British Cinematographer - Issue 33

ISSUE

33

MAY 2009

ENTERPRISING …

ALSO INSIDE … #20: CAMERA CREATIVE – DAN MINDEL ASC TALKS ABOUT TAKING STAR TREK BACK TO ITS BEGINNINGS #28: CLOSE UPS – MARTIN RUHE ON HARRY BROWN, ROGER SIMONSZ GBCT ON NINE MILES DOWN, W. MOTT HUPFEL III ON JACK GOES BOATING, SHANE HURLBUT ON TERMINATOR SALVATION #32: F-STOP HOLLYWOOD – NAB REVIEW AND CINE GEAR EXPO PREVIEW #25: SHOOT THE FUTURE – REPORT ON THE BSC FILM & DIGITAL IMAGE EVALUATIONS 2009 #19: MEET THE NEW WAVE – JAKE POLONSKY #38: GBCT NEWS – INCLUDING A REVIEW OF THE BSC NEW EQUIPMENT SHOW

RRP: £6.00

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Fax: +44 (0) 1753 650111

>> C O N T E N T S

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.

UK P03 P05 P09 P12 P19 P22 P28 P38

President's Perspective: Sue Gibson BSC says producers should never discount experience Production / Post & Techno News: the latest news for cinematographers POV: Ginnie Atkinson calls on DPs to support the Edinburgh International Film Festival Who's Shooting Who?: discover which DPs are working where Meet The New Wave: Jake Polonsky… would kill to shoot a B&W movie To Live & Let DI: find out who's putting out the DI grades right now Close-Ups: Roger Simonsz, Martin Ruhe, W. Mott Hupfel III and Shane Hurlbut ASC GBCT News: the chairman's statement, plus a review of the BSC New Kit Show

INTERNATIONAL P15 P32 P34 P35

Cannes Preview: the Brits hit the Cote d'Azur for the world's greatest film festival F-Stop Hollywood: NAB round-up and Cine Gear Expo preview Letter From America: Steven Poster ASC says new digital practices are restoring traditional film methodologies IMAGO News: Nigel Walters BSC, president of IMAGO, says the UK might do better to adopt a more European approach to the business of filmmaking

Cover Photograph: Star Trek (2009).

Directed by: J.J. Abrams.

Photo Credit: Industrial Light and Magic. TM & Copyright ©2009 by Paramount Pictures.

All Rights Reserved.

>> Editorial Team 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).

FEATURES P10 P20 P25

Production News: so who is managing the migration of crew into the UK? Camera Creative: Dan Mindel ASC on Star Trek Shooting The Future: report on the BSC Film & Digital Image Evaluations 2009

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)

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.

Dixie Bonham is a freelance entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in both trade and international publications. In addition to reporting on the technical side of television and film production, he creates advertising campaigns and newsletters for many production and equipment houses.

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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A Matter Of Death And Life Dear Readers I remember standing beguiled a few years ago in a small art gallery in Cardiff Bay. We had just launched British Cinematographer magazine, and the art of cinematography was uppermost in the mind. The thing that had me spellbound was a large photographic portrait of Audrey Hepburn. The monochrome image, one of a series of portraits, was a composed of a mesmerising blend of light and shade, swirls of chiarascuro, sudden shifts from black to white - all defining the contours of that elfish face and stylish couture. The shot clearly took time to create, but was clearly the work of a master who could paint with light. He was Jack Cardiff.

How does one properly classify the talent of some like Jack Cardiff? His passion for master painters and their use of light led

the Technicolor Company to hire him as a camera operator in 1936. This opportunity in turn led to him operating camera for the first Technicolor film shot in Britain, Wings of the Morning in 1937. He was eventually offered the full position of director of photography for A Matter of Life and Death in 1946, ironically working in B&W for the first time on the heavenly sequences. His next assignment was Black Narcissus in 1947, where he acknowledged the influence of painters such as Vermeer and Caravaggio and their use of shadow. He won the Oscar for best colour cinematography for this film. He next film was the equally iconic The Red Shoes in 1948.

Cardiff is universally revered as one of the greatest cinematographers of all time (and he also directed a number of notable films, including Sons And Lovers). I would hazard to suggest that with such towering achievements, never bettered, that he made just as important a mark in cinematography as Rembrandt, Vermeer

or Caravaggio did in art. As he once said, the cinematographer is the person “who paints the film”.

The show must go on. And where better than at The Edinburgh International Film Festival, from from 17th to 28th June?

There's ample room for a decent British film festival that encourages connections and dialogue between the people who make films and the people who make the technology for making films.

For professionals, trailblazers, innovators and aspirants this is surely a breath of fresh air. The festival organisers are putting a great deal of energy and emphasis on to the production side of the filmmaking business, creating platforms for cinematographers, and the art of cinematography, to shine. At a time when British film is flying internationally, it's good to support your local international film festival, with a fire in its belly. Who knows? Some new stars might be born.

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president’s perspective

Trust me, I’m a DP At last, for the first time in nearly 20 years a British cinematographer has won the Oscar for cinematography, and also the BAFTA, and the ASC Award. I know that Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC lives in Denmark, but that does not detract from the fact that the whole country, let alone the film industry, has been basking in his and Slumdog Millionaire's success. It's just what we needed in this time of economic downturn, so thank you to AMPAS, the ASC, and BAFTA, and thank you Anthony for letting us bask in your glory.

Since a fair percentage of the film was shot on the Silicon Imaging 2k camera, it's not surprising that publicity was given to the fact the film was shot digitally.

However, very little publicity was given to the fact that the majority was shot on film. The SI2K was used to great effect in the slums, and it would have been nigh impossible to get the same footage by any other method. This does not deny the fact that Anthony's masterful blending of the two formats was what made the end result so good. Just because digital is new doesn't necessarily mean it's better than what went before, and I am sure it's the experience of the cinematographer that counts. I wonder, when was the last time that a first-time cinematographer won the Oscar?

There has been so much publicity worldwide about High Definition that the general opinion is that it must be good if everyone wants it. As creators of visual entertainment we only have ourselves to blame if we don't keep up to date with current technology, and don't believe that producers and directors really need our expertise to inform them of the options available today. After all they can't suddenly become experts in the “digital world” overnight. We are all really in the same boat, learning together - DPs, directors, producers, editors - so it's about time we all helped each other.

It has come to my attention that some of our respected Associate Members are increasingly concerned about working practices, and that the changes being introduced are not always efficient or cost effective. As

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HD tape gives way to data as a means of acquisition, I think we need to think carefully about what this means in terms of cost. Tape is seen as being cheap and so it's easier to shoot more takes, whereas data is costly to transfer and store and therefore requires more discipline on set. As we are in an era of recession I believe it is our duty to become more responsible for encouraging our crews to run a tight ship.

There has been a long established procedure when it comes to crewing in the camera department, but poor working practices seem to be seeping in through the cracks created by the perceived differences between film and HD. I know that times are hard for both TV and feature film production, but that really should be no excuse for not employing the most experienced crew available. Many of the practices employed when shooting film do transfer very well to HD production, and discipline can save a lot of time and money. I know there are many up and coming DPs who would benefit from the experience that established crew members can bring to any project, rather than employ the cheapest, and consequently the least experienced. There has always been the triangle of “Quick, Cheap, and Good”, and the knowledge that you can only ever have two out of three of these at any one time. It is as true today as it always has been.

I have heard anecdotes of executive producers judging the quality of grading from an image on their laptop, countermanding the DP's judgement made in the grading suite. They were subsequently surprised when they saw the results on a properly set up monitor, which only goes to show that we need to educate those in positions of power that we do know what we are talking about. It's not that we want to appear dismissive of the expertise of those who employ us, but to question the means by which they assess the quality of our work. Ours is one of the professions where technical artistry and experience really do count.

I know that times are hard but that really should be no exc u s e f o r not employing the most ex p e r i e n c e d crew available.

Discipline can save a lot of time and m o n e y.

Sue Gibson BSC President British Society of Cinematographers

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production news

First Light gets Pinewood support

photo by Roy Morris

Edinburgh Film Festival reveals ambitions plans

Beautiful dawn: (l-r) Pinewood's Ivan Dunleavey, Leigh Thomas of First Light and producer Barbara Broccoli

Bonnie: Edinburgh International Film Festival is focussing more on DPs and cinematography in 2009, following last year's successful event with Roger Deakins BSC ASC and Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC Leading members of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, June 17 to 28, have revealed ambitious plans to transform the event into Europe's premier festival for filmmakers over the next five years.

The festival, which has run since 1947 and is the longest running film festival in the world, traditionally took place every August in parallel with the world-renowned television festival. Last year however, coinciding with a substantial three-year funding package from the UK Film Council Film Festivals Strategy, it moved out of the busy August Edinburgh festival period, adopted a June calendar slot and took on a broader remit to embrace every aspect of the film industry.

A driving force behind the new initiative is leading producer Iain Smith OBE, appointed EIFF chair last year, whose credits include blockbuster features such as Cold Mountain, Children of Men, The Fifth Element and Seven Years in Tibet.

“Edinburgh has always been a young, enquiring and exciting festival. We will build on that solid platform and develop a topical, relevant festival for filmmakers today - where new, emerging and established talents can connect with each other, and where filmmakers can get to grips with the commercial and technological forces that are changing production, post production and distribution.”

Lord Puttnam, producer of The Mission and Chariots of Fire,

will deliver the keynote address about the implications for film and the creative industries in the context of the imminent Digital Britain report, in which the UK Government will outline plans to secure Britain's place at the forefront of the global digital economy.

This year's festival has a strong cinematographic theme.

Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC will be in conversation with Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC, and Red Camera Company's Ted Schilowitz will present the latest advances in the company's camera technologies. There will also be a series of masterclasses, workshops and presentations covering 3D stereo production and digital workflows, as well as test screenings, with the aim of assisting filmmakers with the vast range of film and digital choices that are available.

These include a preview of the BSC Film & Digital Image Evaluations, plus a panel debate by Image Forum, which will address issues relating to the image quality of both British and international feature film and television productions.

EIFF managing director Ginnie Atkinson said, “The EIFF programme of films has always been a magnet for international audiences and film professionals alike, but this year our industry programme will embrace a larger number of filmmaking professionals, promote contact and discussion between talent, content and technology developers, innovators and industry. If you are involved in modern filmmaking, there is no better place to discover what the future holds than the Edinburgh International Film Festival.”

Kodak introduces new stock The Eastman Kodak Company has unveiled the latest product offering in its Vision3 technology platform, the Kodak Vision3 250D Color Negative Film 5207/7207, in 35mm and Super 16mm formats.

The new film incorporates proprietary Advanced DyeLayering Technology (DLT), which renders finer grain images in underexposed areas and produces cleaner filmto-digital transfers for post production.

“We introduced Vision3 technology in response to customers requests for an expanded range of capabilities from capture all the way through postproduction and distribution,” said Ingrid Goodyear, of Kodak's Entertainment Imaging Division.

“What I like about the Vision3 5207 is its intense rendering of colour, its strength when it is underexposed, and its ability to reach into the highlights,” said Fred Murphy ASC. “It has warmer, richer, better skin tones than its predecessors. It is also good to have a relatively fast stock that gives you strong images in falling light, urban canyons or gloomy day exteriors.”

The new addition is designed to retain the richness in colours and contrast that are characteristic of Vision3 technology with more details in extreme highlight areas.

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Recent features shot on Kodak include: Never Let Me Go,

First Light Movies, the UKFC filmmaking initative that helps disadvantaged young people across UK to make short digital films reflecting the diversity of their lives, will receive support from Pinewood Studios Group during 2009-11.

Pinewood's support will not only be financial, it will also be looking to raise the profile of First Light Movies, mentoring young filmmakers and allowing them to use the studios' facilities. Various fundraising events will be organised by the company, throughout the next three years.

First Light Movies was the original brainchild of filmmaker Sir Alan Parker and James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is the charity's current chair. The organisation works with a diverse range of young people from wide social and economic backgrounds with varying abilities. Since launching in May 2001, the Birmingham-based charity has enabled almost 12,000 young people between the ages of five and 19 to write, act, shoot, produce, edit and screen more than 900 films with National Lottery cash through UK Film Council funding. The films, ranging from documentaries to animations, are made under the guidance of professional filmmakers with youth agencies, schools, colleges and film clubs across all the UK regions.

First Light Movies acting chief executive, Leigh Thomas, said, “This important and unique relationship with Pinewood Studios Group will have a significant impact on the capacity to create the filmmakers of tomorrow. We are overjoyed that such an important cornerstone in the British movie industry has chosen to offer us their support in this way.”

Dir Mark Romanek, DP Adam Kimmel; Centurion, Dir Neil Marshall, DP Sam McCurdy BSC; Nowhere Boy, Dir Sam Taylor-Wood, DP Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dir David Yates, DP Eduardo Serra; Leap Year, Dir Anand Tucker, DP Tom Sigel; Untitled Robin Hood Adventure, Dir Ridley Scott, DP John Mathieson BSC; Clash of The Titans, Dir Louis Leterrier, DP Peter Menzies Jnr. TV productions include: Midsomer Murders XII, Bentley Productions, DP Colin Munn; New Tricks VI, Wall to Wall TV, DP Sean Van Hales; Small Island, Ruby Films, DP Tony Miller; Doc Martin, Buffalo Pictures, DP Simon Archer; Four Seasons, Gate Television Productions, DP Tony Imi BSC; Merlin II, Shine, DP Dale McCready; Spooks VIII, Kudos Film & TV, DP James Welland, Giulio Biccari; Emma, BBC, DP Adam Suschitzky; Ben Hur, Pontius Pilate Productions (Muse) Inc; DP Ousama Raw BSC CSC; and Framed BBC Wales, DP David Odd BSC.

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production news

Lords launches inquiry into British film and television

UKFC faces funding drop

The House of Lords' Communications Committee has announced an inquiry into UK originated content in film and television. The inquiry will examine the contribution of the UK film and television industries to the British economy and how this might be increased.

It will also examine the cultural contribution of the industry and how current arrangements support UK investment and jobs.

The committee will look at the effectiveness of the tax credit system for the British film industry following changes made in 2006, and how the regulatory system has impacted on UK content in television. In addition, the inquiry will cover the role and objectives of the UK Film Council, the Government's strategic agency for film, and of the television industry regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom).

In launching the inquiry, the committee issued a “Call for Evidence”, and welcomed evidence on a broad set of questions that include the following…

What the UK film and television industries currently contribute to the UK economy and British culture and how might this be enhanced?

How do the current UK arrangements for raising finance and distributing/ exhibiting films affect the commercial success of the UK film industry? How might changes in international film production and distribution affect the UK film industry?

Have the 2006 changes to the tax credit system been of benefit to the UK film industry? What effect has it had?

Is the UK Film Council meeting its objectives of giving support to production and export of British films, and could it do more to assist the UK film industry's contribution to the UK economy?

Is the current business environment in the UK offering the industries opportunities for the emergence of new talent or the acquisition of the managerial and technical skills required by the film and television industries?

Lord Fowler, chairman of the committee, said: "The film and television industries already make a very important contribution to the UK economy. But companies are under financial pressure, both because of structural changes in the industries and the effects of the recession. We shall assess the prospects for film and television production in the UK and what might be done to improve them. We will look into the financing of the film industry, and in particular how the 2006 changes to the tax regime have affected it.”

The House of Lords' Communications Committee was formed in May 2007 to consider issues relating to communications and the media. The Call for Evidence on the committee's new inquiry into Creative Britain on screen can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/hlcom munications.cfm

Rosco Rosco has developed a new partnership with South African lighting design company Congo Blue Design. After being recently appointed as a new Rosco distributor for South Africa, Congo Blue Design now offers South African customers the full range of all Rosco colours and products.

Congo Blue Design is one of the leading lighting design companies in South Africa, specialising in lighting design and consulting for both theatrical and architectural environments.

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UKFC: New Cinema Fund helped South Yorkshire screen agency with cash for The Damned United The UK Film Council is facing a £22m cut in Lottery funding over the next five years as money is diverted away from film to pay for the London Olympics. The cuts will mean an expected 15% reduction in the amount of Lottery money available to British film - a drop of around £4.4m a year. The cuts will be a blow for UK filmmakers who rely on the UKFC funds through a number of schemes to help get British movies made.

This year's UKFC budget is unaffected up until next April, but the cuts will begin to have an impact from next year. Money from the National Lottery will be key to funding the London 2012 Olympics, and UK arts and cultural organisations are preparing for a drop in the revenue they receive from the national lottery as a result.

The UKFC has an annual budget of almost £70m, with around 46% coming from Lottery funds, 40% from government support through grants, and the remainder from investments and other sources. It is not yet known whether the level of support from government funding could also be hit, with the cost of staging the Olympics rising significantly from £2.4bn to over £9bn.

"We have known for some time and we have been planning and making provision,” a UKFC spokesperson commented.

“We're planning how to go forward in a climate where we know we're going to have less money."

The UKFC was established in 2000 and employees 90 people.

It supports British film through a number of funding initiatives (see box), including a £16m contribution to the running of the BFI. It is in discussions with the BFI and with regional agencies to discuss how they will be affected, and how to plan for the future.

The Premiere Fund of £8m - headed by Sally Caplan, whose remit is to invest in mainstream, commercially-driven films and to encourage British creative talent - recently invested in Stephen Poliakoff's Glorious 1939 and Sam Taylor Wood's Nowhere Boy. New Cinema Fund, the Development Fund and Distribution and Exhibition account for £13m of the budget spend. For the 2007/2008 tax year the UKFC also gave just under £8m to nine regional screen agencies, including EM Media, which part-funded Bronson and Screen Yorkshire which helped fund The Damned United.

