Canadian Society of Cinematographers Magazine November 2012

Canadian Society of Cinematographers

9-DEC

$4 December 2012 www.csc.ca

From Vintage Lenses to Green Screens, Tom Burstyn csc shows 07

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56698 94903

In Memoriam John C. Foster csc • Greek DOP Yorgos Giannelis gsc 9

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A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers

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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Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy

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.

FEATURES – volume 4, No. 7 December 2012

From Vintage Lenses to Green Screens, Tom Burstyn csc, frsa, nzcs Shows Defiance

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By Fanen Chiahemen

A Journey with Greek DOP Yorgos Giannelis gsc

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By Philippe Lavalette csc

Photo Credit: Gabriel Brault Tardif

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.

Behind the Scenes with Visual Effects Supervisor Gunnar Hansen

By Fanen Chiahemen

Columns & Departments

2 From the President

3 In the News

6 In Memoriam: John C. Foster csc / John Harris bsc 19 Tech Column

23 Camera Classified 24 Productions Notes / Calendar

Cover: Part of the set of Defiance. Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy

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Canadian Cinematographer December 2012 Vol. 4, No.7 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc EDITOR EMERITUS Donald Angus EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Susan Saranchuk admin@csc.ca EDITOR Fanen Chiahemen editor@csc.ca COPY EDITOR Karen Longland Editorial Intern Kayla-Jane Barrie ART DIRECTION

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t gives me great pleasure to announce that Vic Sarin csc has come on board as a Director Ex-officio with the CSC executive. Vic is one of Canada’s most esteemed cinematographers and directors garnering a slew of awards and nominations from Genies to Emmys. He’s also the 2010 recipient of the Kodak New Century Award, for his outstanding contribution to the art of cinematography. All of us on the executive look forward to working with Vic, who is based in Vancouver.

Berkeley Stat House WEBSITE CONSULTANT Michael Jari Davidson www.csc.ca ADVERTISING SALES Guido Kondruss gkondruss@rogers.com CSC OFFICE / MEMBERSHIP 131–3007 Kingston Road Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1 Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996 Email: admin@csc.ca CSC Subscription Dept.

131–3007 Kingston Road Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1 Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996 Email: subscription@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.

The nature of our film and television industry has gone through many changes in the past two decades and there may be another seismic shift underway. Internet streaming companies such as Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and YouTube are producing their own original programming to short circuit soaring content licensing fees.

Netflix will stream 6 new shows next year, including David Fincher’s political thriller House of Cards, which has a reported budget of $100 million dollars and stars Kevin Spacey. This is not chump change and it shows a commitment to quality content and high production values.

To a lesser extent, but no less important, Amazon Studio is following suit developing new properties such as a zombie flick by horror meister Clive Barker, while it looks like Hulu’s new political dramedy Battleground will be back for a second season.

YouTube, on the other hand, is a different study. It is planning to double its $100 million dollar investment in narrowcasting. The term “narrowcasting” is not new and has been kicking around for as long as cable TV has been in existence. It is the opposite of broadcasting, which caters to as big an audience as possible. Narrowcasting targets smaller specialized demographics with programming tailored to their interests. YouTube hopes to eventually have 1,000 online channels in its stable from which viewers can choose. The ones I’ve seen so far, while not top end productions, look professionally produced and are definitely not Lady Gaga karaoke postings of the week.

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With streaming companies now producing their own content, it totally circumvents our notion of traditional broadcasting, making network television redundant. I’m not saying this is the end of broadcast television, at least not for the time being.

But couple streamed productions with a generation, perhaps even two generations, raised on the Internet, plus smart television sets with computers and ready-to-go Internet connections, I would say the playing field has been set, at the very least, for a new source and delivery method for original programming. For cinematography, this is a good development, offering us a new opportunity to practice our art and craft. Cinematography will remain alive and well no matter where our broadcast and film industry heads.

Return undeliverable Canadian addresses 131–3007 Kingston Road Toronto M1M 1P1

A merry Christmas and a happy holiday to all our readers.

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

One-year subscriptions are available in Canada for $40.00 for individuals and $80.00 for institutions, including HST. In U.S. rates are $45.00 and $90.00 for institutions in U.S. funds. International subscriptions are $50.00 for individuals and $100.00 for institutions.

Subscribe online at www.csc.ca.

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In The News

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Dattner Dispoto and Association

Clockwise from top left: David Moxness csc, stills from The Kennedys, Heartland & Patch Town.

Member News

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kodak

orks shot by CSC members took top honours at the 2012 Directors Guild of Canada Awards in October. The Borgias, shot by Paul Sarossy csc bsc, was named best TV series drama; the mini-series The Kennedys, lensed by David Moxness csc, took the top prize for TV movie or mini-series; Heartland, shot by Craig Wrobleski csc, was named best family TV series; and Craig Goodwill’s Patch Town, lensed

by D. Gregor Hagey csc, took the prize for best short film.

In other member news, Bruno Philip csc in November shot the feature film Le dictaphone, directed by Noël Mitrani. The project was shot on film.

Kodak Adds Digital Separation Film to its Asset Protection Portfolio

Also, affiliate member Sean G. Marjoram recently shot a music video for director Lee Skinner that went on to win two awards at the BMO World Film Festival INCITE Awards in Hamilton, Ont., put on by the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

Kodak has added another product to its portfolio of asset protection films. KODAK VISION3 Digital Separation Film 2237 is a black-and-white separation film for preserving images from colour digital masters. This archival film is optimized for laser, CRT

Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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and LED light sources utilized by digital recorders in the marketplace. KODAK VISION3 2237 Film is offered on an ESTAR base and lasts centuries in recommended conditions. The film has improved spectral sensitivity for digital-to-film transfers and optimized latent image keeping, which offers efficiencies for service providers that in the past had to “cure” rolls before processing. The film can be processed in either D-96 or D-97 chemistry, which are standard black-and-white processes in the industry.

ACCT Announces Dates for Screen Awards The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television will announce the film, TV and digital nominees of the first Canadian Screen Awards on January 3, 2013. Eligible voters can cast their ballots until February 15. The nominations will also be webcast nationwide. The award ceremony will be broadcast live on CBC on March 3.

Pinewood Studios Breaks Ground on New Sound Stages Pinewood Toronto Studios broke ground for three new state-ofthe-art sound stages in late September. Construction on the $40 million project is now underway and scheduled to be completed

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in 2014. The three new sounds stages will be 10,800 square feet each. An additional 100,000 square feet of office space will be added to the current 250,000 square feet of modern, purposebuilt production facilities for film and television.

Change of ownership at ARRI Robert Arnold, the son of one ARRI’s co-founders, is selling his 50 per cent share to the grandchildren of co-founders Richter/ Stahl. Both families have shared responsibility for the company since it was founded 95 years ago. The globally active company, previously run by both families, will now be in the sole responsibility of the Richter/Stahl family. The Stahl family has expressed its intention to continue pursuing the media business of ARRI in the Bavarian film and media industry as well as internationally.

PS Debuts New Brand, Slogan PS Production Services Ltd. is debuting a new brand and logo to reflect its evolution and growth in the Canadian film and television industry. Developed by Toronto-based branding and communications firm Tenzing Communications Inc., the overall approach includes a new slogan, “For Sure,” reflecting PS’s 40 years of industry service. Along with the new brand, the traditional PS logo has been refreshed and updated.

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In Memoriam Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Foster family.

John C. Foster csc

John C. Foster csc

he CSC pays tribute to a true legend and founding member of the Society, John C. Foster csc, who died on September 30.

T

John was an ardent nationalist and a founding member of both the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and IATSE 667.

Born July 13, 1927, in the Hog’s Back, Ottawa, son of an RCMP officer, John C. Foster csc skipped a few grades and graduated from Ottawa High School at 15. He went directly into the camera repair department of the National Film Board, working under the leadership of Nick Culic in the Ottawa offices. At 18 he was an assistant cameraman and swiftly rose to cinematographer.

In 1970, John met Karin Michael and her three children Patty, Glen and Christian. Soon after they began co-habitating, Karin became John’s sound person, winning sound recordist for the Gallery production Are You Listening, You Out There?

Between 1950 and 1959, John worked on 90 films for the NFB, including Crossroads (1957), The Golden Age (1959), Canada at Coronation (1953), Eye Witness (1951), The Zoo in Stanley Park (1953), Transpacific Flight (1953), Toronto Boom Town (1951), Les Canadiens en Corée (1952) and many more.

Shortly after marriage to actress/comedienne Pam Hyatt in 1957, John’s NFB team booked a Toronto shoot for three months. John liked Toronto’s vibe and opted to leave the NFB in 1959 to set up his own freelance company, Foscine Ltd. He enticed his great friend, NFB sound recordist Clarke DaPrato, to follow suit, and Clarke and his family joined him. John’s Foscine credits are wide ranging, primarily in the field of public affairs shows for CTV, PBS and CBC, including This Hour Has Seven Days.

John and Pam welcomed their son, Carson T. Foster, in 1961.

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In 1976 he began to publish the Movie Works Weekly, which was the go-to read for the newly emerging film and television industry of the time. It was also the first daily for the also newly establishing Toronto Film Festival. The paper was published for three years before it bankrupted.

John met and married the true lady of his dreams, Barbara Rankin, in 2002. He introduced her to the film industry where she became one of the best production accountants in memory. John lost his beloved wife in May of this year. He was devastated by this loss but buoyed by the joyful news of Carson’s engagement to ballet teacher Heather Anne Jones. John’s last job was videotaping their beautiful Cherry Beach wedding just one week before his death.

John leaves his son Carson, daughter in law Heather JonesFoster and many cherished friends.

John Foster Through the Eyes of Others

Johnny was a guy who just loved life and loved making movies. He was a natural storyteller and he translated that into his work. According to my dad, as a filmmaker he could do things with cameras that nobody else at the time was capable of doing because he would tinker with them. He’d fix things that nobody even knew was a problem at the time. He and my dad were best friends. When I was growing up, he was Uncle Johnny. He was the cool, non-relative uncle. And he was cool, he had cool cars. My favourite memory of John is him coming to visit one day in his 1963 black convertible Thunderbird and taking us all out to the Dairy Queen.

--Robert DaPrato, son of Clark DaPrato I have memories of our fathers being pioneers, rebels, upstarts and men who just lived life on a rather large scale. They shaped this industry with camera and sound, and without their experiences and knowledge, this industry would not have advanced technically. The experiences they had as young and middleaged men are beyond compare. I am sure they had no idea what risks they were taking and what danger was involved on some of those shoots, but, boy, did they know how to tell a good story and laugh after the fact. They were definitely fly-by-the-seat-of-yourpants type of guys, and often I could hear my dad say, “Hold onto your seats, this is going to be a bumpy ride.” It is the end of an era.

--Patty (DaPrato) Parsons, daughter of Clark DaPrato

Foster (with sound woman) following the George Wallace presidential campaign for PBS’ Bill Moyers Journal. Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Foster family.

was crushed by the poverty he had to live with and the limitation that poverty placed on what he could do as a farmer. Johnny did a long travelling shot along a fence the farmer had built. When he finished the shot he turned to me and said, “I want the New World Symphony to play behind that shot.” I did as I was told, and the donations poured in for the farmer. I knew it was because of the New World Symphony and Johnny’s skill in telling a story with his camera.

The best piece of luck I had in my broadcasting career, which now spans more than 50 years, was meeting Johnny Foster at the very beginning. It wasn’t an accident. Peter Campbell – who had given me a job as producer after I had joined the corporation as a program organizer for economic programs – realizing that I have nothing but positive memories of Johnny and my association.

I knew absolutely nothing about the technical side of the busi- He was never boring and he was a good man. He will be missed. ness, told me about this cameraman who he said was great and --Richard Nielsen, filmmaker had decided to leave the Film Board and was coming to Toronto.

John helped me on numerous juries for the Academy and the The result was that for the next five years – my first five years CSC. He was always willing. I remember meeting John at an in the business – I made all my films with Johnny, and they all awards event down at Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1969; I think it looked great. Right from the very first, my shows had a visual was an Academy event. I was new from Australia and was very flare that owed nothing to me and everything to Johnny. quickly introduced to my competition. John in his way said, “Can’t you get work in Australia?” A couple more drinks and we I not only had the gift of Johnny’s talent to help me with my were friends and have been over the years. career, but our relationship was one of mutual respect, and he taught me that a producer is not a boss but a collaborator and if John was full of ideas and technical knowhow. He is a legend in he tries to be more than that, he quickly finds that he is ordering the world of cameramen. about and limiting people who know a lot more than he or she does. Johnny taught me to rely on the professionals around me, I hope that he hooks up with Barbara and that the next life is as and his advice wasn’t always confined to the camera. wonderful.

--Ron Stannett csc, Co-Vice-President One of the first shows Johnny and I did together was an epic on poverty in Canada. We were shooting in Saskatchewan with a I worked with John Foster once as an assistant when I was with farmer who was poor because he only had 40 acres to farm and the CBC years ago. A unique guy. He broke ground for us all. little equipment. He was an incredibly modest man, indeed he -- Michael Savoie csc Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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John Foster in His Own Words

In Memoriam

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the NFB.

John C. Foster csc

I

got a phone call from John Foster late in 1995. It turned out to be an introduction to a personal, quasi-religious journal about a young man’s experiences with the National Film Board in the 1940s. Foster, a retired Toronto cameraman and charter CSC member, told me he had written a collection of revealing and amusing tales he called Life Is Just Another Location.

The stories were, in Foster’s words, “a litany of foibles and fumbles framed by a callow youth as letters to his very personal God.” He asked, “Would you be interested in publishing one or two of them?” In due course, CSC News (as it was then known) printed a half dozen or so of the popular letters.

it’s great, wonderful, luxurious, but it’s unreal! We’re in railway hotels so we can stay in contact with the lab and camera department back in Ottawa. I ship exposed film every night by railway express, and get a couple of telegrams a day about one bitchy thing or another. I’ve come to know the staff in CPR hotels all across the country, not by name, but we recognize each other, and they’re family now that these hotels have replaced my home.

But it’s not the same. It’s awful lonely here on the road, living with four walls, wall-to-wall carpeting, your basic CPR hotel furniture and the same two pictures no matter what city you’re in.

Here is one of Foster’s sociable letters to God, the first of three about The Endless Road: Part I -- Hotel Life, dated May 10, 1945.

-- Don Angus, Canadian Cinematographer editor emeritus

The crewmen I work with are the only people I know, and after a long day, we’re pretty much on each other’s nerves, so after work I sit around the room, listen to the radio, and look out the window thinking about all the things I don’t know about yet.

An excerpt from John’s letters to God:

Like I said, money’s not a problem. I get an expense advance, sometimes as much as $200 to operate on, with a little record book to record my expenses in: 10 cents here, 15 cents there, and a quarter for this or that, and it’s amazing how quickly it adds up. We get a $3.20 daily meal allowance and must break it down on our expense reports: 70 cents for breakfast, a dollar five for lunch and a dollar forty-five for dinner. Lots of days in Toronto we lunch on franks and beans with toast at Fran’s for 35 cents plus tip, and can pocket as much as 40 cents on the day. Last month, the treasury board accountants pointed out that $3.20 was our maximum allowance and we shouldn’t be charging the max every day, so now we range our claims between $2.95 and $3.20 and they are very, very happy – even complimented us on our honesty!

Dear God! It’s not money I’m complaining about, we settled that a long ways back, but it’s the social stuff that’s getting to me! Constantly riding trains back and forth across the country on film crews, I’m always a total stranger wherever I go. I can make friends with local people involved in the filming in one town or another, but then in a few days I’m moved to another location and it fast fades into the misty past, and now there’s no longer a home to go back to because I’m always on the road.

I’m not complaining! Just observing! I don’t want you to start passin’ gas in anger again, but God! Last year I was on the road travelling, like in hotels and on trains, for 325 out of 365 days, and that’s a bit much, Old Thunder! It really is!

This living in hotels is OK, but it’s unreal. I’m earning $150 a month at this job and living in the Royal York Hotel. Mind you,

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Sample of the now defunct Movie Works Weekly.

I tell you, God, things can be unreal down here! A lot of your problems on earth stem from the fact that it’s not what you do here, it’s what you appear to do that really counts with people who have power.

Your obedient servant, John

In Memoriam John Harris, left, with David Niven.

Credit: Courtesy of BSC News.

John Harris bsc 1925 – 2012 J

ohn Harris bsc lived and worked in Vancouver from 1988 to 1996. He died recently at the age of 87.

From an early age, John was fascinated by cameras and the pictures they produced, so his father got him a Zeiss Ikon with folding bellows and 120 film. He then graduated to owning an enlarger and handling his own developing and printing. That was the beginning of his great interest in photography.

John started in the Camera Department at Lime Grove Studios in London, England, under George Hill. The first film he worked on was Young Mr. Pitt, directed by Carol Reed (cinematography

by Freddie Young asc, bsc). After about nine months, he was moved to their other studio in Islington and upgraded with trepidation to the role of focus puller. He was there for a year when halfway through the sixth film he was called up to the Navy, returning to focus pulling at Lime Grove until it was bought by BBC in 1949.

Now freelance, and 26, John pulled focus on three films with Bob Krasker and later was asked by Bob if he would like to operate for him on Another Man’s Poison. Bette Davis was the star, and John didn’t find it easy, as Bob was a hard taskmaster and critic of his work. But John must have impressed, as he went on to operate on some 19 films with Bob over the next 16 years.

John also worked with Freddie Young asc, bsc, Geoff Unsworth bsc, Denys Coop bsc, Chris Challis bsc, Dickie Dickinson, Ken Higgins bsc, Bob Huke bsc, Arthur Ibbetson, Claude Renoir and Dick Bush bsc. Interspersed between these films, John photographed numerous second units. He did 15 in total and on 90 per cent of them, including two of the Bond films, he was cameraman.

He became involved with a lot of front projection work, starting with Superman 1 and 2; on Superman 3, he became the director of photography on the flying unit. On Return to Oz he was the DOP on models unit and front projection. On Gunbus he did FP and more models. He seemed to have found his niche doing second units and FP work.

In 1976 he was elected an associate member of the British Society of Cinematographers and a full member in 1985. In 1988 he moved to Vancouver and undertook quite a lot of work there, mainly second units, some second camera, and lighting commercials. He retired on his return to Britain from Canada in 1996, aged 71.

Reprinted with permission from The British Society of Cinematographers.

Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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From Vintage Lenses to Green Screens,

Tom Burstyn csc shows

By Fanen Chiahemen

Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy

T

he name Defiance conjures up images of strength and resolve, and it is no doubt a fitting name for the fictional town in Syfy channel’s unique new futuristic series, set at a time when aliens have invaded the Earth seeking a new home after the destruction of their solar system.

“If you turn on your TV and you look at CSI or Burn Notice or The Good Wife, you know right away what you’re watching,” Burstyn says. The production wanted the same to apply to Defiance, so the team came up with a visual grammar rooted in the use of contrast, colour and camera composition.

Coincidentally, the name of the show, which premieres next year, may also best capture the resolve director of photography Tom Burstyn csc, frsa, nzcs needs to demonstrate in the face of the challenges of shooting it – a seven-day-a-week schedule, with a different director every other episode – while trying to uphold a signature look within the intricate plotlines of the one-hour show.

“It’s a very contrast-y show,” Burstyn explains. “There are a lot of shadows. A lot of important information is relegated to the shadows so the audience has to look carefully for story points.

10 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

“For example, in one scene one of the characters is having a conversation and at one point she reveals a bit of information, and we can barely see her. She’s sitting in a dark room, and there’s a

Contrasting with the shadows is a harsh, “nasty” light to illustrate this new brutal world, which Burstyn says he created using the usual complement of HMIs, fluorescent Kino Flos and tungsten lamps.

“We use a lot of sharp light and play it against those shadows,” he says. “Everything is gritty and hot, or dark. There’s no in between. Nothing is gentle or flat.”

Defiance is shot in Toronto on the back lot of a repurposed factory, which means there’s plenty of opportunity to use natural light. “If we’re using the sun, we affect the image by exposure to make those shadows dark and moody. We underexpose a little bit so the hard sun can become either very bright and hot, or it can

includes two RED EPICS, a Scarlet, a Sony F3, and a Nikon D800 DSLR, as well as Go-Pros for action sequences.

Explaining his choice of cameras, Burstyn says, “The D800, to my mind, has the best codec for the DSLR look. Most DSLRs don’t really hold up to colour correction after the fact, and this D800 seems to be the best of all of them. And the Scarlet and the EPICs are day-to-day workhorses.”

Camera movement is also used to underscore contrasts in the storyline – at times being operated by hand and at times not moving at all, not even to pan or tilt. “I suggested still camera to bookend all the action scenes. If the camera is always moving it takes a lot of energy out of the movement,” Burstyn explains. “If you bookend stuff with still images it accentuates both the static nature of those scenes and the active nature of the other ones.”

Keeping the camera still is also a way to create tension, the cinematographer says. “Every once in a while there’s a scene where there’s absolutely no movement at all, a character might dip out

Photo Credit: Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy

hot flash of sunlight on the table in front of her. So when she’s back in the shadows she’s very underexposed. You can just make out the twinkle of her eye and you can see a cigarette glowing.

And then when she leans forward to intimidate the other character, she leans into that blast of sunlight and she’s overexposed.”

DOP Tom Burstyn csc, right, with supervising producer/director Michael Nankin. Opposite page: Tom Burstyn csc and Grant Bowler.

become dull, and that renders the shadows way down on the scale of things,” Burstyn says.

As one would expect in a futuristic sci-fi, which Burstyn also describes as film noir and a western, colour plays a role in guiding viewers through the narrative, and Burstyn applies a dusty brown golden light as the town’s signature colour, and he uses a dull blue for night scenes. Even the creatures have a colour palette. “One race is just pure white. They’re very pale and they have white hair and pink eyes. And their living environment is just pure white.

Every group has a colour signature,” he says.

of frame or rise up out of frame, but we don’t follow them at all.

The camera’s locked down. In a strange way if an actor veers off into the complete edge of frame and we don’t accommodate him, it feels a little uncomfortable.”

Among his other tools is a lensbaby – an inexpensive plastic hand-operated swing and shift lens. “It wiggles the image and distorts it, and it’s by nature very soft and out of focus. And those are for one of our characters who has second sight, so for visions and premonitions we use that,” he says.

“Some of it comes from altering the colour temperature of the camera, and there’s a lot of gelling of lights,” he continues. “It’s a combination of the colour of the lights and overall colour correction in the camera.”

But Burstyn’s favourite tool by far is his vintage 1961 Canon 50 mm 0.95 lens, which he reserves for filming tender moments.

“We only use it wide open, and there are a lot of aberrations in the lens, and there’s a lot of flare and it’s a very ethereal kind of look. And we use that in certain emotional scenes.”

The show’s camera package, provided by PS Production Services,

Although he loves it – “It’s my favourite material possession,” he Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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Photo Credits: Ben Mark Holzberg/Syfy

A marketplace on the set of Defiance.

Each group of creatures has a colour palette.

says – he admits that, with its almost non-existent depth of field, it’s a focus puller’s nightmare, as A cam focus puller Kerry Smart can attest to.

the town is created digitally, which means shooting on green screen, something Burstyn had to get used to. “Instead of photographing an aspect of the real world, we have an artist’s rendering, so we have to imagine what the image will be once the visual effects artists are through,” he muses. “It’s an interesting position to be in because the cinematographer used to be the one who crafted an image, and in the case of green screen we create a single element, and usually a very small element, of what is going to be somebody else’s craftsmanship. Our visual effects guys are great people and are very accommodating, and I think they’re really good, so I don’t mind serving their vision. But with green screen, we’re not the artist.

“You have no leeway,” Smart says. “You’re either sharp or not sharp. There’s no room for error.”

Burstyn describes using the lens for one particular scene captured under trying circumstances: “We shot the entire sequence at sunset – which means there was a deadline looming moments away – in a field, with no marks. And we were picking exposure on the fly and focusing on the fly, all handheld with actors being very emotional. And we couldn’t pick a stop because the lens only works wide open. And we were trying to keep the image sharp enough to be legible or soft enough to be mysterious. So that was a big challenge in a big hurry.

“It was fun for me, but it’s cruel and unusual punishment for focus pullers,” he adds, laughing. “But Kerry was spectacularly amazing.”

Seeking other ways to set the show apart, Burstyn opts for an unconventional way of composing scenes, such as shooting close-ups from 10 or 12 inches above an actor’s head. “It’s a very strange and off-putting angle,” he says. “The standard close-up that we do, the long lens with a soft filter and a backlight, that kind of thing, we’re trying to leave behind. We’re trying to challenge ourselves and explore the aesthetic of the close-up, a building block of storytelling.”

A show like Defiance undoubtedly relies on special effects, and

12 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

“And technically the green screen is always a challenge,” he adds.

“Just keeping the green green and keeping the green off the actors and the props. In a sci-fi world there are a lot of shiny props; that’s always a mechanical challenge.”

Also helping to streamline the production process is the PIX System, a multi-platform tool, which the crew employs to watch dailies on set. The system uses a secure website where a library of dailies can be viewed after logging on.

If conquering new frontiers is one of the themes of Defiance, it seems to also apply to the shooting of it, but Burstyn, a New Zealand-based Canadian, remains undaunted. “I try and keep a beginner’s mind and make it all new,” he says. “Because it’s a new world, and the premise is that the Earth has changed, everything is different and nothing is recognizable, so it’s a good excuse to experiment with stuff.”

Photo Credit: Mathieu Rivard

A Journey with

Greek DOP Yorgos Giannelis gsc

A

ssociate CSC member Yorgos Giannelis gsc is a Greek director of photography who worked extensively in Europe with some of the most acclaimed filmmakers and DOPs as first AC before becoming a cinematographer himself. He now lives in Montreal, a city he first visited when one of his last features, Fish ‘n Chips, screened at the World Film Festival last year. During the festival, he talked with Philippe Lavalette csc about his journey into cinematography.

Philippe Lavalette: You seem to like being in different countries and cultural milieus.

Yorgos Giannelis: It’s really about encounters and opportunities.

There are no real film schools in my country, Greece. So in 1988, I took the leap of faith and went to study at INSAS in Brussels where I then lived for several years. Being a first assistant allowed me to get to know some directors of photography, who really inspired me in my work.

PL: Like who?

YG: I first met Charlie Van Damme AFC in Paris in 1995. He was a professor in Brussels and at FEMIS. After my studies, it was just a natural extension. Charlie Van Damme uses lights and shadows like an old-school master, kind of in the tradition of [Henri] Alekan who was also very cultured and kind. He is a warm and humorous man. I shot Caroline Bottaro’s La mère with him, and Francis Girod’s Passage à l’acte. He belonged to what one could call the school of quality film and was disconcerted by the New Wave. It requires time and a lot of big sources of light, but it’s fascinating.

After Charlie, I started shooting with Yorgos Arvanitis AFC, a Greek DOP living in Paris. It was with him that I worked the most as an assistant, and I consider him my mentor. He shot a lot during the ‘60s, before the age of television in Greece. Then with his collaboration with Theo Angelopoulos – a legendary director, a sort of Mediterranean [Andrei] Tarkowski – he was catapulted onto the world stage.

His work is very polished. He’s constantly evolving and is now moving toward more natural lighting. Between 1996 and 1999, Yorgos and I shot Eric Heumann’s Port Djema; Sean Mathias’s Bent; Radu Mihaileanu Train de Vie; Theo Angelopoulos’ L’éternité et un jour; Catherine Breillat’s Romance; and Jonathan Nossiter’s Signs and Wonders.

During this time I had a completely fortuitous meeting with Slawomir Idziak PSC, the DOP, among other things, for Krzysztof Kieslowski. I say fortuitous because Idziak was prepping for a film in London and had rejected all the assistants that the production offered him. When I finally had the chance to meet him, he chose me within minutes. I later realized that I was the first assistant whose English he understood! All the others, true Brits, were much harder to understand. So I ended up being his assistant on some of his big films – Michael Winterbottom’s I Want You; John Duiganet’s Paranoid; and Taylor Hackford’s Proof of Life.

Idziak is a former photographer. He constructed home-made filters and never went anywhere without an array of 250 4x4 glass filters, which he classifies in an idiosyncratic manner. It’s mainly degraded filters in unusual shapes and colours. There are circles, triangles, outlines of faces in close-up, and lines that could symbolize the human form.

In a way, he was reproducing what he would do in a darkroom by covering up part of the image with his hand. It’s a headache for an AC. He could put up to four in there, and his filters could also be rotating during the shot. The result is a strange effect that can be seen, for example, in “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” one of the episodes of Kieslowski’s Decalogue.

PL: And over the course of shooting The Decalogue, Kieslowski used different DOPs because their creative contribution was stimulating for him and was part of his own research.

What Idziak did is now possible in postproduction, isn’t it?

YG: In theory, yes, but not in reality because those happy accidents cannot be reproduced. For example, if a face more or less fits over a dark circle drawn on a filter, the image can go in and out of the circle depending on the acting, and this non-controlled movement becomes fascinating.

PL: You worked with Charlie Van Damme, Slawomir Idziak, and Yorgos Arvanitis - what came next?

YG: I realized it was time for me to become a DOP myself! That’s what I’ve been doing for about 10 years, based in Athens where I shot several features, including Fish n’ Chips.

This interview is extracted from an article originally published in Qui fait Quoi magazine. see sidebar on page 14

Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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from page 13

Yorgos Giannelis…

On his career in Greece:

Trajectoire d’un homme d’images: Recontre avec

I did a lot of TV series, documentaries and feature films. I really enjoyed working with director Christos Georgiou in Small Crime.

This film was the last I shot in 35 mm and colour graded in the traditional way at ARRI/Swartz films in Switzerland. Another film that I shot was 45m2, directed by Stratos Tzitzis. We shot it in Super 16 with 150,000 euros ($194,000) – a low budget even for a Canadian documentary.

Fish ‘n Chips was also one of my favourite works. It was shot in six weeks in Cyprus and London with a RED One camera. The budget was about 450,000 euros ($580,000), but we did it with half the cost because the Greek Film Centre didn’t give us the promised funds, so we produced the movie with money from the Cypriot Film Centre.

In Greece, we have a well-equipped lab and the facility to rent material both film and digital. Nevertheless, Greek cinema is anaemic, and the little production we have exists only by coproduction. The financial limitations therefore become the means for us to turn more inventive and creative during shooting. For example, on 45m2 we might have only had 48 cans of film, so we’d do lots of rehearsals and a couple of takes. The maximum light we had was a 575 HMI. Since Greece is a very sunny country, I used many reflectors to compensate the lack of artificial lighting. This is like an everyday thing for me.

On how the Greek financial crisis has affected the film industry: In Greece, there was a phenomenon in the 1990s where many private TV stations opened. Each channel produced its own programs. As a result we had 40 TV series until 2009. This year we had about five.

This sudden change caused a bubble to explode and many people found themselves without work. The unemployment forced many people to go abroad. One of these people is myself who expects to find a better future in Canada.

14 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

Y

Yorgos Giannelis gsc Yorgos Giannelis gsc on the set of Fish ‘n Chips.

orgos Giannelis gsc est directeur de la photographie grec qui a travaillé en Europe avec des grands réalisateurs et directeurs photo. Il habite actuellement a Montréal ou il est venu présenter son travail sur le film Fish’n chips dans le cadre du Festival des films du Monde. Il nous parle ici de son parcours.

Par Philippe Lavelette csc.

PL: Tu sembles aimer changer de pays et d’univers culturel…

C’est d’abord une question de rencontres et d’opportunité. Mon pays natal, la Grèce, ne possède pas de véritable école de cinéma. J’ai donc fait le saut en 1988 pour étudier à l’INSAS, à Bruxelles, où j’ai vécu ensuite quelques années. Le métier de premier assistant m’a permis de côtoyer de grands chefs-opérateurs qui m’ont beaucoup inspiré dans mon travail.

PL: Lesquels?

C’est en arrivant à Paris en 1995 que j’ai fait d’abord la rencontre de Charlie Van Damme AFC qui était d’ailleurs professeur à Bruxelles et à la FEMIS (Paris). Après l’école, c’était comme un prolongement naturel. Van Damme continue de travailler les lumières et les ombres comme un maître «à l’ancienne», un peu dans la lignée de ce que faisait Alekan dont il avait d’ailleurs la culture et la gentillesse naturelle. Un homme chaleureux et blagueur. Avec lui, j’ai tourné La mère de Caroline Bottaro et Passage à l’acte de Francis Girod. Il appartient à ce qu’on peut appeler l’école du «film de qualité», un courant qui a été très chahuté avec l’arrivée de la Nouvelle vague. Ça demande du temps et beaucoup de grosses sources de lumière mais c’est fascinant.

Après Charlie, j’ai commencé à tourner avec Yorgos Arvanitis AFC, un directeur photo grec qui vit toujours à Paris. C’est avec lui que j’ai tourné le plus de films comme assistant et c’est lui que je considère comme mon «mentor». Arvanitis tournait énormé-

Pendant la même période j’ai eu une rencontre tout-à-fait fortuite avec Slawomir Idziak PSC, le chef-opérateur entre autre de Kieslowski.

Je dis fortuite parce que Idziak préparait un film à Londres et refusait systématiquement tous les assistants que la production lui présentait. Quand j’ai eu finalement la chance de le rencontrer, il m’a choisi en quelques minutes. J’ai compris plus tard que j’étais en fait le premier dont il comprenait l’anglais! Mes prédécesseurs, tous «british pure laine», s’exprimaient dans une langue pour lui incompréhensible. J’ai donc été son assistant sur plusieurs films importants: I Want You de Michael Winterbottom, Paranoid de John Duiganet Proof of Life de Taylor Hackford. Idziak est un ancien photographe. Il s’est fait fabriquer des filtres «maison» et ne se déplace pas sans une panoplie de 250 verres en 4 X 4 qu’il classe selon un ordre bien à lui. Il s’agit surtout de filtres dégradés mais qui prennent des formes et des couleurs inhabituelles.

Il y a des cercles, des triangles, des silhouettes de visage en gros plan, des lignes plus ou moins grosses qui peuvent symboliser des formes humaines…D’une certaine manière, il reproduit ce qu’il faisait en chambre noire en masquant une partie de l’image avec ses mains. C’est un casse-tête incroyable pour l’assistant. Il pouvait en placer jusqu’à quatre et ces filtres pouvaient aussi être en rotation pendant le plan! Ça donne ce climat étrange que l’on peut voir par exemple dans Tu ne tueras pas, un des épisodes du Décalogue de Kieslowski.

PL: Et sur les dix épisodes du Décalogue, Kieslowski a d ailleurs changé constamment de d.o.p. car leur apport créatif était pour lui très stimulant et faisait partie de sa propre recherche. Sinon, le travail de Idziak est maintenant possible en post-production non?

En théorie oui. En réalité non, car la magie du hasard ne peut être reproduite. Par exemple, si un visage épouse à peu près la forme d’un cercle sombre dessiné sur un filtre, ce visage peut sortir et rentrer du cercle en fonction du jeu, et ce mouvement non contrôlé devient fascinant.

PL: Après le Belge à Paris (Charlie Van Damme), le Polonais à Londres (Slawomir Idziak) et le Grec en France, (Yorgos Arvanitis), quelle a été la suite?

J’ai compris qu’il était temps pour moi de devenir d.o.p. à mon tour! Ce que je fais depuis une dizaine d’années en étant basé à Athènes où j’ai tourné plusieurs longs-métrages dont Fish’n

chips que les Montréalais ont pu voir en première mondiale au FFM et que j’ai tourné à Chypre en format Red. PL: Quelles sont les infrastructures cinématographiques en Grèce?

Nous avons un laboratoire très performant et toutes les possibilités de location de matériel, en film comme en numérique. Malgré cela, le cinéma grec est anémique. Il se produit très peu de longs-métrages.

Nous survivons grâce aux coproductions. J’avoue être en train de penser encore une fois à explorer d’autres «horizons» cinématographiques!

Cet article a été publié dans la revue Qui Fait Quoi.

Parlez-nous de de votre carrière en Grèce.

J’ai fait beaucoup de séries télévisées, des documentaires et des longs métrages. J’ai vraiment aimé travailler avec le réalisateur Christos Georgiou dans Small Crime. Ce film a été mon dernier tourné en 35 mm couleur et traité de façon traditionnelle chez ARRI / Swartz films en Suisse. Un autre film que j’ai aimé tourner - 45m2 - a été réalisé par Tzitzis Stratos. Nous l’avons tourné en Super 16 avec 150.000 euros - un petit budget - même pour un documentaire canadien.

Chips ‘n Fish est aussi une de mes films préférés. Il a été tourné en six semaines à Chypre et à Londres avec une caméra RED One. Le budget était d’environ 450.000 euros, mais nous l’avons fait avec la moitié du coût car le Greek Film Centre ne nous a pas donné les fonds promis. Nous avons finalement produit le film avec l’argent du Cypriot Film Centre.

En Grèce, nous avons un laboratoire bien équipé et la possibilité de louer aussi bien du matériel cinématographique que du numérique. Néanmoins, le cinéma grec est anémique et la production est si faible que nous n’existons que par la coproduction.

Les limites financières nous ont obligés à tourner de façon plus inventive et plus créative. Par exemple, sur 45m2, nous ne pouvions avoir que 48 boîtes de film! Nous avons donc fait beaucoup de répétitions et quelques prises. Le maximum de matériel d’éclairage que nous avions était un HMI 575 W. La Grèce étant un pays très ensoleillé, j’ai utilisé de nombreux réflecteurs pour compenser le manque d’éclairage artificiel. C’est une approche naturelle pour moi.

Comment la crise financière grecque a-t-elle affecté l’industrie du film?

En Grèce, il y a eu un phénomène dans les années 1990 où de nombreuses chaînes de télévision privées ont vu le jour. Chaque canal a alors produit ses propres programmes. Nous avons eu ainsi jusqu’à 40 séries TV en 2009. Cette année, nous n’en avons eu que cinq! Ce changement brutal a provoqué une situation explosive et beaucoup de gens se sont retrouvés sans travail. Le chômage a forcé beaucoup de gens à s’exiler… Dont moi-même qui espère trouver un avenir meilleur au Canada.

Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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Photo Credit: Mathieu Rivard

ment dans les années soixante, avant l’arrivée de la télévision en Grèce. Puis sa collaboration avec Theo Angelopoulos un réalisateur devenu mythique, une sorte de Tarkowski en version méditerranéenne, l’a propulsé au niveau international. Son travail est très soigné. Il évolue constamment et se dirige maintenant vers une lumière très dépouillée. Avec Yorgos, entre 1996 et 1999, nous avons tournés: Port Djema de Eric Heumann, Bent de Sean Mathias, Train de Vie de Radu Mihaileanu, L’éternité et un jour de Theo Angelopoulos, Romance de Catherine Breillat et Signs and Wonders de Jonathan Nossiter.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Visual Effects Supervisor

Gunnar Hansen

By Fanen Chiahemen

A

s a visual effects supervisor, Gunnar Hansen helps achieve the director’s creative vision through the use of visual effects, usually created in postproduction. To that end, he comes on board early in production and determines from the script and storyboards what is needed – and possible – in terms of visual effects.

“My job is to make decisions both creatively and monetarily and try to ‘solve’ the director’s vision,” Hansen says. “The director might have some wild ideas, and visual effects comes in and says, ‘It can be done, but it will cost you $X million.’”

Photo Credit: Gabriel Brault Tardif

Inevitably, a visual effects supervisor must fulfill that vision alongside the director of photography. “It’s extremely important to be there when the DOP comes in so that they understand the challenges they will be up against in terms of actually capturing what needs to work in the end for the visual effects,” according to Hansen.

His latest project, the sci-fi movie Riddick, due out next year, ran the gamut in terms of the variety of effects it demanded. The third installment in The Chronicles of Riddick series, the film plays out on an imaginary planet and involves alien predators.

“We had actors on a green screen stage and partial sets that needed to be extended in a digital world to create a planetary

16 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

vista, and the actors had to interact with digital creatures that were not there,” Hansen says. “Not only is that a challenge for the actors, but it’s a challenge for the DOP to understand the choreography and motion of something that is going to be appearing much later in post.”

Typically, Hansen, who got his start as a classically trained animator in the 1980s, pre-visualizes the sequences on a computer. The Riddick shoot included sequences with actors riding futuristic vehicles over an imaginary terrain. Those sequences were shot on a green screen stage from different camera angles and the pre-visualization team created digital sequences to plot the distance and placement of the vehicles. Hansen and his team then recreated the camera motion from the set in the computer shot by shot. Puppets were used for insert shots and stand-ins for alien creatures that would be added digitally in post.

Because computer-generated creatures need to be lit with exactly the same lighting, colour temperature and dynamic range used on set, Hansen relies on his “data wranglers” to photograph the lighting setups that need to be recreated in the computer from different angles so animators will have the information they need to recreate the shot.

“The most important thing we use is data from the camera crew,”

he says. “Lens height, tilt angles, all these things. We basically recreate the camera in the virtual environment. And that allows us to make the perfect match with the principal photography.”

On Riddick, Hansen was also instrumental in helping to create the imaginary planet, which happened to have a particularly bright golden sun. “Our [DOP] David [Eggby ACS] worked out a clever way to light the set using reflectors to simulate a kind of silky golden sky, and I worked with the matte painters in Montreal to come up with some dynamic imagery, which I then showed to David to inspire lighting.” Hansen and Eggby also spent two days testing dust, wind and rain elements to see how they would interact with the lighting, as those elements had to be added in post.

When it comes to the relationship between a visual effects supervisor and a DOP, “Clarity is paramount,” Hansen states. “That we understand from the beginning what the limitations are. That I understand the limitations of what he can shoot. And for him to understand what our capabilities are in terms of making it a much larger vista.” Hansen adds that Eggby, having worked before on a number of visual effects films, such as Dragonheart, had a good handle on the process and was particularly accommodating.

“I absolutely love when I collaborate with a DOP on finding a creative solution that doesn’t necessarily involve having to wait months later in post,” Hansen muses. “I’ve had situations where

the DOP and I will talk and we’ll find a way to cheat something that just involves some quick work with props. Or quite often I will talk to a DOP and say, ‘If we shoot it from this angle, we can cheat it.’ Or a fancy camera move that he can pull off that I would never have thought of. I absolutely love when that happens – when we collaborate with a little cheat or creative solution that gets a really powerful shot on camera that doesn’t require a lot of post and tomfoolery. And sometimes the simplest solution is best. Experienced DOPs often find creative solutions that tell the same idea to the audience and has an even greater impact just in its simplicity and cleverness.”

Much like a DOP, it’s essential that visual effects supervisors have a good eye, enabling them “to see what the director sees and what the DOP sees,” Hansen says. “And being able to bring realism to a movie, so everything looks like it was shot on camera. Even if it’s fantastic creatures or planets, we manage to inject as much realism as possible into the images so the audience has no clue this was shot on small stage.”

It’s a task that involves both creativity and technical skill. “To find the most compelling imagery takes a lot of creative imagination,” he says. “As soon as you do that, you run into finding the technical solution. I love both challenges. As visual effects supervisors, we always hope to get the most creative projects and see how our technical knowledge can pull it off. For someone who walks both sides, it’s the best job.”

Technicolor On-Location, supporting your vision from set to screen

technicolor.com/toronto twitter.com/TechnicolorCrea

technicolor.com/facebook

Grace Carnale-Davis Director of Sales and Client Services 416.585.0676 grace.carnale-davis@technicolor.com

Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

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Always and Forever “From the first moment I walked through Clairmont Camera’s doors nearly 25 years ago, I was struck by the friendliness and respect the staff extended to me and especially from Terry and Denny.

The whole crew goes above and beyond the call of duty. On my first anamorphic show, we had extensively tested our lens package. But when the dailies came back they looked odd; something was wrong. The lab assured us that everything was right on their end. Denny immediately flew up and proceeded to go through the entire chain –from film stock, to the camera, lenses, to processing where he discovered that a lens in the optical printer was slightly out of alignment. We switched printers and everything looked crisp. I think that without Clairmont’s assistance I would not have been able to break through the stonewall thrown up by the lab. Thanks for saving my job Denny!

Another thing I really like about Clairmont Camera is their ability to take a DP’s crazy idea and turn it into reality. For me, it was being able to create an identical image to two strands of different negative —one B&W and one color—and dissolving back and forth between the two. I made a drawing of the rig and showed it to Denny, and then Clairmont built it for me!

Over the years I’ve used a huge variety of Clairmont’s equipment. One of my favorites is their Blurtar lens set; when you shoot wide open they make the best soft focus, blurry effects.

Naturally, I’ll vouch for their gear always being topnotch. It’s always properly serviced, updated, and works as well —if not better— than the day it was manufactured. I’ll gladly recommend Clairmont always and forever.”

Thomas Burstyn, CSC

www.clairmont.com

Tech Column

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Weaves Its Spell

T

he thing about digital technology is that it is disruptive.

Whether it’s Craigslist killing off classifieds sections of newspapers, or Google slaying Yellow Pages, or YouTube prying eyeballs away from network television, or MP3s crushing the music industry business model, digital means disruption and the end of the way things used to be. And the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera is an example of that. For $3,000, it shoots 2.5 K 12-bit RAW body with 13 stops of dynamic range into standard removable SSDs. The fact is, nothing remains the same, otherwise DOPs would still be shooting with Boulys or Lumières. Each innovation of the motion picture camera pushed the craft along, from Bell and Howell through Technicolor, 8, 16, 35 and 70 mm formats.

And then there’s digital, which has gone through something of a revolution itself since pushing its way on to major feature film sets a decade or so ago. Like almost all digital technology from DSLRs to desktop PCs, the first HDs were relatively expensive.

Then the disruption really started from the bottom up with the introduction of the RED One which was released in 2007. In the five years since then, the line-up of technically advanced HD cameras has grown almost exponentially.

Which brings us back to the Blackmagic choices, both listing at $2,995. The EF is compatible with Canon EF and Zeiss ZE mount lenses with an electronic iris control, 2.5K sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range and 12-bit RAW in CinemaDNG and uncompressed and compressed ProRes and DNxHD file formats.

The MFT has Passive Micro Four Thirds (MFT – the lens system developed by Panasonic and Olympus for digital still and video

cameras) which will take an adapter to other lens mounts like PL. The rest of the specs are the same.

What you get is a compact, minimalist box where the controls are accessed through a rear touch screen and the inputs and other connections are mounted behind seamless covers. Behind those covers you’ll find a 3.5 mm headphone socket to monitor the mono onboard microphone or the twin quarter-inch TRS-in audio, 3gb/SDI out, LANC remote control, high speed Thunderbolt port for computer capture and power in. Current frame rates are 23.98p, 24p, 25p, 29.97p, 30p and the sensor size is 15.81mm x 8.88mm.

Is it going to blow the Canon C300 or C500 off the map? Supplant RED? Give the ARRI ALEXA a run? Probably not, though it might give the C100 a scare at half the price, as well as shake up the other DSLRs. “We see it as the kind of DSLR that you can afford to have in your bag,” says Blackmagic Design President Dan May, noting the big competitive edge is the ability to shoot 2.5 K RAW and the choice of ProRes and DNxHD file formats. It’s the kind of tool that opens up options in postproduction, he says, while intriguingly priced. That kind of data, he notes, means lots to work with.

It also comes with DaVinci Resolve 9.0 for both Mac and PC. The manufacturers are aiming it squarely at the HDSLR shooter who is either getting in or wants to add a second or third camera.

And in recognition, the real money is invested in the glass – it takes a wide range of lens options, meaning you don’t have to get Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

19

a second mortgage to accessorize it. It’s also priced low enough to be disposable, giving you the option of risking it on FX shots or even harsh environments because loss or damage is comparatively affordable against the money shot it might produce, May says.

L series, and a Sigma 8-16 mm which is “super wide.

The buzz around the BMCC is substantial, including discussion on CSC’s Facebook page and a dawning realization that massive data capture – 35 minutes of RAW at 2.5 K adds up to 250 gigabytes – could also mean upgrading postproduction equipment as the digital disruption effect ripples across the movie-making universe.

Online forums have been full of chatter around this camera, and Solorio has fed some of it with his own comments, as has Philip Bloom (philipbloom.net), an English digital cinematographer who shot DSLR on Lucasfilm’s Red Tails.

With the camera shipping worldwide this fall, after a couple of production hiccups, only a few people have managed to get their hands on one for a test drive. One of them was Marco Solorio of One River Media (onerivermedia.com), a San Francisco-based production company that offers a soup-to-nuts range of media services. His main camera is a Canon 5D Ml III, and he says the Blackmagic comes off favourably in comparison.

“And there haven’t been any issues hitting the sweet spot with any of my lenses,” he says.

Bloom’s exhaustive review is referenced by many. He was generally positive in his review but questions a couple of things, including the internal battery which has a generally short lifespan, as well as the lack of high-speed shutter option. He did, however, like the lens option flexibility and the price tag, calling it a “bargain.”

“The thing is that for $3,000 you’re shooting 12-bit, 2.5K RAW,” he says. “RAW!”

Solorio wasn’t too worried about the battery, saying he’d probably always shoot with an external power supply anyway but is anxious to see faster frame rates. Both Bloom and Solorio were hopeful firmware upgrades (1.1 is current as of writing) will expand the Blackmagic’s capabilities in that and other areas.

The form factor isn’t such a big deal – it comes off as awkward to some critics – because he uses it in a rig, and there are several mount locations to accommodate a variety of manufacturers.

Solorio also liked the glass options, noting he uses mostly Canon

Ian Harvey is a veteran Toronto-based journalist who writes for a variety of publications and covers the technology sector.

He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits subject matter ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca.

20 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

Canadian Society of Cinematographers

Digital Camera Assistants Course

By Professionals, For Professionals

February 9 - 17, 2013* Toronto, Canada Cost: $1350.00 CDN

Continental Breakfast, snacks and lunch will be provided

To ensure that camera crews maintain the high standards recognized by the Canadian Film and Television industry, the Canadian Society of Cinematographers is offering a nine day intensive and advanced course for Camera Assistants.

The course will be conducted by working professional camera assistants and cinematographers who will not only teach, but share their wealth of production know-how and technological knowledge gained from years of on-set experience.

Learn the varied skills necessary for a camera assistant working in digital formats New digital cameras and technologies are being introduced into the Film and Television industry at lightning speed. Keeping on top of emerging technologies and techniques poses unique challenges for everyone. The CSC Digital Camera Assistants Course eliminates the mystery and provides its participants with the tools necessary to work in today’s production world.

Participants will be instructed in: -Tools and ditty bag, including information on useful industry apps -Paperwork and administration -Labeling -Slating -On-set deportment -First procedures on the set -Camera set-up -Brief introduction to film cameras -Focus pulling -Lens testing, including back focus and anamorphics, for commercials, features, and episodic television -Photographic theory -Assisting steadicam -3D rig overview

Hands-on means experience

The CSC believes that the best training comes from doing. Participants in the CSC Digital Camera Assistants Course will have hands-on instruction on the latest digital cameras being used in the industry today and will experience “building the camera” from the ground up.

Location, Location, Location

Being familiar and comfortable with one’s surroundings is half the battle. Classes of the CSC Digital Camera Assistants course will be held in various production and industry facilities around the City of Toronto.

For an application and detailed itinerary please visit the CSC website: www.csc.ca telephone 416-266-0591 * CSC reserves the right to postpone workshop date(s)

The CSC since 1957

To foster and promote the art of cinematography

22 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

Edmonton Film Cooperative wants your unused Arri 35 mm camera. Do you have film cameras languishing on a shelf? Give it a new life, give it to a film coop and we will give you a healthy tax credit. Have a 35BL, a 235, a 435 gathering dust because everyone is Red cam nuts? Have other great camera accessories? Let us know, let’s make a deal.

Contact Andy @ rentals@fava.ca and work a great deal.

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 at 604-229-0861, 604-229-0861or peter@peterbenison.com.

Equipment for sale!! All equipment in excellent shape!!

Panasonic AJHDX900P High Definition Camera, Panasonic Stereo Microphone, Canon Zoom Lens 8x160 (J20a x 8B4 IRS), Dionic 90 Anton Bauer Batteries & charger, Anton Bauer mini fill light 12 V, Marshall 7” HD-SDI LCD Monitor & accessories, 2 x Porta Brace camera bags, Sony Digital Betacam (DVW700) and accessories, Sachtler fluid head VIDEO 20 III & Sachtler tripod legs fibre & fibre case. Call 613-255-3200, Total $ 25,000.Item for sale: Meerkat Jib Arm, made by FILMAIR INTERNATIONAL. This is a mini jib for full complement 35mm camera, lens and mattebox combination. It is a fixed length jib, very easy and fast set-up. Can be used on any dolly or tripod. Jib arm is in very good condition.

Comes with four weights and case. Full specs are on website: www.filmairinternational. com/camera_mounts.asp#MEERKATJIB Price $ 2,400. Contact: Milan Podsedly csc milan. podsedly@gmail.com cell: 416 409-5758

Liberty Village Office Space Approximately 1,250 sq ft of fully furnished, turn-key office space in prime Liberty Village location available to established television or new media production company in shared office setting. Features include glassed boardroom, 2 closed door offices, internet access, alarm system and shared kitchen. Please reply by email to john@hlp.tv or call John at 647.891.4027

Super 16 Bolex H 16 conversion, Switar 10mm, Macro Switar 26mm, Macro Switar 75mm Pistol grip, filter holders, Nikon to C mount adapter $2900.00 Call Antonin 647 999 7172

Equipment for Sale

PL mount prime lens set (Sony) 35mm, 50mm 85mm all T2.0. Mint condition. Used briefly for one shoot $5200.00 John Banovich, csc 604-726-5646 JohnBanovich@gmail.com

Arrisun 5 - Arri 575w HMI PAR: 575W HMI lamp head, barn doors, 5 lenses with case, 50ft cable, 575W/1200W electronic ballast, spare bulb and a large solid traveling case.

214 hours on the head.all in excellent condition $5,900 stefan@stefan-n.ca Sony PMW-F3 with S-Log Excellent conidition with low hours, Optional RGB S-Log upgrade installed, Kaiser top handle, Optional on-board mic, 32GB SXS card “A series” 100mb/sec, All factory accessories and manual $11, 900.00 Shape Composite F3 Shoulder Mount - NEW NEW!! Never Used. Still in box.

Can be used with Panasonic AF-100, Sony FS-100, FS-700, HDSLR, Canon 5D, 7D, 60D, Black Magic Cinema, Red MX, Red Scarlet, Red Epic $800.00 new plus shipping and taxes. Asking only $600.00 GoPro Hero2 camera - Outdoor package In excellent condition with minimal use 11MP HD HERO2 Camera, Waterproof Housing (197’ / 60m), HD Skeleton Backdoor, Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, USB Cable, Helmet/Chest Strap, Head Strap, unused Adhesive Mounts, Three-Way Pivot Arm, Manual/instructions, 4 GB SanDisk SD card, Original packaging $300 Photos available. Contact John Banovich 604-726-5646 or JohnBanovich@gmail.com

CLassifieds

Equipment Wanted

Panasonic BT-S950P 16:9 / 4:3 SD Field Monitor for Sale (Excellent Condition) - $100. Portabrace included Please contact Christian at (416) 459-4895 or email cbielz@ gmail.com OWN A PIECE OF CINEMA HISTORY: selling a vintage Bell & Howell 2709 camera with mags. THE film camera of the 1920s and ‘30s; assorted other goodies. Contact: dkoch198@ hotmail.com.

VIDEO & AUDIO GEAR FOR SALE: (2) HVX-200 Panasonic P2 Camcorders $1,500 each; (1) DSR-1500 Sony DVCAM recorder, $1,500; (1) Sony DSR-1 DVCAM dockable recorder $1,000; (3) Sony PVV-3 Betacam recorders $500 each; (3) Mitsubishi XL25U video projectors $500 each; (1) Mackie 1604VLZ audio mixer $500; (1) Glidecam PRO2000 camera stabilizer $200; (1) Glidecam DVPRO RIG camera stabilizer $300; (1) Yamaha P2075 amplifier 75W stereo/150W mono $500; (3) HVR-Z1U Sony HDV camcorders $1,000 each; (1) Sony DSR-300 DVCAM camcorder $1,500; (1) For-A VPS-400D 8 input SDI switcher $2,700; (2) Sony WRT822/WRR861 wireless transmitter/receiver – no mic - $750 each; (2) Sony BRC-300 remote control P/T/Z cameras $1,990 each. Call Ted Mitchener at ZTV Broadcast Services 905-290-4430 or email ted@ztvbroadcast.com.

Services

Nikkor AF-S VR 500mm F 4 IS ED Lens. Super rare and very hard to find!!!

Serial # 204153 Perfect condition. Not a scratch on it!!! Only one year old.

Included Hard Shell Case, Lens Hood, Lens Strap, Case strap. Come with Manfrotto Carbon Fiber tripod, Jobu head and Jobu Mounting Bracket. Asking price $9000.00 gandalfmerlyn@shaw.ca, 604.566.2235 (Residence), 604.889.9515 (Mobile)

Need your reel updated? Looking for an editor? I am a CSC associate member who is also an editor with my own FCP suite. I am willing to trade my edit suite time in exchange for rental of your gear, or shooting advice, or both. Please send email to miurabucho@ gmail.com.

BL III Camera Kit $3750 Or Best Offer gandalf-merlyn@shaw.ca, 604.566.2235 (Residence), 604.889.9515 (Mobile) ARRIFLEX BL3 BODY WITH PL MOUNT, 4 PERF MOVEMENT, VARIABLE SHUTTER, FULL 35MM GATE, VIDEO TAP ELBOW, 2 X ARRI 400’ BL MAGAZINES, 2 X POWER CABLE, CASES FOR CAMERA, MAGS.

Camera Classified is a free service provided for CSC members. For all others, there is a one-time $25 (plus HST) 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.

BL IV Camera Kit $8,950 Or Best Offer gandalf-merlyn@shaw.ca, 604.566.2235 (Residence), 604.889.9515 (Mobile) ARRIFLEX BL4 BODY WITH PL MOUNT, 4 PERF MOVEMENT, VARIABLE SHUTTER, FULL 35MM GATE, ARRIGLOW MODULE AND ARRIGLOW GROUNDGLASS IN RED, CEI COLOR 4 VIDEO TAP CAMERA AND ELBOW, CEI ELECTRONIC RETICLE GENERATOR, BL4 VIEWFINDER EXTENSION, WIDEANGLE EYPIECE WITH HEATED EYECUP, POWERCABLE FOR HEATED EYEPIECE, ARRIFLEX 4 x 5 SWINGAWAY MATTEBOX, ARRI FF2 FOLLOW FOCUS WITH EXTENSION, WHIP AND 2 GEARS, 15MM ARRI SLIDING BASEPLATE SET WITH 2 X 18” AND 2 X 12” STAINLESS STEEL 15MM RODS, 5 X ARRI 1000’ BL MAGAZINES, 2 X ARRI 400’ BL MAGAZINES, 3 X DOUBLE POWER 12 VOLT BATTERIES, 2 X 12 VOLT CHARGES, POWER CABLE, CASES FOR CAMERA, MAGS, MATTEBOX, ETC.,FILM TEST HAS BEEN SHOT. gandalf-merlyn@shaw.ca, 604.566.2235 (Residence), 604.889.9515 (Mobile) JVC GY-DV300 Broadcast Quality camcorder. 4x3 or 9x16 switchable 750 horizontal lines with several extra batteries and carrying case. Plus and external Shure VP88 stereo microphone with Rycote bracket and wind screen with high wind cover and extra mic cables. Asking $ 1200.00. Contact Robert Bocking csc 416 636-9587 or rvbocking@rogers. com for more information.

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

604-527-7262 403-246-7267 VANCOUVER CALGARY

604-527-7262

403-246-7267

TORONTO

416-444-7000 TORONTO

HALIFAX

HALIFAX

902-404-3630

416-444-7000

Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012 •

902-404-3630

23

PRODUCTIONS & CALENDAR

Production Notes Arctic Air II (series); DOP Bruce Worrall csc; B Cam Operator & 2nd Unit DOP Pieter Stathis csc; to December 14, Aldergrove Arrow (series); DOP Glen Winter csc and Gordon Verheul csc (alternating episodes); to April 18, Vancouver Bates Motel (series) John Bartley csc, asc (alternating episodes); B Cam Operator Ian Seabrook csc; to January 24, Vancouver Beauty and the Beast (series); DOP D. Gregor Hagey csc; to December 20, Toronto Bomb Girls II (series); DOP Eric Cayla csc; OP Andris Matiss; to December 10, Toronto Call Me Fitz IV (series); OP J.P. Locherer csc; B Cam Operator Christopher Ball csc; to December 14, Dartmouth Cracked (series); DOP Norayr Kasper csc; B Cam Operator Yuri Yakubiw csc; to December 10, Toronto Cult (series); Attila Szalay csc, HSC; to December 13, North Vancouver Hannibal (series); DOP Karim Hussain (2 Eps); B Cam Operator Keith Murphy; to February 13, 2013, Toronto Heartland VI (series); DOP Craig Wrobleski csc; B Cam Operator Jarrett Craig; to December 57, Calgary Life With Boys II (series); DOP Bentley Miller Listener, The IV (series); DOP James Jeffrey csc; B Cam Operator Kit Whitmore csc to April 13, Mississauga Nikita III (series); DOP Glen Keenan csc & Rene Ohashi csc, asc (alternating episodes); B Cam Operator Peter Sweeney; to April 13, Toronto Reasonable Doubt (feature); DOP Brian Pearson csc; to December 19, Winnipeg Rookie Blue IV (series); DOP David Perrault csc; to January 25, 2013, Mississauga Seed (series); DOP David Makin csc; to December 14, Dartmouth Supernatural 8 (series); DOP Serge Ladouceur csc; OP Brad Creasser; to April 19, Burnaby Robocop (feature); DOP Lula Carvalho; OP Angelo Colavecchia; to January 14, 2013, Toronto Rookie Blue IV (series); DOP David Perrault csc; OP Frank Polyak; to January 25, 2013, Mississauga Seed (series); DOP David Makin csc; OP Forbes MacDonald Jr; to December 14, Dartmouth

Calendar of Events December

March

Nov. 28-Dec. 2, Whistler Film Festival, Whistler, BC, whistlerfilmfestival.com

14-24, International Film Festival on Art, Montreal, artfifa.com

January

March 23, CSC Awards, Westin Harbour Castle Conference Centre, Toronto, csc.ca

17-27, Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah, sundance.org January 25, CSC Awards entry deadline, csc.ca

April

January 26-27, CSC Lighting Workshop, Faces, Toronto, csc.ca

5-14, Cinéfranco, Toronto, cinefranco.com

31, CSC Awards entry deadline, csc.ca

11-20, Images Festival of Independent Film & Video, Toronto, imagesfestival.com

February 1-10, Victoria Film Festival, Victoria BC, victoriafilmfestival.com

25-May 5, Hot Docs, Toronto, hotdocs.ca

February 9 – 17, CSC Digital Assistants Course, Toronto csc.ca 15-26, Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, Montreal, rvcq.com February 22-23, CSC Advanced Car Lighting Workshop, Toronto, csc.ca 28-March 3, Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Kingston, ON, kingcanfilmfest.com

Subscribe online to Canadian Cinematographer at www.csc.ca

One-year subscriptions are available in Canada for $40.00 for individuals and $80.00 for institutions, including HST. In U.S. rates are $45.00 and $90.00 for institutions in U.S. funds. International subscriptions are $50.00 for individuals and $100.00 for institutions. Subscribe online at www.csc.ca.

24 • Canadian Cinematographer - December 2012

CUT. SHAPE. FOCUS. TUNE. ARRI introduces the first LED-based lights to truly match the versatility and homogeneity of conventional tungsten Fresnels: a new generation of focusable, tuneable lights that offers complete control, combining breakthrough performance with incredible efficiency.

www.arri.com/l-series

FAMILY SECRETS Every member of the Sony XDCAM family shares a common characteristic. The PMW-100, PMW-200, PMW-500, and PDW-F800 records at MPEG 4:2:2 50 Mbps – the broadcast standard. That high-quality capability up and down the line makes each Sony XDCAM ideal for TV and documentary production, as well as a wide range of other applications.

As a production professional, you may already be aware of that Sony secret. If so, there are a lot of other enticing features about these incredible Sony broadcast-capable camcorders you probably don’t know.

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