British Cinematographer - Issue 26

ISSUE

26

MARCH 2008

STORY TIME #22: CAMERA CREATIVE MICK COULTER BSC DISCUSSES HIS WORK ON THE BANK JOB AND HIS LOVE AFFAIR WITH A GOOD SCRIPT

ALSO INSIDE #12: ON THE JOB – BEN DAVIS BSC AND DIRECTOR GERALD MCMORROW TALK ABOUT FRANKLYN #14: CLOSE UPS – A BUMPER EDITION FEATURING… STEPHEN POSTER ASC, ROBERTO SCHAEFER ASC, DEREK SUTER BSC, LUKAS STREBEL, EIGIL BRYLD AND LOL CRAWLEY GBCT #17: SHOOTING THE FUTURE – YOUR GUIDE TO THE BSC NEW EQUIPMENT SHOW #28: IMAGO – THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS AND PLANS OF NEW PRESIDENT NIGEL WALTERS BSC

RRP: £4.00

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Fax: +44 (0) 1753 650111 PUBLISHERS Alan Lowne Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Stuart Walters Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300 EDITOR Ron Prince Email: ronny@dircon.co.uk SALES Alan Lowne Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Email: alanlowne@britishcinematographer.co.uk Stuart Walters Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300 Email: stuartwalters@britishcinematographer.co.uk DESIGN Paul Roebuck, Open Box Publishing Ltd, info@openboxpublishing.co.uk contact: Stuart Walters Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300

>> C O N T E N T S UK P3 P5 P6/30 P9 P24 P14

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President's Perspective: Gavin Finney BSC urges us all to take action to prevent further credit crunching POV: Associate BSC member, Andrei Austin, puts the case for film as the best archive format Production/Post & Techno News: all the latest on what's going on out there Who's Shooting Who?: your ultimate guide to who's shooting what this spring To Live & Let DI: who's delivering the DI grades right now?

Close-Ups: featuring Stephen Poster ASC on The Box, Roberto Schaefer ASC on Quantum of Solace, Derek Suter BSC on Burlesque, Lukas Strebel on Burn Up, Eigil Bryld on In Bruges, and Lol Crawley GBCT on Ballast.

GBCT News: the chairman's statement, plus other news from the Guild

THE PUBLICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE comprises of Board members from the BSC and GBCT as well as the Publishers BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER covering International Cinematography is part of Laws Publishing Ltd, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH, UK 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.

INTERNATIONAL P26 P28

F-Stop Hollywood: we meet the Oscar nominees, and other talk from Tinsel Town IMAGO: Nigel Walters BSC, the new president of IMAGO, delivers his inaugural address

FEATURES P22

Cover Photograph:

P12 P17 P36

Camera Creative: Mick Coulter BSC likes to make films that he'd want to see in the cinema, but they must have a good script!

On The Job: Ben Davis BSC and director Gerald McMorrow discuss Franklyn Shooting The Future: guide to the BSC New Equipment Show at Elstree Studios In Remembrance: the great David Watkin, Ronnie Fox-Rogers and Roy Moores

Jason Statham stars in The Bank Job, lensed by Mick Coulter BSC. Photo credit: Jack English

British Society of Cinematographers – Board Members: President, Gavin Finney. Immediate Past President, Phil Méheux. Vice Presidents, Joe Dunton MBE, Alec Mills, Sue Gibson. Governors, John de Borman, Harvey Harrison, Chris Howard, Tony Imi, Nina Kellgren, Chris Seager, Tony Spratling, Mike Southon, Derek Suter, Robin Vidgeon, Nigel Walters. Secretary/Treasurer, Frances Russell.

Guild of British Camera Technicians – Board Members: Jamie Harcourt (Chairman), Trevor Coop (Immediate Past Chairman), Peter Hughes (Vice Chairman), Darren Miller (Vice Chairman - North), Tim Potter (Vice Chairman), Caroline Sax (Vice Chairman), Jacob Barrie, Steve Brooke-Smith, Jason Coop, John Keedwell, Rupert Lloyd Parry, Suzanne McGeachan, Keith Mead, Shirley Schumacher

>> Editorial Team

David Watkin – 1925 to 2008

Ron Prince: has many years experience working in the film, TV, CGI and visual effects industries. He is the editor of British Cinematographer magazine and runs an international communications company (www.princepr.com).

Carolyn Giardina: is the technology reporter at Hollywood Reporter in the US. She previously served as editor of Film & Video and as senior editor of postproduction at SHOOT. Her work has also appeared in IBC Daily News, Digital Cinema, Post and Below The Line.

John Keedwell: the GBCT's Eyepiece Editor, is a documentary and commercials cameraman who has worked on many productions over all the world. He crosses over in both film and tape productions and has great knowledge of the new formats and their methods of production.

Natasha Block is a freelance Clapper/Loader working in features and shorts. She started her career at a grassroots level – on the rental house camera floor as a technician.

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

Pauline Rogers has published over 1,200 articles on the technical side of the movie-making process. She is a staff writer for ICG Magazine, and freelances for various venues. Her fourth book, The Essential Camera Operator, will be published in early 2008

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Dear Readers …

This edition of British Cinematographer magazine is dedicated to David Watkin who, as a young man, “came into films to avoid wearing a suit,” and who said he was not particularly interested in photography, that he really wanted to be a classical musician.

He was pragmatic. Of cinematography, he said, “It's nice to have it done well, but it's what the film is about that is important. Some of my best work has been in some pretty boring films; the last thing I would want to do is subject my friends to a dull film, just because there might be some nice photography in it.” And, “You do your best on every film, but what lands up on the screen thereafter, success or otherwise, is entirely out of your hands.”

the breadth and depth of his skills. But the following tells you much more about his self-effacing, self-deprecating and ultimately gentlemanly demeanour, which won him so many admirers around the world.

When his name was called as winner of the 1985 award for Best Cinematography on Out of Africa, the screens around the auditorium lit up with the luscious aerial footage that typified the film. Although he had lit some astonishingly beautiful interior and campfire scenes, upon reaching the podium he graciously noted that the shots the audience had been admiring (and thinking of when they cast their ballots) were done by aerial photographer Peter Allwork.

He was outrageous, and nonconformist. His wont for speaking his mind, for napping between takes on set, and penchant for wearing plimsolls, were regarded by colleagues as eccentric, oddball by American studio executives.

In the forward to his 1998 autobiography, Why is There Only One Word for Thesaurus?, he wrote: "I was prevented from becoming an unsuccessful musician by a realistic father who said that I'd not make any money at it, and would make a noise in the house. The resulting lack of ambition has probably been my best asset."

He was supremely talented, yet disgracefully modest. His list of enviable credits tells you all you need to know about

To David Watkin… a maverick, one of Britain's best cinematographers and greatest characters.

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president’s perspective

Gavin Finney BSC President BSC

Credit where credits are due “Credit: an acknowledgement of a contributor's services to a movie or a television programme, typically one of a list that is scrolled down the screen at the beginning or end of a movie or programme.”

I was watching an old TV drama the other day, the kind one stumbles across whilst browsing the outer reaches of Freeview. As the programme ended, something appeared that has become a bit of a rarity these days, something that made me come over all nostalgic - it was the credits. They rolled slowly enough to read, and the typeface was big enough not to have to squint at, one's nose pressed up to the TV screen. Increasingly, if they are shown at all, credits are zipped through at double speed whilst being squeezed into the corner of your set by advertising for forthcoming attractions.

B r o a d c a s t e r s l i s t e n t o a n d t a ke note of complaints, so write in – you can do this online, do it now and tell them that you want legible credits back on the s c r e e n i m m e d i a t e l y.

The BBC is quite candid about this 'credit squeezing' (their phrase) as both they and the ITV companies are desperate to use what they perceive as wasted screen real estate to advertise new programmes and services. Many viewers have complained that the trailers shown often tell you what will happen next and so spoil the dramatic tension the programme has built up. Others mentioned that there is no rest time to come down from (one hopes) an intense viewing experience before one is bombarded with a crowded, chopped up screen offering what the execs like to call 'consumer choice'. Many viewers call it a mishmash of unwanted, intrusive information.

As a report in the Daily Telegraph showed, it is not just the crew members' mums who want to read the credits; many viewers have a genuine interest in the people who made the programme they've just enjoyed. BBC 2's controller Roly Keating

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apparently recognised this and offered that they were “…considering publishing the closing credits on the Internet”. He might as well have suggested viewers send in a stamped addressed envelope. He did at least admit that credit squeezing “…has led to shrinking legibility” (don't you just love corporate speak?). His suggestion to producers was that they increase the font size of the credits.

At a time when crew rates have seen a reduction in real terms year-on-year, it is even more important to broadcast clear, readable credits of the people who have worked long, hard and often un-paid hours to make these TV programmes happen.

A credit gives them a sense that their efforts have been recognized, and in human resource terms, it is an extremely cost-effective reward. Unfortunately, the people ordering this erosion of cast and crew recognition don't see it this way; is this perhaps because few, if any, of them have actually made a drama or documentary?

Or is it simply because it is not their names that are being rendered illegible?

Whilst TV credits have been getting shorter, feature film credits now seem to require their own separate reel. Watching a film from the 1930's the other day, I was reminded that credits used to only run to two or three cards at the end of the film and only mentioned those people who had made a creative input. Does anyone but the crew member's family, and the cleaners, really stay to the end of the credits these days, and do we really need to know who drove the toilets? Don't get me wrong, facility drivers and assistant office runners all have their important place in the scheme of things, but did they really have such a creative input into the film that each and every one of them should get a screen credit? Just as squeezing TV credits into a little box, or shunting them off to an obscure website page, negates the whole point of having a credit, doesn't having too many names produce the same effect?

So a balance is needed, and in the case of TV, you can do something about it.

Broadcasters listen to and take note of complaints, so write in - you can do this online, do it now and tell them that you want legible credits back on the screen immediately after the relevant programme. As for how to go about reducing feature film credits that currently last as long as a short film - answers on a postcard please.

Gavin Finney BSC President British Society of Cinematographers

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pov

Andrei Austin, associate BSC, says the only archival medium that offers the sort of future-proofing that big content owners can depend on is film.

Is digital really better?

In December 2007 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) concluded a year-long study into the practices and problems associated with the digital archival of films and TV shows and in so doing, compared it to established film methods. This is an important report and should be read by all of us in the image making business (www.oscars.org/council/digital_dilemma.html).

In the 1950s the Hollywood Studios discovered they could generate profitable new revenues from the newly-emerging TV industry. All they had to do was telecine their film titles to black and white video. This model became even more profitable in the 1960's when colour TV was introduced. They simply went to their film archives again and generated colour movies of those same titles.

Flash-forward to the 1980s and 1990s and the emergence of VHS tapes (remember them?), followed by DVDs (remember them??). Hollywood realised that this market could be the saviour of the entire film industry.

Hollywood Studios know that, because of audience churn, they can r e - m a ke o r b e t t e r s t i l l , r e - r e l e a s e their film franchises every seven years.

AMPAS looked at the economics of digital archival against film archival.

Annual Archival Costs of Motion Picture Materials Archival Masters Film capture, Film archival

Film capture, 4K master

Digital to HDCAM SR tape, 1920x1080 master

Digital to 2K data, 2K master

Digital to 4K data, 4K master

$1,059

$12,514

$1,830

$1,995

$12,514

The figures for archival of all source material:

Annual Archival Costs of Motion Picture Materials Source Masters Film capture, Film archival

Film capture, 4K master

Digital to HDCAM SR tape, 1920x1080 master

Digital to 2K data, 2K master

Digital to 4K data, 4K master

$486

$486

$180

$32,589

$208,569

The situation is made worse by format obsolescence every seven to ten years. For example, the AMPAS study estimated the cost of migration from HDCAM SR to a new videotape format (if one is even developed) to be $2,673,500.

To understand the importance of a viable archive it is useful to know how the economics of film distribution works. Here is a simplified version. The all-important Friday, Saturday and Sunday gross box office receipts are collated on Monday morning by Nielsen EDI. The word “gross” is used a lot in film marketing, but it does not mean “profit”. Because out of those gross receipts come the exhibitor's cut (~50%), then the distributors expenses, (P&A budget etc,) then the distributor's fee (~35%). If there is any left the producer gets his/her cut (minus any advances paid by the distributor) to pay for the making of the film.

So how does the producer get his/her money back? The answer is the revenues from the socalled “third window” DVD releases (remember them now?). The revenue generating timeline for films and TV shows now has a very long tail. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner for example was finished in 1982, but the high definition Blu-Ray version of it went on sale in December 2007.

The profit margin on that release will be considerably higher than if the film had to be re-made today. Warner Brothers simply reviewed their franchise, had it re-scanned and re-released it in the latest video format.

In fact all of the Hollywood Studios know that because of audience churn, they can re-make or better still, re-release their film franchises every seven years.

Films like Blade Runner, made 25 years ago, can be re-authored to HD firstly, because they were shot on film (which will last for at least 100 years) and secondly, because up to now, the policy has been to “archive everything” which is relatively cheap and allows for directors' cuts, the making-ofs, un-used scenes, deleted scenes, alternative endings, foreign language versions, etc. This is all content that has added value to DVDs and allows the distributor to charge more for DVDs than the VHS tapes it replaced, despite the lower, per-unit manufacturing cost.

In the future, this content may prove to be just as valuable as the released film title, especially considering delivery by Internet. Apple alone is making over 1,000 film titles available to “rent” on its iTunes platform. So clearly, having these titles in some sort of digital library is of great importance and is clearly the future. The problem is, this data costs much more to archive, so may not be kept.

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Also, digital “brick wall” failure mode occurs when the digital media degrades to a point where no signal at all can be decoded. This is in contrast to the increased handling damage or fading that can occur with film, which can to some extent be restored.

Further, there is concern in the studios about the trend of archiving digital masters at 2K which is only slightly better than HDTV today, and which contains less picture information than film masters created 40 years ago.

The fear is that these 2K masters will not keep up with projection and display technologies in the future. Witness Panasonics' 150-inch plasma TV on display at this years CES exhibition.

In contrast, film scanners are data scanning 35mm film at 8K currently. If there was a demand, that scanning density could be substantially increased. The mass-produced optical readers for Blu-Ray discs for example are scanning at six times that already. Film emulsion technology is also cutting edge. In the future it may yield a camera negative with even less granularity, scanning technology could then mine even more information buried in the emulsion.

The warning bells have been heard for years. NASA nearly suffered a catastrophe with its digital data from the 1976 Viking exploration of Mars. The data it sent back was recorded onto magnetic data tape and archived in a cool dry data warehouse. In 1999 NASA tried to read them again but couldn't because it was in an obsolete format. The scientists were only able to retrieve about a 1/3 of the data and that was only because someone had included reference notes and records printed on paper.

In summary, the big content owners need to find a digital alternative to archival so that you and I can watch any content, anytime, anywhere and on platforms yet to be devised and on wallsized screens.

The only medium that currently offers that future proofing is archival on to film. If you have also originated on film, those images will be watchable well into the next century.

Thanks to AMPAS, Filmlight, Cintel, Kodak.

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production news

Technicolor breaks new ground at Pinewood As part of its European entertainment industry growth strategy, Thomson is relocating Technicolor Theatrical Services from its West Drayton location of more than 70 years to a new film post-production facility within the Pinewood Studios complex.

In addition, Technicolor Content Services (TCS) will relocate its West Drayton-based digital intermediate (DI) and other digital post-production services to a new, state-ofthe-art facility in Soho.

TCS has leased a seven-story building on Lexington Street, near to sister visual effects business Moving Picture Company. The new Soho facility will combine Technicolor's digital post-production operations, currently at West Drayton, and select DI operations from MPC. Technicolor's new Pinewood location will offer integrated film and front-end services, release printing and digital cinema distribution services.

To kick off this effort Technicolor hosted a groundbreaking ceremony and private reception at the Pinewood Studio lot on January 29th, lead by Joe Berchtold, president of Thomson's Technicolor Theatrical Services, Pino Filardi, COO of Thomson's Technicolor Theatrical Services Europe, and Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive, Pinewood Shepperton plc.

“For more than 70 years Technicolor has been an important cornerstone in the history of UK filmmaking,” Berchtold said. “By relocating to Pinewood Studios, Technicolor will provide customers with the best possible on-location service, while also taking a key step in our development strategy to extend Technicolor's

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(l-r) Brian Dale, (MD Thomson Technicolor London), Pino Filadi (COO of Thomson Technicolor Theatrical Services Europe), Ivan Dunleavy (Ceo Pinewood Shepperton plc) and Joe Berchtold (president Thomson Technicolour Theatrical Services) role in the UK and worldwide as a leader in end-to-end film and digital media services."

Dunleavy commented, “The presence of Technicolor sends a strong signal to the creative community that London, and

Pinewood in particular, continues to be among the world's top destinations for quality filmmaking.”

The new facility will also house Thomson's Technicolor Digital Cinema distribution

services, bringing film, digital copying production and services under one roof. It will feature a high-speed, secure shared private network to move content locally and globally.

The construction and setup at Pinewood is scheduled to be complete within 2008.

Walters wants Germany to rejoin IMAGO In his inaugural address as the incoming president of IMAGO, the federation of European cinematographers, Nigel Walters BSC has called on Germany to rejoin with immediate effect.

Walters BSC, who is also a vice-president of the British Society of Cinematographers, was unanimously voted IMAGO's new president by delegates representing 1,400 cinematographers from 27 European nations at the recent AGM in Amsterdam,

“Europe without Germany makes as much sense as Germany without Europe,” he said.

“We need the considerable talents, knowledge and commitment of the BVK back inside IMAGO as soon as possible.”

“Our main priorities are the implementation of the model contract, the recognition of authorship rights and the improvement of working conditions,” he said. Read all about IMAGO's new impetus in this edition.

Walters: getting priorities right

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UK

production news

Murdoch And Egan Join UK Film Council Board Elisabeth Murdoch, chairman and CEO of the Shine Group, and Gail Egan, producer and founder of Potboiler Productions, have joined the UK Film Council's board of directors. The appointments were made by Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Culture, and will run for four years with immediate effect.

Stewart Till CBE, chairman of the UK Film Council said: “Our aim has always been to have the highest calibre of board members, and that maxim is very much behind the appointment of these two producers with enviable track records. Elisabeth and Gail will

be a huge asset to the UK Film Council as we build on the first seven years of work and face the significant challenges and opportunities of film in the digital age.”

Egan is a qualified barrister and practised commercial law at Lincoln's Inn before joining Price Waterhouse Corporate Finance. She has produced or executive produced eleven films including Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky, which recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, and Vera Drake; Fernando Meirelles' The Constant Gardener and Blindness, Man About Dog with Paddy Breathnach and Brothers of the Head with Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe.

UK talent wins six Oscars The UK picked up six Oscars at this year's Academy Awards for British film talent working in front of and behind the camera. The British winners were: Daniel Day-Lewis, Best Actor for There Will be Blood; Tilda Swinton, Best Supporting Actress for Michael Clayton; Alexandra Byrne, costume design for Elizabeth: The Golden Age; Jan Archibald, Make-up for La Vie en Rose (shared win); Ben Morris (from Framestore CFC) Visual Effects for The Golden Compass (shared win); and Peter & the Wolf, Animated Short Film, for Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman Peter and the Wolf

was supported by £10,000 of Lottery money funding from the UK Film Council.

Elisabeth Murdoch

Gail Egan

As chairman and CEO of Shine Group, Elisabeth Murdoch oversees the fourth largest producer in the UK. Within the group are: Shine, responsible for such programming as the Emmy award-winning Sugar Rush, Masterchef Goes Large, The Story of Light Entertainment; leading drama producers Kudos, makers of Spooks, Tsunami, Hustle and Life on Mars; Princess Productions, whose slate includes The Friday Night

Project; and factual programme makers Firefly, whose programmes have included Anatomy for Beginners and Kill It, Cook It, Eat It. Murdoch recently oversaw the addition of US production and distribution company Reveille, famous for scripted hits such as Ugly Betty, The Office and The Tudors, to the Shine Group.

Hopes of a British win in the cinematography category were dashed when Robert Elswit ASC picked up the Oscar for There Will Be Blood. Roger Deakins ASC BSC was double nominated for his work on No Country for Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, with Seamus McGarvey cited for Atonement. Deakins did, however, pick up a BAFTA for No Country. Read more about this in F-Stop Hollywood.

Kodak maintains Oscars history All of the cinematographers nominated for Oscars this year used Kodak colour negative film stocks to help bring their stories to the screen - Roger Deakins ASC, BSC (The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men), Robert Elswit ASC (There Will Be Blood), Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and Seamus McGarvey BSC (Atonement).

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognised Kodak's commitment to innovation this year with an Oscar statuette for the development of photographic emulsion technologies incorporated into the Kodak VISION2 family of color negative films. This is the

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ninth Oscar that Kodak has earned for scientific and technical excellence and service to the motion picture industry.

Features currently being shot on Kodak include, Bond 22 - Quantum of Solace (Roberto Schaefer ASC), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (DP Nicola Pecorini), Easy Virtue (DP Martin Kenzie), Moon (DP Gary Shaw) and The Other Man (Haris Zambarloukos, BSC).

TV programmes include, Trial & Retribution (DPs James Welland, Chris Titus-King, Damian Bromley, Nigel Willoughby, Mike Spragg), Wire in the Blood (DPs Jeff Baynes, Sam McCurdy, Tim Palmer), New Tricks V (Nic Morris BSC), Touch of Frost (DP Robin Vidgeon) and Spooks (DP Damian Bromley).

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production news

Sundance winners

Flying-Cam used on The Kite Runner While many Hollywood filmmakers are venturing into China, Flying-Cam has anticipated their needs, establishing a Close Range Aerial Filming Team as long ago as 2005.

DreamWorks' The Kite Runner used Flying-Cam II helicopters, based in Hong Kong's Cyberport, for both 35mm motion picture and VFX digital high-resolution stills.

The Kite Runner, adapted from the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini, narrates the story of Afghan childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, who build an unbreakable bond through kite flying. A good proportion of the movie, directed by Marc Forster, was shot in Xinjiang Province, in the western part of China, the city of Kashgar providing a safe solution filming in Kabul.

Man on Wire, a feature documentary film by British filmmaker James Marsh, supported by Lottery money through the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund, won two prizes at January's Sundance Festival, the leading international festival for independent films.

The film, which is the dramatic retelling of Philippe Petit's daring and illegal exploit to walk the high-wire between New York's twin towers, won the World Cinema Documentary

Jury Prize and the World Documentary Audience Award.

Cinema

In addition, British filmmaker Simon Ellis's Soft, funded by the Lottery through the UK Film Council and the Film4-partnered Cinema Extreme programme, won Sundance's International Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking. This year's Sundance was the best ever for the British film industry, with 23 British films selected for screening, including nine UK Film Council Lottery-funded films.

Pelzer joins Elstree Elstree Film and TV Studios has appointed Jeremy Pelzer to head the studios moving forwards.

He will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the studio's business, developing new initiatives, extending partnerships within the media sector, and raising the profile of Elstree within the international film and television industries. He was formerly studio director of Ealing Studios from 2002 to 2007 and managed the renewal of 3 Mills Studios in 2001.

New BSC Website The BSC's website is getting a makeover, with new design and build produced by Nick Lowin, based at Pinewood. The new site will go live shortly at www.bscine.com.

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Soaring into the sky, the aerial camera had to mimic the swiftness and POV of a fighting kite, with the Flying-Cam having to tilt down to discover mountains in the far distance, gliding down towards a fort and a hill, and finally revealing the two friends competing in a kite-flying tournament.

Under the supervision of the DP, Roberto Schaefer ASC, a rough rendering of the final effect was made using the video assist footage coming from the FlyingCam. To strengthen the sense of reality,

the Flying-Cam team also worked closely with the special effect team. Loaded with the Canon EOS-1 DS Mark II, the remote controlled helicopters took around 300 raw tiles for terrain texture mapping in post production.

For a transition shot chasing a car that crosses the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a Flying-Cam was sent to Taxkorgan, also known as the “Roof of the World", which is perched on the border between China and Tajikistan in the Himalayas. At 4,075m above sea level, and in temperatures of only 7Celcius, the crew had a hard time breathing, but the Flying-Cam II flew successfully, creating a new altitude record. In spite of carrying the 35mm motion picture camera, fully loaded with 60m of film, and a Cooke 18 mm lens, a vertical climb effect from the ground effect was still achievable.

Watch on online: http://www.apple.com/ trailers/paramount_vantage/thekiterunner/.

What's shooting on Fuji?

Barry Ackroyd BSC selected Fujifilm for Green Zone Paul Greengrass's latest film about two CIA agents sent to Iraq in search of WMDs. Also shooting on Fuji stocks are A Bunch Of Amateurs (Ashley Rowe BSC), Hancock & Joan (DP James Welland), Burn Up (DP Lukas Strebel), Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (Anthony Dod Mantle BSC), and Can't Speak French (DP Adam Frisch). New

production company Cherry Films has just produced a commercial for Europe's largest shoe retailer Deichmann featuring the Sugababes, and a new music promo for James Blunt (both by David Johnson BSC). Music video for Leona Lewis and The Cortina's (both by DP Robbie Ryan) and an Elton John AIDS Foundation charity commercial (DP Michael Wood) also employed Fujifilm stocks.

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UK

who’s shooting who?

Who’s Shooting Who? The news from United Agents is that… Haris Zambarloukos BSC is shooting Richard Eyre's new film The Other Man, in various locations in the UK and Italy. Marcel Zyskind is taking a well-earned break after completing Mammoth for Lukas Moodyson. Simon Richards is grading Midnight Man for Carnival. Alan Almond BSC has been shooting a block of Silent Witness for director Diarmuid Lawrence on 35mm, and Charlotte Bruus Christensen is working on her next feature in Denmark Zophia With A Z, which she has written and will co-direct with her husband Stefan Mork. Fresh to United is Danny Cohen, now prepping The Boat That Rocked for Richard Curtis in London. This Is England, which he lit for Shane Meadows, picked up Best British Film at the BAFTAS. Felix Novo de Oliveira is busy with commercials in Germany - Nintendo most recently. Neus Olle is doing some early prep in Barcelona on her next feature film, a Catalonian family ensemble drama that follows the highs and lows of various relatives coming together for a patriarch's funeral. Finally Lukas Strebel will light the first lock of Little Dorrit, the Andrew Davis adaptation for BBC1 to be directed by Dearbhla Walsh in April. He is currently having a well-deserved break after his long stint on Burn Up, which you can read all about in this edition (the production that is, not his holiday!).

Eric Maddison FSF has just done the first block on BBC's Criminal Justice

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Daddio: Seamus McGarvey is now shooting The Soloist On the commercials front, Alex Barber had just concluded shooting in Marseille for an ING bank commercial with Brett Foraker through RSA London. Simon Chaudoir recently worked with renowned photographer Max Vadukul on a fashion shoot for Yohji Yamamoto's new line of clothing 'Coming Soon' through Gainsbury & Whiting Ltd, before flying out to Sweden to shoot a B&W Lindex commercial with director Hanna Elin through We Are Group, Sweden. Following on from his successful collaboration on Cadbury's 'Drumming Gorilla' Daniel Bronks is about to travel out to Mexico with director Juan Cabral through Blink Productions on another Cadbury's shoot. Alex Melman has just finished shooting in Prague on a O2 commercial with Arran Bowyn at The Bare Film Company whilst Tat Radcliffe has just shot a new Campari commercial in Buenos Aires with Giuseppe Capotondi through Mercurio in Italy.

Over at Dinedor… Mike Fox BSC has been shooting Lenny Henry's directorial debut Colour Blind for the Anthony Walker Foundation, and goes onto WW1 drama-doc Dugout for Channel 4. Eric Maddison FSF finishes the 1st block of Criminal Justice for the BBC. Ian Moss finishes The Curse of Steptoe, also for the BBC. Congratulations to Tom Townend, who shot the BAFTA winning Dog Altogether, directed by Paddy Considine for Warp Films. Tom spent January travelling the World for Rogue Films and Tropicana, and is now busy on British Gas. Adam Frisch FSF, back from Rolex in South Africa, has been shooting for Sainsbury's and Wrigley's, as well as promos for Alysha and Girls Aloud. James Henry has also been in South Africa shooting for Alliance and Leicester.

Pete Field is 2nd unit operator for the new Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. Garry Turnbull has shot several commercials in Turkey. Steve Annis shot promos for Make Model, Vincent Vincent and Villains and the Draytones.

Trevor Forrest has been shooting for Property Weekly and idents for BSM. Grant Cameron has finished a commercial campaign for Visit Scotland. Pete Ellmore shoots for Halifax.

Ben Filby is continuing on corporates for British Airways and Coutts Bank. Andrew Johnson has been on corporates for DHL and AAR. David Raedeker is lensing for 888.com and The Times, while David Rom continues shooting the feature documentary Al Fayad vs Windors, fitting in promos for BBC3 and idents for the Lily Allen show.

Off to Beak Street now, where the news is that Wizzo and Co's drama department has rebranded as Wizzo Features… and their latest signings are Erik Alexander Wilson and JP Seresin. Erik Alexander Wilson has previously worked mainly in the horror genre. Having lit two films to date Pumpkinhead - Bloodfeud and Ashes to Ashes plus has created some “amazing” 2nd Unit images on Mirrors for 20th Century Fox starring Keifer Sutherland and The Hills Have Eyes I and II for legendary horror producer Wes Craven. JP Seresin has shot one feature to date Dead Cool plus some short films, but has primarily been concentrating on International commercials… until now. Recent signing Martin Ruhe, who lit the incredible award winning Control for director Anton Corbijn, starring Samantha Morton and Sam Riley, is currently shooting Julie Delpy's film The Countess starring William Hurt, Vincent Gallo and Julie Delpy herself. Angus Hudson's latest film for director Sean Ellis The Broken, starring Lena Headey was selected for Sundance and had a great response there, as did The Escapist lit by Philipp Blaubach starring Joseph Fiennes and directed by Rupert Wyatt. DPs at Wizzo & Co have been busy lensing commercials with the likes of Nick Gordon, Patrick Daughters, Seb Edwards, Toby McDonald, Blue Source, Conkerco, Vince Squibb and Miranda Bowen.

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who’s shooting who?

Four men in a boat: (l-r) AD Barry McCulloch, DP Jess Hall, grip Nick Ray, and camera operator Peter Robertson on the Venice leg of Brideshead Revisited Independent Talent Group's… Simon Coull has been back-to-back with director Olivier Venturini of various projects with Tempo Media in the Maldives, South Africa and Hamburg. Oliver Curtis BSC has been busy with friend and dircetor Andy Lambert on a BNL shoot in Costa Rica and in South Africa on a Camelot ad through HSI. Ben Davis BSC has been constant since Christmas shooting Mini with Tom Tagholme at Independent, Ann Summers with Paul Shearer at Great Guns BANG, a trailer for the BBC's White Season with Malcolm Venville, and an epic six-day Toyota shoot in South Africa with Victor Garcioa at MJZ. And if that weren't enough, you can read about Ben's exploits on Frankyn with director Gerald McMorrow in this edition. Jess Hall recently returned from a challenging Heineken shoot in Buenos Aires with Stink directing collective, Stylewar. Dan Landin has also been busy since Christmas with Chris Palmer at Gorgeous shooting Specsavers, a Transport for London shoot with Walter Stern, Madonna's latest music promo featuring Timberland and

Lamp: Mike Fox on the set of Miss Nightingale

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Justine Timberlake with Jonas & Francois at RSA Films and has just finish shooting a Schweppes commercial with Warren & nick at Stink. John Mathieson BSC has been back in Paris shooting a Lancome spot with Joel Schumacher through Premiere Heure. Mark Patten has been hectic this year shooting a Carte D'Or spot with Jason Harrington in Argentina, took off up to Scotland on an Aston Martin shoot with Babak at RSA Films and was last seen heading off to Switzerland with regular director Adrian Moat to shoot a Rolex ad, again for RSA Films. Christopher Ross recently finished shooting a Logitech job with Wayne Holloway at RSA Films and an EMA ad with RSA's directing team Shynola. Ben Smithard just returned from Cuba where he was shooting an Orange commercial with director Dom Bridges at Mustard and then sped off to Miami to shoot a Royal Bank of Scotland ad with Home Corp's Lucy Blakstad. David Ungaro is back in Paris too, but has been in Cape Town shooting a Vaseline ad with Mehdi Norowzian through Joy at RSA. Joost Van Gelder is about to head off to Buenos Aires with friend and director Matthijs Van Heijningen to shoot an Orange ad through 75 Productions, Paris. Ed Wild, having just finished shooting Justine Kerrigans feature film I Know You Know, recently teamed up with regular director Eran Creevy from Between The Eyes to shoot the Utah Saints' return music promo.

Meanwhile, Barry Ackroyd BSC is shooting Working Title's, The Green Zone, directed by Paul Greengrass. Anthony Dod Mantle BSC DFF working on Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Martin Kenzie is shooting Stephan Elliott's Easy Virtue. Set in the 1920's, it is the story of a glamorous American woman who marries a young British man but sparks fly when he takes her home to meet his mother. Sam McCurdy is shooting block three of the sixth series of Wire in the Blood for ITV. Dick Pope BSC is working on Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles. Based on the Robert Kaplow novel, it is the story of a teenager who is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of Julius Ceasar directed by a young Orson

Welles in 1937. Ashley Rowe BSC is shooting Andy Cadiff's A Bunch of Amateurs. Starring Burt Reynolds, it is the story of a sleazy Hollywood agent who tricks one of his clients into playing King Lear in an amateur charity production in London.

Oliver Stapleton BSC has started on The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Nigel Willoughby is working on Trial and Retribution for ITV. Casarotto's… James Aspinall has just started shooting in India on the next instalment in the ever-popular Sharpe series which is being directed by Tom Clegg. Henry Braham BSC is just about to start prep on Kirk Jones' new feature Everybody's Fine in the US for Hollywood Gang Productions.

Matt Gray is working on Countdown to War for the BBC written by Ronan Bennett, directed by Bruce Goodison and David Belton. A series of shorts about events in the run to the Iraq War starring Kenneth Brannagh and Juliet Stevenson.

David Luther is working on David Evan's new project 'The Children' for Tightrope. Seamus McGarvey BSC

Banker: Ben Filby is continuing on corporates for BA and Coutts

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

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who’s shooting who?

series Midsomer Murders for Bentley Productions. Gavin Struthers is shooting a Holby City special in Cape Town, directed by Fraser MacDonald. Duncan Telford lit Menhaj Huda's energetic urban youth drama W10 LDN for Kudos. The pilot airs on March 10th on BBC3. He is currently shooting Red Bee Media's campaign for BBC Arabic in Morocco.

Rogue Element Films wrote in with details of the digital cinematography equipment it has supplied so far in 2008. Productions include Skin, the first feature film to be shot using the Viper camera in South Africa, and Kia car idents featuring an all-data digital workflow using Stwo DFR Recorders to Viper, plus real-time 2K playback on set, giving instant access to rushes. The company has also supported Channel 5's CSI Crime Series, a MoviStar commercial in Barcelona, and shot pick-ups on feature Abrahams Point. Next up is the Papyrus, a feature shooting in London during March 2008, then six weeks in Morocco using an all-digital workflow.

Hollywood based agency, Lenhoff & Lenhoff has just announced that Thomas Burstyn is prepping The Last Templar in Morocco and Montreal for director Paolo Barzman and producers Robert Halmi Sr. and Irene Litinsky. Budgeted at $20 million, it's based on the international bestselling novel from Raymond Khoury, about a geneticist and a CIA agent who embark on a deadly quest to find an artifact that is the key to unlocking a centuries-old secret that has the power to bring down Christianity. Principal photography will be for 10 weeks, starting early April.