Jack Cardiff OBE BSC Jack Cardiff, who died in April aged 94, was the acknowledged master of colour cinematography during the 1940s. His work behind the camera ranged from the masculine world of John Huston and Errol Flynn in The African Queen and The Master of Ballantrae in the '50s to '80s blockbusters like Rambo: First Blood Part II and Conan the Destroyer, but he will always be associated with the dream-like worlds he created for Powell and Pressburger.

The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life And Death and Black Narcissus, which brought him an Oscar, have all affected and moved audiences since they were released over 60 years ago. Oliver Curtis BSC was inspired by those films

and calls Cardiff his hero, describing the effect as "like being in someone's dreams... there was something magical about the camera".

Cardiff started in films as a child actor, making his screen debut in 1918, then became a number boy and a focus puller before moving into camera operation and lighting.

He had a parallel career as a director, gaining an Academy Award best direction nomination for his 1960 version of DH Lawrence's Sons And Lovers. He is also remembered for the notorious Girl On A Motorcycle, but not for the same artistic reasons.

BFI director Amanda Nevill commented, "He was a worldclass cinematographer who pioneered the techniques of shooting in Technicolor. He made a unique contribution to some of the greatest films ever made. He was a regular and much-loved visitor as a BFI Fellow, whose irrepressible delight in cinema was an inspiration."

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UK

production news

Fujifilm Shorts winners

(l-r) Sue Gibson BSC President of the BSC, Winner of Fujifilm Shorts 'Best Cinematography' 2009 for Leaving Richard Stewart, and Jerry Deeney marketing manager Fujifilm Motion Picture.

(l-r) Chris Seager BSC, Winner of Fujifilm Shorts 'Best Film' 2009 for Outcasts Stuart Bentley, and Jerry Deeney - marketing manager Fujifilm Motion Picture.

The winners of the inaugural Fujifilm Shorts Competition were Outcasts, lit by Stuart Bentley, scooped the Best Film award, while DP Richard Stewart's work on Leaving won the Best Cinematography prize. Shot on Eterna 250T 16mm stock, Outcasts is a vivid and original tale that warns against judging people purely by appearances. Cinematographer Richard Stewart selected Eterna 400T 35mm for Leaving, stark portrayal of domestic abuse.

The panel of judges comprised Matt Adams of Technicolor, Katie Metcalfe from Future Shorts, Ian Sherborn of Panalux, Hugh Whittaker of Panavision, BSC President Sue Gibson, Chris Seager BSC, Haris Zambarloukos BSC and British Cinematographer magazine publisher Alan Lowne.

Peter Rogers In his long career Peter Rogers produced some 100 films, but it was as co-creator of the Carry On series, along with the director Gerald Thomas, that he will be forever known - from Carry On Sergeant (1958) to Carry on Emmanuelle (1978). As much a part of British life as fish and chips and

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wet bank holidays, the Carry On films remain amongst the most popular film comedies ever made; a genre almost in themselves. As for Rogers and Thomas, once labelled "the rudest men in the movies", no other producer/director team worked together for so long - almost 40 years until Thomas's death in 1993 - or so happily. Both deserve their place amongst other great partnerships of British cinema: Powell and Pressburger, Broccoli and Saltzman.

Elstree enjoys resurgence

Elstree Studios, one of London's most famous film and television studios, has been enjoying a resurgence of late. In its 85-year history it has been the studio of choice for legendary filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick, and produced major features including Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, Superman, The Dam Busters, The Shining, Closer, Derailed, The Other Boleyn Girl and 1408.

Most recently Elstree was used by producer/director Matthew Vaughn for his productions of Kick Ass, staring Nicholas Cage and Harry Brown staring Michael Caine. ITV's new three x 60minute genre thriller, Murderland, starring Robbie Coltrane, will also be based at Elstree. The studio's George Lucas stage was recently used as the rehearsal space for Star Wars: A Musical Journey, produced by Another Planet Entertainment, in association with Lucasfilm Ltd. Robbie Williams, Kylie, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Take That, Led Zeppelin, Il Divo have also been housed at Elstree for their tour rehearsals.

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? are also made at Elstree.

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production news

Fujifilm launches new high-speed stock Fujifilm has introduced Eterna Vivid2 500,a new tungsten-type motion picture colour negative film (E.I. 500; 35mm/16mm) formulated to offer high colour saturation and high contrast. Incorporating Fujifilm's proprietary grain and coupler technology, the new stock delivers high colour saturation and high contrast with its high speed of E.I. 500.

As Eterna Vivid 500T shares the same gradation and colour saturation characteristics as the Vivid 160T, which is popular for intensity and translucence. Fujifilm says these two types can be used seamlessly.

All films in the Eterna range are able to reproduce natural skin tones and greys in under-to over-exposed conditions. In addition to these characteristics, the new Vivid 500T is designed to provide high contrast and high colour saturation, and reproduce crisp images, intense and translucent colours, and deep blacks, enabling a wide range of expressive dramatic effects.

Optimization of orange mask density and sharpness balance contribute to enhanced image quality for film scanning or direct telecine transfer of images from negative film to videotape, making this newest addition to the Fuji line-up well suited for commercials and other motion pictures.

Productions shooting on Fuji include: The Philanthropist, Dir Duane Clark, DP Joel Ransom; It's A Wonderful Afterlife, Dir Gurinder Chadha, DP Dick Pope BSC; The Kid, Dir Nick Moran, DP Peter Wignall, Foyle's War, DP James Aspinall; Emma, Dir Jim O'Hanlon, DP Adam Suschitzky; The Infidel, DP Natasha Braier; Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Dir Mat Whitecross, DP Brian Tufano BSC. Commercials/Promos include: Walkers Crisps (Weilands), DP Henry Braham BSC, The Big Pink music promo (Partizan), DP Gabi Norland; Boots (Hammer & Tongs), DP Denzil Armour-Brown; Vodafone (Academy), DP Sean Bobbitt BSC; Poetry Season for the BBC (Red Bee), DP Henry Braham BSC; Morrisons (Outsider), DP Richard Mott; Heinz (Blink), DP Tom Townend; The King Blues music promo (RSA), DP Matthew Fox; Yeah, Yeah, Yeah's music promo (Warp Films), DP Erik Wilson.

Skillset appoints new director of film Skillset has appointed Neil Peplow as its new director of film, responsible for overseeing delivery of the next phase of A Bigger Future, an ambitious overarching strategic skills and training plan for the UK film industry.

Peplow has extensive production experience in the film industry, having been managing director and producer at Meerkat Films, as well as working as a consultant with film companies to build strategies and business plans. He was previously head of production at The Film Consortium, involved in projects such as My Summer Of Love, Bright Young Things, The Proposition and River Queen. His career in film began at Gruber Productions, where he produced Mike Bassett: England Manager, Waking Ned and Shooting Fish.

A Bigger Future is a strategic plan for delivering industryrelevant skills in the UK film industry. The result of 12 months research and consultation with the industry - from those involved in script development to those working in

Panalux Vizilink

Doremi Cinema has become a recognised leader in digital cinema solutions with a complete end-to-end product range. With over 6,000 screens in service as of February 2009, and over 1,200 in Europe alone, Doremi players represent currently more than 75% of world screens in JPEG2000 DCI. On the mastering side, over 30 DI labs in the USA and Europe are equipped with the DMS-2000 solution and over 250 features films have been released on using Doremi solutions since September 2005. Products include cinema mastering (DMS-2000, MXF-2000, CineAsset) to produce DCP from DSM or DCDM, playback in theaters for 2D/3D in JPEG2000 DCI and MPEG/MXF (DCP-2000 and DCP-2000-MB4K), ingest and storage with centralised solutions for multiplexes (LMS-2000), and centralised TMS (TMS-2000).

Airstar showcased the latest in lighting balloons at the recent BSC New Equipment Show. The Diamond gives a frameless 2.2m square face, ideal for Rosco colour filters or custom gels. The helium fill provides sufficient lift for reflectors and skirts, and use as a primary or fill-light source. The Diamond produces nearly twice the light output of its source. The Gaffair 400w is a polemounted, flicker-free daylight key source, designed for film and HD production. Also on show was the Mini-Cloud, which is fast to deploy, especially on architecturally sensitive shoots.

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exhibition - it is a £50m, five-year plan. It is funded by the National Lottery through the UK Film Council, and from contributions made to the Skills Investment Fund (SIF) from feature films, and additionally-levered sources of finance.

Litepanels Litepanels has launched the 1x1 Bi-Focus, an LED light fixture capable of variable spot and flood focusing. An alternative to energy inefficient Fresnel lights, the ultra-thin 1x1 Bi-Focus offers a cool-to-the-touch, low energy draw solution with the ability to vary the width of light beam. The 1x1 Bi-Focus features two independent sets of daylight colour balanced (5600°K) LED bulbs set in the one-foot by one-foot square of the fixture: one set of LEDs is comprised of flood bulbs, the other of spot bulbs. By cross-fading between the two sets of LEDs, the user can achieve variable flood or spot output. The 1x1 Bi-Focus used 1152 LED bulbs, twice the number of a standard 1x1.

ARRI LEDs

Doremi dominates

Airstar Balloons

Peplow: the man with Skillset's plan

Debut: BSC president Sue Gibson used ARRI's new LEDs on the thriller 31N 62E Illuminating: Panalux's new Vizilink lighting desk Panalux has created Vizilink, an integrated suite of products and software applications, that provides realtime control over live effects and lighting sequences. The system maintains comprehensive records of all scenes, graphical interpretations of lighting installations and accurate 3D plots - all useful for reshoots and post production. Haris Zambarloukos BSC, commented, “Film lighting has needed a lighting desk that is up to date with the needs of modern film making and I think Panalux have finally got it right.”

The LED side of ARRI's lighting business gathered pace, with a trio of advanced LED-based products introduced at NAB. Available in two configurations, the PAX Panel Kits fit inside small carry cases and offer absolute control of colour and light output. The ARRI Background Lighting Module provides a solution for cyclorama, screen, and rearilluminated panels, available in both RGB and warm/cool white modules. Using a tuneable white source, the new LED Caster Series boasts a special optical design that allows single shadow rendering and adjustments over a range of correlated colour temperatures.

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POV

Support your local film festival Ginnie Atkinson, managing director of Edinburgh International Film Festival, says the festival is expanding to further embrace industry professionals, and to encourage contact and discussion between talent, content and technology.

with his more recent 'public policy hat' on, to give us a key- note speech about the implications for film and the creative industries if the vision for a country with high speed broadband in every corner of the land comes to pass.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival may be the longest continually running film festival in the world and heading for its 63rd edition but it is as young and enquiring and exciting as it was in 1947.

And we have a major symposium - panels case studies and discussion - on all matters that concern filmmakers about funding, making and distributing moving image stories in a world where the word 'digital' offers opportunities and challenges in all of these areas.

True to its risky nature, the Festival changed its dates in 2008 - from August, during the melee of the combined TV and film festivals' presence - to being the only show in town in June. The move was a resounding success, attracting an increased number of audience attendees, industry delegates and press.

Edinburgh has been identified as one of the two film festivals in the UK of international significance, and was awarded a substantial three-year funding package from the UK Film Council Film Festivals Strategy that will support us in a growth spurt, ensuring that we embrace every aspect of the film industry.

The EIFF programme of films has always been a magnet for international audiences and film professionals alike. Always keeping filmmakers close to our heart the EIFF brings as many as possible to the film festival. We pride ourselves on offering Q & A's at over 80% of the screenings, and on providing the best possible technical presentation available. In 2008 no less than 100% of the films were screened on the filmmaker's desired format.

Two years ago it was a challenge to provide the range of tape and digital formats required but now, with an increasing diminution of 35mm projection available in multiplexes, EIFF which screens in Cineworld, the Cameo and their homebase Filmhouse, are already planning ahead for 2010 in terms of making sure we can get on screen the wide range of films that makes a festival so important.

And with our special focus on technology we are inviting in those geniuses who invent the tools of the trade to meet the filmmakers. 3D, digital workflows, masterclasses, test screenings - all will be in Edinburgh, with the aim of assisting filmmakers with the vast range of film and digital choices that are available.

We greatly regret the passing of Jack Cardiff who visited the Festival in 2005 and spoke eloquently about working with Michael Powell whose work we celebrated at that time.

How timeous then, that we had already programmed the newly restored print of The Red Shoes and this, and a panel discussion on digital restoration, are scheduled for 18th June. Roger Corman, Darren Aronovsky, Joe Dante, Sam Mendes, Trisha Biggar, Morag Ross, plus Anthony Dod Mantle in conversation with our very own Seamus McGarvey, will be the subject of on stage interviews. We can call McGarvey our very own as he is our newest Patron - joining stately Sir Sean Connery, glorious Tilda Swinton and the intensely talented Robert Carlyle in our group of roving ambassadors - and someone who proves the legend of Edinburgh's networking opportunities to be true as it was during the EIFF that Stephen Frears met McGarvey after the premiere of The War Zone and invited him to shoot High Fidelity.

The EIFF relies on the expertise of the Edinburgh Filmhouse, its technical director and an extra pair of hands from the BFI to ensure the technical delivery across a huge range of formats is tip top.

Edinburgh loves talent; our Trailblazers initiative is now in its third year; looking at the emerging talent in the UK across all the disciplines we identify and showcase the stars of the future, in association with our friends at Skillset.

Edinburgh loves filmmakers and in 2009 it is the Festival's intention to expand and to embrace a larger number of industry professionals; to engender contact and discussion between talent, content and technology; between culture and commerce, innovation and industry and we will be presenting an even more extensive industry programme to achieve this.

We haven't mentioned the 24 world premieres, the 16 international premieres and the rest of the vibrant 2009 programme, hand picked by artistic director Hannah McGill. We haven't mentioned the 1,200 film professionals that make their way to our beautiful city each year.

And, compared with Cannes, it's positively peaceful! We look forward to seeing you there.

Using the anticipated Digital Britain report as a backcloth we've asked Lord Puttnam - better known to some of us as David Puttnam producer of The Mission and Chariots of Fire -

Ginnie Atkinson Managing Director Edinburgh International Film Festival www.edfilmfest.org.uk

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production news

More grips are coming in from North America, South Africa and Australia - it's madness because there are qualified grips here in the UK.

Managing the migration Economic hard times can be a boom period for the cinema. That old adage was true of the Great Depression in the 1930s and for the British home front during the Second World War, when audiences craved escapism and glamour, or were heartened by a patriotic message, reports Kevin Hilton. As the current recession squeezes tighter in the UK similar sentiments are being heard but getting films and television drama made is much harder today and even when it happens the fear is that the work will go elsewhere or British crews won't benefit.

"The business has always been cyclical," says BSC board member Gavin Finney. "It's been through many dips in the past and comes out the other side, but this time I think there is a lot the government could do and isn't doing." Finney and other leading cinematographers are concerned that changes in the tax relief system laid out in the 2006 Finance Act have not encouraged producers, principally from America, to make films here over the past two years, despite that being the reason for its introduction.

It's reprehensible that an American crew - focus pullers, grips - comes over because it would be impossible the other w a y. T h e r e i s n o r e c i p r o c i t y.

Nigel Walters, vice president of the BSC and president of IMAGO, agrees, observing that investment in Britain at the moment is "in a very bad state". But David Martin, chief executive of the Production Guild, feels Britain has "the best offer for film production in the world" right now, due to the tax credits system and the dollar-sterling exchange rate.

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"Producers are looking at the UK and there is a whole range of projects that have been submitted to the UK Film Council (UKFC) for the cultural test to receive funding," he says.

The UKFC is working on attracting "inward investment", in other words money from overseas, again usually the US, to make films in the UK. Tina McFarling, the Council's head of industry relations, acknowledges that changes to tax relief for filmmaking did have an impact on production three years ago but says the new system has bedded in now. "The uncertainty of 2006-7 has been replaced with a feeling of certainty," she says. "The UK is very attractive for inward investment and is competitive on a quality level, with the tax credits and exchange rate on top of that."

Around the time the new tax credits were being introduced the Home Office announced that work permits would be replaced as the basis of enabling non-UK/EU citizens to work in Britain by a points based system (PBS). The Home Office acknowledged the possible concerns regarding the new arrangements by establishing an Arts and Entertainment Taskforce, which included representatives of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), UKFC, PACT and Equity.

UKFC organised a consultation group that included members from the UK Screen Association, the Production Guild, BECTU and Skillset.

Points-scoring The PBS is managed by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), a department of the Home Office. Workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) looking to work in the UK have to show a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), obtained for them by a sponsor organisation registered with the UKBA. There are five tiers of entry and each has its own conditions for eligibility. The two that are pertinent to the film and TV sector are Tier 2, which includes skilled and sponsored workers, Ministers of Religion and sports men and women, with the opportunity for settlement (permanent residency) after a minimum of five years; and Tier 5, which again includes creative and sporting positions, but is for temporary work of up to 12 months.

A primary reason for employing skilled migrants is when there is a shortage of the relevant skills within the UK. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has been formed to advise on these shortages; it will provide "independent, transparent and evidence-based advice to government where labour market shortages exist that can sensibility be filled by migration". MAC is chaired by David Metcalf CBE, professor of industrial relations at the London School of Economics, working with four other independent economists, plus representatives from the Commission for Employment and Skills and the UKBA. Because Tier Five originally included no protection for UK workers in film and TV the industry bodies working with the Home Office (BECTU, Equity, PACT, UKFC and the Production Guild, consulting with UK Screen) drafted two codes of practice, one for performers, the other for non-performers.

Under the work permit scheme BECTU, Equity and the Production Guild were consulted by the then administrative body as to whether there was a qualified person within the UK that could do the work being offered to a migrant. The new codes of practice do not have that provision, instead information is released after a certificate has been granted and a trade organisation then has to request evidence to make an appeal.

