CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
$4 September 2019 www.csc.ca
Far From Home Ray Dumas csc: Falls Around Her • Jordan Oram: Detention Adventure
A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers
FEATURES – VOLUME 11, NO. 4 SEPTEMBER 2019 Fostering cinematography in Canada since 1957. The Canadian Society of Cinematographers was founded by a group of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa cameramen. Since then over 800 cinematographers and persons in associated occupations have joined the organization.
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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Credit: Jay Maidment
The CSC provides tangible recognition of the common bonds that link film and digital professionals, from the aspiring student and camera assistant to the news veteran and senior director of photography.
Nothing Too Big or Small: Matthew Lloyd csc Takes on Spider-Man By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer
Credit: Courtesy of The Film Farm
The CSC is a not-for-profit organization run by volunteer board members of the society. Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support.
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Falls Around Her: Ray Dumas csc Embraces Mother Nature By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer
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Credit: Paul Duck
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Back to School: Jordan Oram Lenses Detention Adventure By Fanen Chiahemen
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 2 4 6 10 12 34 36
From the Editor-In-Chief From the President In the News On Set CSC Member Spotlight – Pieter Stathis csc Tech Column Production Notes/Calendar
Cover Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Far from Home. Credits: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Canadian Cinematographer September 2019 Vol. 11, No. 4 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc EDITOR EMERITUS Donald Angus EXECUTIVE OFFICER Susan Saranchuk, susans@csc.ca EDITOR Fanen Chiahemen, editor@csc.ca COPY EDITOR Patty Guyader ART DIRECTION Berkeley Stat House WEBSITE www.csc.ca ADVERTISING SALES Guido Kondruss, gkondruss@rogers.com CSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Serge Desrosiers csc Zoe Dirse csc Phil Earnshaw csc Carlos Esteves csc Joan Hutton csc Bruno Philip csc Joe Sunday PhD George Willis csc, sasc CSC EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT George Willis csc, sasc PAST PRESIDENT, ADVISOR Joan Hutton csc VICE PRESIDENTS Carlos Esteves csc Bruno Philip csc MEMBERSHIP CHAIRS Arthur Cooper csc Zoe Dirse csc EDUCATION CHAIRS Carlos Esteves csc George Willis csc, sasc AWARDS CHAIR Arthur Cooper csc DIGITAL PORTALS Carolyn Wong (Content Manager) RELATIONSHIPS Gaston Bernier OFFICE / MEMBERSHIP / SUBSCRIPTIONS 131–3085 Kingston Road Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1 Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996 Email: admin@csc.ca, 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.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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2 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc
M
y heart skipped a beat when I found out that Robert Saad csc had passed away. I wasn’t a close friend of Bob’s, but I did have the good fortune of knowing him well on a professional level, having worked with him on several films as second unit or second camera. When I first met him in the early 1980s, Bob was an established and very well-known director of photography with a glowing reputation for running excellent camera departments and producing exquisite images. At that time, I had just jumped from camera assistant to camera op. Right from the handshake and ensuing conversation, Bob’s genuine warmth rushed forward. He was gracious, courteous, interesting and interested in people. You instantly liked Bob. I wondered too if this terrific karma he exuded carried over to the set. I soon found out when Bob hired me as fourth camera on a shoot, and I wasn’t disappointed. While some DPs rule with an iron hand, Bob was definitely a velvet glove. On set he was calm, reassuring and inspirational. Not once did I hear sarcasm, condescension or anger pass his lips no matter how dire a production situation. He was the consummate professional whose demeanor commanded respect and motivated those around him to always strive beyond their best. As Bob worked, he was focused and meticulous, composing shot setups and lighting to emulate his vision. This of course was in the day of film stock, and video assist was in its infancy, not yet commonly used. Only Bob had the key to unlock his vision. Often, watching daily rushes, I was entranced by the beautiful images that Bob produced. His images were never overt or jarring. Instead they were born out of Bob’s naturalistic technique that enticed you into the frame and into the visual narrative. His art was a masterful blend of filmmaking. Bob also embodied a nurturing generous streak. When he learned that financing was a problem for a film that I was co-producing and that was destined to be my first big break as a DP, he offered me his Arri 16BL plus a trove of lighting gear at no cost to help ensure the film went into production, which it did. I’ve always been tremendously grateful to Bob for that incredible gesture. With Bob’s passing, our craft not only lost a gifted cinematographer and leader, but also a wonderful human being. I, for one, will miss him.
CSC at
2019
CSC congratulates the following members whose films were selected for the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. Special Presentations Catherine Lutes csc, Clifton Hill (dir. Albert Shin) Paul Sarossy csc, bsc, asc, Guest of Honour (dir. Atom Egoyan) Nicolas Bolduc csc, La belle époque (dir. Nicolas Bedos) Gala Presentations Gregory Middleton csc, asc, American Woman (dir. Semi Chellas) Discovery Maya Bankovic csc, Easy Land (dir. Sanja Zivkovic) Jeffery Wheaton, Murmur (dir. Heather Young) Daniel Grant csc, The Rest of Us (dir Aisling Chin-Yee) Contemporary World Cinema Bobby Shore csc, Castle in the Ground (dir. Joey Klein) Daniel Grant csc, Tammy’s Always Dying (dir. Amy Jo Johnson) Norm Li csc, The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (co-dirs. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers & Kathleen Hepburn) James Klopko csc, The Last Porno Show (dir. Kire Paputts) TIFF Docs Duraid Munajim, This Is Not A Movie (dir. Yung Chang) Short Cuts Guy Godfree csc, It’s Nothing (dir. Anna Maguire) Joshua MacDonald, Measure (dir. Karen Chapman) Karim Hussain csc, Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You (dir. Brandon Cronenberg) A complete list will be published in the October issue of Canadian Cinematographer after all the films have been announced.
ACCEPTANCES / AWARDS / NOMINATIONS John Banovich csc (cinematographer, writer, producer, director) Rocky Mountains Encounter (documentary), winner: Best Filmmaker with Disabilities, Vegas Movie Awards, Las Vegas, Nevada, July 2019; winner: Outstanding Excellence, Docs without Borders, Nassau, DE, July 2019; bronze winner: Best Director, 40th Telly Awards, New York, May 2019 Christian Bielz, associate member (cinematographer) Nowhere (feature film), winner: Best Feature Film, Oakville Film Festival 2019 George Hupka, associate member (director of photography, producer) nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up (feature documentary), opening night premiere and winner: Best Canadian Feature Documentary, Hot Docs, Toronto, May 2019; winner: Colin Low Award for Canadian Documentary, DOXA, Vancouver May 2019 Vic Sarin csc (director and DP) Partition (feature); Shine of Rainbows
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(feature); Hue: A Matter of Colour (feature documentary), accepted: Pyongyang International Film Festival, North Korea, September 2019 Paul Sarossy csc, asc, bsc (director of photography) Guest of Honour (feature film), official selection: Venice Film Festival, Italy, August 28 to September 5, 2019 Dale K. Sood, associate member (DP/ Director) SHAMAN (short fashion editorial), Official Selection: La Jolla
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Fashion Film Awards, La Jolla, California, July 27, 2019; nominee: Best Cinematography & Official
Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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FROM THE PRESIDENT George A. Willis csc, sasc
A
fter my visit to the Italian Society of Cinematographers last October (see Canadian Cinematographer, January 2019), I thought it might be a good idea to offer some insight to the AIC regarding the evolution of the CSC since the 50th anniversary celebration. When I attended the IMAGO conference in Serbia earlier this year, my intention was to offer one of the few remaining copies of our 50th anniversary book to AIC President Luciano Tovoli AIC. Unfortunately, Luciano was unable to attend the IMAGO gathering, so one of his colleagues, Daniele Nanucci AIC, kindly offered to take the gift to him. Shortly after IMAGO, and much to my surprise and delight, I received an email from Luciano, which I have excerpted here: “I have to say that you really made an incredible work of producing such a terrific piece of historical narration. I have always been passionate about the history of cinematographers’ societies. From this passion came the idea to create IMAGO some 27 years ago. I have many books written by eminent cinematographers, but I can say that yours is a very distinguished one. Your personal engagement in such a laborious work of documentation and narration is not only an homage to the Canadian cinematographers, but to the role of every cinematographer in the world, and I compliment you and thank you for such a noble work so brilliantly achieved. I add my compliments for your skill as a designer of the beautiful logo.” I was very honoured to receive this on behalf of the CSC and I believe that this message speaks for itself. But I hasten to add that in the interests of promoting our brand, we must take whatever opportunity presents itself to speak about who we are as a Society in the international arena of cinematography.
