Canadian Society of Cinematographers Magazine Fall Issue

FALL 2023 ISSUE VOL. 15 NO. 3

canadian society of cinematographers

IMAX SPECIAL

with Daniel Green, Hoyte van Hoytema asc, fsf, nsc, David Keighley, Patricia Keighley and Toni Myers VINTAGE LENSES with Christophe Collette csc, Chayse Irvin csc, asc, Oliver Millar csc and Paul Engstrom

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P18 UNPACKING POSTPRODUCTION IN IMAX

With Hoyte van Hoytema asc, fsf, nsc

With David Keighley and Patricia Keighley

By Daniel Green (associate member)

By Daniel Green (associate member)

P32

P28

TONI MYERS: AN IMAX TRAILBLAZER IN FOCUS

FROM SEA TO SUMMIT

With with Jackson Myers

With Daniel Green (associate member)

By Daniel Green (associate member)

By Fanen Chiahemen

P36

P48

BRIDGING THE GAP

GETTING IN TUNE

With Chayse Irvin csc, asc, Oliver Millar csc and Paul Engstrom

With Diego Guijarro (associate member)

By Christophe Collette csc

P56

FATHER OF INVENTION With Walter Klassen

P61

CSC MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Yves Bélanger csc

P64

ON SET GALLERY

P66

CSC VIRTUAL PRODUCTION MASTERCLASS

By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer

table of contents Cover: Still from a commercial celebrating the 50th anniversary of IMAX. DP: Daniel Green (associate member). Location: Mount Currie, BC.

FALL 2023 ISSUE VOL. 15 NO. 3

P6 IMAX BEYOND THE FRAME

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Fostering cinematography in Canada since 1957. The Canadian Society of Cinematographers was founded by a group of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa cinematographers. Since then over 800 cinematographers and people in associated occupations have joined the organization.

The CSC provides tangible recognition of the common bonds that link film and digital professionals, from the aspiring student and camera assistant to the news veteran and senior director of photography. We facilitate the dissemination and exchange of technical information and endeavor to advance the knowledge and status of our members within the industry. As an organization

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER FALL 2023 VOL. 15, NO. 3

CSC EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT George Willis CSC, SASC

EDITORIAL BOARD FANEN CHIAHEMEN, Editor-in-Chief, editor@csc.ca CLAUDINE SAUVÉ CSC, Art Director JO ENAJE, Design and illustration SIMON EVERS, Graphic Designer PATTY GUYADER, Copy Editor GEORGE WILLIS CSC, SASC SUSAN SARANCHUK, susans@csc.ca C SC BOA R D O F D I R E CTO RS Guy Godfree csc, Chair Jeremy Benning csc Zoe Dirse csc Rion Gonzales Christina Ienna Alex Sandahl CPA Claudine Sauvé csc George Willis csc, sasc Martin Wojtunik

Canadian Cinematographer makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes; however, it cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher.

The opinions expressed within the magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily of the publisher. Upon publication, Canadian Cinematographer acquires Canadian Serial Rights;

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PAST PRESIDENT Joan Hutton CSC VICE PRESIDENTS Philip Lanyon CSC Bruno Philip CSC Penny Watier MEMBERSHIP CHAIRS Arthur Cooper CSC Zoe Dirse CSC EDUCATION CHAIRS George Willis CSC, SASC Martin Wojtunik Christina Ienna AWARDS CHAIR Arthur Cooper CSC

copyright reverts to the writer after publication.

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Single print copies and subscriptions can be purchased online at cscstore.ca.

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

dedicated to furthering technical assistance, we maintain contact with nonpartisan groups in our industry but have no political or union affiliation.

The CSC is a not-for-profit organization run by volunteer board members of the society. Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support.

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Canadian Cinematographer celebrates the art and craft of cinematography through the lens of CSC members and their collaborators. @canadiancinematographer @csc_CDN

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Punk PunkPassions Passionsand andWinter WinterWonders: Wonders: Alberta’s Alberta’sChase ChaseGardiner Gardinerand andWes WesDoyle DoyleCSC CSC Photographers: Photographers: Wes Wes Doyle Doyle CSCCSC andand Chase Chase Gardiner Gardiner Written Written by by Sean Sean McHugh, McHugh, ARRI ARRI

“I “I was was thethe kidkid with with a camera,” a camera,” says says Chase Chase Gardiner, Gardiner, anan associate associate CSC CSCmember memberand andfounder founderof of Edmonton Edmonton Production Production Rentals.

Rentals.

“I “Iwould wouldshoot shootactions actionssports sports and andcutcutthings thingstogether togetherthat that I’dI’d find find onon thethe Internet.

Internet.

I was I was always always playing playing around.” around.”

Thanks Thanks to to“playing “playingaround” around”Gardiner Gardiner finished finished university university with with a a degree degree in in media media and and a stint a stint as as a a professional professional rollerblader, rollerblader, which which in in turn turn saw saw him him spend spend a portion a portion Chase Gardiner Gardiner of of hishis formative formative years years onon thethe Chase road, road, filming filming videos videos forfor brands brands by by dayday and and working working as as a freelance a freelance web web and and graphic graphic designer designer by by night. night.

central centralfocus, focus,Canadian Canadianpunk punk rocker rockerBifBifNaked, Naked,there therewas was a perfect a perfect confluence confluence of of events events forfor Edmonton Edmonton Production Production Rental.

Rental.

“I “I knew knew BifBif and and I had I had captured captured some some of of herher concerts concerts before before sheshe became became a household a household name. name.

I understood I understood herher creative creative process process and and herher expectations. expectations.

It It was was a great a great opportunity opportunity forfor me, me, and and it allowed it allowed meme to to enter enter thethe documentary documentary world world while while living living a childhood a childhood dream.” dream.”

Wes Wes Doyle, Doyle, CSCCSC

The The BifBif Naked Naked crew crew began began their their journey journey traveling traveling thethe globe globe from from Paris Paris to to Mexico, Mexico, and and Toronto Toronto to to Vancouver.

Vancouver.

The The production production required required a run a run and and gun gun setup. setup.

“There “There were were sixsix of of usus that that Gardiner Gardinerwould wouldoften oftenreturn returnto toAlberta, Alberta,where whereheheworked workedwith withlocal local would would travel travel together, together, so so wewe couldn’t couldn’t setset upup a lot a lot in in advance. advance.

WeWe were were creative creative agencies. agencies.

Over Over time, time, hehe found found himself himself constrained constrained by by traditional traditional inside, inside, outside, outside, sunrise, sunrise, sunset, sunset, midday. midday.

WeWe were were under under covered covered patios, patios, office office hours hours and and corporate corporate obligations. obligations.

Realizing Realizing hehe yearned yearned forfor more more against against thethe ocean ocean - we - we faced faced every every lighting lighting scenario scenario youyou could could imagine. imagine. stimulating stimulating challenges, challenges, Gardiner Gardiner gravitated gravitated back back to to freelance freelance production. production. To To make make things things worse, worse, ourour distributor distributor required required soft soft whites, whites, without without anyany Eventually, Eventually, hehe co-founded co-founded Edmonton Edmonton Production Production Rentals Rentals in in 2015 2015 with with overpowering overpowering or or sharp sharp highlights, highlights, so,so, thethe uncontrolled uncontrolled environment environment made made fellow fellow Director Director of of Photography, Photography, Wes Wes Doyle Doyle CSC. CSC. it perfect it perfect to to putput ourour Alexa Alexa 3535 through through itsits pace; pace; wewe knew knew it would it would notnot overexpose, overexpose, regardless regardless of of thethe condition condition we’re we’re in.”in.”

Fast-forward Fast-forward to to 2015, 2015, producer producer Adam Adam Scorgie, Scorgie, and and writer/director writer/director Jennifer Jennifer Abbott Abbott approached approached Gardiner Gardiner with with a project a project that that would would rekindle rekindle that that feeling feeling With Withthethehuge hugedynamic dynamicrange rangeavailable availablein-camera, in-camera,Gardiner Gardinercould could of of “playing “playing around” around” with with camera. camera.

Between Between thethe production’s production’s interest interest in in turn turn hishis attention attention to to optics, optics, where where hehe chose chose smaller smaller and and more more portable portable leveraging leveraging local local talent talent and and Gardiner’s Gardiner’s history history with with thethe documentary’s documentary’s options options covering covering ARRI’s ARRI’s latest latest super super 35.35.

Combining Combining DZO DZO zooms, zooms, with with

I just I just had had sixsix buttons buttons onon mymy shoulder shoulder shooting shooting handheld handheld while while walking walking down down thethe street. street.

If there If there was was anything anything that that I needed I needed toto dodo - I-could I could change change it live it live - it was it was available available at at mymy fingertips... fingertips...

rehoused Canon FDs, he was able to shoot run-and-gun while having plenty of range in the camera’s colour science to match the aesthetics of both sets of lenses. From an operational perspective, the camera package was compact while still giving Gardiner full control over the shooting condition. “I just had six buttons on my shoulder shooting handheld while walking down the street.

If there was anything that I needed to do I could change it live - it was available at my fingertips. I could shoot into the windows of this little Paris apartment, and when the sun came around hitting the building across the street, I wasn’t worried that it would clip. It was so comfortable.”

While Gardiner was dealing with unpredictability, his seasoned business partner, Director of Photography Wes Doyle CSC was dealing with the intricacies of capturing intimate moments. It was Doyle’s passion that influenced Gardiner to choose Edmonton as their home; together they aim to re-invigorate the once bustling industry of the 90s. Whether it’s Doyle’s keen sense of industry opportunity or his sharp artistic eye, his 45 years in the industry let him navigate any production challenge with ease. One such challenge, happened on a recent project: Coupled Up for Christmas, a classic Holiday tale that takes advantage of Edmonton’s enchanting winter backdrop.

With only three days before principal photography, Doyle was presented with a picturesque log cabin in the heart of a snow-laden forest. “It was gorgeous and perfect in so many ways, however, the entire façade was entirely made out of windows. The outside view presented itself as a beautiful composition of snow and trees, which was key to the narrative, but we still had to capture the full breadth of the interior scene with actors properly exposed, contrasts maintained, and accurate skin tones.”

A treacherous scenario for any DP… “I decided to stick my neck out knowing that I was shooting on the 35. If it had been any other camera,

I would have said „No, find another location“. I just didn‘t have the firepower or the time to balance the interiors to sun-lit snow outside.”

While an exceptional latitude and soft shoulder no doubt aided, it was Doyle pushing the envelope that led to the successful outcome. „In the end, the footage was nothing short of fabulous.“ Chase Gardiner and Wes Doyle‘s unwavering dedication breathes new life into Edmonton’s production industry. Their combined efforts have illustrated that whether it‘s the run-and-gun energy of rock docs or the charm of Christmas tales, the true essence of cinema lies in passion, experience, and the will to innovate.

I decided to stick my neck out - knowing that I was shooting on the 35. If it had been any other camera, I would have said „No, find another location“.

IMAX BEYOND THE FRAME B y d a n ie l g r e en 1967. Coffee costs a dime. The Leafs win the Cup. Penny Lane tops the charts, and two young Canadian filmmakers are the talk of Montreal’s Expo 67.

Their spark of genius was to immerse the viewer in not just the story, but the actual viewing experience using non-conventional projection methods and multiple screens.

The two men, Toronto-born cinematographer Graeme Ferguson and filmmaker Roman Kroitor, developed a way to combine multiple screens into a single image when Ferguson was commissioned to direct Polar Life, an eleven-screen panorama installation for the Expo.

Three years later, when IMAX unveiled its first big-screen production, the company became the talk of the film world. Tiger Child was presented on 70 mm film stock – approximately 10 times larger than conventional 35 mm film – and powered by a projection system strong enough to illuminate an eight-storey tall screen. Not since the introduction of sound-on-film had there been such a radical change in the technology of filmmaking.

IMAX soon began installing its projection systems in museums, science centres, and specially designed theatres where audiences could enjoy the stunning panoramas of space, science and nature.

Sunday afternoons became family outings to experience the beauty of an Earthrise through the windows of a spaceship, to glide effortlessly across the Savannah looking down on herds of zebras and elephants, or dive deep into the ghostly depths of the ocean. IMAX “big screen/big sound” documentaries became both a beloved family outing and a cinematic phenomenon.

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

New

Mexico

34°

18'

25.7184''

N

|

106°

1'

5.0376''

W

| oppenheimer imax special IMAX MSM 15 IMAX MKIV 15 Panavision System 65 Studio 5 ARRI 435 4

perf perf perf perf

IMAX 1.43:1 Panavision 2.20:1 ARRI 1.33:1 5203 50D iso50 5207 250D iso250 5219 500T iso500 5222 B&W iso200 @ 3200, iso250 @ 5600 180° - 155° 3fps, 24fps, 30fps, 48fps, 150fps Panavision IMAX Sphero IMAX Hasselblad PV System 65 Sphero PV System 65 Panaspeed IMAX Relay Probe Lens

New

Jersey

39°

50'

1.8636''

N

|

74°

52'

18.5736''

W

Los

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34°

3'

8.0460''

N

|

118°

14'

Primes Primes Primes Primes System

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In the mid-1990s, current IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond and partner Brad Wechsler bought the company and set off on their own big journey. Their goal was to build IMAX into a worldwide commercial brand. For that to happen, they needed to entice Hollywood’s most celebrated producers and directors to make IMAX films.

In Hollywood, producers liked what they saw on the screen, but the studios were hesitant to greenlight IMAX releases, insisting more IMAX screens were needed to justify the distribution costs. Meanwhile, theatre owners felt that more IMAX releases were needed to offset the expensive renovations.

It was a classic catch-22.

But as the saying goes, fortune favours the brave, so when under Gelfond’s leadership, IMAX R&D was steered towards the development of an algorithm called DMR (Digital Media Remastering), that could convert existing movies into the big-screen IMAX format, the fates smiled. Suddenly, the stock of available films increased dramatically.

By 2001, the digital age was picking up speed. In homes all over North America, families were shifting from VHS to DVD. Movie theatres were changing too, replacing film projectors with digital systems.

Then came Avatar.

When the IMAX conversion of Avatar was released, it became a global phenomenon. American scalpers charged $100 a ticket, while across Asia, movie fans lined up for hours. Avatar did more than $250 million in IMAX box office alone, driven in large part by the thrill of watching a heartpounding space adventure film on the big IMAX screens.

Suddenly, Hollywood looked at the company with fresh eyes and, as they say in the movies, it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Soon, some of the biggest names in entertainment embraced the format, boosting the IMAX profile and prestige. Early adopters such as Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams and others, had experimented with using IMAX in Hollywood pictures and found IMAX technologies to be the perfect tools to help shape their creative visions.

For more than half a century, IMAX has given us the gift of revolutionary filmmaking and has reached a rare place in its journey – it’s lauded for both its artistic vision and its business acumen. The company has won a galaxy of industry awards and in 1996 was honoured with an Academy Award of Merit for its scientific and technical achievements.

The company’s theatre technologies have thrilled millions of viewers taking them to the edge of the human experience and often beyond.

IMAX’s state-of-the-art proprietary technology is conceived and built in-house and then licensed to an ever-growing number of international customers. Each element in the supply chain is fully integrated – camera, sound, projection technology, theatre design – with all these variables

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

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working together to create what is widely acknowledged as the gold standard for the film entertainment experience.

With the recent release of Nolan’s highly anticipated blockbuster feature Oppenheimer, and his continued reputation as the champion of the IMAX format, (the director is often referred to as the grandfather of the modern IMAX phenomenon), what better time to reflect upon some of the homegrown achievements and things we loved growing up around this born-in-Canada brand.

IMAX ON OPPENHEIMER WITH HOYTE VAN HOYTEMA asc, fsf, nsc Daniel Green: Oppenheimer really is a visual masterpiece and an incredible achievement. This marks your fourth film with Christopher Nolan. I’m wondering if you can talk a little bit about the collaborative dynamic between the two of you when planning and executing scenes filmed in the IMAX format for Oppenheimer. Did it differ from your past collaborations?

Hoyte Van Hoytema asc, fsf, nsc: No, I always have the feeling that prep 10

CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

for a film with Chris is a build on the previous films I did with him. We are never thinking in terms of a singular film. We have always tried to improve on the technology that was available to us and perfect it to our needs and carry it on to our next production. Particularly IMAX, that is something that we started on Interstellar, and back then already I wanted to do things with that camera that they hadn’t been able to do. So I really started a lot of engineering and developing back then. And every single consecutive production, we kind of added on to that and perfected it, and when we started Oppenheimer, there was a whole bunch of stuff that we had learned from previous productions that we carried on. And there’s always in every film a new set of challenges. For instance, in this film we were going to shoot black and white IMAX. Another challenge was that there was a lot of macro photography. Another very big challenge was that this film was very much about faces and closeups, whereas traditionally, IMAX is a medium of vistas and wide shots and grandeur, but suddenly we had to apply this technology to intimacy and to the small and the close. So to a certain extent, I felt that we sort of had to reinvent the medium for our needs.

DG: I understand that you worked closely with Panavision to broaden the range of optics to address some of the challenges with this.

HH: Yeah, I worked with [Panavision engineer] Dan Sasaki; he’s an absolute lens magician. He can tune lenses very much to your liking, and he can build lenses from scratch. He helped us pull the close focus ranges closer.

Traditionally, we would shoot closeups on an 80 and then we started flirting a little bit with the 50 at some point. On Oppenheimer we actually shot a lot of the closeups on a 40 just to get the camera closer into people’s faces and just to feel the proximity towards our actors and action more firsthand. But of course, he needed to build lenses or tune lenses so that our close focus ranges are much more extreme. And I think that has a lot of influence on the language of Oppenheimer and also the way you read faces and experience faces in a big theatre. So Dan is always super instrumental to what we can do with those cameras and how we want to make shots with those cameras. For Oppenheimer he also built this macro probe lens that you see very excessively used throughout a lot of the macro shots. I mean, these are things that don’t exist, but I asked him, “Can you do something like that?”

And then he thinks about it and figures out that he can and then he starts engineering and building.

HH: For me, it’s like if you think about the three dimensionality of an IMAX frame, the moment you surpass the 80, you start compressing the shot, you start feeling a little bit far away from the action. You become more an observer, as opposed to a participant. And the same happens when you go to a wider lens, you start looking into a fishbowl. And so the sweet spot for us is all connected to the maximum of viscerality, so to say, those lenses that really help the audience stand within the action as opposed to just sort of reading what’s on the screen and intellectually processing it. So in that way, those lenses have always been the go-to lenses because they really milk the effect of what an IMAX experience can be.

DG: You found the 50 mm and the 80 mm to be the sweet spots when filming in IMAX?

HH: Funnily enough, by using it very much for features as opposed to documentaries, there are a whole set of different rules. A whole different

DG: IMAX theatres in themselves, they provide this unparalleled cinematic experience, especially when you’re viewing the films in 70 mm projection, even when you just consider the aspect ratio, it’s really quite unique when you compare it to other formats. So, as a cinematographer, how do you leverage this difference to enhance the storytelling and audience immersion?

11

Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures Director Christopher Nolan with DP Hoyte Van Hoytema

asc,

fsf,

nsc.

way that you get pulled in or follow a story. And what I very much had to learn about IMAX was to start to really respect the experience of the people and where they look at the screen and how they experience for instance cuts and how they can get bumped out of a film or be sucked into it. So for me it always became very much about honing and fine tuning my framing to that experience. I always feel that IMAX is a very experiential medium, as opposed to, for instance, the old 2.40:1 in a cinema, which automatically when you sit a little further from the screen, you become very aware of frames and framing, of negative space. And so you can frame very much with some sort of an intellectual idea and also make your audience aware of what you want with the frame.

Whereas when you frame for IMAX, there is not so much that intellectual barrier; it’s a very direct communicative experience. There are a lot of elements in the frame or in the screen that physically you cannot see or you can really not put attention to. So that the peripheral vision is very much what gives IMAX that power and that atmosphere because somehow there are more things in the frame that you actually feel as opposed to see. You see, of course, but then there’s all this real estate that is there 12

CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

just to fill in the smells or the atmosphere. People say very often when you look at the IMAX screen, it’s like you’re in the middle of the action and to a certain extent, that’s the power it has; it can really pull an audience into it. So framing wise, that was something that I really dug into. You have to really start respecting the way people experience those frames.

And centre punching in IMAX, there’s no shame in that. I’ve been brought up in the traditional cinematographer school of Poland that symmetry is the aesthetic of the scoundrel. It was very counterintuitive in the beginning, but the more I work in IMAX, the more I became a centre puncher. I respect the fact that when people watch the screen and when they want to experience it, they watch it with a kind of tunnel vision.

DG: For Oppenheimer you used a combination of 65 mm large-format stocks, including the Vision3 250D, the 500T and Kodak’s 5222 black and white film, which has been around for a while, but this marked the first time it was introduced into the System 65 and MSM workflows. Did this present any challenges?

HH: The 5222 is a stock that I know quite well from 35 mm. It was always a crazy pipe dream to see black and white on the big format. And when Kodak actually manufactured that stock for us, which was not as easy as it sounds because there’s a lot of stuff, a lot of artifacts and a lot of problems you get when you build 65 mm stock and put it over such a big negative – the backing of the stock, the stock itself, the fact that it’s weaker, the way IMAX cameras are tuned, how perceptive it is to dust and static electricity - there’s a lot of things that we had to test and figure out before we really could dive into it. But when we saw our first test imprinted and projected, it was just absolutely amazing to see. I’ve never seen something like that in my life.

THE IMAX MSM 9802 65 MM 15-PERF CAMERA In the ever-evolving world of cinematography, technological advancements continuously push the boundaries of visual storytelling. Yet as technology evolves, IMAX’s MSM 9802 65 mm 15-perf camera system continues to stand at the forefront of cinematic excellence and the enduring power and beauty of analogue film.

It was originally developed by Martin S. Mueller and sold to IMAX Corporation in 1999, and excels at capturing immersive visuals originally intended for 70 mm film projection, but has also proven to be a huge quality uptick for IMAX digital projection.

As image capture technologies continue to advance, the mighty MSM has also seen many upgrades over the years and, as a result, continues to be an exceptional camera option for filmmakers with the budget and desire to captivate audiences with visually stunning and larger-than-life cinematic experiences and immersive breathtaking visuals.

The MSM camera system has been used in numerous notable productions, including large-scale blockbusters and documentaries – such as The Young Black Stallion (2003), Roving Mars (2006) and Hubble 3D (2010). The impact and legacy of the MSM is legendary and has left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. It remains a highly regarded tool in the world of cinematography, enabling filmmakers to bring their creative visions to life on the grandest scale imaginable.

In March 2022, IMAX announced that it would be partnering with Kodak, Panavision and FotoKem to develop the next generation IMAX film camera.

The key design targets include making the cameras quieter, updating the control electronics with further advanced features, enhancing the video assist, and improving the optical viewfinder. Advisors for the prototype development include the champions of the IMAX 70 mm film format, cinematographers and filmmakers, such as Nolan and Jordan Peele. Until then, the IMAX MSM 9802 camera system remains at the top of the pyramid in the IMAX camera ecosystem.

DG: I understand that you shot Oppenheimer with a combination of the IMAX – I think it was the MKIV, the MSM and Panavision’s Panaflex 65. Can you talk about where they were each leveraged throughout the production?

HH: The System 65 camera is the sound camera, so we shoot every scene that has dialogue with that camera. Now very often, there’s dialogue scenes that we also like to do in IMAX. So we very often shoot the whole scene on System 65 and then take the other camera and redo the scene on IMAX, and then process the sound from the System 65. So there’s always a big will to put as much IMAX as possible in there and there’s of course practical limitations that make us shoot on the System 65. But I have a feeling that if somebody comes up with an IMAX camera that is quiet at some point, we’ll 13

be shooting a whole film on the IMAX camera. There’s always limitations that people talk about, like the short magazines, the noise level, the reload times, and people are always a little put off by that. But we have through the years trained ourselves and engineered things to overcome these problems.

I mean, we did aerials for Dunkirk on these cameras, even though the magazines were just two and a half minutes long. My focus puller, he can reload on a camera now in a flash, he has trained himself. I compare it to racing – with a Formula One car, it gives you the best result, but it just needs a little bit extra service and a different way of thinking around it. Everybody has to respect the machine in a different way.

all that bad. And by the way, one of the biggest and most important things in operating the camera for me handheld is my wonderful Canadian grip Ryan Monro. He has been with us from the beginning. And he knows the whole system around the IMAX camera as no other. He knows how to put it on somebody’s shoulder. He knows when to take it off. He knows how to support it. He has made his own little science project out of it. It’s not as bad as people think. It’s very doable.

DG: IMAX cameras such as the MSM are quite large and heavy. How do you manage their mobility and incorporate them so seamlessly into the storytelling process? I mean, you are seen as being quite the warrior going handheld with the MSM.

HH: Well, I did a master class called “IMAX for Dummies,” and my whole idea was very often the reason why people don’t film on it is literally because there are myths about it. People think it’s some sort of a weird, magic, very heavy, very difficult to achieve thing. But it’s literally a motor, a box, a gate and film strip. So you roll film through it, you point it at something, and you get an image, and that image is already from the outset way better than anything you’ve seen before. So I always say just test it and see it and understand that it is not difficult if you’re willing to overcome and think creatively about the practicals. The reward is so much bigger than the trouble and the effort that you have to go through to do it. For me, it needed one test to fall in love with it, and it makes me want to make it work purely because of its beauty.

HH: There’s a gigantic mythology around the camera. In the stories that are told and repeated, the camera grows and grows. It’s kind of a mythological beast right now. However, I don’t necessarily experience it like that. The camera itself is much lighter than, for instance, the Panavision System 65 mm camera. I don’t necessarily see the problem. I’m not very sporty. I’m not particularly strong. I heard those stories before about, “Oh, this is big, this is so heavy, and you can’t put it on the shoulder.” And then the day came that I told my focus puller, “Hey, why don’t you try to put it on my shoulder and see how it works?” He put it on the shoulder, and I just felt this is not at

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DG: What advice do you have for cinematographers interested in exploring filming in the IMAX format?

Contributors: Mike Hendriks, David Kempling, Simon Kwan, Viktor Maksimowicz and Don Young.

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IMAX CAMERAS THROUGH THE YEARS Timeline of the IMAX Camera The major milestones in IMAX’s camera development history 1969 - MKII Camera Designed and built original IMAX 15-perf 65 mm Film Camera.

1970 to 1980 - MKII Cameras Built 13 additional MKII IMAX 15-perf 65 mm Film Cameras.

1980 - IW5 Camera Co-designed and built three new IMAX 15-perf 65 mm Film Cameras in cooperation with Jeff Williamson. Cameras included reflex shutter and coaxial magazines.

1982 - MKII Space Upgrades Significant upgrades to MKII Cameras for operation in Space Shuttle.

1989 - IW5A Camera Design and built three additional IMAX 15-perf 65 mm Film Cameras based on the IW5 design making significant improvements to magazines, camera body and design of complete new electronic control system.

1989 - IW8 120fps Camera Designed and built one High Speed (120fps) 15-perf 65 mm Film Camera in cooperation for MFF “To the Limit” production.

1995 - Solido Camera Designed and Built three “dual strip” 15-perf 65 mm film cameras including qty-12 stereo lens pairs.

1997 - MSM Acquisition Purchased four MSM 9801 15-perf 65 mm cameras from MSM Design.

1999 - MKIII Camera Design Modification to convert MKII 15-perf 65 mm camera to reflex shutter and rear mounted coaxial magazines.

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

2001 - MSM Electronic Upgrade Complete electronic control system re-design and re-wire of four existing MSM 15-perf 65 mm cameras.

2002 - 30perf 3D Camera Co-designed and built two “single strip” 30perf 65 mm cameras in cooperation with MSM Design.

2009 - 3D Digital Camera Design and built three “integrated / compact” 3D Digital cameras including qty-10 auto-converging stereo lens pairs.

2012 - MKIV Camera Converted three additional MKII 15-perf 65 mm cameras to reflex shutter and rear mounted coaxial magazines. Included new electronic control system based on MSM electronics.

2022/2023 – Next generation IMAX camera development in progress Key design targets include making the camera quieter, updated control electronics with advanced features, enhanced video assist and improved optical viewfinder.

Christopher Nolan films shot with IMAX film cameras: The Dark Knight: 4 x MSM, 1x MKIII The Dark Knight Rises: 3 x MSM, 1 x MKIII, 2 x IW5A Interstellar VFX: 3 x MSM, 1 x MKIII Dunkirk: 3 x MSM, 2 x MKIV Tenet: 3 x MSM, 2 x MKIV, 1 x MKIII Oppenheimer: 1 x MSM, 3 x MKIV

As of September 2023, the following cameras are IMAX Certified Digital: Arri Alexa 65 IMAX (6.5K camera) Arri Alexa LF (4.5K camera) Arri Alexa Mini LF (4.5K camera) Panavision Millennium DXL2 (8K camera) Red Ranger Monstro (8K camera) Red V-Raptor (8K camera) Sony CineAlta Venice (6K camera)

imax special Still from a commercial celebrating the 50th anniversary of IMAX. DP: Daniel Green (associate member). Location: Mount Currie, BC.

CALCULATINGFILMSTOCK How Many Feet Per Second Run Through An IMAX Camera?

A

pproximately 5.6 ft per second run through an IMAX MSM Camera or 334ft per minute at a normal speed of 24fps. This requires that the camera be re-loaded every 2.97 minutes of shooting, in comparison to 4P 35 mm cameras, which are reloaded every 11.15 minutes.

IMAX cameras use a 180° shutter, meaning that the film must come to a complete stop and remain perfectly positioned for more than 50 per cent of the time. Therefore, the film needs to be accelerated

to a speed of 11ft per second and then stopped again 24 times per second. High-speed IMAX cameras run up to 96fps and expose 22.4 ft of film per second and use up an entire 1,000 ft roll in 44.6 seconds.

Oppenheimer used more than 700,000 feet of IMAX film stock, including large portions that were shot using the new black-andwhite film stock. IMAX upgraded the platter sizes on all 70 mm film projection systems in advance of Oppenheimer, to accommodate the film’s 180-min runtime.

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UNPACKING

Postproduction in IMAX

w i t h Da v i d Ke i g h l e y a n d Pa t ri c i a Ke i g h l e y

BY DANIEL GREEN

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| postproduction imax special films released in 70 mm 15-perf and digital IMAX formats in theatres around the world.

Daniel Green: In one of your early meetings with Christopher Nolan, David, he describes being in your office trying to convince you of the virtues of shooting segments of The Dark Night in IMAX. And you challenged him on the whole notion of this, and then there was this moment where he said you calmly stood up, checked the corridor to make sure that no one was listening,

Courtesy of Daniel Green.

D

avid Keighley and Patricia Keighley are the Chief Quality Gurus at IMAX Corporation. They are known as the large format film industry’s dynamic duo, and for more than 50 years they have developed many of the technical innovations that have revolutionized and helped create what is widely acknowledged as the gold standard for the film entertainment experience. They have been involved in every step of the filmmaking process at IMAX since the beginning with a focus on postproduction. Together they have been involved in the postproduction process of more than 500

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closed the door and said, “We’ve been waiting for someone like you for years.”

And at that moment, he said he knew whatever the test was he passed it. If that isn’t a defining moment in modern cinema history, I don’t know what it is.

David Keighley: Well, yeah, there was that meeting. Before that meeting, the first time we met Chris was for Batman Begins. It was shot by Wally Pfister in 35 mm, 2.39 : 1, and we did our DMR process and put the 2.39 on the IMAX frame.

It was pixel for pixel accurate, and we did a 4K film out of the movie. It looked very good. And I said, “Chris, I think we can actually do a little bit better. I think we can maybe do something in 6K to see if it makes a little bit of a difference.

Because I think it’ll pop a little more. So he said okay, and we did three minutes of it in 6K, and he said, “Wow, that’s really cool.” He could tell the difference; I could tell the difference. I think that proved to Chris that we kind of put our money where our mouth is and we really wanted to make it the very best we could, and that’s really where our journey began.

After we did that, Chris said, “If I shoot in IMAX, can I use this format to release in other places?” So the scene in The Prestige where Christian Bale’s fingers are cut off, Chris only shot that in IMAX. It never was released on IMAX, but then we made duplicate negatives and reformatted it to see whether you could seamlessly put that into other formats. And that passed the test. And then we went on to do the most extensive testing ever for The Dark Knight, 200,000 feet over six months. We tested every component of shooting in IMAX, and then he got confident that we could go ahead and try to do a major part of a feature.

FILMED FOR IMAX VS. FILMED IN IMAX The “Filmed for IMAX” program was launched in September 2020, with the goal of certifying digital cameras that were officially approved to create IMAXformat films.

The program is a partnership between IMAX and the world’s leading camera manufacturers to meet filmmaker demands for The IMAX Experience. The idea was to make it easier for filmmakers to create films that met the requirements of the IMAX giant screen theatre, allowing them to leverage the fully immersive IMAX theatrical experience, including expanded aspect ratio and higher resolution.

Through the program, IMAX certifies best-in-class digital cameras from leading brands including ARRI, Panavision, RED Digital Cinema and Sony to work in the IMAX format, when paired with IMAX’s proprietary postproduction process.

IMAX selects only a limited number of films to participate in the program each year. Best practice guidelines are implemented for each production to take advantage of the cameras’ highest possible capture qualities and settings in order to maximize The IMAX Experience.

IMAX works with each filmmaking partner across R&D, production testing and postproduction to achieve the highest level of digital image capture for optimized playback on IMAX’s proprietary projection systems.

Since the program premiered in 2020, it has featured Hollywood films such as Top Gun: Maverick and Dune, as well as international titles such as The Wandering Earth 2.

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The “Filmed in IMAX” program duplicates IMAX’s involvement in all aspects of production, but it utilizes 15/70 film cameras (referencing the 15 perforations per frame) to deliver a traditional analogue film experience. This was best displayed recently in Oppenheimer, which utilized a combination of IMAX 65 mm and Panavision 65 mm large-format film cameras to maximize the use of IMAX screens via their expanded aspect ratio and to take full advantage of the analogue film experience.

In the case of the MSM, the system utilizes 65 mm negative film running horizontally through the camera. Each frame is 15 perforations in length (2.802”), providing a frame size that is approximately 10 times the area of traditional 35 mm film. Similarly, the film is also fed through the projector horizontally as opposed to traditional vertically mounted film reels; and is drawn from the inner circumference of the platter, unlike conventional film reels where it is drawn from the outer circumference inwards. A clever system of engineering keeps the centrifugal force caused by the spinning platter from sending the film flying outwards.

In the case of Oppenheimer, with a three-hour run time, the 11 miles of film stock and 600-pound weight, the film reels are shipped to theatres in several small reels that are spliced into one continuous length that is then wound into a platter, a process that can take several hours to complete.

IMAX uses ESTAR-based print film, which provides greater precision, given that the chemical development process doesn’t alter the size or shape of the print film. This is extremely important given that IMAX’s pin registration system won’t tolerate sprocket-hole and film-thickness variations.

Given that film can swell or shrink under varying temperature and humidity, projection booths are kept at a temperature between 20°C and 23.8°C and a humidity of 50 per cent.

DG: IMAX co-founder Graeme Ferguson credited you as recognizing the need to develop a quality control system. Can you tell us how you went about designing this process?

“

Everything that we’ve done on film is looked at in real time, every single reel.

So we made 30 prints of Oppenheimer, and every single reel of that movie was looked at and pre-screened before it was sent to the theatres.

David Keighley

DK: I wanted everything in IMAX to be a show print. That means the chemistry and control numbers had to be exactly right. So the skin tones from reel to reel had to match, the colour and density, the quality, how fast is it printed, is it wet-gate printed, is it not? And so everything that we’ve done on film is looked at in real time, every single reel. So we made 30 prints of Oppenheimer, and every single reel of that movie was looked at and pre-screened before it was sent to the theatres. And I personally looked at 98 per cent of those 1,500 reels. So that’s our commitment to quality.

Patricia Keighley: I think we’ve seen it more than 55 times in total with sound in all the various locations, but what David is talking about is looking at individual reels, which is not nearly as much fun because they’re out of order and there is silence. So that’s tough to do, but in that particular film every time we’ve seen it we’ve learned something different because of the way Chris wrote it with so many levels.

65mm 15-PERF (MSM) Aspect Ratio 1.37

65

51.638

THE DCP/DMR AND POST PROCESS When exploring the IMAX DCP (Digital Cinema Package), DMR (Digital Media Remastering) and post process, there are a few different workflows to consider in the film and digital worlds:

70.739

1. Shooting on film with a digital finish and distribution.

2. Shooting digitally, with finish and distribution as a digital process.

70mm 15-PERF IMAX Maximum Projector Gate Aspect Ratio 1.43

3. Shooting on film with a film and digital finishing and distribution.

The first two are relatively straightforward. In the case of shooting on film, IMAX scans all 65 mm negatives and IP at 8K spatial resolution in 16-bit depth.

The last one is much more involved.

When you see a film like Oppenheimer in IMAX 70 mm, you’re seeing a full film capture through to exhibition. There is also a digital finish for exhibition in IMAX’s digital theatres beyond the thirty 70 mm film projection locations. IMAX Original Content manages the IMAX portion of the postproduction process for all movies shot using IMAX film cameras. However, in all cases, IMAX teams work directly with the productions throughout the process, assembling film or creating digital files for screenings.

This methodology involves utilizing IMAX’s proprietary DMR process, which started the company down the path to Hollywood success. The process fully transforms every frame of a film by adjusting the image and audio to take full advantage of the IMAX projection systems. Despite IMAX’s involvement and the use of their proprietary technology, the postproduction process is under the control and guidance of the filmmakers to ensure their direction and vision achieve the most optimal results for the theatre systems.

For all three workflows, a DCP must be made for digital exhibition. Once the digital versions are approved for all projection systems, a DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives)-compliant DCP is created and quality controlled. Changes may be

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70

48.514

69.596

COMPARING FILM STOCKS 65mm 5-PERF Aspect Ratio 2.28

23.012

35mm 8-PERF Cropped Aspect Ratio 1.43

52.451 65 25.17

65mm 5-PERF Cropped Aspect Ratio 1.43 35.995 23.012

32.908

35mm 8-PERF Aspect Ratio 1.50

65

65mm 8-PERF Aspect Ratio 1.38

25.17

37.492

35

37.7

Film stock shown at actual size

51.638 65

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“

We definitely need more experienced IMAX projectionists. Because it’s not a lost art, but it’s not something that is that common and that everybody knows how to do.

Patricia Keighley made to the original version delivered by the DI finishing facility, as IMAX’s projection standard is 22 FtL (Foot-lamberts), rather than the standard 14FtL. On the distribution side, film prints are delivered to each theatre, and, for digital exhibition, hard drives are sent, or files are delivered via digital transport.

IMAX’s DMR process was originally used to up-convert conventional films to IMAX format. In essence, it allowed IMAX venues to project films shot on 35 mm utilizing a digital intermediate process. The first two films presented using this process were 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and 1995’s Apollo 13. In order to accommodate projection limitations, in terms of available platter sizes, both films needed to be shortened. Current platters allow for up to a 180-minute run time, so later DMR releases did not have this limitation.

The DMR process has been praised as being visually and audibly superior to the same films projected in 35 mm. That said, several filmmakers point out that this is not comparable to films created in 65 mm 15-perf intended for 70 mm film projection.

DK: Some people believe it is the gold standard – Christopher Nolan being the king of that – of shooting on film and then actually using that film to generate motion picture prints and do a total photochemical film finish. There’s really only one place in the world that’s done anymore, and that’s [Los Angelesbased] FotoKem, which is the only full-service laboratory left on the planet.

And we do the photochemical finish that Chris loves so much.

PK: The discipline that is required and associated with shooting on film is something that you can see not only the technical difference in the grain structure and the resolution, but it actually affects the performance of the actors. When we have visited sets from time to time and talked to the people there, you can see that they feel there’s money going through the camera. When you’re shooting on film, everybody brings their A game together. When you’re shooting on digital, sometimes actors feel that you’re going to get to do this over and over again. And with film, that isn’t the case. Chris Nolan rarely shoots anything more than two or three times, and a lot of things are done on one take because he’s so careful and so disciplined in the work before that. So I think just shooting on film itself, the discipline that’s associated with that brings so many advantages to the final product beyond just the technical advantages.

DG: So Kodak’s 5222 black and white film has been around for a while, but for Oppenheimer it was the first time it was introduced into the System 65 and MSM workflows. Did this present any challenges from a postproduction perspective?

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DK: This is the first time it’s been used in an IMAX film camera. And one of the things that we didn’t realize initially was colour motion picture film has an antihalation backing, which is black, on the back of the film that prevents internal reflections in the film emulsion. And black and white doesn’t have that, and we did have some issues with the back plates that support the film, causing reflections and lines on the film. So that was number one. Number two was in order to perforate 65 mm black and white film, it’s a very different process than colour film stock and Kodak had a heck of a time ensuring it was perforating properly due to the differing thickness. And we worked very hard and did many tests to make sure that the film would register properly in the IMAX camera, as well as the System 65 camera. It was difficult for them to make black and white because the systems and the perforators that are done five perfs at a time are used to doing it on colour film but not used to doing it on black and white. It was terribly difficult to make this film, but we got through it.

And the other thing of course to remember is there was no developer to develop 65 mm black and white continuous film in the world. And FotoKem did a lot of excellent work. And they had to change their colour developer into a black and white developer, and that took four or five days, so Chris couldn’t just shoot a bunch of black and white and a bunch of colour; he had to do it in segments because he needs to see what comes back within the day. So it was a logistical nightmare to figure out when we could do the black and white.

IMAX PROJECTIONS OPTICAL PROJECTION The sheer size of the film stock presented several challenges when it came to moving it through the optical system. The size and the quality of the image captured on 65 mm film meant that there needed to be a 70 mm 15-perf projection system able to support it. Given the 586 times magnification, conventional 70 mm systems simply weren’t steady enough.

To address this issue, the “rolling loop” film transport was adapted, which added a compressed air “puffer” to accelerate the film. As well, a cylindrical lens was used in the projector’s aperture block.

Moving the film via the sprockets at the required speeds for projection and filming would damage the film, so as a result, the sprockets were primarily used for registration. The vacuum integrated in the projection system, referred to as the “field flattener” did exactly that – it flattened the image field, ensuring the film is oriented correctly for projection.

The field flattener lens, which is twice the height of the film, connects to a pneumatic piston which allows it to be moved up or down while the projector is running. This was developed so that if a piece of dust were to come off the film and stick to the lens, with a push of a button, the projectionist could switch to a clean portion of the lens. Wiper bars made of felt-like material wiped the dust off the lens as it moved up or down.

To increase image brightness, the shutter of an IMAX projector is also kept open approximately 20 per cent longer than in a conventional 35 mm projector.

The xenon short-arc lamps are fabricated with a thin envelope of fused quartz

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The discipline that is required and associated with shooting on film is something that you can see not only the technical difference in the grain structure and the resolution, but it actually affects the performance of the actors.

Patricia Keighley and contain xenon gas at a pressure of about 25 atmospheres (367 psi/ 2,530 kPa). Given this, when changing or handling the lamp, projectionists are required to wear protective body armour in the event that breaks occur.

The lamp typically lasts for 1,000 hours and requires its own pump and water cooler, the projector’s optics also require compressed air cooling. IMAX has since discontinued the production of this projector and have switched all new sales of projection systems to IMAX with Laser.

DIGITAL PROJECTION As the film industry transitioned to digital workflows across production and distribution, IMAX pivoted alongside it. The digital cinema IMAX projection system made its debut in 2008 and was designed for use with 1.89:1 aspect ratio screens. It initially utilized two 2K projectors that were capable of presenting 2D or 3D content in DCI or IMAX Digital Format. The two 2K images were superimposed on each other with a half-pixel offset, a method referred to as super-resolution imaging, which increased the perceived resolution to approximately 2.9K and allowed for a brighter 22-foot lambert (75.37 cd/m²) image.

In the case of 3D presentations, one projector was used for each eye.

LASER PROJECTION In 2012, IMAX began testing its IMAX with Laser 4K laser projection system, which was based on patents licensed from Eastman Kodak. Much like the 3D digital systems, two projectors were initially utilized. The new system offered many advantages, such as allowing for digital projection on the full 1.43:1 aspect ratio surface of a traditional IMAX screen but could also accommodate usage on wider 1.89:1 aspect ratio screens. In addition, it provided the capability of projecting 60 fps with 50 per cent greater brightness than the Digital Cinema Initiatives spec, and it doubled the contrast ratio of IMAX 15/70 mm film projection, higher than the 2500:1 contrast ratio of the former digital projection systems using the xenon arc lamp. Its capabilities included being able to display the full Rec. 2020 colour gamut and featured the ability to accommodate up to a 12-channel immersive sound system.

That said, the new laser projection system still doesn’t match the theoretical resolution of traditional IMAX film, which is estimated at up to 12,000 lines of

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horizontal resolution on the 65 mm camera negative (12K) and approximately 6,000 on a 35 mm release print (6K).

DK: Christopher Nolan would say the gold standard is 70 mm IMAX 15-perf for optical projection. But we scanned that original negative – which is 18K resolution – we scanned it at 8K because those are the best scanners we have, and then we made a 4K DCP for all our systems, including our dual xenon systems, our GT Dual Laser systems that are capable of 1.43 : 1 aspect ratio, and those are our basic systems. It’s important to note that all our theatres have the capability of expanded aspect ratio, and the main aspect ratio of Tenet, Dunkirk and Oppenheimer is 2.20 : 1 and expands in film up to 1.43 : 1 aspect ratio, and in digital GT theatres, up to 1.43 : 1. And then in all our other theatres, expands from 2.20 : 1 to 1.90 : 1. So we have a wide variety basically dictated by business relationships with exhibitors, the size of the theatre, the rake of the theatre.

DG: The 70 mm exhibition of Oppenheimer was limited to 30 IMAX theatres that were equipped with IMAX film projection systems. And I understand that one of the biggest challenges in orchestrating this was finding enough qualified projectionists.

PK: We definitely need more experienced IMAX projectionists. Absolutely. A number of people who we found have other jobs because there’s not enough work just in this area. So they took leave from their jobs for what they thought was going to be potentially a three-week run of Oppenheimer, and it’s grown to six weeks and beyond in many locations. So that has been a level of complexity for this film. Because it’s not a lost art, but it’s not something that is that common and that everybody knows how to do.

DG: In your view, what is it about 1.43 : 1 that makes it such an immersive experience for the viewer?

DK: I believe we see in a 1.43 : 1 aspect ratio. The image feels much more real than it does in the 2.39 : 1 aspect ratio. And I think the big vista shots you viscerally feel that you’re actually there because of the 1.43 : 1, the size and the curvature and the brightness of the screen. The big scenes have that 1.43 : 1 visceral aspect, and I think that’s part of the secret of telling a great story, where you get immersed in the image.

PK: I think that 1.43 : 1 gives you another dimension to work with and you’ve got height. And Chris Nolan knows how to use that physically when it’s appropriate and also when you want to expand emotionally. He has that extra dimension, extra space on the screen to use, so it’s just another storytelling technique that can be used by a skillful director.

DK: Many times, in IMAX we say it’s always the medium shots, you want the people to look around. But look at how many amazing closeups of Cillian [Murphy] he has in [Oppenheimer]. But it was framed properly. If you notice, there still was headroom there, but there are immense closeups. So we’re learning all the time in cinema, and I think they’ve proven that the ultra closeup of a face in IMAX really adds to the emotion.

Contributors: Mike Hendriks, David Kempling, Simon Kwan, Viktor Maksimowicz and Don Young.

Courtesy of Jackson Myers.

STS 41-C mission specialist Terry J. Hart, holds a 70-pound IMAX camera in the mid deck of the space shuttle Challenger in 1984.

T

oronto-born filmmaker Toni Myers was one of the pioneers of IMAX documentary filmmaking. Her contributions and achievements significantly impacted the industry and pushed the boundaries of what is possible in large-format cinema, with such films as Hubble 3D, Space Station 3D, Under the Sea 3D and A Beautiful Planet. Born September 29, 1943, Myers, who died in 2019, would have turned 80 this year. A week before her passing, Myers was presented with the insignia of Officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s second-highest honour in recognition of her outstanding achievements. Her son, Jackson Myers, who serves as a producer and senior director at IMAX, reflects on her legacy.

Daniel Green: Toni Myers, played a role in popularizing IMAX documentaries and expanding the scope of this unique medium. Could you share her journey and how she became involved in IMAX? Jackson Myers: Toni’s film journey really started to take off in the late ‘60s while living in New York. She met Canadian filmmaker Graeme Ferguson at a party, and he happened to be looking for a film editor. That fateful meeting led to Toni working on Graeme’s multi-screen Expo 67

| toni myers imax special

TONI MYERS An IMAX Trailblazer in Focus

By d aniel green film Polar Life. The complexity of syncing multiple screens/projectors to create one big image was a massive challenge, and it inspired Graeme and his brother-in-law Roman Kroitor (who also had a film pavilion at the Expo) to come up with a solution that would simplify the technical challenges of multi-screen. They came up with the idea to invent a giant film format that could use a single projector and camera. They called it IMAX. By 1970, Toni was editing the first film shot entirely on 15-perf/70 mm IMAX film, North of Superior. The rest, as they say, is history.

DG: At Toni’s celebration of life in November 2019, the tributes carried several themes, one of which was her love of music and its influence on her work, can you tell us about this?

JM: Music is what truly spoke to Toni. In the early years of her career, most aspects of Toni’s life were entrenched in the vibrant music scene of that era. She was living in New York with her best friend Mary Martin.

Mary worked for Albert Grossman, who was managing Bob Dylan, The Band and many other top artists. Toni and Mary were the ones who introduced Bob Dylan to The Band, and they recorded Leonard Cohen’s 29

first demo. Toni got him to record the demo in the shower of his bathroom because it had great reverb. She was then tasked with the job of taking a box of Cohen’s first records to London to distribute to friends and radio stations. While there, she made good use of her editing skills and became a film editor for John Lennon and Yoko Ono, working away on their films in the basement of Apple Records. She also met her husband Michael Myers in London, who was directing a documentary film about Santana. She was the editor.

DG: Graeme and your mother formed an incredible creative and collaborative relationship, as evidenced in the inspirational body of work they accomplished together, can you talk about their partnership?

JM: Toni always referred to Graeme as her friend and mentor. They both loved to use images and sound to transport people to places that most couldn’t get to. Graeme did this through directing and cinematography, and Toni through her writing and editing. In the early days, cinema verité was very much Graeme’s style. He liked to capture the environment he was experiencing. In some cases, he liked to make the audience feel like they were immersed more than he was. A perfect example is when he mounted the IMAX camera to the nose of a bush plane during production of North of Superior. He didn’t want the audience to feel like they were sitting in the plane looking out the front window like he was. He wanted them to feel like they were the plane itself. Toni edited this footage with perfectly timed music and sound, resulting in a visceral cinematic moment that gave audiences a completely new kind of experience.

During postproduction of North of Superior, they discovered one of the unique aspects of IMAX’s giant scale. As a director/cinematographer, Graeme’s job was to deliver coverage to the editor. He would capture wide, medium and closeup shots of a scene. When it was time for him to look at what Toni had done with the footage of a key scene in the film, to his shock, she had discarded all the closeup and medium shots. She only used the wide. She realized that on the big screen, the audience could do the editing.

They could choose where to look. The size of the image and the detail it revealed, provided all the close, medium and wide options in a single shot.

Graeme thought that was brilliant. Those were the early days, when they were still trying to figure out the best use of the format, and that was a big revelation for them.

DG: Toni’s work, particularly in her space films, garnered her critical acclaim and broadened the appeal of IMAX to audiences worldwide. Her films, such as Hubble 3D and A Beautiful Planet, have been praised for their stunning visuals and immersive experiences, showcasing the vastness and beauty of the universe. Can you talk about the creative process behind capturing the stunning footage in space for these films? Can you share some memorable experiences she had working with the scientists and astronauts to capture the extraordinary footage for IMAX films?

JM: Well, the biggest challenge that Toni and her crew faced was they were not astronauts. The only way filming in space was going to happen was to train the astronauts to be cinematographers. So Toni, along with her Earth-based cinematographer James Neihouse, trained them to operate the camera, load film, frame shots, light scenes, and generally learn how 30

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to think like a filmmaker. She liked to joke that learning how to load an IMAX camera wasn’t exactly rocket science, and these were rocket scientists.

So they were quick learners.

One of the ways we knew the astronauts were inspired by IMAX and the creative process was how they were determined to fit extra 15/70 mm film stock on board the space shuttle.

As with any space mission, there were restrictions to how much cargo could launch. The size and weight of IMAX film meant the number of cans we could send up was limited. But with high-precision packing techniques, some astronauts volunteered to fit an extra can or two in their personal bags.

That was a sign that IMAX was a project they were inspired to be involved with.

Toni Myers accepting the Best Film for Lifelong Learning Award (for A Beautiful Planet) at the 2016 Giant Screen Cinema Association.

Courtesy of Jackson Myers.

One of Toni’s favourite stories was during the filming of Space Station 3D. For previous films, the only way to communicate with astronauts was via the Cap Com in Mission Control. But as technology progressed, they started to have email and satellite phones. Early on a Sunday morning, while Toni was taking a well-deserved day off to visit her old pal Mary Martin in Nashville, her phone rang. It was most unwelcome, but she begrudgingly answered it anyway. To her surprise, the voice of astronaut Jim Voss came through from the space station. He had a question about lighting a scene. She couldn’t believe she was receiving a call from space. She was sitting across the breakfast table from Mary, waving to get her attention so she could point upwards to the sky while Jim was talking.

DG: What an incredible career and life. What do you think was most rewarding for Toni?

JM: I can say with absolute certainty that inspiring millions of people worldwide with images of Earth from space, exposing the richness and fragility of life in our oceans, and presenting first glimpses of distant galaxies that prompt us to think about our place in the universe – she found all of that deeply rewarding. Who wouldn’t? But another important aspect that was perhaps even more rewarding for her was the friendships that were formed along the way. She loved working with the astronauts, the divers, the scientists, engineers, artists, fellow filmmakers and musicians, and they loved working with her. They all became friends, and it was a life more than a career.

From Sea to Summit Associate member Daniel Green graduated from Ryerson University in 1997 with a degree in Film Studies. He specializes in commercial productions with small teams working in challenging environments and has more than 25 years in the industry under his belt. His projects have taken him everywhere from volcanos in Vanuatu to the mountain kingdom of Lesotho and everything imaginable

Svalbard,

in between. He won the CSC Fritz Speiss Award for Commercial Cinematography in 2021 (along with Jean-François Lord) for a commercial shoot about Nova Craft Canoe.

Green says IMAX was one of the reasons he fell in love with film, and going to the Cinesphere with his father as a child was magic.

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So when he was given the opportunity to shoot a commercial for the federal government to celebrate the 50th anniversary of IMAX, it was a cathartic experience for him. The production – which he co-lensed with Lord, Jeremy Benning csc and underwater operator Ian Seabrook csc – was shot in Toronto, Vancouver and Svalbard, Norway. He looks back at some highlights from the shoot.

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e shot almost exclusively on the ARRI IMAX ALEXA 65 given that it was IMAX approved, including the aerials, where it was mounted on the K1. John Trapman from Vancal Cine was our operator. The IMAX ALEXA 65 performed without issue in the winter conditions. To help extend battery life in the cold, we sometimes covered them with neoprene bags stuffed with hand warmers.

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DP Jeremy Benning csc.

Underwater camera operator Ian Seabrook csc.

Our underwater operator Ian Seabrook csc brought a heated wetsuit but had issues transporting the batteries so ended up diving in the frigid waters of Svalbard without it, which was challenging. The IMAX underwater housing unit is quite large and heavy; it needed a crane lift, which added a minor complication on the production management side trying to source 34

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the right vessel. A portion of the underwater scenes that captured the IMAX underwater rig and team were filmed on the ARRI ALEXA Mini, as we needed a more portable solution.

The space portion was much more hospitable. Working with plates shot

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THE MUST-ATTEND EVENT FOR CANADA’S TOP IMAGING PROFESSIONALS AND BUDDING ENTHUSIASTS • See and experience the latest gear from the space station, we recreated the cupola scene against blue screens. I brought in Jeremy Benning csc to help with this, given his experience filming zero G on The Expanse (see December 2015).

I typically always work in small teams, even on this IMAX shoot, so my first AC and second assisted with minor grip duties. For the zero G scenes, we brought in a stunt coordinator for rigging the talent.

The biggest challenge was the weather. It was often a waiting game hoping for clearings in the clouds to get the SHOTOVER system in the sky. The other challenges related to finding locations where the ocean sediment provided enough of a clearing for the diving scenes.

Top: DP Jeremy Benning csc.

Middle: DP Daniel Green.

Bottom: To The Arctic Courtesy of IMAX/ MacGillvray Freeman

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C

inematography is constantly evolving, with advancements in technology enabling filmmakers to push the boundaries of visual storytelling into unexplored territories. However, in this era of cutting-edge new techniques, there is a generalized and somewhat counter trend that hearkens to the past – the growing use of vintage optics.

Over the past decade, lenses have become a much more active tool for cinematographers, and vintage lenses have gained a prime spot in their toolkit. The imperfections and optical idiosyncrasies of vintage glass take the edge off and can shape the mood of a scene, imbue character and

personality to images and create a more expressive and nuanced visual world.

Cinematographers can leverage these qualities, qualities such as softness, flare, veiling, lens artifacts, colour rendition and falloff to craft a unique visual language that adds to the storytelling and enhances the emotional impact and connection with the audience. With their singularity, vintage optics open up an array of creative possibilities for filmmakers, enabling them to experiment with different styles and looks.

vintage lenses

BRIDGING THE GAP

Back in the days of film, the process of choosing a lens set for a project was somewhat simple, at least for most of us. Considerations were range, night or day, high speed or preferred film stock, spherical or anamorphic, or budget. The rental house would then offer a few lens sets and we’d pick one and move on to other concerns. Choosing a film stock and a way to expose and process felt like the more significant decision.

I personally shot six years straight on Cooke S4s. Never veered off, never felt the need to. But like most, with the advent of digital cameras, I generally became unsatisfied by the clean and crisp images I was getting

with modern glass, it lacked elegance, and everything in the frame seemed to fight itself. Paired with a razor-sharp, clinical sensor, my images lacked something, and using more filters altered the glass properties, such as flare and bokeh, so I soon started to look for a way around that sharpness. Old lenses were dusted off and brought back to lens tests and sets, and my adventures in the world of vintage lenses began, initially as a shooter and then as a collector.

There has been a clear relationship between the improvements and changes in sensor technologies and the demands for vintage glass.

Still from Kacper Larski’s Harry Rosen commercial, shot with 50 mm Panavision B series.

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The choices were limited at first. The obstacle with vintage lenses was that most lenses were actual relics or display pieces for decades. Some were in terrible condition or were just absolute nightmares to work with.

Pulling focus or working with lens accessories was hard and cumbersome, and sometimes nearly impossible with rotating front elements. Rehousing became essential.

To name a few advantages, modern housings mean new mechanics, longer throw and more precise distance, scale and accurate focus, consistent front diameter, consistent bokeh if iris blades are replaced, and glass could also be de-yellowed and cleaned off if need be.

Companies such as True Lens Services, Zero Optik, Whitepoint Optics and GL Optics offer state-of-the-art rehousing, but their calendars are booked up for up to two or three years trying to satisfy the hunger for their services.

Newer companies such as TK Lenses and Iron Glass are also swamped with orders.

Panavision and Arri Rental are marching along as well, making their vintage lenses more accessible, and rehousing and rebranding some of them. The Panavision PVintage lenses are based on the 1970s award-winning Ultra Speed.

Arri Rental’s Moviecam lenses were given new life and new housings also.

Some rental houses have become specialists in vintage optics. Old Fast Glass in Los Angeles has set the bar and has become the reference worldwide. They boast an impressive collection, possibly the largest of beautifully rehoused vintage lenses. Lensworks Rentals have been pushing into new territory lately with their own custom anamorphic design vintage hybrids, reminiscent of the work done in the ‘80s by NAC, a division of Kowa, for Todd-AO. In Canada, RAW, William F. White and CineGround Media lead the way of vintage.

While the options are growing, it is becoming arduous and sometimes perilous for directors of photography to navigate the world of vintage lenses. Some experiences can be wonderful, some can be difficult. Rental houses are trying to meet the demands of their clients and sometimes purchase sets without knowing what they are actually buying and subsequently offering. Not all vintage lenses are great, and every vintage set is different.

Sets have to be assessed technically and mechanically, but also artistically. You have to be able to properly read and decipher serial numbers. You need to look at the set’s pedigree, extract from films shot on that set and comprehend the properties of the glass, figure out its state, know your lens brokers, rehousing companies and generations and more.

You may buy an already rehoused set and realize you’ve got a weak one or two in there and you need to source replacement lenses on eBay that match the set. This could mean months of searching, multiple purchases, and can include a long wait for rehousing. So DPs have to trust their vendor if they themselves are not knowledgeable about vintage lenses.

Modern lens makers, such as Leitz, Zeiss, Cooke, Angenieux and Canon are trying to bring back the look in their modern offerings, but the results are understandably questionable.

For over a century, these manufacturers sought sharpness, resolving power, and the elimination of distortion, aberrations and flares. Most lenses from the ‘30s through the ‘60s and beyond were hand polished. Each lens was somehow unique to a certain extent. The way lenses are made now, sourcing the glass from a few manufacturers means not much is unique, and texture comes from alignment or coatings.

The resurgence of vintage optics also serves as a tribute to the legacy of filmmaking, paying homage to the pioneers of the craft. By incorporating these work of art lenses into modern productions, filmmakers bridge the gap between different eras. This connection to the heritage of filmmaking adds an element of reverence to the creative process.

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Stills from Stefanie Soho’s Google Pixel commercial, shot with Leica R.

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CHRISTOPHE COLLETTE CSC ON BUILDING A LENS COLLECTION

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aison de Verre means the glass house. I started collecting and buying lenses in 2016. At first, the intent was to develop a set that I’d carry with me and shoot most of my spherical work on. Back then, I was shooting almost everything spherical on Canon K35s, but they were already relatively pricey, and sets were very uneven, so I decided to build a set of Canon FDs. I bought a couple dozen stills lenses, mostly the earlier ASPH versions and Super Spectra-coated ones (SSC), the ones that K35s are based on, and after testing I chose to rehouse seven lenses at first. Some months later, I realized I wouldn’t shoot everything on Canons, so I built a set of Leica Rs, another one of my favourites. I went through the same process, bought too many lenses, tested them, picked a few and got them rehoused. It didn’t take long for me to get a third set. Richard Gale Optics had upgraded its Apogee housing and now offered a Helios-based project of four tunable lenses called the Clavius, so I got that set from Richard.

A few years ago, I bought a set of Super Speed Lomos from Zoë White acs. The set was in its original housings, in terrible general condition, but the key elements were all there and Zoë had shot some beautiful films on the lenses, so I was convinced and bought it. It also included the insanely rare 18 mm high speed and had all focal lengths but the 22 mm (which I managed to source eventually on eBay a few months later),

Above: Still from Kacper Larski’s Harry Rosen commercial, shot with 50 mm Panavision B series.

Opposite page: Stills from Eden’s music video, “909,” shot with TLS rehoused Cooke Panchro.

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so it felt right. The glass was in decent condition, but some lenses needed love. The lenses were also far apart serial wise, spanning more than 12 years. Some were Ekran, and the coatings did not all match. So I decided to break the rules and polish and re-coat a few lenses to match the ones that I liked and that were in good shape and sourced a few Standard Speeds to complete the set. The selected lenses were sent to Optitek in Los Angeles to be disassembled, some of the glass was contact glued on the housing. It was a little nerve-racking but Jacek Zakowicz at OptiTek did a great job. We then sent the glass out for polishing, a very tricky operation because it had to be hand-polished, and from there it went to get recoated with a formula that matched the Lomo 1980s coatings. That process altogether took about a year. The glass was then gathered back

by Jacek and sent out to GL in China to be put in their MK IV housings.

It got back to me two and half years after purchasing it from Zoë. I build every new project with the same attention to detail. After eight years, I have about 25 sets and a bunch of standalone zooms, and 90 per cent of my collection is vintage.

CineGround Media in Montreal manages the rentals of Maison de Verre. The new projects in rehousing now are a full set of Hawk C series, Canon LTMs and another set of Minolta Rokkors, I am rehousing a very special and rare vintage macro 40 mm lens and a full set of Kinoptik APO and a Tegea 9.8 mm.

ON NAVIGATING THE WORLD OF VINTAGE LENS SETS ON HIS PREFERRED VINTAGE LENSES I have tested and experimented good and bad vintage sets. I mostly shoot commercials abroad nowadays. Eastern Europe has good access to lenses, Central America not so much. You get to understand the scenes after a while, so I am specific in my requests if I can’t travel with my glass. There is a lot of sub rental going on in Europe so I ask productions to source the lenses from certain vendors when they can. I always show up at camera prep to try to understand the strengths and flaws of a new set I’m shooting with. And since I mostly work on commercials, I do not mind mixing sets to work around issues I may have with a specific lens.

It’s changed over the years, but Leica R lenses have become my favourite spherical vintage lenses. With TLS and Cinescope UK, I built my dream set.

I love the lenses designed by Walter Mandler at Leitz Canada between the mid-1970s and the mid-1980s, so I tried to anchor the set on those, for a total of nine lenses. I just really love the colour rendition, the falloff, the softness and the halation of Leica R when wide open. The Leitz Canada lenses are also slightly cooler, greener but the flare remains warm, and I like that. Strangely to me, the Leitz Canada versions are cheaper than their German counterparts.

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Like Collette, cinematographers Chayse Irvin csc, asc, Oliver Millar csc and lens specialist Paul Engstrom all have their own unique passion for vintage glass. They share their take on sourcing, selecting and using old lenses.

CHAYSE IRVIN csc, asc 42

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’ve used vintage lenses for a few reasons. Except for the Master Primes, it seems modern lenses incorporate aspherical elements, perhaps a strategy to reduce the size because of the emergence of gimbals and drones and a general demand for smaller camera systems. These

Opposite page: Still from Blonde, shot with 50 mm T1.0 PVintage Super Speed.

This page top: Still from Vogue's “Just a Minute” shot with 17 mm PVintage.

Bottom: Still from P&G “Thank You, Mom,” shot with 40 mm PVintage.

aspherical elements stress the light going into the lens and flatten the image. Also, video cameras have edge-sharpening aberrations, making the subjects look like cardboard cutout to my eyes. It’s repulsive and can be better concealed with roll-off and a more subtle transition between selectively focused things and the background.

I’m interested in how much or little lens aberrations are in a particular lens and how they can serve my intentions for a project.

Sometimes my goal is to reduce cinematic manipulation and see things for how they are. Other times it’s an attempt to articulate the psychological state of the character and how their perspective on reality is distorted. When a lens is in its original barrel or a barrel that allows for modifications, I can request to augment or decrease things I may have theories about. For example, internal reflections, spherical aberration, coma, astigmatism, flare, etc. Or in anamorphic, how the powered axis and non-powered axis look, how the lens breathes, distortion, etc. I’ll experiment and go with 43

things that either act as a metaphor or do the reverse, looking for a very sober image. I often choose a lens that gives me the most space to act out of intuition without any technical issues limiting my freedom or how I need to use my resources so I can flow. There are many facets to consider.

I often use a variety of lenses from different series. The core of the idea is that I will go with a lens that connects me more deeply to what I am attempting in the project, whether that reflects the psychological experience of the character or is dispassionate. I will find a lens that I once used with delight completely repulsive on another day because it’s

not right for the moment. There is a research period, but I’ll never get clear answers about where exactly to put everything. I am conscious of the limits of preconceptions, so I respect the space of really letting my choice happen when I see it for the first time. I would like to think of ways to make it more likely that the environment on set and my interpretation of the scene will excite my senses. When I see the behaviour being depicted, I’ll choose the lens and its character that best articulates that, then work hard on it until my own need for beauty is satiated, and often it’s more serendipitous than I would like to think. But the sum of it relies on an openness to explore different ways of doing things even if violating traditions.

PAUL ENGSTROM

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he cinematographers pursuing vintage glass seem to fall into two, or even three, different groups. Most of the creatives I see choosing older lenses express a desire for imperfection and surprise, for personality.

For these types of people, the concept of “precise” or “exact” or “clinical” is something negative, something boring even, an image that is sterile, constrained, impersonal. Vintage lenses introduce feeling into the image.

There’s a similar group that craves something different. Many of these artists see older lenses as an avenue to distinguish their work from that which is shot on widely available off-the-shelf new lenses.

There’s a real difference here. For the first group, warm high-flare lenses like the Canon K35/FDs are very interesting and will remain so. But the popularity of these vintage Canon lenses has made them less interesting to the second group. The same thing happened to Cooke Panchros, which became too familiar.

There’s a third reason to select some of the older lenses that especially appeals to a particular type of cinematographer.

Some vintage lenses have an adaptable quality where, in the right hands, they can be used to accomplish a variety of looks. A surprising number of cinematographers can shoot anything on Nikon AI-S lenses, for example.

This is because newer lenses tend to behave the same way wide open as they do stopped down and most of them are also very flare resistant at all stops. But quite a number of older lens lines had two or three different characteristics based on what stop you shot them at and also how you captured highlights. This variability really appeals to a certain type of craftsperson that leans on their lenses like they would an especially reliable and beloved tool.

Between the way they light, protect and grade with some vintage lenses, they can make them sing for a huge variety of projects, more so than new modern lenses.

I had an experience years ago helping Phantom tech for a young cinematographer that had been “just a grip” less

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than a year earlier. That young DP really challenged the opinions of the grip, light and camera departments when he suggested different lighting, shaping and camera work than what they’d done before. Thankfully, we all kept our mouths shut and followed his direction, because the images he produced were utterly compelling. It was wonderful to see my heavily experienced colleagues embrace this compelling vision. That DP was Chayse Irvin shooting one of his first commercials back in Vancouver after having left not much earlier as a young grip. So I’ve come to really resist saying vintage or modern, clean or dirty, this format or that format is right or wrong. I’m really glad when someone likes what they’re doing and manages to share a thought, feeling or story with me.

Paul Engstrom co-founded RAW Camera Company, a Vancouver-based camera rental and postproduction company, and is also one of the directors of ZERO Optik, a Los Angeles-based lens rehousing company. He has spent thousands of hours on commercial sets as a DIT, serving Canadian and international cinematographers.

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OLIVER MILLAR csc The richness of personality can be seen in the way we talk about lenses. Whether they are described with enigmatic language (“dreamy,” "classic,” “painterly”), or by physical definitions (“chromatic aberration,” “astigmatism,” “vignette”) or by their further decontextualized trade names (“Speed Panchro,” “Leica R”), the choice is what matters to the artist.

On influencing this choice, consider a DP’s visual palette and their diet of films. In the short 150 years of film history, the typical lens used would have been something not so old as a hand-ground Galileo special, but maybe not yet a modern Carl Zeiss masterpiece. Average it all out with the spice of old celluloid and a rosetinted memory, and that is the “vintage” look. The technicalities of each historical lens model can be forgotten, but the emotions and visual memories imprinted on the audience endure and are continuously reinterpreted and redefined. The pursuit of that feeling is not necessarily accompanied by a comprehensive understanding.

Above: Still from Shiseido, by director Hisashi Eto, shot with Cooke S2/3 Speed Panchro. Below: Still from Audible, by directors Lina and Maira Fridman, shot with Leica-R’s.

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side from the experts who freely expound on the subject at length, lenses are not well understood by most people, and when applied to filmmaking, I think that sense of mystery promotes a diversity of choice and expression among many artists of all ages and backgrounds.

This very topic denotes that development in the field of optical engineering and physics is incredibly advanced, enabling perfectly reproduced images.

Yet, for artists like directors and cinematographers, delving into the intricacies of lens making is rarely how they start their creative journey.

The concept of an objectively perfect image holds little relevance to them; instead, they rely on a more personal interpretation.

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When I first rented a set of Cooke Speed Panchros, I couldn’t explain their distinct appearance besides the funky warping and glow, but I instinctually loved what they brought to my shots, and it worked.

Over time, as my technical vocabulary expanded, the choices I made became more nuanced and goal oriented. The romance or illusion of that secret sauce fades when you can chalk up a nostalgic look to something as mundane as aberration. The juxtaposition of qualities and shortcomings, old versus new, good or bad, becomes a complex semantic discussion, confusing even, especially when modern lens designs intentionally embrace vintage lens flaws.

By overlooking the technical aspects of lens design, and instead considering them in terms of a personal feeling, artists can resist the material trap of the vintage lens catalogue. The transient gift of not technically understanding something in a creative application enables an open mind and the guidance of curiosity, something an artist dearly needs.

In the end, it’s fair to say that vintage lenses are made equally of the subjective qualities we project onto them and the objective nature of the light passing through them.

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GETTING IN TUNE

by Tr evor Hogg

Special to canadian cinematographer

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espite living under a military dictatorship implemented by the National Reorganization Process from 1976 and 1983, Argentinian musicians were able to express themselves by performing clandestine concerts. From this repressive world where citizens were indiscriminately detained and never seen again, emerged keyboardist Fito Páez who would become a rockstar playing in front of 40,000 adoring fans and have his life recounted in the Netflix bioseries Love After Music. Establishing and maintaining the proper tone for the project shot in Buenos Aires was executive producer/showrunner Juan Pablo Kolodziej. The eight episodes were a directorial duet between Felipe Gómez Aparicio and Gonzalo Tobal while the cinematography was a solo outing for associate member Diego Guijarro.

“When I first read the scripts, it could have been about any musician, but Fito’s personal story is such a roller coaster and so many horrible things happen to him,” Guijarro says.

“Especially a country like Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s when the military state persecuted people, his dad dying and him not being able to make it back to say goodbye, and his grandmother and great aunt got murdered. One of them was stabbed 96 times. It’s nuts. When you have a show like that, there are no breaks. Whenever Fito achieves something, he gets knocked down again; that really spoke to me because it’s the reason why his music is so good.”

No translation was required to speak with the entirely Argentinian crew because even though Guijarro has lived in Canada for the last 15 years, he is originally from Spain. “This was the first time I shot any narrative in my native language, and it was so good because speaking in English is not the same,” Guijarro notes. “Everything is so much easier.” The crew, which included DIT Pablo Franco, camera operator Jonás Costa and Steadicam operator Gustavo Triviño, was hired based on recommendations made by production.

“My team was a highlight on this,” Guijarro notes. “Especially, when you’re doing 111 days and you’re shooting and scouting at the same time, I’ve had the most support I’ve ever had. My gaffer Acho Piñeiro and key grip Gustavo Donato were beyond expectations. There are moments where you are tired and cannot figure anything out and they would suggest things.”

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Each day for Guijarro consisted of 13 hours of shooting and four hours of scouting. “To this day, I question how I survived,” he recalls. “I had 20 days of prep and shot every episode.” Logistics was the hardest aspect of the project. “Sometimes we were scouting two days before shooting. It was all around Buenos Aires. We did something like 350 locations. We used a lot of the real locations like the recording studio. The hardest location was Fito’s apartment in Episodes 102 and 103 where he lived with Fabi. We ended up shooting there for two days. Fito was keen on having the real place, but it was in La Boca, which is one of the iffy areas in Buenos Aires. Then we ended up finding another place that was so small that we could barely be four people there. We had to rent the apartment above so I could light everything from above from the windows. It was an absolute nightmare but so good. All of my lighting was fairly simple. I would light a lot from outside.”

Principal photography was not scheduled episodically but by locations with Gómez Aparicio and Tobal each having blocks of two weeks for shooting.

“That was the only way to do it, and Felipe and Gonzalo did an incredible job of supporting each other,” Guijarro says. “If something was important to one of them then Juan Pablo, Felipe and Gonzalo would show up on set, talk

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about it, and make decisions as a group, which is what needed to happen.

I would try to get to the location at the same time that my crew got in. I love getting a coffee and walking the spaces when there is no chaos. Then I would sit down with Felipe or Gonzalo and go through the script. Felipe and I were always aligned because he’s a visual director, but with Gonzalo, at first, we would get into arguments because he wouldn’t share what was in his head, then you would see it and say, ‘This is so good! Why didn’t you just tell me?’”

There was a benefit to not being a fellow countryman. “I tried to stay away from a literal visual representation of the period,” Guijarro states. “A main reference for me were my conversations with Fito’s stage manager and Bradford Young asc because I like how he shoots. In fact, we actually used the Blackwing7, which are the lenses that he designed. It was like a muted 1970s and the contrast was low. Sometimes when I get involved with a shoot, I feel that there is too much referencing and then people get too stuck on trying to recreate something. It needs to be looser.” Considering that Páez is still alive, as are those who lived through the dark period of Argentinian history, there was desired to be respectful and cinematic. “My

“

Fito’s personal story is such a roller coaster and so many horrible things happen to him...Whenever Fito achieves something, he gets knocked down again; that really spoke to me because it’s the reason why his music is so good.

Diego Guijarro

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department worked closely with the art department to make sure that the locations were as accurate as possible. But aside from that, we used similar lighting for the stadiums that they were using back then. We had the support of Fito’s stage manager and were shooting shows that were organized by the actual concert crew who were on set with us.”

gaffer and I spent the entire day prior sequencing and timing everything to the songs. We had to do everything a couple of different ways because there was a version of this song that was a minute and a half and another version that was three minutes. We added some Bad Boys, which are modern lights that were hidden.”

For the opening drone aerial shot of Movistar Arena stadium in Buenos Aires, [VFX company] Boat [Media] created the sold-out crowd. “The guys at Boat did an incredible job,” Guijarro states. “The last show is the biggest one and we built the rig that they had, which was 350 1K PARs gelled for different sequences in the form of a set. The only version of this show is a terrible 180P so you have to guess, but the whole sequence of the show is how it happened. We worked with the company that built the stage, and my

When reading the script, Guijarro would write a playlist for the songs. “We had a meeting with the musical team who are the people touring with Fito today, and they remade all of the songs. All of the songs with Fabiana Cantilo are nice and peaceful, and Fito would look up at her. Everything with Charly García, I did in a more chaotic way. That was the most we differentiated in terms of musical acts. Also, I did the shows with Charly with a different type of lighting. Clics modernos is the album that Fito toured with Charly, and

“

This was the first time I shot any narrative in my native language, and it was so good because speaking in English is not the same.

Diego Guijarro

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

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it had a specific lighting. Historically it was blues and whites. There was an interview where Charly said he wanted everything to look like flashes, but back then it couldn’t be done. We ended up doing something like that to honour what he hopefully had wanted to do. Then everything goes more towards the reds. A lot of it is based on his emotion and what was historically there.”

Not everything was realistically depicted. “At the end of the show, Fito walks up this ramp and comes across many characters from his life,” Guijarro explains. “Some of the actors were upset because we didn’t light them.

There is a backlight following him and he stops between different people.

The idea is that this is not about the character but his journey. Fito passed through all of this stuff and this is his reward. I made things dreamy. Some moments we wanted to be more claustrophobic or darker or brighter.” The desaturated colour palette came down to the emotion of the moment.

“Nothing goes to an extreme. We still punch a lot of colour into so many places. The rehearsal room in Episode 101 has sodium lighting and the idea was to have an underground feeling while Fito’s house is safer and welcoming. Inside the house we did a lot of dolly and more fluid camera movements. It wasn’t so reactive. For the shows or out on the streets, the camera is always a step behind.”

Most of the spaces were shot at a minimum of 180 degrees. “We were trying to use two cameras as much as possible,” Guijarro states. “Normally, I would kick the other camera out. One my favourite scenes is in Episode 104, which is an eight-and-a-half-minute oner before he goes onstage for his first big show and we follow behind him. Halfway through the shooting, Netflix came back and said, ‘Enough with the oners. We need coverage.’ But for the first half we did so many oners or shot a wide master and played with the blocking so they would come in and out.”

There were numerous discussions about the aspect ratio. “I had two ARRI ALEXA LF cameras, shot open gate 4.5K, ARRIRAW, and cut for 2.35:1. I thought it had to be 2.35:1 from the beginning but Netflix prefers 16:9.

There was something about the locations and the number of people that we had inside that I thought the more panoramic we went, the most impactful it was going to be and it was going to be easier to place characters in the frame. It helped us a lot to transmit the emotion. We had a showrunner who was supportive and fought the fights that needed to be fought.”

Tribe7 Blackwing7 were the primary lenses, supplemented with Canon FD. “Back then the widest Blackwing7 had was the 20.7 mm, so we had 14 mm and 18 mm Canon FD in case we needed to go wider,” Guijarro says. “As for the Blackwing7, we had 20.7 mm to 137 mm. The proximity between the large format sensor and the distance you have to be for a 27 mm resulted in incredible and beautiful images. Often, we would add a diopter to get closer or have perforated edges.” One day was spent on camera testing. “We did a basic LUT and after the first week, perfected the two LUTs that we used. The ISO was 800 for daytime and raised to 1250 for the nighttime photography to get more texture. We also added a fair bit of texture in post. I worked with my DIT daily to tweak things. I wanted to make sure that everyone above me, like the showrunner and Netflix, had a clear idea of the intention behind my work because I didn’t want to have fights seven months after about it being too dark.

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“One of the things I took for doing this is that I have a lot of confidence in my abilities to solve things and prioritize the story over anything else,” Guijarro states. “For me as a personal experience, it gave me back hope about being able to work on things as an artist you can connect with, and you can collaborate with other people to make something really good. The story was attractive to all of us because you see a little bit of yourself. I realized later that I knew a few of Fito’s songs because he used to play in Spain all the time with artists that my parents like, such as Joaquín Sabina. It was outstanding how beautiful it was being able to discover things, especially because you’re surrounded by people who are so passionate about it.”

BE FIERCE

W W W. R O S C O . C O M / L I O N

UNLEASH YOUR VISION

FATHER of INVENTION

by Mike Katryc z

Special to canadian cinematographer

D

“

on’t take any pictures of that.” Walter Klassen looks over his latest product, a Steadicam harness tucked under a work bench. It’s still in the early stages of assembly, exposing layers of material and a fabrication process that Klassen says his competitors would covet. “I always like to put in a little secret sauce into the creation of it. It looks easy on the outside, but there are secrets inside that you can’t see. You can cut it any which way and you can’t see what’s going on,” Klassen says.

He didn’t invent the Steadicam vest. That credit goes to Garret Brown who came up with the first rig in the 1970s, opening up a new world of stable and smooth camera movement. But Klassen considers his version to be a big improvement, easing the burden on operators by shifting the equipment load from front to back.

“Sherpas walking up the mountain aren’t going to carry a load in front of them. They’re going to put it on their back,” he says. “Now, how do you do that when the camera’s in front? I decided that by connecting to the back and transferring the energy, I’d put the operator in a teeter totter position.

Camera is at the front. Connections are at the back. You’re in the middle, in between. My competition with the front-mounted vest has the camera in the front, the connections in the front. You’re at the end of a pole basically being pulled over.”

He says that puts significant strain on an operator’s back, leading to early retirement in some cases. Not with his harness, he says. “There are few products that you could say have extended careers by 10 or 20 years.”

And some of the film world’s top cinematographers and camera operators support his claim, including Larry McConkey who’s considered one of the godfathers of Steadicam for his work in films including Django Unchained, Goodfellas and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. When Klassen was honoured for his contributions to moviemaking with the 2022 CSC Bill Hillson Award, McConkey said: “I was ready to end it all. It was too painful. You’ve given me another 20 years.”

Klassen’s unique harness isn’t his only claim to fame. He’s been making movie props since the 1980s, like the “merman” tank in Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, the lie detector in Nightmare Alley, the “sexbot” in the Terminator remake, weapons for Star Trek: Discovery and thousands more.

The props account for two thirds of his business, but it’s the Steadicam harness that has given him international recognition. “The product gives me the worldwide name. There are 1,500 or so in the world that are now using my equipment on their sets. World Cup soccer has since 2003. The last 12 Marvel movies too,” Klassen states. He’s even rigged one up to

walter klassen Walter takes his first artistic turn, shaping leather masks at his Queen Street store in Toronto using skills learned from sandal-making, 1979.

Walter Klassen

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Left: The new Walter Klassen FX studio materializes, May 2023.

Mike Katrycz. Middle: Walter's unique inventions – the Slingshot and Jeremy Benning csc. Right: Demonstrating his Steadicam harness on a Segway for sideline shooting in Munich, his Steadicam harness.

Germany, 2010.

Veronica Koleva

a Segway for smooth one-man truck shots along the sidelines of sports events. His Slingshot and Flex kits sell for around $10,000, with his Hard Mount kit closer to $2,500.

up to it, cinch himself in. They would lift him up and he would pretend he was flying and shooting. I was always interested in making the actors comfortable.”

Klassen was born in Brazil and raised in a Mennonite community before moving with his family to St. Catharines, Ontario, at age 10. He studied as a mechanical engineer and worked in Sarnia’s petrochemical industry for a few years. Then he decided it was time for a change – a big one.

So, when a cinematographer approached him 25 years ago to make a more comfortable Steadicam harness, Klassen leaned on his leather-making skills. He budgeted six months and $60,000 to complete the project.

Instead, it took three years and almost half a million dollars.

“When I quit, I became this hippie in Europe for five or six years,” he says.

He joined a commune where he learned leather crafting skills, selling belts and bags from the back of a VW van. But the birth of his daughter and the responsibility of a family brought him back to Toronto. “When I came home, I tried going back to engineering, but it just wasn’t me anymore.”

“During that time, it was like making model after model and testing it – not good enough, make another one. Test it. Not good enough,” he says. “There were always flaws. I was unhappy. I put it on myself. I realized at first, I was leaving it to the operators to give me feedback. And then I said no, I want to know what it feels like. I learned so much from doing it myself.”

A chance meeting with people in Toronto’s nascent film community led him to Michèle Burke who had just won an Oscar for special effects makeup on Quest for Fire. She taught him the art of casting molds and making prosthetics. “It just fascinated me, this process of capturing an image, not as a photograph but as real 3D,” Klassen recalls. “I could hold my hand in my hand. I could hold my face in my hand.”

Since making his first marketable product, Klassen’s vests have undergone half a dozen redesigns. All of them stayed focused on shifting the weight of equipment to the back. But it isn’t weight alone that challenges Steadicam operators. Shots have become much longer since the adoption of digital technology that can record far more than a reel of film. Klassen says the longest single shot he’s aware of is 89 minutes, an entire film with no cuts called The Russian Ark. The cinematographer, Tilman Büttner, used his harness.

His first product for film was a cast of Christopher Walken’s hand, which he made with Burke for David Cronenberg’s Dead Zone, followed by a casting of Jeremy Irons’ head for another Cronenberg film, Dead Ringers. He branched out into animatronics, blending his sculpting and engineering skills to making creatures – real and imagined – that moved.

But then came the first upheaval. Computer generated graphics, CGI, that could convincingly bring any animal – even extinct dinosaurs – to life, wiped out the demand for animatronics. “When the computers could do hair properly, that’s when my business ended,” he recalls. “I saw it coming and I prepared for it.”

He focused on other props, camera accessories and leather gear. “I made harnesses out of leather for Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and for Eric Peterson when he was doing Billy Bishop Goes to War. They would have a harness fly in on the stage. He would go 58

CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

“Tilman had tried with the competition’s rig, and he couldn’t get past 30 minutes,” according to Klassen. “He called me said, ‘I need your backmounted vest, right away.’ So, I made him one on an emergency basis. He had one day to do the shot, and they had prepared 2,300 actors for one day.

They had prepped for two years for this one-day shoot. They had bands, orchestras, ballroom dancing scenes. This is in the Hermitage [Museum] in St. Petersburg, [Russia], around Christmas. They had very little light at that latitude. So, the first time they got 20 minutes in and a light fell on the camera, so they had to start again. They started another short one. The director said, ‘This time we have to go all the way through because the light is going to kill us.’ So, they did it in 89 minutes.”

Walter Klassen FX has grown into one of the largest makers of props and camera gear in Canada. It employs 30 people who recently had to pull up stakes after their Eastern Avenue building was expropriated by Metrolinx for

“

Everyone has a superpower, something they are so confident of in themselves.

I see something, and then I can see how to make it.

Walter Klassen

its Ontario subway line. It was also Klassen’s home for more than 20 years. His rooftop terrace provided a stunning view of Toronto’s ever-changing skyline. “I was angry. I was ready to curse them,” Klassen says of the expropriation. But he admits he knew he’d eventually have to move as the growing city moved closer and closer. “The universe has really said, ‘You have no choice. You have to move. It will be fine.” The new location is a bright and airy 12,000-square-foot studio in south Etobicoke, dotted with “trophies,” many of the old animatronics and other props that are now part of Klassen’s legacy.

While he has solved some of the physical challenges that beset Steadicam operators, Klassen has been living with his own affliction for the past 12 years – Parkinson’s disease. “For the first two or three years, I almost gave up. I was ready to die.

It stopped me from being able to use my hands,” he reveals.

“That’s what Parkinson’s does. It takes away your willpower to control your body. Most people don’t think about it when they stand up and get out of a chair. I have to consciously think about it.”

At his lowest point, Klassen backed away from his business, turning over daily operations to his daughter, Jennifer Platz Rieger, and two of his earliest employees, Taku Dazai and John Adams. “At first, I kept thinking, ‘You’re handing over the keys to the car to the kids. Are they going to crash it?’” he recalls.

“Instead, they tripled the business.”

He has since learned to contend with Parkinson’s disease, although it’s a constant struggle, he says. “What bothers me most is the tremor, this involuntary movement of the muscles.

It’s on off, on off. It’s like you’re exercising, working all the time doing this. And it makes me tired.”

Yet at 75, rather than retiring, Klassen is embarking on what may be his most ambitious and personal project. He’s working with an engineer in Germany to create a wearable device, something like a Fitbit, that will read his Parkinson’s tremors, and provide feedback. The ultimate objective would be to then neutralize the tremors.

Klassen likes to ask his employees, “What is your superpower?”

Because he believes “everyone has a superpower, something they are so confident of in themselves.” His, he says, is “visualizing something that can be made. I see something, and then I can see how to make it.” It’s why he’s nicknamed himself “Walter the Materializer,” which is also the title of a new documentary about him that is awaiting distribution.

Crafting animatronic deer for the 1996 film The Long Kiss Goodnight (top) and alligator for Peter Benchley’s Amazon (bottom).

Ossi Baumeister

The idea of a maker of props and harnesses inventing a device to ease the effects of Parkinson’s disease may seem like a lofty goal, but then Klassen has spent his career materializing things that didn’t exist before – the stuff that dreams are made of.

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csc member spotlight

illustration by Jo Enaje

What films or other works of art have made the biggest impression on you?

Quels films ou autres œuvres d’art vous ont impressionné le plus?

The Graduate; Once Upon a Time in The West; 2001: A Space Odyssey; Z; Women in Love; A Clockwork Orange; Deliverance; The Devils; Last Tango in Paris; 1900; and Angel Heart.

Le lauréat, Il était une fois dans l’ouest, 2001 : L’odyssée de l’espace, Z, Love, Orange mécanique, Délivrance, Les diables, Le dernier tango à Paris, 1900 et Aux portes de l’enfer.

How did you get started in the business?

Comment êtes-vous arrivé dans l’industrie?

Music videos circa 1989-1990. A great school because you’re being asked to recreate all the photographic styles in the world and in different formats (16 mm, 35 mm, video, colour or black and white).

Par le biais des vidéoclips, vers 1989-1990. C’est une excellente école, parce qu’on nous demande de récréer tous les styles de photographie du monde, en divers formats (16 mm, 35 mm, vidéo, couleur et noir et blanc).

Who have been your mentors or teachers?

Qui a été votre mentor ou votre guide?

Jean-Marc Vallée.

bilingual article english and french t r a d u c t i o n / t r a n s l at i o n b y n i c o l e t t e f e l i x

YVES BÉLANGER csc

EN

Jean-Marc Vallée.

FR

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Name a cinematographer who has recently inspired you and why.

Marcell Rév! He is young but an old soul and not afraid of anything! His work on Euphoria is mind-blowing, so raw and so controlled at the same time.

Nommez un directeur de la photographie qui vous a récemment inspiré et expliquez pourquoi.

Marcell Rév! Il est jeune mais c’est une vieille âme, et il n’a peur de rien! Son travail pour Euphoria est à couper le souffle; c’est très brut, mais en même temps très contrôlé.

Name one of your professional highlights.

Nommez l’un des points saillants de votre carrière.

Getting an Emmy nomination for Big Little Lies.

Une nomination aux prix Emmy pour Big Little Lies.

What is one of your most memorable moments on set?

Quel est l’un de vos moments les plus mémorables sur le plateau?

Clint Eastwood directing me like an actor for the lighting of a scene on Richard Jewell.

Me faire diriger comme si j’étais comédien par Clint Eastwood pour l’éclairage d’une scène de Richard Jewell.

What do you like best about what you do?

Qu’est-ce qui vous plaît le plus dans votre travail?

The teamwork! When my team and I work together to achieve a great shot that will tell the story according to the vision of the director.

What do you like least about what you do?

Le travail d’équipe! Lorsque mon équipe et moi travaillons ensemble pour réaliser une belle prise de vue qui racontera l’histoire selon la vision du réalisateur.

Waking up too early (before sunrise).

Qu’est-ce qui vous déplaît le plus dans votre travail?

What do you think has been the greatest invention related to your craft?

Me lever trop tôt (avant le lever du soleil).

The espresso machine! Just kidding, the ALEXA camera by ARRIFLEX.

Quelle a été la meilleure invention liée à votre art, à votre avis?

How can others follow your work?

La machine à espresso! Sérieusement, la caméra ALEXA de ARRIFLEX.

Watch TV, DVDs or go to the cinema.

Où peut-on voir votre travail?

Regardez la télé ou des DVD ou allez au cinéma.

This page: Richard Jewell Opposite page clockwise from top left: Dallas Buyers Club, Laurence Anyways, Laurence Anyways, The Mule, Dallas Buyers Club, Brooklyn.

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

63

on set gallery

DPs Quan Luong (associate member) and Jesse de Rocquigny (associate member) filming a video for the National Centre of Truth and Reconciliation with key grip Bruce Claydon and AC Marco Pe. Joao Luiz Holowka

DP Andy Hodgson (associate member) on the set of Meditation 4 Black Women (short) as part of the Crazy 8s filmmaking event in Vancouver.

Cass O'Neil (affiliate member)

Cinematographer Gui Morilha (affiliate member) holds the camera on the set of DUCK, a short film set in Calgary.

Jessie Altura

Alexis Moar (associate member) with director Bruce Thomas Miller, actor Seth Cardinal Dodginghorse, and members of the Bearspaw First Nation on the set of the short film Skylar's Comet.

Sarah Koury

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DP Andy Hodgson (associate member) on the set of Meditation 4 Black Women (short) as part of the Crazy 8s filmmaking event in Vancouver.

Cass O'Neil (affiliate member)

Jack Leahy (associate member) on the set of a recent shoot with director Jacq Andrade.

Noah Henderson

Cinematographer and associate member Peter Hadfield (far right) and Siyu Han (middle) discuss where the boom should go to avoid boom shadow, while electrician Zak Rist (far left) observes on the set of the upcoming film Shook, directed by Amar Wala.

Roya Del Sol

Director Douglas Cook (associate member) with actors Glenn Williams, Brandy Le and Jennifer Tong on the set of the film Look Up in Vancouver.

Luka Cyprian

Peter Warren csc on the French River, shooting the TVO documentary Tripping The French.

Ron Bellam

Student member Rohit Srinath on a camera test with Quan Luong (associate member) Quan Luong in Winnipeg. (associate member)

CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

canadian society of cinematographers 2023 CSC Virtual Production Masterclass video available at the CSC YouTube channel

EPIC CSC

Virtual Production Masterclass AIMS TO NARROW SKILLS GAP

T

by Gail Picco

he Canadian Society of Cinematographers held a three-day Virtual Production Masterclass on July 8, 9, and 10 in Toronto. The workshop, which required the participation and contributions from seven industry partners, is meant to mitigate Canada’s growing skills gap in virtual production.

According to Trevor Huys, Vice President, Camera and Virtual Production, William F. White International, a leading partner in the initiative, the Masterclass is something that “cinematographers have been requesting for a long time. We are glad to support such a great initiative to help more

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filmmakers get comfortable with virtual production and help put the full creative production process back into the hands of the cinematographers.

Virtual production is an exciting tool they can add to their filmmaking toolbox.”

The initiative was the brainchild of Philip Lanyon csc, director of photography for Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery and Netflix’s Frontier, who developed the curriculum in conjunction with awardingwinning Buckethead creators, Marco Bossow and Andy Brown of Transmute Pictures.

The instructional aspect of the Masterclass curriculum covered pixel pitch, volume control, camera tracking, the frustum, genlock (generator locking), and the blending of physical and virtual assets, in addition to a broad introduction of virtual production and where it’s headed in the coming years. One morning was given to lighting in an LED volume, when Chris Mably csc, another DP on Star Trek: Discovery, joined Lanyon in co-teaching the module, and Josh Kerekes, head of production for Pixomondo, taught a module on the science of colour.

The second half of the three days was given over to hands-on training where a pair of DPs had a crew of close to 30 and the volume’s technical staff at their disposal to create and run through a scene with the assets provided – the site of an archaeologist’s dig on temple grounds that included a tent, rocks, and a jeep as practical assets.

“DPs are the conduit through which the creative idea or story is transformed into a technical process and then captured to be edited back into a story,” Lanyon says. “The more a DP can understand the story and the technical process of capture, the more cohesive and immersive the story becomes. With virtual production, you have many systems running together as a whole, so it’s important to understand and be fluent in each of those systems to create a cohesive and immersive story.”

From a cinematographer’s perspective, one of the themes that came up repeatedly over the three days was the importance of a DP’s relationship and communication with the volume supervisor – each volume is different, but the relationship with volume technicians will allow the DP to communicate their vision and have help in creating that vision, using the tools of virtual production in any given studio.

Angel Navarro III, a Masterclass participant who has been a DP for 10 years, says, “It is crucial for directors of photography to become fluent in virtual production because it represents the future of filmmaking and visual storytelling. By embracing this cutting-edge approach, DPs can

Amanda Matlovich

“It’s important that DPs become fluent in VP because this tech will become more and more ubiquitous,” according to Lanyon, who has been working in the industry for more than 30 years, first in lighting and then as a DP for 18 years.

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significantly expand their creative toolkit, allowing them to bring even the most ambitious visions to life on screen. The ability to navigate virtual sets, integrate computer-generated imagery, and work collaboratively with VFX teams empowers DPs to push the boundaries of what is visually achievable in their projects.”

Research and Markets, the “world’s largest market research store,” predicts the global virtual production market will increase from USD $2.6 billion in 2021 to USD $5.6 billion by 2026. Hands-on learning opportunities taught by people who are actively engaged on set with current technology will play a vital role to ensure Canada has a workforce trained in the latest developments.

Canada’s film and television industry has been on an upward trajectory since the early 2000s as more US productions came to Canada to film their shows. A significant infrastructure of rental houses, postproduction facilities and trained crew has grown to support the industry. But support for virtual production training is limited.

“Options for improving training opportunities are to increase pathways for emerging talent to gain initial experience and increase incentives for producers to train emerging talent,” according to The Toronto Screen Industry Workforce Study conducted in March 2021. The report also noted a shortage of experienced workers to fill supervisory or mentorship roles.

“This is one of the very few opportunities where DPs can familiarize themselves with virtual production and LED volumes in a no-pressure learning environment,” Bossow says. “LED volumes are very expensive, so there are few chances to get to just play in one and get comfortable with its possibilities and limits. I haven’t seen any other multi-day intensive workshops like this in Canada, and the experience a DP can gain by going hands-on in a volume without production breathing down their neck is an 68

CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER | FALL 2023

invaluable asset before stepping onto a real virtual production set.”

The skill required to understand and work with this kind of shooting requires a combination of hands-on and technical instruction, not normally offered anywhere outside of practical working situation,” Roman Neubacher, business agent for IATSE Local 667, says. “This was the driving factor for Local 667 to become a sponsor and to have our members in the cinematography category take part in this unique skill development opportunity.”

Gurmeet Singh, CSC’s 2021 Student Cinematography Award winner, feels there is a lot of excitement behind virtual production, and being able to learn from the people who are at the forefront of this technology is what got him excited about the Masterclass. “It felt like I was entering uncharted territory in cinematography, and learning about how it works from preproduction to production was very exciting.”

“The old adage that the only constant is change can most definitely be applied to the film and TV industry,” project partner, Katia Del Rosario, director of marketing, North America for Creamsource Lighting, says. “By embracing these technological changes to production workflows and understanding how it can be applied to one’s work, cinematographers will be better equipped when the time comes to helm their next VP project. It’s a different set of considerations when making lighting choices and other creative decisions, so knowing what your latitude is within an LED volume is key.”

The CSC Masterclass in Toronto was sponsored by 2D House, ARRI, Creamsource, IATSE 667, Pixomondo, The Foundation of Cinematography, and William F. White International.

Gail Picco is the Strategic Partnership Director for the Canadian Society of Cinematographers

Partnership in Action In the past two years, the CSC has undertaken a transformative campaign called The Future is Calling, focused on diversifying the camera arts – mentoring talent within this CSC, bringing new talent into the industry through internship, providing skills development training and doing outreach across the country – as well as creating CSC Vancouver and CSC Montreal to join its traditional office, CSC Toronto. We want to recognize the organizations who contributed to The Future is Calling and those who provide ongoing program support.

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CANADIAN CINEMATOGRAPHER

VOL. 15, NO. 3

The Future is Calling

Diversity in the camera arts: Removing obstacles preventing underrepresented communities to accessing and thriving in our industry remains a strategic priority of the CSC. Because of partnerships with industry, government, and the community, our intern, mentor, and outreach programs are working. With your help, we carry on. csc.ca

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