This process has become known as managed migration but those within the film business are wondering if this name is appropriate. "Is it managed, how is it managed?" asks BSC board member Chris Seager. "Our own association has no say in how this is policed and in theory it is up to the production company that wants certain people to work here." Seager acknowledges that heads of department (HoDs) have regularly been brought in by producers and directors to work on films in the UK to maintain continuity and professional relationships, but is concerned that the new arrangements could open the way for more overseas personnel at nearly all levels.

While the BSC has no direct voice in official discussions it works with other organisations, including BECTU, to get its opinions and concerns across. BECTU assistant general secretary Martin Spence sees the combination of PBS

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migration and the new tax credits making the bringing-in non-EU crew much easier than before.

"A production company appoints its HoD and then that person wants to bring in his or her set of favourite contacts," he says. "More grips, for example, are coming in from North America, South Africa and Australia - that didn't happen in the past. It's madness because there are qualified grips here in the UK." The code of practice covering Tier Five workers lays down the following guidelines: that "the migrant is required for continuity in the creative sector", has "international status in the creative sector" and is "established at the highest level in their profession within the creative sector".

Gavin Finney acknowledges that HoDs can be an exception, but questions other levels. "I've shot in the US and American DPs have shot here but I think it's less supportable at crew level," he says. "It's reprehensible that an American crew - focus pullers, grips - comes over because it would be impossible the other way. There is no reciprocity."

US protectionism British cinematographers see more protection for jobs in the US than in the UK. If a British DP is wanted for a Stateside shoot, they have to be a member of the relevant union, usually IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts). Membership is expensive and adds to the cost of a production; Finney estimates that getting a British DP to LA can cost $17,000.

UK Screen and Skillset have submitted evidence to MAC showing there is a skills shortage in visual effects, but Neil Peplow, Skillset's new director of film, says no similar discrepancy was found in the camera department.

"After consulting with the industry we found no reported evidence of a major skills shortage for British cinematographers," he comments. "What is always important in an industry that is so affected by economic downturns, currency fluctuations and new technology, is to be ahead of the game and be up to date with our skills and training so the industry can take advantage of opportunities as they emerge."

MAC is due to issue a report on skills shortages during May and industry bodies including the Production Guild and UKFC have been giving evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee on Communications, which is examining the effectiveness of the tax credit system and the overall contribution the "creative industries sector" makes to the UK economy. The Writers' Guild strike in the US affected production and work, with more US DPs being available for work elsewhere. Although it has not happened, the threatened SAG (Screen Actors' Guild) industrial action has also had an effect, with some producers holding back until the situation is more certain. In the UK crews have been further hit by cutbacks in television drama production, particularly by ITV and Channel 4, both of which are struggling with debt and falls in profit.

Dry-hire UK David Martin at the Production Guild poses a question that many in the business are asking: "Is it time that tax breaks were revised to include TV?" Martin cites examples of HBO projects being made in the UK under the sale and leaseback system, while Nigel Walters calls for British TV companies to have the same monetary incentives as their French counterparts.

A common cry is, "What is the UK Film Council doing about this?" Tina McFarling points out that the organisation does not involve itself with industrial relations, preferring to leave that to the relevant unions. On the subject of migration McFarling comments, "We are aware of productions brining in certain key creative people and we want to see British crews have every opportunity. What we're also concerned about is getting investment coming into the country because the industry needs it."

McFarling says that in closed discussions with producers the observation has been made that the UK could move towards providing services and people around the world for not just films but also "new forms of content". Martin Spence at BECTU points to the contradiction of overseas producers wanting to use locations, studios and facilities in the UK, encouraged by the tax credits system, but almost actively denying British crew the work.

This scenario almost casts the UK as a giant dry hire facility, with those renting it bringing in their own preferred staff. The Department of Culture, Media and Sport was contacted for a comment but had not responded by the time the magazine went to press. So the last word goes to Martin Spence: "If we're going to be a facility I want to make it wet hire."

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who’s shooting who?

Who’s Shooting Who? Adventure: Paul Sarossy CSC BSC and crew on Act Of Dishnour in Tajikistan

Paul Sarossy CSC BSC, represented by United, sent in some photos from Act Of Dishonour, directed by Nelofer Pazira and produced by Daniel Irons for the National Film Board of Canada, which he shot just before Christmas in Tajikistan, around twenty minutes drive from the Afghan border. The film deals with the contentious issue of 'honour' killings in Afghanistan, and Sarossy called it an amazing experience. “We discovered their old Soviet film studio and rented equipment (tracks, cranes, etc.) that hadn't been used in 30 years. It was an adventure.” He has just wrapped on Chloe, directed by Atom Egoyan, starring Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson, which was shot in Toronto.

Mckinney Macartney's…Stuart Biddlecombe has recently finished shooting Channel Four/MTV's music series Dubplate Drama for Luke Hyams. The innovative project is the world's first interactive drama, and the third series will be back in June. Mick Coulter BSC has been filming commericals for Victoria Pile and Gerard de Thame. And Denis Crossan BSC has been on commercials with Tantrum, Smith & Jones, The Plunge Pool and Spank, John de Borman BSC shooting for Park

Action: Florian Hoffmeister squints into Namibian skies

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Village. Shane Daly is winding through the streets of London with his lens, filming Alexander Holt and Lance Roehrig's feature film Forget Me Not, a love story of two strangers who meet in the capital and discover love over the course of one night. Gavin Finney BSC will be filming Going Postal in Budapaest. It's another Terry Pratchett adaptation for Sky/The Mob Film Company and director Jon Jones, with the Discworld inhabitants coming to terms with their new Postmaster.

Richard Greatrex BSC is pulling on his oilskins as he prepares to join Michael Barker on his hunt for Moby Dick, as Captain Ahab and Ishmael chase the great white whale to their doom and destruction. John Lynch recently shoot a 'Mercedes' commercial for Dom & Nic through Outsider, and completed the latest Ashes To Ashes promos for Tim Pope through Red Bee. Phil Meheux BSC is grading his latest film

Edge Of Darkness for director Martin Campbell. Sebastian Milaszewski has shot commercials in Beirut and South Africa, and just completed a VW commercial for director Woof Wan Bau, through Nexus. He is set to lens the feature film Chateaubriand later in the year. John Pardue has been busy with a Hyundai campaign for Serious Pictures, and Mark Partridge will be back in the countryside with the next series of Lark Rise to Candleford later in the year. Jake Polonsky (who you can read about in Meet The New Wave in this edition) has been busy shooting promos and commercials for Justin Kerrigan through Pulse Films and Rory Kelleher at Company Pictures. He has just completed a short for The Wilson Sisters and Film Four.

David Tattersall BSC is filming the modern adaptation of Gulliver's Travels for director Rob Letterman, starring Jack Black as the hero who finds himself a giant in the land of Liliput. Clive Tickner BSC as been working with Graham Rose through Production International and has just completed a huge Ford campaign for Nick Lewin at Crossroads. Darran Tiernan just finished Colm McCarthy's feature film Outcast, a horror film about a young Romany woman and her lover hunted by a mysterious beast and the curse that comes of their heritage. Brian Tufano BSC is revelling in the joys of Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll, the story of rock star Ian Drury, directed by Mat Whitecross. Michael Wood has been shooting commercials with David Baksh through Stink and Darren Statman through Academy. He is currently shoot a corporate for Lear Jet with Joe Oppenheimer directing.

Over at Dinedor Management… congratulations to Florian Hoffmeister on his BAFTA nomination for House of Saddam.

Trevor Forrest's feature he shot last year, Tormented, is being released May 22nd. Tom Townend has been grading the feature film The Unloved and has been shooting commercials for Radio 1, Baileys, Heinz and McDonalds.

Mike Fox BSC shot for Comic Relief earlier this year. Steve Buckland returns to the BBC for Casualty, and Peter Field has shot a commercial for Jaguar. Martin Ahlgren lensed a commercial for the fashion house Next. Eric Maddison FSF has been busy shooting a commercial for Douwe Egberts, and promos for Yusuf Islam, You Me at Six, Ministry of Sound, Scott Matthews and Paolo Nutini. Ben Filby has been on

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who’s shooting who?

More adventure: another view of Act Of Dishnour in Tajikistan, lensed by Paul Sarossy CSC BSC

commercials for Berardi, Fosters, Blue Ribband and Pilsner Urquell, and Pete Ellmore has been on commercials for Aldi and The Guardian. Damian Daniel shot a music promo for Karima Francis and corporates for COI and a Government Roadshow. Franklin Dow has been shooting music promos for Towers of London and Johnny Foreigner. Steve Annis has been working on a film for Mercury Records, while Matt Cooke shot a music promo for the Hot Melts. Ed Marsh filmed a commercial for Tesco and a music promo for James Morrison.

Sarah Putt Associate's… Dave Marsh is shooting Fashion for Carnvial Film & TV, whilst Dirk Nel is shooting 2nd Unit on Small Island for Ruby Films in Jamaica. Peter Greenhalgh has been confirmed Poirot for ITV Granada. Jan Jonaeus is shooting Identity for ITV Granada. Nick Dance just completed Fresh for Greenroom Entertainment, and Oliver Cheesman is lighting on The Bill, Peter Edwards has completed School Of Silence with Lucky Day Prods. Mike Brewster continues to shoot 2nd Unit on Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows for Warner Bros. Doug Hartington is currently shooting The Genius of Design for Wall to Wall as well as a documentary about the Star Wars Concert at the 02 Arena for Lucasfilm Ltd. Peter Wignall is just starting Nick Moran's second feature outing as a director The Kid, and Will Pugh is off to Ecuador and India to shoot Banged Up Abroad for Raw TV. Paul Lang has been working on two films, Among The Righteous for HBO in Morocco and Tunisia and Page And Flynn in Cambodia.

Operators… Joe Russell is in Cardiff operating on the Dr Who Christmas Special for BBC, and Philip Sindall is operating on Nanny McFee II for Working Title Meanwhile… over at Digital Garage, Steve Gray is currently lensing Freestyle with Jason Cuddy as camera assistant. Freestyle is the latest film to be made by Film London's Microwave scheme. Pete Hayns is off to Argentina to shoot Raging Planet: Blizzard for Pioneer. Jeremy Humphries has started on Ladette To Lady for RDF Media.

Nigel Kinnings has just returned from New York after completing How Do They Do It? for WAG TV. Chris Openshaw is currently in Australia shooting for Tigress.

Over at United… Barry Ackroyd BSC is attached to Peter Morgan's upcoming project, The Special Relationship, due to

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Eye eye: Trevor Forrest on the set of Tormented

TV: DP Jeremy Humphries is starting on RDF's Ladette To Lady

shoot in July. Robert Alazraki AFC is off to South Africa to shoot Miles Roston's Promise Me, Alwin Küchler BSC is prepping Roger Michell's Morning Glory shooting in New York, Eduardo Serra ASC, AFC will be on the current Harry Potter until April 2010, Marcel Zyskind is shooting Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me. Alan Almond BSC is in working on Diarmuid Lawrence's block of Desperate Romantics, which shoots until the end of April. Danny Cohen BSC begins work on Dominic Savage's two-part drama Dive for the BBC at the end of April. Andrew Dunn BSC has begun principal photography on Crowley in Portland, USA. Steve Lawes' work on Skellig was shown over Easter on Sky 1. Lukas Strebel is working on Peter Lydon's Georgian drama Garrow's Law in Scotland whilst Dale McCready continues to shoot the second series of Merlin. David Higgs BSC is on location in Ireland working as 2nd unit director with Anand Tucker on Leap Year (whose previous collaborative work on Red Riding 1983 was broadcast recently).

in a devastating guerrilla attack. After completing the DI at Framestore for Me and Orson Welles to be released later this year, Dick Pope BSC has been shooting It's a Wonderful Afterlife, his second film for Gurinder Chadha. He will then start immediately on Mike Leigh's new and as yet untitled project, marking their 10th collaboration.

Tim Maurice-Jones has just finished shooting a new Virgin Trains commercial with directors' Traktor through Partizan, London. Alex Melman has recently shot a Strongbow commercial with director James Rouse c/o Outsider and Daniel Bronks is working on the new series of Secret Diary Of A Call Girl featuring Billie Piper with director Owen Harris through Tiger Aspect. Simon Chaudoir has recently shot another high-end beauty spot for Shisheido in Tokyo, before lighting the GAP fashion show in London c/o Gainsbury & Whiting. Tat Radcliffe has been shooting commercials and is about to start on Criminal Justice 2 with director Yann Demange. Brendan Galvin is away in China shooting a Palm commercial with Tarsem through Radical Media and Alwin Küchler BSC is working with director Juan Cabral on a new Sony spot with MJZ in Iceland. Charlotte Bruus Christensen is shooting Magesten Fyrster for director Oliver Ussung in Copenhagen and Zac Nicholson is shooting Skeletons with director Nick Whitfield.

Independent's… Ben Davis BSC just finished shooting John Madden's new thriller, The Debt, to be released next year. Benoit Delhomme AFC is about to start work on Hideo Nakata's new psychological thriller Chatroom. Based on the play by Enda Walsh - it's described as a 'computer-age Lord Of The Flies' about a group of teenagers who use the internet to encourage each other's destructive behaviour. Jess Hall BSC is in New York shooting The Baster, a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Jeff Goldblum.

Martin Kenzie is lighting and directing 2nd unit for Louis Leterrier on Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1981 film version of the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save Princess Andromeda - starring Gemma Arterton and Sam Worthington.

Sam McCurdy BSC has finished shooting Neil Marshall's Centurion. Starring Dominic West and Michael Fassbender, it tells the story of a splinter group of Roman soldiers fighting for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is decimated

Casarotto's… James Aspinall continues on Foyles War with director Stuart Orme, for Greenlit. Natasha Braier is in prep on a feature called The Infidel directed by Josh Appignanesi. Mike Eley has begun prep with director Susanna White on Nanny McPhee 2 for Working Title. Matt Gray has just completed work shooting Helena Bonham Carter as Enid Blyton for Carnival Films In Denmark David Katznelson has started shooting the feature Før & Efter, for Nimbus Films. Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC continues on the shoot for Nowhere Boy with director Sam Taylor Wood.

Chris Menges BSC ASC is due to start on London Boulevard with William Monahan, a crime thriller starring Keira Knightly and Colin Farrell. Wojciech Szepel is in Germany shooting a German documentary Die Geschichte Der Prostitutio directed

by Katja Esson for LE Vision.

Wizzo Features… has signed two award-winning DPs Damian Bromley and Baz Irvine. Damian won an RTS craft award and was BAFTA-nominated for his work on Spooks. He shot Football Factory and The Business through Vertigo Films, both of which were directed by Nick Love. More recently he shot episodes of Trial And Retribution and the special twoparter, Hunter, through the BBC for director Colm McCarthy.

Baz Irvine shot the Oscar-winning black comedy short Six Shooter for director Martin McDonagh, and more recently the short One Of Those Days directed by Hattie Dalton which received best film and best cinematography nominations at 2009's Fuji Film Shorts. Baz shot the feature Mr Bean's Holiday, directed by Steve Bendelack through Working Title, and also The Lives Of The Saints directed by Rankin & Chris.

Angus Hudson is currently shooting the feature The Accident in India for director Dadu Chaudhuri and producer Arindam Mitra. Duncan Telford and Luke Palmer are both shooting a drama series each on HD in Cairo for Baracka Media Productions. Finally, congratulations to Stuart Bentley, whose short Outcasts picked up the best film award at 2009's Fuji Film Shorts. He is currently shooting a documentary for the Cultural Olympiad.

Lenhoff & Lenhoff's... Thomas Del Ruth ASC is prepping to shoot Flipped in Ann Arbor, Michigan for director Rob Reiner and Warner Brothers. Based on the children's novel Flipped, written by Wendelin Van Draanen, is a heartfelt coming-of-age story about whether or not two 13 year olds, who each has a crush on the other, but never at the same time, can somehow end up together. Principal photography will be for 8 weeks commencing June 29th. Del Ruth's credits include Stand By Me, The Mighty Ducks, Kuffs, Look Who’s Talking and The Running Man.

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cannes preview

Auteurs line up for the Palme d'Or The red carpet has had its annual shake 'n' vac, the Croisette has been buffed, and the rosé is chilling - all in anticipation of the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival, writes Ron Prince. Here's the inside track on what some of the Brits are doing, plus other highlights, along the jolly old Cote d'Azur this year.

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival will probably go down as the festival when auteurs really came to the fore, with a veritable who's-who of Riviera regulars, including four previous Palme d'Or winners, and a decent showing from British-made films.

Alongside entries from Quentin Tarantino, Ang Lee, Pedro Almodovar and Lars von Trier, are Ken Loach with Looking For Eric, in which a lovelorn, football-obsessed postman is mentored by Gallic soccer star-turned-thespian Eric Cantona, and Andrea Arnold, who segues from her acclaimed debut Red Road, (which won the Cannes jury prize in 2006) to the Lottery-funded, teenage girl drama Fish Tank. Also in competition, and also funded by Lotto cash is Bright Star, a British period-romance about 19th century English poet John Keats, starring Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish, directed by Australian Jane Campion.

Playing out of competition is Terry Gilliam's fantasy The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, featuring Heath Ledger's last performance, with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law sharing Ledger's role. Only two US titles are in the battle for the Palme d'Or - Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock - the thinnest US presence in competition since 2006.

Brit packer: Auteur Ken Loach, whose Wind That Shakes The Barley won won Palme d,Or in 2006, is back this year with Looking For Eric

Adding to the British momentum in Cannes will be the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) (www.edfilmfest.org.uk), which takes place from June 17th to 28th. Film producer Iain Smith (Wanted, Children of Men, Cold Mountain, Entrapment, Local Hero), who is also the chair of the Festival, will be with a team that includes managing director Ginnie Atkinson, to drum up support for the event which has ambitious plans to develop into Europe's premier festival, a hotbed of networking, for filmmakers. One of EIFF's themes is digital production, with a view to helping producers get to grips with the latest technology. EIFF is hosting a cocktail party aboard Kodak's boat next to The Bunker on Monday 18th, from 5-7pm, and also co-hosting The Scottish Party with Scottish Screen on Tuesday 19th, from 6-8pm at Long Beach, opposite The Carlton Hotel.

Monday night is footie night, as Deluxe's annual kick-about for film distributors will take place from 7:30pm at the Stade Maurice Chevalier II in Cannes La Bocca. Deluxe has just bought up Arion, the Denham based post-production and duplication facility. Anyone with aching ankles from the match, or simply a penchant for fine French faire, will enjoy Technicolor's renowned Tuesday lunch at The Carlton.

“British film is flying right now,” said John Woodward, CEO of the UK Film Council. “This year's Cannes line-up shows that the British industry is delivering world-class cinema, which complements the commercial success that was recognised at the Oscars earlier this year.

“It's significant that both Jane Campion's Bright Star and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank were funded with public money, and demonstrates the absolutely vital role that public funding plays in getting independent films made in an increasingly tough economic climate.

With its prime beachfront location on the Esplanade Georges Pompidou, festival delegates will again be able use the UK Film Centre's facilities including free computers and WiFi, plus the Sun Terrace Café for meetings. One-to-one film finance and legal surgeries can be booked via the information desk, plus there will be open discussions daily on a range current film issues with film financiers, producers, directors and distributors.

“Many congratulations to Ken Loach, one of our most established filmmakers, represented at Cannes yet again with Looking for Eric, and Terry Gilliam with The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.”

Partners include UK Film Council, British Council, Film London, Film Agency for Wales, Skillset, Scottish Screen, FDMX, Hill Dickinson, Mazars and Tenon Media. More than 12,000 festival delegates from 82 countries, visited the UK Film Centre in 2008, with over 203,000 hits on the

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INTERNATIONAL

cannes preview

website (www.ukfilmcentre.org.uk) and 13,000 downloads of information packs on UK companies at Cannes.

With Ridley Scott's untitled Robin Hood adventure starting at Shepperton, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett (Sir Ridley's sixth feature to be based there), and Twentieth Century Fox's Gulliver's Travels in at Pinewood, studio execs can be found aboard the good ship, (it's a yacht actually) Valia from Friday 15th May until Tuesday 19th May. Watch out for commercial director Nick Smith, sales director Paul Baker, Dennis Weinreich, MD of post production, marketing manager Julia Hillsdon and sales manager Noel Tovey. Pinewood is sharing its yacht with Morgans Hotel Group and Air New Zealand. Post production group.

Elstree Studios will be represented in the form of managing director Roger Morris. Elstree's George Lucas' stage recently welcomed back Star Wars, well‌ Star Wars: A Musical Journey, for stage rehearsals before going on a European tour. ITV's new three-part thriller, Murderland, starring Robbie Coltrane, is also based at world famous studios, and Elstree was recently the studio of choice for producer/director Matthew Vaughn's productions of Kick Ass, staring Nicholas Cage and Harry Brown staring Michael Caine.

Now with the Wes Anderson directed Fantastic Mr Fox under its belt, plus credits on Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank, 3 Mills Studios' studio executive Derek Watts, bookings manager Melanie Faulkner and marketing/publicity manager Kate Watt will be stepping out to extol the virtues of shooting in east London.

I'll be back: Andrea Arnold whose Red Road won the Cannes jury prize in 2006 is back with teen drama Fish Tank

Kodak's L'Appartement is back again. Located in the heart of the International Village, next to the American Pavilion, it will be open from 9am until 6pm every day. It's a great networking venue and a relaxing place for filmmakers to catch up with one another, as well as the Kodak team. David Webb, Karen L'Aiguille, Dan Clark and Sam Clark will be attending from Kodak in the UK. For the 22nd year in a row Kodak will be the main sponsor of the Camera d'Or, the international award for first time film directors. The winner of the Camera d'Or will receive 50,000 Euros worth of Kodak Motion Picture filmstock for their next project. Kodak is also running its traditional co-production breakfasts in association with ACE (European Independent Producers Associations), and helping young filmmakers make it to the big screen with sponsorships of the Cannes Short Film Corner and International Critics Week. Other key Kodak partnership events held at the Kodak L'Appartement are NPA (New Producers Alliance), Straight8 and WFTV (Women in Film and TV). On Monday at 12.30pm Kodak are hosting a UK VIP Lunch as usual.

Fujifilm will be exposing a new Eterna filmstock this year, the Vivid2 500, a tungsten-type motion picture colour negative film formulated to offer high colour saturation and high contrast.

The company will also be explaining the raison d'etre of consolidating its US and Canadian motion picture divisions into the Fujifilm North American Motion Picture Group, headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Toronto and Vancouver.

In one of the largest moves within the Indian film industry, Chennai-based Gemini/Anand Cine Service is launching one of the most advanced DI and digital film operations in India, if not the world, at the Festival. Gemini/Anand Cine have, for a long time, been one of India's most successful film operations - most of southern India's cinema projects go through Gemini's film lab, as well as using film rental equipment supplied by Anand Cine Service, including cameras such as ARRI's D-21, plus lighting, and grip equipment. In total Gemini/Anand Cine Service employs over 1000 staff, with operations in Chennai and Hyderabad. Tarun Kumar will be in Cannes along with Steve Shaw of Light Illusion, who helped establish the new digital division Hungary is enjoying a surge in domestic and international productions, and Judit Romwalter, a representative from camera, lighting and grip house Sparks will be promenading, and talking

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INTERNATIONAL

cannes preview

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2009 SCREENINGS OPENER "Up," U.S., Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Ledger: Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus features Heath Ledger's last performance

about they are servicing shows such as The Debt, directed by John Madden, with Ben Davis BSC the DP, and the third season of BBC's Robin Hood, with DPs Ernie Vincze BSC, Peter Thornton and Alasdair Walker.

Image Forum will be represented by Martin Hammond and DP Chsis Seager BSC, and other DPs from the UK attending include Derek Suter BSC, Peter Hannan BSC, Robbie Ryan BSC, Bruno de Keyzer BSC and Gary Shaw, who will be screening Moon. You will also bump into producers, directors, agents and production executives of just about all the major film facilities and service companies in the UK - too many to name now, but rest assured they will be there.

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CLOSER "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky," France, Jan Kounen

OUT OF COMPETITION "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," Canada-France, Terry Gilliam "The Army of Crime," France, Robert Guediguian "Agora," Spain, Alejandro Amenabar

IN COMPETITION "Bright Star," Australia-U.K.-France, Jane Campion "Spring Fever," China-France, Lou Ye "Antichrist," Denmark-Sweden-France-Italy, Lars von Trier "Enter the Void," France, Gaspar Noe "Face," France-Taiwan-Netherlands-Belgium, Tsai Ming-liang "Les Herbes folles," France-Italy, Alain Resnais "In the Beginning," France, Xavier Giannoli "A Prophet," France, Jacques Audiard "The White Ribbon," Germany-Austria-France, Michael Haneke "Vengeance," Hong Kong-France-U.S., Johnnie To "The Time That Remains," Palestine-France, Elia Suleiman "Vincere," Italy-France, Marco Bellocchio "Kinatay," Philippines, Brillante Mendoza "Thirst," South Korea-U.S., Park Chan-wook "Broken Embraces," Spain, Pedro Almodovar "Map of the Sounds of Tokyo," Spain, Isabel Coixet "Fish Tank," U.K.-Netherlands, Andrea Arnold "Looking for Eric," U.K.-France-Belgium-Italy, Ken Loach "Inglourious Basterds," U.S., Quentin Tarantino "Taking Woodstock," U.S., Ang Lee

UN CERTAIN REGARD "Samson & Delilah," Australia, Warwick Thornton "Adrift," Brazil, Heitor Dhalia "The Wind Journeys," Colombia, Ciro Guerra "Demain des l'aube," France, Denis Dercourt "Irene," France, Alain Cavalier "Air Doll," Japan, Hirokazu Kore-eda "Independance," Philippines-France-Germany, Raya Martin "Le Pere de mes enfants," France-Germany, Mia Hansen-Love "Dogtooth," Greece, Yorgos Lanthimos "Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats," Iran, Bahman Ghobadi "Eyes Wide Open," Israel, Haim Tabakman "Mother," South Korea, Bong Joon-ho "The Silent Army," Netherlands, Jean van de Velde "To Die Like a Man," Portugal, Joao Pedro Rodrigues "Police, Adjective," Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu "Tales from the Golden Age," Romania, Hanno Hofer, Razvan Marculescu, Cristian Mungiu, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru "Tale in the Darkness," Russia, Nikolay Khomeriki "Tzar," Russia-France, Pavel Lounguine "Nymph," Thailand, Pen-ek Ratanaruang "Precious," U.S., Lee Daniels

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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 Roger, Alwin, Roger or Jack.

Jake Polonsky Filmography (so far): TV: Spooks (2004), Hustle (2004), Secret Smile (2005), Primeval (2007) When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer?

I'd always been interested in stills photography as a kid, but it wasn't until my Dad took me to see Drowning By Numbers when I was 16 that something just clicked in my head. When I walked out of the Renoir I knew I wanted to make films. After that I devoured everything I could, in the days when you could go and see European art house triple bills at the Everyman, the Scala and the Riverside.

Where did you train?

I first picked up a movie camera at Saint Martin's, and went to film school at the American Film Institute and then the Royal College of Art. What are your favourite films?

2001, it's a unique experience on every level.

A Matter Of Life and Death, as it still feels modern and ground-breaking, and has one of the few great cinematography script gags with, “One is starved for Technicolor up there”. Ipcress File, for great framing and great music. Tampopo, Juzo Itami's very funny pastiche of The Seven Samurai set in a Tokyo noodle bar, its visually inventive, genuinely hilarious. Rushmore, as Wes Anderson has never bettered this brilliant and fabulously shot comedy.

What's the best advice you were ever given, and from whom?

Ivan Strasburg - my first teacher at the RCA when I was writing down something he was saying, said… “Don't write it down. If you can't remember it, it's not worth remembering!” I'm not sure if he was right, but it sounded good.

Who are your DP/industry heroes?

Michael Samuelson. He was a huge help when I was starting out, and it was part of his whole ethos to nurture talent. I will always be very grateful for his help.

Jack Cardiff. I still can't believe Black

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Narcissus was shot in a studio. His work with Powell and Pressburger is surely always going to be one of the greatest achievements in the art of cinematography. Roger Deakins.

I think Roger has in the last few years hit a peak of work that most of us can but dream about. And the fact that he operates those movies himself…I don't know where he gets the energy from. Alwin Kuchler. Of the younger generation, Alwin's work really stands out to me. He's not afraid of experimenting and going out on a limb. I'm always interested to see what he's been shooting.

Have you received any nominations or awards?

Nominated for best cinematography at CADS music video awards in 2002, 2005 and 2006, won in 2004. Best young camera/lighting person B+ awards in Broadcast Magazine 2002. Winner ARRI award for best cinematography Fuji Film scholarship 1996.

Awarded Freddie Young/BSC cinematography scholarship at the RCA 1995-7. My short film School Of Life won best short film at the BIFAs in 2004.

Tell us your hidden talent/party trick?

I have a double first in History and English from Oxford, so I'm not bad at Trivial Pursuit (except the sport questions), and I make a mean schnitzel.

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

Some recent choices… Anton Corbijn's Control, as I'd kill to shoot a B&W movie.

Soderbergh's Out Of Sight, as it's one of the coolest films ever made. Alhough I'm sure

Kubrick would have driven me mad, 2001 is probably THE one.

What are your current top albums?

Vampire Weekend, and I have a guilty pleasure in the new Prodigy album. It's like going back in time to 1997.

What are your aspirations for the future?

To shoot an anamorphic movie in or around London with five day weeks, my choice of crew and catering from The Ivy.

What's your proudest moment?

The birth of my son.

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

Getting separated from directors you've developed a good relationship is always a shame.

Tell us your most hilarious faux pas?

Probably asking a producer what his TV show was actually about. Looking back on it, it may have not come out quite the way I intended.

Or maybe it did.

What one piece of kit could you not live without?

Panavision's 55mm macro anamorphic lens.

My favourite piece of glass.

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

First shot of the Ismail Merchant film Cotton Mary where I was operating for Pierre Lhomme AFC. He wanted a tracking 300mm with a geared head. I was sweating like a pig.

My operating improved though.

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Star Trek (2009) Directed by: J.J. Abrams Photo Credit: Industrial Light and Magic TM & Copyright ©2009 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

FEATURE

camera creative

Family: Mindel assembled his long-time operators, first assistant and gaffer for the new space adventure

To Boldly Go ...

When director J.J. Abrams caught up with his Mission Impossible III cohort cinematographer Dan Mindel ASC, he asked him to capture a “back-to-thebeginnings” kind of project - in more ways than one, writes Dixie Bonham. Phrases like “the greatest adventure of all time”, and “the incredible story of a young crew's maiden voyage onboard the most advanced starship ever created: the U.S.S. Enterprise” abounded. And how about, “the fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of James T. Kirk and Spock”?

Mindel got it. Another Star Trek. “Having done a franchise with J.J. before, I had a bit of an idea of what he was going to want - to continue the concept, but make it bigger, faster, more exciting. Hardly! The big, fast part - that was a given. It's where he wanted to start that I found fresh, new and - well, exciting.”

The flare potential in anamorphic is huge… and we decided to consciously add a sense of imperfection to the frame and, therefore, an element of realism

Immediately, Mindel assembled his “family” - long-time operators Colin Anderson, Andrew Rowlands and Philippe Carr-Forster, first assistant John Connor and gaffer Bruce McCleery (who has moved on to DP and became what the two call “partners” behind the lens, helming the second unit and more) and Chris Prampin (McCleery's former “right hand” and now the project's gaffer.) Mindel relayed Abrams's instructions to them. “Don't watch the movies, but rather the

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Dan Mindel ASC takes us to where it all began

television shows as a reference point. This Star Trek will maintain the positivity that came from those TV shows - the good-natured can-do feeling that will always be present.”

lights that would, at different times, antagonise the hell out of the lenses.

“And, our camera crew,” he laughs, gently.

It was to tell the story of how this vast adventure began - and how very different people learned to work together to save the world.

Flare ups And, work together everyone did - in front of and especially behind the cameras. Mindel and Abrams had detailed conversations and extensive pre-production discussions about the look they were after - always knowing they would shoot on film and even employ a few of the anamorphic anomalies discovered on MI III. “The potential for flares in this format is huge, and they are beautiful,” says Mindel. “JJ really wanted to use the flares throughout the movie. He liked what happened and we decided to consciously add a sense of imperfection to the frame and therefore, an element of realism.

“We carried this into some of the set designs,” he adds. “The Enterprise was to have an enormous amount of little spot

“After 30 years of learning to protect lenses, it took a few weeks for John, Colin and Phil to get used to the concept.

After that learning curve, they got into the groove and began directing the flares and even encouraged our gaffer Chris Prampton to use his flashlight to 'give them something to work with.' They became masterful at keeping both Chris and I out of frame - as we gave them that 'extra' flare.”

To get as much for everyone to work with as possible, Mindel devised a new system of working together.

“When he was my gaffer, I really relied on Bruce McCleery to keep me organised,” he says. “He's also shot several splinter units and second units for me, and I wanted to take advantage of his ability to not only organise, but also create, for Star Trek.

So, in addition to shooting the second unit stunt sequences, and often working in tandem with our first unit, J.J. and the main cast, Bruce became the liaison between all departments.”

Dynamic: fluid and energetic cameras travel with and against the stunt performers

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FEATURE

camera creative

“For every set, I would meet with the art directors and the production designer, Scott Chambliss, working with models and blueprints and swatches and samples, and out of those sessions we would present ideas for the visual presentation of the sets, especially as they related to lighting fixtures and conceptual ideas,” explains McCleery. “Dan also asked me to meet with the VFX department and head Roger Guyett, who also directed the second unit. In these sessions, we would study the pre-visualization animatics of specific scenes to assist in the logistics.”

Intense pre-prod Extensive meetings were also required to create a well thought out approach to handling the biggest challenges in the project - the massive shuttle sets.

“Two fully-constructed interior and exterior treatments,” explains Mindel, “had to be created so that they could be redesigned to become medical, personnel transport, captain's shuttles, etc.

“Enterprise was a bit of a challenge,” he says. “For example, it has a view screen window and a deck that gave us a bit of a problem. In theory, this was supposed to be a massive piece of glass. But, because it was curved, we couldn't get a piece of glass to sit there without breaking. We wanted the reflections of the interior on the screen, to give us life. So, the only answer was to take the glass out and use Plexi over the windows, allowing us to shoot reflection plates that ILM could put over a green screen.”

“Lighting the ships took a very large creative team,” says McCleery. “In the space ships we had the art and fixture departments working together to embed lots of Rosco light pads into the consoles and control panels.”

Lighting expert Al de Mayo coordinated with PRG and companies like Element Labs to implement tools like the Stealth LED video panels and Versatube video fed LED tubes that suggested the movement of light and information.

Mindel and McCleery also worked to integrate even more high-end lighting into the sets to enable freedom of movement and to create the look that Abrams wanted to achieve. DMX-fed dimmable fluorescents from Litegear were encased in frosted Plexiglas housings in most of the sets. This allowed Chris Prampin to work with dimmer console programmer Josh Thatcher to programme the changing light values and different activity modes on the ship.

“We also used a multitude of different LED arrays that Al came up with for architectural articulation of the set contours on the Enterprise, and to simulate computer activity,” says McCleery. “We placed dozens of simple MR11 and MR16 fixtures in high-tech looking fixtures to 'sex up' the image and

Warp factor: lighting the ships took a very large creative team

flare the anamorphic lenses. And, behind fake instruments we placed many other moving lights to give energy and movement to the background in shots as well as to the atmosphere in the foreground.”

High-octane images However, the evil Narada ship, was completely opposite to the Enterprise. Production designer Scott Chambliss created a theatre-style set with moving elements that could slide around and change the shape and depth of a set that felt like it was constantly moving. Moving rock and roll lights allowed Primpton to keep this dark and moody, and help illuminate deep areas and sweep into the foreground, suggesting unknown depths and create anxiety.

The same tool was used in the shuttle station. It suggested constant activity in the void above frame as if shuttles were always coming and going, and being guided by an intricate pattern of lights. For this they used the 3k Shogun Xenon moving lights on 110 foot condors alongside Lighting Strikes units from Luminys and ARRI 18k Arrimax units mounted with the Arri MaxMover to eliminate having to put an operator in the condor basket and protect the historical WW II hangar used for location.

In-camera Production-friendly lighting integrated into complicated sets wasn't the only thing that was the dictum for Star Trek. The teams also worked hard to do as much of the action incamera. There is a sequence where three of the key actors depart a shuttle and hurtle freestyle toward a Romulan drill platform that is threatening earth. They pass into the atmosphere and eventually initiate their chutes to open and land. And it was all done in-camera instead of VFX. “We wanted a fluid and energetic moving camera travelling with or against the stunt performers who were tethered to a system of travelling cables,” explains McCleery. Their movements were not so simple as just up and down, but often involved a variety of manoeuvres and interaction to suggest peril or lack of control.

“We made extensive use of a 50ft Technocrane, and on some occasions mounted a 30ft Technocrane on the platform of a Chapman Titan crane to give us a different degree of flexibility.”

To whip around the “aerial travellers” flying against Mylar reflectors, the team chose the Chapman G-3 gyro stabilised head, which offered the range, from straight up to well past straight down, and could be arranged to pan laterally along the long axis of the wide frame in any configuration.

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“The head on the crane could rotate past 360 degrees without a stop,” explains McCleery. “To give this even more sense of urgency, we added Clairmont's image shaker.”

Additional high-octane images were created with a handheld camera operated by Andrew Rowlands in a bosun's chair using virtual video goggles. It created a highly organic energy and excitement to the image. At different points, Mindel would send the camera chair hurtling up at the skydivers who were hurtling downward toward the camera, then whip the camera down with them as they went past.

T h i s S t a r Tr e k w i l l maintain the positivity that came from the original TV shows – the goodnatured, can-do feeling The size of the set for this was, as McCleery put it, “pick point for the stunt cranes and descender rig at approximately 120ft with Dodger stadium and downtown LA looming in the distance.”

The two teams would also mount a camera and a head on a 120 foot condor to get a downward perspective on the sky travelers as they emerged from the shuttle or as they approached the drill platform below.

When they could, the two teams would frame the skydivers against the sky to avoid more VFX work. When they began to see the real LA large green screens were suspended from construction cranes or condors.

“Frequently, the parking lot was blanketed in wet (it was a rainy time in LA!) greenscreen fabrics, with a five foot green cushion of stunt pads in the middle below the descanter rig,” Mindel and McCleery recall.

And that's only one of the complicated in-camera shots that Dan Mindel and team tackled with enthusiasm for director J.J. Abrams's “back to the beginning” version of the Star Trek phenomenon.

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UK

live and let DI

To Live and Let DI Soho facility Pepper... has announced a raft of appointments and strategic investments at its Greek Street and Noel Street premises. Appointments include former Deluxe Digital colourist John Claude, whose CV includes DI credits for Brideshead Revisited and Happy-Go-Lucky, and sound mixer Howard Bargroff, responsible for The Colour of Magic, Killshot, Franklyn and Easy Virtue.

The highlight of Pepper's technology investment will be the complete rebuild of Studio 1 at Noel St, making it capable of mixing large-scale features. Pepper is also revamping its other sound studios, putting HD projection into its large long-form broadcast studio and building a new fourth surround studio with voiceover booth for non-long form work.

“We are delighted that John has joined us, creating a real force in DI services,” said joint MD Shane Warden. “Pepper has the largest DI grading theatre in London, and coupled with our redesigned sound studio at Noel Street we will have an unbeatable combination of services in central Soho. The significant acoustic and layout changes will create a luxurious destination for international and British feature sound mixing in the heart of Soho.”

Pepper has started work on the Sony Columbia feature Planet 51, which will use both theatres. In addition, commercial director Jane Coombes has joined Warden as joint MD. Ascent 142… has completed the post-production on short film Love Hate, a romantic comedy 'with a difference', and the first project to be shot on Mscope camera equipment, supplied by ARRI Media.

Mscope is a widescreen format developed by ARRI to facilitate the use of anamorphic lenses with the ARRIFLEX D-21 film-style digital camera in HD capture mode. It combines the cinematic aesthetic of anamorphic cinematography with digital acquisition, and allows anamorphic images to be recorded as a dual HD signal.

“Usually when we do a 2.35:1 job shot in HD, we take the 1920 x 1080 image and crop the top and bottom to end up with a little more than 800 lines,” said Laurent Treherne, digital film technical director at Ascent 142. “Mscope uses the full 4:3 surface of the sensor [1920 x 1440 pixels] and records the anamorphic picture using two HD streams on HDCAM SR.” This meant that Ascent 142 had over 60% more image information to work with in the DI grade. The HD ingest and conform was done on Ascent 142's Smoke and a specific plugin 'spark' was developed to recombine the two HD streams, recreating the original anamorphic picture.

Pepper: investment not to be sneezed at

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The grade was completed using a Da Vinci Resolve system and projected with a Barco DP90.

“Because the picture is anamorphic we had to use the Resolve to squeeze it back to a flat version while grading,” said Treherne.

“For the film-out we used the anamorphic 'un-squeeze' version, which gave us the full resolution available from the camera sensor.”

Love Hate is the story of an affair between a young charity worker and a woman who turns out to be the physical embodiment of his hatred. The film stars two of Britain's hottest young actors, Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell, and was commissioned for Film London's Pulse Plus scheme.

Technicolor's… new Lexington Street facility has completed the DIs on a raft of features. These include, Hippie Hippie Shake, directed by Beeban Kidron with cinematography by Michael Seresin BSC; Ealing Studio's From Time to Time lensed by Alan Almond BSC; the Matthew Vaughn directed Kick Ass, which was shot by Ben Davis BSC; Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie, with Philippe Rousselot the DP; Oliver Parker's Dorian Gray lit and framed by Roger Pratt BSC; and The Unloved, which was directed by Samantha Morton with Tom Townend in charge of the cinematography.

MPC's… Jean-Clement Soret was responsible for grading Slumdog Millionaire, which was, by his own admission, his most challenging feature grade to date. The film was awarded with eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture/Best Direction/Best Cinematography), seven BAFTAs (including Best Film/Best Director), four Golden Globes (Best Picture/Best Director/Best Screenplay/Best Original Score) and the Screen Actors Guild's (SAG) top award for ensemble cast.

Shot on location in India, the film mixed 35mm and Si2K digital camera footage with Canon digital stills, all creating implications in trying to create the colourful filmic look director Danny Boyle wanted. Add to this, the fast paced, dynamic cut and the fact that footage came from a range of different cameras in varying weather conditions and brightness levels, and all-in-all a lot of effort was required to make the results look seamless.

Contact between the audience and the actors was also important, and this was achieved with various digital tools to enhance facial expressions. Thanks to great latitude of freedom in the grading process time was spent with Danny Boyle and DP Anthony Dod Mantle searching for appropriate looks and atmospheres.

Squeezed & unsqueezed: a true anamorphic image of the two stars of Love Hate, as captured by the D-21's 4:3 sensor, plus the final undistorted Mscope image of the same frame

As well as the grade, MPC also handled the huge task of processing the files from the Si2K cameras used on the shoot.

At Dod Mantle's admission, it was a tough shoot with limited possibilities for lighting. Many shots ended up being pushed to their limits in the grade. MPC's DI team had a range of tricks to de-grain and sharpen the images to enhance their quality. This was particularly useful when matching 35mm and digitally acquired images.

CinePostproduction… in Munich has significantly expanded its DI grading suites 3D stereo film and digital footage, with new Barco digital cinema projectors, as well as mastering and server systems for DCPs. Active shutter lenses from XpanD are used during grading and screening with Barco 2K digital projectors.

The system employed, which is widespread in Germany, involves projecting the image alternately to the left and right eye, while synchronisation with the digital projector is performed via infrared. The benefit is that a special silver screen is not necessary, so that even grading and screening can be performed in 2D. “There are, only a few stereoscopic productions out there right now, however we support the entire stereoscopic workflow, from online editing, colour grading and title design all the way to DCP. The experience we've gained has proven highly useful in practice, for example in our stereoscopic processing of the trailer for Ice Age 3”, explained technical sales manager Matthias Saulich at CinePostproduction Geyer, Berlin.

On the technology front… Cintel International has announced a record quarter for its diTTo 2K/4K pin registration film scanner

Double Negative: worked on over 250 VFX shots for The Boat That Rocked

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live and let DI

Cult: Red Dwarf is back courtesy of fxphd.ocm and Evolutions with the sale of diTTo's to Eurolab (Rome), Digiquest (Hyderabad), Bewegte Bilder (Tubingen) and Cinemateca Brasilia (Sao Paulo).

UK digital film consultancy Light Illusion…is helping Gemni/Anand Cine Service launch new digital film facility in Chennai, India. In one of the largest moves within the Indian film industry, Gemini/Anand Cine Service is launching one of the most advanced DI and digital film operations in India.

Equipment at the new facility includes ARRI scanning and film recording systems, D-21 cameras, including anamorphic capture capabilities via ARRI's M-Scope technology, and RAW data capture via T-RAW. The chief DI system is Quantel's Genetic Engineering, with multiple Pablo DI workstation covering editorial, colour correction, VFX, restoration, audio, review, and 3D stereo capabilities, all at up to 4K resolution real-time.

Cult show Red Dwarf has made a long-awaited return to the small screen, using Red cameras.

VFX guru Mike Seymour was hired as the VFX supervisor and also as advisor on the workflow. Andy Martin, the DP, created specific lighting and colour palettes so the production would play cinematically, whilst also producing high-quality green screen footage for the post and VFX efforts.

The three episodes, while only 23 minutes each, had 262 effects shots.

Seymour, who also runs fxphd.com, an online VFX training and consulting company, asked for everything to be shot daylight or daylight filter balanced in order to help the VFX post process. The Red cameras ran at RC36, shooting 180-degree shutters at 320 ASA, but with Martin rating and treating the cameras like 200 daylight film stock.

“The sweet spot for greenscreen work is without a doubt 320 ASA,“ says Seymour. “This gamut of the cameras and the noise response curves are best on this combination of settings. We shot 4K HD - that is to say, double HD in a 16:9 aspect ratio for an HD 4:4:4 mastering finish.”

The original R3Ds were sent to Evolutions for the online, which used Baselight with the new SDK Red option, allowing direct access to the R3D files. A second copy of the R3Ds was sent to Sydney to fxphd.com which handled the visual effects. The project was worked on in multiple locations around the world, and was managed online using Sohonet for high-speed transfers. Students on Seymour's online VFX training courses will be able to recreate the visual effects seen on Red Dwarf.

London's Double Negative… worked on 250 shots in The Boat That Rocked, lensed by Danny Cohen BSC, and directed by Richard Curtis. Work started for Double Negative with three month's worth of pre-visualisation, followed by the four-month filming schedule. A stills shoot and Lidar of the boat were carried out before the principle photography. The crew shot on location in Portland Harbour in Weymouth some additional shooting at Pinewood. Double Negative's work included the final sinking sequence, with shots created entirely in CG. The company has also provide VFX services for Angels And Demons, Iron Man 2, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The Green Zone, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and The Wolf Man.

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FEATURE

shooting the future

Talking shop: the BSC's Film & Digital Image Evaluation (F&DIE) programme will provide objective information on the performance and capabilities of individual cameras

BSC F&DIEs Report by Kevin Hilton

In the consumer market, magazines and websites are packed with reviews and evaluations of digital cameras, mobile phones, computer software, processors and every other electronic gizmo imaginable - giving people at least a chance of making an informed decision before they shell out their hard-earned cash. There is no full equivalent in the realm of the professional cinema camera, but this didn't seem to matter too much at one time because the choice was between a few film cameras and a handful of stocks, with video only an occasional contender.

Today the choice has grown - it's nowhere near consumer levels, but film is now jostling for position with high definition video, data and digital in all its forms. To provide some objective information on the performance and capabilities of individual cameras the BSC launched its Film and Digital Image Evaluation programme (F&DIE) this year. This put 18 cameras and 19 formats through the same settings and parameters, the aim being to make the choice of equipment as practical as possible.

"We wanted to put the choice of camera back with the director of photography, making decisions based on facts rather than hype," explains Gavin Finney BSC. "There are some actors who refuse to be filmed in HD because of the way they think it makes them look, so we wanted to undo the hype and be able to say what the cameras do, why they are different and how they might not be quite what the manufacturers say they are.�

Finney says the project is aimed squarely at executive producers, line producers, producers and actors. "There are some cameras that will make performers look terrible and others that make them look good, which is why close-up shots were an important part of what we were doing," he explains.

Fashion has always played a part in the selection of technology, but the aim was to get away from such a herd mentality. "Just because you use the camera Anthony Dod Mantle used on Slumdog Millionaire doesn't mean you'll win lots of Oscars," comments Finney.

Balance: BSC's F&DIEs aims to undo the hype and say what cameras can and can't do

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Another spur for the assessments - the word 'tests' is studiously avoided by all those involved due to its laboratory, bench test connotations - was the declaration by the BBC that it no longer wanted to receive material on Super 16mm film for its HD services.

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FEATURE

shooting the future

World premier: the first screening of the BSC F&DIEs will take place on 8th July at NFT1, South Bank, London "That came like a bolt from the blue," says Sue Gibson BSC, the president of the BSC who oversaw the various shoots. "As we got used to that idea we had to look at what else was available. There was so much publicity put out by the manufacturers of new cameras, like Red and Sony, we felt it incumbent on us to tell the truth and say objectively what each one can do under different circumstances."

Another important aspect was the workflow of every camera and how footage could be transferred easily and quickly to a post-facility for editing and grading. Coordinating what Gibson describes as a "rather big venture" was Martin Hammond, who had originally been at the BBC meeting as a representative of Kodak, but who retired from the manufacturer and now works as a media consultant.

"There is a need for education in the market on this issue," says Hammond. "The industry was told it couldn't use S16mm, so we set out to take away the myths surrounding other cameras and formats." Hammond and the BSC arranged ÂŁ70,000 funding through Skillset, but Gibson says the balance was made up by "in kind" payments, with manufacturers and facilities providing equipment free of charge.

Pinewood Studios made its B Stage available during February.

Two sets were established there; one a shop interior, the other for close-ups. Exteriors were shot around the grounds at Pinewood. Finney and John Daly BSC worked on the shop set, lighting it for both night and day. Robin Vidgeon BSC looked after the close-ups, while Chris Seager BSC was also involved in the project.

The cameras put through their paces were: ARRI435, Super 35mm four-perf using four difference stocks (Kodak and Fuji), Sony F35, Panavision Genesis, ARRI D-21, Red, Super 16mm (again four different stock from both Kodak and Fuji), Viper, Silicon Imaging 2K, Sony 900R, Sony EX-3 and Panasonic

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HVX201. The Canon 5D MKII DSLR camera that offers fullframe 1080p HD shooting capabilities, along with 21.1 megapixel stills, was also included.

Daly describes the lighting as "not overly elaborate" but with a large contrast range. "The idea was to stretch the cameras, so there were extremely bright and dark areas," he says. "It wasn't beauty lighting." Sets were lit to 200ASA, regardless of camera or acquisition format, using ND filtering with cameras set to stop F28.

In the US the ASC, Producers Guild of America (PGA) and Revelations Entertainment,. which provided funding, has held a Camera Assessment Series, the results of which will be announced at the PGA's Produced by Conference in June.

While this might appear to be duplication of effort Sue Gibson is confident the BSC's evaluations will create a "level playing field" that benefits everyone involved in a shoot, from actors to producers to costume and production designers to makeup artists, as well as directors of photographers.

Cinematography students from the London College of Communications helped compile the data sheets, while construction students at EIM/EMLC were involved in set carpentry and painting. The sets, designed by Malcom Stone, are being kept for future assessments. The Hat Factory was heavily involved in the project, both as a facility and through Joe Dunton building a dolly to accommodate eight cameras at a time for the exterior shots.

Dunton comments that DPs today "get bogged down with the technicality of the bits and chips" and can lose sight of the creative, lighting side of what they do. While the aim of these sessions was to shift the balance back to the DP and creativity, Chris Seager observes they were also important to highlight the potential confusion in terms of workflows.

"Every camera has its own workflow and they can add a lot of time to a production and, as we know, time equals money," he says.

The footage was graded to a grey scale, with no secondary colour correction. The aim is to show the finished material on a big screen so that the performance of each camera can be properly assessed. There will be screenings during the Cannes Film Festival, followed by other special presentations and a roadshow around the UK. A "Making of..." DVD has been produced by Richard Blanshard.

