial process.

“It’s important for us to tell our stories or eventually we’ll lose our identity. Many people have not heard about the Mangrove Nine, but we all need to be aware of such a landmark case in British history,” says the native Antiguan cinematographer.

“The Small Axe series of films could be a significant flag in black cinema’s history. In Britain, the West Indian communities weren’t given the opportunity to tell their stories on the screen back in 1970 when the Mangrove case took place, so there’s a gap in cinematic history. Steve [McQueen] has given us the opportunity to remedy that and to get those stories out there.”

BEHIND THE SCENES / SHABIER KIRCHNER / SMALL AXE: MANGROVE / BY ZOE MUTTER

Kirchner’s involvement in the ambitious project was sparked when Sean Bobbitt BSC ASC, who lensed McQueen’s Hunger (2008), Shame (2011) and 12 Years a Slave (2013), asked to meet in New York.

“When my agent at Casarotto Ramsay told me Sean wanted to speak to me I was incredibly excited – he’s such a legendary filmmaker. When we met he told me Steve had been looking for a cinematographer to collaborate with on his latest project but hadn’t found quite the right fit. Sean said he would like me to have a conversation with Steve and a couple of days later we discussed the project and the script was shared with me.”

While reading Mangrove, Kirchner realised he had never seen West Indian voices and dialect quite like that on the page. “I was extremely moved by that,” he says. “I spoke to Steve again and told him how much the script resonated with me, especially when Altheia says ‘We mustn’t be victims, but protagonists in our own stories.’

Shortly after, Steve asked me to shoot the films.”

From the project’s inception McQueen told Kirchner to consider the productions as individual feature films rather than episodic television. This approach was welcomed by the DP, having come from an indie feature as opposed to a TV background, shooting films such as Skate Kitchen (2018) and Bull (2019).

“My head was already geared towards finding the individual identity of each script. We looked at each one

Director of photography Shabier Kirchner filming Mangrove (Credit: BBC/McQueen Limited)

as its own story, knowing they would be joined together by the fabric of black culture in London. If we looked at the project in its entirety and tried to figure everything out for five films in advance, it would have been a daunting task for me, so we approached each separately, starting with Mangrove.”

Early conversations about how to create a realistic world for the story to unfold within were grounded in history, which led the production team to examine archive footage and photographic material. The production office walls were plastered with photographs from the era in which the events took place and of the Mangrove Nine inside the Mangrove restaurant and in the streets of Notting Hill.

DP Shabier Kirchner (r) and director Steve McQueen (Credit: BBC/McQueen Limited)

“MANY OF THE MANGROVE FAMILIES ARE STILL ALIVE. SOME OF THEM ACTUALLY CAME ON SET DURING FILMING AND WE WANTED IT TO FEEL AS AUTHENTIC AS POSSIBLE.” SHABIER KIRCHNER

“Production designer Helen Scott’s team and the researchers did such a fantastic job compiling all this information,” says Kirchner. “Many of the Mangrove families are still alive and some of them actually came on set during filming and we wanted it to feel as authentic as possible.”

When the audience is first introduced to the Mangrove, it is brand-new, and the colours are warm, rich and fresh. As time passes and the restaurant experiences stress and fractures due to the police raids, the colours are gradually muted and diluted.

“While planning the aesthetics of the early scenes we were aware the focus would then need to switch to the inside of the courtroom - a completely different universe to the Mangrove. Helen was so thorough in her design and her choice of colours for every stage of this story,” says the DP.

The plethora of visual material gathered informed conversations about the overall feel of the production.

“We tried to consider what Mangrove would have felt like if it were made in 1975. How should we honour a film of that era that didn’t get the chance to be made? We were not just trying to rewrite history, we were just trying to write ourselves into it because we’d been left out for so long,” says the cinematographer.

Discussions first explored texture and patina before the option of shooting on 35mm film was considered.

“We knew we wanted it to feel like photographs of the era and to be reminiscent of the colours and feeling of Gordon Parks’ documentary photojournalism. We decided that 2-perf Kodak 35mm film would work well because of the structure and grain it inherently offers.”

What the Mangrove Nine represented - challenging the system as a community to ensure justice was served - also influenced the creative decisions. “This was the way we wanted to frame the nine characters - as a community.

We knew there would be many characters in one frame, the community versus the system, which a 2.35:1 aspect ratio would allow us to do,” says Kirchner.

After a six-week prep period, principal photography for the first of the Small Axe films began in June 2019, lasting three weeks. Each of the five films was shot in a similar timeframe. At the start of filming, Mangrove was intended to be split into two films, the latter focusing on the trial. Halfway through shooting, McQueen decided combining it into one film was a more appropriate and rounded way to tell the story.

The director was clear the production would be completely location-based and wanted the outside and inside world - the characters from the Mangrove - to interact. Many of the exterior Notting Hill scenes were >> British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 55

BEHIND THE SCENES / SHABIER KIRCHNER / SMALL AXE: MANGROVE

>>

Cinematographer Shabier Kirchner shooting Mangrove’s court scenes (Credit: BBC/McQueen Limited)

filmed in Kentish Town, Camden and Kilburn, with the majority of the protest scenes shot in Deptford.

“It was all about how to build a periphery for that community. Scouting locations that still featured remnants of the past was difficult, but our team found the perfect street in Kilburn that resembled All Saints Road in Notting Hill.

They dressed the whole block to make sure the storefronts and buildings were true to the era,” says Kirchner.

The Mangrove restaurant was reimagined in offices which were gutted and transformed into an environment that was evocative of the ‘70s. The Old Bailey was used for textural shots of the court and scene-setting shots of elements such as the ornate ceiling, while Kings Court in London was chosen as the filming location for scenes inside the courtroom and jail cells. “When shooting in the Old Bailey it was terrifying to know that is where the worst of the worst get tried and the Mangrove Nine names were wrongly included in that,” says Kirchner.

AN EFFORTLESS APPROACH

On set, McQueen would often reference the filmmaking philosophy of one of his collaborators and friends, the late, great Dutch cinematographer Robby Müller. “As Robby would tell Steve, ‘Whatever you do needs to seem as effortless as a cat jumping on a table.’ That idea really stayed with me. If I couldn’t figure something out, or if it became too overbearing, we just pulled it back to simplicity,” says Kirchner. He also took inspiration from the work of Müller, including his incredible book of polaroid photographs and films such as Paris, Texas and The American Friend as well as the films he made with director Jim Jarmusch such as Stranger Than Paradise.

Robby was also born in the Caribbean island of Curaçaol; I think I can feel that in his work.”

When the decision to shoot on 35mm was made, Kirchner knew he wanted to work with the ARRI Arricam LT. As the cinematographer would also be operating on the single-camera production, he wanted a camera he was familiar with and that offered a comfortable and functional eyepiece.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of the Arricam LT - I think it is one of the sturdiest, most reliable cameras ever built. The Arricam LT feels great on the shoulder and is very adaptable to being on a dolly or crane. We also used an Arriflex 235 lightweight 35mm camera for some handheld shots and scenes within tighter spaces,” says Kirchner. He also added a personal touch and engaged the whole production team with the culture being explored by printing out different Caribbean flags to display on the camera magazines.

After in-depth lens tests Kirchner opted for the Cooke Speed Panchro S2, using the Cooke S4 for certain wide shots and VFX shots: “Cooke glass is fantastic - it worked extremely well for building the world of the Mangrove and the roll off on the skin tone feels so smooth.”

Kodak Vision3 500T film was selected for the majority of Mangrove, with certain VFX shots filmed on 200T as “it offered a slightly cleaner result.” Kirchner pushed almost all scenes by one stop, sometimes two.

“I wanted to add more richness, saturation, grain and texture to the image without cooking the darker area of the image too much,” he elaborates.

“Films of that era also featured levels of imperfection which make them unique and beautiful to revisit. Nowadays you can do almost anything thanks to 56 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

technological advances - everything can be so perfect, slick and pristine that it can lose a lot of that character. We wanted to approach Mangrove another way; it needed to feel handmade, which required a different approach to exposing, manoeuvring the camera, and lighting.”

For instance, in the final courtroom scene, a crane shot is used to whip across the room as the judge enters before it settles on the dock and finally on Frank Crichlow’s face.

“When we smoothed all of that out, it felt too perfect,” says Kirchner. “Keeping some camera wobble was important - imperfections are perfections. We used a zoom lens to zoom in a more stop-and-start fashion rather than a smooth transition which made the scene feel more human and of the era.”

Although the protest sequence was mapped out and designed early on, Kirchner and McQueen did not want it to be too structured and so allowed the scene some freedom to naturally evolve.

“We used a 50-foot Technocrane for a top down shot of one of the first protest sequences and as we filmed, it started to rain. Steve said the shot just didn’t feel right, so he devised a different approach - to get into the mix and stick with each of the main characters, staying at arm’s length the whole time. That was it - we knew that Altheia, Frank, Darcus and Barbara Beese (Rochenda Sandall) would be our hero characters within that,” says Kirchner.

Archive footage of the peaceful parts of the protest, before the police got involved, was useful reference material in prep, but once the action began unravelling during the shoot, remaining close to the key characters was imperative to the scene’s success.

“Steve’s very much an actor’s director - you don’t adjust the actor for the shot; we figure out a way to make a shot work for us around the actor. For this scene we wanted to hear the inflection of their voice and feel the sweat. I got knocked about quite a lot when shooting and at one point a piece of wood hit me on the back of the head and fell to my knees, but swiftly got back up again.

It was all about getting amongst the action - it felt a lot like documentary filmmaking.”

DEVISING NEW TECHNIQUES

Mangrove was filmed in reverse order, with the trial shot first, followed by the exterior scenes in the street and then the Mangrove restaurant interiors. New techniques were devised for the courtroom scenes to expand the creative storytelling options.

“Filming in a real courtroom meant we couldn’t move any benches; it was all locked in and very tight. I’m used to seeing American courtroom dramas where there’s a lot of space and it’s very theatrical - the prosecutor walks towards the jury and then back towards the judge and to the crowd. In the UK everyone is locked in their position and there isn’t a lot of walking space,” he says.

The courtroom was also arranged on multiple levels, with defendants down low, the jury in a dock six feet off the ground, and the press and judge above them.

This posed an interesting challenge to Kirchner when manoeuvring the camera.

“We didn’t have time to keep building platforms,” says Kirchner. “Through discussions with key grip Adrian

Barry we figured out the most effective solution would be to keep the camera on a remote head on a crane, with me operating from another room. I wasn’t on the eyepiece for the first two weeks.

“Adrian figured out it would be possible to break down the Scorpio EZ head with the Fisher 23 arm and rebuild it in a longer length in under six minutes. A telescopic arm couldn’t have manoeuvred that space as fluidly and it would have taken longer because it’s a lot larger and heavier.”

Many of the technical solutions the team devised to efficiently manoeuvre the camera informed creative decisions. “In another courtroom scene, when Darcus cross examines PC Pulley, we came up with a solution in the moment, using that same set up of the crane, jib and camera on a remote head to swing around him, which we couldn’t do using Steadicam, handheld, a dolly or slider. As Steve always says, ‘limitations are freedom,’ and I agree with that.”

Restrictions that limited camera movement in the courtroom scenes had a similar impact on lighting the space. Kirchner wanted to use changing light to convey the passage of time during the mammoth 55-day trial.

“Ian Glenister and our spark team built an amazing rig and massive platforms outside each of the three large windows on either side of the court room to elevate six Alpha 18K lamps,” says Kirchner.

The scenes in the Mangrove restaurant were the most challenging to light due to the low, fixed ceiling and inability to fly the wall out. The set constraints and number of people and dollies in the space also made manoeuvring the camera difficult.

The initial intention was to avoid LED fixtures because it was not authentic of the era in which the events took place, but it soon became clear this would be difficult to realise. “Lightmat make an excellent series of tile lights that are super thin, draw little power and could be Velcroed to the ceiling. In front of that we put thick, off-coloured cloth and leaf green, steel green or yellow gels to break up the electronic feel of the LED. We coupled that with wall sconce lighting of the period such as tungsten bulbs, used the LEDs on top to give us a base light and put a skirt around it to prevent spill,” explains Kirchner.

The vibrancy of Gordon Parks’ photograph of a street corner in New York, taken from a passing car, inspired the approach to lighting the night-time scenes in the street outside the Mangrove restaurant. Unable to

climb on the pointed roofs, the lighting team rigged eight Source Four lamps outside the windows of topfloor apartments to create a base layer of light.

“These were gelled blue green to mimic the silver allied Mercury vapour lights of that era and pointed down from bedroom windows, with our team guarding and dimming them or moving them to spotlight certain areas,” adds the DP.

REALISTIC BEAUTY

“(MANGROVE ) NEEDED TO FEEL HANDMADE, WHICH REQUIRED A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO EXPOSING, MANOEUVRING THE CAMERA, AND LIGHTING.”

Paul Dean, head of grading at Cinelab London, was brought on board as dailies grader for Mangrove, providing 1080P Baselight scans. “This got us in a good place to view the rushes for Steve to start editing with,” says Kirchner. “I would mainly check to make sure everything was technically focused and exposed correctly, but I didn’t look at the dailies too extensively because I didn’t want to be distracted every day and second-guess myself.”

Lipsync Post completed the final 2K scans on an Arriscan before the final grade was carried out by colourist Tom Poole of Company 3, who has worked on all McQueen’s films, including Widows and Oscar-winner 12 Years a Slave.

“We worked to find a grade that was complementary to each story without feeling affected or forced,” says Poole, who, like McQueen, is also a fan of the look and feel of images photographed on celluloid.

Once the negative was scanned, Poole applied a print emulation LUT to the digital files, with “restricted whites, nice roll-off, and halated whites that you get from a film print.” Having sought inspiration from 1970s photography, the filmmakers endeavoured to capture that look in the final imagery as opposed to a more “retro” interpretation. >>

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BEHIND THE SCENES / SHABIER KIRCHNER / SMALL AXE: MANGROVE / BY ZOE MUTTER

>>

“STEVE’S VERY MUCH AN ACTOR’S DIRECTOR - YOU DON’T ADJUST THE ACTOR FOR THE SHOT; WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE A SHOT WORK FOR US AROUND THE ACTOR.”

“We wanted that oxblood red, the true tonality and the deep blues and teals, almost as if we’d found an unprocessed role of Kodachrome or Ektachrome from the period, processed it and made film print out of it,” says Kirchner.

When Poole is grading for the type of filmic look McQueen embraces, he likes to begin by using Resolve’s Offset tool, which alters the image in a similar way to photochemical colour timers, brightening or darkening and augmenting colour globally, without changing the curve or introducing any secondary corrections. The parameters are limited compared to what is possible using Lift, Gamma, and Gain and introducing secondary corrections. Nothing is augmented in the first pass in a way that hints at digital manipulation.

“When the images are balanced and I am as close as I can get to where we want to be, I use Lift, Gamma and Gain to finesse everything,” says Poole. “Rather than go heavily into secondaries straight away, the trick is to get as much as you can done as simply as possible. That is not to say we didn’t shape or augment anything in the grade, but we were always mindful of realistic beauty.

When something is too heavily graded the viewer can become hyper-aware they’re watching a narrative and can become somewhat disconnected from the reality of the situation.”

Kirchner shot with tungsten-balanced stock and allowed tungsten, fluorescent and daylight to exist together, particularly within the Mangrove restaurant to create mixed colour palettes. The space, Poole says, “was bathed in tungsten lights with warm lampshades that read as a beautiful honey gold, but

fluorescent fixtures and daylight were also coming in Shabier let the different kinds of light mix in beautiful ways.”

In counterpoint, the trial scenes were a much cooler colour temperature as a result of not being shot with a corrective filter and from the light shining through the windows. “We pulled those a bit more towards neutral in the grade, but the palette still plays against the warm tungsten look of the Mangrove,” adds Poole.

The collaborators further augmented the look of daylight from sequence to sequence to convey a sense of slightly different natural light coming through windows from day to day to help convey the length of the trial.

“We’d make it a little cooler one day, overcast another or a bit brighter in the morning than late in the day,” notes the colourist.

Kirchner, who had not seen much of the footage until Poole presented his first pass on final grade, refers to being introduced to it as a “rebirth.” “Having only checked the technical aspects of the dailies his pass was mind-blowing and what he achieved was so beautiful,” says the cinematographer. “We spoke about Gordon Parks’ photography and a Bob Mazzer photograph of the London Underground and Tom just got it and created a beautiful Kodachrome look.”

BELIEF IN THE TRUTH

The Small Axe anthology was shot on multiple formats: 3-perf 35mm for true story Red, White, and Blue which explores racism in the London’s police force; largeformat Sony Venice for biopic Alex Wheatle about the writer’s life and experiences surrounding the Brixton Uprising of 1981, 16mm film for 1970’s story of educational

True story Red, White, and Blue one of five films in the Small Axe anthology explores racism in London’s police force and was filmed on 3-perf 35mm (Credit: BBC/ McQueen Limited)

58 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Education - the 1970s story about educational segregation - was shot on 16mm film (Credit: BBC/McQueen Limited)

segregation Education; and ARRI Alexa Mini for Lovers Rock, an ‘80s-set love story unfolding over a single evening at a blues party.

Kirchner did not begin the project thinking he would use five different formats. “It was just how it evolved,” he says. “We spoke about the visual approach for Mangrove just before we shot it and then we discussed Lovers Rock’s look and feel before shooting that and so on.

I was still immersed in Lovers Rock and Alex Wheatle before I had read the final draft of Red, White and Blue.”

Format decisions were based on the stories and the way McQueen wanted to tell each one. “For example, he wanted Lovers Rock to feel quite contemporary and to convey the love and joy of an ‘80s black house party, unlike the way in which Mangrove was a homage to the early ‘70s era. We also knew Lovers Rock would be shot handheld and the camera package we felt would fit that best, be light enough to manoeuvre easily and offer a clean and slick image was the Alexa Mini with Master Primes.”

The decision to shoot Education on 16mm film was a personal one and happened quite shortly before shooting began. “The BBC was cautious about us shooting on 16mm because nobody had shot on 16mm for BBC transmission for around 20 years, but there’s something about the grain that feels so alive and personal and Steve wanted to pursue it. When he grew up, around the time Education was set, filmmakers such as Alan Clarke and Ken Loach were making 16mm films. Steve wanted to pay homage to that era of filmmaking and imagine what it might have looked like if a filmmaker from the communitiy was telling this story through film at that point in time,” says Kirchner.

“The Small Axe films are very specific stories and I think my West Indian heritage formed a big part of my working relationship with Steve. He puts a lot of trust in you and really empowered me and everybody on set to be present in the moment.

It was also always about the truth, believing that we were telling that important truth in Mangrove. Steve really is one of the greatest artists living and I can’t thank him enough for giving me this opportunity.”

The Small Axe films are available via the BBC iPlayer in the UK and on Amazon Prime in the US. Shabier Kirchner is represented by Casarotto Ramsay. n

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MASTERCLASS 60 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Black-and-white biopic Mank sees another successful collaboration between cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt ASC and director David Fincher as they craft an authentic portrayal of Hollywood’s golden age and explore the turbulent development of the script for Citizen Kane.

“T

his was not an offer I had to consider; the answer was an immediate yes,” says cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt ASC when thinking back to the moment he was asked to film director David Fincher’s Mank which depicts the life of screenwriter Herman J. ‘Mank’ Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) as he develops the script for director Orson Welles’ 1941 classic Citizen Kane.

I was thrilled when David called me,” he says. “I was nervous too of course as I felt a tremendous responsibility to be considerate and respectful to the film, but it’s a cinematographer’s dream to get the opportunity to make a movie like this.”

As Citizen Kane is widely regarded as one of cinema’s masterpieces, the pressure was on to capture the essence of Gregg Toland ASC’s cinematography and to faithfully encapsulate the distinctive mood, lighting and composition reminiscent of a golden era of filmmaking.

Mank, which received a limited theatrical release before streaming on Netflix, is based on a script written by Fincher’s late father, the journalist and writer, Howard “Jack” Fincher which focuses on the controversy surrounding who had creative ownership of Citizen Kane – Welles or Mankiewicz.

The film uses flashback sequences to explore the prolific talent of Mank as well as his alcoholism and tumultuous relationships with Hollywood executives such as film producer and MGM Studios co-founder Louis B. Mayer (Arliss Howard) and Irving G. Thalberg (Ferdinand Kingsley) and publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance), who is widely claimed to be the inspiration for Citizen Kane’s protagonist.

BEHIND THE SCENES / ERIK MESSERSCHMIDT ASC / MANK / BY ZOE MUTTER

Director David Fincher (centre) on the set of Mank

Fincher was clear from the beginning that the film would be shot in black-and-white. “We never even considered what the movie would look like in colour,” says Messerchmidt. “Part of David’s intent was to transport the audience back to the classic ‘30s and ‘40s Hollywood era. Black-and-white was an excellent way to do that.”

Ensuring black-and-white was used as a homage or a pastiche rather than a parody was a priority. “When they approach black-and-white, cinematographers can tend to reach for noir as they are excited by its gestured, stylised lighting which you don’t get to use very often when shooting in colour,” adds Messerschmidt.

Although a noir approach also came to mind when the cinematographer learnt he would be lensing Mank, once he read the script Messerschmidt realised it would not be a noir film: “I had to reorient myself and think about the film stylistically from the script perspective, which a cinematographer should always do.”

To guarantee visual choices were dictated by the narrative, Messerschmidt broke the script down into stylistic beats, thinking about the film from the perspective of an editor as much as a DP. “I considered how the shots would work together in context, how sequences would be built and how to tell the story with the camera. David and I have a similar aesthetic sensibility - we think about cinema, sequencing and how to break coverage down in the same way which means we come to conclusions quickly.”

Initial preparation included conversations with costume designer Trish Summerville, production designer Donald Graham Burt and set decorator Jan Pascale.

Colours, tones and fabrics were extensively tested to assess how they would be rendered on camera.

“David is not a director who generally embraces lots of saturated colour. On previous productions we’ve worked in a muted palette with a very specific set of colours and in many cases nuanced shades of the same colour,” says Messerschmidt.

“Working in black-and-white, we found we had to be a little more exotic with the colour choices to achieve enough separation and tonal variants. You could walk on the set and the extras would be dressed in very contrasting outfits and colours we would not normally have chosen - rose or saturated red, purple or teal green.”

To develop Mank’s aesthetic, Messerschmidt compiled a look book for Fincher to view, comprising around 300 images including contextual visuals appropriate for specific scenes. References came from the whole canon of black-and-white photography;

from early ‘30s glamour through noir to more modern imagery and black-and-white films such as Night of the Hunter (1955), Casablanca (1942), The Apartment (1960), The Big Combo (1955), In Cold Blood (1967), Manhattan (1979), and Good Night, and Good Luck (2005).

Prior to shooting Mank, Messerschmidt was in South Africa filming Ridley Scott’s sci-fi series Raised

by Wolves which meant he was not heavily involved in the early location scouting process. “Don Burt and David found most of the locations before I started work on the film. We then assessed them from a practical perspective and made a few small changes. Some locations were difficult to source such as the synagogue where we shot producer Irving G. Thalberg’s funeral. We just couldn’t settle on this until we started shooting and eventually found a location that worked,” he says.

Despite locations initially being scouted for interior scenes in Hearst Castle - William Randolph Hearst’s estate - it was not possible to hang lighting equipment where required within the space, so these were built on stage.

Exterior shots of the bungalow in which Mank writes Citizen Kane were filmed in the actual location he penned the script, while the interiors were stage builds.

Major studio lots in Los Angeles including Paramount, Sony and Warner Brothers provided the perfect settings for the scenes exploring the backlots of Paramount and MGM.

STYLISTIC DEVICES

“IT’S A CINEMATOGRAPHER’S DREAM TO GET TO MAKE A MOVIE LIKE THIS.” ERIK MESSERSCHMIDT ASC

Although he is a fan of film’s qualities, Messerschmidt knew digital was a better fit for Fincher’s workflow.

“There are those happy accidents when you shoot with film, but there are also unhappy accidents. David likes to previsualise, so film would have been the wrong choice, but we explored how we might emulate certain characteristics of film when shooting digital.”

To pay homage to films of the era and reference Citizen Kane specifically, stylistic devices such as deep focus were adopted. The photographic and cinematic technique - which uses a large depth of field so the foreground, middle-ground, and background are in focus - was deployed extensively by cinematographer Gregg Toland when he lensed Citizen Kane, as were low camera angles, which were also used in Mank to add authenticity.

Messerschmidt carried out extensive lens, camera and filtration tests and had conversations with Fincher about when was appropriate to use deep or shallow focus, which parts of the story would motivate that choice and which locations would work best. “Weeks of testing were needed to decide which lenses would perform best at the stops we required. It turned out most lenses did not perform particularly well,” he says. >> British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 61

BEHIND THE SCENES / ERIK MESSERSCHMIDT ASC / MANK / BY ZOE MUTTER

(Credit: Nikolai Loveikis/NETFLIX)

>>

Amanda Seyfried as Marion Davies and Gary Oldman as Herman Mankiewicz. (Credit: NETFLIX)

“I thought large format lenses would be best but most fell apart and lost all resolution on the projector above a T8, even the sharpest lenses.”

Having experimented with a variety of lenses at Panavision and then Keslow Camera in Los Angeles, Messerschmidt found the Leica (now Leitz) Summilux-C offered the best performance in terms of resolution because the iris is physically smaller at T8 and produced more apparent depth of field at the same stop as other options he tested. “This meant I could shoot at an eight but achieve the same depth of field as an 11, but with greater resolution. David and I had already shot with the Leica for several years and it’s proven to be incredibly reliable.”

There are certain scenes in Mank for which the director and DP deliberately decided not to use deep focus. “We used a C-motion Cinefade variable ND filter to achieve depth of field pulls, where we would start with the entire frame in focus and then collapse depth of field and end with someone in focus and the rest softer, or vice versa,” Messerschmidt explains.

“The hope was that it would be enough of a reference to movies of the period while still featuring elements of modernism. Obviously, the aspect ratio is not period correct, but we were not expecting people to think they were watching a movie made in the 1930s.”

Messerschmidt shot most of the film - including all exterior scenes - using a Harrison Orange 2 filter as it achieved the required tonal separation between skin tones and backgrounds. “When shooting faces, the result was really impressive, especially lips and eyes,” he says.

“We carried out make-up tests - hundreds of lipstick tests for Amanda [Seyfried] - to find the right one because just the wrong shade of red would turn black very quickly.”

The cinematographer initially tested colour cameras, thinking shooting colour and converting in post might be the best approach for Mank. “I also talked to Phedon Papamichael about his experience shooting Alexander Payne’s blackand-white film Nebraska (2013). He shot colour and then desaturated it, which most cinematographers have been doing in the digital age,” he says.

Although his initial feeling that the colour information in the negative would be helpful when isolating colours and adjusting tonal values in the DI process, Messerschmidt later discovered obstacles that would need to be overcome. “I knew when adopting the deep focus technique, I would need to light the set to a T8 or T11, which even at 800 ASA is challenging. We had a good schedule, but we didn’t have 100 days to shoot the movie.

“David also values spending time with his actors more than anything, so I couldn’t take two hours to light the set or spend hundreds of thousands of dollars lighting them. Therefore, I needed the fastest camera I could find.”

Messerschmidt and Fincher shot colour and blackand-white tests and compared them in the grading suite.

They were pleased with the colour test, but when they saw the test footage shot using a camera with a black-andwhite sensor they knew that would be the best approach.

“Just seconds into the screening we knew the black-andwhite camera was superior. It just looked better, with more tonal depth and dynamic range to it. The colour camera felt flat and thin by comparison. It was an easy choice.”

62 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

“WORKING IN BLACK-AND-WHITE, WE FOUND WE HAD TO BE A LITTLE MORE EXOTIC WITH THE COLOUR CHOICES TO ACHIEVE ENOUGH SEPARATION AND TONAL VARIANTS.”

Virtual production techniques were adopted to create realistic environments for a selection of scenes including driving sequences such as this one featuring Gary Oldman as Herman Mankiewicz and Sean Persaud as Tommy

The search for the fastest camera that would be most suitable to shoot black-and-white and achieve the desired deep focus effect led Messerschmidt to the RED Ranger Helium Monochrome 8K camera.

“Large format didn’t seem appropriate,” he says. “The RED Monstro or ARRI Alexa Monochrome cameras were considered, but we needed a Super 35 size sensor for depth of field.”

Mank was shot in 8K, followed by a 20 per cent centre extraction to produce a 6.5K raster. The grade was then completed in 6K and the conform was finished in 4K.

When shooting crime series Mindhunter with Fincher, Messerschmidt monitored on set in HDR in Dolby PQ which has since transformed the way he works. “Now, even when I shoot an SDR project or something destined for standard dynamic range, I insist on monitoring in HDR because I get better exposures,” he says.

Messerschmidt repeated this process for Mank, monitoring the black-and-white footage on the Canon DP-V2411 HDR reference display at 600 nits. “We built LUTs in Dolby PQ and then took the RED log and transformed it to Dolby PQ before doing the HDR finish in Dolby Vision,” he explains.

CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS

Although Fincher does not typically move the camera unless actors are moving, the long walk and talk scene which sees Mank and Louis B. Mayer walk through the studio lot is singled out as one of Messerschmidt’s favourite uses of camera movement in the film. “It’s just two long tracking shots,” he says. “Dwayne Barr, the dolly grip we’ve worked with for the past few years was fantastic and was such an artist in that scene.”

The scene in which William Randolf Hearst escorts Mank from his residence was shot with three cameras simultaneously. “We built a sort of sled dolly for the cameras with an M7 Evo stabilised head in the centre and two DJI Ronin gimbals on either side. This allowed us to shoot three pieces of coverage at once which David could then undercut,” says the cinematographer.

Messerschmidt found working with more light on set an interesting and enjoyable challenge, a process that was enhanced by a close collaboration with another member of the Mindhunter production collective, gaffer Danny Gonzalez. “Incorporating that amount of light is not appropriate for everything, but it was nice to have the opportunity to work that way

again; to have to really use a light metre and work with big sources and lots of lights,” says the DP, who was a grip and gaffer for features, TV and commercials before making the move to cinematographer on Mindhunter.

“I had done gestured, stylised cinema lighting before, but nothing like this recently, where I really had to lean on older lighting techniques. Mank is a combination of those older, hard light techniques of the ‘30s and ‘40s which we used for the flashbacks as well as the more modern naturally or practically lit interiors.”

To make the 1940s “present day” scenes that were not in flashback appear more modern, soft top light was used, creating less contrast. Atmospheric interior scenes in the bungalow where Mank writes the script were shot using smoke and shafts of light primarily coming through the windows, along with ARRI T12 12K incandescent fresnels, Kino Flo FreeStyle soft light fixtures, ARRI Sky Panels and LiteGear LiteMats as subtle front, fill or top light.

“At those sorts of stops we were still using 200-300 foot-candles on the set which helped keep light off the back wall and limit the amount of light in the room. Shooting at those deep stops, things just fall off differently, so this meant I didn’t have to be quite as controlled,” he says.

Virtual production techniques were adopted with great success to create realistic environments for a selection of scenes including driving sequences, the meeting on a bench between Mank and Hearst’s mistress, actress Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried) and when

Mank and his wife Sara Mankiewicz (Tuppence Middleton) are on a ferry. These were filmed at Fuse in Los Angeles using a virtual set comprising ROE Visual’s Black Pearl 2.8mm LED.

“I’ve worked with Fuse extensively in the past, having filmed sequences for both seasons of Mindhunter and commercials with them,” says Messerschmidt. “Fred Waldman, the lead technologist, is a real creative partner of mine.”

Mank also saw another repeat collaboration, between Fincher, Messerschmidt and colourist Eric Weidt, who they teamed up with on Mindhunter.

“He works in-house at David’s office which is fantastic because we have full access to him,” says Messerschmidt. “He was on Mank from the beginning of prep, so he played a big part in helping me design the LUTs, especially for the day for night work we did for the Marian and Mank nighttime walk and talk scene through Hearst Castle which was all shot in the middle of the day.”

With Weidt on board from the production’s inception, all testing Messerschmidt and Fincher carried out went through his grading suite. “This meant we could get really practical and dig deep into the quality of the negative to figure out how much to overexpose and how close to the highlights I could get to make sure he had room in the grade,” says the DP. The colourist also helped Messerschmidt develop the HDR viewing process and workflow, add film grain and ensure the movie was reminiscent of productions shot on film during the period by emulating gate weave – the shake that can occur when film rolls through the projector.

“Eric also played a crucial role in achieving an effect we called the black bloom which is a reference to something that happens with black-and-white print stops when you print, producing subtle black halation in the shadows. It’s really unique and almost looks like you’re diffusing the shadows,” says Messerschmidt.

“We grabbed the shadows, keyed them and blurred them slightly in the grade to achieve an unusual, glossy look.”

Reflecting on the filmmaking process and the multitude of effective partnerships at its core, Messerschmidt adds: “It was also just a pleasure to work with a crew and cast of that calibre. It was a sad moment when the production ended because it was one of those special movies we really enjoyed creating.” n Erik Messerschmidt ASC on the set of Mank

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 63

BEHIND THE SCENES / JOSHUA JAMES RICHARDS / NOMADLAND / BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON

ON THE ROAD

Joshua James Richards shoots Chloé Zhao’s intimate story of self-discovery, Nomadland.

T

he United States’ growing population of middleaged drifters, many being forced out of their homes by the 2008 recession and on to the road, is the subject of director Chloé Zhao’s third feature. It has wowed critics with its naturalistic take on a story which neither sentimentalises nor overtly politicises their plight. In fact, it’s a deeply intimate and lyrical journey of self-discovery.

Inspired by a nonfiction book by the journalist Jessica Bruder, Nomadland features Frances McDormand, a friend of Zhao whose previous two features Songs My Brother Taught Me (2015) and The Rider (2017), are celebrated dramas about marginalised people. They both captured life choices and poverty in the starkly beautiful plains of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Both cast locals instead of actors and were photographed by British DP Joshua James Richards who met Zhao at film school in New York.

The difference with Nomadland is

64 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

the presence of two-time Oscar winner McDormand (Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri).

“Fran came to Chloé with the book and a vague idea that [Zhao] would be good to direct it,” Richards explains of Nomadland’s feature inception. “She said she wasn’t interested in doing a film drama with star actors playing these real-life characters but wondered if we took Fran and we dropped her into the world of The Rider. Now that is something to get excited about.

“My next question was ‘do you want me to shoot it?’” he says. “I don’t take it for granted. I honestly feel it’s a privilege to get a chance to shoot a movie like that.

So, I don’t take it lightly that she would choose me. It felt like a big responsibility.”

It is worth stating that Zhao and Richards are partners and have honed their approach to filming these stories together.

“We want to give the audience the emotional experience of the characters,” he says. “All of us, are first and foremost, emotional creatures. We feel emotion before we understand it. You should feel poetry before you understand it. To me, the really powerful thing about cinema is the way it can create empathy and make us understand somebody else’s point of view

British DP Joshua James Richards wanted to capture the emotional experience of Nomadland’s characters

when we feel it. That’s the engine behind what I am trying to do visually.”

Richards says Werner Herzog’s philosophy of ‘ecstatic truth’ had a profound influence. “In his 2002 documentary Land of Silence and Darkness [Herzog] put you inside the experience of people who are deaf and blind. He makes you stare into that world unflinchingly.

Werner is close to those people and he wants to truly understand them. The camera is also there with them.

That film blew my mind when I first saw it.”

Their approach to filming, which instead of straight documentary making, seeks the truth of a story by part fictionalising the narrative, emerged by accident.

“It happened when we lost the money to make Songs. Initially that had been a totally different project with a budget close to a million dollars. I remember sitting in the parking lot of ARRI after doing a lens test with Chloé thinking that I’m getting my break, fresh out of film school, straight into a little budget indie and it’s been pulled away from us.

“But we decided to just do it anyway. If nobody saw it then fine but let’s go make a movie with the bare minimum. What that did was change my life because this genuinely low budget indie film meant that we got lots of freedom to experiment. Because we had such a small crew and we created limitations for ourselves, it forced us to embrace the reality of things as they are. Rather than create an artifice and mould things into our vision, we had to find a way of telling a story out of what is already there.

“With Nomadland the overarching prerogative was to get intimate with the camera. The nomads need to know me and they need to feel safe.

I’m not going to be up there on a hill with a telephoto lens. We’re trying to tell this story from the inside out, very much grounded in Fern’s point of view.”

They drove to Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado to meet the principal (real-life) cast Swankie, Linda May and

Director Chloé Zhao, DP Joshua James Richards and boom op/sound mixer Wolf Snyder were the key skeleton crew

Director Chloé Zhao (left) and cinematographer Joshua James Richards shooting Frances McDormand in Nomadland

“TO ME, THE REALLY POWERFUL THING ABOUT CINEMA IS THE WAY IT CAN CREATE EMPATHY AND MAKE US UNDERSTAND SOMEBODY ELSE’S POINT OF VIEW WHEN WE FEEL IT. THAT’S THE ENGINE BEHIND WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO VISUALLY.” JOSHUA JAMES RICHARDS Bob Wills. Richards says, “Chloé has trust in me with performances. I’m testing to see what they look like on camera and also that they can be themselves on camera.”

He elaborates, “You can put an 18mm Ultra Prime right up to the face of a cowboy in South Dakota [as in The Rider] and you’re only going to get the authentic person. If you ask them to be someone else, they’ll quickly tell you where to go! When we met the nomads it was the same. We realised these people are what they are and if we can come into their world with a camera they’re going to trust us. But you can’t abuse that trust.

“It’s almost like a delicate candle that we must nurture and not snuff out with anything like heavyhanded equipment or large crew. At the same time, how close can we get without extinguishing the flame?”

Zhao, Richards and boom op/sound mixer Wolf Snyder were the key skeleton crew. “Linda May’s van is 6ft across and there’s Linda May, me, Chloé, Wolf, Fran all in there so you need to make people feel safe in their own environment.”

Snyder worked with the duo on The Rider and is credited for his location sound recording. “I can run and gun as fast as I want and Wolf just needs to make eye contact and I know he’s on board. It’s intuitive. All the post mixers on Nomadland were like ‘who does your sound?’ because it’s so remarkable.”

Richards chose the Alexa Mini for its familiar ergonomics and small package. “You can get the body into corners of a tiny van. We used the Zeiss Ultra Primes which are our go-to lenses. They are perfect for this kind of natural light shooting and I’ve grown to like the distortion in them as well.”

Joshua James Richards’ and Chloé Zhao’s approach to filming seeks the truth of a story by part fictionalising the narrative

Also unusual was the DP’s reference of stills photographers rather than cinematographers prior to shooting. Portrait photographers included William Eggleston, Shelby Lee Adams and Sally Mann while Andreas Gursky’s work aided depiction of giant Amazon warehouses where Fern is a seasonal worker.

“I suppose I didn’t find a film that felt like what we were doing,” he says.

The film is shot in natural light and always at the end of the day to catch magic hour. “The driver was always the emotion of the scene and where Fern is in her journey. There’s not as much magic hour as it feels.

There’s a scene when Fern drops some plates (a totem of her past life) and I felt it might be better to do it a bit earlier when the light is harder because at this point in the film Fern feels exposed that another person is coming into her space and accidently destroys a little piece of it. It’s a good example of a conscious decision to shoot a little earlier in the day. Here, we don’t need to have poetry, it should feel almost mundane.”

Nomadland is a road movie travelling through the Midwest to the Redwood Parks on the California coast and back again. Richards says he treated the landscape as an extension of Fern’s experience. “It’s a sublime landscape that creates an emotional tapestry of her journey. We scouted most places before shooting and so when we got there we were just playing with the nuance of light every day. Because there were so many locations, embracing magic hour helped create a consistency, as did back lighting people as much as possible.”

He adds, “We didn’t want to put down tracks and move the camera on cranes. We want to feel the characters in their environment constantly. You would miss so much of what the heartlands is about if we weren’t spontaneous with the light. Fern is discovering herself through the possibilities in the American landscape.”

When they scouted Empire, a small town in Nevada’s Black Rock desert abandoned by its mining company employer, they found “a dust bowl tumble weed Mad Max zone frozen in time” but when they came to shoot it was covered with huge snow drifts. “We thought this had ruined the scene but when we explored further, we realised it was better. The snow differentiated it from other places and it seemed literally frozen in time.”

The narrative is composed of lots of detail, the paraphernalia and routines of day-to-day life on the road.

“Chloé and I always left other shoots feeling that we can never get enough of that texture,” he says. “So, we scheduled ample time for that kind of thing, mostly while waiting on the light. We split the crew and shot a lot of landscapes and a lot of macro details. 99.8% did not make it in – but you don’t want to leave these places without shooting everything. You’ve got to be greedy in these special places with special people. It’s like a treasure and you don’t want to feel like you’ve left something behind.”

Aside from the main characters, Zhao incorporated other travellers they met in the course of the film, improvising the script along the route.

“Scenes with conventional actors (including David Strathairn) would be blocked as normal. With our nomads we stepped back as filmmakers to allow the people to be themselves. We blocked it somewhat and made sure the crew understood where they needed to be.”

Richards adds, “One thing that characterises Chloé is her ability to remove her ego and understand that life will gift you things if you allow yourself to look outside your own screenplay. She created an environment and then put the camera in that. That’s really hard to do.

“I feel grateful that I had the privilege of spending time with these people in that part of America,” he says.

“Coming from England to make films in the American heartlands has made me grow as a person.

It helped me understand that my initial perspective is usually completely inaccurate.

At a time when politicians are telling us what makes us different, hopefully Nomadland will remind us how special most people really are.” n

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 65

BEHIND THE SCENES / ED WILD BSC / THE WILDS / BY ZOE MUTTER

WILD ADVENTURE (Credit: Amazon Studios)

T

een angst meets survival drama in The Wilds, Amazon Prime Video’s 10-part original series following a group of teenagers embarking on what they believe to be an all-girls empowerment retreat. When their plane crashes, stranding them on a deserted island, the group slowly discovers the detour was premeditated.

The honesty and emotional content of Sarah Streicher’s (Daredevil) script for the series moved cinematographer Ed Wild BSC, whose fluid, dynamic cinematography helped tell the story. “I loved the variety of people from different socio-economic backgrounds it featured. Each episode is another character’s story about a different world in America which offered a huge canvas to explore,” says Wild, who was excited to work on a series so emotionally connected it felt like an independent film.

Inspired by Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), Nick Roeg’s Walkabout (1971), and the work of cinematographer Robbie Ryan and director Andrea Arnold, who teamed up on films such as Fish Tank (2009) and American Honey (2016), Wild strived to achieve a similar naturalism and intimacy in the series. “It’s about teenagers who are emotionally chaotic, so I didn’t want to be restricted by the frame. I needed to convey the environment’s rawness and elemental beauty when the teenagers arrive on the island.”

The 15-day shoot for the pilot began in August 2018 in New Zealand, with prep for the rest of the series taking place the following August before shooting began in September, on the North Island’s coastline, soundstages and in Auckland. Wild operated on the pilot, enjoying the closeness it offers, but stepped away from operating on the other five episodes he lensed to maintain consistency between his episodes and those shot by cinematographers Rob Marsh and Peter Fields.

Susanna Fogel, who directed the pilot, and Wild agreed the series needed to feel immediate, connected, and honest. The pair bedded in the look and considered how to explore the past and present struggles of the young women. As the costumes and locations

66 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

clearly indicated what was present day or flashback, they decided a separate look which might “cast a veil and block the emotional connection” was not necessary.

Wild selects his camera package based on what naturally allows the desired results to be achieved. “I wanted an honest feeling rather than creating a look. The Sony Venice lets the colours breathe and its internal filter was invaluable when working with New Zealand’s light that could change by four stops between takes,” he says.

Tokina Cinema Vista helped capture the natural beauty and vast panoramas of the North Island’s west coast, a stunning backdrop to the island scenes. “Will Bartleet at Cintek introduced me to the Vistas when I shot the film Blithe Spirit and I knew I wanted them on The Wilds. They were perfect for shooting full frame - I love their soft fall off, circular bokeh and warm, rich feel. Combined with the Venice, they helped emulate the painterly look of the old Kodak 320T film.

“The 18mm on the Vista is great, but due to the scale of the landscape we also added a GeckoCam Genesis G35 14.5mm. New Zealand-based Aerial Camera’s stunning aerial footage also encapsulated the essence of the rugged coastal landscape,” says Wild.

Happy to mix handheld, crane and Steadicam to suit the narrative, the fluidity and dynamism of The Wilds’ camera movement responds to the scene’s emotion, with a more static approach adopted for sequences in the clinical-looking Dawn of Eve headquarters than those filmed on the island.

To shoot long walk and talks on narrow treacherous cliff paths, A camera operator, Dana Little, attached a DJI Ronin gimbal to a Steadicam which Wild operated as a remote head, leaving Little free to negotiate the path with the rig.

The team also learnt valuable lessons about the meticulous planning water work involves, requiring an “almost military briefing” before shooting in the sea because it was difficult to hear one

another whilst in the water. Other water-based scenes were filmed in front of blue screens in tanks of various sizes at Wero Whitewater Park, with the greatest challenge being creating waves that would blend seamlessly into the set extension.

Although Piha Beach provided an idyllic location for the pilot, access restrictions meant lighting huge night-time exterior scenes became a logistical challenge “We could only light from certain places as it’s a natural wildlife habitat,” says Wild. “Luckily, the Sony Venice’s high ISO scale captured the cliffs gaffer Gilly Lawrence and his team had battled to light with a combination of 9K HMIs, carrying 6K generators up cliffsides. These were often hundreds of metres from the set, so ensuring there was enough light to achieve a sense of the huge space was challenging. We also used battery-powered LED including the Digital Sputnik that were powerful and versatile enough to move on the beach for localised lighting.”

Bethells Beach’s distinctive black sand, where later episodes’ island scenes were shot, presented different challenges. “The coast’s often brutal weather forced some crew to wear goggles for protection from what were effectively iron filings,” says Wild.

“These were not production-friendly beaches to access or light. Equipment was elevated on four-foothigh platforms because of rapidly changing conditions.

During filming, a freak wave washed over the entire unit. It was a struggle, but the rawness comes across.

We didn’t want the natural environment to look overly controlled. Having to think quickly kept the energy up. It’s also testament to how hard 1st AC Sam Mathews and his team worked looking after the gear.”

The Environmental Protection Authority prohibited the use of lights at Bethells Beach for night shoots, so a large beach set with a blue screen was constructed in a warehouse. When lighting the Dawn of Eve set, built at Studio West in Auckland, to create a clinical feel, Wild applied techniques used on music video and fashion show shoots, stacking ETC Source Four fresnels to produce one soft source combined with bounce light.

While traditional HMIs were often used Ed Wild BSC (l) wanted to con for exterior scenes, paper lanterns and the environment’s rawnes vey s and elemental beauty when practical lights formed the backbone of the the group of teenagers arrive on the interior sequences’ illumination. island (Credit: Amazon Studios)

A stripped-back video monitoring set-up was chosen due to the restricted access to remote locations. This saw DIT Michael Urban from The Rebel Fleet process footage sent from the beach to his base camp. Sean Coleman from Company 3 achieved the natural feel Wild desired in the final grade. “His work on the post-apocalyptic Bird Box (2018) was relevant for what we were trying to accomplish,” he says.

“Sean’s fascination with visuals and vast library of references made it an incredible collaboration.” n

Learn more at fujifilmcinema.com

BEHIND THE SCENES / REMI ADEFARASIN OBE BSC / JINGLE JANGLE: A CHRISTMAS STORY / BY ZOE MUTTER Madalen Mills as Journey Jangle (Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Netflix)

A FESTIVE SPECTACULAR

Remi Adefarasin OBE BSC creates a believable world of festive fantasy for musical extravaganza Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Story.

K

een to immerse himself in a variety of genres, from historical drama Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) through to family comedy Fighting with my Family (2019), cinematographer Remi Adefarasin OBE BSC was thrilled to explore the unique world inhabited by Netflix fantasy musical Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.

“It’s a real world, but one we don’t yet recognise,” he says. “I loved the story of family reconciliation and the songs that come straight from the narrative.”

Jingle Jangle centres around Jeronicus Jangle (Forest Whitaker), the despondent former toymaker whose passion for invention was destroyed by his apprentice Gustafson’s (Keegan-Michael Key) betrayal. Jeronicus’ granddaughter Journey (Madalen Mills) strives to retrieve her grandfather’s prized invention and restore his hope.

According to Adefarasin, writer-director David E. Talbert’s clear vision and extensive knowledge of film language ensured the production was fully cinematic.

The cinematographer believes reliance on other films for inspiration can cloud directors’ inventiveness and individuality, but certain productions like the fun and invention of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang were shining examples of musical magic. Adefarasin also admires how Oliver’s beautiful sets and photography create a credible world.

Production designer Gavin Bocquet’s plans and illustrations of the world the narrative would play out in overflowed with imagination, colour and magic. As Bocquet’s bank of 3D printers output models, Adefarasin explored how to make the dreams look believable and how to light and photograph promptly on set.

Bocquet’s team created a virtual reality set-up, allowing Adefarasin and Talbert to previsualise the Jingle Jangle world using a VR headset, explore the sets and make changes without construction costs.

“It also informed us when we’d be off set so we could get a large enough Translight backdrop,” says Adefarasin. i Adefarasin OBE BSC Cinematographer Rem A Christmas Story le: Jang le Jing of set the on Netflix) (Credit: Gareth Gatrell/

68 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

All the vast production’s departments, the town’s set and Gustafson’s world were constructed at Arborfield Studios in Wokingham. A snowball fight scene was filmed at Elm Hill in Norwich and Gustafson’s factory was shot at Crossness Pumping Station in London. Low finish set replicas let choreographers Ashley Wallen and Jenny Griffin rehearse moves to the complex musical numbers on a separate stage.

The sets and costumes already burst with vibrancy, so it was unnecessary for Adefarasin to add much additional colour other than some orange, blue, magenta, and cyan variance to adjust each scene’s look.

Talbert always envisaged the film’s vibrant festive spectacle would light up the screen. Adefarasin explains the choice of camera package to achieve this vision: “My love of ARRI cameras made the Alexa LF an obvious choice with its wonderful tonality, versatility, and dependability. The Signature Primes’ uniformity made them a sensible choice. Like the Alexa, they have a great quality without being ultra-crisp and unreal looking.”

Collaborating with Adefarasin were camera operators Simon Finney; 1st ACs Tim Battersby and Rene and Ben Adefarasin; dolly grip Josh Close; and key grip John Arnold, with whom the DP has often collaborated.

Gaffer Ian Barwick helped Adafarasin create an “unusual yet familiar” world and organised banks of LED heads and tungsten mood lights, keeping the heat low as shooting took place in summer. The inventive lighting crew devised a rig to pan past actors on a Kuka robotic arm as though swirling through a tunnel.

Apart from some tungsten heads for beams and shape, the core lighting package comprised ARRI SkyPanels: 210 SkyPanel S60s on the stage with space light skirts; 110 S60s with snap bags; and 16 of the larger SkyPanel S360s. “We could quickly change looks from morning to midday or night as each panel was identified on a grid,” says the DP. “Lighting this film was a joy and Ian achieved the impossible with panache.”

Having worked with film cameras for most of his life, Adefarasin prefers

to create the look with light and used only one LUT to add a film quality to Jingle Jangle. Modifications such as occasional desaturation were achieved with DIT Jesse Llande, who sent adjustments attached to the data to editorial and VFX.

The DI was carried out by FotoKem senior digital intermediate colourist Kostas Theodosiou. After seeing the first dailies and reviewing initial preview, he discussed with Talbert and Adefarasin what needed to be achieved in the grade along with every musical number’s theme before grading remotely to adhere to COVID protocols.

For the final colour correction, FotoKem headquarters in California sent the conformed timeline to Goldcrest in London, relying on secure, fast fibre connections and perfectly calibrated projectors in each facility.

Over Zoom, Theodosiou discussed the grade with Adefarasin, using a DaVinci Resolve system with nodes, mattes, masks, power windows, and OFX plug-ins, plus the remote Resolve system in London, to work with live colour in 4K resolution. “We graded for the theatrical release on a 4K projector, following with a colour trim for HDR mastering using a Sony X310 monitor. We used this order because VFX reviews and the pipeline were set up for SDR first,” says the colourist.

In early scenes of the grandmother’s (Phylicia Rashad) storytelling, the filmmakers evoked Christmas sentiments with warm, rich colours, followed by vibrant scenes in Jeronicus’ shop, then yellow and gold tones in Gustafson’s toy factory.

The costumes’ lively colours were emphasised to match the dancing and musical numbers’ jollity. In more melancholy moments, a cooler, monochromatic look was created before reintroducing warmth to the workshop as the story becomes more uplifting.

Framestore delivered 350+ VFX shots, including two intricately crafted CG toy characters - matador Don Juan Diego and Buddy 3000 - and a fully digital 18th century and CG-snow-filled town. Theodosiou notes that it was pivotal in the grade to keep set details visible, costume and choreography vibrant, and the intricacies of Don Juan’s costume highlighted, including the incorporation of the visual effects of the gears turning on his head.

Forest Whitaker “As the VFX came in, I as Jeronicus Jangle created a working node structure to (Credit: Gareth Gatrell/Netflix) composite the VFX in the proper order.

Intercutting some characters from practical to visual effect in different scenes was challenging but we set up a round trip pipeline with Framestore for seamless colour correction under the same look-up table,” says Theodosiou.

Adefarasin concludes, “I love doing different genres, so when I read this script, I was enticed by the world that the film inhabits. It was fun to shoot a musical.” n

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BEHIND THE SCENES / SIMONA SUSNEA / AUDREY: MORE THAN AN ICON / BY ZOE MUTTER

STAR QUALITY

Having a strong narrative built into the choreography was a oneof-a-kind opportunity for Simona Susnea as a cinematographer (Photo: Phil Griffin)

Cinematographer Simona Susnea’s lensing of powerful dance sequences inspired

by Audrey Hepburn’s love of ballet support a documentary’s narrative and focus on pivotal moments in the star’s life.

D

irector Helen Coan adopted a different approach for Audrey: More Than an Icon, the feature documentary exploring the life of Hollywood star, fashion icon and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn. To retell history in an original way, interviews, archive footage and narrative scenes were combined with dance sequences.

“I was excited by Helen’s idea of using dance to narrate the stages of Audrey’s life,” says cinematographer Simona Susnea on the creative collaboration. “I love movement and having such a strong narrative built into the choreography was a one-of-a-kind opportunity for me as a cinematographer.”

According to Coan, dance magnifies Hepburn’s emotional landscape, bringing “a heightened sense of drama and theatre” and “a rich visual language” which is rarely used in documentary.

Research involved studying Coan’s script, understanding the choreography that would support it and generating original filming ideas. Each scene’s mood was considered along with how low-key lighting and colour could recreate the loneliness, absence, and lack of connection with Hepburn’s father in certain scenes.

Contrasts between black-and-white archive, footage from Hepburn’s films and visually rich dance scenes were embraced. “We liked that variety rather than anything too linear,” says Susnea. “We also considered moving away from 16:9 but were concerned cutting from widescreen to 16:9 and 4:3 would jar.”

Inspirations included ‘60s Russian film War and Peace which used foreground elements and fabrics to create transitions. Susnea also looked at visual approaches to filming dance including Lukas Dhont’s Girl and the Café Müller dance choreographed by Pina Bausch.

70 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Production designer Alexandra Toomey, Coan and Susnea explored colour palette and visual elements to enhance the narrative. Toomey suggested using fabrics to create separation and depth in a room where dance sequences would be filmed.

Close collaboration with team members including producer Annabel Wigoder and 1st AD Robyn Henderson was crucial to the dance sequences’ success. “Most of our HODs were female. Our strong connection with Audrey and her story empowered and inspired us to make the film,” says Susnea.

Director and DP attended three weeks of rehearsals with choreographer Wayne McGregor CBE and the dancers to get a sense of the choreography.

Based on Coan’s clear vision, Susnea filmed the rehearsal choreography in rough sketches to emulate the camera movement intended for each scripted moment. A paper shot list was created, outlining camera movement, pace, angle and shot size.

Lighting was a narrative tool, its effects heightened by colour. In one scene blue low key coloured light conveys her father’s rejection of Audrey. “Darkness becomes a metaphor because Audrey transitioned from great challenges and trauma into someone beautiful,” says Susnea.

“In the scene filmed at the Royal Theatre in Brighton, when Audrey dances alone, I used the same approach with low key, high contrast lighting, where her face was revealed only when she turns to the light.

Otherwise, she’s just a figure and I liked that symbolism.

“Audrey is often compared to a silhouette because of the structure of her body and simple style. I wanted to translate that on screen with the ballet scene and preserve her sense of mystery. A moody atmosphere was created in contrast to the warmth of the floor stage lights, with a hard, powerful spot on her. Lavender tones in the key light reveal her vulnerability and strength.”

Gaffer Bill Rae Smith rigged a trio of ARRI SkyPanel S60s from the top of the y can Tus in ng oti Simona Susnea sho : Ben Kirkman) stage creating a soft level ambient for (Photo the dancing area and an LED PAR source at the far end of the stage, as a blue backlight, controlled through an iPad.

Director Helena Coan on set with Givenchy in Paris (Photo: Simona Susnea)

Scenes filmed in a London stately home were divided into several looks to narrate Hepburn’s life from a young age into stardom and adulthood and eventually symbolise her transition into the afterlife, at peace with her choices.

“In one room we chose warmer natural lighting to enhance the idea of a home when Audrey is young.

In a few more saturated golden scenes, the warmth symbolises Audrey’s kindness, acceptance, and love, created using chocolate and straw gels on our main light sources,” says Susnea.

Stately home scenes were lit through windows, offering the camera and dancers freedom to move, and achieving depth and authenticity. Two 18K HMIs helped push sunlight into all rooms or create heavily diffused, low key lighting when they were bounced into large frames. Less prominent windows were lit with small HMIs to achieve consistency across the space.

Having filmed previous productions using the ARRI Alexa Mini, Susnea was accustomed to its image quality and texture: “Before shooting the dance sequences we travelled frequently between LA, New York and Europe filming interviews. We needed compact kit that wouldn’t compromise on quality.”

This was especially true for the dance scenes which were filmed with a Steadicam. Omega AR operator, Will Lyte, needed a lightweight camera so he could move easily and quickly to ensure the Steadicam floated with the dance, achieving fluid movement and a dreamlike quality.

“We shot long developing shots and the camera often changed pace during a take, with the rhythm dictated by the choreography’s pace, music and script.

The rig allowed that spontaneity and fluidity so we could place the camera quite low and seamlessly transition to different heights and angles,” says Susnea.

Dance sequences were shot using Canon K35 lenses. “Interviews were filmed with Cooke S2 Panchros, and for the dance I wanted more control over the image and less aberration and distortion at the edge of the frame since the dancers were moving freely. The beautiful set of Canon K35s gave more sharpness and beautiful skin tones,” says Susnea.

The DP worked with former collaborator colourist Vic Parker (Raised by Wolves) and was impressed by his “attitude, attention to detail and how careful he is with the material”.

“When we got to the DI we needed to get the best out of the material and achieve the right level of contrast,” says Susnea. “We wanted a dark look and did several passes to see how far we could push it. Skin tones and careful transitions from interviews to black-and-white archive footage and the dance was key in the DI.” n

CAMERA & LIGHTING RENTAL

RECENT LIGHTING CREDITS Small Axe – BBC One DOP: Shabier Kirchner | Gaffer: Ian Glenister Ammonite – Feature DOP: Stéphane Fontaine AFC | Gaffer: Andy Cole

The Courier – Feature DOP: Sean Bobbitt BSC | Gaffer: Brian Beaumont

Roadkill – BBC One DOP: Wojciech Szepel | Gaffer: Paul Murphy

I Hate Suzie – Sky Atlantic DOP: Tim Sidell / Luke Bryant | Gaffer: TC Thomas / AJ Walters

Behind Her Eyes – Netflix DOP: Felix Wiedemann BSC | Gaffer: Chris Georgas

Belgravia – ITV

DOP: Dale Elena McCready NZCS | Gaffer: Stuart King

We Hunt Together – UKTV DOP: Oli Russell / Michael Wood | Gaffer: Sam Madden

Ghosts – BBC One DOP: Will Hanke | Gaffer: Gary Davies

Save Me Too – Sky Atlantic

DOP: David Pimm | Gaffer: Dave Owen / Paul Parker

Truth Seekers – Amazon Prime DOP: Arthur Mulhern | Gaffer: Greg McFarlene King

Dave Oldroyd Business Development - Lighting dave@pixipixel.com

pixipixeluk

Toby Newman Director of Lighting toby@pixipixel.com

020 7739 3626

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Steve Knight Managing Director steve@pixipixel.com

pixipixel.com

BEHIND THE SCENES / TAMI REIKER ASC / ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI / BY MARK LONDON WILLIAMS One Night in Miami marks the directorial debut of Regina King (right)

MEETING OF THE MINDS

Director of photography Tami Reiker ASC lenses Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami, the imagined story of a meeting between Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke.

N

ot every film allows the crew to lose themselves so entirely in the moment that they forget they’re making a film, and instead call out with a “that’s right!” at the words of the minister being recreated and reembodied on the set. But cinematographer Tami Reiker ASC reports that’s exactly what one of her dolly grips did when hearing the words of Malcolm X, as rivetingly portrayed by actor Kingsley Ben-Adir in director Regina King’s award-buzzy One Night in Miami, debuting on Amazon over Martin Luther King weekend in 2021.

As for the degree to which that grip kept the camera moving as well, there was, Reiker reports, a lot of motion to reckon with, for not only was there a Steadicam, but “these giant 12-foot jib arms in a very small space, with four large men.”

And “large” in a physical sense was the least of it, as the quartet would loom over American political and cultural history for decades, even in the case of Malcolm X, whose death would follow about a year after the film’s conjectural events.

For joining Malcolm in his Miami hotel room are singer Sam Cooke, NFL player Jim Brown, and a young Cassius Clay (not yet Muhammad Ali), who, on this night of 25th February, 1964, has just defied the oddsmakers and beaten Sonny Liston to become heavyweight champion of the world.

All those men really were in Miami on the night of that famous fight, and they apparently repaired to a hotel room later, for at least part of the evening, before further celebration. No one knows

72 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

what was said between them, but playwright Kemp Powers made a well-regarded theatrical evening out his speculations - with Malcom exhorting his colleagues, each accomplished and respected in their fields - to advance the cause of racial equality with their public megaphones, a cause that still seems several decades late in reaching its full potential in the US.

This, in turn, became the directorial debut of the multi-talented King, working off Powers’ own adaptation. Reiker says her involvement started when she was sent the script “and I absolutely loved it. Put together a look book that was super saturated, full of colour, and full of movement,” and then “met with Regina. I got the job, and we were off to Miami.”

Though presumably, mostly to scout, since the bulk of the film was actually shot “an hour outside of New Orleans,” at a period “motor hotel” that Reiker notes “had the bones that we needed - it had the interior pool, it had the parking lot.”

But in addition to the “bones,” Reiker credits production designers Barry Robison and Page Buckner, who “really transformed it - Regina wanted to keep things historically accurate.”

King wanted to keep other things accurate as well, such as shooting a culminating rooftop scene - where Malcolm tries to get Clay (an also-terrific Eli Goree), Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr., remarkably doing his own singing) and Brown (Aldis Hodge), to finally reckon with their own standing, and moment, in history - on an actual rooftop.

“Regina and I wanted to shoot, outside, on a real roof.” But to do that, they “had to get the Miami skyline” - in its early ‘60s incarnation, no less - and “we also wanted to keep some light, as we pivoted to all four sides. So we worked with visual effects there (adding) practicals and

neons deep in the background.” The VFX folks “added the Miami skyline and the fireworks,” as sky rockets explode during the evening, whether a celebration of Clay/Ali’s victory, or a harbinger of the “fire next time,” to use it in James Baldwin’s context, or perhaps both.

To capture it were two Alexa 65s, though “we wanted to keep the movie floating” (much like Ali’s boxing style). So when not on jib arms, the “the operators could drift between characters - go on their own instinct. They were able to push in and drift. They couldn’t talk to me, but I could talk to them.”

Back in the hotel room, “it worked beautifully - we had little hidey holes where the pictures were. I worked with Barry in making sure the doors would pop, the walls would pop. Every picture that was hung, there was a hole behind it as big as the picture,” mostly so the B camera could come in.

And in addition to the pop was the “glow.”

Though hopefully not from any non-practical, nonsource lighting, which was kept “low enough it was out of the camera.” They used a lot of Quasar LED tubes in “every corner, so we could turn them on and off depending on the scene,” with “Magic Cloth on the front (with the) LEDs. It was dimmable, and the colour could be changed.

“We used that a lot on set. I will always use them - (the lights) are so soft with the Magic Cloth,” and when they would occasionally add lights, Reiker would sometimes also add a second layer of diffusion.

But that wasn’t the only filtration. The glass on the large frame Alexas was Prime DNA lenses, themselves engineered for a “vintage” look. And added to that, Tiffen’s Bronze Glimmerglass, which Reiker says “softens the image, besides crushing down the shadows (and) also gave it that tinge of warmth.”

All of which, she noted, “looked beautiful on black skin.” Which, sadly, would not have been a consideration for an Oscar-contending Cinematographer Tami Reiker ASC release, when Malcom X, (left) Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown were originally crossing paths in Miami.

But, in the words of one of Cooke’s most notable lyrics, released shortly after that putative summit (and in the months before his own death at the end of 1964), “it’s been a long time, a long time coming.” n

BEHIND THE SCENES / ALEXANDER DYNAN / AFTER LOVE / BY ZOE MUTTER

JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY

As Mary (Joanna Scanlan) goes on her journey, the cinematography tracks the point-by-point emotional process

As After Love’s secrets are unveiled, heightened elements and naturalistic lighting are used to emphasise pivotal moments in an emotional journey and reflect the protagonist’s perspective.

F

ollowing the sudden death of her husband, Mary Hussain (Joanna Scanlan) discovers he was living a double life. When she crosses the Channel from her hometown of Dover to Calais to visit Ahmed’s secret lover Genevieve, Mary also learns he had a son.

After Love - BAFTA-nominated short film writerdirector Aleem Khan’s first feature - explores grief, betrayal and cultural identity. Produced by The Bureau and backed by BBC Films and the BFI, the poignant film was lensed by cinematographer Alexander Dynan.

Dynan first met Khan at the 2017 Sundance Institute Directors’ Lab which unites filmmaking mentors with talented writers and directors. Although not paired with Khan, the cinematographer gravitated towards After Love’s script.

“In 2019, Aleem told me he had the funds for After Love and would love me to shoot it. I flew over from the US the following week. The script had evolved and improved since Sundance,” says Dynan.

Khan and Dynan’s shared love of European cinema, especially French cinema, influenced the creative choices for After Love. “We enjoy slightly slower cinema that tells a story uniquely and lets you sit with the characters and their emotions,” says Dynan.

He saw his role as mirroring and distilling the director’s larger references, which included Russian tragedy Leviathan directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev and François Ozon’s French drama Under the Sand. Both use heightened elements to reflect characters’ emotional arcs, as in After Love.

“As Mary goes on her journey, the cinematography tracked that point-by-point emotional process,” says Dynan. “We use heightened elements in a powerful scene in which the cliffs are crumbling, emphasising the distress is not just within Mary; the wider world is also reflecting her emotional state.

“All through the process Aleem frequently asked, ‘How can we do this in fewer shots?’ That’s exciting to hear as a cinematographer. It challenges you to make a point.”

Khan was impressed by the look of First Reformed, director Paul Schrader’s 2017 drama which Dynan shot using an ARRI Alexa SXT. “The framing of that film (1.37:1) wasn’t quite right for After Love. We were initially thinking about 1.85:1 or 2.39:1, but then we fell in love with the idea of filming locations such as the cliffs widescreen with the SXT.

“Simon Surtees and Russell Allen at ARRI Rental UK were generous enough to let us use a set of prototype DNA LF prime lenses backed with a 35mm PL mount. When my amazing focus puller David Pearce tested them, we knew they were perfect. Feeling like master primes, they also had a softness and were lighter.”

Following three weeks of prep, filming commenced in July 2019, with a week-long shoot in Dover, a week in Calais and another two weeks in London for interior

scenes such as Genevieve’s house where much of the

“We introduced warmer colours and more tungsten narrative unravels. The cinematography reflects Mary’s hues when Mary’s life is interrupted by Genevieve and viewpoint during her journey’s three main stages: her her son Solomon. The framing is wider when they travel husband’s death; her visit to Calais to discover her to Dover, leaving more space for them to explore Mary’s husband’s secret life; and when the three main characters house. The Dover she returns to is warmer than the one are in Mary’s house discovering her life and forming a at the film’s beginning. In the final scene, the trio stand new kind of family. in line together. We pull out to an extreme wide shot

This was achieved thanks to a fruitful collaboration of the cliffs, contrasting with the intimate, tight, sterile with DIT Ash Daniyan. “He’s a phenomenal colourist. As shots when After Love begins,” says Dynan. colour was so important to the storytelling, it needed

He highlights the dramatic cliff scenes as some to be tracked throughout. We had detailed discussions of After Love’s most powerful storytelling devices, before shooting and I would view the previous day’s stills saying, “Flying Pictures did incredible drone work, on my iPad Pro and amend,” says Dynan. especially as some scenes were filmed in challenging

The cinematographer also teamed up with longweather. The cliff climbing sequence and the final time collaborator colourist Tim Masick from Company 3. pullback required tremendous skill.” n “At the start of working on a film, I call Tim. Collaborating with him lets me set looks from the beginning, ensuring adequate resolution whenever I need to push the images.”

Framing and camera movement also emphasised different aspects of Mary’s journey. “In Dover, Aleem wanted Mary to feel more isolated. Even though she’s with people, she’s usually centre-framed with nobody invading her frame. Close-ups and more restricted camera movement came into their own for a cliff scene when we’re intensely in that space with Mary.”

Discussions between Dynan and gaffer Howard Davidson focused on how light could shape both visuals and story, plus emphasise Mary’s emotional state. With a background in documentary filmmaking, Dynan also wanted to explore how best to adopt Cinematographer Alexander Dynan (left) and writer-director a naturalistic approach.

Aleem Khan (right)

“For narrative projects I’m not really interested in cinematography that is super showy and reveals itself. Howard was the perfect partner as he’s incredibly artistic and thoughtful. In early lighting tests we started bouncing lights and choosing the right rags. ‘Bounce light and lots of bleached muslin’ was our mantra,” he says.

Mary needed to be in a soft bounce light in the first stage of her journey.

This light becomes harsher when she travels to Calais and the truth is revealed.

After Love cinematographer Alexander Dynan (left) and writerdirector Aleem Khan (right) with Joanna Scanlan as Mary

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 73

CINEMATIC CLASSIC / GORDON WILLIS ASC / THE GODFATHER TRILOGY / BY MARK LONDON WILLIAMS

THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS

In the first installment of a new section celebrating the history of film, we look back at the influence of Gordon Willis ASC and The Godfather trilogy.

“O

n The Godfather, we got huge flak from Paramount. It even made Francis Ford Coppola nervous. But I said, ‘Just hang in there. It’s going to be OK.’ And to his

credit, he did.”

The words are from the late, great Gordon Willis ASC who helped redefine American cinematography with his work on a slew of ‘70s films, including Woody Allen’s Annie Hall and Manhattan, and perhaps most famously of all, Coppola’s Godfather trilogy.

Or rather, “duology,” as Coppola considers parts I and II a single story, and now has dubbed the third installment a “coda”, The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Coppola said this version, now being released on Blu-ray and digital, with limited theatrical engagement, with its rearranged opening and finale, tighter running time and occasionally altered music cues, is “an acknowledgement of Mario (Puzo)’s and my preferred title and our original intentions,” for what had been The Godfather: Part III.

Per Willis’ words, Coppola has “hung in there” for nearly fifty years, since the saga first burst onto the American scene, with the first two parts now considered among the finest Hollywood films ever made.

But Hollywood wasn’t always sure what it was getting, as Willis’ comments, made to Jon Fauer ASC and run in Fauer’s Film and Digital Times, attest. Fauer also interviewed Willis as part of the documentary he directed and produced, Cinematographer Style.

“For Gordon’s interview,” Fauer recalls, “we planned on large lights outside the windows of his beautiful home in North Falmouth, Cape Cod. Gordon watched the setup, amused. ‘What’s with all this stuff?’ he asked. And then, ‘Too complicated. Just bring in one Kino Flo.’ After the interview was over, Gordon asked the electric crew to turn the light off. ‘Aha,” he said, ‘that’s better, isn’t it - no light at all.’

“I believe it was Conrad Hall ASC,” Fauer adds, “who first called Willis ‘the Prince of Darkness.’

His influence was profound.”

Gordon Willis AS C

74 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Richard Crudo, past president of the ASC, and known for his own work on both smaller (Justified, Jane the Virgin) and larger (American Pie, American Buffalo) screens, agrees that Willis belongs on “a very short list of cinematographers who changed the way movies looked,” mentioning him along with Hall, and the latter’s work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

“Fifty years later, people forget how revolutionary that work was,” he says, while also noting that without production designer Dean Tavoularis, who, like Willis, was involved with all three installments, “there’s no Godfather either.”

Crudo maintains that Willis “went further than anyone had gone at that time, in terms of darkness,” but adds that it wasn’t only those shadows, for which the DP’s nickname was coined, that made the films unique.

“Overall,” he says, “they’re not dark movies.

(Willis) introduced that brassy, yellow, red feel; you never really saw that in a film either - sort of a wash, that was consistent throughout.” Asked if Willis’ visual scheme could be likened to film noir, he says “in noir films, in black and white, they never quite achieved that - it was more about the contrast.”

In most noirs, there would be “passages and moments - but then it would go back to conventional studio lighting. The Godfather had an immediacy that had never been seen. Even the conventionally exposed scenes had a patina that made them feel unique. Gordon talked about period pieces, (that) you really need some sort of distancing device to signify the period,” but without taking it too far, lest everything “screams period.”

“It’s almost become a cliche nowadays,” Crudo says, “when you want to evoke the past, to make it look sepia, or chocolate, or reddish. They’re riffing off what Gordon did in The Godfather, and it rarely succeeds.”

John Bailey ASC, himself a recent president of the Academy, recalls becoming aware of Willis’ work not with the Godfather films, but two Alan J. Pakula offerings - Klute and The Parallax View. Like Crudo, he noticed additional elements besides the fabled “darkness:” “What impressed me was how daring the compositions were,” adding “a

lot of Gordon’s work was very evocative.” The style was due in part because “Gordy lit from the top, which no Hollywood cameraman would do.”

He was also struck by another aspect of how Willis handled the overhead aspects of shooting - on yet another Pakula project.

“I was working on a television show called Medical Story - a spinoff of Police Story. We were shooting on stages 8 and 9 at the Burbank Studios,” which was back when the Warners lot also housed Columbia. “I was cameraman for two seasons,” then All the President’s Men, “which had been shooting in New York and moved onto the lot. We would break for lunch, and I would pass stage 11, where they were building this set for the Washington Post. It took up the whole stage - really wall to wall.” But more strikingly “it was not built like normal - they had a hard ceiling all GORDON WILLIS ASC the way, so it looked like a practical location.

“They put in several hundred fluorescent units they had a full covered ceiling (and) I cannot tell you how weird that was at the time. Hollywood cinematographers, especially those doing television shows, would walk around that set and couldn’t believe it.”

And evidently kept on not believing it. Bailey also recalls that “when I got in the ASC in the early ‘80s, and became an officer on the board, I would attend board meetings on Monday night with a lot of the old guard.”

And they would become “more and more vocal,” about how much they seemed to hate the kind of work Willis did, and what he represented. “And it was reciprocal - because he hated Hollywood.”

Or as Willis himself put it in his interview with Fauer: “There were plenty of people who wouldn’t touch me with a 10-foot pole.

They were very frightened of getting involved at that level, Jon Fauer ASC regardless of what I could or couldn’t bring to the movie.

I’m perfectly capable of thinking inside the box, but I just never really did... I think there were people who also felt the same way, and there were still others who felt, ‘God Almighty, I don’t want to hire him. Look what will happen.’”

Indeed, look what did. Some of the most enduring classics Hollywood has ever produced. n

“I’M PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF THINKING INSIDE THE BOX, BUT I JUST NEVER REALLY DID.”

THE BIG PICTURE / HEALTH AND SAFETY / BY TREVOR HOGG

SAFE SHOOTING

A

positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increased global attention towards health and safety within social and professional environments. But has it been enough to transform the film and television industry to avoid the tragic and high-profile deaths of American camera assistant Sarah Jones and British camera operator Mark Milsome?

The overall feeling is that there is still a lot of work to be done by the film and television industry to improve health and safety, especially due to the pressure caused by production schedules and budgets becoming tighter with each passing year. The Mark Milsome Foundation conducted an anonymous survey that went out to BECTU, GBCT, Assistant Directors Guild, BAFTA, BECTU, BSC, and ASC, with 63% of participants believing that the current H&S regulations need improving. 84% of those surveyed highlighted working hours and sleep deprivation as the main culprits in causing poor H&S standards.

Richard Jones remembers having phone calls at 2am with his daughter as she tried to stay awake while driving back from a shoot. Sarah Jones was killed when struck by a train while shooting the Gregg Allman biopic Midnight Rider in 2014, leading to filmmaker Randall Miller pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Miller has since headed back to court to determine whether he violated the conditions of his probation by directing the comedy Higher Ground in 2019. “[The production] had attempted [and failed] to get permission from CSX Transportation to shoot on a mainline track,” states Richard Jones, who has established the Sarah Jones Foundation and Safety for Sarah campaign.

“After two trains had passed, they were setting up on this bridge to grab a shot when another one came. The whole tragedy was so avoidable and unnecessary; that’s part of the reason why it got the attention that it did.”

In 2017, Mark Milsome died when he was hit by a Land Rover which was part of a stunt being executed for the BBC drama Black Earth Rising. A four-day inquest into the incident was held in October 2020. “After Mark’s death, I founded the Mark Milsome Foundation,” remarks Andra Milsome, when discussing her late husband.

“Mark’s inquest was a real eye-opener and we have been working hard to research areas of H&S within the industry that need immense improvement.”

Matters were complicated by the stunt coordinator being replaced before the scene was shot and no safety briefing having taken place beforehand.

With these factors in mind, Milsome emphasises what is needed to ensure safe shooting conditions. “The importance of HODs passing accurate clear instructions on when they leave a job. A lack of communication or understanding can lead to accidents. Having the courage to speak up and know who you should report to if you have a concern is also vital. A safety briefing before any dangerous filming should become law, and if it is not held, producers and productions should be legally responsible for any injury or death.”

Mike Eley BSC (top centre) with Susan Sarandon (middle) and the crew on the set of Blackbird

Veteran production safety consultant Clem Leneghan and founder of Fresh Safety spends most of his current time devoted towards COVID-19 protocols. However, he has a few other observations: “There is a process. People learn the ropes and come up through a department over time; a lot of what they learn is informal. In recent years, there has been an increase in more formal training and people will complete recognised courses in several aspects of the work.

Sarah Jones

“Pretty much every course they do during principal now would have some safety component photography for to it. One of the worst areas is working The Vampire Diaries (Courtesy of safely at height for people working on Richard Jones) top of and building tall structures or on cliffs. There have been some real issues in our industry around practices and attitudes which has led to horrific fatalities and injuries over the years.”

The most prominent safety concern now is COVID-19. “Fortunately, my experiences shooting under COVID thus far have been positive,” says Stephen Murphy BSC ISC. “The key, in my humble opinion, is regular testing, which seems to be what most of the major studios have taken onboard.

“On the film I shot this year, Netflix had us tested three times a week, the entire crew wore PPE at all times, and we had COVID Marshalls to remind us about social distancing onset. The stages and sets were also decontaminated every night, and everyone had to hand sanitise onset Mark Milsome regularly. The downside is the COVID protocols (Courtesy of slow you down a little, and you have to work Andra Milsome) harder to communicate, which in itself begins to add wear and tear on your psyche over time. The crew has adapted incredibly well, so it clearly is

It is clear a cultural shift needs to happen in the possible for us to produce good work during COVID; British film and television industry. “As big, influential it just takes a little more time and effort.” and attractive as we are as an industry, we’re still quite

An organisation that is part of the taskforce a cottage industry,” reflects Mike Eley BSC. “We’re run by the British Film Commission on the behalf woefully under unionised and there is an expectation of the BFI to develop guidance for safe filming is that crews will put up with what they’re told to do. Our ScreenSkills. Two new levels of in-depth COVID-19 union is slowly making its way back into relevancy but training were launched in December 2020. “We ever since the destruction of unions in the 1980s, it has developed free online coronavirus basic awareness on faced an uphill struggle, unlike US and Canadian unions production training which has been passed by more that continue to have a big say. than 44,000 people to date,” says Louise Jury, director “Perhaps COVID-19 has contributed to crews of communications and marketing, ScreenSkills. realising that, ‘I don’t have to work myself to death. I can

“We have encouraged individuals to take it so they work 10 to 12 hours, go home and see my family, have are doing what they can to keep themselves, and their a good night’s sleep, get up and be ready for another colleagues and equipment safe. Some productions and [day of shooting].’ We all know that those long hours companies have also mandated it as part of their own can contribute to injury and fatality. I am sensing that safety procedures. Incidentally, one of the reasons why we there is a realisation that we can be fairer on ourselves were able to create the basic online training so quickly was and be more like countries in Continental Europe where because we had already begun devising free e-learning rumour has it that they make very good films and work modules, including tackling bullying and harassment.” civilised hours.” n British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 75

INNOVATOR / STEPHEN OH / XM2 / BY KEVIN HILTON Stephen Oh with the XM2 Sierra drone

FLYING HIGH D rones became both hugely popular and much derided during the 2010s. In the last five years the remotely controlled, unmanned flying craft has made its mark on filmmaking, enabling aerial shots that would be difficult or impossible for conventional aircraft, wire systems or cranes. Of the many companies offering drone services for film, XM2 has set itself apart by developing its own units to carry camera arrays for more specialised shooting.

XM2 was founded in Melbourne by Stephen Oh 21 years ago, initially as a multi-media advertising agency (the initials stand for ‘extreme multi-media’). Oh originally studied chemical engineering and “somehow got into film”.

From the lower ranks he worked his way up to become a co-ordinator, then a line producer and eventually a producer of TVC and corporate movies in South Korea.

In his spare time Oh flew remote controlled model helicopters and aircraft. It was through this hobby that he made the move into the field that is now his main business. “About eight years ago I said to other model aeroplane enthusiasts in Melbourne, let’s set up a drone company,” he explains. “Drones were starting to come about at the time but were very small for carrying small systems. We built our own drones to carry large cameras.”

Oh and his colleagues developed a drone to carry the RED 4K for the film Lion (2016, DP Greig Fraser ACS ASC). “We made the gimbal as well,” says Oh, “and after that we got on to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales [AKA Salazar’s Revenge, 2017]. The cinematographer, Paul Cameron ASC, said he didn’t want us to fly the RED, he wanted

Johnny Depp with XM2 founders Stephen Oh (L), Luke Annells (R) and Aidan Kelly (far R)

76 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

the Alexa. There was no Mini version back then so we developed the first 39.9kg (88 pound) drone to fly an Alexa XT M. That was the biggest drone in the world at the time.”

Bigger projects followed, including Thor: Ragnarok (2017, Javier Aguirresarobe ASC) and Aquaman (2018, Don Burgess ASC). To support this work XM2 became focused on drones for filmmaking and established its own R&D department to develop new units. XM2 Labs operates as a separate entity under the umbrella of the main company. It handles all system development, prototyping, manufacturing, testing and implementation in-house at its Melbourne headquarters.

This work is undertaken by a team of engineers specialising variously in aerospace, mechatronics, electronics and marine technologies. “The Labs is the core of all our R&D,” Oh comments. “It has produced a lot of innovative stuff, including the Stingray, a drone that flies arrays featuring three Alexa LF Minis suspended underneath the main body.”

Another heavy-duty camera-carrying drone, which Oh describes as XM2’s “primary bread and butter” system, is the Tango. It comes in two versions; the core model is now in its second generation and has a maximum payload of 19.7kg (43.4 pounds), while the Tango Lite can carry 17.7kg (39 pounds). Oh says that the Tango, like his company’s other products, comes from practical application as much as they do an inspired idea.

“It’s not just innovating something and trying to sell it,” he explains. “We develop the systems to use

ourselves. We’re pretty efficient with our designs.

Traditionally, someone comes up with an idea and goes to an engineer, who draws it up on a CAD. It later goes to a fabricator for the prototype. All that takes time before the final product which is why we do it all in-house. Our engineers also work on set as drone technicians as well as knowing about 3D printing, milling and carbon fibre cutting.”

The key to technology today is the user interface. XM2 developed Whisky, the ‘W’ of which stands for wheels, replicating the rotary mechanism of camera supports and cranes, which are more familiar to DPs and film crews than the joystick controllers commonly used for drones.

Wheels can be operated either directly in a helicopter by the aerial DP, on a vehicle or remotely from a central point on set. This last feature has been enabled by a base station controller, which is able to select and run different systems, including drones, a helicopter and a Russian arm. “One reason for developing it was to allow the DP to get the shots they want without having to explain things like tilting up or down to a newcomer,” Oh comments. “Another was to save time so that the DP doesn’t have to get into the helicopter to achieve the shot, it can be done from the ground on a monitor. That also means there are fewer people in the helicopter, so it’s lighter and any risk is mitigated.”

XM2 has made a departure from aerial systems with the Titan, a small, flat-topped transport on caterpillar tracks. This was inspired by Oh’s experience on the set of Children of the Corn (2020, DP Andrew Rowland), which was shooting in Sydney.

“The grips and gaffers were moving their equipment around using petrol driven tractors and there was just a lot of noise,” he recalls. “I thought there had to be something better than that, so I told the R&D team and they came up with this all-terrain utility vehicle. It’s remote controlled and the first prototype is able to handle 500kg, which is enough for ballasts and the like.”

XM2 has expanded both its product line and international reach in its short existence. It now has offices in Melbourne and on the Gold Coast in Australia, Seoul, South Korea, Los Angeles and Atlanta in the US and at Pinewood Studios in the UK. This year the company formalised a relationship with the American aerial film specialist Pursuit Aviation, which invested in XM2. The two now trade as XM2 Pursuit, with Oh as chief executive.

With a broad range of services offered by both its drones, helicopters, aircraft and grip equipment, supported by its Labs, XM2 Pursuit is continuing to move forward and innovate. “We will always try to do something new because that’s what the film industry is about,” concludes Stephen Oh. “Shooting something in a way that’s never been done before.

It’s the appetite of film, really.” n

Y H P A R G O T A M E N I C L A I AER

BASED AT PINEWOOD STUDIOS E@XM2.COM | +44 (0) 1753 656898 WWW.XM2PURSUIT.CO.UK

TECH-NIQUE / DYNAMIC LIGHTING / BY NEIL OSEMAN

DYNAMIC ILLUMINATION

We are lucky enough to live in a time when lighting technology runs the gamut from the simplest tungsten globe to banks of programmable LED panels controlled by an app. Six DPs share the kit and techniques they have used to tell stories with light.

78 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

D

ynamic light sources can enhance the drama of a scene, or even create the illusion of a vehicle in motion, and with today’s technologies there are many ways to make your light source move.

“Mike Barker, the director, was the instigator of the drones with lights on them,” says Colin Watkinson BSC ASC about the third season opener of The Handmaid’s Tale, in which Alexis Bledel’s Emily escapes the oppressive Gilead. “He wanted surveillance drones by the bridge as extra tension as Emily attempts to cross the river into Canada.”

The Toronto-based production turned to their regular collaborators at the Drone Unit, who fly proprietary “Spyder” octocopters. Head pilot Chris Bacik fitted custom 300W LED arrays into two of the drones’ Movi stabilisers, each array producing 39,000 lumens in a 30-degree beam.

The hovering luminaires took flight again for a scene tracking Emily’s getaway vehicle. “For the travelling shot behind the Humvee, we knew we wouldn’t be able to light the distance we needed to travel,” Watkinson continues, “so we opted to use one of the light drones as an overhead ambience, flying along above the Humvee.

We had spotlights in the front of the Humvee, and a light inside the cabin for Emily.”

Of the series as a whole, Watkinson offers: “We use LED a lot. The Astera tubes are proving very useful at the moment.”

London-based DP Rowan Biddiscombe agrees. “I use Asteras all the time. I really like their warm daylight setting and I’ve used it on many occasions as a soft kicker or rim-light.”

A test of the custommade LED lanterns for Outlander: Sassenach shot by David Higgs BSC

Zoe Boyle and Kerry Howard lit by China lanterns and covered wagons for Witless shot by Benedict Spence

Resembling fluorescent tubes, Asteras are wireless, flicker-free LED batons comprised of 16 pixels which can be individually coloured and flashed to produce a range of effects. They proved invaluable when Biddiscombe was tasked to simulate movement in an old London Underground carriage, for the I Miss U (Live Session) music promo by Jax Jones feat. Au/Ra.

“We decided the Astera Titan tubes would be our ‘base’ movement lighting gag,” says Biddiscombe, “Maybe ten each side, set up to chase from one end of the train to the other. This was to emulate fluorescent lights passing by the carriages.” Additional dynamism came from Source Fours flashed or bounced off revolving mirror boards.

“Finally, we replaced a few key practical fluro tubes inside the carriage with Asteras so their intensity could be raised or dimmed during the performance. We ran all of the lights from a single iPad,” Biddiscombe concludes.

I was recently called upon to create the illusion of movement in a small aeroplane set piece. The shot was brief but crucial, as Naomi Morris’s lead character fulfils the promise of the film’s title and goes Above the Clouds.

Filming in a cramped space on location, I used an ARRI D12 HMI fresnel as my sun. As if intercepted by clouds, the HMI initially shone through diffusion; we gradually dropped this and allowed the light to skip off a horizontal poly as if reflected off the tops of clouds.

David Higgs BSC was also required to move the sun on cue when he shot Outlander in 2014, albeit on a much bigger scale. A key sequence of the Starz series’ pilot sees Claire (Caitríona Balfe) witness a druidic ritual at dawn.

“The ‘sun’ was provided by a 12K on a Manitou forklift which we jibbed up to give the effect of the sun rising through the trees,” Higgs recalls. The sequence was captured over two days, alternating between the 12K tungsten Lighting cameraperson Mole Beam and the actual setting sun.

Laura Howie with an Altm an Also employed was a dimmable Micro Ellipse on the set of Shaun the Sheep Movie overhead soft box hung from a 100-tonne construction crane. “The lifting crane was used to provide soft daylight to help match the shots as the sun set, and ambient moonlight later on.”

Adding further dynamics were the “candlelit” lanterns carried by the pagan dancers. “We used radio DMX to battery packs and LEDs that the dancers carried to simulate candles,” Higgs reveals. Gaffer Scott Napier built the lanterns using Panalux F-Stop

ect ne lighting eff ith tests the pla Gaffer Colin Sm uds shot by Neil Oseman for Above the Clo

The Drone Unit’s Spyder octocopters in action for Handmaid’s Tale: Night sho The t by Colin Watkinson ASC BSC

“IF I’M WORKING ON A RESIDENTIAL NIGHT INTERIOR, WITH PRACTICALS ON SET, THEN LANTERNS ARE OFTEN THE FIRST THINGS ON MY LIST.” BENEDICT SPENCE wireless LED drivers and four-channel flicker units.ok.”

As Biddiscombe’s Source Fours and Higgs’s Mole Beam prove, the traditional incandescent technology that has served the film industry for over a century still has a place alongside the latest LEDs.

“I have my set of LiteGear LiteMat Spectrums on every single job I do,” remarks Benedict Spence, the Emmy-nominated DP of The End of the F***ing World, but one of his favourite fixtures is the humble Chinese lantern, aka China ball.

“If I’m working on a residential night interior, with practicals on set, then lanterns are often the first things on my list,” says Spence, noting that the fixtures are cheap, lightweight, and easily dimmable. “The texture of the paper is a little blotchy on the face of the lamp, so they produce a very ‘real’ feeling light.

“I use the Lantern Lock system, supplied in the UK by Barbizon. I will normally cover two thirds of the surface of the lamp with Bolton and go with E39 300W tungsten lamps inside.”

Spence is also a fan of the covered wagon, a fixture named for its resemblance to a caravan from the American Old West. “I had two 4ft covered wagons made for me back in 2012,” he reveals. “They are essentially six 100W bulbs in a 4ft plank of wood, with some wire bent over them and some spun diffusion placed over the top of that.

“On my first feature, the sub-microbudget AfterDeath (2015), we shot 95% of the film solely on my

lanterns and covered wagons. And I’ve used them in conjunction on pretty much every production ever since.”

Anna Valdez Hanks used tungsten sources to create both soft and hard light in the 2020 feature Hope Gap, directed by William Nicholson. Told across multiple seasons, the core of the story took place in a house which was built on stage.

“I used custom soft boxes above the windows, on a pulley system, so they could be lowered down quickly when not in shot,” says Hanks. “These were Toblerone-shaped, with 5Ks pointing in at either end, reflective material on two of the triangle sides and diffusion at the front.”

Hanks introduced other instruments when a less wintery feel was required. “I began working with Source Fours a few years ago to splash soft areas of light onto the background. In Hope Gap we used them for this reason and also to compose the frame – cutting shafts across the foreground, perhaps in the same orientation as a line of furniture or an architectural detail.”

Manufactured by Electronic Theatre Controls, Source Fours (aka Lekos) are ellipsoidal fixtures which take their name from the four strands of their tungsten halogen filaments. Interchangeable lens tubes permit beam angles anywhere between five and 90 degrees, while built-in cutters allow the light to be shaped with more precision than traditional barn doors.

“I used Source Fours a lot on Larissa Sansour’s artist film In Vitro for the Venice Biennale,” says Hank.

“This was shot in black-and-white – a format I love

for Au/Ra in her promo shot n) I Miss U (Live Sessio be com

by Rowan Biddis

because the framing is so entirely dependent on light and dark areas of the image. With black-and-white, you can use light to create shapes and Source Fours give you perfect control.”

A fixture with similar features but on a smaller scale is the Altman Micro Ellipse LV (low voltage), a favourite of stop-motion specialist Laura Howie. Currently a lighting cameraperson on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Howie typically operates on sets of around 1:6 scale.

“I usually work with Altman Micro Ellipse LVs for interiors,” she states, noting that their small profile makes it easier to fit them into tight spaces without overheating or obstructing the animator’s access. “The Ellipses’ variable focus allows the beam to be directed at a very small area of the set.”

Howie explains that the precision cutters make it possible to light a miniature character without washing out nearby practical lamps. “LV blades are also narrow enough to be used as effective eye-lights.

“Another trick we use is to bounce the Ellipses off mirror tiles or small pieces of poly or silver board hidden within the set,” Howie adds. “Shaping the mirror with sticky BlackTak and diffusing with dulling spray can control it further.”

Whether lighting the smallest animation set or the longest stretch of Canadian road, DPs in the 21st century have an ever-growing array of technology to call upon, but it’s our creative vision and ingenious techniques that will always put the art and emotion into cinematography. n

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Subscribe online at www.britishcinematographer.co.uk/subscribe British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 79

EVENT REVIEW / ENERGACAMERIMAGE 2020 FILM FESTIVAL / BY ZOE MUTTER Festival director Marek Zydowicz (r) reflecting on the virtual event

THE SHOW MUST GO ON

Although the renowned EnergaCAMERIMAGE film festival moved into the virtual realm this year, the ambition remained unchanged - to celebrate cinematography and inspire a global filmmaking community of all ages.

W

hile the filmmaking industry strived to overcome 2020’s obstacles to continue to create magic on screen, the event sector was also impacted by pandemic restrictions. Like many festival organisers, the dedicated team behind the 28th edition of EnergaCAMERIMAGE - the cherished event celebrating cinematography which attracts filmmakers and film enthusiasts in droves to Poland every November - was forced to pivot to a digital format.

It was initially hoped a hybrid event could be organised, comprising a stripped back physical festival in Toruń and most screenings and seminars moving online, but rising COVID-19 cases altered the plans. And while nothing quite compares to the electric atmosphere of an in-person event, watching standout productions on the big screen, networking with the industry’s creative and technical geniuses, and attending fascinating seminars, the virtual festival was an impressive

offering, especially considering the time available to move such a vast and unique event online.

Visitors were treated to a superb line-up of screenings, pertinent debate, riveting interviews and masterclasses and networking events such as Cooke Optics’ ingenious DOP Roulette which gave virtual attendees the chance to talk to some of the industry’s finest cinematographers. They could also explore a virtual version of the market area to learn about the latest technological creations from manufacturers including ARRI, Sony, Zeiss, Harkness, Canon, Cooke Optics, Fujifilm, De Sisti, and BEIKS.

As highlighted by festival director Marek Zydowicz, the programme is based around three pillars - students, established cinematographers, and creators of the technology used to make the productions celebrated at the festival - which also formed the foundations of the virtual incarnation. Although a weighty tome could be dedicated to al’s tiv fes the Amongst were: this year’s event content, here are analysis sessions r’s sle some of the many highlights.

Tobias Schlies Ma discussion of m Rainey’s Black Botto

80 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

A FORUM FOR DEBATE

The festival places great importance on inspiring the next generation, a topic focused on in the ‘Get Noticed 7’ discussion, aimed at filmmaking students and featuring a panel of representatives from agencies Intrinsic, Lux Artists, WPA and WME along with cinematographers sharing advice on how to stand out from the crowd.

According to Louisa Vick, agent and partner at WPA, young DPs wanting to expand their career opportunities whilst training should continue to shoot whilst identifying directors in their circles and “honing your artistic voice and experimenting to figure out what you like to do and what type of stories you want to tell”.

Chaired by Oliver Stapleton BSC, the ‘Any Questions?’ session saw virtual attendees pose questions to a stellar line-up of cinematographers - including Philippe Rousselot AFC ASC; Hoyte van Hoytema ASC, FSF, NSC; Laura Merians Goncalves; Anthony Dod Mantle BSC, ASC, DFF; Kate Reid BSC; Ula Pontikos BSC; and Charlotte Bruus Christensen - to gain valuable insight into their working practices, creative inspirations, and techniques. ...and Tom Sigel AS C Topics included: references and director Spike that stimulate the creative process; Lee’s examination of Da 5 Bloods whether to bring reference material to initial meetings; working in unison with directors to develop a visual language; shooting in extreme conditions; the impact winning awards has on a filmmaker; the joys of working with a diverse crew; and striving for equality in the industry.

Equality was also the focus of a roundtable where Imago’s D&I Committee joined forces with Digital

Johnny Depp accepting his award from The Bahamas

Orchard Foundation to talk with peers and experts about diversity and inclusion for filmmakers, overlooked barriers, silenced facts, and changing implicit biases.

The need to alter the culture of the film and TV industry to become truly diverse and inclusive was highlighted. “Much must be done to make our camera crews resemble the world we live in. We don’t have to wait for others to do something about it. We can look at ourselves and ask, who is in my crew?” said Bonnie Elliott ACS, speaking about the #WhoIsInYourCrew campaign.

Immediate actions needed include in-depth training of HoDs on their duty of care to those working on their production, leading by example and ensuring they understand the benefits and responsibilities associated with equality, wellbeing and inclusion; rolling out equality and mental health training to the production team as part of pre-production prep; and ensuring all crew lists are diverse with time allocated for fair interviews.

RECOGNISING ACHIEVEMENT

In addition to a fascinating AFC seminar session with Philippe Rousselot AFC ASC in which his vast body of work and collaborators were discussed, the master cinematographer was presented with the Camerimage Lifetime Achievement award. After accepting his award, Rousselot congratulated the organisers on successfully pivoting to online and reflected on what he enjoys most about the physical event: “Obviously this year I will miss what is so precious at the festival, meeting with friends, colleagues and filmmakers, but also most importantly missing meeting with the young generation of students because the exchange goes both ways.”

The highly coveted awards were announced during the closing ceremony including the Main Competition Golden Frog award which was presented to British cinematographer Joshua James Richards for his work lensing Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland.

Commenting on the award, Richards said: “I had a wonderful time at Camerimage in 2015…

I won the award for my debut film Songs My Brothers Taught Me and that just put the wind in my sails and gave me that encouragement I needed to move on, so to be here winning the Golden Frog means everything.”

Outside of the awards for cinematography and directing (listed at the end of this article), Johnny Depp received the award for Actor with Unique Visual Sensitivity for creating characters with complex and charismatic personalities. In his acceptance letter, Depp commented on how lucky he felt to have worked with many incredible cinematographers, adding: “The relationship between the actor and the cinematographer is a pivotal one. You might even say it’s the most important, considering cinema, more than anything, is a visual medium.”

Filmmaking greats who sadly passed away this year were also remembered in the closing ceremony, including masters of their craft Michael Chapman ASC; Allen Daviau ASC; Jacek Korcelli; Igor Luther; and Gernot Roll.

Some of the films explored grace the pages of this issue, including DP Martin Ruhe ASC and While Camerimage is a place to meet like-minded George Clooney discussing The Midnight Sky; Erik filmmakers and admire their work, it is also an Messerschmidt examining Mank; and Joshua James opportunity to learn. This continued through online Richards talking about Nomadland and his filmmaking seminars where creators of cinematic works of art, process. “Everything I shoot and want to be a part including this year’s competition films, divulged their of, I want to do it because it’s something you haven’t inspirations and production processes. quite seen,” said Richards. “In the art world it wouldn’t

In an ARRI Academy masterclass with Sir Roger matter how talented you are. You’re irrelevant if you’re Deakins CBE BSC ASC and his wife and long-time not new. We should approach films in the same way.” collaborator James Deakins, topics included their

Also in the educational programme was a popular Team Deakins podcast - a valuable source of virtual production seminar from the ASC, Visual information and inspiration for filmmakers at every Effects Society and Netflix on the relationship career stage - and the collaborations, technology between the cinematographer, visual effects and techniques that play a pivotal role in Deakins’ supervisor and lighting director. phenomenal career.

On the rise of game engine technology in

Amongst numerous insights into the art and filmmaking and educating the professional VFX craft of cinematography was Roger Deakins’ comments community, Epic Games’ Miles Perkins said: “Game on the early stages of the process: “I like to have a engine technology is not simply a render portal. lot of prep time and to be committed to a project for It has physics and…requires a different approach.

We launched a fellowship programme…and look forward to doing more and offering that educational content to the professionals who have this amazing ability to bring these stories to life. These tools are there to enable people and we need to educate as much as possible so creatives can just create.”

Understandably, MAREK ZYDOWICZ –– FESTIVAL DIRECTOR pandemic production was examined in multiple maybe months beforehand, so I am able to go on early discussions including IMAGO’s ‘Could filmmaking location scouts and have discussions about sets. You make you sick?’ seminar on working conditions and really get an understanding of where the director’s safe shooting procedures during the pandemic. coming from.”

“It’s vital for the film community to unite.

In another must-see seminar, Vittorio Storaro [The pandemic] shows us how important it is that ASC AIC took us through his filmmaking career and we have strong networks throughout Europe… creative collaborations with directors. “I’m glad I met and stand in solidarity with one another to face wonderful directors all searching for a specific look for a crisis like this together,” said Interface Film’s every single film. That was a great push for me,” said Zora Bachmann, a member of IMAGO’s Working Storaro about his early career.

Conditions Committee who also shared initiatives

Amongst the festival’s analysis sessions were: Austria’s filmmaking community had successfully Tobias Schliessler’s discussion of Ma Rainey’s Black adopted during the pandemic.

Bottom; Tom Sigel ASC and director Spike Lee’s

A roundtable from Sony saw Company 3 chief examination of Da 5 Bloods; and a conversation creative officer and senior colourist Tom Poole and between Viggo Mortensen and Marcel Zyskind on their cinematographers Łukasz Żal, PSC, Florian Hoffmeister collaborations on productions such as Falling, a film BSC and Chris Teague explored the control on set and screened as part of the festival’s Main Competition. flexibility in post the Sony VENICE allows. >>

VALUABLE INSIGHT

“WE HAD TO LEARN TO ADAPT TO A NEW REALITY AND HOW TO OPERATE UNDER THESE NEW CONDITIONS… WE ARE STARTING THE HARD WORK TO PREPARE FOR 2021’S EDITION OF THE FESTIVAL.”

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 81

EVENT REVIEW / ENERGACAMERIMAGE 2020 FILM FESTIVAL / BY ZOE MUTTER Attendees could explore a virtual version of the market area

DP Joshua James Richards accepting the Main Competition Golden Frog award for Nomadland

ENERGACAMERIMAGE 2020 MAIN COMPETITION Golden Frog: Nomadland, DP Joshua James Richards, dir. Chloé Zhao Silver Frog: Helene, DP Rauno Ronkainen, dir. Antti J. Jokinen Bronze Frog: Pinocchio, DP Nicolaj Brüel, dir. Matteo Garrone FIPRESCI AWARD Nomadland, DP Joshua James Richards, dir. Chloé Zhao POLISH FILMS COMPETITION Truth Makes Free, DP Witold Płóciennik, dir. Robert Gliński Special Mention: Supernova, DP Michał Dymek, dir.

Bartosz Kruhlik

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Golden Frog...

DP Joshua James Richards for Nomadland

82 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

Nothing beats the buzz of a physical festival of film and the industry is undoubtedly keen to attend next year’s event in person in Toruń in November. But could a hybrid format play a role in the future of such events, allowing in-person meetings and big-screen viewings in Poland to occur in unison with a user-friendly online platform to catch up on sessions missed due to a packed schedule of screenings and seminars?

Festival director Marek Zydowicz reflected on the virtual event: “We had to learn to adapt to a new reality and how to operate under these new conditions…We are starting the hard work to prepare for 2021’s edition of the festival. We will meet in Toruń and draw some conclusions from the online Silver Frog...

DP Rauno festival and what can be achieved.”

Ronkainen In related exciting news for the for Helene future of film and its continued celebration in Poland, development of the European Film Centre Camerimage - a new cultural institution in Toruń that may give the city more prominence in the European film landscape - continues to progress. The festival partnered with the Toruń council and national government to fund the $155 million facility which recently entered the architecture bidding phase. It is expected to be completed in 2025.

Poland’s Minister of Culture, National Heritage and Sport Prof. Piotr Gliński said 2020’s festival was of particular importance due to the recent announcement that construction preparations for the facility were underway. He referred to the centre as “another step in the development of the Polish film Bronze Frog...

DP Nicolaj Brüel industry…representing Poland as a for Pinocchio filmmaking-friendly country” that would host ambitious projects as well as becoming the future home of the festival. Zydowicz also invited input from international cinematographers to help produce the centre’s programme.

Following a year of unusual obstacles and uncertainty, the creation of a venue that continues the celebration of cinematography that the festival is renowned for will be welcomed by the industry as it looks ahead to film’s future. n

Special Mention: 25 Years of Innocence, DP Bartłomiej Kaczmarek, dir. Jan Holoubek DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION Golden Frog: Best Documentary Feature: The Whale from Lorino, DP Piotr Bernaś, dir. Maciej Cuske Golden Frog: Best Docudrama: 499, DP Alejandro Mejia, dir. Rodrigo Reyes DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION Golden Frog: Grand Prix: A Horse Has More Blood Than a Human, DP Mehdi Azadi, dir. Abolfazl Talooni Special Mention: Blood Rider, DP David Bolen, Jon Kasbe, dir. Jon Kasbe CINEMATOGRAPHERS’ DEBUTS COMPETITION Two of Us, DP Aurélien Marra, dir. Filippo Meneghetti DIRECTORS’ DEBUTS COMPETITION 25 Years of Innocence, DP Bartłomiej Kaczmarek, dir. Jan Holoubek MUSIC VIDEOS COMPETITION Best Music Video: Bass Astral x Igo “Feeling Exactly”, DP Mikołaj Syguda, dir. Krzysztof Grajper Best Cinematography in a Music Video: Aigel “You’re Born”, DP Andrey Nikolaev, dir. Andžejs Gavrišs FIRST LOOK - TV PILOTS COMPETITION Hunters: In the Belly of the Whale, DP Frederick Elmes, dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon STUDENT ETUDES COMPETITION Golden Tadpole: A Rodeo Film DP Erin G. Wesley, dir. Darius D. Dawson, American Film Institute Conservatory Silver Tadpole: Stratum Deep, DP Nathalie Pitters, dir. Lian Meng Rose, National Film and Television School (NFTS) Bronze Tadpole: The Dress, DP Konrad Bloch, dir. Tadeusz Łysiak, Warsaw Film School

LETTER FROM AMERICA / BY MARK LONDON WILLIAMS

SAFETY MATTERS

“Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. Patients are dying in ambulances waiting for treatment because hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed.”

Y

ou might think we’re quoting L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, or perhaps California Governor Gavin Newsom. But instead, the above comment is from former Beverly Hills, 90210 actress-turned-producer Gabrielle Carteris, speaking as the current head of SAG-AFTRA. “This is not a safe environment for in-person production right now.”

And while the head of a labour guild - even guilds comprised of lots of famous people - should absolutely be commenting on conditions their workers face, the context, of course, is much larger. The line between whatever used to be considered “politics” in America, and everything else, is not merely blurred, but perhaps obliterated. If not permanently, at least in the foreseeable future.

Indeed, of the many changes Covid has wrought, one was a return to the ‘70s-era maxim that “the personal is political.” Everything is more highly charged, more critical, in an atmosphere where the virus is rapidly spreading as the country’s Federal institutions are simultaneously imploding.

Carteris’ comments were made in a release from SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild, and the Joint Policy Committee, a bargaining coalition representing commercial advertisers and advertising agencies. That release, coming in that briefest of lulls between New Year’s Day, and the storming of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., was to “recommend (that) production hold in Southern California.”

The groups are calling for “a temporary hold on in-person production,” noting that “the major studios and streamers are already on production hiatus… until mid-January.”

Meaning this is slated to go on for at least “several weeks” past that point, pointing, at the moment, towards spring as the earliest time when anything resembling “normal production” - and we emphasise the word “resembling” - could resume.

SAG-AFTRA’s executive director, David White, added that it was “too hard to say right now when the situation may improve (but we) will make sure that our members have the information they need to make the best decisions they can to protect themselves and our community.”

This, of course, coming at a time, when, as Mayor Garcetti did note, “one person contracts the coronavirus every six seconds in Los Angeles County.”

That’s hardly a “hooray for Hollywood” type number, and tends to reinforce an observation by Mark Harrison, CEO of media networking company DPP - on a virtual IBC panel about the future of production - that Gabrielle Carteris

“the easiest prediction to make about 2021 is that it will make 2020 seem oddly straightforward.”

He went on to note that “the reason 2021 will be so confusing and stressful is that it will see a collision of circumstances. First, Covid will constrain behaviours for enough of the year to ensure that most companies will be operating on greatly reduced budgets. Second, Covid will end early enough in the year to trigger an extraordinary burst of creative energy and consumer spending.”

There’s considerable question about how early in the year the pandemic will end - at least in the US. Presumably, should the incoming administration develop a competent vaccine distribution strategy, our next New Year’s letter in 2021 might be able to glimpse some of this in the rearview mirror.

In some places though, where the seasons are reversed compared to northern latitudes, the calendar appears advanced, too. One publicist friend, who reps numerous award-winning and nominated below the line creatives, writes to say “our clients are proceeding with full Covid safety restrictions in place. Three-day shutdowns seem to be frequent.”

But she’s not talking about California. “There’s a load of production that moved out of L.A. The entire East Coast of Australia is in full-on production mode with all the studios in full swing.” She cites DPs Mandy Walker, currently lensing Baz Luhrman’s Elvis project, and Claudio Miranda, shooting the Chris Hemsworth-starring Spiderhead, from director Joe Kosinski, as examples.

“I hear it’s a similar situation in New Zealand,” she adds “largely because our countries are managing the virus with strict regulations in place.”

It’s hard to tell which is the more critical

sentence for our purposes: Either the “there’s a load of production that moved out of L.A.,” or the “largely because our countries are managing the virus.”

Whether the US will be perceived to be “managing the virus” remains to be seen. And once the country manages to negotiate the terrain between now and the next issue’s Letter, we should have some strong indicators about that.

As for “production that moved out of L.A.,” one wonders to what degree it might all come back?

Especially when thinking of Hollywood in its larger sense. Will Marvel movies still be shot in Atlanta, for example, once everyone’s shoulders have undergone inoculation jabs?

Amy Vincent and Craig Kief, both ASC members, and helping steer the group’s Future Practices Committee, noted on another virtual IBC panel that “the ability to do much of our work remotely has streamlined the way we work in prep, as well as in postproduction. Virtual location scouting, monitoring camera feeds over iPads on set or in in another city, cameras operated from small remote heads, and remote lighting controls will be an essential part of the cinematographer’s toolkit going forward.”

They also agreed that “the pressure to create new content has grown dramatically during the stayat-home orders, as viewers reach the end of their streaming queues. We anticipate content creation to reach new highs in 2021.”

There seems to be little question about that.

Though we’re still not sure where those stories will be created, or how our own collective story will end. n

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti at PPE Kit Assembly with American Red Cross

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 83

SET TO POST / BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON

MAKING THE GRADE

Goldcrest Post...

The Undoing

I

t’s been a busy six months at Goldcrest Post with its colourists being pretty much flat out through the autumn and winter. The facility works exclusively on Blackmagic Resolve for grading which therefore covers all projects listed here.

Jet Omoshebi’s recent work included psychological thriller The Undoing for HBO/Sky Atlantic.

Directed by Susanne Bier and starring Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman, with Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC behind the camera.

Omoshebi also graded Domina for Sky Italia and NBC Universal, directed by David Evans, with several DPs across the series including Denson Baker ACS NZCS, Tim Fleming ISC, Ben Wheeler, Nicola Daley ACS and Tony Slater-Ling BSC. She worked on musical drama Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,

Technicolor’s Jeandirected by Jonathan Butterell for Clément Soret reunited New Regency, photographed by with cinematographer Christopher Ross BSC. She also Jo Willems ASC SBC for graded festive comedy drama Roald Netflix’s His House, the and Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious first feature from writer/ Mouse for Sky One, directed by director Remi Weekes.

David Kerr. The cinematographer Colourist Sam Chynoweth is John Conroy ISC. managed the HDR grade.

Rob Pizzey graded Universal Weekes attended Pictures’ female-led espionage the DI grading sessions thriller The 355. Directed by in London while Simon Kinberg and starring Jessica Willems was remote olor... nic ch Te Chastain and Penélope Cruz, the Soret at Technicolor LA. The Jean-Clément cinematography is by Tim MauriceNetflix thriller finds a Jones BSC. He also finished Zog and refugee couple making a harrowing escape the Flying Doctors for Magic Light from war-torn South Sudan – then struggling to adjust Pictures. This CG film, based on Julia Donaldson’s book to their new life in an English town that has an evil of the same name, aired on BBC One on Christmas Day lurking beneath the surface. and is directed by Sean Mullen.

Soret explains that the night-time and ghosts’

Maria Chamberlain graded Netflix sci-fi series scenes were particularly important to grade precisely The One, lensed by Ruairi O’Brien ISC and British and subtly. “We wanted to create something that comedy feature People Just Do Nothing: Big In Japan for distinctive and dynamic while not falling into the trap Universal Pictures International, directed by Jack Clough of being too stylistic on one hand, or too gritty or flat with DP Matthew Wicks. on the other.”

Adam Glasman graded Operation Mincemeat for

Writer/director Henk Pretorius and See-Saw Films, directed by John Madden and shot by cinematographer Pete Wallington brought horror Sebastian Blenkov; Silent Night, for Maven Screen Media, drama The Unfamiliar to OnSight colourist Andy Lee. starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode, directed The film is produced by Pretorius’ company Dark

by Camille Griffen with photography by Sam Renton; Matter Studios and is about a British Army and Doug Liman’s Lockdown for Storyteller Productions doctor (Jemima West) who returns for DP Remi Adefarasin OBE BSC. Starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lockdown is set Farm Group... against the backdrop of COVID-19 and was filmed The Third Day under strict safety protocols in London.

OnSight... Rogue

84 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

from war, thinking she has PTSD, only to discover that there are malevolent spirits present at home.

“The film is graded to reflect reality with a dark undertone,” Lee says. “The supernatural and dreamlike scenes were given a surreal grade to give it an otherworldly feeling.”

OnSight also provided full picture post on Lionsgate’s action feature Rogue, including online editor Adam Sample, sound supervisor Andy Coles and post producer Jeff Halsey. Writer/director MJ Basset and cinematographer Brendan Barnes also worked with senior colourist Andy Lee on the show which stars Megan Fox as a powerful woman who leads a team of mercenaries in Africa on a mission to rescue a group of kidnapped schoolgirls.

“The grade was about getting the right feel for South Africa,” explains Lee. “The heat and dryness of Africa’s climate should be conveyed throughout. The film begins with a 20-minute action sequence that is fast-paced and intended to be hectic. The story starts in the afternoon and follows through the night into the next day and needs to feel seamless. MJ Basset wanted to make the thriller enhanced and colourful and not fall into the moody look that some action thrillers go for.”

The Third Day, co-produced by Sky and HBO in partnership with Plan B Entertainment and Punchdrunk, was graded by Farm colourist, Aidan Farrell using Digital Vision’s Nucoda. In the first three episodes ‘Summer’ - the style used in the grade is one of a very considered colour palette with very strong contrast, grain structure and tone. In the other three episodes – ‘Winter’ – Farrell embraced a very soft and pastel grading technique using minimal colour tones and washes throughout the mid tones and darker areas of the frame. Each scene is intended to be representative of a hand-tinted photograph but yet still appear very photographically natural.

The series was shot on the Sony Venice and graded in UHD SDR in Aces 1.1 using 16-bit EXR files from the conform followed by an HDR grade pass. Owen Hulme completed the Online and FX using Autodesk Flame and it was post produced by Lauren Andrew.

OnSight...

The Unfamiliar

Digital Orchard colourist Luis Reggiardo

Technicolor...

His House

PENNYWORTH RETURNS

The second season of Epix’ Batman prequel series Pennyworth was taken through DI at Digital Orchard.

Mark Patten BSC shot six episodes of the 10-part show, with Si Bell the remainder. Patten worked with dailies colourist Luis Reggiardo in pre-production to create a number of looks and LUTs.

“I was involved early enough that we could use costume and lighting tests to shape the look and feel of the colour palette we intended to use before we got into principal photography,” says Reggiardo. “Having this time in pre-production gave us the space to explore different aesthetics before locking in. During the prep for season two we further evolved and refined this process. I think this process really is reflected in the beauty that shows up on the final grade.”

Patten explains that the look of the show is “1960s but with a twist”. He says, “For references I looked at street photographers working at the time such as David Granick who shot a lot in Hackney using Agfa and technicolour colour stocks. That was the inception point for me and I could give that to Luis and he could then feed those curves into a colour space.”

DIT Ben Saffer used Pomfort’s Live Grade onset and helped set exposure. He also applied a number of base LUTs then CDLs to tweak the look of each shot.

This information was sent back to Reggiardo in the dailies lab where he could refine the grade in DaVinci Resolve Studio and for Patten to make an input on any creative directions he wanted to push the rushes toward. Onset and in the dailies lab they monitored on Sony A250 OLEDs.

“Utilising a DIT onset and dailies colourist during a production means that a large percentage of the grade was already established before setting foot in a grading suite,” Reggiardo says. “This is a real luxury these days, with the fast pace of everything. It’s great to be able to offer producers the benefit of having an almost finished product before it reaches the final grade. It’s something I’m really keen on.”

Patten agrees, “Episodic TV really embraces this sort of workflow, and that’s where they will save money down the line. It’s about helping production to understand that diagrammatically. Luis came up with a fantastic set of workflow documents that visually demonstrated the process. It’s so important not to get swamped by the tech, and instead to create something akin to a highway map of colour everyone can see clearly.”

Because of complications linked to COVID during production the DP had to go back and finish the show later, but says he was confident that any disruption could be smoothed out by Digital Orchard in the colour pipeline.

“I am really happy that those collective moments could happen, but it only comes from getting the chance to discuss right at the seed point of an idea, and then talking to Luis who can show me different looks,” Patten adds. “That’s why Pennyworth has such a strong feel.”

For Reggiardo the next steps will be to embrace an ACES/HDR workflow from capture to post. He says, “I want to bring all the benefits of shooting HDR to set.”

Reggiardo first worked with Patten several years ago, onset as DIT, live grading and helping set exposure levels. “Over time this has evolved into Luis stepping up to a near set dailies colourist role,” Patten says. “This gave him more control over the colour pipeline and meant he could focus fully on the look of the projects. I think that’s super important when you’re shooting episodic TV. Everything I shoot goes via Luis which means everything has a consistent look before it goes to editorial.

“Going forward I am trying to use the ‘collective’ working idea, so I’ve got another project that I am going on to in early winter next year and we are already talking about joining forces right at the beginning, with all the DPs and the directors collectively working to try and get one show look.”

non-scripted, feature film and drama projects while he continues to service advertising clients.

Halo commercial director, Will Garbutt says, “Our clients recognise the need to push the boundaries of the non-scripted format with cinematic, highly stylised looks and what better way than to bring the very best short-form creatives to the party.”

Mission has hired Francisco ‘Paco’ Ramos to head Mission Madrid. Ramos started his career as a product specialist at SGO, the maker of finishing tool Mistika. He was a Mistika senior colourist and online stereographer at Sky UK where he contributed to the launch of the Sky3D channel. During the past four years, Paco has been freelancing, designing and supervising ACES colour workflows for films like Unfortunate Stories and the Netflix Series Hache.

NEW HIRES

...AND A WIN

Congratulations to Splice Post head of colour Adam Gareth Spensley has joined Company 3 (part of Framestore) from Molinare where he established a Dolniak for the RTS Craft & Design Award for Picture Enhancement for grading BBC Two series Rise of the Nazis. reputation as a versatile colourist across episodic TV and feature films. Spensley has coloured some of the The three-part doc, produced by 72 Films and directed by UK’s biggest name episodic dramas including Doctor Julian Jones, explores how Hitler and the Nazis obtained power in Germany and eradicated democracy. n Who, The Durrells, Killing Eve and Bodyguard.

He has also applied his talents to Wes Anderson’s eagerly anticipated The French Dispatch and previously, Tom Hooper’s Oscar and Baftawinning The King’s Speech and Ken Loach’s Bafta and Palme d’Orcolour winning I, Daniel Blake.

Splice Post head of the RTS n Adam Dolniak wo

Halo has joined forces with for ard Aw Craft & Design senior colourist Duncan Russell to ent Picture Enhancem enhance the facility’s work on high-end

Mission has hired Francisco ‘Paco’ Ramos

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 85

IMAGO NEWS / BY RON JOHANSON OAM ACS, INTERIM CHAIR, IMAGO Jost Vacano; Luciano Tovoli; Wolfgang Treu; Peter Hassenstein; Daniele Nannuzzi; Harvey Harrison; Paul Beeson; Claudio Ragona; Eduardo Serra; Tomas Pladevall; Allessandro D-Eva; Jacques Loiseleux; Giuseppe Pinor; Sergio Salvati; Mario Bertagnin; and Jose Pedro Trenas in Rome in 1992

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES IN 2021 I

MAGO was established in 1992 as a European Cinematographers’ Federation and a platform for international cinematographers to come together to discuss and solve common technical and Ron Johanson OAM ACS, artistic challenges; to Interim Chair, IMAGO exchange experience and knowledge across borders. Today, we are a family of 53 International Cinematographers´ Societies from all corners of the world, with close to 4,500 professional cinematographers united as members of IMAGO: The International Federation of Cinematographers.

Although IMAGO is not a union, we do work to improve the rights to acceptable working conditions for cinematographers and film-workers.

We work with postgraduate education providers; update our members in the technology of our rapidly changing digital world, and work to achieve a focus for protecting cinematographers’ authorship and intellectual property rights.

IMAGO advocates the exchange of information and knowledge with film schools to improve education for cinematography students. We also arrange international master classes, seminars and conferences focusing on technological challenges and the art of cinematography. These are just a few of our aims and activities.

However, IMAGO is so much more than this, and in so many ways it is those things that are not clearly defined, but more of a feeling. I am referring to the Spirit of Imago, which was formed in 1992.

IMAGO was officially founded in Rome on 13th December 1992, inspired and initiated by Luciano Tovoli, who at that time was President of the Italian Society of Cinematographers (AIC). This was a result of agreement, following enthusiastic discussions during two meetings in the AIC headquarters in Cinecittà, Rome, between cinematographers from AIC (Italy) AFC (France), BSC (UK) and BVK (Germany).

The first of the two meetings in which Tovoli illustrated his idea of creating a European Federation of Cinematographers’ Societies took place at the beginning of March 1992 in the presence of the 86 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

same Luciano Tovoli and Pino Pinori for AIC/ Robert Alazraky, Carlo Varini and Armand Marco for AFC/ Harvey Harrison and Paul Beeson for BSC / Jost Vacano and Wolfgang Treu for BVK, coordinated by the AIC General Secretary Claudio Ragona. At this first meeting they decided the creation of the Federation and unanimously defined its goals and motivations.

The same group of cinematographers, with the exception of Robert Alazraki and Carlo Varini and Armand Marco for AFC, restricted in France for shooting films and substituted by Eduardo Serra from Portugal and Jacques Loiseleux and with the addition in the official BVK delegation of Peter Hassenstein and Daniele Nannuzzi for AIC, met again in Rome on the 13th of December 1992 for the second official founding meeting to confirm the creation of a European Federation of Cinematographers’ Societies called IMAGO. Also present as observers were future IMAGO President Tote Trenas from Spain and Thomas Pladevall from the not yet organised AEC, plus a few other AIC members.

After this meeting the formal first registration of IMAGO took place in Paris on 28th May 1994. From there, this gathering developed a plan to create a group uniting European cinematographers, to ensure that the humanity of what we consider as our art form is always preserved; and to address many other important issues impacting our work and our lives.

So here we are at the beginning of 2021.

When the ACS joined, from memory in 2008, there was a feeling that the idea of Nigel Walters BSC - the IMAGO President at the time - for IMAGO to become a global entity was simply that; an idea. The world of the cinematographer, particularly here in the Southern hemisphere, wanted to embrace Europe and this concept, which is almost complete with the arrival of the ASC in 2020. IMAGO provides a level of optimism that gives pause and allows us to reflect on what is best for the greater good.

In 2017, the first IMAGO International Awards for Cinematography were presented during a grand celebration of the art of cinematography in Helsinki, with more than 250 cinematographers and partners present. This was followed in 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia, with another successful event for members, partners, and IMAGO sponsors. The 2020 Awards ceremony - which was due to be held in Brussels - had to be cancelled at the last minute due to COVID-19 and the fact that Brussels was closing down, and our IMAGO

delegates needed to leave. It was a great shame it ended in this fashion as there was much planned and we were left disappointed, with much unresolved.

However, the awards themselves were sent to all the winners after the closure.

IMAGO will continue to actively participate at major events as we have done in the past.

Camerimage and IMAGO, along with the Manaki Brothers Festival in Northern Macedonia and the Oslo Digital Cinema Conference and the ASC hosted Global Cinematography Summit, are valued partners in promoting the importance of the art of cinematography to the world. These are partnerships and collaborations that IMAGO intends strengthening in the years to come, starting with 2021.

The Imago Technical Committee is second to none and is co-chaired by Alex Linden FSF, Philippe Ros AFC, and David Stump ASC. It has 27 full members, two associate members and 23 corporate members.

Co-Chairs, Philippe Ros AFC, Alex Linden FSF, and David Stump ASC have contributed the following:

“Paradoxically, the pandemic has enabled more filmmakers, associate and corporate members to join Imago’s Technical Committee (ITC). Due to the strong impact of COVID-19 on the industry, the ITC decided not to work on the first results of the survey: the “requests to manufacturers” launched two years ago, but on the “list of terms”. The weekly meetings share a diagram called “Photon Path” which brings together all the words that cinematographers, 1st ACs, DITs, and colourists use daily. Finding a common language becomes an urgent task in these times of international co-productions to avoid wasting time and money. Regarding the ITC’s focus on digital texture, the ITC is proud to announce that after having asked Sony to give sharpness controls on the cameras, this autumn, the Japanese company finally provided it on its recording formats.

As soon as it is possible to travel more easily, the ITC will launch tests to show the importance of this parameter. The ITC will have at the end of this year all major camera, optics manufacturers and grading software companies.”

The Authorship Committee, led by Imago member Argyris Theos GSC provided the following: The Imago Authorship Committee is the child of IMAGO’s founder, Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC, who chaired it until summer 2020. The Committee works towards many goals, notably:

IMAGO 2019 Award nominees and winners on stage in Belgrade.

Photo: Srdjan Stevanovic©

l The

international acceptance of the cinematographer as the author of his/her work with any cinematic and/ or audiovisual work. l The cinematographers’ right to exercise all authorship rights, according to art. 27(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.” l Of special interest regarding the cinematographers’ moral rights, is the right to color grade our work.

We find this to comply with Article 6bis (1) of the Berne Convention, that quotes: “Independently of the author’s economic rights, and even after the transfer of the said rights, the author shall have the right to claim authorship of the work and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, the said work, which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation”. l Currently the Committee focuses on collecting authorship data from the member Societies, to focus on our common denominator, allocate best practices and disseminating them to all.

Prof. Kurt Brazda said: “The IMAGO Working Conditions Committee deals with the steadily growing pressure on film workers. In our world, determined

by brutal economics, the struggle for fair pay has become a crucial task for an international professional association like IMAGO. The focus is on the work and life conditions as well as the exploitation, dissemination, and marketing of our artistic work. That is why IMAGO has two committees that also act on an international level.

“12 to 14 hours of working time a day are already a reality in many countries, with the duration of production times being steadily reduced. The result is a sharp and worrying increase in physical and mental illnesses and premature mortality among filmmakers, as a recent Austrian study has found. The shortening of the shooting time and extension of working hours are justified by the industry as necessary to avoid reductions of competitive margins. This is unacceptable, considering the annual turnover of only the European audiovisual market is the incredible sum of more than 90 billion Euros. It is expected to grow to 150 billion by 2023.”

IMAGO believes strongly in protocols for diversity and inclusion. With the guidance of our Committee, under the leadership of Elen Lotman ESC and Nina Kellgren BSC, we have created an environment for discussions at Camerimage and other forums. This year’s fully online Camerimage festival included, among other IMAGO presentations and

“I AM AN IDEALIST WHO FINDS GREAT COMFORT IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS. WE ARE ALL UNIQUE IN OUR OWN WAY, WITH DIVERSE SKILLS AND IDEAS, BUT IMAGO BRINGS US TOGETHER ON A SOUND FOUNDATION UNDER A SOLID ROOF.” RON JOHANSON OAM ACS

Diversity & Inclusion panel discussion at Camerimage 2019

roundtables, our Diversity and Inclusion Committee roundtable, co-organised with Digital Orchard Foundation, focusing on mid-career challenges that underrepresented cinematographers face everywhere.

Our D&I Committee has exciting plans for the 2021 Camerimage festival, hopefully both live and digital, because the hybrid model will provide a greater access to our initiatives to all cinematographers.

I believe that, like so many of our IMAGO members, I am an idealist who finds great comfort in communication and collaboration with others. We are all unique in our own way, with diverse skills and ideas, but IMAGO brings us together on a sound foundation under a solid roof. We encourage and foster respect across genders and to individuals as we are all cinematographers with a thirst for knowledge and human contact. We are inclusive and make every endeavour to see each person’s point of view and understand their hopes of a better time for all.

As it currently stands, I am acting as the Interim Chair of IMAGO. There was a great deal of confusion surrounding the IAGA in Brussels in March 2020, with meetings curtailed due to rapidly escalating COVID-19 and many important agenda items were not discussed.

Kees van Oostrum was elected as the new IMAGO President but some months later he decided to stand down. I was asked by the current Board of IMAGO to steer the ship during a very challenging time. I requested to be appointed as Interim Chair.

Our IMAGO sponsors are hugely important to us and to our continued growth. We will be undertaking to provide our sponsors with a more positive approach, and we will always encourage our sponsors to collaborate and become more active partners with us. Without our sponsors, we would not have the capacity to provide our members with their current benefits. Also, don’t think for one second that IMAGO will stop involving our members, sponsors and supporters during this “interim period”.

Quite the opposite as we plan to be part of Camerimage 21, Manaki 21, Oslo Digital Cinema Conference, LA Cine Gear Expo, Le Giornate della Luce / The days of Light Festival and potentially BSC EXPO, along with other domestic events among our member countries.

Our IMAGO Technical Committee continue to raise the bar and they and the IMAGO Board are in discussions with Camerimage about the new European Film Centre in Torun. The current Board have asked Oli Parry to become our dedicated IMAGO sponsorship manager to increase the awareness of our sponsors and their importance to us. We have commenced work in revising the IMAGO Statutes and the very important Statutes Committee have had their first meeting, but have a long way to go to complete this important work.

I cannot emphasise strongly enough that all members will be updated and more importantly fully included as the process continues.

My stewardship role of IMAGO is a great honour, particularly to carry on the work of previous Presidents and to offer alternatives is very rewarding. The Board are working towards emphasising the ideals and the future direction for IMAGO and are fully committed to listening to the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of our enthusiastic member countries along with our IMAGO sponsors to guide our future strategy, while striving to be an advocacy to our industry and its practitioners, and to reignite the true Spirit of Imago.

My thanks to Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC, Elen Lotman ESC, Paul Rene Roestad DFF for their contribution to this article. n British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 87

GBCT / NEWS FROM THE GUILD / BY TIM POTTER - CHAIR - GBCT

LOOKING AHEAD

When the Brexit vote came to pass and the world did not fall off a cliff edge, the victors gloated over their vindication. Their hubris was the false assertion that the cliff edge would be an immediate plunge into oblivion. The descent was only ever going to start once the full effect of the leaving arrangements became a reality.

W

ell, now that we have finally arrived at the beginning of the slope, that brave new world is not looking so great. It will be hard to differentiate the economic effect of leaving the EU from the much greater devastation of the pandemic, but effect there will be. Now that we finally have the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement aka “the deal”, we can finally try to work out how bad things are likely to get. More importantly, how will it affect our ability to work in our chosen industry?

Our gloating Brexiteers promised that the entertainment and creative industries would benefit from favoured status in “the deal”.

The complete absence of any such favours bellows the length of Europe that we are irrelevant to these Philistines.

If you are planning to ply your trade anywhere within the EU/EEA/Switzerland block you will need to get a local work visa. As each country within this block has different requirements and procedures for their immigration systems, you will need one visa for each country. Some of these countries may also need a sponsor for their work visas.

Furthermore, the treatment of the self-employed is highly inconsistent across Europe.

Countries make it appear that they are welcoming to incoming business. In reality, what they let you do

on a business visa is quite restricted. A business visa does not normally include the provision of services.

The deal does include provisions for a list of some “contractual service providers” and “independent professionals”, but the entertainment and creative sectors are conspicuous by their absence from that list.

film and TV activities will not be inhibited. The deal is opaque about the paperwork that will be needed to make this lack of inhibition a reality. Dust off your memories of how to do a Carnet de Passage. You will need it. Even within Schengen you will need to get several stamps at every border crossing.

This will hinder efforts to get international production back off the ground, but it won’t hinder domestic production which has been acting like it is an essential industry for the past few months. We are yet to see if this uplift will survive during the new hard lockdown, but production will eventually return. As the back catalogues have nearly been plundered to exhaustion, the pent-up demand for new production promises the potential for a bumper year of work, eventually. We are already hearing the ‘producer’s lament’ that there is a shortage of crews.

What is actually meant is there TIM POTTER - GBCT CHAIR is a shortage of people willing to work at the low rates that they are Even when service providers are permitted to work, offering. There are enough good technicians out there. they are covered by a multitude of conditions and All they need is fair compensation for their incredible restrictions that differ from one administration to the skills, expertise and knowledge. next. Moreover, do not be fooled by the inclusion of

Here’s to the resumption of a busy industry and advertising as this only refers to market research and a prosperous new year, soon-ish. opinion polling, not commercials production.

The deal does contain platitudes about the (With thanks to Tony Lennon, BECTU Research Office, for easy movement of goods including a clear agreement his words and speedy analysis of the UK-EU Trade and that the temporary movement of equipment for Cooperation Agreement). n

“OUR GLOATING BREXITEERS PROMISED THAT THE ENTERTAINMENT AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES WOULD BENEFIT FROM FAVOURED STATUS IN “THE DEAL”.

THE COMPLETE ABSENCE OF ANY SUCH FAVOURS BELLOWS THE LENGTH OF EUROPE THAT WE ARE IRRELEVANT TO THESE PHILISTINES.”

88 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

2020 AND ALL THAT

The bongs of the famous Westminster bell have now fallen silent after midnight, and the year 2020 has finally been put to rest. Perhaps one the strangest and most frustrating years the world has experienced outside of wartime, yet 2020 has left many casualties along the way.

M

ost of us either know someone or have a relative who has been affected in some way since the pandemic started, either by catching the virus and surviving, or others who weren’t so fortunate. We have sadly lost many good people in 2020.

As I write, the UK lockdown has just been extended further into 2021, and we are again in a position of uncertainty. The way we deal with this individually and collectively will be crucial going forward. The film business is potentially in a period of huge change in many areas due to this unexpected and unwanted huge disruption to everyone’s lives.

It has been a real game changer for many people, for both good and bad. I have previously touched on the issues surrounding film production and in particular cinemas’ survival and home viewers streaming content. Many businesses have been badly hit and many have been forced to close their doors for good as the costs of keeping them closed with no revenue have been unsustainable.

This was perhaps a wake-up call for some who were relying on a stream of income that could be taken away very quickly and with little warning. The film business is a fickle and unpredictable one for most, and even those at the very top of the pecking order have had the same challenges to overcome in 2020.

However, we are a robust and adaptable bunch of highly skilled people, and this should not be the finale.

It could well be the start of great things to come.

Movie screenplays have been adapted for actors’ “social distancing” reasons, and other productions have found many innovative ways of being safe at the same time as being creative and entertaining. Actors speaking to each other with a great distance between them, and plots developing with distancing in mind will no doubt feature heavily as a genre this year. Some crews have been tested and kept within a “bubble” and kept from family members during the production. This only works for a short time, however, as we are humans and people need the connection with their families.

This doesn’t really help the people behind the camera as we often need to be in very close proximity to each other for very long periods of time during the working day. A new cast or crew member could bring in the virus and wipe out the production, and could kill actors and crew, so it is no wonder that some highprofile cases have been recorded berating the crew and cast of a huge production. It could literally kill the film

for months, if not terminally. It’s understandable that emotions get shown with such big stakes involved.

The biggest potential issue is with cinemas. The projection of moving images of light on a screen combined with a synchronous soundtrack of dialogue and music have been the mainstay of cinema for over 100 years. Films were hauled noisily through a beautifully designed intermittent projector mechanism and presented to a focussed light source then projected through a lens. In days gone by the smoke from cigarettes and cigars hung in the air and would be illuminated by the projector’s light, creating beams of coloured moving lights dancing above the viewers’ heads. The projected picture, no matter how good a projector, always had a slight weave and movement to it that mimicked the movement of how our eyes scan images in real life. It was somehow alive.

The reels of film were spilt into shorter sections for projection, so twin projectors were necessary to switch at the end of each reel. The cinema projectionist had to synchronise the reel changes, so they were as invisible to an audience as possible, although most people did unconsciously notice the corner cue dot, along with the change of screen image due to dust and handling of the ends of the reel. The change in sound levels and focus of the picture were also a giveaway as the next projector took over the task of providing the next session of the film.

The projectionist could make a difference to the presentation through careful tweaking of their available projector tools. It was an organic experience.

Thankfully, the cigarette smoke has now disappeared in cinemas. Projectors have mostly become digital machines capable of efficiently projecting the whole film with no reel changes. It has now become clinical and efficient.

Yet it is not that different to a digital image shown on a large TV screen at home. The experience is different, of course. At home we don’t need to drive to the cinema, pick up the tickets that cost between £10£15 each before food, then queue to buy food we wouldn’t normally eat, sit next to strangers, then watch endless adverts before the main film starts, just after the tall latecomer sits right in front of you endlessly chomping on popcorn.

At home we can pick a film to watch, when we want, have one monthly cost with no adverts and we can eat what we want. Okay, we have the cost of a 4K UHD TV, yet they are relatively inexpensive compared to a few years ago, and it is a one-time investment. Add to this mix your audience who have to self-isolate or lockdown, or want to binge watch a series, and you have a ready-made audience who are keen to spend money with you.

However, it can become the norm, not a special event to be cherished. I remember seeing Jaws and Star Wars at the cinema when they were first released, and it was a special occasion. I saw the original Bladerunner when it was first released and was blown away (apart from the ending that looked like a different film. It was, as it later turned out!) >>

British Cinematographer | January 2021 | 89

GBCT / NEWS FROM THE GUILD / BY JOHN KEEDWELL GBCT / UAV PILOT

“NETFLIX IS NOW FUNDING PRODUCTIONS IN THE US, ALSO CRUCIALLY IN THE UK, WITH $17 BILLION OF FUNDING GOING TO TV SHOWS AND FILMS IN 2020. THE COMPANY DID A DEAL TO TAKE OVER ALL THE SHEPPERTON STUDIOS FOR 10 YEARS, AND PINEWOOD HAS A SIMILAR DEAL WITH DISNEY.”

Now Netflix is challenging the cinema business

The cinema vs streaming issue could be compared like Amazon did to the high street. Netflix is now to the Blockbuster vs Netflix battle in the early 2000’s, funding productions in the US, also crucially in the UK, where Blockbuster originally had the market share of the with $17 billion of funding going to TV shows and films rental market, with 60,000 employees, 9,000 locations in 2020. The company did a deal to take over all the and a valuation of over $5 billion! Where Blockbuster Shepperton Studios for 10 years, and Pinewood has a went wrong is one of the classic business stories and is similar deal with Disney, moving from cinema releases taught in business schools. The biggest mistake was they and pay TV to streaming with the launch of Disney+ got complacent and thought they were too big to fail. streaming service, with content only available there.

They stopped innovating and became comfortable. They

This is all good news for UK film crews in theory, were severely punished for that mistake. I think if with about a third of the productions for Netflix made cinemas don’t innovate and change what they do it could in Europe being made in the UK. Recent productions be another similar story. include The Crown, and there are currently 6,394 films

The costs of producing a film are huge, of course, and TV series available across many genres. However, and this all needs to be recouped by the projection in all the time there is a lack of productions being made, cinemas or sales in other ways. The price of entry the less chance there is of on-set training for future reflects the cost of running the cinema, staffing and productions when they eventually start shooting. A energy costs, and the investment in technology. Having trainee needs several different productions to learn, them all sitting idle does not make money. and there are not the opportunities right now.

There were approximately 775 cinemas in the UK

Shooting for a TV-based end user can be a in 2018, and they have been growing consistently over different experience to shooting for cinemas. The the past 20 years or more. There were roughly 100 framing, clarity of dialogue and storyline need to more cinemas in the UK in 2018 than there were 15 capture the viewer from the outset, as there are many years before. These have all had huge investment in more distractions from a home viewing situation. sound and vision technology. Yet now they are all Unless you have a specially made cinema room in your closed. In a normal year there would be hugely house there will be an ambient light on, and a limited expensive blockbuster films to pack out cinemas, yet in optimum viewing angle. A film made for TV (even if it is a pandemic there have been no customers, so no viewed on a huge 4K UHD television) is still not going revenue. However, there are still huge overheads to to fully fill your attention. Operating and the framing keep paying for. need to be adjusted accordingly.

Of course, with no outlets in cinemas to watch films, the natural progression is distribution to the home, and streaming the content at high Netflix origina l quality does not need the property expenses or The Crown (Se series ason 4) anywhere near the operating costs of cinemas.

ies Disney+ original ser The Mandalorian

90 | British Cinematographer | January 2021

If you have even seen a film specifically shot for IMAX cinema you will understand the framing is extremely different to a film in a normal cinema.

The pandemic could have changed cinema forever and I am not sure if it is a good thing. Cinema should be a glorious experience to move the audience in some way. It can shock and scare us, make us happy, sad and cry as we leave. That is the mark of a great film. The lights go down, and we are in almost total darkness with a pounding soundtrack much better than most home televisions. Watching a film at home may not give that complete release and immersion in the story, as the sound levels needed mean the neighbours can complain!

In addition, the BAFTA and Academy Awards ceremonies may look a bit different this year. Due to the difficulties and chaos caused by the pandemic they may well bring up some different results this year.

There have also been court dramas about democracy and politics which mimic the events happening in the US in 2020 and continuing into 2021. There have been films made in 2019 without COVID-19 restrictions on shooting that were released in 2020, so the full effect may be seen at next year’s awards, yet the look of the films I have seen for the BAFTA Awards list have all been vastly different in their feel. Even watching most of the year’s contenders on a computer screen is not an optimal viewing experience, as there are less DVD screeners this year.

As filmmaking professionals, we need an audience to see the films and to make a profit so other films can be funded. Cinemas could evolve more and become places to talk with like-minded people about the film you have just watched and discuss over a wine when it is allowed.

Most multiplexes usher the audience out afterwards, with no provision for a wine or a civilised discussion.

Smaller independent cinemas such as the Rex in Berkhamsted thrive on this interactivity and community of passionate filmgoers.

A place to meet and talk about the film the audience just watched. If only every cinema was like this, maybe there would be a new beginning in cinema. n

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