4 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
VANCOUVER CALGARY WINNIPEG SUDBURY TORONTO HALIFAX
In The News
T
he CSC congratulates Robert McLachlan csc, asc on his Emmy Award nomination in the Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) category for his work on Showtime’s Ray Donovan – “Staten Island: Part 1.” The 71st Emmy Awards take place on September 22.
Canadian Michael Moskowitz Named Chairman, CEO of Panasonic North America Panasonic in August named Michael Moskowitz chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. Moskowitz is the first Canadian to take on this CEO role at the more than 100-year-old corporation, after most recently serving simultaneous roles as president of Panasonic Canada Inc. and Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. Prior to joining Panasonic, Moskowitz served as president and CEO of XM Canada and prior to that as president of Palm in the Americas International. He joined Panasonic in 2011 and since then has held several leadership positions of increasing responsibility. Moskowitz succeeds Tom Gebhardt, who is leaving the company after serving in a variety of leadership roles over his more than three decades with Panasonic. As CEO, Moskowitz will continue to work out of Panasonic’s offices in Toronto and Newark, NJ.
William F. White Relocates to Expanded Halifax Location William F. White International recently announced the relocation of its Halifax location into an expanded warehouse and office area in time for the office’s 25th anniversary. The shop will feature 15,000 square feet of space, a 50 per cent upgrade from the current location. This extension will include a new camera area with two test lanes. Mean-
6 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
while, the company also announced the addition of three studio properties under the Whites Studios banner – Whites Studios Copperwood and Whites Studios Lakewood in Vancouver, along with Whites Studios Edwards Blvd. as its first property in Toronto. Earlier, the company announced that Julie Bristow would be joining the Comweb/Whites Board of Advisors. Bristow is president and CEO of the Toronto-based Bristow Global Media Inc., a specialized content production company she founded in 2013.
Courtesy of the ASC
Robert McLachlan c s c , a s c Receives Primetime Emmy Nomination
Kees van Oostrum to Serve Fourth Year as ASC President The American Society of Cinematographers recently announced it has re-elected Kees van Oostrum as president for the fourth consecutive year. The organization also announced its officers for 2019-2020, including Bill Bennett, Paul Cameron and Stephen Lighthill as vice presidents; Levie Isaacks as treasurer; David Darby as secretary; and Curtis Clark as sergeantat-arms. As ASC president, van Oostrum initiated and continues to oversee the ASC’s Master Class program.
work-play development that will include, among other things, a film and television production campus with purpose-built sound stages, production offices, support facilities, backlot; other studios for postproduction, animation, visual effects, game development, music; crew training facility; and office buildings for film industry suppliers, and media, digital and tech companies. ASG plans to build 500,000 square feet of stage space in Hamilton, the first 150,000 of which will be operational within a year.
Veteran Special Effects Coordinator Killed During Titans Production On July 18, veteran special effects coordinator Warren Appleby was killed during prep work for an upcoming shoot for the second season of the DC Universe series Titans (shot by Boris Mojsovski csc and Brendan Steacy csc). The accident occurred at a special effects facility in Toronto, according to media reports. Toronto police said Appleby died while being transported to hospital after equipment exploded and he was hit by metal from the blast. The Ministry of Labour said they were investigating the incident. Appleby’s career in television and film spanned 25 years, with credits including The Strain, The Shape of Water, It, It Chapter Two, and How It Ends. He was a partner at Toronto-based special effects and equipment rental company Acme FX and served on IATSE 873’s executive board. He joined 873 straight out of high school. A GoFundMe page was set up to support Appleby’s wife, Jennifer, and two sons – Logan, 6, and Wyatt, 4.
Aeon Studio Group Plans Hamilton Production Hub
Netflix Announces Partnerships with Indigenous Screen Organizations
In June, Aeon Studio Group (ASG) announced a plan to build Hamilton, Ontario, into an international hub for film, television, and digital media production. The cornerstone of the plan is the Hamilton Studio District, a live-
At the 2019 Banff World Media Festival in June, Netflix joined imagineNATIVE, The Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) and Wapikoni Mobile to announce a suite of partnership programs that aim to develop the next generation of Indigenous
creators across Canada. These programs range from screenwriting intensives to apprenticeship programs, joining the 11 existing partnership programs Netflix has funded to nurture the next generation of Canadian creators from underrepresented communities.
CMF, DHX Media Announce Kids’ Content Development Fund The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and DHX Media announced in July the launch of a new program to support the development of Canadian kids’ and family content. The DHX-CMF Kids and Family Development Program – which is funded by DHX Media at more than $1.4 million for two years, and administered by the CMF – aims to support new entrants to the production community, as well as regional projects, creators in official language minority communities, and French-language producers. Half of the program’s funds are reserved for women-led projects. The program will support development activities in the CMF-supported genres of Children’s and Youth and Drama. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2019.
Minister Rodriguez Announces Support for Canada’s Film Industry Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism Pablo Rodriguez in the spring announced $7.5 million in new funding to address the challenges faced by Telefilm Canada in funding French-language productions in 2019–2020. This non-renewable investment is available immediately for the current fiscal year. Telefilm Canada’s Executive Director Christa Dickenson also confirmed that $2.5 million will also be available for feature films awaiting funding. This brings the total amount of new funding available for French-language productions in 2019–2020 to $10 million. Minister Rodriguez also announced two new
appointments to Telefilm Canada’s Board of Directors: Robert Spickler has been appointed chair, and Karen Horcher will serve as a board member.
Geoff Macnaughton Appointed TIFF’s New Director of Industry The Toronto International Film Festival recently announced the appointment of Geoff Macnaughton to Director of Industry. Macnaughton will oversee the organization’s industry programming and talent development initiatives, as well as industry-related sales and services. He will continue to act as lead programmer of Primetime, TIFF’s programme highlighting the best in international television series. Macnaughton has been with the organization for 12 years, as a senior manager on both the Industry and Festival Programming teams.
ACTRA, DGC Launch HAVEN Helpline In June, ACTRA and the Directors Guild of Canada announced they were jointly launching HAVEN (Harassment and Violence Emergency Network) Helpline, a bilingual critical incident reporting line available to ACTRA and DGC members across Canada. The HAVEN Helpline will offer 24/7 support from Morneau Shepell, the leading provider of assistance programs in Canada. The Helpline will be available for ACTRA and DGC members to report any harassment incident related to the workplace and set, and will provide additional resources, such as confidential counselling services and total wellbeing support. The HAVEN Helpline and associated counselling services are part of the commitment by ACTRA and the DGC to a trauma-informed approach to responding to harassment in the workplace. The new helpline will be jointly funded by ACTRA and the DGC, with additional financial support from AFBS and Telefilm Canada.
FROM OUR SPONSORS: ARRI Announces New Features for Lighting Control App Stellar Live Sync Beta in Stellar 1.5 enables real-time collaboration between Stellar on separate devices, allowing multiple users to work on the same project and scene simultaneously. Users can adjust the same fixture or different fixtures while the changes are synced in the background as they occur. Stellar 1.5 also now allows for the export and import of projects and scenes. Exporting can be accomplished by sending a project or scene to the cloud, by sharing wirelessly between devices, by emailing or messaging, or by using other methods of sharing work. With Stellar 1.5 on iOS, it is also possible to back up all projects, scenes and favourites to the iCloud. This sync happens automatically and instantly, allowing for the same files to be shared across multiple devices using the same iCloud account. Projects that have been initiated on an iPhone are now automatically backed up and ready for use on an iPad or vice versa. Meanwhile, to mark the tenth anniversary of the M18 daylight lamphead, ARRI is offering a special edition of the fixture, limited to 500 units. The lampheads, printed with the anniversary logo on the housing, were scheduled to be ready for shipment starting in August. Also, in early August, the company announced the new Digital Encoder Head (DEH-1) as the latest edition to ARRI’s Camera Stabilizer System range. Specifically designed to operate ARRI’s remote-controlled Stabilized Remote Head (SRH-3), the DEH-1 is a fluid head that interfaces with any Mitchell flat base tripod or support and is the first digital encoder head that communicates through the LBUS protocol.
RED Releases New DSMC2 GEMINI Kit In June, RED DIGITAL CINEMA introduced a new DSMC2 GEMINI Kit, offering a comprehensive solution for cinematographers who shoot in a variety of environments. At the heart of the new system is the DSMC2 camera BRAIN with the GEMINI 5K S35 sensor, Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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Credit: Courtesy of RED
which leverages dual sensitivity modes to provide greater flexibility in a variety of lighting conditions. Filmmakers can shoot in standard mode for well-lit conditions or low-light mode for darker settings, and operators can easily switch between modes through the camera’s on-screen menu with no down time. The new DSMC2 GEMINI Kit features: DSMC2 GEMINI 5K S35; DSMC2 RED Touch 7.0” LCD; DSMC2 Outrigger Handle; DSMC2 V-lock with I/O Expander for a variety of input/output selections; S35 AI CANON Mount; IDX Duo C98 Battery and IDX VL2X Battery Charger; RED Mini-Mag (960 GB) with G-Technology EV Series Reader; and heavy-duty camera case.
At Cine Gear Expo Hollywood in late spring, Panavision showcased its latest innovations in its production and postproduction ecosystem. Among them were Panavision and Light Iron’s new LINK HDR system, which offers HDR and SDR viewing options in tandem throughout the production and postproduction process. Panavision’s Millennium DXL2 and DXL-M camera systems were also showcased. The latest enhancements to the DXL2 include: an integrated C-Motion F.I.Z. module allowing the use of Arri WCU4 wireless lens control handsets with full lens mapping support; a proxy workflow that allows easy creation of traditional dailies while archiving 8K files for DI and VFX; a wireless audio module adding expanded audio capabilities; and DXL Control for iPhone and Android. In addition to the Primo HDR viewfinder, DXL menu system and LiColor2, the DXL-M now offers 2x2 SDI outputs delivering two independent monitoring paths across 4x HD-SDI outputs.
A.C. Lighting Inc. Introduces MoonLite by LumenRadio In June, A.C. Lighting Inc. introduced MoonLite by LumenRadio, a patent-pending, lighting control product with Bluetooth connectivity, colour-coded pairing and built-in battery. A wireless CRMX receiver and transmitter, MoonLite is built on LumenRadio’s new TiMoTwo module. The Bluetooth connectivity enables tablet and phone-based lighting control and configuration through a CRMX toolbox app without the need for extra hardware.
New CSC Sponsor
The CSC would like introduce and give a hearty welcome to CINETX, as the society’s newest sponsor. Based in the Toronto area, CINETX is a relatively new retail operation serving and supporting filmmakers throughout Canada. The founders of the company are cinematographers themselves, who’ve worked in the film and television community for many years. Through CINETX, they’re using their in-depth knowledge of cinematography and industry technologies to offer customized production solutions through high-quality, cost-effective professional products. Please check out CINTEX at cinetx.com.
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Credit: Courtesy of Panavision
Panavision’s Camera-to-Finish Imaging Ecosystem Featured at Cine Gear 2019
In Memoriam
Robert Saad csc 1936-2019
D
By Guido Kondruss uring the nascent years of the Canadian film industry, Robert (Bob) Saad csc was the eye behind the camera that helped kickstart the feature film careers of two young filmmakers who would become cinema icons both in Canada and internationally. Saad was the director of photography for Ivan Reitman’s breakthrough feature, the horror-comedy Cannibal Girls (1970), and later for David Cronenberg in his first venture into the horror/fantasy genre with the feature Shivers (1975). Both films have become sought-after cult classics. Saad was born in Palestine and raised in Egypt, and at the age of 16 landed his first film job through a family connection with a Cairo studio. It was fertile ground for an inquiring young mind and where Saad began his five-year apprenticeship loading gear. He learned to carefully strip cameras, meticulously clean them and fabricate broken parts, even screws if need be, since replacement components were extremely difficult if not impossible to obtain from England or the United States. Saad would then just as carefully reassemble cameras in time for the next day’s shooting schedule. Eventually, Saad became a focus puller, a camera operator and a cinematographer at the studio. During his time in Cairo, Saad had a career-influencing experience while working on the set of the Twentieth Century-Fox mega production Cleopatra (1963). The film, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, was in Egypt for two weeks shooting outdoor scenes
involving thousands of extras. Saad was charged with the care of several van loads of camera gear, and he was befriended by the film’s American camera crew headed by DP Leon Shamroy asc. For two weeks, Saad was the recipient of what amounted to a working master class on Hollywood filmmaking that left him with a strong and lasting impression and challenged his notion of filmmaking. The Cairo studio shot mostly Bollywood-type song and dance features in six days, and Saad wanted more. He set his sights on North America. In 1967, Saad landed in Montreal, where he found work as a camera assistant at the National Film Board of Canada. However, it was Toronto that eventually became his home base. One of Saad’s first efforts as a DP was on the gritty feature The Hard Part Begins, which is considered a classic example of early English Canadian cinema. It was also the directorial debut for Paul Lynch, who went on to become a highly successful U.S. television series director. Over the course of his career, Saad was the DP/camera op on dozens of features, MOWs and TV series. He was considered one of Canada’s most accomplished cinematography talents, much in demand for his keen eye, superb lighting skills and strong sense of visual language. Through the 1990s, Saad worked almost exclusively with director/producer Kevin Sullivan, using his gifted cinematography to bring some of Canada’s most popular and finest television to the screen, such as the award-winning series Road to Avonlea (1990-1996) and Wind at
My Back (1996-1999) for which Saad received a Gemini in 1998 for his brilliant work. Saad was also a three-time CSC Award winner, once for Best Industrial Cinematography in 1988, and twice in the Best TV Drama category for War of the Worlds in 1989 and again in 1992 for Forever Night for his outstanding visuals. On set, Saad was a leader who inspired his fellow colleagues. There was never a production problem so big that it couldn’t be conquered or too small that he couldn’t make time for a crew member’s concern. Saad’s love for his craft and his enthusiasm for filmmaking was infectious to those around him, infusing pride and confidence in their work. Saad was a guiding light, especially for younger crew, many of whom considered him a mentor. He was equally generous with his time and production expertise away from the set by passing his knowledge onto others through workshops and learning initiatives. In 2012, Saad was acknowledged by the Women In the Director’s Chair organization for his considerable contributions to their workshops, helping women to better their cinematography skills and career accomplishments. Saad also gave back to the film community through the CSC by donating his time as a juror during the society’s award season. Saad is one of the few directors of photography invited into the CSC as a full member, a rare honour extended by his society peers in 2000. He remained an esteemed member of the CSC for the rest of his career and through retirement. Robert Saad csc passed on Sunday May 5, 2019. Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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On Set
Credit: Jessie Wells
Credit: Patrick Binette
Associate member and cinematographer Kevin A. Fraser with sound recordist James O’Toole and director Taylor Olson on feature film Bone Cage filmed in rural Nova Scotia.
Claudine Sauvé csc in Caibarién, Cuba, for the movie The Fence (CBC Documentary Channel), using a LomoKino camera.
Associate member Daniel Abboud (operating Steadicam) in Sault Sainte Marie on the MOW A Grand Romantic Gesture (shot by Bruce Worrall csc)
Credit: Blue Ox Films
Credit: Andrew Hamilton
Credit: Joel Rodriguez
DP Dmitry Lopatin and director Gloria Kim on the set of Kim’s debut feature film, Queen of the Morning Calm.
Associate member Dennis Grishnin shooting the Niina Rosa music video "Lavender Rainbows."
Affiliate member Andrew M. Richardson, DIT, shooting a Nike+ commercial in Toronto.
10 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
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CSC Member Spotlight and being humbled by the abundance of bird and marine life all around our little speck in the ocean. Filming the auto-da-fé ritual burning sequence in Maderuelo, Spain, for Secret Files of the Inquisition, where high winds came up unexpectedly and caused the special effects team to lose control of the fire and shut down the shoot. We thought it might be the ghosts of the town’s ancestors stirring up in protest of what we were re-enacting. What is one of your most memorable moments on set?
Pieter Stathis csc What films or other works of art have made the biggest impression on you?
dramas, I try to infuse some random energy to make them seem more realistic.
Guernica (Pablo Picasso) – seen while backpacking in Madrid. Apocalypse Now (Vittorio Storaro asc, aic) –amazing colour palette. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick) – the best ghost story ever. The Fountain (Darren Aronofsky) – [Matthew] Libatique [asc] is the prince of darkness. Jaws (Steven Spielberg) – a master class for in-camera effects. Tree of Life (Terrence Malick). Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu) – a perfect tapestry of intricate moving shots.
Who have been your mentors or teachers?
How did you get started in the business?
Name some of your professional highlights.
When I was a photojournalist in university, I loved the challenge of putting myself in exactly the right spot to capture the essence of the person or event I was covering. Realizing that narrative film added dialogue, camera movement and the passage of time, I was hooked by the challenge of creating a composition that would convey the entire story and hold the audience’s attention in real time and space. When I shoot documentaries, my challenge is to make them look as cinematic as possible. When I shoot
12 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
Douglas Milsome bsc, asc; Howard Atherton bsc; Checco Varese asc; Gary Harvey dgc.
What cinematographers inspire you?