The Hoff: John de Borman BSC sharing a quiet moment with Dustin Hoffman in between takes on Last Chance Harvey congratulations on the recent birth of Seamus' second child!!! Also many congratulations to for his Award Nominations including an ASC Award, a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award for his work on Atonement. Tim Palmer will shortly start prep on gritty crime drama 'Wire in the Blood' directed by Phil John for Coastal. Wojciech Szepel will start on the classic 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' in March, which David Blair is directing for the BBC. It's all go at McKinney Macartney where… Balazs Bolygo will be shooting Whitechapel for frequent collaborator SJ Clarkson, a three-part drama for ITV about a ruthless killer whose grisly work mirrors the famous Jack The Ripper, and the police struggling to catch the murderer before they strike again. Ben Butler has been working on commercials for Paul Weiland and Trevor Melvin. Mick Coulter BSC has been filming a Range Rover commericial in Dubai and Mexico for Gerard de Thame. Read all about Mick's work on The Bank Job is this issue of your favourite cinematography magazine. Denis Crossan BSC has just returned from Buenos Aries where he shot a Nissan commercial for Danny Kleinman through Rattling Stick. He is about to travel to Cuba with Mercurio to film a Sofficini commercial for Harald Zwart. John de Borman BSC will be joining director Lone Scherfig on the film An Education, celebrated author Nick Hornby's screenplay about a teenage girl growing up in 1960s London. BSC President Gavin Finney BSC has been grading The Colour of Magic, The Mob's sequel to The Hogfather for director Vadim Jean. Graham Frake has also been grading his episodes of The Palace currently showing on ITV. Richard Greatrex BSC is strapping on his sea legs with Mike Barker's nautical crew on the adaptation of Jack London's popular The Seawolf which will be a two part miniseries for later this year. Nina Kellgren BSC's work with artist/director Isaac Julien continues with his latest documentary drama Derek a portrayal of the London artist and filmmaker. John Lynch has been in South Africa shooting commercials with John Stevenson through Feel Films and John Selby at Wanted. He also recently worked with Dom & Nic through Outsider. Hong Manley is finishing his work on the big Egyptian movie Baby Doll Night for director Adel Adeeb which promises an insightful look into the Arab world and life in today's post-9/11 culture. Having just returned from Prague where he filmed a Liptons commercial for Steven Diller through La Base Films, Phil Meheux BSC is now in Vancouver Filming a Citizens Bank commercial with Colin Gregg at Therapy. John Pardue has just returned from South Africa where he shot a Euro Millions commercial with Tom Merillion through Speers Films, Dublin and Ocean Spray with Dan Nathan at Serious. Jake Polonsky is currently in South Africa with Wanda Productions working with Director, Julien Trousselier. Chris Seager BSC has been enduring the bitter temperatures on Chilled in Miami for director Jonas Elmer, and then will be thawing out on actor-turned-director Andy Serkis' feature film Dark Blue Rising.

Katie Swain is shooting a Frusi commercial in Belgium with Betsan Morris Evans at Bare Films.

She has also been working recently on various commercials with Matt Carter. David Tattersall BSC is bringing alien life to our planet in the big budget remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still for director Scott Derrickson and 20th Century Fox. Clive Tickner BSC has been working on commercials for directors, Nicholas Barker, Jim Canty and Ben Sedley. Darran Tiernan has recently been working on commercials with Brian O'Malley through Red Rage and Rory Kelliher at Company Films. Michael Wood has been busy working on commercials for Simon Cracknell at Another Film Company, Mark Jenkinson at Glue and Dixon Baxi at ASD Lionheart. He is currently in Spain filming a commercial for The Elton John Aids Foundation.

Hot: DP Thomas Burstyn is currently prepping The Last Templar in Morocco and Montreal

Over at Creative Media Management… Toby Moore has recently returned from Ethiopia where he was shooting The Athlete, a feature film for Invicta Entertainment about the life of barefoot marathon runner, Abebe Bikila, the first African to win an Olympic gold medal. Directed

by Davey Frankel and Rasselas Lakew. Colin Munn continues photographing the perennial ITV

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FEATURE

on the job

Parallel worlds: Ryan Phillippe as Preest in the forthcoming Franklyn

Psychotic episode: Franklyn is the story of damaged people finding answers

Independent Miracle Makers Natasha Block met up with cinematographer Ben Davis BSC and director Gerald McMorrow and to d i s c o v e r m o r e a b o u t h o w Fr a n k l y n , t h e s t o r y o f f o u r lost souls divided by two parallel worlds, created a galvanising effect across the UK filmmaking establishment.

Gerald McMorrow is sitting in the Electric Cinema's Member's Club on the Portobello Road sipping coffee and reflecting on the events of the last five months, when more than three years of development on his debut feature Franklyn have finally came to fruition.

“There are still a few more weeks to go,” he muses. “We've got till April to finish it.”

For now, Franklyn is being prepped for post-production VFX at Double Negative following an intensive off-line schedule. Plus, the immediate obstacle remains for Hanway Films, which is handling the sales, of how to promote a film that stubbornly straddles several genres.

“Franklyn is a unique movie,” says Ben Davis BSC appearing fresh from the school run, “I don't think I've seen anything like it.” As with Thespian X, McMorrow's outstanding short film of 2002, Franklyn dips its toes into the science-fiction/fantasy

realm, but both Davis and McMorrow are keen to see it released from the constraints of that sort of labelling.

“Personally I don't think the film's about that,” stresses Davis.

“I think that really it is the story of four people, all damaged in some way, finding answers. What is nice is that we've been allowed to make something as unusual as this and that's down to the faith of Jeremy Thomas and Alexandra Stone at the Recorded Picture Company, taking risks other companies aren't prepared to take.”

Team effort Many individuals have put their energy into McMorrow's debut feature and all involved have determinedly made the £5m, raised by Film4, the UK Film Council and Aramid Entertainment, work for them. Franklyn is a detailed tale, following the lives of four characters - played by Ryan Phillippe (Crash), Eva Green (Casino Royale), Sam Riley (Control) and

Bernard Hill (Lord of the Rings) - as they each struggle to face their personal demons. The film is at times surreal, gritty, gothic and even romantic, and each story thread has its own careful styling, which brought Davis' cinematographic skills to the fore.

Fr a n k l y n i s B r i t i s h filmmaking at its best… we shouldn't forget we have outstanding film crews in all departments here.

McMorrow's background as an assistant director brought him and Davis, then a focus puller, together for the first time in the mid nineties on the set of an American Express commercial in Budapest.

“I'd not seen him for ages,” remarks McMorrow, “but greatly admired his recent cinematography work.” In spite if Davis' career bringing him films such as Stardust and Hannibal Rising, he was on board McMorrow's project from the outset, and he brought an enviable crew with him when the cameras did finally turn over.

“Franklyn is British filmmaking at its best,” says Davis. “I know everyone goes abroad now, but we shouldn't forget that in England we have outstanding film crews in all departments.

We had a fantastic gaffer, Michael McDermott, a naturally gifted focus puller, Sam Renton, and John Flemming, our superb grip - all prepared to work for less to make it happen.”

“Laurence Dorman, the production designer pulled off an unbelievable job with the limited resources that he had,” agrees McMorrow. “Leonie Hartard [costume designer] was the only head of department I brought from my previous life on commercials and she had to cobble together a completely different world from nothing. Then there was Simon Hayes, one of the best sound recordists in the country; who really cared about the work we were doing…to the point of

Finding answers: Eva Green as Emilia and Sam Riley as Milo

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Patience and precision: Gerald McMorrow (near left) and Ben Davis filming Franklyn in central London obsession. They are all legends, all those HoDs, who just by skill and attention to the little details, lifted the production value right up.”

Devil in the detail The 'little details' were in fact comprehensive colour palettes, moods and textures for each story thread developed by Davis and McMorrow during the three-week preproduction period. Once defined, they were strictly adhered to by all departments throughout the thirty-eight shooting days.

It's great how all these people within the British film industry are putting energy back into independent filmmaking here.

“It's very easy to get diverted,” observes Davis. “Most of the time when you're pulled away from your vision, it'll be a compromise rather than a benefit.”

In Franklyn the three storylines set in modern London (shot in Greenwich, Holborn and at 3 Mills Studios), were desaturated to keep the viewer at an observational distance, whereas the fantasy element set in the 'otherwhere' location called Meanwhile City, is richly coloured to engage the audience.

“We decided early on to steer Franklyn away from the obvious,” Davis notes. “We had this fantasy element which immediately brings to mind high contrast, grainy Bladerunneresque images, but instead we started looking at paintings by Caravaggio. Caravaggio always key lit from the left and his colours were quite vibrant; he used a very rich palette and observed composition.”

Casting around McMorrow lays credit to his enviable cast for making the tight scheduling possible, even though the final line-up was miraculously gathered last minute when delayed shooting dates meant that only Eva Green, taking the role of suicidal art student Emilia, remained

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from the original line-up. Sam Riley, yet to be recognised for Control, took over the role of jilted fiancée Milo from Paul Bettany and Ryan Phillippe replaced Ewan McGregor as Meanwhile City's masked vigilante Preest.

Then it was the question of who would take over the role of Esser, the church warden who had come to London to seek his homeless son.

“John Hurt really wanted to play Esser,” sighs McMorrow, “but then, of course, he ended up on Indiana Jones. So we got Bernard Hill, who is fantastic. Everybody loved Bernard.”

“Perhaps not the make-up department,” volunteers Davis.

“Oh yeah” laughs McMorrow, “what did he call them? “Where's the wrecking crew?””

Supporters Now that shooting is out of the way, Double Negative (once a tiny outfit in Shaftesbury Avenue, but now employing over 300 people) is taking on the post-production and VFX. “They do huge films for huge audiences,” says Davis, “like The Bourne Ultimatum and Stardust, but at the same time they're supporting little British independent films which they are undeniably making a loss on.

I think it's great how all these people within the British film industry are putting energy back into independent filmmaking here.

“Panavision's another one,” he enthuses. “and Kodak too. All these people and companies support British independent filmmaking and they should be applauded for it. If the film's a great success there are certain people who will take the plaudits, like all the heads of department, Gerald and I, but really the everyday people and crew deserve to be thanked. We're lucky to have them.”

Although many people would choose to have all the money and resources they needed rather than having to work to budget, there is a great sense of purpose, achievement and fellowship in overcoming adversity. This undoubtedly shines through when these pictures hit our screens.

It questions the idea of filmmaking as purely business, if it is then why are people willing to work at a loss? It is a characteristic of British independent filmmaking, and when you look at the individuality and integrity of the films that do make it, we may ask ourselves, would we have it any other way?

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close ups

Eigil Bryld

In Bruges Bruges: one of the best-preserved medieval cities in the Europe, and a welcoming destination for travellers. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it might just be their final destination. Holed up in the city just before Christmas after a difficult job, they begin to differ about their views on life and death. Out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, they find themselves involved in weird encounters with locals, tourists, medieval art, a dwarf, prostitutes, and there's a potential romance in the offing too.

In Bruges, a Focus Features, Film 4 and Blueprint Pictures production, releases in early April, and was written and directed by Martin McDonagh. The £7.5m feature was shot over seven weeks in Bruges, plus a fortnight in London, by Danish DP Eigil Bryld, whose previous credits include Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots, and the DP on the Scottish leg of The Last King of Scotland (Anthony Dod Mantle was the main cinematographer). It was on the set of Becoming Jane that Bryld first met McDonagh.

“Martin came to have a look around and see the mechanics of how filmmaking works,” says Bryld. “He's a gifted stage play writer, but had only made a short before. So we chatted about how to approach a full-length feature. In Bruges in unusual in that Martin actually wrote the script there. It's based in the rooms he stayed in and places he went to.

Bryld says that whilst he spent time in museums, gaining inspiration for the film's nightmarish climax from medieval

Weird: Eigil Bryld (l) eyes up a strange encounter in Bruges paintings by artists such as Hieronymus Bosch and Peiter Breugel, the influence they exerted stopped there.

“Bruges has quite a strong colour palette and a character of its own,” he says. “Many buildings are made from red brick, and on the initial recce we quickly realised that Bruges is well lit up at night, often with strong colours. It's a very touristy too. So we were loyal to Bruges, went with the way it looks today, and built from there - it's a contemporary story after all.

We wanted to use as much of the available light as possible, and because we were shooting at Christmas, there were even more lights that normal. We worked very closely with the local authorities, which meant we could easily push the graphic nightmare or fairytale elements as required, by adding our own extra lights or having others switched off.”

Bryld's shooting package included ARRICam Lite and Studio cameras with Master Prime lenses, shooting 2:35, 3-perf on to Kodak 5205 and 5218. All the kit came from ARRI Media in London.

“We shot quite a lot with two cameras,” he says “There are

quite a few two-handers in the film, scenes with the leads talking together. Ray is quite a naïve character and we thought this would be a good way to get inside the characters and their emotions. The camera movement in the film is fairly controlled, even the handheld work, and there are lot of static moments too. We really didn't want the movement to get in the way of the performances.”

As for the aspect ratio, Bryld says, “Bruges lends itself to a more vertical format. All the building are tall and skinny, but we chose the format for its epic cinematic sense.”

Of shooting in a heritage city he says, “There were some restrictions. Many of the bridges are 500 years old, and the streets are narrow, so there was a lot of going back and forth working out where we could shoot and where to place the kit.

We had to use smaller generators, and the actors couldn't have a trailer either. However, the local authority were very supportive, and are very happy to have the city captured on film. I believe they have produced a special map, where you can see where the chases and shootouts took place.”

Derek Suter BSC

Burlesque Fairytales Grit. Determination. Persistence of vision.

These are key ingredients in getting a film made. So too can be generating the goodwill of friends and peers.

In spite of concerted efforts, writer/director Susan Luciani of Double Barrel Productions could not raise financial support from the “establishment” for Burlesque Fairytales, her debut feature film. So, teaming up with producer Lindsay McFarlane, the pair sunk the equivalent of a year's salary into the project and, with infectious enthusiasm, encouraged the support and participation from over 200 industry professionals. On seeing some of the rushes Hollywood director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow, 10,000 BC) also provided co funding. All-in-all Luciani estimates the donations of time, talent and technology to be around £1m.

Burlesque Fairytales is set in a 1930's London theatre where all is not as it seems. Five fairytales are performed and although they begin on stage, they each delve into their own rich exterior film worlds. The audience suspect sorcery, but soon realise a far greater power is at work, now that they're trapped inside the theatre.

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BAFTA-nominated actress Lindsay Duncan, Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement), Stephen Campbell Moore (History Boys), Barbara Flynn (Miss Potter), and Jim Carter (Golden Compass) are among the 100 actors, dancers and performers in this 35mm production, which shot on 14 sets, including an Ice Palace, at six exterior locations and has a bagful of digital visual effects.

Lensing the project was Derek Suter BSC, who met Luciani almost three years ago on a two-part TV feature drama Walk Away And I Stumble he was shooting for the BBC. “She was my number three camera assistant (runner),” he says. “She showed me a script she had put together. It was a great story, very good visually, so I decided to get involved.”

Shooting took 20 days in total, eked-out over a 12-month period, with Suter slotting shoot days into a busy schedule including the BBC drama A Class Apart, and stints on Lark Rise To Candleford.

Photography started in January 2007, on a beach with a mermaid, and completed in January 2008. The tenacious crew also included production designer Su Whitaker

Frozen out: Luciani could not raise financial support from the “establishment” for Burlesque Fairytales, so did it herself (Batman Begins), with on-going support from Pinewood/ Shepperton Studios, Panavision, Camera Revolution, Soho Images, Movietech, Kodak, Cinesite and Panalux.

Burlesque Fairytales is now in post production at Moving Picture Company in Soho, in readiness for private screenings at the Cannes Film Festival, where the hunt will be on for a distributor.

Suter framed the movie in Super 1:85, shooting Kodak Vision 2 stocks ¬- 500T for interiors and 50/250 for daylight scenes. He says the 250 Daylight really came into its own during a forest scene at Frensham Ponds in Surrey. “We had no choice but to shoot until we got the shot we wanted. It was a

pretty dark wooded area, but when I saw the dailies I was amazed - I could not believe the latitude the stock provided.” Suter says the clarity of the Cooke S4 lenses was “superb, especially in low-key situations and on night shoots.” At the time of writing he was hoping to oversee the DI grade.

Speaking about the film, Luciani says: “I myself have worked as a camera assistant 11 big budget films, of which ten were American-funded. It left me wondering about the state of our industry, especially film development. Burlesque Fairytales shows we have amazing talents here, and I believe we've got a great deal more to offer the cinema-going audience worldwide.”

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close ups

Quantum Of Solace © 2008 Danjaq LLC, Columbia Pictures and United Artists Coporation. All rights reserved.

UK

Roberto Schaefer ASC

Quantum of Solace Roberto Schaefer ASC is highly aware of the heritage and expectations of the Bond franchise.

He knows that he is only the second non-British cinematographer to lens a 007 actionadventure film. The first was Robert Elswit ASC, who was the DP on the Roger Spottiswoode directed Tomorrow Never Dies. He is also aware that every Bond film must enthral and entertain in new and more dramatic ways.

British Cinematographer Magazine caught up with him en route back to London after shooting a skydiving scene at Bodyflight near Bedford. This involved a multitude of Dalsa and Sony highresolution digital cameras, recording to Codex disc recorders and SRW-tape decks respectively, plus an ARRI 435- all sync'd together, under the specialist supervision of David Stump ASC. After some intensive post production it promises a visual effects sequence the like of which has not been seen before.

Schaefer says Quantum of Solace will continue the realism established by Phil Méheux BSC on Casino Royale, but with the action going to new and more intense levels. “It's still Bond, and he still has the trademark characteristics that separate him from other agents, but in Quantum of Solace he also becomes more down-to-earth and approachable as a human being. This is Bond post Vesper Lynd - we see what the world means to him and his fragility,” he says.

Creating this through the camera, Schaefer says the new production has gone, “a little retro with the look - through the camera movement, framing, angle design and lighting - whilst also remaining very action conscious. As amazing as Casino Royale was, especially the parkour (free-running) sequence, the initial sequence in the new film will be a breath-stopper. There will be moments of respite through the film, but Quantum of Solace slams along pretty hardcore.”

Quantum of Solace is set to shoot in Panama, Chile, Italy, Austria, London and at Pinewood Studios. Aerial work will involve the use of real helicopters, with a Go Cam, developed by Dan Bradley, the 2nd unit action director on the film. Schaefer says the production is also using some “very cool, specialised car and motorbike rigs” from action vehicle supervisor Graham Kelly As for the equipment, Schaefer has chosen ARRICam Studio and Lites, 435 and 235s, a selection of Master Prime, Master Zoom and Angenieux zoom lenses, plus some old Zeiss Super Speeds for the 1st unit photography ¬- all supplied by ARRI Media London. The

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Action: Roberto Schaefer ASC on the set of Quantum Of Solace night shooting in Panama City. production is being shot on Kodak stock, “3-perf on the 1st unit, and 4-perf on the second, so we have little more choice on repositioning,” he explains. Lighting is being provided by Panalux.

Schaefer is using the 3cP grading control system from Gamma & Density (which now incorporates the ASC CDL) to help maintain artistic and technical accuracy of the images as the production moves around the world. Dailies are being handled by St Annes in London. At the time of the interview, Schaefer said details of the DI grade had not been finalised, although he will oversee the work, which will take between four to six weeks. “ I need to, and want to, be there for the grade,” he says. “I never leave a project until we get the final release print.” By the time this happens, (post production has to be completed by the third week of October, in readiness for a November 5th release) Schaefer says he is likely to be in New York making his directorial debut on The Rosewood Casket. So it is possible that some of the DI will be achieved long distance, by proxy, over a fibre optic link.

'This is challenging, high-pressure filmmaking. But the shooting days are not super-long, and what we are filming is action-packed, exciting and will bring something brand new to the Bond franchise,” he concludes. “Surely, it must be everyone's dream to say 'I worked on a Bond film', and that's coming true for me.”

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close ups

DP Lukas Strebel

Burn Up Illuminating BBC screens later this year is Burn Up, a high stakes conspiracy thriller, set against the backdrop of climate change, where politicians, activists, and oil company executives collide, fighting to be both economically successful and globally responsible.

The £7.5m, 2 x 90minute, eco-thriller was lensed by the London-based Swiss DP Lukas Strebel and, over a threemonth period, involved nine weeks of shooting in mindnumbing cold in Calgary and Saskatchewan, plus two weeks on location in London. Burn Up was written by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty), directed by Omar Madha and is a UK/Canada treaty co-production.

“We started in Canada in October, in what was an Indian summer, but the temperatures on some days descended to -25,” says Strebel. “It was bitterly cold and made shooting really tough, for the artists and logistically. These days there are a lot of cables around film cameras, and sometimes the electronics didn't want to work. But film equipment is like tractors, there's not much to go wrong.

On the whole we were OK.”

Steven Poster ASC

The Box In his third pairing with writer/director Richard Kelly, cinematographer Steven Poster ASC has taken on yet another nothing-is-what-it-seems story.

As with Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, what isn't being said in The Box, or isn't being seen, is where the terror resides.

Service: Panavision developed anti-misting system for Steven Poster ASC.

This time, it's the story or Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden) Lewis, a suburban couple struggling under life and financial pressures.

One morning, the doorbell rings and Norma finds a package containing a curious-looking box on her porch. The note says, if she pushes the button on the box, she will get a million dollars.

The catch - someone she does not know will die. Ultimately, the story is about the ramifications of what this couple will or won't do.

As usual, Panavision came through for Poster after an emergency request. Al Meyers Jr., Panavision's leading engineer, was called about the eyepiece fogging and he quickly built a heated eyepiece for the camera and sent it to Poster.

“Just one of the few things Panavision does for their clients,” Poster said.

“The story relies heavily on effects, so it only made sense to go digital,” explains Poster. “It was always going to be the Genesis camera, using cine Primo lenses.”

Strebel says Burn Up mixes an epic and documentary styles: big fat wide shots with more edgy camera work.

“We took 1970's conspiracy thrillers as our references such as All The President's Men and The Parallax View.

Gordon Willis had a very strong, naturalistic style, not overlit like many films then” he says. More modern references included Syriana (DP Robert Eslwit), The Insider (DP Dante Spinotti) and Babel (DP Rodrigo Prieto).

“Capture was done through SRW-1,” comments Poster's righthand man and D.I.T. Alan Gitlin.

The lighting package on the Canadian shoot - a combination of ARRI HMIs, Kino Flos, Tungsten lights and a Starlight (6 x12k HMI par lights, with remote control of each light) - was supplied by the Calgary branch of William F. White. Panavision Canada supplied the cameras and lenses, which included ARRI SR3s with Zeiss High Speed lenses plus Canon Zooms. Strebel chose Fuji stock, using an assortment of daylight 64, 250 and 500 as well as 500T.

To accommodate the conditions, some of the story was tweaked to fit the weather. Still, Poster and the production team had to deal with considerable extremes. Take a car crash - let's say a 'Richard Kelly'-style car crash sequence.

Although set in Richmond, Virginia, the bulk of the picture was shot in Boston, Massachusetts, taking advantage of the 45% credit the state has to offer. “Which offered more than a few challenges,” says Poster. “This was a snowy season for the East Coast, and we were in the middle of it.”

“It was 25 degrees outside, and snowing,” Poster explains.

“We wanted an authentic look overall,” says Strebel. “To achieve the documentary, reportage style, we used the zoom lens to move in, or make little corrections, to add tension to the pictures. At nights, I wanted to use as much available light as possible, and this dictated the choice of lenses too. They can be very harsh, but you can open them right up to a stop of T1.3.”

Lol Crawley GBCT

One of the highlights of the Canadian shoot atop a skyscraper in Calgary, as the drama reaches an action packed climax. “The actors (Rupert Penry-Jones and Bradley Whitford) did the stunts themselves. It was very windy, so we were all fixed on wires for safety. There were two hand-held cameras, plus a crane with a remote head, covering the action, and another on a building opposite covering the wide shot. I had to be very careful with the lighting. I have worked with some crazy rigs in tough conditions, on mountainsides and the like, but this was something else, really wild and crazy.”

At the 2008 Sundance Film Festival Ballast won the Excellence in Cinematography Award for Lol Crawley GBCT, and a directing award for Lance Hammer. A great outcome for a project that began shooting almost two years earlier to the very day.

In London, the work mainly entailed shooting exteriors in The City. Strebel says the Lloyds Building proved quite a challenge. “For one thing it is massive. We were shooting on the 16/17th floors and thought we would be able to light from outside. But when we did the tech recce we discovered we couldn't. The place we were shooting in was south facing, with sun coming in and out. So we had to get some tricks out of the box. Later the same day, we were shooting in lobby, which is 16 floors high. As it was winter, the sun had gone down by 3pm, so we shot using two big balloon lights to create continuity between the two situations.”

Ballast

“Another extreme condition. At times, the wind got up to 45 miles-per-hour. Our concern was the temperature of the lenses.

We had to keep them true while dealing with the cold.”

“To protect the trueness of the lenses, we wrapped heating pads around them when the cameras weren't shooting,” adds Gitlin. “The lens shifts we got in the beginning of the picture were gone - and the shots stayed true with the addition of a little low-tech protection.”

The weather also had an impact on how Poster lit his sequences. The snow had the same effect as wetting down concrete, so at times it was helpful. Still, Poster's favorite Barger lights and other tools had to be handled with great care.

Extra helium was always available for the balloon lights, which, at times like in this rather unique truck/car crash had to be pulled because of the wind.

“It was a logistically complicated shoot,” says Poster. “Not only were dealing with weather, the challenges of the HD format, and, of course, the effects crew who were often working next to us doing their motion capture, but we always had to keep in mind one thing; when you are doing a Richard Kelly mind twister - nothing-is-as-it-seems. And, for us, that didn't just pertain to the story!”

Crawley had worked this way in the UK and says it was interesting to apply a similar aesthetic to the Mississippi Delta.

“I was surprised to find that the Delta in late winter, though not as cold, was often quite similar to the UK with flat overcast skies and persistent heavy rain. Far from being a concern, we loved the way the film and lenses behaved under these softer, more muted (and often miserable) conditions, even to the point of resisting shooting in bright lighting conditions, much to the surprise of the production team. They had not often waited around for the sun to go in for reasons other than continuity,” he explains.

On 8th Jan 2006 Cawley arrived into Jackson airport, Mississippi to shoot the US feature film Ballast, written, directed and produced by LA-based Lance Hammer. This was their first film together and, in fact their first feature.

Crawley had been asked to shoot this film based on his cinematography on a short film entitled, Love Me or Leave Me Alone. The script explored relationships between inhabitants of a small, Mississippi Delta community who are forced to confront issues stirred up by the suicide of a close family member.

Choosing to keep the look of the film fairly naturalistic Crawley chose to carry a fairly simple camera and lighting package, basic correction and ND filters and no light bigger than a 4k HMI. This however, did create some challenging scenarios like filming actors with very dark skin in dark interiors with fairly bright lighting conditions outside. It was often difficult to light the interiors, as the hand-held camera was often panning around the rooms and catching lights inside or shining in from outside.

“Our early influences and points of reference for the film came largely from the more European, 'art house' aesthetic, which is firmly based in a reality captured through the use of non-actors and utilising available light where possible,” said Crawley. “We also chose to shoot S35mm 2.35:1 to capture the scope of the Delta landscapes.”

Crawley took 1st AC Gabi Norland and 2nd AC Ben Gibb on the shoot. “They, along with the US crew did a fantastic job under often difficult conditions,” he says. “I had decided early on to shoot a lot of the film hand-held with an Arricam LT / Zeiss Superspeed package and this combined with non-actors, low light levels and an often semi-improvised shooting style, meant that Gabi had her work cut out.”

Close Ups section was written and research by Ron Prince and Pauline Rogers. page

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ISSUE 26

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

BSC Show Guide 2008

BSC New Equipment Show, March 14-15, 2008 The BSC New Equipment Show has gone from strength-to-strength since it began almost 12 years ago as a simple forum for individual engineers and small manufacturing companies to show their wares to BSC members.

Joe Dunton MBE BSC, renowned as both an innovator and a catalyst for innovation in film production equipment, has been a driving force in behind the show since it started, and remembers in those early days marking-out the exhibition floor with camera tape the night before the show.

“The original idea, that we strive to keep today, was to put on a show that was as inexpensive as possible for exhibitors and

visitors to attend, and where people could come to have a really good look at new and emerging technology,” he says.

The show has taken place at several venues over the years including Greenford, Pinewood, Shepperton and Mr Lighting.

For the last three years the BSC New Equipment Show has been based at Elstree Film and TV Studios, whose management team, Dunton says, have been very accommodating.

Whilst the show was not originally intended to be megasized, the scope and popularity of the event has grown so much that an outside contractor, SCS Exhibitions, now assists

Chapman Hydrascope

A. C. Lighting Ltd Centauri House Hillbottom Road High Wycombe Bucks HP12 4HQ Tel: 01494 446000 www.aclighting.com Value added reseller of a comprehensive range of the latest entertainment technology products.

Abakus Grange Farm Bourne Road Carlby Stamford PE9 4LU Tel: 01778 590117 www.abakus.co.uk Design and manufacture of lenses and optical systems.

Airstar (UK) Ltd 13 Meadow View Crendon Industrial Park Long Crendon Bucks HP18 9EQ Tel: 01844 203640 www.airstar.co.uk Inventor and manufacturer of balloon lighting systems.

ARRI GB Ltd 2 Highbridge Oxford Road Uxbridge Middx UB8 1LX Tel: 01895 457000 ARRI Media & ARRI Lighting Rental 3 Highbridge Oxford Road Uxbridge Middx UB8 1LX Tel: 01895 457100 ARRI Media is showing its 35mm film cameras with an exclusive 2-perf

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movement, available for the ARRICAM Studio, ARRICAM Lite and ARRIFLEX 235.

Lenses accompanying the cameras include two new focal lengths for the Master Prime family, which is growing wider and longer with the addition of a 14mm and 150mm, and an 80-200mm lightweight zoom, originally developed by the ARRI Rental Group for The Bourne Ultimatum.

The ARRIFLEX D-20, recently upgraded with increased sensitivity and a new interface to facilitate high-speed shooting at up to 60fps, will be demonstrated in Data Mode utilising S.two's Take2 disk-based uncompressed field recorder.

ARRI Media's grip department, in conjunction with Bickers Action, will show the Russian Arm System, a gyro-stabilised Flight Head combined with a gyrostabilised, remote-controlled, pan and tilt mobile arm that offers 360° panning capability at high speed.

ARRI Lighting Rental will unveil a new LEDbased background lighting system, suitable for a wide range of applications due to its homogenous light distribution and 16.7 million colour options. The MaxMover, an automated stirrup that provides remote pan, tilt and focus for a wide range of lighting fixtures, will also be on display.

Alpha Grip Need address details for here Ascent Media 8/14 Meard Street London W1V 3HR Tel: 0207 437 0831 www.sohoimages.com Full service film laboratory and digital post production facility.

BSC Entertainments with the organisation and logistics.

Looking back, one of the first exhibitors flew in from Scandinavia to reveal reinforced gelatine filters they had developed. The show still has filters galore, and cameras, lens makers, lighting kit, fluid heads, grip equipment, motion control rigs and film stock.

But the production business has evolved and changed quite a bit since its inception. At press time there were 55 exhibitors confirmed and still counting. Along with “2-perf” and “emulsion”, words such as “tapeless” and “workflow” will doubtless be bandied around in abundance. Hope you enjoy the show!

Axis Films Box 47, Shepperton Studios Studios Road Shepperton Middx TW17 0QD Tel: 01932 592244 www.axisfilms.co.uk Scene to screen solutions - camera hire, data management and post production.

Tel: 0116 264 0700 www.cookeoptics.com Manufacturer of precision lenses for the motion picture industry.

Cammotion 44 Frieth Road Marlow Bucks SL7 2QU Tel: 01628 477270 www.cammotion.co.uk Sole worldwide supplier and renter of Vortex aerial camera systems.

Daylight Grip & Textiles Ltd, manufactures of performance products for the Film, Television and Photographic lighting industry. Daylight continue to expand their range of services and products offered, competitive pricing with stock held in our Manchester factory. Overhead's and butterfly textiles, Flag's and open end scrims, Lighting softbanks, bag's and holdall's, all standard products stocked, custom work welcomed.

Chapman Leonard Uni 9, Elstree Film & TV Studios Shenley Road Borehamwood Herts WD6 1JG Tel: 0208 324 2665 www.chapman-leonard.com Chapman Leonard Studio Equipment Limited, based at Elstree Film Studios is pleased to announce the arrival of the Hydrascope. This unique telescoping crane is completely waterproof and can be run silently from 30V batteries. The complete range of Chapman grip equipment will also be on show.

Cine Power International Ltd Magnolia Lake Mamhead Nr. Exeter Devon EX6 8HG Tel: 01626 888433 www.cinepower.com Creators of battery systems, ballasts, lampheads and test equipment.

Cirro Lite (Europe) Ltd 3 Barretts Green Road London NW10 7AE Tel: 020 8955 6700 www.cirrolite.com Comprehensive service for lighting for film, television, video production and still photography.

Cmotion GmbH Schanzstrasse 41/1 A-1140 Wien Austria Tel: 0044 1 798 109613 www.cmotion.at Developer of camera and lens control systems.

Cooke Optics Ltd Cooke Close Thurmanston Leicester LE4 8PT

Further details available www.daylightgriptex.com or call the office.

Contacts; Mr Philip Leonard

Daylight Grip & Textiles Ltd Unit 4, Agecroft Network Centre, Lamplight Way, Swinton, Manchester, M27 8UG P: + 44 161 351 6720 F: + 44 161 351 6721 E: sales@daylightgriptex.com

Daylight Grip & Textiles Unit 4, Agecroft Network Centre Lamplight Way Swinton Manchester M27 8UG Tel: 0161 351 6720 www.daylightgriptex.com Manufactures of performance products for the film, television and photographic lighting industry. Daylight continues to expand its range of services and products, competitive pricing with stock held in its Manchester factory. Overheads and butterfly textiles, flags and open-end scrims, Llghting softbanks, bags and holdalls, all standard products stocked, custom work welcomed.

Professional film and motion picture film stock.

Hat Factory Post, The 16-18 Hollen Street London W1F 8BQ Tel: 020 7734 9942 www.hatfactorypost.com Digital Intermediate and post production facility.

High Level TV Unigate Building Depot Road London W12 7RZ Tel: 0845 094 4640 www.highlevel.tv High level footage without manned helicopters.

Ianiro UK Ltd Unit 7 Walkers Road Manorside Industrial Estate Redditch B98 9HE Tel: 01527 596955 www.ianirouk.com Manufacturer, importer and distributor of light and grip equipment.

ICE Film Bridge Wharf 156 Caledonian Road London N1 9UU Tel: 0207 278 0908 www.icefilm.com Sales, rental and servicing of 16mm and 35mm cameras, lenses, heads, tripods, monitors and filters. iLab 55 Poland Street London W1F 7NN Tel: 0207 287 9520 www.ilabuk.co.uk Film processing laboratory and post production facility.

DeSisti Lighting (UK) Ltd 15 Old Market Street Thetford Norfolk IP24 2EQ Tel: 01824 752909 www.desisti.it Design, manufacture and distribution of lighting and rigging for the entertainment and architectural industries.

Kay Media Ltd Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SL0 0NH Tel: 01753 651171 www.kays.co.uk Directories and data for the European film and TV industry.

Elstree Studio NEED ADDRESS DETAILS FOR HERE

Kodak Limited Hemel One Boundary Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP2 7YU Tel: 01442 846970 www.kodak.com Motion picture film stock and digital image processing tools.

Fujifilm UK Fuji Film House 125 Finchley Road London NW3 6HY Tel: 0203 040 0400 www.fujifilm.co.uk

ISSUE 26

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

BSC Show Guide 2008

economic remote system. Slip rings for all three axes enable unlimited freedom of movement. The lens control is manufacturer independent. Trixy is designed for the mounting of film and video cameras weighing up to 15 kg/33lbs.

Panther’s new Twister dolly

Photobubble Co, The 1641 N. Ivar Avenue Los angeles California 90028 USA Tel: 001 310 467 5131 www.photobubblecompany.com Manufacturer of giant, inflatable "soft box" for reflection free photography.

Kontrol Freax Ground Floor 23 Burnfoot Avenue London SW6 5EB Tel: 020 7371 9797 www.kontrolfreax.com Rental of Mo-Sys motion control rigs and remote heads.

Lee Filters Ltd Central Way Walworth Ind. Estate Andover Hants SP10 5AN Tel: 01264 366245 www.leefilters.com Manufacturer of lighting and camera filters for film, television, theatre, architectural lighting and stills photography.

Mark Roberts Motion Control Unit 4, Birches Ind. Estate Imberhorne Lane East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 1XZ Tel: 01342 334730 www.mrmoco.com Motion control rigs and motion control camera systems.

MK-V Modular Systems c/o Webb Lighting Ravenscraig Road Little Hulton Manchester M38 9PU Tel: 01204 574900 www.mk-v.com Sales and service for working professional Steadicam operators and rental companies.

Movie-intercom Lighting FX Tools Wegenerstr. 4 D010713 Berlin Germany Tel: 00 49 30 223 20575 www.movie-inter.com Lighting effects tools for professional filmmakers.

Movietech Camera Rental Ltd Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SL0 0NH Tel: 01753 650007 www.movietech.co.uk Digital, 35mm and 16mm film rental house.

Moy E. F. Elstree Film Studios Shenley Road Borehamwood Herts WD6 1JG Tel: 020 8324 2218 www.efmoy.com Camera and grip equipment.

P & S Technik GmbH Siemensstr.12 85521 Ottobrunn

ISSUE 26

Germany Tel: 49 89 4509 8230 www.pstechnik.de TheSI-2K was developed in cooperation by Silicon Imaging and P+S Technik. Designed for the rigours of the cinema industry, the new SI-2K camera has already been used in several productions: among others the feature films Slumdog Millionaire, by Danny Boyle, and Mutant Chronicles by Simon Hunter and DP Geoff Boyle. Also the 3DProject The Dark Country by Thomas Jane, took advantage of the benefits of the new SI-2K camera head. The SI-2K is equipped with a 2K CMOS sensor. It offers direct recording to hard disc coded by the CineForm RAW-Format. Because of this it is perfect for 3D-shots and 2k. Come and test the new SI-2K Digital Cinema Camera yourself.

Panalux 12 Waxlow Road London NW10 7NU Tel: 020 8233 7236 www.panalux.eu Professional lighting for the film and television industries.

Panasonic Panasonic House Willoughby Road Bracknell Berks RG12 8FP Tel: 01344 853465 www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/ho me.asp Cameras, camcorders, systems, monitors, recorders & drives, tape and media.

Panavision London The Metropolitan Centre Bristol Road Greenford Middx UB6 8GD Tel: 0208 839 7333 www.panavision.co.uk Film and digital production equipiment and consumables - cameras, lenses, filters, doliesm cranes and heads.

Panther Gmbh Raiffeisenallee 3 82041 Oberhaching Munich Germany Tel: 00 49 89 613 900 01 www.panther.tv Watch out for the new Twister Dolly - a new doorway dolly with three selectable steering modes - front, rear and round-a-round.

Combined tyre and track wheels allow for camera movements on track (62 cm / 2 ft gauge) or ground without the need for timeconsuming conversion. New developed: upper level platforms offer an enlarged workspace and convenient footrest for the cameraman while shooting.

See also the completely digital 3-axis, remote-head Trixy, a lightweight and

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

Pirate St Leonards Road London NW10 6ST Tel: 020 8930 5000 www.pirate.co.uk High speed video and film, motion control, models and effects.

Production Gear Ltd Salisbury House 81 High Street Potters Bar Herts EN6 5AS Tel: 01707 643100 www.productiongear.co.uk Supplier of broadcast and professional video production equipment.

Prokit 111 Power Road London W4 5PY Tel: 020 8995 4664 www.prokit.co.uk Professional broadcast equipment, film and video production products both new and used for sale and hire.

Pyser Sgi www.pyser-sgi.com Manufacture and global distribution of high performance optical, electro-optical and related products.

Filters, matte boxes and lens accessories for rental or sales.

Take 2 Films Unit 10, West Point Trading Est Alliance Road London W3 0RA Tel: 020 8992 2224 www.take2films.co.uk Technicolor Creative Services Bath Road West Drayton Middx UB7 0DB Tel: 020 8759 5432 www.technicolor.com Film laboratory and post production services.

That’s A Wrap The Boreen Condor Road Staines Middx TW18 1UG Tel: 01784 453610

Ronford-Baker Braziers Oxhey Lane Watford Herts WD1 4RJ Tel: 0208 428 5941 www.ronfordbaker.co.uk Camera support equipment - tripods, fluid heads, tracks, beams and sliders.

Rosco Blanchard Works Kangley Bridge Road Sydneham London SE26 5AQ Tel: 0208 659 2300 www.rosco-europe.com Filters, dimmers, chromakey paint, floors, fog machines, gobos, projectors and lighting effects systems, props and scenic products.

Solid Grip Systems Tel: 00 312 042 82155 www.solidgripsystems.eu Aluminum precision tracks and truss/dolly systems for the film and television industries.

Sonic Films Tel: 07968 703389 www.sonicfilms.co.uk Red digital cinema camera rental and post production company.

South London Filter Ltd 3 Richbourne Terrace London SW8 1AS Tel: 020 7735 1900 www.camerafilters.co.uk

projects as Planet Earth, Top Teks is uniquely placed to offer advice on equipment for your HD project. The showroom offers the chance to look at equipment from DV through to the Sony F23.

Tiffen Europe Ltd +44 1869 343835 www.tiffen.com

Tiffen Europe Ltd Enterprise House Weston Business Park Weston on the Green Oxford OX25 3SX Tel: 01869 343835 www.tiffen.com Tiffen will be demonstrating the Steadicam Ultra2 system and the TiffenDFX filter software.The Steadicam Ultra2 is now in its second year of production and was fortunate enough to receive an award from the SOC earlier this year. The TiffenDFX filter system is a unique way of using Tiffen filters within an edit programme.

Top Teks Bridge House Royal Quay Harefield Middx UB9 6JA Tel: 01895 825619 www.top-teks.co.uk Top Teks is the leading supplier of high-end HD cameras to the broadcast and film industries. With experience gained on such

Top-Teks was established in 1989 and is now on the leading suppliers of HD Camera equipment in the UK, currently supplying 80% of camcorders to the UK market. Top-Teks provide a complete support service through our fully equipped, purpose built service centre, ensuring customers have the back up they need.

Located in a modern 2 storey building just off jnct 17 on the M25 and within an 8 minute drive (6 miles) of Junction 1 of the M40/A40.

The showroom has demonstration models from HDV through to HDCAM and Varicam plus a wide selection of lenses and peripherals.

True Lens Services 20 Bank Terrace Barwell Leicester LE9 8GG www.trulens.co.uk Repair of Canon, Fujinon and Nikon film and video lenses.

Visual Effects Co, The www.thevfxco.co.uk Specialists in motion control.

VMI Broadcast Ltd 19 D’Arblay Street London W1F 8ED Tel: 0870 850 1444 www.vmi.tv HD camera and grip equipment rental.

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UK

new product focus

Photobubble Most visitors to the BSC New Equipment Show at Elstree, 14-15 March, probably won't have seen this up-side-down, blancmange-like contraption before.

Whilst it might look a little strange, this innovative and highly practical Photobubble is rapidly gaining admirers across the world.

Essentially, the Photobubble is an inflatable shooting environment that is custom-made per project and is lit externally. It is made from translucent vinyl, and acts as a giant "soft box" giving the cinematographer a controlled, clean and reflection-free space in which to work. Photobubbles provides an almost seamless 360-degree angle of view and new opportunities for green screen photography. The surface of the bubble can be painted (or rear projected upon) for such things as day or night sky effects. Rigging and lighting equipment can be lowered through holes cut into the structure.

Award-winning director Roman Coppola conceived the idea for the Photobubble during the production of a Toyota Prius commercial. “We needed a car to be driving, at speed, in a completely white environment,” says Coppola. “We struggled with this for a while, and it occurred to me that we could build an inflatable stage and illuminate it from the outside, so that it was a big glowing inflatable structure.”

Coppola shared his concept with production designer Stephen McHale and producer Allan Wachs. McHale brought in designer Tom Iacino to assist with the design process.

Coppola, Wachs and McHale the formed The Photobubble Company in 2004 to market what they believed was an incredibly versatile and unique production tool. Iacino, who worked on the design of each bubble produced, was later added as a partner as well.

Photobubbles are built on site - either on a stage or at a location - and the pricing is determined by the size of the bubble, the duration of the shoot and the location. They are inflated using traditional fans. When shooting sound-sync the fans are sited away from the Photobubble, and the air is conveyed through ducting.

The first Photobubble shoot took place on British soil this January for a Kia Motors ad at Shepperton Studios. Hungry Man Productions' directing duo SamuelChristopher had an original, stylised plan to feature the hero car in a beautiful manner, and employed a Photobubble to accomplish their idea..

“We've shot in Los Angeles, New York, Spain and Prague,” says Wachs. The shoot in Madrid, Spain for Gatorade, involved creating a 200-foot-by-200-foot Photobubble enclosing a half-size football pitch. A shoot for Buick involved the deployment of a 45-foot tall version of the Photobubble.

“That was possibly the largest purely inflatable structure ever made,” says Wachs. “It was the length of almost two soccer fields.”

Director Paula Walker used a Photobubble for a shoot in Prague for car company Mazda. “The Photobubble saved my life on the Mazda job,” she commented. “There was no way we could have moved as fast as we needed to without the flexibility of the Photobubble. I was able to save hours in lighting a complex shot with cars, effects, stunt work and dancers.”

“It was the perfect environment to shoot our car idents in,” said Chris Turner of directing duo SamuelChristopher. “Our clients at the advertising agency Mustoes, and the clients at Kia Motors, were all very impressed, and the end results were great.”

As an infinite shooting environment for filmmakers' infinite imaginations, The Photobubble Company will exhibit its product at the forthcoming BSC New Equipment Show.

“We're still a young company and are in the process of researching the potentials of setting up pre-lit Photobubble stages in film communities around the world with London /UK being one of our top tier prospects,” said Wachs.

While the Kia Motors shoot is the first time this production tool has been used in the UK, Photobubbles are being employed on shoots around the world.

To view footage of the Photobubble in action, visit www.photobubblecompany.com, or watch it online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzlpnCvOc18.

Blob: this shot of the Photobubble on H Stage at Shepperton gives a good idea of sizing and lighting

Blow-up: Interior of a Photobubble as used on a Kia car commercial at Shepperton Studios

Have you developed a new product, and want to tell the world about it? Contact us now and let us know all about your latest brainchild.

ISSUE 26

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

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FEATURE

camera creative

Serendipity: Mick Coulter BSC may have learnt his trade the old fashioned way, but has scaled some impressive heights

Every picture tells a story Writers. Mick Coulter's agent said he's quite choosey about the film projects he works on. A quick scan of his filmography, and you can see he has worked with some of the great comedy writers/directors around Bill Forsyth, Richard Curtis, Billy Crystal and, most recently, Dick Clement and Iain La Frenais on The Bank Job. Ron Prince met up with him to discover more about this latest all-digital experience, but suspecting Coulter is a bit of a romantic at heart, started proceedings with a simple question. Is it all about the story?

“I'm not naturally drawn to shoot 'em ups, and haven't ever shot an action film,” he replies. “So, yes, for me it is all about the story in deciding which film to work on. My benchmark really is, 'Would I go and see this film?' If not, I enjoy shooting commercials between features.”

Scottish beginnings and inspirations Born and bred a Glaswegian, Coulter was introduced to the local film business by his writer/director brother-in-law, the late Charles Gormley (Heavenly Pursuits). Coulter started as a gopher for local production companies making “industrial films”, before moving on to load the B&W stock into camera magazines at football matches. He went freelance in 1975

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and, for the next five years, worked on, “anything and everything - TV, news drama, childrens', films… anything.

That's what you had to do to survive.”

At the time Coulter was flatmates with Iain Smith (producer Cold Mountain, Alexander, Children of Men), and soon became acquainted with writer/director Bill Forsyth. Having recently purchased a 16mm camera, he was invited to use it as the DP on Forsyth's first feature That Sinking Feeling (which had a total budget of £6,000). The following year saw Coulter work as the DP on Forsyth's hugely successful Gregory's Girl.

During 1982-3 Coulter operated for Chris Menges on Forsyth's next pictures, Local Hero and Comfort and Joy, which Coulter describes as “unmissable opportunities to work with a man I admired tremendously.”

During early '80s Coulter also worked on many documentaries, including The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and a series for C4 on African-American music.

“Documentaries made you resourceful, inventive. You had to make things work somehow. Also the life-experience of 'travel broadening the mind' was important for me.”

Coulter enjoyed a brief stint in France during the early '80s, as an assistant to cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn and director Bertrand Tavernier, but it was back in the UK that he

passed a watershed. He was just about to start work as the camera operator on Alan Bleasedale's No Surrender, when the original DP had to pull out.

“One of producers, Mamoun Hassan, asked if I would shoot the film. I decided to pick up the ball and run with it”. Coulter's next film was The Good Father, directed by with Mike Newell, swiftly followed by Heavenly Pursuits with Charles Gormley, the relative who had originally helped him into the business.

In his first year as a fully-fledged lighting cameraman Coulter had shot three decent films, “and that was that,” he says.

For me it is all a b o u t t h e s t o r y. M y benchmark is, ' Wo u l d I g o a n d s e e this film?

Among his many milestones and achievements as a cinematographer, Coulter regards Housekeeping as one of his favourite films (produced by David Puttnam whilst head of Warner Bros.), along with The Long Day Closes and The Neon Bible, both directed by Terence Davies. “Terry allows the DP to paint,” says Coulter, who is about to supervise an HD remaster of The Long Day Closes.

Of Four Weddings and A Funeral (with Newell again, and a script written by Richard Curtis) Coulter admits that being associated with something so successful helped him climb a little higher up the ladder. “We rattled through it in six weeks, and were all delighted when it turned out to be so successful.”

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FEATURE

camera creative

Lured: the story, script and chance to work with the latest digital equipment proved highly attractive to Coulter on The Bank Job. Going up a few more rungs, a particular highlight was Sense and Sensibilty, with director Ang Lee. “This was another great opportunity,” he says. “There was a chemistry; the ingredients were right in all departments. A lot of people distinguished themselves on that movie.” Indeed, Coulter was Oscar and BAFTA-nominated for his work.

“I never attended film school. I learnt in an old fashioned way.

It's serendipitous the way I managed to make my way into and through the business,” he says. How romantic is that?

With film you know where you are and how to work around problems. With HD we're just only starting to develop that sort of knowledge.

The Bank Job Most recently Coulter has achieved a new landmark with The Bank Job, the true story of a 1971 Baker Street bank robbery, prevented from being told for over 30 years by a Government gagging order. Thieves tunneled into the bank's vault, looted safe deposit boxes, but made off with quite a lot more than three million pounds in cash and jewellery. Among the takings were secrets about high-level corruption, a sex scandal with links to the Royal Family, and murder.

“The way the story unfolds is like the layers of an onion. The thieves were the most innocent people involved,” recalls Coulter about the lure of the script from comedy masters Clement and La Frenais, and the opportunity to work with veteran director Roger Donaldson (The Bounty, Cocktail, Species, The World's Fastest Indian).

But the production appealed in another way. “When I came to the project, the decision to shoot digitally had already been made. The chance to shoot in HD with the latest technology really interested me,” he remarks.

Production began in January 2007, “not the easiest of circumstances because of the daylight hours,” he says. The working schedule turned out to be eleven-hour days, and fiveday weeks, with shooting completed in 40 days.

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Coulter says he did not approach The Bank Job with any particular filmic references, other than creating a naturalistic look using the period sets and costumes. “We shot it in a modern way, quite edgy, with lots of Steadicam,” he says.

field. The chip in the D-20 is the same size as a 35mm frame, and therefore focal lengths and depth-of-field, etc. should correspond to what we are used to with film. But there seemed to be a very narrow tolerance - it was either in or out of focus, even on wide-angle lenses.

The Bank Job was shot using D-20 cameras, often fitted with Zeiss Master Primes, shooting 4:4:4 to Sony SRW1 tape decks, or to Flash mags on Steadicam work. Whilst he believes the final results look good on screen, he has a number of poignant observations about the demands that HD has on the cinematographer, the camera crew, HoDs and the actors.

Film, with its layers of emulsion, may be more forgiving than the flat chip. Our focus pullers Julian Bucknall and John Ferguson were often at the monitors pulling focus remotely.

That said, the film-outs looked absolutely fine and didn't have the characteristics we were seeing on-set - but we could have done without this hassle.”

“Suddenly with HD, you have a whole pile of additional stuff to contend with,” he says. “What with the monitors, cables, recorders, etc, it took the crew a good week to settle into a good working rhythm. There's a debate about introducing a new grade, the Digital Imaging Technician (DIT). I'd say such a technician is essential. Unfortunately we didn't have one.

With HD, the ability to see pretty much the end result 'on-set' Coulter believes has its advantages and disadvantages. “You get a good idea of what you are getting, but now every department is suddenly crowding around the monitors trying to make sure that their 'end' is holding up. You can't blame them.

“During the shoot there was a huge loom of cables, BNC for picture and sound cables, going back from the cameras to the recorders, which often had to be located in another room because of the operational noise level. I know that ARRI have since reduced the cabling to a single optical cable, but the camera still has this 'umbilical' to the recorder. After years of using film cameras free of cables this was a real bind.”

After all these years of standard playback the make up, costume and set designers can suddenly see how their work is going to look. Also I am sure that shooting HD is a good thing for actors though. They can go again, straight away, because there is not such a need to cut the camera, they can stay focused without interruption.”

The weight of the gear also became a factor. “Our shooting style called for a constantly shifting camera so there was lots of Steadicam. The weight of the camera, plus a Flash Mag and a Master Prime, was almost too much for the Steadicam sled. Our brilliant operator Stuart Howell had some specially strengthened plates made to try to take the flex out. But I think we were really at the limit weight-wise.”

Coulter believes that one of the great selling points of the D20 is the optical viewfinder. “Essentially the front end is a film camera, and this is a distinct advantage. But we found ourselves constantly fretting about the focus and depth-of-

“Of course, being a period film, featuring men in white shirts and dark suits, the contrast ratio from light to shade is about as far apart as you can get. I found that I was constantly watching the exposure either on the monitor or looking at the waveform monitor. When the whites peak they are gone. At the other end, when there is not enough light on dark costumes you can lose subtle detail like the pinstripe in a suit.

“With film you know where you are and how to work around these sort of problems. With HD we're just only starting to develop that sort of knowledge. HD has its teething problems, and the equipment needs to be refined to make it user friendly. But it will come, it's bound to come.

Mick Coulter BSC - Filmography The Bank Job Love Actually Killing Me Softly Mansfield Park Notting Hill My Giant Fairy Tale: A True Story Eskimo Day Sense and Sensibility The Neon Bible The Infiltrator

(2008) (2003) (2002) (1999) (1999) (1998) (1997) (TV) (1996) (1995) (1995) (TV) (1995)

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Foreign Affairs (TV) (1993) Being Human (1993) The Long Day Closes (1992) Monster in a Box (1992) Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991) The Widowmaker (TV) (1990) Breaking In (1989) Diamond Skulls (1989) Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale (1989) The Dressmaker (1988)

Housekeeping (director of photography)

(1987)

The Good Father

(1985)

No Surrender

(1985)

Heavenly Pursuits

(1985)

The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

(1983)

Gregory's Girl

(1981)

That Sinking Feeling

(1980)

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UK

live and let DI

Framestore: has recently provided the DI grades on Becoming Jane and 1408

To live and let DI Prime Focus Ltd (PFL) recently completed the DI on WWII drama Leningrad, lensed by DP Vladimir Klimov, starring Gabriel Byrne, Mira Sorvino and Aleksandr Abdulov, directed

by Alesksandr Buravsky and produced by Andre Gromkovski. It is 1941, and the Nazis have succeeded in taking over half of Europe, until they reach Leningrad and Moscow. Hitler realises Leningrad cannot be taken by force and surrounds the city, aiming to starve three million people to death. In the midst of the horrific siege, a young English journalist named Kate Davis finds herself among surviving Russians within the famished city. PFL's DI grader was Simon Bourne, who worked from the outset with the director and editor Sean Barton to discuss how they wanted their film to look, and looks they wanted to avoid.

They were keen to enhance the cinematic feel of the piece through the DI process. There were many exteriors shot on location around St Petersburg (Leningrad), which had to work seamlessly with the interiors, some shot on location and some on sound stages. Using the PFL's Specter system, Barton's approach was to grade as if the footage was shot at that time rather than giving it a stylized look. PFL's DI team has also been flat out on 28 Weeks Later, Strength & Honour, lensed by Alan Almond BSC, Daylight Robbery, Rise of the Footsoldier, Joe

Pepper: provided top line DI services on 3 and Out

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Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, Agent Crush, Tales of the Riverbank and The Wreck, which was the first project in the PFL's new Baselight 8 and Barco DP90p-powered grading theatre.

Framestore was responsible for the DIs on 1408 shot by Benoit Delhomme, Becoming Jane which had Eigil Bryld at the cinematographic helm, and Hot Fuzz lensed by Jess Hall.

Rogue Element Films just completed the DI on the HD feature 313 at Pinewood on a Quantel 4K Pablo. The editor was Peter Hollywood, and the grade was completed by Ralston Humble working with DP Zoran Veljkovic.

Over at Molinare‌ Donkey Punch which was shot by Nanu Segal, and Wall To Wall's Man On Wire, lensed by Igor Martinovic, both went to Sundance this year, where Man On Wire won the World Cinema Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the documentary section - all wonderful for Moli because last year In the Shadow of the Moon, DP Clive North, won the World Cinema Audience Award. What's more, director Paddy Considine's Dog Altogether, shot by Tom Townend and graded by Moli's Gareth Spensley, won the BAFTA for Best Short Film. Spensley also graded This Is England, helmed by Danny Cohen, which picked up the 2008 Best British Film BAFTA. Pepper Post Production says it has tuned its data and tapebased DI capabilities to cater for all budgets and resolutions.

At the high-end of the DI spectrum, a full 2K scan from film

was required for 3 and Out, shot by Richard Greatrex BSC, and graded by Chris Beaton. The comedy, starring Mackenzie Crook, releases in April, and was directed by Jonathan Gershfield. Film recording was carried out at Technicolor in West Drayton under Pepper's supervision. Mid-range budget films handled at Pepper include Colour of Magic, lensed by Gavin Finney BSC, using the ARRI D20 shooting extended range onto HDcam SR at 4:4:4. The DI grader was Kevin Horsewood, and the production is scheduled for transmission at Easter. The lower budget films that shoot 4:2:2 on to HDcam and even HDV include Nick Broomfield's Battle for Haditha, which investigates the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by US Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. The DP was Mark Wolf, using the Sony 750 HDcam (4.2.2), and grading was by Dan Coles. Technicolor did the filmouts.

MPC provided the grades for The Other Boleyn Girl, the Universal/Sony Pictures feature lensed by Alison Owens and directed by Justin Chadwick, as well as Warner Bros' 10,000BC shot by Ueli Steiger and directed by Roland Emmerich. Sony Pictures' Made of Honor, directed by Paul Weiland and shot by Tony Pierce-Roberts BSC, and Optimum Releasing's Eden Lake, directed by James Watkins and Christopher Ross in charge of the cinematography, also got the DI treatment from the Wardour Street facility.

Chris Menges BSC was the cinematographer on Yellow Handkerchief, and Paramount's Stop Loss, which were both graded a Technicolor Creative Services (TCS) in West Drayton. TCS also made the grade for Momentum Pictures' Penelope, directed by Mark Palansky and shot by Michel

PFL: enhanced the cinematic look on Leningrad

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UK

live and let DI

Pepper: lower-end DI on Nick Broomfield’s Battle for Haditha Amathieu, Vantage Point, directed by Pete Travis and shot by DP Amir Mokri, and Closing The Ring, the Lord Attenborough directed feature lensed by Roger Pratt BSC for The Weinstein Company.

Over in the US, FotoKem, one of the most respected names in feature film post, has recently became the first DI facility in Hollywood to acquire a Quantel Pablo 4K with the new Stereoscopic 3D option. It is FotoKem's fifth Pablo system and will be used to perform DI grading, editing and compositing on stereoscopic 3D special venue films, such as IMAX titles, and the increasing number of studio features being produced in 3D. South Africa is a hotbed of film production and post (as we will discover in the next edition). Capetown's Digital Intermediate Film Company recently brought the first Scratch DI system from Assimilate into the country, where it was used on a commercial for car-maker Auris. This was the first commercial shot in South Africa with a Panavision Genesis delivering RGB 4:4:4 output. The assemble/edit, conform,

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colour grading and finishing were all done in Scratch, with effects created at Pudding Telecine Service in Johannesburg.

News from Liege in Belgium is that post-production house HoverlorD has unveiled a purpose-built DI theatre, employing FilmLight's scanning and colour grading technology. The key components are a Northlight scanner, capable of scanning at resolutions up to 6K, and a Baselight 4 colour grading system, which will be used for mastering feature films, TV series and documentaries for theatrical and broadcast release.

Hoverlord's CEO Louis-Philippe Capelle, a cinematographer and the newly-appointed general secretary of IMAGO, said: “This was a very big investment for us. We wanted to offer more than digital post services and this allows us to provide DI for film-originated projects.” HoverlorD has forged a close collaboration with the Paris-based film laboratory Éclair to provide film processing and laser film transfer services for its clients. HoverlorD also provides compositing and graphics services and recent projects include Afghanistan: The choice

Hoverlord: is owned and run by DP Louis-Philippe Capelle of the women, a documentary by Hadja Lahbib (with Capelle as DP), and Restless by Israeli director Amos Kollek, which just made a splash at the Berlin Film Festival.

Over in Munich, CinePostproduction has extended its DI capacities recently. For scanning it offers Spirit DataCine and ARRIScanners for up to 6K and film sizes up to Vistavision, plus Lustre and Baselight grading equipped with Barco DP90P digital cinema projectors. The company has also concentrated on creating a smooth workflow between its film and digital labs. Current DI projects include Buddenbrooks (Bavaria Film/Warner), lensed by Gernot Roll, DP of the Oscar-winning production Nowhere in Africa.

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INTERNATIONAL

Sharing the honours There Will Be Blood DP Robert Elswit ASC, who emerged as the Academy Award winner for achievement in cinematography after a highly competitive season, suggests that next year a new category might be needed: “Best Cinematography in a film photographed by Roger Deakins.”

Rounding out the Oscar category, which mirrored the ASC feature competition, and which Elswit also topped, were double nominee Roger Deakins ASC BSC (No Country for Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and Seamus McGarvey, BSC (Atonement), writes Carolyn Giardina.

Deakins double Deakins is the first director of photography to receive two Academy Award nominations in cinematography in the same year since 1971, when Robert Surtees was nominated for The Last Picture Show and Summer of '42. Deakins also won acclaim for lensing Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah. At the Oscars, the Deakins-lensed No Country earned best picture, and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen additionally won trophies for direction and adapted screenplay. Javier Bardem won supporting actor for the film. Acting honors went to Daniel Day Lewis, Marion Cotilliard and Tilda Swinton.

Prior to the Academy Awards ceremony, Elswit related that he, along with Tony Gilroy and Paul Thomas Anderson, got some Oscar tips from George Clooney. “When they announce the winner and it's not you, there's a special way you have to clap,” Elswit explains. “We've all been practicing it.”

As it turned out, Elswit didn't require this new skill.

The Academy Awards were again held at the Kodak Theater at Hollywood & Highland. The Grand Ballroom at the complex was the site for the annual Governors Ball, as well as the site (a few weeks earlier) for the ASC Awards. The night before the ASC Awards, a nominees dinner was held at the ASC Clubhouse.

Kodak hosted a dinner for the Oscar nominees on the eve of the Academy Awards, providing plenty of time to catch up with fellow cinematographers.

“I think it is about the best year I can remember for films,” Deakins says. “We tend to know each other quite well through the ASC. We are competitors, but we are also good friends. I want everybody else to do their best work. You really admire them for doing that work and it stimulates your own work in a way.”

No Country and Jesse James produced Deakins' sixth and seventh Oscar nominations. Previously, he earned nominations for Coen Brothers films' The Man Who Wasn't There, O Brother, Where Art Thou, and Fargo, as well as Kundun and The Shawshank Redemption. Deakins discussed the different looks of No Country and Jesse James. “No Country was much more of a sort of contemporary Western. I saw it more in the vane of a Sam Peckinpah movie. It was a much more brutal, simply told tale, whereas Jesse James was more reflective, melancholy atmosphere of the west as it was. It was a period piece, but we didn't want it to be like a conventional period piece. We wanted to draw the audience into that time.”

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f-stop hollywood

Noms: (l-r) Oscar-nominated cinematographers Seamus McGarvey BSC, Roger Deakins ASC, BSC, and Robert Elswit ASC, enjoy some time together at the annual Kodak dinner honoring Academy Award-nominated cinematographers.

Elswit won top honors the following evening. (Not present but also nominated, Janusz Kaminski for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly).

“It's great for Joel and Ethan,” he adds regarding the success of No Country. “They've done so many interesting movies.”

That Steadicam shot!

First time nominee McGarvey's work on Atonement included what may have been the year's most discussed single shot: the ambitious 5-minute, 20-second Steadicam shot of the Dunkirk retreat during World War II. The shot, executed on location at Redcar beach in Yorkshire, follows three characters, and in doing so, reveals the enormity of the retreat. The Dunkirk scene included roughly 1,500 cast, crew and extras. Due to budget constraints, they only had one day to shoot the scene, which prompted the decision to do the Steadicam shot in an effort to save time.

“But also we realised that the Steadicam's floating nature would give it a ghostly perspective," McGarvey adds.

The desired light was at the end of the day. So the crew captured the shot, executed by A-camera/Steadicam operator Peter Robertson, in 90 minutes on the third take. McGarvey explains: “We had to experience the grandeur, but also shift perspective into an objective point of view so that the camera would become a protagonist as well as a witness to the grander stuff.”

Kaminski previously won Oscars for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, and earned an additional nomination for Amistad.

Diving Bell had a successful year, having won honours, including an award for cinematography at Cannes and the Golden Frog at Camerimage.

extent realistically lit, that during the day, the light that was coming in was illuminating the space.The challenge was to illuminate the movie without it feeling like it was illuminated,” he says. To light the early scene with the mine accident, he explains, he used “a couple of large lights aiming down through a couple of defusers and a tiny bit of reflective light inside.”

Elswit also commented on the strong year for cinematography.

“You can make a list of movies that weren't nominated that were extraordinary,” he says. “It was an incredibly strong year, which makes it even more astounding that Roger Deakins got two nominations. There's sort of him, and everybody else. He really is so unique.”

ASC Awards At the ASC Awards this year, Walter Lassally was presented the ASC International Award. Additionally, the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed on Stephen H. Burum, the ASC Presidents Award was presented to visual effects pioneer Richard Edlund, and the ASC Board of Governors Award went to actress Annette Bening. George Spiro Dibie received the ASC Career Achievement in Television Award. The ASC Laszlo Kovacs Heritage Award, a student award that is rededicated annually to the memory of a cinematographer who has made an indelible impression on the art of filmmaking, was presented by Vilmos Zsigmond. He said: "Laszlo was one of the most talented cinematographers of our times. He will never be forgotten, because he was a great artist who helped so many other people's dreams come true.

Julien Schnabel's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is based on the memoir of journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke that left him essentially paralysed, with the exception of one eyelid. He learned to communicate by blinking, and he used this method to write his book. Point-of-view shots using elements such as selective focus showed the events as seen by Bauby.

Elswit had a strong year, having lensed Blood as well as a second Oscar best picture nominee, Michael Clayton.

Discussing Blood, Elswit credits the visual contribution of production designer Jack Fisk for , “the creation of that whole little universal - the town, the church - so beautifully on this ranch in Texas. We really found the visual style of the movie by wandering through this place.”

The majority of the film was shot at the location, anamorphic, and the movie was finished photochemically. Of director Paul Thomas Anderson's approach to Blood, Elswit adds, “Paul responds to shooting motion picture film on location in preprep and talking about it. … It's a very organic way of (working). He wants to see it on film.”

Elswit says a key was to make it look credible, and the director wanted the lighting to be “realistic, but with a strong theatrical quality.”

Explains Elswit: “For Paul, it was feeling that it was to some

Joe SOC’s it to ‘em: The Society of Camera Operators’ Board of Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement in the motion picture industry was be presented to Joe Dunton (CEO JDC Cameras; VP Panavision, Inc.). He collected his award on February 16th at the presentation and reception, which took place at the Goldenson Theater of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Hollywood. His simple sporting of 3D glasses provoked a wave of spontaneous applause and laughter.

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INTERNATIONAL

letter from america

S t e v e n Po s t e r A S C s a y s t h a t l o o k i n g a t l i g h t i s a n e t e r n a l occupational hazard for cinematographers.

The Subject is Light The Subject is Light. That was the title of a video about my mentor Charles Potts.

Charlie was the head of the photography department at the Pasadena Art Center, College of Design. He taught me that it was more important to learn how to see, truly see, light, than it was to learn to light. Charlie used the simplest of objects - a sphere, a cylinder, a block - all painted white, to demonstrate how to see light in all its infinite varieties. As he moved mundane light sources - a flashlight, a match, an everyday light bulb - in and out, this angle and that, around the sphere, cylinder and block, I was so profoundly moved by this simple exercise that I have never lost the sense of wonder I felt at that moment.

At the time that Charlie taught me, we were learning on 4x5 View Cameras. It was before the development of the Panaflex, and the old Mitchell BNC cameras were the motion picture cameras of the day. Much has changed in the tools we use to capture the images we do, but how we see the light has remained constant. I just finished a movie using the Panavision Genesis cameras, and curiously, I can tell you, with complete confidence and assurance, that I did not see the light one bit differently than I did with me and Charlie, a flashlight, a match, a sphere, a cylinder and a block.

The method of capturing the image is transitory, and will continue to change. The light is eternal.

Fraternally, Steven Poster ASC National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600

He showed me that there were five elements that always existed every time a single source of light fell on an object. Those were the highlight side, the shadow side, the core or the space between the highlight and the shadow, the cast shadow and the incident highlight. These elements exist even if they are not visible to the viewer. Then he rocked me off of my feet with the simplest of statements, “There are only two kinds of light; when it's sunny or when it's cloudy, direct or indirect light.

S o m e t i m e s m y w i f e w i l l s a y, “ Yo u ’ r e l o o k i n g a t t h e l i g h t a g a i n , a r e n’ t y o u ? ” S h e ’ s u s u a l l y r i g h t . I generally respond that she is the light of my life.

Charlie taught me, showed me that light is a law of nature, as immutable as gravity. I have never seen light in the same way since that moment. I was forever changed, enlightened, as it were, in how I perceived light.

Charlie showed me how to achieve a myriad of effects with almost any single light source.

Whether using the sun or a match, an inky or an 18K HMI, I learned to see, to sense, and eventually almost to intuit the effect of light on the photographic object.

Sine that time the habits I learned from Charlie have never left me. To this day I consciously perceive light differently than most people do, as I suspect all good cinematographers, photographers and visual artists do.

Sometimes when Susan, my wife and I are out dinner somewhere new, she will catch me (in a rare moment) being inattentive and say, “You're looking at the light again, aren't you?” She's usually right. I generally respond that she is the only light I see, the light of my life, but we both know what I'm up to. It's an occupational hazard.

What I hope to bring to this discussion, is the reminder to practice, practice, practice seeing light until we no longer just see it, we feel it.

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imago

Nigel starts making plans for IMAGO A new president of IMAGO, the Federation of European Cinematographers, was appointed at the organisation's Annual General Meeting in Amsterdam. Nigel Walters BSC, vice-president of the British Society of Cinematographers, was unanimously voted by delegates representing 1,400 cinematographers from 27 European Nations, and by general consent it was the largest and most successful meeting yet held by IMAGO. The outgoing president, Andreas FischerHansen welcomed Romania as a new member. Australian federal president, Ted Rayment ACS, had journeyed from Sydney to represent IMAGO's newest associate member ahead of its 50th anniversary in May. Antonio Riestra was also present on behalf of Mexico. The only nation unable to attend was the Ukraine.

During the course of the meeting praise was lavished on the work of retiring president,

Andreas Fischer Hansen DFF, general secretary Paul-Rene Roestad FNF and vice president Tony Costa AIP. When they took over four years ago IMAGO, with an annual income of €16,000 euros, had accumulated a debt of €150,000 euros. The financial chaos was caused by the publication of the excellent book “Making Pictures”. Thanks to the board's determination IMAGO is now able to update and re-publish the book, free of legal problems, and with the debt virtually eliminated. The past achievements and solid foundations put in place for the future under Andreas Fischer-Hansen were warmly recognised by the assembly.

Imago was founded in 1992 by the cinematographic societies of Italy, France, Germany and the UK. The expectations and hopes of the born-again nations, as they emerged from the darkness which had divided Europe, were met by the cinematographers of the day. IMAGO's founding father Luciano Tovoli AIC was present in Amsterdam.

A priority for the incoming Board is to establish a more sound financial footing. The sponsorship base has to be expanded and the value of a website with 1,400 cinematographers has to be recognised and promoted to advertisers particularly amongst the larger European countries. In his incoming statement of intent, the new president Nigel Walters referred to the original statutes of IMAGO and reflected on how past hopes had been realised. He outlined his vision for the future of IMAGO.

Transcript of speech by Nigel Walters, IMAGO's new president: “Imago exists to promote the activities of cinematographers and our craft. The agreement signed between IMAGO and the Frankfurt Filmmakers Festival, eDIT, has presented IMAGO with a long-term window to promote the art of the European cinematographer. The BSC is organising this year's contribution to eDIT on September 29th. In 2009, the French will take over responsibilities for eDIT on behalf of IMAGO. The British contribution is planned to include a discussion forum, the showing of clips from the current Paul Greengrass film The Green Zone, and a discussion with Barry Ackroyd BSC, Peter Chiew, the VFX supervisor and hopefully the editor and director on the film.

An item on the restoration of 16mm negative film and the work of improving the quality of deteriorating 35mm negative feature films is also planned. Aardman Animation has agreed to contribute a presentation on their work, including latest animated short film.

The IMAGO opposition to the BBC decision to abandon 16mm film was recognised in assisting the BSC. Latest information is that the BBC has recently tested 2- and 3-perf film as a possible solution to the compression issue. The storage cost of film against digital is to be evaluated and promoted using American research as to the true cost difference. (See POV section in this edition.)

Working conditions The task of legislating effectively between countries with different backgrounds, cultures and traditions is a nightmare.

Working conditions in some parts of Europe are appalling and IMAGO is committed to working with the trades unions who alone negotiate national agreements. A committee is being established under Kurt Brazda AAC with the task of communicating with the EU. The Austrians have an agreement from their

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Nigel Walters BSC, new president of IMAGO addressing the AGM in Amsterdam

trades union to pay for funding for a European initiative called “Progress”, which establishes an investigation into working conditions in “suspect” industries. It is hoped that the outcome will to lead to a change in EU legislation. Two supporting artists, plus one lady cinematographer, have been killed in Germany in the past six months. IMAGO's declaration at Camerimage in Lodz needs implementation to protect film workers. We are committed to the Conrad Hall statement that, “the expanding practice of working extreme hours seriously compromises the quality of our work and the health and safety of others.”

Authorship The acceptance of the right of the cinematographer to be recognised as author of his work throughout Europe is a fundamental goal of IMAGO. In Italy five cinematographers including Vittorio Storaro are currently involved in litigation against their collecting rights society. They are challenging the collector's rights denial that they are the authors of their work. In Spain they are taking the political approach through legislation. Soon there may be a majority of European countries that recognise the rights of the cinematographer to be recognised as the authors of their work. The IMAGO publication of the model contract has to be taken further. IMAGO is the only organisation capable of enforcing European legislation, which eventually will benefit the UK. IMAGO has a responsibility to ensure that all cinematographers realise the benefits of joining collective rights societies. (This issue will be address in future issues of British Cinematographer magazine).

It has been an amazing year for European cinematographers. Four of the five Oscar nominations are IMAGO members. Our

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INTERNATIONAL

imago

cultural diversity can be our strength. BAFTA members voted for La Vie en Rose, Das Leben des Anderes, Atonement and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Finally there appears to be an appreciation in Britain of European cinema. The success of 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 Days has firmly introduced Europe to the capability of the Romanian film industry. Europe now makes more films than the USA. Fact!

Wo r k i n g conditions in some parts of Europe are appalling and I M AG O i s committed to working with the trades unions who alone negotiate national agreements.

There is much to be done in Europe, but cinematography does not cease at our borders. India, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Cuba are our associates. Soon we expect the new Society in New Zealand to join. The fellowship of worldwide cinematographers will no longer be a fantasy.

However noble the dream of worldwide cooperation there remains much to do in Europe. The pressures from productions are increasing. As creative workers we are under siege in the constant search for cheap labour.

Today's Romania may become tomorrow's Turkey. The explosion of film academies throughout Europe is creating unemployment and serving producers by keeping wages lower.

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Fellowship: IMAGO members gathered at the 2008 AGM in Amsterdam, hosted by the NSC.

Inspiration The IMAGO Masterclass Committee is to hold a three-day seminar for young cinematographers in Copenhagen this September. We are searching for “master” cinematographers to assist this project, named ”Inspiration”. (If you are reading this item, and believe you fit the bill, contact please contact IMAGO now.)

Communication must be improved if we are to survive, promote appreciation of our craft and to grow into a truly effective federation.

The awakening giant of Russia must be encouraged to fulfil its rightful role, and come forward with cinematographers of distinction. Germany must re-join IMAGO as soon as possible. Europe without Germany makes as much sense as Germany without Europe.

IMAGO will continue to support the Manaki Brothers Film Festival in Macedonia, the world's oldest camera festival, as well as Camerimage. An important function of IMAGO's technical committee is to ensure that standards are set in areas such as the standard resolution of a “digital camera.” A

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

proposal has been formulated to initiate standardisation of a digital film negative, so that material can be treated at any digital lab.

The committee led by Kommer Klijn EDCF is seeking to establish communication with equipment manufacturers for IMAGO to test and improve new equipment.

Old prejudices must be cast aside.

Technological advances must be made to work for us and not dictate to us. Most of our members work in film for television. We must recognise good cinematography, whether it is for the big screen, the screens becoming increasingly larger in our homes, or the smaller ones many are now walking around with.

The future is dependent upon the generosity of sponsors in supporting the efforts of IMAGO to promote the art of cinematography. The main priorities of the incoming presidency are the implementation of the model contract, the recognition of authorship rights and the improvement of working conditions. Sanity must be restored to this industry.”

Nigel Walters would like to thank Bastiaan Houtkooper, president of the NSC, and the NSC members, for hosting such a successful AGM in Amsterdam. Thanks also to Cristina Busch, IMAGO's legal advisor. Along with Holland, the smaller nations of Europe, including Hungary, Portugal, Norway and Denmark, have done IMAGO proud in recent years. It is now time for the larger countries to take the lead.

IMAGO's new board is…

President: Nigel Walters BSC General Secretary: Louis-Philippe Capelle SBC Joint Vice Presidents: Tony Costa AIP, Ivan Tonev BAC Board Members: Robert Alazraki AFC, Kurt Brazda AAC, Paul-Rene Roestad FNF. Germany must re-join IMAGO as soon as possible.

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post and techno

X-Factor: former G4 front man Jonathan Ansell was shot using a Red camera

Concrete and Axis shoot first Red camera project Soho-based post production company Concrete collaborated recently with HD camera rental house Axis Films, to create footage for the first music video for X-Factor G4 front man, Jonathan Ansell's debut new single entitled "Now we are free". The video was shot using the new Red One digital cinema camera.

Production took place at the historic Coronet Cinema in London's Notting Hill in January 2008.

The 4K and 2K files from the camera were "digitally

developed" at Concrete, which provided standard definition clips for the offline process and full-quality files for the final online edit and colour grade. The tapeless workflow provided an instant data conform from offline to online and real-time colour grading, thus requiring no further processing or rendering.

"The images from the Red camera were great to grade from.

They initially had a flat feeling, similar to film that had been scanned. However, they contained a rich depth of colour that allowed very accurate colour picking, and this is important for

New Fujinon lens

music videos where it is common to apply a different treatment to the artist's skin tones,” said David Cox, MD at Concrete.

In making the video, Axis Films provided on-set support and accessories for the 4K footage to attain a depth-of-field with a look and feel similar to that of a 35mm film camera. Slow motion shots of the video were also incorporated at 2K. Last year Axis Post became the first European post facility to add Stereoscopic 3D software to its Quantel Pablo iQ system, which is installed at Concrete.

Quantel out in force at NAB 2008 Quantel says it be “out in force” at NAB 2008 with products and innovations in post production and DI. These include Pablo Neo that takes interactive, hands-on colour correction to a new tactile level, and Stereoscopic 3D the company's stereoscopic post production technology. Genetic Engineering, Quantel's radical new approach to teamworking in post production and DI, will be shows with more tools and capabilities to help workflow, along with Final Cut Pro integration.

London boutique post house Pixelfantastic recently purchased a Quantel eQ system. The system, configured with 6 hours of HD-RGB storage, also included Quantel's QColor incontext colour correction option. Pixelfantastic has been established for over 20 years at its Upminster base, from where it provides production and post facilities for commercials, pop promos, blue chip corporates and live event production. Projects completed include names such as Kylie Minogue, David Bowie, Jamelia, Scissor Sisters, Oasis and Lemar.

Powerful: new Fujinon lens designed for optimal use on OB work Fujinon has introduced the EFP studio lens XA88x12.5BESM. The new development offers extreme focal range, and was developed after market research revealed a strong demand in European markets for this type of lens.

The new lens uses Fujinon's most advanced technology. Special attention was paid to achieving superior aperture values and the reduction of colour aberration. The XA88x12.5 can capture shots with high contrast and brilliance. The fixed frontal element and sealed housing, combined with a drying agent, prevent dust contamination and fogging of the internal lens groups. Measuring 59cm in length ,it was designed to ensure easy handling and optimal balance when producing under field conditions. In addition it offers all of the control function advantages of Fujinon's renowned Digi Power technology.

Fujinon's EFP/ENG/Cine product range is used in cinematographic HD production and all segments of television-production, including newsgathering, studio and outside-broadcasting HDTV production.

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Cooke at NAB Cooke Optics, maker of precision lenses for cinematography and ultra high-end photography, will showcase its S4/i series of Prime lenses at NAB 2008. Equipped with Cooke's /i Technology, these lenses are fast, light, and enable film and digital cameras to automatically record key lens and camera data for every film frame shot and provide this to post-production teams digitally.

Companies with equipment now supporting the /i protocol include Aaton, ARRI, Avid, Cinematography Electronics, CMotion, Dalsa, Mark Roberts Motion Control, Preston Cinema Systems, RED, The Pixel Farm and Service Vision. Cooke lenses will also be featured at the exhibit booths of JVC and Aaton, and Cooke's limited edition RED Set of lenses will be on display at the RED booth.

Cooke S4 Prime lenses were used on a range of high-profile productions recently including The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC) American Gangster (Harris Savides ASC), and The Bourne Ultimatum (DP Oliver Wood).

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post and techno

Ianiro's LEDs Make A Big Impact IANILED, the latest LED lighting technology from Ianiro, captured the attention of many of the UK's leading production companies at the recent Broadcast Live show. Business was so brisk claims Ianiro, that the UK's first batch of stock from the Italian manufacturer was completely sold out by the end of the show.

Ooops .......

Our apologies. Picture credits for the images used in our Munich Feature, (edition 25) should have been as follows…

“We are delighted with the interest these products generated,” said Ianiro UK's MD Nick Allen Miles. “Representatives from SKY, At sixes and sevens: new flavours in Ianiro's new LED offering the BBC, and many other top production companies came to see them.”

The IANILED range is the culmination of three years research into correcting the white balance problems that have previously dogged LED technology.

To solve the blue and green bias that makes existing white LEDs look cold, Ianiro has carefully blended latest generation LEDs to create lights that achieve a colour temperature of 5600K - the standard for traditional daylights.

Twister: the new doorway dolly from Panther will be on show at this year's BSC New Equipment Show.

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This is achieved by incorporating a sophisticated microprocessor within a Driver

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

Domino Cube, which allows IANILED products to be dimmable to a constant colour temperature of 5600K, and adjustable towards warmer or cooler tones, depending on the environment and the complexion of the person being filmed or photographed.

Initially targeted at location shooting, the first products available in the new range are the IANILED 6 and IANILED 7 (with six and seven LEDs respectively), and the IANILED 54, which has three individual rings of lights that can be used as one large but flexible light, or split into three lights. Ianiro plans to follow these with a range of studio LED soft lights, which will be introduced during 2008.

Brighter than the sun: (l to r) Prof. Dr. Peter C. Slansky (Munich film university HFF) and Staatsminister Eberhard Sinner, presenting the Cinec Award in 2006 for the ARRIMAX 18/12 to ARRI's Stephanskirchen factory lighting team Erwin Melzner, Timo Müller and Wilhelm Schuster.

Foxy: Panther's Florian Granderath and Herr Fitz are thrilled with their Cinec Award 2006 for the Foxy Advanced Crane.

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gbct

GBCT – The chairman speaks Well, as usual, I'm bashing this out in a hurry, so apologies for that first of all. I'm one of the lucky ones at present, as I'm working, but it seems that it's fairly quiet out there. I don't suppose the writer's strike in America helped in that respect. It seems a shame that the rest of the industry effectively had to go on strike as well in America, and won't benefit one jot from the final outcome. Seems rather selfish to me. Which brings me back to my perennial gripe about DPs that allow themselves to get employed on a busy film or TV show and don't employ a dedicated camera operator on the “A” camera at least. Camera operators are being driven out of this industry because of this.

Please, please, please… have the c o u r a g e t o m a ke your case to the producers and insist that a dedicated camera operator will benefit the production in so many ways.

People are losing their homes because of it. Why do we as a department continue to do precious little about a situation at the heart of our profession? Why do we allow standards of professionalism to be dragged down with the general quality of work? Why do we allow long hard days of work to be even more exhausting by not having a full crew?

camera operator will benefit the production in so many ways.

You know all the arguments, you've heard them before.

Please, please, please, if you are in a position where you are faced with this problem, have the courage and strength to make your case to the producers, and insist that a dedicated

The GBCT has undergone quite a change recently. Dee Edwards is now helping us, with enormous energy, to administer all the business of the guild. So if you need her help

or guidance, please feel free to speak to her in the office. The board is working on a number of projects which we hope to see emerging later this year.

We are very aware that, especially in periods of lull, we have to offer more to the membership, and I would say again that that is reciprocal. We always need feedback and comment. If you have a gripe or a moan, please talk to us about it, because you won't be alone, and your input will help others as well.

On a sad note, the camera department lost one of its dearest allies and friends this month. Roy Moores, who helped so many people in so many ways throughout his life, passed away at his home in Uxbridge on the 5th of February. He was a brilliant camera engineer, and an even more brilliant human being.

And so it goes, and we have to move on. I wish you all luck and hope that the phone keeps ringing for the right reasons.

Jamie Harcourt GBCT Chairman GBCT

Blu-ray wins the battle in high tech homes It was billed as the 21st-century equivalent of the fight between Betamax and VHS video tapes. The year-long war for domination of our home entertainment has now been won by Sony's Blu-ray disc system over the rival Toshiba and the HD-DVD. The deciding moment came when Warner Bros announced it was backing Blu-ray over HD-DVD. Despite being supported by Universal and Paramount, Toshiba ultimately knew at that point the battle was lost.

The defection from HD-DVD in January 2008

by Warner Brothers and its huge film library led to the tally of Blu-ray Hollywood movies commanding a domination of 70 per cent. Bluray has accounted for 93 per cent of nextgeneration DVD hardware sales since Warner's announcement last month, so it had reached a “critical mass” of consumer pressure. Toshiba said it has sold just over one million HD-DVD players - all of which will eventually become obsolete, of course, although it will be at least a year before HDDVD format films disappear from the shop shelves.

The main losers will be those people who took

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a great leap of faith and who bought an expensive HD-DVD only recorder or laptop computers. Whilst many players were actually produced as dual format machines that would play both formats, one format would ultimately dominate the market. There was not the room for two formats. Consumers can now stop holding back waiting to see which system would ultimately dominate, and that time has now arrived. Consumers can now safely choose a new high-definition DVD player without running the risk of being caught out with an expensive box that is not supported by any future content.

Ironically the biggest victors will also be ordinary shoppers who buy films as home entertainment. It has been clear for several years that the future of home viewing is on a flat screen and it's the new high-definition format which offers cinema-quality sound and pictures. So the writers strike and DVD sales profits have all been decided within a week of each other, which is quite tidy.

Experts now say that the final conclusion of the Blu-ray versus HD-DVD debate should now stimulate sales of both DVDs and DVD players, and ultimately lead to a drop in prices.

ISSUE 26

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Strike out: images from the recent writers' strike, showing America Ferrara (centre), one of the stars of Ugly Betty, outside Raleigh Studios, where the show is taped.

Also, Michael Winship, the president of the Writers Guild of America East, in conversation at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

US Writers strike

– what can be learned?

The American writers strike is now finally over after over three months of acrimonious negotiations and halted productions. The strike has brought most television production to a halt, forced the postponement of studio blockbusters and thrown tens of thousands of people out of work. The union went on strike on Nov. 5, 2007 and this was the first industrywide strike since the writers walked out back in 1988.

That strike lasted over five months and cost the industry an estimated $500 million. A huge sum in 1988 and is even greater in 2008 after 20 years is extrapolated to the present day.

It is no surprise then that this deal was finalised just before the American Academy Awards ceremonies were about to take place. A removal of global TV rights revenue and advertising revenue meant that it would have been extremely surprising if the awards ceremony hadn't taken place as planned. The only winners would have been the lawyers, who I am sure would have made a great living out of the ensuing lawsuits if the awards hadn't gone ahead.

What did it cost?

The strike centred on, among other things, writers' demands for a large increase in pay for movies and television shows released on DVD, and for a bigger share of the revenue from such work delivered over the Internet. Producers argue that companies like the News Corporation's Fox studio and network or General Electric's NBC and Universal Pictures operations must use new revenue to cover rising costs.

six-day work weeks and long hours to produce the number of episodes requested by the networks. What's new there then???

Rates of pay and hours worked now seem to be a constant source of discussion and some increasing annoyance. Many camera crews are asked to work longer hours and get paid less than they were paid over 10 years ago, yet film budgets and profits for the producers and actors seem to escalate exponentially. It seems the people at the top take all of the credit and profit while the people actually sweating over the making of the film are receiving less and less each year in real terms, it seems.

It would be a very pleasant surprise indeed if the share of the profits was somehow shared between the whole crew that worked on a production. If the writers have now gained a deserved percentage of future media rights, then maybe this can be extended to crews too. I wont hold my breath waiting for it to happen, but maybe one day I hope the camera crews are recognised for their contribution to a production, and either be paid significantly more on a daily basis or possibly share in the profits, albeit a small fraction of a percentage. We all have to think of our futures and the future of the whole film business.

The average working writer in Hollywood it is said takes home about $200,000 a year according to the studios and networks, which are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. But everything is relative. Writers compare their pay with those of many actors, directors and studio executives and see a need for a major re-alignment.

They are, after all the originators of the idea that makes the film in the first place, and without writers there would be no film. However, according to the Writers Guild, guild-covered writer earnings have risen at less than half the rate of entertainment industry profits.

Still, the question remains for the writers: will the future digital revenues they won be worth the pain endured in these past few months? In addition to this, what can camera crews learn from this, if anything? Series including "NCIS" and "CSI: NY" have been asked to produce seven new episodes this spring. That means writers working 12-13 hours a day, seven days a week, and casts and crews most likely switching to

ISSUE 26

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

BBC1's New Tricks camera department: (l to r) camera trainee James Chesterton, camera car driver Santi Martinez, focus puller Jonathan Earp, guest DP Nic Morris BSC, grip Terry Pate, clapper loader Gabriel Hyman, and camera operator Jamie Harcourt

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Polecam is 'Called to the North' Here's an account by Steffan Hewitt, the inventor and owner of the award-winning Polecam, during a twoweek trip to the Canadian Arctic for National Geographic filming walrus.

Polecam details For those who do not know, Polecam is a lightweight, portable jib-arm and broadcast camera system with a 1 to 6m reach, weighing a maximum of 22 kg, which packs away into two bags with a carrying weight of just 35 kg. The average rig time is just 10 minutes, with de-rig in 5 - and it requires no setup tools. Smooth, floating crane shots can be made quickly and efficiently with fast relocation, and it provides innovative and unique shots where often other cranes cannot go, enhancing the production values for virtually any type of programme.

The boom is made from lightweight carbon fibre tubes, which slot easily together. It can be rigged using from one to five tubes, with or without the unique elbow joint which can be used to get up and over obstacles.

The camera used on the Polecam was the Ikegami HDL-20.

This is a remote head 2 x 2/3” camera with a 1080i HD-SDI output. A potential drawback with this camera is that 2/3” cmount, prism corrected lenses are extremely rare. Polecam make a 7.5mm lens but a requirement was for a wider field of view than this. The only other lens available was the 4.8mm lens from Fujinon specifically made for this camera. However, it has a price tag of approx £5,000. Unfortunately there were no lenses available in Europe for rent but the nice people at Fujinon were very helpful and understanding and agreed to loan Polecam a lens from the factory in Japan. It was awesome piece of glass, super-wide with negligible distortion.

To record the signal a Panasonic AJHD130dc DVC-Pro HD portable recorder was used. This is one of very few high

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quality 12V HD recorders available. The Polecam would be run from PAGlok 8Ah NiMH100 batteries, four in total, charged from a Quasar charger. CP Cases had custom made thermal covers for the batteries and the electronics on the back-end of the Polecam. The Panasonic portable DVC-ProHD recorder (AJHD130dc) was run from Cinepower Mega-D batteries whose charger very cleverly heats the batteries before charging them. This helps the battery attain max power in all temperature conditions.

The background to the film

where there was a small abandoned, and recently polar bear molested, cabin. Cabin is a very loose word. It was quite literally 4 walls and a roof with nothing else. No electrics, no heating, no running water or sanitation.

The first night, the 5 man crew settled down in their 5x3m cabin, sleeping on Caribou skins, thermarest mattresses and sleeping bags. The Coleman stoves and lamps, powered by naptha, were the only source of light and heat. The next day saw a spectacular sunrise but the wind was up and there was no way that the boats were going to make the 7 mile journey

Adam Ravetch of Arctic Bear Productions saw Polecam at the Wildscreen Show in Bristol, and specifically recalled a shot of the start of an Iron Man Triathlon with Polecam in a boat and all the swimmers running from the beach into the water and under the Polecam. This is what he needed for National Geographic's feature film 'Call of the North'.

'I have worked in the Arctic since 1998 filming walrus etc. and the logistics of taking a crane up there are impossible. Just getting it to the location would be a nightmare but then having to move it….well forget it. We tried it once, spent thousands of dollars, too much time and what did we get…a big fat zero!'

'The Polecam was going to be the answer to our problems but we needed HD quality. The standard definition wouldn't cut the mustard when put alongside 16mm film. Now with the Ikegami HDL-20, there was an opportunity to realise the shot I have had in my mind for the past 5 years.'

The shoot Steffan flew with his Polecam to Ottawa, Canada, changed planes and onward to Iqaluit and another change on to Igloolik (yes it's a real place!) After 2 hours, the 5 man crew consisting of Steffan & Adam along with three Inuit guides, Pukik, Sam & Laimiki arrived at a small deserted coastline

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across the water to the South Iqaluit which was now shrouded in a dark black cloud. Steffan was relieved, the first nights sleep was not great. The temperature had dropped to -15 degrees Celcius and the bed was not exactly that comfortable.

All equipment lived outdoors at all times. There was a second tent for all the kit if the weather really closed in. The kit could never come in to the main tent as the humidity from the stoves would have 'killed' the equipment instantly. Polecam had already been used for the World Cup Skiing events so was tried and tested in those conditions. What was different was not having a lovely warm crew room or hotel room to charge all the batteries. Adam ran the Arri SRII from one-shot lithiums, years of experience at very low temperatures had showed him that lithiums were the best. But, the power requirements of an Arri SRII, compared to a Polecam with a portable HD recorder were very different.

After 3 days of being holed up and lots of stories being told, it was then time to move the 60 cases of equipment. An Arri 16 mm SRII film camera, film stock, Panasonic Varicam and its underwater housing, a complete Polecam system, food, fuel and a small 1kW generator (used only for charging batteries), were loaded on to the two boats and the team set off to the Island of South Iqaluit.

Even from 7 miles away, they could see what looked like a large stretch of shingle beach, washed clean of snow by the storm, but as the boats got closer Adam and the guides soon changed their mind. This was a 1km stretch of beach covered by approximately 2,000 walrus.

A 1km hike across the island with Polecam on his shoulder was the start of the filming day for Steffan. From this distance the unique smell of the walrus was wafting over the snow.

Pukik was happy, the team were downwind of the walrus so the approach was made much easier.

Adam explained to Steffan that one shot he was looking for was a reveal of the walrus over the cliff. He wanted the camera to skim across the snow and over the 4m cliff to reveal the walrus herd. This all had to be set-up and achieved without the walrus getting any sight of the team. On hands and knees edging forward through the snow Steffan reversed the Polecam up to the edge of the cliff. The recorder was fired up, the camera exposure checked and the Polecam made its

first journey across the snow and over the edge to reveal the walrus.

Adam was already wriggling in the snow with joy but it only got better. After a few more goes at the same the walrus didn't seem too bothered so off the Polecam went again. This time at high speed across the snow and then up high in the air. This did startle the herd and when 200 walrus, who have been snuggling together for warmth get going, a cloud of walrus steam started to rise and momentarily the picture went white.

After a while the crew moved over to a gulley and by slowly edging forwards over about an hour the Polecam was able to get within a metre of a dozing walrus. The sun was dropping rapidly and with it the light. The team had to get back across the island to the camp. A few bits of cheese and some peanut butter biscuits as well as a good dose of adrenaline for Steffan (having nearly slipped off the cliff and onto the walrus from a snow fall) and everyone was tired and hungry.

After another freezing night there was a breakfast of bacon butties, followed by another long hike back over to the other side of the island. The wind was now blowing from behind now. We were downwind of the herd.

The guides were not happy. By the time we got there a lot of the walrus had left but there were still a few small groups on the beach. Steffan & Laimiki spent an hour just getting 20m to the beach and then another 2 hours slowly edging forward inch by inch to get closer to the herd. 50m in two hours, it put a new definition to the word patience.

This time ground level shots were required. It became apparent to Steffan and Laimiki as they edged forward that as soon as the boom went above 1m in height that the animals became nervous. This didn't make it any easier but slowly slowly they edged forward. Some of the juveniles were in the water and were fascinated with the Polecam but still very wary. The adults slept, grunted and farted but always had one eye on the camera. The Polecam was now able to reach to within 3m of the herd and starting to get interesting shots across the shingle and out over the water when something on the cliff startled the herd and in 30 seconds the whole lot were in the water and gone. Steffan stood up, legs numb and covered in walrus sh*t, despondent. 'It's the way it goes' said Adam.

Don't forget he had just spent 6 weeks staking out a colony on Manning Island to film a bear kill and got nothing. It's the way it is.

The next day and the Polecam was mounted to the front of the aluminium boat, still at a full 6m reach and this time the team were off to film walrus swimming in the water, hopefully to get a mother and calf together. Flat and overcast, the light was not great but in the arctic you take what you can get.

Then Adam said that first of all he wanted his 'triathlon' shot, the walrus coming off the beach and into the water with the Polecam above them.

The boats headed round to the other side of the island. This time there were even less walrus but the guides eventually found a herd of perhaps 60-70 animals and approached the shore at a 45 degree angle. The camera got to within 5m and then the herd started moving off into the water. Everywhere Steffan put the camera the frame was filled with walrus, some reaching up to the camera. Steam, tusks and a lot of splashing, it was perfect.

Having spent nearly 2 weeks travelling and on location, filmed a total of two hours of material, the Polecam footage was used in the final film for the autumn sequence. With the arrival of new HD cameras and smaller recorders the door is now well and truly open for Polecam to enter the world of Natural History as well as film. Light, portable and unobtrusive, Polecam produced shots that were in the past just not possible. The 'FishFace' a fully submersible Polecam head was a great success as the camera could shoot below water down to 10m below the surface.

For further details on Polecam visit www.polecam.com, and for Adam Ravetch visit www.arcticbearproductions.com

The GBCT section is written and compiled by John Keedwell GBCT ISSUE 26

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in remembrance

David Watkin BSC 23rd March 1925-19th February 2008 David Watkin, who has died of prostate cancer aged 82, won an Oscar for his work on Out of Africa (1985), but in the years prior to that built his reputation through collaborations with some of the key directors behind the dazzlingly innovative last hurrah of British cinema in the 1960s and early '70s - Richard Lester, Tony Richardson and Ken Russell among them.

A frustrated musician, Watkin learned his cinema craft with the documentary film unit of the Southern Railway, becoming director of photography during the 1950s when that department was taken over by British Transport Films. That grounding, and shooting commercials, gave him a technical and stylistic edge, which appealed to up and coming directors looking to break conventions.

He moved into features with Richard Lester, making films that not only epitomised the Swinging 60s but also caught the mood of changing political and social attitudes, including The Knack and How to Get It (1965), How I Won the War (1967) and The Bed Sitting Room (1969). Help! (1965) was full of colour and extreme camera angles, showing the

exuberance and audacity of both director and DP. Their later collaborations, including The Three Musketeers (1974) and Robin and Marian (1976), were no less restrained, but showed a greater maturity.

Tony Richardson's The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) was flashy, and Watkin's growing mastery of colour helped form the parallel between the complacency of the English ruling classes and the brutality of military life. Watkin made two films with Ken Russell, the director's controversial masterpiece The Devils, with the photography accentuating the hysteria of the story, and The Boy Friend (both 1971), which aped the film musicals of the 1930s.

Watkin made his first American film in 1970, Mike Nichol's version of Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, but it was not until the 1980s that he worked more extensively in the US. Hollywood no doubt enjoyed his eccentricities - he was prone to take naps between takes, and even the notoriously difficult Barbra Streisand endured his bluntness when, during Yentil (1983), he tapped her

Roy Moores

I will leave it to others to list his technical achievements and brilliant engineering abilities. Suffice it to say that he was capable of just about anything when it came to designing, building, adapting or repairing anything to do with a film camera or projector.

I am so glad that I kept in touch with Roy especially after his wife Betty died. He missed her terribly, and was always so grateful to see his friends and colleagues at reunions and dinners. I tried to see him every now and again at his home in Uxbridge, and he would always offer me a meal or a cup of tea with the television buzzing away in the background. I wish I had recorded stories of his escapades on

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His down-to-earth sense of humour is also shown by a slogan he came up with at the 2004 International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, the year he received the Lifetime Achievement Award there: "One tries not to fuck it up."

Even his technical innovations reflected his zestfulness. The array of lights consisting of up to 200 bulbs, suspended from a crane at heights of 150 feet, creating a powerful but natural-looking source of light with realistic shadows, was known as the Wendy Light. Everyone knew him as Wendy and everyone knew he was gay, something he never hid.

Among his other significant shoots were Chariots of Fire (1981), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Hamlet (1990) and Tea with Mussolini (1991), making for a body of work that brought him seven awards, mostly from BAFTA and the BSC, and ten nominations, as well as his Oscar. He will be sorely missed, but fondly remembered. Kevin Hilton.

Ronnie Fox-Rogers

1927-2008 What a lovely man! You can tell that I am a bit in awe of Roy, which is hardly surprising when, like me, you are talking about the man who gave you your first job in the camera department at the age of eighteen, and who remained a mentor and friend for 38 years.

nose and said, "I can see we're going to have a lot of trouble with that."

Camera Operator/DoP various pictures around the world.

They were peppered with the names of the giants of the movies and exotic locations around the world.

I don't think it is exaggerating to say he was a genius with his hands and a milling machine. His technical skills, honed at EMI and Technicolor, were legendary, and many filmmakers, including Stanley Kubrick, would come to Roy time and again to develop all kinds of things to help them make a better picture.

His development in the 1970s of his own blimped reflex camera, the “Reflex M� and his work on front projection rigs, both 35mm and Vistavision, plus his adaptation of Vistavision cameras for effects and plate photography were brilliant.

He was awarded BSC Bert Easey technical award, and the GBCT David Lenham award for excellence. To his daughter Maria and her sons Justin and Darren, Suzie and I send sincerest condolences. Jamie Harcourt.

It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my brother, Ronnie Fox-Rogers. He was 76. Ronnie started in the business in the mid-Fifties as a 'clapper-boy' working on, among others, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, Tiger Bay, and Tarzan's Greatest Adventure.

As a 1st AC he worked on many features and commercials with John Wilcox, Freddie Francis, and Dicky Dickinson, most notably Night Must Fall, Alfie, City of the Dead, The Black Torment and The Devil's Daffodil. He made his break as camera operator in 1968 with Walter Lassally on Joanna and continued with him on to The Adding Machine and Le Mans. Later, he operated on The Kitchen Toto, When Dinsosaurs Ruled the Earth, and several second-camera and action-unit engagements on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Superman - The Movie, The Bride, Shaka Zulu, and Tai-Pan. His last film as operator was with Vernon Layton on McVicar.

In the early Eighties, at that time DP'ing documentaries for Sunset & Vine Productions, Ronnie took advantage of an opportunity as resident DP for Gough-Nurock

Productions in Johannesburg. He stayed in the city for a year and then returned to England. However, he found the industry was changing beyond recognition, and not at all to his liking. So he chose early retirement - to Bognor Regis, of all places - where he lived contentedly selling antique bric-a-bracs and shooting the occasional commercial and 2nd-units, until he developed the ominous symptoms of Alzheimer's.

After a year or two his condition worsened considerably, until there was no alternative but to put him into a nursing home. Having developed a chest infection just after Christmas, he succumbed to it in the afternoon of January 30 last.

Ronnie was one of the industry's unique characters. Darkly attractive, a cool dresser with a superb physique - which he never lost.

He was blessed with an extraordinary sense of humour and the ability to charm the pants off anyone. He is survived by his wife, Yvonne, daughter, Rochelle, treasured sonin-law, George, three grandchildren, myself, and his devoted nieces, Michele (Plummy) and Danielle. Mike Fox.

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

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ISSUE 26

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER