Canadian Society of Cinematographers Magazine March 2010

CINEMATOGRAPHER Canadian

Canadian Society of Cinematographers

$4 March 2010 www.csc.ca

Grown Up Movie Star Tatiana Maslany in

DOP Jason Tan csc

10-MAR

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56698 94903

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The Personal V ision of Christopher Chapman csc: An Interview Barry Stone’s Sniff : A Dog Movie

CINEMATOGRAPHER Canadian

A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers

The Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) was founded in 1957 by a group of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa cameramen.

Since then over 800 cinematographers and persons in associated occupations have joined the organization.

The purpose of the CSC is to promote the art and craft of cinematography in Canada. And to provide tangible recognition of the common bonds that link film and video 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 dedicated to furthering technical assistance, we maintain contact with non-partisan groups in our industry but have no political or union affiliation.

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FEATURES – volume 1, No. 10 March 2010

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The Personal Vision of Christopher Chapman CM, RCA, CSC, CFE: An Interview Edited by Wyndham Wise

16

Barry Stone csc Creates the Ultimate Dog Movie: Sniff By Don Angus

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Jason Tan csc Fell for the Charms of the Rock while Filming Adriana Maggs’s Grown Up Movie Star By Tammy Stone Columns & Departments

2 From the President

5 Karl Herrmann csc: Pacific Spirit

6 In the News

21 Camera Classified

22 CSC Members

24 Production Notes / Calendar

Cover: Grown Up Movie Star. Image courtesy of Mongrel Media.

Canadian Cinematographer March 2010 Vol. 1, No. 10 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF George Willis csc, sasc EDITOR EMERITUS Donald Angus EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

From The PRESIDENT

Susan Saranchuk admin@csc.ca EDITOR Wyndham Wise mfa editor@csc.ca ART DIRECTION Berkeley Stat House COPY EDITOR Paul Townend PROOFREADER Karen Longland WEBSITE CONSULTANT Nikos Evdemon csc www.csc.ca ADVERTISING SALES

B

y the time you read this, we will be on the final lap of preparations for the 2010 CSC Awards Gala. If you haven’t got tickets yet, call Awards organizer Susan Saranchuk at the CSC office, or do it online at www.csc.ca. Of course, we can’t divulge the names of this year’s winners until the big event on March 27, but we can give you a sneak preview.

Our host this year will be Heather Allin, president of the Toronto branch of ACTRA and a fine stage and screen actor in her own right (George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead). We are looking forward to meeting her as we broaden our collaborative base of associations within the Canadian film and television industry and with international organizations such as IMAGO.

Donald Angus donangus@sympatico.ca CSC OFFICE / MEMBERSHIP 131–3007 Kingston Road Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1 Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996

Our three special Awards are joined this year by the CSC Focus Award, a recognition of the efforts of one filmmaker to preserve the visual reality of those intrepid cameramen who captured the heroic contribution of Canadian soldiers in the Second World War. One of the shooters won a Victoria Cross.

Email: admin@csc.ca CSC Subscription Dept.

PO Box 181 283 Danforth Avenue Toronto, Canada M4K 1N2 Email: editor@csc.ca 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; copyright reverts to the writer after publication.

Canadian Cinematographer is printed by Winnipeg Sun Commercial Print and is published 10 times a year.

One-year subscriptions are available in Canada for $35.00 for individuals and $70.00 for institutions, including GST. In U.S. rates are $35.00 and $70.00 for institutions in U.S. funds. International subscriptions are $50.00 for individuals and $100.00 for institutions.

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2 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

This new Focus Award will acknowledge from time to time the work of an individual or group in producing a unique look at Canadian history and culture. In this year’s case, the CSC Combat Camera Award, a special presentation in honour and remembrance of the soldier photographers of that and other dark periods in history, will accompany the Focus Award. Our soldiers are fighting now in Afghanistan, and we are able to see the war in our living rooms every day. The CSC wishes to honour and say thank you to the veterans of all services in all wars. And to the men and women who filmed it for history.

Now, I wish to introduce you to two new members of the CSC executive: DOP Andrew Watt csc and associate member Michael Jari Davidson will each serve as a director ex-officio. They are among the “next generation” of cinematographers whose new and refreshing ideas are revitalizing our Society. That new energy was reflected in the success of the CSC 3D Workshop in Toronto February 5 to 8 in Toronto, starring British DOP Geoff Boyle. The CSC 3D committee, as well as organizers Susan Saranchuk and Karen Longland from the CSC office, did a remarkable job. The workshop was well attended every day, and a full report will appear in the next issue of Canadian Cinematographer. The 3D committee was Dylan Macleod csc, Jeremy Benning csc, D. Gregor Hagey csc, Ray Dumas csc, Sarah Moffat and Ernie Kestler.

Our thanks to David J. Woods, 3DCC, PS, White’s, Sim Video and Element Technica, who donated their equipment and expertise.

Karl Herrmann csc Color Panoramics www.natureseries.ca

T

his is a collection of images that honor the pristine, exceptional beauty of Nature. It is a celebration of those breath taking moments in time, when all the visual magic of Nature reaches its zenith, and we can but stand in awe. A ray of sunlight bursting through a stormy sky, a collection of shadows revealing extraordinary shapes unseen minutes earlier, windstorms that come up for only a moment and magically die out immediately after the image is recorded. Many of these images exist only as a single image because the moment was so magic, so fleeting. These are not my pictures, they are ours, they are moments we all share. We are all participants in this, the grandest show of all - Nature.

And then the whisper, ever so quietly says in its most playful way, “Trust me.” These two simple words hold the power.

Every image presented here has come about because I’ve learned to listen to the little guiding voice within. It usually starts softly, quietly suggesting the way. When ignored, it becomes louder, more determined. Like a small child, it wants action, some kind of action... and now! “Trust me”, it’ll whisper. “Go!” “get in the car.” “Don’t think, just drive.” “Be.”

Every photograph is a testament to the voice of Nature that has whispered to me, guided me, cause me to turn around, at times drive completely in the opposite direction. This quiet truthful voice has led me to hidden secrets, unveiled the most spectacular and revealing light shows. It has also said, “Go home. It is not the time.” It’s the voice I’ve learned to follow. Karl Herrmann

When the voice speaks, I’ve learned to listen.These simple words have changed my life. When I embrace them, I am afforded a magic window into Nature itself.

Remarkably, the voice speaks every day. It speaks at work.

It speaks in play. Often, however, it is overpowered by our obsession with “important matters”. Refocus yourself. Listen to the voice. It is you. It is Nature speaking to you. It is your direct ancestral link to the earth. it is who you are.

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

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In The News

is given in the name of FujiFilm Corporation as well as in the names of Ryoji Nishimura, Masaaki Miki and Youichi Hosoya, the three engineers who designed and developed the product.

CSC DOPs Are Busy in Montreal, Park City, Utah & Berlin While indigenous film production in the major EnglishCanadian production centres, Vancouver and Toronto, has slowed to a crawl during the winter months, Montreal is the lone hot spot for Canadian features. Wrapped in mid-February, Notre Dame de Grace, director Jacob Tierney’s follow up to The Troksky, is being produced by Park Ex Pictures, makers of the all-time Canadian box office champion Bon Cop Bad Cop. Starring Ottawa-born Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up, Tropic Thunder), who is also the star of The Trotsky, the story is set during a Montreal winter where a serial killer is on the loose in the neighbourhood of Notre Dame de Grace or NDG. The DOP is Guy Dufaux csc. Angle mort (Blind Spot) is a drama directed by Frédérik D’Amours about a pyromaniac road killer who takes revenge for the accident that left his wife dead and him disfigured by murdering bad drivers who cross his path. Jérôme Sabourin csc is the DOP. Joining these two local productions is the Canada/Argentina co-production Upside Down, directed and written by Juan Diego Solanas and starring Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man), which is being shot in Montreal with DOP Pierre Gill csc until the end of June.

Comweb and William F. White Announce the Appointment of Lowell Schrieder to Director, Marketing and Communications

I

n January, Comweb Group and William F. White International announced the appointment of Lowell Schrieder to the position of director, marketing & communications. In this new role, Schrieder is responsible for refining the strategic direction of all marketing and communications initiatives for Comweb/WFW. He brings an extensive background in entertainment marketing, public relations and communications in Canadian film and television industry spanning 10 years. Prior to joing Comweb/WFW, he was corporate marketing director for P.S. Production Services, and has held communications positions at CTV’s Comedy Network and in public relations and special events for Paramount Parks Canada.