Freddie Young bsc; Vittorio Storaro asc, aic; Emmanuel Lubezki asc, amc; Roger Deakins asc, bsc; Matthew Libatique asc.
Filming an eight-minute single take with Sir Ian McKellen on Emile. He is one of the most proficient and powerful actors I’ve ever worked with. He can diametrically change emotions in a heartbeat and still not miss a single beat of his technical business. Shooting second unit ground and aerial footage for Arctic Air on location in Yellowknife and Nunavut with Gary Harvey. Shooting Darwin’s Brave New World miniseries on Heron Island, a tiny marine research station in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
At the conclusion of the Captain Cook: Obsession and Discovery shoot in Kona, Hawaii, I filmed our narrator as she paddled her kayak and described Cook’s demise. I had the camera in a splash bag so I could film at the surface of the water, and in between takes I would toss the camera away and swim along with the blue and yellow tangs surrounding me. It was a perfect day. What do you like best about what you do?
Being lucky enough to shoot all over the world in places that few outsiders ever get permission to visit, and zealously capturing it to bring back and share with the audience. What do you like least about what you do?
Very long hours and six-to-sevenday weeks away from my family.
What do you think has been the greatest invention (related to your craft)?
Garrett Brown inventing the Steadicam, using it on Rocky and subsequently being brought by Stanley Kubrick to use it again in the quintessential sequences of The Shining.
How can others follow your work?
Instagram: @pieterstathis. Web site: pieterstathis.com
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Credit: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
MATTHEW LLOYD CSC TAKES ON
By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer
Matthew Lloyd csc
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S
hifting between independent films to Hollywood blockbusters is commonplace for Matthew Lloyd csc, who collaborated with filmmaker Jon Watts on Cop Car and Spider-Man: Far from Home. The second solo outing of the teenage Wall Crawler in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not the first time that Lloyd has been involved with a Marvel Studios production. “I did additional photography on Thor: Ragnarok and Captain Marvel. Understanding the expectations and the way of working is extremely helpful. Marvel is a family and has a wonderfully creative way of doing things,” Lloyd says. In Spider-Man: Far from Home, a European vacation with his friends presents an opportunity for Peter Parker (Tom Holland) to take a rest from being a superhero until he encounters Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and a series of mysterious elemental creature attacks. “Shooting a European location thriller in the context of a Spider-Man franchise movie was interesting,” Lloyd notes. “There were lots of different languages, crews and scenarios that you don’t get a lot on
Credit: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
these types of movies, as many have ended up getting shot on stage in a production hub such as Atlanta.” Principal photography of the film – which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei and Zendaya – took place in London, Venice, New York, the Czech Republic and Spain. “We were based out of England [at Leavesden Studios] and I’ve had the pleasure of working there a number of times over the years with great guys, like gaffer Alan Martin. Things work differently over there. The electrical department does the lion’s share of what we would call gripping and rigging in the U.S. and Canada. We leaned heavily on them. Travelling from country to country, we would have a match for the gaffer and key grip who could communicate in the language of the local crew,” Lloyd says. Key crew members included A camera operator Peter Cavaciuti, first assistant A camera Ryan Taggart, gaffer Alan Martin, rigging gaffer Jason Martin, and key grip Tommaso Mele. “Certainly, all of the Marvel films that I’ve been a part of were heavily previsualized, either with animatics, storyboards, or various visual tools to help describe the sequence so everyone knows what they’re getting into,” Lloyd states. “You’re breaking stuff up between stage and locations. We scouted endlessly. There was a lot of legwork and plane rides from country to country working out how it was going to play out. Then with the schedule, the ADs and producers had to lay it all out and keep the ball moving down the field. It was a remarkable task.” But getting the necessary shooting permits was not easy, the DP
Tom Holland (as Peter Parker) and Giada Benedetti.
Understanding the expectations and the way of working is extremely helpful. Marvel is a family and has a wonderfully creative way of doing things.
Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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Credit: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Angourie Rice, Jacob Batalon and Zendaya in a still from Spider-Man: Far from Home.
All of the Marvel films that I’ve been a part of were heavily previsualized, either with animatics, storyboards, or various visual tools to help describe the sequetnce so everyone knows what they’re getting into.
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reveals. “I was impressed with the location people in England, as it is difficult to get permission to do anything there. London is a complicated city with a lot going on, and movies are low on the totem pole,” he says. “I remember doing a sequence where our call times were 3 a.m., shooting by 4:30 a.m. and wrapping by 11 a.m. because sections of city were only available to us for short amounts of time. They’re going to tell you when, where and how it’s going to go down, so you have to be ready to play ball and work quickly. Whatever we didn’t have our visual effects team [led by Janek Sirrs] mapped, scanned, and stitched together photo backdrops that could be digitally augmented or created as whole cloth CG shots that cut into the sequence.” Serving as the stunt coordinator and second unit director was George Cottle (Ant-Man and the Wasp). “George is an English gentleman living in the States and is a good friend,” Lloyd remarks. “It’s about dividing and conquering. Jon Watts likes to do a lot of his own work, so you are prying some of that stuff out of his hands in terms of what gets given to the second unit. You have to be smart about it. There are certain things that they’re going to be able to do as a smaller footprint much more easily than us as the main unit with a huge star presence. Also, you’re dealing with a superhero who is masked, so you can utilize stunts in different ways than a traditional action movie [where the protagonist needs to be in a lot of the shots]. Whenever possible, Jon would shoot the stunts, and there was a lot of stuff that Tom will insist on doing because the body language and head movement were part of his performance as an actor. The
Credit: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Zendaya and Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
second unit looked after the big wide shots where a lot of things were going to be digitally replaced and the suit was going to be augmented in CG.” Venice was incredibly challenging because the camera and lighting equipment needed to be transported on boats, Lloyd recalls. “You have a tremendous amount of time invested moving from place to place and offloading,” he notes. “You have to know what you’re going to need because you don’t have the luxury of the Hollywood way of having everything available all of the time. The Czech Republic was tough with the narrow
streets, and the weather was extremely cold. We got lucky with a record clear hot summer in England. We didn’t have too many delays. There were a few wet days here and there.” Venice has warm colours, while a cooler palette was adopted for England, and a golden tone with bluer environmental lighting was utilized for Prague. “The nice thing about digital photography is that everyone sees the actual shot on the day so if there’s a problem it gets addressed,” Lloyd notes. The 2017 prequel Spider-Man: Homecoming, which Watts also shot, established a visual blueprint for the franchise, while addiCanadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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Credits: Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Top left: Samuel L. Jackson and Jon Favreau. Top right: Director Jon Watts. Bottom: Tom Holland as Spider-Man.
Working on location in Europe was a creative challenge as many of the sets are extremely sensitive historic buildings and not suitable for modern filmmaking. As a result, balloons became the only reasonable lighting option in many places. 20 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
tional inspiration came from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and other hallmark Hollywood productions shot on location in Europe. “The visual research was just being in those places and responding to what we were seeing,” Lloyd says. Considering the number of cameras needed, the extensive travel schedule, and the movie being theatrically released in 2K, the decision was made to go with the ALEXA Mini rather than the ALEXA 65. “The ALEXA Mini is a light, versatile camera that can be built into a million different configurations,” Lloyd remarks. “With the exception of the high speed, it was the perfect camera.” Two cameras were always shooting, while significant dialogue scenes used four for reverse shot coverage, and the second unit deployed as many as six for big explosions and major action sequences. “We did do a bit of wirework with a cool device they have now, which is a single wire system called the Wirecam. In lieu of a Spider rig, which is robust and takes a long time to rig, you can do a single wire for point A to B. The Wirecam has a gimbal that stabilizes the camera so it can do fast-tracking shots and get through atriums where you could never get a traditional crane. Plate photography of Venice was achieved with drones. We had a 62-foot MovieBird and a 50foot Technocrane was used almost every day,” Lloyd says. ARRI Media in London supplied the camera and lenses. “The
Credit: Matthew Lloyd csc
lenses were Zeiss spherical master primes,” the DP explains. “I prefer a cleaner, flatter lens that doesn’t necessarily provide the flare some people want, but I like to know what I’m getting. Jon tends to call most of the lenses, which were in the wide end –21 mm, 27 mm, 35 mm, 40 mm, and 65 mm was on the long end.” ARRIMAXs, M90s, M40s, M18s, SkyPanels, PARs, and tungsten lights were provided by Leavesden Studios. “For the speciality stuff like the Spider light and our balloons I used Sourcemaker. We had a ton of balloons for our night exterior work. They have an interesting LED product that is an 8x8 blanket light that we used an awful lot called the Sourcemaker Blanket,” Lloyd says, observing that rigging is a critical aspect of the job. “I spend a lot of time with the rigging gaffer and grip in designing how the lights are going to be installed. I don’t tend to do a lot of tweaking on the day. The second unit DP could easily with our board profile pull up exactly what levels we had on any given set. Generally, we would always shoot first, but that wasn’t always the case.” Describing the lighting plot for the Prague Ops Centre set – a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. base where Nick Fury coordinates clandestine activities – which was photographed at Hatfield House outside of London, Lloyd says, “Working on location in Europe was a creative challenge as many of the sets are extremely sensitive historic buildings and not suitable for modern filmmaking. As a result, balloons became the only reasonable lighting option in many places, especially in this location. To add to the complexity, we had to shoot this location as day for night, meaning that huge tents needed to be constructed on the exterior to block the daylight but without actually physically touching the building. When shooting towards the windows, we had to wait for night and then quickly remove the tents and ignite our exterior lighting [also balloons in this case]. “I was after a sort of mixed colour palette for these locations, playing up the warm interior light against the bluer light of the tech props, screens and exterior ambience,” the DP continues. “We employed hybrid balloons, which allow for various types of globes and wattages, both HMI and tungsten, to create various colour temperatures. Having a warm interior light with cooler light from the upper windows and exterior creates a nice colour contrast and separation. On the floor we used our usual tools, including Hudson Spider Redback on a Max Menace arm as our hero light for the artists.” By nature, the production steered away from certain colours,
Above: The lighting plot for the Prague Ops Centre set. Below: Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Holland on set in diagram above.
according to Lloyd. “For example, in order to ensure that the precise Spider-Man red stood out, we wanted to avoid too much other reds,” he says. “There are little tricks on how to make it feel heroic and iconic. We did a lot of tracking of the suit from shot to shot to make sure that it was always consistent.” Battle sequences are grounded in reality, he explains. “There are dynamic shots where we seamlessly blend a piece of practical photography into CG. Those big set pieces are great but the iconic European location photography is something to be proud of,” he says, adding that logistics were a persistent issue. “With movies like this, it’s always a question of time, money, resources and how we are going to make this thing work. It’s a lot of fun.” Next on the agenda for the Canadian cinematic talent is the feature directorial debut of David Oyelowo called The Water Man. “I gravitate towards the people I like to be around and to projects that have elements which are fun for somebody with my skillset. I don’t have the mentality of ‘I only do blockbusters.’ If it’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing,” Lloyd says. Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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FALLS AROUND HER Ray Dumas
csc
Embraces Mother Nature
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hooting Falls Around Here in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation and Sudbury was a homecoming for Ray Dumas csc (The Cello). “I was born in Sudbury, and the theme of the film is somebody who left their hometown and comes back; that was one of the reasons why I wanted to do it,” the cinematographer says. “I took it on as an opportunity to go back to my roots and also learn about a community that I lived beside but never knew much about. When I take on a project, one of the first things that I ask myself is, ‘Am I going to learn anything?’” The drama, written, directed and produced by Darlene Naponse (Every Emotion Costs), stars Tantoo Cardinal as world famous singer Mary Birchbark, who attempts to reconnect with nature and her community by returning to the reserve she had left behind. “I love working with a writer-director because they’re so intimately involved with the script and there’s no guessing where everything is coming from,” Dumas says. “The bigger challenge is working with a writer-director-producer combination because sometimes when things are getting down to the wire, the director’s hat gets replaced by the producer’s hat, and those two roles are diametrically opposed. It’s an enormous task for anybody to take on that many responsibilities, but Darlene handled it phenomenally well.”
“Having come from film, I’m always in my mind trying to take the digital image towards the look of emulsion. We did have to tone down and soften the aerial footage from the drone, which was so crisp and hyperreal that it was jarring.”
By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer Photos courtesy of The Film Farm
22 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
Tantoo Cardinal as Mary Birchbark in Falls Around Her. Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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The cinematographer and filmmaker went through the script together deciding on what scenes were going to be day, night, interior or exterior. “Everything tends to change dramatically on a production that is depending on a tight schedule and a lot of exteriors. We had to be adaptable almost to a ridiculous degree. There were shooting days where it would start off in a full snowstorm, turn to freezing rain and then go to sun and cloud,” Dumas says. “This was a single-camera shoot so we spent a lot of time developing a language where scenes could be done on the move and as longer single-take shots when possible. When more characters were involved then we would fall back on more traditional coverage,” he explains. Having a seasoned actress like Cardinal enabled the production to take full advantage of the background setting with the continuous long takes. “The addition of movement in landscape photography is important in my style, so we utilized a lot of handheld. I did Steadicam as well. I tried to keep things moving all of the time,” he says. Dumas arrived in Sudbury three weeks before the commencement of principal photography. The shooting schedule was tight – 21 days over the course of a month and a week. “What’s impressive is that when watching the film you’ll swear that Mary goes from the depths Top and bottom: DP Ray Dumas csc and cast and crew shoot a snowy scene. of winter to the beginning of a beautiful spring. It worked out quite beautifully Born in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Ontario, Naponse was intimately familiar with her surroundings and wanted to capture for the story,” he observes. Falls Around Her was shot on the ARRI ALEXA Mini, with the experience that she had growing up. “Darlene had primarily verbal descriptions of what the environment was going to camera equipment provided by Sim Digital. “I have some modibe, and then there were curveballs that came along with it too,” fied Cooke Mini S4s 18 mm to 100 mm, and then we carried Dumas explains. “The film was originally intended to be shot in a zoom as well,” Dumas states. “I chose the lenses in terms of the fall colours and the title was going to be Leaves Fall Around what showed off the landscape. For portraiture, I was using the Her. However, due to the typical pitfalls that you encounter in 50 mm and 75 mm a lot.” Lighting and grip equipment were independent filmmaking, like budgeting and scheduling issues, supplied by PS Equipment Services. “The only augmentation we ended up shooting in the early spring instead. It made for a from the exterior perspective was a bounce light or the addition different tone. Despite spring in Sudbury being challenging in of a source for night shooting. But it was kept as simple as possible. We did magic hour, sunrises and sunsets to full effect with terms of the weather patterns, it turned out for the best.” scheduling so we could capture as many as we could. We carried one 18K that would act as the sun when needed. For interiors, if “I took it on as an opportunity to I wasn’t able to do it entirely with practical lighting, such as fire go back to my roots and also learn or candles or lamps, I would supplement with small fixtures,” he about a community that I lived beside says. Key crew members were gaffer Sean Hearn, key grip Craig Coupal, 1st assistant camera Brent Craig, 2nd assistant camera but never knew much about.” Bradley A. Trudeau, camera trainee Ashley Binette, DIT James
24 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
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Spurling, drone operator Ryan Mariotti and colourist Dave Muscat at Deluxe Toronto. “To capture ARRIRAW is not in fashion, as Log C ends up being so good,” Dumas notes. “We shot 3.2K, and this film was finished and pushed through in record time. We completed principal photography in May of 2018, the editing and colouring happened quickly, and Falls Around Her had its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival,” he says, adding that the aspect ratio for the project was 1.85:1. “We wanted a wider aspect ratio because it was going to be shown on projected screens and you can get more nature into the shot.” Not everything was ground based with the photography. Underwater footage was captured by Naponse. “The aerial shots were done on a drone using 4K DJI camera and it added a ton of atmosphere,” Dumas notes. “Our shooting ratio was quite reasonable. We were averaging probably three to five takes.” Locations were chosen for spiritual and practical reasons. “The one scene that was going to be filmed in Toronto ended up being shot in downtown Sudbury, but the vast majority of the principal photography was in Atikameksheng Anishnawbek,” Dumas states. “The only thing that made the scouting challenging was the vast amount of land that there was. The primary focus was the cabin that Mary moves into, and we ended up choosing a remote location that took our crew hours to get in and out of every day. By the spring thaw, it became almost impossible to come in and out of. There were arguments at one point over whether or not we should build the interiors
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Top: Tantoo Cardinal as a world famous singer. Middle: Director Darlene Naponse and Dumas on location. Bottom: Actors Tantoo Cardinal and Johnny Issaluk.
elsewhere, but Darlene felt that to capture the essence of her vision – which was someone reconnecting – we had to get out to that spot. It started off we could get there in 4x4 trucks, and by the end, the only thing that would get us in and out were six-wheel amphibious vehicles called Argos. We finished the shoot by coming in and out of the set covered in mud. You would never know the hardships by looking at the film. The cabin looks like a serene and peaceful place, but it was like a warzone.”
