Ron Prince has over three decades of experience in the film, TV, CGI and VFX industries, and has written about cinematography for 20 years. In 2014, he won the ARRI John Alcott Award from the BSC. He also runs the international content marketing and PR communications company Prince PR. Birgit Heidsiek is an award-winning sustainability consultant, author, TEDx speaker and founder of the European Centre For Sustainability In The Media World (www.greenfilmshooting.net), which informs about ecofriendly film and media production.
Christine Gebhard is the founder and managing editor of the Germanspeaking publication film-tv-video.de. They are industry veterans with a deep knowledge of the film, TV and cine market.
“Count” Iain Blair is a British writer/musician who lives in LA and writes extensively about film/entertainment for outlets including LA Times, Variety and Reuters. He interviews movie stars, as well as Hollywood’s top filmmakers.
Darek Kuźma is a film and TV journalist, translator/interpreter, and a regular collaborator/programmer of the EnergaCamerimage Film Festival. He is an ardent cinephile who has a lifelong romance with the visual language of cinema.
David Wood is a freelance journalist covering film/TV technology and production He was a former technology editor at Televisual, and is a regular contributor to Worldscreen, TVB Europe and Broadcast.
Kirsty Hazlewood has over two decades of editorial experience in print/ online publications, including reporting for the IBC and ISE Daily, and is a regular contributor to folk/roots music website Spiral Earth.
Natasha Block Hicks is an artist/designer/maker, who spent a decade as a freelance film and TV camera assistant, and indulges her love for cinema and cinematography through research and writing.
Cover Image: Tornado, starring Kōki, directed by John Maclean and shot on 35mm film by Robbie Ryan ISC BSC. Copyright: Norman Wilcox-Geissen (2024).
We all worked together for the love of it
DP
Robbie Ryan ISC BSC
IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD
As the name Cinematography World suggests, we engage with people who live and breathe the art and craft of visual storytelling right around the world.
By embracing the global community of cinematographers and their collaborators – from upand-coming talents to Oscar-winners – it means the content within our pages is like no other. It’s diverse and inclusive too.
We’re proud to work with many cinematographyfocussed organisations, including IMAGO and the many societies within the federation, along with the ICLS, ACO and SOC, Women In Cinematography, Film Crew Collective, ASPEC and PERG, amongst many others.
We’re also the official media partners / supporters of many events and festivals such as Camerimage, IBC, NAB, Euro Cine Expo, the UK/North American Lens Summit and Kit Plus, whilst reporting in-depth on shows like the BSC Expo and Cine Gear too.
Being a global brand, we have inter-continental reach. We’re now distributing our magazine to more than 85 countries. Our website and newsletters connect to over 32,000 in the industry, in almost 150 countries internationally, with great page views and open rates.
Whether you are a reader or a supporter of Cinematography World, thank you for stepping into our universe. We hope you enjoy this edition which, like everything we do, is led by love and passion.
See you next at IBC 2025 in Amsterdam. Until then… stay safe and happy filming!
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Ron Prince Editor in Chief
Ron Prince photo by Joe Short www.joeshort.com
Official Media Partners
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TORNADO
ASC ELECTS DP MANDY WALKER ACS ASC AS PRESIDENT
The American Society Of Cinematographers’ (ASC) board of governors has elected Australian DP Mandy Walker ASC ACS AM as president, making her the first woman to lead the organisation.
The board also voted-in vice presidents Eric Steelberg ASC, John Simmons ASC and Patrick Cady ASC; treasurer Charles Minsky ASC; secretary Dejan Georgevich ASC; and sergeant-atarms Charlie Lieberman ASC.
Outgoing ASC president Shelly Johnson ASC, who completed his final term, noted that he passed along the office to Walker “with a warm heart.”
“It is a great honour to be the president of the ASC, and an even bigger privilege to be the first woman to hold the position,” said Walker. “I am so humbled to take on the responsibility of representing a society that has carved out an inspiring, inclusive space to meet and support other cinematographers. I am proud of our century-old legacy to advance the art and science of cinematography, and I’m excited for the future of our organisation.”
Walker is known for her work on acclaimed films such as Australia (2008), Hidden Figures (2016) and Elvis (2022), which earned her Academy Award and BAFTA nominations for Best
and an Australian Academy Of Cinema & Television Arts Award.
THE 78TH FESTIVAL DE CANNES WINNERS’ LIST
The Jury of the 78th Festival de Cannes, led by Juliette Binoche, awarded the Palme d’Or to Un Simple Accident/It Was Just An Accident by Jafar Panahi, with the Grand Prix going to Joachim Trier’s Affeksjonsverdi/Sentimental Value. The Jury Prize was shared by Sirât (Oliver Laxe) and Sound Of Falling (dir. Mascha Schilinski).
Kleber Mendonça Filho won Best Director for O Agente Secreto/The Secret Agent, which also earned Wagner Moura the gong for best actor. The award for Best Actress went to Nadia Melliti for La Petite Dernière, and the Dardenne Brothers won Best Screenplay for Jeunes Mères. A Special Award was presented to Resurrection by Bi Gan.
In Shorts, I’m Glad You’re Dead Now by Tawfeek Barhom won the Palme d’Or, with a Special Mention for Ali by Adnan Al Rajeev. La Misteriosa Mirada Del Flamenco by Diego Céspedes took the Un Certain Regard Prize. Other winners in that section included Un Poeta, Once Upon A Time In Gaza and Pillion, plus acting prizes for Cleo Diára and Frank Dillane.
The President’s Cake by Hassan Hadi won the Caméra d’Or, and La Cinef’s top prize went to First Summer by Heo Gayoung. CST honours went to Éponine Momenceau for Connemara, and DP Ruben Impens SBC and re-recording mixer Stéphane Thiébaut for Alpha
REMEMBERING RON JOHANSON OAM ACS
It is with great sorrow that the Australian Cinematographers’ Society (ACS) acknowledge the passing of Ronald Geoffrey Johanson OAM ACS.
Ron or Ronny as he was often referred to, was the ACS’s much-loved, highly respected and long-serving National President for 14 years from 2008 to 2022, National Vice President for five years and a past Queensland President for over ten years.
Ron was a key force behind the establishment of the first ACS National headquarters in 2010, driven by dedication to the society and Australian cinematography, rather than personal recognition. He elevated the ACS’s global presence as the second ACS president to represent Australia on IMAGO, the global federation of cinematographic societies, becoming co-
president in 2021 and building strong international alliances.
He championed inclusivity, collaborating with other Australian guilds to unify the industry, expanded the ACS nationally by founding branches in every state and territory, and led the upgrade of the ACS website to support the 2012 publication of The Shadowcatchers, a 288-page history of Australian cinematography.
Ron was larger-than-life, a deeply caring, generous soul, and a mentor to many over the years whom he helped and supported whenever and however possible.
His work earned him recognition with many significant awards, including three National ACS Gold Tripods, numerous State Gold ACS Awards, four New York Festival International Advertising Awards, three Mobius Awards, two Cannes Awards, and much more.
Current ACS National President Erika Addis ASC said, “Ron was a true gentleman and a true one-of-a-kind. He did so much for so many and his beloved ACS in-particular. The world of cinematography and his family at the ACS have lost one of their most inspiring and devoted members and more so, one of their best friends. He will be dearly missed.”
Cinematography. She made history with Elvis, becoming the first woman to receive an ASC Award for feature film cinematography
BSC INVITES 14 NEW MEMBERS
The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) recently welcomed eight cinematographers to full membership and six operators to associate membership status.
Joining the society as full members are Tasha Back, Catherine Derry, Neville Kidd ASC, Jamie D. Ramsay SASC, Aaron Reid, Ben Richardson ASC, Oli Russell and Susanne Salavati.
Tasha Back is an award-winning cinematographer, having previously won the BSC’s Short Film Award in 2021, with independent feature films Girl and In Camera amongst her credits. Catherine Derry has an extensive background in shorts and music videos, and shooting major TV shows including The Great, Industry and A Thousand Blows. Neville Kidd ASC is an Emmy-winning cinematographer and member of the ASC.
Jamie D. Ramsay SASC is a member of the South African Society Of Cinematographers and has shot films as wide-ranging as the criticallyacclaimed Moffie to the BAFTA-nominated All Of Us Strangers and Living.
Russell is a BAFTA-nominated DP having shot Sex Education, Red Eye and The Gold. Susanne Salavati is a cinematographer who has worked across drama and documentary, her most recent credits include The Crow Girl and Truelove.
Joining in the associate membership category are Jon Beacham ACO, John Hembrough ACO, Robert Hollingworth, Christopher McGuire SOC ACO, Richard Philpott ACO and Joe Russell ACO. The new members were invited to the BSC Summer Lunch to receive their membership certificates.
Aaron Reid shot the hit series Supacell as well as critically-acclaimed dramas such as Stephen and The Walk-In. Ben Richardson ASC is an Emmy-nominated DP and member of the ASC. He shot the Oscarnominated film Beasts Of The Southern Wild and received Emmy nominations for his work on Mare Of Easttown and Yellowstone. Oli
PINEWOOD GROUP SUBMITS PLANNING APPLICATION FOR DATA CENTRE
Pinewood Group has submitted a planning application to Buckinghamshire Council for a data centre on the Pinewood South site. The application outlines significant investment, with an estimated construction cost of over £1billion, and includes a 55,030sq/m stateof-the-art data centre. The proposal also delivers a 60-acre nature reserve, six-acre community garden and learning space.
Pinewood Group CEO, David Conway said, “Our proposed plan for a data centre on
BLACKMAGIC
the land to the south of Pinewood Studios is in alignment with the critical infrastructure needs identified by the Government. The significant investment will bring jobs and additional benefits to the local community with the delivery of a nature reserve, community gardens and learning space.”
The planning application has a target determination date of the end of 2025. Subject to the grant of outline planning consent, a detailed reserved matters application will be submitted.
URSA CINE 17K 65 APPROVED BY
The Blackmagic Ursa Cine 17K 65 digital film camera has been added to the Netflix Approved Camera List.
Officially titled “Cameras & Image Capture: Requirements & Best Practices”, the list highlights the capture requirements necessary to be qualified as an approved camera by the streamer, including dynamic range, resolution, codec, workflow compatibility and more.
Netflix requires 90% of a programme’s final total runtime to be captured on approved cameras. The list already includes the Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro 12K OLPF amongst its approved systems.
Blackmagic URSA Cine
17K 65
Shoot 65 mm format 8 K up to 170 fps and 17K up to 60 fps with 16 stops of dynamic range!
Blackmagic URSA Cine is a revolutionary digital film camera that introduces new advanced digital film technology combined with total integration into the post production workflow. That means it’s the first digital film camera with fast high capability storage built in, plus high speed networking for on set media sync. You can also swap between PL, LPL, EF and Hasselblad lens mounts.
Cinematic Large Format Sensor
URSA Cine features a revolutionary new sensor designed for incredible quality images at all resolutions from 4K to a massive 17K! Building on the original 12K RGBW Super 35 sensor, the new large format design features larger photo-sites, delivering an astounding 16 stops of dynamic range! Now you can capture more detail with a wider dynamic range than ever before!
A Camera Body Optimized for High End Production!
The evenly weighted camera body is built with a robust magnesium alloy chassis and lightweight carbon fiber polycarbonate composite skin to help you move quickly on set. There’s a 5" fold out touchscreen for reviewing shots and accessing camera settings, plus a dedicated assist station on the other side of the camera, with 5" LCD and full camera controls.
High Performance Internal Media for Recording
URSA Cine is the first digital film camera with ultra fast high capability Cloud Store technology built in. Blackmagic Media Module is fast, rugged and includes a massive 8TB of storage. The module can be easily removed from the camera and loaded into a Blackmagic Media Dock for transferring media to a network or to Blackmagic Cloud for instant global collaboration!
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URSA Cine records an HD proxy in H.264 in addition to the camera original media. The small proxy file can upload to Blackmagic Cloud in seconds, even as the camera’s recording, so your media is available back at the studio in real time. If you have multiple cameras, then the new multi source feature in DaVinci Resolve’s Cut page will show each camera angle in a multiview.
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SONY UNVEILS CUTTING-EDGE INNOVATIONS
Sony has unveiled a suite of cuttingedge innovations across its imaging technologies for live event capture, display solutions and cinematic tools.
Sony’s HDC-5500 system camera recently played a pivotal role in capturing the historic announcement of Pope Leo XIV from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8th. Broadcast live to millions around the world, the event demanded impeccable image quality and dependable performance under complex lighting conditions during the early evening hours.
Delivering 4K HDR visuals with accurate, trueto-life colour reproduction and precise high framerate capture, the HDC-5500 helped to convey the solemnity and atmosphere of The Vatican – from the crowd gathered in late afternoon light to the dramatic papal reveal. The Vatican’s on-going preference for Sony’s broadcast technology underscores its commitment to embracing technological innovation for documenting the evolving history of the Catholic Church.
usability and meets demanding production needs.
Equipped with a 33.0 megapixel backilluminated Exmor R sensor, the FX2 offers beautiful bokeh effects and wide dynamic range, capturing over 15-stops of latitude using S-Log3. Its Dual Base ISO (800/4000) provides notable image quality across various lighting conditions, with ISO expandable to 102,400 for low-light flexibility. The camera supports multiple recording formats including 4:2:2 10-bit All-Intra and XAVC S-I DCI 4K at 24fps, catering to flexible post-production workflows.
Further expanding its Cinema Line, Sony has announced the FX2 (model ILME-FX2), a compact full-frame camera designed to deliver cinematic quality and versatility for independent filmmakers and production crews alike. Developed in response to customer feedback, the FX2 incorporates unique features such as a new tiltable viewfinder that enhances
In the realm of display panel technology, Sony has launched the Crystal LED Capri series, an expansion designed to deliver premium image quality at a more accessible price point. The Capri line-up boasts a maximum brightness of 1,500cd/sq/m and a fine 2.50mm LED pitch, complemented by high refresh rates, a wide colour gamut, and anti-reflection properties. These features make it a suitable choice for virtual production, broadcast, corporate staging and rental applications.
The Capri series integrates seamlessly with Sony’s ecosystem, supporting Brompton and Megapixel controllers, and complements the higherend Crystal LED Verona series by offering similar luminance and controller compatibility but tailored for customers seeking cost-effective yet high-quality LED display solutions. The Capri models are expected to
hit the market this winter.
Recognising the increasing challenges posed by sophisticated AI-generated content, Sony has introduced the beta release of Camera Verify, an advanced feature within its Camera Authenticity Solution. This new tool enables news organisations and media professionals to externally share image authenticity data via a dedicated URL, greatly simplifying the verification of trusted imagery.
At the heart of this innovation is the embedding of C2PA digital signatures alongside proprietary 3D depth data directly into images at capture. This dual-layered approach allows anyone with access to the shared URL to validate an image’s authenticity through Sony’s Image Validation site, providing a powerful safeguard against manipulation or forgery. To broaden accessibility, Sony has also made the Digital Signature License available on its Creators’ Cloud platform, enabling more professionals to protect the credibility of their visual content.
UK GOVERNMENT FUELS £10M INVESTMENT IN NFTS EXPANSION
As a leading screen industry training institution, the National Film & Television School (NFTS) will benefit from the UK Government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan. As part of this, £10 million in funding – subject to a full business case – will support the NFTS’s £21 million expansion of its Beaconsfield Studios campus.
Cementing the funding, Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport said, “From Barbie and Killing Eve to Adolescence and Saltburn, the UK already has a stellar track record of producing award-winning films and cutting-edge TV which are enjoyed by millions at home and around the world. This landmark Sector Plan puts the creative industries at the
heart of our economic growth strategy and is key to making that ambition a reality.”
The government’s backing requires the school to raise an additional £11 million in private investment, which it has committed to securing.
Reaching the full £21 million target will allow the NFTS to expand and modernise its facilities, adding 25,000sq/ft of new teaching and production space. It will also increase student capacity by 25% and, for the first time in the school’s history, provide on-site, accessible student accommodation, ensuring disabled students can live and study on equal terms. If successful, construction is expected to begin in late 2025, with the new facilities opening in January 2027.
MARK MILSOME FOUNDATION WELCOMES HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE ON EMPLOYMENT BILL
The Mark Milsome Foundation (MMF) has welcomed the recent debate that took place in the House Of Lords, on a proposed amendment to the current Employment Bill, calling for the appointment of an independent freelance commissioner.
During the debate, Baroness Caine of Kentish Town, CBE raised concerns about health and safety amongst freelancers and highlighted the Mark Milsome Foundation’s campaign to improve safety within the film and TV industry – a sector largely powered by freelance crew.
MMF is delighted that Lord Katz, responded positively to Baroness Caine by stating, “It is essential that employers in the creative industries do not use, or rather, abuse the multifarious employment statuses of those working in the sector to evade their responsibilities, particularly when it comes to health and safety. I am happy to take this back to colleagues in DBT (Department for Business & Trade and DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport).
The Mark Milsome Foundation hopes that debate will be a catalyst for meaningful legislative changes to improve health and safety
SERIES
The STORM 80c and STORM 1000c deliver unparalleled color accuracy.
Featuring the revolutionary BLAIR-CG light engine they are the ultimate tunable color lights for filmmakers who need versatility without compromise, redefining professional LED performance.
Attachment 18°–36° (PJ-FMM-18-36) is a precision-engineered optic, designed for FM-mount LED spotlights, offering a zoom range of 18° to 36° for flexible, accurate beam placement. Ideal for gaffers and cinematographers, it delivers sharp edges, 97% beam uniformity, 96% CCT accuracy, and just 3% distortion, thanks to its high-quality aspherical glass and advanced lens coatings.
The attachment enhances illuminance by up to 21 times and features a large zoom ring for easy beam adjustment. A built-in yoke improves fixture balance and allows steep downward tilts. The robust aluminium alloy and nylon build ensures long-term durability, whilst the matte black inner barrel minimises reflections for a
cleaner beam.
Creative control is expanded with 360° lens rotation, integrated shutters for precise shaping, a gel frame slot, and both proprietary and M-size gobo holders – plus compatibility with an optional 18-blade iris diaphragm.
The unit comes with a padded, protective carry bag for safe storage and transport. Combining performance, flexibility, and build quality, the PJ-FMM-18-36 is an essential tool for professional lighting setups on demanding film and TV productions.
Later in 2025, Dedolight will ship two new multi-colour focussing lights, the 800W Dedocolor Matrix8 and 1800W Matrix 18. These represent the company’s most advanced light engine technology which, the company says, will deliver the first clean shadows in the world of LED multi-colour lighting.
The foundational force behind these lights is the Dedolight Optical Color Engine (OCE); a multichannel, matrix-style LED system that builds light the way nature does – one wavelength at a time.
By combining RGBACL+Ter (tertiary) LEDs with optical precision, Dedocolor’s OCE recreates the natural complexity of colour - billions of shades, shaped at the source.
The multi-channel OCE Matrix engine offers spectral control beyond five-channel RGBWW, and RGBACL or other six-channel fixtures. The additional diodes move beyond conventional primary and secondary colour boundaries into the tertiary spectrum, eliminating spiky mixes, gaps in skin tones and muted saturation in vibrant colours.
The new lights will be compatible with other Dedolight optics, enabling cinematographers and gaffers to reach the pinnacle of colour lighting and shadow precision.
Compatible Dedolight optics include:
– DLWAR400-P-Wide Angle Lens with Rotating Barn Doors, enabling clean cuts of any shape without fringing.
– DPBA-1419-P Beam Intensifier, which dramatically increases output, perfect for directing light into reflectors or for use with the honeycomb
attachment.
– DZOOM-P Lens, with 3.75 Fresnel glass to focus the light beam from 30° down to 8°.
– DP400 Focal Spot Projectors which work with
various set-ups including gobos, shutter blades, iris and wide angle configurations.
The Dedocolor Matrix8 and Matrix18 are expected to ship in the final quarter of 2025.
CINELAB ACQUIRES FLUENT/IMAGE TO ENHANCE WORKFLOW SERVICES
Cinelab Film & Digital has acquired Fluent/Image, a provider of imaging services, media workflows, and developer of Coherence, a powerful automation platform for managing VFX pulls, QC and submissions.
Fluent/Image has delivered media and VFX workflows on major productions including The Martian, The Matrix Resurrections, Prometheus, The King’s Man, The Last Duel, Argylle, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout
With a reputation for innovation and reliability, Fluent/Image joins Cinelab to offer expanded support across feature films, episodic productions and high-end content creation. The move reflects a shared commitment to removing friction from
complex workflows and providing greater clarity and control to production teams at every stage.
“Fluent/Image brings a depth of expertise that complements our existing services perfectly. Whether you’re working on a tentpole feature or a high-end series, joinedup thinking between picture post and VFX is essential,” said Adrian Bull, CEO of Cinelab Film & Digital. Jon Ferguy, founder of Fluent/ Image, commented, “We’ve always built tools and services that keep pace with the real-world challenges of production. Joining Cinelab allows us to scale those services and offer even closer support to our clients.”
DOCUMENTARY STORYTELLING THROUGH SPATIAL VIDEO WITH BLACKMAGIC DESIGN
Eighty years after World War II, a daughter uncovers her father’s untold story as a D-Day combat camera operator. That’s the premise of D-Day: The Camera Soldier, a new documentary, produced by Targo in collaboration with Time Studios, for Apple Vision Pro.
Targo, an immersive documentary studio, approached the film as a fluid narrative across formats, blending 2D archival footage, spatial video and 3D interactivity to deepen the audience’s connection to its emotional and historical truth.