Universal: Joe Dunton says the camera evaluations are for every professional in the production of moving images

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UK

close ups

Shane Hurlbut ASC

Terminator Salvation The 1984 sci-fi/action classic The Terminator has gone on to produce a TV series, video games, and three feature sequels-the third being this summer's Terminator Salvation from Warner Bros., helmed by McG and lensed by director of photography Shane Hurlbut ASC (the butt of the much-publicised on-set contretemps with Christian Bale).

“McG wanted to do what Batman Begins did for its franchise - he wanted a complete reinvention,” Hurlbut explains. “This is 20-years after the original came out, and the viewer is more educated to a different style.”

The new film, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, is focused on John Connor - played by Christian Bale - as the man who will eventually lead a human resistance. Sam Worthington and Bryce Dallas Howard also have leading roles.

location in New Mexico. Shooting began in May 2008 and concluded in August. Second unit shot another 40 days.

Hurlbut shot 35mm, relying primarily on Panavision and its Primo prime and zoom lenses, as well as ARRI for some of the handheld and high-speed photography.

Of the action in this film, Hurlbut says: “It's in your face. McG wanted it to be unrelenting, because the Terminators are unrelenting.”

A key action sequence in the film was staged near a convenience store where a Harvester - an 85 ft tall Terminator that 'harvests' humans - shows up, grabbing people. A chase ensues and in the end the store is blown up.

“In this film, computers have to build machines, and they are creating their own industrial revolution. So we decided this was going to be like the Industrial Revolution in 1880s Pittsburgh. It's not high-tech. It's raw. We wanted to show the dirt, grease and grime of this industrial revolution, without the grain.”

Hurlbut used 13 cameras to shoot the explosion, and also used a helicopter, which helped to create the scale when the 85 ft. Harvester was added in post, as well as a crash camera, Technocrane, and Russian arm. The entire action sequence takes less than one minute of screen time, and was filmed as a series of hookups to appear as a continuous shot. “It was a huge ballet of cars bombs,” Hurlbut recalls. “It has an incredible intensity in the Children Of Men style of photography.

There were 77 days of principal photography, shot largely on

“In the film you feel very intimate with the actors,” the DP

continues. “The handheld shots give it a nice documentary feel, and you feel like you are experiencing the events with them. Then you jump wide to show the geography and parameters and what they are up against. That was the style of the photography - that push/pull of incredible intimacy to incredibly wide shots.”

To help find the desired look, Hurlbut experimented with some of the film going through Technicolor's 'Oz' process. He explains that this lab treatment removes colour from the negative, creating a silvery, black-and-white style image. The final look was created in the digital intermediate process, working with Company 3 colourist Stefan Sonnenfeld.

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close ups

Roger Simonsz GBCT

Nine Miles Down The one remark that most stands out from people who have seen sneak previews of Nine Miles Down is that it is unusual. Directed by Anthony Waller a NFTS graduate who previously directed Mute Witness as well as An American Werewolf In Paris, it takes the audience through a nightmarish decent into one man's delirium. What starts out as a straightforward investigation into the strange disappearance of a drilling crew from a Saharan scientific site becomes a decent into a psychological hell that security guard Adrian Paul (Highlander) has dug for himself. He is not helped by the mysterious apparition of the one remaining crew member, Kate Nauta (Transporter II), who seems to only fuel his suspicion that something very evil has been unleashed by the scientists when they drilled an unprecedented nine miles down.

Although the movie doesn't actually take place underground, it certainly digs deep into the troubled psyche of Adrian Paul's character Jack, which presented DP Roger Simonsz GBCT with a few unusual visual challenges.

“I very much wanted to create a visual line that would accompany Jack's journey,” says Simonsz. “The strength of the movie lies in the fact we tell it mostly from his point of view, so as events unfold we might find ourselves in the same location, but Jack's perception has completely changed and therefore I might light the same place completely differently to match where we are in Jack's head.”

This was true for both location and studio. Due to certain production requirements, the movie was first shot indoors in a disused champagne factory on the outskirts of Budapest before finishing in the desert around Tozeur, Tunisia, where the shell of the scientific research station was built with a complete derrick. For Simonsz, shooting in this order first seemed to present only disadvantages, but now he thinks otherwise.

“Obviously shooting interiors first is a nightmare as there is a very large chance that whatever you decided was happening outside of the set for a particular scene is not what you will find when you get there, but there is very little you can do about it. Admittedly, the Sahara is a bit more predictable than London, but we still managed to get caught out by a real sandstorm when we weren't ready yet to shoot all of our sandstorm footage. That meant that we could use some of it, but then had to move elsewhere until the weather improved.

It was only with hindsight that I realised that I was able to take much greater creative risk with the lighting in the studio, as I wasn't constantly trying to tell myself where the sun

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would be in reality. Of course, I had a rough idea as I knew how the set was positioned in relation to the sun, but I worried less and therefore had more space in my head for the creative rather than the technical storytelling.”

There were also two scenes that were meant to take place in the desert, which had to be shot in the studio. One was a long dialogue scene at sunset, where it was deemed best to film the real sunset and actors with a wide shot in real time, and then shoot the coverage in the studio. The other was a sunrise sequence where the unfortunate Jack falls in a cess pit.

“Here I had to take great care as both sequences would have to cut seamlessly between studio and location and I had no idea what I would face in the desert. During the recce I took copious notes about sun position and colour. In the end I photographed a macbeth chart in the conditions I was hoping to be in when we returned and asked Eszter Nagy, the colourist at Colorfront in Budapest, to bring the photo back to neutral. I would then bring the corrected and the uncorrected pictures back on my laptop as a split screen and I would look through the gels in my swatch book until the corrected photo looked like the original one again. Now I knew what gels I needed for my lights to either match the sunset or predawn.”

Another challenge was recreating desert sunlight in a Hungarian winter. The complex where most of the action takes place is traversed by a series of long corridors, either lit by fluorescence or sky lights.

hot top light was provided by 18 ADB Svobodas, which are nine 28 volt crown silvered lamps mounted in parabolic reflectors with spill rings, which give a wonderful shaft of light; mostly used in operas.”

Simonsz says that Visionteam in Budapest did a great job in sourcing these units to give the number he needed. This whole rig ran through a ETC Congo desk so that once the truss was flown out the team could control everything from the ground which gave them a very quick turn around between the different corridors: moonlit, nightmare, early morning, gusts of sand flying across the roof and burning bright day.

“I was very fortunate in Budapest to have the opportunity to work with Colorfront, which provided an excellent viewing environment. Every day after wrap, Anthony and I would go and watch the previous day's rushes in a digital cinema where Eszter would instantly give me the sort of grade I was looking for. This meant I could show Anthony what I was aiming for and the editor, Jamie Travill, was already working with graded rushes. This also meant that the producers could take previews to film festivals that looked almost like the finished result, even though we were still filming.”

The movie is now being finished in London at Prime Focus and is due for release soon.

“The problem with re-creating sunlight indoors isn't really the intensity, direction or colour, it's the distance. Due to the effects of the inverse square law I couldn't really put a series of Par Cans on the roof of the set to simulate sunlight as at that proximity, the actor's heads would be a stop brighter than their knees in a wide shot which would look odd. The only way is to get your source as far away from your subject as possible, which in my case was the roof of the factory. This creates the problem of lux levels as the further away the light, the stronger it needs to be. As the skylights measured only 0,8 metres squared I didn't need a 5 kW that would throw light everywhere, I just needed something that would fill that area with light to simulate the desert top light. Dramatically speaking, I wanted something that would give the effect of light literally falling straight down. I once shot in the southern Sinai in June and remember seeing the shadow of a person walking as being just a line between the heels; that's what I was looking for. I tested a few different units that could possibly achieve this and settled on a mix,” he explains.

For slanted sunlight Simonsz chose Par cans, for moonlight he used ETC source 4s, “as they have a very clean beam, and the

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UK

close ups

Martin Ruhe

Barber's method is to trust in the DP's understanding of visual and emotional milieu, without swamping him them references. Artistically, Ruhe likes to find his own direction with the look of his work.

Harry Brown Vigilante films have experienced a resurgence in consumer enthusiasm recently, as demonstrated by producer Luc Besson's recent Taken, topping the international box office for several weeks. This could be a sign of the times. Fear of an uncertain and hostile world at our doorstep solicits a desire to have our patch protected. One thing is certain - in Harry Brown, the upcoming UK-financed Michael Caine shoot-em-up, DP Martin Ruhe (Control, U2's Linear) saw an opportunity.

Ruhe knew director Daniel Barber and scribe Gary Young were on to something by putting Caine with firepower in the housing estates of London. Ruhe's interest became piqued by recollecting “the dirty rough films like Get Carter, which fascinated me.” He also relished the idea of trying his hand at a new genre.

Harry Brown takes a hard look at violent crime in the UK as the product of youth disenfranchisement in poorer areas. Caine plays the titular character, an aging ex-serviceman, whose best friend is lost to juvenile street violence. His ire soon finds him packing a handgun to teach the delinquents a lesson.

Ruhe's focus puller, Tim Battersby and gaffer, Julian White from Control joined him again for Harry Brown. Jem Morton, a frequent collaborator from Ruhe's spot jobs leant his hand as dolly grip.

So as not to overpower the realism and atmosphere of the council estates, Ruhe used small streetlights in lieu of film lights.

“I thought our scenes should just blend in with their surroundings. Lighting, especially at night, should be decent and real. We set the camera to 6db gain for the night scenes and used a lot of practical sodium or mercury vapour floodlights. These atlas fittings carried 400 watt bulbs. I rated the camera usually at 500 ASA, at night 1000 ASA. “We got these hyper real-looking nights, with definition in the sky where you can really feel the clouds. We used the raw look of those floodlights and they blended perfectly. I liked the mixture of orange with the green and cool light from the mercury vapours.”

“With all the pictures we see each day you have to make it something worthwhile to watch,” he says. “It might not be the slickest or most trendy look, but I think it's better to not be too predictable, to always look for something unique which is not too contrived or forced.”

Ruhe's path to feature cinematography took him through over 300 commercials and 200 music videos, after which he landed a job shooting Ian Curtis biopic Control for famed music photographer-cum-director Anton Corbjin. Before Harry Brown, he lensed Julie Delpy's second feature as director, The Countess.

“I think DPs have the most beautiful job in the world. At the camera, everything comes together; the performance, all the work every team member puts into it… When everything comes together there can be magic. I think it's a great privilege to be a DP.” Lionsgate has Harry Brown slated for a November release in the UK. Post production is being done at Framestore in London. The lighting package was provided Panalux.

Ruhe had previously worked with Barber on a commercial and found himself impressed by the director's visual acumen.

Harry Brown's budget - a challenging £5 million - afforded Ruhe the inspiration to branch out into new digital technology, as using film turned out to be impracticable. He picked up the Sony F35 HD camera, provided by Take 2 along with ARRI Masterprime and Angenieux Optimo lenses, for the first time.

Familiarising himself with the gamut of competing HD options, Ruhe found the camera's performance in low light situations a great asset. Harry Brown is the first feature to be shot with the F35.

“Quite often we ended up shooting our night exteriors with an F-stop of 1.3, which meant a hell of a job for my focus puller,” says Ruhe. “There was no depth-of field-at all!”

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close ups

W. Mott Hupfel III

Jack Goes Boating

Bringing a play to the big screen can often be fraught with more than a few challenges. Add to it that Mother Nature gives you snow when you don't want it, or supreme cold when you're working on the open streets of New York filled with working people, moving cars and the inevitable paparazzi, and the task takes on a whole new level of complications.

However, bring together Oscar-winning actor (Capote) Philip Seymour Hoffman, to star and direct, and cinematographer W. Mott Hupfel III (who worked with Hoffman on Savages), and there isn't much that the two can't accomplish.

“We're not doing Long Day's Journey or The Winslow Boy. Philip had a strong sense of how to bring these stage characters, and the events in their lives, into the real world,” says Hupfel.

“First and foremost, Jack Goes Boating is a love story. The format to tell the story of the end of one relationship and the beginning of another, and how it affects each other's arcs had to support the place the characters are in at the time.”

This is what Jack (Hoffman) might have been thinking as he sat on the edge of a stage in front of a 'swimming pool' blue water effect transposed into a real pool, real location. Or, when Jack and Connie (Amy Ryan) explore the beginnings of their relationship it's not under a street light in front of a storefront façade. It's a complicated crane shot that goes from wide to three feet into the face then shoots out over the pond in Central Park - “without seeing the track in the wide shot” Hupfel interjects lightly - or a long walk and talk down 46th Street at night - “in freezing cold weather, of course,” he continues in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Working on the streets of New York can be invigorating and, well, a little frustrating,” Hupfel admits. “Especially when you are on a limited budget and you really need the cooperation of its residents.

“One of our biggest sequences is when the characters first kiss,” he explains. “It is night. It is romantic. It is New York. We wanted magical realism. We took over the whole park on 46th street between 9th and 10th Avenues - but weren't able to close down the streets to traffic, except for maybe the 20 seconds when cameras were rolling. We were limited on the number of lifts we could afford, so we thought 'night - people would have the lights on in their windows - why don't we ask them to turn them on at a magical time?'

“Our location manager was amazing. He delivered about 15% of the window lights available on the location. It added to the magic. We added a few 4k balloon lights from the ground and shot with the Arricam ST, the Cooke S4 lenses wide open, pushing our Kodak 5218 a stop and we got the magic. Thanks to Philip's amazing grasp of the story and how to make it unfold, his spoton performance - and, so important to capturing this story, the incredible camerawork of one of the best operators in the business Craig Haagensen - magic happened.

“When you are working on a conservative budget, in an often uncontrollable location, with Mother Nature putting in her two cents, a 200% commitment from everyone involved is vitally important. That commitment is going to show, when audiences see Jack Goes Boating on the big screen next year.”

Close Ups were reserached and written by Dixie Bonham, Carolyn Giardina and Ron Prince ISSUE 33

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INTERNATIONAL

f-stop hollywood

ARRI: previewed a new set of Compact Primes, billed as lightweight, affordable, highquality lenses for all digital or film cameras with a PL mount

Technofest in Vegas Lots of product announcements and hardly any cab lines, that is how many may remember the 2009 NAB Show in Las Vegas, writes Carolyn Giardina.

Reflecting the growing use of digital cinematography cameras, new types of lenses and recording devices that enhance workflow were big stories at NAB. Meanwhile all product categories featured affordable options in the troubled economic time, which was also reflected in this year's lighter attendance.

For instance, just prior to the start of NAB and on the heels of Panavision president/CEO Bob Beitcher being replaced by Discovery

Networks exec William (Billy) M. Campbell Panavision proposed a two-perf film system designed to combine high-quality imagery with cost-saving. In fact, Panavision suggests that the two-perf system could assist filmmakers in cutting film stock and negative processing costs by 33 to 50 percent on a given project. Panavision now offers modified 35mm Panaflex cameras with two-perf movements available for rental. The company says this offers the ability to shoot 2.35 widescreen images. The cameras handle Panavision's spherical film lenses.

Lenses Cooke Optics had a big story at NAB with the reintroduction of its classic Panchro lens. The

PL mounted lens for 35mm film and digital production is a modern redesign of the original Cooke Panchro that was used in film production during the early and mid-20th century.

The new Panchro By Cooke lens is designed by the same team that produces the Cooke S4/i lens; it is calibrated and colour-matched to existing Cooke lenses and incorporates Cooke's /i technology. The new Panchro sacrifices one stop of light (T2.8 compared with T2.0 for Cooke S4), which Cooke says will result in a smaller, lightweight and affordable choice when a faster lens is not crucial, or when shooting in difficult situations such as crash scenes or VFX shots.

Cooke also recommends Panchros for stereoscopic production.

Priced for independent filmmakers, the six Panchro By Cooke prime lenses - 18, 25, 32, 50, 72 and 100mm - will be available to purchase individually or as a set, likely toward the end of the year.

ARRI previewed a new set of Compact Primes-billed as lightweight, affordable, high quality lenses for all digital or film cameras with a PL mount.

Based on the optics of the Zeiss ZF still photography lenses, they will list at about half the price of Ultra Prime lenses.

According to ARRI, “The T* coating provides good flare suppression for rich blacks and high contrast. The modern lens design ensures low distortion, high resolution and excellent colour rendition for sharp, punchy images.”

Available in July, the Compact Primes are offered in T1.5 for 50 and 85mm, T2.1 for 28 and 35mm, T2.9 for 21 and 25mm and T3.6 for the 18mm focal length.

ARRI also introduced the Master Macros 100 for applications including table top cinematography, product shots, or close-up inserts. The Master Macros 100 offers a 1:1 magnification ratio, a maximum aperture of T2.0 and an optical design developed specifically for macro work. It has been designed and built by Carl Zeiss.

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Recorders Codex Digital highlighted productivity and workflow with the launch of the Codex Portable and Transfer Station combo, a portable recording and dailies transfer system. “It basically bridges the gap between production and postproduction,” explains Codex co-founder Delwyn Holroyd.

Codex has a new relationship with Glue Tools, which has created a plug-in for Final Cut Pro that allows user to digitise from Codex directly into ProRes 422 and retain metadata from the recorder. Codex systems have been used on a diversity of productions.

In broadcast these include BBC kids TV series Grandpa In My Pocket , spots for Apple's iPhone and Lincoln cars, and most recently a 6 cameras 'live' shoot for stand-up US comedian Dane Cook for HBO. It has also been used on major studio pictures such as Walt Disney's Alice In Wonderland, with Lucasfilm's Red Tails and Disney's TRON 2.0 in production.

S.two showed its new OB-1 on-board recorder with removable FlashMag solidstate magazines, which the company says will combine a compact size, low power requirements and an affordable price.

The 8x5x4 inch OB-1 weighs 6 pounds and is designed to be mounted directly onto digital film cameras. S.two reports that it records uncompressed 4:4:4 RGB from two cameras simultaneously to DPX files with metadata support, and it requires less than 28 watts of camera power at 10 to 36V DC. Under the terms of a new global sales and marketing partnership, OB-1 and FlashMag will be in inventory at Band Pro Film & Digital.

Keisoku Giken introduced the UDR-D100, an uncompressed 2K portable HDD recorder for acquisition. The system offers a hard disc or Flash memory as a removeable recording pack. Recording time is 100 minutes at 1920 x 1080 24p, 4:4:4 in a HDD pack (1.50 TB) and 22 minutes in a Flash pack (384 GB). The UDR-D100 can also be used for stereoscopic 3D shooting at HD, 4:2:2 format using 2ch HD-SDI input. A related UDR-Pack Reader is a data loader to a nonlinear editing system.

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INTERNATIONAL

f-stop hollywood

AJA Video Systems expanded into production with the introduction of the Ki Pro, a portable tapeless video device that records files to the Apple ProRes 422 codec directly from camera. It was developed to allow filmmakers to skip the process of rerendering to an editing codec by giving immediate access to ProRes 422 files directly from camera. AJA suggests that Ki Pro could also have applications for on-set monitoring, by providing instant access to multiple display devices simultaneously.

Dailies The topic of digital dailies received a perhaps surprising amount of attention at NAB. MTI Film debuted a DA (digital acquisition) Head module for its Control Dailies system, which the company says would deliver faster-thanreal-time processing of digitally-acquired dailies from sources including Red One, Panasonic P2, Panavision Genesis, Viper FilmStream and Arri D-21 digital cinema cameras, as well as media in DPX file format.

Used in a workflow, the DA module can be used to ingest and decode digitally-acquired source media, and MTI's Control Colour could be used for primary colour correction or to apply LUTs prepared during production.

Digital Film Technologies - the company that was formed in 2008 when it purchased the post production systems from Grass Valley is offering Bones Dailies as part of its Bones Linux-based post production software system. Also at NAB, Digital Vision previewed Digital Vision Dailies, the company's workflow tool for the dailies process.

Digital Vision also added On-Set capabilities to its Film Master digital intermediate system. Designed to be used standalone or combined with its Dailies system, it allows productions to track colour decisions made during the shoot.

The Foundry showcased version 5.2 of Nuke, with a Red Raw file reader; and version 6, which aims to solve lens distortion issues. It also caught attention with a technology demonstration of how Nuke can compensate for rolling shutter effects.

And DVS turned some heads with a preview version 3.0 of its Clipster post system, which the company says can offer real-time full quality 4K decoding and debayering of Red material.

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Watch the birdy: (l-r) cinematography writer Bob Fisher with Wally Pfister ASC, Richard Crudo ASC, Velinda Wardell ACS, Gavin Finney BSC, and ASC president Daryn Okada ASC, enjoying real "barbecue" conditions at Cine Gear 2008

Stereoscopic 3D Meanwhile, 3D enthusiasm continued, resulting in several announcements pertaining to stereoscopic production tools.

Silicon Imaging was catching the eye of attendees with an integrated 3D cinema camera and stereo visualisation system. The SI-3D shoots uncompressed raw imagery from two synchronised cameras and encodes to a single stereo CineFormRAW QuickTime file, along with 3D LUT colour and convergence metadata. SI reports that the stereo file can to be played back and edited in full 3D on an Apple Final Cut timeline, without the need for proxy conversions.

The SI-3D system uses two remote SI-2K Mini cameras with a P+S interchange lens mount connected to a single processing system via gigabit Ethernet.

3Ality Digital - the company behind U2 3D says it will begin selling its 3D camera rig.

Panasonic meanwhile threw its hat into the ring with early plans for 3D production tools, including a twin-lens P2 professional camera recorder and a 3D-compatible HD plasma display.

Also with an eye toward the future, NHK demoed dazzling imagery, coming from its prototype 8K digital cinematography camera.

This included footage of the Las Vegas strip,

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which was transmitted live to the NHK booth at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.

Cine Gear Expo Many cinematography technology suppliers will next be exhibiting their newest production tools at Cine Gear Expo 2009.

Scheduled to take place June 4-7 in Los Angeles, Cine Gear is returning to the Paramount Pictures Studio Lot, where the annual event debuted in 1996.

The event will again include the exhibition, as well as panels, master classes and a film series. New this year, the film series has added a documentary competition. Cine Gear president Karl Kresser reports that prizes for all film competition categories - including independent feature, independent short and students - will receive equipment and rental packages. Panavision for instance is donating four weeks of camera equipment rental as a prize.

be recognized at CineGear for its 90th Anniversary – the International Cinematographers Guild and American Cinema Editors. Also presenting sessions are exhibitors including Fujifilm, Kodak and Sony.

With the results of the BSC Film & Digital Image Evaluations nearing completion, along with a similar set of evals from the ASC, BSC and ASC members will take part in a panel discussion on Friday at 4.30pm.

Exhibitors will include Band Pro, Fujifilm, Kodak, Mole Richardson and Technocrane.

They will show their production gear at Paramount's “New York Street” and Stage 16. In addition to the ASC Anniversary, Cine Gear will salute Band Pro and Fujifilm.

Labour

A new segment at Cine Gear Expo - dubbed “Selected Pages from the History of Cinematography” - will include the screening of classic movies and discussion led by Yuri Neyman, ASC.

As this issue of British Cinematographer went to press, the Screen Actors Guild's national board approved a tentative deal on a feature film and primetime TV contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. A commercial contract has also been approved by the joint SAG/AFTRA board. Both go to membership for ratification, where the film/TV contract still faces a challenge.

This year's films are The Godfather and The Shadow of Forgotten Ancestors. Panel participants will include the ASC - which will

The old contract between SAG and AMPTP expired June 30, stalling much production in the process.

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letter from america

Plus ça change…

Steven Poster ASC says that new digital practices are restoring traditional film methodologies, and returning the DP to the role of guardian of the image.

Digital technology is making a stew of filmmaking processes that both reach back to the past and plunge headlong into the unknown.

Here's how things used to work in the world of film production: at the end of each day's shooting, the film loader sent the negative to the lab with camera notes, where the film was processed; a work print was pulled and inspected for quality control issues. When we phoned the dailies grader in the morning about yesterday's footage, we heard about “dynamic range” or the “colour management” running “a point magenta.” The entire process served as an invisible backstop that the digital workflow has forever changed. The end-to-end (device independent) colour management of the cinematographer's domain - the photographic quality of the image - used to be a universal language; now with digital filmmaking, we have a diverse planet of many seers and languages. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing? It's neither, of course. It's simply another example of technology's hand at work, opening one door even as it closes another.

In 1989, I was asked by NHK/Sony in Japan, and Panavision USA, who together had developed a new high-definition Panacam camera (analogue video capture) to prove their new system was capable of shooting motion pictures. My first question was if they had a script and director, so that we could approximate the filmmaking process. They said: “can't you just take some pretty girls out on the beach and shoot them for the day!” Nearly a million dollars later, with a script, director, and all the lighting and filtering I'd use on a feature film, we completed a 15-minute short that - surprise - looked pretty darn good! When NHK in Japan saw it on the big screen their response was, “this looks too much like a movie!

We want something much sharper.”

In the ensuing decades, I watched uneasily as High Definition video quality was put forth as a global standard. My response, like other cinematographers, was to pressure manufacturers and engineers to come up with something that could truly sit next to celluloid on a peer-reviewed basis; four years ago, thanks to camera advances made by the same companies who approached me two decades ago - Sony and Panavision - digital technology is finally ready for prime time.

Here's how things work today: while the camera assistant and operator positions remain as pertinent as ever, two other camera team jobs have taken on greater importance. Prior to image capture, the on-set workflow is fine-tuned via High Definition monitors and scopes by the cinematographer and a Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) to afford DPs the best approximation of their lighting, exposure, and colour palette

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goals. DITs use an array of look-up tables (LUTs) to approximate everything from print stock emulation to basic colour timing (which stay with the image as meta-data throughout the post-production process) without ever impacting image capture. [The cinematographer can also use a tool called the ASC Color Decision List (CDL), which is recognized by many post-production facilities.] DITs provide an optimum signal to the playback technician so other creatives on the set, namely the director, producer or even actors, can see a fair replication of the cinematographer's vision. They are the DP's backstop, as well as a buffer for film crews making the transition to digital production. Didn't the guy in the lab inspecting dailies at the crack of dawn each morning serve the same type of essential purpose?

The digital loader is another key camera department position with the potential to restore traditional film methodologies now thrown into havoc by the different workflows associated with digital production. They take the media back to a camera truck, where they download the digital data captured by the camera, and prepare that data for hand off to VFX, editorial and the like, all the while carefully reviewing the footage for the cinematographer on set. The position offers a wealth of opportunity for those coming into the industry to observe the DP's skills, as well as to get at the heart of new digital technologies. Working with new processes (like Panavision's Digital Transfer Station), the loader can help to recapture some of that “invisible workflow” the film lab once provided from dailies through release print. By reviewing all digital capture on-set minutes after the material has been turned over, loaders play a vital function in returning the director of photography to being the guardian of the image, protecting the production against mishap throughout the photographic process, digital or analogue.

So back to the future we go. Twenty years after my experience in Japan, digital technology is blurring the worlds of visual effects and cinematography, production and postproduction, engineering and lighting into a stew of filmmaking processes that both reach back to the past and plunge headlong into the unknown. In the rush to get to where we are going, let's all strive to remember where we came from, so the tally of gains and losses in cinema history will forever balance out.

Steven Poster ASC National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600

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imago

Anarchists dressed as bankers It is almost four years since the Lodz Declaration of Cinematographers passed a resolution calling on production companies to cease exploitative practises in the film and TV Industries. Working conditions, it stated, “have deteriorated to such a critical degree that immediate action is imperative”. It called upon representative film organisations including unions, societies, guilds and governments to encourage the secession of exploitative practices and restore acceptable working conditions to our industry. Lazlo and Vilmos were among the signatories.

An identically worded resolution could be passed at Camerimage 2009, and have the same relevance. The long working days and unsafe working environments to which film and TV professionals are exposed have hardly changed.

Indeed they may have deteriorated further, unemployment has certainly increased. As the Austrian AAC president, Kurt Brazda, wrote in 2005, “at the beginning of the 21st century, human beings and their social rights are in a very low ranking where economic needs and profit become the centre of interest.”

The strength of European culture is its diversity and if its film industry is to retain its individuality and prosper it is important that European film productions are properly subsidised either by national lotteries or levies. The future cannot be trusted to bankers. Governments, states and even regional authorities are now competing to encourage filmmaking by offering tax initiatives and location incentives. This represents the subprime of the film industry and must be halted before meltdown occurs.

Which competing body would not wish their next film to be called In Berlin or In Barcelona, or even In Bradford, rather than In Bruges? The British Government's policy of “Managed Migration” is fulfilling a UK Film Council obsession, which believes that the only future for the UK industry is inward investment from the USA. Backs are turned towards Europe despite having an industry as big as Hollywood.

Cinematographers are not consulted by governments, and it matters not to PACT (employers association in the UK) if the relatively free entry of film technicians from the USA results in even more unemployment for the home film workers. It means cheaper labour. The principle of reciprocity in agreements is for suckers it appears.

Fodder for cheap wages New medicine required The film schools in the UK have been renamed Academies, giving questionable improvement to educational standards.

The result is the same throughout Europe; providing enthusiastic, hopeful, but unemployed fodder for the production companies. Lower wages and conditions for film workers have become normal, as the oversupply of trained students is rampant throughout Europe.

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Not every low budget production can enjoy the international, critical and financial success of Slumdog Millionaire, shot using P&S Technik SI2K and with 50% film, nor Man On Wire, The March Of The Penguins or Vera Drake, which were all shot on 16mm. However, few directors enjoy the international respect and admiration shown towards Mike Leigh or Ken

Loach. Both would hardly know where to start on a “high budget” production. They make relevant and practical films, given their budget restraints. Their work is appreciated by European audiences and deserves to be funded with dignity.

The problem is, how?

In the present economic climate, in which anarchists posing as bankers have decimated and upturned the World economic order, low budget films represent, almost certainly, the short term future for the film industry. However ten low budget films in production result in many more cinematographers and crews in employment than one American blockbuster, with its subsequent profits heading westwards across the Atlantic.

The example of the French industry deserves to be examined.

Why are their cinematographers still enjoying relatively full employment? Perhaps it is because they are funded not by just Government, as is often assumed, but by a system similar to one which once existed in the UK? It was called the Eady Levy, and was attributed to the rise in British cinema in the 1960s including the James Bond movies. Directors of the calibre of Lumet, Huston and Kubrick moved almost permanently to the UK, and a number of distinguished European directors such as Polanski, Truffaut and Godard were attracted to its shores. The Levy even provided funding for the National Film and Television School. The money from the French Levy, which is basically bums on seats, has to be returned only to producers and then only re-invested in French film production, made in France by French technicians.

continued over >>

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<< from previous page It is carefully controlled. The French do not allow profits to escape to America. These desperate times for film production in many European countries require decisive action. This means a reevaluation of the old and rethinking where methods of funding are failing, as evidenced by present European film industry unemployment. It will do no harm to examine a system such as provided by the French with its still relatively healthy film industry.

DVD sales are falling in Europe by around 30% a year, but they could be included in a European levy and extended when necessary to encompass new audio-visual sales techniques such as Blu-ray (sales up 300% last year) and by taxing Internet Service Providers. The ISPs make their money by exploiting the expertise and work of film workers. Surely rather than make the person who downloads feel a criminal the ISP should be made to pay a levy on the work they transmit?

The French government has implemented various measures aimed at assisting local film production and cinemas. These include an instruction to Canal Plus that part of their broadcast licence goes to support the production of films. Taxes are levied on film and TV channels for use as subsidies for film production together with tax breaks for investment in films. The sale of DVDs and other audiovisual works shown in cinemas is prohibited for six months to ensure revenue for the cinemas and their workers.

Te n l o w b u d g e t f i l m s i n production result in many more cinematographers and crews in employment than one American blockbuster

imago

by the lack of work results in greatly reduced rates. The cynical may be forgiven for contemplating this as a conspiracy to create a cheap European labour force. It hurts the selfemployed most, especially in those countries where social benefits are denied.

Hope for the future?

The Lodz Declaration of 2005 resulted in Imago appointing a working committee which, under the legal direction of Dr Cristina Busch, in 2007 drew up guidelines for authorship and working conditions for cinematographers. The Model Contract will be used as a future basis for contracts which provide guidelines for working conditions and “intellectual property rights” across European borders. It is supported by the British trades union BECTU and the text for it can be found on the Imago.Org web site.

The Model Contract does not pretend to be a panacea to all the problems of the cinematographer and their crew. We are little nearer a solution today than we were four years ago. However the debate must continue. Imago is dedicated to promote issues affecting cinematographers by participation in European Conferences such as the EU XXL in Krems, Austria with its growing Brussels influence. In March 2010 the EU XXL hosts a conference focussing on the working life and issues affecting the cinematographer. This is an important milestone for cinematographers, a great opportunity for our voice to be heard in Europe.

Imago has also attended the Uni-Mei “Seminar for Creators” this April in Madrid. The acceptance by fellow artists present of the Cinematographer as creator of his work was very encouraging. Uni-mei is the largest grouping of individuals around the world representing many millions of workers in the arts, audiovisual, cultural and entertainment industries If the Imago initiative of hosting a World Conference of Cinematographers next year receives funding from the EU Media Mundus Proposal Uni-mei have agreed to play a role in the Working Conditions debate of the Conference. We look forward to real progress in the next four years.

Elles presidentes!

Piracy is the product of a system which allows piracy to happen. On a recent visit to a deprived the area of South America, Francis Ford Coppola was delighted that so many poor people were able to see his films. Piracy has different meaning for different people. France has just passed a law whereby detection of illegal piracy in downloading forces the ISP, after giving three warnings, to cut off the offending subscriber for one month. Perhaps the case for such a levy which has to be returned to producers to make new films in the home country could be introduced on a European basis in the same way as it exists in France?

No easy solutions Tax concessions are here today, but often gone tomorrow. Should any worker have to depend for his livelihood on a weak currency or fluctuations in exchange rate for security of employment? Today we are told that Hungary is the most attractive country in which to invest.

On a visit this year to the amazing facilities at the Korda Studios the only workers I witnessed were the gardeners. The madness of production companies chasing cheap labour around the world is a criminal waste of human resources.

Tomorrow's Hungary may well be named Turkey. However, at what price do we lose the high skills of the East European film technicians? Political censorship has been replaced by financial censorship. What price in human resources the legacy of trained labour being abandoned on the scrap heap as yet another attractive tax deal comes to shift investment to a new profitable hub, with its often unproven and unskilled labour force?

At a seminar in London recently the distinguished British producer, Iain Smith posed the question as to how an industry can be sustained if it cannot nurture and encourage its leadership. In an industry where the best training is often doing the job, he questioned whether the expertise and skills of the great British tradition of cinematographers is being slowly reduced by the unintended consequences of the tax credit, despite its obvious usefulness.

Education and training are keywords. Schools should be encouraged to teach pupils that it is wrong to download when payment is obligatory. The respect for the profession of cinematography has to begin by a revaluation of the differing craft skills in the classroom. There is no hope of changing EU law in favour of the film industry if the Brussels eurocrats in charge of legislation have no idea of the function of the cinematographer.