“I love working with a writer-director because they’re so intimately involved with the script and there’s no guessing where everything is coming from.” An extension was added to the pivotal setting that was essentially a shack converted into a rustic cabin by production designers Mercedes Cueto and Diana Magnus. “The original design was so small it would have been difficult to get more than four or five people in,” Dumas reveals. “It was like a 12 by 12 room. After some discussion and collaboration, we spent the time and money to build an extra wing onto it to allow for more camera angles and useable space. It would have been too difficult. They did a wonderful job in that respect.” Special attention went into the set details. “Normally, in film you would use your fireplace with special effects and natural gas, but for the feeling of authenticity we heated it with actual wood,” he says, adding that a custom lighting rig was devised. “We built an extensive firelight rig into the ceiling that would give the cabin an automatic nighttime feel.” Mother Nature had a significant role in determining the various lighting schemes. “Because of the numerous exteriors, we had to embrace whatever nature would give us and try to augment rather than improve it,” Dumas says.
“By that I mean if we showed up and the day was going to be overcast, then I wouldn’t try to make it look sunny by bringing out the 18K. We would go with that clouded look and try to make it look even more overcast and oppressive and let that work thematically for the scene. Introducing graduated filters, playing off of the textures in the clouds, those were all things that were done intentionally.” The theme of reconnecting with nature meant going for a naturalistic look for the colour palette. “It was taking what was given to us by Mother Nature and exploiting it to its best potential in terms of the colour grade. On set I used one general LUT and we tailored the grade for each scene,” Dumas recalls. The cinematographer has not forgotten about the original medium in which he began his career. “Having come from film, I’m always in my mind trying to take the digital image towards the look of emulsion. We did have to tone down and soften the aerial footage from the drone, which was so crisp and hyperreal that it was jarring,” he says. Falls Around Her, which was released commercially this year, was shot chronologically as much as possible. “Shooting the violence was the most difficult part of the principal photography because by then we had all grown to love the character of Mary,” Dumas reveals. “We brought in stunt and fight coordinators, and when choreographing this elaborate violent scene, it was decided to be too much. We toned down our fight scene considerably and it was the right amount of jeopardy.” Cast alongside Cardinal were Tina Keeper, Gail Maurice, Johnny Issaluk, Rob Stewart, J.D. Nicholsen and Hope McGregor. “It was a dream. They were wonderful people, and I’m much richer for this experience, having gotten to live and experience their community, which was entirely supportive in so many ways,” Dumas muses. The closing sequence is a memorable cinematic moment. “The shot that I’m excited about is when Mary finds herself and you can see the light shining out of her; that was remarkable,” he says.
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Brett (Tomaso Sanelli), Hulk (Jack Fulton), Raign (Simone Miller) and Joy (Alina Prijono).
Back to School JORDAN ORAM Lenses CBC Gem’s
By Fanen Chiahemen
D
etention Adventure is a tween action-adventure series streaming on CBC Gem. The first original kids’ scripted series for the streaming service, it follows three nerdy school friends (Simone Miller, Alina Prijono and Jack Fulton) who, along with the school bully (Tomaso Sanelli), plot to get themselves thrown into detention in order to find the entrance to a labyrinth of trap-laden tunnels protecting the fabled hidden lab of telephone inventor Alexander Graham
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Bell. Detention Adventure was created by Carmen Albano and Joe Kicak, who also directs the series, with associate member Jordan Oram serving as series DP. Oram describes the series as “a little bit moodier than daytime television is used to seeing. But that was intentional because I think we were looking for something that’s a little bit more real,” he says. “Instead of super-bubbly and glamorous, I think this is like moody bubble gum; it’s a bit edgy, but it’s not too far, it’s not jarring.”
In fact, Oram says in his initial meetings with Kicak, the director told him, “‘I don’t want this to feel like a kids’ show, I want this to be something that we could all sit down and watch from any age group.’ So we pulled a lot of inspiration from The Goonies, we pulled from Harry Potter, and we pulled from places like Stranger Things. It kind of has that nod to the ‘90s where kids went out on their bikes and they were inquisitive and adventurous,” Oram maintains. “We allowed ourselves to think outside the
box, and I personally made sure that everything had a different and defined look. So, for instance, in Miss Marner’s (Stacey McGunnigle) classroom, it’s a very warm and pungent look, but in the science room it has that aqua teal tone to it. Every room is unique in its own way. “Episode 8 was a lot different because we actually got to see these kids out in the real world, we got to see behind the scenes into everyone’s childhood, so I used a very neutral palette in that world because you were supposed to feel who they were outside of school,” Oram continues. “It wasn’t intended to be as stylized as everything else.”
knew there was no way that the tunnel was going to have light, so I suggested that we just use iPhones to light that world. At first, I thought that it wasn’t going to work because it would be so dark, but we wanted it to feel different than everything else, so I diffused that light on the phones to get more spread and even skin tones. The use of flashlights was also a collaboration as we needed to get the right type of flashlight that wouldn’t be too much.” He says he lit the show mostly with Kino Flo’s FreeStyle 31s for full RGB. “I’ve learned that working with a smaller package sometimes allows bigger results because I know what to do with them; I don’t need a large lighting package,” he says. “Also, financially we weren’t able to get a million toys, so I had to pick and choose what made sense for our show. I had three HMIs I used for the daytime, with an M18 through a
Photos: Paul Duck
Roughly half of the series was shot in a studio and half on location, but Oram says he never used a lighting grid. “[The main location] was actually a gym within an abandoned high school in Mississauga, so I built the lights into the space. It was a pretty simple lighting setup; it wasn’t anything that was dramatic. It was just regular stands and some good old black wrap,” he says. During the roughly two and a half weeks of preproduction, Oram says he worked closely with the production design and art departments to get the perfect look in the tunnel, the hallway and the corridor with the trap door. In the tunnel, water bottles containing neon lights were used to light the dark space. “The production designer had a really cool idea of putting LED lights into the containers, and I would have to motivate them with LED panels to get more spread. In the hallway tunnel, we
Top: Jordan Oram Middle: Actors Jack Fulton, Tomaso Sanelli, Simone Miller and Alina Prijono. Bottom: Director Joe Kicak, actor Jack Fulton, Jordan Oram and executive producer Karen Moore.
‘‘
I’ve learned that working with a smaller package sometimes allows bigger results because I know what to do with them; I don’t need a large lighting package.” Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
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Above: A science experiment goes awry. Left: Brett (Tomaso Sanelli), Raign (Simone Miller) and Joy (Alina Prijono).
‘‘
These kids were so on top of it. They made everyone on set better because they were so good. They were hitting all their lines, we were jumping from episode to episode, so it made everyone a little bit sharper.” 30 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
window for the detention room.” Dazmo supplied the production with lenses, which consisted of the Angenineux Optimo 17-40 mm T/2.8 and the 24-90 mm T/2.8. “In addition to the zoom lenses, we used a set of vintage Super Speeds to get a different look when we shot in the tunnels. The lenses were T1.3, so it really helped us to get more light on the sensor in darker spaces,” Oram says. “I knew I could get the most coverage if I just used a varying degree of angles with two zoom lenses so we could maximize our time. Above ground I wanted to keep things not as moody as underground. Given the fact that half the show takes place underground and half above ground, I knew I didn’t need the speed above ground, whereas when we go underground, it’s very dark. So above ground we used lenses that were 2.8 speed, and below ground I used the Zeiss Super Speeds uncoated because I knew that they were a vintage glass and
it had a very unique coating that allowed the underground to feel more mystic. “By using the faster and more vintage Super Speed lenses, we were able to get a hazier, less clinical look on the image,” he adds. “We shot the lenses wide open to hide the set from over usage, as well.” Detention Adventure was shot on the ALEXA Mini (also supplied by Dazmo), which Oram says he shoots almost all his work on. “I love the form factor, I love the dynamic range, I’m a big fan of the sensors. I love that I can just put the camera on and shoot raw,” he says. Although Oram relied on his two camera operators, Dimitri Lopatin (A camera) and Julian Lomaga (B camera), he says he found his first two-camera shoot “incredibly challenging, just because I’m used to being my own operator and not having to communicate what I can physically see with the camera in my hand, and that’s when I’ve been able to establish a look for
myself. And I kind of challenged them a little bit more than I thought I should have on this job. I didn’t typically use an Easyrig; I really wanted it to be very jarring in the way that you feel the movement. So it was traditional shoulders and sliders for the whole show. “We purposely tried to not frame traditionally,” he adds. “So a lot of the shots are negative frames. There is a lot of negative space in a lot of places where you normally wouldn’t see it. I really was trying to make a conscious decision to not make this look like anything I’d seen in Canadian television before because I haven’t seen a kids’ TV show look like something that was modern. Whenever I see a kids’ TV show, it’s perfectly evenly lit; it looks like a commercial, and I’m like, ‘Why don’t we see these kids in a world that is real?’ If they’re in a dark space, they need to feel like they’re in a dark space, and it’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with that.” The logistics of shooting in the tunnels was the most fun but also the most difficult process of the show,
Oram reveals. “Because [getting] coverage in there with two cameras is very difficult when you’re having to move the kids,” he explains. “So what we opted to do was a lot of the B roll stuff I just shot on one camera, and for the coverage we used two cameras.” Working within such small spaces also limited the framing of certain shots, Oram points out. “We had to figure out ways to change the perspective because if you shoot a reverse shot you’re going to see the camera operator,” he says. “We knew we wanted to fill the frame with the important stuff, so if we’re shooting in the detention area, I knew I didn’t want to show too much of that space.” The cinematographer says working with the children was a delight, and they easily bonded with him over their love of Drake, who Oram has shot several music videos for. “I had an amazing experience with those kids because all of them had seen my work prior to that job. It allowed me to be in a position where instead of being a
professional leader, it almost made me a collaborator. So it ended up being a big brother mentality that felt really authentic and organic,” Oram says, adding that it was equally important for his camera crew to have a good rapport with the children. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring operators on that didn’t get along with kids, so for me that was a big requirement. You can be the best person at your job, amazing at what you do, but if you can’t get along with kids, I can’t have you working on this set, because if they aren’t having a good day, I need a camera operator that is in the room to cheer them up. Because I’m not able to be in the room at all times with them.” The children’s professionalism also left a particularly big impression on him and the crew. “Simone, Alina, Jack and Tomaso were so on top of it. They made everyone on set better because they were so good. They were hitting all their lines, we were jumping from episode to episode, so it made everyone a little bit sharper,” he says.
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Social Events CSC at the Sony VENICE Social June 27, 2019 Fusion Cine, Vancouver
Fusion Cine conducted a Sony VENICE open house at their Vancouver location, with Sony Brand ambassador John Banovich csc presenting and sharing his experiences. Photos: Byron Drinkle
John Banovich csc presents to an audience and speaks about Sony VENICE.
CSC & VIP Pub Night July 10, 2019 Dominion Pub and Kitchen, Toronto • Sponsored by Sony and Vistek Photos: Carolyn Wong
Sarah Thomas Moffat and Eric Oh csc, mysc.
Susan Saranchuk
Sony's Morais Russell.
Carolyn Wong and Kristin Fieldhouse.
32 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
gimbal shot VFX scene streaming series environment department documentary shot sitcom production phase build monitoring setup commercial production music video great idea movie department documentary monitoring setup shot hand held scene wireless fiz crane project steadicam setup camera assistant genre cinematographer market workflow operator ecosystem ideal for every shooting situation director shot post pipeline production phase build hand held scene department streaming series www.panavision.com aerial shot Canadian Cinematographer - April 2019 • 29 budget
+
Truly
Tech Column
Has Cinematography Technology Hit a Plateau or Is This Just the Calm Before the Next Storm?
Colourised footage artistic rendition from They Shall Not Grow Old.
F
irst there was light. Then there was film. Then there were cameras, lenses, more lights, more equipment and finally, truckloads of gear waiting to be rolled down ramps and erected on sets. Things sure have come a long way since the Lumière brothers and hand-cranked cameras, but the essence of cinema has not changed: it’s always about the story. Case in point, Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old, archive of World War 1 footage, lovingly and carefully restored, colourized and re-synched to run at constant projection speeds, bringing dead soldiers back to life 100 years later. Jackson and his team sorted through 2,700 feet of grainy, black and white footage, using lip readers to extract dialogue for narration, layering 3D technology to draw audiences into the time machine while groundshaking and thunderous artillery shells exploded around them in seven-channel sound. It’s a remarkable use of artistic skill and vision and deployment of technology that enhances the story and creates a virtual reality, as good cinema must. What of the technology at our fingertips today? The evolution of digital capture, lenses, processing, lighting, sound, focus and more has been nothing short of revolutionary, even over the last 10 or
34 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019
15 years. Have we reached a plateau in digital disruption in cinematography? In the last year, changes seem incremental, or long anticipated, such as the shift to 4K and then 8K as a standard capture. Is there nothing new, or are we just cynical? The question prompted a torrent of responses and discussion on the CSC Facebook page. “The big creative advancements in cinema happened in the 1920s to ‘30s, and the 1960s to ‘70s,” Christopher Ball csc wrote. “I have not seen a similar creative advancement like that in the art form, despite the technological disruption. I think we are all too focused on the technology and not on the art form.” The consensus, however, was loud and clear: the focus is and must always be on the story. Jason George chimed in to agree, saying: “It feels like there will continue to be change and evolution, but it feels like the massive changes have slowed.” Others argue that manufacturers driven to compete come up with new products to push sales. Cinematographer Asif Limbada thinks disruptive technologies “allow interesting ideas/stories to come to life, but as more projects get shot – since it’s becoming more inexpensive to shoot, and due to the ‘race-to-bottom’ economics
– it feels like mediocrity seeps into every kind of production.” Still, technology has lowered the barrier to entry into filmmaking, and that’s not a bad thing, Dylan Macleod csc says. “Have you seen Tangerine?” he asks. “It was shot on an iPhone and would have never been made back in the ‘film’ days. And the way they used the technology was pretty innovative and suited to the story.” At the other end, what was once cutting edge has become the norm and is perhaps overdone, Ball says, adding that more accessibility to the tools of filmmaking has in some ways just created more noise. “What has changed is the sheer volume of product (and how much easier it is to fix/fake stuff in post),” he says. Still, as George noted later, some of this technology is pretty damn cool: “Reflecting on my comment while editing my H4V images today, perhaps I was a bit hasty. I really am enjoying shooting and viewing 3D pictures and video, what an incredible and intriguing medium. Perhaps there will be more and better technologies.” Ian Harvey is a journalist who has been writing about digital disruption for 20 years. He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits subject matter ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca.
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Canadian Cinematographer - September 2019 •
35
Production Notes & Calendar
Classifieds EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
100, THE VII (series)
DP Gerald Packer csc
to March 19, 2020
Langley
AWAKE (feature)
DP Alan Poon csc Camera Operator/Steadicam Yoann Malnati
to September 25
Toronto
A BABYSITTER’S GUIDE TO MONSTER HUNTING (feature)
DP Gregory Middleton csc, asc
to November 8
Burnaby
A TEACHER (series)
Camera Operator Jarrett Craig
to October 10
Calgary
ARROW VIII (series)
DP Gordon Verheul csc & Neil Cervin csc (alternating episodes)
to November 14
Vancouver
BOYS, THE II (series)
DP Dylan Macleod csc (even episodes)
to November 1
Toronto
BURDEN OF TRUTH III (series)
DP Arthur Cooper csc
to October 24
Winnipeg
CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA, THE II (series)
DP Stephen Maier (alternating episodes)
to February 19, 2020
Langley
CHRISTMAS 9-5 (TV movie)
DP David Makin csc
to September 9
Toronto
CHRISTMAS AT THE PLAZA (MOW)
DP Thomas Harting csc
to September 24
Manitoba
CONDOR II (series)
DP Jeremy Benning csc (even episodes)
to September 9
Toronto
CORONER II (series)
DP Samy Inayeh csc Camera Operator / Steadicam Keith Murphy soc B Camera 1st Assistant Kyryll Sobolev (even episodes)
to November 6
Toronto
DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW V (series)
DP David Geddes csc, asc (alternating episodes)
to January 29, 2020
Burnaby
DIGGSTOWN II (series)
DP Celiana Cardenas Camera Operator Forbes MacDonald Jr B Camera Operator Jeffery Wheaton
to September 12
Dartmouth
FIREFLY LANE (series)
DP Vincent De Paula csc
to January 21, 2020
Burnaby
FLASH, THE VI (series)
DP Brenton Spencer csc (odd) & Alwyn J. Kumst csc (even)
to April 17, 2020
Vancouver
FUTURE MAN III (series)
Camera Operator Alfonso Maiorana
to September 13
Montreal
GINNY & GEORGIA (series)
DP Gavin Smith csc B Camera Operator/Steadicam Brent Robinson soc
to December 10
Toronto
GODFREY (feature)
DP/Operator Nelson Talbot & Graham Talbot
to September 9
Burnaby
GOOD WITCH VI (series)
DP Ken Krawczyk csc
to December 13
Toronto
GRAND ARMY (series)
Camera Operator/Steadicam Colin Akoon
to October 4
Mississauga
GREEN HARVEST III (series)
DP Glen Keenan csc C Camera Operator J.P. Locherer
to February 6, 2020
Toronto
HEARTLAND XIII (series)
DP Jarrett Craig
to September 6
Calgary