“We’re now able to ask ourselves ‘Which medium is best-suited to tell this specific part of the story?’” said Targo co-founder and director Chloé Rochereuil. “Previously, we worked in silos – 360-degree video, stereoscopic video, interactive scenes – with each format operating independently. This project bridges those formats and allows us to choose the one that best serves the narrative.”
That mindset shaped every aspect of production, from developing a compact custom camera rig to designing a unified post production pipeline.
“One of the first challenges we faced was finding
the right equipment, something lightweight, high-resolution and robust-enough to follow life as it happens without disrupting it,” noted producer and Targo co-founder Victor Agulhon.
For D-Day: The Camera Soldier, Targo developed a miniaturised rig around two Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K G2s to capture the spatial footage.
“These cameras gave us the right balance of cinematic image quality with a compact, lightweight form factor,” said Agulhon. “They were small enough to mount on a light beam splitter, allowing us to move the system easily and stay mobile indoors, outdoors, even on beaches.”
Ultimately, it came down to image quality, form factor, and sensor synchronisation. “The Micro Studio 4Ks were the only cameras that brought all three together in the way we needed,” revealed immersive DP Mael Joanas.
This was Targo’s first project on which it could bring the entire workflow together in DaVinci Resolve Studio. “Unifying our video pipeline for edit, conform,
grade and delivery in one tool reduced the variables and centralised our process around a familiar skill set,” explained Joanas.
“Historically, our stereo alignment pipeline would have been scattered across multiple tools,” revealed Joanas. “Through Resolve, we not only reduced the need for round tripping, but also improved how we collaborated.”
ARRI NETWORK INTERFACE ADAPTER EXPANDS CAMERA & LENS CONTROL
ARRI has announced the Network Interface Adapter NIA-1, bridging modern IP workflows and traditional LBUS-based camera and lens control systems.
The NIA-1 adds Ethernet connectivity to ARRI’s ECS, enabling low-latency IP networking, advanced remote control and scalable multi-device set-ups. Tools like the Hi-5 hand unit now support broader third-party camera use, enhancing both cine and live production workflows.
The compact and robust NIA-1 features LBUS, Ethernet and USB-C connectors, with their status shown on an intuitive touchscreen. It can also be controlled remotely via a web interface from any
device on the same network.
With the NIA-1, ARRI has introduced the concept of network channels, a new and simple way to configure IP networks on a film set. Users just need to set the same network channel letter designation on each connecting device, for example the letter ‘A’ for the A-camera.
Connection is fast and easy, with the NIA-1 automatically managing complex network settings, although manual IP configuration is also an option when incorporating the NIA-1 into advanced networks.
The possibilities of NIA-1 applications include control of ARRI lens motors or cameras from third-party devices via IP.
ASTERA LAUNCHES QUIKPUNCH WIRELESS LED FRESNEL
Astera has unveiled QuikPunch, a battery-powered LED Par spot with a Fresnel lens, engineered for lighting professionals who need a fast, bright and versatile light.
The QuikPunch with its 5” Fresnel lens, is the first spotlight that takes advantage of the features of an LED Par combined with the optical quality of a Fresnel in the same wireless fixture.
Designed for both sharp spotlights and wide soft washes, QuikPunch delivers clean, single-shadow output with no colour shift or spill. Using just 75W, it matches the punch of a 650W Tungsten Fresnel with 8,000lux at three meters. Its built-in battery offers up to 4.5 hours of full-output runtime.
Powered by the Astera Titan LED Engine with RGBMA colour science and OutputGain, QuikPunch delivers a sharp, spill-free beam across a 13°–60° zoom range. It mimics both theatrical PC projectors and classic Tungsten Fresnels when paired with the optional EdgeSoftener. With its bright output
and wide beam, it replaces bulky 200W multi-diode LED washers for even surface washes.
The new fixture features an intuitive barrel-driven zoom with QuikTurn, enabling instant beam adjustments without filters, and a mechanical stop at 30° for precise, repeatable control. Barndoors offer added light shaping, and even at 45°, the beam remains tight and controlled.
Highly-adaptable, the lamp suits truss rigging, tripod mounting or floor use. Its removable yoke includes foldable feet and an airline track, whilst the built-in KickStand and rear 3/8” thread support versatile setups using baby pins or Superclamps.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
Our regular round up of who is shooting what and where
SCREEN TALENT:
Adam Sliwinski is shooting The Christmas Audit for Crown Media. Andrew Rodger has been shooting Sessions, a feature directed by Giles Alderson.
INDEPENDENT TALENT GROUP:
Dan Atherton recently shot Legends directed by Brady Hood. Chas Bain has finished shooting Trigger Point S3 with director Jamie Donoughue. Stuart Bentley BSC who recently joined the agency continues to shoot ads with directors Ric Cantor and Samona Olanipekun. Ole Birkeland BSC lit Secret Service with James Marsh and is now prepping on Dear England Eben Bolter BSC ASC is framing Cape Fear Arni Filippusson has been shooting on The Cage, directed by Al Mackay. Caroline Bridges lit Easy, directed by Luke Eve. Mark Waters is prepping for Grantchester S11, directed by Rob Evans. Miguel Carmenes recently wrapped on the TV series Juice S2 with director Eros V, and has been shooting ads and music videos with GoshDamn, Chris Chance, Silence, ErosV and Jed Simkins. Chris Clarke has been shooting commercials and promos with Nico Beyer and Adam Wells. Ben Davis BSC has graded Wild Horse Nine, The Woman In Cabin 10 and Stuntman Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC has wrapped on The Runner with Kevin McDonald. Toby Elwes has graded Sierra Madres, the film he shot with Justin Chadwick. Catherine Goldschmidt BSC ASC is shooting on Three Body Problem with director Miguel Saoichnik. Rick Joaquim SASC has been shooting TVCs and music videos with directors Troy Roscoe, Kassandra Powell,
and
& Tom Wheeler.
Suzie Lavelle BSC Suzie is prepping for Bloomers, directed by Will Sharpe. John Mathieson BSC has been shooting ads with directors Mikael Jansson, Trey Laird and Jake Scott. Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC is prepping for Narnia with Greta Gerwig. Bani
Mendy has been shooting on Death In Paradise S15. Patrick Meller has joined the ITG team and has been shooting commercials with directors Freddie Powell, Oli Beale and Chris Balmond. Carmen Pellon Brussosa lit ads for directors Sofia Grillo, Serena Brown, Carlijn Jacobs and Sophie King. Mark Patten BSC is shooting The Gentlemen S2 with Guy Ritchie. Stephan Pehrsson (BSC) is lighting Ahsoka S2 for Lucasfilm. Kate Reid BSC recently wrapped on Miss Pirie And Miss Woods, directed by Sophie Heldman. James Rhodes is shooting Netflix’s Heartstopper with director Wash Westmoreland. Ashley Rowe BSC is framing block two of Matthew Moore’s series, Go Away Martin Ruhe BSC is filming on The Agency S2. Alan Stewart BSC is currently on the concept shoot of BR directed by TJ Steyn. Tom Wade finished 2nd unit on The Running Man and is shooting on Supergirl Erik Wilson BSC has been on TVCs with Michael Gracey and Craig Ainsley. Linda Wu operated for Olan Collardy on the TV drama The Roots Manoeuvre
MCKINNEY MACARTNEY MANAGEMENT: Ben Butler has been shooting commercials. Wes Cardino recently wrapped Nobody Wants This S2 for Netflix and is prepping on Best Medicine for Fox in New York State.Sergio Delgado BSC AEC just wrapped The Season in Hong Kong, with Marialy Rivas directing. Gavin Finney BSC is prepping on Lord Of The Rings S5 for Amazon, with director
Tim Abshire
Robbie Samuels. Billy Kendall has been shooting ads and promos with directors Relta, Annie Bercy, Gugzay, Bedroom
This page: (top) DP Andrew Rodger (l) with director Giles Alderson; (clockwise) Ari Filipusson on The Cage, photo James Stark; Caroline Bridges shooting on Easy, photo Mark Cassar; grip Frank Cor (l), camera trainee Hermione Sylvester, DP Andrew Rodger and director Giles Alderson; and Chas Bain with Vicky McClure on Trigger Point, photo Lydia Stott B-cam focus puller.
Delivering Solutions To Fuel Creativity
The CVP Projects Team delivers end-to-end solutions, from design and specification to seamless installation and training. With a flexible, collaborative approach, we tailor each project to your needs, leveraging our extensive supplier network and industry connections to ensure the best technology fit. Our expert project management and reliable equipment supply bring together the right people and technology to create future-proof studio environments.
A Unique Approach
With evolving technology and countless choices, selecting the right system can be challenging. That’s why we collaborate early, guiding clients to define objectives, resources, and solutions to bring their vision to life. We understand the latest technologies and how to integrate them into creative workflows seamlessly.
Expertise and Guidance
With deep roots in cinematography, film, and broadcast, CVP is renowned for expert service, unbiased advice, and support. Our Projects Team leverages decades of experience and strong partnerships to integrate best practices and cutting-edge technology, keeping clients ahead in a rapidly evolving industry.
Bespoke Solutions
As experts in designing, specifying, and delivering studios, gaming, VR, XR, MR, and brand activations, we provide tailored advice to align technology with your vision. From cameras and tracking to LED and processors, we ensure seamless integration across commercial applications, including podcasting, broadcast, corporate projects, and film.
TRUSTED BY
WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
Stefan Schwartz. Jean Philippe Gossart AFC is lighting on 3 Body Problem for Netflix in Budapest with Jeremy Podeswa directing. Steve Lawes has started shooting on AMC’s The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon S3 with director Dan Percival. Dale Elena McCready BSC NZCS is shooting Paris Has Fallen S2 for Hulu/ Canal+, directed by Alice Troughton, in Wales, Malta and Spain. Andy McDonnell wrapped on Murder Before Evensong for C5 with director David Moore, before shooting Pierre for C4 with director Sarmad Masud around London. He is also due to begin prep for the upcoming production A Woman Of Substance for C4 with director Richard Senior. Richard Mott is shooting The Marlow Murder Club S3 with director Steve Barron, for ITV/PBS. John Pardue BSC is lighting The Syndicate with director Joseph Bullman. Mike Spragg BSC is shooting The Witcher S5 for Netflix, with Alex Garcia Lopez directing. Richard Stoddard is shooting Netflix’s Run Away with director Nimer Rashed in Manchester. Robin Whenary is prepping Call The Midwife S15 for Neal Street/BBC with director Syd Macartney.
LUX ARTISTS:
Steve Annis, BSC shot a Coach commercial directed by Jovan Todorovic, a Spotify ad directed by Vincent Haycock, plus a Sky spot directed by Tom Hooper. Christopher Aoun continues shooting the feature The Years With You, directed by Caroline Link. Maceo Bishop continues shooting the Peacock series Crystal Lake Jarin Blaschke continues to prep Werwulf directed by Robert Eggers. Sebastian Blenkov is currently shooting S2 of The Agency for Paramount. Nicholas Bolduc CSC is prepping the feature Le Fantome De L’opera, directed by Alexandre Castagnetti. Eigil Bryld continues shooting the feature The Breadwinner, directed by Eric Appel. Ben Carey shot a promo for Blood Orange directed by Dev Hynes. André Chemetoff is shooting the film Chez Momo, directed by Mourad Winter. Olan Collardy lit the feature The Roots Manoeuvre directed by Raine Allen- Raine. Arnau Valls Colomer AEC has wrapped on the Jack Ryan franchise series, directed
by Andrew Bernstein. Lol Crawley
BSC shot a commercial for Tiffany, directed by Jonas Lindstroem. Giuseppe Favale shot a spot for Just Eat, directed by Romain Chassaing. Ben Fordesman
This page: (top) Miguel Carmenes on Juice S2, photo Scarlet Gardner; (clockwise) Linda Wu shooting The Contraception Fair short, photo Domizia Salusest; Richard Mott on Marlow Murder Club, photo Robbie J Gray; Bani Mendy on Death In Paradise S15,
BSC lit an ad for Nike, directed by Mau Morgo, and a Telekom commercial helmed by Benito Montorio. Rob Hardy BSC ASC shot a TVC for Nike, directed by Jordan Hemingway and is prepping for James Watkins’ feature Clay Face Erik Henriksson is prepping for the feature Brother Save Us, directed by Jesse Behrenwald. Ruben Impens SBC wrapped Sete documentary, directed by Paolo Cognetti and is prepping for the feature Let Love In, directed by Felix van Groeningen. Magnus Joenck has wrapped a feature film Her Private Hell directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Harry Wheeler lit a spot for Coca Cola, directed by Sam Pilling, ad for Under Armour directed by Leigh Powis, and is prepping for the C4 series Major Players, directed by Molly Manning Walker. James Laxton ASC has on Lee Sung’s Beef S2. John Lynch ISC continues on Rivals S2 for Disney. Alejandro Martinez AMC ASC is shooting House Of The Dragon S3. Michael McDonough BSC ASC wrapped on the episodic Mayor Of Kingstown S4 for Paramount, and is prepping for the feature Happy Hours, directed by Katie Holmes. Piers McGrail ISC just lit the feature film Everybody Digs Bill Evans, directed by Grant Gee. Adam Newport-Berra lenses the feature The Invite, directed by Oliva Wilde. Yaron Orbach lit Apple’s episodic series Lucky, directed by Jonathan van Tulleken. Arnaud Potier AFC is getting ready to shoot Sense And Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley. Julien Poupard AFC is shooting the feature Venus Electrificata, directed by
photo Philippe Virapin; Rick Joaquim on the short To Catch A Siren , photo Niki Bruckner; and Carmen Pellon Brussosa, B-cam on Juice S2, photo Scarlet Gardner.
WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
Pierre Salvadori. Jonathan Ricquebourg AFC is lighting Nine Temples To Heaven, directed by Sompot Chidgasornpongse. Benjamin Roux is shooting Lupin S4, directed by Everardo Valerie Gout. Nanu Segal BSC is prepping for Uncle, directed by Joe Marcantonio. Krzysztof Trojnar wrapped a Netflix series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, directed by Weronika Tofilska. Adolpho
Hyundai spot by Art Practice. Nico Poulsson FNF shot a Sky spot directed by Vedran Rupic. Rina Yang BSC lensed a Burberry ad, directed by Kim Gehrig. Tom Townend lit a KFC commercial directed by Jordan Hemingway.
SARA PUTT ASSOCIATES:
Aga Szeliga worked on a corporate with DP Oona Menges BSC, and is prepping as the DP on a shoot with Johnny Depp. Alastair Rae finished Goodbye June and begun prep on Elsinore Andrei Austin is currently working as DP on All Creatures Great And Small for Playground Entertainment. Andrew Bainbridge operated A-camera/Steadicam on Boarders S3 with DP Yinka Edward. Ben Mankin is prepping in Canada on a job with Will Baldy and Jamie Childs. Chris Maxwell operated A-camera/ Steadicam on The Forsyte Saga S2, with director Meenu Gar and DP John Lee. Dan Evans operated B -camera dailies on Potboiler’s Secret Service for ITV. Danny Bishop continues working on Ghost Writer alongside DP James Friend BSC ASC and director
JJ Abrams. Ed Clark continues on the new series of Ahsoka for Lucasfilm, with DP Stephan Pehrsson. Ilana Garrard is operating A-camera on Marvel’s Vision Quest. James Frater continues on the new series of The Gentleman for Netflix. James Leigh wrapped on In Plain Sight and begun prep on The Rapture for Mammoth Screen. Jessica Lopez has been pickingup dailies on Half Man and The Scorpions biopic
This page: (top) Arseni Khachaturan shooting The
, directed by Kristoffer Borgli; (clockwise) Helena
filming Plastic Surgery ; Will Lyte and crew on Has
, with 1st AC Tom Finch; Al Rae in the car with Kate
on Goodbye June; Natasha Duursma at the
two shots of Rina Yang at work; two shots of Natasha Duursma at work; and (middle) two shots of
on Has Fallen with DPs Adam Etherington and Dale Elena McCready BSC NZCS. Zoe GoodwinStuart is prepping on Narnia Chris Dodds and Chris Fergusson has been shooting ads. Giulio Biccari is lighting the new series for Clapperboard, I Am Not Alice Bell in Ireland. Iikka Salminen DP’d on the short The Baby She Built Jack Mealing has been operating on The Witcher. Jan Jonaeus has wrapped on the Netflix/Tannadice Pictures series Legends Martyna Jakimowska was 2nd Unit DP on White Mars and All Creatures Great And Small. Toby Moore worked as Splinter Unit DP on Ghostwriter. Yinka Edward lit a block of the new series of Boarders.
BERLIN ASSOCIATES:
Of the agency’s DPs… Al Beech is coming to the end of shooting the next series of Midsomer Murders Sarah Bartles Smith is shooting episodes five and six of The Marlow Murder Club S3 with director Katherine Churcher for Monumental Television. Andy Clark was in Malta shooting The Good Ship Murder S3. Nick Cox has graded BBC’s Father Brown with director Paul Riordan. George Geddes recently
Landin BSC lensed a Coinbase ad directed by Steve Rodgers, plus a
Wind Of Change Julian Morson Wrapped on Jack Ryan, and has begun prepping on the upcoming Beatles films. Rick Woollard operated Steadicam for Somesuch and Stink, and AR on an album visualiser for the band The Last Dinner Party. Tanya Marar has been working dailies on Vision Quest for Marvel. Tom Walden has started on the new series of Lord Of The Rings for Amazon. Vince McGahon has been working on commercials and doing dailies on the Dark Train project. Will Lyte was in Malta working
joined the agency and has been Associates Balamory for ITV. Len Gowing is shooting Odd Squad 5 for BBC Studios. Annemarie Lean-Vercoe shot the opening block of Bergerac S2 for Blacklight Television. Frank Madone is framing on Only Child S2 for Happy Tramp. Nick Martin is preparing to shoot the opening block on Ludwig S2 with Big Talk Productions. Trevelyan Oliver is shooting episode 4 of Call The Midwife S15. Tom Pridham Lensed on Teacher S3 in Spain for Clapperboard Studios. Pete Rowe is filming The Chelsea Detective S4 for Expectation Entertainment. James Swift shot the second block of Falling for The Forge. Alistair Upcraft recently finished shooting block 2 of Run Away for Quay Street Productions. Matt Wicks shot Twenty Twenty Six for Expectation Entertainment. Amy H C Wilson has just joined the agency, and you can read all about here in Cinematography World’s ‘One To Watch’ feature
Drama
Gonzalez
Fallen
Winslet
eyepiece;
Alejandro Martinez on House Of The Dragon.
Veloso ABC is shooting Remain, directed by M Night Shyamalan. Benjamin Kračun BSC shot a spot for Burberry, directed by John Madden. Ari Wegner is shooting Little House On The Prairie, directed by Sarah Adina Smith. Daniel
WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
This page: (top) Rick Woollard wielding the camera x 2; (clockwise) Chris Dodds on an ad in India; DP Rufai Ajala; DP Lorenzo Levrini on-set of Moderation; Will Lyte on Has Fallen on a boat; Iikka Salminen shooting The Baby She Built ; Jack Mealing on The Witcher ; Martyna Jakimowska framing Marriage Unplugged ; and DP Nick Bennett with the weatherproofed camera.
in CW026. Phil Wood is shooting The Blame with Quay Street.
LOOP TALENT:
The agency welcomes DP Darran Bragg whose recent credits include Bergerac, Everything Now and The Lazarus Project, to its roster. Denson Baker NCS AZCS is shooting the feature The Butler, directed by Tom Edmunds. Ryan Eddleston is lighting the feature About A Bell, directed by Simon Callow.
Jon Muschamp is lensing the feature The Car Park Matt North is shooting blocks of a returning BBC drama. Dave Miller is framing a TV project. Oona Menges BSC wrapped on a documentary about Gaza, has been shooting ads for Unilever, and is attached to the feature Trenchfoot Olly Wiggins is shooting a project with BBC Studios. Emma Dalesman is lighting the film Just Desserts, directed by Karen Finch. Ali Asad has wrapped a
horror feature in Manchester. Lorenzo Levrini is shooting short-form and is in prep for a feature in Scotland. Rufai Ajala was in New York City celebrating the release of the feature Mad Bills To Pay at the Museum of Modern Art. Natalja Safronova has been shooting commercials with director Aleksandra Kingo. Marti Guiver lit fashion ads for Condé Nast. Arthur Lok shot a TVC in the Middle East with long-term director Tom Day. Martyna Knitter is shooting short form including projects for Coldplay and Sikth, and is attached to a Chernobyl documentary. Bertrand Rocourt is lighting spots commercials with collaborator Mister V. Tom Turley shot ads for brands including Sky Sports and Ralph Lauren. Chris O’Driscoll has been shooting commercials and content in Europe. Nicholas Bennett has been lighting commercials for the BBC, Halfords and Royal Mail. Paul MacKay is shooting short form. James Anderson ACO is on block two on The Wanted Man as A-camera/ Steadicam operator. Michael Eshun-Mensah ACO recently wrapped on the feature Good People Bad Things David Pulgarin ACO worked on Alice & Steve as Steadicam/camera. Ben Mitchell ACO was camera/Steadicam on Industry S4 in Wales. Grant Sandy-Phillips ACO recently wrapped The Lady Grace Mysteries and is back to the world of commercials. Ben Eeley ACO and Sebastien Joly ACO have been shooting spots. Gary Kent, Laura Seears and Michael Vega have been operating Steadicam on commercials. Camera operators Laura Van De Hel, Jack Smith and Alice Sephton have been operating on short form projects.
ECHO ARTISTS:
Yunus Roy Imer recently finished shooting State Of Us, produced by Cross Day Productions, directed by Ollie Gardener & Jake Harvey. Federico Cesca ADF ASK is shooting on Industry S4 for Bad Wolf. Nicolas Canniccioni is in production on Where The River Begins, a Ciné-Sud Promotion project directed by Juan Andrés Arango Garcia. Ruben
WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
Woodin Dechamps recently lensed commercials for Specsavers and BBC with Dan Emmerson at Somesuch, as well as a fragrance campaign for Ffern with YDAwinner Naghmeh Pour. Rachel Clark BSC recently wrapped on block two of The Dream Lands, directed by Myriam Raja for Sister Pictures. Andrew Commis ACS has completed Extra Geography, directed by Molly Manners produced by Brock Media, and is filming It’s All Going Very Well No Problems At All, a Mad Ones Films production directed by Tilda CobhamHervey. Noel Schoolderman recently shot ads for Adidas, Aesop and DM Austria. Toby Leary lit ads for Lucozade, JD Sports, Rimmel and Schweppes. Nick Cooke recently wrapped filming on Two Weeks In August in Malta, directed by Tom George and produced by Val. Korsshan Schlauer completed on The Price You Pay, a Fremantle production, shot Trash TV, directed by Danny Lee, produced by Brickworks Media, and also shot 2nd unit on a Chanel campaign with Riley Keough. Sean Price Williams has collaborated again with Addison Rae for her Fame Is A Gun music video. Maria Von Hausswolff DFF just wrapped Brave New World, directed by Maria Bäck, produced by Snowglobe. Jo Jo Lam has been shooting with Eoin Glaister at Stink.
WORLDWIDE
PRODUCTION AGENCY:
Baz Irvine ISC BSC is shooting on The Agency S2 alongside director Zetna Fuentes for Paramount+. Jamie Ramsay SASC BSC continues shooting Sian Heder’s next film Being Heumann for Apple TV +. PJ Dillon ISC ASC and Richard Donnelly ISC continue shooting their respective blocks on HBO’s House Of the Dragon S3. Ed Moore BSC is shooting Neuromancer for Apple TV+. Callan Green ACS NZCS is prepping for The Beekeeper II with director Timo Tjahjanto. Catherine Derry BSC is shooting BBC’s The Rapture with director Eva Sigurdardottir. Paul Morris shot The Wanted Man with director Rachel Leiterman for Apple TV+. Vanessa Whyte BSC is getting ready to shoot Ted Lasso S4. Anna Patarakina FSF has wrapped on Ponies with director Viet Nguyen. Ziga Zupancic NZCS stepped-in to shoot additional photography on Ponies. Stephen Murphy ISC BSC shot block two The Gentlemen S2 with director Eran Creevy for Netflix. Joel Devlin BSC is prepping for Deadpoint with director Marco Kreuzpaintner, and has graded The Dream Lands for Sister Pictures/BBC. Bryan Gavigan is shooting ITV’s new series Believe Me with director Julia Ford, and has graded ITV’s The Lady with director Lee Haven Jones. Nathalie Pitters is in prep for ITV’s Adultery with director Will Sinclair. Ruairi O’Brien ISC BSC lit the second block of Tall Tales & Murder with Neasa Hardiman for BBC/RTE TV. Mattias Troelstrup DFF framed Grand Palais for Incognita Studio with director Eva Husson. Carl Burke lit Simon Ross’ new feature Call Of The Void Jamie Cairney BSC has finished on BBC and Sister Pictures’ new series Waiting For The Out with directors Jeanette Nordahl and Ben Palmer. Scott Winig continues shooting the next season of Netflix’s The Witcher, whilst Robert
This page: (top) (l-r) Al Parish focus puller, Dan Nightingale operator, and Dom Wedge 1st AD taking time out; (clockwise) two pix of Andy Hollis on The Othello Club; Mattias Troelstrup at the camera; Dan Nightingale A-camera/Steadicam operator on Falling; and Andy Hollis on The Othello Club again!
Binnall shot on block two, alongside director Christopher Clark Cowan. Tony Slater Ling BSC lit the first block of A Woman Of Substance for C4 alongside director John Hardwick. Simon Archer BSC lensed the second block of A Woman Of Substance with director Samantha Harrie.
Fabian Wagner
BSC ASC recently wrapped on Masters Of The Universe, with Katie Swain shooting 2nd unit. Lorenzo Senatore, ASC has completed on Scott Waugh’s new feature film Runner with Broken Road Productions and A Higher Standard. Arthur Mulhern ISC shot on HBO/BBC’s Industry S4 HBO with director Michelle Savill. Sunshine Hsien Yu Niu starts shadowing on Pride & Prejudice for Netflix with director Euros Lyn. Andy Hollis has completed on The Revenge Club for Paramount+ with director Tim Kirby. Dan Holland shot in Beirut for Lays with Truffle director Luc Janin. Jake Gabbay lensed for Nike with directors Lea & Raman at Blink Ink. Joel Honeywell shot with both Magna and Hector Dockrill for the latest Lulu Lemon spot, and a new promo for Lewis Capaldi. Jaime Ackroyd shot a TVC with Academy directing duo Si & Ad. Jack Maddison shot with Brother Film and director Seb Gilmore for Red Bull. Jack then went on to shoot with Ramshackle Productions with Gregg Houston for Raye & Mark Ronson Courtney J. Bennett shot with Untold Studios and Charlie Sarsfields on new promos for both Little Simz and Lewis Capaldi. Benjamin Todd has been shooting commercial and music video projects with director Autumn de Wilde and Anonymous Content. Tibor Dingelstad NSC shot with Pink Rabbit and Ismael for Toyota. Kanamé Onoyama AFC was in Prague for Telstra with Smuggler and director Randy Krallman. Thomas Tyson-Hole travelled to Bucharest with Chris Ranson and SagaFilm for a Superliga spot.
PRINCESTONE:
Of the agency’s DPs… Diego Rodriguez was nominated for the Best UK Cinematography award at the Raindance Festival for Poised, a moving feature documentary by director Toby Robson set in Sunderland around the world of MMA, helping young men to overcome adversity in a world with little youth opportunity. Diego is currently shooting a documentary with 22 Summers for Netflix with King
Charles III and Edris Elba looking at the work of the Kings Trust. Of the agency’s camera/Steadicam operators… Cosmo Campbell ACO is shooting on A Wanted Man for New Pictures/Apple TV+, for director Jakob Verbruggen, starring Hugh Laurie and Thandiwe Newton. Michael Carstensen ACO is lensing on the Blood Unit of House Of The Dragon with DP PJ Dillon ISC ASC and director Loni Perestere. Matt Fisher ACO was in Lithuania shooting Star City for Apple TV/Sony with DP Brendan Uegama. The show is written by Ronald D. Moore and follows
Soviet cosmonauts aiming to be the first to reach the moon. Rob Hart ACO is shooting on Quay St/ITV’s After The Flood S2, starring Sophie Rundle, with DP Phil Wood. Justin Hawkins ACO has been framing on the next season of Rivals in Bristol. Tony Jackson ACO is working as B-camera operator on a feature with DP James Friend BSC ASC. Tony Kay ACO has started prep on an NDA’d series for Netflix. James Layton Associate BSC ACO is shooting on Silo S4. Dan Nightingale ACO recently wrapped on Falling, a six-part drama for The Forge, with DP Sam Care BSC and director Peter Hoare, starring Keeley Hawes and Paapa Essiedu. Dan is now on the film Sirius, starring Mads Mikkelsen, with DP David Mackie and director Lee Smith. Peter Robertson Associate BSC ACO is shooting on Narnia for DP Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC, directed by Greta Gerwig. Joe Russell ACO was A-camera/ Steadicam operator on Masters Of The Universe for DP Fabian Wagner BSC ASC and director Travis Knight. Peter Wignall ACO has started on a project with Laurie Rose BSC in Ireland and Morocco.
WIZZO & CO:
The agency welcomes Chaimuki to the roster, who shoots with directors including Amy Becker-Burnett
and Sara Harrak. Congratulations to Aaron Reid BSC and Susanne Salavati BSC who have been awarded BSC status. Aaron has graded Wild Cherry, directed by Toby Macdonald, and is prepping a Netflix drama. Susanne has graded a Netflix feature directed by Josephine Bornebusch. Ashley Barron ACS has graded the Netflix drama How To Get To Heaven From Belfast and is shooting for Happy Prince. Nicola Daley BSC ACS is shooting Queen Of Fashion alongside director Alex Marx. Tim Sidell BSC has graded The Night Manager S2. Luke Bryant is shooting The Other Bennett Sister, directed by Jennifer Sheridan. Ryan Kernaghan ISC completed the grade on Trespasses and is shooting an embargoed
HBO drama. Steven Ferguson is shooting S2 of Dinosaur, directed by Niamh McKeown. Chas Appeti is prepping an embargoed drama. Scott Coulter is now lighting on Mammoth S2 with director Akaash Meeda. Nick Dance BSC shot an episode of Grace Franklin Dow lit a documentary project with director Joanna Natasegara. Simon Stolland shot second unit for Andrzej Sekula on the feature Breaking Cover Maximiliaan Dierickx SBC is shooting a drama in Belgium. Christophe Nuyens SBC continues on an embargoed drama. Oli Russell is prepping a drama
WHO, WHAT, WHEN & WHERE
alongside director Ben Taylor. Jan RichterFriis DFF is grading an episode of Grace Sverre Sørdal FNF is prepping a feature. Hamish Anderson is shooting multiple embargoed documentaries. Darius Shu is prepping / shooting short films. Aman K Sahota lit a short film. Dan StaffordClark has graded the final block of Netflix’s How To Get To Heaven From Belfast Karl Oskarsson IKS is working on a project in Iceland. Matthias Pilz has graded his latest feature. Gary Shaw has graded Coolie David Procter BSC shot with Joe Connor and Will Bex is shooting an embargoed documentary project with director Scott Lyon. Charlie Goodger shot with director Trevor Robinson, and Theo Garland shot with Toby Haynes. Arran Green shot with Hugh Rochfort and Murren Tullett with Thomas Hilland. Ben Magahy shot with Jared Lapidus, Joe Douglas shot with Jake Mavity and Henry Gill with Otis Dominique. Dmytro Nedria shot with Sam Preece, and Fede Alfonzo with Finn Taylor.
CASAROTTO:
Femi Awojide is shooting Red Planet Pictures’ Death In Paradise S15 in Guadeloupe. Tristan Chenais shot on Your Fault: London for 42. Alfredo de Juan was in Bolivia filming Lemu for Pucara Films. Greg Duffield is shooting Trying S5. Matt Gray BSC is prepping on Tiptoe for Quay Street with director Peter Hoar. Frank Lamm will shoot on Apple TV’s Silo S4 with director Michael Dinner. Tim Palmer BSC has completed on Geek Girl S2 for Ruby Rock Pictures. David Pimm is shooting on Sweetpea S2 with director Coky Giedroyc. Beatriz Delgado Mena has been shooting commercials.
UNITED AGENTS:
Remi Adefarasin OBE BSC has graded Netflix’s My Oxford Year with director Iain Morris, releasing in August. Søren Bay DFF is shooting the second block of The Forsytes S2 for Mammoth. Adam Etherington BSC has wrapped on Apollo Has Fallen for Canal+ and Paramount+ with director David Caffrey. Philippe Kress DFF recently completed on the next series of BBC’s The Capture, and is shooting a Danish TV series. John Lee BSC is lighting the first block of The Forsytes S2 for Mammoth. Matt Lewis is shooting Philip Barantini’s latest film, Enola Holmes 3. Kieran McGuigan BSC is lensing on Trigger Point S4. John Sorapure is second unit directing on several projects. Simon Tindall is grading Clio
Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning. Ollie Downey BSC is prepping a block of Silo S4, directed by Aric Avalino. Sam Heasman has graded the feature Blueberry Inn from Dancing Fox Entertainment. Álvaro Gutiérrez AEC is shooting McKenzie with New Pictures. Frida Wendel FSF is prepping fourpart part mini-series for TV2 Norway/Amazon Prime with director Kenneth Karlstad. Alasdair Boyce is shooting on ITV’s Frauds David Rom is prepping on The Capture S4 and prepping for Ted Lasso S4 as well. Si Bell BSC is lighting C4’s new drama series Maya, written and co-directed by Daisy Haggard. Charlotte Bruus Christensen ASC has graded H Is For Hawk for Philippa Lowthorpe. Bonnie Elliott ASC is shooting Dispatcher, a 60Forty drama series for Apple TV+, directed by Christian Schwochow. James Friend ASC BSC is lighting J.J. Abrams’ feature Ghostwriter Ed Rutherford BSC has wrapped on the four-part drama Vanished for director Barnaby Thompson in Marseille. Anton Mertens SBC is lighting Belgian series Breendonk for director Filip Lenaerts before shooting Bookish S2 Milos Moore is prepping new drama series Pierre for C4, directed by Sarmad Masud. David Raedeker BSC is shooting on Apple TV+’s drama series 12 12 12, directed by Kari Skogland. Juan Sarmiento G is lighting the feature Object A for director Ann Oren, and will then go onto Kaouther Ben Hania’s feature You Shall Not Make An Image Anna Valdez Hanks BSC is lighting a block of Silo S4 for AMC Studios/Apple TV+. Ben Wheeler BSC is prepping on Black Doves S2 for Sister Pictures/Netflix. Felix Wiedermann is shooting new drama series Betrayal for director Julian Jarrold and Mammoth Screen/ITV. Barry Ackroyd BSC has been lighting Kathryn Bigelow’s latest feature, A House of Dynamite, for Netflix. Alex Barber recently filmed a spot for Emirates with director Nathan Price, in Cape Town and Dubai, via Park Pictures, plus and ad for Uber with Freddy Mandy at Smuggler, shooting in Spain. Laurent Barès has wrapped on Criminal Record S2 for Apple TV. Sam Care BSC has completed on TV series Falling for director Peter Hoar. Simon Chaudoir recently lit a Marshalls TVC with director Rich Hall via Riff Raff. Florian Emmerich is shooting block two of the upcoming Sky series Prisoner for director Pia Strietmann. Lasse Frank lit an Uber ad with Damien Shatford through Roma in Madrid, and a Virgin ad with Andreas Nilsson, shooting in Bangkok. Nick Gillespie is shooting Shane Meadow’s upcoming feature film Chork. Sebastian Pfaffenbichler AAC filmed a Barclays commercial with director Malcolm Venville, in Slovenia via Anonymous Content. Miles Ridgway was in London on a Supacell ad with director Mike Maguire at Outsider. Christopher Sabogal has wrapped on the TV series Mint with director Charlotte Reagan. Glynn Speeckaert ASC AFC lit a Cadbury’s commercial with Harold Einstein for Outsider. Adam Suschitzky BSC recently lit the feature A Hand Rises with director Louise Stern. Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC filmed a Booking.com spot with directors Jocelyn & Dawn at Biscuit, shooting in Majorca.
This page: (top) Nicola Daley ACS BSC (camera left) and crew on Queen Of Fashion in Wales – Antoine Woodman camera trainee, Megan Lucy Isaac DIT assist, Sarah Macleod 2nd AC, Elliot Sebestyen-Regan grip, and Jason Henwood 1st AC; (clockwise) DP Maximiliaan Dierickx SBC on different recent productions with crew; Anton Mertens on Breendonk ; Mott Hupfel; Simon Stolland on Marching Powder ; Will Bex; another pic of Maximiliaan Dierickx SBC; two shots of Chaimuki; Henry Gill; and Dmytro Nedria.
CHAMPIONING CHANGE
DEI continues to receive a share of the spotlight, being rightly scrutinised and attracting comment, from many sectors of our industry. Here’s a look at how Sunbelt Rentals champions Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
As the UK film and television industry continues to evolve, Sunbelt Rentals UK & Europe is proud to reaffirm its commitment to building a more inclusive, equitable and diverse creative sector.
Operating at the heart of production, Sunbelt Rentals UK & Europe – Film & Television recognises both the power and responsibility it holds in shaping the industry from the ground up. From providing state-of-the-art equipment and services to supporting behind-thescenes crews, the company is dedicated to making film and TV sets more accessible and representative of the communities they serve.
providing hands-on access to camera and grip equipment for emerging talent.
The company also collaborated with Let’s Make Films (LMF) to deliver a recent Technical Lighting Workshop and co-hosted a two-day bootcamp with LFO and DP Joel Devlin BSC –creating clear, accessible pathways into the industry for people from all communities.
Genuine diversity strengthens storytelling, creativity and innovation
Driving Change Through Action
Sunbelt Rentals takes a proactive approach by embedding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) principles into every aspect of its operations, and is driving change through positive action via several initiatives.
Crew Support & Development
Sunbelt Rentals collaborates with regional and national organisations and training providers – including Women In Film & Television (WFTV), the Association Of Camera Operators (ACO), the Guild Of British Camera Technicians (GBCT), Into Film and ScreenSkills – to create meaningful pathways into the industry, particularly for new entrants and underrepresented groups.
Through its partnership with WFTV, Sunbelt Rentals supports women progressing into senior leadership roles via the Fearless Leadership Programme, now entering its third year. This bespoke initiative includes group coaching, oneto-one mentoring and masterclasses. This is designed to supercharge leadership capabilities, creating an annual cohort of 12 future female leaders in the industry.
In May this year, Sunbelt Rentals hosted a two-day Remote & Geared Head Workshop at its Wembley location. As ACO Patrons, the company collaborated with both the ACO and the GBCT to deliver this training. The workshop offered a valuable opportunity for existing crew members to expand their skills and gain hands-on experience with equipment they may not have used previously, enhancing their technical confidence and employability in high-end production environments.
In March this year, Sunbelt Rentals was delighted to support Media Cymru in its R&D test shoot aimed at improving industry accessibility for Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent (DDN) people. The project, titled Flying Without Wings, was filmed at FiveFold Studios in Wales with a core goal: to create a set environment as accessible as possible. This included the use of access passports, reasonable working hours, quiet rooms and more.
All on-screen talent – and much of the crew –were DDN professionals, many with experience in feature films and high-end TV, but not all. The project represents an important step toward reimagining inclusive production practices for the future of the industry.
Working Locally, Thinking Broadly
With locations across the UK, Sunbelt Rentals is well-positioned to support regional talent and invest in local economies. In Belfast, for example, the Film & Television team actively engages in initiatives that keep training and funding opportunities within the local community – ensuring diversity efforts are more than just box-ticking exercises.
Recently, Sunbelt Rentals partnered with Into Film to deliver a four-day film course for 16 to18year-old students interested in a career in the screen industry. In addition, the company worked with Northern Ireland Screen to raise safety standards and help build a skilled workforce by delivering novice IPAF, FLT and Telehandler training over a fourweek period to upskill local crew.
We understand the importance of being more than just a supplier
Internally: Celebrating Inclusion
Throughout June of this year, Sunbelt Rentals celebrated Pride Month across its film and TV locations, promoting allyship in the workplace to support trans and non-binary colleagues. At a time when these communities face increasing challenges, fostering an inclusive, respectful and safe environment is essential.
Looking Ahead
Partnerships That Matter
Sunbelt Rentals supports grassroots initiatives and inclusive production schemes through equipment donations, discounted services and expert logistical support.
In partnership with the Liverpool Film Office (LFO), Sunbelt Rentals has backed the National Film & Television School’s NFTS Pathway training programme,
Looking ahead to National Inclusion Week (15–21 September), Sunbelt Rentals will continue these efforts. Under this year’s theme, Now Is The Time, the company will encourage meaningful dialogue amongst colleagues and customers alike focussing on the urgency, resilience and practical steps needed to create truly-inclusive workplaces.
Sunbelt Rentals believes that genuine diversity strengthens storytelling, creativity and
innovation. By playing an active role in building a more inclusive industry, the company is not only supporting today’s productions but also shaping the future of film and television.
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SORRY, BABY•MIA CIOFFI HENRY
CHAPTER & VERSE
By Natasha Block Hicks
The week before we spoke for this article, Mia Cioffi Henry had finally enjoyed a relaxed screening of Sorry, Baby (2025), her feature collaboration with debut writer/director/star Eva Victor. The movie’s festival run included Sundance – where Victor, who prefers they/them pronouns, scooped the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – and Cannes. However, Cioffi Henry had been wearing her DP hat for those screenings, stressing over technical calibrations and audience reception. This time, at the New York premiere, she was part of the audience.
“I was really happy,” she reports. “Maybe it was down to the movie theatre atmosphere rather than the pressure of a festival, but it looked a little more lived-in.”
Sorry, Baby, a black comedy drama, is presented in five, non-consecutive chapters, and circles around Victor’s main character Agnes (she/ her) (played by Victor) as she experiences and then processes a sexual assault. Agnes’ best friend Lydie, played by British actor Naomi Ackie, provides unconditional support and a reference point of normality by which the relative stagnation of Agnes’ life can be measured.
Cioffi Henry’s journey to becoming Sorry, Baby’s DP was a little unconventional. She was a ‘DP-inreserve’ on Aftersun (2022), shot at the height of the pandemic by her NYU Tisch contemporaries: director Charlotte Wells and DP Gregory Oke. When the same production team were toying with giving the novice Victor a shot at directing their own script, they called-up Cioffi Henry, who by then was Assistant Arts Professor of Cinematography at Tisch.
A two-scene workshop was proposed, “like a mini film school, which was right up my alley,” remarks Cioffi Henry. “We could all see that Eva had this talent, but they needed to be with people who would give them the space to grow and gain experience.”
Workshopping two scenes was one thing, but to light the film, Cioffi Henry would be taking on a firsttime director who was also starring in their show. The DP says she wasn’t phased.
“I love to prep,” says Cioffi Henry, “I love analysing all elements of the script, gauging moment-to-moment what the audience needs to know, then translating that into visual tools. It’s an indepth process, generating such an understanding of the script, that if the director couldn’t show-up on set one day, I would still be able to convey their vision.”
The Emmy-winning app Scriptation, which provides annotation tools for production, was another tool Cioffi Henry used to ensure everyone was singing from the same hymn-sheet.
“It’s the best way to communicate, visually, across many departments,” she extols. “You can add facing pages to the script, with text and images, detailing every shot. I send them out ahead of each day; it’s really helpful for all the crew to be informed.”
She also hired a camera operator, Dean Egan,
for all but the most intimate scenes.
“That would mean I was able to sit at the monitor and be a little bit more objective about the image; to see it as the sum of its parts and watch the performance, which was important.”
I love analysing all elements of the script
Soft prep kicked off in September 2023, with storyboarding and images backing-up the conversation.
“We were using film references a lot to communicate framing and other technical aspects,” outlines Cioffi Henry.
“Certain Women (2016, Kelly Reichardt, DP Christopher Blauvelt) in particular had the tone and pacing that we were looking for. During prep, the department heads, who were all women and nonbinary folk, got together for a pizza night to watch
Certain Women and talk about the tone, the colour palette and the framing. We didn’t want to recreate that movie, just evoke a similar emotional response.
“We also looked at Edward Hopper’s artwork and discussed how we could hold a frame as if viewing a painting, just to appreciate the composition and lighting. There’s a couple of moments in the film that I feel like we really achieved that feeling.”
January 2024 saw the team move into four weeks of hard prep on-location, around the North Shore area of Massachusetts and the towns of Salem, Ipswich and Rockport.
“It was crucial for the story that our hero house be both warm and charming, yet isolating,” illustrates Cioffi Henry.
“Our location manager Stephen Hartman scouted this tiny little house up on a hill, which was perfect. He was amazing at pushing for exactly what we needed.”
The six-week shoot started in February 2024, capturing in 2.39:1 on an ARRI Alexa Mini LF from Arri Rental in New York, mounted with their exclusive DNA prime lenses.
“We shot stills with the DNA lenses on a Sony A7S on the director’s scout,” explains Cioffi Henry, “so we knew what we could get out of our locations. Eva wanted that widescreen feeling, which seemed
counterintuitive in such small spaces but actually helped portray the feeling that Agnes was a bit trapped.
“I love the colour science of the Alexa,” she continues, “and the DNA lenses have great clarity in the focus, a soft, wispy focal fall -ff and a very painterly bokeh. It creates a bit of isolation, because there’s a lot of separation between the foreground and background. We paired that with a Black Pro Mist 1/8th, throughout the whole film.”
Cioffi Henry did not use a LUT for Sorry, Baby, explaining, “I feel like my brain is calibrated to Rec.709. So when I’m thinking about where my values are, or where my highlights are sitting, I can mentally flip back and forth between Rec.709 and Log, and know my creative limits.
“I had my DIT Nicholas Pasquariello on-set, so we were able to get the film pretty close to where I wanted it in the dailies, then by the time we got into the DI we were in a good position. Marcy Robinson was our colourist at Nice Shoes in NYC; she really understood the film and was able to sculpt the image to be exactly how I saw it on-set, and bring her own flavour to it as well.”
Although Dean Egan was initially employed to fly Steadicam, camera movement on Sorry, Baby tended towards the minimal and subtle.
“We’re grounded for much of the film,” explains Cioffi Henry. “When the camera does move, on a dolly or slider, it is very intentional, and you can feel that the perspective has shifted.”
There is one, long Steadicam shot, at the climax of the second chapter of the movie, titled The Year When The Bad Thing Happened, which sees the camera tracking behind Agnes’ head through a backyard, as she goes up a hill and into her car.
Grip and Lighting was rented locally from High Output in Boston. Gaffer Melanie Nesteruk came with a kit of smaller LEDs, giving Cioffi Henry a selection including ARRI Sky Panels, Astera tubes and Amaran sources.
“We used a lot of LEDs because of how small the locations were and how nimble our package had to be,” Cioffi Henry explains. “There’s a scene we shot in a decommissioned courthouse in February that was scripted as the middle of summer. We had an ARRI M40 on a Condor outside the windows, splashing the wall, which we moved to convey a sense of time passing. The production design elements, like the warmth of the wood, and the costumes, were also just as important. It was a great collaboration with
Photos by
Caity Birmingham, our production designer and Emily Costantino, our costume designer, to create the feeling of summertime in the dead of a Massachusetts winter.”
The sequence studying Agnes as she drives home following her assault, shows just how unplanned events can sometime elevate a shot.
“We quickly moved from the town into a rural area,” relates Cioffi Henry, “and we only had a small dashlight to illuminate Eva. Then this car cut-in ahead of our follow-on car. It gradually got closer, and because of where the rearview mirror was positioned, the light from that car blew out Eva’s face at the exact moment the scene cuts; I couldn’t have planned that.”
As an educator, Cioffi Henry regularly deliberates on the future of the industry.
“If we think about films as plain commerce, we’re in trouble,” she warns, “but if we think of films as paintings, there’s still a world where art is valued. Our goal, as filmmakers, should be producing work that connects with audiences. Then, the art of narrative independent filmmaking will manage to break through.”
Our goal, as filmmakers, should be producing work that connects with audiences
Images:
Philip Keith.
NEED FOR SPEED
By Iain Blair
The last time director Joseph Kosinski and his go-to cinematographer Claudio Miranda ASC collaborated on a major studio movie the result was the global blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, which put the audience right inside the pilot’s cockpit next to Tom Cruise and the jet’s heart-pounding aerial manoeuvres.
Always looking for a fresh challenge, the team next decided to take-on the adrenaline rush of Formula One and strap the audience into the driver’s seat of a high-tech racing-car being driven by Brad Pitt at over 200mph in their latest need-for-speed immersive adventure, F1
Pitt is perfectly cast as aging former Formula One star, Sonny Hayes, whose once-shiny career is now a faded memory in the rear-view mirror of his battered van – which he calls home.
But he gets another shot to show he still has the right stuff when a former racing teammate, and owner of a struggling outfit, hires him to save the day. Reluctantly joining the team, he’s soon back on the FI circuit, and battling both Josh Pearce (Damson Idris), their talented but arrogant British rookie, and real-life F1 stars including seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (who also co-produced the film), plus Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, in a racing drama that seamlessly blends
The Carmen camera, made for us by Sony, was a gamechanger
real-life and fiction.
The first concern was, “how to integrate our actors and their modified Mercedes F1 cars with all the real action on the track, whilst keeping a low profile and make a film that would be truly authentic to the racing experience,” says Miranda, Oscar-winner for his work on Life Of Pi (2012, dir. Ang Lee).
“Joe and I looked at a bunch of race-car movies and they felt fine from the exterior, but as soon as they take you inside the car they just didn’t feel real or at the right speed. We wanted cars going really fast. Lewis was key in helping us get there and getting us access to
the whole world of F1 and all the details right.”
After getting F1’s blessing to shoot at real races around the world alongside real F1 drivers, their cars and teams, “the biggest initial challenge was, how do we even shoot this?” explains the DP.
“When we did Top Gun: Maverick, you don’t have space for a camera in a jet, but you’re not worried about weight. But with these cars, you don’t have space and any extra weight affects performance – that’s a huge problem.
“Every single camera that existed was too big. I
showed the team a Sony FX3 and FX6, but even those were just too physically big to be in front of the drivers. They didn’t want to have anything to do with that.”
So, Miranda approached Sony with a possible solution. “How about designing a camera that’s like a sensor on a stick? We just get rid of anything extraneous, build it just around the sensor, and all the brains can go underneath the car’s floor.
“So Sony started putting all this together for us, and around six months later we had a working prototype, which we jokingly called the ‘Carmen,’ like Carmen Miranda, as my last name is Miranda.”
Crucially, the Carmen not only delivered the needed image-quality and dynamic range in a small, ultra-light package, “but it could also pan and tilt, rather than shooting only from a fixed position like the system we used in Top Gun: Maverick, where we had no control as the actors went flying by themselves and had to hit the record button too,” he explains.
“Now, with the Carmen, we could operate the cameras using wireless frequencies, and we could actually see what we were shooting. We were hitting the record button. We were in charge of focus and panning the cameras. It was a real gamechanger.
“However, it was logistically really hard, because we only had a very narrow band of frequencies we could use without interfering with the other F1 drivers’ frequencies. Thankfully, my 1st assistant, Dan Ming, proved really good at getting everyone talking with each other across different frequencies, from Mercedes to Sony and Panavision, and we devised a camera system that worked amazingly-well as the main camera for the actual racing stuff.
“I also was working with Mercedes for many months ahead of the shoot on how we’d place the mounts, as that had to be really specific as well. So, if I wanted to put them in a new place, we had to do previz and use a lot of 3D to get these cameras locked-in for rigs, and my key grip Sam Phillips helped with all that.”
Miranda reports that Sony built 20 Carmen cameras. “We had six F2 modified cars, and were able to put four Carmens in each car. We mainly used four cars, and one was electric, which was great for doing all the pitstop scenes.”
We wanted cars going really fast
To put the audience right in the driver’s seat, the filmmakers also collaborated with a team at Apple who designed and built a set-up that matched F1’s on-board camera pods in design and durability. The solution consisted of an iPhone camera sensor powered by an A-series Apple silicon chip, running iOS and a special camera firmware, and this newly-engineered on-board camera system matched all the Formula 1’s onboard team’s specifications.
“We were allowed to put them in the other teams’ cars during real races, to capture race footage,” the DP reports.
Miranda also shot with the Sony Venice 2, “using the same Top Gun: Maverick package, with Zeiss Master Primes and Fuji zooms,” he reports. “We also used a DJI Ronin 4D camera, which we called the ‘Turkey,’ and used that for the whole opening sequence of the film where we introduce Brad’s character inside his van, and then for all the footage of him walking out of the van and over to the command centre of the Daytona race.
We also used it for the pre-race scenes where all the crowds go to look at the cars, and the drivers are getting ready. Few people are allowed to go in there, so it was perfect to have a little camera so that I could be there, filming our actors in concert with drivers and their activities before a race session is. Even things like Steadicam are just too big for those tight spaces.”
The DP also used some Sony FX6s for crash cams, “because basically the Carmen is really an FX6 sensor with an FR7 PTZ camera,” he explains, “Sony melded
those two together and that’s what made the Carmen, and it was the perfect camera to use for crash housings or mounts.
“It was also very important to have a camera that didn’t have IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilisation) because race-cars really shake violently, and any sort of stabilisation would have been be totally ineffective.
“So our cameras were stabilised with this rubber product called Sorbothane. We used it for different levels around the car between each mount to dampen the vibrations and different tracks required different levels of vibration absorption.”
The equipment package also included Technocranes and U-Crane arms. “It’s not a drone movie, and we did some arm car work. Although when the cars are going at 200mph with the actors, you can’t follow them with an arm,” he notes.
“We could do quick, zoomy pass-bys with the U-Crane, but nothing is going to keep-up with an F1 car other than another F1 car, which is what we used for a camera car.”
and then working on the look in the DI with my colourist Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3 in Los Angeles.”
Including all the early development process for the Carmen rigs, Miranda estimates he spent “a good two years on the film, with the race shoots spread out over two F1 seasons because of the SAG strike.
“We started at Silverstone in the UK, and as our story picks up halfway through the race season we didn’t go to Monaco. But we shot at Monza twice, and did stunts there, and then we shot at Spa, Hungaroring, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and some other tracks.
We also did a little bit in Mexico, and some stuff in Japan, but it wasn’t a full unit. We just brought one or two cars there, and weren’t really racing around the track. It was more to show Brad finishing the race and all the fans.”
The DP says that the most difficult scene for him to shoot was “day one at Silverstone with the national anthem scene featuring all the drivers. It was the most nerve-wracking for me, because although we rehearsed, we could only get one take of this shot that
Despite being relatively untested prototypes, Miranda says the Carmens performed “surprisingly well. Some of the mounts got a little bit loose, but we returned all 20, and we had to repair just six of them, where some little screws had to be replaced. They all survived – even one where it crashed and the cameras were still rolling. We were all amazed, as they were really bulletproof. It’s a pretty solid camera.”
The film was shot for IMAX in 1.9:1 aspect ratio. “All these cameras were shot full-frame,” notes Miranda. “Originally Joe’s plan was to go in-and-out between widescreen and IMAX, but in the end he preferred the idea of sticking with 1.9:1 for the whole movie. There’s one beach scene that starts in 2.40:1, but then it quickly jumps to 1.9:1.”
Miranda says he has never been “a big LUT-type of DP,” and he used the same LUT he used on Top Gun: Maverick
“I don’t like things getting complicated with LUTs,” he stresses. “I just like treating the footage like a negative,
had to be in the film.
“I was operating one of Turkeys, and I was backingup and tripped on something. You could see a little bobble in the take, which drove Joe a little crazy, but there’s nothing he could do. Normally in movies you can get a reset if you miss it. But I didn’t have that luxury. All the F1 drivers had started leaving, and we didn’t want to be annoying to them. We’re just observing and trying not to get in their way, so that was a big stressful moment for me.”
His favourite scene to shoot? “I love the way the Monza race transitions into this rain sequence, and the whole mood gets darker and darker, and becomes more dangerous,” he says. “And I think the night scenes with Brad are really beautiful.”
“There were a lot of firsts on this movie with all the cameras we used,” he sums up. “When you design a camera, it usually takes years before you even get a prototype, but we had the Carmen in just six months, and we hit some big milestones. F1 told us we’d be lucky just to get one camera in a car, and we got four, and the result is pretty amazing I think.”
DSet in the rugged, windswept outcrops of the Scottish Highlands in 1790, the 90-minute feature follows Tornado, a young and determined Japanese woman, who finds herself caught in a perilous situation when she crosses paths with a gang of ruthless thieves.
After her father’s travelling samurai puppet show gets ambushed by the notorious criminals, Tornado decides to seek vengeance and forge her own destiny by stealing the gold from their most recent heist, with brutal, blood-spattering consequences.
Made for under $5m, the genre-blending film earned positive reviews for the performances of Kôki as Tornado, Tim Roth as gang leader Sugarman, Jack Lowden as his ambitious son Little Sugar and Takehiro Hira as Fujin, Tornado’s father, in bringing gravitas to their characters with very little dialogue. Ryan’s work was lauded as visually-compelling for capturing the bleak beauty of the locations and the foreboding sense of dread in the story.
The film marks Ryan’s third collaboration with Maclean, whom he describes as “a good friend”, following their work together on the short Pitch Black Heist (2011), which won a BAFTA for Best Short Film, and the acclaimed revisionist Western Slow West (2015). Along with being a director, Maclean is also an artist of some distinction and a member of experimental Scottish group, The Beta Band, often being involved in the band’s experimental music videos.
“John’s a very talented and intuitive director, with a lot of arrows in his quiver. I loved his script – very cinematic, with very little conversation between the characters who are displaced from their normal milieux,” says Ryan.
“It was also a project that was dear to my heart too. John originally told me his idea for it when we made Slow West, and I was there with him the whole way throughout the following eight years, trying to help him obtain the finance to get it made. So I was super-proud when it was greenlit.”
Tornado was filmed over 25 shooting days, between January and March 2024, in the countryside and forests around Carlops, a village nestled in the Pentland Hills of the Scottish Borders, around 15 miles south of Edinburgh. Locations included Arniston House, North Esk Reservoir, Penicuik and Newhall Estate.
“Landscapes and nature are integral in John’s visual storytelling, and even though the weather was changeable every minute, I knew the light and the
We all worked together for the love of it
P Robbie Ryan ISC BSC made the most of shooting 2-perf Kodak 35mm film for director John Maclean’s Samurai Spaghetti Western Tornado.
burnt, earthy browns in the landscapes would register beautifully on film,” says Ryan.
When it came to references, features by Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone came into the collective reckoning.
“Although Kurosawa’s Samurai films are renowned for their epic scope and intense drama, I don’t really know them,” Ryan admits. “I prefer those in urban settings, such Rashomon (1950) which is primarily based on the city of Kyoto, and High And Low (1963) in Yokohama.
“Nevertheless, I watched The Seven Samurai (1954) and absorbed the visual style, such as the use of deep focus, which I know John loves, and the tracking shot Kurosawa used as a way of introducing the characters. I thought that would make a great device to reveal our bandits, whilst also being a bit of an homage.
“Sergio Leone’s visual style was characterised by extreme close-ups, sometimes just the eyes, that built tension by focussing on the emotional depth of the characters. Using the 2-perf Techniscope format for his Spaghetti Westerns allowed him to juxtapose the close-ups with wide, panoramic shots, comparable to Anamorphic lenses, but with the advantage of using less film stock.
“I knew the widescreen 2-perf frame would be perfect for our landscapes and characters, and, because we would be using half the film stock of standard 4-perf 35mm, that it would lower the costs of film purchase and processing, and therefore be very beneficial to the budget, which was miniscule. John prefers to do one take, and rarely does more than three, and that’s usually because an actor might request it. We ended-up shooting just 61,000ft of film, averaging 70ft per shot, which was very economical.”
Ryan adds, “Having shot 2-perf on Catch Me Daddy (2014, dirs., Daniel & Matthew Wolfe), I also liked the way that when you point the camera towards the sun, or a lamp, how a flare of light can bleed through from one frame to another. John and I both really embraced that kind of artifice in some of our scenes.”
Accordingly, Ryan shot Tornado using ARRICAM LT and ST 35mm cameras, their movements adapted
for 2-perf filming, fitted with Panavision Primo prime lenses, plus 19-90mm and 24-275mm Primo Zooms, supplied by Panavision in London.
“The ARRICAMs are such solid cameras – simple, robust and made to last – and it’s wonderful that camera houses keep them maintained and in good working order,” Ryan notes.
“I have photos of me shooting films from 15 years ago, and I’m still standing beside the same cameras today, which is kind of brilliant. That said, you still have to test every camera, every lens, every magazine, to make sure they are all going to work – which they did, without any problems.
“Optically, the Primos are probably my favourite lenses, although they can be a little bit varied between focal lengths in the range, and they have what you might call ‘character’. But at T1.9 I knew they would be fast-enough in-combination with the filmstocks to get through each day. That said, we mainly shot T8 and T11, even some shots at T22, to give the image the deep focus that John wanted.”
I knew 2-perf would lower the costs of film purchase and processing
Ryan utilised Kodak Vision3 250D 5207 for the day exteriors/interiors, and Kodak Vision3 500T 5219 for exterior night scenes and the depths of the forests. Processing and 4K scanning was completed via Kodak Film Lab on the lot at Pinewood Studios, with the final grade conducted by colourist Tom Russell at Lipsynch Post.
Part of the filmstock package included VISION3 500T AHU, a new Kodak stock that does away with the remjet backing and incorporates an all-new Anti-Halation Undercoat layer, or AHU, which is also anti-static/scratch-resistant, and produces a cleaner film for scanning and printing.
“We were happy to be guinea pigs, and to try something new,” says Ryan about shooting witth the new KODAK VISION3 500T AHU stock. “During production, I worked exactly the same with the VISION3 AHU 5219 500T as I would with the regular 5219 500T, and had the same processing at the lab. I have to say that I didn’t notice any effect on the rushes at all. The 500T AHU product performed equally to the current VISION3 without any appreciable difference.”
“I don’t shoot exclusively on film, but I do work with many directors who prefer to,” says Ryan, who whose recent credits using 16mm or 35mm film include The Old Oak (2023, dir. Ken Loach), Poor Things (dir. Yorgos Lanthimos) and Bird (2024, dir. Andrea Arnold). Up-coming projects include Anton Corbijn’s Switzerland, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, filmed almost entirely using 8-perf 35mm VistaVision cameras.
“What I love about shooting on film is that you have a narrow corridor of options,” Ryan explains.
Images: Photos copyright: Norman Wilcox-Geissen (2024).
“Basically, you’ve got your paper and your pencil, and then the rest is what you do with that during the shoot –the time of day, the lighting, the production and costume design – before the final grade. Tom, our colourist understood the feel of this film really well, and took it somewhere special.”
Ryan is regarded as a doyen of handheld camera, but on this occasion preferred to imbue the image with a more composed camera. The 1st AC was Tommy Griffin, with Florence Gilbertson working as 2nd AC, and Patrick Griffin as film loader.
“I have learnt a lot about what you can do with dolly and track working with Yorgos, who is very cameracentric and knows how to move the camera to make things look interesting,” says Ryan. “John likes a static frame and our basic rule-of-thumb was that the camera would only move when one of the characters moved.
“Of course, there was a lot of running around in this film, and the camera had to move a lot, but I am of the belief that it’s not right to mix things up too much. When the camera moves after having been static, it accentuates things all the better, and we preferred using the dolly over handheld, Steadicam or cranes for that.”
Rather than employ traditional dolly track, Ryan utilised Delta Track, a specialised system offered by ARRI Rental specifically-designed to work with the
company’s Hover Dolly, which facilitates smooth moves over long distances.
“It’s heavy but solid and having a modular system like that in the middle of all the undulating Scottish terrain, meant it was quicker and more versatile to implement than regular dolly track, where a lot of time is spent getting things level. My key grip Julian Janigo was great at building that.”
Ryan made sure to have his long-time gaffer Andy Cole ICLS looking after the lighting.
“This film was principally set in natural daylight, and the weather was unpredictable, which made things interesting in terms of the continuity of the light. As we would be shooting a lot in forests, we used Lightstar Luxed-9 bi-colour LED spotlights, which have a punchy output akin to a traditional Maxi-Brute, to flood-in light. They are heavy to manoeuvre around and cast multiple shadows, but I found three of them line-up together worked really well in the forests. They also gave a good twinkle in the eye. We also used compact Rosco DMG Lumiere Dash lights for scenes such as the interior of the caravan, which helped me get to T8 and John’s desire
for deep focus.”
Looking back on his experience of shooting Tornado, Ryan remarks, “Because of my friendship with John it was like a family affair – nice people, having fun, with the odd party at the weekend. We all worked together for the love of it, with the same kind of energy as you would on a short film. For me it was another good filmic experience, and I am happy that the final result is stamped with John’s style and identity.”
I loved the script –very cinematic
SHOOT FOR THE STARS
By Iain Blair
étoile is the shiny new Amazon Prime Video show from the powerhouse writing/directing/producing team of Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, the Emmy-winning creators of such hits as Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. A love letter to ballet, and set in New York and Paris, the eight-part Netflix show follows the dancers and artistic staff of two worldrenowned ballet companies as they try to save their historied but struggling institutions by swapping their most talented stars.
It stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Luke Kirby, who won an Emmy for his Lenny Bruce portrayal in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, as the sparring artistic directors of the French and American companies. It also reunites the Palladinos with their Mrs Maisel cinematographers, M. David Mullen ASC and Alex Nepomniaschy ASC, who both jumped at the chance to work on Etoile.
“I loved working with Amy and Daniel on other shows. They’re very creative and I love their writing,” says Nepomniaschy. To which Mullen adds, “It’s hard not to like everything about working with them, between the strength of the writing, their imagination, and the way they like to use the camera. And then a show about dance and theatre is going to give us so many visual opportunities on top of all that. Amy’s always been talking about doing something musical, so Alex and I were both looking forward to this when we heard first about it in the last season of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.”
In terms of the approach to the visual look, the biggest issue was “dealing with a modern setting,” notes Mullen. “Amy and Daniel want everything to have a certain beauty to it, and it’s easier to do that with a period show like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, particularly as it was set in New York in the late fifties, which had great fashion and architecture.
“We were worried that with a modern setting Amy and Daniel would be disappointed in some of the more mundane elements of modern life, although visually we weren’t worried about Paris. Paris is visually beautiful, no matter what.
“But the question was, how much realism do we push for in the New York stuff versus making things more attractive-visually, even if it meant stylisation? So, you have the reality of what backstage at the Lincoln Center is really like, which is white cinder block corridors and fluorescent tubes, versus this world of the dance studios and classes they wanted to create.”
The team prepped for two months before the Hollywood strikes shut production down, after which they then had another two months of prep before production started-up again. In addition, Mrs Maisel production designer Bill Groom began scouting locations in New York and Paris for the new show even during the last season of Maisel
“In the end Bill was prepping for two years before we started filming,” notes Mullen.
After shooting Mrs Maisel on the ARRI Alexa Mini and Panavision Primo lenses for five seasons the team wanted to try something new, “but I didn’t want to drift too far from what I’ve done before,” Mullen reports.
“So, Alex and I talked about using the ARRI Alexa 35 and convincing production to go for that. It was a little more expensive, but a lot of shows have switched over to it and having a 4.6K camera really was an advantage for us.”
Nepomniaschy adds, “We really appreciated the latitude in the Alexa 35, because it helped us tremendously in some location situations that we could not control, like the scenes with French windows where we had no ability to put lights out the windows. So, we were dealing with real sunlight blasting in unpredictably in the morning, if the weather was clear, and so we were really pushing the dynamic range when we were dealing with some of those interiors.
“And then lens wise, we’ve used Primos for so long and I wanted to try something different,” reports Mullen. “As the Alexa 35 is a pound-and-a-half heavier than the
It was thrilling to be part of this production
Alexa Mini, we were looking for lenses that were about a pound lighter than the Primos, and ones that were fast. We ended-up with the Panavision VA primes and zooms.”
The camera and lens package was provided by Panavision New York. Workflow was 4.5K 16x9 ProRes 4444 (some shots used ARRIRAW) and 3.8K 16x9 (UHD) extraction from 4.5K. Gear also included Steadicam and MoVI Pro, plus Artemis Pro to line-up shots. For filters the team used mainly Schneider Hollywood Black Magic for the Paris shoot and Tiffen Black Satin for New York, along with some Tiffen Black Fog and Tiffen Pearlescent.
The team worked on a LUT with final colourist Steven Bodner at Picture Shop who did all the post colour work.
“We’ve worked with Steven since the pilot for Mrs Maisel, and the LUT we built is not far from a standard Rec.709 LUT but just tweaked to taste, basically,” explains Mullen. “And then our DIT in New York and Paris would make daily adjustments using ASC-CDL values. We did not monitor on set in HDR but mastered to HDR.”
The team shot the eight episodes over some nine months, with Mullen doing episodes 101, 102, 105 and 106 and Nepomniaschy doing 103, 104, 107 and 108. The studio part of the shoot was based at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn for the New York scenes, and at Epinay Studios in Paris.
The shoot schedule “was a challenge because we cross-boarded episodes so heavily,” reports Nepomniaschy. “So sometimes David would start on a location and I would finish the day with my episode in the
Almost every dance scene had at least one Steadicam shot that would go 180-degrees
same place.”
Mullen adds, “We shot bits-and-pieces of the first four episodes while we were in Paris. Then we had to shoot bits-and-pieces of all eight episodes in New York and then finish-up the last two episodes back in Paris, which were Alex’s episodes. But I owed scenes from all my other episodes, so I did a scene from episode one three days before they wrapped episode eight. That’s how switched around the schedule was.”
Despite that, the results are seamless. “I joined David on Mrs Maisel for the last two seasons, and we developed a good understanding,” says Nepomniaschy.
Mullen says, “We collaborate a lot on the preplanning of the set and lighting the pre-rigs. There are locations that are one-offs per episode, so we didn’t necessarily have to coordinate with each other. But a few Paris locations were split between our episodes, so we’d have to agree on a lighting package and a general approach, but they varied quite a bit, because Alex may have a night exterior at a house where I only have a day interior. And we had to agree on lenses and filters, and how the rooms were lit.”
Stages were lit with the standard mixture of Tungsten fresnels, ARRI SkyPanels, and Astera LED tubes and bars – “nothing too unusual,” explains Mullen.
“In Paris we used big Nanlux lights on-location, which was very practical, because in Paris you had a lot of limitations on generator placement and power,
and a lot of LEDs now are so low wattage we could plug them into wall outlets and get quite a lot of exposure out of them.
“So we’d often bounce these Nanlux’s into the ceilings of the French ballrooms and giant offices and just dial-out whatever colour the ceiling was with the Nanlux settings until we got a neutral bounce out of it, and we were able to balance our interior and the exterior that way.
“That was maybe the one unusual thing compared to the New York package that we normally work with outdoors. I think I saw the sunshine for just five days over three months of spring in Paris as it was quite overcast there, whereas we were in New York in the height of summer.
“So, we had to deal with summer light and overhead, and normally you don’t think about sunshine in New York, because you’re always in the shadow of a skyscraper. But our scenes were set in the Lincoln Center’s big open plaza, so we were constantly working with a big fly swatter rig to try to silk the actors, because the sunlight could get quite harsh, and we had continuity issues.”
every dance scene we did had at least one shot on a Steadicam that would go 180-degrees. So lighting it and not getting camera shadow while the Steadicam was moving around was the most challenging aspect.”
For Mullen, the sequence on a Greenpeace boat in the middle of a storm at sea was the hardest.
“There were so many questions on how to do this,” he recalls. “Do we even go out to sea? That didn’t seem like a good idea. Do we do it in a harbour? Or do we go to a water tank?”
In the end, the team opted for a brand-new water tank indoor facility that had just been constructed in Brussels and filmed it there.
“But you’re dealing with water cannons and wind machines and the boat is sitting on a pontoon deck,” he adds. “So it’s floating on water and bouncing around with these wave makers and I’m trying to figure out the best way to do it. We did it basically as a oner on a Steadicam running 360-degrees around this deck, going through hatches and trying not to get the camera wet, and not seeing ourselves in all the glass on the boat. It was a lot of work, and then it was a lot of work in post-production to finish the sequence.”
“I love dance, so for me it was just thrilling to be part of this production, and of course working in Paris was very special,” sums up Nepomniaschy.
Mullen concludes, “The new element was working with dancers as actors, and having this dance troupe always around doing dialogue scenes and dance numbers. We don’t normally get that on a show.” Having a 4.6K
camera really was an advantage for us
Nepomniaschy says that the most difficult scenes for him to shoot were the dance performances in theaters, “especially in Paris, because they had real shows going-on while we were shooting or prepping, so it was a very tight schedule. And once we started shooting dances, I had to adjust my lighting very quickly to how Amy or Daniel would choose to shoot it, and almost
Your A-to-Z of the latest and best in camera, lens, grip, lighting, power, colour and post products as shown at Euro Cine Expo 2025. Reporting and photos by Christine Gebhard and Birgit Heidsiek.
ANGÉNIEUX / BAND PRO:
BandPro and Angénieux pooled their strength at the show, where they presented the Angénieux Oval Iris for the Optimo Prime Series. This allows cinematographers and directors to get an oval bokeh on a spherical lens, and if they pair that with a Rear Blue Streak, they can emulate the flare of many Anamorphic lenses too.
“With this combination, you won’t get the distortion from the Anamorphic lenses, but your close focus will be a lot closer, and you’ll be conserving a lot of light”, said Daniel Band, president of Band Pro.
Angénieux’s Integrated Optical Palette (IOP) allows filmmakers to customise their Optimo Prime lenses to create unique characteristics and looks. Thanks to the integrated 16-blade iris, users can tailor the lenses to specific shooting requirements.
“If you don’t like the oval, you can install a nineblade, six-blade, or three-blade iris, whatever you prefer”, Band stressed. “You can use the same highquality glass but keep re-using it for different purposes again and again, whether it’s for an Anamorphiclooking bokeh or for just your traditional spherical look.”
The Optimo Primes are PL only, and they’re meant
for Full Frame, but they also cover 65mm sensors. The internal or rear slot accepts all Tiffin filters.
“We work closely with cinematographers, rental houses and studios to provide tailored consultation, technical training, and long-term support”, said Flavia Calaianu, managing director, Band Pro Europe.
“As the European branch of the international Band Pro Inc. we are offering not only state-of-the-art products, but also the service, reliability and insight that professionals expect.”
www.angenieux.com
www.bandpro.com
APUTURE:
Aputure’s new COB LED spotlight, the StormXT52, took centrestage. With this product, the manufacturer has broken the 5kW barrier almost simultaneously with its competitors and has made significant inroads into the HMI spotlight market.
With its output power, the StormXT52 HMI spotlight can replace 6kW and artificial lighting and step lenses of 20kW. For the light source, Aputure relies on a newlydeveloped light engine with five different types of light-emitting diodes, which it calls BLAIR – for Blue, Lime, Amber, Indigo and Red. These colour
components can be used to generate light with high colour fidelity across the entire range from 2,500 to 10,000K with a CCIR and TLCI > 96. The green-magenta shift is corrected and the luminous flux is flicker-free at all colour settings. The aim of this in-house colour science development was to come as close as possible to the characteristics of natural light. The light source can be dimmed continuously down to a minimum output of 0.1%.
The lamp head measures 55 x 54 x 83cm
with bracket and weighs 31.3kg. A ballast is required for operation, measuring 41 x 16 x 39cm and weighing 13.4kg. The cable connection between the ballast and the lamp head is extendable and can be up to 45m. The housing is weatherproof to IP65.
Without an attachment, the lamp head has a beam angle of 93°. This allows it to achieve a luminance of 22,080lux at 5600K at 3m and 8,420lux at 5m. Reflector attachments are available for 50° wide, 25° narrow and 20° narrow angle extensions. A motorised adjustable reflector attachment with variable angle and a parallel beam attachment that helps to cover long distances and is particularly suitable for use with reflector boards are currently in development. The Storm XT 52 can be remotely controlled via DMX, Sidus Link Pro and Sidus Link.
www.aputure.com
ASTERA:
With the new QuikPunch and the QuikSpot, Astera presented fast and efficient wireless Fresnel spotlights with a lens that has a 13º to 60º zoom. They are the first of a family of products that are not based on features per se, but on enhancing workflow at an event or a film set.
“We believe that the rental companies are investing way more money in working personnel than in equipment”, said Ben Díaz, head of product management at Astera. “This new compact
spotlight is basically an evolution of the Astera AX5 and the AX9 event and stage lighting fixtures.”
Astera’s approach is to offer one single product that is suitable for many applications in music, film and broadcasting.
The Quik Punch equals a 65W Tungsten Fresnel and can be compared with a 200W stage LED Par. It can also work as a traditional 650W Fresnel, but has just 75W of power consumption.
Whereas the QuikSpot equals a 300W
Tungsten Fresnel and can be used as an up-light to replace a small typicallyused fixture, such as an AX5. It features a low 35W of power consumption. Apart from that, these two products are identical in their operation. www.astera-led.com
EURO CINE EXPO 2025 ROUND-UP•GREAT GEAR GUIDE
BLACKMAGIC:
Blackmagic Design focused on the Ursa Cine Immersive camera. The manufacturer also showed early production examples of material that could be viewed via Apple Vision Pro.
The Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive is the world’s first camera for Apple Immersive Video, specially developed for Apple Vision Pro. With two high-resolution 8K sensors, it captures images in 8160 x 7200 pixels-per-eye with pixel-perfect synchronisation. The exceptional dynamic range of 16-stops ensures lifelike images with impressive detail reproduction in bright and dark areas of the image.
The specially designed lens system has been optimised exclusively for the URSA Cine Immersive’s large-format image sensor and guarantees the highest image quality, according to the manufacturer. For professional workflows,
BVK – BERUFSVERBAND KINEMATOGRAFIE:
At Euro Cine Expo, the BVK (German Society
Of Cinematographers) focussed on technical equipment it was showcasing at its stand.
New highlights at Canon were the C100, C400 and C80 cine cameras. The C100 is the first cubiform Cinema EOS camera with an RF Mount, instead of an EF or PL Mount. It comes with a Full Frame sensor.
“For the first time, we have incorporated a backside-illuminated (BSI) stacked CMOS sensor that can be called up a bit quicker,” says Martin Bilic, key account manager at Canon Germany.
“So far we are the only manufacturer to offer triple-base ISO, adjustable to basic sensitivities of 800 ISO, 3200 ISO or 12800 ISO, according to the light situation, to increase the image quality and the noise.”
The 6K Full Frame C400 is smaller than the previous C300 and C500 models, but the housing has more connection ports. It is suitable for all kinds of shoots, even for virtual
“We wanted to create a space with a comfortable, setlike atmosphere at the Expo, where camera people could meet, mingle and discuss new developments,” remarked Thomas Neudorfer, managing director of the BVK.
Besides supporting camera craft in the film industry, the BVK also
production. The camera can export metadata in real-time, which, by means of a plug-in, can directly shift into the Unreal Engine.
The smaller C80 model, a successor of the C70, also has a full-frame sensor and SDI output.
The sensor and processor are comparable to the C400 but with lower frame rates. Whilst C400 is capable of 6K RAW up to 60p and 4K in Full Frame up to 120p, the C80 is RAW 6K, but limited to 30p.
www.canon-europe.com
the camera offers removable 8TB highperformance storage, whilst ultra-fast 10G Ethernet and Wi-Fi enable efficient media transfer and seamless synchronisation with Blackmagic Cloud.
Also on display at the booth was the new Ursa Cine 17K 65 – the digital large format film camera with RGBW 65mm sensor, 16-stops of dynamic range and Blackmagic RAW synchronisation with DaVinci Resolve. The camera features interchangeable PL, LPL and Hasselblad lens mounts, as well as industry-standard Lemo and Fischer connectors.
The Pyxis was also on-display. It offers a 36x24mm full-frame sensor for 6K or 12K with high dynamic range and internal optical low-pass filter. There are three models, each with an EF, PL or L lens mount. The cameras can simultaneously record 12-bit files in Blackmagic RAW and small H.264 proxy files.
www.blackmagicdesign.com
informs camera crew and stills photographers about crucial topics such as copyright, remuneration and working conditions.
“The BVK is not involved in the negotiations, but we try to help shape them from the outside,” added Neudorfer. “It is also important to connect our members with the companies that make the equipment, and to inform our members about what is going on in the industry in terms of technology.”
That said, no consideration has yet been taken to remunerate creatives for existing films that are being used to train AI – Artificial Intelligence. “That train has left the station, so it is going to be important to find a solution on how to deal with this in the future.”
www.kinematografie.org
CANON:
GREAT GEAR GUIDE•EURO CINE EXPO 2025 ROUND-UP
CBM – CINE BRANDS MUNICH:
CBM presented the Raptor Scope FF from IBE Optics, a high-end, full-frame (44mm) snorkel-style lens system designed for precision cinematography, which offers features including unlimited pan, tilt and roll movements with an image rotation compensator for seamless panning, and support for multiple camera and lens mounts, including PL, LPL, EF, and Nikon F, with options for interchangeable front mounts. The Raptor Scope weighs 4.4kg.
Of course, the system also works with analogue film cameras in Super35 mode, with a previously unheard-of initial aperture of F4.0.
CBM also showcased brand new 65mm lenses from IBE Optics.
There is also a 1.4x expander that converts fullframe lenses to the 65 format, with only one f-stop lost. All products are available now.
Another innovation was the SeeU system, developed by P+S Technik, designed to enhance the connection between interviewer and interviewee in interviews and close-up shots. Unlike conventional teleprompter systems, SeeU works with reflective image transmission through a 50/50 beam splitter. The foldable system is compact for transport and can be set up in just a few simple steps: after pulling it open and securing it with two screws, all you have to do is fold out the mirror.
These are completely newly-developed lenses with an aperture of 1.7. The set currently comprises seven lenses. Further focal lengths are to follow.
The 50/50 beam splitter results in a loss of light equivalent to one f-stop, which must be taken into account when planning exposure. Despite this limitation, the SeeU system promises a new dimension in interview conducting and video production.
www.cbm-cine.com
DEDOLIGHT:
By building the Dedolight Neo, Munichbased company Dedo Weigert Film introduced the next-generation of their LED precision lighting instruments.
“We decided to simplify and enhance the LED product portfolio”, says Dedo Weigert, cinematographer and CEO of Dedo Weigert Film. “One ballast can power 34 different lightheads.”
The LED Control Unit will drive all Dedolight LED lightheads from 20W to 90W – monocolour, bi-colour, infrared and ultraviolet. It is based on a novel technical platform of advanced electronics and packed in a housing with a unified connector layout. The system will auto-sense the connected lighthead and adjust the electronic settings and display accordingly. The DMX address, intensity and colour temperature are monitored on the main screen.
The wireless version Neo+ ballast system can be operated via the Lumen Radio CMX, the wireless or Bluetooth. Moreover, there are three
CINEO LIGHTING:
With the brand-new Lynx 2 and 4, Cineo Lighting is empowering lighting professionals with an entirely new creative toolkit. The family of fixtures utilise its leading-edge LED technology to provide users with a two-foot and a four-foot bar. The Lynx bars are fully pixel-mappable and offer many options for rigging. Thanks to the IP68-rating, Lynx 2 and 4 are designed for both indoor and outdoor applications.
“They are completely submersible in water”, explains Joseph Mendoza, vice president of sales at Cineo Lighting. “The important thing is that you can adjust the optics on it.”
options for the Dim mode. Option one is a linear curve for very deep, smooth dimming, whilst the exponential mode can be used for very smooth dimming or for precise dimming in 1,000 steps.
The third high-speed option can reach an almost infinite number of frames. 50,000 frames were tested, but based on the electronic fundamentals, much higher values can be reached. www.dedolight.de
It is possible to go from a tight angle of 15-degrees all the way up to 120-degrees natively.
The Lynx 2 is 110W; Lynx 4 220W. The two different options give users a lot of flexibility when creating lighting designs for perhaps a massive pixel wall or a big overhead lighting rig.
“By improving the Batten Light, we created a more powerful and a lighterweight tool that is more user-friendly for film and television, live entertainment, plus a lot of other markets,” added Mendoza.
www.cineolighting.com
FUJIFILM:
Fujifilm presented the new GFX Eterna camera behind glass. This camera will be equipped with a large-format sensor, the GFX 102MP CMOS II HS, which is approximately 1.7 times larger than a 35mm sensor. It will also feature the X-Processor 5 engine.
The camera will be delivered with a PL adapter. In addition, third-party LPL adapters are to be developed, which will significantly expand the lens selection. Standard equipment includes a top handle and a monitor.
Particularly noteworthy is the internal electronic variable ND filter with a range of seven F-stops (0.6 to 2.1), which allows for flexible exposure adjustments. A further special feature is the innovative battery system. In addition to the native V-mount battery on the rear, the camera has an internal battery that is
EURO
GODOX:
Chinese lighting equipment company Godox has expanded its parallel beam system. In addition to the powerful BeamLight Max90, the latest products are the compact BeamLight B60 and Max60, which are lightweight and easy to set-up. Two mounting options expand compatibility, integrating current and future KnowLED lights into the parallel beam system.
6kW HMI. It lights-up instantly, with no pre-heating required. When paired with a reflector, the MG6K can greatly boost optical efficiency and minimise light loss.
The BeamLight Max 60/90 can be paired with the MG6K, that surpasses the brightness of a
KINO FLO:
Kino Flo announced the Diva Lux 4, a full-spectrum RGBWcW LED studio light with improved colour space. The energy-efficient softlight features a powerful 400W LED engine. It has a broad spectrum in daylight and hardly any blue peak. The TLCI is between 98 and 99, depending on the CCT. Various diffusers are available for the IP20 panel light.
The bi-colour LED light from Godox KnowLED uses 4,300W of power. Despite the greater output, the size of the light head remains the same. By combining a lightweight head with high output, the MG6K streamlines set-up and offers a more cost-effective lighting array solution for largescale productions. It is IP54-rated like the other products in the KnowLED-MG series, so that it can be used for
True Match firmware enables easy on-board control and facilitates remote configuration and operation via RDM and DMX. Wireless LumenRadio DMX is built-in as standard. Diva Lux 4
permanently charged. This enables hot-swap functionality – the camera never has to be turned-off during a day of shooting. The firmware is still in development, so final technical specifications are pending. However, support for at least internal ProRes HQ has been confirmed. This will be one to watch! www.fujifilm.com
outdoor locations, where a punch is often needed to fight the sun.
“Another advantage is that a lower connection is required in terms of power consumption”, says German gaffer Dominic Heim. “The MG6K only requires a blue connection with 32 Amps.” www.godox.com
is scheduled to ship in August.
Kino Flo also announced the Celeb Ikon 6, a powerful IP65 softlight designed for use in all indoor and outdoor environments and featuring a new RGB cW wW LED engine capable of driving all white and colour points at full power. Delivery is scheduled for autumn 2025. www.kinoflo.com
GREAT GEAR GUIDE•EURO CINE EXPO 2025 ROUND-UP
LCA – LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION:
DoPChoice showed-off the Airglow Float. This innovative circular softbox system combines creative lighting control with practical utility, offering great versatility for COB, panel, mat and tile LED fixtures for film, television and commercial production.
The Float addresses the growing need for lightweight, portable lighting modifiers that don’t compromise on performance. Its inflatable design makes it exceptionally compact for transportation whilst providing professional-grade light control when deployed. The system is engineered to maximise the creative potential of modern LED fixtures, but maintaining the practical requirements of professional production environments.
Simple to rig and compact to transport, the Float combines creative lighting advantages with utilitarian practicality. Available in 4ft, 8ft, and 12ft diameter sizes, the system consists of two adjustable inflated rings, supporting a cylindrical side cover, creating a circular, spill-free softbox. An attachable white Snapcloth diffusion adds ultra-soft natural lighting characteristics, and a reversible black-white skirt can be added to further direct illumination. Outfitted with a three-point ceiling mount system, it is easy to loft into position.
Creamsource has further developed its soft panels and introduced the Vortex24, which is equipped with an RRGBBW colour engine. Vortex24 offers 1950W of power with a beam angle of 20°. This technology produces a significantly more powerful softlight and increases lumen output, whilst also offering creative control for the most complex lighting effects. Delivery of the Vortex24 softpanel is scheduled to begin in September.
Another interesting new product from Creamsource is Slyyd. This is a new iPad and iPhone application that enables seamless colour matching across different manufacturers using advanced calibration technology. It offers ease-
LIGHTBRIDGE:
Lightbridge has developed a new Touchproof surface for its light reflectors. Touchproof
LIGHTEQUIP:
Lightequip presented a wide range of products at its stand, including Kinoflo, Aputure, Pess Energy, Velvet and many more. As a trading company specialising in lighting technology, camera grips, camera accessories and consumables, it has a large variety of services. www.lightequip.com
of-use and cross-brand compatibility through innovative colour science technology.
The application’s standout feature is its proprietary colour engine that delivers identical colours across fixtures from different manufacturers, regardless of their LED technology. Whether using RGB, RGBW, RGBACL, or RGB Mint Amber fixtures, Slyyd’s calibration system ensures consistent colour reproduction.
The demonstration showcased fixtures from multiple brands including Creamsource, Aputure and Astera, all producing identical colours through Slyyd’s advanced colour science. The system works regardless of the fixture’s light engine type or operating mode, eliminating the common problem of colour variations between different manufacturers’ products.
The application’s scene management system allows users to create complex lighting set-ups and transition between them smoothly, with automated fading handled by the software.
Slyyd supports multiple connection methods (wired, wireless CRMX and Bluetooth) to accommodate different production needs. The Bluetooth functionality requires fixtures equipped
offers the same Lightbridge Precision Reflector specifications you are familiar with, but now with even greater durability. They are available in all
with the Timo 2 chip and CRMX capability, currently available in the Vortex series. www.lcauk.com
www.dopchoice.com
www.creamsource.com
sizes from 7x7cm to 100×100cm and in DIFF0 to DIFF3 versions.
According to the manufacturer, Touchproof surfaces have been tested by customers worldwide over the past six months under a wide range of climatic conditions and have been found to perform well. The panels do not require any special cleaning; water and a drop of washing-up liquid are sufficient. Rental companies in particular are likely to be very pleased with the new Touchproof surfaces.
www.thelightbridge.com
LITEGEAR:
LiteGear has expanded its product family with LiteTile Spectrum. The LED panel series is equipped with a newly-developed light engine and offers a weatherproof housing and lightweight design.
Paul Royalty, senior VP sales, said, “What used to be a single LED engine now consists of eight individual pixels. This resolution enables more complex lighting effects, more precise shading and expanded content possibilities for demanding productions.”
Like the proven LiteTile Plus, the LiteTile Spectrum features a robust, foldable housing made of technical fabric. This design allows for versatile applications and high flexibility in positioning. The system is fully-compatible with
EURO
existing LiteGear dimmers, making it easy to integrate into existing setups.
Despite the technical innovations, the system retains the physical dimensions of the original LiteTile, ensuring that all existing accessories remain compatible.
The LiteTile Spectrum series is available in two versions: the LiteTile Spectrum 4 with four light engines and the LiteTile Spectrum 8 with eight light engines. Both versions offer professional lighting solutions for a variety of production requirements. www.litegear.com
NANLUX:
With the bi-colour LED Evoke 5000B spotlight, Nanlux is showcased its most powerful light. Thanks to its 5,000W powerdraw, this brand-new light has an output that approaches that of a 9kW HMI. This is achieved by the newly-developed Nebula B4 light engine, which also gives the Evoke 5000B excellent light quality.
The Evoke 5000B offers a colour temperature range of
ONE STOP:
French equipment designer One Stop creates practical solutions for camera, lighting and grip. The electrically-driven Force One Cable Roller can take in up to 20m of cables with a size up to 125-Amperes.
A new product on-show was the C-Box system, an alternative to traditional apple boxes, that offers flexible possibilities to grips and gaffers. The modular cubes, 24 by 24 by 12cm, are multifunctional. There are many different applications for the Lego-like cube.
“C-Boxes can be set-up inside a car, on staircases and other awkward spaces, and can also be used in water,” explained Julien Bertrand, managing director of One Stop. “We are also developing
2700K-6500K with plus/minus 80 Green/ Magenta setting. Thanks to the design approach to integrate the lamp head, control unit and power supply into one luminaire, the overall weight and size of the Evoke 5000B has been significantly reduced, as compared to solutions that utilise separate units.
The housing of the Evoke 5000B
many accessories to ground the cubes.”
The 1.2k cubes are very stable and can be used by crew members in any department. “You can sit on them, and you also can step on them if there is a need to make an actor taller,” he added. www.onestopcine.com www.k5600.eu
complies with protection class IP66, so it can withstand extreme weather conditions.
“I had a chance to use this powerful LED spotlight when we were shooting a ZDF crime series, where we had to light challenging locations at a bright summer day,” said German gaffer Carsten Christmann. “The Evoke 5000B does exactly what is says on the data sheets.” www.nanlux.com www.nglbg.com www.nanguang.cn
GREAT GEAR GUIDE•EURO CINE EXPO 2025 ROUND-UP
PIPE LIGHTING:
The Hamburg-based start-up Pipe Lighting introduced a new floating soft light, the ColourPipeCloud 99. This helium-filled surface light with RGBWW LEDs, received the Euro Cine Award 2025 for lighting.
By delivering soft toplight from a single source, the company’s family of Helium Cloud products replace the need for multiple traditional fixtures. Like all inflatable light sources from Pipe Lighting, they ate designed for fast deployment and serve as the perfect solution for sensitive indoor environments.
The flying mattress can be completely controlled by a pixel controller and can do 250W per channel of RGBWW.
“The pixel control allows programming colour gradients such as floating clouds, fire, thunderstorms
or emergency lights,” explained Eduard Bochanov, CEO of Pipe Lighting, which was co-founded together with engineer Evgenii Vetlugin. Their innovative soft lights are bright, lightweight, waterproof and very compact. Even the dimmer is light and fits into an easily-transportable bag.
Pipe Lighting offers soft lights in various sizes starting from the 800g Pipe Go Lite Kit up to the ColourPipes, which redefine lighting on a film set. Built to endure extreme conditions, their IP67-
rated waterproof construction allows for seamless operation in rain, saltwater and even underwater cinematography.
“Our inflatable lights offer advantages for everyone.” added Bochanov. “The producer saves money, the gaffer spares their back, the camera operator gets brilliant light, and the environment won‘t be polluted by a generator.” www.pipelighting.com
ROSCO:
Rosco had a simple but very useful innovation in its range – Window Cling. This is a brand-new range of ultra-thin filters designed to temporarily attach to windowpanes via static electricity to control the light coming through the window.
Available in three neutral densities (ND3, ND6 and ND9) and a unique Day For Night Layer (D/N), these filters are designed to stack on top of each other in order to achieve the necessary brightness level as lighting conditions change outside.
www.rosco.com
PROLIGHTS:
Prolights showcased the new EclFresnel CT+ XLIP, which targets the professional film market with powerful LED technology. It was launched as a replacement for HMI lights.
The light features a 1500W LED light source with six colour mixers, delivering 44,000 lumens through a 300mm glass Fresnel lens. The device offers variable beam angles from 10° to 90° and is available with optional 30° and 60° reflector lenses with an open front for maximum light output.
Powered by Spektra OS, the light offers improved colour consistency and a wider colour gamut, meeting professional standards for CRI, TLCI, SSI and TM30 indices. The lownoise luminaire is designed for film sets, theatres and studio applications where high light output and colour-accurate lighting are essential. The integrated power supply simplifies installation for both outdoor shooting and fixed installations. www.prolights.it
SONY EUROPE:
Sony presented its new Venice Extension System Mini for the Venice 2 camera, which
EURO CINE EXPO 2025 ROUND UP•GREAT GEAR GUIDE
is available in both 8K and 6K versions and reduces the form factor of its predecessor by 70%. It was awarded with the Euro Cine Award
TELTEC:
Teltec initiated the Rental Village at Euro Cine Expo. This special area offered rental companies and equipment suppliers, including ARRI which showed a variety of ARRI Alexas, the opportunity to present their products on a set.
Numerous camera, accessory and
tripod manufacturers took advantage of the opportunity to showcase their latest products. Visitors to the trade fair were able to get in touch with rental experts directly in the Rental Village, ask questions and discuss the best solutions for their upcoming projects.
At its own stand, Teltec presented the new
at the show.
The new system consists of a compact housing block with the 8.6K Venice sensor, which is connected to the Venice camera body via a 4.5m cable. Measuring 63.9 x 103.2 x 60.2mm and weighing 0.54kg with an E-mount, the Extension System greatly expands the Venice 2’s range of applications and allows shooting in confined spaces or hard-to-reach positions without compromising image quality.
An integrated ND filter slot allows the use of glass ND filters in eight gradations from 0.3 to 2.4. The filter shaft is protected against splashing water and dust. Various filter manufacturers have already expressed interest in developing customised special filters.
When two mini housings are placed sideby-side, the distance between the optical axes is exactly 64mm, which corresponds to the average human eye distance and makes the system suitable for stereoscopic side-by-side shots. www.sonycine.com
Ursa Cine 17K 65 – the digital large-format film camera from Blackmagic Design – during a special Blackmagic event. Teltec customers were able to have an in-depth look at the camera. www.teltec.de
Our inventory is extensive and continually expanding
IN EXCELLENT HANDS
By Ron Prince
As Dennis Fraser MBE, the legendary grip and mastermind behind a host of modern grip equipment and UK industry training initiatives, would say, “A good grip does a crucial job. You can’t really make a film without them.”
Working as a grip on film and television productions is a vital role. That’s because it requires a blend of technical expertise, plus problem-solving and leadership skills, to help bring a creative vision to life.
It’s the grips, often the key grips, who make sure that what the director and cinematographer want to achieve through their camera manoeuvres is actually possible. And grips do this through their in-depth knowledge of cameras and support equipment, like baseplates, tripods, sliders, dollies, cranes, jib arms and vehicles, together with their ability to deftly manipulate them for creative effect during the shoot, often whilst dealing with the unexpected in fast-paced environments.
In this way, grips are the backbone of the camera department, ensuring everything is set-up safely and working efficiently, before moving or packing-away all of the kit for the next shot or location. Along with being exciting, knowing that you have played such a key role during a production, with the fruits of your labours on-screen, makes gripping a rewarding experience too.
It’s with all of this in mind that today we’re attending a special open day to celebrate the launch of the new and capacious home of Panavision Grip & Remote Systems, one of the UK’s leading rental providers of grip gear and accessories, and a division of the wider Panavision group.
Conveniently-sited just across the road from its former home within Panavision London’s camera and optics rental operation in Greenford, the entire grip inventory has been re-housed into a standalone 25,000sq/ft facility, representing a nearly 10,000sq/ft increase over its previous location. The fully-operational site is led by Alan “Wolfie” Smith, Panavision Grip & Remote Systems director, and manager Karl Teggin, who have overseen the smooth
transition to the new premises.
Along with having Panavision-family neighbours across the way, the new base is neatly sited so that trucks, loaded with equipment, can easily slip round the M25 to other London-area studios or location shoots, or deliver to wider destinations around the UK via the national motorway network, and also to Europe as required.
No one does it better than Panavision grips do it
The facility features three loading bays, an interior layout that is designed to streamline the flow of equipment between shipping, receiving and service, with multiple electric-vehicle charging stations, plus parking for customers and employees.
“Traditionally, Panavision always held a stockpile of grip equipment and accessories, but over the last few years our rental inventory swelled considerably, and with the addition of bigger equipment, such as the SuperTechno cranes and 4x4 all-terrain mobile bases, we needed a dedicated space to hold, service and distribute all of that hardware,” enthuses Smith, who has worked at the company for 30 years, starting out
as a driver, before taking on grip marketing and now working as director.
“When this warehouse became available, right opposite Panavision, we had the chance to create something that would work for us today and tomorrow,” Smith adds. “Our inventory is extensive and continually expanding with the latest camera supports and grip solutions. Having new and larger premises means we are at-the-ready to embrace future waves of technology, and filmmakers can continue to rely on us for all of their grip-equipment needs.”
In the last year alone, Panavision Grip & Remote Systems has serviced hundreds of projects. Some of the more notable of these have involved some of the most renowned DPs and key grips in the business: features such as Deadpool & Wolverine (DP George Richmond BSC, key grip Steve Ellingworth); Gladiator II (DP John Mathieson BSC, key grip Dave Wells); Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (DP Fraser Taggart, key grip Gary Pocock); plus the Netflix streaming series Black Doves (DPs Mark Patten BSC/ Giulio Biccari, key grip Jim Philpott), and Apple TV+’s Slow Horses (DPs Danny Cohen BSC, Eben Bolter BSC ASC & David Chizallet, key grips Josh Close, Alex Mott & Elliott Polley).
The company’s rental inventory is a veritable treasure trove, encompassing everything from remote heads by Filmotechnic, KFX Technology, ServiceVision and Freefly, to telescopic cranes from Moviebird, ServiceVision and Technocrane, plus modular cranes and jib arms made by JL Fisher, GFM and Egripment. There are dollies galore as well from GFM, Chapman
PANAVISION GRIP & REMOTE SYSTEMS•ON TOUR
Leonard, JL Fisher, Egripment, Movietech and Filmair, along with Ronford Baker sliders, plus car rigs, bazookas, ladder pods and vibration absorbers. And, obviously, there’s plenty of track too.
The facility also offers an array of Panavision own-brand all-terrain mobile bases which support a wide range of modular and telescopic arms and feature ultra-low gearing for climbing steep hills and manoeuvring on uneven terrain.
“It’s important that we stock a variety of different products in any one category, as every project comes with its own specific requirement in how the camera needs to move, and grips often have different favourites or combinations of equipment they prefer,” says Teggin, who admits to being inspired by his father’s work as a crane tech in wanting to get into the grip department from an early age, and has now served for ten years at Panavision Grip & Remote Systems.
“Although we collaborate with cinematographers,” Teggin continues, “it’s really the grips that we have the closest relationships with, because they’re the people who have to investigate and specify the kit they need for their upcoming projects. We’re always happy for them to visit us, to discuss their requirements and try things out.
“But, we are also keen to encourage youngsters thinking about gripping as a career, as well as trainees taking their NVQs via the dedicated Grips Branch of BECTU, who are eager to learn more about the kit and the craft. So, depending on our workload, we generally have an open house every Wednesday for them to drop-in and get hands-on
learning experiences, although it’s always advisable to ring in advance to make sure of availability.”
On this particular day, Horst Burbulla from SuperTechno, an Academy-Award winner for the development of the telescopic Technocrane, is demonstrating brandnew targeting and orbiting software, in conjunction with an imposing Supertechno 75, allowing the camera to lock-onto and circle around an object or actor, with a group of UK grips watching in rapt attention.
We also have the good fortune to encounter crane tech Neil Folly, who is investigating a more diminutive modular crane/remote-head set-up for a particular sequence in a forthcoming streaming series, and who takes time-out for a fascinating chat about the mechanics of the gear and the subtleties of being a grip.
Now, you can tell that from the hugs and banter going-on around the place, that Smith, Teggin and the team have engendered a healthy camaraderie and sense of trust into the way they do business here. And in a highly-competitive marketplace, Smith believes that sense of togetherness makes all the difference.
“We have longstanding relationships with all of the top grips around the UK because they know we care. Everyone is going to face issues or problems when they are out in the field somewhere, and we like to pride ourselves that we can react fast, by quickly fixing or replacing any kit, so they are not left in the lurch. Or, the shoot suddenly changes and they need
a different piece of equipment to be shipped-over last minute. We’re always contactable, even out-of-hours. If you can’t get me, you can get Karl or one of the hiredesk team and they will help. From what we hear that doesn’t automatically happen at other companies.”
Teggin adds, “Having experienced people inhouse with specific skillsets in servicing, cleaning, loading and shipping the kit, helps to give us a reputation for reliability. Wherever you need to shoot, in the UK or Europe, we’ll get the gear to you in immaculate condition and perfect working order. No one does it better than Panavision grips do it.”
Before you know it, three-hours have gone by, being engrossed and enthralled in the craft of gripping and the instruments used in visual storytelling.
“When I first started here, driving the kit around, helping grips to lay track, build cranes and sort out the different accessories, that’s where my passion for it all started to grow,” says Smith. “It just gets into your system. Being a grip is a fascinating job, a great career choice, and we’re here to help you along the way.”
FAMILY AFFAIR
By Ron Prince
Critically-acclaimed as one of the best and most beautiful TV series’ of 2025, director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Asura, streaming now on Netflix, is a delicately-balanced drama about family dynamics, focusing on the plight of women in a male-dominated society.
Shot on KODAK 35mm film by DP Mikiya Takimoto, and presented as seven hour-long episodes, the story follows the relationships between four grownup sisters – teacher
Tsunako, housewife Makiko, librarian Takiko and waitress Sakiko Takezawa – who suddenly discover their ageing father’s long-time infidelity with a woman of much younger years than himself and his wife, their mother, Fuji. As the truth spills out, the sisters have different reactions to this revelation, each confronting their own personal issues, torments, secrets and suspicions.
Asura is an adaptation of Japanese screenwriter Kuniko Mukōda’s novel of the same name, which aired as a two-part TV series on NHK in 1979 and was also made into the 2003 film, Like Asura, directed by Yoshimitsu Morita.
The new Netflix series has been lauded for its direction and lead performances, which shift by turns between shock and amusement, tragedy and comedy. It has also been praised for the engaging intimacy of Takimoto’s cinematography, incorporating a muted but warm colour palette to evoke Japan in the late 1970s.
Filming on Asura took place over four and half months, between August and December 2023, on specially-constructed interior sets, some with moveable walls, within the sound stages of Toho Studios, Tokyo. Shooting also took place at physical exteriors and apartment locations around the city’s Kanagawa Prefecture and Ota Ward.
Mr Takimoto started-out as a photographer and now is a leading commercials cinematographer. Asura project represents the fourth longform collaboration with Kore-eda, following Like Father, Like Son (2013) and Our Little Sister (2015), both shot on Kodak
film,
The producers took advantage of a special feature film production support package from Kodak Japan and post-facility Imagica Entertainment Media Services, offering a simple, clear and affordable solution for the budgeting of feature films, that includes colour or B&W filmstock, processing (including special processess such as pull and push), 4K scanning and dailies.
Tell us how you came to start shooting feature films for Mr Kore-eda?
About 30 years ago, I was an assistant to one of
Japan’s top advertising photographers, Mr Tamotsu Fujii, who shot a publicity poster for Mr Kore-eda’s film Maboroshi (1995, DP Masao Nakabori). The job was a big deal and, although I was essentially watching from the sidelines, I remember thinking to myself that I had been in the presence of a great director.
A few years later, I shot a photo spread for the style magazine “H”, published by Rockin’ On Japan, featuring the main characters from Mr Kore-eda’s third feature film Distance (2001, DP Yutaka Yamazaki), about the members of a cult, which Mr Kore-eda remembers very well.
35mm
plus The Third Murder (2017).
This led to me working on publicity photographs for his 2009 feature film Air Doll (DP Lee Ping-Bing). It was the first time I had been involved in a feature film as a photographer and, supposing this was a chance I wouldn’t get again, I went to the set on days when there wasn’t any filming going-on, to see how the DP went about shooting it. He used diagonally-set rails
Asura delves into the depths of the human heart
and continuous takes around the characters to create a three-dimensional sense to the picture. I thought, ‘This is how you shoot a film,’ and when I looked back at it recently, the camera work was really well done.
At the time, I didn’t have any contact with Mr Koreeda, except to say ‘hello’ to one another other, but I had a vague idea that I’d like to shoot a feature film at some point in my life.
I then started shooting commercials and that is still my main work. When he was considering the cinematographer for Like Father, Like Son, Mr Kore-eda happened to see a Daiwa House advert I had shot. Normally, I would understand it if a director wanted to try things out on a commercial or a short film first, but he must have been risk-taker as he asked me to shoot that film straight away.
Looking back, I was really nervous at first, as I had never shot a longform narrative with actors properly before. But it worked out well and I went on to shoot Our Little Sister, The Third Murder, followed by Asura, and more recently the short film Last Scene with Mr Kore-eda.
How did you feel when you read the script for Asura?
The three projects I had shot before with Mr Koreeda were set in the present day, but Asura was a period drama, and I felt that I had to shoot it carefully and properly so as not to tarnish the reputation of the original NHK masterpiece. I also wanted to film a remake that was meaningful, a work that would bring back the times of that era to modern audiences.
In terms of the period, 1979 is the most difficult to shoot on-location as all sorts of things would be noticed in the picture, things like air conditioning units, vending machines and cars, which we had to find ways of hiding or not revealing. If it had been set in an earlier time like the Taisho, Meiji or Edo periods, it would have been much easier.
Did you research the period or study and visual references?
would be better after all. At just about the same time, we got a call about the Kodak Japan and Imagica feature film production support package, and we decided it would be a good option. Mr Kore-eda said he would be happy to shoot Asura on film, and that he would leave it up to me to do as I wished.
I wanted to capture humanity in a way that people could see and feel it, to go inside the actors’ hearts and minds. That’s why I chose to shoot on film.
How did you go about achieving the look?
I like to create something that’s hard to describe or to explain in words, but something that looks good.
It’s no fun just using film normally
Of course, it was important to read the original book by Kuniko Mukōda, along with some of her other novels. I also found a really interesting book written by Mr. Teruhiko Kuze, who was a close friend of hers, entitled Without Even Touching: 20 Years With Kuniko Mukōda. It all made me feel close to her personality, how she wrote and how she phrased certain lines.
The vintage apartment building apartment where she lived is just around the corner from my office. The Jissen Women’s University that she graduated from is also nearby, where there’s a room dedicated to her in which the desks she used during her writings are on-
We rented a house in Kamakura and shot tests with some of the cast. I had previously published a photo
collection that had real character for Our Little Sister on Kodak stills film, using a dark-coloured filter in the camera and then correcting and enlarging the image when printing it in my darkroom.
So, I decided to shoot everything with a special colour filter to break-up the colour balance. However, if I needed light or aperture in a really dark place, I would shoot without the filter, and then recreate the filter effect at L’espace Vision, where the final colour grade took place later on.
display. Little things like that, and other co-incidences, made me feel a kind awareness about what Kuniko Mukōda was saying and some of that soaked into me.
What kind of discussions did you have with Mr Kore-eda about this production before the shoot?
Mr Kore-eda loves shooting on film, and so do I. But with seven episodes, and quite a few night scenes, I thought it might be best to shoot digitally and then record back to film to achieve the colour and texture I wanted. Asura delves into the depths of the human heart and the true self that is not often shown on the surface. I thought about shooting digitally for practical, technical and business reasons, but came to feel that there was something strange about that.
As we continued to hold various meetings and scout for locations, I started to think that originating on film
Basically, I contact-printed the negative to positive film, and returned it to normal using colour timing. It’s not a digital adjustment, but a chemical one, so the print film comes out with a colour balance that is slightly off. This is what gave this production its unique colour tone.
If you just follow the manual when making pottery, you can only make ordinary things. It’s no fun just using film normally. When lens and camera manufacturers, come to do interviews, the conversation inevitably turns to things like resolution, but I’m not interested in that at all. I’m more interested in how to break things down and take them in a different direction.
Tell us about your selection of camera and lenses?
I went with an ARRICAM ST and Zeiss Supreme Primes. I thought it would be better to use sharp lenses,
considering that we would finish on print film. If we used lenses with low resolution and a lot of character the image would have become too soft on film. It’s all about working backwards from the print film. As it was going to be streamed, I selected 16:9 as the aspect ratio.
Which filmstocks did you choose for the shoot, and why?
I went with just KODAK VISION 3 500T 5219. As I was using a colour filter to break-up the colour balance, and also wanted to do one-stop pullprocessing of the negative at the lab as well, high sensitivity film was necessary.
I wanted the lighting to be subtle, high-quality and to make you think
I also wanted to avoid having lighting fixtures on the sets as much as possible, and to mainly shoot with the light coming-in from outside though windows. If felt this would give a more realistic quality to the light, but the exposure level would be reduced, so high sensitivity was needed for this too. That’s why I chose 500T.
I always shoot with a wide-open aperture, so when the light level was really low, I would typically remove the colour filter and use normal processing.
We really were working on the very edge. With an open aperture, it’s difficult to get the focus right. I would look through the viewfinder and my assistant would measure with a ruler, but if I couldn’t see the image in the viewfinder, I couldn’t check whether the focus was right or not.
So I had the camera’s viewfinder blocked-off and a CCD camera put in its place, which was connected to a monitor, and I would operate the camera by watching the monitor. I bought that system from Mr. Miura at Spice.
Tell us about your workflow, from negative film development to final grading?
I finished the film up to the positive and then had
it scanned to 4K scanned. Sometimes the graininess can be rough and hard to look on the initial negative, but the 500T negatives were very clean to begin with, so that was not a problem. Basically, I only used pull-
The general direction in the final grade was to avoid having any particular colour dominate, so the overall colour scheme was really subdued and lowkey. If too many vivid colours were used, it would have looked more like a recent story, so I aimed for a slightly faded look.
However, we did emphasise red in key scenes to a certain extent, to make the viewer aware of the blood connection between the characters. For example, there’s a scene where we shot inside a washing machine, and we put in a red sock. I also made the obi sash and camellia flowers a little stronger, and the colour of the payphone that the husband mistakenly calls his wife from, was made to look aged red.
What was your philosophy about moving the camera to tell the story?
processing and normal processing. I used a digital camera for some ultra-dark scenes, but even then I would shoot with my coloured filters and make 35mm film negatives from there before printing the positives.
The low-contrast print film was finished in Osaka at Imagica Entertainment Media Services, and then scanned at 4K using a Scanity scanner, before our colourist Mr. Naotaka Takahashi did the final grade at L’espace Vision using Baselight.
When trying to convey emotions through camera work, it can be a little too obvious or direct if you zoom-in, pan or tilt-up. Rather than straightforward camera work I used techniques such as reflections in windows or images seen through frosted glass, things that put something between the person and the camera to create a sense of emotional distance.
In this film, the four sisters seem close, but their hearts are a little distant. Even in a married couple, there is a sense of distance between them, as if there is some obstacle between them. Many of these ideas were discovered and came out on the spot as we shot. For example, in the sex scene between Tsunako and her lover Masukawa, the emotional distance between them was obscured by a frosted glass window which also
I wanted to capture humanity
added to the sensuality of the scene.
Tell us your camera and lighting crew?
I operated the camera. Because we were shooting on film, my 1st AC, Keishi Ideguchi, who became a cinematographer last year, was in charge of the exposure meter. We would discuss how much detail
we could retain and expose to the film in really dark scenes. My 2nd AC, Yuki Ukibe, who has since become a 1st AC on feature films, was in charge of focus-pulling.
We shared the viewfinder images with everyone. With regular vidicon, the images are totally blurry, and sometimes you can’t even make out the expressions,
so it’s hard to watch, but everyone was saved by Mr Miura’s CCD equipment.
Our 3rd AC, Hiromi Shibuya, was in charge of loading. There aren’t that many film shoots these days, so I think that was a good experience. Assistants grow more with film. There’s a completely different sense of tension with film compared to digital, in that with film you have to concentrate on everything.
Please give us some details about the lighting?
You can’t see anything unless it’s lit, but it’s no good if it’s obvious to the audience that you’re actually illuminating something.
My gaffer was Mr. Fujii Norikiyo. I have worked with him since I was in my 20s, and on all the films I have shot. Typically, the rooms in Japanese houses are really dark, so we basically made the lighting on our interior sets as dark as possible.
But, within that we used lighting to express emotions and for dramatic effect. I wanted the lighting to be subtle, high-quality, and to make you think. For example, in the sad scene where Sakiko is crying, we made it look like rain was falling on her face by using artificial lighting.
Is there anything else you would like to comment about shooting of this production?
When you shoot on film, because the monitor doesn’t show such a clear image from the HD tap, people tend to focus their attentions much more on the actors and how the camera is set-up for the scene. That creates a sense of unity among the team, especially over a long shooting period, and something special, a good energy, is born, which often leads to things working out well, which they did on this production.
It may sound like a bit like a spiritual theory, but rather than having various people watching the monitor, while eating sweets at a distance, it’s much better to have them watching the acting at the other end of the camera while hiding. It makes the atmosphere on-set better, and everyone, especially the actors, was happy to be using film.
BRAZILIAN GAZE
By Darek Kuźma
Arising talent with an already impressive body of work, Evgenia Alexandrova AFC infused Kleber Mendonça Filho’s slow-burning thriller The Secret Agent with a visual palette steeped in the joyful melancholy of Brazil.
The Secret Agent is set – just like last year’s Oscarwinning feature I’m Still Here (dir. Walter Salles, DP Adrian Teijido ABC) – in tumultuous 1970’s Brazil. Yet it is a film unlike anything seen in recent years.
A poignant drama of an honest man-turned-fugitive, because of a corrupt government minister’s obsession with privatising his university research, the story unfolds through contrasting images and visual tensions. The troubling, nail-biting thriller is suspended between the spectral trauma of a military regime and the warm flicker of sodium-vapour lamps lighting up a street carnival.
Yet whilst the protagonist, Marcelo, slowly descends into paranoia – pursued by professional killers and the invisible machinery of state control – the film never slips into solemnity. Instead, it pulses with colour, music, laughter and the chaotic vitality of Brazil’s urban landscape, where joy and fear often share the same sidewalk.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it received widespread acclaim, winning the Best Actor prize for its lead, Wagner Moura, Best Director prize for Mendonça Filho, plus the FIPRESCI prize awarded by film critics.
For Alexandrova, the film’s exuberantly anarchic visual style felt like an obvious choice, whilst the project itself was far more than just an assignment.
“This was my second film in Brazil after Sem Coração / Heartless (2023, dirs. Nara Normande / Tião), which was produced by Kleber and Emilie Lesclaux. After seeing the final cut, Kleber said it captured Brazil in a colourful way but without an exotic gaze. He felt that, as a foreign DP, I brought a new perspective to this film that wasn’t post-colonial or patronising,” she states.
That perspective proved invaluable, as The Secret Agent portrays Brazil not as a romanticised ideal or a landscape of violence, but as something contradictory, constantly shifting and vividly alive.
“The script was 160-pages long, I loved it from the first read. I was born in the Soviet Union, so both the way it was written and the idea of a small person trying
collaboration
rooted in mutual trust and a shared resistance to popular cinematic conventions.
As a foreign DP I brought a new perspective to this film
to survive within the system really resonated with me.”
Alexandrova may be an outsider by birth, but not in the way she sees and thinks of Brazil.
“I fell in love with this complex place and its wild history. It’s the only Portuguese-speaking country in the region, so there’s this sense of isolation and inward reflection. Some countries look outward, but Brazil often reflects deeply on itself. The historical path of the country created a cultural mix that’s beautiful, but also brought problems like internal racism, class disparity, poverty and violence,” she explains.
“And yet, there’s something desperately lively about Brazilians. There’s a scene where Marcelo learns there are killers after him, he steps into a street carnival, and… he can’t help but dance. That’s how people are there –we might die tomorrow, but today we dance.”
That spirit was key to the film’s tone, especially as the story includes a modern perspective – that of a young woman researching events taking place nearly half a century ago, even as we see them unfold in real time.
“Kleber isn’t into Mickey Mousing. He’s the opposite of pairing a dramatic scene with dramatic music and desaturated colours. That’s why the emotions in the film hit so hard. You see these vibrant colours, but underneath unfolds a deeply personal and poignant story,” she recalls.
The aim was not nostalgia, but a film that feels organic to the era while remaining universally resonant.
“We didn’t want to fake shooting on film, but still bring texture, grain and contrast, and not be afraid of highlights. Kleber hates the current trend where people bring down highlights and make everything look academically clean. We really aligned in wanting an image with a wide dynamic range, unafraid of extremes. We didn’t constrain ourselves in terms of colour or framing.”
To capture the emotional and historical richness of the story, she relied on the ARRI Alexa 35, which she operated as A-camera, whilst Marcelo Lordello shot on the Alexa Mini as B-camera.
“I really appreciate the Alexa 35’s dynamic range and how it pairs with the Alexa Mini. I sometimes leaned towards the Alexa Mini, since its more contrasty images and slightly reduced dynamic range gave the footage the character we liked. But having the Alexa 35 as my main camera helped create the organic Brazilian look we were after.”
Alexandrova’s
with Mendonça Filho was
For lenses, Alexandrova chose Panavision B-series Anamorphics for their distinctive visual quality.
“The B-series lenses are from the same era as the story. Kleber and I liked their wonderful and typical Anamorphic uncontrollability; the fact that they’re full of flares and chromatic aberrations. We wanted an imperfect look for of our ‘Brazilian gaze’, but also because Kleber enjoys exposing the fabrication of the film. He wants the audience to feel the camera’s presence in a handmade, artisanal way.” The camera gear was provided by Panavision France.
If The Secret Agent is a film about Brazil, it is also a love letter to Recife, the state capital of Pernambuco, on the country’s northeastern Atlantic coast, where most of the plot unfolds, where Kleber Mendonça Filho was born, and which became the protagonist of his 2023 documentary Retratos Fantasmas / Pictures Of Ghosts (DP Pedro Sotero). That, along with film’s visual philosophy, was why they shot almost everything on-location.
“It was important for Kleber to show the real city with all of its visual splendour and everyday ordinariness. We filmed all over Recife, often in hidden corners only someone who had lived and breathed there would know,” Alexandrova laughs.
directing style where the camera moves freely, even in 360-degrees,” she explains.
“I like small lights and flexible set-ups, so our package was modest – Dinos, ARRI SkyPanels, Asteras and HMIs. We often had to be creative, like in interior car scenes shot against night-black cityscapes. You only see what’s inside the car. We placed Astera Titan tubes above the dashboard and in the back row. Sure, you can’t tell where the light is coming from, but it looks
I loved the script from the first read
the final cut it was broken into shorter takes. It was difficult to shoot as there were dozens of extras, and everything had to be perfectly timed. We had to choreograph the camera around people who weren’t choreographed themselves. We used every light we had, plus a balloon to simulate moonlight, and added warmer backlights to match the street lamps we’d shot earlier.”
Another challenging scene involved a severed human leg hopping through nighttime Recife and kicking people. As absurd as it sounds, it was inspired by an urban legend and reimagined by Mendonça Filho as a symbol of an oppressive state targeting those ‘who do not belong’.
“In prep, we tested various approaches, including a guy wearing a green suit all over his body except for one leg. In the end, we shot clean plates and sent them to a specialised lab in the Netherlands that created a stop-motion animation using a physical prop – which
convincing enough.”
They shot for ten weeks, starting in mid-June 2024. “Even with two cameras, there was so much coverage to get that we were constantly rushing. One time, we blocked the only bridge connecting both parts of the city for half a day. People were furious, but I hope that, after seeing the film, they’ll understand it was worth it.”
In terms of lighting, Alexandrova and gaffer Werick Dino Garcia adopted a practical, strippeddown approach.
“I’m more a negative fill person. For day exteriors, I prefer to block and subtract light rather than add it, which worked well with Kleber’s
For wide night exteriors, they avoided LED street lamps and scouted locations lit by sodium-vapour or older fixtures with a soft, warmer glow. The lighting gear was provided by Electrica Cinema E Video in São Paulo.
The most challenging scene to shoot was one that begins inside a cinema and moves into a joyous street carnival, where Marcelo briefly forgets his desperate situation.
“That scene is everything the film is about. It’s chaos, beauty, danger and joy, all at once. The camera follows him as he steps outside, watches the carnival, walks into it, and eventually disappears,” she recalls.
“It was all done as a continuous dolly shot, though in
was later composited into the film. It gave the scene a comic-book feel without losing the metaphor,” Alexandrova emphasises.
“One of my favourite films is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, dir. Miloš Forman, DP Haskell Wexler ASC), which is a story about individuals fighting the system and feeling small in the face of power. So, this scene meant a lot to me from the moment I read the script. I’m glad it resonates so deeply.”
After the beautiful unpredictability of shooting in Recife, the DI with colourist Dirk Meier at Rotor Film brought a different kind of pressure.
“Dirk really understands how to push contrast and manipulate colour. It was essential because The Secret
Agent had to feel rich and vibrant, yet grounded in the real world,” she explains, adding that she had to rethink a LUT used on-set.
“During prep, Kleber showed me a lot of still photos from 1970s. Some had a noticeable red tint, so I created a LUT based on that. It was helpful on set to achieve the retro feel we were aiming for, but in post, warm skin against warm backgrounds felt too flat. So,
We didn’t constrain ourselves in terms of colour or framing
time made a film full of colour, humour, absurdity.
There’s sorrow in the streets, but there’s also the celebration of togetherness. I think that’s why the film speaks to people,” she reflects.
we pulled back, applied film emulation with slight grain, and worked on halation around highlights. But mostly, we focused on colour-matching.”
What ultimately drew Alexandrova to The Secret Agent was a mix of the professional and the deeply personal.
“I loved how Kleber captured different forms of oppression in a way that felt very real, but at the same
“As a filmmaker, I love responding to a real people in front of the camera, telling the story through them. And as a human being, it meant a lot to take part in a film that feels like a tribute to the generosity and warmth of Brazilian people.”
That, in essence, is The Secret Agent : a human drama filled with emotional and visual contradictions, a turbulent thriller steeped in joyful melancholy, a cinematic tour-de-force that plays on the nerves and the senses, until you are caught in its rhythm.
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
By Natasha Block Hicks
Molly is in a bind. She’s desperate to regain custody of her children, who were placed in temporary foster care while she served a short prison term. Molly’s Local Authority stipulate that she must secure a suitable family home before they will release her children back to her. Then again, Molly’s Local Authority won’t add her to the waiting list for family social housing, precisely because she doesn’t have custody of her children.
Lollipop (2024) follows Molly, played by Posy Sterling, as she attempts to extricate her small family from this Catch-22, using legitimate avenues and other not quite so legal means. Moral and emotional
The story and feeling came before everything else
support comes from Molly’s old college friend Amina, a British-Somali single mother, played by debut actor Idil Ahmed, who is herself stranded in temporary accommodation.
Molly may be fictional, but versions of her and Amina’s situation are very real for some of the 1.3 million households on the waiting list for social housing, and that’s just in England, UK.
“It is a tough story,” relates Lollipop’s DP Jaime Ackroyd, “but also a powerful and important one. The script really resonated with me; it shines a light
on certain structures and challenges within our society that need to be spoken about and understood better.”
Lollipop is Ackroyd’s first long-form collaboration with debut narrative writer/director Daisy-May Hudson, who’s feature-length documentary Half Way (2015) – following her own family’s journey through the social housing system – was nominated for Best Cinema Documentary at the 2015 Grierson Awards and won her a place on the BAFTA Breakthrough Brits programme the same year.
Lollipop has the female experience at its heart: all the lead characters are women, as well as much of the supporting cast, including the local authority administrators blocking Molly’s progress towards reunification with her children. Hudson was keen to have female input throughout the filmmaking process, and as such, Ackroyd was one of only a few male presences on-set.
“Daisy was very comfortable with me taking on this challenge,” relates Ackroyd, “but she wanted Posy and Idil to feel safe with me too.
“We often expect actors to be completely raw and vulnerable in front of a room full of strangers, and that’s a really difficult thing to do. As DP, operating the camera, I was going to be one of the closest people to them while they were performing. So, during prep, we had a day where Daisy, Posy, Idil and I just got to know each other. We did a meditation circle, eye-gazing and other, slightly abstract non-technical exercises.
“That was one of the most beautiful elements of the filmmaking process for me, and something I would be really interested in doing again if approaching
such a sensitive subject matter in the future.”
Five weeks of prep led straight into Lollipop’s five-week shooting schedule, from September to November 2022. Hudson and Ackroyd’s focus was on a social realism approach, “which is very in-line with my style, a kind of heightened documentary style,” explains Ackroyd.
“Our references were very much of the ilk of Andrea Arnold and Ken Loach, and we wanted to shoot in as in as many real spaces as possible.”
Locations were based around Stepney Green in East London – Hudson’s home turf – plus the Magistrates Court in Camberwell and a patch of nearby countryside for Molly’s flight with her children.
“The locations weren’t always the most pretty of places,” admits Ackroyd, “but even though the subject
matter could feel heavy at times we weren’t trying to make it overly dark and bleak. So we would find ways to elevate the spaces, bringing-in a little bit of vibrancy and colour.”
Lollipop was presented in 2.35:1 aspect ratio, captured on a Sony Venice with Panavision Ultra Speed prime lenses, provided by Panavision, London.
“I was using the Venice a lot at that time and enjoying the slightly different image it gave compared to ARRI Alexa,” divulges Ackroyd.
“Personally, when I watch films, I find that supersharp imagery takes me away from the emotionality of the piece. On a project like Lollipop, the story and feeling came before everything else. Combining the older, softer glass of the Ultra Speeds with the Venice’s bigger sensor was a nice way of achieving a soft naturalistic look and exploring a slightly different aesthetic for a social realist film.”
Lollipop was largely shot handheld, single camera, with Ackroyd operating, although the team bought in a second camera for five days with Catharine Brown ACO operating for four days, and Ackroyd’s father Barry Ackroyd BSC stepping in for one.
“Daisy wanted everything to feel raw, a little bit frenetic, and slightly discombobulating,” explains Ackroyd, “so we were physically close to the actors, to make the audience feel like they’re right there with them as they go through this journey.
“Posy is a very physical actress however,” he counters, “so occasionally we would step right back with a slider and long lens such as the Angénieux
Optimo 24-290mm zoom, and let the action playout in front of us.”
A LUT was created during a full camera prep day using Pomfort Live Grade, with Ackroyd and Hudson testing the handheld camera movement style and tweaking settings to carry them through the shoot with only a data wrangler managing footage on-set.
Post production grading was handled by colourist Jodie Davidson at Picture Shop, now The Farm Soho.
“Daisy was very trusting with me on the technical side of things, but she was still a big part of the grade, there every day, helping to build the look and the feel of the film,” comments Ackroyd.
“Working with Jodie was really great. It was the first time we’d collaborated, and although I haven’t had the chance to work with her since, I hope to again.”
Supporting Ackroyd on camera were 1st AC Malte Hübner and key grip Gareth Robinson, with veteran gaffer Matt Moffat heading-up lighting.
“Malte and Gareth are lovely guys, and it was a privilege to have someone with Matt’s experience on board; he was our MVP (most valuable player),” recounts Ackroyd.
“The set environment was so important,” he continues, “so, while hiring the right technicians with the right skills was vital, we also needed people that were soft, understanding and sensitive around the topic, and who could handle the process with care under pressure and time constraints.”
Shooting in mid-to-late Autumn threw-up numerous challenges where lighting was concerned.
We wanted to shoot in as many real spaces as possible
“Grim weather and the light faltering at 3 o’clock in the afternoon was pretty brutal,” recalls Ackroyd, “especially when you want to try and leave the floor clear for actors to feel more free, and to light as naturalistically as possible.”
Ackroyd’s philosophy was to keep to simple set-ups from his Panalux package: larger lights externally, bounced outside windows, such as ARRI T12 Tungsten Fresnel or HMIs, supported by smaller LED sources like Astera tubes, Creamsource Vortex and LiteMat inside.
“It was tricky to keep it consistent at that time of year,” he acknowledges.
Hudson was sensitive to how the intense schedule and emotional subject matter might impact the cast and crew.
“Energy can translate behind the camera,” remarks Ackroyd. “It is traumatic listening to someone in extreme distress for several hours and there were a couple of scenes where the crew also needed time to re-centre themselves afterwards. Daisy would offer an optional grounding exercise at the beginning and end of each day, with a group circle and deep breathing. I thought that was very valuable.”
Not every scene was pain and grief however.
“There was a slightly slapstick fight sequence with a bag that was fun to shoot,” recalls Ackroyd, “and a joyful scene with Molly, Amina and her daughter Mya having a dance party in their one-room hostel. Aliyah Abdi who played Mya was so funny and fantastic and free, she made us all crack-up.”
Several of the leads, including Ahmed and Abdi, and most of the supporting actors were street-cast, experiencing the filmmaking process for the first time.
“For me, the real beauty of this film was breaking away from some of the more traditional filmmaking practices, such as that magical day I spent with the women in prep, and using street cast actors,” comments Ackroyd.
“Witnessing how the relationships nurtured between the cast came to life on screen was lovely to experience. This film will make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, and it will impact you, and that’s a really difficult thing to do as filmmakers, whatever level or budget. That’s what I’m proud of the most.”
Images: Photos by Tereza Cervenova.
GRRRRRRRRRRR!
By Ron Prince
Once upon a time dinosaurs ruled the Earth! These days they rule the box office. Despite their extinction some 65 million years ago, the prehistoric creatures are a hugely-popular attraction for modern moviegoers.
Indeed, the realistic and exciting depictions of these reptiles rampaging around in the Jurassic Park/ World series have been a major factor in the franchise’s consistent success, earning Universal Pictures over $6 billion at the global box office so far, and a ranking of seventh in the list of highest-grossing movie franchises of all time.
Steven Spielberg directed the first two features in the franchise and served as executive producer on all subsequent episodes in the series, and all but one of those features, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), were shot on 35mm film.
The task of continuing the analogue filmmaking tradition with Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh instalment overall, and the goal of delivering an actionpacked adventure that felt both nostalgic and authentic to its Spielbergian roots, fell to director Gareth Edwards and cinematographer John Mathieson BSC, using KODAK 35mm as the sole capture medium.
Set five years after the tumultuous events in the 35mm-originated Jurassic World Dominion, (2022, dir. Colin Trevorrow, DP John Schwartzman ASC), the planet’s ecology has become largely hostile to dinosaurs. Those creatures that endure live in isolated tropical environments where the climate resembles that in which they previously flourished.
One such place is Ile Saint-Hubert, a no-go island in the Caribbean archipelago housing an abandoned research facility of InGen, the bioengineering company responsible for cloning extinct dinosaurs and the creation of the original ‘Jurassic Park’ theme park.
team – covert operations expert Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson), palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), and team leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali) – to locate three of the largest prehistoric creatures of land, sea and air, and secure DNA samples for a radical drug that could potentially bring life-saving benefits to humankind.
A pharmaceutical corporation hires a specialist
However, their topsecret mission becomes troublesome when they encounter a stranded family whose boat has been capsized by marauding aquatic creatures, and even more so when they discover the island is not just a haven to the dinosaurs they are seeking, but also home to failed genetic experiments, including a six-limbed mutant
Tyrannosaurus Rex called ‘Distortus rex’. Filming on Jurassic World Rebirth commenced in the middle of June 2024, with an initial five-week stint on-location in the rainforests, mountains and on the beaches of several national parks in Thailand. Filming then moved to Malta for a further five weeks, where the movie’s waterborne stunt sequences were shot in water tanks at Malta Film Studios, involving boats being placed on large hydraulic gimbals, and also on the nearby Mediterranean Sea.
In August, production took place on the sound stages of Sky Studios Elstree, UK, for six weeks, where sets included the research rooms and tunnel network
of the dilapidated InGen facility, with exteriors encompassing a precipitous cliff face constructed on the studio backlot. The film’s opening sequence took place for a week in New York, and production officially wrapped on October 15th. No reshoots or pick-ups were necessary.
“People love dinosaurs,” says Mathieson, whose many previous analogue credits as cinematographer include Gladiator (2000), Kingdom Of Heaven (2005), Great Expectations (2012) and Detective Pikachu (2019). “Those prehistoric creatures have a perennial intrigue for audiences, and ours were big and unusual.
“The producers wanted this film to recapture and honour the suspenseful tone and the sense of wonder in the original Jurassic Park trilogy, particularly the first film, where the concept was about humans within dinosaur environments.
“However, in the early stages after I came on-board, there was a resistance to shooting on
People love dinosaurs and ours were big and unusual
film. Amongst the bones of contention, there was a misapprehension that capturing on film would prove to be prohibitively expensive. It was thought we would likely shoot well-over 20,000ft, around four hours of footage, every day.
“I demolished this mistaken assumption by explaining that, because of the on-set discipline that comes with film, when the cast and crew are all focussed on their respective A-games, and the fact that this production was mainly a single-camera shoot, it would be impossible to achieve such a high shooting ratio. Unlike digital, you don’t just keep-on rolling camera when you shoot on film.
“As it turned out, we often had well-under 50 minutes of rushes every day, and some days it was just a few hundred feet. During these discussions, I also pointed-out that the costs for stock and processing would balance well against the spend on a DIT in a video village and the costs for transcoding, quality control and back-ups.”
Mathieson says he additionally dismissed
remaining concerns about reviewing takes on-set and the rushes workflow between the far-flung locations and the lab in the UK.
“Over the years I have shot on film more than enough times to know that it is reliable, the exposure will be correct, and to know when we have the right take in the can. With digital, it is so disrespectful to the talent when you just keep rolling for endless takes, and the judgement about a take is then made in a tent 50-yards away and declared through loud hailer or over a radio.
“With film, people gravitate towards the camera. Gareth was always nearby, with me and the actors, and was on top of things all the time. When you work like this, you can easily say to the talent, ‘Let’s try another one’ or ‘That take was lovely’, and that keeps things highly efficient.”
As for the workflow, Mathieson adds, “When you shoot on film, you’re usually working with pretty serious people around you who really respect the artform. With the help of James Corless, the commercial director at Harbor in London, I made sure in-advance that we had a solid workflow in place, between us on-location, the team at Kodak Film Lab and my dailies colourist, Miles Anderson,
35mm film for Sir Ridley Scott.
Mathieson framed Jurassic World Rebirth in widescreen 2.40:1 aspect ratio, and shot using Panavision Millennium XL2 35mm cameras, fitted chiefly with Panavision E-series and C-series Anamorphic prime lenses. The shooting package, supplied by Panavision in London, also included an ARRI 235 35mm camera, plus Angénieux Optimo 3072mm, 56-152mm and HR 50-500mm zooms, plus a spherical Elite 120-520mm zoom.
You don’t just keep rolling camera when you shoot on film
“The camera package was nothing fancy at all, it’s one that has been available straight off-the-shelf for decades,” Mathieson says. “The great thing about traditional 35mm film cameras, is that they are incredibly robust and reliable. Beyond a battery and an HD tap, there are no electronics involved. They don’t mind when things get hot, sweaty or wet, when it’s hundred percent humidity or raining the whole time, or the place is dusty. They just work.
“Things like that pose big problems for digital cameras, especially when you try to protect them with a plastic bag, which leads to over-heating, trouble
also at Harbor.
“Although I knew there would be some time lag between shooting and reviewing the rushes – five days when we were in Thailand, fewer for Malta and overnight in London – apart from the odd transport issues in the Far East, there were no problems between the lab or Harbor in processing, scanning, grading and returning the rushes to us.”
When it came to references, the DP says he and Edwards imbibed classic action/adventures involving water and jungles – notably Jaws DP Bill Butler ASC), Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981, DP Douglas Slocombe OBC BSC) and Jurassic Park Dean Cundey ASC) – all directed by Steven Spielberg – for their filmic looks and the style of camera blocking. Edwards also admired the looks in Kingdom Of Heaven (2005), which Mathieson shot on Kodak
with circuit boards and corrupted files. Also, where are you going to set-up your DIT tent and video village in the middle of a jungle? With film, the crew are actually around the camera rather than being spread-out all over the place. You actively want them to come and have a look through the viewfinder.”
Regarding the lenses, Mathieson says, “Gareth is not a director who wants a squeakyclean look. Rather he likes imperfection in the glass, the texture of grain from the film, and the beautiful colours that come by combining glass with celluloid. “The C-series lenses give an organic look-and-feel to the image, but are prone to flaring which can become a bit irritating to control. So, I mainly used the E-series lenses – Gareth was particularly fond of the T2.0 75mm – as they deliver a clean look overall, but without being too clinical or too sharp. Of course, I could have gone to great lengths to have the
lenses tweaked and tuned, but other than checking they worked alright, things like holding the focus, that was it. We used unmodernised lenses, just as they were back in the day.”
Mathieson selected KODAK VISION 3 50D 5203 for all of the exterior day scenes, and KODAK VISION 3 500T 5219 for all interiors, exterior night scenes and the depths of the jungle. Processing was at Kodak Film Lab, based on the lot and Pinewood Studios, UK.
“I have always liked slow-speed daylight filmstocks, right from the start of my career,” Mathieson declares, “and I like the 50D as it has a hard dynamic range, the
Traditional 35mm film cameras are incredibly robust and reliable
most gorgeous colours and the blacks are super-black. It was absolutely perfect for the outdoors exteriors we shot in the bright sunshine in Thailand and Malta.
“Then, of course, when you go into the jungle during the day, where every leaf in the canopy is looking for a bit of photosynthesis, the environment gets dark really quickly. In those instances, I went with the more sensitive 500T. It’s a great filmstock as you don’t need to worry too much about the peaks and troughs of exposure, especially when you push the negative.”
He adds, “I avoided shooting at night in the jungle, as that is very difficult and time-consuming to illuminate. So, we shot the night scenes day-for-night and used hard lighting to adjust the colour temperature to create the idea of moonlight dancing-off a leaf, often wetting down those big green leathery fronds to help kick-up a bit of blue-tinted reflection.”
Mathieson’s crew included Chris Plevin ACO as A-camera operator, with Lewis Hume pulling focus as 1st AC. Guido Cavaciuti operated B-camera and
“My crew were wonderful, but I have to give a particular shout-out to Dave and the grips. They did a lot of hard work, humping gear through the jungle, getting bitten by leeches and creepycrawlies whilst settingup dolly tracks more often than not in bottom of a river bed. Their skill and expertise also shone when we shot in Malta, where we did a lot of work using the 45ft Technocrane and 75ft Super Technocrane on the boat and water sequences.”
Mathieson says he is yet to be convinced about the quality of LED lighting fixtures for filming, and opted for a traditional package.
“Our lights were shipped from London, but got caught-up with Houthi rebels in the Gulf Of Aden, and we only caught sight of them again when we returned to London. So we had to source gear and pool what we could from Bangkok for our stints in Thailand. Apart from a box of Astera tubes,
Steadicam, supported by Alberto Torrecilla, with Dave
Wells heading the grip team. Chuck Finch worked as chief lighting technician.
I wouldn’t care if I never saw another digital camera again
I didn’t use any LED lights at all. We had large and small ARRI Fresnels and a lot of heavy ARRI HMIs to penetrate light into the jungles in Thailand to get some detail in the background.”
The DI grade was conducted by freelance colourist Paul Ensby at Goldcrest in London.
“Gareth and I were into keeping things as true as possible to the look of the original franchise films, and aimed to give this one a film-out look from yesteryear. Paul dug-out an old Kodak 2382 print film emulation LUT and worked in RGB printer lights, as you would have done at the lab way back when whilst making film release prints.
“We also tried not noodle too much with the pictures – no custom curves, no crushing of the blacks, no fiddling with windows or secondaries. We just let the film be what it is, with its colour and grain. Gareth was really into this process and abided by the rules religiously in going for a filmic look. If anyone’s going to say this film looks different, or nostalgic, this was a big part of it.”
Despite a brief encounter with a mangrove snake, and successfully warding-off a variety of jungle fevers that
beset some of the crew, Mathieson says he enjoyed working with Edwards and the challenge of making a new chapter in the Jurassic Park/World saga.
“This type of filmmaking, where we could only haul a limited amount of grip, camera, lens and lighting equipment, up-and-down hill through the undergrowth, where the only level place to set-up dolly tracks was in a dank river bed, reminded me of how we made films 30 years ago. You necessarily have to compromise on any grand ideas you might have had, use what you are given, and keep things simple. But it also means you can move more quickly and get more shot each day.”
As for shooting on film, he reflects, “I’m delighted that shooting on film remains a creative choice. Look at the features that were nominated over the last couple of years, all the top ones were all shot on film – like Oppenheimer, Killers Of The Flower Moon, Maestro, Poor Things, Nosferatu, Maria, Anora and The Brutalist. They’re all different to one another, but they all have great visual appeal that audiences really respond to.
“I wouldn’t care if I never saw another digital camera again, they send me to sleep. When you’re shooting on film, you’re actually your own master again. You’re taking back what you got into this for in the first place. I’m glad I was able to use film to give this movie the sense of nostalgic adventure it needed.”
Kandivali, North Mumbai for the last 24 years. When I was young plenty – painting, acting, cricket and street games, but now there is no more interest left.
Selected Filmography:
(as gaffer unless otherwise stated)
A Suitable Boy (TV Series) (2020)
Vanguard (2020)
Line Of Descent (2019)
Kung Fu Yo (2017)
Bir Baba Hindu (2016)
Midnight’s Children (2012)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
Eat Pray Love (2010)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Lagaan (2001)
Bandit Queen (1994)
Salaam Bombay! (1988)
Heat And Dust (1983)
Getting started:
It’s a very long story, but it began when I was young at school. I was a very good painter, plus I started to work on the lighting and music for weddings in my spare time. From there I became an electrician and generator op when I was just 12-years-old. I got paid sixpence a day for that.
Big breaks:
Later in 1978 there was a war film starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven, called The Sea Wolves (1980, dir. Andrew V. McLaglen, DP Tony Imi BSC), which was to be made in India. The British gaffer, John Fenner, and gen op were looking for kit, but we had no HMIs or decent lights. All the required HMIs were imported for the shoot. So we built our own generator and went to a studio in Parel (Rajkamal Studios) to shoot.
At the same time as I was sorting out technical issues with the generator, I watched how John Fenner worked. I decided that this was a much better job for me to do because I had a good
knowledge of studio photography and electricity from the wedding videos. Also, I was reading-up on film lighting. So I decided there and then to become a good gaffer. I knew I could do it.
Heat And Dust : It was 1980 when I got involved in my first Merchant Ivory production Heat And Dust (1983, dir. James Ivory). My DP was Walter Lassally BSC GSC and early-on he called me to say: “Mulchand, I think I am working with one of the best gaffers”. It was very good to receive that kind of complement so earlyon, it gave me confidence, and from then on there
I am there to make the director and DP happy
was no other job for me.
Bollywood vs the international film system:
Back then there was no concept of the gaffer in
India and there was nobody to teach film lighting. Training in film lighting was all on-the-job because in those days there was no system of training. In fact, there were hardly any courses about how to be a cinematographer or director either, let alone anything for grips.
Another problem was there was no replica of the international film system in the domestic Indian film market. So, after Heat And Dust, I was back in Mumbai and most of the Indian film projects were organised on the basis of random shooting days with different DPs. There wasn’t even one continuous studio for a film – many films would take over a year to make, some famously took 15 years!
So, I decided to stop working in two systems and to focus on working only once or twice a year on international projects. On most of my projects from 1980 to 2000 I was pretty much the only proper gaffer working in India.
On foreign productions, from the very beginning, they produced a script, went for location recces, and set-up a daily schedule properly. This has started now in India after films such as Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India (2001, dir. Ashutosh Gowariker, DP Anil Mehta ISC), but before that everything was random. I have seen many directors sitting outside the sets and writing dialogue for that particular day, or for that
particular scene being shot. Biggest challenges?
There have been lots of challenges. Most times there was no proper equipment and no proper schedules. On Salaam Bombay (1988, dir. DP Sandi Sissel ASC) we were struggling for everything. And on Shekhar Kapoor’s Bandit Queen (1994, DP Ashok Mehta) – which was partly shot deep inside the rugged ravines of Chambal – every location was a long way from the unit base on the main road. The longest location was 7km from the unit base, including a walk
We still need another ten years to make the system of training better here
down a valley for 5km with equipment and back-up.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011, dir. Brad Bird, DP Robert Elswit ASC) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008, dir. Danny Boyle, DP Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC) were very challenging, and there were times when I made my own lighting kits to facilitate the requirement of a particular scene.
Slumdog Millionaire’s Victoria Terminus dance scene:
Despite having a bad back problem, I was persuaded to do Slumdog Millionaire. For the Victoria Terminus railway dance scene, which features at the end of the movie, I told Danny Boyle, the director, during the recce that we’d have to shoot using available light. But just before the schedule of that last song, he said “No, I wanted all eight platforms properly lit.”
So I designed my own lights – 80 x 4KW Tungsten lampheads (ten on each of the eight platforms). That was also challenging because I only had permission to enter the platform to do this pre-rigging after midnight, and we were thrown out before 4am, before the trains startedup again. From the last train to the first train – we had permission for only four hours. I had to light up eight platforms within that time frame.
I remember insisting on getting all-new cables – since I wasn’t happy with the used ones. If something went wrong there could be a big accident on the platform. So we used new cables, and I designed my own lights for the platform. In the film, if you watch the scene, you can see those lights.
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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol:
We didn’t have any prep time at all for the night-time car chase scene in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol at Mumbai’s Bora Bazaar near the railway station. It involved one main street opposite the station and eight lanes around it. It was all point-of-view shots, so you had to lightup everything, every single building. I had 22 generators and more than 800 lighting fixtures for the job.
I told the American producer about the manpower that would be needed, that I would need around 140 boys. The producer was going mad/ crazy, and could not believe what I was saying, since they thought they would work with only about 10-15 boys. But I knew their system, explained to her the details of how it works here and what
I needed for this sequence – 15 for the prerigging, and 15 for each of the eight traffic lanes.
The lights which were placed on balcony and terraces, all remained fixed for the entire span of the shoot. But all other stuff on the ground-level we had to remove every morning and re-do everything again in the afternoon/ evening for the next night of shooting.
On the main road and eight by-lanes we had a 200-ft crane, and on top of that crane we had a 20ft x 20ft hanging-box platform for the lights and my crew, who were up-there for the entire night. For five nights my boys were there. Every evening they went up and in the morning they came down. Those were crazy days. For
that six-night shoot I had only 16 hours of break. Which have been your favourite movies?
I don’t have favourite films. I ask for the script and follow the take of the director and DP. Whatever I do I’m there to make those people happy. So I don’t categorise films into whether they are the worst, the best, the smallest, the biggest. It’s about meeting the ambitions of the director and DP.
Best kit?
It would have to be Tungsten lighting, because there is variation