It is important for us all that producers obtain more money. They need to invest in order to survive. Producers and employees have a common interest, the success of our product and adequate finance security for their families. The common enemy is greed. However before greed has a chance to take over, crews to have to be able to work. Economic necessity caused

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Imago congratulates the appointment of the distinguished French Cinematographer Caroline Champetier as the newly elected president of the AFC, and Astrid Heubrandtner AAC who was elected in Vienna last February as the president of the Austrian Society.

Of the 37 societies that are part of the federation, five are now headed by women - Joan Hutton CSC, Ines Carvalho AIP, Sue Gibson BSC, Caroline Champetier AFC and Astrid Heubrandtner AAC. Champetier replaces Remy Chevrin AFC who becomes a joint cice president, along with Pierre-William Glenn AFC and Jacques Loiselux AFC. Heubrandtner replaces Kurt Brazda AAC who served as president for 25 years, and devoted himself to improving the awareness of many issues regarding cinematographers in Europe, The new joint vice-presidents are Wolfram Zoettl AAC and Alexander Boboschewski AAC.

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imago

Today the dream stands in ruins

In 1981 Luciano Tovoli and his friend Gabrielle Lucci, with the support of Nestor Almendros founded in the Italian town of L'Aquila what they believed to be the first International Festival of Cinematographers. With the encouragement of cinematographers from around the world such as Vilmos Zsigmond, John Bailey and Vittorio Storaro and many others it grew in success and popularity.

The dream of a festival grew into the reality of a Film Academy in 1993. With the collaboration of the University of L'Aquila it soon became established as a centre of learning as The Academy of the Image. A Nestor Almendros wing was established in memory of our most respected cinematographer who had died the previous year. Over 150 students had broken up for Easter from the Academy when disaster struck during the night of April 7th. The absence of some of them from the town may have saved their lives. One female fifth-year student was found alive after 40 hours buried in the rubble.

The international encouragement and co-operation Luciano received from cinematographers from all over the world in those early days helping to realise his dream for young students in L'Aquila, inspired Luciano TovoliAIC ASC to lay the foundations of Imago in 1992. Today the Film Academy has been destroyed and lies in rubble on a hill outside the town. Memories remain, a few cans of film are salvageable, but the physical and mental scars which come when a place of such creativity is obliterated from the face of this Earth will long remain.

Hopes of holding this year's 15th Festival International Festival at the end of November have all but been abandoned. There is no school, no buildings. Nothing.

Go to eDIT for less!

All members of the BSC/Imago member considering a visit to the eDIT Filmmaker's Festival, 4, 5 and 6th October in Frankfurt am Main, are entitled to greatly reduced entry fees. www.edit-frankfurt.de

Burcharest Workshop IMAGO has organised a special workshop from June 1st to 3rd in Bucharest.

For more details visit www.imago.org

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GBCT - The chairman speaks

The Damned United Well, what little gem of wisdom am I supposed to come up with this time? Perhaps we should make this section full of gardening tips, or DIY suggestions for this season's unexpected spell at home. I have even contemplated a satirical psychology column under the heading â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thoughts from within the Shedâ&#x20AC;?. You know how your mind wanders and you begin to put the world to rights amidst the background whiff of white spirit and spilt creosote. (Whilst listening to the local radio telling you that your football team has just blown a 2 -nil lead at Blackpool) And why does the algae in the pond just keep getting more and more abundant?

But its not very filmic though is it? And this is a serious publication for the promotion and discussion of cinematography in all its many guises.

Having mentioned last time about troubled times in television lan, I was truly saddened to hear of the demise of the Leeds -based departments of the ITV network, formerly Yorkshire Television. I am not sure what has actually got the chop, but suffice to say that what was once an extremely creative part of our national television service is effectively no longer. I personally spent many, many months based in Leeds and its environs, working on productions such as A Touch of Frost, Stay Lucky and Where The Heart Is, etc, and as my grandfather had begun his very successful acting career at the turn of the 20th century in Leeds, I always felt a great affinity with the area and its wonderful people.

All the crews that I worked with were great technicians and great fun to be with. It's a very sad sign of the times that such a wealth of talent and expertise should be thrown into disarray. I would have thought that having a solid regional base set in a vibrant film-friendly city, surrounded by some of the most glorious countryside in the world, would be an asset that couldn't be squandered. But seemingly the accountants know better.

What a pity.

Thank you Yorkshire for your hospitality. I sincerely hope that sooner rather than later, it will again be a regional centre of excellent television and filmmaking, as it so richly deserves to be.

Meantime there are still many terrific technicians living in the area, and quite a few of them are members of the GBCT. Just a reminder that they are easily reached via the GBCT crew directory or through the guild office in London. Please bear local people in mind if you are shooting up there. They will need our support in the months ahead.

Jamie Harcourt GBCT Chairman

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Cooke 2x converter

2009 BSC New Equipment Show Round-Up Another successful BSC Equipment show wrapped at Elstree Studios in March. It was great to see so many people there, and it appeared that there was a younger audience than in previous years, assuming more film students were taking an interest in techniques and equipment, which was great to see. The show was particularly well-attended on the Friday, with many exhibitors left exhausted at the end of the first day after talking for so long. The Saturday was also extremely busy, with an extremely large turnout of people.

As I arrived at the George Lucas stage in Elstree studios, perhaps the most obvious factor was the amount out gear outside before we even arrive. There we lighting hoists, tracking vehicles, cranes and other gear, so much in fact that it was a challenge to even get onto the stage.

Perhaps the most visible outside was the Bennylite, which is a most impressive and ingenious 5600K mobile film lighting unit, designed to simplify many of the problems associated with film location shooting. The Bennylite uses state-of-the-art electronic ballast technology allowing it to achieve a significantly lower weight than conventional HMI film lighting.

This allows the Bennylite to be erected on Skylift Bronto Cherry Pickers, rather than the larger cranes normally associated with lighting rigs of a similar size.

As a result, Bennylite can be used when filming on locations where access is sometimes difficult, such as in narrow streets,

town squares and similar enclosed, confined spaces, reaching heights of up to 150ft. The Bennylite utilizes the capability of either 16, 32 or 48 X 1200W HMI par lights to deliver 20kw, 40kw or 60kw of light respectively and comes equipped with spot, diffused spot, medium, wide or flood lenses. Additionally all bulbs can be dimmed up to 50 per cent.

On venturing into the stage, the main obvious bit of kit there was the huge long Bag O Lite on the Licht Technik stand. This was a massive 29 metres long, with an 18Kw ArriMax at either end. It virtually took up the whole of one wall of the studio and illuminated a great deal of the studio on its own. This would be a great tool for walking shots, with large areas able to be lit with a soft light over a large area, and car photography would be the other obvious use.

There was also the vast array of lighting possibilities on the Cirro-Lite stand, encapsulating LED, fluorescent, discharge and incandescent lighting. Frieder Hochheim the president of Kino Flo was also in attendance on the Cirro-Lite stand to demonstrate first hand the Kino range of unique fluorescent lamps that have revolutionised many areas of lighting technology. Having Frieder there demonstrated the magnitude of credibility the BSC New Equipment Show now has with various companies around the globe.

David Amphlett from Gekko Technology was also cheerfully on hand with Cirro-Lite to give demonstrations of Gekko's multiple award-winning LED lamps. Gekko was excitedly confident

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Ronford Baker Atlas 7

Gekko kedo rear panel

Bag O Lite on the Licht Technik stand

about a revolutionary new product being developed. I was left with the words “keep your eyes on NAB in April, we are having a launch there of our new lamp that will blow your mind”.

realistic lighting control system on the market for the recreation all kinds of flicker from fire, welding, lightning, TV, projector flicker, neon signs, short-circuit, "broken"fluorescents, flashers & more. The units are easily modified on the fly and feature unique sensor options like the optical sensor that can take its queue from a blown out candle or switched light.

use New Ceramic CST lamp technology from Philips, and are said to be 400% more efficient and output 4 times less heat than conventional tungsten bulbs. Both options showed a very low heat output for a great deal of light output, which has to be beneficial for artistes, crew and environment.

I now know that what they were referring to was the brand new kedo lamp, the world first fully-adjustable, focusable, single source multi colour light. This is powered by Gekko's kleer colour light engine, and the remarkable technology involved is able to create any colour extremely accurately, what's more this will be highly-stable and accurate over the lifetime of the lamp. So if you have a particular lighting gel you like, it can be dialled in at the flick of a switch. There are many presets that accurately mimic a broad spectrum of colours within a single lamp fixture. The lamp has full DMX control and can be dimmed without changing colour. It is also passively cooled with silent operation. This is truly an extremely versatile lamp that is something to closely watch.

Looking back with hindsight to IBC last year, the legendary Gekko “egg” showed us something of the colour concept, and now it is developed into a fully operational product. Gekko is a British company founded in 2004, so some great strides forward in technology has been achieved in that very short time. www.gekkotechnology.com Movie Intercom from Berlin, Germany manufacture the only

A big challenge for DP's is mimicking natural lighting effects and making them look realistic. The randomness of a candle flame, for example is different to that of a camp fire. Olaf showed a box of tricks that could mimic a flicker from a TV screen, a cinema projector, a candle, a flame, welding, lightning, and many other effects besides, and even a dodgy flickering fluorescent light was able to be reproduced with a fluorescent light fitting itself. It can be altered to be as smooth or as aggressive as the user wants, is DMX compatible, and can therefore control just about any light with DMX. http://www.movie-inter.com Another interesting light was in the form of the Cine Power G7 Galaxy, a lamp fixture with 7 lamps in an array that could be independently switched and dimmed. This enables it to produce the equivalent of a 800 - 6kW 5600K daylight source that could be run from a domestic supply, or if substituting the individual lamps for ceramic bulbs it can effectively turned into a 2,000W to 14,000W equivalent 3200K source. The lamps

Since the huge success of Slumdog Millionaire, there were certainly many companies keen to show us their close connections with the film. Whilst it was still somewhat hazy as to the exact contribution some made, it is clear to say that this was a mixed media production, shot on both 35mm film and digital cameras. A large selection of ARRI film cameras were used, with Cooke lenses. Fuji film was used on a great part of the film, with Fuji UK supplying 400,000 feet of filmstock to the production. Another major contributor for the studio scenes and slum location scenes were Silicon Imaging with the use of their SI-2K Mini sensor mounted in various different lightweight camera configurations and recording to a laptop computer in a rucksack for the running scenes. An unusual step was taken with the Canon EOS 1D MkIII stills camera shooting with its video feature to shoot some covert scenes that would otherwise drawn too much attention around the Taj Mahal.

Talks were scheduled each day form various exhibitors, and although the central forum area was conspicuous with its absence this year, the talks were more intimate on the various

Manufacturing aluminum precision track, Straight and Curved Dolly Track in various diameters.

CraneTrack for telescopic-cranes and MotionControl.

TwinDolly TwinTube TwinSlider TrussDolly BarTruss Based in Amsterdam, Holland

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Gekko Kedo Blue

New York Film Gear table

BSC Elstree exterior

booths, and people attended if they were interested. One talk was given on the P+S Technik stand by Carlos Alvarez, and he talked in detail about Slumdog Millionaire shooting with the SI-2K modular functions, and how a Canon still camera body was used to disguise the camera. He also unveiled the Weisscam HS2 High speed camera that is just about ready to be launched.

Abakus specialise in lenses that are custom made for special projects, and there was an ultra wide angle lens called the stadium lens. Extraordinarily wide. A new high impact borescope lens was also on show, with a front element lens diameter only 2.5mm wide at the end point!

D-Box as normal or to the base it self. This allows for the user to put their own cables down the post, very useful with new cameras like the RED One and the SI Mini. The D-Box will work with the RED cameras battery inputs, Monitors, cables and mounts. Even though this is a lightweight sled there is no limit to the weight of cameras you can use with it. Like ALL MK-V Sleds it can fly from DVC to IMAX. www.mk-v.com In terms of post production, Mytherapy D-Cinelab, were formed to provide digital post production services for the film and television industries by combining its traditional cinematography background and digital image processing knowledge.

Pirate are High Speed camera hire specialists, currently with two Phantom HD kits integrated with HD eyepieces, CineMags & CineStations and a full range of cine lenses & accessories, producing True HD (1920 x 1080) film-like quality images. Pirate also have the Photron Fastcam SA 1.1, capable of 10,000 fps at 16:9 Standard Definition.

In addition to providing full crew & equipment, Pirate offer equipment rental too - such as motion controlled hot heads and modelmovers, analogue high speed video for motion analysis work & video assist use and effects equipment. www.pirate.co.uk Cooke Optics lenses delivered again and did not disappoint.

They ably demonstrated the new 1.4x and 2x converter. On a 300mm T2.8 this converts to a 420mm T4 or a 600mm T5.6 respectively. It was possible to focus the 300mm on an eye from about 10ft away, and with Cooke's reputation it will be a magnificent tool to use in the field. For the near future there are the latest range of lenses in the form of the Cooke Panchro's.

While many DPs prefer to specify Cooke lenses to take advantage of the Cooke look as well as the on-set usability and reliable operation, cost has sometimes been a barrier. In addition many purchasers of digital cameras like Red also want a full set of lenses for an affordable price. Cooke also wanted to open up the opportunity to use Cooke lenses in risky situations such as on-board stunt work because lower cost lenses reduce rental and insurance costs.

Like the S4/i lenses, the Panchro's are designed for motion photography and they don't breathe when focussing. The lenses are one stop slower than the S4/i, as a result they can be smaller and lighter. The six Panchro By Cooke prime lenses - 18, 25, 32, 50, 72 and 100mm - will be available to purchase individually or as a set, and are due to ship late in 2009. www.cookeoptics.com Hawk showed their V-Lite 1.3x anamorphic lenses, which were developed to squeeze an image with a 1.3x squeeze.

This means an aspect ratio of 1:2.40 can be achieved with various digital cameras, utilising nearly the whole sensor area.

For example, the Arri D21 has a Super 35-sized 4:3 sensor that can be fully used for 1:2.40 release.

There were also many fantastic bits of grip kit such as the Super Technocrane, and the Louma 2, that has a 32' reach and with a lens height of 33' under slung or 37' 6" over slung. This provides a new range of tools to get that tricky shot quickly and easily. Their demonstrations were truly exhilarating to watch and see what they can achieve with skilled operators.

Mark Roberts Motion Control were showing the Talos Motion Control Rig, Modula Rig system and the SFH-30 pan tilt head.

The Talos goes places where traditionally a Milo would have gone but being half the weight and size of the Milo, the Talos is much easier and less costly to transport. This allows the Talos to be used more easily and frequently. It is also incredibly quick to set up and fits through standard doorways. www.mrmoco.com Helifilms were showing their V14 HD Gyro stabilised camera system mounted on a customised Nissan Navara, and this head can be mounted on a helicopter for superb aerial shots in the right hands.

Jeff from Ronford Baker tripods had the final prototype of a new tripod head system that is totally modular. The Atlas 7 unit is about to go into production and the unit was incredible to see when it was demonstrated by Jeff. The height, width and attitude of any camera could be altered very quickly, and a nodal point of a lens could be readily found for any camera lens combination, making the execution of roll over shots easily produced. The pan and tilt were separately added in modular form, and the whole system was a marvel of engineering, and as ever with Ronford Baker, it was all beautifully made and finished.

The Alien Revolution MK-V V2 AR system has advanced again, proudly announced as the most advanced body mounted camera stabilization platform in the world. The rig is Steadicam mounted, and the top of the range system is the Auto-levelling Revolution System. This gives Operators the ability to shoot from ground level to 8 feet, and automatically change modes in less than a second. The camera and monitor are stabilized, no matter the angle of the sled. Operators are finding new and unique ways of creating shots that were once impossible, and allowing a whole new way of moving the camera and telling the story.

The new V2 Lite base Genesis is an all new (patent pending) design, it has a number of all new features and is designed to work with all the new breed of cameras. (as well as all the old ones too). The main innovation of the V2 Lite base is that the whole base can be inverted, so the post can either join to the

At the end of March 2009 Mytherapy announced that it has opened a new facility in London's West End that is able to handle the entire high-end digital post production on a project.

Alternatively they can complement other post facilities by assisting in creating an efficient workflow from acquisition, through post, to deliverables of 2K and 4K content.

It is the first facility that takes raw camera processing beyond simple conversion and into the realm of advanced postproduction, offering services such as noise removal, grain and film stock match, and colour artefact removal. It is also the only facility in Europe that offers real-time transfer of raw camera data in 4:4:4 10-bit log and image sequence.

Mytherapy supports cameras such as Red One, Silicon Imaging 2K, Phantom HD and Arri D-21. www.mytherapy.tv New York Film Gear were exhibiting their grip gear at the show for the first time, and is now the U.K. distributor of Modern Studio Equipment. Some interesting equipment was there, and possibly the most interesting was a series of rods, suction mounts, tubes and clamps, a structure could be built to demand. Within a car, for example a light could be put anywhere to fit very quickly and easily. www.newyorkfilmgear.com Rogue Element proudly launched a new concept for 2009 in the form of location facilities for digital film productions. A new truck has been devised that enables productions to conduct tasks normally required of a full post facility on location, saving valuable time and money in making the production and extremely quick and efficient process. Full grading and dailies area available to playback in a calibrated suite, offline digitizing to FCP & Avid, archiving to LTO data tape and more.

In all the BSC show was seen as a great success from the many people I spoke to. Britain still excels and in many areas we actually lead the world. Take Cooke lenses, Ronford Baker, Gekko Technology, the MK-V Alien Revolution, Cine Power, Abakus and others as examples..

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

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