IN THE DARK II (series)
1st Assistant Pierre Branconnier
to January 31, 2020
Mississauga Burnaby
JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS (series)
DP Randal Platt csc
to December 20
LETTERKENNY V, BLOCK A (series)
DP Jim Westenbrink csc 1st Assistant Tony Lippa
to September 6
Garson
MAGICIANS V (series)
DP Corey Robson & Thomas Burstyn csc, nczs (alternating episodes)
to November 8
Vancouver
MERCURY (series)
DP Craig Wrobleski csc 2nd Unit Cam Op/Steadicam Brent Robinson soc
to November 15
Toronto
MURDOCH MYSTERIES XIII (series)
DP Yuri Yakubiw csc 1st Assistant Kevin Michael Leblanc
to November 12
Toronto
NANCY DREW, THE (series)
DP John Bartley csc, asc
to December 9
N. Vancouver
NEXT STEP, THE (series)
DP Mitchell Ness csc & DP Milan Podsedly (Aug 18-30)
to September 13
Toronto
OMENS (series)
DP Bernard Couture csc
to February 28, 2020
PRIVATE EYES IV (series)
DP Eric Cayla csc & Mike McMurray csc B Camera Operator Brad Hruboska soc
to November 15
Scarborough
PROJECT BLUE BOOK II (series)
DP François Dagenais csc & C. Kim Miles csc (alternating episodes)
to November 13
Burnaby
RIVERDALE IV (series)
DP Ronald Richard
to April 17, 2020
Langley
SISTER RISING III – (fka STREETS OF YESTERDAY) (series)
DP Marc Laliberté (odd) & DP Tico Poulakakis csc
to February 28, 2020
Toronto
SUDDEN DEATH 2 (feature)
DP/Operator Mark Irwin csc, asc
to September 4
Winnipeg
SUPERGIRL V (series)
DP Michael Storey csc
to March 17, 2020
Langley
SUPERNATURAL XV (series)
DP Serge Ladouceur Camera Operator Brad Creasser
to April 2, 2020
Burnaby
TINY PRETTY THINGS (series)
DP Luc Montpellier csc
to December 2
Toronto
TITANS II (series)
DP Fraser Brown csc (odd episodes) & Brendan Steacy csc (even episodes)
to September 18
Toronto
TO ALL THE BOYS 3 (feature)
B Cam Operator Stirling Bancroft csc
to September 6
TRICKSTER, THE (miniseries)
DP Steve Cosens csc
to November 5
North Bay
WHEN CALLS THE HEART VI (feature)
DP Michael Balfry csc
to December 16
Burnaby
WHEN HOPE CALLS (series)
DP Russ Goozee csc
to September 4
North Bay
ZEUS (series)
B Operator/Steadicam Richard Wilmot
to November 4
Toronto
SEPTEMBER 5-15, Toronto International Film Festival, tiff.net 13-17, IBC, Amsterdam, show.ibc.org 14-21, ICFF Manaki Brothers, Bitola, Macedonia, manaki.com.mk OCTOBER 4-5, Cinegear Expo Atlanta, cinegearexpo.com/atlanta-expo 16-17, NAB Show New York, nabshowny.com 16-23, New Orleans Film Festival, neworleansfilmsociety.org 17-19, Broadcast India Show, Mumbai, India, broadcastindiashow. com/home 19-20, CSC Two-Day Camera Assistant Workshop, Toronto, csc.ca
@canadiancinematographer @csc_CDN
18-20, Oslo Digital Cinema Conference, Oslo, Norway, odcc.no October 26-27, CSC Two-Day Lighting Workshop, Toronto, csc.ca NOVEMBER 2-9, ADF International Film Festival Of Cinematography, Buenos Aires and Vicente López, Argentina, adfcine.org 6-13, American Film Market Fest, Santa Monica, americanfilmmarket.com 9-16, Camerimage International Film Festival, Torun, Poland, camerimage.pl/en 13-14, ProFusion, Toronto, profusionexpo.com 14-21, AFI FEST 2019, Hollywood, afi.com/afifest
Canadian Cinematographer welcomes feedback, comments and questions about the magazine and its contents. Please send your letters to editor@csc.ca. Letters may be edited for clarity and space.
36 • Canadian Cinematographer - September 2018
Panasonic DVCPRO Digital Video Recorder D230H SONY BETACAM SP Recorder UVW-1800 JVC S-Video Cassette Recorder BR-S800U Panasonic H1350 Colour Monitor JVC 9" Colour Monitor JVC Hi Resolution Colour Monitor A VERY GOOD DEAL FOR SOMEONE Contact Robert Bocking csc for further information. 416 636-9587 or rvbocking@rogers.com ALEXA ITEMS FOR SALE Arri Alura T2.9. 18-80mm (PL Mount, Feet) CAD$20,000 OBO Arri Eyepiece Leveler (EL-3) Brand New CAD$400 OBO Arri Viewfinder Cable Medium KC151S Brand New CAD$350 OBO Please email Ian Toews csc at: ian@291filmcompany.ca Canon CN-E Prime Lenses 24mm T1.5, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5 In excellent condition. EF mount, covers S35 and full frame. Asking $3400 each. Contact info@johnker.com. 35 4x5.6 Schneider filters: ND’s, color correction, diffusion, grads 2 138mm Tiffen Tobacco, Sunset grad 2 138mm Schneider Tru Pola, 85 Pola 2 138mm Schneider CU diopter #1, Cu Diopter • includes case and pouches for every filter. • Excellent condition • 4x5.6 and 138mm. clears included Today’s value in U.S. dollars $13,705 U.S. Selling price $9,500 CDN PLEASE CONTACT: Bert Tougas H: 514-634-2374 C: 514-913-2376 I have 15 - 3x3 Tiffen filters for sale - fogs, Promists Grads, 812's etc. all with cases $185.00 - contact Barry Casson csc - 250-7212113 or e-mail bcasson@speakfilm.com TIFFEN ULTRA STEADICAM , HD Ultrabrite color monitor ,HDMI Decimator 2,Iso-elastic arm, 4-24 volt batteries, 1-Pag battery charger 24v,1Lentequip battery charger 12/24v,Klassen vest and carrying bag, 1 Preston F1+Z transmitter 1 Preston MDR-1 receiver,1 Preston control, 2 motors, 2 batteries, charger, numerous Hill motor mount brackets rossette brackets and rods, 1 long dovetail plate,1 short dovetail plate, 1 docking bracket,1 fgs wheel chair/ dolly adaptor,rain cover, too many cables, hard cases and accessories to list.This rig was well maintained looks new,all it needs is a few upgrades. $ 35000.00 can 416 817 3938 or acadian@ rogers.com Rick Kearney Preston FIZ 2 kit - $5,000 2 x Arri MB-20 studio matte box - $8,000 Arri LMB-15 Clip-on matte box - $1,200 Power-Pod Classic - $5,000 Please contact Michael Balfry csc @: michaelbalfry@gmail.com for a complete list of items. Looking for a set of old, no longer used, standard legs with Mitchell base. Or any type of disused heavy camera support. This is to be used to mount a Mitchell BNCR camera in order to place it on display. Anyone with access to such a tripod or with information about one, please contact me: rawi@earthlink.net 416-691-6865
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.
ARRI SRH-3 CREATIVITY IN MOTION
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ARRI STABILIZED REMOTE HEAD. TRULY CINEMATIC.
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VENICE EXTENDS ITS VISION By incorporating feedback from filmmakers including a close collaboration with James Cameron on Avatar sequels, the capabilities of Sony’s VENICE motionpicture camera continue to grow. The VENICE Extension System allows the camera body to detach from the image sensor block, offering a highly configurable and portable method of operation. The tether, which can extend 9 or 18 feet, makes the small, lightweight body ideal for use in tight and unconventional spaces as well as for use with gimbals, handheld stabilizers, underwater rigs, helicopter rigs and more. Now, following the recent release of Version 4.0 firmware, your shooting capabilities just got even more versatile. Version 4.0 includes support for Cooke’s latest /i3 and ZEISS eXtended Data technology, optional High Frame Rate license speeds for shooting at up to 120fps at 4K 2.39:1 and 60fps at 6K FF 3:2, 700 Protocol for remote control (useful for multi-camera setups and live events) progressive HD-SDI output in 25p and 29p, and more. The new X-OCN XT profile offers the highest possible image quality, which allows you to optimize your artistry for any level of production. With the optional CBK-WA02 USB WiFi adapter, full wireless control of all camera functions are accessible using your smart device. Extend your vision with the new CBK-3610XS VENICE Extension System and V4.0 firmware, available at Vistek.
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