British Cinematographer - Issue 32

ISSUE

32

MARCH 2009

AND THE WINNER IS ...

ALSO INSIDE … #24: CAMERA CREATIVE - SEAMUS McGARVEY BSC ASC ON THE SOLOIST

#14: SHOOTING THE FUTURE - A GUIDE TO THE BSC NEW EQUIPMENT SHOW

#22: ON THE JOB - DAVID HIGGS BSC ON THE EXPERIENCES OF SHOOTING LESBIAN VAMPIRE KILLERS AND NINETEEN EIGHTY THREE

#30: LETTER FROM AMERICA: OVERVIEW OF THE DIGITAL DILEMMA REPORT ON FILM vs DIGITAL ARCHIVING

#10: CLOSE UPS - NINA KELLGREN BSC ON TOURISM IRELAND, CATHERINE DERRY ROGER PRATT BSC ON AND MARCUS THE AND DORIAN GREY, WATERLOO CATHERINEON DERRY SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES MARCUS WATERLOO ON THE SOLITARY LIFE OF CRANES

#21: MEET THE NEW WAVE – CHRISTOPHER ROSS

RRP: £6.00

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 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.

>> C O N T E N T S UK P03 P05 P07 P10 P12 P21 P26 P34

INTERNATIONAL P28 P30 P32

Cover Photograph: Image of Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC, who won the 2009 Oscar for best cinematography for Slumdog Millionaire.

President's Perspective: Sue Gibson BSC on the BSC's latest camera tests Production / Post & Techno News: the latest news concerning cinematographers Who's Shooting Who?: discover which DPs are working where Close-Ups: Nina Kellgren BSC, Catherine Derry & Marcus Waterloo To Live & Let DI: find out who's putting out the DI grades right now Meet The New Wave: Christopher Ross… enjoys a “tuning-fork moment” Syllabus Stories: meet the students being guided by some of the UK's leading cinematographers GBCT News: the chairman's statement, plus other news from the Guild

F-Stop Hollywood: round-up of news from the 2009 awards season Letter from America: The Digital Dilemma report on archiving has shocked many in the US, and might surprise you too IMAGO News: Nigel Walters BSC, president of IMAGO, reports from the 2009 AGM in Bradford

FEATURES P14 P22 P24

Shooting The Future: your guide to the BSC's New Equipment Show 2009 On The Job: David Higgs BSC on Lesbian Vampire Killers and Nineteen Eighty Three Camera Creative: Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC on The Soloist

Photo taken by Christian Geisnæs. www.geisnaesfilm.com

>> Editorial Team

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

Guild of British Camera Technicians – Board Members: Jamie Harcourt (Chairman), Trevor Coop (Immediate Past Chairman), Caroline Sax (Vice Chairman), John Keedwell, Steve Brooke-Smith, Shirley Schumacher, Jane Jackson, Tim Potter (Vice Chairman), Keith Mead, Rupert Lloyd Parry, Jason Coop, Sam Goldie, Suzy McGeachan (Honorary Treasurer)

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).

The International

Bob Fisher has authored 3,000 magazine articles about cinematographers and filmmakers during the past 35 plus years. He has also moderated many panel discussions for both the American Society of Cinematographers and the International Cinematographers Guild.

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

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

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

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

It's been quite a couple of months for cinematography and cinematographers at both ends of the spectrum, and in between too.

On the upside is the stunning success of Slumdog Millionaire, with eight Oscars to its name. Especially thrilling for us is the success of Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC, who is the first British cinematographer, and BSC member, to collect an Oscar since Freddie Frances doubled his own tally in 1990 with an Oscar for Glory.

A hybrid of a production, Slumdog Millionaire embraces film and digital technologies. It features classic and handheld techniques, obtrusive and candid cameras. It had a doubtful start, but went on to be a world-beater. Is there a better example of where cinematography stands today, and the demands it makes on the cinematographer?

Students of cinematography would do well to examine and digest what Dod Mantle says, as well as watch his work.

Always eloquent, and like most other great cinematographers, he is truly mindful of choosing the right tools for the job, whilst not letting them get in the way of the narrative.

At the other end of the spectrum is the allegedly furious outburst of actor Christian Bale towards the cinematographer Shane Hurlbut on the set of Terminator Salvation. Behaviour like this would probably be deemed intolerable in any other business, apart perhaps from a Gordon Ramsey kitchen.

Some have wondered whether the whole f-ing affair was a PR stunt, others believe it was the culmination of a difficult period for the actor. Whatever your opinion on the matter, perhaps the most shocking thing about the incident is that Hurlbut, the cinematographer, was described as a “technician” when the news hit TV and Internet around the world.

And the bit in the middle? The recent independent camera appraisals, which

were undertaken by the BSC. It's a towering achievement in the making, bringing together 26 cameras, of various film and digital flavours, equipment manufacturers, production and postproduction crew.

The aim is not to be an exhaustive technical test, analysing and detailing the minutiae of grain structures and pixel behaviour. That's for somebody else to tackle.

These assessments were originally conceived as a practical guide to the increasing choices available to producers, directors and cinematographers.

However, as Joe Dunton CBE BSC put it, the results will really be for everyone manufacturers, cinematographers, crew, post, trade bodies, studios, anyone in fact with an interest in producing cinematographic content.

They will truly help to clarify what tools are available on set, and what the ramifications are for the backend workflow. Just the ticket.

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president’s perspective

Testing times The BSC's independent Film and Digital Image Evaluations 2009 have been shot and are now well on their way in post production.

in dispatches when the show goes on the road. We are also documenting the production with stills and a “making-of” video, so I must thank those involved in that too.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge everyone involved for their support, from the suppliers of premises, equipment, film stock, crew, students, we have had such tremendous help in putting this all together, not to mention all those BSC members who have given so freely of their time and energy in making this happen.

To those who have offered support, which has not been taken up, and those who may feel they have been overlooked I apologise. It was not our intention to exclude anyone but your offers have been so overwhelming we have had to be very selective regarding which camera systems we decided to test and have limited it to those which are currently being used on productions. We know that in six months or a year's time technology will have moved on but what we hope to provide is a snapshot of what is available now. That is why we have designed and built a set that can be stored and reconstructed for future tests when new cameras, film stocks and digital workflows come along.

It has been a mammoth task of organisation. When we decided to update the tests, which were so successful two years ago, little did I know how much goodwill and appetite there would be to update them.

There have been many planning meetings by the BSC Technical Committee to decide what parameters we would use to test both film and HD cameras in an unbiased way, and then how we could fund the whole operation. Martin Hammond helped us to approach Skillset which has been instrumental in providing funding, and the money it have given us has enabled us to build a set, which we will be able to reproduce at a later date when new cameras and film stocks come along.

The results of the tests will give us considerable insight into the similarities and differences in the growing number of formats available to the cinematographer today, and help to clarify the post production workflows too. The end results will be presented as a series of roadshows around the country, along with case histories from various productions, and hopefully some interesting discussions.

It seems there is great interest globally in understanding how both new, and traditional methods of image acquisition compare. The ASC has been shooting camera tests recently in collaboration with the PGA, which they called their “Camera Assessment Project”. Not only did they assess the image quality of each camera, but also assessed the workflow in post production. It seems we both had the same ideas at the same time, which is some indication of where we are worldwide. I know the BvK has just been shooting its tests and the AFC is about to embark on a similar project . There is a need to pool all our information internationally.

The BSC must thank the following companies for their generosity. Not only have they provided monetary help, but physical and technical support too. Thanks go to: Kodak, Fuji, Sony, Panasonic, ARRI Media, Panavision, Take 2, VMI. On Sight, Filmscape Media, Rogue Element, Panalux, Pinewood Studios, Rosco, Deluxe, Technicolor, Ascent Media, Lee Filters, London College of Communications, Ealing Institute of Media, iLab, The Hat Factory, Concrete, GBCT, Skillset, The Makeup Academy, Kontrol Freax. Thanks also go to the costume and production designers, construction team, the shooting crew, electricians, riggers, not to mention the BSC Technical Committee and the production team.

I am sure there will be many more people who deserve thanks as the tests progress, and will make sure they are mentioned

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Part of the remit for our Skillset bursary is to deliver a product which will be shown nationwide to help inform and educate the industry as a whole in how to work with the various formats available in film and HD production.

As a result there will be a series of presentations around the country, in London, Cardiff, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, and the Screen Academies where we will show these tests along with case histories, explanation of workflows and panel discussions.

As a little light relief from the camera tests I visited the AFC Micro Salon at the beginning of February, which was a delightful experience. I must say it was small but perfectly formed. Held at La Femis, the Film School, not only were eminent cinematographers there but students which added to the “buzz”, and gave the whole place a feeling of great energy.

It was arranged over three floors with lighting and grip equipment downstairs, cameras and lenses on the first floor and presentations in the very well-equipped theatre.

Throughout the two days there were different presentations every twenty minutes, long enough to be informative (even in French), and short enough to whet the appetite. They ranged from digital workflows, the Red camera, 2-perf production and post , and Fuji's Eterna Vivid 160. This year the Belgian Society of Cinematographers was invited to showcase its members' work. Next year the BSC has been invited to guests of honour and present the work of the Society, so get your thinking caps on now.

There is great interest globally in understanding how new and traditional methods of image acquisition compare… and a need to pool all our information internationally

It was mentioned to me the other week that the BSC was set up to be a 'Gentleman's Club' sixty years ago. To some this may be a departure from that format, but I believe the BSC has helped to retain its stature in the industry by being conversant with cutting-edge technology, and helping to educate the next generation of BSC members. But long may we remain “gentlemen” and “women”.

Sue Gibson BSC President British Society of Cinematographers

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production news

Showlight lures BSC and ASC speakers

Oscar win ends 19 year drought

Show and tell: Sue Gibson BSC speaking about the ARRI D-20 at Showlight 2005 Showlight, a colloquium organised once every four years by lighting professionals for lighting professionals, will take place at BBC Scotland, May 16 to 19, 2009. The event brings together delegates with complimentary experiences in film, theatre, TV, event, architectural, manufacturing and training.

Winner: Anthony Dod Mantle backstage at the 2009 Academy Awards with with actress Natalie Portman

Dod Mantle also recently collected awards from the American Society of Cinematographers, BAFTA and Plus Camerimage for Slumdog Millionaire.

Sue Gibson, president of the BSC, said, “Congratulations to

Anthony on his recent wins - you are an inspiration to us all.

The BSC is delighted that after 19 years the Academy has given the award for best cinematography to one of our members.”

Between the wins by Francis and Dod Mantle, BSC members have been nominated 23 times for Academy Awards. This figure includes Roger Deakins BSC ASC who has received eight nominations, including a double nomination in 2007 for No Country For Old Men and The Assassination of Jess James

By The Coward Robert Ford, and a shared nomination between Deakins and Chris Menges BSC ASC for The Reader, which earned Kate Winslet the Oscar for best actress this year.

Dod Mantle shot Slumdog Millionaire on a range of Fujifilm motion picture stocks and SI-2K digital cameras from P+S Technik. British involvement included a DI grade a MPC on Quantel equipment.

Costa quits IMAGO Tony Costa AIP, the vice president and webmaster of IMAGO, the European federation of cinematographic societies, has left the organisation to take up an executive production role assisting foreign productions on location shoots in Portugal and Morocco. He will continue his work as head of the cinematography department and lecturer at the University of Lusofona in Lisbon.

“Tony is a man of considerable knowledge about European cinematography, who brings great passion to everything he does, and the debt the federation owes to him is immeasurable,” said Nigel Walters BSC, IMAGO president.

What's shooting on Kodak?

Features shooting on Kodak stocks include: The Debt, dir John Madden, DP Ben Davis BSC; Halo Boy, dir Stephen Cookson, DP Oliver Downey; Mr Nice, dir Bernard Rose, DP Bernard Rose, lighting director Ron Forsythe; and Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, dir David Yates, DP Eduardo Serra. And on TV, Kodak is on: Ashes To Ashes, Kudos Film, DPs Simon Archer, Tim Palmer and Fabian Wagner, Midsomer Murders XI, Bentley Productions, DP Colin Munn; New Tricks VI, Wall to Wall, DP Sean Van Hales; The Street, Granada, DPs Steve Lawes, Sam McCurdy and Fabian Wagner; and Small Islands, Ruby Films Ltd, DP Tony Miller.

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In complete contrast, The Kite Runner and Quantum of Solace were filmed on location in remote areas of the world and both were big pictures in terms of cast, action and scope. DP Roberto Schaefer ASC will be addressing the challenges and discoveries made in these situations, as well as taking part in a panel discussing green issues.

His own particular interest is the 'environmental responsibility of filmmakers and others in the entertainment industries'.

Other papers at the 2009 event will cover a wide range of lighting projects, from outdoor art and the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to candle-lit plays and Dr Who, the Beijing Olympics and the US Presidential debates. Around 30 manufacturers of luminaires, LEDs and accessories such as gels and filters are also expected to attend. For more information visit www.showlight.org.

BSC evaluations

Passionate: Costa helped to save IMAGO from financial ruin Costa joined IMAGO as a delegate for the AIP in Portugal ten years ago. He contributed to the federation's book Making Pictures, and became vice-president in 2004. Along with Andreas Fischer-Hansen and Paul René Roestad, Costa helped to save the federation from bankruptcy by encouraging new sponsors, collaborators and developing the organisation's website.

He directed the film Declaration on Working Conditions, which is free to download from www.imago.org, and his is the first signature on the Declaration of Cinematographers on Working Conditions signed at Camerimage in Lodz in 2005. He was president of the AIP from 1998 to 2005, and has been its vicepresident since then.

photo by Richard Blanshard

Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC's Oscar win for best cinematography at the 2009 Academy Awards brings to end a 19-year drought for British cinematographers at the annual awards. Dod Mantle won the award for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, the independent production which collected eight Oscars in total, including best picture, best director for Danny Boyle, best editing for Chris Dickens, and best sound mixing for Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty. The last Oscar win for a British cinematographer was Freddie Frances BSC at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990 for his work on Glory, about the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company.

Showlight 2009 is being held at the BBC's flagship highdefinition television studio complex at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. Around 25 speakers from all lighting genres will present papers, followed by Q&As. Haris Zambarloukos BSC, will be give an insight into the design and application of the lighting in Mamma Mia! The main focus will be the studio work that made up most of the film's location, the Villa Donna, an exterior location set up inside Pinewood's 007 Stage.

The British Society of Cinematographers has completed the capture phase of its "Film and Digital Image Evaluations 2009". The shoot took place at Pinewood Studios during the week of 23rd February 2008, and brought together manufacturers , crew and post production departments. No fewer than 26 cameras were put through their paces - film and digital motion picture cameras, as well as a digital SLR that can shoot 1080P on a range of indoor and exterior scenarios that producers and directors will typically encounter. The captured material is now in post production, and the results will be shown later in the year in London and via roadshows Pictured here are most of the crew involved in the shoots.

As the official media partner, British Cinematographer magazine will bring you the inside track on the appraisals and the results.

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production news

ARRI lighting lunch

Direct open night

ARRI hosted its annual lighting lunch for DPs and gaffers at the Rucola restaurant close by its Uxbridge headquarters at the end of January.

(l-r) Ian Franklin, Jim Wall, Barry Acroyd BSC, Harry Wiggins, Steve Anthony, Gary Parnham and Steve Smith

As many as 120 people gathered for the event, hosted

by ARRI Lighting Rental MD Tommy Moran, ARRI marketing manager Judith Petty and Sinead Moran.

Lighting and camera rental company Direct, held an open night for DPs, gaffers and photographers last December to showcase its latest addition, the Canon EOS 5D Mk lI, along with lighting products from Cirro Lite and Direct.

Canon camera shoots 1080P, as well as 21megapizelsezed stills, and has potential uses for DPs when shooting references for telecine and continuity.

“The addition of HD recording opens a new chapter for EOS. It creates new possibilities for EOS photographers to capture and share their stories and to stay relevant in a rapidly changing digital landscape, " said Mogens Jensen, head of Canon Consumer Imaging.

Direct's event was focussed around a live fashion shoot with models from Living TV’s recent Britain’s Next Top Model.

New BSC members The BSC recently announced five new full members: they are Robbie Ryan, David Higgs, Danny Cohen, Jess Hall and Sam McCurdy, and we'll be covering them and their work in more detail in future editions. (l-r) Alan Grayley, Kevin Day, Paul Cronin, Tony Hayes, Kevin Edland, Tommy Moran, Sinead Moran and Paul Toomey

(l-r) Cinders Forshaw BSC, David Odd BSC and Tim Palmer

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(l-r) Ernie Vincze BSC and Robin Vidgeon BSC, with BSC treasurer Frances Russell

What's shooting on Fuji?

(l-r) Paul Cronin, Mike Eley and Paul Murphy

Fujifilm stocks are being used on The Philanthropist, DP Joel Ransom, dir Duane Clark; Waking The Dead - Series VIII, DP Mike Spragg; Four Seasons, DP Tony Imi BSC; The Debt, DP Ben Davis BSC, dir John Madden; Come On Eileen, DP Candida Richardson, dir Finola Geraghty; Wild Target, DP David Johnson BSC, dir Jonathan Lynn; The Reeds, DP Dennis Madden, dir Nick Cohen; Kia car commercial, DP John Lynch, prod co Outsider; Snow Patrol music promo, DP Will Bex, prod co Warp Films; The Energies music promo, DP Rob Hardy, prod co Partizan; Take That music promo, DP Tom Townend, prod co Partizan; Flithy Dukes music promo, DP Adam Frisch, prod co Colonel Blimp; Alzheimer's Society commercial, DP Will Bex, prod co Red Bee; Johnson & Johnson commercial, DP John Lynch, prod co Outsider; and Stella Artois commercial, DP Ray Coates, prod co Rattling Stick.

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

UK

who’s shooting who?

Who’s Shooting Who? What you staring at?: the forensic murder mystery Bones shot in London last year

Last summer, Gordon Lonsdale ASC came to London to shoot and episode of forensic murder mystery Bones, entitled Yanks In The UK. Emily Deschanel plays a forensic anthropologist whose scientific approach clashes with that of her partner, an FBI agent played by David Boreanaz. Lonsdale has photographed more than 40 episodes of Bones over the past three seasons. For the double episode that kicked off season three, he and the cast travelled to London, so British Cinematographer magazine asked him for his thoughts…“We were shooting as many as ten pages a day. I think we went over 11 hours only once or twice. It was an incredible experience. I picked the lighting and grip packages based on crew size, so we were a light, mean shooting machine. It was the first time in many years my gaffer did not have a meter. I dusted my meter off and kept it close. The majority of camera and grip equipment was provided by Panavision UK, and most lighting gear came from Panalux.” Lonsdale shoots the entire show on Kodak Vision2 HD Color Scan Film 5299. He says he adapted easily to the British operator system. “I wanted to adjust my thinking to fit the country I was shooting in. We found a great working order. I felt very supported by the crew, and I learned a new way of looking at filmmaking. I remember one day when I needed a 20-by-20 foot solid to keep the sun from the actors' eyes. I then needed to replace the sun with

an 18K, and I needed to add a 6K Par for a rim light. We had to shoot the coverage where it was - I could not cheat it. My gaffer, Pat Sweeney, told me that we just didn't have the crew to fly the 20-by-20 solid, and operate the lights as well. I told him that we didn't have a choice. We had to make it work. He shot me a look, then thought for a moment, and said, 'Okay.'

With a total electric/grip crew of five those guys saved the day. I think that was the day I realised why my gaffer didn't carry a meter - he was carrying too many lights! He led one of the hardest-working and most faithful crews I have ever worked with. I truly loved them all.”

Natasha Braier also wrote in about a Nationwide ad she lensed in Cape Town last December. “Technically it was an interesting job, consisting of one long motion control shot repeated many times, building up more than 15 layers of footage different speeds. In the ad, the camera goes over a highway and comes down towards an actor who is explaining about car insurance. He is performing at normal speed while the cars are streams of light. When we get to him, the cars between him and the camera crash and ramp to the crash in slow motion at 1,000 frames per second. Then it all speeds up again (except our actor always remains at 25f/s) and the recovery of the vehicles happens as a timelapse sequences,

Nationwide: Natasha Braier used MoCo and high-speed techniques

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

reducing an hour of work to a couple of seconds on the screen. We went from exposing 12 seconds per frame for the car light effects, taking more than two hours to shoot that layer, to shooting at 1,000fps on the car crash. For the crash, high-speed layer, we used the Phantom HD camera and it was quite a challenge to match it with the look of the rest of the material shot on 35mm - not only because of the difference in contrast, but also, because I had to light for an exposure of 1/2000 of a second and a six second exposure, which was the exposure time per frame of the timelapse layer. We had to shoot them one after the other to get the position of the crashed cars matching. I lit for the Phantom with a 100K ARRI SoftSun and six 18Ks, but it was impossible to bring that down with gels or scrims by 13 and a half stops, so I had to light it twice simultaneously, having smaller filtered heads next to the big lights, get it all matching and switch between the two lighting settings Each layer was shot at a different speed, including a lot of different long exposure layers for the car light beams, motion blur effects and the existing location lighting. Also, the fact that we shot during four nights, and had to wrap the motion control each night, made the job more challenging technically.

Jay Mallet came with the Milo rig from England and did an amazing job. I think I made more notes on this job than during the shoot of my last feature. It's always great fun to work with Anthony Dickenson because he is always experimenting with long exposures, pixilation techniques and all kind of fun stuff.

On this job we were also lucky to have his post supervisor Mike Skrgatic on set. It made everything easier to have him there brainstorming with us and telling us what he needed and what he didn't need for post.”

Keeping mum: DP Katie Swain filming a commercial

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who’s shooting who?

Creation: Jess Hall on the set of his latest film

Qatar: Ed Wild on a challenging short film with with Peter Webber

OK: Henry Braham on the set of Everybody's Fine

McKinney Macartney Management's… Balazs Bolygo received wide praise for his work on the gritty BBC drama Whitechapel and is set to shoot some 2nd unit on Neil Marshall's feature film Centurion. Ben Butler, Mick Coulter BSC, Denis Crossan BSC, Shane Daly, John Lynch, John Pardue, Tony Pierce-Roberts BSC and Jake Polonsky have been busy on commercials. John de Borman BSC was the toast of the Sundance Film Festival when he was awarded the prize for Best Drama Cinematography for his work on An Education. Gavin Finney BSC is shooting another Terry Pratchett adaptation for Sky and The Mob Film Company Going Postal, taking us back to the Discworld with director Jon Jones, where a conman is forced into becoming the official postmaster for the city.

Mark Partridge is continuing on the next series of the massively successful BBC series Lark Rise To Candleford when it returns to shoot later in the year. Congratulations to Katie Swain on the birth of her second daughter, Georgia. She has also been filming commercials. David Tattersall BSC is shooting Rob Letterman's updated version of Gulliver's Travels as Jack Black travels to the tiny city of Lilliput. Darran Tiernan is shooting the feature film Outcast for director Colm McCarthy. Brian Tufano BSC is set for Mat Whitecross' feature Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll, about the life and death of the influential singer Ian Drury. Fabian Wagner has been working with David Blair on the latest series of the critically-acclaimed The Street, and also recently shot a Horne & Cordon promo with Sarah O'Gorman through Red Bee. Felix Wiedemann has been finishing the grading for his graduation film as well as shooting a couple of shorts and directing a commercial for Malorie Blackman's book Double Cross

busy with documentary and commercial work for director Nick Bye. Ian Howes' work on Irvine Welsh's one off comedy drama for ITV, Good Arrows premiered to cast and crew in Soho recently.

Films/Channel 4 directed by Marion Milne and Peter Nicholson, wrote in… “The Queen is a 5 x 1 hour docudrama, examining five 'pivotal years' in the monarch's life and explores the social history of Britain over the last 50 years. Five different actresses portray Her Majesty including Samantha Bond and Lisa Dillon. As a flavour, the first episode deals with the affair of Princess Margaret and Peter Townsend in the 50s, the second deals with the attempted kidnap of Princess Anne in 1974. Locations included Bath, plus mansions in the West Country - Neston Park, Orchardleigh House and Stourhead House doubling for Buckingham Palace. It is the first time a drama crew has been allowed to shoot in Stourhead, owned by the National Trust. The crew had to be extra cautious as they were working next to valuable artefacts such as Chippendale furniture and priceless oil paintings. The light levels were constantly monitored by Trust staff to ensure that no permanent damage would occur to the pictures, and gaffer Alex Scott came up with many ingenious ways to prevent continuous high-level film lighting falling onto the paintings and watercolours. Lighting stands had to wear 'tennis ball' shoes and boards were placed on the floor for the track and dolly to prevent marking the floors. Only Trust staff were allowed to handle the furniture and all crew had to have inside and outside shoes. But the results look great.” (Nick Dance has shot episodes 1&2, Graham Smith episodes 3&4, with Andrew Muggleton on episode 5). Doug Hartington has been shooting Who Do You Think You Are? in the US and Ireland for BBC, and Will Pugh is in Tanzania shooting Stephen Tompkinson's African Balloon Adventure for Tiger Aspect.

United's… Eduardo Serra AFC ASC is on the new Harry Potter until April 2010 and Marcel Zyskind is in the US shooting Michael Winterbottom's latest movie, A Killer Inside Me. Alan Almond BSC has begun shooting Desperate Romantics for Diarmuid Lawrence. Andrew Dunn BSC is currently in America prepping Tom Vaughan's latest film Crowley. Danny Cohen BSC has been grading Richard Curtis' The Boat That Rocked, due to be released 3 April 2009. Dale McCready has begun work on the second series of Merlin for Shine. David Higgs BSC's work on Lesbian Vampire Killers can be seen in cinemas from March at the same time as his work on Anand Tucker's 1983, part of the Red Riding Trilogy is broadcast on Channel Four. And you can read about David's work on both projects in this fabulous edition! Tim MauriceJones, Alex Melman, Alex Barber, Stephen Blackman, Simon Chaudoir, Tat Radcliffe, Steve Keith-Roach, Rain Li and Philipp Blaubach have all been shooting commercials. Neus Olle picked up Best Cinematography at the Gaudi Awards in Barcelona for Birdsong, pipping DP Javier Aguirresarobe who was up for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Carlos Catalan's Bollywood film Luck By Chance opened worldwide to great reviews. Charlotte Bruus Christensen is still lensing Submarino for Tomas Vinterberg, and will remain in Copenhagen after wrapping to shoot Magtens Fyrster for Oliver Ussing. David Raedeker (one of the four mentees in the Guiding Lights scheme, also in this edition) is page

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Casarotto Marsh's…Remi Adefarasin BSC has just started shooting Nancy Meyer's 'Untitled' feature in Los Angeles and New York, starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. James Aspinall is soon to start on long running favourite Foyles War with director Stuart Orme for Greenlit. Sean Bobbitt BSC is working again with Steve McQueen, this time on an art Installation for the Venice Biennale. For Working Title, Mike Eley is due to work with director Susanna White again on Nanny McPhee II, starring Emma Thompson and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Matt Gray is due to begin on Enid Blyton, a drama about the author. directed by James Hawes for Carnival Pictures. Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC has just started working with Sam Taylor Wood on her debut feature about the young John Lennon, called Nowhere Boy. Huge, huge congratulations to Chris Menges BSC ASC on his BAFTA, Oscar and ASC Award nominations for his cinematography on The Reader. The finest broth.

Wojciech Szepel is currently in South Africa shooting Mrs Mandela for Diverse with director Michael Samuels.

At Sara Putt Associates…the latest arrival is Paul Lang who recently finished shooting with Cherie Blair on an episode of The History of Christianity for Pioneer/Channel 4. Dave Marsh has started on Fashion for Carnival Films, Mike Brewster is returning to Leavesden as 2nd unit DP on Harry Potter 7, and Pete Edwards has been on location shooting Big Top a new comedy series for the BBC. Nick Dance, who continues lighting The Queen for Blast

As for operators… Joe Russell is in Cardiff operating on Dr Who for the BB, Peter Wignall, Rick Woollard, Graham Hall and Julian Morson, all recently operated on Partizan's huge T-Mobile dance advert at Liverpool Street Station.

Meanwhile over at Digital Garage… Andy Martin is lighting the long-awaited new series of Red Dwarf at Shepperton for Grant Naylor Ltd. Both Jeremy Humphries and Pete Hayns are currently shooting in Africa on To the Ends of the Earth for BBC. Chris Openshaw has just returned from South Africa after completing Tigress's programme on Black Mambas for BBC's Natural World. Si Wagen has just completed Nick Baker's Weird Creatures in Mexico for Icon and has gone straight on to How The Earth Is Made for BBC shooting in Italy, Turkey, Iran and Israel. Operator Tom Hooker has been operating on Live At Abbey Road for C4.

Suit you sir: Dan Landin on the set of 44-Inch Chest

Wizzo Features… has signed the award-winning DP Damian Bromley, who was nominated for a BAFTA and who won a RTS award for his work on Spooks. He has also shot two features for director Nick Love, Football Factory and The Business. His most recent work was on the drama Hunter, which starred Hugh Bonneville and aired on the BBC. Erik Wilson is set to shoot 2nd unit on the US horror flick The Crazies directed by Breck Eisner, with Maxime Alexandre as main unit DP. Duncan Telford is shooting a drama series in Egypt, Syria and Paris about three Muslim women living in the ISSUE 32

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who’s shooting who?

Winnie: DP Wojciech Szepel shooting Mrs Mandela in Africa. modern Arabic world for Baraka Media Production. Stuart Bentley recently spent a week in the Scottish Highlands with Vice magazine shooting a documentary about deer hunting, Atlantic prawn fishing and day-to-day life in one of the most remote areas of the UK. Congratulations to Magni Agustsson whose comedy series Free Agents, which he completed shooting late last year, aired on C4 to great reviews.

Over at Independent… Ben Davis BSC is shooting John Madden's new thriller The Debt, in London, Budapest and Tel Aviv. It's the story of a group of Mossad agents who take the law into their own hands in order to bring a Nazi war criminal to justice. Hip, hip, hoooooray… Anthony Dod Mantle BSC DFF won the Oscar for his work on Slumdog Millionaire, along with a BAFTA and an ASC Award. Jess Hall BSC recently finished on Creation for Jon Amiel, the shot commercials for Bonkers in Amsterdam, plus ads for Knucklehead and Tempo Media in South Afria, and then set of to New York to shoot The Baster, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. Sam McCurdy BSC was responsible for a block of the third series of BAFTA award-winning drama The Street. Roman Osin BSC has started on Renny Harlin's Mannerheim, which focuses on the life of Carl Mannerheim who restored law and order to Finland after the Bolshevik Revolution. Before heading off to New York for re-shoots on Everybody's Fine Henry Braham BSC was reunited with Paul Weiland on a Walkers shoot.

Simon Coull has been shooting back-to-back commercials since Christmas for Tempo Media and Outsider, and Oliver Curtis BSC launched straight back into commercials with Feel Films.

Dan Landin has completed grading Malcolm Venville's 44-Inch Chest. John Mathieson BSC has been out in LA with Daniel Kleinman of Rattling Stick, South Africa with Howard Greenhalgh, before heading off on recces for Ridley Scott's Nottingham.

Mattias Montero, Mark Patten, Christopher Ross, Joost Van Gelder, and Ed Wild have all been jetting around the planet on commercials duty. Fraser Taggart recently joined Independent, and is currently based in South Africa where he's been busy with both UK and local production houses.

Dinedor… has lured John Daly BSC to its roster. After finishing on the feature film The Unloved for Revolution Films, Tom Townend has got off to a busy start, shooting 2nd unit for feature Harry Brown. Mike Fox BSC has been shooting more Comic Relief sketches with Lenny Henry, and also shot dailies on Being Human for BBC3 and Touchpaper TV. Trevor Forrest is in Cuba shooting feature film 'Una Noce', produced by Dan Mulloy and Spike Lee. Steve Buckland has wrapped on The Bill for Talkback Thames and has gone on to Casualty, while Peter Butler has completed on Silent Witness for the BBC. Matt Fox shot the feature The Shouting Men for Away Days Productions, while Peter Thornton did dailies on Skins for Channel 4 and Company Pictures. Martin Ahlgren has been on commercials, Steve Annis has just been shooting for band The Doves and Warp Films, and Matt Cooke has lit promos for The Hot Melts and The White Lies, as well as Talking Heads for the BBC and a Richard Hawley Documentary for Document UK. Ed Mash, Peter Field, Andrew Johnson, Men in skirts: Si Wagen and Nick Baker Ben Filby, Pete Ellmore and Franklin on Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures whilst Dow have variously lensing commercials, snake hunting in Baja California, Mexico corporates and music videos.

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close-ups

Catherine Derry & Marcus Waterloo

The Solitary Life of Cranes “We had to be clear what the limits were,” says Waterloo, “and to understand what it would entail being up there for long periods of time.” On a practical level, this meant taking just enough to eat and drink, but not too much as paying a visit to the lavatory was simply not on the cards.

Fortunately, none of the crew suffered motion sickness, which can be a side effect given by the twist and sway of the crane, even in the lightest of winds. However, the abiding memories each has of their time aloft were the views.

“Everything looks so different when you are up there, just amazing,” says Derry. “It was quite a privilege. Along with the views, which were spectacular, you could see the weather changing miles away across the London Basin.”

Sometimes you have to have a head for heights, as cinematographers Marcus Waterloo and Catherine Derry discovered when shooing The Solitary Life of Cranes, which picked up the award for best short documentary at the Britdoc Film Festival 2008, and plenty of plaudits from the press. Directed by Eva Weber of Odd Girl Out Productions, the 30-minute production explores the invisible life of a city, its patterns and hidden secrets, as seen through the eyes of crane drivers working high above the streets.

Within the loose structure of a day - starting with drivers climbing up at dawn and ending with them coming down after a nightshift - the film observes the city as it awakens with a bustle of activity, through the lull of midday and the manic rush in the evening, until things calm down again deep into the night.

Throughout the film, which was framed in 16:9, the drivers share their thoughts and reflections on London and life in general. The bulk of their time is spent waiting, looking, observing the wind and the weather, as well as watching the people down below. From their airy towers, they not only have the best overview of the construction site and some of the most impressive panoramic views of the city, but also an unparalleled insight into the buildings surrounding them.

one above the Natural History museum, which topped out at 73m (240ft) above street level. Lugging a minimal amount of gear - which typically consisted of a Sony 750 camera, batteries, tape stock, and long lenses - took a five or sixperson crew ¬ consisting of the director, cinematographer, sound recordist, camera assistant and runners, around an hour each way.

Neither cinematographer was particularly bothered about heights. “I was absolutely fine, as I've done a lot of rock climbing,” says Derry of her experience. “However, I felt very tired after being up crane all day. It's not really the lugging up and down of the gear, that's fatiguing, it's more that you have been on edge all the time. There are guide railings up there, but the walkways on the back jibs are perforated, so you are living on your nerves a bit.”

Waterloo says he was brought up watching buildings grow as his father, a foreman, would often take him on to building sites. “I had shot from the top from the top of a tall mast on a ship, and knew that I could live with the height,” he says. “I actually couldn't wait to get up one of those cranes.”

The health and safety of the crew were absolutely paramount, and both Waterloo and Derry had to take training sessions before being allowed to ascend a single metal rung.

In terms of the cinematography, Derry says, “Eva wanted a simple visual style, with no camera moves or lens shifts. The only movement was supposed to come from the cranes, and we stuck to that style. We had to create good-looking shots, but cranes have become new sculptural items on the horizon of cities. They're great to shoot, as they give you interesting graphic shapes to work with. And they are great to shoot from. The views are unique, and the light in the morning and evening can be really dramatic.”

The production was graded by Martin Southworth at Rushes.

“We had some issues matching different locations; one particular shot, when we were filming over the Westfield Shopping Centre on a hazy day, had a strong blueish tinge and this needed to be adjusted. But we hugely appreciated Martin's input and how he made the whole process straightforward and smooth,” said Weber.

Derry is now prepping for a martial arts Internet drama in Malaysia, directed by Tinge Krishnan. Waterloo has been shooting motion control on a Herald Tribune commercial The Solitary Life of Cranes will screen at the London International Documentary Film Festival, which runs between 28 March and 4 April 2009, and later this year on More4.

Produced by Samantha Zarzosa at Odd Girl Out Productions, the production was made with the support of the Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation.

“The film combines both intimacy and distance, and was an attempt to understand what becomes of the human spirit in such extreme working conditions,” says Weber. “What emerged is a lyrical mediation about connection and disconnection, about how our existence is shaped through the environment we inhabit, both for the drivers high up in the sky and the people they are watching on the ground.”

Waterloo and Derry were responsible for shooting separate parts of the production, during October 2007 to March 2008, but have never met one another. They do, however, go back in time with Weber, both having worked with her on promotions during her time at BBC Creative Services. Derry also shot Weber's The Intimacy Of Strangers, another view of urban life constructed entirely out of real, overheard mobile phone conversations, shot using a similarly candid camera.

Most cranes were around 40m (130ft) in height, apart from

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close-ups

Nina Kellgren BSC

Tourism Ireland Cinematography as art. Art in cinematography. These are aspects of the moving image that we'll be exploring in more detail in British Cinematographer magazine later this year, with leading exponents such as Nina Kellgren BSC. The use of cinematography as an artistic medium has suffused and shaped Kellgren's work, and enabled her to bring tenderness and intimacy to the images she has created for the contrasting worlds of feature films, art installations, commercials, documentaries and stills.

Her varied credits include Drowning By Bullets, the documentary of the hushed-up 1961 massacre of Algerians in Paris, the tragic love story of the Oscar-nominated Solomon and Gaenor about a young Jewish young and a Welsh woman, and Al Pacino's rumination of the significance of Shakespeare Looking For Richard.

Her collaboration with contemporary artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien began in 1989 with the drama documentary Looking for Langston, before a trilogy of film installations for Julien: True North, Fantôme Afrique and Western Union: Small Boats which explore race and migration. Last year she worked on Julien's Derek, the biopic about English film director, stage designer, artist and writer Derek Jarman.

Most recently, Kellgren headed off around Ireland for three weeks with director Kevin Thomas, of Thomas & Thomas, to shoot a set of commercials for JWT's Tourism Ireland, campaign.

“There is a direct relationship between commercials and the visual artists, in that both deal in the primacy of the image,” says Kellgren, who became hooked on the possibilities for cinematography whilst studying fine art at The Slade. “The meaning is all in the images, in the metaphor.”

In the ads mermaids are discovered in seashore caves, troops of schoolgirls become fairies, white horses canter along on the beach, and Irish wolfhounds roam around Dublin Castle.

Kellgren, who operates, took a minimal lighting package, and shot using Super 16mm Aaton's, as well as a Braun Nizo camera loaded with 50 ASA daylight stock, “which was absolutely fine as we had lots of sunlight. The great thing is that we could move fast, and were not weighed down with technology. As the shoot continued I could see things that were not part of the brief, but I wanted to shoot them as they would make for great images. I could very rapidly pick up the camera and lock into those spontaneous moments.”

Obviously, working this way comes down to having the understanding and trust of your director, “and that's all about fostering good communication. Kevin is confident and courageous, yet low key. He lets you do what you do, so that you can bring your skills to the screen.”

“I like it that I went to art school, and didn't come up through a traditional filmmaking route.

Artists think in a different way, are not locked into a BBC mentality and way of thinking. Which means you can bring something different to the screen,” she says.

The Tourism Ireland ads, scheduled for a screen near you soon, deliver beauty shots of Irelend, but that's where similarities to other holidaying adverts begin and end.

A significant creative reference given by Thomas for the production was Gallivant, the 1997 travelogue directed by Andrew Knotting, who journeys around the coast of Britain with his 90 year old grandmother and nine year old daughter Eden, who has cerebral palsy. The production was shot on Super 16mm and Super 8mm.

“They have adventures together, meet lots of characters, explore fishing villages, get to know each other,” says Kellgren. “The people in the film just enjoy being together. There's epic imagery, but emotion, tenderness, mystery and poetry too.”

In a similar vein, the Tourism Ireland production covered the length and breadth of the country, to uncover what Kellgren calls “magical moments.”

“The point of the ads is that in Ireland you can set off somewhere, but end up on a detour, get lost in something else that will absorb and engross you just as much,” she explains. “There are shifts in perception, and you are not quite sure you've seen the image something of not.”

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live and let DI

To Live and Let DI Ascent 142's grader Rob Pizzey worked closely with director Malcolm Venville and cinematographer Dan Landin on the DI of 44-Inch Chest. Starring John Hurt, Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, Tom Wilkinson, Joanne Whalley and Steven Berkoff the film focuses on a jealous husband and his friends plotting to kidnap his wife's lover. Talking about the 10-day grade Pizzey said, “Most of the film takes place in the same location, a boarded-up house at night. Malcolm and Dan had a pretty good idea of what they wanted, and we were on the same page straight away. We needed a moody feel that would relate to the story, quite dark. We used a lot of tracking layers throughout the film some with very complex moves. I was aiming for a rich, moody look with shadows dropping off to black. Using the da Vinci Resolve colour grading system I balanced out the whole film with a base grade giving us a rich and moody feel. I then added various layers to shots to emphasise shadow areas, highlight faces or just open up the eyes a bit more. There were a couple of scenes where I smoothed skin and sharpened up eyes.”

Ascent 142 has announced that Jet Omoshebi is joining its expanding creative team to work on drama and feature output. Omoshebi left Pepper Post where she was a senior colourist. Her recent credits include work on the BBC drama Cranford and Life on Mars. Amongst the many awards for her work a notable highlight was winning the Women in Film and Television craft award in 2007.

Omoshebi started as a sound assistant before moving to Rushes (now part of Ascent) as a telecine assistant in 1990, progressing to colourist after three years. For the next ten years she worked as a senior colourist at the Moving Picture

Ascent 142: lots of layers and complex tracking helped create a moody looking 44-Inch Chest

Company, Complete Video, SVC Television and later Digital Film Lab, working with advertising agencies in London, and building a client following. In addition to Omoshebi's move, Dan Chuter has moved to the Ascent Group as marketing manager, after five years in a similar role at Pepper. Ascent 142 also recently splashed out £200,000 on a new HD grading suite, based around a Digital Vision Nucoda HD system, at its Wardour Street site to increase its HD grading capacity and meet growing demand for HD remastering.

complicated by the fact that part of the film was shot on Super-16 and the rest on HD Cam, balancing the two stocks was tricky at times. On top of this it was shot over a long period - October to March - and we had to make it look like it had all been shot on one day.” Southworth said: “The main thing I was concerned with achieving was to tie everything together and keep the continuity of the film natural and effective. A key part of its success was the ongoing dialogue I had with Eva, who also sat in on the grade.”

Alex Courtes at Partizan directed the music video for U2's latest release Get On Your Boots, with grade and conform carried out at Rushes. The promo sees the band in an intergalactic environment, set against a backdrop of vivid changing imagery, referencing surrealist art and political imagery. The rushes were graded from 35mm film by Simone Grattarola with technical and beauty passes and then conformed and supplied to Partizan for final completion.

Rushes colourist Martin Southworth worked closely with director Eva Weber on her impressive 30-minute short The Solitary Life of Cranes (see Close Ups on DPs Catherine Derry and Marcus Waterloo in this edition) which explores the hidden secrets of city life as seen through the eyes crane cabbies.

LipSync Post completed the DI and 70 VFX shots for the recently released feature The Secret of Moonacre. Directed by Gabor Csupo (Bridge to Terabithia), and David Eggby the DP, the film tells the story of a 13-year-old's adventure into a magical world from which she must banish an ancient curse.

The majority of LipSync's work focused on a mystical string of 'moon pearls' that are key to the film's plot. Grader Stuart Fyvie completed the DI process on the film using Quantel iQ Pablo. One of the main challenges was to ensure that the many moonlit sequences looked magical rather than dark and scary. In addition the grade balanced seasonal changes to create a consistent look despite shooting in a variety of weather and light conditions.

“We wanted to get quite a natural and gentle feel on the grading,” said Weber. “The process was made more

Omoshebi: acclaimed for her versatility with, and knowledge of, telecines and grading systems

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LipSync also did the DI on the Red Riding Trilogy, for which it has a production credit alongside Channel Four Films, Revolution Films and Screen Yorkshire. The trio of televised

Kinky boots: Rushes did the conform and grade on U2's latest music video

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live and let DI

Grader: Lee Clappison from Lip Sync Post in the grading suite

Moon: Cinesite completed over 270 visual effects shots on the sci-fi thriller

stories covers difficult times for British society, and each was made by different directors and DPs, using different technologies. Nineteen Seventy Four was directed by Julian Jarrold and shot by Rob Hardy on Super 16mm; James Marsh directed and Igor Martinovic was the DP, using 35mm 2-perf, 2.4:1 for Nineteen Eighty; and Nineteen Eighty Three was lensed by David Higgs, directed by Anand Tucker using the Red camera. Fyvie graded the first two in the trilogy.

Nineteen Seventy Four used a theatrical / cinema grade, and said, “The theme of the film is crime at its darkest and the style of the film was “Yorkshire Noir”. The film was graded in a style to capture the dark mood and narrative of the story. The grading style used - let's call it smoky, nicotine-stained set.” Nineteen Eighty was shot in the style of a documentary. The film grade looks like it has not been treated, to convey a natural feel, but there are treatments to the flashbacks in the film which have been given dark blues and blacks to give the film a menacing feel.

Specialist digital film consultancy, Digital Praxis, has changed its name to Light Illusion, and has been hired by Chennai (Madras) based film lab Gemini, to provide technological and creative assistance in building a new DI operation that will be capable of handling multiple simultaneous mainstream DI film projects for the Southern Indian film industry. Gemini aims work in any resolution from SD and HD to 2K and 4K.

Under the auspices of grader Lee Clappison everything on Nineteen Eighty Three was treated like a traditional film project, albeit using LipSync's custom Red pipeline which uses Truelights, and was and graded for film. As well as taking the period into account, certain scenes also had a slight film noir look to them, with a Vantage filter used to mimic anamorphic lens flares.

Light Illusion also provides a range of software tools for digital cinematography and DI operations, with its Sony CineAlta gamma curves well known by those shooting digitally. The latest addition to its tools is 3D LUT Builder, aimed at simplifying the building of 3D Cube LUTs for use in calibrated image viewing via digital monitoring, including CRT and LCD monitors and digital projection. The 3D LUT Builder is in use with post-production facilities around the world, as well as being used for calibration of on-set viewing. It can generate 3D LUTs for many postproduction systems including those from Assimilate, Autodesk, Cine-tal, da Vinci, Nucoda/Digital Vision, Panavision, Pandora, Quantel and Thomson.

Bucking the trend for all things gloom-and-doom in the current economic climate (which saw Deluxe close its DI operation in London) Technicolor Creative Services completed two substantial, multi-million pound relocations. The company's digital post-production facilities relocated from West Drayton in Middlesex to Soho, to the heart of the UK digital postproduction community. The company's well-known film laboratory moved too, from West Drayton to Pinewood Studios, to the heart of the UK filmmaking industry.

Technicolor's lab was on the West Drayton site for almost 75 years and had outgrown the space. “In essence, the moves are a direct response to our clients' wishes,” said MD Simon Wilkinson. “At Pinewood we're obviously on the doorstep of all the productions shooting there and similarly the Soho facility puts us at the heart of the post-production community. This is a serious investment in the future of our business. It's both a bold move and a very positive statement to the industry.”

The digital facility is located in Lexington Street and offers full DI post production for features, trailers and TV broadcast plus video mastering, restoration and digital cinema mastering.

Through fibre optic connectivity, the site is linked with Pinewood and connects to other Technicolor sites around the world including New York, Rome, Madrid, Bangkok, Burbank, Culver City, Montreal and Toronto. The new Pinewood facility will offer comprehensive film processing, video dailies, filming out of digital negatives and digital cinema replication services.

The Pinewood facility will also include a Cinevator film recorder, the first of its type in the UK, offering real-time film-outs to negative and also direct to print. Recent production to get the DI treatment include, Scott Free Productions' Churchill At War, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, with DP Michel Amathieu, and Hippie Hippie Shake, a Universal/Working Title, directed by Beeban Kidron, with Michael Seresin BSC at the cinematographic helm.

Cinesite completed over 270 visual effects shots on sci-fi thriller Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, with Gary Shaw the DP. Its work included Gerty, a fully-CG service robot and one of the film principal characters, large scale digital lunarscape matte paintings, and extensive MoCo composite work. Cinesite is currently working on The Prisoner for ITV / AMC, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for Warner Bros., as well as Disney's Prince of Persia, Churchill At War for HBO, Blacklight Films/Disney Nature's Naked Beauty and Clash of the Titans for Warner Bros.

The company also received two nominations in the 7th annual Visual Effects Society Awards for its VFX and matte painting work on Generation Kill, Episode 2.

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BSC Show Preview Here are just some of the new products and service companies you'll find at the BSC New Equipment Show 2009, at Elstree Studios on March 13 - 14, reflecting the ever-evolving world of film and digital production technology.

Airstar Ballon lighting specialists Airstar will showcase its latest designs in lighting balloons for the first time in the UK at this year's show. The patented shape Diamond gives a frameless 2.2m square face, which is ideal for colour filters or custom gels, such as those from Rosco. The helium filling provides sufficient lift for reflectors and skirts, and it can be used as a primary or fill light source. The technology used in the Diamond produces nearly twice the light output of its source.

The Gaffair 400w ia a pole mounted, flicker-free daylight key source for that crucial piece to camera, whose soft light makes the Gaffair 400 a must-have piece of kit for the HD future. Mini-Cloud is fast to depoy, with no rigging or scaffolding needed, and is well suited for architecturally sensitive buildings. Also on show will be the company's Solarc 8,4K Hybrid - HMI & Tungsten lighting in one balloon. www.airstar.co.uk

Cirrolite A number of new products from Kino Flo, Dedo and Gekko are on show this year, clearly reflecting the changes in fluorescent and LED technologies. From Kino Flo, Cirrolite will be showing the new Vista Single, plus the complete Vista range, employing the new 96w bulb that is more than double the output of the classic bulbs creating the new family of Vista Single Vista lighting fixtures. Also from Kino Flo are the new Batwings, a “gaffer-inspired” light control accessory for classic fixtures, as well as the new Barfly 400. From Dedolight, there are a number of new long-throw lenses for the 400 range of fixtures as well as a small and very clever LED for the camera.

Gekko is introducing its first panel of LEDs, around 2' x 1', which offer both good colour rendition and light output.

The units come in both tungsten and daylight and are fully-dimmable, both manually and via DMX, without colour shift. The company will also be Barlfy 400

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By george: Gekko will be showing lots of new products

showing full remote control options that cover the complete range of on-board ring lights, including a cost-effective manual cable remote, a radio remote and a DMX remote. www.cirrolite.com

Fuji Fuji says that new stocks will be launched at the Cannes Film Festival, so it will be focusing on celebrating 75 years in the business at this year's show. www.motion.fuji.co.uk

Daylight Grip & Textiles Manufactures performance products for the film, television and photographic lighting industry. Daylight continues to expand its range of services and products, with competitive pricing of stock held in its Manchester factory. Overheads and butterfly textiles, flags and open-end scrims, lighting softbanks, bags and holdalls, all standard products stocked are stocked and the company also welcomes custom work. www.daylightgriptex.com

Direct Lighting Direct Lighting is exhibiting some new LED toys including Rosco's Litepad, Litepanels Ring Lite mini and the Gekko Kisslite. Joining Direct Lighting at its stand will be Canon UK exhibiting the new Canon 5D MKII camera that offers fullframe 1080p HD shooting capabilities, along with 21.1 megapixel stills for around the £2,000-mark (body only, of course). www.directlighting.co.uk

Gekko The company's lightweight and high-output, beauty ringlight system, designed for drama and commercial shooting, is now available with significant revisions. Working closely with a key technology partner, Gekko has secured a source of LEDs with greatly improved colour quality and output, closer to the black body line and featuring higher colour rendering. Another significant innovation on kisslite II is the inclusion of Gekko's magnet mounting system, introduced with george. This provides rapid attachment and removal of accessories such as lens frames and diffusion gratings. Other improvements include a larger diameter clamp ring, to accommodate the new generation of larger barrel film and TV lenses, an extended range of matte box configurations featuring fixed and rotating filter trays, and the option of DMX to control dimming remotely. To keep the existing community of kisslite users at the cutting edge, Gekko is also offering an upgrade package, which retro-fits some of the above enhancements. www.gekkotechnology.com

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shooting the future

Colours: lighting designer Peter Fisker created new shades for Lee Filters

Kodak Kodak is set to unveil the next steps in “the evolution of motion picture film”, teasing visitors with details of the very latest additions to its Vision3 family of films and the opportunity to register for the stock's official launch on March 24 at BAFTA in London.

“Kodak Vision3 is everything cinematographers love about Kodak Vision 2 films - the overall look, the image structure -but with a host of added improvements", said the David Webb, general manager of Kodak Entertainment Imaging, UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa Offering the highest image-capture resolution available, Vision3 films continue to raise the bar, offering exceptional highlight latitude and reduced grain in shadows, and giving cinematographers greater flexibility on set as well as control in post. “Combine that with film's proven archival capabilities, and you have the state-of-the-art image capture medium that others can only aspire to. Why try to emulate film when you can have the real thing? Film. No compromise,” said Webb. www.kodak.com

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios, which again hosts the BSC Show, is one of the most famous film and television studios in the world, where some of the most famous films and TV shows in the world have been produced.

“We are honoured to host the British Society of Cinematographers' annual show. It's a very special event for the studios, which brings many of the top DPs and lighting directors to Elstree,” said MD Roger Morris.

In its 85-year history, Elstree has been the studio-of-choice for many legendary producers and directors - from Alfred Hitchcock to George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick. Major feature films produced at Elstree include the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies, Superman, The Dam Busters, Ice cold in Alex. The list is impressive. Most recently Elstree has been the studio for top producer and director Matthew Vaughn with his productions Kick Ass, staring Nicholas Cage and Harry Brown staring Michael Caine.

Elstree is also well-known for its TV production. Three of the top UK television shows are made there - Dancing on Ice for ITV, Big Brother for Endemol/Channel 4 and one of the worlds most successful TV shows Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Elstree Studios has a range of film stages and TV studios from 3,000sq ft to 16,000sq ft with the George Lucas stage being the highest in Europe. Elstree also offers workshops, a back lot, water tank and extensive production offices, dressing rooms, wardrobe and make up rooms plus various onsite support services. www.elstreestudios.co.uk

Lee Filters The full range of lighting filters will be on show.

These include the popular 700 series, a range of colours unique to Lee, created by some of the top lighting designers working in stage, screen, television, cinema and architectural lighting today.

Lighting designers Peter Fisker and Paule Constable were the two latest lighting designers to be invited

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shooting the future

to the Lee Filters factory to create their own unique range of colours. Working alongside the LEE research and development team, each designer created four new colours which have now been added to the 700 series. New colours from Peter Fisker Include the 700 Perfect Lavender, 703 Cold Lavender, 727 QFD Blue and 780 AS Golden Amber, whilst Paule Constable's include 768 Egg Yolk Yellow, 742 Bram Brown, 733 Damp Squib and 731 Dirty Ice. Also available will be the ever-popular Lee Filter swatch books. www.leefilters.com Phantom HD: blink and you won't miss it

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Also included are full tapeless recording units that record fully uncompressed DPX image data, plus two HDCAM-SR decks for those wishing to record to tape. A 55" LCD screen provides 2K image playback, with Iridas Speedgrade installed for LUT applications. www.rogueelementfilms.com

Panalux Responding to the increased interest in fluorescent luminaries, Panalux had introduced the HighLight and FloBank, energy-efficient lamps that offer a range of versatile, general-purpose heads to deliver an even, balanced light source. After a period of consolidation following the merger of AFM Lighting and LEE Lighting, Panalux has rebuilt its premises at Pinewood Studios, which now features a dedicated equipment engineering and refurbishment facility. The company has also invested in new equipment, particularly up-to-the-minute technologies, "green" systems and innovations in LED and low-wattage technology. www.panalux.biz

Rogue Element Films

Airstar: diamonds are a DPs best friend

The location truck offers full grading and dailies playback in a calibrated suite, offline digitising to FCP and Avid, plus archiving to LTO data tape. “It has designed to provide much more control over your digital film shoots by allowing all your recording requirements to be fully-installed and ready to work at the flick of a switch,” he adds.

Launched for 2009 is a brand new concept in location facilities for digital film productions. With Rogue Element's new truck you can conduct the tasks normally required of a full post facility, but on location, which the company's Dan Mulligan says “saves valuable time and money and makes your production quick and efficient into the bargain.”

Take Two Films In the last decade Take 2 Films has grown into the largest independent rental facility in the UK. It predominantly specialises in 16mm and 35mm equipment hire, and is the largest independent purchaser of ARRI products within Europe supplying equipment to the music video, commercial, TV drama and feature markets. It also has a full grip facility.

Take 2 has also purchased the new Hawk V Plus and Hawk V Lite anamorphic lenses.

With HD acquisition becoming more aand more popular, it now has no fewer that 21 Sony HDW F900R's, and will be highlighting the virtues of its ew Sony F35 cameras, currently being used on Harry Brown and The Day of the Triffids. Watch out too for the Phantom HD high speed camera, which the commercials market has lapped up, and which has also been deployed on features such as Sherlock Holmes. On show too will be P+S Technik's SI-2K digital cinema camera, and you can check out the many different viewfinder solutions, battery mounts and a shoulder set options it provides you all kinds of sets or locations, such as Slumdog Millionaire. www.take2films.co.uk

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

BSC Show Guide 2009

There’s no business like showbusiness And the business of production is ever-changing.

You can see how at this year's show, meet colleagues and renew acquaintances.

Abakus Ken Pollitt Grange Farm Bourne Road Carlby Stamford PE9 4LU T: 01778 590117 F: 01778 590118 E: ken@abakus.co.uk Aimimage Camera Co. Atif Ghani Unit 5, 63 Pratt Street London NW1 OBV T: 020 7916 3734 F: 020 7267 3972 E: atif@aimimage.com Airstar (UK) Ltd Ian Griffin 13 Meadow View Crendon Industrial Park Long Crendon Bucks HP18 9EQ T: 01844 203640 F: 01844 203649 E: info@airstar.co.uk

ARRI GB Ltd SiobahnDaly 2 Highbridge Oxford Road Uxbridge Middx UB8 1LX T: 01895 457000 F: 01895 457001 E: sday@arri-gb.com Barbizon Europe Ltd John Parker Unit 5, Saracen Ind. Area Mark Road Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 7BJ T: 01442 260600 F: 01442 261611 E: jparker@barbizon.com Cine Power International Ltd Diane Nyiry Magnolia Lake Mamhead Nr Exeter Devon EX6 8HG T: 01626 888433 F: 01626 888435 E: diane@cinepower.com

Cirro Lite (Europe) Ltd David Morphy 3 Barretts Green Road London NW10 7AE T: 020 8955 6700 F: 020 8961 9343 E: d.morphy@cirrolite.com Cmotion GmbH Marion Chloupek Schanzstrasse 41/1 A-1140 Wien, Austria T: 0043 1 789 10 9600 F: 43 1 789 109619 E: marion@cmotion.at Cooke Optics Ltd Geoffrey Chappel Cooke Close Thurmanston Leicester LE4 8PT T: 0116 2640700 F: 0116 2640707 E: geoff@cookeoptics.com

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.

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

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Daylight Grip & Textiles Ltd Patrick McGuane Unit 4, Agecroft Network Centre Lamplight Way Swinton Manchester M27 8UG T: 0161 351 6720 F: 0161 351 6721 E: patrickmcguane@daylightgriptex.com

K5600 Lighting Marc Galerne 475 Rue de Flins 78410 Bouafle France T: 00 33 1 3095 3607 F: 00 33 1 3095 3607 E: marc@k5600.com

Direct - Metro Imaging Chris Fairchild 200-203 Hercules Road London SE1 7LD T: 020 7014 5200 F: 020 7014 5001 E: chrisf@directlighting.co.uk

KGS Development Juan Garcia 28 rue de Noechamps 5640 Mettet Belgium T: + 32 487 290564 E: juan@kgsd.eu

Elstree Studios, one of the most famous film and television studios in the world, where some of the most famous film and television shows in the world have been produced.

Located 20 minutes from the heart of London, Elstree Studios is without doubt London's number one studio for any film or television production, tour rehearsal, promo or corporate event.

www.elstreestudios.co.uk t: +44 (0)20 8953 1600 Fujifilm UK Millie Morrow Fuji Film House 125 Finchley Road London NW3 6HY T: 0203 040 0400 F: 0207 753 0601 E: mmorrow@fuji.co.uk

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Kodak Limited Maryse Goater Hemel One, Boundary Way Hemel Hempstead Herts HP2 7YU T: 01442 846970 F: 01442 846594 E: maryse.goater@kodak.com Lee Filters Ltd Adrian Marsh Central Way Walworth Ind. Estate Andover, Hants SP10 5AN T: 01264 366245 F: 01264 355058 E: amarsh@leefilters.com Mark Roberts Motion Control Ryan Fear Unit 4, Birches Ind Estate Imberhorne Lane East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 1XZ T: 01342 334730 F: 01342 334701 E: ryan@mrmoco.com

BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

BSC Show Guide 2009

Solid Grip Systems Onno Perdjik Veemarkt 212 1019DG Amsterdam Netherlands T: 00 312 042 82155 F: 00 312 042 82164 E: onno@solidgripsystems.eu

Movietech Camera Rentals Ltd Andrew Cooper Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SLO ONH T: 01753 650007 F: 01753 650006 E: andy.cooper@movietech.co.uk

Take 2 Films Tracey Pryor Unit 10, West Point Trading Est Alliance Road London W3 ORA T: 020 8992 2224 F: 020 8992 2204 E: tracey@take2films.co.uk

Photon Beard Ltd Peter Daffarn Unit K3, Cherry Court Way Stanbridge Road Leighton Buzzard LU7 4UH T: 01525 850911 E: peter@photonbeard.com On Sight - Axis Films Tom Higham 14 Berners Street London W1T 3LJ T: 020 7637 0888 F: 0207 637 0444 E: tom@onsight.co.uk

Pirate Michael Ganss St. Leonards Road London NW10 6ST T: 020 8930 5000 F: 020 8930 5001 E: michael@pirate.co.uk

P & S Technik Gmbh Silvia Malter Siemensstr. 12 85521 Ottobrunn Germany T: 49 89 4509 8230 F: 49 89 4509 82458 E: silvia.malter@pstechnik.de

Rogue Element Films Dan Mulligan Pinewood Studios Pinewood Road Iver Heath Bucks SLO ONH T: 01753 656898 E: dan@rogueelementfilms.com

Panavision London Tony Samuels The Metropolitan Centre Bristol Road Greenford Middx UB6 8GD T: 0208 839 7333 F: 0208 839 7310 E: tony.samuels@panavision.co.uk

Ronford Baker Jeff Lawrence Braziers, Oxhey Lane, Watford, Herts WD1 4RJ T: 0208 428 5941 F: 0208 428 4743 E: jeff@ronfordbaker.co.uk

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Technocrane Gabriela Homolova Podni Katelska 19 30100 Plzen Czech Republic T: +420 377 889 111 F: 00 420 377 8891 E: gabriela@supertechno.com

Transvideo Jacques Delecoux Zone Industrielle F-27135 Verneuil Sur Avre France T: +33 2 3232 2761 F: +33 6 3260 1479 E: jd@transvideo.fr

VFX Solutions Mark Chapman Unit 3, Sutherland Court Tolpits Lane, Watford WD18 9SP T: 01923 779333 F: 01923 779666 E: vfx.sales@bristolpaint.com

Vantage Film Gmbh Sylvia Gobner Altstrasse 9 92637 Weiden Germany T: +49 961 634 9650 F: +49 961 634 96549 E: cameras@vantagefilm.com

Videosys Broadcast Ltd Colin Tomlin 188 Chaldon Way Coulsdon Surrey CR5 1DH T: 01737 551716 F: 07963 856649 E: sales@videosys.org

Tiffen Europe Ltd +44 1869 343835 www.tiffen.com Tiffen Europe Ltd Robin Thwaites Enterprise House Weston Business Park Weston on the Green Oxford OX25 3SX T: 01869 343835 F: 01859 343836 E: robin.thwaites@tiffen.com

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UK

meet the new wave

We've identified a new wave of cinematographers who… have a decent slew of films under their belts… are not upstarts, but not quite of “a certain age” either… are not yet members of the BSC… but who have the potential to become the next Chris, Anthony or Roger.

Away from work, what are your greatest passions?

My family. When I am working they get so little of my time, and when I'm not I like to catch up on everything I've missed.

What one piece of kit could you not live without?

My Spectra IV light meter. I have used the same one since London To Brighton (though I have many spares), and now I'm superstitious enough to not shoot without it.

Which films are you most proud of to date?

We all have a soft spot for our first, so it's London To Brighton, made for peanuts, but full of heart.

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

On Eden Lake we had a stunt sequence where we were setting a stuntman's head on fire. We could only do this once.

I operated the shot which had the lead character, played by Kelly Reilly, running up to camera and collapsing in the foreground. We then had to rack focus to the background image of the guy on fire over her shoulder. It wasn't a particularly hard shot to operate, but there were a number of things that could go wrong. It was in overtime, the light was dropping and there was a performance element, which all added to the stress. It was a tricky shot to operate, and an even harder one to get sharp, but it all went off without a hitch.

In the entire history of filmmaking, which film would you love to have shot?

The first one. That would have been true genius, the rest of us stand on the shoulders of giants. Maybe Eadweard Muybridge's photographs of the horse Sallie Gardner would be a close second.

Christopher Ross Filmography (so far): Malice In Wonderland (2008), Eden Lake (2007), Cass (2007), The Cottage (2007), London To Brighton (2006) When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer?

I'd shot a lot of short films on video at University before I really knew what a cinematographer was. I was 22 years old and I felt that I had a lot to catch up on.

Who are your DP/industry heroes?

Roger Deakins and Seamus McGarvey for continually producing beautiful work, changing their style from project to project, yet allowing their personalities to permeate their films.

Have you received any nominations or awards?

The Kodak Short Film Showcase Best Cinematography Award 2008 for the short film Soft (2006)

Where did you train?

The school of hard knocks I suppose. When I first started I would shoot all sorts of stuff just to be exposing film and making images. I was so happy just to have a camera in my hands. It's very important for me to hold on to the feeling of that first rush. I was also a camera technician at Panavision during my twenties, so I guess that was my film school of sorts.

What's you proudest moment?

Watching the show print of London To Brighton (my first feature) in a viewing theatre at Deluxe. It was a tough feature in many senses and to see the work of a great crew finally on the big screen was simply mind-blowing. We had no idea how audiences would react, but we knew we'd made something a bit special.

What are you favourite films?

My favourites differ from year to year, and moment to moment, but there are a few that endure. I first saw Goodfellas when I was 15 and it captivated me immediately the perfect combination of style and story. I saw The Shawshank Redemption when I was 19 and only later realised how naturally dramatic its photography was.

What's been your best/worst moment on set?

There are good and bad times on every project, but there is one thing that keeps me going. As I tend to operate myself I have an addiction to the “tuning-fork moment”, when the camera and actor are in sync and have an emotional resonance. Those goosebump-inducing moments are the reason I'm a DP.

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What are your current top albums?

At the moment I'm addicted to The Age Of The Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets for it's swirling Scott Walker-esque anthems. My iPod also frequently hammers out albums by James Morrison, The Fleet Foxes and the slightly eccentric but quite brilliant Made Of Bricks by Kate Nash.

What's your greatest extravagance?

I recently upgraded to a large plasma television with a Blu-ray player. Now I get to watch Peppa Pig and Lazytown in all their surround sound, Technicolor glory!

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

Natural, Dramatic. Honest.

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

I would be sitting at a bench fixing cameras and lenses trying to work out a way of borrowing them for the weekend.

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FEATURE

on the job

Virgin: Lesbian Vampire Killers is thought to be the first British feature shot with Red cameras

Out of the box David Higgs BSC, Lesbian Vampire Killers Pigeon-holing is a characteristic of the British psyche.

Someone does something in a particular way once or twice and, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, that establishes a pattern for the rest of a career, writes Kevin Hilton. It's something David Higgs, recently ushered into the membership of the British Society of Cinematographers, is aware of and keen to avoid. There are some common threads in his list of credits, including his track record in television, but there is enough diversity in style and subject to confound and defy even the most ardent pigeonhole fancier.

Higgs' TV work spans from the challenging films of Peter Kosminsky, such as Britz, to the classy drama Cambridge Spies, through episodes of perennially popular primetime series like Poirot and Dalziel and Pascoe. Much of this work

has cinematic sensibilities and in the last couple years more features have come his way.

In quick succession Higgs made Guy Ritchie's East End gangster-as-rock star flick RocknRolla, and the soon-to-be released horror-spoof Lesbian Vampire Killers. This is the lighter side of the dark side, but Higgs is making a return to the murkier regions of the human spirit, and television, with an instalment of C4's eagerly-anticipated Red Riding trilogy.

Film and digital man These otherwise unconnected pieces form a loose trilogy for Higgs himself as they were all shot using digital cinema cameras and while he has gained valuable experience in using the technology he has no desire to be labelled as a digits-only cinematographer.

"It's a tool like any other other tool," he says of the Red camera, which he used for both Lesbian Vampire Killers and the Nineteen Eighty-Three part of the Red Riding Trilogy.

Higgs shot exclusively on film up to RocknRolla, which was his first working encounter with a digital cinema camera - in that case an ARRI D20. "I'd known about the Red and the D20 for a while but hadn't worked in digital before," he explains. "I'd always shot on film until then and had avoided high definition because I never liked the idea of working with the Pro 35 lens adaptor. It just seemed like too much ironmongery. But when the adaptors are on the Red or D20 they work in a filmic way."

Although both were shot digitally, Lesbian Vampire Killers and RocknRolla were made in very different ways. And the decision to go with the Red on Lesbian Vampire Killers, making it the first British feature to be shot on the camera (following Red's UK TV debut with Wallander, two episodes of which were shot by Anthony Dod Mantle), was due to an old reason in filmmaking: "It came down, like anything, to money,� he says.

New boy: David Higgs recently joined the BSC

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Higgs worked with two operators – Philip Sindall for A camera, with Derek Walker running B camera and a Steadicam - on a single stage that held all the sets, including

two different forests, a graveyard, interiors and exteriors of the cottage, a bathroom and a crypt, at 3 Mills Studios. "It was a difficult stage to light, but our hands were tied," he says.

Lesbian Vampire Killers reunites Gavin & Stacey actors Matthew Horne and James Corden as two unwitting lads sent as a sacrifice to appease the Sapphic bloodsuckers of the title. Working out how to shoot the required number of pages a day with two cameras around a small space took a lot of hard thinking, Higgs observes: "The lights didn't give us the deepest information possible but they worked well. When you're in a situation like that you move around as if you're trying to film the light itself."

Despite the lower budget and confined sets Lesbian Vampire Killers, by its nature as a horror film, albeit a send-up, still has a lot of visual effects. "The lower light levels meant that we did our own DPX extractions for the CGI," Higgs explains. "We recorded an open gate for CG, which meant there was a lot of information above and below the frame lines and we didn't have to work to the frame line."

The main difference between Lesbian Vampire Killers and RocknRolla was the gangster film's day exteriors and what Higgs describes as a "very hectic schedule". RocknRolla was also the first film to be shot using the log curve options, unlike The Bank Job, which was made using the D20's linear response mode. "With log you can capture as much information as you can and it gives a film-like image," Higgs comments.

Either way, this approximation of a film negative gave RocknRolla its own look, moving Joe Leydon of Variety to highlight the "gritty-glossy high-def lensing by David Higgs".

Lesbian Vampire Killers's budget couldn't run to the same kind of camera set-up as the Ritchie epic but the Red's ability to handle low lighting helped with the number of night shoots crammed into the five and half week schedule. Although the lighting arrangements on Lesbian Vampire Killers were tighter than those for RocknRolla, Higgs says he worked in the same kind of way.

"What I like about the Red is that it doesn't have a raw image but a compressed one," he says. "And you can get the look of film before the lens, not after."

Higgs acknowledges that the Red, and other digital cinema cameras, do require additional work from the camera department, so producer Steve Clark-Hall built three weeks testing time into the schedules for both RocknRolla and Lesbian Vampire Killers.

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

FEATURE

on the job

Nineteen Eighty; while Nineteen Eighty Three brought together David Higgs, director Anand Tucker and the Red camera.

"Anand wanted a 235 anamorphic feel to this film," Higgs says, "but the budget was very tight in terms of what we could shoot on. So we worked with Anita Overland [producer] to try to get something that would give us what we wanted and also make the budget work."

Nimble: working out how to shoot the required daily number of pages took dextrous thinking "We used that time to test the system and workflow runs, not just the lighting," Higgs says, "which everyone found useful."

The only problems of note he had through the shoot were the Red over-heating slightly and trouble with the hard stop on a disk drive. Ascent 142 worked closely with Higgs on the production's backend workflow, and was also responsible for the DI grade and deliverables.

Higgs' experience with the Red proved fortunate for his next project, the final instalment of the Red Riding trilogy, based on David Peace's quartet of novels Nineteen Seventy Four, Nineteen Seventy Seven, Nineteen Eighty and Nineteen Eighty Three. The individual stories span brutal and difficult times in British society, and each of the films in the new televised trilogy was made by different directors and directors of photography, using different technologies, to create individual looks and styles.

Red Riding Nineteen Seventy Four was directed by Julian Jarrold and shot by Rob Hardy on Super 16mm; the team of James Marsh and Igor Martinovic, using two-perf 35mm, took over for

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

Among the techniques used was the Vantage filter, which produced the anamorphic lens aberrations associated with films of the 1980s. "I didn't want to make it self-consciously feel like the '70s or the '80s because we've moved on from that," Higgs says. "We already had the northern lighting, but the Vantage filter and the Red worked well together and gave that look to the picture, as in John Carpenter's Christine.�

Another notable fact about Nineteen Eighty Three is that Higgs both lit the scenes and operated the camera, although this is not unusual for him: "I've operated for Peter [Kosminsky] because 99 percent of his work is hand-held and he wants to work with only one person. Whether I operate or I work with an operator depends on the film."

The nature of his next couple of projects means Higgs is back working with film again, so he can break the trend and ensure he's not pigeon-holed as purely a digital cinematographer. But, he says, the way the business is going requires the director of photography to be involved in more technologies and different parts of the production chain.

"We're seeing new technology being used more and more, like Quick Time films, and nobody is overseeing the whole architecture of the production," he concludes. "That sort of responsibility is coming down to the DP more than ever before, so we need to do a lot of homework to keep up."

David Higgs BSC Credits Tony Nineteen Eighty-Three Lesbian Vampire Killers Lost in Austen RocknRolla Britz The Stronger I Shouldn't Be Alive TV The Best Man Agatha Christie: Poirot Derailed Beneath the Skin The Government Inspector Island at War The Heat of the Story Too Good to Be True Cambridge Spies The Project Inspector Lynley Mysteries Night Flight The Russian Bride A Christmas Carol Nature Boy Summer in the Suburbs Innocents Dalziel and Pascoe In the Red The Broker's Man The Canterville Ghost The Merchant of Venice The Treasure Seekers The Tomorrow People§ James Herriot's Yorkshire: The Film Painted Faces Dunkirk: A Human Endeavour

(2009) (2009) (TV) (2009) (2008) (TV) (2008) (2007) (TV) (2007) (2006) (TV) (2006) (TV) (2005) (TV) (2005) (TV) (2005) (TV) (2005) (TV) (2004) (TV) (2004) (2003) (TV) (2003) (TV) (2002) (TV) (2002) (TV) (2002) (TV) (2001) (TV) (2000) (TV) (2000) (TV) (2000) (TV) (2000) (TV) (1999) (TV) (1998) (TV) (1997) (TV) (1997) (TV) (1996) (TV) (1996) (TV) (1992-4) (TV) (1993) (1992) (TV) (1990) (TV)

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FEATURE

camera creative

first feature film co-venture. It was a hit at the 2007 box office, earned rave reviews, an Oscar nomination for McGarvey and British Academy of Film and Television Award nominations for both of them.

On Skid Row “Normally, during early preproduction, I talk with the director about his vision and things like the colour palette, textures and aspect ratio,” McGarvey says. “Joe and I didn't start planning The Soloist with any of those things in mind. We met and spoke with people on Skid Row to get a clear idea of who they were and what their lives were like. We also attended group therapy sessions and other meetings with them, where I heard things that I had never heard before.”

photo by Thomas Napper

Those experiences put the script into perspective for both of them. “We met people whose stories altered our preconceptions about the homeless,” McGarvey emphasises.

“It was a humbling experience, because we realised that anyone can become homeless in the blink of an eye. We couldn't believe how these people were living and how the government ignored their plight. That got us started on the right foot.”

On the street: McGarvey and director Joe Wright did the pre-prep for The Soloist on Skid Row

You’re not alone Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC, The Soloist The Soloist takes the audience on a journey through the streets of downtown Los Angeles where homeless people live on Skid Row, writes Bob Fisher. The film was inspired by a series of newspaper articles and a book that was written by Los Angeles Times journalist Steve Lopez.

Flashback to 2005: Lopez hears “beautiful music” while he is walking to his office in downtown Los Angeles. The music leads him to a homeless man who is playing a two-string violin. The reporter initiates a conversation with the man whose name is Nathaniel Ayers.

Ayers was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he nurtured a boyhood interest in playing the violin. He earned a scholarship to Juilliard, the nation's premier school of music.

During his sophomore year, Ayes showed the first signs of schizophrenia, which put him on the path to Skid Row. His story inspired Lopez to interview other homeless people on

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Skid Row. His newspaper articles and book (The Soloist: A Lost Dream And The Redemptive Power of Music) were the basis for The Soloist screenplay that Susannah Grant wrote for DreamWorks.

Fair questions: Why did the producers ask Joe Wright to direct The Soloist, and why did he invite Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC to fly across the ocean and collaborate with him?

“Joe was an ideal director for The Soloist,” McGarvey replies.

“The story resonated with him when he read the script, because he is interested in mental health issues and is a keen music lover. Joe told me the story, and asked if I was interested in working with him.”

That was the equivalent of asking a fish if it wanted to go for a swim. McGarvey and Wright met during the early 1990s when they collaborated on filming music videos and a short film during the dawn of their careers. Atonement was their

They scouted locations in Los Angeles and also in Cleveland, where flashback scenes were filmed, and met with production designer Sarah Greenwood. She designed sets for Ayers' boyhood home, a Los Angeles apartment where he found shelter, and a stainless steel room where a flashback scene of him receiving electroshock treatment was filmed.

They considered shooting night exteriors in digital format.

McGarvey shot side-by-side tests with minimal artificial light in the foreground, comparing Genesis, ARRI D20 and DALSA 4K digital cameras and two 35mm film cameras mounted with anamorphic and spherical lenses.

“We projected the tests side by side and compared depth-offield, textures and details in the darkest shadows and brightest highlights,” McGarvey says. “The digital images were clear and vivid, but they didn't handle details in extreme highlights or at very low light levels nearly as well as film.

Headlights and streetlights also had strange magenta artifacts. The anamorphic approach looked and felt more organic than anything else, even at the lowest light levels.”

Consequently, Wright and McGarvey decided to produce The Soloist in anamorphic format coupled with digital intermediate (DI) postproduction. After comparing DIs of tests shot with different stocks, McGarvey decided to limit his palette to Kodak Vision 3 5219 (500T) film with the exception of a few, bright daylight scenes.

He explains, “It has an amazing range of latitude, and is very malleable, particularly in the highlight and shadow areas.

There was minimal build up of grain when I pushed the

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FEATURE

camera creative

Front-end lab work was done at Deluxe, in Los Angeles. McGarvey selected shots for film dailies, including scenes where he “tortured” the negative to get more expressive looks. He put finishing touches on the look during DI timing sessions with colorist Yvan Lucas at EFilm, in Los Angeles. ”I hadn't worked with Yvan before, but we hit it off right away,” McGarvey says. “He understood that I wanted to retain a naturalistic look. We were doing dynamic grading including darkening shadows on faces. I had experimented with using ProMist filters on the camera lenses while shooting flashback scenes. We reduced some contrast and added touches of a blue magenta tone to those scenes. Joe (Wright) would drop in from time to see what we were doing, but he and I were on the same track from day one of preproduction.”

BSC ASC! McGarvey recently joined the small but distinguished band of BSC members who have gone on to also join the American Society of Cinematographers (Gabriel Beristain, Roger Deakins, Stephen Goldblatt, Chris Menges, Doug Milsome, Tony Richmond and Peter Suschitzky). He was nominated for membership of the ASC by Roger Deakins BSC ASC, Amy Vincent ASC, Dion Beebe ACS ASC, and Rodney Taylor ASC. He was interviewed by a membership committee that included Owen Roizman ASC, Guillermo Navarro AMC ASC and Vincent while he was in Los Angeles to time the DI on The Soloist. McGarvey recalls that it was a friendly environment in the company of people he admired as both filmmakers and human beings. He showed them clips from four or five of his films, and discussed why he rendered those images the way that he did rather than how.

Togetherness: Seamus McGarvey and operator Mitch Dubin discuss a shot on The Soloist negative by a half to a full stop. The only exceptions were a few brighter daylight scenes where I decided to use (Kodak Vision 2 200T) 5217.”

Panavision provided the camera package, including Panaflex Millennium XL2 and Panaflex Platinum bodies, anamorphic C Series and E-series prime lenses, and AWZ2 T2 40-80 and ATZ T 3.5 70 to 200mm zoom lenses. The relatively new ATZ zoom lens weighs 12.75 pounds and is 15-inches long. It can hold crisp focus from within 5-1/2 feet of the subject.

“It was a bit daunting, because I was explaining why I deserved to be a member of an organisation that would put me in the company of so many of my past and present heroes,” he admits. “Becoming a member of the ASC was like a dream come true. I hope that being a member of both the BSC and the ASC will allow me to help collaboration and communication between the two societies.”

The American Society of Cinematographers traces its roots to a December 1918 meeting of 15 cinematographers at William C. Foster's home in Los Angeles. They were among the first generation of cinematographers who were in the process of inventing a new language for telling stories with silent, black and white moving images that were handcranked through cameras at 16 frames per second. ASC was chartered in California in January 1919.

The Soloist releases in the US on 24th April, and in the UK on 11th September 2009.

McGarvey shot makeup and hair tests with Robert Downey, Jr., who portrays Lopez, and with Jamie Foxx, who plays Ayers, both as a young man in flashback scenes and as an older man who has grey hair and a rougher complexion.

Facial landscapes While reading the script, McGarvey envisioned scenes where the eyes and expressions on faces would tell the story. He shot tests with the actors at different contrast ratios and exposed the negative in various ways to check the reflectivity of their skin tones.

“We covered most scenes with two cameras because Joe wanted to give the actors freedom to react to each other and to situations,” McGarvey says. “When we got into more intimate environments, including a couple of scenes with Robert Downey, Jr. and Catherine Keener, who plays the journalist's ex-wife, we usually chose to use a single camera. Some locations and smaller sets also didn't allow for positioning two cameras.”

McGarvey cites the scene where Lopez follows the music until he finds Ayers playing his violin in a tunnel, where they have their first conversation.

“Joe quickly decided that he wanted overlapping coverage with one camera on each character,” McGarvey reminisces. “It was fascinating watching the actors become the characters they were portraying. We were able to use both sides of their conversation without any retakes.”

Street people were extras, and a few played small roles, including Leane, a woman who found ways to feed stray cats. There is scene where she shares her theory of life with Lopez.

“One camera was on her and the other on Robert Downey, Jr., who had wonderful expressions on his face,” McGarvey says. “He wasn't acting. He was genuinely moved.”

There is a memorable, emotionally charged scene that was filmed during a rehearsal for an actual performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The camera was on a Libra head mounted on a rig suspended from the ceiling. That set up allowed McGarvey to track past the conductor and orchestra towards Ayers and Lopez who were sitting in the auditorium together. It ends with a close-up shot of them watching and listening as music fills the air.

“The meaning of this film plays on the actors' faces,” McGarvey observes.

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syllabus stories

Shine a light… get a shadow Run by Brighton-based Lighthouse, Guiding Lights is a flagship industry mentoring scheme established as part of A Bigger Future, the UK film skills strategy, a joint project set up by Skillset and the UK Film Council.

Prestigious members of the UK film industry, including Guiding Lights sponsor Optimum Releasing, and a range of

illustrious filmmaker mentors, have been brought together to support the scheme.

This is the first year that cinematographers have been included in the scheme and Oliver Stapleton BSC, Remi Adefarasin BSC, Barry Ackroyd BSC and Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC, have all been matched with emerging talent.

Over the year each 'mentee' is developing a one-on-one relationship with their mentor and taking part in networking and training events with the other participants. Success stories are already springing from the matches and at the end of their year the mentees will be celebrated at an industry event held at BAFTA. For a full list of mentors and mentees please go to www.guiding-lights.org.uk

David Raedeker

Faye

mentored by Barry Ackroyd BSC

mentored by Remi Adefarasin BSC

David Raedeker began his career as a stills photographer, shooting editorials for various clients including Vogue and Elle. After helping out on a film production he developed a taste for moving images and started working as a freelance camera assistant.

Since studying film under Ken McMullen at the London College of Communication he has shot campaigns for Nike, RAF, Marks & Spencer and Nokia and filmed bands such as the Magic Numbers, David Gray and Babyshambles. He has shot numerous award-winning shorts, television dramas, artists projects and four features including the Berlin 2007 nominated film Elvis Pelvis, Love Streams 2007 flagship production, directed by Kevin Aduaka and exec produced by Agnès B. Raedeker has collaborated with Guiding Lights mentees both during and previous to his time on the scheme. He recently shot Molly And Plum with Guiding Lights writer Rupert Raby and producer Yaw Basoah. Before the gaining a place on the scheme he also shot the short Top Girl for Guiding Lights director Rebecca Johnson, which was selected for this year's Clermont Ferrand, Berlin and Rotterdam Film Festivals. Raedeker's next feature project will be Dinner With My Sisters, starting principal photography in June for five weeks in Cyprus, co-produced

by Joe Dunton BSC CBE Ackroyd's style (working in an unrestricted way with the actors and allowing the director flexibility on the set) is something Raedeker aspires to, as it contributes a very 'real' atmosphere to the films. Raedeker has shadowed Barry Ackroyd on the set of Greenzone, directed by Paul Greengrass. He was recently signed for representation at United Agents.

Raedeker's advice to anyone starting out in cinematography : “You have to love it and live it and if you are stubborn enough you'll get there. I started with a manual stills camera with negative stock and took pictures of everything I found interesting. That taught me the most important principles and gave me a taste of what it's like to be behind the camera.”

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Faye developed a passion for images at an young age and recollects memories of early lessons with a pinhole camera and the school's darkroom as formative beginnings in her life as a cinematographer. When she was 17 she shot footage for a local news station and was inspired to study cinematography at Bournemouth Film School where she lit and operated numerous S16mm projects.

On leaving film school she pursued two parallel careers; on bigger films she worked her way up through the camera department and on smaller projects she built up the scale of projects she was lighting and operating. These two strands came together and she now works consistently as a DP and/or operator.

Faye has worked underwater, around the world and through the night on commercials, features, promos, corporates and documentaries. She has operated on a broad spectrum of projects from the televisation of King Lear starring Sir Ian McKellan to working for clients such as Hugo Boss, PC World, Top Shop and Bloomsbury Publishing. She also teaches at the Met Film School at Ealing Studios.

Faye believes the Guiding Lights scheme has provided her with a step up to the next level: “Teaming me with the talented, charming and diverse Remi Adefarasin BSC who offers his time, support and extensive technical and creative wisdom is a money-can't-buy experience which is educational, encouraging and inspiring.”

For aspiring cinematographers Faye has the following advice: "Be passionate about what you do and enjoy it. Work for the script. Don't be scared to be different, or even the same if need be. Believe in yourself and look after the team you build around you - they are everything.

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Stephanie Hardt

Ula Pontikos

mentored by Oliver Stapleton BSC

mentored by Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC

Stephanie Hardt is a German-born cinematographer working both in the UK and on the continent. She trained at Westminster University, following this with an MA in cinematography at the Northern Film School. Here she shot Keepsake, which won Best Dramatic Short at the New York Independent Film Festival and Wolf In An Arran Sweater for which she won the Arriflex Award for Best Camera and Lighting as part of The Fuji Film Scholarship Awards.

Since graduating she has worked on a variety of projects from promos, virals, commercials and independent features to documentaries and reality TV shows. The Coke virals she shot last year have won seven British TV Advertising Awards. Also released last year was Heavy Load - an award-winning feature documentary which the LA Times said, “benefits at every turn from Stephanie Hardt's gorgeous cinematography.”

Hardt says: “The one thing missing when working as a DP is learning from other more experienced DPs at work. Whether this is observing them at work, (during pre-production, on set and during post production) seeing how they make their decisions, or being able to ask them for their advice about a specific problem. Passionate about storytelling and the subtle arts of lighting and composition, I am honoured to be mentored by Oliver Stapleton as part of the Guiding Lights scheme. He has already been very helpful to consult and I'm really looking forward to shadowing him on a feature later in the year.”

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Originally from Poland, Pontikos made London her home and began her professional career as a camera assistant and clapper loader on a variety of films including Steven Frears' Dirty Pretty Things and Richard Eyre's Notes on a Scandal (both lensed

by Chris Menges BSC ASC). She recently graduated from the NFTS and has worked on numerous shorts and music videos. While also developing as a stills photographer Pontikos moved into work as a 2nd Unit DP and camera op on awardwinning features Vampire Diary and Outlanders.

Last year Pontikos shot and directed her own visual documentary short China's Wild West which was selected for Sundance this year, and is stirring festival attention in the US and Europe, building on the multiple festival successes of three of the shorts she shot last year. She has also created quite a buzz and was selected as new Talent in Cinematography in Fuji's Exposure.

When asked why she chose Seamus McGarvey as her mentor she responded: “Apart from creating beautiful work and being very successful and knowledgeable, he came from the film school background like me and I knew I could learn a lot from him. Also, his style of filming is very varied, and that's what I like in his work.”

Pontikos is looking forward to shadowing McGarvey later in the year. Her advice to aspiring cinematographers: “Try and get on set as a camera trainee. Time on set is the best training you can get. And film your own projects as much as you can in your free time. Take photographs, then look at them to find out what made you decide to take them like you did. Although they're not moving pictures, through stills you can learn and understand your work and keep developing you own personal style.”

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INTERNATIONAL

f-stop hollywood

“The slums were obviously extraordinary because we're encroaching on people's lives,” Dod Mantle said. “At the same time we had carte blanche and the green light to go in there and basically destroy their daily lives. You open a cupboard and a family of 15 fall out. And that's not something you can control.”

Mantle also addressed film budgets, saying: “It's very difficult these days with films, because the production value is such that things get harder and harder and wear on the budget. I think things get more and more pressured, but I try to keep a certain mental and physical extra space available for me and my directors to think twice or three times on set.”

Also backstage, editor Dickens said the film “always had magic, right from the beginning.”

“This is history being handed over to me,” said Pookutty, adding that he was the first from India to be nominated in a technical category.

Meanwhile, Kate's Winslett's sixth Oscar nomination finally landed her a gold statuette. Winslett said she felt “like a little girl from Reading. … My mum won a pickled onion competition in the local pub just before Christmas, and you know, that was a big deal. And the Reading Evening Post sent me a picture of her holding up her jar. Well, Reading Evening Post, there's your next Winslet picture.”

Also that evening, the Oscar for the best documentary feature went to British doc Man On Wire, which tells the story of Phillippe Petit's wire-walk between New York's twin towers in 1974. Brit Michael O'Connor, earned a trophy in costume design for his work on The Duchess.

ASC Awards A week before the Oscars, Dod Mantle's lensing of Slumdog Millionaire was honored at the 23rd annual American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards.

Bless: Dod Mantle dedicated his award to everyone he'd work with in the last 20 years

Slumdog triumphs Anthony Dod Mantle BSC DFF and an international team of collaborators received Academy Awards for the rags-to-riches British drama Slumdog Millionaire, writes Carolyn Giardina, prompting helmer Danny Boyle to point out that “the world is shrinking a bit, in a wonderful way.”

Backstage at the 81st Academy Awards, following wins for best director and best picture, Boyle said: “It's just extraordinary what has grown and culminated tonight of these extraordinary communities: Bollywood, who gave us virtually all our cast and crew; Hollywood, which has been responsible for the elevation of the film, culminating tonight, and we were Brits really trapped in the middle. It's a lovely trapped thing, it's not a bad trapped thing. You can see it's going to happen more and more.”

Among the Brits who received Oscars for Slumdog were Simon Beaufoy, for the screenplay adaptation of the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup; Chris Dickens, for film editing; and the

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British/Indian sound mixing team of Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty. The film also won Oscars for best score and best song.

On stage, Dod Mantle acknowledged, “All the people that have worked on all the films I've done for the last 20 years they're with me tonight.”

In the interview room following his win, Dod Mantle held the trophy that was presented by actress Natalie Portman, and described to a crowd of journalists how he captured the energy of Mubai.

“My main brief was to learn how to run with the boys,” he said. “Learn how to run with them at a certain height, at a certain pace, in a certain, intimate way, and that was a pretty difficult thing, actually, in the slums of Mumbai. That's where I spent most of my time in shooting.” The film was lensed with a combination of SI 2K digital camera - handheld - and film.

The category also included Roger Deakins, who was doublenominated for Revolutionary Road and The Reader; Chris Menges, also for The Reader: Claudio Miranda for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; and Wally Pfister for The Dark Knight.

During the evening, The Dark Knight director Chris Nolan received the ASC Board of Governors Award in recognition of his contributions to the art of filmmaking. Nolan and Pfister famously broke new ground by lensing several sequences of the latest Batman film in the 65 mm Imax film format.

“If I have done anything to be worthy of this, it is working with people who share my love for the high technical standards that have always been the backbone of the filmmaking process,” Nolan said. “I'm often these days asked to defend my love for film - the medium. That's like a stone mason being asked to defend marble. I defend my position using facts and figures about resolution and bit-depth. What you do as cinematographers is not quantifiable, logical or rational. It's hard to explain why it has the affect on us that it does. It is magic, and you are magicians.”

Jack Green ASC - who shot numerous Clint Eastwood films including Unforgiven, was presented the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award. The ASC International Achievement Award was given to Donald McAlpine, ASC ACS; the Career Achievement in Television Award was presented to Robert “Bobby” Liu ASC; and the President's Award was bestowed on Isidore Mankofsky ASC. ASC president Daryn Okada noted that the ASC's 90th anniversary, which is being celebrated this year, made the

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awards “especially meaningful. “Our cinematographers, through their profound passion and commitment, continue to deliver amazing artistry.”

Prior to the awards ceremony, plaques were presented to all nominees during an ASC nominees dinner, hosted by Kodak.

Menges was unable to attend. Accepting a nomination plaque, Deakins noted that Menges shot the “major portion of The Reader. He was the first person I approached when I left film school and he has been an inspiration to me ever since.

It's an honour to be sharing a credit with a man such as Chris.”

ASC VP Michael Goi, who handed out the plaques with fellow VP Owen Roizman, quipped: “We were considering a new category for best cinematography in a film shot by Roger Deakins.”

Sci-Tech Celebration AMPAS' Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony was held three weeks before the Academy Awards. Popular with the Sci-Tech community, the open bar reception, sit down dinner and ceremony tends to have a very personal feel as the group honours its own.

This year, the evening's highlight was the presentation of the Gordon E. Sawyer Award to computer scientist Ed Catmull, who co-founded Pixar Animation Studios, and serves as president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. He received two enthusiastic standing ovations as he was presented the Oscar statuette, recognising his lifetime of technical contributions to the industry.

Among his accomplishments, Catmull founded three leading computer graphics research centers - Pixar, the computer division of Lucasfilm, and the computer graphics laboratory at the New York Institute of Technology - and is widely known as one of the architects of Pixar's Renderman software.

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International: cinematographer Don McAlpine with his ASC award

Computer scientist and motion picture technologist Mark Kimball was bestowed the John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation to for his service and dedication to the Academy. Kimball spent nearly two decades at Walt Disney Feature Animation, with roles including CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) logistics system lead and finally as chief technologist.

Scientific and Engineering Awards were presented to Erwin Melzner, Volker Schumacher and Timo Müller for the Arrimax 18/12 lighting fixture with innovative cooling system. The

honour was ARRI's fifteenth Sci-Tech Award, although it was its first for a lighting development.

Scientific and Engineering Awards were also handed out to Jacques Delacoux and Alexandre Leuchter for the Transvideo video-assist monitors; and to Bruno Coumert, Jacques Debize, Dominique Chervin and Christophe Reboulet for the Angenieux 15-40 and 28-76 zoom lenses for handheld cinematography. A Technical Achievement Award went to Steve Hylén for the Hylén Lens System for motion picture effects photography.

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INTERNATIONAL

letter from america

Preservation in a pickle Bob Fisher highlights AMPAS's 70-page The Digital Dilemma report which looks into digital media versus film for archiving purposes, and found some nasty surprises waiting.

The research project was launched during the Spring of 2005 when the Academy organized a conference, which included film archivists and their counterparts at US government agencies and universities.

“The purpose of the conference was to ask the experts what questions needed to be asked and answered about the archivability of motion pictures produced or post produced in digital format,” says Academy Science and Technology council director Andy Maltz. “Some 70 individuals from various sectors, such as health care, super-computing, earth science and government were subsequently interviewed. The Digital Dilemma report is a summary of our findings. The report isn't advocating practices for archiving. We are providing reliable information, so people can draw their own conclusions.”

The respective average annual costs for archiving film and 4K digital master files for a motion picture are $1,059 and $12,514

Imagine a newspaper reporter demanding to know why Sarah Bernhardt was wasting her talent by appearing in films that were only seen by “low brow” audiences. It sounds like a script for a biography-based drama, but it actually happened in 1913.

The legendary stage actress reportedly replied that she did it so future audiences could see her perform. It was a prescient response. Clips of her performances, beginning with The Duel of Hamlet in 1900, are weaved into the fabrics of at least ten documentaries about Bernhardt and the dawn of the age of silent movies.

The long-term financial and cultural value of films came into focus during the 1960s when the burgeoning television industry developed an insatiable appetite for programming old movies and popular episodic series for a new generation of fans.

Los Angeles-based film preservationist Milt Shefter supervised the design and construction of a 40,000 square foot archival vault on the Paramount Pictures lot in 1987. He

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also implemented a strategy for preserving the studio's film assets. Shefter subsequently ushered several other studios through the same process.

Today, each of the seven Hollywood studios has asset protection managers who are dedicated to restoring and archiving films in their libraries for future audiences.

Journalist Michael Cieply put this issue into perspective in New York Times article that was published on December 23, 2007. He cited a report stating that about one-third of the annual $36 billion earned by the US studios comes from their libraries. In addition to television, the demand was sparked by cinemas in homes, which have evolved from VCRs to laser discs, DVDs and now high definition DVDs and flat plasma screens.

Cieply's article was inspired by the release of The Digital Dilemma report issued by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in November 2007. The subtitle is “Strategic Issues in Archiving and Accessing Digital Motion Picture Materials”.

The 75-page report was co-authored by Maltz and Shefter. A line in the second paragraph of the forward states the mission precisely: “Even some of the artists who are most evangelistic about the new world of digital motion pictures sometimes seem not to have thoroughly explored the question of what happens to a digital production once it leaves theatres and begins its life (if all goes well) as a long-term studio asset.”

The report compares practices and costs for film and digital archiving. It documents a general agreement that because of the degradation of signals and obsolescence of formats and standards, digital media is much more volatile than film.

The report says the respective average annual costs for archiving film and 4K digital master files for a motion picture are $1,059 dollars and $12,514.

“All Hollywood studios have been archiving their films in proper humidity and temperature-controlled environments for at least 40 years,” Shefter says. “All of the negative, intermediate film and black and white separations, scripts and notes for an average feature film can be archived in about 300 boxes.”

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letter from america

About one-third of the annual $36 billion earned by the US studios comes from their libraries

Maltz observes, “The Digital Dilemma report seems to have struck a nerve. It has sparked a lot of interest and raised many questions. Our goal was to make people both inside and outside of the industry aware of this important issue.”

The alternative to finding a solution was raised in Cieply's New York Times article. He cautioned that future fans might have a better chance of watching movies from the 1920s, '30s or '40s than today's motion pictures archived in digital format.

The Academy recently began the next phase of the Digital Dilemma research project in conjunction with the Library of Congress. The second phase of the study is focussing on the state of the art of archiving independent films and documentaries.

For more information about the work being done by the Academy Science and Technology Council visit their website at http://www.oscars.org/council.

The Academy report cites case studies which indicate that it requires more than two petabytes (2,000 terabytes) to store all the files generated for a movie produced in digital format. A single terabyte is equal to a trillion bytes of computer data.

The report states that the current cost for archiving all relevant elements of a motion picture produced in digital format is $208,569 dollars a year. It also cautions that a digital media hard drive can “freeze up” in as little as two years, and recordable DVD media will eventually degrade. About half are not expected to last longer than 15 years. Technology vendors recommend migrating DI master files every four to five years.

Shefter points out that I Love Lucy and other television programmes produced by Desilu Studios some 50 years ago are still in syndication, because they were properly archived at CFI labs, in Los Angeles, where he worked at the beginning of his career.

“The original programmes were produced on black and white film, and later on colour negative,” Shefter recalls. “I don't think anyone realised how valuable they would become as a record of early television and as assets that continue earning revenues.”

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INTERNATIONAL

Award: Andreas Fisher-Hansen DFF, former president of Imago and its second honorary member

imago

Talent spotter: Remy Chevrin AFC president visiting the film museum

Three's company: (l-r) Jan Betke BvK, Michel van Lear SBC president, and Louis-Philippe Capelle SBC Imago general secretary

My family in Bradford As we travel back from Bradford on our way to Kings Cross, my Romanian friend Tudor Lucaciu was explaining the reasoning for the style behind the commercial we were viewing on his laptop. I was surprised that as we thunder down the line at 125 miles/hr, the free internet service provided by the Eastern Rail company actually worked. We are in the 21st century. Wireless communication speed contributes to a smaller world.

The reason for my journey to Bradford had been to help the BSC as host country, in the running of the IMAGO General Assembly (IAGA) held in Bradford on the 13th, 14th, and 15th February 2009.

IMAGO, to keep things clear, is the European umbrella organisation that unites all cinematographers' associations across Europe and, with an associate membership from countries outside Europe, forms almost a worldwide organisation with 37 members uniting the cinematographers' concerns and ideals around the world.

To quote from their website: “The main purpose of the federation is to champion and uphold the high standards achieved by the cinematography profession and, via a constant exchange of experience, to promote the spread of that highly-specialised culture on which the long-standing technical and artistic quality of the european cinema industry is firmly based.”

The extensive work that this organisation conducts can be seen if you log onto www.IMAGO.org.

But back on the train my esteemed friend Tudor, had managed to attract the interest of our fellow passengers with his enthusiasm, passion and knowledge of films. This was for me the continuation of three days of intense gratification in the company of truly great European filmmakers. This had led to me feeling a sense of belonging to an international community that stretches around the world, without frontiers regardless of race and religion, in truth a family.

I remember someone asked me once, as we were moaning the state of affairs and the possibility of having to do something else to make ends meet, “What would you miss if you would leave this industry?”. The first thought that came into my mind was the people.

For all the amazing places and things that I have been part of, it would not have been as enjoyable as it was, if any of those wonderful characters that shared those moments had not been there with me.

We forget that we belong to a bigger community of filmmakers, we relate to the USA forgetting that really Hollywood is in another continent that although we think that our career's highlight is to work on the biggest American production visiting these shores. In reality we are much closer to Europe that what we think, that their concerns are our concerns and that they also share our love for films. We now suffer from the same lack of work, and we are all struggling in this changing world. Although we can say I worked with him referring, to some famous British DP that now works almost exclusively in the USA, so can they and probably far more times than us.

They are far more aware in Europe of the work done in the UK that we give them credit for, unlike us as 'European' cinema is not widely shown in the UK Sitting at the conference hall and looking at all the different nationalities present with their wonderful accents, hand expressions and the different ways they have of explaining themselves, it was just like being on a film set working with fellow filmmaker's laughing at some joke, or trying to collectively take a decision, whilst going around in circles but in the end arriving at a conclusion that satisfied everyone.

The work for just over 16 years that IMAGO (at present under the presidency of Nigel Walters BSC and before him many others including Harvey Harrison BSC) has done over this period has given the association a well-respected name, not just in Europe but all over the world.

As the conference finished, and we all said our goodbyes, we kissed, we hugged, and we shook hands we promise to keep in touch until the next time.

Back on the train with Tudor (now approaching London), we felt the presence of all those great Italian, French, Spanish, Scandinavian, Eastern Europeans and English masters that I have much admired all my life. Suddenly I realised that although Tudor lives in Bucharest, we are now in the 21st century, and that really the English Channel has ceased to exist, and that our industry is now totally interconnected like never before, with the rest of the world.

Long live the revolution! By Rodrigo Gutierrez.

Digital Cinema Conference in Oslo Following the success of the previous conference in 2006 IMAGO, in cooperation with the Norwegian Society of Cinematographers, EDCF ( The European Digital Cinema Forum) and the Norwegian Film Institute, has arranged a further Digital Cinema Conference which will take place in Oslo on May 8, 9and 10. It will host 200 cinematographers from all over Europe.

The conference will begin with in-depth, hands-on demonstrations and lectures on new digital camera equipment, tools and software, and discuss manufacturers plans for the future. There will also be discussions with IMAGO and EDCF technical committees with experts.

Saturday will begin with the focus on pre-production, production and post production in the digital film world. This will be followed by case studies of three recently made international

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films, exploring the choice of equipment, 35mm, 16mm or Hi-Definition as well as the challenges and experiences of the shooting and post-production process.

The need for standardization of a new file format for camera originals will be discussed and an update given on the development in distribution technology in the implementation of digital cinemas throughout the world .

On Sunday the conference will focus on 3D , the theory and its impact on the industry, production and post-production. Hands-on 3D camera solutions will be demonstrated .

There will be lectures on the cinematographer's opportunities for quality control of the image during the complete digital process including cinema, DVD and TV distribution. The final item will be a lecture on the challenge and cost of archiving digital production in the future.

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imago

Thank you Bradford, Italian tax incentives City of Film

Present day Italy is not renowned for its socialist principles, despite the fact that Berlusconi and Blair are allegedly best mates. It came therefore as a surprise to learn in Bradford at a presentation given by Maurizio Sperandini, deputy general manager of Rome's Cinecitta Studios, one of IMAGO's latest and most generous sponsors, that qualification for tax incentives to attract productions to Italy include the condition that they have to be commissioned by a foreign production company, filmed on Italian territory, using Italian manpower, spending money in Italy.

These are tax incentives aimed at American productions. British tax incentives are also aimed at American p[roductions as a recent article for the British Cinematographer by Colin Brown chairman of the UK Film Council indicates. In it there was no mention of Europe, despite more films being shot here than in America .Certainly no conditions that “British” manpower should be used to qualify for incentives from overseas. The Italians have authorisation with the EU to restrict their tax concessions to the employment of workers from Italy. No mention of the EU.

Presentation: (l-r) Diana Apostol general manager of Panalight Romania, Maurizio Sperandini deputy general manager Cinecitta Studios in Rome, Louis-Philippe Capelle general secretary of Imago and Roberto Jarratt CEO of Panalight Group – all viewing the details of a Cinecitta powerpoint at the BSC dinner The rhythm of the wheels, iron against iron, encourages reflection on rail journeys, and although this will be remembered as the conference of reunification of our societies the real star has to have been the City of Bradford.

In former times, crossing the points would act as a check on getting carried away in thought, but as they have all but disappeared from the high-speed track whistling South I am allowed to contemplate without interruption. Bradford had been an inspired choice resulting from an invitation a year ago to visit one of the four film festivals held there each year. The occasion then had been the International Festival where my friend of twenty years, Michael Palin, was being honoured. It was only by a chance reading of a pamphlet in my hotel room that I learnt that Bradford was bidding to be a UNESCO City of Film.

The City has everything for a conference of cinematographers, especially the National Media Museum where I am particularly indebted to the curator of cinematography Michael Harvey and the events organiser, Jan Metcalfe, for their encouragement and for suggesting and making possible such a unique series of events around the actual Conference day.

The finale was the showing of This is Cinerama, a cocktail of pictures and sound, tailor-made for the viewing of the European delegates. It was followed by a remarkable demonstration of the same century- old Kinemacolor projector on which coloured film was first shown to the world in London exactly a century before. No one present will forget the charming demonstration of English eccentricity we witnessed from David Cleveland, Brian Pritchard and Nigel Lister.

Entertainment and education at its best, but an example of a few enthusiasts saving and restoring and devoting their time and energy forfilm heritage. We owe them a great debt.

Everyone who assisted us in Bradford was responsible for the delegates departing with

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such happy memories and for the success of the Conference: Duncan the projectionist, Emma, Rebecca, Mark and the friendly efficient staff of the Great Victoria Hotel, Bill Richardson from Screen Yorkshire who put us in touch with Nigel Rice from Bradford Council.

The catering staff at the Museum reacting to the unpredictable demands of wine and coffee from the Italians and French so efficiently. You all played your part. Thank you.

None of this would have been possible without the support of the BSC, represented

by Sue Gibson, Joe Dunton and Rodrigo Guteirrez, Martin Hammond, the conference organiser and the generosity of our sponsors.

Some of those sponsors who have stood by IMAGO in better days are suffering in this economic downturn and we need to stand by them now and be grateful for their past support. Panavision, Kodak and ARRI are our largest historical benefactors, and to make Bradford affordable for the hosting BSC were joined by generous donations from Fuji, Panalight, Lee Filters, Cinecitta Studios, Rosco, Deluxe, The Bradford City of Film, National Media Museum and Screen Yorkshire

The Italian tax concessions continue to stipulate that their tax credit benefit is not directly given to foreign productions, but to Italian production service companies It is obvious to cinematographers and film workers that the British government is doing little to protect British film workers. If the Italians can stipulate that tax concessions only apply to companies using Italian manpower in their country why does the British Government not offer similar protection to its workers? Such a principle may be protectionism by another name, but who cares with such an erosion of our craft base taking place? Can it be their government advice is primarily sought from employers' organisations who have little care if our industrial skills vanish as long as profits can be maximized? This is what will happen if present trends continue. It has taken the Italians to point to the British the obvious and sensible wording in their tax concessions in protecting their craft base. Our craft skills need protection from the government.

IMAGO is grateful for the generous offer given in Bradford by Cinecitta Studios and Panalight to host their 2010 Annual General Conference in Rome. We look forward to meeting next year in Rome. The offer has come as a bolt of Italian light, reflecting their confidence in the future of IMAGO at a time when financial restrictions were threatening our plans for the future It has been an Italian year for IMAGO, with our first ever tribute being awarded to Guiseppe Rotunno AIC at the Frankfurt Festival last September.

The surprise act of generosity for Imago came when Maurizio Sperandini, the deputy manager of Cinecitta Studios in Rome in conjunction with Panalight, whose general manager Roberto Jarratt was present, announced the offer of hosting the next IMAGO Annual General Meeting (IAGA) of Imago in Rome. They have promised transport and hotel assistance plus the excellent facilities of their legendary Cinecitta Studios as a base. What generosity!

The weekend had begun with the presentation of honorary membership of IMAGO to my predecessor, the man who for many years selflessly steered the Federation away from the abyss of financial disaster and who was my own inspiration for my convictions in the principles of Imago, Andreas Fisher-Hansen DFF, a remarkable gentleman. We saluted you as we arrived and as we departed . We meet in Rome next year.

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GBCT - The chairman speaks

Sean Bobbitt, HD Per ardua ad astra I suppose, when you learn from the BBC's Money Programme that commercial television advertising has declined by ÂŁ100 million over the past eight years, you begin to understand a few things. You learn that foreign television imports are allowed to show blatant product placement when broadcasting in Britain, but British productions are not allowed to include it in their programmes; that the internet now soaks up approximately 25% of all advertising budgets; and it is becoming increasingly difficult for producers to secure the funds for programme making - not helped by the massive amount of counterfeit programmes available worldwide.

Apparently 53% of television 'formats' originate in Britain So, times are tough out there in television land, and it is affecting us all. British television is still highly regarded worldwide though, and apparently 53% of television 'formats' originate in Britain.

We believe we do our bit to uphold the high standards of television drama, and even though things are pretty slow at the moment, let's hope that the quality of what we do shines through and helps keep British television dramas, and the crews that make them, at the very forefront of worldwide broadcasting.

As they say in the RAF - per ardua ad astra.

Jamie Harcourt GBCT Chairman GBCT

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By Rupert Lloyd Parry. GBCT Language seems to have changed recently. I joined a business fifteen years ago that had jargon that was fun; redheads and blondes, dollies, Honka Bonkas, the list goes on. Now it seems to be; pipelines, data, workflows and backend delivery, they don't sound like fun at all. I was never really interested in the glitz of the film industry. I always fascinated by the craft involved in making a movie; the rest of it in my view, was just a necessary evil to get bums on seats.

Things are changing and where I had once heard HD and film 'was like comparing plastic to leather', 'adapt or die' now sounds like compelling advice.

Over the last couple of years I have noticed a distinct change. Perhaps I have been lucky, but all my work was predominantly with 35mm. That involves heavy cameras,

often awkward to rig, but on the whole fairly predictable in their size, shape and functionality. Almost overnight I was dealing with a whole array of HD cameras that differed dramatically. I realised that I needed, very fast, to get my act together and learn as much about these new machines as possible. Why would a grip need to do that? Well, for example, putting an Arricam inside a car differs from putting a Genesis attached to a recording deck in the same position - similar rig, but with new problems to resolve.

I have always thought that anyone working around a camera is obliged, out of professional courtesy, to understand how new technology is affecting their fellow crew members. We work as a team and need to embrace new technology.

Recently these changes have accelerated beyond measure and we all need to stay on top of things, or it would be very

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and Film

camera ever made and stocks are infinitely superior to that produced as little as ten years ago.

So why is the industry being driven down the HD route regardless of what and where we are shooting? It appears 'pipelines' are predominantly to blame.

Grain movement is pivotal to the debate, pipelines don't like it. With an ever increasing number of channels being stuffed into the same bandwidth, capacity is becoming a deciding factor, especially for which format is being used. Pictures with grain movement require greater bandwidth, broadcast next to other pictures like football that also have a great deal of movement and the pipeline starts to not be big enough. This in turn means broadcasters are worried about overloading the system.

Sean went on to point out that 'we have been told digital is better, it's not'. UK analogue is the best TV signal in the world, apart from possibly the Japanese who broadcast super HD through fibre optic cables. The country now has an inferior image purely because of the number of channels being broadcast. The largest casualty in all of this appears to be 16mm, which is where the Image Forum is trying to fight its corner. Many will be aware that the BBC decreed 16mm should be replaced by HD. In most eyes this is at best short sighted, and at worst stifling the DP in their ability to maintain unimpeded artistic choice. I mentioned this to Andrew Dunn BSC who summed things up brilliantly. 'It's about storytelling' he told me, 'telling a story around a campfire is as much about the smell of the wood smoke as it is the story itself'.

HD is very relevant and superb at many things, but in Sean's opinion we should be using the medium that is the best quality for the project. It would be a great shame 'to throw away 16mm just because of grain movement'. There is also the matter of economics to consider; on the face of it HD seems cheaper, again it's not. Backend delivery is being asked for in specific formats, this is being decided by budgets and not content. With the perception that HD is cheaper, and instead of knowing the true cost of post, huge amounts of contingency money is often held back, just in case. Some inexperienced producers have found themselves in the unenviable position of discovering their chosen format impossible to post produce.

Shooting is a relatively predictable thing to budget, but new workflows in post production can carry hidden costs. Making equipment and format choices because of the backend cost can drastically effect production; especially if those decisions are made without the involvement of the DP. With HD and at least fifteen different formats, storage and processes differ; these aren't always fully appreciated by the director and producer. This again can have a huge impact on production, often compounded by new systems that are not ready to go online but get used anyway.

Back to grain, Sean is quite specific about this, 'I love grain'. Grain is for many of us the essence of photography. ARRI are promoting an extremely clever system for grain reduction which they demonstrated in Poland. But is this what the DP, director and producer had in mind when they chose film over HD? And is loss of grain contrary to that decision? Grain movement may take up more information than a compressed HD signal, but for HD to work fully as a medium it requires a large bandwidth. Broadcasters are still keen on this compressed signal since they consider the quality of that image to still be viable. Saying that, apparently when Lord Grade first watched his beloved football in High Definition he thought there was a fault and called an engineer in to fix it.

One last key point, film is robust, digits are easy to damage. Everyone is still finding their feet on how to handle data, and I am hoping to gather differing opinions on this for a future article.

Data needs to be handled by someone who knows what they are doing. Sean describes this extra crew member as a 'data wrangler', others will refer to them as DITs, and while still others will tell you an additional person is not necessary. I recently worked with Ben Smithard, we shot with a combination of recording deck and Flashmags. This tied up two technicians on set and a further technician operating as a DIT and handling data transfer as well as troubleshooting the new technology.

easy to be left behind. This is starting to hint at changing 'workflows', everyone on the set is feeling it, but some changes are more obvious than others.

After a year of concentrated effort to get myself familiar with the huge diversity of HD products available, I found myself at the Image Forum, hosted by Plus Camerimage in Poland last December. Sean Bobbitt was one of the speakers. As the IF discussion progressed I realised why there is so much confusion over HD; it's because people are confused, or more accurately, being boxed into a corner by other people who are confused. It seems sometimes decisions are led by economics and not common sense, now who would have thought that? After the presentation I managed to track Sean down and ask him a few questions, the first being, what on earth is a 'pipeline' other than something governments argue over in the Ukraine.

With regard to HD versus film, Sean was at pains to point out that you need to understand both.

There is absolutely no doubt that everyone loves film. Stocks are constantly evolving, we have tried and tested methods of working with the equipment and it's a more rugged platform, especially working in an inhospitable environment. In his opinion, the 416 is the best 16mm

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Flashmags are also expensive; working with three is comparable to hiring film equipment. This equipment is complicated. Productions are extremely reluctant to pay for any prep. The assumption with HD is that it is plug and play, just like a Handycam fresh out of the box. Sean described battling to get even one days prep for his crew, something everyone knows is again very short sighted and just storing up problems for the set, which is much more costly.

I don't want to paint too bad a picture of HD, the industry has to recognise that it is here to stay and it does produce some wonderful images. The comparison test show fascinating results and while the Image Forum will fight for 16mm to keep its head above water, the results of these tests are worth seeing. I love film; it carries a certain gravitas and discipline that makes for wonderful work. Or in Ben Smithard's words 'it's just better isn't it'. Meanwhile I will keep bolting cameras to rigs and hope that there aren't so many cables in the future. I'm also extremely glad I can leave all this politics to the 'grown ups'.

Rupert Lloyd Parry. GBCT www.rupertlloydparry.com

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Gekko: LEDs are well-known for their minimal weight and reduced power consumption

Gekko appoints North American distributor Gekko Technology, a developer and manufacturer of LED luminaires has announced it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Production Resource Group, LLC, (PRG), headquartered in New Windsor, New York. The agreement will include Gekko's current product portfolio of film and TV white light products, as well as access to the newly developed kleer colour range of colour products, including the kedo 12-100, which will debut at NAB 2009. “We have been extremely impressed with PRG's approach to its relationships with manufacturing principals, the strength of infrastructure, the specialist knowledge of its staff and

ability to understand the future market for LED-driven sources. Television, film and entertainment lighting integrators require the highest colour quality, in a particular colour space, and we look forward to continuing our growth with a respected distribution partner,� said David Amphlett, MD of Gekko Technology.

Gekko's products, which are well-known for their minimal weight and reduced power consumption include kisslite, lenslite, kicklite and george, and have been used on Casino Royale (Bond 21), Death Defying Acts, Mamma Mia!, Golden Compass (Nicole Kidman) and television dramas including Waking The Dead, New Tricks and The Commander.

Chapman gear January 2009 saw Chapman UK demonstrate its new 32' Hydrascope to GBCT members. This clever system is completely waterproof but still has all the functionality of a traditional telescopic crane.

Shown here mounted on their Raptor it can pretty much go anywhere. Power can often be an issue, especially working in a remote location, so as an added bonus the unit is totally battery operated.

Chapman UK demonstrated the crane with a G3 stabilized head, and very soon they will have the 'Amphibian' arriving, and that is a totally submersible remote system.

I have used the Raptor several times in inaccessible locations and combined with a telescopic arm it opens up a whole wealth of possibilities, especially if the job doesn't have a large construction crew for a traditional build.

Rupert Lloyd Parry GBCT

The GBCT section is written and compiled by John Keedwell GBCT page

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