British Cinematographer - Issue 85

www.britishcinematographer.co.uk

Issue 85 -- January 2018

THE

t s e t a

e r N G WMA O

C S A SC B Y E V R A G C M S U M SEA

H S

BARRY ACKROYD BSC | BEN DAVIS BSC | BEN SMITHARD BSC | ROB HARDY BSC | ULA PONTIKOS BSC | MIKE ELEY BSC

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CREDITS / BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER / ISSUE 85 / JANUARY 2018

BRITISH

CINEMATOGRAPHER

UNI T ING C INE M AT O GR A P HE R S A R O UND T HE W OR L D

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH t. +44 (0) 1753 650101 Publisher and Managing Editor | ALAN LOWNE | +44 (0) 1753 650101 | alafilmuk@aol.com Publisher and Digital Editor | STUART WALTERS | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | stuart.walters@ob-mc.co.uk Editor | RON PRINCE | ronny@princepr.com Head of Sales | ALAN LOWNE | +44 (0) 1753 650101 | alafilmuk@aol.com Sales | STUART WALTERS | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | stuart.walters@ob-mc.co.uk Sales | TRACY FINNERTY | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | tracy.finnerty@ob-mc.co.uk Design | MARK LAMSDALE | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | mark.lamsdale@ob-mc.co.uk | www.ob-mc.co.uk Subscriptions | MATT HOOD | +44 (0) 121 200 7820 | matt.hood@ob-mc.co.uk | www.ob-mc.co.uk

CONTRIBUTORS RON PRINCE has many years of experience in the film, TV, CGI and visual effects industries. He is the editor of British Cinematographer Magazine and runs the international content marketing and PR communications company Prince PR (www.princepr.com). In 2014 he won the prestigious ARRI John Alcott Award from the British Society of Cinematographers for services to cinematography.

DAVID A. ELLIS has written for a number of publications, including Cinema Technology and Film International. He is also the author of the books Conversations With Cinematographers and In Conversation With Cinematographers.

DAVID WOOD is a freelance journalist who writes about film and TV technology and production. He is a former technology editor for Televisual Magazine, and writes for Worldscreen, TVB Europe and Broadcast Magazine.

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.

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.

MICHAEL BURNS has been covering film, broadcast, VFX, animation and interactive design, in print and online, for 20 years. His work can regularly be found in such magazines as IBC Daily, Digital Arts, TVBEurope, Broadcast Tech, and more. He also works as a producer and advisor for conferences and digital agencies.

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.

VALENTINA I. VALENTINI focuses on the art and craft of cinematography, and all that includes, as a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. She has contributed to ICG Magazine, Camera Angles, HDVideoPro, and is the West Coast Correspondent to IndieFilm3D.com and DigitalCinemaReport.com.

British Cinematographer is part of LAWS Publishing.

Laws Publishing Ltd, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH t. +44 (0) 1753 650101 | f. +44 (0) 1753 650111 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.

SUBSCRIBE When you subscribe you will receive an unrivalled insight into international cinematography and production. Published six times a year, you can receive the magazine posted to your home or office.

You can now also access British Cinematographer anywhere you have an internet connection with our digital subscription. To subscribe please visit www.britishcinematographer.co.uk/subscribe For queries please contact Matt Hood on +44 (0) 121 200 7820 or email: matt.hood@ob-mc.co.uk

EDITOR’S LETTER

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

S

o there we were, enjoying the Camerimage Festival before all travelling safely back home to the four corners of the Earth. Little did we know of the tragedy that had befallen one of the cinematographic family in a far-off place.

The film industry lost one of its best last November with the devastating news that camera operator and cinematographer, Mark Milsome GBCT ACO, had been killed during the shoot of a stunt sequence on Drama Republic’s production of The Forgiving Earth for the BBC/Netflix. It should never have happened.

There was an immediate outpouring of grief and anger from across the globe at this needless tragedy, and a large number of clapperboards – including those of Sir Ridley Scott and DP Darius Wolski, Stephen Frears and DP Danny Cohen BSC, David MacKenzie and Barry Ackroyd BSC, as well as Douglas Mackinnon and Gavin Finney BSC – marked respect for their talented friend and colleague.

Mark had grown up around the film industry, his father being the renowned cinematographer Doug Milsome BSC. Mark loved everything about the business, and his knowledge and intuitive eye meant he was always destined for a life in film, although he wasn’t one to use the nepotistic route. Quite the contrary, he attended the Newport Film School, joined Jobfit (now Skillset) for its two year training scheme, and embarked on the long but rewarding path of trainee, clapper/loader and focus puller, before finding acclaim as one of the best camera operators around.

He worked on an array of features and TV dramas including: The Theory Of Everything, Doctor Strange, Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Poldark, Game Of Thrones, Quantum Of Solace, The Durrells and Safe House, amongst many others.

Mark took up the challenge of director of photography only recently, shooting the noir series Bang. This work had already received high praise and Mark was looking forward to a new year and new career heights.

Although I never had the pleasure of Mark’s acquaintance, those who knew him report one of the niceness and kindest of people you could ever wish to meet, with an incredible natural talent, wrapped up by infectious warmth and humour.

Coming after the fellowship and camaraderie of Camerimage, his loss is all the more painful for us all, and answers are needed as to how this disaster occurred.

We send our thoughts and sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues, and dedicate this edition to them and to the memory of Mark Milsome.

RON PRINCE Editor | British Cinematographer Magazine British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 03

SHOT ON FILM 76 A CIAMBRA A QUIET PLACE AD ASTRA AFTER THE STORM AFTERNOON CLOUDS ALBUM AMERICAN HONEY ANTHROPOID AUTOQUARTZ AVA BABY DRIVER BARBARA BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE BATTLE OF THE SEXES BEACH RATS BIRDER BOY ERASED BURY THE CAT CABARET MAXIME CALL ME BY YOUR NAME CERTAIN WOMEN CLOVERFIELD CRASHING CRAZYHEAD DOC MARTIN DOCTOR STRANGE DUNKIRK ELLSTON BAY FANNY LYE DELIVER’D FENCES FRANTZ GIFTED GOLD GOLDEN EXITS GOOD TIME HAIL, CAESAR! HAND OF GOD HHHH (THE MAN WITH THE IRON HEART) HIDDEN FIGURES HOSTILES HUNTER GATHERER I TEMPI FELICI VERRANNO PRESTO (HAPPY TIMES WILL COME SOON) I, DANIEL BLAKE I, TONYA IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE

INNER CITY JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK JACKIE JANE GOT A GUN JASON BOURNE JUPITER’S MOON JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDE (IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD) JUSTICE LEAGUE: PART 1 KATTO KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES KNIGHT OF CUPS KODACHROME L’AVENIR (THINGS TO COME) L’HÉRÉTIQUE LA LA LAND LA VITA POSSIBILE LABYRINTH LE REDOUBTABLE LIKE LAMBS LIRA’S FOREST LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY, AND A CASTLE LOVE AFTER LOVE LOVING M:I 6 – MISSION IMPOSSIBLE MAPPLETHORPE MARY MAUDITE POUTINE MESSAGE FROM THE KING MID 90’S MIDNIGHT SPECIAL MIMOSAS MOTHER! MR. ROOSEVELT MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL NO POSTAGE NECESSARY NOCTURNAL ANIMALS ON CHESIL BEACH OUTLAWS AND ANGELS PERSON TO PERSON PERSONAL SHOPPER PHANTOM THREAD PORTO READY PLAYER ONE SCARRED HEARTS SCREAM QUEENS

SILENCE SNAKEHEAD STAR WARS VIII: THE LAST JEDI SUICIDE SQUAD TATARA SAMURAI TENNESSEE GOTHIC THE ACCOUNTANT THE BEGUILED THE BELL JAR THE BOOK OF HENRY THE CHILDHOOD OF A LEADER THE FAVOURITE THE FLORIDA PROJECT THE FURY OF A PATIENT MAN THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN THE GRASSHOPPER THE HAND OF THE CREATOR THE HAPPIEST DAY IN THE LIFE OF OLLI MAKI THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER THE LAND OF THE ENLIGHTENED THE LAST LAUGH THE LOST CITY OF Z THE LOVE WITCH THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN THE MERCY THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES THE MIDDLE THE MUMMY THE NOONDAY WITCH THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK THE POST THE WALKING DEAD THE WALL TRESPASS AGAINST US VICEROY’S HOUSE VOYAGE OF TIME: LIFE’S JOURNEY WENDY WESTWORLD WHO’S WHO IN MYCOLOGY WIDOWS WONDER WOMAN WONDERSTRUCK WREN BOYS

REAL FILM MAKES A DIFFERENCE All featured productions were made with KODAK Motion Picture Film stock and were released, shot or in production between January 2016 and December 2017.

See more at www.kodak.com/go/shotonfilm © 2017 KODAK & THE KODAK LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF KODAK

#SHOOTFILM

CONTENTS / BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER / ISSUE 85 / JANUARY 2018

IN THIS ISSUE...

07

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE Mike Eley BSC reflects on the needs for safety on-set

08

PRODUCTION/POST & TECHNO NEWS

58

70

On the cover...

Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC on The Greatest Showman

Close-Up...

Ben Smithard BSC on The Man Who Invented Christmas

The latest news concerning DPs

36

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO?

Your definitive guide to which DPs are shooting who and where

46

NEW WAVE

Like a ninja... meet Kit Fraser!

49

BSC EXPO 2018 PREVIEW

Preview of the latest kit and widgets on show at the 2018 BSC Expo

58

CAMERA CREATIVE

Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC puts on the razzle-dazzle for The Greatest Showman directed by Michael Gracey

64

ON THE JOB

Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC takes a visceral journey on Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father

76

84

Close-Up...

Ben Davis BSC on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Gaffers ‘R’ Us...

David Smith

68

74

Barry Ackroyd BSC on Detroit

Ula Pontikos BSC on Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool

CLOSE-UP

70

CLOSE-UP

Ben Smithard BSC on The Man Who Invented Christmas

72

CLOSE-UP

Rob Hardy BSC on Annihilation

od .. Anthony D On The Job. BSC ASC on FF D tle an M er lled My Fath First They Ki

64

86

CLOSE-UP

LIVE & LET DI

76

88

Ben Davis BSC on Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

A towering figure of...

Sir Sydney Samuelson CBE

CLOSE-UP

78

CAMERIMAGE 2017 DIARY

One man’s journey through several days of cinematographic mirth and mayhem

84

GAFFERS ‘R’ US

David Smith... being there – first thing in the morning and at the end of a long day – is the most important thing for a gaffer

Discover who’s been dialling-in the most recent DI grades

CLAPPERBOARD

90

IMAGO NEWS

Paul René Roestad FNF, IMAGO president, rounds up the end of the federation’s silver anniversary year, and gives a sneek peek at events on the 2018 calendar

92

GBCT NEWS

GBCT chair Tim Potter on the need to put the safety of production teams at a premium, plus the scourge of drones and their unqualified pilots

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 05

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE / MIKE ELEY BSC / BSC PRESIDENT

“AT EVERY STEP, EVERY CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO THE WELFARE AND SAFETY OF ALL CREW MEMBERS.”

RISKY BUSINESS BRITISH SOCIETY

OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS Board of Governors 2018

PRESIDENT: Mike Eley BSC IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Barry Ackroyd BSC VICE PRESIDENTS: Rob Hardy BSC Nigel Walters BSC Haris Zambarloukos BSC GOVERNORS: John de Borman BSC Lol Crawley BSC Oliver Curtis BSC John Daly BSC Gavin Finney BSC James Friend BSC David Higgs BSC Nina Kellgren BSC Nic Knowland BSC Phil Meheux BSC Nic Morris BSC Tim Palmer BSC Chris Ross BSC Oliver Stapleton BSC Angus Hudson 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

Everyone was devastated when they heard the news of camera operator Mark Milsome’s death, a tragedy that occurred while he was filming on the set of the BBC/Netflix production The Forgiving Earth.

O

ur thoughts went out immediately to Mark’s family, out of deepest sympathy and also because we’ve all been on a set at one point or another, filming risk, framing danger, but always knowing that it is not real, a fiction, and that we will go home at the end of the day. Sadly, that wasn’t to be for Mark.

Let me say from the outset that, at the time of writing, what exactly happened on the set of The Forgiving Earth remains unknown to all except those immediately involved. An inquiry is underway. But yet again, a colleague’s death on-set – memories of Sarah Jones in the US have not dimmed – raises questions of production values (and I don’t mean money up on screen). What attitudes might there still be swirling around that inadvertently put crew members at risk?

In a business that provides thrills, adventure and closeshaves for the entertainment of millions, we know that risk is often an element of our working day. Despite the omnipotence of VFX, more often than not, a camera – and therefore a camera operator – has to be in place to make that shot work.

Yes, a remote camera can be used to capture the moment, but a shot will – and here the irony stings – ‘live’ longer when operated.

Today we work in an industry that is burgeoning. More television films and programmes are being made than ever before. Ever more content is demanded to fill the schedules of broadening and emerging channels. This is good and makes the UK film and television industry one of the busiest and most enviable across the world.

However, with this enviable position comes responsibility, on everyone’s part, to ensure the safety of crew members and cast working on set. And I’m not just talking about the obvious stuntrelated dangers. From the moment a schedule is first drawn up during prep, to the moment when the first AD shouts “Action!”, at every step, every consideration should be given to the welfare and safety of those people who will deliver the images and sound that will reap critical acclaim for the director, awards for the producers and viewing figures for the studio.

The length of a working day and the working week, turnaround times, travel, and accommodation, all have knock-on effects that will, come the moment for “Action!”, affect a crew

member’s ability to perform their job to the very best of their ability. So when we consider the split-second timing that most stunts require, it doesn’t take a massive leap of the imagination to see that a tired crew blurs the line between safety and an accident waiting to happen.

As television grows in its ambition, with accompanying labyrinthine financing structures, completion bonds are becoming more common for small screen productions, which is perhaps not a bad thing. The scrutiny such oversight brings can be the difference between a schedule designed to fail (‘You want to burn the church down on a night shoot, and then travel the crew two hundred miles the next day for the street-riot scene!?”), and a production run in-tune to the real world that doesn’t consider the crew as some inexhaustible commodity. Commission-winning endeavour can be applauded, until the price paid are false economies that risk life and limb.

The BSC trusts the inquiry into Mark’s death has proper scrutiny, transparency and incisiveness. That it establishes not only the how and why, but also what can be learnt so future risk is minimised to the absolute. Apportioning blame is not the goal – one can barely imagine the after effects felt by those who were on-set with Mark. Rather, it’s about shining a light on the technical and logistical details of what went wrong as well as the work and production culture behind decisions made (or not made).

The decision to put oneself in harm’s way is not taken lightly.

And professionals know the difference between calculated risk and stupidity. We just want to go to work knowing that everyone involved is making the same calculations.

This is a difficult subject for anyone who communes with a viewfinder. The famous Robert Capa quote, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough”, can wheedle itself into the brain of any photographer in pursuit of the decisive moment or angle. I know that myself from my time shooting docs in war-zones.

But it romanticises the lone-wolf, the derring-do of the khaki-clad, Leica-wielding battalion stowaway.

Well, here’s another quote, from photographer Dorothea Lange: “A camera is a tool for learning how to see without a camera.” Beyond the confines of the viewfinder, there is the bigger picture. n British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 07

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

CREATIVE SKILLSET TO DELIVER BFI'S FUTURE FILM SKILLS PROGRAMME

T

he BFI recently announced that the UK’s industry skills body, Creative Skillset, will deliver the majority of the BFI’s Future Film Skills Programme, a key strategic priority of BFI2022, the five-year plan for UK film.

The award endorses Creative Skillset’s recent shift to concentrate entirely on skills across the UK’s screenbased creative industries. As part of this re-focus, Creative Skillset has new industry leadership including a newlyappointed chair, Richard Johnston, who is also CEO of Endemol Shine in the UK and a council member of PACT.

The decision to award £19 million of National Lottery funding to Creative Skillset followed a competitive tender process, overseen by a panel of industry leaders, chaired by Barbara Broccoli. The panel was unanimous in its decision to appoint Creative Skillset and was impressed by its clear commitment to deliver a high-quality, strategic new skills framework and a ladder of opportunity for all individuals to easily enter the UK’s booming screen industries.

Creative Industries Minister Matt Hancock said: “Our creative industries are one of the UK’s fastest growing sectors, worth £92 billion to the economy every year, and we are determined to make sure this fantastic success continues.”

Barbara Broccoli, producer, Eon Productions and chair of the UK Film Skills Task Force said: “This plan represents a huge opportunity to help create a workforce that reflects our diverse society, and increase

the number of people working in film to meet the needs of our thriving production industry. I’m confident that Creative Skillset with the support of industry, education and government, will be the most effective way of delivering this ambitious plan.”

The Future Film Skills Programme was launched by the BFI and the Film Sector Task Force in June 2017 at the House of Commons. It identified the need for 10,000 more people working in film, and to provide training for an estimated 30,000 jobs over the next five years. At the heart of the strategy is an industry-led commitment to ensure the workforce is representative and inclusive, with a proactive approach to ensure that opportunities exist for everyone.

The UK film industry contributes around £4.6 billion to the economy annually and is the UK’s fastest growing sector, currently employing 66,000 people.

The UK is home to some of the world’s leading film production houses and facilities, with a global reputation for creativity, innovation and technical and craft excellence. VFX and animation in particular have seen a rapid growth in the workforce and over 70% of the total workforce are employed in film and video production.

Key to the successful delivery of the programme will be effective partnerships and Creative Skillset is

MANAGEMENT BUYOUT AT CVP

C

VP, supplier of professional camera, broadcast and production equipment, has announced a re-structuring of its company ownership, following a management buyout to secure ownership of the organisation. Directors Mark Forth, Jon Fry, Mansukh Kerai, Darren Simpson and Yevgeny Subbotin have assumed control of the company.

MD Mark Forth commented, “Our aim is to continue to extend and improve the benefits we offer customers; to increase our product ranges and deliver even greater levels of sales support. We have some exciting strategic growth plans in place for the coming years and we are all looking forward to sharing our future with customers both new and existing.”

The CVP Sales Team will be on-hand at the BSC Expo (Booth #315) to introduce its product range, which encompasses the latest technology from the world’s leading equipment manufacturers.

IMAGO HONOURS BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

I

MAGO, the European Federation of Cinematographers, recently hosted the first IMAGO International Awards For Cinematography to recognise and praise the art of cinematography, in co-operation with IMAGO's 49 member countries and many partners and sponsors, presented by ARRI.

Alan Lowne, our publisher and managing editor, was a guest at the event in Helsinki, and was very proud to receive the Sponsorship Award in celebrating Outstanding Support Of The Federation during its 25 years on behalf of British Cinematographer Magazine.

Stuart Walters, publisher and digital editor, was delighted that the award recognised the increasing reputation and awareness the magazine has internationally.

08 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Barbara Broccoli

committed to co-ordinating a unified approach and working with organisations that bring complementary skills and expertise such as the NFTS, Into Film, BAFTA, the British Film Commission, BECTU, the major broadcasters, trade guilds and industry bodies such as the Film Distributors’ Association and the Independent Cinema Office. Creative Skillset will create a network of partnerships through the nations and regions via bodies such as Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPS) and national screen organisations.

Multi-award winning producer Iain Smith OBE, Chair of the British Film Commission and Chair of Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Council said: “Major studios base their productions in the UK because they value the high skills capability of the British industry and the training and education of our workers. The BFI’s skills audit demonstrates how now, more than ever, our industry needs a strong, independent body to lead the drive for skills.”

DEAKINS AND DAVIS NOMINATED FOR 2018 BAFTA CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS Two British cinematographers are listed amongst the nominees for the 2018 BAFTA Best Cinematography Roger Deakins Award. Roger Ben Davis BSC CBE BSC ASC Deakins CBE BSC ASC is tipped for Blade Runner 2049, whilst Ben Davis BSC is listed for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

The pair face competition from Bruno Delbonnel AFC ASC for Darkest Hour, Hoyte van Hoytema FSF NSC ASC for Dunkirk and Dan Laustsen DFF ASC for The Shape Of Water.

Deakins is also a nominee at the 2018 ASC Awards For Outstanding Achievement for Blade Runner 2049, along with Delbonnel for Darkest Hour, van Hoytema for Dunkirk, Laustsen for The Shape Of Water and Rachel Morrison ASC for Mudbound. ASC winners will be announced on February 17, with the BAFTAs on February 18. Nominees in the Oscar race will be announced to the public on January 23, and the Oscars award show will take place on March 4.

CAMERIMAGE 2017 WINNERS The 2017 Camerimage Golden Frog was won by Hungarian cinematographer Máté Herbai for On Body And Soul, directed by Ildikó Enyedi. Russian cinematographer Mikhail Krichman was awarded the Silver Frog for his work on Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Loveless, and British cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC took home the Bronze Frog for First They Killed My Father, directed by Angelina Jolie. Other British interest at the festival included the Camerimage Audience Award for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which was shot

by Ben Davis BSC for director Martin McDonagh.

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

CHROMA-Q COLOR FORCE II DELIVERS SUBTLE PASTELS FOR CUE ONE G alway-based stage lighting equipment supplier, Cue One Ireland, has invested in Chroma-Q Color Force II luminaires to help service its theatrical and corporate events clients.

Cue One Ireland wanted to replace its existing battens and dimmable fluorescents stock with a versatile, all-in-one fixture that accurately delivered subtle pastels for lighting sets and backdrops in clients' corporate colours at events, as well as providing punchy, bold colours for lighting cycloramas during theatrical shows.

After looking at various colour-mixing battens on the market, Cue One Ireland's MD, Kieran Cooney, placed an order for eight Color Force II 48 battens.

"We chose the Color Force II for the quality of light and colours produced, particularly its ability to achieve difficult pastels. The end results stood out against a number of other cycs and battens that we looked at,” said Cooney. “The Color Force II fixtures have reduced the stress and anxiety in achieving the lighting results our clients desire. Many designers are complementing the wide range of colours that can be achieved with the fixture, as most other battens on the market are very "rock 'n' roll" with their colour palette.”

SOC ANNOUNCES 2017 TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT RECIPIENT

CHEMICAL WEDDING RELEASE HELIOS PRO FOR IOS Chemical Wedding, creator of Artemis director’s viewfinder software, has launched Helios Pro on the Apple App Store. Helios Pro provides cinematographers, filmmakers, photographers, architects and urban planners with an Augmented Reality (AR) tool to predict and visualise the position of the sun, moon and stars in actual locations. The software is priced at US$30.

“Helios Pro allows users to virtually step into the location they are planning to work in.

There, they can observe the light interacting with the landscape, buildings and other objects from any angle or position they like,” said Toby Evetts, partner at Chemical Wedding.

Utilising Apple’s powerful new ARKit, Helios Pro creates detailed virtual reality environments of actual locations, anywhere in the world, on any chosen day. This allows the user to explore the location, specifically how the sun, moon or stars will interact with the topography, buildings and other objects in the area, the way sunlight falls in a valley, where the sun is rising or setting over the ocean, or, if a full moon is visible in a forest.

10 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

The Society Of Camera Operators (SOC) recently announced the 2017 recipient of its Technical Achievement Award as DJI’s Ronin 2. The product was chosen as the winner due to its impact on many aspects of camera operating. The versatile 3-axis camera stabilisation system can be used on car mounts, cable cam, jib, body-worn mounts as a hot head, and even Steadicam. The adaptability of the equipment to improve the ultimate shot while helping to keep production on schedule was also a winning factor.

MSE KITBAGS MAKE TRANSPORTING C-STANDS EASIER Matthews Studio Equipment, the Burbank-based manufacturer of camera and lighting support, has developed KitBags, a new line of grip and lighting equipment bags. The first of these are designed specifically to ease the daily burden of transporting C-stands.

“With independent productions shifting to smaller crews and faster set-ups in multiple locations, MSE has taken its years of experience to develop the first cases that fully address all the requirements of today’s C-stand owners,” said Tyler Phillips, executive vice president of MSE. “The ability to quickly pack and transport a few C-stands has become a necessity. In the past, bags designed for this purpose have been very limited and lack the robustness and features required. Legs often protrude, and arms, when folded, make their size and shape awkward to carry and ship.”

The new bags, designed to transport several stands easily, feature ballistic nylon, heavy-duty easy glide zippers, padded red interiors and high-density wheels to ensure performance and reliability.

CANON ENHANCES 2/3” BROADCAST PORTABLE ZOOMS WITH NEW 4K MODELS Canon has unveiled the CJ45ex9.7B and CJ45ex13.6B – two new portable 4K 2/3” broadcast lenses, featuring fast zooming and focus, and improved image stabilization (IS). Claiming the highest zoom ratio in their class, the lenses are suitable for broadcasting, sports and musical events which require telephoto shooting.

The CJ45ex13.6B also boasts the longest focal length in its class, making it suitable for use in OB vans and surveillance applications.

The CJ45ex9.7B and CJ45ex13.6B are matched to use with 4K broadcast cameras, thanks to Canon’s proprietary optical design technology.

Fluorite and Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) glass achieve high-quality 4K optics from the centre of the imaging field to the periphery across the entire zoom range. Other innovations in the lens ensure high sharpness and aberration control. Both lenses are capable of achieving a 45x zoom ratio and focal length ranges of 9.7 mm to 437 mm and 13.6 mm to 612 mm, respectively. A built-in 2x extender shifts the entire focal length range towards the telephoto end, increasing the maximum focal length at the telephoto end of the CJ45ex9.7B to 873 mm and the CJ45ex13.6B to 1224 mm to allow increased telephoto shooting.

Canon’s IS technology, which is capable of intelligently detecting and correcting camera movement, helps to deliver stable shooting for close-ups in nature documentaries, or the live broadcasting of large-scale events, and at even at higher frequencies of 10-15 Hz, such as when mounted on a vehicle.

ACTION 18 DRAWS IN THE CROWDS Action 18, the Benelux event for DPs, ACs, gaffers, grips, TV technicians, producers, directors and students, took place on January 12 and 13 in Brussels. Panasonic, Sony Red, Canon, Digital Sputnik, Cooke Optics LCA, P+S Technik, Cmotion, Topcare-Laserwork, Gekko-Cam and Avolon Lighting all supported the event with stands and workshops.

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

HOWARD COLIN REPORTS ON GBCT FILM LOADING COURSE C amera loader Howard Colin recently completed the GBCT’s 16mm/35mm film loading course, and wrote in with details of his experience.

“It was a frosty start to Monday the 4th of December, I prayed to the traffic gods for an easy journey. I was heading to London to attend the GBCT Film Loading course, hosted at Panavision, Greenford.

Thankfully the journey was fine.

Being a digital loader, I took it upon myself to further my knowledge of my role by learning the film process. I am motivated to learn as much as I can about the film way of working, hopefully to allow me to work on a film job. I also wanted to take the new information and apply it to my current, digital way of working.

I wanted to see if, by applying old techniques, I could make my current working practices better.

Keen to learn the principles of film stock control, I knew what I wanted from the course. I had some previous experience with film cameras. But it was the paperwork side of things I really wanted to learn.

Colour coding stock? How to keep accurate camera sheets on film? What are the processes involved in reloading and short-ending a roll of film? These are some of the questions that I had floating around in my head at the beginning of the course.

We started on the Tuesday; there were eight of us in total. We had two tutors: Michael Hannan and Shirley Schumacher, and also two visiting tutors: Tim Potter and Rana Darwish.

The course was structured very well. We jumped right into loading mags from several of the main 16mm

and 35mm film cameras. Film changing tents were available to practice in once we felt confident. The tutors worked with us to answer our questions as we went.

Between practising loading, we had group discussions, covering the processes involved whilst working with film. The course materials were very good, enhancing the topics covered in the discussions.

It quickly dawned on me that working with film requires serious attention to detail. Even more than I had expected before. I learned how important neat and accurate camera sheets were, as the lab use these to bill production.

We also covered how to label-up mags, once they are loaded. We discussed film batch and cut numbers, and why it is important to keep track of these numbers, in case there is a problem with the stock.

VER INTRODUCES ENHANCED ENVIRONMENTS TEAM

V

ER, the global provider of camera, lighting, LED, broadcast and video systems, has introduced the VER Enhanced Environments Team, a specialised department formed specifically to service the growing demand for cutting-edge LED and video solutions within the worldwide production community. The move comes after the company successfully supported several recent productions, including Murder On The Orient Express with Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with Greig Fraser ACS ASC and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 with Henry Braham BSC.

Created using custom designed LED technology, the VER Enhanced Environment process allows a shot to be naturally lit by the backgrounds of a scene with amazing authenticity. The lighting is accurate, allowing talent and crew alike to visualise actual environments and perform against a dynamic background without the guesswork of an empty greenscreen.

The new department includes UK team members Ellie Johnson, Jonny Hunt and Scott Russell, who will work in collaboration with LA-based Fred Waldman and Paul Kobelja, supplying full service, equipment and unrivalled levels of support to productions of any size or genre.

12 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Rana showed us how to set up our loading stations as if we were on-set, neatly organising everything that you might need on a table or Magliner.

Essentials like scissors, fresh stock, empty tins, pens and tape all need to be within easy reach. While working in a tent, the importance of a conveyor belt system was stressed. Film goes in to the left and gets canned to the right. Finally, the mag label is applied to the loaded mag, indicating the length loaded, stock code, batch, cut and roll number.

Before I knew it, it was Friday and the course was coming to an end. We had been provided with a strong foundation for working with film. By gaining more experience, we will be able to build on everything we had learned.

Overall, the course was excellent. I was able to get answers to all the questions I had. I left feeling pleased that I had gotten what I wanted from the course.

Weather warnings for snow were issued at the time of my journey home. Yet again, I found myself contemplating if the weather gods were on my side this time. I would like to say thanks to Michael, Shirley, Rana and Tim.”

Capturing unique moments.

ZEISS LWZ.3 21-100mm

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

JANNIE VAN WYK APPOINTED MD OF ARRI RENTAL UK/ CONTINENTAL EUROPE

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RRI Rental Group has appointed Jannie van Wyk to the new role of managing director, ARRI Rental UK and continental Europe. He takes over from Thomas Loher, ARRI Rental Group executive director and managing director of ARRI Rental Germany, who decided to bring his career of more than 20 years to a close at the end of 2017.

An established figure in the industry, van Wyk served as CEO of equipment rental companies MCC from 1993 to 2000, and Media Film Service, South Africa, from 2000 to 2015. MCC was a strong supporter of ARRI sales and rental projects in South Africa, while Media Film Service was a strategic partner of ARRI Rental. Recently, he was involved in establishing the new Atlantic Studio stage complex in Cape Town, South Africa.

Splitting his time between London, Munich and all of ARRI Rental’s other locations in continental Europe, van Wyk will ensure the continued growth of the business and cohesion between the regional offices.

The new role into which van Wyk is stepping combines the management of ARRI Rental UK and the eight facilities comprising ARRI Rental Germany, illustrating the strengthening collaboration between ARRI Rental’s businesses in Europe. Globally, the ARRI Rental Group continues to pursue emerging

opportunities, with new facilities having recently opened in Budapest, Hungary; Vancouver, Canada; and in the USA in Los Angeles, CA and Brooklyn, NY.

Recent productions serviced by the group include: Thor: Ragnarok, Blade Runner 2049, Mary Magdalene, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Avengers: Infinity War, Altered Carbon, Bright and The Greatest Showman.

In other news, Lisa Harp has been appointed president of ARRI Rental US Camera. She has more than 25 years of industry experience having served as VP and general manager at Panavision Hollywood prior to joining ARRI Rental. Based out of ARRI’s Los Angeles office, Harp will be responsible for overseeing all of ARRI’s camera rental operations in North America, developing new opportunities, building relationships and ensuring a coordinated business across the group’s various facilities in the region.

PINEWOOD MBS LIGHTING DELIVERS ALL-WEATHER EQUIPMENT PROTECTION

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BSi, the innovations think-tank associated to Pinewood MBS Lighting, has introduced a new range of bespoke weather shield accessories, custom-built to provide equipment protection against the elements, both onlocation or within challenging studio environments.

Exclusively available from Pinewood MBS Lighting, the initial product release has been created specifically to fit a selection of popular fixtures, including ARRI Skypanel S60 and S30, LightFlos and the PMBS designed, custom 5-way Lumipix LED battens.

Fabricated from a durable, water-resistant, stitch-free polyvinyl, the covers are tailor fitted to allow rapid fixing with full access to control and cabling. Unlike conventional inflatable weathershields, the PMBS covers are formed around a fixed system, which incorporates rigid walls for added strength without the need for fans.

14 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Jannie Van Wyk

Lisa Harp

GAFFER JONNY FRANKLIN ON PHANTOM THREAD We recently caught up with Jonny Franklin, gaffer on Paul Thomas Anderson’s much talked about new movie Phantom Thread, and learnt how he solved some key lighting problems during the production.

"We faced many challenges on Phantom Thread: one of the trickiest locations was the Georgian property on Fitzroy Square, known in the film as ‘The House Of Woodcock’, where we shot a majority of the film.

As the Grade I listed property was going through renovation, the first challenge we came up against was the fact there was no power or cabling throughout the building. This meant we had to re-wire the whole five-story house, although the benefits of doing so quickly became clear as we were able to wire every electrical socket and bulb back to our lighting desk.

We needed to get a vast amount of light in the building, especially shooting on 250D Kodak film stock. Usually I would have used machines with large lamps on. But, the problem was we were not allowed to occupy any of the space outside the footprint of the building, and had to remain within the property’s railings – which was only a distance of 4ft 6” away from the property. Additionally, the location was specifically chosen because Paul wanted to be able to see out of the windows. So we had to carefully plan a rig that would not only fit within the railings, but also couldn’t be visible from within the house looking out.

Building such a narrow rig, at such a height, and without being able to bolt into the walls, took a lot of careful planning. To light it, I had two ladder beams per window, with five vertical Sky Panels on each – they were on runners so we could roll them in and out of shot. Then for any hard sun we had a few 2.5KW HMIs rigged.

Usually it’s more ideal to have your lamps further away from your subject, but on this occasion we had no choice and had to adapt to Paul’s specifics requirements. Fortunately, the system I employed turned out to be really successful.”

We are extremely proud to have supported Director of Photography Rob Hardy BSC, Gaffer Andy Lowe, Rigging Gaffer John Antill, Best Boys Chris Stones and Lee Wilson and the entire Crew on Annihilation. +44 (0) 1753 65 62 62 info@pinewoodmbs.com www.pinewoodmbs.com

Left to right: Tessa Thompson and Natalie Portman in ANNIHILATION, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Photo Credit: Peter Mountain © 2017 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

MARJAN TELEVISION NETWORK UPGRADES WITH SPOTLIGHT LED FRESNELS

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ver 100 Spotlight Green Line LED Fresnels have been supplied to Marjan Television Network in Wimbledon, as part of a major upgrade of the broadcaster's studios, which transmit programmes to over 25 million Persian-speaking viewers across the globe.

The broadcaster's range of entertainment programmes includes Persian-language versions of well-known British favourites such as The X Factor, Come Dine With Me and Spitting Image, as well as several hours per day of live output programming.

When Marjan wanted to upgrade the lighting infrastructure of its four-studios complex, one of the key technical requirements was to utilise an energy-efficient Fresnel source which would deliver good colour rendition on-camera.

Marjan invested in over 80 Spotlight FresneLED 200W Cool White LED fixtures, and 20 FresneLED Compact 100W Cool White LED fixtures, which deliver even, high-quality light coverage inside the studios.

The high-efficiency, 200W main FresneLED 200 fixtures provide similar output to a 1,000W incandescent tungsten lamp. With an extra-long life, of more than 30,000 hours, they save maintenance costs associated with traditional tungsten Fresnel sources. The unit also features an adjustable fan speed, for ultra-quiet operation in studio environments.

The compact 100W FresneLED Compact can zoom from a 12° spot to a 75° even flood. The Spotlight fixtures were supplied to Marjan by UK dealer, A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd (AC-ET).

MOLE-RICHARDSON FOCUSSES ON FRESNELS AT 2018 BSC EXPO

NFTS FIRST FILM SCHOOL TO WIN QUEEN’S AWARD The National Film & Television School (NFTS) is the first ever film school to win a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. The NFTS is among twenty-one universities and colleges of further education who were announced as recipients of Queen’s Anniversary Prizes in the current - twelfth biennial - round of the scheme at an event hosted at St James’s Palace by The Royal Anniversary Trust.

Judges commented that the NFTS was chosen to receive the prestigious award as they were “impressed by the reach and influence of the school in a hugely important sector.”

Jon Wardle, NFTS Director said: “Winning a Queen’s Anniversary Prize is a huge honour for the NFTS and is a fitting testament to the fantastic work our students and staff put in to make the school such a success both nationally and on a global scale.”

The Prizes are part of the honours system and are awarded every two years by The Queen on the Prime Minister’s advice.

16 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

The Mole-Richardson Co. was formed in Los Angeles in 1927 by Peter Mole, to provide advanced lighting solutions for the motion picture industry. One of its most significant introductions was the Fresnel focussing lens to be used on both carbon arc and incandescent lighting fixtures. With their tried and true optics, Fresnels have been a staple of the motion picture and television industry ever since.

The 2018 BSC Expo will see the introduction of the new Mole-Richardson “Variable-Color” solidstate LED Fresnels. This line combines the light quality, output and control that is synonymous with the Mole name, whilst adding the flexibility of variable white colour temperature control, green/magenta correction and multiple-user interface options. The new LED family will be expanded during 2018 to include the Vari-Baby, Vari-Junior, Vari-Studio Junior and Vari-Senior LEDs.

MOVIETECH UPDATES LENS INVENTORY WITH COOKE PANCHRO/I CLASSIC PRIMES Independent image capture specialists, Movietech, based at Pinewood Studios, has added the full complement of Cooke Panchro/i Classic, T2.2 to T3.2 Primes to its lens selection. The addition of the Panchro/i Classic Primes to its rental stock extends the considerable choice of Cooke lenses available at Movietech.

Precision -engineered to reflect the look and feel of the renowned original Panchros, the updated models feature Cooke’s superior control over flare, distortion and spherical aberration with the added advantage of modern glass and enhanced compatibility with the latest camera systems.

“For us to effectively support cinematographers and crews shooting all formats on all types of productions, it is essential that we maintain the widest possible equipment choice,” said Movietech MD John Buckley. “We are constantly making investments right across our product ranges, and these new Cooke Panchros are a fantastic addition to our lens offering”.

The new Pachro/i family is available in a choice of focal lengths; 18, 25, 32, 40, 50, 75, 100, 152mm. The lenses incorporate Cooke’s i Technology which allows accurate, digital recording of lens data for every frame whether shooting film or digital.

LCA EXPANDS INTO FRANCE LCA Lights, Camera, Action is opening an office and warehouse in Paris, offering a one-stop-shop for lighting, grip, power, distribution, cables, and consumables.

Yann Gregory The facility will be Blitte Merlet open for rental houses, TV and film studios, independent lighting directors and cinematographers looking to purchase a wide range of products from major manufacturers including LiteGear, Rosco, Manfrotto, Briese, Chroma-Q, Cineo, LitePanels, Bebob, Quasar Science and RatPac.

The new facility is located in the heart of the motion picture and broadcast area in the north of Paris, and is headed by Yann Blitte and Gregory Merlet. Blitte has 20 years of experience in the film and broadcast industry, recently working as technical and operating director of Panalux. Merlet started in lighting 15 years ago as a gaffer on TV programmes, clips and live shows and staged events.

IN CINEMAS NOW

Dailies By Pinewood Digital Recent credits include: Annihilation, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, Paddington 2, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Avengers: Infinity War TALK TO OUR TEAM ABOUT YOUR NEXT PROJECT: +44 (0)1753 785487 post@pinewoodgroup.com www.pinewoodgroup.com Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri artwork © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

TIM CRAGG SHOOTS THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS B

AFTA-winning and Emmy-nominated cinematographer Tim Cragg spent a large part of 2017 shooting Three Identical Strangers, a feature/documentary selected to premiere in the US Documentary competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2018. The film is directed by Tim Wardle with production company Raw, for CNN Films and C4.

The documentary explores the story of three total strangers who, in New York, in 1980, accidentally discover that they are identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds’ joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but it also unearths an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes far beyond their own lives – which could also transform our understanding of human nature forever.

Part emotional family drama, part conspiracy thriller, Three Identical Strangers evolves into a multilayered deliberation on nature-versus-nurture and the existential dilemma of what makes us who we are.

Writing-in about his process and approach to shooting the documentary, Cragg noted, “We tested shooting the film in Anamorphic at first, which both Tim Wardle and I were keen to do, but we found that the archive material would be too compromised. So we decided to shoot it 1.85.1 on an ARRI Amira. Most of the film was shot in NY over four trips during an eight-month period.

The story is so multi-layered and we wanted to present each layer with its own visual language.

18 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Bobby Shafran (one of the triplets), with director Tim Wardle, and David Kellman (one of the triplets)

We approached the contemporary documentary shooting with a sense of realism. Ultimately the story is what one remembers of the film. It’s extraordinary and we wanted the cinematography to not only support this in not being too hyper-real, but also in it helping to create an environment where the characters are allowed to be less aware and comfortable in front of the camera.

We mostly shot handheld with Angenieux Optimo 15-40 and 45-120 zooms. They have a humanness and a softer edge that we liked, and we used a dogme style of lighting – a very small lighting package of Litemats and some Dedolight DL7s.

Our crew was small too. On-camera I worked with a NY camera assistant, Hai Tao Wu, who assisted and also managed the data. It was important to be a small team, and not have too much of a footprint, especially since most of our locations were in people’s homes.

Prior to shooting we tested a few different looks at Molinare, so we were happy knowing where we could take it. The Amira records so much detail in such a gorgeous way and I love the light you get in NY. I was often looking at the Sun Scout app to see if I could time a hard bounce of sun hitting an opposite building and onto our scene.

The huge benefit of a documentary crew is you generally have some ability on the day, in the moment, to react and change the schedule, or wiggle it around to suit the weather and light.

We also had some period reconstruction scenes, which were set in the ‘70s and ‘80s. We shot these in Toronto with a drama crew and used the Canon K35mm primes.

It’s impressionistic: scenes were covered with less coverage and more emphasis on iconic imagery.

The film has a real buzz around it already and we are all hoping that Sundance is the start.

It’s been so great to work with Tim Wardle. He has a great vocabulary of films and would always be sending me links to clips and movies for us to discuss. Shooting in NYC is always great, I love the light and energy.”

ACS REVISES POLICY ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION AND BULLYING

Ron Johanson OAM ACS

At the recent extraordinary general meeting of the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS), on 15 December 2017, the society agreed on a review and revision of its policy on sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying.

The revised policy now states, “It is the policy of the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) that every member of the society and the greater film and television industry has the right to work in an environment free from any gender, race, disability, religious, sexual orientation discrimination or harassment and bullying of any kind. This includes any verbal, emotional, physical, cyber or sexual harassment. The society will not tolerate any behaviour that is considered threatening or disrespectful towards, or by, any of our members or guests.”

ACS national president, Ron Johanson OAM ACS said, “The ACS national executive felt it was important to call this extraordinary general meeting in order for us to process new information and recommendations, and to give us the opportunity to put in place a new way of thinking that will help future-proof the ACS. The updated policy also guides the ACS with mechanisms to support our aspirations for best practice policy and a code of conduct that will take us forward.”

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Christopher Probst, ASC Director of Photography

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

CELEBRATING BSC OPERATORS NIGHT 2017

Mike Eley BSC President welcomes guests

Photos by: Richard Blanshard Marc Wolff receives the Bert Easey Technical Award from Phil Meheux BSC

The venue at the Langham Hotel, London

Ralph Fiennes presents best Features Operators award to Peter Cavaciuti

ietech) Andy Cooper (Mov s BSC and Ula Pontiko

A

nother wonderful Operators Night was held at The Langham Hotel, London, on Friday 1st December 2017. The evening was hosted

by BSC president Mike Eley BSC, assisted by Master Of Ceremonies, first AD Marcus Catlin. Ralph Fiennes was the Guest Of Honour. One of the highlights of the night was the attendance of Sir Sydney Samuelson, now aged 92, who received a standing ovation from the whole floor.

The evening was dedicated to Mark Milsome GBCT ACO, who was tragically killed on-set in November. Peter MacDonald BSC, who has known the Milsome family for many years, read the tribute to Mark, which was followed by a toast from the society.

John Mathieson BSC raised a toast to the Operators and David Worley Associate BSC kindly toasted the society.

Several awards were presented during the evening. The winner of the award for Best Cinematography in a TV Drama 2017 was cinematographer Mark Patten for Taboo (season one/episode four). The other nominees were: Adriano Goldman ABC ASC for The Crown “Smoke & Mirrors”; Gavin Finney BSC for The State (episode three); James Friend BSC for Rillington Place “Tim”; and Felix Wiedemann BSC for Witness For The Prosecution (part one).

The winner of the TV Drama Operators Award 2017 was Stuart Howell for The Crown (season one).

The nominees were Chris Plevin for Game Of Thrones (season seven/episode four); Danny Bishop for Rillington Place; and Peter Cavaciuti for Roots (episode one).

The winner of the Feature Operators Award 2017 was Peter Cavaciuti Associate BSC for Allied.

The other nominees were: John Hembrough for Lost In London; Peter Robertson for Life; and Roberto De Angelis for Baby Driver. The Bert Easey Technical Award 2017 was given to Marc Wolff for his pioneering work in the art of aerial cinema photography.

A very warm welcome was extended to new Associate BSC members Luke Redgrave and Vince McGahon. Generous donations raised £2,580 for the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children. The BSC thanked Ralph Fiennes who spent £15,000 at Robin Vidgeon BSC’s auction of Freddie Young BSC ASC’s light meter, which the great cinematographer used on many of his films.

Raffle prizes were donated by: ARRI Rental, CW Sonderoptic, Cooke Optics, Digital Orchard, LEE Filters, Mission Digital, Prolight Direct, Panasonic, Panavision, Pinewood MBS, Red Europe, Sir Sydney Samuelson CBE BSC and Technicolor. Take 2 Films provided plasma screens, Gwyn Evans edited the film and TV clips, George Zador and Sean Francis shot the award winners, and once again, Richard Blanshard was on hand to chronicle the event photographically.

Haris Zambarloukos BSC presents best TV drama award to Mark Patten with guest of honour Ralph Fiennes

20 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Guests enjoy dinner and speeches

Movietech and CW Sonderoptics execs enjoy pre dinner drinks

The Cooke Look

®

Photo by Andrew Vidinha

One Look. All Speeds

"Cooke Anamorphic/i SF and original Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses are a great match for our futuristic storyline on The Crossing .

These spectacular lenses give lovely, impressionistic, out-of-focus characteristics behind the subject. The sets and locations behind the actors have a very cinematic feel with beautiful bokeh, but their real strength is how they render faces with kindness — never harsh or too sharp. The new 300mm lens instantly became one of our B-camera favourites to use daily for close-ups.

They handle sunlight and high contrast settings beautifully, especially when shooting in the woods because they help to soften, hold and roll off highlights while keeping shadow detail solid.

We create story-telling elements that we couldn’t reach before. The SF lens gives strong, unique, dimensional artefacts with lots of depth and dynamism when shooting into direct light. Beautiful, peacockcoloured flares visually enhance poignant moments, which is the reason that the SFs are our go-to lens set for The Crossing.

T2.3 T2.3

T2.2 T2.0

T2.0

The ACs love the mechanics. We’re able to shoot as if we’re using spherical lenses in terms of time to change lenses and light levels, and that’s been critical to making our days.

T2.8

We paired these lenses with the Alexa Mini — a great combination if you want to get a very cinematic viewing experience.”

British Optical Innovation and Quality Since 1893.

cookeoptics.com

Brian Pearson, ASC, Director of Photography, The Crossing, ABC Studios series

T: +44 (0)116 264 0700 Canada, South America, USA: T: +1-973-335-4460

T1.4

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

FILMMAKER OLIVIER SARBIL CAPTURES FIGHT FOR MOSUL WITH CANON C300

D

uring the battle to recapture the city of Mosul, PBS Frontline filmmaker Olivier Sarbil spent six months embedded with an Iraqi special forces unit as it led the military offensive against ISIS. Equipped with a Canon EOS C300 Mark II camera, five batteries and five Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lenses, he chartered the brutal conflict in the resulting film, Mosul, a Frontline Production with Mongoose Pictures in association with C4.

Sarbil’s fly-on-the-wall documentary was also recently repackaged into a 47-minute film called The Fight for Mosul.

Before shooting these films, he made a short film for C4 News called Inside The Battle For Mosul.

This film received the Rory Peck Award for News Features, 1st Prize Bayeux-Calvados Award for war correspondents - Grand Format Television, 1st Prize Bayeux-Calvados Award for war correspondents - Best Picture and winner of Best Short Film at One World Media Awards. He then carried on filming for another six months to make the critically-acclaimed Mosul, which was his first long-form documentary for PBS Frontline.

Mosul isn’t the first war zone Sarbil has ventured into. With experience covering conflicts in locations such as Libya, Syria and eastern Ukraine, he knows how to capture compelling footage in challenging environments.

“Having the right kit for any production is always very important, but packing the right equipment for shooting in a warzone is critical,” explained Sarbil. “I needed to keep my kit lightweight as I was carrying everything with me at all times and I needed a camera that was robust and reliable to cope with the extreme conditions of this shoot.”

Another reason he chose to shoot with the EOS C300 Mark II is its image quality. “The camera is capable of delivering beautiful quality pictures, especially amazing looking skin tones,” he said.

During the shoot, Sarbil carried five EF-S 1755mm lenses with him at all times. In fact, 90% of the film was shot with Canon’s EF-S 17-55mm lens.

“As this was a run-and-gun project, I needed to get continual coverage without changing types of lenses,” he said. “The EF-S 17-55mm lens is a go-to for a crop sensor camera like the C300 and perfect for this kind of project because it is lightweight, has image stabilisation, a good focal length and delivers good picture quality”.

There was a lot of dirt and dust in Mosul, and as it was a warzone there was also a lot of smoke. Sarbil was aware this would affect any glass that he travelled with, so he took five of the exact same lenses to make

sure his filming kept the same style throughout. “I was prepared to change optics regularly, and after getting the lenses properly serviced by Canon on my return, they were as good as new.”

It was also an extremely challenging environment for the camera to contend with. “Filming on the battlefield, there is constant dirt and dust,” Sarbil said.

“At times I could actually see dust pouring out of the ventilation holes but the camera still worked flawlessly. It was easy to shoot with and a good fit for handheld work.

I didn’t want to make the camera bulky by using any third party rigs, so I customised it by removing the factory hand grip, resulting in a more compact camera body.”

Being on the frontline with an elite assault squad meant Sarbil was never sure when he would have access to electricity so preserving battery life was extremely important. He travelled with five BP-A30 batteries and aimed to use no more than two per day.

“Even when there was electricity I was competing with all the soldiers who wanted to charge their phones so I was always conscious about not wasting batteries,” Olivier said. “I chose to use the smaller BP-A30 batteries even though they offer less power as it meant I could close the battery door cover to try and limit the amount of dust getting in.”

PANASONIC MULTI-CAMERA STREAMING HITS THE RIGHT NOTE AT RCS

T

he Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has integrated Panasonic remote camera technology as part of a major AV development, allowing it to record and livestream performances.

Panasonic worked with Duet Media, a specialist music services company, to design and install a multi-camera streaming system into two of the Royal Conservatoire’s main performance spaces, with the aim of being able to reach a wider audience for their performances.

The installed system is based around Panasonic’s AW-UE70 camera and the AW-HEA10 camera assist unit. With iPad control of the system, the installation met the Conservatoire’s main aim of usability by untrained users, reducing the need for dedicated staff and extensive training.

“It is the ease of use which drew me

22 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

towards Panasonic systems. In each venue, we have three permanently fixed cameras (UE70’s), one in the centre at the back, and one on each side of the auditorium. We then have a fourth camera mounted on a tripod to be positioned on the stage, making it versatile, dependant on how the stage is being used at that time,” said Paul Barton Hodges, MD at Duet Media Technologies.

While Duet Media had used a number of Panasonic PTZ cameras previously, this was the first occasion that they had coupled them with the HEA10 camera assist unit.

“Having seen a similar system in use at the Royal College of Music, the management and the artists were keen to not emulate, but go along similar lines. It was the whole integration, along with the hardware controllers that control the position of the cameras, which really works,” explained Barton Hodges.

The AW-UE70 is a 4K Remote Camera with a long zoom range and noteworthy pan-tilt performance, delivering 3840 x 2160 resolution at 25p via HDMI, and is capable of 4K IP streaming and in-camera 4K recording.

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

COOKE HELPS SHED LIGHT ON THE MORNING AFTER

S

hanra J. Kehl’s The Morning After, captured with Cooke S4/i lenses, features eight intercut vignettes shot in eight locations in 11 days, telling the story of the moment when you wake up next to someone... the next morning.

“I’ve always been a really big fan of Cooke lenses,” said Kehl. “To my eye, you get a warmer image that’s gentler on the skin and a really good friend to the actors by not calling out whatever flaws they might have, especially in 4K and above. The light the Cooke lenses absorb gives you a more pastel-like look that enhances the pallet of the Alexa Plus in a warm, glowy way. It’s just beautiful and that’s what I needed.”

In those awkward “morning after” moments when people don’t say what they want to say, Kehl wanted to portray a dreamy, hopeful world with light and exposure to make the characters appear more vulnerable and lead to more conversation. The Morning After is brightly lit, with emotions exposed and raw.

“When writing, I envisioned large windows lighting the film so that the characters couldn’t hide in a corner,” said Kehl. “We used windows as the main light source and then added minimal fill lighting. The window was key, and we had to shoot at the right time of the day in all eight locations.”

In a mansion, Kehl blocked and scheduled for light coming through the windows. A hotel room was booked with an eastern exposure to capture sunrise, while the two sets that were built — a room in a hostel and a “dot com” loft — were created to give similar lighting.

“The hostel scene was one where the Cooke S4/i lenses really shone,” said Kehl. “Sunlight burst through

Wesley Johnso n DP Instrument of Photo: Lukas Sa War lnas

the window and we had to add more negative fill. But once I went to colour correct, the Cookes held up so well with the Alexa Plus that you can’t tell. When you have a window with someone in front of it, the light is so soft and just wraps around their skin, even when diffused.”

The S4/i kit, rented from Division Camera in North Hollywood, consisted of 18, 25, 35, 50, 75 and 100mm primes, with a 65mm used for pick-ups.

“If you haven’t used Cookes before, what are you waiting for?” asks Kehl. “They make the cinematographer’s and gaffer’s jobs easier when you pick the right camera and right lens. And, they enhance the look of the actors.”

ARRI RENTAL A ANNOUNCES NEW PRIME DNA LENSES

RRI Rental has announces new lenses for its exclusive Prime DNA series, developed inhouse for the Alexa 65 large format camera system. Like the rest of the Prime DNA series, the new lenses are the result of collaborations with major cinematographers and have already been put to use on high-end productions.

A total of six new optics have been added to the Prime DNA series: a 28mm T2.8, 35mm T2.3, 45mm T2.3, 50mm T2, 60mm T2 and a 65mm T1.6. This brings the total number of Prime DNA lenses to 14.

The first cinematographer to shoot a movie with Prime DNA lenses and the Alexa 65 was Robert Richardson ASC, on Andy Serkis’ Breathe.

“Something in my nature wanted to investigate not

24 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

In other news, Cooke 5/i Primes helped cinematographer Wes Johnson to bring authenticity to Instrument Of War, a period piece based on the true story of Clair Cline, a US Army Air Forces pilot shot down over occupied Holland during World War II and held at the German Stalag Luft 1 POW camp. Johnson’s kit included seven of the eight 5/i prime lenses (18-100mm) plus a colourmatched S4/i 14mm for extra tight spaces where Johnson needed a wider lens.

During the 2018 BSC Expo, Cooke will present its new S7/i Full Frame Plus lenses. The new range is the only purpose-built, full-frame lens set designed specifically to cover the emergent full-frame cinema camera sensors up to the full sensor area (46.31mm image circle) of the RED Weapon 8K. Cooke’s S7/i lenses were used at the September 2017 launch of the Sony Venice full-frame digital motion picture camera system.

just contemporary lenses, but vintage lenses, so we began to raid the vaults,” noted Richardson. “This led to a room filled with lenses, perhaps one or two hundred moved through that room at one time or another – I don’t know exactly, but it was insane.

There were moments of magic in the search that led us to decide upon a path together, meaning ARRI Rental and myself.”

Other cinematographers working with ARRI Rental’s Prime DNA lenses include Greig Fraser ACS ASC on Mary Magdalene, Ben Seresin BSC ASC on Chaos Walking, Dante Spinotti AIC ASC on Ant-Man And The Wasp, Ben Davis BSC on Dumbo and James Laxton on If Beale Street Could Talk. In addition, the Alexa 65/Prime DNA combo is also being utilised on the TV series Dogs Of Berlin, shot by Christoph Krauss BVK and Frank Lamm, as well as Die Geschichte eines Parfüms, shot by Jakub Bejnarowicz BVK.

Shooting with Prime DNA lenses on the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, directed by Bryan Singer, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel ASC commented, “The Alexa 65 with the DNAs reminds me of medium format photography – subtle halftones and fine picture detail without looking clinically sharp.”

The Prime DNA range is one of four exclusive lens series offered by ARRI Rental for its Alexa 65 large-format camera system; the others are Prime 65, Prime 65 S and Vintage 765.

Let there be Sky.

SkyPanel: Full color control in multiple sizes The ARRI SkyPanel is a compact, ultra-bright and high-quality LED soft light that sets a new standard for the industry. Because different application areas call for different lighting needs, SkyPanel has been designed as a family of fixtures. The mid-range S60, the smaller and more portable S30, the long aperture S120, and the new S360 fills out the family with the largest aperture and a brightness four times that of the S60.

Explore the SkyPanel Family: www.arri.com/skypanel SkyPanelÂŽ is a registered trademark of Arnold & Richter Cine Technik GmbH & Co. Betriebs KG.

SOFT LIGHTING | REDEFINED

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

KODAK AND PRASAD LAUNCH FILM DIGITISATION AND ARCHIVING INITIATIVE

K

odak and Prasad Corporation, owners of DFT (Digital Film Technology), have announced a joint strategic initiative to provide digitisation and archiving services for the UK market.

This announcement will see the installation of a 4K Scanity HDR film scanner with full WetGate functionality, the first of its kind to be available in the UK, at Kodak Digital Services London.

Manufactured in Germany by Digital Film Technology (DFT), a subsidiary of Prasad, the new scanner provides complete scanning solutions for dailies, mastering, and archive film in a range of resolutions from 0.5K to 4K. The scanner employs triple exposure technology to facilitate constant scanning speeds, to dramatically improve time and cost barriers when scanning high density, or historicallyaged film content. It has been designed to manage even the most delicate film, including notched or damaged edges, warped and even severely shrunken film.

”We are excited to be working alongside Prasad, world-class experts in this field, to meet today’s demanding 4K workflow, as well as unlocking historical film heritage,” said Antonio Rasura, director of motion picture services at Kodak.

“Employing state-of-the-art technology, capable of capturing the very highest quality digital images from film, along with offering highly-optimised services

WetGate

to our customers is key. This is a great opportunity for Kodak Digital Services to accelerate our archiving business in the UK market and beyond.”

Dan Crussell, Post producer and Senior Colourist, Kodak Digital Services said, “We believe that every frame of film, old or new, deserves the highest quality attention to produce the best image possible. The addition of the Scanity to our existing technologies means that we can offer all filmmakers a tailored workflow with a variety of options specific to the needs of their production.”

Kodak Digital Services London offers a range of specialised services including full 2K and 4K dailies pipeline with grading and reviewing facilities. It also offers on-site physical inspection and repair to damaged film prior to scanning. Film is cleaned on Kodak’s P-200

C/L MERGES WITH SPACECAM Two major innovators in the camera world, C/L Enterprises Inc, and SpaceCam Systems Inc, have merged. In order to compete with the dynamics of the film industry, Charles Leonard Huenergardt, grandson of Leonard Chapman (owner and mastermind behind ChapmanLeonard Studio Equipment Inc), sought to broaden the limits of where a camera can go and how it can move.

Through the acquisition of SpaceCam, both companies are able to continue innovation on a larger scale for the film industry and bring the visionaries to life in a higher quality and more efficient manner.

Started by Ron Goodman in 1989, SpaceCam is the product of Goodman’s commitment to establish the best gyro-stabilised cinematography in the field. Goodman’s work has contributed to the production of leading blockbusters including, Star Wars, Superman, Avengers, and Guardians Of The Galaxy. His outstanding endeavours with SpaceCam garnered him an Academy Award for Scientific and Engineering Achievement.

The result of the merger will enhance developments on the Maximus 7 and boost the existing C/L technology to new heights. Huenergardt is extremely excited to have Goodman and the SpaceCam team on board at C/L and looks forward to the indefinite possibilities. From here forward, we would like to introduce, “C/L Remotes Powered by SpaceCam: A Division of C/L Enterprises.”

26 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

film cleaner, with variable speed, tension control and solvent delivery, providing exceptional care for aged or brittle film content. The managed service will include inspection, full cataloguing and storage.

Kodak recently announced the opening of three new laboratories offering film processing and other film-related services. The opening of Kodak Film Labs in London, New York and Atlanta is part of the company’s on-going efforts to support the infrastructure for motion picture film and comes in response to the medium’s strong resurgence, with two banner years of movies on film dominating at the box office and the awards circuit.

”Prasad is excited to partner with Kodak to provide high-end scanning services in London and expects to announce additional installations at Kodak labs in NYC and Atlanta soon. We have long been associated with Kodak with our six film laboratories in India for more than 40 years. This partnership will be important to the worldwide film industry as the need of the hour is film preservation, digitization and restoration,” said Amit Sahai, vice president of international business development at Prasad Corporation.

SONY ENABLES VENICE CAMERA WITH 24X36MM FULL-FRAME IMAGE CAPTURE

After the launch of the next-generation Venice CineAlta motion picture camera, and extensive conversations with filmmakers following the camera’s debut, Sony is responding to requests to implement Full Frame image capture from day one, in time for the shipping of Venice in February 2018.

The feature enables filmmakers to realise Venice’s full potential by utilising 24x36mm Full-Frame 6K recording in Sony’s established 16-bit acquisition format, X-OCN. In addition to Full Frame image-capture, Sony plans an extensive roadmap of features planned to be implemented in future firmware upgrades

“Sony’s development of the Venice motion picture camera platform represents our commitment to the film industry in furthering image capture in the key areas of dynamic range, colour rendition and large format aspect ratio freedom,” said Claus Pfeifer, head of technical sales, broadcast & cinematography at Sony Professional Solutions Europe.

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NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

SEBASTIAN WINTERO’S U2 TOUR VISUALS

W

orking with director Anton Corbijn, DP Sebastian Wintero was responsible for shooting the backdrop visuals for U2’s most recent ‘Innocence & Experience’ tour using the ARRI Alexa 65 large format camera system. He wrote in with details about his work.

"When Anton and I started talking about the U2 project, we had only worked together once before – on a very intimate and low-fi shoot in Berlin.

This turned out to be the complete opposite, since the projection format was U2’s back wall screen – one of the biggest screens ever built, approximately 200ft across and able to project a staggering resolution of 7200x1560.

The films themselves were intended to serve mostly as single take scenes, wide shots with limited action, but strong enough to hold for 5-6 minutes without expiring, visually.

The need to deliver in more than 6K suggested a very narrow range of cameras, and testing made us fall in love with Alexa 65, basically because it delivers a stunning quality, without feeling like a “technical” camera.

It gave us room to use intuition more than anything else: we could consider the image, the people in front of the lens, the natural light, etc, in a way that Anton and I both appreciate.

It brought back my instincts of shooting on film, where you automatically focus more on the shot and the lighting and the composition, than the camera and how to capture it technically. That is really the best testament to any camera, in my opinion.

The Alexa 65 was so simple to work with, and we both considered it liberating. It’s the fact that you can work at a digital resolution that brilliant, and still use very simple intuition to arrive at the shot.

Considering Anton’s background in B&W film photography, it also introduced another interesting feature – the ability to live grade and design shooting LUTs for us to monitor. The fact that you can digitally develop and print an image turned out to be a great advantage, since the majority of scenes were supposed to end Photo: Peter De up in B&W. It gave us complete rvin control over the image, opening up a creative playground where we could endlessly experiment and audition various print looks, then load them back into the camera, and take actual inspiration from them, as opposed to monitoring in a standard monitor LUT like 709.”

CANON’S ME20F-SHN ENABLES FULL HD COLOUR CAPTURE IN THE DARK

C

anon Europe has launched the ME20F-SHN, a low-light network camera which can capture full colour and Full HD resolution images in limited light scenarios.

Equipped with a 2.26MP Full Frame 35mm CMOS sensor and Digic DV 4 processor, the ME20F-SHN delivers sharp, low noise, Full HD colour video in extreme low light conditions. The sensor’s pixels and read-out circuitry use Canon’s proprietary technologies to achieve both reduced noise and exceptionally high sensitivity. With a maximum ISO in excess of 4 million (+75db), which delivers extraordinary low-light sensitivity, the ME20F-SHN can capture subjects illuminated with less than 0.0005 lux. Even greater detail can be captured in low-light environments by removing the IR cut filter when shooting in infrared mode.

Much like Canon’s Cinema EOS range, this network camera offers Canon Log and Wide DR from the Custom Picture menu, which enables a wide dynamic range of up to 12 Stops (800%), delivering high-quality images across a range of lighting scenarios. The Custom Picture menu has been upgraded, with the addition of the Crisp Img function, which obtains sharp images in well-lit environments and low noise image under low light conditions. These features are invaluable for users needing to capture clear and accurate images.

Featuring Ethernet, 3G/HD-SDI and HDMI ports, the ME20F-SHN caters for a plethora of video outputs based on users’ application requirements. For local monitoring, the ME20F-SHN has 3G/ HD-SDI and HDMI ports; while an Ethernet connection enables remote operation of camera settings, monitoring and recording via web browsers, mobile devices or other video management software. The microSD card slot supports record and playback directly from a microSD card. For unmanned and costefficient surveillance, the 6 built-in video analytics functions and Alarm I/O interface enables automated recording and output to external devices triggered by video motion detection and alarm input.

Featuring an EF mount with Cinema Lock, the ME20FSHN is compatible with a broad range of lenses across the Canon line-up, including zooms, primes and selected Cine Servo lenses for greater control. With PoE+ support, the data transmission via Ethernet and power supply are provided with a single LAN cable, which facilitates simple and rapid installation of the camera.

28 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

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So stop by, grab a coffee, and see for yourself what more we can do for you.

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

SMALLHD AND TERADEK CREATE 703 BOLT WIRELESS DIRECTOR’S MONITOR

T

he introduction of the SmallHD 703 Bolt Wireless Director’s Monitor marks the first collaboration between high definition monitor-maker SmallHD, and wireless video innovator Teradek.

The new device, on show at the 2018 BSC Expo, allows filmmakers to wander a sound stage or location untethered, with a full HD monitor to view live takes as well as previews and playback, with full stereo headphone output. The 3,000nit, daylight-viewable display is the brightest SmallHD has ever made. The system can receive and display video from as far away as 300ft from the transmitter, and can display two input sources simultaneously for A/B cam monitoring.

BIG WEEKEND IN BRUSSELS On January 12th and 13th, Eye Lite and TV Connections – rental companies in Belgium – held their event, Action 18, for the fifth time.

This was a unique opportunity in Belgium for Cinematographers, gaffers, grip and camera technicians to meet manufacturers and be introduced to new equipment, like the Cooke S7/i, RED Monstro, Sony Venice, the new camera range from Canon & Panasonic, LED lighting from Avalon, LC, DMG, Exalux, Kinoflo or Digital Sputnik, and the drones and stabilized systems from ACS and Access Motion or Kopterman. Plenty of new toys were on show to attract more than 500 visitors. Product specialists were presenting workshops and one of these was dedicated to ‘ECO responsibility and new technologies in film making’ by the funds Screen Brussels and VAF.

On the Saturday morning (13th), the event hosted the Annual General Assembly of the Belgian Society of Cinematographers (SBC). More than 35 cinematographers came to this important meeting to vote the admission of five new members (bringing the new total of 67) and to renew the administration board. The President, Willy Stassen, was stepping out after 10 years of dedication to the association, with the SBC deciding for a co-presidency to increase efficiency within the two languages in Belgium. Lou Berghmans and Louis Philippe Capelle are the men stepping into the roles.

FOCUS24 ACQUIRES FILMSCAPE MEDIA LIMITED Focus24 has acquired camera, grip and engineering company Filmscape Media. The addition of Filmscape will allow Focus24 to provide a significantly expanded stock range, which includes a number of in-house engineered products, and boost its levels of service as most of the Filmscape team have joined Focus24. Filmscape founding MD, Kevin Harvey, has decided to pursue a new career in film finance with his new company Advantage Films.

Focus24 will exhibit at the 2018 BSC Expo with its daughter camera stabilisation company Motion24.

TIFFEN TO DEMO STEADICAM VOLT AT BSC EXPO 2018 Tiffen International will demonstrate the new Volt, autohorizon assist for its top of the range Steadicam M-1 rig.

Steadicam ops have to contend with many forces that can push the horizon off level, such as wind gusts, cables pulling, uneven ground, and the Volt is a small motorised add-on to the gimbal that brings effective horizon assist.

Also at the show will be Tiffen’s new generation of Tiffen Natural Neutral Density Filters.

TERRY ACKLAND-SNOW PUBLISHES THE ART OF ILLUSION Renowned art director, Terry Ackland-Snow, based at Pinewood Studios, shares his passion and knowledge of traditional film design, from over 50 years of industry experience, in a new book, called The Art Of Illusion. The 190-page tome includes real-life studies, sketches and rare photographs from some of the UK’s most iconic films including Batman, Labyrinth and the 007 James Bond franchise and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It reveals insight into the collaboration between the art department and the wider film crew, set design and construction, as well as working with camera angles and perspective. The book is published by The Crowood Press and is available now.

30 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Coming together for the SBC Annual General Meeting Picture by Tess Maurice / I Love Light. Courtesy of Wabu Production

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

AFC MICRO SALON T

he 18th edition of the AFC Micro Salon takes place from 9-10 February, at FEMIS, the French national film school. It is part of the PITS (Paris Image Trade Show) which, under the auspices of the CNC (National Center for Cinematography), will bring together other audiovisual events from January 22 to February 10: the Paris Images Digital Summit, Paris Images Location Expo, Paris Images Cinema and AFC Micro Salon Show.

This year nearly 70 exhibitors will represent all areas of the technical film industry: from manufacturing to post-production, in an air of exchange and conviviality. A multitude of workshops will take place, including a projection programme presenting tests of the very latest large format cameras and new optics designed created to cover their sensors. At the same time, comparisons will be made between new LED projectors and post-production using HDR. The AFSA (Association Of Sound Engineers On-Set), will welcome sound equipment providers on the first floor, where there will be ten exhibitors.

The traditional “Carte Blanche” will be given to the ASC at the Jean Renoir screening room. On February 12, Ed Lachman ASC will hold a masterclass at the Ecole Nationale Superieure Louis Lumiere, and on February 15th, a major conference on HDR will take place at the Red Circle at TSF. AFC president, Richard Andry AFC, congratulates colleagues in Spain who successfully held their first AEC MicroSalon in Madrid, last December, where the AFC was guest of honour.

BSCexpo-220x149.5-aug copy.pdf

1

03/08/2017

President...

Richard Andry AFC

11:12

BSC expo The UK’s Premier International Event for Film & TV Production Equipment & Technology

2 nd -3 rd February 2018

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British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 31

NEWS / PRODUCTION / POST & TECHNOLOGY ROUND-UP

STUDIO NEWS:

Dagenham: The Mayor Of London, Sadiq Khan, and

the Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, Cllr Darren Rodwell, have announced plans for Dagenham East to become a world-leading destination for the production of blockbuster movies, after an expert study showed how the area is ideal for Hollywood-style studio space.

The study outlines how Dagenham East offers a rare chance to build a world-class film studio in London.

This will support the long-term success of the UK’s booming film and TV production industries, bolster Film London’s work in attracting major new projects to the capital, whilst also contributing to the regeneration of east London and the Mayor’s ambition for creative production along the Thames Estuary.

From the outset of his Mayoralty, Khan pledged to make London the most film-friendly city in the world.

Last year he teamed up with Film London, the London Local Enterprise Panel and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, to commission the study into creating the capital’s first new TV and film production studios for at least 25 years, after increasing demand and pressure on existing studio space.

The study team, led by the economic consultancy SQW and including BBP Regeneration and Prof. Richard Miller of the University of Hertfordshire, explored why Dagenham is a suitable location for a studio of this scale; how the project addresses the demand and capacity issues of the film and TV industries; and how the proposed studio could be laid out.

Barking and Dagenham Council is now inviting expressions of interest from investors, entrepreneurs and businesses to create the huge studio space and will start the formal tender process in 2018. The potential site for the new studios at Dagenham East is

32 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

located in front of Londoneast-UK business and technical park. It was scoped out because of its significantly large size, which presents the opportunity to build a new, bespoke facility.

The borough’s Film Office has already enjoyed considerable success in attracting big budget films such as Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and Doctor Strange, and TV dramas including ITV’s Liar and Netflix’s Black Mirror.

Khan, said: “From Bond to Bridget Jones, and Star Wars to Paddington, our capital is world-renowned for its film industry and has at least 40 crews out on London’s streets filming every single day.

“But we mustn’t rest on our laurels. I want London to be the most film-friendly city in the world.

I am determined to do more to support economic growth and create new jobs across London. A new film studio in Dagenham East will bring hundreds of new jobs to the area, benefiting everyone from carpenters to camera operators.”

Bristol: The reputation of Bristol as a worldleading film centre has been recognised with the announcement that it won a bid to become a UNESCO City of Film, joining the likes of Sydney, Galway, Rome and Bradford. It is a designation for the city, and not a single year award, meaning that Bristol will be known as a city of film for many years to come.

Bristol is a popular filming and cultural destination, with many pop-up screenings, popular locations, world-class training and education, a skilled crew base, film festivals and the award-winning Watershed Cultural Cinema and Digital Creativity Centre. The city also offers a designated Film Office service supporting all types of production, provided

by Bristol City Council and is home to The Bottle Yard Studios, the largest dedicated film and TV studio facility in the West Of England.

A recent report by the University of West of England, “Go West! Bristol’s Film & Television Industries”, revealed that around 3,700 people are employed by independent film and TV companies in the Bristol region, working in specialist sub-clusters of natural history, animation, factual, post-production, corporate and facilities. £140.3 million was generated by the sector in 2016.

Titles recently made in Bristol include the upcoming features The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society (dir. Mike Newell, DP Zac Nicholson BSC) and Stan & Ollie (dir. Jon S. Baird, DP Laurie Rose BSC), as well as the TV credits Poldark, Sherlock, Doctor Who and Broadchurch. In 2016/17, Bristol Film Office registered a total of £18.3 million inward investment generated by film and television production and a 30% rise in the number of productions assisted to shoot in the city.

The Bottle Yard Studios:

Deadly Dinosaurs, a new and ambitious natural history series for CBBC and BBC Worldwide, fronted by natural history presenter Steve Backshall, is the latest production to shoot at Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios.

Two new tenants – MTFX & The Makeup Kit – have also set up shop at the studios. With headquarters in Gloucester, MTFX delivers special effects for TV, film and events offering a range that includes snow, confetti, fire, rain, pyrotechnics, water, smoke, wind and mechanical effects. The company’s credits include Poldark, Deadly Dinosaurs, The White Princess, Trollied, The Grand Tour, Call The Midwife and Casualty.

Co-founded by business partners Pamela Haddock and Louise Fisher, The Makeup Kit is a professional stockist of make-up and hair products supplying designers in TV, film and theatre. Haddock has been Emmy-nominated for her work on The White Princess, Black Sails, Poirot: The Curtain, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and BAFTA nominated for C4’s The Life and Times of Nicholas Nickleby.

“EFFICIENT, FAST AND SIMPLE TO USE” When the ZK 19-90mm Cabrio first came out I did some testing and soon after got rid of all my primes; I didn’t need them anymore. It’s small, resolves perfectly, and saves up to an hour a day because you’re not losing time changing lenses. To me it’s a variable prime.

I come from documentaries, and have been shooting movies for 30 years, but I’ve always missed how streamlined documentary shooting was. Using

these zooms takes me back there again – they’re so compact, efficient and simple to use.

The focal range of 19-90mm is so perfect that I have gone a week without changing the lens on the A camera. When we do switch to the 85-300mm, it’s only marginally bigger so it just takes seconds to change. I can’t figure out how they make these lenses so small, fast, and sharp, but I’m glad they did because they have changed how I work.

WILLIAM WAGES ASC, CINEMATOGRAPHER THE FORGIVEN, SUN RECORDS, BURN NOTICE

To arrange a lens test for your upcoming production, please contact david.webb@fujifilm.com

William Wages ASC Masterclass at BSC Expo FEBRUARY 2, 2018, 17:30

Join cinematographer William Wages ASC for this exclusive Masterclass about his recent movie feature The Forgiven, shot in South Africa, directed by Roland Joffé and starring Eric Bana and Forest Whittaker. William will explain how he and Roland managed to make such a powerful movie happen within an incredibly tight budget and short timescale. Following an exclusive UK premier showing of part of the movie, William will talk about how he overcame lighting challenges, minimized shooting downtime and was able to capture almost the entire movie on a Steadicam.

FUJINON Cine Zoom lenses are perfect for all levels of shooting, from high-end movies to independent documentaries. Fujifilm will have its complete range of Premier, Cabrio and MK lenses on display for you to try out at BSC Expo 2018, so come and find out how using them on your next production could revolutionize the way you shoot.

@FujinonLenses

fujinoncinelens.com

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP

SHOOT OUT! P

rince Stone: camera operator Mark Milsome ACO was tragically killed last November whilst shooting a stunt sequence in Ghana during production of The Forgiving Earth, an 8-part BBC/Netflix conspiracy thriller series, with director Hugo Blick and DP Hubert Taczanowski. The agency has fielded hundreds of calls and emails in response to this devastating news, and all at Prince Stone express their deepest condolences to Mark’s family, friends and colleagues in remembrance of a camera operator and gentleman who will be most terribly missed.

Of the agency’s DPs… Oliver Ford shot a music promo for Black Honey with director Shaun James Grant and Haus Pictures, and a Reebok spot, featuring boxer Conor Ben, with director Hamish Brown. Of the agency’s camera/Steadicam operators… Peter Robertson Assoc BSC ACO worked on Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddy Mercury biopic, starring Rami Malek as Freddy. Directed by Bryan Singer with DP Tom Sigel ASC, the production shot on Alexa 65 and 16mm film around London. Sean Savage Assoc BSC ACO SOC is shooting on the eighth series of Game Of Thrones. Simon Baker Assoc BSC GBCT ACO was B-camera/ Steadicam on King Lear, starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent and Emily Watson, directed by Richard Eyre with DP Ben Smithard BSC. Simon also did re-shoots as B-camera on All The Money In The World, directed by Ridley Scott with Dariusz Wolski DP. James Layton ACO was A-camera/Steadicam with DPs Suzie Lavelle and Christophe Nuyens SBC on A Discovery Of Witches, a TV adaptation of part one of the “All Souls Trilogy” written by Deborah Harkness and produced by Bad Wolf

36 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

for Sky. James worked with directors JC Medina and Alice Troughton, and a cast including Theresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Trevor Eve, Owen Teale and Louise Brealey. Joe Russell ACO shot with directors Harry Bradbeer, Jon East and Damon Thomas on Killing Eve, an eight-part dramatic thriller written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge for BBC America and produced by Sid Gentle Films. The DPs were Julian Court BSC and Tim Palmer BSC, and they used Alexa Minis shooting 3.2K UHD with a set of K35 lenses alongside a set of Cooke TLS Speed Panchros. Along with Steadicam, the team used a Mōvi Pro quite extensively, mostly as a versatile remote head. Dan Nightingale has been shooting the feature Denmark, with director Adrian Shergold and DP Ulf Brantas, for BBC Film/Daybreak Pictures, with a cast including Rafe Spall and Simone Lykke. Tony Kay ACO GBCT was busy on block five, series 21 of BBC forensic drama Silent Witness, staring Emilia Fox, Neil Stuke and Richard Lintern. Tony worked with the director Colin Teague and DP Jan Richter-Friis, using Alexa Minis with Cooke Anamorphics. Rob Hart ACO shot in Manchester on Wanderlust, a six-part drama series for BBC One/Netflix produced by Kate Crowther for Drama Republic. The series stars Toni Collette, Steven Mackintosh, Zawe Ashton and Royce Pierreson. Rob worked with directors Luke Snellin and Lucy Tcherniak and DP Ben Wheeler. Cosmo Campbell was B-camera and second unit DP on Outlaw King, produced by Sigma Films with director David Mackenzie and DP Barry Ackroyd BSC. It tells the story of the Scottish ‘Outlaw King’ Robert The Bruce’s fight against the English army in 14th century Scotland. The cast includes Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Florence Pugh.

Calling the shots…

DP Esther Vardy on CBBC Drama Katy

McKinney Macartney Management: Stuart Biddlecombe is shooting Craith, with Gareth Bryn directing. Mick Coulter BSC has wrapped the MGM feature Nasty Women, which shot on location in London and Mallorca, directed by Chris Addison. Denis Crossan BSC is on Doctor Who with director Jamie Childs.

Shane Daly has completed Our Girl in Kuala Lumpur.

Seamus Deasy is shooting the feature Swords & Sceptres in London, Morocco and India with director Swathi Bhise.

Sergio Delgado is lighting Bulletproof in Manchester with Nick Love directing. Gavin Finney BSC is shooting new BBC drama Good Omens, with director Douglas Mackinnon, in London and South Africa. Jean Philippe Gossart is shooting with the second unit on Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them 2, with Stephen Woolfenden directing. Sam McCurdy BSC is lighting Into The Badlands in Dublin for director Paco Cabezas. Polly Morgan BSC is lensing FX/Marvel’s, Legion, in the US. John Pardue is prepping for Luther, with Jamie Payne directing. Chris Seager BSC is shooting Carnival Row in Prague, with Andy Goddard directing for Stillking. Mike Spragg BSC lit NBC’s The Brave for director Brad Anderson. Ben Butler, Sebastian Milaszewski, Arthur Mulhern, Alessandra Scherillo, Simona Susnea and Clive Tickner BSC have all been shooting commercials. Darran Tiernan continues shooting HBO’s Westworld.

Independent: Chas Bain is shooting The Last Kingdom III, directed by Erik Leijonborg and Jon East.

Ole Birkeland BSC shot with director Barney Cokeliss for Kaspersky, a spot for Age UK with Independent Films’ Philippe Andre, and an Aviva ad with Keith McCarthy at

An incey-win Joe Russell cey thing… w Court on Ki ith Julian lling Eve

t Pedal power… Rob Har i on Wanderlust with Ton bike the on Collette

Godspeed...

Mark Milsome ACO GBC T

I could do with a cuppa… DP Adam Etherington at the camera on The Boy With The Topknot

Stink. Darran Bragg has been shooting commercials with Dan Burn Forti at Making Pictures. Jordan Buck has shot various ads with directors including Alex de Mora, Mollie Mills, James Lawson & Emily Anderson. Ben Davis BSC is prepping Marvel’s Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson.

Benoit Delhomme AFC is shooting Julian Schnabel’s Eternity’s Gate. Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC has wrapped on Willenberger for director Ulrich Thomsen and is set to shoot Marjane Satrapi’s Radioactive. Ian Foster is busy shooting commercials. Kit Fraser has been selected

by BAFTA as one of 2017’s Breakthrough Brits and will take advantage of a year’s mentoring and guidance by some of the most talented people in cinematography.

Read all about Kit in the 'New Wave' section in this edition! Sam Goldie shot a four-week project in the UAE – 2 x 3.5min films which will be projected on a 30m x 30m screen at a live event celebrating the centenary of the founder of the UAE. Stuart Howell is shooting The Widow for ITV/Amazon with director Sam Donovan.

Seamus McGarvey BSC is lighting Drew Goddard’s Bad Times At The El Royale, starring Chris Hemsworth and Jeff Bridges. Andreas Neo shot with Will Clarke Smith at WCS. Aadel Nodeh Farahani is shooting commercials with directors Christian Banfield, David Barr and Tom Rudolph.

Mark Patten won the gong for Best Cinematography at the 2017 BSC Operators Night at The Langham for his work on BBC series Taboo. Mark has also recently been shooting with Bare Films’ Jacob Hopewell, Jim Weedon and Lucy Blakstad, and went to Lisbon to shoot a spot for Jeep with Federico Brugia. Stephan Pehrsson BSC is set to shoot Les Miserables for director Tom Shankland. Dick

Remembering Mark Milsome… slate and crew from A Private War

Pope BSC has completed Chitwetel Ejiofor’s The Hungry Season and is set to shoot Motherless Brooklyn for director Edward Norton. Christopher Ross BSC lit FX’s new tenpart series Trust. Martin Ruhe has been in Canada with SomeSuch director Nick Gordon for Amazon Prime, and then with Ian Pons Jewell for Mercedes via Anorak Films.

Ben Seresin BSC ASC has completed Doug Liman’s feature Chaos Walking ­– set in a dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each others’ thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds.

Alan Stewart is shooting Aladdin for director Guy Ritchie.

Dan Trapp has been shooting ads with Malcolm Green in Dubai. Ed Wild BSC has finished Warrior with director Assaf Bernstein for Cinemax in South Africa, then went to Bucharest to shoot an LV spot with RSA director Ben Scott. Erik Wilson is shooting Netflix/The Jim Henson Company’s The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance. Simon Dennis has wrapped HBO’s American Crime Story in the US. Adam Etherington teamed up with director Will McGregor to shoot the feature The Dark Outside in Snowdonia. Eric Kress is shooting the reboot of Danish TV crime show Those Who Kill. John Mathieson BSC is shooting Rob Letterman’s latest film, Detective Pikachu, a live-action feature based on Pokémon. Ben Smithard BSC lit Richard Eyre’s King Lear. Mark Waters has wrapped on new TV crime drama, Craith.

Screen Talent: Adam Sliwinski is shooting Unbridled Love for Crowne Media. Bart Sienkiewicz recently shot commercials for Carphone Warehouse, completed colour grading on Blackpill’s series Immortality and is now shooting the feature film The Encounter with

director Carl Strathie.

Christopher Sharman has been busy with commercials and documentaries.

Intrinsic: in features, new client Michał Sobociński Remembering PSC, who won Mark Milsome… the Polish Films slate from All The Money In The World Competition at Camerimage 2017, has been shooting Love Is Everywhere in the legendary Gdansk shipyards. Peter Field has been lighting second unit on Swords And Sceptres in India and Morocco and Piotr Śliskowski PSC has finished on Hurricane. Nic Lawson is second unit DP on The Rhythm Section. Tony Coldwell has finished on Free Rein. Ruairi O’Brien ISC lit second unit on Humans. James Mather ISC has finished his stint on Krypton. Richard Donnelly lit second unit on Mars in Budapest. Andrew Johnson is lighting more Holby City. Rasmus Arrildt DFF continues on the second series of Harlots, and Gabi Norland is operating on Sick Of It. George Geddes shot the documentary feature, The Last Breath and David Liddell has been shooting the TV doc, The Sweet Smell Of Success. Arturo Vasquez SVC, Brian Strange, Chris O’Driscoll, Dave Miller, David Liddell, Ed Lindsley, Gabi Norland, George Burt, Lynda Hall, Malcolm McLean, Martin Roach, Martyna Knitter, Robert Shacklady, Simon Weekes and Tobias Marshall >>

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21/12/2017 18:28 British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 37

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP

Tuk Tuk and Steadicam…

Jordan Buck in Mumbai

Eyes on the prize…

Arthur Mulhern shooting a commercial

Steadi as a rock...

Tony Kay weilding the camera on Silent Witness

At the slider...

Annemarie Le an Vercoe on Kat And The Band

Dragon in

have been busy with commercials, corporate films and music promos.

Reel Angels Agency: DP Esther Vardy has wrapped on the CBBC drama series Katy, directed by John McKay. It’s an adaptation of Dame Jaqueline Wilson’s novel, featuring a strongwilled heroine, shot around Manchester. The main camera package was an Alexa Mini paired with ARRI Zeiss Master Primes.

Casarotto: Eben Bolter is shooting conspiracy thriller White London, with director

Crossrails… shooting a rooftop scene for Lucky Man – (l-r) director Phil John, 1st AD Mark Hedges and DP Tim Palmer BSC

38 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Paul Andrew Williams for Two Brothers, following a lengthy shoot in Hong Kong. David Katznelson DFF BSC is lighting Rides Upon The Storm with Kasper Munk.

Hélène Louvart AFC has completed on Mia HansonLove’s Maya. She has also graded Immersed Family in Sao Paolo, and Petra for Fresdeval Films with director Jamie Rosales. Tim Palmer BSC is shooting Doctor Who with director Sallie Aprahamian. Mark Wolf is lighting Kill By Debt, and has graded the Welsh feature Last Summer, directed by Jon Jones. Zac Nicholson BSC has just completed Trevor Nunn’s Red Joan for Trademark Films and is currently grading Guernsey. Pau Esteve Birba begins on Movistar’s new series Arde Madrid directed by Paco Leon. Sturla Brandth Grøvlen is gearing up on a new project with Icelandic director Grimur Hakonarson.

Annika Summerson is grading Norwegian project One Night, directed by Øystein Karlsen. Matt Gray BSC is meeting on upcoming projects. Julian Court BSC has wrapped on Killing Eve for Sid Gentle, with director Harry Bradbeer. Shooting commercials and other projects are: James Aspinall BSC, Sam Care, Greg Duffield, Lukas Strebel, Wojciech Szepel, Gerry Vasbenter, James Welland, Michael Wood, Marcus Autelli, Sebastian Cort, Brian Fawcett and Bruce Jackson.

Berlin Associates: Sarah Bartles Smith has finished BBC’s Two Doors Down series three. Jamie Cairney lit the pilot, Defending The Guilty, for Big Talk and went on to C4’s The Bisexual for Sister Pictures.

Catherine Derry is lighting the feature-doc Pete And Gillie. Ollie Downey shot ITV’s Clean Break for Sister Pictures. Mark Garrett is with director Alex Gibney on a major international feature documentary.

Suzie Lavelle is lighting Curfew for Tiger Aspect Productions/Sky. Annemarie Lean-Vercoe is lensing the feature Kat And The Band for Boudica Films, with director Esther Hegarty, producers Stella Nwimo, Rebecca Long and Ian Davies. Ian Moss has completed on Safe for Red Productions, and is shooting a Sonny Liston project for Raw Television. Toby Moore recently finished Delicious series two for Bandit Television.

United Agents: Barry Ackroyd BSC has wrapped on David Mackenzie’s feature The Outlaw King in Scotland. Remi Adefarasin BSC is grading Fighting With My Family, directed by Stephen Merchant. John De Borman BSC is reading scripts. John Lee is shooting The Bodyguard, a new Jed Mercurio drama for World Productions. David Luther is on the new German TV series Das Boot in Prague, directed by Andreas Prochaska.

Tony Slater Ling BSC is lensing The Informer, a new Neal Street/BBC drama, with director Jonny Campbell. Gavin Struthers is prepping Nightflyers for UCP/SYFY, based on the novella by George R.R. Martin. Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC is prepping Artemis Fowl for director Sir Kenneth Branagh. Alan Almond BSC is shooting Carnival Row for Amazon. Danny Cohen BSC is lighting Stephen Frears’ A Very English Scandal. Martin Fuhrer BSC has been working on an Irish documentary, directed by Aisling Walsh. David Higgs BSC will shoot Origin for Left Bank/ Sony Pictures. Kieran McGuigan BSC is on series three of Humans and Laurie Rose BSC will light Ben Wheatley’s Colin You Anus. Bet Rourich is shooting Hacker, directed

by Poul Berg. John Sorapure is lighting Urban Myths for Ben Palmer and Happy Tramp, and Simon Tindall has graded Film4’s High Window. Si Bell is prepping Butterfly for director Anthony Byrne. Charlotte Bruus Christensen has wrapped on John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place. Sara Deane is on commercials. James Friend BSC has ended his stint of lighting on Patrick Melrose for director Edward Berger and Showtime/ Sky Atlantic. He goes on to War Of The Worlds for director Craig Viveiros and Mammoth next.

David Marsh is lighting series three of No Offence in Manchester. Anton Mertens SBC is available. Neus Olle has wrapped on TV drama series Letter To My Father, for her regular Catalonian director Mar Coll, for Spanish TV1. >>

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WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP Tips and tricks… Roger Bonnici teaching a masterclass in Naples

David Raedeker is available. Niels Reedtz Johansen is grading Walk Like A Panther for director Dan Cadan and Fox International Productions. Kate Reid is still on Press, for Lookout Point/BBC and director Tom Vaughan. Joshua James Richards was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his work on The Rider. He is developing a new project with that project’s director, and his regular collaborator, Chloé Zhao. Ed Rutherford is still lighting Vanity Fair for Mammoth/ITV with director James Strong.

Anna Valdez Hanks is available. Ben Wheeler was in Manchester shooting Wanderlust for Drama Republic, Netflix and BBC. Magni Agustsson shot commercials including Heineken for director Jeff Low in London through Biscuit, and Vodafone also with Jeff Low. Alex Barber’s recent ad campaigns include Expo and 02 for Dom & Nic in London via Outsider. John Barr has wrapped on a US feature for director Mark Jackson in NYC. Philipp Blaubach enjoyed the On a high… success of the TV show Gunpowder Camerimage directed by Jay Blakeson for BBC One, Polish films winner Michał starring Kit Harrington, and the UK release Sobociński of Kaleidoscope directed by Rupert Jones.

PSC above Simon Chaudoir’s recent spots include the Gdansk shipyards Diesel with Francois Rousselet for Division in South Africa, Chanel for director Sophie Edelstein in Paris via Psycho, and Chanel for Karim Sadli through Art + Commerce, also in Paris. Lasse Frank is shooting the feature Tolkien for Dome Karukoski in Liverpool for Fox Searchlight. Florian Hoffmeister BSC has just wrapped Johnny English 3 for director David Kerr, through Working Title.

Brendan Galvin’s ads include a new Disney spot for director Leigh Marling in Paris for Badass.

Stephen Keith-Roach shot Samsung TVC for Gary Freedman through Independent, Purple Bricks for Michael Downing at Biscuit, and Camelot for Pedro Romhanyi at Outsider. Tim Maurice-Jones BSC’s lit a Boots spot for director Daniel Kleinman in South Africa via Rattling Stick and shot US projects for Traktor. Alex Melman has been busy with Wrigley’s for Zach Math in London for Bold, McDonalds for Guy Manwaring at Sonny in London, and KFC for directors Mathery via 1st Avenue Machine. Sebastian Pfaffenbichler shot another Tesco campaign for director Guy Shelmerdine through Smuggler, and a Barilla commercial for director Mark Hoffman in Dubai for BRW. Jake Polonsky BSC is busy shooting Billions series three in New York. Tristan Oliver is working on Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation feature Isle Of Dogs in London. Simon Richards 40 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

recently shot a Churchill commercial for director Joe Mann in London for Blink and worked with Max Sherman on a new Robinson’s campaign, also in London for Blink.

Christopher Sabogal’s recent projects include Head & Shoulders for The Hoffman Brothers in Spain and Italy via Independent. Laust Trier Mork is shooting episode three of Danish crime TV show Bedrag in Denmark. Joost Van Gelder’s commercials include Jameson for director Matthijs Van Heijningen through MJZ in Dublin. Daniel Vilar lit a Michelob spot for Ivan Bird in South Africa via Rattling Stick. Marcel Zyskind has been busy with commercials including Stimorol for director Bart Timmer in Kiev, through Henry.

Walker. Sy Turnbull shot the 2018 campaign for Pure Gym with director Marcus Lundin and then headed to Crete and Malta for the Royal Navy with director Gregg Hackett. David Lanzenberg is still on set in Los Angeles shooting with director Pierre Morel for the revenge story, Peppermint, starring Jennifer Garner. Having wrapped the Italian part of Trust with Dawn Shadforth, Robbie Ryan BSC ISC is underway on a new feature, collaborating again with director Noah Baumbach in New York who he worked with previously on The Meyorwitz Stories.

Paul Mackay has been working on his second feature Second Date Sex with director Rachael Herron, and was third unit on A Very English Scandal before shooting Made Sitting pretty…

To Be Seen, a commercial Eben Bolter on White Dragon for Skoda with director with focus puller Darren Mulligan. Simon AJ Golesworthy Rowles was on Burgh and director Paul Andrew Williams Island in Devon shooting a commercial for Landrover, Time & Tide, with director Konrad Begg. He also worked on Science Of Stupid series six for the National Geographic Channel. Richard Stewart has been shooting with Knucklehead’s Ben Gregor and director Joshua Stoker for a Zoho campaign. John e th ve ha u s vista, do yo Perez had an important job This is the ce Jackson motion ru vision?… B e Isis Madonna Basile at Camerimage on the jury s cu ne ai fo tr on to for Best Music Video. He nder Byng and Alexa recently shot in New York with Sophie Muller on a Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson music video. Andrew Boulter has

spent more time in Saudi Arabia working with director My Management: Ivo Mostertman. Tim Spence directed and filmed a is excited to now campaign for Max Factor through The Mill. Ekkehart Treason an be representing Pollack was in Shanghai shooting for Lexus with director d pl ot …

Philipp Bla cinematographer Adric Linus Russel, and in Warsaw shooting a commercial for the set of ubach on Gunpowde Watson, whose work r Kelloggs with Academy Films director Daniel Warwick, you can admire on before jetting off to Cape Town to shoot for BMW and their website. Stuart Schofferhofer. David Wright lit spots for Strongbow, Dryburgh ASC NZCS Adidas and Costa Coffee as well as short film, Surveillance, was on the jury for the main competition at Camerimage for director Jon Max Spatz. Jo Willems ASC SBC graded 2017 before heading back to the US to start work on Francis Lawrence’s upcoming film Red Sparrow, due Peter Hedges' family drama Ben Is Back, starring Hedges’ to be released in March, and has also been in LA with son Lucas alongside Julia Roberts, shooting in New York. director Tom Hooper on a big campaign for Dell. Jallo One of the agency’s newest clients, Ben Coughlan, shot Faber FSF has been non-stop shooting in Rome for TIM a commercial for UBS with director Jack Chute with Mobile with Igor Borgi through Movie Magic, in Madrid Proud Robinson and Partners. Steve Chivers has been for Nissan with The Salto Bros, in Vancouver for Duracell working in LA on Eon with Scott Lyon. Petra Korner with Andreas Nilsson, in Warsaw for Axe Gold directed AAC attended Camerimage before heading to Cardiff to

by Keith Schofield, and Mallorca shooting Mr Beach start prep on A Discovery Of Witches with director Sarah with Owen Trevor. He’s now started shooting for >>

WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP The buck stops here… David Mackie and 1st AC Tom Finch

Downtown…

Al Rae on The Widow

Long walk to the pits…

David Bird shooting a car commercial

erator on Reay and op It works!… Sim a vintage 1986 Camera d an n ilto Scott M

Chino Moya’s Undergods, a tragi-comic sci-fi feature telling the story Lady in red…

Rina Yang eyes of how the comfortable up a shot life of a modern family is interrupted by an otherwordly event.

Dominic Bartels worked alongside director Jon Clements in Finland for Lumene with Spring Fashion Film, and in London for Lemsip. Olivier Cariou worked with director Mike Baldwin on a critter-licious promo for ITV’s I’m a Celebrity. He then jetted off to Malaysia to shoot a commercial for Legoland with directors Conkerco. As well as spending time at Camerimage, Aaron Reid worked with director Savannah Setten on Ghostpoet’s ‘Woe Is Meee’ music video. Aaron also shot for Pale Waves on the music videos ‘My Obsession’ and ‘New Years Eve’ with director Stephen Agnew. Nicolaj Bruel DFF has wrapped on Dogman, which has been shooting in Naples and Rome, with director Matteo Garrone. Kate Arizmendi has been working on projects for Rolex with Jan Wentz, H&M with Gustav Johansson, ECPAT with Philip Templeman, Dick's Sporting Goods with Vincent Haycock and OWLLE in Kiev with Thibaut Grevet. Todd Banhazl worked with Georgi Banks-Davis in London for Apple before heading back to the US to shoot Gap with Gordon Van Steiner.

Marcello Dapporto was in Italy with Edoardo Lugar on Unicredit, and with Bellone and Consonni on Sisal, before heading to Cape Town on Rewe for Francesco Calabrese.

Lester De Havilland worked with director Rob Kluger at Strike Digital Ltd on Jackie Jackie. Roger Bonnici taught a masterclass in Naples for a week in November passing on his knowledge to university students. Gerry Floyd has been working with Academy Award winning producer Simon Chinn at Lightbox, shooting a documentary feature in Cape Town with director Jesse Vile. Tuomo Virtanen worked with Asian Production company Gwantsi on a shoot in Barcelona and was most recently in Rome grading the film Otzy And The Mystery of Time.

Sara Putt Associates: is now representing aerial filming and photography company Volanti-Imaging. Let’s hope the new venture takes off. Pete Edwards has wrapped on Still Game for BBC Scotland. Simon Hawken has been working on commercials for Bupa, Umbro, Weight Watchers and Chevrolet and did some splinter unit work on Krypton.

42 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Paul Mackay worked on a Skoda spot.

David Mackie is shooting Tales From The Lodge in Newcastle, and then will join the team of The Dark Crystal as shadow unit DP. Oona Menges has wrapped on Different For Girls and is recceing for the feature Amsterdam Secrets. Simon Reay continues on Waffle The Wonder Dog for Darrall MacQueen. Giulio Biccari has been working on reshoots for Our Girl for the BBC in South Africa. Andrei Austin was in Scotland working on the new series of Outlander for Left Bank Pictures/Starz. Jon Beacham has wrapped on Hellboy. Danny Bishop was as A-camera/Steadicam on Patrick Melrose, and has started on Curfew. Joe Bullen has been operating on a Bollywood film. Ed Clark continues on Good Omens with Gavin Finney BSC. Ilana Garrard operated on Trust with DP Chris Ross.

Rodrigo Gutierrez operated B-camera on Mary Queen Of Scots. James Leigh is operating Steadicam on Casualty.

Vince McGahon is winding up on Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them 2. Julian Morson recently completed a Sam Smith promo and reshoots for Mission Impossible 6.

Al Rae went to Ireland and Toronto to work on The Widow for DP Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC. Fabrizio Sciarra is working on Krypton. Tom Walden is on Patrick Melrose with DP James Friend, and Rick Woollard shot spots for Adidas, Special K and Samsung.

ARRICREW: Tom Wade recently completed work with the micro unit on Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as shooting King Krule: Live On The Moon for the singer-songwriter’s newly released album The OOZ. Having finished on B-camera/ Steadicam for Johnny English III with Florian Hoffmister BSC and director David Kerr, Ossie

McLean ACO SOC has been working A-camera/ Steadicam for George Richmond BSC on additional photography for the reboot of Tomb Raider. Chris Plevin ACO continues to operate A-camera, alongside Paul Edwards ACO on B-camera/Steadicam, for Guy Richie’s adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin. Derek Walker ACO GBCT operated on dailies for various productions, including Mary Queen Of Scots, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald and Tomb Raider. Shaun Cobley ACO is on B-camera/Steadicam for Robert Richardson ASC on A Private War, a biopic about war correspondent Mary Colvin shooting in Jordan and London under director Matthew Heineman. Barney Piercy operated B and C-camera on commercials for Knucklehead and Zap, working with DPs Masanobu Takayanagi and Danny Hiele. Operator Pete Batten ACO was on A-camera for the second unit of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Matt Poynter ACO is B-camera/Steadicam, shooting Amazon’s Carnival Row in Prague with director Jon Amiel and DPs Ula Pontikos BSC, Alan Almond BSC, Tony Miller BSC and Chris Seager BSC.

Echo Artists: welcomes cinematographer Maria Von Hausswolff to its roster. Maria recently shot an experimental feature with Danish director Simon Staho for Master Plan Pictures, and won the Best Cinematography Debut Award at the 2017 Camerimage International Film Festival for her work on Winter Brothers, directed by Hlynur Pálmason. Niels Thastum, currently shooting a documentary in the Amazon with director Christian Bonke, was also honoured at Camerimage with a nomination for Alt-J’s In Cold Blood music video, which he shot with director Casper Balslev, as well as a Best Directorial Debut win for director Janus Metz for Borg/McEnroe.

Congratulations also go to David Gallego ADFC for his BIFA nomination for Best Cinematography on I Am Not A Witch.

David recently graded Martin Skovbjerg’s >>

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WHO’S SHOOTING WHO? / CINEMATOGRAPHERS ROUND-UP I can see your house from here…

Jallo Faber up the ladder on a Mr Beach ad for Stink

Johnny English III team… (l-r) Elliot Dupuy 2nd AC, Fran Weston 1st AC, Ossie McLean camera/ Steadicam pperator, Vis Sopjani grip

Winner… Maris Von Hausswold with her Camerimage gong

44 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Knockout…

Carlos Catalan on the short by conceptual artist Hetain Patel Don’t Look At The Finger

feature Bracklands and Ciro Guerra’s feature Birds Of Passage. Good Time and Marjorie Prime, both lensed by Sean Price Williams, were nominated for several awards at the Independent Spirit Awards, and Sean is shooting director Owen Kline’s feature Two Against Nature, produced by regular collaborators Josh and Benny Safdie. Further congratulations go to Carlos Catalan, who was nominated for his work on the third season of Broadchurch by the Royal Television Society, and Felix Wiedemann BSC for his Best Cinematography nomination by the BSC for his work on The Witness For The Prosecution.

Christopher Miles has wrapped on the Australian Pointer by nature… series Mr In Between.

Matt Poynter ACO Andrew Commis ACS on the set of Carnival Row in Prague has wrapped on several episodes of the anthology series Do Not Disturb directed by Matthew Huston, Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern (aka Thirtytwo), Jake Chapman, and Zoe Cassavetes.

Michael Paleodimos has lensed Ed Perkins’ short Black Sheep, and Lachlan Milne ACS has wrapped on Abe Forsythe’s feature Little Monsters. Meanwhile, Christopher Miles and Alexandre Jamin have been shooting various

commercials and music videos. Edgar Dubrovskiy lensed Clean Bandit’s most recent music video I Miss You, directed

by Jack Patterson, and his commercial for YouTube, directed

by Thirtytwo, has been released. Charlie Herranz lit liveaction elements, in collaboration with The Mill, for The Tate, directed by Ross Scroble and Ivo Sousa, after having finished shooting the Lights Out promo for Matt Wills.

Lux Artists: welcomes Daniel Fernández Abelló and Bobby Shore CSC to its roster. Darius Khondji AFC ASC is lighting Too Old To Die Young, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn for Amazon Studios. Jessica Lee Gagne is shooting Ben Stiller’s new feature Escape At Dannemora.

Thimios Bakatakis is prepping The Lodge, directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz. Tom Townend shot a H&M commercial with director Gustav Johansson. Ari Wegner has wrapped on In Fabric, Peter Strickland’s new feature. Natasha Braier ADF has finished Gloria, Sebastián Lelio’s reimagining of his 2013 film of the same name. James Laxton has wrapped on Barry Jenkins’ new feature, If Beale Street Could Talk. Michael McDonough BSC ASC is shooting mini-series One Day She’ll Darken, directed by Patty Jenkins. Matyas Erdely HSC recently shot Drake Doremus. Rob Hardy BSC is still on Christopher McQuarrie’s feature Mission Impossible 6. Diego Garcia has finished Gabriel Mascaro’s feature Overgod. Kasper Tuxen shot an Audi ad directed by Martin De Thurah.

Chayse Irvin has wrapped on Spike Lee’s new feature Black Klansman. Nicolas Bolduc CSC recently lit The Hummingbird Project, directed by Kim Nguyen. Jakob Ihre is prepping for Chernobyl, a new HBO series directed

by Johan Renck. Ruben Impens SBC is shooting Jade, directed by Sacha Pollack. Martijn Van Broekhuizen NSC has graded two features – Coureur, directed by Kenneth Mercken, and My Foolish Heart, directed by Rolf van Eijk.

Arnaud Poitier AFC lit a commercial with We Are From LA. Steve Annis has finished Grant Sputore’s feature I Am

The traffic lights take a while here don’t they…

Danny Bishop on Melrose Can I have that with fries… DP Sean Price Williams

Honey, we shrank the unit publicist...

DP Jamie Cairney with his focus puller Ian Pearce shooting Flowers for Sister Pics/C4

Mother. John Lynch ISC shot the music video for ALT-J’s Pleader track. Zack Spiger has wrapped on Truman and Cooper’s mini-episodic First Love. Bradford Young ASC recently shot a Chanel commercial with director Steve McQueen. Leo Hinstin has wrapped on Thanksgiving, directed by Nicolas Saada. Stuart Bentley has colour graded Rowan Athale’s feature Strange But True. André Chemetoff shot a Nike commercial directed by Romain Gavras. Also busy shooting commercials are: Sebastian Blenkov, Benjamin Loeb CSC, Mauro Chiarello, Rina Yang, Ula Pontikos BSC, Benjamin Kračun, Justin Brown, Magnus Joenck, Luke Jacobs, Danny Hiele, Jackson Hunt, Manel Ruiz, Ben Moulden, Alexis Zabe, Adam Scarth, Rik Zang, David Bird, Trevor Wineman, Erik Henriksson, Benjamin Roux, Rasmus Vidbaek, Sebastian Winterø, Jake Scott, Ben Fordesman, Matyas Erdely HSC, Giuseppe Favale, Krzysztof Trojnar, Daniel Landin BSC, Arnau Valls Colomer AEC, Jody Lee Lipes and Autumn Durald Arkapaw.

Wizzo & Co: welcomes Adam Gillham to the roster, who is prepping on Stan Lee’s Lucky Man with director Louise Hooper. Adam also shot the dramas Hatton Garden and Rellik. Gary Shaw is prepping on Fortitude Season 3 with director Kieron Hawkes. Richard Stoddard has wrapped on the feature Triple Word Score with director Carl Hunter, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and starring Bill Nighy and Sam Riley. Nicola Daley ASC is shooting a special one-off doc for BBC1 on Asian life in Leicester called Leicester Sings. Sverre Sordal lit the shorts Perfect Turn, directed by Minha Kim, and Last of England directed by Sophie Russell, before prepping the feature Ilkley. Franklin Dow shot in Sudan and Bangladesh for a series of films on the Nobel Peace Prize directed by Oscar-winning Orlando Von Einsiedel. Tim Sidell is shooting the final few days of feature Two For Joy directed by Tom Beard and starring

The cat in the hat…

Zack Spiger at the 35mm film camera

Samantha Morton, and Karl Oskarsson IKS has wrapped End Of Sentence, scripted and directed by Elfar Adalsteins, starring John Hawkes. Baz Irvine has graded ITV’s three-part thriller Trauma, for director Marc Evans. Dale McCready is shooting The Last Kingdom in Hungary with Andy de Emmony. Angus Hudson BSC shot second unit in Scotland on the period feature Mary Queen Of Scots for main unit DP John Mathieson. Matthias Pilz was on second unit on the acclaimed drama Requiem, directed

by Mahalia Belo and on SAS Who Dares Wins in Morocco, directed by Alex Kiehl. David Procter continues on a Netflix Original drama on-location in London, Yorkshire and Norway. Patrick Meller has graded Ninian Doff’s debut feature shot in Scotland, and shot the short Boat, directed by Louise Stern, funded by Film4. Mattias Nyberg has wrapped and graded the final three episodes of League Of Gentlemen, with director Steve Bendelack.

Luke Palmer’s feature The Unseen directed by Gary Sinyor is on cinema release, and David Rom has been shooting Furious Andrew, directed by Jamie J Johnson. Richard Mott shot in Scotland on film for TV Grandpa’s Great Escape, directed by Elliott Hegarty. Duncan Telford lit the comedy series Sick of It, starring Karl Pilkington with director Richard Yee. Nick Dance BSC has been working on season four of Poldark with director Joss Agnew. Oli Russell is shooting two pilots, both directed

by Ben Palmer. Jan Richter-Friis DFF has now wrapped on a block of forensic drama Silent Witness with director Colin Teague. Dan Stafford-Clark shot period pilot Ye Sweeney with director Ben Taylor. Susie Salavati’s feature My Feral Heart, directed by Jane Gull, is now available on DVD. Damian Bromley shot with director Brett Sullivan. Matthew Emvin Taylor’s short film Careful How You Go directed by Emerald Fennell will receive its World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2018. Charlie Goodger has been lensing with Leo

Cosme and Trevor Robinson. Ben Magahy shot with John Dower, and Dan Bronks with Matt Piedmont and Ben Whitehouse. Will Bex framed with Jonathan ‘JJ’ Agustavo and Vaughn & Anthea, and Theo Garland worked with Sammy Rawal and Neil Harris. Antonio Paladino shot with Andy McLeod, and Molly Manning Walker lit a promo for Billy Boyd. Fede Alfonzo worked with Jamie Rafn and Tim Brown, and Adam Barnett shot for Jack Retallack. Ross McLennan worked with Eliot Rausch, and Peter James with Phil Vanier. Congratulations to Ruben Woodin Dechamps whose feature-doc, Granny Project, directed by Balint Revesz, won Best MDR Film at the International Leipzig Festival.

Vision at Wizzo: Rasmus Heise DFF has wrapped his stint on Netflix series The Rain, directed by Natasha Arthy. Nick Morris’ short Wren Boys has been selected for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Jonas Mortensen is shooting his drama-doc feature film Rude Boy, portraying the rise of Jamaican reggae and ska culture, directed by Nick Davies for Pulse Films. Benedict Spence has wrapped series three of Witless and sitcom Gameface, both directed

by Andrew Chapman for BBC and C4 respectively. Eoin McLoughlin’s documentary The Swimmer directed by Thomas Beug and Jonas Mortensen’s short film Cowboy (directed by Colin O’Toole and starring Steve Evets) both showed at Cork Film Festival. Jim Jolliffe has been shooting commercials for Rogue and Another Film Company.

Jaime Feliu Torres has been shooting with Smuggler and Great Guns. Martin Hill continues to collaborate with HLA. Richard Mott has lensed for Smuggler and Tantrum, and Luke Scott has been working on a largescale shoot for Conor McGregor’s new sponsorship brand.

Eoin McLoughlin has been shooting music promos with Academy and commercials with HLA. James Blann lit Sky’s main Christmas campaign with Ben Liam Jones through Strange Love. Ben Wearing’s recent music promos include a Paloma Faith video with Thomas James at RSA. n

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 45

MEET THE NEW WAVE / KIT FRASER

BREAK THROUGH BRIT! Filmography (so far): Under The Shadow (2016), Possum (releasing in 2018), Farming (releasing in 2018)

When did you discover you wanted to be a DP? I was 15 and our school had been given a grant to build a new media centre. They installed a bluescreen studio, bought a number of SVHS cameras and linear editing suites. It was the first time I had really enjoyed a subject at school, and I quickly became obsessed with filmmaking.

Where did you train?

I studied a GNVQ at school and then went on to University Of Westminster (now Westminster Film School) where I studied a BA in Film & TV, specialising in Cinematography for three years.

What are your favourite films, and why?

Way too hard to answer properly! They keep changing.

When I was 15, The Matrix (1999, dirs Lana & Lilly Wachowski, DP Bill Pope) released. With the new studio at school and the usual teenage-boy-action-filmfascination it was by far my favourite film at the time.

Other films that always come to mind are There Will Be Blood (2007, dir Paul Thomas Anderson, DP Robert Elswit ASC), American Beauty (1999, dir Sam Mendes, DP Conrad Hall ASC) and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995, dir Steve Oedekerk, DP Donald E. Thorin).

What’s the best advice you were ever given?

“You are not a nihilist” – from my Mum to my teenage self.

Who are your DP/industry heroes?

Too many to mention! Conrad Hall ASC would be right up there on the list though. I also love Robert Elswit ASC’s work, John Mathieson BSC, Ben Davis BSC, Ben Seresin BSC ASC, Dan Mindel BSC ASC... among many others!

Have you won any awards or received any nominations?

Last year I was announced as a “Breakthrough Brit”

by BAFTA. Although it’s not strictly an award, it’s an honour. I also produced and shot a short called Two & Two with writer/ director, Babak Anvari, nominated for Best Short at the 2012 BAFTAs. I was nominated for Best Cinematography at the London Independent Film Festival for another short called Boxer On The Wilderness (director Alexandra Boyd). In 2017 Under The Shadow won Outstanding British Debut at the BAFTAs – not my award, but I’m very proud to have been involved!

What’s your proudest moment?

Definitely Under The Shadow winning the BAFTA. Babak kindly invited me to the ceremony too. I literally jumped out of my seat when they announced the film had won!

46 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

What’s the worst knock-back you ever had?

There have been a few films I’ve interviewed for, really wanted to shoot, but didn’t get. I never feel too dismayed by it though. It just spurs me on to do better on the next one!

What one piece of kit could you not live without?

My Leica M4-P.

What have been your best/worst moments on-set?

Best: hard to say, because I love the job so much.

I did a wine commercial in South America with director Doyle Hooper a few years ago which was unforgettable – two weeks of meeting amazing people, drinking great wine, eating great food and shooting beautiful vineyards.

What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever shot in?

Toilets. Any time I have to shoot a scene in a toilet, I don’t like it. It’s weird.

Worst: I was shooting a charity film in Indonesia, reconstructing a scene where a gang of guerillas robbed a Red Crescent aid convoy. Lots of guns pointing down the camera, etc. All very exciting, until I saw the gang unloading live ammunition at lunchtime. I asked the producer what was going on.

It quickly became apparent that no armourers were affordable, or available, in the middle of nowhere in the mountains of Indonesia. So a local gang with real guns had been hired instead.

Tell us your most hilarious faux pas?

Shooting in Jordan for Under the Shadow. For some stupid reason, I slipped into calling my gaffer, Hosni Baqa, “dawg” like a wannabe hip-hop star might refer to a close acquaintance. Two weeks into the shoot Hosni asked my focus puller, Ralph Messer, why I kept calling him a dog as he was beginning to become offended. It took him two weeks... what a nice man. I didn’t feel so hip-hop or cool after that!

Away from work, what are your greatest passions?

Playing the piano, but I don’t play nearly enough.

Photography too, but does that count, because it’s also kind of work? I love going to galleries too. I’m good at standing still and staring into space.

Which films are you most proud of to date?

All three of them!

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

I did a music video where the record company/ management told the director and me on the day of the shoot that we weren’t to shoot the artist’s face or, at the very least, to frame so we couldn’t see the face all at one time. As the entire video was focused on the artist singing solo in an infinity curve this proved quite difficult.

Tell us your hidden talent/party trick?

Nunchucks – after a teenage obsession with Bruce Lee. In the entire history of filmmaking, which film would you love to have shot?

Road To Perdition (2002, dir Sam Mendes, DP Conrad Hall ASC). Every frame is so beautiful.

What are your current top albums?

Giggs: Landlord. Good way to wake you up in the morning.

Tell us your greatest extravagance?

I just purchased Cinema 4D Visualise. I keep telling myself I need it.

Give us three adjectives that best describe you and your approach to cinematography?

Enthusiastic. Relentless. Dark.

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

Professional cry-er. Not a town crier. Just crying a lot, because I wasn’t a DP. n

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2nd – 3rd February 2018

Welcome to the 2018 BSC Expo. Following the success of its 2017 edition, the BSC Expo is back at Battersea Evolution, Battersea Park, London (2-3 February 2018).

Created by the British Society of Cinematographers, the annual kit-fest is the UK’s leading event for film and television production – delivering the nation’s premier showcase for all manner of new and innovative products and services, plus informative panel discussions and technical presentations.

The BSC is delighted to welcome all Visitors, Exhibitors and Patrons to the 2018 Expo at Battersea Evolution. The BSC Expo is now established at this popular venue as one of Europe’s most innovative equipment exhibitions for filmmakers wishing to further improve the moving image. A BSC member will be on stand to answer any questions about the World’s second oldest Society, celebrating its 60th Anniversary next year. The BSC Expo offers a highly-sociable networking opportunity too, providing a great rendez-vous to catch up with friends and colleagues. And, admission is absolutely free!

All under one roof, in the heart of London, you can check out the very latest lens, camera and lighting equipment, on-set tech, grip and support gear, location and production services, along with post production, VFX and sound technology – from more exhibitors, more brands, more manufacturers and more suppliers than ever, from right around the world.

Added to this, the BSC Expo is hosting a free two-day seminar programme. Leading global cinematographers and technology specialists will take the stage to discuss and present the very latest issues and trends in cinematography.

>>

PREVIEW / BSC EXPO 2018

A. C. Entertainment Technologies – Stand 107: Head to the A. C. Entertainment Technologies stand and see some of the latest cutting edge technologies for both studio and location use. These include the awardwinning Chroma-Q Space Force, StageSmarts, LSC, RatPac and our in-house bespoke cable manufacturing facility, Tourflex Cabling.

AATON TRANSVIDEO – Stand 400: AATON audio location mixer recorders, with AMBEO™ Sennheiser VR integration. TRANSVIDEO new StarliteHD family with high resolution and low latency. /i COOKE™, ZEISS™ eXtended lens data integration. ARRI™ Alexa™ Mini & CANON™ remote features. New HyperBright™ CineMonitorHD 8 X-SBL with HDR functionality.

AMPS Association of Motion Picture Sound – Stand 544: The Association of Motion Picture Sound (AMPS) is a craft guild made up of over 450 of the most imaginative and highly experienced people working in film and television sound. Our members have been nominated for, and won, many awards both in the UK and internationally.

ARRI – Stand 305: The ARRI Group is a leading designer and manufacturer of camera and lighting systems for the film and broadcast industry, with a worldwide distribution and service network. ARRI is also an integrated media service provider and ARRI Rental offers equipment to professional productions around the globe.

ARRI Rental – Stand 223: ARRI Rental will show its ALEXA 65 largeformat camera, along with the current range of available 65 mm format lenses. These include four exclusive lens series: Prime DNA, Prime 65, Prime 65 S and Vintage 765. Further prime and zoom options adapted for the ALEXA 65 will also be on display, including Leica Thalia and Cooke S7/i primes, and the Angénieux Type EZ-1 zoom.

ASAP Distribution – Stand 636: ASAP DISTRIBUTION – formerly known as Acton Stationers and Printers.

We are the leading suppliers for stationery, printing, camera consumables and art supplies to the Film and TV industry. Formed in 1976 as “Acton Stationers and Printers”. We are first point of contact for the majority of feature productions when setting up their offices.

We have been providing a service to the Film and TV industry for over 40 years. Over this time we have evolved to suit the needs of productions, sourcing specialist products and providing a delivery service which meets the high demands of the industry.

AURORA – Stand 620: Lighting rental specialists for the television, broadcast and entertainment media production industries. Home to an extensive range of lighting equipment including the latest automated and LED technologies along with conventional, distribution and control products, Aurora supplies equipment and services to all manner of production types from simple dry hire to extensive studio installations.

Available Light of New York – Stand 626: Available Light is a specialized lighting/grip company that is based in New York City. We hire the latest lighting and grip gear, trucks, generators, electrics. We have been serving the greater NYC area for 23 years. Please contact us for your next shoot in the New York City area, big or small, we do them all.

Azule Finance – Stand 633: Azule Finance is the leading provider of asset finance and leasing solutions for the Broadcast Industry & Professional Cinematographers in the UK and across Europe. Get the right finance package to suit your business now by calling +44 (0)1753 580 500 or email info@azule. co. uk Backstage Equipment UK – Stand 205: Backstage Equipment manufactures Film and TV carts and Magliners. The range includes over a hundred carts for every department: Lighting, Grip, Camera, Video, Sound, DIT etc. Our equipment is the standard for all major studios and rental houses. We are introducing the new SkyPanel carts at this year’s BSC Expo.

50 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Barbizon Europe Ltd – Stand 122: For over 70 years Barbizon has supplied the production community with the best the industry has to offer. Drop by Stand 122 to see the latest offerings from Aadyntech, Hive, MoleRichardson and more.

Black-Tek – Stand 624: Black-Tek specialises in lightweight grip equipment. Our suction-cup system allows fast and easy car rigging. Combine it with the Black-Tek Tower and built your own Camera car out of the box. For more information visit us on stand 624 or go to www.black-tek.com.

Broadcast Film & Video – Stand 201a: Broadcast Film & Video, has been publishing news and quality advertising to the broadcast Industry for over 20 years and remains at the forefront of broadcast publishing, the 4rfv website continues to grow in size and prominence and has dominated the sector for many years, delivering quality content to the global broadcast industry.

Broadcast & Production Services Ltd – Stand 203: BPS are a leading UK based dealer for broadcast and production kit including everything from GoPro to ARRI. Working daily with DOPs, rental houses & Film/TV productions, both in the UK and worldwide, we pride ourselves on understanding the latest products for the industry. As an official dealer for the UK, BPS are showcasing the many ways that GoPro can be used to enhance your next production.

BSC: The BSC is delighted to welcome all Visitors, Exhibitors and Patrons to the 2018 Expo at Battersea Evolution. The BSC Expo is now established at this popular venue as one of Europe’s most innovative equipment exhibitions for filmmakers wishing to further improve the moving image. A BSC member will be on stand to answer any questions about the World’s second oldest Society, celebrating its 60th Anniversary next year.

Camberwell Studios Limited – Stand 132: Camberwell Film Studios (London) is an independent film facility with two Film and Video production studios for hire 7 days a week. Both studios are good for sound.

We have kit, grip, and sundries on-site. We can supply cameras and lights for hire. And a friendly flexible ‘getthings-done’ approach.

Camera Revolution Ltd – Stand 540: Suppliers of specialised camera Remote systems. From the Libra self stabilised wireless remote system to the Maxima hand held system including all the associated accessories and fully qualified technical support. Also Wire systems for flying cameras, people and SFX from simple point to point to full repeatable 3D wire solutions.

CAMERIMAGE Film Festival – Stand 546: CAMERIMAGE, the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography is the largest and most recognized festival dedicated to the art of motion picture photography and its creators - cinematographers.

The 25th edtition hosted 820 cinematographers, 855 students (representing 185 film schools), 173 journalists and 965 film industry representatives from 60 countries!

CaSu / Prosup – Stand 121: Camera Support Granderath (CaSu) is the sales side of Prosup Camera Support and Grip equipment such as: portable, extendable Tango Roller, foldable LapTop Dolly, Ejib travel jib, Gimble leveling head. 1st time on display: the electric Tango remote. Furthermore CaSu represents Tuffpak tripod cases, Muraro Lightstands and Cinematography’s Cinetape.

CCK Media Technologies Ltd – Stand 532: CCK Media is the supplier of Data Storage and Archive Solutions for Digital Production and Workflow. CCK Media supply a range of storage products for Production, DIT’s, Digital Lab Service Providers, Post-Production and Archive.

Chimera Lighting – Stand 103: CHIMERA designs and manufactures high quality, durable lighting control products for professional image makers. Our lighting products have consistently helped professionals worldwide deliver perfect light. At the BSC Expo this year you can explore the compact, portable Panel Frame system, alongside industry-standard Chimera lightbanks and lanterns for most any fixture.

Chroma-Q – Stand 107: The award-winning Space Force by Chroma-Q is a cutting-edge variable white LED source replacement for conventional space/soft lights used in film and TV studios. Tuneable from 2,800K to 6,500K, lightweight, energy efficient, passively cooled and with a diffused output so no skirts/silks required.

CineArk Ltd – Stand 134: Our west London based, bespoke storage facility specifically designed for Film & TV crew offers 24 Hour access, Free delivery/ collection PV & ARR, Onsite equipment maintenance and engineering, Space to prep, PAT testing, monitor calibration and equipment hire. High security warehouse equipped with CCTV, Grade 4 Alarm system, full ‘any risk’ insurance.

Cine Power International – Stand 202: We will be showing our powerful range of robust and reliable Batteries for Camera, Lighting, Grip and our range of DC operated equipment. We will also have our Skypanel DC Driver on show, it is able to run the Arri S60 and S120 at full power using our lighting batteries. We’ve got the Power.

CINEGEARPRO LTD – Stand 607: Operating from their London showroom HQ, CINEGEARPRO are dealers and distributors of a wide range of carefully selected filmmaking products. We have enduring partnerships with brands like TiLTA, Aputure, PDMOVIE, SmallRig and GL Optics, providing unique customer access to innovative equipment, while consistently providing excellent customer service.

Cinelab London – Stand 437: Cinelab London is a film laboratory offering film makers the choice to shoot on film and content owners to digitise and restore their archives. Services include film processing of 8/16/35 & 65mm film, telecine, film scanning, digital grading, film recording, 35mm prints, content digitisation, content restoration and media storage.

Cineo Lighting/ NBCUniversal – Stand 526: Introducing the NBCUniversal LightBlade® Series – versatile production lighting systems featuring reference-quality tunable white light combined with a saturated color system developed by Cineo Lighting. The basic Lightblade is a linear fixture that can be connected modularly. The series also includes pre-configured systems: Lightblade Ladder, and the 4’ x 4’ LB1K.

Canon (UK) Ltd – Stand 516: Join Canon on stand 516 to enter a world of exceptional image quality with limitless creative control. Showcased on the stand will be the Cinema EOS C700 and C200, Canon Cinema Raw Lite and an expanded range of Cine EOS lenses.

Cinescope Optics – Stand 630: Cinescope Optics is an optics lens company based in London England, specialising in the cinema conversion of vintage movie and stills lenses for today's demanding and ever changing international film industry. The companies marquee product is the Leica R lens, which is hugely popular in both the photography stills and motion picture industry.

All Cinescope lenses are designed and engineered by TLS (True Lens Services), bringing you a fusion of truly beautiful cinematic solutions from concept to creation.

Carpetlight GmbH – Stand 631: Carpetlight is a unique „shining cloth“, produced in various sizes(ranging from 6”x1’ up to 8x8’), with a handling just like any other fabric. With our patent pending technology LEDs are fixed permanently on a fabric. All our products are totally flexible, extremely durable at minimum weight and storage requirements.

Cirro Lite (Europe) Ltd – Stand 512: 25 years of collaboration on features, commercials, SFX & broadcast with Academy Award winning: Kino Flo, Dedolight, Matthews Studio Equipment, Lightning Strikes and SoftSun. In addition to lighting products Cirro Lite also offer a lighting design for studios as well as installation services and training.

PREVIEW / BSC EXPO 2018

cmotion GmbH – Stand 130: Since 2002, cmotion have designed and manufactured quality lens and camera control systems for film and broadcast. And, by embracing the latest technology, have inspired a growing international community of operators. cmotion products range from simple budget driven solutions to the most modular, ergonomic and multifunctional wireless systems available.

Cooke Optics Ltd – Stand 606: Seen for the first time at BSC EXPO: NEW Cooke S7/i Full Frame Plus and Cooke Panchro/i Classic prime lenses. Cooke S4/i, Cooke Anamorphic/i, Anamorphic/i SF (“Special Flair”), and the Cooke S4/I and miniS4/i lenses with and without coatings.

CVP – Stand 315: With over 30 years’ experience, CVP is one of the leading Film and Television solution providers in the UK and Europe – with a comprehensive sales and support infrastructure, excellent pre and post sales engineering and strong relationships with all key manufacturers, our dedicated team provides the knowledge and expertise to guide you through your next project. Visit us at stand 315 where you will be able to get hands on all the latest kit and speak to the experts.

CW Sonderoptic – Stand 115: Experience the new large format Leica Thalia lenses, which bring a unique character and style to bigger formats in an incredibly compact lens.

Also, check out the Leica M 0. 8 lenses, the smallest full frame lenses in cinema with character to spare.

Definition/Pro Moviemaker Magazine – Stand 330: Since 2003, Definition has been inspiring the cinema and broadcast worlds, revealing the latest technologies and trends and predicting the future for every aspect of the ever-changing professional market from capture to distribution www.definitionmagazine.com.

DENZ – Stand 114: DENZ manufactures high-end camera accessories for the video and film industry for nearly 50 years. DENZ presents its high lights like the new remote projector MFC65 for medium format lenses, the new compact test projector PLC for full frame lenses and the director’s viewfinder OIC-35A for anamorphic and spherical lenses.

EXALUX – Stand 610: At EXALUX we design hardware and software solutions for broadcasting and cinematography. We truly believe that you deserve state of the art technologies designed to help you set complex lighting configuration in no time.

Flowcine – Stand 201: Flowcine is about producing high quality accessories for professional DoPs. Our focus is on products to support camera operators and solve stabilisation issues. From handheld, vehicles, on land or water, Flowcine have camera and gimbal support covered.

Focus24 – Stand 608: Focus24 is a high end production partner, providing creative solutions to camera professionals. For 2018 we’re continuing to innovate using the latest technology and bespoke service driven solutions; beginning with our upgraded facility mapped out with extensive input from camera crews and continuing with strong collaborations.

FUJINON – Stand 427: FUJINON Cine Zoom lenses are perfect for all levels of shooting, from high-end movies to independent documentaries. FUJIFILM will have their complete range of Premier, Cabrio and MK lenses on display for you to try out at BSC Expo 2018 so come and find out how using them on your next production could revolutionise the way you shoot.

Gavo Lighting – Stand 623: GAVO light, the latest plasma high speed film lighting with amazing light quality CRI 98. Come and see the latest in film lamp design technology.

GUILD OF BRITISH CAMERA TECHNICIANS (GBCT) – Stand F6: An organisation of camera technicians renowned throughout the world for their knowledge and

technical as well as aesthetic ability, the GBCT is run by its Members and works to a Constitution that is relevant, fair and corresponds with emerging technologies. We are dedicated to collaborating with the industry as a non-political association to essentially protect the interests and aspirations of a growing freelance cinematography workforce.

GFM (Grip Factory Munich) – Stand 524: GFM is a leading manufacturer of dollies, cranes, track and camera support equipment and are known for producing products of the highest quality. On show this year will be the GF-Primo Dolly, GF-Quad Dolly, GF-Tele Jib and the GFSliders plus a selection of GFM accessories.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION – Stand 530: Global is a specialist distributor of acquisition and data storage, management and archive solutions. Award-winning monitoring, recording and playback devices with comprehensive support for HDR workflows will be on demonstration from ATOMOS alongside innovative, professional grip from SHAPE. Onset storage solutions from G-TECHNOLOGY, LACIE and MLOGIC will streamline and improve workflows.

GLP UK Ltd – Stand 431: GLP is a leading manufacturer of cutting edge lighting technology, Headquartered in Karlsbad Germany, and now with a UK base for local support. The Award winning X4 Series has become a standard around the world, GLP is at the forefront of LED technology with exhilarating new products for 2018.

GTC – Stand F6: Established in 1972, the GTC is a non-profit organisation run by a council of television professionals. Financed partly by member’s subscriptions, currently 1,340+ worldwide and by suppliers/ manufacturers sponsorship. Our aim is to preserve the professional status of television camera people, uphold standards and expertise within our profession.

Hawk-Woods LTD – Stand 522: Hawk-Woods have been operating and delivering power to the film and broadcast industry for over 25 years. Our batteries are made to a high-quality standard and are fully UN tested and compliant with IATA standards for flight travel.

HELICOPTER FILM SERVICES – Stand 127: HFS, established for 25 years, is a world leading provider of aerial and stabilised filming services and equipment globally with hundreds of feature films and commercials credits. HFS is now recognised as one of the world’s premier cinema Drone operators with heavy-lift systems from Intuitive Aerial & Shotover. We also offer specialist tracking vehicles from Aston Martin and Mitsubishi. Our stabilised camera systems include: Shotover F1, K1 and U1, Nettmann Super-G2 and the new Typhon 6 camera array.

Holdan – Stand 301: Centre stage are product launches from SmallHD, TeradekRT and Panasonic, plus Blackmagic’s complete end-to-end 4K HDR workflow. Get hands on with accessories from Wooden Camera, MovCam, SLR Magic and Manfrotto, and LEDGO lighting. Speak with our experts about wireless production, cinematic grading and editing, low light 4K shooting and more.

IDT UK Ltd. – Stand 615: IDT manufacture high speed cameras and high intensity LED lighting, but what makes IDT cameras different? They are smaller, more versatile, and more rugged than you’d imagine. Come and see the latest O-10, 4K at 1000fps, with removable SSD memory in addition to RAM. For instant action replays, come and see the X-Stream cameras. High speed imaging ready to broadcast. Also on show will be high intensity LED lighting systems, ideal for high speed imaging. Intense, cool and flicker free.

International Moving Image Society (IMIS) – Stand 542: The International Moving Image Society (IMIS) is a community that provides education, events, resources, networking opportunities and support to all levels of the film, tv and media industries. Come by our booth to find out how to get your first year of membership for free!

INDU-ELECTRIC Power Distribution UK Ltd – Stand 106: INDU-ELECTRIC has been a family owned business for more than 2 generations. For the past 3 decades INDU-ELECTRIC has been globally manufacturing portable power distribution systems for industrial and entertainment industries. A Power Distribution box from INDU-ELECTRIC is a commitment to Safety, Quality, Reliability and Design.

In-motion – Stand 404: In-motion are a major distributor of professional lighting and grip equipment to the UK’s Film, TV, Broadcast, Entertainment and Photographic markets. As an ARRI main dealer and an accredited ARRI lighting service centre, their dedicated specialist technicians use official ARRI spare parts and provide service levels which are second to none.

Inovativ – Stand 201: INOVATIV carts and compact digital workstations are quickly becoming industry standard. Constructed of aluminium, thermal plastics, and stainless steel hardware, you will find INOVATIV products to be extremely effective onset tools. Whether you are a DIT, Steadicam Operator, or Photographer, INOVATIV’s thoughtful design increase workflow efficiency. Visit inovativcarts. com.

K5600 LIGHTING – Stand 300: K5600 LIGHTING is a 25 year old company manufacturing state of the art lighting units. Specializing in compact, lightweight and versatile HMI sources, is distributing some unique LED products such as the BOA and Corean company YEGRIN. KAYS – Stand 101a: For 36 years, KAYS have been compiling the most accurate and up-to-date data on the UK film and TV industry. Our app and directories contain thousands of listings for top-level companies and freelance technicians, ensuring that we have become the essential resource for all key film and TV personnel.

KipperTie Ltd – Stand 536: KipperTie – Optical accessories for RED®. Demonstrating the newly launched Revolva system: A complete internal filter system with intelligent lens mount, built for RED® DSMC2®. Revolva joins KipperTie’s trusted range of RED Approved internal filter (OLPF) products. KipperTie also provide Authorised RED Rental and end to end production services.

KODAK – Stand 123: Kodak Motion Picture Film, Kodak Film Lab London & Kodak Digital Services will be represented on our stand. We will be available to discuss all aspects of the film workflow from shooting, processing, transfer, printing and scanning to longterm archiving along with the network of companies supporting 8mm to 65mm.

LCA Lights Camera Action – Stand 326: LCA Lights Camera Action is a leading supplier of professional equipment to the Film, Broadcast and Video industries providing a wide range of products including LED lights, grip, power, distribution, cables, textiles and consumables.

LCA will be showing a range of new products including: Ladder LightBlade, LB1 and Standard 410 from Cineo Lighting; LiteGear’s Stardust software, LiteMat+, LiteBox and LiteDimmers; DoPchoice SNAPBAG Lantern, Rabbit Ears and SNAPBOX; Versatile; Maxi Color Force from Chroma-Q; Litepanels Gemini and more.

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 51

PREVIEW / BSC EXPO 2018 LEE Filters – Stand 117: LEE Filters are exhibiting their popular range of ProGlass IRND filters. These filters have been specifically designed to meet the exacting needs of all cinematographers - whether shooting digitally or on film. Their precise neutrality ensure all colours remain accurate and true, saving time in the grade and enabling cinematographers to focus on their creative goals.

LITES - CINEDIVING – Stand 100: LITES XL ADVANCED WATER STAGE, for underwater & surface filming, with built-in water SFX, ready to shoot, opening Sept 2018. Tank 30ft deep. 34 ft deep when flooding the studio floor. Water surface of 13. 500 ft². Studio 15. 600 ft². Waves up to 4ft high. Moveable floor 0 to 30ft deep. Dry set construction & submerging is standard. Dual overhead Cranes with 4 hoists lift 25T. Different water Looks. SFX pumps, underwater infinity, Underwater cameras & lighting. Dry studios 13. 500ft² & 18. 300 ft² available June 2018.

MDG – Stand 601: Since 1980, MDG has created superior-quality fog and haze generators for entertainment, industrial and military customers. From day one, we have pursued the advancement of our technology to continue making the best generators on the market.

Medialease – Stand 617: Medialease is a specialist asset finance company, based in the UK, which has been providing capture and camera equipment financing for over 20 years. We make it our business to understand how specialised your equipment is, we want to help you grow and develop your business through sound advice and financial know how.

Miller Fluid Heads (Europe) Ltd. – Stand 402: Miller Camera Support Equipment is solely dedicated to designing and manufacturing fluid heads and tripods. Each product is made by passionate and highly skilled craftsmen and employing the highest quality, environmentallyfriendly materials. Manufacturing uses high precision CNC machinery and stringent quality control processes.

Miller is an ISO 9001 accredited company.

Mission Digital – Stand 125: When colour is important to your visual narrative, it’s imperative that your colour pipeline is managed correctly. In addition to looking after digital dailies and video playback requirements, Mission Digital is here to ensure the vision of the cinematographer is carried through to post production and enjoyed by audiences exactly the way it was intended to be.

Mole-Richardson Co. – Stand 105: Located in Los Angeles, California since 1927, MoleRichardson Company has long been considered “The Hollywood Standard” for lighting. For the 2018 BSC Expo, MoleRichardson Co. will unveil their new line of “Variable Color” LED Fresnels, along with other high output LED’s designed for both broadcast and motion picture production.

Motion Impossible – Stand 436: Motion Impossible is at the forefront of design and innovation for remote controlled robotic dolly systems. Our Mantis and Agito dollies move and stabilize VR/360° and film cameras for feature films, drama, natural history, sport & commercials. Clients include Facebook, the BBC, National Geographic, UEFA, and Universal Music.

Movietech Camera Rentals – Stand 500: Camera, Lens and Grip specialists Movietech are in residence at this year’s BSC Expo and will be introducing the latest additions to their equipment range, with particular focus on a selection of the company’s exciting new lensing options. Among the products on show are the new range of Cooke Panchro lenses, a modern day version of the original Cooke deep field range. The recently added Scorpio anamorphic set, which are 52 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

extremely compact and distortion free with close focus capability are also being featured, as are the Whitepoint Optics large format lenses, which have a huge coverage over any of the proposed formats. Members of the Movietech Rental, Technical and Engineering departments will be on hand throughout the show to meet, greet and chat with friends and colleagues from all corners of the industry.

Mr Helix LTD – Stand 435: Providers of stabilisation solutions for cameras such as the ARRI 235, Panavision Millennium XL2, ARRI Mini, RED, Sony Venice, Panavison DXL and Alexa 65. Unique dolly, crane, tracking vehicle, horse carriage and wearable exoskeleton support solutions. 3D wire rig systems for cameras, SFX and stunt work with repeatable moves.

MTF Services Ltd. – Stand 625: Experts in all aspects of broadcast equipment. MTF uniquely operates in the UK film and video industry offering sales, servicing, design, engineering and consultancy. Alongside MTF designed and manufactured lens adapters, MTF represents brands including Blushape, Veydra, Brightcast, NiSi and Lockcircle. All available to view during BSC2018.

Octica Professional Ltd. – Stand 111: Located to the west of London, Octica Professional are a dedicated distributor of film, broadcast & professional video equipment. Octica partner manufacturers include ABC Products, BB&S, Bebob, Cartoni, Chrosziel, Cinelex, HPRC and VELVET Light from Europe; Cineroid, Fomex and Konova from Korea; Fiilex from the USA and Protech & True ND from Japan.

OKTOTECH – Stand 432: OKTOTECH was founded by an experienced team in Cinema and IT industry in 2009.

After the years of Research & Development experience, Oktotech was established to produce devices for solving the needs of the motion picture industry.

OMNISTREAM LIMITED – Stand 204: Omnistream Limited will be showcasing companies that are new to British Cinematography Industry. A new Start up from Norway, Quine A/S (www. quine. no). Its QuineBox™IoT fills the missing link between camera, cloud and editor.

We are looking for UK resellers and Systems Integrators to develop the sales in the UK and beyond. DekTec UK Ltd (www. dektec. com). Its range of SDI interfaces provides broadcasters the tools to maximise the potential from offthe-shelf computers.

Oppenheimer Camera Products – Stand 104: Oppenheimer Camera Products is featuring our new UMMS-2 Universal Monitor Support System (ver 2). And showing our Microforce Panhandles, Lens Carry Handles, Monitor Yoke Mounts, Alexa/ Amira OB Power Supplies, Amira Accessory System and OB Battery Adapters for the ARRI 235 & ARRI 416. OB Battery Adapter for the ARRICAM LT coming soon, as well as other new products. Innovating in Seattle, Washington, USA since 1992 and celebrating our 25th Anniversary.

Optical Support Ltd. – Stand 201: Here at Optical Support, the UK’s leading Lens & Steadicam Specialists, we have supported award winning films & productions with our range of specialist camera equipment, for over 20 years. Whether it’s a low budget film or a full length feature, we can provide you with tailored service to meet your production requirements.

PAG Ltd. – Stand 116: PAG is the UK-based designer and manufacturer of innovative, high-quality, portable power solutions for digital cinematography and video production. PAGlink is the industry’s most technologically advanced system of ultra-compact, intelligent linking batteries, chargers and power accessories; designed for longevity, maximum ROI, and available in V-Mount and Gold Mount formats.

Panalux – Stand 502: Panalux offers the world of film, television and media production the very best in lighting

rental equipment and associated studio facilities. With unrivalled support and creative solutions, Panalux have established themselves as a leading rental company throughout Europe and South Africa. This year Panalux will be demonstrating their latest range of proprietary products including the revolutionary AmphiTubeX1TM. This lighting system is intrinsically safe, as it can be used underwater and dry at full-power, and boasts a number of customisable features including a colour temperature range of 2800K – 6200K. The AmphiTubeX1TM is now available to rent in a 4-bank kit.

Panasonic – Stand 508: Panasonic will be displaying the full VariCam line-up – that being the flagship VariCam 35, the compact VariCam LT and the VariCam Pure, which is able to capture true 4K RAW up to 120fps.

The recently launched EVA1 will also be showcased in a variety of different configurations for the show.

Panavision – Stand 502: Panavision is dedicated to growing and supporting the future of cinematography with new products and innovations. This year Panavision will be showcasing its latest technologies, including new products from their camera, lens and grip departments.

Get the opportunity to shoot with newer, wider focal lengths from the range of T Series anamorphic; designed with new optical layouts which offer a large sweet-spot and closer focus. Panavision Grip and Remote Systems will be demonstrating the revolutionary SuperTechno 75, with motorised base and triple telescopic column: now available to rent.

Panther – Stand 120: For 35 years Panther designs and manufactures a complete range of professional camera dollies, cranes, track systems as well as the related accessories to the international film and television industry. Panther’s long-time expertise, high quality and continuous developing of new solutions, are highly valued by customer all around the world.

PDG Aviation Services – Stand 430: PDG Film Services is the specialist aerial filming department of PDG Aviation Services. In the last 40 years we have been delivering the highest standards in aerial cinematography using a combination of state of the art camera systems, safe & reliable aircraft and highly experienced crew, in UK and Europe.

Photon Beard – Stand 628: We manufacture lighting for all areas of image capture from still photography to motion pictures. Our current focus is on high quality remote phosphor LED products such as our Highlight LED range and the PB80 Redhead. However we also offer tungsten, fluorescent and HMI lights.

Picture Canning – Stand 505: Picture Canning is a facilities house with offices in London and across the North of England. Offering an extensive selection of equipment and large crew database, Picture Canning works with clients on a range of shoots including dramas, music videos and commercials. Stock includes several unique and vintage lens sets.

Pinewood MBS Lighting: World leading provider of lighting equipment and associated facilities to the global film and television production industry. Our service combines decades of experience with an unrivalled collection of cutting edge production solutions that embraces both the conventional and the very latest in advanced lighting technology. Through ongoing investment in people and products we have created one of the industry’s premier lighting resources, perfectly placed to service any production type, wherever you may be - studio or location, anywhere in the world Pinewood MBS Lighting are proud supporters of the British Society of Cinematographers and are pleased to be providing lighting, cable and distribution to the BSC Expo 2018.

Porta-Jib – Stand 634: Manufacturers of the Original Porta-Jib Camera Jib Arm, the Losmandy Spider Camera Dolly, Losmandy FlexTrak, the Original Flexible Camera Dolly Track, and the Losmandy Porta-Glide Dolly Sleds.

Power Gems Ltd – Stand 219: Power Gems celebrates its 25th year designing and manufacturing electronic ballasts for Film & TV and Entertainment markets. We design a full range of HMI portable ballasts starting from 200W up to 24,000W, on display will be a full range of power supplies - all with unique modular design offerring High Speed 1000Hz output frequency and greater reliability.

PREVIEW / BSC EXPO 2018

Preston Cinema Systems – Stand 609: Preston Cinema Systems produces advanced lens control systems. The Light Ranger 2 focus assist enables critical focus with the latest large format camera sensors. The new DM5 motor and MDR4 two-channel motor driver address requirements for minimal size high performance lens control for Steadicam, hand-held, and drone applications.

Proactive – Stand 616: Proactive, also known as ProAV are in their 20th year as international suppliers of broadcast, cine and professional video equipment, with clients ranging from budding video amateurs to national broadcasters. Visit stand 616 to talk to their solutions and workflow experts or have hands on time with the latest industry kit.

Production Gear Ltd – Stand 110: Production Gear are a well known distributor and reseller of professional video production equipment with offices and showroom in Barnet, North London. We are proud to offer the traditional, professional and personal service that our passionate staff are known for as well as offering a modern, concise, competitive ecommerce website.

Prolight Direct Ltd – Stand 126: Prolight Direct, the Film and TV professional lighting supplier, selling with expert advice from experienced lighting professionals.

We supply the best brands in professional Film and TV lighting equipment at competitive prices. Our products are from Aladdin, Sumolight, Light and Motion, Kino Flo, Dedolight, ARRI, and Senna Lighting.

Pro Motion Hire – Stand 635: Pro Motion delivers everything you’d expect from a major rental facility but with the support and personalised customer service of a boutique team. With an extensive range of high end kit, supported by skilled technicians, we deliver innovative solutions through thoughtful collaboration. Supporting Broadcast, Digital Content, Commercials, Live Production, Drama and Expedition shoots worldwide.

P+S TECHNIK – Stand 130: A passion for innovation and exceptional pictures - that’s the maxim of P+S TECHNIK, manufacturer of professional cine equipment.

We offer the widest range of lens rehousings as well as anamorphic lenses, special lens systems and interchangeable lens mounts. Further award-winning products: Skater Scope, Skater Mini, T-Rex, Weisscam, RED Digital Cinema – Stand 426: RED Digital Cinema is a leading manufacturer of professional digital cameras and accessories. RED’s DSMC2 line of cameras - RED RAVEN, SCARLET-W, RED EPIC-W, and WEAPON combine compact and lightweight design, modularity, superior image quality, and cutting edge performance including up to 8K resolution.

Ronford Baker Engineering Company Ltd. – Stand 200: Ronford Baker are manufacturers of academy award winning Fluid Heads and Tripods. The product range also includes Sliders, Billet Bazookas, Track, Beams, Grip Equipment, Transit Cases, and a new range of camera and video accessories. The new Atlas 50 Fluid Head is now available, as well as other products.

Rosco and DMG Lumière – Stand 215: Celebrating 108 years in business, Rosco is a leader in products for the entertainment, film & television industries. With the recent acquisition of LED specialist DMG Lumière, Rosco extends its lighting range with new exciting products. Come at BSC 2018 - stand 215 to discover our latest fixtures!

Top-Teks Ltd – Stand 101: As one of the leading Cine, Broadcast and Professional Video Specialist Equipment Providers with 30 years of service to the industry, Top-Teks continues to increase the services it provides, retaining the high level of customer support and expertise they are renowned for. Showcasing Hollyland and 9. Solutions for the first time in the UK. art technology from Germany since 1913. SchneiderKreuznach supplies the film industry with a wide range of products from taking cine lenses to effect filters.

SES (Entertainment Services) Ltd – Stand 119: SES is the leading manufacturers of power distribution products for the entertainment industry. We design and manufacture our products to meet the specific demands of our customers, as well as stocking ‘off the shelf’ products. “What you need, the way you need it” this is the moto for SES. Shift 4 Broadcast Facilities & Crews – Stand 603: Shift 4 are one of the UK’s leading facilities hire companies.

We supply cameras, camera accessories, lenses, lighting, grip and sound equipment to commercials, drama, television and corporate productions. We carry the latest models as well as reliable favourites and a number of unusual and hard-to-find items. We’re a trusted authority when it comes to technology.

Sigma – Stand 227: Revolutionary lenses for the era of high resolution digital cinematography. Performance born of SIGMA’s experience in ultra-high megapixel digital photography— now ready to take on every challenge in the world of cinematography. A lineup offering an astonishing combination of specifications and value—thanks to our ultra-efficient vertically integrated production system.

SolidGripSystems – Stand 629: SolidGripSystems is a Dutch based manufacturer with its focus on traditional camera-movement. Our CenterFold BarTracks are very well received as well as our sustaining TwinDolly. We are working grips so we now your demands on grip-equipment.

SONY Professional Solutions, Europe – Stand 506: Sony welcomes you to join our CineAlta team at the BSC Expo. We will be showcasing products such as the new VENICE and the F55. VENICE officially comes to market in February 2018 so this is a great chance for you to experience its great features.

Teradek – Stand 534: Teradek manufactures premium camera accessories, including zero delay wireless video links, lens control systems, and iOS monitoring devices. New for 2018, Teradek and SmallHD are introducing the 703 Bolt, an ultra light, cable-free 7” daylight viewable monitor with integrated Bolt Sidekick II wireless video receiver.

Rotolight – Stand 102: Rotolight is an award-winning British LED lighting manufacturer for TV, film and photography, offering a range of on-camera, location and studio solutions for creative imagemakers. Rotolight has developed countless industry first features and has been widely recognized with numerous awards and accolades for its innovation, technical excellence and product quality.

The Bionic Eye – Stand 131: Bionic Eye is showcasing Gryphon Dynamics Cine range of renowned drone packages designed for film and photography, with unparalleled lift capabilities and configurations.

With airframes thoroughly tested on the biggest Hollywood blockbusters, television commercials and dramas to ensure seamless operation in a variety of conditions day in day out.

Schneider-Kreuznach – Stand 235: The Schneider Group specializes in developing, producing and manufacturing high-performance lenses and filters for film, photography and industry. The company’s main brand “Schneider-Kreuznach” stands for state-of-the-

Tiffen International Ltd – Stand 604: Exhibiting the very latest Steadicam M1-Volt - Horizon Assist; ExoVest; G-70X Iso-Elastic Arms and the new Tiffen NATural ND’s Filters - Full Spectrum and totally neutral filtration for the next generation of cameras.

Towergate Camerasure – Stand 441: Towergate Camerasure are leading providers of insurance for multimedia industry and can provide bespoke insurance for professionals. With over 30 years’ experience our business is totally dedicated to providing insurance solutions for all sectors of the industry from camera operators to grips to commercial UAV operators.

True Lens Services – Stand 613: True Lens Services (TLS) is recognised worldwide for its bespoke lens innovation and reputable expertise in the design, manufacturing and servicing of lenses. Its comprehensive services include the conversion, servicing and repairing of lenses from a wide variety of manufacturers. Additional support services include the servicing of grip equipment, tripods, heads, jibs and other equipment that require preventative maintenance.

VER – Stand 520: Industry leaders in the provision of quality equipment, service and support, covering every aspect of the professional production universe. VER Enhanced Environments will be featured at the BSC Expo, with key members of the Film Team on hand throughout the show to demonstrate the precision LED systems recently used to tremendous effect on Murder on the Orient Express, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol II. Video Europe Ltd – Outdoor Exhibit & Stand 621: Video Europe are the UK’s leading equipment hire, crew and live events TV and Digital Cinema company.

From the latest equipment to the perfect production, from complicated locations to state-of-the-art Outside Broadcast Facilities – Video Europe is the answer.

The Vitec Group plc – Stand 538: The Vitec Group plc is a leading global provider of premium branded products and services that enable users to capture and share outstanding images, Vitec brings together some of the most respected, innovative, and sought-after brands: Anton/Bauer, Autocue, Autoscript, Camera Corps, JOBY, Litepanels, Lowepro, OConnor, OffHollywood, Paralinx, RTMotion, Sachtler, SmallHD, Teradek, The Camera Store, Wooden Camera, and Vinten.

Wex Photo Video – Stand 611: Established in 1997, Wex Photo Video is the destination for enthusiast and professional photographers and filmmakers across the country. Wex’s dedication to service, expertise and customer satisfaction is underpinned by competitive prices and the largest range in the UK, with sales, rental, repair, advice and inspiration available seven days a week.

ZEISS – Stand 504: ZEISS photography and cinematography lenses have helped to create distinctive images in famous movies including Spectre, Skyfall, Life of Pi and ARGO, just to name a few. The winning combination of great flexibility and optimal performance means ZEISS lenses are perfectly designed to match your application requirements, providing endless opportunities whatever the situation.

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 53

BSC EXPO 2018 FLOOR PLAN

The BSC would like to thank Pinewood MBS Lighting for the supply of Cabling and Power Distribution for the BSC Expo 2018

Full exhibitor list Aaton Digital/Transvideo - Stand 400 AMPS – Stand 544 ASAP Distribution - Stand 636 A.C Entertainment - Stand 107 Arri - Stand 305 Arri Rental - Stand 223 Association of Camera Operators ACO - Stand F6 Aurora - Stand 620 Available Light NY - Stand 626 Azule Finance - Stand 633 Backstage Equipment - Stand 205 Barbizon - Stand 122 Bebob - Stand 111 Black-Tek GmbH - Stand 624 BPS - Stand 203 Broadcast Film & Video - Stand 201a Brother, Brother & Sons (BB&S) - Stand 111 British Cinematographer Magazine - Stand F5 British Society of Cinematographers - Stand F5 Camberwell Studios - Stand 132 Camera Revolution - Stand 540 Camerimage – Stand 546 Canon - Stand 516 Carpetlight GmbH - Stand 631 Casu/Prosup - Stand 121 CCK Media - Stand 532 Chimera Lighting - Stand 103 Chroma-Q - Stand 107 Cineark - Stand 134 Cine Diving - Stand 100 Cinefade - Stand 130 Cine Guilds GB - Stand F6 Cineo Lighting - Stand 526 CINEGEARPRO LTD. - Stand 607 Cinelab London - Stand 437 Cinelex - Stand 111 Cine Power International - Stand 202 Cinescope Optics – Stand 630 Cintek – Stand 133 Cirro Lite Europe - Stand 512 cmotion - Stand 130 Cooke Optics - Stand 606 CVP - Stand 315 CW Sonderoptic - Stand 115 Daylight Grip & Textiles - Stand 219 Dedolight - Stand 512 Definition/Pro Moviemaker Magazine - Stand 330 Denz - Stand 114 DMG Lumiere - Stand 215 DoPChoice - Stand 326 Exalux – Stand 610 Fiilex - Stand 111 Film & Digital Times Flowcine - Stand 201 Focus24 - Stand 608 Fomex - Stand 111 Fujifilm UK Ltd. - Stand 427 Gavo Lighting - Stand 623 GFM Grip Factory Munich - Stand 524 Global Distribution - Stand 530 GLP UK Ltd. - Stand 431 GBCT Guild of British Camera Technicians - F6 GTC Guild of Television Camera Professionals - F6 Hawk-woods Ltd. - Stand 522 Helicopter Film Services - Stand 127 Holdan - Stand 301 Hudson Spider - Stand 326 IAWF - The International Association of Wildlife Film-makers - Stand F6 IDT (UK) Ltd. - Stand 615 IMAGO - Stand F5 IMIS – Stand 542 Indu-Electric Power Distribution Ltd. - Stand 106 In-Motion - Stand 404 Inovativ Carts - Stand 201 K5600 - Stand 300 Kays - Stand 101a Kino Flo Lighting Systems - Stand 512 Kippertie - Stand 536 54 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Kodak - Stand 123 LCA - Stand 326 Ledixis - Stand 610 Lee Filters - Stand 117 LiteGear - Stand 326 Lites/Cine Diving - Stand 100 LSC - Stand 107 Matthews Studio Equipment - Stand 512 Miller Fluid Heads (Europe) Ltd. - Stand 402 Magliner Carts - Stand 205 MDG Fog UK – Stand 601 Medialease - Stand 617 Mission Digital - Stand 125 Mole Richardson - Stand 105

Motion Impossible - Stand 436 Movietech Camera Rentals - Stand 500 Mr. Helix - Stand 435 Mo-Sys - Stand 435 MTF Services - Stand 625 NBC Universal - Stand 526 Octica Professional Ltd. - Stand 111 Oktotech - Stand 432 Omnistream - Stand 204 Optical Support - Stand 201 Oppenheimer Camera Products - Stand 104 P&S Technik - Stand 130 PAG - Stand 116 Panalux - Stand 502

For a full programme and panel lists please check www.bscexpo.com

Panasonic - Stand 508 Panavision - Stand 502 Panther GmbH - Stand 120 Paralinx - Stand 534 PDG Aviation Services - Stand 430 Photon Beard - Stand 628 Picture Canning - Stand 505 Porta-Jib - Stand 634 Powergems - Stand 219 Preston Cinema Systems - Stand 609 PROACTIVE - Stand 616 Production Gear - Stand 110 Prolight Direct - Stand 126 Pro Motion Hire - Stand 635

RatPac - Stand 107 RED Digital Cinema - Stand 426 Ronford Baker Engineering Company - Stand 200 ROSCO - Stand 215 Rotolight - Stand 102 Schneider Kreuznach - Stand 235 SES Entertainment Services Ltd. - Stand 119 Shift4 Broadcast Facilities & Crews - Stand 603 Sigma Imaging UK - Stand 227 SmallHD - Stand 534 Solid Grip Systems - Stand 629 Sony Professional Solutions Europe - Stand 506 StageSmarts - Stand 107 Teradek - Stand 534

The Bionic Eye - Stand 131 Tiffen International - Stand 604 Top-Teks - Stand 101 Tourflex Cabling - Stand 107 Towergate Camerasure - Stand 441 True Lens Services - Stand 613 True ND - Stand 111 Velvet Light - Stand 111 VER - Stand 520 Video Europe – Outdoor Exhibit & Stand 621 Vitec Group Plc. - Stand 538 Wooden Camera - Stand 534 Wex Photo Video - Stand 611 Zeiss - Stand 504 British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 55

PREVIEW / BSC EXPO 2018

SEMINARS Times are subject to change. Full details www.bscexpo.com

Friday 2nd February: 10.30am To Be Confirmed

Chris Ross BSC

11.15am In conversation with Chris Ross BSC RED and MISSION DIGITAL talk to Chris Ross BSC about the challenges of shooting FX’s flagship show ‘Trust’, directed by Danny Boyle.

Mátyás Erdély HSC

12.00pm ‘By invitation of the BSC’ VR The Champions

Jannicke Mikkelsen FNF

Jannicke Mikkelsen FNF discusses a recent VR project involving Bryan May, Adam Lambert and Roger Taylor.

13:15pm Mytherapy - Presentation To Be Announced

Saturday 3rd February:

14.00pm Panavision – The Beauty of Large Format 8K

10.30am BSC Panel 3 – The Image

Presented by Michael Cioni - Senior Vice President of Innovation for Panavision & Light Iron. This eye-opening presentation includes a deep dive into the relationship of resolution and large format optics.

Join John de Borman BSC, Barry Ackroyd BSC, Guillermo Navarro ASC, Mátyás Erdély HSC and Jose Luis Alcaine AEC with others (TBC) in conversation.

15.15pm RED DIGITAL CINEMA - The benefits of 8K

Workflow in High Resolution TV Delivery

12.15pm To Be Confirmed

Join colourist Toby Tomkins from CHEAT, as he discusses the benefits of an 8K RAW Workflow. From feature films to the Netflix original TV series "The End of the F***ing World", Toby will share his insights and approach to managing high resolution workflows and explain the value of RED's new Image Processing Pipeline Colour Science.

13.15pm BSC Panel – HDR

The good, the bad and the beautiful Kevin Shaw presents, with Mike Eley and others TBC. 14.30pm ARRI Presentation

16.15pm Sony - Presentation To Be Announced

15.25pm To Be Confirmed

17.30pm FujiFilm – “The Forgiven”

– A Master Class led by William Wages ASC

16.05pm ‘By invitation of the BSC’ Illuminatrix

18.25pm To Be Confirmed

Hosted by Vanessa Whyte, Illuminatrix present a panel discussion on shooting drama.

WILLIAM WAGES ASC

MASTERCLASS AT BSC EXPO 17.30pm - 18.15pm Friday 2nd February 2018

“

When the ZK 19-90mm Cabrio first came out I did some testing and soon after got rid of all my primes; I didn’t need them anymore. It’s small, resolves perfectly, and saves up to an hour a day because you’re not losing time changing lenses. To me it’s a variable prime. I come from documentaries, and have been shooting movies for 30 years, but I’ve always missed how streamlined documentary shooting was. Using these zooms takes me back there again – they’re so compact, efficient and simple to use. The focal range of 19-90mm is so perfect that I have gone a week without changing the lens on the A camera.

When we do switch to the 85-300mm, it’s only marginally bigger so it just takes seconds to change. I can’t figure out how they make these lenses so small, fast, and sharp, but I’m glad they did because they have changed how I work.

56 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

”

Barry Ackroyd BSC

VENICE

Emotion in Every Frame Sony’s next generation motion picture camera system with forward thinking full frame sensor, phenomenal colour science and user-friendly operation.

Visit us at BSC to experience VENICE with the Full Frame Sensor feature Full Frame Support from February 2018

“ I was especially impressed with the color rendition.

What I love about the color, it feels a little more cinema, it’s a little bit softer feeling, also there’s a lot more dynamic range than before.”

Claudio Miranda, ASC, Cinematographer

#CineAltaVENICE @SonyCineAltaEU http://sony.net/pro/VENICE

58 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

CAMERA CREATIVE / SEAMUS MCGARVEY BSC ASC / THE GREATEST SHOWMAN / BY RON PRINCE

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British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 59

CAMERA CREATIVE / SEAMUS MCGARVEY BSC ASC / THE GREATEST SHOWMAN / BY RON PRINCE

“I USED TIFFEN GLIMMER GLASS 1 FILTRATION TO SOFTEN THE LOOK OF THE MODERN LIGHTING.” SEAMUS MCGARVEY BSC ASC

I was also enthused about continuing to work with Hugh.

He is a tremendous actor, dancer and singer, and his enthusiasm and dedication were instrumental in getting the project going. Furthermore, with bearded ladies, very small and very tall people from the melting pot of New York ethnicities in this story, this was a film about diversity and inclusivity, as well as having the feel-good factor.

What references did you consider in achieving the look of the film?

SM: Michael already had a very strong visual notion of the film, as he had been working on it for such a long time. He had created a range of digital storyboards and previzualised scenes to sell the idea to the studio. These were quite elaborate and took the visual look away from a photorealistic approach and more into the realms of theatricality, artifice and the magical imagination. They had a sort of handmade quality – the live action was to be blended with old-school, painterly backdrops, and other elements such as miniatures of the Manhattan cityscape.

We didn’t look at any other films about Barnum and his life. Rather we talked about developing a Technicolor-based look to support the artifice. We considered the effect of the two- and three-strip Technicolor process on colour in movies such as An American In Paris (1951, dir. Vincente Minnelli, DP Alfred Gilks), Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954, dir. Stanley Donen, DP George J. Folsey) and The Robe (1953, dir. Henry Koster, DP Leon Shamroy). The idea was to take the real and transform it into this vivid, imaginative, magical Technicolor realm.

Was it a given that you would shoot on Alexa 65?

SM: The conversation about which cameras to use came up very quickly. I had just completed Life (dir. Daniel Espinosa) using the Alexa 65 camera, and felt it was the perfect camera for The Greatest Showman – but for different reasons. I used the Alexa 65 on Life in combination with the ARRI Prime 65 lenses, incorporating Hasselblad glass, for the sense of portraiture.

However, this time I wanted to use the Alexa 65 to capture the spectacle. We had some fantastic sets, with very wide shots of the performers, lots of extras and lots of detail going on, and the Alexa 65, shooting in Open Gate ARRIRAW mode, was perfect for that.

60 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Director Michael Gra DP Seamus McGa cey with rvey BSC ASC Photo Credit: Nik o Tavernise

However, having seen the digital storyboards and previzualised scenes, I knew that some of the camera moves would prove too athletic for the Alexa 65. So along with having two Alexa 65s to capture the epic nature of the sets, we also had three ARRI Alexa Minis – one permanently rigged for Steadicam, and the other two floating – to get in amongst the thick of the action.

Did you create LUTs for the shoot?

SM: Although we did some tests, we opted not to devise a set of LUTs for our DIT, Abby Levine, to apply on-set. We reasoned that it would be too elaborate to create and control something as sophisticated as that Technicolor look on-set, and that it would be much better to hone the look later on in the DI with our brilliant colourist Tim Stipan.

Which aspect ratio and lenses did you choose, and why?

SM: We shot widescreen 2.39:1 spherical, which we protected slightly for the IMAX versioning later on in post. We considered more vertical aspect ratios, such as 1.66:1 and even discussed 1.33:1, but when we saw the horizontal nature of the choreography, with 30 or 40 performers together in a line, the widescreen ratio proved a more natural fit. It also gave us that great sense of scale and spectacle, and the dynamism of a tilt-up in 2.39:1 actually worked in our dramatic favour.

My first AC, Bobby Mancuso, worked with Dan Sasaki at Panavision to get together a great set of

prime lenses, and we shot principally with Panavision 65 Sphero prime lenses. They have more of a period feel than ARRI Prime 65 lenses that I used on Life, and I love that effect. The 65 Spheros are fast enough that we rarely had to shoot wide open, and I was able to choose decent apertures that didn’t put our focus pullers through hell.

Did you use any filtration?

SM: Yes. As the movie was set in the period before electricity, I used Tiffen Glimmer Glass 1 filtration to soften the look of the modern lighting we were using, and make the practicals bloom and glow, with Glimmer Glass 2 to soften the look on our leading ladies.

How did you move the camera?

SM: Whilst the drama has elements that we captured in a composed manner, the camera really played an integral role in the choreography, and I reckon The Greatest Showman has more camera movement in it than any other film I’ve worked on to date. We wanted a kinetic picture, with a vivid energy and dynamism, and worked very hard on precisely choreographing the dancers and the cameras together.

Depending on the shot, we might have Maceo Bishop on A-camera/Steadicam weaving carefully in and around the dancers on the floor, with Jack Donnelly on B-camera and Patrick Capone on C-camera strategically-placed to shoot wides, close-ups and other insert material for the edit.

Or we would lift the camera through the air on a 50ft Technocrane to follow the aerial acrobatics.

Thankfully, on these shots, I had several other collaborators – A-camera dolly grip Joe Belschner, crane operator Kevin Gilligan, and Lance Mayer on the Libra Head – who rose admirably to the challenge.

How did you shoot the spectacular moments when Zendaya flies around the circus ring?

SM: We shot this in the big top that had been erected in the Brooklyn Armory. My key grip, Richie Guinness, and our stunt coordinator, Victor Paguia, developed a special rig that allowed Zendaya to be suspended off one end of a 10-foot truss and a Libra Head on the other. The stunt team then pulled the truss around the ring as >>

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we filmed the shot. We had a lot of fun with that, and the look of the wind through her hair, close-ups of her face and the swirling background is really effective.

I have to mention the focus pulling talents of my first AC Chris Silano and Bobby Mancuso, on a shot in this sequence, in which Zendaya flies straight towards the camera from about 100ft away to a tight close-up.

We shot with a Phantom Flex camera. Working with Bobby, Chris set up a Preston Light Ranger 2, supplied to us by Monster Remotes, which tracked Zendaya perfectly through the entire arc of her swing. Nailed in one go on a 100mm lens at 500fps. Wonderful.

And how about the dynamic swirling shot, towards the end of the film, when Barnum and his troupe perform a full-on dance number in the circus ring?

SM: We shot this in the big top too. It was based on one of Michael’s previzualised scenes, and it took some working out. I decided to go with a DJI Inspire 2 drone, fitted with a Panasonic camera for this shot. The drone circled and gradually descended into the hands of Richie Guinness, whereupon we cut the rotors, and Ritchie then seamlessly continued the move with two complete 360-degree revolutions around Barnum, who then exited the scene into a huge puff of smoke.

To enhance the visual spectacle, my gaffer Andy Day, and his team, built a circle of LED spotlights on a special armature at the top of the tent. We filled the tent with atmosphere, and when these lights fired down in a strobing pattern it created a kind of Zoetrope effect to the imagery. The combination of the drone move and the lighting effects really support the idea of Barnum’s enterprise evolving and modernising for him to literally be “the greatest showman”.

Tell us about some of your other lighting innovations?

SM: One of the biggest sets for The Greatest Showman was the rooftop scene above the tenement where the family lives. Barnum promises his family a better life as his wife hangs out the washing. The set was built on the huge stage at Steiner Studios, and was surrounded by vast, 360-degree painted backdrop of New York, Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines. It measured about 40-feet tall and 400 feet long.

Barnum makes a “wishing machine” out of perforated pencil cup-holder, through which a candle shines and casts dappled light on the sheets and blankets, and the family. But the question was how to light it?

Thanks to the collaboration between my gaffer Andy, our construction electrician Gene Lynch, assistant prop master Joel Weaver and head of SFX Jeff Brink, we created a small, intense lighting source which simulated the pattern of the candle Barnum holds, and projected that lighting effect across the characters and the washing.

Gene found a small-filament, high-wattage quartz bulb as the source and Joel drilled holes in a metal mixing bowl. We then mounted the bowl upside down on a spindle over the quartz bulb, and controlled the spins with a variable speed motor. It worked really well, and shows you what inter-departmental cooperation can really achieve.

There was also another lovely scene on the rooftop, in which Barnum and his wife perform an intricate dance routine in the moonlight. Initially, I considered front lighting the painted moon, but after testing I realised it would be better to backlight it and have the ability to change the colour, ambience and translucency. So I lit through the canvas of the moon with a huge circular array of ARRI Sky Panels. It was really effective as I could adjust the brightness and actual colour of the moon as required by the shots.

Tell us about the task of lighting Barnum’s Museum of Curiosities?

SM: The location is a big, enclosed industrial space where ships were once built – around 300ft long, 200ft wide and 100ft high – that needed a lot of prep to get it ready. We started by blacking out windows at the top of the building, which was fairly straightforward.

However, the building has a six-storey, south-facing window at DP Seamus McGa rvey BSC ASC Photo Credit: Nik o Tavernise

62 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

one end, through which daylight shines. I knew we would run into all manner of problems controlling the light during the short winter days of our shoot. So we built a huge, vertical lightbox outside from shipping containers, lined with bleached muslin. We then erected a scaffolding tower inside from which we suspended 12 ARRIMax’s all connected back to a dimmer board. The effect of this massive controllable softbox was to deliver exquisite light, allowing us to shoot throughout the day, irrespective of what the weather and lighting conditions were outside.

What were your working hours?

SM: I had 10-weeks prep, which was great, although rehearsals began three weeks before I arrived.

Thankfully our B-camera operator Jack Donnelly, was already on-hand shooting footage on a Canon 5D – some of which was sketching out shots that Michael was considering, some just documenting the overall choreography. It was tremendously useful for me to see what they were devising in advance of my arrival.

The shoot lasted for 14 weeks, and we generally worked 12-hour days, five days a week. There were some days when we had to shoot in the city on Sundays, but generally the weekends were free.

What can you tell us about the DI? SM: The DI was completed by Tim Stipan at EFILM in Los Angeles. Due to my commitments on The Widow with Neil Jordan, I was only able to attend the start and the end of the DI process. The majority of the grade was done by Tim under Michael’s supervision. I have to say they did a wonderful job together in emulating the Technicolor look we initially envisaged, and the colours are quite strong and strident.

Final thoughts?

SM: The Greatest Showman was one of the most intense and technically challenging productions I have worked on so far. It was pretty physical too, contending with all of the camera movement and choreography, but all the more invigorating for that. I was fortunate to have assembled a really great crew, who understood our challenges and created solutions with ingenuity, energy and great humour. All of this helped Michael bring a spectacular story – with wonderful dance routines, acrobatic displays and the memorable songs – to the screen. I would be more than happy if another musical came my way. n

ON THE JOB / ANTHONY DOD MANTLE DFF BSC ASC / FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER / BY RON PRINCE

WAR CHILD

First They Killed My Father depicts the true story of Loung Ung, who was forcibly trained as a child soldier, whilst her parents ‘disappeared’ and her siblings were sent to labour camps, during the rule of the Socialist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

H

er story is part of an infamous historic episode, which saw the depopulation of the country’s cities, and the deaths of at least 1.5million people, around 25% of Cambodia’s citizens.

Loung, played by Sareum Srey Moch, was only five-years-old when the Khmer Rouge captured the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, and seven when she made it to sanctuary in a Red Cross camp. During the two years of her subordination, she was exposed to the horrors of famine and murderous brutality, and drilled with skills that no youngster should ever experience – such as how to shoot an AK-47 machine gun, plant rows of land mines, and plunge spiked wooden spears into the Vietnamese enemy.

With the exception of a number of stunning aerial shots, almost every image in the movie is concentrated around Loung’s point-of-view. Some of the action takes place in the first person, with the camera representing what Loung sees.

At other times it takes more of the role of an observer, with the young heroine in-frame as other background action moves the story along.

The movie opens with newsreel clips revealing how US carpetbombing of Cambodia during the closing months of the Vietnam War created a power vacuum that was rapidly filled by the autocratic, xenophobic, paranoid and repressive Khmer Rouge. Loung’s narrative begins in relative peace, as her family ponders what changes the 64 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

end of the war might bring. But when the Khmer Rouge occupies the city, Loung’s father, a military policeman, leads his family with hoardes of others into the countryside, hoping not to be detected. Therein, the film becomes a story of daily survival.

First They Killed My Father is Angelina Jolie’s fourth narrative as a director. The Netflix film was written by Jolie and Loung Ung, based on Ung’s best-selling memoir of the same name. Acclaimed Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, whose family perished in the Khmer Rouge genocide, was producer and creative consultant, and Jolie’s adopted Cambodian son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, was an executive producer.

As Cambodia’s foreign-language Academy Award entry, the film has garnered fivestar reviews,

and also earned its Oscar-winning cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC (Slumdog Millionaire), the Bronze Frog at the 2017 Camerimage Festival Of Cinematography.

Working to a 4K mandate stipulated by Netflix, principal photography on the production began in early November 2015 in Siem Reap and, after a brief hiatus for Christmas, wrapped in February 2016 in Battambang, Cambodia. Shooting was also conducted in Phnom Penh.

Dod Mantle says the physical conditions were fierce – with production taking place in searing 45ºC heat and 100% humidity, and sickness-inducing bugs striking the cast and crew intermittently.

However, the first tranche of the production proved torrid in other respects. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Dod Mantle was invited to oversee the cinematography at extremely short notice, and had only three days to prepare for the shoot.

“There had been a number of tribulations and I arrived to find a chaotic situation, and a beautifully-dressed director, who I had never met before, in the middle of a paddy field,” he says. “The previous cinematographer and several key crew had suddenly left the production, and it was my job to get things going again – despite arriving in Cambodia on a Friday night and turning-over on Tuesday morning. But Angelina is a very impressive person, and I have a lot of

“ANGELINA IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE PERSON, AND I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR HER. I STOOD BY HER SIDE, AND HELPED HER AS MUCH AS I COULD.” ANTHONY DOD MANTLE DFF BSC ASC respect and admiration for her. I stood by her side, and helped her as much as I could.”

That said, Dod mantle remarks that it was, “not very nice taking over someone else’s crew, and not easy creatively either, as every cinematographer has their own creative and artistic vision for each project they work on. For me, in the period between November to Christmas, it was a case of catch-up – reading, prepping, thinking, working gradually day-byday – to get on top of things. Angelina and I certainly had some very honest and frank creative dialogues along the way.”

As regards the crew, Dod Mantle was able to encourage some of his regular collaborators to the production – including first AC Telfer Barnes, gaffer Thomas Neivelt, and the camera-rig-building talents of Jacob Bonfils. With production imminent, Dod

Mantle retained the Sony F55 cameras and vintage Panavision lenses that had been originally chosen for the production, but supplemented the selection of glass with a set of Leica Summicrons, along with a set of Schneider lenses that would be used in conduction with a 4K Flare camera for close-up handheld work.

“When I arrived, most of the production had been planned as a Steadicam shoot, but I felt the story – though the child’s eyes – needed something more emotional and varied from the photography – to be less documentarian and more anthropological,” he says. “I love operating and decided to introduce handheld alongside Steadicam (operated by Bela Truz), in order to better-project how Loung perceived incidents going on around her – which were everything from beauty and happiness in the beginning, to unadulterated chaos and darkness at

the end. For me, that was the psychology behind the way the camera had to work.”

In the devastating scene when Khmer Rouge soldiers take Loung’s father away, “we see what she sees,” says Dod Mantle. “She peeps into the house and watches the tearful farewell scene between her parents. When her father then comes to Loung, the camera is low initially, from her POV. The father looks straight down, very close to the camera. He’s almost looking at the audience. You genuinely feel it’s one of the last moments in her life that she is going to see her father alive.”

As the scene goes on, he also explains, “We had to break out from the subjective to the objective point-of-view, because when they are embracing, the camera has to come in from the side. It’s a very close embrace against the light with lens flare. I think that flare has the connotation of memory and sadness. The last shots in the scene are a very gentle shot of her looking at him, and a gentle track back from the two of them. Then we see the father walking away, with the soldiers, but ominously it is also a different route than when he’s going to work.”

With prep-time at a premium, Dod Mantle necessarily had scant opportunity to consider creative references at any length. “Ironically, I visited a Red Cross Camp on the border of Thailand and Cambodia in 1979, and remember seeing some horrific sights there. Although I was too young to engage with it and understand the genocide that had taken place, >>

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 65

ON THE JOB / ANTHONY DOD MANTLE DFF BSC ASC / FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER / BY RON PRINCE

DP Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC discusses a shot with his director Angelina Jolie

I was certainly touched by it, and think this was a great motivation to get involved with this production.

“Prior to production, I already knew of Loung’s book, and The Killing Fields (1984, dir.

Roland Joffé) is one of the unforgettable films about this period, especially with Chris Menges’ seismic cinematography. I looked at historic B&W and Kodachrome colour newsreel of the Khmer Rouge, and watched some of Rithy Panh’s films – all of which are macabre – chiefly to absorb the colours and the faces of the people. I also referenced a number of stills that Maddox had taken of rural Cambodia, which Angelina had printed up. Angelina herself has a keen eye for colour, especially the changing seasons, and wanted the production to be lit as naturally as possible.”

The rest of the work really came down to experience and intuition. “I quite enjoy being thrown to the lions, and flying by the seat of my pants,” says Dod Mantle. “This comes from documentaries. You learn to accept, in a matter of seconds, that you cannot control what’s happening around you, and that you simply have to do the best with what you have been given. Absorbing the anarchy – which included not being able to readily communicate with many of the crew, nor our young leading actress – gives you an energy that is quite fertile and interesting. You take this on board, bring it into a place of peace in your head, and you work spontaneously in the end.”

To both soften the look of the 4K digital sensors, and develop the picture into the desired sweet-spot, Dod Mantle variously employed graduated ND filters at top, bottom, left and right of the frame, along with traditional Vaseline. “I like images that do not over-bombard you with detail, and prefer go for holes of clarity in the picture, to get to the essence of the moment, and colour is an important part of that. Every single colour in this picture resonates certain feelings,” he says.

Every now and then, the story features a flashback or fantasy, often focussing on Loung’s memories of the time when the family were comfortable, healthy and carefree. At one point, the hungry and terribly sad Loung recollects the dinner table at their Phnom Penh home.

“We purposely made that recollection an oversaturated visual feast with food, colour and lushness,” says Dod Mantle. “It represents Loung’s yearning for the joy of her past life.” By way of contrast, flashbacks to her parents, which appear later in the film, “are dark and haunting and brief, colourless, brutal,” he explains. “The earth, sky and trees seem to have been bled of colour, the loss of this pigmentation stands in for the loss of hope.”

To break free of the relentless POV style of the camera work, Dod Mantle elected to introduce aerial photography – using RED cameras on cranes and drones – to deliver the story from a geographical context, as he explains.

“I had seen some work by the photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher, and the incredible images she had taken of dried human tears using electron microscopes.

They look like graphic satellite shots of the world, and evoke the eye of an indifferent God watching from above. If ever a landscape was littered with tears, it’s 66 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

“I LOVE OPERATING AND DECIDED TO INTRODUCE HANDHELD ALONGSIDE STEADICAM, IN ORDER TO BETTER-PROJECT HOW LOUNG PERCEIVED INCIDENTS GOING ON AROUND HER.” ANTHONY DOD MANTLE DFF BSC ASC Cambodia. I showed them to Angelina, who liked the concept behind the idea and the break-out from the claustrophobia of the POV style. These aerials give you the wider view of the vastness of the camps, the rice fields and plantations, and the scale of the human tragedy.”

Dod Mantle competed the DI grade on First They Killed My Father with Adam Glasman using da

Vinci Resolve, at Goldcrest in London, over the course of three weeks.

“I like to be busy and active in the grade, and discussed with Angelina how I wanted to further develop the colour and the looks of particular scenes – such as when Loung dreams of food – and the overall change of the colour arc – from a kind

of Kodachrome look at the beginning, to gradually draining the colour down to dusty, sandy, greys and blacks, with an occasional red scarf. She agreed and let me get and Adam get on with it.”

Despite the fraught start to the production, exhausting schedule and unrelenting heat, Dod Mantle says the experience of shooting First They Killed My Father, was rewarding.

“As cinematographers, we’re lucky to have the privilege of choosing the projects we want to get involved with, and it’s a privilege to be able to entertain people for an hour and a half of their lives. But, we're not here for long, and it’s really important what you feel about yourself on an individual level. I am glad that people keep coming to me with projects that are important to them, to us all. With Snowden (2016) it was the opportunity to look at surveillance and its effects on society with Oliver Stone. With T2: Trainspotting (2017) it was the chance to investigate subculture with Danny Doyle. On First They Killed My Father it was the chance to work with Angelina on the cruel exploitation of children during conflict, and the serious loss of life that could easily happen again, especially if engineered by the rich and powerful countries.” n

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CLOSE-UP / BARRY ACKROYD BSC / DETROIT / BY KEVIN HILTON

PLUS ÇA CHANGE

The Academy Award nominations field appears wide open this year, with few - if any solid front-runners. Among the many possibles for best picture is Detroit.

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ell-reviewed on its release last year, but with a poor showing at the box office, it recreates incidents that took place during the 1967 race riots in the Motor City and mirrors similar tensions in contemporary America.

Detroit was shot by British cinematographer Barry Ackroyd BSC, reuniting with director Kathryn Bigelow after their previous collaborations, The Hurt Locker (2008, for which she became the first woman to win a BAFTA and an Oscar for best director) and the 2011 TV movie The Miraculous Year. The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty (2012, DP Greig Fraser ACS ASC), both written by Detroit screenwriter Mark Boal, are based on real events. The latest collaboration between the writer and director is even more rooted in history, dramatising incidents at the Algiers Motel, during which three black men were killed and several other people severely beaten by police.

Ackroyd was introduced to the story when Bigelow invited him to her house in Los Angeles to discuss a new project. “Kathryn showed me a series of photographs of the characters as they appeared at the trial that followed the shootings,” he says. This set the documentary style of Detroit, which is also apparent in Ackroyd’s earlier work with Bigelow.

“In some ways it is a follow on from The Hurt Locker, which we shot on 16mm using Aaton cameras, even the sound was Aaton as well,” Ackroyd explains. “We did talk about shooting Super 16 on Detroit, but we decided on digital with the ARRI Alexa Mini and 16mm lenses.”

A key factor in making this combination happen was the 16mm mode on the Alexa Mini, which, Ackroyd says, utilises less of the camera’s sensor. This

68 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

allowed him to use old Canon lenses, primarily 10:1 and 12:1 zooms, which had been a part of his documentary work, including several films for Nick Broomfield. These gave some of the period and doco look at source, with the rest achieved in post-production, which involved colourist Stephen Nakamura.

Another factor was the transfer from the ProRes source. “Whether you shoot more or less than 2K, everything is transferred to 2K for the DI,” Ackroyd comments. “We decided to do that and during DI knew we could add grain that gave a sufficient feel of the time, but also linked to the archive news footage we were using, making the transitions as seamless as possible.”

The news reports of the day posed a number of problems for a variety of reasons but Ackroyd says he didn’t allow this to affect the original intention: “They were not in good condition and in 4:1 ratio rather than 16:9. But what’s interesting is that you can sit and worry about something like that when you’re preparing, but once the film is finished and it appears right, then it is right.”

Another factor influencing filming was the fact that Detroit today does not look much like it did in the 1960s. The collapse of the auto industry in 2008-10 and the city’s bankruptcy almost turned it into a ghost town, but large areas of housing had already been demolished by the 1970s.

Consequently much of the film Detroit was shot in northern districts of Boston, which Ackroyd describes as very industrial. “Parts of it are derelict as well, so we could use them as a backdrop,” he says. “There are similarities between parts of both cities, although the streets in Boston are not as wide as those in Detroit, which is one of its peculiarities as Motor City. We did get authenticity by shooting in Detroit towards the end, including at Motown Studios. But the film is not negated Barry Ackroyd BSC by being in Boston. It’s still a true representation of place.”

Throughout his career, Ackroyd has striven for the appearance of truth, something a critic picked up on about The Hurt Locker, which was described as having ‘verisimilitude’. “The aim is to get as close to reality as we can,” he agrees. “I like realism and have a fear that something I do does not feel real enough. But I think we have achieved a level of intensity through the performances and the power of the story.”

The sense of authenticity is heightened by using actual buildings and locations rather than sets and sound stages. This is something Ackroyd established when he began working with Ken Loach, whose films can be described as dramatic realism.

“The first three films I did with Ken were all filmed in real places on 16mm using my documentary kit,” he comments. “Similarly, there was no building of sets done on Detroit.”

To manage in what were often very small spaces, almost all of the film was shot handheld. Three operators worked on most of the scenes: Christopher TJ McGuire, Josh Medak and Ackroyd himself.

“There were three main cameras shooting almost entirely simultaneously, even in tiny rooms,” he says. “When the cops burst through the door in one scene, you have all the angles in a single setup but without having to have continuity of motion or needing to shoot several times. It’s a form of filmmaking that depends on the synchronicity of camera, acting, editing and direction and trusting everyone involved.”

The twin issues of race and police brutality are still highly charged in America today. As Ackroyd says, it is something that has happened under all presidents but under President Trump the situation appears particularly volatile. Filming took place in the build up to the 2017 presidential election, but Ackroyd observes that Detroit is not a film against Trump: “It reflects history and Kathryn is not biased, although it does show her point-of-view.

There is no such thing as being on the fence in an issue like this.” n

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ON THE JOB / BEN SMITHARD BSC / THE MAN WHO INVENTED CHRISTMAS / BY VALENTINA VALENTINI

LIGHTING GHOSTS

Ben Smithard BSC has shot of a lot of films set in a range of periods throughout historical England – The Damned United, My Week With Marilyn, Belle, Diana And I, to name a few. It’s not quite a pigeonhole of aesthetics, necessarily, but he’s certainly found himself on the other end of the viewfinder with non-contemporary subject matter time and again.

70 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

“I

’m doing Shakespeare,” says Smithard, speaking to his latest drama King Lear, directed by Richard Eyre, releasing later this year, “and I’ve done a lot of historical dramas. I didn’t plan that, it just happened. I don’t have an issue with it; I’m fascinated by it.

My office is full of history books, which might be odd for a cinematographer, but it’s a great way into a story.”

For all the history that comes with Charles Dickens, The Man Who Stole Christmas is a new take on the story behind the story of A Christmas Carol, one of the most popular books of all time and Dickens’ comeback success in 1843. Directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by Susan Coyne (based on the book by Lee Standiford), the film follows Dickens (played by Dan Stevens) down a rabbit hole of writer’s block and into the magical land of the book’s characters. Interweaving Victorian London with Dickensian fairytales, Smithard’s first thought upon reading the script was to stay away from a run-of-the-mill 19th century look.

“It’s been done so many times before – the moody and dark, de-saturated feel,” he says. “I was trying to avoid that from the outset.” This didn’t mean that he wanted to make it colourful, per se, but that he wanted to focus more on the magic of following a character’s thoughts inside their head.

Using an Alexa Mini paired with Zeiss Ultraprimes and Angenieux zoom lenses, Smithard stuck to an older palate by using conventional Tungsten lights and simple light sources rather than going too modern. “I wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, but if you use too many LEDs it can look modern, and it just wasn’t that kind of film,” he explains.

Smithard does like a good dose of smoke, though, which was fitting for a feature taking place at a time when pretty much every room would have had a fireplace and indeed the entire city would have been run on coal. Smoke would be naturally motivated, and Smithard used this to his advantage lighting nearly every scene with Tungsten outside the windows and a smoke machine wafting in the rays of light. The effect is soft and warm – an important juxtaposition within the storyline and the time and place.

“It all depends on the director, when it comes to using smoke,” says Smithard. “Some like it and others haven’t got the patience to wait for it to be right. It is an issue that so many things can go wrong with it. Trying to get consistency with smoke is difficult, because you’re reliant on one person with one machine; a bit of a draught can make it look like the place is on fire.”

The production had a very tight budget with minimal VFX, save for a very few shots, and Smithard got to dig deep into his creative reserves. This mimicked Dickens on-screen as he tried to work through the characters of A Christmas Carol – perhaps most famous of whom are the ghost of Jacob Marley and the three ghosts of Christmas – Past, Present and Future.

“We were shooting in an old bread factory in Dublin,” describes Smithard, “and there was only a little hallway outside the door to Dickens’ study where Marley (Donald Sumpter) comes through.” Directly behind him in the hallway was a window about two feet away, and whatever action happened it had to be in camera, so Smithard put a 1.2K MSR Compact Fresnel at the end of that small hall with the window and lit Marley from behind to create a ghostly bright blue aura.

For the Ghost of Christmas Past (Anna Murphy) that was one of their slightly bigger set-ups. Again, the production shot in Dickens’ study – which was only about 40-by-18 feet – and facing a big set of windows.

“Outside the windows I had my electricians with a load of big Tungstens,” says Smithard. “There was no practical justification, but I wanted it to look magical. It had to look as though this ghost had turned up in his dream.

Like Marley’s set-up, this didn’t cost an extra penny, but I’m really proud of what we accomplished.”

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Justin Edwards) appears as a Jolly Giant-type of character sitting on top of the lintel above the study door. The problem Smithard and his team had there was that not only was he was stuck up high in a corner, but Scrooge was also there and the entire Cratchit family appear in the same scene in the same tiny room.

Smithard reckons it was probably the scene they discussed the most. It starts off with Dickens reading to the maid, before the camera pans over to the ghost with the lights fading up. The image then moves over to Scrooge and pans around to the Cratchit family, with the lights fading up for their dining room scene within the office.

“It was all fairly complicated with lighting cues,” says Smithard, describing it like a theatrical production in his head, so to speak, which they played out in realtime.

“The Man Who Invented Christmas was a very, very low-budget film, but it was so incredibly enjoyable because of a wonderful crew and a wonderful director. In addition, I love making films that are based on small moments in history.” n

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Live for the story_

CLOSE-UP / ROB HARDY BSC / ANNIHILATION / BY MICHAEL BURNS

When the cinematographer and writer-director responsible for one of the most visually striking films of modern times come together again to work on a new movie, based on a contemporary sci-fi classic, you know that the look will involve heavy experimentation and some pretty leftfield filmmaking.

W

ith Annihilation, based on Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 novel of the same name, that does indeed seem to be the case for Ex Machina director/cinematographer duo of Alex Garland and Rob Hardy BSC.

“We wanted it to be very different from Ex Machina,” says Hardy. “Scott Rudin had optioned [VanderMeer’s Southern Reach] trilogy of books, and thought that Alex would be a perfect fit.”

The film, starring Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh, tells the story of a biologist who volunteers for an expedition into Area X, sealed-off by the government for the last thirty years as an environmental disaster zone. Other expeditions have been fraught with aggressive illnesses, traumas, disappearances and suicides.

With prep for Annihilation starting in January 2016, Garland began researching, collecting a lot of images of organic structures for reference, and thereafter the pair constantly exchanged pictures.

“I was living in LA at the time,” Hardy recalls. “I’d go down to the Botanical Gardens, constantly photographing the strangest things I could find in terms of plant life. It was almost like looking at architecture, but in plant form.”

Based on viewing the trailer, Annihilation juxtaposes the otherworldly with the normal very well. This attempt at something quite real, and yet unreal, was very deliberate says Hardy: “Etching it in a certain kind of reality, making that other world feel like it’s a real place – it adds gravity to the experience.”

With Ex Machina’s Oscarwinning VFX Supervisor Andrew Whitehurst from Double Negative on board, the team started exploring how 72 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

they could create a ‘hallucinogenic version of Louisiana’ in the suburbs of London.

“Production designer Mark Digby, and set decorator Michelle Day, did an incredible job in pulling together ideas and images, and finding locations that would really sell this idea,” says Hardy. “Had we gone to Louisiana and tried to make it look a bit trippy, I think it would have been a completely different thing, and not necessarily the thing we wanted. ”

Another factor in the look of the film was Asa Shoul, senior colourist at Molinare, in London, another fellow traveller from Ex Machina.

“Very early on, Alex and I would go over to Molinare, where Alex would take us through his visual document, talking us through the narrative using these images,” says Hardy. “It gave an amazing overview of the story and an idea, the essence of how it might look, or how he wanted it to look and feel. I wanted Asa in these conversations from the get-go.

“Constantly, while we were shooting, I got Asa and my DIT, Jay Patel, to work very closely together,” Hardy continues. “They were always sharing images, and Asa was always coming back with grading ideas and any thoughts or opinions

Director of Photography Rob Hardy on the set of Annihilation from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Photo Credit: Peter Mountain

he might have. By the time we actually got to the grade, it meant we had a very well-rounded foundation.”

Filming took place in England, over ten weeks. “As well as our sets in Pinewood, we shot on some royal land at Windsor which had never been shot on before,” Hardy says. “We found this swamp area and dressed into it. We created quite a lot of our sequences there, as well as some at Black Park, around the back of Pinewood.”

“On this film, you have Southern Reach, which is ‘reality’, and then Area X where the characters travel into,” Hardy explains. “I wanted to create a subtle shift, rather than two different looks, but that shift wasn’t just between the two areas. Really, what it worked on was Natalie Portman’s entire narrative arc.”

Shooting the script almost linear fashion, Hardy engineered this shift by starting out with the Sony F65 and Panavision Primo lenses, then gradually phasing out the lens set to replace it with another set, then phase out the camera package to replace it too.

“It was almost like we, the crew or the visual style, shifted with the psychological aspects of Natalie’s character,” he explains.“ Essentially what the Primos did was give us almost like a very solid, crisp look. I also used — only sparingly — some Crystal (Xtal) Express lenses. I was very keen not to go with too shallow a depth-of-field or too hand-held. I wanted to create almost a mundane feel. I didn’t want the look to detract at all from what was happening. But it just gears you up for what comes later.”

Then Hardy started to switch out the lenses.

“I began to use the Panavision G-series Anamorphics, which have a much more impactful, contrasty look,” he explains. “They have these strange aberrations around the outside in the glass and that really helped sell the idea that things aren’t quite as they seem. Then as soon as we get into Area X, I switched out the Sony cameras for the Red 6K Weapon. I have to say it was it was a complete headache for Jenny Patton, my first AD and long-time collaborator, to keep track of where we were in the story. But it definitely pays off.”

Area X also saw a bit of a departure in camera movement for this film genre – Hardy opted for Steadicam, rather than an in-your face, hand-held approach.

“I didn’t want that feel at all,” he explains. “The camera needed to observe much more: it needed to feel stoic, almost. It needed to move through, and past our actors. There were intimate moments, but this wasn’t about creating emotional intimacy, because that all appears in the story anyway. [Key grip] Sam Philips, another long-time collaborator, really understands how movement works with story. Alex is also always beside the camera, always involved in what’s going on in front of the camera.”

A happy accident then arose during filming, as Hardy recalls: “When we were out in the field doing our costume check, I’d decided on one particular combination in my master plan, where we’d couple the Reds with Panatar 65mm anamorphic lenses from Panavision. But we ended up putting a G-series on a Red camera.”

Observing the result on the monitors, Garland and Hardy were instantly convinced that this looked more like Area X, so, “We ended up simply using G-series lenses with the Red cameras for the bulk of the weird part of the story.”

“It was simply a question of taste and responding instinctively to what we saw in front of us, which is the only way to do it, I think,” Hardy explains.

As the story comes out of Area X and goes back into reality, Hardy wanted to keep a sense of Natalie’s character.

“She brings something back with her,” he says.

“So rather than just go back to the camera package and lenses we had before, I wanted to bring something back from that part of the narrative. So we kept the Red cameras, but went back to Primo lenses.

It’s very subtle. Some people might not even notice.

But there’s a sensation you get from watching it.

That’s the idea, at least!”

Another key factor in the otherworldly nature of the film is the lighting. Area X is surrounded/ defined by ‘the shimmer’, a phenomenon that called again for creative filmmaking.

“Early on, I talked to Alex about this idea that the sun would behave normally, but would be refracted through the dome of the shimmer, therefore everything inside of the shimmer would be likewise affected,” explains Hardy. “So there would be rainbows within the highlights.

“We looked at every different kind of lens and shot flares against black,” he continues. “We pulled almost every single lens Panavision had off the shelves to find the one that gave us the perfect ‘shimmer effect’. We began to look at those flares, and break them down into tiny little sections.

“We would say, ‘this part of this aberration in the lens, and the way the light is refracting is perfect for what we want to do here’. Then Andrew would take that section, he would expand it and use elements of it [in VFX], and then Asa would place it over the image, or certain parts of the image when we came to the grade. On-set I would then create the source from which those elements would play off. I put very, very big tungsten sources, very low, through the trees to create these strange flare effects. My gaffer, Andy Lowe, was very good at taking the ball and running with it. When I asked if we could get 24 Wendys and a 24K in the middle of this impassable forest, miles from the generator, Andy would reply, ‘yes we can’, unfazed.”

Rob Hardy BSC with Director Alex Garland Photo Credit: Peter Mountain

The only VFX this sampling of light didn’t apply to was the creatures – “we have some true horror beasts in this film,” says Hardy. “But every effect with regard to the shimmer that was added back into the movie was generated from an analogue source.”

The film wrapped in July 2016 and is pegged for release in 2018. Hardy feels the result really captures the essence of the book, yet turns it into cinematic form, which was the goal from the start.

“Alex’s version of Annihilation takes the book and everything the book has, the beauty and the strange, odd nature of it, and it translates it onto the screen beautifully. But not necessarily from a narrative point of view,” he says. “We look at the movie now, and think this is the movie we wanted to make.” n

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CLOSE-UP / ULA PONTIKOS BSC / FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL / BY RON PRINCE

FEMME FATALE

Set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the critically-acclaimed Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool retells the biographical account of actor Peter Turner and his brief but passionate relationship with Oscar-winning actress Gloria Grahame during the last years of her life.

T

urner, a struggling young thespian aged 28, first encountered and fell in love with the legendary Hollywood star, as she was living in the same boarding house in Primrose Hill, London. For her part, Grahame in her late 50s, was in the final throes of her acting career, but still managing cheerful optimism in her search for theatrical roles, whilst bottling-up concerns about her physical health. What started as a vibrant affair between the legendary femme fatale and her young lover quickly grew into a deeper relationship, as Turner became the person Grahame turned to for comfort.

Some years after their vibrant affair ended, Turner received news that Grahame had collapsed in her dressing room during a theatrical tour in the UK. After discharging herself from hospital, she requested to stay with Peter and his family in their terraced house in Liverpool, convinced that she could recuperate there.

The story of their true-romance unfolds magically in the movie, slipping between past and present (two years later) London, Los Angeles, New York and Liverpool.

The production, based on Turner’s memoir of the same name, was directed by Paul McGuigan, produced

by Barbara Broccoli and Colin Vaines, with the screenplay adapted by Matt Greenhalgh. Annette Bening and Jamie Bell take the lead

roles of Grahame and Turner, with Kenneth Cranham and Julie Walters playing Turner’s mother and father, and Vanessa Redgrave performing as Grahame’s mother.

Cinematographer Ula Pontikos BSC was chosen to photograph the seven-week production, which began shooting in Liverpool at the end of June 2016, before moving to cleverly-constructed sets at Pinewood Studios, which enabled one-take theatrical scene changes between time periods, as well as backprojections of settings such as Malibu beach and the Pacific Coast Highway.

In Liverpool, the production shot on the Royal Iris Mersey Ferry, Liverpool Playhouse, the Philharmonic Pub, and residences on Rundle Road and Huskisson Street. London locations included Hornsey Town Hall, the Phoenix Cinema in Finchley, the Everyman Cinema Muswell Hill and the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley.

Production wrapped in August.

“I was warmly invited to shoot Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool by Paul, and welcomed by Barbara and Colin shortly afterwards,” says Pontikos. “The main idea behind the camera work in the film was inspired by, and was a homage to, Gloria’s movies, such as In A Lonely Place (1950) in which she co-starred with Humphrey Bogart, as well as It’s A Wonderful Life (1946), Crossfire (1947), Sudden Fear (1952), The Bad And The Beautiful (1952)

Ula on the do back-project lly, framing up the ed translight on-set

74 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

and Human Desire (1954). These films had lots of centreframing and slow, calm and graceful movement.

“However, as our film was based around the theatre, Paul also wanted to include some of the oldschool artifice that you find in staged productions and several of Gloria’s old movies – such as clever scene transitions and back-projections – to transport the audience into the world of these paramours.”

Along with these references, and the script, Pontikos says she also made a point of reading Turner’s original book. “When I get a project that is based on a book, I always read the book, every single time. You pick up extra clues and cues about time and place, as well as the emotional storytelling.”

As a case in point, McGuigan was keen that the Liverpool scenes and scenes from memory were not stylistically different, but shared a visual similarity. “I remembered a photograph of Gloria with Peter’s cousin on the balcony of her New York apartment, which although faded, had clearly been shot in lovely, bright sunlight. As this was a romantic melodrama, I suggested that we tie all of the memory sequences together by the use of rich orange, golden and sunny colours, which Paul really liked.”

During her four-week prep period, Pontikos elected to shoot the production in ARRIRAW

Ula Pontikos BSC

using Alexa SXT, which she operated, fitted with uncoated Master Prime lenses.

“Compared to other lens I tested, the uncoated Master Primes have a lovely filmic flare and bloom, which were perfect for the romantic nature of this production, especially the bright and sunny moments,” she says.

Steadicam sequences in the production were variously shot by Derek Walker, Alf Tramontin and Thomas English. A-camera focus puller was Jon Garwes.

The gaffer on the production was Eddie Knight, with Kevin Foy the key grip.

A key challenge for Pontikos was how best to shoot the projections. “We shot a number of tests and discovered that back-projection gave us more depth than front-projection. We could really feel the depth of the skies and ocean. But, during the research we were advised to beware – projections can be a real pain

in the arse, as the plate dictates the style of lighting.

Because a projector’s native colour temperature is around 6000K, we used CTO gels on the projector’s lens to warm the plates during daylight and “magic hour” plates. For the moonlight scene, we lit actors with another projector bounced of a silk frame. So the colour temperature matched exactly.”

Plates for the back-projected Malibu sunset plates were shot at Joss Bay in Broadstairs, Kent, by Stefan Lange using an ARRI Alexa 65 large format camera. Other plates, such as the Pacific Coast Highway, were acquired through meticulous research of 35mm archive footage from the 1970s and 80s, before being scanned to 4K for projection. Pontikos employed the skills of Lester Dunton to correctly display background plates, pre-graded at Asa Should at Molinare, on large Translights set-up on the stage at Pinewood, using an array of up to four Barco 4K DLP projectors.

Pontikos says that shooting the transitions that helped the narrative slip between time periods was fun, albeit intense. One such scene sees the action transition from a passionate love-making scene in Primrose Hill into a scene where Turner brings Grahame a glass of milk in bed in Liverpool.

“We had a circular set in which the Primrose Hill and Liverpool scenes were conjoined with floating walls, along mousetraps and hideaways for the actors to manoeuvre around,” explains Pontikos. “When

the camera tilted up, this was the cue for Jamie and Annette to change their costumes and rearrange positions. As the camera panned around the wall, it became a co-ordinated effort by the actors, props and lighting teams, to get ready for when the camera circled back on to the performers in the Liverpool scene.

Although it was tense, it was also quite hilarious to see all of that action taking place just outside of the frame.

But the on-screen result looks absolutely amazing.”

A 2008 graduate of the National Film & Television School, Pontikos is quite candid about the step-up that Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool has provided her cinematographic career. “It was a big project for me, and there was always something to do – a recce, pre-light, rehearsal, back-projection, discussion with Paul – and I worked on it pretty much every single day. I learnt a lot, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity afforded to me by Paul, Barbara and Colin, who stood by me all the way.”

Perhaps the final word about Pontikos’ work in portraying the intense, complex and intimate drama should go to Gloria, or rather Annette Bening who told Screen Daily: “Ula was absolutely terrific and incredibly smart. The cinematographer is such an important thing for an actor. It’s an intimate relationship. The great ones feel as much as the actors, the writers and the directors. The great ones are in-there, they feel the room. It’s such a man’s world, the set, but Ula handled herself brilliantly and everyone supported her.” n

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British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 75

CLOSE-UP / BEN DAVIS BSC / THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI / BY TREVOR HOGG

SIGNS OF THE TIMES

Combining dark subject matter with a sense a humour is a trademark of filmmaker and playwright Martin McDonagh who, in his third cinematic effort, explores the societal impact of a grieving and combative mother seeking justice for her brutally murdered daughter in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

T

he source of all of the commotion is Mildred Hayes portrayed by Frances McDormand; other cast members in the independent production distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures includes Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage, and Caleb Landry Jones. After collaborating with McDonagh on Seven Psychopaths cinematographer Ben Davis BSC returns with a deep admiration for his friend and colleague.

“Working with Martin is a joy and his scripts are always brilliant,” notes Ben Davis. “What happens, particularly on the independent films during the preproduction period, is the DP will be asked to come and sit down to let the financiers know what your goal is and what you’re trying to do. I remember saying to them, ‘The thing about Martin is I can’t pick a particular film.’ I try to explain to them that with Martin’s scripts it is difficult to do that because his work is of its own. It doesn’t particularly fit into genre or style.”

Points of reference for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri were Don’t Look Now, Paris, Texas and Americana. The biggest influence on the visual look was the principal setting of Sylva, North Carolina which took over a year to find as Martin McDonagh wanted everything to fit geographically, from the house that Mildred lives in overlooking the town, to the placement of the police station. “What was extraordinary about Ben Davis BSC it was that all of our places were in the one town or within a stone’s throw. It never really happens. The town was very much in his head and Sylva was exactly what he was looking for.”

Principal photography took place from May and June of 2016. “I came

76 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

straight from another film so we did about five weeks of prep and a seven-week shoot,” notes Davis.

“Martin draws storyboards for the entire movie for what you could understand of them! They were there like stick drawings. Some of them I would look at and go, ‘What’s that supposed to be? Is that a rabbit?’ ‘It’s a deer.’

‘Oh, right.’ Martin and I talked through every scene. Even though we may not refer to the storyboards on the day, they were pretty much what we shot for the entire film.”

There was room to improvise when shooting scenes. “It was organic in that way although we weren’t bashing the script around. We used a traditional style.

We go in, block the scene, Martin had a good idea of how he wanted to shoot it, and we would end up doing that. It was well-planned. The whole film was in Martin’s head before we began the process.”

“I had a lot of the same crew from Seven Psychopaths,” states Davis. “My AC was William Coe who I adore and is great, Stephen Campanelli was the operator and Ross Dunkerley was the gaffer.” Panavision supplied two ALEXA XT cameras along with E and C series anamorphic lenses which have imperfections that help to break down the digital image. One truck of lights was utilized that consisted of a lot of LEDs, 4x4 Cine panels to create moonlight, and a single generator.

“What you learn as you go on as a DP is to use fewer lights and to put them in the right place.”

“We never did a huge amount of takes,” states Davis who shot the crime comedy drama in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. “The coverage was what was necessary. For me, the cinematography was purely about delivering the script.

When the words are so good there’s a temptation to shoot your actors in the close-ups. We made sure not to do that.”

The use of handheld camerawork is limited. “You could have gone down that approach with it but Martin is more classical than that and he wanted it to be a piece of cinema and his base point is 1970s filmmaking.

He wants that type of approach than a more contemporary handheld approach.”

“FOR ME, THE CINEMATOGRAPHY WAS PURELY ABOUT DELIVERING THE SCRIPT. WHEN THE WORDS ARE SO GOOD THERE’S A TEMPTATION TO SHOOT YOUR ACTORS IN THE CLOSE-UPS. WE MADE SURE NOT TO DO THAT.” BEN DAVIS BSC

An exception to the handheld rule was a single two-minute shot where Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) crosses the street, heads up a flight of stairs, throws adman Red (Caleb Landry Jones) out a window, and walks back to the police station. “We didn’t have a budget for visual effects but had a great stunt coordinator named Doug Coleman,” explains Davis. “Sam goes to the door and smashes the glass with his truncheon. As he is going up the stairs a flatbed truck pulls up outside the building with boxes and mattresses. Sam goes up to the first floor and hits Caleb in the face with a gun. Caleb has a blood thing in his mouth and as he goes down Sam smashes the window. While Sam is smashing the window, Caleb crawls out of the frame and the stunt double goes in. Sam then bends down and throws the stunt double out of the window who rolls off of the roof into the truck which drives away with him in it. While that’s happening, Caleb is going down the stairs, having makeup applied to him and lays on the road. Sam continues on, hits the secretary, goes down to the road, picks Caleb up, hits him again, and then walks into the police station. We got it on take three.”

“Frances drives the film,” observes Davis. “They always say in cinema that your lead character has to change in some way but Frances doesn’t. She’s picked a route that she’s going down and stays with it. Whereas Sam’s character is the one who changes. In cinema we tend to have structures where there is a clearly defined good and bad guy. But in Martin’s films he presents characters and says, ‘People aren’t like that. There is good and bad in people. Things are cut and dry like that. This is the way life is. People are complex. They change and the way you perceive them changes.’ Although Martin’s words are complex and poetic, the characters he delivers are real.”

The presentation of the three billboards was not treated lightly. “Oddly enough, there was a lot of discussion

about what size and colour they were going to be; it went on for weeks. In the end Martin wanted them to be red with black writing which I didn’t expect. But when we put them against this lush green landscape they looked fantastic. I thought, ‘He’s bang on.’ We went down, taped them out and put pieces of wood where they were all going to be.”

“The complexities of independent filmmaking are about time, whereas on the larger films it’s about how do you make this great,” observes Davis. “The thing about location shooting for me is it’s all about planning.

If you plan it well, it will go well. In terms of lighting it’s about being in the right place at the right time. What I would do in prep, I’d spend my time at the locations as much as I can. I’ll sit there and say, ‘This is the best time of day to shoot this scene.’ We had a great first assistant director named Peter Kohn and we would work out when to do certain scenes and what they should be.

There were certain scenes that I wanted to do at dusk and they were slightly tricky with Martin. A particular one was a key emotional scene with Frances. I worked a plan with Peter to leave room in the schedule so if needed we could go back and shoot it on another day.

We got it within the 40 minutes because Frances was brilliant straightaway. But it was good that we could give Martin reassurance that if this doesn’t work out we’ll have another go. We’ll come up with another idea.”

A particular location suited a character nicely. “I liked Dixon’s house which is a rundown old house above Sylva but had a beautiful charm about it,” notes Davis.

“It seemed to fit him perfectly.” Scene transitions were kept in mind. “Martin and I talked through what was going to be the last shot of one scene and the first shot of another.

I didn’t want to do any complex transitions but we were aware of what the cuts were going to be.

We didn’t want any contrived devices

Director... h Martin McDonag

that made you aware of the cinematography because Three Billboards isn’t that sort of film. Adam Glasman at Goldcrest in the UK served as the colourist. “The DI was straight. We shot with a basic film emulation LUT. I stuck with that. I don’t necessarily light digital the same way because I don’t think that you do. In terms of workflow if I want things darker I’ll expose them darker and if I want things warmer I’ll light them warmer or expose them warmer rather than go into a complex colour timing CDLs onset. I haven’t got time to be colour timing things onset.”

“My favourite scene in the film is when Frances comes home from a club at night and the local priest is around visiting her,” reveals Davis. “It was such fun to shoot. Frances and the dialogue were so brilliant.”

It was great collaborating with Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.

“They all share the film equally and are a joy to work with. The thing about doing a film with Martin is after reading the script page you’d go, ‘I can’t wait to do this.’

You also knew on top of that you had Sam, Frances and Woody performing these lines. It was a pleasure to look through the eyepiece. It doesn’t get better than that.

The anticipation each day was a wonderful thing.”

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won the People’s Choice Award at 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. “I like the fact that the audience voted for it; that’s a great thing because that’s who you make the film for.”

Currently, the native of London is shooting the live-action version of Dumbo with Tim Burton.

“Each film has a different personality. That’s why I do a range of work. I don’t have a specific style that I use.

Every film has its own merit and should be approached in a different way.” n

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 77

F-STOP POLAND / CAMERIMAGE 2017 DIARY / BY RON PRINCE

SILVER JUBILEE

One man’s journey through the mirth and merriment of the 25th Camerimage Festival Of Cinematography.

Monday 13th November: It’s stupid o’clock. 4.30am

to be precise. Therefore way-too-early to discover oneself in an airport concourse that’s absolutely choking with cheap-flight passengers running hither and thither.

You get the picture. Erin Ibrahim from Tiffen Filters kindly lets me jump into the ever-so-long aeroplane boarding queue, and before you can say “Camerimage – here we come for the thirteenth time”, we’re on-board… and low and behold… suddenly there are plenty of other familiar faces proffering kisses, hugs and handshakes galore, alleviating the early-morning murk. There’s Alan, Katie Swain BSC and Angus Hudson BSC, Kimberly Snyder CEO of Panavision with Jeff Allen from PV London, Mark from Mission Digital. My window-seat travelling companion is underwater gaffer Aaron Keating.

It’s mild when we step-off the plane and on to Polish tarmac in Bydgoszcz. This week I’m due on stage three times – interviewing Ed Lachman ASC about his work on Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck, hosted by Kodak, plus a brace of gigs, sponsored by

Panasonic, one about shooting 4K for Netflix, the other a look at Roland Joffé’s The Forgiven, shot by William Wages ASC. Can’t wait!

As everything has run like clockwork, there’s time to enjoy some owsianka (porridge), plus eggs and bacon, before we hit the Opera Nova to register for our passes. Also breakfasting, with more embraces, are Andrew Dunn BSC, Nigel Walters BSC, Rachel Morrison ASC, AFC president Richard Andry, plus Hugh Whittaker, Mark Furszedon and Raj from PV London. Ed Lachman and Chris Doyle are fresh-in from what looks like a large night out – they were co-panellists yesterday with Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC on a session called “Like A Virgin” aimed at budding DPs. Our friends from American Cinematographer, Steve Pizzello and his good lady Delphine, are in furs, reporting that this year’s disco has been transplanted into a shopping mall.

Over at the Opera Nova is the welcoming sight of Robert & Robert, the ever-so fearsome looking security dudes who, over the years, have become poster boys for British Cinematographer Magazine. They love it! And anyone caught wearing Ed Lachman… a rival T-shirt ought to jolly well with Kodak’s Su per 8mm camera watch their step. Thoughtfully, Alan has brought our two terrifying heroes copies of last year’s Camerimage Diary, for which they

posed in a snapshot clutching our humble journal with the encouragement to “Read it, or else!”.

Up in the bar, word has it that Murder On The Orient Express, with Sir Kenneth Branagh and Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC in attendance, made for a wonderful opening screener to this 25th anniversary special of the festival. Kate Kotcheff from Wizzo laments an irksome change to the ticketing system at the Multikino, which effectively means seats are nigh-on impossible. By golly, I hope they’ve fixed the irksome seating arrangements for press and media in the Opera Nova. Carey Duffy from Cooke Optics relates that Doctor Who is going Anamorphic, supplied by Films @59. Along with deployment on BBC Natural History programmes, purchases by OTT channels like Amazon and new customers in China, Cooke glass is selling like hot cakes.

Thankfully, they have addressed the seating strictures in the Opera Nova, as I take a decent seat to watch Matty Libatique ASC’s work on Mother!. The movie doesn’t suit all tastes, but I personally love the chaos and gradual drenching of the images in visceral red during the third act. Nice to see he shot it on Super16mm too. Speaking of celluloid, Adrian Bull and John Mahtani of Cinelabs are brandishing filmstrips as business cards, and recounting how they’ve supported Star Wars: The Last Jedi (DP Steve Yedlin ASC) and The White Crow (DP Mike Eley BSC).

After a screening of Loveless, shot with supreme control by Mikhail Krichman RCG, it’s suddenly been a long day. Tired as a newt, this giblet is off to bo-bo land!

Selfie... with John Toll ASC

78 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Robert & Robert… still in love with their favourite magazine!

iPhone X se lfie…

Kodak’s Holger Schwärzel… shows off his new baby!

Tuesday 14th November: Owsianka with

Steven Poster ASC, president of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600 IATSE, who’s looking doubly-hip on account of a cool trilby and appearing fresh as a daisy, despite having arrived just last night from LA. He’s here on Polish Student Film jury service. We have a serious and ranging conversation about working hours and the need for safety on-set.

Sarah Jones is recalled. Steven shows me the Guild’s Safety App (covered in previous issues) and a brand new video they’ve just produced, using crash-test dummies, showing the possible perils of shooting in cars, rather than on trailers. In the event of an accident or an airbag going off, there’s a risk to life and limb should a camera/lens lump hit cast/crew. “Safety is no accident,” says Poster, “and it must remain a matter of worldwide concern.”

With Wonderstruck on the mid-morning bill at the Opera Nova, I chat with Ed Lachman and Chris Doyle about what inspired their imagemaking from a young age. For Ed, whose voice is sounding a wee bit scratchy, it was the influence of his projectionist father.

For Chris it was unequivocally a combination of music and mescaline.

Hoorah! I have the perfect viewing position for Wonderstruck, sitting next to young Colombian DP, Johan Florez, now residing/working in Italy. Johan tells me he’s drawn partly because Wonderstruck was shot on film, and partly out of an adoration for Ed’s work.

To my eyes, the movie is sublime, an awe-inspiring cascade of some of the most beautiful and evocative images you could hope to see. In the queue for coffee and a cake afterwards, Nina Kellgren BSC concurs, “I love Ed’s ability to take us to another place and time.”

On the way to Ed’s press conference, Roberto Schaefer AIC ASC reveals brief details about shooting The Red Sea Diving Resort – about the rescue and transport of Ethiopian Jews to Israel in 1981 – which he recently completed in South Africa using Panasonic Varicam. Lots of sea and sky. Lots of nighttime photography involving some very dark-skinned actors and minimal light. But he’s loving the Varicam’s 5000 ISO for that! At the press conference, Ed’s voice is definitely on shakey ground, as he relates details about Wonderstuck.

with Claudi o Miranda AS C

Panasonic’s shooting 4K for Netflix is very wellattended, as Bobby Shore CSC, Pepe Avila Del Pino and Patrick Stewart take turns on the mic, relating how they have used Varicam to respectively When John Bailie photograph Anne met John Bailey With An E, Ozark and Arrested Development.

I’ve heard that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, shot by Ben Davis BSC, is unmissable. But I am late to gain entry. Fortunately, Marek Zebrowski accedes to slipping me in by the back entrance, along with a clutch of jury members, including Michael Apted and Stephen Goldblatt BSC ASC, passing Lone Star and Justyna Sieniawska in the green room. I get another great seat, with Louis Philippe Capelle as my viewing buddy. In the on-stage preamble, Ben says, “the script was a gift,” and “if you can see the camerawork, then I have not done my job properly.”

Until this point The Florida Project was my top film of 2017, but Three Billboards turns out to be a bit special. Script, acting, sound, direction and editing all in perfect harmony with the invisible cinematography.

It’s a triumph, and the audience love it. >>

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British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 79

F-STOP POLAND / CAMERIMAGE 2017 DIARY / BY RON PRINCE Quiff-tastic… (l-r) Ron Prince with Katie Swain BSC and Ed Moore

C… an avid Richard Andry AF ine! reader of this magaz

Dismounting from a luxury BMW, that is used to ferry the VIPs around the town and has a massage facility in the front passenger’s seat, we’re at ARRI’s unmissable party. It’s the company’s 100th year and the party seems more ram-jammed than normal. The apple pies are irresistible. As per normal, the Frog nominees are greeted to applause as Marek Zydowicz and Franz Kraus dole out commemorative statuettes.

Time passes fast catching up with Judith and Ute from ARRI’s marketing teams, and chatting to Toby Tomkins from Cheat about his grading work on Kaleidoscope (DP Philipp Blaubach).

I share a taxi ride back to the Holiday Inn with agent Anne Murtha, who fondly remembers festivals of yore, including one in Lodz when she and Vilmos Zsigmond ASC HSC took a tearful trip to Auschwitz for the day.

Johan Florez… loves Ed Lachman’s work on film

Wednesday 15th November: Owsianka, in the When John Bailie met Daniel Pearl ASC

When William Wages ASC met Jamie Harcourt GBCT

Netflix 4K shooters…

Pepe Avila Del Pino, Patrick Stewart and Bobby Shore CSC

80 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

company of the eloquent and impeccably-dressed Denis Lenoir AFC ASC, is a wonderful way to kick start my big day with Ed Lachman. Louis-Philippe tells us about upand-coming IMAGO events, including the next awards in March 2019, in either Belgrade or Ljubljana.

My mobile rings. The ever-so-faint voice of Ed Lachman whispers that the doctor has been. He’s under orders to not speak and stay in bed for the next three days. Whilst the inevitable cancellation of our Kodak event is disappointing in the extreme, the gap is neatly filled by an in-depth look at Kodak’s forthcoming Super 8mm camera, with its development manager Holger Schwärzel. The camera is near the end of its development path, and is set to ship in the first half of 2018. It will come with a 6mm lens as standard, but will take other C-mount glass. Four stocks will be available – 50D, 200T, 500T and a B&W reversal – plus Ektachrome reversal later in the year. Kodak will offer a processing and HD scan service, but pricing is yet to be revealed. Holger reckons interest in this consumer product has been huge, as well as from students and cinematographers.

I hear Ed has disobeyed the doc, and made it to the Opera Nova. So I take Holger, plus the Super 8 camera, over to meet Ed. A gaggle of onlookers turns into a fascinated throng as Holger shows the prototype to Ed. Ed nods and points and gives thumbs ups.

ARRI’s Big Screen Experience is opened by Stephan Schenk, MD of ARRI Cine Technik and general manager of the Camera Systems business unit. He says,

“ARRI cares about images: we want to give you the best overall image quality, with the most pleasing skin tones and colours, from cameras that give the best overall production value, that are quick and easy to operate, whilst providing efficient on-set and post production workflow.” The audience’s approval is palpable. “Today we’re celebrating 25 years of Camerimage and 100 years of ARRI, so we’re going to show something very special.” Indeed, we’re treated to a terrific 40-minute film of DPs from around the world extolling the virtues of precision German engineering in camera and lighting.

Panavision’s party is packed to the rafters. A vodka luge is dedicated to 50 years of LEE Filters, with all manner of colourful vodka-based drinks to quaff.

Over delicious mushroom/venison pasta parcels, and an apple pie, I find myself discussing camera technology with Michael Cioni, SVP of innovation at Panavision & Light Iron. He says dozens of Millennium DXL large format cameras have been made, and that he’s travelling the world not just to support and advise users, but also to listen and learn about what’s needed in the next generation of Panavision cameras. Out in the garden, lots of laughs with Katie Swain, Kate Kotcheff, Angus Hudson. As I’m about to get my coat, Judit Romwalter from Sparks makes introductions to the two Hungarian DPs in competition – Máté Herbai who lit On Body And Soul, and Tibor Máthé who lensed The Butcher, The Whore And The One-Eyed Man. Good luck, I say!

Thursday 16th November: Owsianka again, but

this time with Marc Horner and Tom Fletcher from Fujinon. Kim Snyder is leaving for LA. I must find John Bailey ASC, the recently-appointed president of the Academy, who’s arriving from LA today. Vittorio asks me to visit his seminar later. Richard Andry wants to know what effect Brexit will have on the UK film industry.

It’s my take that unless HM Government changes any laws, that the overall picture for the UK film industry looks peachy, although issues lie ahead for anyone exporting/importing goods in Europe, and there could be problems for the large, international, peripatetic workforce employed by the VFX houses. But we’ll have to see. I notice Richard is wearing the wrong T-shirt for our tastes – over to Robert & Robert! Nigel Walters says the attendance at this year’s Camerimage festival has swollen by 1,500, up to over 5,500.

Vittorio’s session is rammed to the rafters, so I opt for some headspace before my Panasonic event, and head to the canteen. Today’s fare is a pork-burger with rice and a concoction of chickpeas, carrots and green beans. It’s delicious. The well-attended Panasonic event with William Wages is lively and >>

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F-STOP POLAND / CAMERIMAGE 2017 DIARY / BY RON PRINCE Froggies… Golden Frog winner Máté Herbai with Silver Frog winner Andrei Zvyagintsev

Bronze Frog...

Anthony Dod Mantle

invigorating, thanks to his indefatigable energy and loquaciousness. He has found ways of working with the Varicam, plus Fujinon zoom lenses, that deliver fast set-ups and good-looking pictures, and he’s more than happy to reveal details about his work and answer the pithiest of questions.

I’m about to leave for the Opera Nova, but my eye is caught by the presence of a towering figure chatting to a woman with a baby. Blimey, it’s John Bailey and Elen Lotman ESC, who has wee Arthur swaddled warmly at her front. John is screening Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters, a film he shot in 1985 for Paul Schrader, executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. It’s an imaginative portrait of the Japanese writer/would-be revolutionary Yukio Mishima, involving different colour palettes, locations and exquisite set-builds, which Jamie Harcourt and I discuss on the way to the Holiday Inn for Panasonic’s party. More apple pies are consumed. Amongst the gathering, I meet Charlotte Bruus Christensen DFF and VR wizard Jannicke Mikkelsen FNF, who are both separately up on-stage tomorrow.

Friday 17th November: 7.00am breakfast,

before we jet back to Blighty. Although we’re missing a host of events about diversity and inclusivity today, John Bailey is up and around, and reveals these topics are top of his agenda at the Academy. As we wait at Bydgoszcz airport for our flight, how appropriate it is that we meet Ula Pontikos BSC, author of the images for Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, and ask if we can report on her work.

So has Camerimage 2017 been a classic? Well, there aren’t too many other places you can go to enjoy the fellowship and camaraderie of cinematographers from right around the world. Thank you to Marek, Kazik, Marek, Darek and Barbara for your help and support.

Camerimage is wonderful. Until next year! n

CAMERIMAGE 2017 WINNERS! MAIN COMPETITION Golden Frog: On Body and Soul, DP Máté Herbai, dir. Ildikó Enyedi Silver Frog: Loveless, DP Mikhail Krichman, dir. Andrei Zvyagintsev Bronze Frog: First They Killed My Father, DP Anthony Dod Mantle, dir. Angelina Jolie

FIPRESCI AWARD

Sweet Country, DP Dylan River, dir. Warwick Thornton

AUDIENCE AWARD

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, DP Ben Davis, dir. Martin McDonagh

POLISH FILMS COMPETITION

The Art of Loving. Story of Michalina Wislocka, DP Michał Sobociński, dir. Maria Sadowska

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION

ARRI party… d Nathalie Duran AFC with Louis lle Philippe Cape

Golden Frog: documentary: Radio Kobanî, DP Nina Badoux, dir. Reber Dosky Golden Frog: docudrama: Potentiae, DP Ricardo Garfias, dir. Javier Toscano

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION

Golden Frog: Grand Prix: Zhalanash - Empty Shore, DP Marcin Sauter, dir.

Marcin Sauter A full list of winners can be found at www.britishcinematographer.co.uk

82 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

John Bailey ASC with Elen Lotman and baby Arthur

Charlotte Bruus Christensen DFF with Ron Prince and Jannicke Mikkelsen FSF

GAFFERS ‘R’ US / DAVID SMITH / BY DAVID WOOD

SHINING A LIGHT ON

DAVID SMITH

Age: 48 | Born: London | Lives: East London School: Wanstead High School Training: Lee International, Wembley Early career: Commercials and music videos

Hobbies/passions: Travel, cycling, taking his sons to football and, of course, lighting movies!

Selected filmography: - The Rhythm Section (2019) - Mary Poppins Returns (2018) - Christopher Robin (2018) - Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) - Spectre (2015) - Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) - Molly Moon And The Incredible Book Of Hypnotism (2015) - Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) - A Long Way Down (2014) - I Give It a Year (2013) - Wrath Of The Titans (2012) - X-Men: First Class (2011) - The Rite (2011) - The Debt (2010) - Tamara Drewe (2010) - Kick-Ass (2010) - 1408 (2007) - Miss Potter (2006) - Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) - The Merchant Of Venice (2004) - Stage Beauty (2004) - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones (2002, gaffer: additional shooting crew) - Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001, gaffer: second unit) - The Beach (2000, gaffer: second unit) - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999, gaffer: second unit)

Early years: I did a lot of commercials and music videos at the start of my career, which were good experience. You’d do four or five jobs a week, and organise a job while doing a job.

It gave you a good grounding.

Relationship with the cinematographer: I make no bones about the fact that I work with the cinematographer and to a level they trust me to work to – going on recces and recommending how sets should be lit. For me it’s all about making it look good, rigging it efficiently and being able to manipulate the light once it’s there. The set never stays the same, so that keeps you on your toes. You might start with an 18K light at 8am. But if you are still shooting the same scene at 6pm, the sun has started to drop and you have to put two doubles in to bench the ambient light. I have to be able to work out how to get to it to change it – I really like that aspect of the job.

On-set I stay with the DP in eyeshot all the time.

I watch them and listen to the director and cameraman.

Where they go, I go. I go with them to the cast rehearsals so I know exactly what’s going on – working in collaboration with the DP, seeing in real-time what they see.

Start every job afresh: I’ve worked a lot with DPs such as Ben Davis BSC and Hoyte van Hoytema FSF NSC. I try to learn from them and bring that experience to the next project. But, one DP I’ve also done a lot of work with, Andrew Dunn BSC, said “Whatever you’ve learnt, forget it and start again. That way you bring something new to a project,” which is good advice too.

Read the script: I always try and read the script because lighting is all about the story. To me it’s like another character in a film. Sometimes you see actors’ faces and sometimes you don’t. You have look at the script and ask yourself what the film is about, what the cameraman wants or what the location dictates.

In the studio... (l-r) Hoyte van Hoytema FSF NSC, A-camera 1st AC Julian Bucknall, gaffer David Smith, and A-camera operator Lucas Bielan

Importance of the crew: I am very lucky with the guys I have got around me.

I work with rigging gaffer Warren Evans, best boy Billy Gamble and desk operator Daniel Bocking. These people are all very important to me. Warren’s a brilliant rigging gaffer – the best. We have worked together for the last eight years on films such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Spectre. I trust Warren completely, which is crucial because often, at the start of a project, I go recceing and the likelihood is that I won’t return to a set for two of three months. The day I’m back, there might be 100 crew and extras and the lights need to be in place and pointing in vaguely the right direction ready-to-go.

With somebody like Warren I know that in my absence he will have worked out what needs to be done.

Biggest job: On Spectre we lit the River Thames, which took five weeks of night-time rigging, used 30 generators and 100 electricians. That’s a lot of lights – and Warren made sure that all the generators and the cabling was the right size and in place at the right time. But we couldn’t have lit that river shoot without Emma Pill and the location department – her team were incredible, getting us access to every roof top from MI5 to Big Ben. Technology: With new kit such as LEDs and Skypanels you can do more with less, but the big drawback is they are more expensive. Skypanels can create any environment that you want instantly, saving on time and gelling. But that level of control also costs you in terms of the expense of the lights and the skilled technicians you need to operate them properly.

Rather than just leaving it up to the desk op, I get very heavily involved in the technology. It’s very important for me to understand how it all works, so I can retain that creative input. If you only know it up to a point and have to ask somebody else what to do, then you are not really in charge.

84 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

On the set for the opening sequence of 007 Spectre... Hoyte van Hoytema FSF NSC, a Daniel Craig stand-in, and David Smith

David Smith ’s right hand m an rigging gaffe … r Warren Evan s

On Mary Poppins Returns at (l-r) David Smith, Dion BeeShepperton...

David Cousins focus pull be ACS ASC, er/1 Steadicam operator Pete st AC and r Robinson

Advice to up-and-coming gaffers: The hardest, but most important, thing about our job is being there. Being there first thing in the morning and still being there at the end of a long day. That’s the first part of the job to overcome, one that a lot of guys just don’t seem to get! Also, I’d say, be like a sponge and take it all in – not just your job, but everybody else’s job.

If you do that then your job becomes easier, because you see that film lighting is about being part of a team.

Ask as many questions as you can and do a wide variety of jobs at the start of your career – no two lighting jobs are the same and you’ll learn from every experience.

ll as Naomie Harris takes a stro and 1st AD Michael Lerman skies the David Smith check out

“I ALWAYS TRY AND READ THE SCRIPT BECAUSE LIGHTING IS ALL ABOUT THE STORY. IT'S LIKE ANOTHER CHARACTER IN A FILM.” DAVID SMITH

Ben Davis BSC cinematographer, says: The first thing I look for in a top gaffer is a really good organisational brain, especially on the bigger movies. A lot of it is about logistics and, for me as a cinematographer, the more I can delegate the better.

A really good gaffer can take a load of pressure off you. The other thing you look for in a gaffer is a photographic eye. That way you can send them forward on sets on your behalf to plan things. David Smith has both of these skills in buckets.

I am very fond of him. He’s one of a new breed of younger gaffers. He always brings a smile to his work and is never flummoxed or pressurised, whatever the situation. He has a calmness about him which you really need in your head of department.

I have done many films with David and in addition to the photographic eye he’s got a technical mind. Things are evolving very quickly in film lighting with LED and digitally-controlled lighting, and he’s very clued-up on the latest developments. With the large Skypanels you can do just about anything in terms of colour at the flick of a switch – but only if you have somebody who really knows how to use it.

amount of light spread we needed on the Thames (30 big truck generators spread through the city), as well as informing the second unit about the most elaborate lighting scheme ever performed on the dark night streets in Rome for a car chase.

David makes all these tasks seem effortless, never gets intimidated or lets size stand in the way of his excellent taste. On the other hand he never turns up his nose for smaller and simpler solutions applied in more intimate and concentrated scenes. With the same boyish enthusiasm, he could as easily put something together with gaffer tape to throw a specific shadow over an actor’s face.

He always comes up with slightly better solutions than I would have thought of myself. I see David as a true artist, someone with a great eye and sensibility. His input made me look a much better DP then I am, and I say this without any irony.

Hoyte van Hoytema FSF NSC, cinematographer, says: David was in tremendous command over all the extreme complexities that a 007 shoot brings. We needed to constantly keep several stages ready for shooting, each of them housing huge sets. Sets like the exterior Westminster Bridge on the 007 stage as well as Q stage, housing one of the biggest Translights I have ever seen (including 3,000 separate sources programmed into the DMX). He also managed the vast

Dion Beebe ACS ASC, cinematographer, says: DPs have demanding relationships with all key crew onset, but what we demand of our gaffers often borders on abuse – 17-hour days, 6 or 7-day working weeks, endless night shoots. The best ones can do all this with a smile and still keep focused on the end result.

Dave certainly achieves this. On any movie, planning is key and we are often prepping and shooting multiple sets throughout production.

The gaffer needs to be a great strategist. Dave manages to plan way ahead, yet still approach the work creatively. He is a calm force on-set and, most importantly, fun to hang out with.

Steve Yedlin ASC, cinematographer, says: My friend Dave Smith exemplifies the four characteristics I most admire in a great gaffer.

First, his eye. Dave has an impeccable eye for beautiful, evocative, dramatic lighting. He knows not only how to sculpt cinematic and powerful light, but also how to adapt his style to the DP he’s collaborating with and to the demands of the specific project.

Second, his skill at logistics. The ability to implement great lighting requires more than good taste. Dave is a master at planning and deploying crew and gear to make his goal a reality within the challenging complexities of real circumstances.

Third, his collaboration. Filmmaking is an interdepartmental effort and Dave knows how to work with others: whether it’s with production on the budget, the art department on built-in lighting, or with construction coordinating the rigging of lights while they build.

Other departments know he’s looking out for them and working with them towards a common goal.

Fourth, his personality. Dave is friendly, kind and funny. His easy-going demeanor helps foster the kind of calm, happy, family-like set I most enjoy. n

As one of the industry’s premier rental resources, we are extremely proud to support crews around the world with an unrivalled collection of production solutions the embraces both the conventional and the very latest in advanced lighting technology.

Whatever your production type, wherever you are, when it comes to lighting - we’ve got the lot. +44 (0) 1753 65 62 62 pinewoodmbs.com PMBS quarter - Gaffers.indd 2

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British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 85

LIVE & LET DI / DIALLING-IN THE DI GRADES

PAINTERS & DECORATORS

The Hollywood Professional Association, LA: bestowed the 2017 HPA Awards during a sold-out gala at the Skirball Cultural Center last November. Awards were bestowed in 12 creative craft categories honouring behind-the-scenes artistry, including colour grading, sound, editing and VFX for commercials, TV and features.

The winner of the award for Outstanding Colour Grading In Features was Michael Hatzer of Technicolor Hollywood for Ghost In The Shell (DP Jess Hall BSC).

Hatzer was also a nominee in the category for Fences (DP Charlotte Bruus Christensen DFF), along with Steven J. Scott of Technicolor Hollywood for The Birth Of A Nation and Doctor Strange (Ben Davis BSC), EFILM’s Natasha Leonnet for Hidden Figures (Mandy Walker ACS) and Company 3’s Stefan Sonnenfeld for Beauty And The Beast (DP Tobias A Schliessler).

The UK had a winner for Outstanding Colour Grading In Television with Asa Shoul of Molinare winning for his work on The Crown – Smoke And Mirrors. Nominees included Tim Vincent of Technicolor Hollywood for The Last Tycoon – Burying The Boy Genius, Joe Finley of Chainsaw for Game Of Thrones – Dragonstone, Pankaj Bajpai of Encore Hollywood for Genius – Einstein: Chapter 1, and Roy Vasich of Technicolor for The Man In The High Castle – Detonation.

Larry Chernoff of MTI received the Lifetime Achievement Award, whilst HPA Engineering Excellence Awards went to Colorfront for Colorfront Engine, Dolby for Dolby Vision Post-Production Tools, Red Digital Cinema for the Weapon 8K Vista Vision camera, and SGO for Mistika VR.

Molinare: as mentioned above, Asa Shoul, won the coveted HPA Award for Outstanding Colour Grading In Television for his work on Netflix’s The Crown.

Accepting his award, Shoul commented: “The Crown has been an exceptional project to work on, and it’s especially rewarding to have received this recognition from my industry peers. Through a combination of fantastic production design, makeup, cinematography and direction, we achieved a beautiful graded image, and one that played testament to the ambitious nature of the series. As a colourist it was lovely to have the freedom to achieve what we did, and the trust that production gave to us with the

Molinare...

The Crown

86 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

The Hollywood Professional Association, LA...

Ghost In The Shell

grade is something we are truly grateful for.”

Last year, Shoul also won a BAFTA Craft Award for his work on The Crown. His other recent credits include Sky Atlantic’s Tin Star and the features Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (DP Ula Pontikos BSC) and The Mercy (DP Eric Gautier)

Meanwhile, senior colourist, Jateen Patel, completed the grade on the sixth series of Sky One drama Strike Back. The reboot of Strike Back was meant to add subtle differences to what was a very stylish show for Sky and HBO. Transformers, Mad Max, Black Hawk Down, Zero Dark Thirty were some of the references that were spoken about. Patel was Cheat... The End Of able to throw completely The F***ing World different looks from exteriors to interiors and scene-to-scene, “making it a fantastically fun show to grade and watch,” he noted. To create the dynamic feel, Patel used heavy grades, big contrast, contaminated blacks and bold colours. The show was finished in UHD for Sky and HD for HBO. “With strong key lighting from all DPs, it makes for a perfect show in SDR but especially in HDR for Sky. We ensured it was turned up to 11 to give it justice,” said Patel.

Cheat: senior colourist Toby Tomkins completed the grade on The End Of The F***ing World, which premiered on New Year’s Day. The C4/ Netflix co-production was the first UK series to be released online all at once on C4’s On Demand last October. Jon Entwistle was the EP/showrunner and directed the first four episodes, which were shot by DP Justin Brown. Episode five was co-directed with Lucy Tchierniak, who went on to direct episodes six to eight with DP Ben Fordesman. DP Rina Yang also came on board for some additional photography.

The majority of the show was shot at either 7K or 8K on the Red Helium, and is the first UK drama to have a fully 7K/8K RAW workflow all the way through to delivery. Over 100TB of rushes were wrangled, and the Cheat team always

graded from the 7K/8K RAW, pushing its 28-core Linux 4 GPU DaVinci Resolve to the max.

“Despite its British origination and locations, Jon and Justin worked to create an Americana vibe for the show, from the production design to the costume, and also wanted an American-style film print look,” said Tomkins. “Working from the RAW throughout, we used every available drop of latitude and colour separation to create a vibrant and rich look, emulating Kodak Vision 3 250D accompanied by a Kodak 2393 print stock to a small extent. We only had ten days to grade all eight 25-minute episodes, so being able to work quickly and adjust the exposure, white balance and tint in the RAW controls meant we could speed-up the matching process and focus on the creative. I’m extremely happy with the look and think this could be the best narrative project that I’ve worked on to date. I hope viewers enjoy it as much as I did.”

Goldcrest: renowned colourist Rob Pizzey worked again with George Richmond BSC, grading the second installment in the Kingsman .. st. re ldc Go franchise, Kingsman: Kingsman: The The Golden Circle Golden Circle in 2D and 3D. As soon as that was finished, Pizzey went straight into the 65mm film-acquired Murder On The Orient Express with Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC. Both features also had Dolby Vision HDR passes, and involved a huge amount of work.

Adam Glasman also had a busy time at the back end of 2017, grading Death Of Stalin with cinematographer Zac Nicholson, as well as Goldcrest...

Victoria & Abdul with Bounty Hunters Danny Cohen BSC. Glasman had time to squeeze in the grades for Bounty Hunters, a six-part episodic TV comedy-drama for Sky, delivering in both SDR and HDR, lit by DP Tim Flemming.

Technicolor, London...

Paddington 2

Technicolor, London...

The Darkest Hour

Technicolor, London: supervising digital colourist, Peter Doyle, completed the grade on Joe Wright’s award contender Darkest Hour, shot by Bruno Delbonnel AFC ASC for Focus Features.

“The general feeling was that it was to be a very sharp film,” recalled Doyle of the discussions during pre-production. “Early-on, we decided not to shoot in sepia or B&W, as they would be seen as a distraction, taking away from the extraordinary performance of Gary Oldman.”

One of the most important aspects to consider during the grade was the prosthetics that transformed Oldman into Churchill.

“There is an extreme physicality to Gary’s performance as Winston, and it was important to keep that in consideration during the grade,” said Doyle. “Bruno and I worked closely with the make-up department to ensure the lighting on the prosthetics wasn’t too harsh or obvious when Gary was in character. Getting angry or delivering a very impassioned line in the House of Commons, for example, he would get flushed, so we had to ensure the lighting and grade worked in that context.”

Doyle also carried out the DI grade on Paddington 2, the sequel to the 2014 hit film, directed

by Paul King and shot by Erik Wilson. “It was very much in the minds of Erik and Paul to develop a storybook look, which added a heightened level of emotional depth to the film,” Doyle remarked.

“We worked on creating a look that was a mixture of filmic, but also incorporated hyperrealism. The set piece scenes were intended to come across as quite theatrical, but the creative team, led by Erik and Paul, were adamant that the scenes should not come across as staged. So it was quite fun from a colourist perspective to use realism in that respect and heighten it with a storybook look and feel.”

Technicolor London also carried out picture post on the fourth season of the dystopian drama, Black Mirror, produced by House Of Tomorrow for Netflix, which will be available on the streaming service soon. Senior colourist at Technicolor London, Dan Coles, graded the episode USS Calister, directed

by Toby Haynes. Global creative director of colour grading at MPC, Jean-Clement Soret, carried out the grade on three episodes of the six-part series at Technicolor’s Soho facility, including on the Jodie Foster-directed episode Arkangel, as well as Black Museum and Metalhead. MPC LA colourist Mark Gethin graded the John Hillcoat-helmed episode Crocodile. Senior colourist at Technicolor London, Alex Gascoigne managed the DI process for all six episodes, creating a bespoke HDR workflow for the season.

Technicolor, London...

Black Mirror: USS Calister

Company 3: senior colourist Greg Fisher graded The Party, directed by acclaimed British filmmaker Sally Potter. The sophisticated, sharply-scripted and witty B&W comedy features a star-studded cast including Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas and Timothy Spall.

The film was shot in colour by DP Alexsei Rodionov, but with the intention of it finishing in B&W. Following initial testing, Fisher created a custom LUT for on-set

ne EFILM, LA... Ja

B&W monitoring.

Then in approaching the final grade, he first made an initial pass of the film in colour. Fisher pointed out the importance of this colour pass, observing, “It is important to see that the images are balanced before desaturating. Without carrying out this step you could end up with clipped channels or tonal inconsistencies for particular colours. Once balanced, we switched to B&W. Having the colour in reasonable shape before doing this enables the possibility of keying to adjust certain things within the frame and also helped those adjustments to work across a scene. We added a little grain, it added a little life and patina, which seemed in tune with the house and characters.”

The film takes place across a period of time from one afternoon through to the evening, with daylight transitioning to entirely artificial lighting. Fisher accomplished the challenge of making this transition work gradually throughout the film, whilst helping to evolve the tone of certain scenes. Creating a final look that feels filmic and lived in but non-intrusive.

On working closely with both Potter and Rodionov, Fisher said, “Sally thinks very thoroughly about what she would like to do and has worked with Alexsei for many years, so can be very efficient, yet still make time and space for the actors and the unexpected. The chance to work with Sally and talk Company 3... through the motivation behind The Party all of the finishing decisions was a delight, as is the film.”

Other recent releases out of Company 3 include two films shot by Robert Elswit, ASC and coloured by Stefan Sonnenfeld: the George Clooney-directed Suburbicon, the dark comedy written by the Coen Brothers, and Roman J. Israel, Esq, directed by Dan Gilroy in which Denzel Washington stars as the title character.

EFILM, LA: Tim Stipan graded the highlyacclaimed documentary Jane, about groundbreaking primatologist Jane Goodall. Directed

by Brett Morgen (Cobain: Montage Of Heck), the film makes use of a recentlydiscovered cache of film documenting Goodall’s early discoveries living among chimpanzees.

The material, shot by her one-time husband, Hugo van Lawick, serves as the core of the movie that looks into Goodall’s early life, her ultimately troubled marriage, and the chimpanzees that she studied.

“Brett likes to take things further than I might normally go to see what we can get,” Stipan explains. “How much saturation can we add? How far can we push the amount of warmth in a scene or how cool can we take it? He works very much by feel. He wanted to see a rose-coloured dusk sky.

It’s not something I would have thought of, but I think it works very well in the context of the film. I can’t speak to exactly why he liked it, but to me it acts as a wake-up call for the next scene. You say, ‘My eyes are stimulated in an unexpected way with this colour.’ and it makes you sit up and pay attention.” n British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 87

MR SYDNEY

CLAPPERBOARD / SIR SYDNEY SAMUELSON CBE, BSC, FELLOW BKSTS / BY DAVID A ELLIS

Sir Sydney Wylie Samuelson CBE, BSC, Fellow BKSTS left school in December 1939, aged fourteen, and started out as a rewind boy at the newly-built Luxor Cinema, Lancing, in West Sussex, which opened in January 1940. Little did he know then, he would become a major player in the British film industry.

A

long with his many considerable achievements, he became the first British Film Commissioner, was awarded the CBE in 1978 and was knighted by Prince Charles in 1995, for his services to the industry.

Samuelson was born on the 7th December 1925 in London. His father was George Berthold Samuelson (1889-1947), a producer and director in the silent days. Sydney’s mother acted in some of the silent pictures. She appeared in the 1925 film She under the name Majorie Lamont. The film was produced by G. B. Samuelson, directed by Leander de Cordova and photographed by Sydney Blythe. After eighteen months at the Luxor,

young Samuelson did projection work in the Midlands.

Later, he worked for Gaumont British News as a trainee assistant editor. After being demobbed from the RAF he went into cameras and was one of the cameramen in Westminster Abbey who photographed the crowning of the Queen in 1953.

He founded, and later with his brothers David, Tony and Michael, developed Samuelson’s, a film equipment hire business. They ran a thriving enterprise that became known and respected worldwide. The business was originally run from his home in Finchley, then at a half shop in Hendon and eventually from their newly-built headquarters in Cricklewood, north London. They rented cameras, both 16mm and 35mm.

They also supplied sound, grip, and later, lighting equipment. They specialised in Arriflex cameras and at one point had over a hundred complete outfits either out on rental or being serviced ready for production by their engineers.

A great many people worked at Samuelson’s, including his nephew Barry Measure. He started with the company part-time,

Sir Sydney and Lady Doris

when he was at university. Measure became full-time and went on to become general manager of the camera rental division. John Rendall also worked there until his retirement. Rendall recalls: “It was a real pleasure for me to work for Sammy’s. Sydney let the trained teams get on with everyday challenges, and praise was forthcoming when an especially tough job was cracked.

He was always there for advice and decisions. Sammy’s had a real ‘family’ feeling throughout the company.”

Samuelson remembers, “When people had served the company for twenty years, we didn’t give them a watch or clock – we gave them a caricature of themselves, drawn by the iconic caricaturist, Ralph Sallon.

He came round to our offices to draw the subjects.”

Samuelson’s created a new centre ‘The Production Village’, built around a quarter of a mile from their main premises. The site was a conversion from a Victorian stable yard. The original buildings were different sizes and were turned into ‘silent’ film stages.

The Village had two new pubs; one of them he named ‘The Magic Hour’, which even had gas lighting. Sydney’s brother, Tony, was in charge of the Village, where among others, a sequence of Hellraiser (1987) was shot, photographed by Robin Vidgeon BSC.

The company had branches in Paris, Amsterdam and at Heathrow airport for airfreight. Further afield, it had branches in Australia, in Auckland and Wellington New Zealand, and in four states in the USA. Samuelson’s once owned the famous Hammer Studios at Bray. s The Samuelson Brother

88 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

With friend David Lean

Escorting HRH The Queen and Princess Anne at BAFTA Pictured with Lord Mountbatten and Princess Anne

Arise Sir Sydney!

“SYDNEY LET THE TRAINED TEAMS GET ON WITH EVERYDAY CHALLENGES, AND PRAISE WAS FORTHCOMING WHEN AN ESPECIALLY TOUGH JOB WAS CRACKED. HE WAS ALWAYS THERE FOR ADVICE AND DECISIONS.” JOHN RENDALL

So what did they do if a job came in and they couldn’t supply some of the equipment? “We were very friendly with one or two other rental companies,” says Sir Sydney. “If one of us was short of something we would be able to borrow it from our competitors. I don’t think we ever turned a job down. We had a very good friend by the name of Don Long, who had quite a lot of 35mm Arriflex equipment. We called on him first, if we were short of something.”

He said when Samuelson’s became a major public company, and international, his job became expansive and challenging. “The happiest time for me,” he said, “was immediately before we left Hendon to move to Cricklewood. I suppose we had, at that time around fifty on the staff, and I knew the first names of everyone.

Sadly, when you get bigger, you can’t possibly know the names of them all.”

Asked if he still meets up with former employees, Sir Sydney says, “One of the nice things in my senior years is that I am still invited to industry events. Often somebody will come up to me with a friend and say: ‘I would like to introduce you to Sydney, my former boss.’

The friend will say, ‘You don’t need to introduce me to Mr Sydney. Mr Sydney gave me my first chance.’ There were four Samuelsons in the business. So, from the earliest days, I was known by all as Mr Sydney.”

An unusual thing the company did was to put a small plastic plate on the back of each camera listing what feature films it had been used on. Samuelson said, a new crew would always be interested in which films their camera had been used on before.

Sir Sydney has rubbed shoulders with many big and influential names, and was close friends with David Lean and Richard Attenborough. “David Lean – an excellent stills photographer himself – was very much into the technical side of each of his movies. He would call-in when his crew were testing equipment with us. Even when he wasn’t shooting a picture, he would come over for lunch, especially if I had a new piece of equipment to show him. We manufactured camera cases and, on one occasion, we produced a complex fitted case for his own extensive Hasselblad stills camera ...while he was having lunch!

“I first got to know Richard Attenborough when I was the second or third camera assistant on the feature The Baby And The Battleship (1956, dir. Jay Lewis, DP Harry Waxman). Dickie, as he was called, wouldn’t pass anyone by, without saying, ‘Hello, how

Pictured with Billy Wilder on the set of The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes

SIR SYDNEY SAMUELSON: AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS • 1961 – Britannica Award for Television News Film, BBC Sportsview • 1965 – Accepted into membership of the BSC • 1965 – Became a member of BAFTA and was appointed to Council in 1969. During the following years, served as a permanent Trustee (from 1970).

Vice chairman of Council (1971-1973), Chairman of Council (1973-1976) and chairman of the Sir David Lean BAFTA Foundation (2004-07).

Chairman, Board of Management (1976-2002).

Chairman of the BAFTA Shell UK Venture Fund (1988-91). With more to come!

• 1967 – Received BSC Golden Camera Award for outstanding services to the UK film industry • 1969 – Appointed to BSC Board of Governors • 1970-2009 – Hon. Technical Advisor, Royal Naval Film Corporation • 1969-1992 – Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), member of Council/Executive Committee.

Became Trustee (1982-90) and then President (1983-86).

• 1976 – elected First Vice-President of the BSC • 1980-81 – President of Cinema & Television Veterans.

Member of President’s Council (2000-today) • 1985 – Received BATFA’s Sir Michael Balcon Award • 1989 – Hon Member for Life of BECTU • 1993 – Fellow of BAFTA • 1997 – Fellow of The British Film Institute • 1997-2003 – Member of BECTU History Project • 1997 to today – Founding Trustee of Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT) • 1997-2006 – Founding President of UK Jewish Film, and an Hon. Life Patron from 2006 • 1995 Member BKSTS – The Moving Image Society (now IMIS, The International Moving Image Society).

Fellow (1970-today).

• 1978 – Awarded CBE Commander of the Order of the British Empire • 1986 – Guild of Film Production Executives – Award of Merit • 1987 – Freeman of The City Of London • 1994 – Subject of ITV’s ‘This is Your Life’ • 1995 – Kt (Knighthood) for Services to the British Film Commission • 1996 – Became Doctor - Honoris Causa – of Sheffield Hallam University • 1997 – Association of Film Commissioners International – Howard Horton Memorial Award • 1997 – Birmingham Film & Television Festival Award, recognising exceptional work in developing British Film and Television, and encouraging the media section in Birmingham • 2003 – recipient of BKSTS Award of Merit • 2002 to today – President of The Projected Picture Trust (PPT) • 2011 – First recipient of The Friese - Greene Award for An Outstanding Career in Cinema & Television • 2015 – recipient of BKSTS Lifetime Achievement Award

are you today?’ Years later I got to know him because I was elected to the council of BAFTA, and he was the current Chairman. We became good friends for life.”

In 1994 Samuelson was the subject of the ITV show ‘This is Your Life’, when Michael Aspel confronted him with the big red book. One of the people taking part was a surprise to him, the great cinematographer Freddie Young BSC, who had been a very good friend for many years. Samuelson said, “I remember when the exciting American Moviola crab dolly came on the market, we purchased the first one available in the UK and demonstrated it immediately to Freddie at the tiny St John’s Wood Studios, where he was shooting tests for The Seventh Dawn (1964). The director, Lewis Gilbert, and the camera crew, including Freddie thought it was brilliant and hired it there and then for the picture.”

Samuelson and two of his brothers, David and Michael, followed in their father’s footsteps and worked with film. His other brother, Tony, trained as a barrister and became financial and legal advisor to the Samuelson Group. Sydney’s sons, Peter and Marc also went into the movie business as producers. Marc is currently Chairman of the BAFTA Film Council.

There is now a Lady Doris and Sir Sydney Samuelson award by the International Moving Image Society (IMIS), given to: ‘A person or corporate body for an outstanding contribution to British Cinema Presentation. The use of all forms of technology for the benefit of audiences suffering from every kind of disability being particularly significant’. It is an honour of which Sydney is particularly proud. n

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 89

IMAGO NEWS / BY PAUL RENÉ ROESTAD FNF / IMAGO PRESIDENT Standing proud… 2017 IMAGO Award winners, together with IMAGO partners and IMAGO organising staff, at the IMAGO Awards in Helsinki.

Photo: Alejandro Lorenzo

OH WHAT A LOVELY YEAR!

In our 25th anniversary year, both the number of IMAGO’s activities and our number of members grew. IMAGO now includes 53 national societies and close to 4,500 professional cinematographers as members.

D

uring the last IMAGO General Assembly, the Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers, Malaysian Society of Cinematographers, Singapore Society of Cinematographers and Peruvian Society of Cinematographers were voted-in as IMAGO members.

IMAGO Awards 2017 The very first IMAGO International Awards for Cinematography were arranged in Helsinki on October 28th 2017, in connection with IMAGO’s 25th anniversary. More than 250 cinematographers and film colleagues gathered to celebrate the art of international cinematography at this grand black tie event – the first international awards given to cinematographers by cinematographers.

More than 100 films from IMAGO member societies were submitted for consideration by the IMAGO juries, which consisted of 26 jurors, all internationally respected cinematographers from all corners of the IMAGO World.

The winners were: l Best Cinematography in Documentary Films: Łukasz Żal PSC for Icon l Best cinematography in TV Drama: Fabian Wagner BSC ASC for Game of Thrones – The Winds of Winter l Best Cinematography in Feature Films: Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC for Nocturnal Animals l ARRI-IMAGO Award for Emerging Talent in Cinematography: Daniil Fomichev for How Viktor “The Garlic” Took Alexey “The Stud” To The Nursing Home l IMAGO International Award for Extraordinary Technical Achievement: Jannicke Mikkelsen FNF and Joe Dunton MBE BSC l IMAGO Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Cinematography: Marek Zydowicz ASC founder of Camerimage. l IMAGO Lifetime Achievement Award: Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC

90 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Line-up… (l-r) Stephan Schenk ARRI; Maria Arenlind receiving the Award on behalf of Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC; Tahvo Hirvonen, president of FSC; and Awards host Minttu Mustakallio.

Photo: Alejandro Lorenzo

After the Awards ceremony, the attending cinematographers enjoyed the dinner and following party. The rare sight of numerous cinematographers in tuxedos or evening dresses dancing all night was a wonderful experience in itself.

IMAGO wishes to thank ARRI, as the main sponsor of the 2017 IMAGO Awards, all of our other invaluable sponsors and partners, and the hard-working IMAGO organising team, especially Tahvo Hirvonen, president of the Finnish Society of Cinematographers, Ron Johanson ACS and Tony Costa AIP, without whom the IMAGO Awards could not have been arranged.

The next IMAGO International Awards for Cinematography is planned to be held in Belgrade in the first quarter of 2019, and the invitation to all IMAGO Societies to submit films for consideration will be sent out this summer.

Manaki Cinematographers’ Film Festival 2017 Paul René Roestad FNF, President of IMAGO, had the honour of being the Jury President of the 38th Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers’ Film Festival in Bitola, Macedonia.

The oldest film festival to focus on cinematography, its chiefs of staff, Blagoja Kunovsky, Gena Teodosievska, and their team do a great job with this important festival in beautiful Bitola, which this year had a record attendance.

The small Camera 300 Award went to Naum Doksevski MSC, for the short film Look at Her. Daniil Fomichev received the jury’s Special Mention for the film How Viktor “The Garlic” Took Alexey “The Stud” To The Nursing Home, and the Bronze Camera 300 Award went to Dejan Dimeski MSC for The Frog.

Watch the birdie… the Jury and award winners from the 38th Manaki Film Festival.

Photo: Alexandar Kondev

Wizards… N ASC at the igel Walters BSC and IMAGO-ASC Jace Photo exhi k Laskus bition

Speaking-up… the IM moderated by Ste AGO-ASC Panel, phen Lighthill AS C

The Silver Camera 300 went to Rainer Klausman BVK for In The Fade, and the main prize, the Camera 300 Award went to Marcel Rev HSC for the film Jupiter’s Moon. Guiseppe Rotunno AIC presented Pierre L’Homme AFC with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Pierre hosted a great masterclass, wellmoderated by Nigel Walters BSC.

The panel moderated by Elen Lotman ESC, carrying her baby son Arthur in a sling

Camerimage 2017 Both IMAGO and Camerimage celebrated being 25 years young in 2017, and IMAGO was well-represented during this grand festival of cinematography.

For his great and important work in building-up Camerimage to be the most important yearly festival for cinematographers, IMAGO awarded Marek Zydowicz ASC the IMAGO International Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Cinematography 2017.

As Marek could not attend the IMAGO Award ceremony in Helsinki, the IMAGO Award was presented to him during Camerimage.

IMAGO and Illuminatrix focus on Diversity together with Camerimage

Winner… Marek Zydowi ASC receiving the IMA cz GO Award for Extraordin ary Contribution to Cinematography 2017.

Photo: Tony Costa

ASC – IMAGO Panel at Camerimage 2017 The ASC and IMAGO Technical Committees arranged a successful panel debate focusing on the importance of international cooperation between cinematographers, to meet future technical and artistic challenges. The topics discussed varied from working with equipment manufacturers in order to influence camera and equipment design to maximally suit cinematographers needs, to how to maintain creative control over our images during all stages of film production, plus the importance of improving working conditions on film productions. The two committees plan to continue working together to support international cinematographers and to exchange knowledge and experience over the borders. The panel consisted of Steven Poster ASC, Louis Philippe Capelle SBC, Roberto Schaefer ASC AIC, Philippe Ros AFC, Stephen Lighthill ASC, Jannicke Mikkelsen FNF, Joe Dunton MBE BSC, Rolf Coulanges BVK, Jacek Laskus ASC and Rachel Morrison ASC.

IMAGO’s Committee on Diversity, led

by Nina Kellgren BSC and Elen Lotman ESC, cooperated with Illuminatrix and Camerimage to arrange a full-day’s focus on Diversity with a masterclass hosted by acclaimed cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen DFF, and a panel debate on where we are in 2017.

The panel consisted of Birgit Gudjonsdottir BVK, Charlotte Bruus Christensen DFF, AMPAS president John Bailey ASC, Heather Stewart BFI, Peter Mattson SFI, Warwick Thornton ACS and Rachel Morrison ASC.

The percentage of female cinematographers in many film schools is close to 50%, but when it comes to getting assignments as directors of photography on feature films, the percentage for 2016 varies from 5% in the USA, 1,6% in the UK, to close to 25% in Scandinavia.

IMAGO’s aim is to work to increase this percentage by continuing to focus on this problem for our film industry. The debate and sessions were received with great interest, and the cinema in which it was held was again packed to the brim. IMAGO wishes to thank Elen Lotman ESC, Nina Kellgren BSC and out partners Illuminatrix for this great and necessary focus on diversity.

ASC- IMAGO Photo exhibition “Framing the World”.

IMAGO and ASC held its first collaborative stills photo exhibition during Camerimage 2017. Close to 100 photographs shot by IMAGO and ASC members were exhibited.

We are used to seeing cinematographers producing great moving images, but a great number of cinematographers are also keen, and very good, stills photographers. The large number of visitors at this exhibition revealed the great interest people have in seeing how cinematographers choose their motifs when

working with still images, and how they choose to frame, compose and print their images.

All the photographs from IMAGO members will be auctioned, and the full income generated will be donated to Save The Children. You can see all photographs and detailed information about each photograph and photographer at www.imago.org.

Seeing the great popularity of this exhibition, IMAGO plans to follow this up with new stills photo exhibitions with photographs from IMAGO members in the future.

IMAGO in 2018 Because IMAGO is changing its fiscal year in 2018, the next IMAGO awards will be in the first quarter of 2019, planned in Belgrade, Serbia. But, 2018 is filled with many other important IMAGO activities.

IMAGO is undertaking research into how cooperation between IMAGO and national Collective Societies can benefit our member cinematographers.

AGICOA, the international collecting society for producers, collects more than €30million Euros a year from the national or foreign transmission of films.

Many national Collecting Societies automatically receive remuneration from transmitted films, also for films photographed by foreign cinematographers. A large percentage of this remuneration never reaches the cinematographers, who rightly should have it, simply because the cinematographers are not correctly registered with the collecting societies. IMAGO hopes to change this in the years to come.

IMAGO is planning several international masterclasses in 2018, starting in Oslo in January with Bruno Delbonnel AFC ASC, and later in the year there will be a new “Inspiration” Masterclass in Vienna.

In addition, we plan to cooperate with the German Film School in Munich for a session of international masterclasses in the spring of 2018, and IMAGO will be strongly represented at the BSC Expo, CineGear Expo and the ASC International Cinematographer´s Summit in Los Angeles in June 2018.

In the autumn, IMAGO plans an international conference on working conditions in Brussels in cooperation with our member societies and other film and visual artist federations. Finally, IMAGO will again cooperate with Camerimage for several new conferences, masterclasses and symposiums of importance to international cinematographers, several of these planned in cooperation with ASC.

If you wish to be updated on IMAGO, what we do to connect international cinematographers and to share knowledge, sign up for our monthly newsletter at www.imago.org. n

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British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 91

GBCT / NEWS FROM THE GUILD / BY TIM POTTER - CHAIR - GBCT

SAFETY FIRST

Mark Milsome GB CT

ACO

Recent events have brought the safety of crews sharply into our minds. That said, safety has never been far from our minds. Countless campaigns over the years have been aimed at long hours, corner-cutting budgets and a downright lack of concern. The work on safety has been endless, but the problems still persist.

T

he long hours ‘culture’ has several causes and the most worrying is that it is regarded as a culture. The culture springs from a misplaced macho presenteeism that gets the worker into the mindset that they cannot be seen to be giving less than 110%, and the best way to show this is to be at work longer. However, the major cause of long hours started out as inadequate budgets, which led to the corner-cutting that inevitably leads to cramming work into a shorter time frame. This sort of cornercutting soon becomes the expected practice because productions were allowed to get away with it in the past. Even though the introduction of the tax breaks for TV dramas has increased the budget for the qualifying productions to over £1m per screen hour from figures that shortly before had been as low as £600k/hr, the extra budget has not seen its way into stretching the shooting schedule to the point that shorter days can be worked. Anyone who tells you that the extra budget has to be seen on the screen is not taking into account that a less exhausted crew will produce a better screen result.

Corner-cutting in its own right is the more poisonous ‘culture’. It leads to the belief that if you pay less for inexperienced crew, equipment that is inadequate to the task and the skipping of timeconsuming safety procedures, and get away with it, you can do it again with impunity. When you hear, “Our last crew didn’t ask for that”, it does not mean that that way is the right way, it simply means that the previous crew either did not know the right way to work or were brow-beaten into compromise. Experienced crews with Tim Potter

92 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

the right equipment often get the job done quicker and better. If your spend for a production averages out at £100k for each day of a shoot, that works out over £150 per minute. Now it is easy to work out how many minutes a technician has to save a production by being on set (rather than not being employed at all) to be worth more than they are being paid.

The shear lack of concern can sometimes be breathtaking. You can easily spot it coming. It is always preceded by the most poisonous word in our industry’s lexicon – “just”. It appears in forms that are usually like “couldn’t you just do…”, followed by the implication that you are going to cooperate in the corner-cutting that is planned. I have come across it in circumstances like being asked to work on roofs without parapets or safety harnesses or doing an aerial shot out the window of a private plane (i.e. no safety straps to stop the gear dropping out or more importantly commercial insurance).

All of this adds up to more work to be done on the reduction of hours, the use of proper safety equipment and the holding to account of everyone who has jurisdiction over these. BECTU has recently launched a campaign against long hours. Take a look at bit.ly/eyeshalfshut.

We have seen how an overbearing bully in a position of power can be the cause of a poor working environment. These type of people can also lead to the conditions under which no-one challenges the corner-cutting and their sheer arrogance is a prime cause of the lack of concern for everyone’s safety.

This is the ‘culture’ that we should be fighting. n

GBCT / NEWS FROM THE GUILD / BY JOHN KEEDWELL GBCT

REMEMBERING MARK MILSOME GBCT ACO It was with utmost sadness that we learnt about the death of Mark Milsome. He was killed in an incident during a motor vehicle stunt, on the night of Saturday 18th November. Our condolences and regrets go to his family and those of you who knew and worked with him. He will be remembered with great affection.

Little is known of the details of this incident, but we can assure you that we are working closely with BECTU's legal office, and will convey any findings of the Health & Safety examiner’s report.

This is a tragedy and we would ask that you respect the family's grief and direct all messages to his agent Sarah Prince of PrinceStone (sarah@princestone.com).

BSC OPERATORS NIGHT 2017 – WINNERS A great night was had by all. Thanks to Audra and Helen of the BSC for all their hard work – it paid off! Many who attended said how much they enjoyed the night.

It was lovely seeing and catching-up with old friends.

Many congratulations to all those nominated for these prestigious awards and special wishes to the winners: The Crown

BSC/ACO/GBCT Television Drama Operators Award Winner: Stuart Howell GBCT for The Crown Nominees: Peter Cavaciuti for Roots, Episode 1 Danny Bishop for Rillington Place Chris Plevin for Game Of Thrones, Season 7, Episode 4

Allied

BSC/ACO/GBCT Feature Operators Award Winner: Peter Cavaciuti GBCT for Allied Nominees: John Hembrough for Lost In London Peter Robertson for Life Roberto De Angelis for Baby Driver Bert Easey Technical Achievement Award Aerial expert – Marc Wolff GBCT

GETTING THE FOCUSBUG

The need for accurate and reliable focus information has long been the Holy Grail for the camera crew, and as technology advances there have been some great devices that have served their place over time. Tape measures, manual calculators and tables have now tended to be overtaken as new technology advances give real-time accurate information to keep the focus accurate and consistent. There is now a great new contender that is making waves, and is a great new tool in the arsenal for the camera department.

Focusbug Technologies have introduced the Cine RT, and is looking like it will become very popular going forwards. The system has been developed by two working camera crew in response to ever-increasing speed of operations, and an on-set climate where runand-gun production and shooting the rehearsals was becoming the norm. When there was a clearly apparent disdain as tape measures were brought out on the set, the inventors set about making a new tool.

Laird Pierce is an IATSE 669 first assistant who has been working in the camera department since the late ‘90s on feature films, episodic television and documentary production. Jonathan Ritchie is a computer programmer with a 20-year multi-disciplinary background in film production as a sound engineer and a drone specialist. His company, Fourth Dimension Aerials, was amongst the first of its kind to build and pilot drones for use in world-class documentary productions.

Their main idea was to create an alternative measuring device to enable assistants to get traditional marks very quickly and discreetly without using tape measures and to avoid them "getting in the way" on a fast-moving production. The Cine RT assists the focus puller when working off a monitor, and this is especially crucial on a set with low lighting levels, atmosphere and/or diffusion which can compromise the monitor image.

Pierce and Ritchie wanted to add a tool to the first AC’s kit that would eliminate the need to pull tape or sight lasers, and also dispel the notion that there is no time to get useful focus marks.

They quickly realised that a multi-faceted approach was needed, and ultimately decided the use of ultrasonic technology and native RF communication within the Cine RT toolset would expand its versatility.

The system's proprietary software was built from the ground up, tailored to the unique requirements of focus pulling and, as it has been created by technicians who know what they need to see, it has become a "must have" piece of kit.

Two years of design evolution and revision through industry beta testing has yielded the current Cine RT System.

The Cine RT has now been in use and tested

thoroughly by first ACs of IATSE 669 whose valuable feedback and input through all phases of development has helped guide the product to its current development.

Manufactured in Canada, the units are shipping now in January, and consist of various modules to make life a little easier for the extremely challenging art of pulling focus on productions.

How it works The low profile Ultrasonic Base Sensor operates as both a rangefinder and receiver. It has the ability to track Cine RT Bug Ultrasonic Transmitters while sending constant distance information to the Cine RT Handset, Cine RT High-Bright LED Displays, Preston HU3 and ARRI WCU-4 Handsets.

The base unit mounts on the camera via several mounting block options, which enable a variety of industrystandard brackets to be used.

With all of its control systems, sensor array, RF systems and targeting laser combined into one compact unit, the Base is designed to minimise camera build weight and clutter.

The Handset Control Unit is a touchscreen hub to access Live View display modes, operational tools and user settings. The Handset allows all adjustments to be made remotely without needing to be hands-on with the camera.

The Handset also doubles as a discrete tape measure allowing up to eight marks to be quickly collected, stored and edited without pulling a tape or sighting a laser. You can select the Focus Whisper or Marks View to hear or see your marks in relation to your target's movements in real time.

The compact High-Bright LED Display relays distance data with 0.55" (14mm) ultra-bright LED characters. Five levels of brightness ensure exceptional visibility in all lighting conditions.

You can remotely chain several High-Bright displays to offer multiple readouts of the same source, or use two High-Brights to track two different targets simultaneously while in Dual View.

The miniature Ultrasonic Bug Transmitter measures 1.6" x 1.6" x 0.4" (4cm x 4cm x 1 cm) and weighs less than 0.7oz (20g). The Bug can be easily hidden and will transmit ultrasound through most fabrics with no RF emissions.

They can be placed on your assistants, standins or principal actors for fast continuous distance information. You can track up to four Bug sources to distances of 120' (36.5m) in line-of-sight from the Base.

The UK Reseller is Panastore UK. For more information visit www.focusbug.com.

British Cinematographer | January 2018 | 93

GBCT / NEWS FROM THE GUILD / BY JOHN KEEDWELL GBCT UAV PILOT

DRONES

– NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS!

W

ell, Christmas and New Year have come and gone. The sherry has been guzzled, and the next Auld Lang Syne is several hundred days away. The end of 2017 was like no other, for many reasons. One particular reason is that the sheer number of drones appearing in our skies is set to double. The drone (in its many forms) was the most desired present under the tree. However, most people buying a new drone for the first time are completely unaware of the rules governing drone use, particularly with regards to safety and legal use.

The UK's Civil Aviation Agency claims 1.5 million more drones could potentially enter British airspace following the 2017 festive period, in addition to the two million already bought in recent years. CAA research undertaken before Christmas showed a quarter of those planning to buy a drone over the Christmas period were unaware of the rules surrounding their usage, safety and insurance. That is quite scary for many reasons.

As a qualified CAA PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operation) drone pilot who has taken the time, effort and expense to make sure I am legal, insured and qualified to fly commercially, I am astonished at the lack of awareness of the rules, and possible consequences of not abiding by the laws.

The CAA was telling shoppers to buy a drone from “responsible” retailers that will make sure it comes with a copy of the CAA’s rules. I don't think that is enough to halt the enthusiasm of a new drone pilot.

94 | British Cinematographer | January 2018

Drone users must follow the rules laid out in the CAA’s Dronecode. New drone owners can operate a drone without a license unless it is for commercial purposes. This allows the new drone owner to use the drone for recreational flying only, much like a model aircraft or model helicopter, for example. However, as soon as the drone is used for any type of commercial activity (even simply putting the footage on a website) it requires a commercial permission for commercial operations (PfCO).

It is CAA policy that drone operation in the UK must meet the safety and operational standards as manned aircraft. In particular, flying an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is expressly forbidden. Zero tolerance. This is especially relevant around the end of the year! Also flying when fatigued is a major cause of air accidents.

They could potentially put thousands of airline passengers in danger following reports from several pilots who experienced nearmisses with drones around British airports. There have already been news reports of "Jet near miss with drone at 6,000ft" stories. One "put 130 lives at risk" after it nearly hit an aeroplane approaching London Gatwick airport in July 2017. It was just one of 99 reported incidents in 2017 compared to 62 in 2016 and 29 in 2015.

This is particularly alarming as there are strict restrictions on height and location. This includes keeping vehicles below 400ft and they must always remain 150ft away from people or buildings. What it was allegedly doing flying at 6,000ft is anyone's guess. My drone is limited to 400ft and will stop ascending past there automatically. 400ft is about the height of

the London Eye. Believe me, that's high enough, and my drone looks very small at that height.

Anyone found guilty of endangering an aircraft faces up to five years in prison. Yes, you read that correctly.

Jonathan Nicholson, assistant director of communications at the CAA, says: "Anyone can buy a drone in a high-street shop. By the time the battery is charged, you could be flying it outside. They might be great fun, but they come with great responsibility.”

This is rightly causing concern, and ministers are considering mandatory drone tests for amateur pilots. I say that's vital for the credibility of the commercial drone pilots, and also for the safety of people below. A 7kg out-of-control drone comes down very quickly, even from 400ft (120metres height limit). If you are a trained pilot you will know the limits of the batteries, and you will land your craft well within the crafts’ ability to fly. It should land with a minimum of 30% power left, in case of the need for alternative landing place or emergencies. An untrained operator will not always know this, and will likely push the limits.

So training is vital and there are several great training facilities around the country all capable of training to a high standard. I can highly recommend the Cambridge UAV Academy (CUAVA) Cambridge, and Alan Perrin is a working drone pilot working on high-end movie productions, so you are in highly experienced good hands. Visit http://cuava.co.uk.

The implications for a few accidents caused by amateurs will have an effect. It could cause the professional drone industry to be restricted (even more than it currently is) and will limit the creativity of professional filmmakers.

Sometimes a crane or a helicopter is the correct tool for the job, and they should be used appropriately.

Sometimes only a drone can get the shot. To have this fantastic tool become restricted because of amateur mistakes would be a huge loss to documentaries, drama and creativity.

We wouldn’t allow car drivers on the road without lessons, experience nor a theory test, as well as insurance. So, why not the same for drones?

If everyone needs to get a PfCO then the reputation of the business would be upheld. This is why the rules are there. Further information on the drone code http://dronesafe.uk/drone-code. n

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