FujiFilm at the Oscars FujiFilm has announced that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has selected FujiFilm to receive an Academy Award in the Scientific and Engineering category, an award given for development of the world’s first film stock specifically designed to produce high-picture quality from digital-image data. The award is being given in recognition of the significant picture quality and workflow improvements made possible in the moviemaking process through the development of Fujicolor Eterna-RDI, the first motion picture film in the world designed specifically for use in converting digital-image data to negative film. The award

6 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

The CSC was well represented at this year’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which wrapped January 31. From Newfoundland and Labrador, Adriana Maggs’s Grown Up Movie Star, with DOP Jason Tan csc, was screened in the World Cinema Narrative Competition, and two CSC-lensed films were featured in the popular out-of-competition Park City at Midnight section – from Quebec Daniel Grou’s Les 7 jours du talion (7 Days), with Bernard Couture csc behind the camera, and from Alberta Eli Craig’s Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, DOP David Geddes csc.

Grown Up Movie Star (featured in this issue of Canadian Cinematographer) received uniformly good reviews, with raves for a starmaking turn by Tatiana Maslany (from the CBC series Heartland and winner of a Gemini Award for a guest appearance on Flashpoint) as the precocious 14-year-old-going-on-30 Ruby. She was awarded a Special Jury Prize for her Breakout Performance. Les 7 jours du talion, a Quebec entry into the growing sub-genre of torture porn about a doctor who kidnaps and tortures the man responsible for his daughter’s death did well in the marketplace with sales in a number of territories, and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is a ‘hillbilly’ splatter satire set in West Virginia, which was shot around Calgary by Geddes in 2009.

This Way of Life, directed, produced and photographed by Thomas Burstyn csc (featured in the December issue of Canadian Cinematographer), was invited to screen in the K+ competition for the Crystal Bear (given for the best children’s film) at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in February.

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Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

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Hollywood is preparing to re-release some past hits, including Star Wars (1977) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001– 03) in 3D following the record-breaking success of Avatar.

Studio executives are drawing up schedules of popular films that will be “retro-fitted” with 3D technology after the sci-fi blockbuster, directed by Canadian-born James Cameron, became the highest grossing movie of all time.

Sim Video, the video equipment rental company headquartered in Toronto, recently purchased Fujinon PL Series 18-85mm/ T2.0 and 75-400mm/T2.8-T3.8 zoom lenses. As early adopters of cutting-edge lens design, Sim Video is the first customer to add the 75-400mm/T2.8-T3.8 to its rental inventory. On the pilot for Men with Brooms, Rudolf Blahacek, director of photography, used the Fujinon 18-85mm/T2.0 lens from Sim Video in combination with Zeiss Master Primes.

Industry experts now predict that 3D will become the new multiplex standard within five years. This will be as dramatic a shift as when the “talkies” killed off silent movies in the late 1920s. Retro-fitting a screen classic with 3D imagery could take as little as four months, using software to manipulate a digital copy of the film. Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, said last year that he wanted to reissue the trilogy in 3D if Avatar persuaded enough cinemas to put in digital 3D projectors.

National Film Board Puts 3D Experiments Online The NFB is putting a sampling of its 3D experiments online for free viewing. The Film Board says free 3D glasses can be ordered from its website, and they will be shipped free of charge. There is a limit of one per order. The 3D films include the animated short Drux Flux (2008) and excerpts from Facing Champlain 3D, created for the 400th anniversary celebrations in Quebec City in 2008. The Film Board is also adding 26 HD films to its online screening room. The high-definition additions include Chris Landreth’s Oscar-winning animated short Ryan (2004), Cordell Barker’s popular musical The Cat Came Back (1988) and Sheldon Cohen’s hockey classic The Sweater (1980). The NFB introduced its online screening room last year and three months ago came out with an iPhone app.

8 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

Designed for the latest digital and film PL mount cameras, the 1885mm/T2.0 and 75-400mm/T2.8-T3.8 are the first models from Fujinon’s new PL Series of zoom lenses. Two additional models, offering focal ranges of 14.4-45mm/T2.0 and 24-180mm/T2.6, will be available in early 2010. The PL Series feature the fastest T speeds available in a family of zooms, with unprecedented colour matched 4K optical performance. All four zooms are similar in size and weight, and uniform gear placement and front barrel diameters enable quick and efficient lens changes.

On January 28, Sim Video hosted their 5th Annual Technology Open House, putting together an intimate showcase of some of the world’s top digital cinema technologies. For the past five years, Sim Video has been hosting the event that draws hundreds of Toronto based production professionals looking to check out the next-wave digital cinema technologies. Partnering with respected manufacturers and local production industry suppliers like Sony, Precision Camera Inc. and Panasonic, the event has always delivered an incredible range of technical solutions including everything from pro-sumer HD cameras to digital cinema workhorses like the Sony F35 and Arri D21, but this years event had Stereoscopic appeal.

“In light of the recent box office success of James Cameron’s, Avatar, we wanted to ensure 3D products were well represented –

local professionals have a real thirst for 3D knowledge right now and our event is the perfect platform to showcase these state-ofthe-art production tools” said Rob Sim, president of Sim Video International. “Timing worked out perfectly and thanks to our friend Bill White at 3D Camera Company, we were able to secure Sony’s latest 3D camera system for a special demonstration.” The one-of-a-kind unit (which is now destined to shoot Carnivale in Brazil) was mounted on an sleek light-weight 3D Tangohead rig designed by Sebastien Laffoux who was also on-hand to answer questions. Among this year’s crowd were many of Canada’s finest DP’s including Rene Ohashi csc, asc, Mike McMurray csc, Miroslaw Baszak, Jim Jeffries csc, Alwyn Kumst csc and Mitch Ness csc, each of whom took the time to test the 3D rig first-hand.

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The Personal Vision of

Christopher Chapman CM, RCA, CSC, CFE An Interview

This abridged interview, recorded in 1989 and transcribed by Patricia Thompson, the late editor of Film Canada Yearbook, was conducted by Gerald Pratley, then head of the Ontario Film Institute. It was edited by Risa Shuman and Gerald Pratley, with additional material by Christopher and Francis Chapman and Wyndham Wise, 2010. © Ontario Film Institute.

C

hristopher Chapman was born in Toronto, on January 25; his twin, Francis was born January 24, 1927.

They are the sons of the distinguished Toronto architect Alfred Chapman. His first film, The Seasons, purchased by Imperial Oil, won the Canadian Film of the Year in 1954, and A Place to Stand received two Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Live-Action Short in 1968. Chapman was the first Canadian filmmaker to receive an Oscar outside of the NFB. A Place to Stand was also named Canadian Film of Year at the Canadian Film Awards (CFA). He was awarded the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts medal for distinguished contribution to the art of cinematography and presented with the first

10 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

Ontario Film Institute Award for his distinguished achievements and significant contribution to the development of the Canadian film. He is the recipient of the 1967 Centennial Medal, the 1977 Jubilee Medal and the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Chapman was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1987, and awarded a Doctor of Laws by Ryerson University in 2000.

His variety of projects include films in 16 mm, 35 mm, 70 mm, Multi-Dynamic Image, 3D in 35 and 70 mm, IMAX and multi-media. He has created major films for expositions, film companies, corporations, NASA and governments, both federal and provincial. In most of Christopher Chapman’s films, he has acted as creator, director, cinematographer, editor, and in a number of cases producer or co-producer. For a number of years Christopher and his wife Barbara-Glen lived on a farm in an early Ontario stone house near Sunderland, Ontario. They are now enjoying retired life in Uxbridge. (Ed’s note: The interview has been cut for length. The complete text will be posted on the CSC website.) Half-tone image in background is from Pyramid of Roses.

Q How did you get your start making films at a time when there was no appreciable film industry in Canada?

A I had been in advertising for six years. I found that I just didn’t like advertising at all. I didn’t like the whole concept of advertising, and there was something inside of me fighting it all the time. I liked the company I was with and I enjoyed the kind of work I was doing, but the reason for it really bothered me. Had I stayed another year, I would have probably resolved my doubts and continued. So I made a very quick decision to leave and buy a camera, a basic Bolex with a wind-up ‘motor.’ I was not a film buff. I had not even taken still photography, but I was searching for a medium of expression, and film had a ready fascination for me. I bought the Bolex and went up to a cottage my father had on Lake Simcoe and settled down for the winter, not really thinking that I could make a film. But I wanted to explore my relationship to the motion picture camera and, in a sense, what I felt was its relationship to me.

I’ve since shot all my own films, and I am still learning about cinematography. I wanted to convey and share with people what excited me about winter, because winter to me is a very beautiful season and very few of us have a chance to see the beauty in it. So that’s what The Seasons [1953] became and how it started, but I still didn’t believe I was making a film as such. It was a film without words, except for the introduction. The only person I knew who had any remote connection with film was Gerry Moses of Imperial Oil. I showed it to him, running the music by hand off vinyl records. He went to bat for it and Imperial Oil bought it.

So then I could afford to ‘marry’ the music and picture, which I did at Crawley’s Studio. Even then I wasn’t terribly sure about going into the film business because I didn’t want to go right back into the kind of thing I was doing in advertising, which would have meant making films for the sake of making films. I wanted to make the kind of films I believed in.

Q When the Ontario government asked you to make A Place to Stand (1967), were you told what kind of film was required or was the concept of the split screen entirely your own?

A It all began because I wanted to make a film about Canada.

Bell Telephone and the Telephone Association said they were interested in a film for their pavilion for Expo ’67, so Francis and I did some research into multi-image and made a presentation.

In the end, Bell chose Disney over us. Later, when the Ontario government came along with an idea for a film for Expo 67, I said ‘yes.’ They were already far behind, even in coming up with ideas. I spoke to Barry Gordon, and he joined us and investigated the possibilities of multiple optical printing on a single frame. As you know, split screen is an old technique. What’s original about A Place to Stand is that no one before 1967 had taken the technique and woven it as a tapestry into a complete idea. It almost becomes a subliminal experience, because no one can really see all the moving images but our eyes take them in simultaneously.

A Place to Stand includes the technique of multiple screens, where multiples are important to the story. It goes from a single large or small screen to as many as 15 small screens. Images within

each screen are carefully tailored to move in relation to each other. The series can change shape and move in relation to camera movement. All these techniques combine to create a new language to film, like reading whole sentences instead of individual words. Gordon found a company in Los Angeles, Film Effects of Hollywood, willing to take on the optical printing that we couldn’t do in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada. (The film was to be shot in 35 mm and optically printed onto 70 mm.) I then settled down to planning what to put into a film about Ontario.

I was given an absolute free hand by the ministry, which was a tremendous asset. It scared me though, because I had no way to show what I was doing. I wrote 350 pages. They didn’t mean anything to anybody, except me. Nobody else understood them and [executive producer] David Mackay never saw them, and certainly government officials never saw them; if they had, they would have been scared stiff. I had to believe in it myself. It was like writing music. Gordon took my original charts and transposed them for the technicians doing the optical printing.

While I know nothing about writing music, I think my charts became almost like writing music. A composer hears all his or her music and knows what he or she is doing. I could see and actually hear the film, but if I thought about it, I was scared stiff because I had never worked that way before. It was impossible to preview a multi-image film on a Moviola. All the footage I brought back from location seemed to me like a huge container of energy and I felt like the Inuit who takes a rock and starts chipping away at it and then discovers that there is a bear waiting to be released. It was like that with me. I was screening and screening and screening and gradually chucking out this and that, and moving this and that. It was scary, because it was not like a script. I had nothing to hang on to, nothing to go back to. It was pure feeling. Sometimes I would be editing, and the film was conveying feeling, but sometimes it was just pieces of celluloid that meant nothing. Then there’s the wonderful moment in which the film suddenly says, ‘Here I am, this is what I want to be.’ It comes in every film, but in A Place to Stand it was a monumental moment, because it really did say, ‘This is what I want to be.’ It was like the genie coming out of the bottle, and I just let it come. I knew that I wouldn’t have the time to make changes. All the film went down to the optical printers in Los Angeles, and if it didn’t work it could have been an absolute mess.

Ken Healey-Ray did a superb job with the sound, and David Mackay met several different composers whose work he listened to. We finally decided on Dolores Claman and Richard Morris, whose song became part of the film’s success [‘A place to stand, a place to grow, Ontari-ari-ario’]. Again, I didn’t want to make a film with narration. The song was fine, but we were communicating to the world with images, one of many exciting things about Expo. No matter who the audience is in any part of the world, it can relate to this film because of people working and playing; it’s amazing how much industry there is in A Place to Stand, woven into nature, into work, into play.

At the beginning I said to Barry Gordon, ‘I want the biggest screen on which to paint a film mural.’ Not because I wanted

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

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makes the film; something happens beyond me and if I can get in tune with this and believe in it, then creation takes place. As you know, many filmmakers then adopted multi-dynamic image even though few understood it. Multi-dynamic image, as I called it, is a wonderful language and an effective teacher, but one has to respect it and be very, very careful.

Q You shot two films, back to back, in the then revolutionary IMAX format, Toronto the Good (1973) and Volcano (1974).

In 1973 the new director of Ontario Place, Ian McLennan, asked me to do Toronto the Good, a multi-media show using 36 slide projectors in combination with 35-mm film, and I enjoyed working with Francis again. It was done in remarkably short time, and the possibilities were so exciting; the film part was going to be there all the time, but over the seasons we could change all the slides. They were designed for that purpose, so there was always something new. It did very well and there were some tremendously nice comments.

Then, suddenly, I was asked if I would go to the volcanic eruption on the island of Heimaey off the coast of Iceland. We had been talking about the idea of making five-minute films one IMAX of natural phenomena, which would gradually be connected together in one big film. During the discussion of this idea, the volcanic eruption occurred. I rushed off with an assistant cameraman, Averill Townsend, from New York who knew IMAX. There was just the two of us. Volcano must be by far the cheapest thing that’s ever been made in IMAX. Q With Volcano were you involved IMAX? Reflected Images

the biggest screen for its own sake, but because I wanted space.

I had a mock-up of the Expo theatre and its 66-foot screen with the places where people would sit, to see whether there would be distortion form here or there and I realized that it took my eye half-a-second to cross 66 feet if I wanted to go from one side of the screen to the other, which is 12 frames in editing. So I worked carefully with all these factors in mind, with that responsibility to the audience. It was exciting to know that it was to be shown only in one theatre at Expo (I never expected it to go anywhere else) and to know what the theatre was going to be like – the size of the screen, the sound system, and all these components.

I had no idea A Place to Stand was going to be the success it turned out to be; people came to me and told me what happened to them during the film. That’s when I felt excited and thought it must have come close to what I intended. I consider it a personal work even though I know it was a glossy picture of Ontario. But then we were celebrating. and I felt it was a time in which we could say we were proud of Ontario. No one told me to do this.

I felt that way. I felt it deeply.

Everything I do is personal, but somehow with this film, with the extra freedom I had, something happened. I learned and discovered something that was exhilarating, which is that it is not who

12 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

A No, it was the Ontario Place Corporation. It was a case of renting the camera and going off and doing it. And, as you know, the secret to IMAX is a huge frame running horizontally, and it is quite phenomenal. It doesn’t have an intermittent movement in the projector, but the camera does, and so I had an enormous amount of trouble in those days. The IMAX cameras are more reliable now. This was in January and the temperature alternated between extreme cold to extreme heat. The camera finally just wouldn’t work at all. I got into the Mayor’s office of the little town of Heimaey, which was partically destroyed by the volcano, and found the phone line was still open. The town had been totally evacuated.

I phoned Galt, Ontario, and tried to get a hold of Bill Shaw, the guy who built the camera. I found him in San Diego, California.

We went over the camera piece by piece. Finally, after three-quarters of an hour on the telephone, Bill said, ‘it sounds like it should work.’ Meanwhile, this volcano was bellowing and screaming like mad crying out to be filmed and I had no camera. Because it runs at such a high speed, the loop, which saves it from jamming, was just not functioning. It was two in the morning when we finally got going. Here was this huge energy, throwing up all this fire and rock, burying man’s world, yet creating a new one. It was a very emotional moment. I only had enough film for 15 minutes, and I edited it down to seven minutes. A 1,000-foot roll of IMAX film, which is like a small spare tire, lasts only as long as 100 feet of 16

Volcano: “The volcano was bellowing and screaming like mad crying out to be filmed and I had no camera. It was two in the morning when we finally got going,” Christopher Chapman csc.

mm. You can fill your pockets with 100-foot rolls of 16 mm, but you are absolutely stuck when it comes to IMAX. Q Two films that might be described as being outside your usual orbit are “Anthony Burgess’ Rome,” (1979), one of the John McGreevy’s Cites series, and your first feature film, Kelly (1981), which also turned out to be Famous Players first and only feature film.

A ‘Rome’ might be described as my steppingstone to Kelly, although it was not a feature film. Anthony Burgess hardly needed any directing form the acting point of view because he just had to be Anthony Burgess. Once again, ‘Rome’ was one of those projects where the director finds himself called upon to shoot a film within two weeks, without a script and with an individual he has never met before. We met Anthony at five o’clock one afternoon in Rome and we were scheduled to start shooting at seven the next morning. I thought the producer, who was with us, had been in touch with him and had gone over everything with him, but this turned out not to be the case. So Francis and I had to start from scratch and improvise everything over the two-week period – a very intense couple of weeks.

[Kelly] was a film that raised my spirits but dashed them just as often, and in the end it didn’t work and I know why. At first I was ecstatic about being able to at last work with a big crew and with actors. I found it exciting that, with a dramatized feature, the director is more like an orchestra leader with all the talents tuned-

up and ready to be formed into a whole. My previous films were all personal, but with a feature you start with a script and build your images and story from it. The sad thing about Kelly was that while the script idea was great, it was never right. I was under the impression there would be time to make changes, but as it turned out, there was no time at all. The difficulties were compounded by the writer being the star of the film, Robert Logan, who also wanted to direct it.

Q There was a film I saw at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, Pyramid of Roses, shot in 35 mm with stereo sound.

A I like that film. Pyramid of Roses was interesting because it was something completely different for me – it was not technical wizardry. It was Gordon MacLennan who suggested I see Harold Town’s exhibition of paintings called The Vale Variations.

Florence Vale had done a small drawing and apparently it had sat around for six years. Town saw it, and be became so electrified by it that he did a whole series of paintings – I think he did over 300 eventually – all based upon this little Vale drawing. When I saw the first exhibition, which I think was about 60 paintings, it suddenly looked to me like an animation film, even though I wasn’t an animator. It took years to get bits of money together, and then I shot and made this little film. It took a long time in the making, but I enjoyed it.

It’s Town paintings that are so extraordinary. I don’t remember

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

13

George Clutesi and Twyla-Dawn Vokins in Christopher Chapman’s Kelly, DOP Paul Van der Linden csc.

how many I actually used in the film, probably around 100. It had an exciting track with music by Harry Freedman. It’s never had any distribution and I believe Gordon, who was going to look after distribution, made a 70-mm print. It isn’t available in 16 mm. What bothers me in film is that one doesn’t know what kind of format to work in any more. In order to prevent Harold Town’s paintings from being butchered, I artificially built into the film space that can be cut off, so that, except only very occasionally, it wouldn’t get cropped. It’s a kind of a novelty, and it certainly will become more historical – as a part of a Harold Town moment, his life, his work. It was all slides, but it did need quite a bit of movement. I charted these on the optical printer, but it was a different kind of charting.

Q Bring me up to date, and your thoughts on the future.

A The most recent production that Francis and I did was a 3D film for the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and its newly opened Henry Crown Space Centre and OMNIMAX Theater (1986). As I mentioned, we are fascinated by 3D when it’s used to explore the medium rather then the medium being forced upon an inappropriate subject.

The challenge in the Crown project was to make a model of a space station look massive. In 3D, models look like models. Francis had some original thoughts on this that have been fruitful.

It will be exciting when technology simplifies 3D through 3D holography and brings it to perfection for large-format screens.

At the moment, IMAX 3D is the ultimate 3D presentation and will no doubt be the centre of attraction at expositions from now on, as was Colin Low’s film at Expo 86 (Transitions 3D).

However, like the IMAX screen itself, I hope the sheer size and technical wonder will not overshadow the content. We as filmmakers should not be lulled into thinking our own work is great when often it is the technical wizardry that dazzles. IMAX

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is a remarkable and exciting medium, demanding a great responsibility from the filmmakers if it is to become the creative achievement that it could be.

I have mentioned Francis a number of times because he’s been very close, particularly with the later projects, where, in film jargon, he was the producer. His wife, Penny Grey, has been production manager for 20 years at Christopher Chapman Limited. I have lived and worked in the country since I began making films, and my wife, Barbara-Glen, with son Julian, and I have created what some would term an ‘idyllic’ home and studio house on the edge of a valley. All this is only possible with Glen, who survives and supports the ups and downs of this artistic calling. On top of this, she loves and manages our colourful menagerie of dogs, cats, beavers, owls, sheep and swans.

Q All of this, then, the films, the family, the environment in which you live and work, becomes a part of the whole tapestry of your creative life?

A Tapestry is a word I use frequently in devising my kinds of film.

It is interesting that you use it to describe the entire aspect of my life and work. I am fortunate to have these varied surroundings, themes and topics, and looking back on it all gives me a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. But I have not finished, not by a long shot; there is much more remaining to be done and I intend to continue my filmmaking activities for a long time to come.

Q Will you fill me in with anything in terms of an update of your film activities since 1986.

A I worked on the idea of Canadians in the American Civil war for two or three years, but the film never came to fruition. A number of years ago I retired from filmmaking but continue my love and exploration of still photography, especially of the natural world. Over 50 years ago I photographed a rocky

shoreline and its reflection in still water that revealed a face when rotated. This led me to search for other images that ‘on reflection’ would conjure up thoughts about the origins of mythological figures, legends and totems – the stuff of the ‘unconscious.’

Most of my recent pictures have been taken in the pre-Cambrian Shield region of Northern Ontario; however, the images have universal appeal. I call them Reflected Images. It’s fascinating to hear the various responses such images evoke in the minds of different viewers. Over the past few years these photographs have been exhibited at various art shows and galleries, including a European Tour with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Many of the images have been enlarged to five, six and seven feet. Some are transferred onto canvas and look like tapestries.

A number now hang in executive offices and private homes. I’m hoping to publish a book of Reflected Images. In another field I became one of 11 contributing authors in the book Too Young to Fight: Memories From Our Youth During WWII, released in 1999.

I belong to the generation just arriving at “fighting age” when war came to an end. The book won the Bologna Ragazzi Non-Fiction Award for Young Adults, a worldwide competition.

Q Of all the films and projects you have been involved with, is there any one that stands out, the one that gave you the greatest satisfaction as a filmmaker?

A Both The Seasons, my first film, and A Place to Stand have given the greatest satisfaction, in different ways.

Selected Filmography Christopher Chapman The Seasons 1953 (p/d/ph/ed, CFA Film of the Year) Canadian Wheat 1956 (ph for Crawley Films) Quetico 1958 (p/d/ph/ed for the Quetico Foundation, CFA Travel and Recreation) Saguenay 1962 (d/ph, CFA Honourable Mention) The Enduring Wilderness 1963 (ph for National Parks Canada and NFB) Lewis Mumford on the City Parts 1–3 1963 (six-part series; collaborative effort for the NFB) Loring and Wyle 1963 (d/ph/ed for the CBC) Adventure in Newfoundland 1964 (ph for the NFB) The Persistent Seed 1964 (d/ph/co-ed for the NFB) The Magic Molecule 1964 (co-d/ph for the NFB) Expedition Bluenose 1964 (co-ph for Taylor Television, CFA Best Colour Cinematography shared with Francis Chapman) A Place to Stand 1967 (co-p/d/ph/ed for the Ontario government pavilion at Expo 67, with additional photography

by Laszlo George csc, hsc and Josef Seckeresh csc, hsc Oscar for Live-Action Short and nominated for Best Short Documentary; CFA Film of the Year) Festival 1970 (co-p/d/ph/ed for the Ontario government pavilion at Expo 70) Impressions 1670–1970 1970 (p/d/ph/ed for HBC) Canada 1973 (p/d/ph/ed for BP Oil) Toronto the Good 1973 (p/d/ph/ed in IMAX for the Ontario Place Corp.)

Volcano 1974 (p/d/ph/ed in IMAX for the Ontario Place Corp.)

A Sense of Humus 1976 (d/ph/ed for the NFB) Anthony Burgess’ Rome 1979 (ph/ed for the CBC) Saskatchewan: Land Alive 1980 (p/d/ph/ed for IMC Canada to mark the 75th anniversary of Saskatchewan) Kelly 1981 (d, feature produced by Famous Players) Pyramid of Roses 1982 (co-p/d/ph/ed for Christopher Chapman Ltd.) The Wilderness 3D 1984 (d/ph/ed for the Sudbury Science Centre) Expo 86 (co-p/d/ph/ed for the American pavilion) 3D film for the Henry Crown Space Center, Chicago, 1986 (d/co-ph/ed)

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

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Sniff

Barry Stone csc Creates the Ultimate Dog Movie

By Don Angus

N

o, we are not going to say that indie filmmaker Barry Stone csc is going to the dogs. That’s too easy, and it’s been done. However, it’s difficult not to fall prey to a canine pun or two when describing the theatrical feature Sniff: A Dog Movie, which Stone directed and co-produced with his wife Kim Webster. Sniff is a comedy wrapped around a documentary about dogs – funny, trick-performing dogs and specially trained guide and rescue dogs. It is a charming and educational tail-wagger.

Stone and Webster, now based in Oakland, California, brought the film to Canada for the first time in December, screening the film at the Royal and Fox cinemas in Toronto and at the Mayfair in Ottawa. Not capacity, but good-sized audiences, most of whom were apparently dog lovers, laughed in all the right places and oohed and awed as the dog stars did their thing. If the co-producers were looking for guffaws, they would have been mildly disappointed, but there were lots of chuckle and smiles.

It is a happy, family-oriented film.

Barry Ewart Stone csc

British actors Neil Morrissey (Bob the Builder) and Richard Huw star as themselves as unemployed actors Neil and Richard, who travel from London to San Francisco to work as concierges at Infinite Paws, a high-end dog hotel run by Neil’s old flame Juliette (Amanda Plummer) and her husband Derek (Maurice Godin). On the job Neil and

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Richard wear suits and giant dog masks, but during off-hours they are making a documentary about dogs. Outgoing Neil favors heart-warming vignettes about dogs that skateboard and surf, but straitlaced Richard is drawn to the heroic stories of guide dogs and search-and-rescue dogs. With locations including San Rafael’s Guide Dogs for the Blind and the backdrop of scenic San Francisco, Sniff explores the world through a dog’s eyes, ears and nose.

Director Stone csc, who also did a lot of the drama cinematography, says, “This is a dog film – but there had to be a few people in it to help hold the documentary sections together. By setting the dog stories in a family-oriented fiction, we’ve made detailed information about the motivation and training of a guide dog and a search dog accessible to a wider audience. There’s no anthropomorphism – just a great collection of fun-loving real-life vignettes about dogs. So we’ve managed to make a film that is both entertaining and educational for people of all ages.”

British-born Stone has worked internationally as a cinematographer and director for over 30 years, much of it in Toronto. “I made my first short film in Toronto called Dog in 1979. The idea has been percolating since then.” Ideas are always percolating in Stone’s creative brain.

In 1996, his demonstration of Jack & the Beanstalk, “cinema

Seen above with canine friend, Barry Stone csc shot and directed Sniff: A Dog Movie, “a great collection of fun-loving real-life vignettes about dogs.”

married to live theatre,” which was full of homespun effects, earned him a special CSC Award for Unique Production. As DOP on the 1995 television movie Net Worth, Stone developed what he called a “puck cam” to shoot ice-level NHL action, and he used in-camera ingenuity to make a small rink look and feel like Maple Leaf Gardens. And in the final scene of the Canadian feature The Perfect Son (2000), Stone shot the poignant ending with paper-thin subterfuge.

Colm Feore’s dying character runs along the beach, then stops and looks at the ocean as the sun sets. Stone knew that “if we have him stand there and watch the sun go down in time lapse, he’s going to jiggle about.” The solution? Take a still photo of Feore in what he’s going to be wearing for that scene, blow it up full-size and make a cardboard cutout. The DOP moved the camera back, then put it into time lapse. The sun went down, and Feore didn’t jiggle.

When he first set out to make Sniff, in April 2006, Stone had the idea of using puppets to host the documentary portions of the

film – to tell us about how dogs see, how acute their senses of smell and hearing are, and how they’ve evolved to serve mankind.

However, when friend Neil Morrissey heard the great dog stories Stone was collecting, he excitedly offered to dress up in costume to host the film. Morrissey immediately suggested that his friend from drama school, Richard Huw, play his “partner.”

Stone says Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California, gave the production free rein to follow the training of one of their star guide dogs, Mikey. That led to Gabby, a puppy who wasn’t quite suitable to train as a guide, so she was switched to training as a search-and-rescue dog.

Stone’s Scrap and Taffy Productions plans to donate 10 per cent of proceeds from DVD sales on their website to charitable canine organizations such as Guide Dogs for the Blind, the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation and the American Humane Society. Scrap and Tuffy were Stone’s dogs when he was growing up. But there is no dog in the Stone’s household now. “We just don’t have time,” the filmmaker says.

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

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Jason Tan csc Fell for the Charms of the Rock while Filming Adriana Maggs’s

Grown Up Movie Star

By Tammy Stone

put it down. It was just so raw and honest and the characters were just leaping off the page. I had the feeling this screenplay was coming from a place that was powerful and passionate and real.” A deeply likeable Shawn Doyle (Big Love) stars as Ray, a former NHL star forced to return home in shame following a drug conviction in the U.S. His wife Lillian (Sherry White, luminous in a cameo role) rapidly tires of their meager lifestyle; deluded stars in her eyes, she soon flees with another guy for California. Not only is she acutely unstable, but unwilling to look after their two children. As it turns out, teenaged Ruby (the astonishing 24-yearold Tatiana Maslany playing a very convincing 14-year-old) is quite a handful. Feisty and precocious, confused and razor sharp, she’s inevitably going to see through the house of cards that her father is attempting to establish for the household.

T

he sole Canadian entry in official competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, Grown Up Movie Star also boasts another distinguished first – it’s the debut feature by television and film writer Adriana Maggs, who also wrote the script. The film sits comfortably in the tradition of a number of innovative Newfoundland-set films to be released of late – among them Justin Simms’s Down to the Dirt (2008) and Sherry White’s Crackie (see the February issue of Canadian Cinematographer). Grown Up Movie Star, like its predecessors, is a no-holds-barred, heartfelt portrait of desolation – both environmental and emotional – striking in ways that indicate the two are intertwined.

“When I first read the screenplay,” said director of photography Jason Tan csc, “I was only halfway through before I had to

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As the film unfolds, we are witness to a very fragile series of events involving an extended family of sorts, including Ray’s bigoted, loud-spoken father (Andy Jones) and best friend ‘uncle’ Stuart (Jonny Harris), in a wheelchair ever since he had an accident caused by Ray’s negligent behaviour. Stuart’s always around, and in her boredom, Ruby starts to spend more time with him. Stuart is an amateur photographer, and Ruby, often told by her mother that she would also be a star someday, wants headshots for her desperately desired escape to the U.S. Meanwhile, Ray’s so busy chasing women around town he doesn’t notice what’s going on – until Ruby catches him in a sexual act that sends the family into a tailspin they will not easily survive intact.

An intimate family drama set on the Rock necessarily relies on mise-en-scène to quite literally set the stage for the quagmires confronting each character. “I am a writer mostly,” says Maggs, addressing her take on the film’s visual look. “I was interested in pictures that reinforced what I felt were themes, for example, Ruby brightly dressed against the bleak but striking Newfoundland winter. I talked to Jason a lot about these themes, but really let him go when it came to most things. I really believe in collaboration, and he brought so much of himself to the film, I loved it.”

On the previous page Julia Kennedy. Above, on the left director Adriana Maggs; to her right, Tatiana Maslany, who was awarded a Special Jury Prize for her Breakout Performance at Sundance. All images courtesy of Mongrel Media.

Tan met Maggs through Shawn Doyle, who worked with Tan on a short film a few years ago [Just Visiting, 2006], and who is one of the producers on Grown Up Movie Star. He prepared himself by reading the script several times before heading to pre-production in St. John’s, where they “ate cod tongues and traded notes,” Tan relates. “We talked about some different movies that we could use to find a common frame of reference, and I remember getting excited because names like Fargo and American Beauty and Adaptation were popping up, which are some of my favourite movies.

“When we were in pre-production meetings, we found very often that my ideas were lining up nicely with [Maggs’s] vision. I think that this spoke to the strength of Adriana’s writing because I could feel what she was after. There were certain details and tone, the things that were important to her were layered in the subtext of her writing.”

For her part, Maggs attributes her background in acting as a catalyst to putting her in touch with the talented actors she feels privileged to have worked with on the film. The fact that she wrote the script only added to her ability to align her directorial vision with those of her actors and to Tan. “The benefit of having written the script,” she says, “is that I always knew why the characters were saying what they were saying and

what the subtext was. The benefit of video, and the fact that Jason is so … fast, was that we could try different takes of things, try a restrained take, try an emotional take, try it like you just got home from therapy and your therapist gave you tips on how to control your anger, try it like you just won the lottery but you don’t want anyone to know, try it like every line is a come on. We actually had a lot of fun with all that.”

Tan agrees that it was a sheer joy to work with this talented cast, and notes the interesting challenge involved in the scenes where Ruby has to light up on camera as she poses for Stuart and dreams of being famous one day. “Tatiana,” Tan says, “is so talented, she’s scary. She’s also a bit of a chameleon when it comes to her appearance. Which was great because the same thing is supposed to happen to her character when she’s being photographed.

Adriana and I talked a lot about whether the audience should ‘see’ the photography, as in whether it should be shown full screen. And also what kind of photography is it? Is it good or mediocre? We decided to show the photos full screen and in the way Stuart perceives his own work. In other words, it’s a little more glamorous than real life.”

The shoot was Tan’s first on the Red; it didn’t come without its tribulations, weather first and foremost.“I had never even visited Newfoundland,” Tan says. “I don’t think I was

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

19

“The most important thing I learned is that I’m going back to the Rock to look for a small summer cottage.

If anyone wants to time share let me know,” Jason Tan csc

prepared for how different the environment is there. You really are hanging out there in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which makes for some spectacular vistas but also crazy weather systems. The one thing that became a factor was that we were shooting in February in St. John’s and it was typically minus 15 degrees Celsius and very windy. Sometimes between takes the wind would fluctuate from dead calm to 80 clicks per hour and this would change the internal camera temperature, which seemed to influence the materials used in the lens mount and sensor.”

Overall, though, Tan says he found the experience of shooting on the Rock immensely rewarding. “I think Newfoundland is one of the most beautiful places to shoot in the world. It’s the combination of the brutality of the Atlantic, the incredible wind, the mist and the high latitude – it just makes the sun do amazing things. When you work with it, it creates something magical. If you try to fight it, you’re finished.”

Though it was his first time using the Red on a production, he says that it was a very user-friendly system he quickly adapted to.

He did hesitate at the suggestion that the technology amounted to a revolution since like-minded formats abound, but he says, “in the end I quite liked the process. The important thing for me is that it allowed me to completely control the image from beginning to end.” Despite this, he adds, “extracting the most out of the Red ‘digital negative’ is a moving target because there are so many systems that can do it now. And it’s all software that is constantly being upgraded. We used Avid’s first attempt, which is

20 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

integrated into the new Avid DS. It wasn’t bad, but certainly has room to improve.”

The opposite holds true for the post-production experience he had in Newfoundland. “We did the conform and initial colour correction at the Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers’ Cooperative. This is an extraordinary gem of an organization in Canada. There is so much talent and collaborative spirit in that building it’s incredible. I spent a week with Steve Cook, the colourist there, and pretty much nailed the look I was after. From there we exported the 2K DPX files to the DI room at Deluxe Toronto. After a few tweaks and colour space conversions, it was done. Deluxe’s DI suite inspires a lot of confidence because there is some heavy duty colour science going on there and the calibration is simply perfect.”

In the end, Tan’s goal was to bring to life the moodiness and claustrophobia of the environment in which they shot and the characters found themselves. “I really wanted to be as transparent as possible and take inspiration from the actual locations.

When we were scouting, the coolest locations all had seven-foot ceilings and rooms where you touch the two opposing walls at the same time. Some people were raising their eyebrows and saying ‘you can shoot in here?’ But I said, ‘let’s just do it.’ Sometimes being uncomfortable is worth it if it makes it on screen.

“The most important thing I learned is that I’m going back to the Rock to look for a small summer cottage. If anyone wants to time share let me know.”

Used Leica Geo System Disto Laser Measurement Devices Attention crew technicians interested in selling used Leica Disto Laser Measurement devices for cash to upgrade to newer models, please contact Alan J. Crimi, Panavision Canada Corp., cell 416-577-3058; shipping, receiving and client services 416-444-7000; email: alan.crimi@panavision.com; www.panavision.com.

Short-Term Accommodation for Rent Visiting Vancouver for a shoot? One-bedroom condo in Kitsilano on English Bay with secure underground parking. $350 per week. Contact: Peter Benison, 604-7300860, 416-698-4482 or peter@peterbenison.com.

Equipment for Sale Sony Beta SP DXC-D30WSP/PVV3P, PAL, 262hrs drum time, $ 2,500; Sony Beta SP DXC-D30WS/PVV3, NTSC, 251hrs drum time, $2,500; Sony BetaCam SX DNW-7, NTSC, 257hrs drum time, $5,000; and IKEGAMI DV-CAM HL-DV7-AW, NTSC, mint condition, as new, 61hrs drum time, $7,000. All cameras w/porta-brace covers. All owned by me and serviced by Sony Hong Kong. Sony Beta SP/SX player/recorders, DNW-A25P X2, PAL & NTSC, 500 & 644hrs drum time, $ 6,000; Satchler 575 HMI, open-face, mint condition w/spare bulb, $ 2,500 & case. The lot for $20,000. Contact François Bisson, blitzvideo@mac.com.

Sony F900H CineAlta camera with HDVF 20A used by one owner and comes with Sony shotgun mic, tripod plate, Miranda MDC-902 HDSDI, Miranda MDC-700 NTSC, PCI film handle & original handle, camera strap, rain cover & porta-brace fitted cover w/ rain jacket, operations manuals small & large. Total hours drum new heads: 478. Total tape run new heads: 217. Photos available. $12,000. Contact: Michel Bisson csc at 416-346-3912; michelbisson@me.com.

Oxberry Computer Controlled Animation Stand. This stand is in excellent working condition. Our animation studio is closing, and we are in the process of selling our equipment. The stand is computer controlled by the famous Kuyper Control software driving stepper motors connected to different axis of the stand.

Here is a list of what is driven: camera zoom in and out; table – north-south axis, east-west axis; rotation, 2 pegs (top and bottom); camera – focus, take-up drive for mag and shutter. The camera comes with interchangeable gates and can be use for16 mm, super 16 or 35 mm. This kit comes also with 400ft –16-mm mag, 400ft – 35-mm mag, 1,000ft – 35-mm mag and 400ft bi-pack mag. The sidelights are 650 watts Red Heads with polarised filters. The lights are suspended on Manfrotto Pole Cats. The table’s backlight is connected to a rheostat with a solar electric current regulator. This is a great stand for any independent filmmaker or small effect animation company. Sorry we cannot ship this item. It has to be picked up. Item is located close to Montreal. Price: $ 4,800.00. Contact: Erik, Tel: 514-637-5077, Email: erikgo@videotron.ca.

16 – 35 mm Film Equipment for sale: Our animation studio is closing, and we are in the process of selling our equipment, here is a short list of items we have for sales: Densitometer McBeth Td903 for calculation of film density $300, Split reel (16 and 35 mm ) various sizes, Moviola Rewinds, 35mm Film synchroniser, Scan-0-scope converter lens system - Scope lens to “squeeze” and “unsqueeze” anamorphic $3500, Tilt Plate for heavy cameras $800, and more. Contact: Erik for complete listing, Tel: 514-637-5077, Email: erikgo@videotron.ca.

$22,000; Nikon 50–300 -mm F4-5 E.D. lens w/support, $1,000; Kinoptik 9–8-mm 35-mm format lens c/w sunshade $1,400. Contact stringercam@shaw.ca or mike@ imagegearinc.com New Video Camera Rain Covers. Custom rain covers for sale. New design that fits and protects most Sony PMW EX3, Canon XHHDV, Panasonic VX200 cameras with the viewfinder extending toward the rear of the camera. Price: $200.00.

Noiseless rain cover for the external camera microphone. Price: $30.00. Onboard Monitor rain cover, camera assistants can see the focus during the shot. No more hassles in the rain! $60.00. Custom Red One camera covers available upon request.

Also can sew various types of heavy-duty material. Repairs and zipper replacement on equipment and ditty bags. Lori Longstaff: 416-452-9247; llong@rogers.com.

NEW PRICE – DVW700WS Digital Betacam with viewfinder and two widescreen zoom lenses. Canon J1 5x8 B4WRS SX12 and Fujinon 5.5-47. Very low hours on new heads. $8,000, plus taxes. Contact: Michael Ellis: 416-233-6378.

Betacam SP Camera package. BVP550 Betacam SP camera with BVV5 recorder, complete with Fuijinon 15x8 broadcast zoom lens, “Red Eye” wide-angle adapter, 6 IDX Li-Ion batteries, IDX quick charger with AC adapter, flight case, soft carry case, Sony monitor and 10 fresh Beta SP tapes ($140 value). $2,500. Call Christian: 416-459-4895.

Panasonic HPX500 (Canadian model with Canadian warranty) with the latest up dates. Low hours. Perfect condition. 2/3 CCD 1080/720 HD camera with 4 P2 card slots. Comes with Anton mount, all factory accessories (most have never been opened) & original box. Only camera body and EVF for sale – not lens, base plate or batteries. Photos available. 604-726-5646; JohnBanovich@gmail.com.

Betacam SP D30 camera, PVV3 Recorder Back, Fujinon 16X, 9-144 zoom lens, six batteries, charger, power supply and case, Sony PVM 80Q 7 1/2inch monitor and case. $3,500. Contact: Joan Hutton: 416-693-9776.

For Sale The Essential Guide to Canadian Film by Wyndham Wise. First published in 2001, this second edition of The Essential Guide to Canadian Film is now 1,500 entries, completely revised and updated, including 650 biographical notes with filmographies and 850 film reviews, with credits, of award-winning Canadian films.

Also included are a complete list of winners at the Canadian Film Awards, Genies, Oscars, TIFF and Cannes, and a detailed chronology of Canadian film and television history. The Essential Guide to Canadian Film is an individually numbered, unique publication of encyclopedic proportions ; a handsome reference text for film and television professionals, students and fans of Canadian film. Hardcover, 374 pages. $80.00 plus shipping via Canada Post Express. To order, email editor@ csc.ca.

Camera Classified is a free service provided for CSC members. For all others, there is a one-time $25 (plus GST) insertion fee. Your ad will appear here and on the CSC’s website, www.

csc.ca. If you have items you would like to buy, sell or rent, please email your information to editor@csc.ca.

Zylight LED sungun kit and Manfrotto fluid head tripod system, other equipment as well. Please inquire: David Collard, 416-920-7979 Sony BVW-400a Betacam SP Camcorder Camera used by professional cinematographer (one owner), never rented out. Comes complete with Fujinon A15x8BEVM-28 lens, Petroff matte box with 4x4 and 4x5.6 filter holders, remote zoom and focus control for lens, 6 Cadnica NP-1 batteries, Sony BC-1WD battery charger, Porta-Brace fitted cover w/ rain jacket (like new) and Sony factory hard shipping case and manuals. Lens and camera professionally maintained by factory technicians. Usage hours are: A – 1,918 hours; B – 1,489 hours; C – 4,286 hours. $10,000.00 obo. Contact: Craig Wrobleski csc, 403-995-4202 Aaton XTR Super 16 pkg: including body, video relay optics, extension eyepiece, three magazines, Cooke 10.5-mm–60-mm S-16 zoom lens, Zeiss 9.5 prime lens, 4x4 matte box, 4x4 filters (85,85N6, polarizer, ND6, clear), follow focus and cases

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

21

Classifieds

Equipment Wanted

CSC Members

CSC FULL MEMBERS Jim Aquila csc John Badcock csc Michael Balfry csc Christopher Ball csc John Banovich csc John Stanley Bartley csc, asc Stan Barua csc Yves Bélanger csc Peter Benison csc Jeremy Benning csc John Berrie csc Michel Bisson csc Michael Boland csc Nicolas Bolduc csc Thomas Burstyn csc, frsa, nzcs Barry Casson csc Eric Cayla csc Henry Chan csc Marc Charlebois csc Rodney Charters csc, asc Damir I. Chytil csc Arthur E. Cooper csc Walter Corbett csc Steve Cosens csc Bernard Couture csc Richard P. Crudo csc, asc Dean Cundey csc, asc François Dagenais csc Steve Danyluk csc David A. De Volpi csc Kamal Derkaoui csc Kim Derko csc Serge Desrosiers csc Ricardo Diaz csc Jean-Yves Dion csc Zoe Dirse csc Mark Dobrescu csc Wes Doyle csc John Drake csc Guy Dufaux csc Ray Dumas csc Albert Dunk csc, asc Philip Earnshaw csc Michael Ellis csc Carlos A. Esteves csc Nikos Evdemon csc David Frazee csc Marc Gadoury csc Antonio Galloro csc James Gardner csc, sasc David A Geddes csc Ivan Gekoff csc Laszlo George csc, hsc Pierre Gill csc Russ Goozee csc Steve Gordon csc Barry R. Gravelle csc David Greene csc John B. Griffin csc Michael Grippo csc Manfred Guthe csc D. Gregor Hagey csc Thomas M. Harting csc Peter Hartmann csc Pauline R. Heaton csc Brian Hebb csc David Herrington csc

Karl Herrmann csc Kenneth A. Hewlett csc Robert Holmes csc John Holosko csc George Hosek csc Colin Hoult csc Donald Hunter csc Joan Hutton csc Mark Irwin csc, asc James Jeffrey csc Pierre Jodoin csc Martin Julian csc Norayr Kasper csc Glen Keenan csc Ian Kerr csc Jan E. Kiesser csc, asc Alar Kivilo csc, asc Douglas Koch csc Charles D. Konowal csc Alwyn J. Kumst csc Jean-Claude Labrecque csc Serge Ladouceur csc George Lajtai csc Marc Laliberté Else csc Barry Lank csc Philippe Lavalette csc John Lesavage csc Henry Less csc Pierre Letarte csc Antonin Lhotsky csc Philip Linzey csc J.P. Locherer csc Peter C. Luxford csc Larry Lynn csc Dylan Macleod csc Bernie MacNeil csc Glen MacPherson csc, asc Shawn Maher csc David A. Makin csc Adam Marsden csc Donald M. McCuaig csc, asc Robert B. McLachlan csc, asc Ryan McMaster csc Michael McMurray csc Stephen F. McNutt csc, asc Simon Mestel csc Alastair Meux csc Gregory D. Middleton csc C. Kim Miles csc Gordon Miller csc Robin S. Miller csc Paul Mitchnick csc Luc Montpellier csc Rhett Morita csc David Moxness csc Douglas Munro csc Kent Nason csc Mitchell T. Ness csc Robert C. New csc Stefan Nitoslawski csc Danny Nowak csc Rene Ohashi csc, asc Harald K. Ortenburger csc Gerald Packer csc Barry Parrell csc Brian Pearson csc David Perrault csc Bruno Philip csc

22 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

Matthew R. Phillips csc André Pienaar csc, sasc Zbigniew (Ed) Pietrzkiewicz csc Ronald Plante csc Randal G. Platt csc Milan Podsedly csc Hang Sang Poon csc Andreas Poulsson csc Don Purser csc Ousama Rawi csc, bsc William Walker Reeve csc Stephen Reizes csc Derek Rogers csc Peter Rowe csc Brad Rushing csc Branimir Ruzic csc Jérôme Sabourin csc Victor Sarin csc Paul Sarossy csc, bsc Michael Patrick Savoie csc Ian Seabrook csc Gavin Smith csc Christopher Soos csc Michael Spicer csc John Spooner csc Ronald Edward Stannett csc Pieter Stathis csc Brendan Steacy csc Barry Ewart Stone csc Michael Storey csc Michael Sweeney csc Adam Swica csc Attila Szalay csc, hsc Jason Tan csc John P. Tarver csc Paul Tolton csc Bert Tougas csc Chris Triffo csc Sean Valentini csc Brett Van Dyke csc Roger Vernon csc Frank Vilaca csc Daniel Villeneuve csc Daniel Vincelette csc Michael Wale csc John Walker csc James Wallace csc Tony Wannamaker csc Peter Warren csc Andrew Watt csc Jim Westenbrink csc Tony Westman csc Kit Whitmore csc, soc Brian Whittred csc Ron Williams csc George A. Willis csc, sasc Glen Winter csc Peter Woeste csc Bill C.P. Wong csc Kevin C.W. Wong csc Bruce Worrall csc Craig Wrobleski csc Yuri Yakubiw csc Ellie Yonova csc CSC ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Joshua Allen

Don Armstrong John W. Bailey Douglas Baird Kenneth Walter Balys David Battistella Gregory Bennett Jonathan Benny Jonathan Bensimon André Bériault Roy Biafore Christian Bielz Thomas Billingsley Stan Bioksic Francois M. Bisson Christophe Bonniere Martin Brown Scott Brown Richard Burman Lance Carlson Jon Castell Mark Caswell Maurice Chabot Cèsar Charlone Stephen Chung David Collard René Jean Collins Jarrett B. Craig Rod Crombie James Crowe Micha Dahan Michael Jari Davidson Nicholas de Pencier Randy Dreager Gamal El-Boushi Andreas Evdemon Jay Ferguson Andrew Forbes Richard Fox Joshua Fraiman Kevin A. Fraser Thomas Gatenby Brian Gedge Rion Gonzales Vladimir Gosaric Daniel Grant Jeffrey Hanley David M.J. Hodge John Hodgson Cliff Hokanson James D. Holloway Suave Hupa George Hupka David Johns Jorma Kantola Ernie Kestler Shannon Kohli Douglas John Kropla Charles Lavack Jim Laverdiere Robin Lawless soc Allan Leader Byung-Ho Lee Philip Letourneau James Lewis John V. Lindsay Matthew J. Lloyd Dave Luxton Robert Macdonald

Mario Anthony Madau Jeff Maher Alfonso Maiorana Roy Marques Kelly Mason Andris D. Matiss Paul McCool Patrick McLaughlin Tony Meerakker Tony Merzetti Bentley Miller Paul Mockler Sarah Moffat Robin Lee Morgan Helmfried Muller Brian Charles Murphy Keith Murphy Christopher M. Oben Eric Oh Alexandre M. Oktan Ted Parkes Deborah Parks Pavel “Pasha” Patriki Rick Perotto Allan Piil Scott Plante Ryan A. Randall Dave Rendall Cathy Robertson Peter Rosenfeld Don Roussel Christopher Sargent Andrew W. Scholotiuk Ian Scott Neil Scott Neil Seale Wayne Sheldon Simon Shohet Sarorn Ron Sim Barry E. Springgay Paul Steinberg Rob Stewart Marc Stone Michael Strange Joseph G. Sunday phd Peter Sweeney André Paul Therrien George (Sandy) Thomson John Thronberg Kirk Tougas John Walsh Lloyd Walton Glenn C. Warner Douglas H. Watson Roger Williams Richard Wilmot Peter Wayne Wiltshire Kelly John Wolfert Carolyn Wong Dave Woodside Peter Wunstorf asc Steven Zajaczkiwsky CSC Affiliate MEMBERS Donald G. Angus Derek Archibald Robin Bain

Iain Alexander Baird Peter Battistone Russell Bell Jacques F. Bernier Mark A. Biggin Adam Braverman Gordon A. Burkell Joseph Calabrese Arnold Caylakyan Bernard Chartouni Johnny Yan Chen Brent J. Craig Maggie Craig Brad Creasser Ana Cunha Colin Davis Dominika Dittwald Micah L. Edelstein Tony Edgar Zachary Finkelstein Randy French Richard Gira Aizick Grimman James D. Hardie Stephen Hargreaves Bruce William Harper John Richard Hergel BA CD Perry Hoffmann Brad Hruboska Marcel D. Janisse Michael Jasen Rick Kearney Matthew Casey Kennedy Guido Kondruss Boris Kurtzman Ryan Lalonde Charles Lenhoff Tony Lippa John Lipsz Lori P. Longstaff Robert H. Lynn Megan MacDonald Jill MacLauchlan Parks Yoann Malnati Justin McIntosh Ian McLaren Andrew Medicky Alejandro Muòoz Kar Wai Ng Peter Osborne Andrew Oxley Gino Papineau Graeme Parcher Kalpesh Patel Greg Petrigo Douglas B. Pruss Elise Queneau Lem Ristsoo Susan Saranchuk Chirayouth Jim Saysana James Scott Alexey Sikorsky Brad Smith Kyryll Sobolev Michael Soos Gillian Stokvis-Hauer Steven Tsushima Paula Tymchuk

Anton van Rooyen Trevor J. Wiens Irene Sweeney Willis Ridvan Yavuz CSC FULL LIFE MEMBERS Herbert Alpert csc, asc Robert Bocking csc Raymond A. Brounstein csc David Carr csc Marc Champion csc Christopher Chapman csc, cfe Robert C. Crone csc, cfc, dg Kenneth R. Davey csc Kelly Duncan csc, dgc Glen Ferrier John C. Foster csc Leonard Gilday csc John Goldi csc Kenneth W. Gregg csc Edward Higginson csc Brian Holmes csc Brian Hosking Douglas Kiefer csc Rudolf Kovanic csc Ken Krawczyk csc Les Krizsan csc Naohiko Kurita csc Harry Lake csc Duncan MacFarlane csc Harry Makin csc Douglas A. McKay csc

Donald James McMillan csc Jim Mercer csc Roger Moride csc George Morita csc Wilhelm E. Nassau Ron Orieux csc Dean Peterson csc Roland K. Pirker Norman Quick Roger Racine csc Robert G. Saad csc Josef Seckeresh csc Michael S. Smith John Stoneman csc Y. Robert Tymstra Derek VanLint csc Walter Wasik csc Ron Wegoda csc James A. Wright CSC HONOURARY MEMBERS Roberta Bondar Vi Crone Graeme Ferguson Wilson Markle

indicates demo reel online, www.csc.ca

Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010 •

23

Production Notes Angle mort (feature); DOP Jérôme Sabourin csc; to March 19, Montreal Baxter (series); DOP Gerald Packer csc; OP Kaelin McCowan; to March 26, Toronto Connor Undercover (feature); Yuri Yakubiw csc; OP J.P. Locherer csc; to April 19, Mississauga, ON Flashpoint III (series); DOP Stephen Reizes csc; OP Tony Guerin; to May 28, Toronto Fringe II (series); DOP David Moxness csc (even); DOP Thomas Yatsko (odd); OP Chris Tammaro csc; to March 22, Vancouver Gerry Boulet (feature); DOP Yves Bélanger csc; to May 15, Montreal Lance et compte: Le Film (feature); DOP Bernard Couture csc; to April 16, Montreal Lost Girl (series); DOP David Greene csc; Gilles Cobeil; to June 25, Toronto Saw VII (feature); DOP Brian Gedge; OP Mark Hroch; to March 29, Toronto Shattered (series); DOP David Frazee csc; OP Mark Chow; to April 23, Vancouver Smallville IX (series); DOP Glen Winter csc (odd); Barry Donlevy (even); OP Brian Whittred csc (odd); Neil Seale (even); to April 13, Burnaby, BC Supernatural V (series); DOP Serge Ladouceur csc; OP Brad Creasser; to March 29, Burnaby, BC Upside Down (feature); DOP Pierre Gill csc; to June 1, Montreal Warehouse III (series); DOP Mike McMurray csc; to August 5, Toronto

Calendar of Events March 3–7, Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Kingston ON, kingcanfilmfest.com 26–Apr. 3, Cinéfranco, Toronto, cinefranco.com 27, CSC Awards Gala, Osgoode Ballroom, Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto, 5:30 p.m. reception, 7:30 dinner and awards. Tickets available at www.csc.ca.

April 1–10, Images Festival of Independent Film & Video, Toronto, imagesfestival.com 7–11, Reel World Film Festival, Toronto, reelworld.ca 29– May 9, Hot Docs, Toronto, hotdocs.ca

VANCOUVER 604-527-7262

CALGARY 403-246-7267

24 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2010

TORONTO 416-444-7000

HALIFAX

902-404-3630

A SALUTE

THE 2010 CSC AWARDS

© Kodak Canada Inc., 2010.

KODAK SALUTES ALL OF THE NOMINEES OF THE 2010 CSC AWARDS.

A PROUD SPONSOR OF THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS