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27
MAY 2008
BREAKING BARRIERS #20: CAMERA CREATIVE DAVID TATTERSALL BSC TALKS ABOUT SPEED RACER, ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING PICTURES OF ALL TIME
ALSO INSIDE #10: CANNES PREVIEW - BRITS HEAD FOR THE CÔTE D AZUR #12: CLOSE UPS - FEATURING… TONY PIERCE-ROBERTS BSC ON MADE OF HONOR, CHRIS SEAGER BSC ON CHILLED IN MIAMI, AND SEAMUS McGARVEY BSC ON THE SOLOIST #23: PRODUCTION FOCUS INSIGHTS INTO THE FILMMAKING SCENES IN BERLIN AND SOUTH AFRICA #28: F-STOP NAB - THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE 2008 CONVENTION IN LAS VEGAS
RRP: £4.00
Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Fax: +44 (0) 1753 650111 PUBLISHERS Alan Lowne Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Stuart Walters Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300 EDITOR Ron Prince Email: ronny@dircon.co.uk SALES Alan Lowne Tel: +44 (0) 1753 650101 Email: alanlowne@britishcinematographer.co.uk Stuart Walters Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300 Email: stuartwalters@britishcinematographer.co.uk DESIGN Paul Roebuck, Open Box Publishing Ltd, info@openboxpublishing.co.uk contact: Stuart Walters Tel: +44 (0) 121 608 2300
>> C O N T E N T S UK P3 P5 P6 P10 P12 P14 P18 P38
President's Perspective: Gavin Finney BSC says get yourself trained while you have the opportunity Letters Page: will compression problems, rather than the BBC, kill off Super 16mm? Production / Post & Techno News: the latest updates about what's going on out there? Cannes Preview: the call of the Croissette and beyond…! Close-Ups: featuring Tony Pierce-Roberts BSC on Made of Honor, Chris Seager BSC on Chilled in Miami, and Seamus McGarvey on The Soloist Who's Shooting Who?: the unique resource about which DPs are currently shooting To Live & Let DI: discover who's delivering the DI grades right now GBCT News: the chairman's statement, plus other news from the Guild
THE PUBLICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE comprises of Board members from the BSC and GBCT as well as the Publishers BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER covering International Cinematography is part of Laws Publishing Ltd, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0NH, UK The publishers wish to emphasise that the opinions expressed in BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER are not representative of Laws Publishing Ltd but the responsibility of the individual contributors.
INTERNATIONAL P27 P28 P23 P30 P32
Letter From America: Richard P.Crudo says electronic dailies are hopeless F-Stop NAB: the latest news from the annual techno-fest in Las Vegas Production Focus: the inside track on shooting in South Africa IMAGO: Nigel Walters BSC on progress concerning authorship rights Production Focus: the filmmaking scene in Berlin
FEATURES P20
Cover Photograph: A shot from Warner Bros. Speed Racer, which was lensed by David Tattersall BSC
P36 P40
Camera Creative: how David Tattersall BSC tackled the new technology deployed on the ground-breaking Speed Racer On The Job: DP John Pardue and his nifty high-speed cinematography for Direct Line Tribute: to the dear, departed and deeply loved John Lee
British Society of Cinematographers – Board Members: President, Gavin Finney. Immediate Past President, Phil Méheux. Vice Presidents, Joe Dunton MBE, Alec Mills, Sue Gibson. Governors, John de Borman, Harvey Harrison, Chris Howard, Tony Imi, Nina Kellgren, Chris Seager, Tony Spratling, Mike Southon, Derek Suter, Robin Vidgeon, Nigel Walters. Secretary/Treasurer, Frances Russell.
>> Editorial Team
Guild of British Camera Technicians – Board Members: Jamie Harcourt (Chairman), Trevor Coop (Immediate Past Chairman), Peter Hughes (Vice Chairman), Darren Miller (Vice Chairman - North), Tim Potter (Vice Chairman), Caroline Sax (Vice Chairman), Jacob Barrie, Steve Brooke-Smith, Jason Coop, John Keedwell, Rupert Lloyd Parry, Suzanne McGeachan, Keith Mead, Shirley Schumacher
Ron Prince: has many years experience working in the film, TV, CGI and visual effects industries. He is the editor of British Cinematographer magazine and runs an international communications company (www.princepr.com).
FIVE!
Barry Lucas has worked in the South African film industry for over 20 years. His production company, In Action Filming, works out of Cape Town and films all over Africa.
Carolyn Giardina: is the technology reporter at Hollywood Reporter in the US. She previously served as editor of Film & Video and as senior editor of postproduction at SHOOT. Her work has also appeared in IBC Daily News, Digital Cinema, Post and Below The Line.
John Keedwell: the GBCT's Eyepiece Editor, is a documentary and commercials cameraman who has worked on many productions over all the world. He crosses over in both film and tape productions and has great knowledge of the new formats and their methods of production. Kevin Hilton: is a freelance journalist who writes about technology and personalities in film and broadcasting, and contributes film reviews and interviews to a variety of publications
Dr. Martin Blaney: has been living and working in Germany since 1988 as a correspondent for Screen International and as a moderator for festivals and conferences.
Pauline Rogers has published over 1,200 articles on the technical side of the movie-making process. She is a staff writer for ICG Magazine, and freelances for various venues.
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Dear Readers Here is a completely unabashed plug for this magazine, your magazine, which is on the cusp of its fifth birthday. How time flies when you are having fun! In the very next edition of British Cinematographer Magazine, our July edition, we'll be celebrating this momentous occasion by publishing even more of the illuminating, incisive and entertaining articles about the world of cinematography, and the day-to-day issues affecting cinematographers, that you have come to expect of this organ.
pieces about really thorny matters, where others may fear to tread. We have an amazing editorial team too - of professional journalists and working cinematographers from all corners of the world. Their passion and knowledge and dedication are to be applauded. We would not be here with out you either, and we look forward to working with you in the future too.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of our friends, associates and advertisers around the world, for their ongoing support over the last five years. We would not be here with out you, and we look forward to working with you in the future.
Here's a thought. The cover of Issue No.1 was graced with a bikini-clad Halle Berry from Die Another Day, a movie that was shot on film, with David Tattersall BSC the cinematographer. Five years on (almost) this edition has the helmeted Emile Hirsch in Speed Racer, also lensed by David Tattersall BSC, but shot digitally and with a ton of pixel wizardry also in the mix.
We enjoy the endorsement, support and guidance of the British Society of Cinematographers, the Guild of British Camera Technicians, and IMAGO, the European Federation of Cinematographers. All of this, and the independent nature of the platform that British Cinematographer provides, means that we can address not only cinematographic glories, but also publish challenging
A lot has happened in the world of cinematography in five years. From my point of view, what's happening today at the camera end of the business, and the consequences for tomorrow, are more interesting to write about now than they have been for a very, very long time. The ups and downs, ins and outs, pros and cons - all here in our pages. Long may it continue…
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UK
president’s perspective
Gavin Finney BSC President BSC
Don’t just sit there … do something! Apart from an early flurry of activity after Christmas, it has been a quiet start to the year on both sides of the pond, as first the Writers' Guild of America and the Directors' Guild of America and now the Screen Actors' Guild all threatened, or indeed took, strike action to secure a slice of future film revenue streams. Even though the WGA and DGA seem to have resolved their disputes with the studios, feature production is still at a virtual standstill. Until the SAG have renegotiated their deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which is up for renewal at the end of June, insurers won't issue completion bonds for major projects that can't be completed by that deadline.
The short courses are either run by approved private course providers, or by one of the six regional Skillset Screen Academies, such as The National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield. Short courses run throughout the year and cover a wide variety of practical subjects in many grades. The GBCT also runs some excellent professional level courses in areas such as the use of Steadicam; introduction to camera operating; effective focus-pulling and assisting on Steadicam and an upcoming script supervisors course to name but a few. Additionally, the BSC will be taking its phenomenally successful 'Film, Digital and HD Event' to the regions, with Cardiff first up on 29th May. So don't just sit there, wallpaper paste dripping off your shoulders, thinking raw digital acquisition means getting sore hands, enrol on a course and stay up-to-date.
If you've already done all the DIY you can face this year… ex p a n d y o u r k n o w l e d g e a n d enrol on a training course.
So, if you've already done all the DIY you can face around the house this year, how about expanding your knowledge and enrolling on a training course? Skillset, the skills council for the audio visual industries, which is jointly funded by industry and government, funds a wide variety of short courses for people working in the film and television industry who wish to gain further training in their field, or even learn about a new one. Ever fancied learning how to edit your work yourself, or do you just need help with a programme such as Final Cut Pro so that you can edit your own showreel? You can find out how on one of the supported 'Editing for Non-editors' courses. Or how about that new job you're pitching for that requires a lot of green screen work? You can brush up your knowledge on the Skillset 'Lighting for Green Screen' course, taught jointly by a DP and a compositor who will help turn you into an expert.
Finally, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our own Nigel Walters BSC who was recently elected to be the new president of IMAGO. We wish him all the very best with this important job of co-ordinating cinematographers throughout Europe toward the goal of improved working conditions, recognised authorship rights, and participation in new technology and production / distribution standards. Visit www.imago.org for more details and better still, get involved. Gavin Finney BSC President British Society of Cinematographers
Useful links to training courses www.skillset.org/training www.skillset.org/funding www.gbct.org/training www.nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk
With discounts often available to freelancers at up to 70% of the course fee, courses start at around £150 and may last one or several days. Even better, individual bursaries for freelancers are available up to a maximum of £800 to spend on supported training courses.
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letters
Compression depression For those who remember the BBC announcement about Super 16mm not being good enough for HD broadcast the story gets progressively worse. The real villain is not Super 16mm film, but rather compression. HDTV requires currently more bandwidth to justify the increased picture that modern LCD and plasma screens give us. These screens are less forgiving than CRTs in masking artefacts of various types, and they are also sharper than CRTs making us, the consumers, more critical. Clearly for TV to survive IPTV (TV over the Internet), Blu-Ray and other competing media forms, it must give an experience superior in picture currently present in SDTV. So the BBC, ITV, etc, have been campaigning for an HD Freeview service, or they fear Freeview will be noncompetitive against Sky and other HD services which Ofcom has now identified will go onto the proposed DVB-T2 system using MPEG 4 high profile, DVB-T being currently used for digital switchover of existing SDTV services and still using MPEG 2. Without going into great technical details MPEG 2 compression has increased by a factor of four since it was introduced allowing more channels to be squeezed into the same space, MPEG 4 high profile requires more for HD pictures so fewer channels can be transmitted in the same space. However, the assumption is that Moore's Law will prevail again through better algorithms and computing power, so that where presently only one or two channels could be broadcast four, maybe five can, etc. Currently, satellite HDTV broadcasts to Europe use between 10 and 18 Mbps per channel (picture, sound
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and subtitling etc), and this is approximately the capacity that would be required on DTT. In 2012, an HDTV MPEG-4 service will require between 6 and 13 Mbps, depending on both the quality level required and the extent of improvement in MPEG-4. In 2017, an HDTV MPEG-4 service will require between 3.5 and 9.25 Mbps. These are, however, assumptions and others feel that Moore's Law is starting to get a flattening curve due to other factors, such as slowing improvements in computing processing. OFCOM, however, is proposing the following: 1. Reduce the bit-rate of SD broadcasts, with the associated drop in quality 2. Re-organise channels between multiplexes for example moving some non-PSB channels to the commercial multiplexes 3. Switching transmitters from DVB-T to DVB-T2 phase 1 Ofcom assumes this would free up 32Mbps allowing three HD channels. However, at this stage DVB-T2 is not a finished standard, and assumes hardware will be available in time. These are the issues: Ofcom has been optimistic in the bit-rate improvement of DVB-T2. The objective behind the standardisation work is to achieve at least a 30% improvement, with minimal reduction in coverage. Ofcom has made no reference to coverage reduction. Ofcom assumes that just three HDTV channels would be launched in the HD-multiplex in 2009, rising to four in 2012. The bit rates may not be consistent with BBC Executives' aspirations for HDTV in terms of quality - at
least initially. That said, it might be argued that the quality will be at least sufficient to get HDTV launched (doesn't say much for Ofcom understanding of quality or a guardian of standards!) What this means is that whatever scenario you care to look at, the assumptions are compression squeeze will continue, so that bit-rates can be lowered to add more channels, which effectively kills 16mm film. This is obviously only part of the story. The way in which broadcasters are moving in terms of storing and re-purposing material means they want almost instant ingest of material so that not only film but also tape days are numbered. Add in costs and Super 16 past 2010 looks like a non-starter, not because it is not good enough, but because compression is deemed more important along with metadata. The name of the game is content distribution and how quickly it can be edited, conformed and shown on various digital platforms. The discussions between Ofcom and the industry are not yet complete, but listening to recent speeches from Margret Hodge MP, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries & Tourism, it is clear that this is the best compromise, as the government is still keen to auction spectrum to the highest bidder, which makes it highly unlikely the prime parts will go to broadcasters, but to telecoms and IT companies. For cameramen the stark reality is you are being forced down the digital route because large amounts of money can be made from the spectrum, and as a scarce resource every drop is valuable. Compression allows more channels / services to exploit this limited spectrum and maximize returns. So the villain is not the BBC, but Ofcom and the government desire for another cash windfall. With this in mind, and with a number of HD cameras significantly bigger than 2-perf, let alone Super 16mm, the only film option is 3-perf - as has been the case in the US for some considerable time, if film is still your preferred medium for TV drama that is. Jeff Allen
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production news
BSC hits Cardiff
Nominee: Dick Pope BSC is up for an award for The Illusionist Following the success of the BSC Film Digital & HD event held at the BFI Southbank last September, the BSC, with support from Skillset, is taking the show around the UK. The first of these regional events will take place on Thursday 29th May, at Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff. It will explain the current choices available for broadcast and theatrical image-making. The BSC will screen a variety of tests, showcase case histories and discuss the aesthetic and budgetary differences between formats, so that producers, directors, production companies as well as DPs and other HoDs can separate make their own creative decisions on how best to shoot their production. Tickets cost £12.50 per head. To apply visit www.bscine.com/events. The BSC has also announced the nominations for the BSC Best Cinematography Award, to be presented at the BSC Summer Lunch at Pinewood Studios on Sunday 20th July 2008. They nominees are: Roger Deakins ASC BSC for The Assassination of Jesse James; Seamus McGarvey BSC for Atonement, Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel, Peter Suschitzky BSC for Eastern Promises; Remi Adefarasin BSC for Elizabeth: The Golden Age; and Dick Pope BSC for The Illusionist.
Smith chairs new film industry training board Leading producer Iain Smith OBE is to chair a new Film Industry Training Board (FITB). The FITB will have statutory levy powers to ensure that companies across the film production industry invest in training, meeting the need for world-class skills in UK film making. Smith, who was recently honoured with an OBE for his services to the UK film industry, is a highly acclaimed producer, with blockbuster films such as Cold Mountain, Children of Men, The Fifth Element and Seven Years in Tibet among his film credentials. The FITB, the first ITB to be established in 20 years, has been set up at the request of the
Pinewood Studios, in conjunction with post production company Molinare and high-bandwidth connectivity specialists Sohonet, is to deliver full production services for the BBC's large-scale adaptation of the Dickens classic Little Dorrit, scheduled to commence production at the beginning of May. The flagship drama will use stages and production offices at Pinewood, as well as completing visual and sound post production on the lot at the studios' post department, as part of a pioneering collaboration with Molinare and Sohonet.
Lhomme to get Camerimage lifetime award Acclaimed French cinematographer, Pierre Lhomme AFC, honorary president of the French Association of Cinematographers, will receive the lifetime achievement award at this year's Camerimage festival of cinematography in Lodz, Poland. During a career which spans 40 years of French cinema, Lhomme has worked with leading filmmakers including Alain Cavalier, Chris Marker, Jean Eustache, Jean-Pierre Melville, Marguerite Duras, Jean-Paul Rappeneau, Robert Bresson and James Ivory. Noted for his use of natural light, Lhomme's credits include Le Divorce (2003), Jefferson in Paris (1995), Maurice (1987) and Quartet (1981), all directed by James Ivory, Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, and The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et La Putain) (1973) directed by Jean Eustache.
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Smith commented, “The establishment of a Film Industry Training Board is hugely positive for the UK film production industry. This gives us greater control of our future success. The Board of the FITB will be responsible for setting the training levy and deciding how the money is invested to support us continuing to have the most highly skilled film production workforce in the world.”
Pinewood, Sohonet and Molinare deliver package for Little Dorrit
Utilising ground-breaking technology provided by Sohonet, Pinewood and Molinare will provide the entire on-line editing and grading facilities at the studios, with the main storage and servers remaining in Soho. This will allows the BBC to complete the entire video post production and sound mixing at Pinewood, without having to travel to and
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film industry following extensive consultation. It will oversee the delivery and operation of the Skills Investment Fund (SIF), a training levy for the film production industry, which will move from voluntary to mandatory status towards the end of 2008.
Ground-breaking: Pinewood, Molinare and Sohonet collaborate for BBC drama from the centre of London. The partnership comprises major innovation, as uncompressed HDSDI video, DVI and Gigabit Ethernet will all be multiplexed down a single fibre-optic cable travelling many tens of miles. Written by acclaimed writer Andrew Davies (Sense and Sensibility, Bleak House) and starring Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks), Little Dorrit will be filmed in high definition.
New Fujinon lenses Fujinon has announced a new Select Series of cost-effective ENG lenses for HDTV production. The new family of lenses for 2/3inch HD video cameras consists of three ZA Series HD ENG lenses: including the ZA22x7.6BE HD telephoto ENG lens, ZA17x7.6BE HD standard ENG lens, and ZA12x4.5BE HD wide-angle ENG lens. Fujinon worked closely with all major camera manufacturers to engineer true HD lenses that enhance the performance of lower cost HDTV cameras.
Kodak Cinelabs installs Film Master Kodak Cinelabs, situated at Ciudad de la Luz in Alicante, has installed a Digital Vision Film Master system, wher it will be used for digital dailies, commercials and television nonlinear colour grading. Ciudad de la Luz is one of the most modern film studios in Europe, featuring six stages and two large backlot.
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production news
Sony: getting new F35 ready for IBC debut
The manufacturers of existing 4K cameras Dalsa and Red would appear to have the market to themselves for another year at least as Sony has ruled out any appearance of its own 4K system until late 2009 or beyond. Sony has confirmed it is developing a 4K camera, but is more intent on plugging the gaps in a 4k post production chain. Speaking to British Cinematographer at Sony's Broadcast and Professional headquarters in Tokyo, the worldwide head of the B2B Solutions Business Group, Dr. Kyungsoo Ahn said: “A 4K system is of high importance to Sony, but we will not introduce a 4K camera for another year or more. The
What's shooting on Fuji…? Green Zone, DP Barry Ackroyd BSC, dir Paul Greengrass; The Descent 2, DP Sam McCurdy, dir Jon Harris; 1,2,3,4, DP Mike Eley, dir Giles Borg; The Big I Am, DP Shane Daly; Cheri, DP Darius Khondji, dir Stephen Frears; Sharpe's Peril, DP James Aspinall, dir Tom Clegg; Blue Murder, DP Andy McDonald; Tess of the D'Urbervilles, DP Wojciech Szepel; Sleep With Me, DP Florian Hoffmeister, dir Mark Jobst; and Endgame, DP David Odd BSC, dir Pete Travis. Rob Hardy shot The Kooks latest music promo, and Fabian Wagner lensed the new Coldplay promo for Between The Eyes on Fuji. Luke Scott, Baz Irvine, Ray Coates and Julian Court have all been shooting commercials.
What's shooting on Kodak…? An Education, DP John de Borman BSC, dir Lone Scherfig; Bright Star, DP Greig Fraser, dir Jane Campion; Bond 22 Quantum of Solace, DP Roberto Schaefer, dir Marc Forster; The Boat That Rocked, DP Danny Cohen, dir Richard Curtis; Me and Orson Welles, DP Dick Pope BSC, dir Richard Linklater; The Other Man, DP Haris Zambarloukos BSC, dir Richard Eyre; Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, DP Bruno Delbonnel, dir David Yates; The Wolf Man, DP Shelly Johnson, dir Joe Johnston; and Triage, DP Seamus Deasy, dir Danis Tanovic.
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Sony develops 50P/4K production chain reason is not because we cannot, but because unless you have a proper backbone infrastructure you cannot produce 4K images.” Sony already markets the world's only 4K projection system (the SXRD), and is developing post production tools to visualise and manipulate 4K images based on a highperformance microprocessor it calls Cell Computing. A joint development with IBM and Toshiba, the Cell Computing Unit is claimed to provide the equivalent processing power of eight individual Intel microprocessors. Sony is even looking beyond 4K at resolutions up to 8K, which is being tested as Super HiVision by Japanese broadcaster NHK and also examined by the Japanese government as a possible next generation broadcast standard.
“We are in discussions with NHK about 8K,” admitted Dr Ahn. “In Japan there are strong cultural reasons for high resolutions which are driving this. In Japan the living environment is very small, yet TV screens are getting larger. When you have such a short distance between the viewer and the screen a poor resolution will give you motion sickness. So there is a demand to offer very stable high-resolution pictures. I believe 4K is very important, as are tests for 8K.” Sony is also intent on providing a full range of equipment capable of producing 50P. Sony is also intent on providing a full range of equipment capable of producing 50P. Progressive scanning (720p50 and 1080p50) has been recommended by the EBU as the most suitable HD broadcast format. According to David Bush, director of marketing at Sony Europe, “The main market for 50P in Europe is for high-end applications,
Cine Gear Expo 2008 new location Cine Gear Expo 2008 will take place at Universal Studios Backlot in Universal City, California on June 20 and 21. The organisers are anticipating their biggest-ever show this year, with more than 200 companies participating from around the world, and over 8,000 attendees expected from the film, video, digital media and broadcast industries.
Cooke helps illuminate City of Ember Cooke Optics, a manufacturer of precision lenses for the motion picture industry, has revealed that its S4 lenses were used on the feature film City of Ember, due for release this October. Based on the novel by Jeanne DuPrau, the film is directed by Gil Kenan and the cast includes Bill Murray and Tim Robbins. The director of photography Xavier Perez Grobet used various light sources, ranging from tungsten lights to kitchen fittings and flashlights, mixing different colour temperature lights, such as fluorescent bulbs with tungsten bulbs, accompanied by different colour gels, He commented that, “Cooke's lenses provided the highest quality and the least distortion for these kinds of situations.”
Elstree strikes back Elstree Studios, whose viable future has been the subject of debate for the last 18-months, has released details of new deals and contracts. The studios, synonymous with iconic names such as Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, has been operating since the 1920s. Elstree: contracts like Millionaire may save the It is currently filming Malcolm studio's bacon Venville's 44-Inch Chest starring Ray Winstone, Tim Roth and John Hurt. Jan Campion's period drama Bright Star has also based its production at Elstree, with Endemol's Big Brother, ITV's Dancing on Ice and 2waytraffic's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? all confirming have long-term commitments. The studio hosted the 2008 BSC new equipment show, and is now discussing plans to expand the exhibition next March within the George Lucas stage.
Ooops… Credits where credits are due. Pinewood-based photographer Roy Morris was responsible for the shots used in Edition 26 of the ceremony marking the relocation of Technicolor Theatrical Services to Pinewood.
particularly sports, where for production as well as transmission progressive provides a more fluid motion capture than 1080i. We're looking at implementing a 3G co-axial interface and are studying even higher speed architectures like 10G.” The next generation in Sony's CineAlta line, the F35, was also on show in Tokyo. Currently being road tested by a number of dealers and cinematographers in Japan the 1920 x 1080p camera is being readied for an IBC debut. As its name suggests the camera has a single 35mm CCD image sensor recording 10bit 4:4:4 at variable frame rates of 1-50fps, compared to the F23's 2/3-inch sensor and variable frame rates of 1-60fps. Like the F23, it will record to dockable HDCAM SR tape recorders. It is designed to compete head on with Arri's D-20 or the Panavision Genesis, which also uses 35mm image sensors. Story from Adrian Pennington.
Litepanels new broadcast division As energy prices to rocket to new levels, Litepanels has launched a new broadcast lighting division, incorporating its proprietary light-emitting diode (LED) technology into HD-friendly broadcast lighting fixtures, with the result that they require a fraction of the electrical energy used by conventional lighting equipment.Litepanels is no stranger to the requirements of broadcasters. ENG crews began using the on-camera Litepanels Mini because of its inherent softprojected output, low battery-drain, and ability to be dimmed without affecting color balance. Litepanels is also lighting newsroom studios and other venues, including the White House Briefing Room.
P+S Technik launches Skater Junior dolly Kit manufacturer P+S Technik has launched the Skater Junior dolly, small enough for table top cinematography, which can be equipped with a wide range of smaller camera heads from manufactures such as Cartoni, Sachtler, O'Connor, Manfrotto and Silk. The Skater Junior has an adjustable wheel with metric and imperial markings, enabling precisely repeatable rotations on tracking shots. To execute linear tracking shots the adjustable wheel can be set into a parallel position.
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Cannes Preview The red carpet has received its annual shake 'n' vac, the Croisette has been buffed, and the rosé is chilling in anticipation of the 61st Cannes International Film Festival. Here's the inside track on what some of the Brits are doing, plus other highlights, on the jolly old Cote d'Azur this year. Terence Davies' Of Time And The City has been selected as part of the official line-up at the Cannes film festival. It was filmed in Liverpool Europe's capital of culture - and was co-funded by the UK Film Council and NorthWest Vision and Media. Hunger, the film about IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands, will be screened as the opening night film of the Un Certain Regard section (Salle Debussy Theatre, 7pm, Thursday 15th May). The film was directed by Steve McQueen, produced by Laura Hastings-Smith, DP Sean Bobbitt BSC, with the DI carried out at Dragon DI in South Wales. Brighton born filmmaker
Thomas Clay's Soi Cowboy will also be shown in the Un Certain Regard section, and Sam Taylor Wood's short film Love You More, written by Patrick Marber, and produced by the late Anthony Minghella, is selected for the short film competition. Inspite of there being few other significant British interest on the juries, screenings or in competition, an upbeat UK Film Council spokesperson said, “People shouldn't get too hung up on the fact that there are no British films in the main competition section. Ultimately it comes down to what films are ready in time, plus different trends and tastes each year for what is essentially an auteur film festival. “Let's not forget that only two years ago, British films took the top two prizes at Cannes, and this year has already been a great success with the best year ever for British films at the Sundance film festival.”
Splosh: It's party time on the jetty for Pepper Post, which recently did the DI on Three And Out Well worth checking out is the UK Film Centre at the International Village, where there will be a range of discussions with UK filmmakers including Terence Davies, and Better Things director Duane Hopkins and producer Samm Haillay. There are several sessions on low/micro
budget filmmaking, tax surgeries with Tenon, legal surgeries with Hill Dickson, plus sessions on how to qualify as a British film, and film distribution and the Internet. British film commissioner Colin Brown will be speaking about inward investment, and there's a Scottish
Before and After: Technicolor has restored Max Ophüls 1955 classic Lola Montes
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production news
day too. The centre has free WiFi if you need to check your emails. The Kodak “Appartement' is back again. Located in the heart of the International Village, next to the American pavilion, it will be open from 9am until 6 pm. It's a great networking venue and a relaxing place for fellow filmmakers to catch up with one another, as well as the Kodak team. For the 21st year in a row, Kodak will be the main sponsor of the Camera d'Or, the international award for first-time film directors. The winner of the Camera d'Or will receive 50,000 of Kodak Motion Picture filmstock for their next project. Kodak is also running its traditional co-production breakfasts in association with ACE (European Independent Producers Associations), and aiming to help more young filmmakers make it to the big screen with sponsorships of the Cannes Cinefondation, the Cannes Short Film Corner and the International Critics' Week. Other key Kodak partnerships of relevance to the UK include the NPA (New Producers Alliance), Straight8 and WFTV (Woman in Film & TV). Fujifilm France will have its regular balcony suite at the Carlton. The Fujifilm Lounge will once again be located in the Weinstein Company's penthouse at the Grey D'Albion, ably manned by the UK's Millie Morrow, Rachel Baker and Simon Baxter. With Ridley Scott’s production of Nottingham, Richard Curtis’ The Boat That Rocked and Mike Newell’s Prince of Persia, plus Universal’s The Wolf Man, 007 Quantum of Solace, and a ground-breaking production services cooperation with Molinare and Sohonet for the BBC’s Little Dorrit, all amongst the bookings at Pinewood or Shepperton, The Pinewood Group is hitting Cannes on a high. Stand by for some special announcements from a motor launch in the harbour, jointly sponsored with Barclays. The team at 3 Mills Studios - studio executive Derek Watts, bookings manager Melanie Faulkner, and marketing and publicity manager Kate Watt - will be extolling the virtues of the east, and citing recent productions including the Gerald McMorrow-directed Franklyn (DP Ben Davis BSC), Stephen Wooley's How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (DP Oliver Stapleton BSC) and Wes Anderson's take on the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr Fox (DP Tristan Oliver). Elstree Film and TV Studios' Jeremy Pelzer will be telling all and sundry about 44-Inch Chest, starring Ray Winstone, Tim Roth and John Hurt, Jane Campion's Bright Star, Endemol's Big Brother, ITV's Dancing on Ice and 2waytraffic's Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, all of which have made long-term commitments at the studios. Double Barrel Productions is holding private screenings of Burlesque Fairytales for distributors and sales agents on a boat in the harbour. Fresh out of a DI grade by Richard Etchells at MPC in London, this dark fairytale for grown-ups is the debut feature by British writer/director Susan Luciani, produced by Lindsay McFarlane. It was lensed by Derek Suter BSC and has an award-winning ensemble cast including BAFTA-nominated Lindsay Duncan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Campbell Moore, Barbara Flynn and Jim Carter. To book a screening in Cannes email lindsay.mcfarlane@virgin.net.
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Pepper Post and Future Films are celebrating a year of funding and finishing together with cocktails and canapés on Saturday, on The Big D, Jette Albert Edouard, opposite the Palais. Pepper recently did the DI post on Three and Out (DP Richard Greatrex BSC) starring Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney, Gemma Arterton and Imelda Staunton. Deluxe has again organised its annual football fixture on the Monday night. Anyone with metatarsal woes from that encounter, or simply a penchant for good tucker will enjoy Technicolor's renowned Tuesday lunch at the Carlton. This year, Technicolor is also flagging up its restoration work on the Max Ophüls 1955 classic Lola Montes, which will provide a visual treat when it is screened as the official opener to the Cannes Classics section of the festival. Technicolor worked with Cinematheque Française and under the direct approval of director Ophüls, and the result is quite an achievement as much of the original negative was lost, and what did exist was in really bad shape. ARRI Munich is organising a small get-together in the form of a drinks reception to promote the ARRI Rental Group and ARRI Film & TV Services at the Pavilion of German Films on Tuesday, 20th May 2008, between 19.00 - 21.00. If 3D stereoscopic is your thing, then UK startup company Far Blue Images has some treats in store. The company specialises in 'dimensionalising' motion pictures and broadcast programmes (i.e. turning 2D in to 3D), and will be showing the fruits of its initial labours every day in the suites of film sales company Velvet Octopus, at Nouma Blanc, 23 La Croisette, entrance on Rue Macé. Steve Shaw of Digital Praxis and Axis Films is presently lead the colourist/DI supervisor on Indian film Drona, and at press time was working on getting a promo/trailer of the film ready for Cannes. Drona is rumoured to be Bollywood's biggest budget film ever, shot 35mm full gate for an anamorphic delivery, and has more than 1,200 VFX shots, with all the VFX and grading done at 4K. Vicki Jackways, head of client production, and Amy Flanagan communciation manager of Peter Jackson's Park Road Post Production in Wellington, New Zealand, will be stepping say just how good it can be going down under for a DI grade and post. If you manage to venture into The Bunker, French manufacturer Doremi will demo its dcinema products on the Décipro stand. Doremi a hugely popular these days, and its DMS2000 mastering stations will be used to perform the DCI JPEG2000 mastering, plus play back of all 3D movies, during the festival by XDC. If your liver can take it, the Hostellerie du Golf, in Mandelieu-La Napoule is a perennial attraction for Brits. This year's Monday night dinner dance is being sponsored by Quantel and The Hat Factory. If you miss the party, hang around on the terrace or by the swimming pool after hours - you will bump into producers, directors, agents and production executives of just about all the major film facilities and service companies in the UK - too many to name now, but rest assured they will be there.
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close ups
Tony Pierce-Roberts BSC
Made of Honour “One of the good things about working in Los Angeles, apart from having a great crew, was that we could get any bit of kit at very short notice,” says Tony Pierce-Roberts BSC about his experience of shooting Sony /Columbia Pictures' $40m production Made of Honor. “Obviously, LA is the epicentre of filmmaking, and when you're on this sort of production the procurement of equipment, big lights and heavy plant, isn't an issue.” Made of Honor, with veteran commercials director Paul Weiland at the helm, revolves around Tom (Patrick Dempsey) and Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), who have been platonic friends for years. He's a serial philanderer; she wants marriage, but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think he is relationship material after all, Hannah gets engaged. Tom agrees to be "maid" of honour so he can attempt to woo her. Pierce-Roberts and Weiland are well known to each other, having worked on-and-off for the best part of 25 years on productions such as Blackadder Back & Forth, Weiland's Body Zone installation at the Millennium Dome, and numerous commercials. “Paul knew that my style is perhaps not as formulaic as other DPs, and wanted a realistic feel to the picture composition and camera movement,” says Pierce-Roberts. With this collaborative familiarity, and PierceRoberts' affiliate membership of the IATSE Local 600, attachment to the production was fast and painless. Made of Honor was filmed entirely on location, shooting around Los Angeles for five weeks, followed by a week each in New York and Scotland, and then five weeks in London and locations around Oxford. PierceRoberts selected Panaflex Millennium and Panalite cameras, fitted with Panvasion Primos, shooting to Kodak 5201, 5205 and 5218 stocks. “Although parts of down-town LA look like New York, we worked hard to ensure authenticity,” he says. “One scene in a loft apartment, 10 storeys up, posed a few issues, as we needed heavy lifting gear to get the lighting kit in and out. Also, Paul wanted to do a shot that started at street level, tracked up what appeared to be the fire escapes of a New York tenement building, and into the bedroom where we find the hero. For this shot, Chapman Leonard supplied us with a Supernova crane - basically a Titan crane with an extendable Technocrane on top of it - that has a total range of about 70ft.” Pierce-Roberts says he was especially impressed with the combined performance of the ARRIMax and MaxMover. “We had to balance the lighting of the interior of the apartment, and needed an ARRIMax
belting through the window. What makes the ARRIMax really work is the remote pan, tilt and focus features of the MaxMover. We didn't have anyone in a bucket, and I could operate safely and conveniently from the ground using a simple controller, which I think is brilliant.” Pierce-Roberts says the biggest challenge on Made of Honor was having to cope with shooting at different locations in different parts of the world. “In LA, we had several weeks of prep before shooting, but when you land in another country, things are in the lap of the gods really. In Scotland, for example, we got off the plane one day, and were shooting at the Highland Games the next. At the time (July 2007), the UK was hit by torrential rain, but we were lucky. The Isle of Skye was the only place that had a couple of sunny days, whilst the rest of the country got deluged.” On this Scottish leg, Flying Pictures Ltd provided aerial filming services, as the camera follows a procession of Range Rovers through the landscape. Labs used on the film included Fotokem in Burbank, and Technicolor in the UK, with Deluxe ultimately responsible for the bulks. “We did some film tests at the beginning of the production but, as we shot all over LA, no-one was really able to get to the screening theatre. So we received the dailies on DVD for the duration of the shoot. We'd watch these at night, or in the director's trailer at lunchtime. The key thing, though, is how you ensure consistent monitoring. There's a tendency to put big plasmas or LCD screens in trailers, but you open up a can of worms about the correct look of the shots. On the UK leg, we persuaded Technicolor to give us calibrated CRT monitoring, and now they offer that as a service.” Next up Pierce-Roberts is hoping to start shooting Vivaldi, a biopic of the composer's early life, when the young priest became the music teacher for the illegitimate daughters of Venice's courtesans, directed by Boris Damast and starring Joseph Feinnes.
Seamus McGarvey BSC
The Soloist When Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Lopez became captivated with the struggle of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a homeless musician with schizophrenia, he brought a human face to the forgotten. His 12-part series, published over eight months in his Points West column, was the impetus for making Ayers' dream of playing at Walt Disney Concert Hall come true. To support the screen version of the Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.), Ayers (Jamie Foxx) story, director Joe Wright and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey used a musical arc. “Technically, we are oscillating between two styles on this film. At the outset a plainer, almost documentary-style, which shifts periodically during the film, into a more expressive lyrical feel,” says McGarvey. “We didn't want to patronize the subject matter with a hand-held gritty style, so we opted to shoot anamorphic (a format usually associated with grander, more epic productions). What we were hoping to convey in this film was the epic in the everyday.” As the Lopez/Ayers relationship 'grows', it becomes more powerful 'music' (a metaphor for the subject and character) building to the moments at Disney Concert Hall and other locations. “Interspersed with the ordinary are flashback moments recalling Nathaniel's life before the schizophrenia sets in,” explains McGarvey. “We treated the combination of real locations and sets differently to
the rest of the picture. To give the sequences a warmer feeling, a feeling of innocence and a gentler quality, we used Tiffen Black Promist filters. “When he moves to New York and accepts his Julliard scholarship, there are slight indications of mental illness,” McGarvey adds. “We leaked in distortions, and played with the unexpected. Odd angles, lens flares, the shallow depth-of-field that anamorphic offers begin to show his isolation. “Gradually, music becomes colour (the way Ayers' sees music) and the visuals almost fuse with abstract and subjective emotions. To evoke this state of synaesthesia, I worked with these anamorphic flares and distortions, getting physical with the nature of the lenses. Our wonderful A and B camera operators, Mitch Dubin and Paul Babin, used the anamorphic anomalies to support the emotional impact as we deliberately let lights shined on the Panavision C series lenses.” For McGarvey and crew, everything about The Soloist has a lyrical
basis, interpreted through camera, lighting and mood. When this promising musician deteriorates mentally and becomes one of the neglected 'homeless', the style has a documentary feel, giving the story a sense of veracity and un-believability. Drawing from Neorealist influences, he enhanced the visual music by shooting with available light - as Jamie Foxx's Nathaniel mixes with the real homeless of downtown Los Angeles. Real people. Real faces. Real movement. Combine together by choosing unusual framing, brings the music to a kind of visual crescendo and this forgotten can no longer be ignored. “What is so very important to us is that this story isn't a Hollywood spectacle, but a real issue,” says McGarvey. “We spent weeks shooting down on Skid Row and what we saw, what we captured, changed every one of our pre-conceptions - and we hope that it will change our audience's as well.”
C l o s e U p s s e c t i o n w a s w r i t t e n a n d r e s e a r c h e d b y R o n Pr i n c e a n d Pa u l i n e R o g e r s . page
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ISSUE 27
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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close ups
Chris Segaer BSC
Chilled in Miami
If you thought it was nippy for Stephen Poster ASC on The Box and Lukas Strebel on Burn Up, (see Edition 26), imagine working conditions of -51ºC endured by cinematographer Chris Seager BSC, the crew and cast, during Chilled In Miami - the $25m rom-com, starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., produced by Gold Circle Films and directed by Danish director Jonas Elmer. Set for December 2008 release, Chilled In Miami is the story of an ambitious company executive (Zellweger) assigned to wintry Minnesota to assist in the downsizing of a food processing company. Due to tax breaks, and a constant level of snow, Winnipeg in Canada proved an effective double for the real Minnesota. It is situated mid-continent, and is often influenced by the jet stream that brings extreme conditions from the Arctic. “The weather was particularly cold, with temperatures reaching -51ºC on windy days,” recalls Seager. “Working outside had its challenges. In the original schedule, 12 days of the 39-day shoot were marked as day/night exteriors, along with three or four days of car interior scenes shot on a low loader. There were three major exterior shoots, for which we had to coordinate many extras, actors and crew.” One of these was a complicated stunt sequence on a frozen river, which included the careful positioning of occupied fishing huts with choreographed action of Zellweger's car spinning out of control. This involved two days of main camera shoot, and three days of second unit. To plan the action Seager, director Elmer, 1st AD Richard O'Brien-Moran and line producer Lesley Oswald, held a series of pre-production meetings with the special effects, visual effects, picture vehicles, story board artist, snow and ice wranglers, and the river safety personnel. A pre-viz was made of the action, with the storyboard broken down into the shots required by each unit on each day. “We could not use a tracking vehicle for the shots on the frozen river because of its footprint and weight problems on ice, so we decided on the lighter Russian Arm from Toronto,” says Seager. “It's a fully-remote crane arm on top of a Mercedes SUV, and came manned by three Ukrianians. It's versatile in that it gives you a maximum lens height of 14ft down to 6-inches, and can rotate 360º whilst driving. “We inadvertently picked an awesomely cold day, and I found myself wandering why the hell was I there. But crew were fantastic. Their determination encouraged me to soldier on and that felt remarkably good. The Canadian's told me that you need to drink lots of water, so your body can keep producing warmth. That's fine in the heat of the Caribbean, but try drinking water from a plastic bottle that is half-frozen all day.” Seager says the extreme cold provided other problems too, such as recognition and communication. “Everyone was wrapped up in similar outer gear, with heads covered either by balaclavas or massive hoods,” he says. “Conversation was difficult as you had to literally face your listener and shout. Changing lenses, threading film and checking the gate, rigging lights, etc, was not for the faint-hearted. Taking your gloves off for more than two minutes would cause near frostbitten fingers” The production employed Panavision Millenium and XL cameras with Primo lenses, supplied by Panavision Toronto, shooting on to Kodak 5205 and the new Vision 3 5219. Seager's 1st AC, Ciaron Copeland from Toronto, was well versed in shooting in the cold and prepped the gear accordingly. “To minimise the threat of condensation issues, the camera bodies were heated, along with heated magazine covers. The operator's eyepiece was wrapped in chemical hand warmers. We even had to wrap the Panahead wheels in hand warmers to stop the hands of my operator Faires Anderson from freezing to the handles,” says Seager. “Our only other problem was when the lens started to mist up on the back element. Apparently, because the lens was so cold the minute amount of heat generated by the spinning shutter caused the misting up. Our high-tech solution was to open the camera door, allow cold air in, run the camera and shout “Action” and after 30 seconds we had mist up again. Perfect short takes.”
ISSUE 26
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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who’s shooting who?
Who’s Shooting Who? Sara Putt Associates'… Graham Smith is currently editing an ongoing project as and when money becomes available called Little Matadors, it's a feature documentary for Burugh Films about children in Mexico who are literally trained as Matadors as young as eight years old. Prior to that recently completed No Heroics for Tiger Aspect with Ben Gregor, Both projects were shot on HD. Oliver Cheesman is working on Cowards for Angel Eye. Nick Dance is about to start shooting Shameless, but has been enjoying the nomination that Skins received at the recent TV BAFTAs. Chris Howard continues on New Tricks for Wall to Wall until May, and Peter Greenhalgh BSC is on Harley Street for Carnival Films. Dave Marsh is shooting Mutual Friends for Hat Trick, having completed the BBC's Bonekickers detective series in Bath recently. Wizzo & Co's… drama department has just relaunched as Wizzo Features. To kick off this rebrand they have just signed Magni Agustsson and Stuart Bentley. Agustsson is a young, but already accomplished, features DP from Iceland who is currently shooting an as yet unnamed feature film on location, on a boat, in the North Atlantic. He also shot the Oscar-nominated short The Last Farm, directed by Runar Runarsson, and his most recent film was Heima, an on-theroad music documentary about the homecoming tour of Sigur Ros, shot on location in Iceland. Stuart Bentley graduated from the NFTS this year and came to Wizzo Features'
Aqua Sulis: Sara Putt Associates' Dave Marsh at work on Bonekickers which shot in and around Bath
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On the rocks: Per Tingleff and crew pictured in Cornwall on The Pharmacist. attention by way of his outstanding short film about a motley crew of disabled people called Outcasts, directed by Ian Clark. Donal Gilligan is currently shooting a one-off drama starring Shane Ritchie, and written by Paula Milne, through Twenty Twenty Television, before shooting the second series of Kitchen directed by Keiron J Walsh and starring Eddie Izzard through Ecosse. Per Tingleff is just about to finish lighting the feature The Pharmacist for fellow NFTS graduate director Patrick von Boeticher, and will then light the one-off comedy Massive for BBC Manchester, starring Johnny Vegas and Ralph Little. Erik Wilson has shot the Hitchcockian, film-noir short, Stiletto, for producer Cynthia De Souza and director William Mager. He is also doing some shooting for director Chris Morris through Warp. Angus Hudson's film Cashback, shot two years ago for director Sean Ellis, is finally getting a UK release on May 9th (at a cinema near you). Luke Palmer has recently wrapped on the comedy short about the food revolution, post-Jamie Oliver, Holywood Sweets, directed by John Jencks, and shot on location in Scotland. Martin Ruhe is on the last week of shooting The Countress, directed by and starring Julie Delpy, and also starring William Hurt. Casarotto's… Sean Bobbitt BSC is has just started shooting a chapter of Michael Winterbottom's project Seven Days. Julian Court is working on Company Pictures' The
Devil's Whore with director Marc Munden in South Africa. Mike Eley is set to shoot Giles Borg's film 1,2,3,4, and Edu Grau has started prep on Starstruck, directed by Lindy Heymann. This is one of three Digital Departures' features that will premiere in Liverpool in connection with the city's Capital of Culture programme. Rob Hardy has recently finished shooting John Crowley's Is There Anybody There?. The pair first worked together on Boy A, for which Andrew Garfield scooped the best actor gong at the recent TV BAFTA awards. Tim Palmer has just started on Perves and Pekkla, a drama set in Edinburgh's New Town for Pirate Productions directed by Annie Griffin, and James Welland is currently prepping the next block of the ever-popular Spooks for Kudos, which is being directed by Peter Hoar. Dinedor's… Florian Hoffmeister's 5 days, which he shot last year, was up for four BAFTA TV awards including best drama serial. He has just gone on to Sleep With Me, a 90minute one-off through Clerkenwell Films for ITV. Ian Moss starts on another 90-minute one off titled Caught In A Trap for Greenlit and ITV. Peter Butler has just finished shooting on the ARRI D20 for Silent Witness. David Rom continues on the Keith Allen fronted docu-feature Fayad Vs The Windsors and has shot a promo for Crazy 24.
ISSUE 27
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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who’s shooting who?
Voulez-vous: Florian Hoffmeister has just started on Sleep With Me Mike Fox BSC has completed Dugout, the WW1 drama doc for Channel 4. Congratulations to Eric Maddison FSF, fresh off Criminal Justice for the BBC, who has just won Gold at the IVCA Awards, and has gone on to shoot for Nokia and Ashes and Snow. Peter Field continues 2nd unit operating on Quantum of Solace in Sienna, and Grant Cameron is preparing for a long haul, shooting all of the last ever series of Taggart. Adam Frisch FSF is back from Romania shooting for UPC. In London he has shot promos for Santogold and Annie, as well as a commercial for Morrisons. After his great start to the year Tom Townend continues, shooting commercials for Nokia, Kingsmill, John Lewis and Eastenders, as well as promos for The Ting Tings, and is currently in Barcelona shooting The Kills. Ben Filby has been in Rome shooting for a Peroni Moscow launch, and has also been shooting corporates for Nokia, Cancer Research, Royal Mail and Grosvenor. David Raedeker has been shooting virals for Ministry Vodka and corporates for Ernst and Young, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and BT. Pete
Ellmore's year has so far included shoots for Pizza Hut, Tesco, Specsavers and Aldi. Matt Cooke has been lensing music promos for Keisha White and Tezy, as well as corporates for Price Waterhouse Coopers and Opinion Leader. Garry Turnbull has been shooting for HSBC, Molped and Unibond. Dion M Casey has been working on Steadicam for Wessex Water, an Airways corporate and a promo for The Infidels. Steve Annis has been shooting a documentary for the Tate Modern for Three Minute Wonders on Channel 4. Franklin Dow shot a viral for Playstation. Trevor Forrest is back from Turkey shooting for Eti Brownies, he has also been shooting for Crown. Andrew Johnson helmed a corporate for Npower. James Henry recently wrapped for The CoOperative Bank. The newest addition to Dinedor's books, Damian Daniel, has started the year shooting 2nd unit for Fur TV, a comedy for MTV as well as a promo for Petula Clark. Creative Media Management's‌ Toby Moore is currently lighting the popular BBC series Holby City. Gavin Struthers is shooting Tiger Apect's second series of
Spots: DP Garry Turnbull has been shooting lots of commercials
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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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who’s shooting who?
Virals: David Raedeker has been shooting virals for Ministry Vodka plus corporates Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and Duncan Telford remains active in commercials. Independent's DP clients have been up to the following… Barry Ackroyd BSC is shooting Working Titl's The Green Zone, directed by Paul Greengrass. Anthony Dod Mantle BSC, DFF is working on Philip Martin's Wallander for the BBC. Shooting in Sweden, it is based on the critically acclaimed series of books by Henning Mankell. Martin Kenzie is currently lighting and directing 2nd unit for Richard Curtis on The Boat That Rocked. Darius Khondji ASC, AFC is lighting Stephen Frears' romantic drama Cheri, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates. Dan Landin was due to start on Malcolm Venville's 44 Inch Chest at the end of April. With a cast including Ray Winstone, Tim Roth and John Hurt, it tells the story of a jealous husband and his friends who plot the kidnapping of his wife's lover with the intention of restoring his wounded ego. Sam McCurdy just started on the horror squeal, The Descent II, to be directed by Jon Harris. Ben Seresin is shooting Michael Bay's Transformers 2 over in the States. Oliver Stapleton BSC is lighting The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. Ed Wild has been working on Tiger Aspect's Mr Eleven for ITV, and Nigel Willoughby has just started on Gillies MacKinnon's The Commander for ITV. In commercials Independent's… Simon Coull has just come to the end of back-to-back ads with director Olivier Venturini - he's been all over the world. After some welldeserved time off, he will soon be heading off to Bratislava with director Marieli Froehlich for a shoot with First Unit. Oliver Curtis BSC was in Barcelona in April, with director Andy Lambert again, for Mercurio Films. Ben Davis BSC went to Rio and back recently on a challenging Next shoot with director Ben Hulme Patten for Love Films, and managed to cram in jobs with director Malcolm Venville for Therapy, and Stuart Rideout for RSA before heading out to the Isle of Skye with Paul Shearer on what looks like an interesting Volvo shoot for Great Guns. Jess Hall just came back from a hot and dusty shoot in India on an Orange commercial with director Ringan Ledwidge for Rattling Stick. He has also been in Prague with director Frederick Bond for Sonny on a Volvo shoot. Dan Landin has been doing bits and pieces in London including a Guinness shoot with Motion Theory for Rokkit Films. John Mathieson BSC was in Prague for an Escada shoot with Javier Valhonrat for Premiere Heure. He also shot with director Dawn Shadforth for RSA Films during April. Mark Patten has just finished a long shoot in Switzerland
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and London with regular director Adrian Moat on a Rolex commercial through RSA Films. After a well-deserved break will be in Lisbon with director Bo Platt for The Family on a Chevrolet shoot. Ben Smithard has been working with Steven Mead for Short Films in Mallorca on a Garnier shoot, and has just started work in Buenos Aires on an Orange shoot for QI Commercials, with Ch4 i-dents director Siri Bunford. Next up he will be in Prague on a Volvo shoot with Jeff Stark for Sonny followed straight after by an Amnesty International shoot with Jeff Thomas also with Sonny. Joost Van Gelder has returned from a Mercedes shoot with director Johnny Green for Knucklehead in LA. Whilst prepping on a drama, Ed Wild managed to cram in a United Bank of Africa shoot at the Tate Modern with director John Clayton for Plum Films and a Babyliss shoot with director Gregg Masauk for Fresh Film. McKinney Macartney Management's… Balazs Bolygo is following a grisly murder spree with director SJ Clarkson on Whitechapel, a three-part drama for ITV about a ruthless killer who may be a modern Jack the Ripper. Ben Butler has been working on commercials for Paul Weiland, Theo Delany and Jonathan Greenhalgh. Mick Coulter BSC is currently has been shooting a commercials with Gerard de Thame, including, Acura, Fruit of the Loom and Buick. Denis Crossan BSC recently shot a Carlsberg commercial for Danny Kleinman, and has also recently been working with Mark Denton, Susie Roberson and Jam. Denis will also be grading his feature film Pink Panther 2 for Harald Zwart. Shane Daly will be shooting the feature film The Big I Am for director Nick Auerbach, a contemporary crime thriller set in the murky world of human trafficking. John de Borman BSC is shooting director Lone Scherfig's film An Education, which is based on a screenplay of a teenage girl in 1960s London by celebrated author Nick Hornby. Graham Frake is one of The Survivors along with director Andrew Gunn, as they try to survive a post-Apocalyptic world in this remake of the cult '70s television series. Richard Greatrex BSC is commander to Mike Barker's captain on board the television drama “The Seawolf”, a two-part adaptation of Jack London's popular books. Nina Kellgren BSC is currently shooting a Livability commercial with John Harvey. John Lynch has been filming a Bran Flakes commercial with Dom and Nic through Outsider, as well as working with Karen Cunningham, Andy McLeod and Vincze Squibb. Hong Manley is grading his feature film Baby Doll Night for director Adel Adeeb. Phil Méheux BSC has been shooting commercials including Mercedes for director Marcus Nispel, Citizens Bank for Coilin Gregg and Liptons for Steven Diller. John Pardue is currently in Glasgow
shooting a commercial for Aaron Stroller through MTP. He has also been working on other commercials for Aaron through Mustard along with commercials for Gus Filgate and Dan Nathan. Mark Partridge is shooting Lark Rise To Candleford for director Alan Grint as they embark on the second series of the smash BBC period drama. Jake Polonsky has been busy working on commercials including VW for Dylan & Fergal through Independent, Samsung for Samuel & Gunnar through Crossroads and ILVA for Keith McCarthy through Hook. Jake also shot promos including Duffy's Mercy for Adria Petti and Alpha Beat for Scott Lyon. Most recently he was working with Susannah Hayes through Ferocious. Katie Swain has returned from Dublin where she shot an AIB commercial for Declan Lowney. She has also been shooting commercials for Matt Carter, Clare Price and Betsan Morris Evans. Darran Tiernan is in Ireland on the third series of Single Handed, which continues after the harrowing second series following the adventures of a policeman in rural Ireland. Clive Tickner BSC has been working on commercials with directors, Nicholas Barker, Mark Evans and Mitch Walker, and Michael Wood has been filming commercials with directors, David Baksh, Alistair Irvine, JJ Keith and Emma. He is about to travel to Brussels to film another commercial with Nicholas Reynolds. Berlin Associates’... Robin Vidgeon BSC has just finished the an episode on A Touch of Frost for Yorkshire TV. Owen McPolin is on the second block of Little Dorrit for the BBC at the end of May. Alan Wright has finished on When Women Rule The World for September Films, and Dick Dodd is set to work on Blocks 2 & 4 on Waterloo Road for Shed Productions.
Iceland: Wizzo's Magni Agustsson currently shooting an as yet unnamed feature in the North Atlantic, but this shot look suspiciously like the outside of Debenhams.
ISSUE 27
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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live and let DI
Live and Let DI Deluxe Digital London has three DIs going on this month, namely, Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging, lensed by Dick Pope BSC, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, which was shot by Guillermo Navarro, and The Duchess shot by Hungarian DP Gyula Pados. LipSync Post completed the DI, VFX, audio post and the deliverables on the forthcoming feature film Good, shot by Andrew Dunn BSC, directed by Vicente Amorim. Set in 1930s Germany, during the rise of national socialism, the film is based on the award-winning play by CP Taylor with Viggo Mortensen in the lead role of John Halder. Good examines the life of Halder, a 'good' and decent individual with family problems: a neurotic wife, two demanding children and a mother suffering from senile dementia. A literary professor, Halder explores his personal circumstances in a novel advocating compassionate euthanasia. When the book is unexpectedly enlisted by powerful political figures in support of government propaganda, Halder finds his career rising in an optimistic current of nationalism and prosperity. But seemingly inconsequential decisions lead to choices, which lead to more choices, with eventually devastating effects. After scanning the 35mm 3-perf, negative at 6k on its pinregistered Northlight film-scanners, LipSync's Lee Clappison completed the DI work using Quantel's iQ Pablo, that runs 4K real-time, working closely with DP Andrew Dunn. The period look was important to the story to convey the many moods that the story evokes. The film was finally output to 35mm via high-speed laser recorders, and then signed off at one of the largest and most unforgiving screens in the West End, Vue 5 in Leicester Square. Other projects handled by LipSync recently include the VFX for Flashbacks of a Fool The Bourne Ultimatum and Stardust, plus the DI on The Secret Of Moon Acre, DP David Eggby.
Prime Focus: completed a moody DI on Shadows in the Sun Prime Focus has just completed the DI on Shadows in the Sun, a poignant story set in the 1960s of how a mysterious young loner changes the lives of a family and helps them to rediscover their roots and deep affection for one another. The film was lensed by DP Milton Kam, and graded by Tom Russell. It stars Jean Simmons, James Wilby and Jamie Dorna, was directed by David Rocksavage and produced by Nick O'Hagan of Giant Films, and is set for a June 2008 release. A substantial percentage of the film is set outside, shot on location in and involved daytime, night time as well as day-fornight scenes, both interior and exterior. The film is set in 1960s Norfolk and could be said to be in the Merchant Ivory mold. The big skies found in East Anglia feature to great effect, as do seascapes, garden and woodland, with a major challenge being the added unpredictability of the British weather. Four seasons in one hour seemed to be the norm with no chance to reshoot, so the shots all had to be made to match in the grade. For the DI Prime Focus harnessed a BaseLight 8 system with projection from a Barco 90p. This recent upgrade allows the company to run a 2K realtime workflow. The open architecture and unlimited layers of grading on the BaseLight came into its own. Matching shots with full sun to shots with little or no sun became achievable. “Ultimately, my goal with the day-for-night scenes was to make them look and feel as if they were shot with a very fast
film-stock during actual night,” said DP Milton Kam. “During the colour-correction Tom and I also pushed the colour of night slightly towards cyan, a bit like how Whistler's nightscape paintings would look and feel. We were able to subtly amplify the dramatic nature of the sky and the clouds by increasing the contrast between clouds and sky. In one case we were able to take a dramatic shot of layers and swirls of clouds and push it into a golden palette in order to match it to a dramatic sunset sequence, which it was edited into, but initially was not intended for.” Molinare completed the DI, including the scan-in and film outs, on The Cottage, lensed by DP Christopher Ross, starring Andy Serkis, Jennifer Ellison and Reece Shearsmith, directed by Paul Andrew Williams and produced by Ken Marshall. Senior DI colourist Tim Waller completed the grade and commented, “It is very difficult to find a look for a film which is described as comedy horror, however the brief given to Chris by the director was to favour warm interiors with night blue exteriors. We optimised this through the grade, and the overall effect worked very well for the film.” Producer Rachel Robey has also completed a DI, including scan-in and film outs, at Molinare on her next feature Better Things, a feature about a group of young people growing up together in a small, rural community in the Cotswolds, lensed by Lol Crawley, directed by Duane Hopkins. Senior DI colourist Gareth Spensley commented “With Better Things the director Duane wanted a grade that never overpowered the story or the characters, so we created a muted palette of desaturated
UK post: Andrew Dunn BSC at work in Budapest on Good, which got the DI treatment at LipSync, and a shot from Flashbacks Of A Fool which had its DI done at Technicolor West Drayton.
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UK
live and let DI
colours that gave the film a style that sets it apart from the simply naturalistic. As an ensemble film with several different character narratives, strong colour continuity from scene to scene was important to help carry the audience between the interwoven storylines. Duane was also keen to use all the latest grading techniques to place scenes at moments of the day that are traditionally difficult to capture with tight budgets and conventional photography. For example, by removing the shadow and highlights of the sun we were able to move a afternoon shot sequence to dusk.” The feature film Hush, lensed by DP Philipp Blaubach, directed by Mark Tonderai and produced by Zoe Stewart, also completed a DI grade at Moli with Gareth Spensley Hush is a story about a young couple pulled into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a truck driver after a near accident on the motorway. Watch out at a cinema near you for the following films which got the DI treatment at Technicolor Creative Services at West Draytron… Yellow Handkerchief, directed by Udayan Prasad, and Stop-Loss, directed by Kimberley Peirce, both of which were lit and lensed by Chris Menges BSC; Flashbacks of A Fool, directed by Bailie Walsh, with John Mathieson BSC the DP; Hippie Hippie Shake, directed by Beeban Kidron; Last Chance Harvey, directed by Joel Hopkins, with cinematography by John de Borman BSC; and Incendiary, directed Sharon Maguire and helmed by Ben Davis BSC. Sister company Moving Picture Company in Soho provided the DIs on the Paul Weiland directed Made of Honor, lensed by Tony Pierce-Roberts, and Eden Lake, directred by James Watkins and cinematography by Christopher Ross. Germany's largest postproduction house
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Molinare: graded the cat and mouse thriller Hush
CinePostproduction, at its Geyer Berlin division, has used its Lustre-fitted DI suites to colour grade The Last Station, starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer in Michael Hoffman's drama about Tolstoi. Going down under, Park Road Post in New Zealand delivered the DI for The Water Horse, lensed by Oliver Stapleton BSC for director Jay Russell. The Water Horse has two time periods and some flashback sequences. The DI, achieved by Park Road colourist Dave Hollingsworth, was used to create a'present day' look and a 'World War 2' look. The flashbacks were treated with a bright hyper-real feel to create a sense of nostalgia. Also, due to some of the exteriors being shot around Lake Wanaka in the South Island of New Zealand and some being shot in Scotland, Quantel 4K Pablo was used extensively to match the same lush green of the Scottish hillside. All scanning and recording was done through sister company Weta Digital, along with 600 VFX shots provided by Weta Digital. Park Road also recently did the DIs on the Sam Raimi produced horror flick 30 Days of Night, enhancing the film's distinct silvery-metallic look as set up by DP Jo Willems,
plus Show of Hands, which was lensed by John Cavill, and The Vintner's Luck, lensed by Denis Lenoir. News from Doremi Cinema, a leading manufacturers of Dcinema systems that has over 750 playback servers in operation in Europe and 5,500 playback servers worldwide, is that its DMS2000 mastering station, will be used to perform the DCI JPEG2000 mastering during the 2008 Cannes Festival by XDC. Doremi's solution has also been selected for major roll-out by other third parties such as AccessIT, Technicolor and Arts Alliance Media. As for mastering stations, 50 DI and post-production labs are using the Doremi solution including Technicolor, DeLuxe, Fotokem, and Ascent Media. In France main customers are Quinta industries, Éclair Labs and Digimage. Also presenting with XDC is Liege-based DI house HoverlorD, whoch did the grade, edit and mastering on two Cannes competition films, Les Bureaux de Dieu and Johnny Mad Dog.
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FEATURE
camera creative
Non-linear: Speed Racer is reckoned to be the first major motion picture to break down linear filmmaking
Painting with pixels Quiet. Reserved. Those are words that come to mind when thinking about a British gentleman by the name of David Tattersall BSC, writes Pauline Rogers. Do an interview with him, and you can sense the quiet concentration that has made him one of the most sought-after cinematographers on several continents. Born and raised in Great Britain, David Tattersall attended Goldsmith's College in London, where he graduated with a first class BA (Hons) Fine Arts Degree. He then studied at the National Film and Television School, where he specialised in camera. His student films met with high praise and quickly kick-started a career shooting music videos and TV commercials worldwide. He's worked on award-winning television and features on both continents. The American hit series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles garnered him an Emmy Award and an ASC nomination for Best Cinematography.
else involved in the picture, knew that virtually every frame of the picture would be “layered”. Live-action footage with much stage-bound greenscreen photography would be married to a series of manipulated background layers, shot with contrasting focal lengths at varying frame rates, then superimposed onto CG animation and tiled stills. “I came into the project fairly early on,” says Tattersall. “Larry and Andy Wachowski were looking for something new. They wanted to raise the bar for the cinema experience. This is a live action version of a classic cartoon, but Larry and Andy didn't want to go 'cartoony'.
feature is based on the 1960s Japanese animé Mach GoGoGo (Speed Racer), a format that spurred a successful franchise in the United States (i.e. Disney cartoons).
“We comparison-tested various film and HD formats, then further pushed the results through digital gamma bending, filters and optical print stages, and arrived at a photographic style for the first phase of production that would be refined and polished by an army of digital artists in post.
The feature is said to be the first to literally break down the linear process of filmmaking. Post production, for example, was no longer at the end of the picture, but began the moment Tattersall and the directors Andy and Larry Wachowski came together for their first pre-production meeting. This never-done-before style of movie-making is one of the reasons Tattersall took on the project. He, and everyone
“Larry and Andy were looking for super sharpness across the plane. They wanted super saturated colours and a glossy, fashion look. We needed cameras and lenses that could hold a deep, deep focus, and which would capture foreground, mid-ground and background elements so precisely that they would layer with pixel perfection.”
To pick highlights of his creative career is almost impossible, his work is so varied and critically praised. He's shot everything from classic looks for The Green Mile and The Majestic, gritty realism for The Hunting Party, light and bright for The Matador and The Wind in the Willows and action gymnastics for Con Air, Die Another Day and Tomb Raider II. His pairing with George Lucas resulted in three Star Wars pictures - The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.
Breaking new ground Recently, however, he stretched his talent and gave that quiet, contemplative concentration of his to one of the most challenging and ground-breaking pictures to come along in a long time … Speed Racer. This Warner Bros., live-action
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Encore: we are likely to see more pictures made this way, and with more 3D
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camera creative
Camera choice To do this, the Speed Racer team (essentially two parallel units with Tattersall on one and DP Harvey Harrison BSC on the MAC unit covering a lot of the racing sequences) used the first five Sony F23s to come off the production line, bought by Pace Technologies of Burbank, California, specifically for the project. Two cameras with each unit, and a fifth that was 'shared', were all fitted with Zeiss DigiPrime lenses. “The F23/DigiPrime combo gave the clarity we wanted,” says Tattersall. “The improved, assistant-friendly ergonomics made them easy to work with. The colour viewfinder was nice, and the 2/3” chip size produces a greater depth-of-field than spherical 35mm. We shot at minus 3db gain to reduce noise and get closer to Larry and Andy's grain-free, air-brushed look. And, at 4:2:2, we were able to push the camera to its 60fps limit frequently. For super-high speed we brought in the Phantom camera that can shoot up to 1,000fps in HD for those Wachowski trade mark moments.”
Choosing equipment for a project will always depend on what kind of image you want to put up on the screen. Speed Racer had an additional unit - a stills unit - the brainchild of visual effects producers John Gaeta and Dan Glass. This unit created background plates by tiling thousands of digital stills, shots done in a 360 degree panorama of beautiful places around the world. The images were then run through various PhotoShop programmes, and fed into what Gaeta called a “bubble” to create a 3D image. This challenge was to finish before principal photography, so that Tattersall and Harrison could have an idea of what backgrounds would be used when shooting green screen.
Digital pipeline
Glossy: the Wachowski brothers wanted super-saturated colours and a fashion look short 63-day shoot - and do it in chronological order, as the Brothers wanted.
On the shoot “It wasn't that difficult,” Tattersall says, quietly. “We had basically three main stages, the largest set (built on the Marlene Dietrich stage at Studio Babelsberg in Berlin) was the Racer House. On separate other stages were The Royalton Offices complex and The Cassa Christo Hotel sets. We surrounded the exterior of the sets with a loop of Mini Brutes and the interiors with loops of gelled 8' KinoFlos to create a bright soft directional push through windows and doors and a shadowless, colour-saturated fill. We would key white, but fill with a deep and rich color tint.” While Tattersall was working with the principal actors (and the Chimp at a totally different time against green), Harrison was shooting complete scenes (after consulting with Tattersall and the VFX team). The biggest challenge was the live-action racing drivers. “We were using the basic cockpit of a car that was fixed onto a high-G motion-based gimbal system,” explains Harrison. “The system was able to create any movement that the car was to go through - turns, rolls, and vibrations.
The decision was made to use Codex Digital hard drive disk recorders and back up with SR-1 tape decks. “The Codex was fantastic,” says Tattersall. “To be able to replay full resolution HD instantaneously was a huge plus, as was its still-frame library facility. The hot swappable disc drives meant the editors could, in theory, show us cut scenes 20 minutes after they were shot.
"This was all linked together by Encoda's that were on the Motion Base, the Super Scorpio extendable Crane, the Megamount 3-Axis controllable head and the F23 camera and zoom lenses. These read all the movements that were sent back to the Encodacam for marrying the live action to the CG images. All the car bodies were CG elements put on later."
“Setting up at the beginning of each day was a simple and quick process balancing gray scale and Macbeth charts to a pre-set look,” he adds. “Our DITs could then handle the workflow while I got back on the floor to handle the camera and work with the electric and grip crews.”
Once Tattersall and Harrison's elements were captured they were turned over to Gaeta and Glass. And another part of the
The Codex material was wrangled by three Digital Imaging Technicians, Lester Dunton out of London, Dale Hunter from the United States (on the MAC unit with Harrison) and Michael Taylor out of Australia. They found the gigabyte Ethernet came in handy for remote control, reference still capture, and on-set composites. Comps could be pulled off because of Codex system's Virtual File System, which allowed them to output a wide range of formats on request - low res JPEGs and QuickTime files as well as their full-resolution DPX counterparts. “As you will notice with the DITs, it was a cosmopolitan mix,” Tattersall laughs softly. “We had crew members from England, the United States, Australia, and of course Germany, where we shot. It made for a polite and friendly atmosphere. Quite important, because when all was said and done, these teams still had to capture a massive amount of information on a
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Into post production
fun began. Elements of Speed Racer and an elegant crowd attending a ball were layered with pictures of an historic castle - and again layered, with an Esther Williams water ballet out the windows. Shots of Speed Racer sitting stationary in his car were then layered with old-fashioned never-ending montage elements that passed through the frame, while the car stood still. And so much more. Footage was then turned over to editors Roger Barton and Zach Staenberg, who worked on full-res Avids. With a small theater-sized screen at their disposal, the two editors were able to judge the pacing of the action and watch the matching of fine details that, if not carefully worked, would definitely show on the big screen. Speed Racer is the fourth HD outing for David Tattersall. “We are likely to see more pictures done this way and probably with the added complication of 3D,” he says. “Of course, there are still limits to the format,” he adds. “Choosing equipment for a project will always depend on what kind of image you want to put up on the screen. And, the many logistical and aesthetic factors that come into play with telling each story. As I told a reporter recently, when I think back to shooting Vertical Limit at 10,000 feet in New Zealand winter blizzard conditions, I have difficulty imagining dragging engineering tents, cables, monitors and all the other paraphernalia required for multi-camera studio-style HD work into those kind of extreme shooting conditions. “However, when it came to creating a live-action animé look from layers and layers of elements, shooting HD with the Sony F23s and the Codex system was absolutely the right decision.”
Filmography - David Tattersall BSC The Day The Earth Stood Still in production
Star Wars: Episode II/ Attack of the Clones
The Wind in the Willows
1996
2002
Moll Flanders
1996
Speed Racer
2008
The Majestic
2001
Theodore Rex
1995
The Hunting Party
2007
Vertical Limit
2000
Radioland Murders
1994
Next
2007
The Green Mile
1999
Zoom
2006
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
Young Indiana Jones Chronicles 21eps
1999
Sleepwalker
Star Wars: Episode I/ The Phantom Menace
1999
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones
1999
Star Wars: Episode III /Revenge of the Sith
2005
xXx: State of the Union
2005
The Matador
2005
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life Die Another Day
2003
Soldier
1998
2002
Con Air
1997
1992/3 1993
The Bridge
1992
Metropolis Apocalypse
1988
Moonlight Resurrection
1988
King's Christmas
1986
Salette
1986
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FEATURE
The South African film industry is buzzing. Leveraging off its long history of filmmaking, local and foreign producers are taking advantage of the many benefits of shooting in South Africa, which continues to prove itself a desirable destination for film production, writes Barry Lucas. Known for its natural beauty, diverse scenic landscapes, excellent weather and multicultural atmosphere, South Africa attracts filmmakers from around the world to take advantage of the technically advanced film industry. The country offers every type of cinematic landscape imaginable. Cape Town, being situated on a peninsula, offers pristine beaches and spectacular sunsets. Moving inland, there's a diversity of farm and mountainscapes, to Durban with its subtropical jungle, warm waters and close proximity to the Drakensberg mountain range. Johannesburg is a sprawling African city offering incredible cityscapes. Travelling less than an hour out of the city allows you to put your camera into the middle of the Savannah grasslands and record Africa's Big Five (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, rhino). There are both summer and winter rainfall regions around the country ensuring excellent weather all year round, and superb light for optimum shooting time. South Africa is an English-speaking country, which helps to make sure it's not all lost in translation. The industry is non-unionised too. Crews are helpful, hard working and willing to pitch in wherever needed, in order to capture the last magic hour of the shoot
south africa
South African Rand and a favourable exchange rate all combine to make shooting in South Africa an extremely cost-effective and attractive option with increasing production opportunities. The three main film centres are Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, each of which has established Film Commissions. These cities can offer all the technical and logistical support for a production, a convenient springboard into any part of South Africa, as well as a base to work further into subSaharan Africa. Here are some of the main contacts and companies that can assist you when shooting in South Africa
CAPETOWN Cape Film commissioner, Laurence Mitchell, says Cape Town's reputation for excellence in film, “has always been based on stunning locations; outstanding crew; diverse talent and a value-for-money production service along the full value chain - from concept to post. This film friendly city of the South has recently dropped all location prices for city locations and implemented on-set assistance for macro shoots. Together with new National Rebates and a blossoming animation sector, Cape Town is now more than ever a great destination for filming - the Cape Film Commission looks forward to welcoming old and new friends in film to South Africa.” www.capefilmcommission.co.za
Skilled and experienced crews along with the latest, state-of-the art equipment and postproduction facilities offer resources to filmmakers that compete with the best in the world. Productions are able to draw from a huge pool of professional actors from diverse ethnic and multi-cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, South Africa is within the same time zone as Europe, so there's no having to stay up into the early hours to communicate with offices and studios back home.
Donyale MacKrill, group marketing manager for post production facility Condor Cape says his company has had another excellent season producing VFX for its clients. “We have worked extensively on commercials for our South African client base and served a broad range of internationals, including work for clients in the USA, Russia, the UK, Singapore, India and others. We were also thrilled to undertake feature VFX work for Universal Studios, working on the next instalment of the Scorpion King trilogy. Another highlight of the season was our MD, Mike Smit's, inclusion in the SA/Hollywood Exchange as a spokesperson promoting postproduction in South Africa.” www.condorcape.com
Offering enormous value, the fluctuating
This summer production season has been
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IN ACTION FILMING: Magic hour, Camps Bay Beach, Cape Town.
IN ACTION FILMING - Night shoot of a bar scene for Dutch commercial. exceptionally busy for Moonlighting Commercials, who have worked on productions for the UK, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, France, India, the USA, Canada, Greece, UAE, Spain and Ireland. They've worked on some logistically challenging shoots with complex requirements - from set build to wardrobe and art department. Producer Cheryl de
Carvalho line-produced a Capital One shoot for a Canadian company - with a crew of 120 - that required a 60ft pirate ship and a 40ft cruiseliner built in -studio with flying rigs to allow pirates to hijack the cruiseliner. In addition a huge reproduction of one of the temples of Raiders of the Lost Ark with Oil Factory (USA) also caused quite a stir. The Ballantines shoot for Outsider required
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south africa
such The Deal, Doomsday and The Scorpion King in the past year. It is fully stocked in 100ft, 400ft and 1000ft film. www.filmstocksa.co.za
IN ACTION FILMING shoot in Kenya with Maasai warriors and family. wardrobe (from period wigs and moustaches to authentic dress) to represent golf through the ages.
Films, was the only official selection from South Africa for the 2008 Berlinale Coproduction market. www.moonlighting.co.za
March 2008 saw the worldwide release of Warner Bros. Pictures 10,000 BC, the Roland Emmerich epic that Moonlighting Films facilitated in Namibia. Four Corners, a new film to be directed by Ian Gabriel and coproduced by Moonlighting Films and Giant
Production company In Action has recently completed an advertorial for a Zambian consortium looking to do copper related export to the East. On the commercial front, its has just rapped three large scale commercials for the Netherlands, now
CAPE TOWN Latitude: 33° 55S : Longitude: 18° 22E Average Temp: 26C/78F : Climate: Mediterranean
JOHANNESBURG Latitude: 26° 12S : Longitude: 28° 4E Average Temp: 26C/78F : Climate: Temperate
completing a slate of nine commercials over the past three seasons for the same company. All pre-production and casting is done via web-cast and locations can be sent in real-time. “This is extremely beneficial to the client and agency on fast-track productions,” says In Action's Barry Lucas. “We are currently in development with a coproduction feature film project with locations being shot in Cape Town and Mauritius.” www.inaction.co.za Film Afrika, South African producers at the forefront of international co-productions, have had the opportunity to work with European DPs over the past year; among them were Glynn Speeckaert from Belgium on the Scorpion King, Italian Lorenzo Senatore and Seamus McGarvey BSC on Starship Troopers Marauder and again with Seamus McGarvey on No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Speeckaert has frequently worked in South Africa on commercials and Scorpion King was his first feature film in Cape Town. Lorenzo Senatore worked in South Africa for the first time on Starship Troopers Marauder, and was impressed by the professionalism of the local crew and their work ethic, as well as the quality and finish on all the set builds, and found the gear-houses to be world-class in the availability of equipment and service. www.filmafrika.com Fujifilm services the film industry purely with Fuji motion picture negative film. Filmstock South Africa has supplied feature films
Speaking about his company's facilities, Tony Eddy of ONE8SIX says, “We have a full compliment of Arriflex camera equipment including Arricams, Arri 235s, SR 3s, 435s and Moviecams as well as the recent addition of Sony F900Rs. Additionally, we carry all the latest lenses like the Zeiss Master Primes, Zeiss Ultras, Cooke S4s and SK 4s and some exciting new Angeniuex and Cooke zooms. On the grip front One8Six continues to dominate the equipment rental market with the recent introduction of many new products including the Chapman Super VI Bracket. ONE8SIX is also a registered reseller of Kodak Filmstock and additionally represents Photosonics high-speed cameras, Hydroflex Underwater Equipment and Nettmann Remote Heads within Southern Africa.” Looking ahead for the season we still see quite a lot of commercial activity happening here and out of our Johannesburg offices as well as a marked increased in long-form queries for later in the year. With bases in Cape Town and Johannesburg, PANALUX is a relatively new addition to the Southern African industry although the company's roots have been firmly established in the region for some time. Created through the amalgamation of AFM Lighting and LEE Lighting, PANALUX offers a wide range of film and television lighting facilities, backed by a solid understanding of the local industry. South African managing director, Sean Ryan says, “The formation of PANALUX has allowed an increased level of investment which will further enhance our industry's presence as an internationally recognised, sustainable concern, able to deliver world class products and services to all manner of production, regardless of size or genre”. Building on a pedigree, which has seen the company providing equipment to major
DURBAN Latitude: 29° 53S : Longitude: 30° 53E Average Temp: 28C/82.4F : Climate: Mild sub-tropical
IMANI MEDIA (Bobby Heaney) directs Nelson Mandela.
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south africa
Directing awards to its credit, are also the personal videographers of Nelson Mandela. Last year the company produced a documentary video for the Mayor of London, The Return of Mandela, for the unveiling of the Nelson Mandela statue in Parliament Square, London. They have produced over thirty television series, as well as documentaries, feature films and commercials. www.imanimedia.co.za Video Lab has established itself in offering front-end telecine services on international productions. Besides front-end services it offers a one-stop post production solution on commercials and features, and has completed visual effects for over 35 features.
Where Others Wavered - Sam Njoma’s shack / post-produced by Video Lab South African shot productions, including the Oscar-nominated Warner Bros production Blood Diamond and Nicholas Cage movie Lord of War, PANALUX has recently supplied its services to the Roland Emmerich picture 10,000BC plus UK television action drama Flood. Commercials shot with both local and international production houses have also kept the company busy. As Ryan comments “We have developed fantastic relationships with companies from all over the world who come to make use of what has grown to become a hub of international commercial production. The quality of local talent is easily on a par with that from anywhere in the world, and we are continually raising standards throughout all areas of the industry”. The PANALUX bases in Cape Town and Johannesburg are located adjacent to the company's Cape Island and Gold Island Studio complexes, both of which have enjoyed extended periods of occupancy in recent months, hosting productions destined for screens both locally and overseas. With multiple stages, drive-in access, cycs and onsite lighting, camera and grip facilities through the Panavision-owned company ONE8SIX, Island Studios offer clients a flexible workspace within a single development. Construction has finally begun on the Cape Town Film Studio project situated 40 minutes outside of the city centre. Rashay Magan is confident that the approx. 17,000sqm of stages, workshops, production offices and production support buildings will be ready by 2010. rashay@capetownfilmstudios.co.za Roodebloem Studios, based in an old elegant stone church, has two large studios with wooden flooring and high ceilings and makes for a great full-service complex in the heart of the city. www.roodebloemstudios.co.za Media Film Service is an ARRI product-
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based company and has been in existence since March 2000. The company rents out a full range of filming equipment and provides Kodak film stock and consumables. Highly specialized gear is the forte of the Media Film Service stable and includes Arricams, the Tornado High Speed camera, the Supertechno range of cranes, D21 HD Camera, Arrimax lights and Master primes. The company can also source almost any other required equipment, and new items are continually being researched and added to the inventory. Media Film has branches in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban, and has provided equipment as far a field as New Zealand. 2008 will see branches opening in Mauritius and Nigeria. .
JOHANNESBURG
The Gauteng Film Commission assists with contacts, direction, ideas and inspiration, giving producers all the support they need to turn a big idea into reality. Gauteng province, with its main city Johannesburg, is the business centre and economic hub of South Africa.
It also addresses the Digital Intermediate market, with a Lustre colour grading and ARRI film recording, and understand process of delivering to international broadcasters. It's most significant DI was on Tsosti, graded using Lustre, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign film 2006. Major recent productions include Blood Diamonds for Warner Brothers and Generations Kill with Company pictures through Out of Africa films in SA. www.videolab.co.za Pace Model Artist Management is steadily evolving within the SA modelling industry, representing a broad palette of faces and talent, be it fashion-ready or character-driven. Director Hilary Pace is wellknown for her strengths in promoting and developing the professional careers of SA models. www.pacemodels.co.za
DURBAN The Durban Film Office is the official advocate for the feature film, television, video, commercials, and stills photography
production industry in Durban and the region. The office is responsible for facilitating and coordinating on-location filming in both the City and the province. This includes the assembly and management of all information that affects and influences filmmaking in the region - from visas and immigration to crew rates, permits and permit management. The Durban Film Office's approach is to create a one-stop-shop for the industry, and production companies are encouraged to always contact the Durban Film Office. www.durbanfilmoffice.com Well-known Durban-based casting agency, Forecast has been busy this year, having already supplied actors for Mr Bones 2; the entire cast of Paradise Lost documentary series for Canada; the new campaign for SA Tourism and lead artistes for 3D White Luxe BAM commercial which is featured in Pan Asia. www.forecastkzn.co.za The South African film industry is committed to social transformation and development in the country and undertakes many initiatives to support this. Focusing on training, skills and development of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the Shadow Program is unique in the world. Fast-tracking students into employment, it allows them to spend valuable time on productions, shadowing crew and preparing themselves for work in the industry into which they will be absorbed. South Africa is a vibrant and colourful country, offering many benefits and delights to film-makers, many of whom return year after year as testament to an industry that has come into its own to compete favourably at global level.
Rogue Element Films shoots Skin in SA
With a growing number of international productions that have already been filmed in Southern Africa including Ali, Red Dust, Hotel Rwanda, Blood Diamonds, 10,000 BC, Rendition and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, the capability of Gauteng-based cast, crew and production and service companies are well proven. Johannesburg is the de facto media and broadcasting hub of Africa - home to CNBC Africa, the South African Broadcasting Corporation and other major international broadcasters. As a local media and production hub, Gauteng boasts wellestablished and ever-expanding studios offering a range of digital, analogue and high definition compatible studios and sound stages. www.gautengfilm.org.za Gauteng-based Imani Media, a multi-award winning television, film and stage production company with over 24 Best Production and
Sophie Okonedo who star in Skins Rogue Element Films, based at Pinewood Studios UK, supplied the camera equipment and technical back-up services for the feature film entitled Skin, which was shot entirely in South Africa and co-produced by Cape Town's Moonlighting Films. Skin is the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era, and stars Sam Neill and Sophie Okonedo. The production was lensed by DP Dewald Aukema, and used two Viper FilmStream cameras recording to SRW1 Sony SR decks, as well as a Venom Flashpak for handheld work. Complementing the cameras were a full set of Zeiss DigiPrimes and a 6-24mm DigiZoom lens. Off-line DVCAM copies were transferred daily on-set, and these were then flown to editorial after each days filming. Skin has completed post and a final grade was signed off in February.
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letter from america
Richard P. Crudo ASC says that electronic dailies are pretty much hopeless for any cinematographer concerned maintaining the quality and effectiveness of their efforts.
Never twice the same colour It's been said that, “remember when...” is the lowest form of conversation. But once again recent experience has me referring back to a time when things were undoubtedly better, for example, just a few years ago when print dailies were more the industry norm than an aberration. At risk of chanting heresy during this season of the Digital Intermediate (one in which it's ever more likely to be anybody's guess what the final image will look like), I'll state it as plainly as I can. For the cinematographer concerned with gauging and maintaining the quality and effectiveness of their day-to-day efforts, electronic dailies are completely, totally and utterly useless. No, I'll amend that. Considering that their renditions of exposure, colour space, contrast, resolution, black level and composition tell you nothing about what you're doing on set, viewing them represents an atrocious and incomprehensible waste of time.
Electronic dailies are completely, totally and utterly useless… viewing them represents an atrocious and incomprehensible waste of time. I know some of you will take the opposite position, having had a satisfactory experience or two with them somewhere along the way. But despite every best effort and a clear understanding of the technology involved, I count myself among the huge number of cinematographers who despise their unpredictability, inefficiency and misleading nature. Honestly, on how many occasions have you had to explain to a director, producer or even a star that the finished movie won't look at all like the bastardization of your work they've been watching on DVD each night? And are the directors and editors even aware that the failures of electronic dailies profoundly influence they way they cut a film? We all understand that first impressions are lasting impressions. After they've lived with these wildly inferior images for months, it's not uncommon for directors to become attached to them. Then, when you're called back to supervise the colour timing and digital mastering, it can be
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difficult trying to recover the original intent. It's astounding that we've come to such levels of sophistication in so many ways yet still have managed to lag behind in this area. Stop right here if you think I'm a Luddite, or that I'm one of those people who feel everything about life was rosier in the past. I'm not and I don't. I've embraced DI and the best of what the new technologies offer; I'll continue to do so when appropriate. As pertains to electronic dailies however, there can be no disagreement that what has passed for progress has caused an ugly and deceitful reversal into the future. A generation of cinematographers already exists that has never experienced the liberating effects of seeing their work optically projected. To that group I relay my profoundest condolences. As remedy I refer them to the brilliance of the Hazeltine printer light. In short, the Hazeltine printer light is used only when printing for the big screen. It consists of three numbers that correspond to the R, G and B make-up of your negative. Deceptively basic in concept, they tell you everything you need to know about laboratory controls, exposure, colour and contrast. But their practical magnitude goes even further. They're effortless to employ. If by chance an anomaly appears in the image, they make the problem easy to isolate and correct. They're also quantifiably repeatable. Thus, as long as you and the laboratory each perform your chores according to specs, the resulting images will show a remarkable day-today consistency. Most importantly, since they mean the same thing in all instances, they facilitate precise communication. When you dictate a specific printer light to the lab, the positive will look exactly the way you want it to look - every time. By providing an option to take all the guesswork out of the job that we do, the Hazeltine printer light encourages the type of confidence that results in boldly original cinematography. Nothing like it exists on the digital side. Or does it? Take a look at the amazing assembly of technology in the modern post-production suite and you'll understand that we've already got the rocket that goes to the moon. What we need is for someone to install a speedometer that allows us to measure how our images are rendered and then repeat those measurements without third party intervention. Technicolor\Thomson debuted a brilliantly conceived digital printer light system at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas in April of 2005. Since then, a number of cinematographers have taken advantage of its great possibilities. I've tested it and can tell you that it works magnificently well. Just like the Hazeltine, it
reduces all you need to know about your negative on a dayto-day basis to a short series of numbers.
A generation of cinematographers already exists that has never experienced the liberating effects of seeing their work optically projected. To that group I relay my profoundest condolences.
But where is it, though? Have you even heard of it before this moment? How come it hasn't caught on yet with the world community of cinematographers? Apart from Technicolor's lousy job of promoting it, I'd hate to think it was due to any apathy on our part. I mean, come on... Would you really rather continue with all the cumbersome, inexplicit and unreliable nonsense we've been using? The verbal descriptions on minicassettes, the Polaroids, the special gray cards and telecine analysis films, the computer and web-based pre-viz systems. Oh, and then there are the digital snapshots that you send to the colourist over the Internet. I must tell you, I appreciate those best when I'm spending extra time Photoshopping them at the end of a sixteen hour day. And the worst part is that with these methods you still won't know for sure what you'll end up getting for dailies. Wouldn't it be so much easier to have your assistants write 32-29-33 at the bottom of the camera reports, just like the old days, and then know exactly what you'll see the next day? From the very beginning, the best technical advances we've seen in our medium evolved as solutions to a creative demand. “Remember when...” won't sound so bad if it refers to a time before the problems of electronic dailies were corrected. But whether or not we actually see any improvement is entirely up to us. I'm ready to take to the streets. Are you coming with me? Richard P. Crudo ASC
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f-stop NAB
upgrade to its D-20 digital cinematography camera. New output options include a 2K raw data output mode supported by Codex Digital and S.two, and the use of anamorphic lenses. Additionally, ARRI introduced the Arriflex 416 Plus High Speed, offering higher frame rates for slow-motion shots than the 416 Plus. The two cameras share many of the same features. The higher frame rates were made possible through a redesigned motor, mirror shutter and internal suspension. Sony showcased its developing F35 camera system, which is scheduled to ship later this year. The F35 features a 35mm CCD image sensor, 10-bit, 4:4:4 recording and a PL mount. Side by side with the F35 was Sony's currently-available F23, which has been used on such films as the upcoming Speed Racer.
Cameras A Go Go There was no shortage of interest in cinematography at the 2008 National Association of Broadcasters Show, which recently wrapped in Las Vegas, writes Carolyn Giardina. At the high end, the continued innovation in both film and digital cameras and related tools made this market place highly competitive. At the low end, new tools show the potential to democratise filmmaking. Meanwhile, digital stereoscopic 3-D received an enormous amount of attention, and numerous camera makers are positioning themselves in this emerging market. In Hollywood, at least 25 digital 3-D features from Disney/Pixar, Dreamworks Animation, 20th Century Fox and others have already been announced, although the lion's share are computer animated titles.
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The noticeable number of NAB sessions dedicated to 3-D underscored the interest, although many are still wondering if it is here to stay, or just a fad. Addressing that question during a one session, Disney's vice president of production technology Howard Lukk asserted that, “It's not a fad,” and called for “a better supply of camera rigs and stereo postproduction tools.”
Silicon Imaging, together with its partners P+S Technik, CineForm and Iridas, placed emphasis on enhancements to the SI-2K, including improvements to the post workflow. The camera was also used as part of a 3-D technology demonstration. Iconix introduced its Studio2K, a 2K point-of-view camera system, designed for shooting scenarios that require very small, lightweight cameras. Iconix is developing a full stereoscopic 3-D workflow, and elements were shown at its NAB stand. Red's Epic was announced as a 5K camera that would be available in 2009. Red also announced Scarlet, a “pocket professional”
3K camera, also scheduled for shipment next year. As the industry has already seen with the Red One camera, there were plenty of fans and also skeptics. Thomson's Grass Valley put emphasis on its now shipping Infinity digital media camcorder that incorporates IT recording and connectivity technologies. In the recording market, Codex Digital presented data-based workflow options that included the use of its new Codex Portable recorder. Codex systems are developed to capture raw HD, 2K and 4K camera data, and generate real-time output files in formats including Avid DNxHD, DPX and Quicktime. Scheduled to ship in June, the Portable weighs 4kg. S.two introduced i.DOCK4, a 4K data and HD RGB offline production ingest dock; and A.DOCK, 4K data and HD RGB archive dock, joining its DFR 4K digital field recorder. S.two also showed a portable digital film recorder, the DFR2K; and a DSR__ digital studio recorder, designed to move uncompressed material through the postproduction environment.
Post production FilmLight previewed a version of its colour management technology, Truelight, designed for use by film and television productions in performing basic colour correction functions on-set or on-location. Truelight On-Set calibrates digital cameras, monitors and
Camera news The NAB 2008 Show attracted an estimated 105,000, down slightly from last year, and it seemed to suggest recession jitters, and lingering impact from the recent WGA Strike. Still, there was a high level of activity. The NAB exhibition generated a lot of news, including: ARRI launched its Arriflex D-21, an
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new user interface that has gained stereoscopic capabilities. The company also showed a set of plug-ins it has in development, called Ocula, designed to help finesse 3-D stereo post, and also to solve problems with 3-D stereoscopic cinematography, such as the interocular distances between left and right cameras. Arri's new D-21
recording devices so that colour adjustments made on-set can be accurately applied during subsequent stages of postproduction. It is aimed at projects lensed digitally, although the system can also be used for film-based productions. Quantel is offering more configurations of its Pablo and iQ finishing systems, with 3-D capabilities. As well, its Neo control surface was unveiled as an option for the Quantel systems. Quantel's Pablo was used to finish Disney's successful Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3-D, which was shot in mid-November and posted in 11 weeks in order to open on Feb 1st. Digital Vision showed the latest version of its Film Master grading and finishing system, v3.6, and offered a preview of Film Master 4.0 with real-time 4k capabilities and a new render accelerator, called Turbine. With v4, Digital Vision also previewed stereoscopic 3-D playback. Also on the 3-D front, The Foundry's latest version 5.0 of its Nuke composting system, launched earlier this year, has a
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A s s i m i l a t e presented its Scratch Cine software, designed as a “virtual telecine” for projects shot with Red cameras. Features include one-light colour grading and shot management. The company also demo'd its Scratch's 3-D workflow.
Summits and LUTs The NAB's Digital Cinema Summit, co-presented by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers and Entertainment Technology Centre, included reports on some broad industry efforts and packed a large auditorium on the weekend before the exhibition opened. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Science and Technology Council and the American Society of Cinematographers' Technology Committee explained their joint development, a "Common File Format for Look-Up Tables." Version 1 of this development, the result of a massive effort, is now available. The groups are seeking prototype implementers and feedback.
Sony Pictures' Al Barton, on behalf of Hollywood studio consortium Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI), announced that the group has narrowed its selections for DCI testing facilities down to three, including one in the US and one in Europe. He expects those names to be released within the month. Barton also reported that the version 1.2 of the DCI Spec is available online. Dolby's Dave Schnuelle reported that SMPTE's technical committee is being restructured and the digital cinema division, currently DC 28, will be renamed 21DC. “Study work” is being done in the area of 3-D, he said. Meanwhile, International Cinematographers Guild president Steven Poster ASC, reported that the ICG is putting together a training programme for 3-D cinematography. “That is critical for us,” he related.
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INTERNATIONAL
imago
“IMAGO is committed to take to the European Parliament a just and honourable case of the rights of the cinematographer to be regarded as a co-author of their work.” – Nigel Walters BSC, IMAGO President
Fighting for your rights “In Italy, as in all of Europe the law recognises script, music and director. But those elements don't make a movie; a movie is the language of images. Without the image you can write the music, but then you only have the audio not the video. If you are a writer you can do literature, you can do theatre, but it's not a movie. Only through cinematography does it become a film. In my opinion the balance between images, music and the words constitutes a good movie. That's why we cinematographers are fighting in Europe to get recognised as co-authors of the movie. The Italian law now recognises us as authors of film photography. But we have to be given recognition worldwide. I honestly do not think the Bertolucci movies would have been the same if someone else had done them. They could be better or worse. Whatever, they would not be the same.” This quote was taken from an interview with Vittorio Storaro in the recent EFA publication “Projections' (available Amazon through www.imago.com). If there is a single reason for the existence of IMAGO, the European Federation of Cinematographers, it is the fight for the rights of the cinematographer to be recognised as “author” of their contribution to a film, writes Nigel Walters BSC, president of IMAGO. Since its foundation in 1992 IMAGO has encouraged individual member societies to work towards a common purpose. This is slowly making progress and bearing fruit. At present the battle is being fought in the courts in Italy. Vittorio Storaro and
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a small group of Italian cinematographers are in the process of a legal challenge against their collecting rights society for refusing them their rights as authors of their work. The Spanish are seeking similar recognition through parliamentary legislation. Though Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway and Portugal have financial rewards for various authors in the production of a film, the number of countries that define a cinematographer as one of these 'authors' is more limited. The German government was the first to include cinematographers as 'authors' in the film production process, as well as including production designers, editors and costume designers.
Blank Tape Levy Since, in the EU, legislation in one country relates to the citizens of all countries British Cinematographers were entitled to their share of the German (and subsequently the Austrian and Finnish schemes) levies. With the help of the BSC, The Guild of British Film and Television Editors (GBFTVE), and the The British Film Designers Guild (BFDG), a collecting society was formed by John French, named the BFDG Collecting Society. After years of procrastination on the part of the Germans the first money arrived in 2001. The Society has now been collecting the German Blank Tape Levy for seven years and has distributed 500,000 Euros. The idea behind the German government initiative is simple. When a member of the public buys a blank tape it is assumed
that they are going to use it to tape a programme from television. This is as an infringement of copyright. The German government decided that in order to compensate the copyright owners for this infringement they would add a levy of approximately £1 on each tape. This would be collected and distributed to the copyright owners by a government agency called Bild Kunst. When John French first investigated this levy it was thought that it might not apply to the British participants for two legal reasons. The first was the contractual situation with which
Television executives have used the advent of the digital camera to dispense with all the cameramen. I learned everything I know from Chris Menges, the cinematographer who has learnt everything in his turn from great documentaries. He taught me to look at light, and to have a sense of framing and images. Today those executives regard a project as a one-person shoot. The director has to do a home movie, and the craft of cinematography is suffering, just being lost. Ken Loach, director ISSUE 27
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imago
most technicians are confronted. Many contracts specifically state that the employee gives up all rights in the exploitation of the finished work. It turned out however, that this disclaimer does not exclude the right to receive Blank Tape Levy. This right is what is called 'inalienable', which means that it exists irrespective of any other agreement and, in effect, it cannot be signed away. There was therefore, no barrier to receiving the levy from a contractual point of view. There is an important distinction to make here between what is often called the moral rights of an 'author', and the subsidiary rights. As the word suggests the most important of these legally is the moral right. Some countries have already legislated to establish the moral rights of cinematographers in the creation of a film. At the IMAGO General Congress in Lisbon this year the Ukrainian delegate declared that a new law had just instituted this right for the Ukrainian cinematographers (as well as production designers and editors). At the World Conference of Author's Rights in Huelva the Indian delegate produced his government's legislation on the moral right of cinematographers to be regarded as 'authors' - which was judged as being the best drafted of all the legislation that had been passed. In other countries where cinematographers are not granted the 'moral right' to claim authorship in the creation of a film in legislation it is possible to establish the principle by a legal challenge. The AIC in Italy is legally challenging the distribution of the blank tape levy organised by the government by disputing the decision of their collecting society not to grant their moral rights .In Spain the AEC has gone further, taking the case to parliament and demanding legislation to establish this right for Spanish cinematographers. The point is that once the moral right of a cinematographer to be recognised as an 'author' is established in law then the subsidiary rights, the right to receive money as a result of
Storaro: Italian law now recognises cinematographers as the authors of film photography residuals pertaining to that authorship for example, follows automatically. Without the 'moral right' it is not possible for a cinematographer to claim that he is entitled to share in the proceeds of whatever copyright distributions the various governments decide upon. This is the fundamental reason for IMAGO issuing the Model Contract which was published at the Camerimage Festival in Lodz last November The British government has adapted similar legislation to that of the Americans, whose attitude is that the crew of a film are employees, who they are paid for their work and that as a result of receiving their salary they give up any right to be called an 'auteur' or to participate in any aspect of copyright ownership. Under American law the film copyright belongs to the producer, and this is how the law stands in England. It is far from the case in Europe.
You don't have to be an actor to be a cinematographer, you don't have to be a poet, a philosopher or a painter, but you do need at least to know something. Vittorio Storaro, cinematographer
Italy, Spain and Germany leading the way IMAGO is committed to take to the European Parliament a just and honourable case of the rights of the cinematographer to be regarded as a co-author of their work. The results of the Italian and Spanish legal encounters will not be over until their judgements and possible appeals are heard. They represent a watershed. IMAGO would ideally like to employ a lobbyist in Brussels to represent our interest in authors' rights legislation and issues such as working conditions. Unfortunately this requires financing, which is not there at present and needs to be found for the future. In Germany there is recently introduced legislation which states that when a film is made on a small budget, but makes a great deal of money, the participants are entitled in law to ask for a share of those profits. If they are not forthcoming they have the right to demand legal arbitration. Should this not be Europe-wide legislation?
Loach: learnt about light from Chris Menges
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The UK attitude towards Europe must change. In relation to the visual media, and the rights of individual participants, Europe is way ahead of Britain. When such countries as the Ukraine and India have a better framework in place to protect the rights of cinematographers for recognition of their value, it
is time the United Kingdom attempted to objectively evaluate its position. The fight for the author's rights is really about the respect which once existed for the creative role of the cinematographer. Documentaries, film and TV drama cinematographers are all entitled to be called 'authors' of their work. Storaro through the AIC is not giving his time, energy and commitment (nor money because this case is being paid for by each member of the AIC) to this cause for financial gain, but because he believes in the principle. The importance of the work of the cinematographer deserves to be recognised in the United Kingdom as it is in Europe and most of the World. Respect for the cinematographer needs to be restored and IMAGO is working towards this aim. Cinematographers who are not members of the BSC can join the BDFG Collecting Society by calling or writing to the BDFG office: Flat G, 344 Finchley Road, London NW3 7AJ. Telephone 020 7794 0017. There is a ÂŁ50 registration fee and the collecting society charges 10% commission to help with the expenses of running the society.
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The Countess: DP Martin Ruhe pictured on set of the film that is written, directed and starts Julie Delpy
Shooting in Berlin-Brandenburg What do Tom Cruise, Helen Mirren, William Hurt and Susan Sarandon all have in common? Answer: they have all been involved in productions shooting in the Berlin-Brandenburg region over the past 12 months, writes Dr. Martin Blaney. Indeed, production is booming in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, according to Kirsten Niehuus, managing director responsible for film funding at Medienboard BerlinBrandenburg (MBB). "I cannot think of a location German or European-wide for 2007 where more productions were realised than in BerlinBrandenburg," she says. "The most diverse genres were produced here from Valkyrie, Speed Racer and The International through to The Wave, Rabbit Without Ears, to the thriller Der Baader Meinhof Komplex and the comedy Mord ist mein Geschäft with Bud Spencer and Nora Tschirner."
Show me the money Last year, MBB allocated 9.8m euros in subsidies to films and location marketing measures, which generated expenditure of €132.8m euros on services in the region.
Among international projects supported by the regional film fund were the Wachowski brothers' VFX-laden Speed Racer, Tom Tykwer's thriller The International, Julie Delpy's costume drama The Countess and Michael Hoffman's Tolstoy drama The Last Station, starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. International producers can also benefit from the newlyfounded German Federal Film Fund (DFFF) incentive scheme which reimburses 20 cents of every Euro of "German spend" up to a maximum of 80% of a film's total production costs. The producers of Speed Racer, which was shot on stages at the Babelsberg Studios all over last summer, received the top amount of €9m euros, while Tykwer's film with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts picked up €5.8m euros. Other financial carrots to attract filmmakers to shoot in the region are being been offered by the Berlin and Brandenburg governments. Last year, the Berlin Senate unveiled plans to make €60m euros available each year until 2013 for statebacked guarantees as securities against bank loans for the financing of film projects. And Brandenburg's own guarantee scheme agreed to guarantee up to 80% of the €5.2m euros loan from Commerzbank that was used to help finance Jaco
Valkyrie: portrait of Tom Cruise as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg in the Hitler assassination plot film van Dormael's €35m futuristic drama Mr Nobody, starring Jared Leto and German-born Diane Kruger.
Studios in Berlin-Brandenburg With the introduction of the DFFF incentive last year, the idea of a studio shoot in Germany became an attractive prospect. "For big American studio productions, I don't think you really have anywhere else in Germany but Studio Babelsberg," observes line producer Marcos Kantis. "They have the stages and personnel who understand the American system of shooting. That's why they keep coming back." Almost four years after taking Studio Babelsberg over from Vivendi Universal, the new owners Carl Woebcken and Christoph Fisser were co-producers or service providers for 12 productions in 2007, ranging from the local German production Messy Christmas by X-Filme creative pool, through to Stefan Ruzowitzky's family entertainment Lily The Witch to a clutch of US productions such as Speed Racer, Valkyrie, The International and Stephen Daldry's The Reader. According to Woebcken, the 16 soundstages, various backlots and exterior sets at the complex on the outskirts of Berlin have the unique selling points of space - 25,000 square metres of floor space - and the competence for making highvalue sets at the in-house art department. "Another factor which is unique in Germany is our company Studio Babelsberg Motion Pictures which delivers production services," he explains. "It is very good at putting a talent pool together from Germany and abroad and handling the tax issues on foreign talent." As part of the studio's extensive programme of restructuring since 2004, the new owners entrusted their on-site postproduction facilities into the hands of Elektrofilm and refurbished two new studios - Neue Film 1 and Neue Film 2 which were used by Lily The Witch and Speed Racer last year.
Bird's eye view: historic Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam on the outskirts of Berlin
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"Also, in connection with the Speed Racer project, we invested in communications technology between the visual effects department, the art department and the stages, because this film is really at the forefront of modern
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berlin
Cat's Meouw , Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin! and - most recently - Christian Carion's First World War drama Merry Christmas, but the emphasis here, as with the main studios in Hamburg, has been on TV production, ranging from the German version of Ugly Betty, Verliebt in Berlin, to the MegaClever quiz show. Now, with the DFFF incentive scheme in place, owners Studio Hamburg have decided to invest in the construction of another sound stage, Studio H, with 2,400 square metres of floor space specifically for feature film production to be ready by the end of this year. Producers are also welcome at the traditional studios of the Berliner Union Film near Tempelhof Airport, which has concentrated on television contracts as well as constructing outside sets for productions, but is also open to film productions. Apart from stages, the company also provides editing suites, audio engineering and sound mixing facilities as well as an equipment rental service for location shoots. Backlot: Studio Babelsberg has a permanent exterior film set modelled after a typical Berlin street filmmaking technology," Woebcken adds. "We had fibre connections from the green screen stages to the art department so that they can work on set extensions whilst the film is being shot." Evidently, Warner Bros. were happy again with their experience at Babelsberg – the US major and producer Joel Silver had come there in 2005 for V For Vendetta - because they are now returning to shoot another production entitled Ninja Assassin despite the unfavourable Euro-Dollar exchange rate. Competition for Babelsberg has not been long coming with the establishment of new complexes in Hungary, Spain and
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Bulgaria and others on the horizon in Poland and elsewhere. Woebcken pointed out in an interview last year, however, that "Alicante, for example, is probably the most modern studio at the moment, but they don't have the track record or the expertise in set construction and logistics to do big films. The crews and talent pool aren't there." On the other side of Berlin, meanwhile, another production complex can be found at Studio Berlin Adlershof, which is part of the Studio Hamburg group and consists of 13 studios with total floor space of 13,000 square metres. The existing stages were used in the past for such films as Paul W. Anderson's Resident Evil, Peter Bogdanovich's The
Moreover, VCC Perfect Pictures' two studios and the effects centre's three studios on the Babelsberg lot both benefited last year from the "overflow" of work coming to the studio complex with Speed Racer. They were ideally equipped for a VFX production where the actors were playing out scenes in front of green screens.
In the mix The variety of locations available, the range of studios and the financial possibilities are not the only reasons to come to the Berlin-Brandenburg region. As Petra Mueller, managing director responsible for location marketing at the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg points out, "with companies like VCC, CinePostproduction, Cineplus, Koppfilm, Elektrofilm and many more, there are important postproduction service
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service for its cameras, lenses and accessories, and opened a branch office and store on the Babelsberg studio lot in April to better serve international productions shooting there. In addition, it has expanded its range of activities by taking over the Schwarzfilm postproduction house, which is involved in DI, negative cutting, telecine and film recording, among other things. ARRI Schwarzfilm Berlin's DI grading suite, with a 47 square metre screen and seating for 23, is one of the largest in Europe and equipped with a 2K digital projector for cinema quality grading. Recent productions handled include Little Shark's Hardcover, Senator Film's Whisky mit Vodka and Columbia Pictures' The International. Another two new grading suites have been opened, one for SD and the other for HD TV work, plus a third suite is planned to go into operation from May 2008 for transfer into 2K.
Punchy: a shot of Basis Berlin's foley studio
companies in the region. Whether you are looking for special effects, animation or digital production, Berlin-Brandenburg offers professional and creative services for all formats." Germany's largest postproduction house CinePostproduction offers, at its Geyer Berlin branch, film labs with high capacities and digital labs with state-of-the-art technology for DI workflow including deliveries of DCPs. The services range from film and digital dailies and high quality film scanning, to colour grading in Lustre-equipped suites fitted with digital cinema projectors, and visual effects. Current projects include The Last Station, starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer in Michael Hoffman's drama about Tolstoi. ARRI naturally has an outpost in Berlin, offering a rental
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Moreover, in cooperation with the ARRI HQ in Munich, ARRI Schwarzfilm Berlin offers the whole range of services for 3perf shooting, from the rental of 3-perf ARRI cameras through postproduction in the lab to the DI. "Schwarzfilm coming together with ARRI has definitely been a boon for Berlin-Brandenburg as a production hub," says VFX consultant Manfred Buettner who began work in April as head of studies at the newly established Babelsberg Film School, which will be focussing on the training of the next generation of animation and visual effects specialists to meet the local industry's needs. As Buettner explains, there is scope for growth in the region's visual effects field in order for them to handle bigger international projects. They can range from established companies like Elektrofilm and Koppfilm to a one-man with a laptop, but he sees the need for a larger facility or collaboration between existing companies to be established.
Koppfilm, for example, has specialised over the years on HD production and postproduction - it was one of the partners on Alexander Sokurov's internationally praised one-shot film Russian Ark - and has a reputation for its innovative approach to be on the cutting edge of technology. The company handled, for example, the HD online, colour grading, and VFX for Julie Delpy's Two Days In Paris and the HD shooting, HD onlining, colour grading, and VFX for Thomas Grube's Trip to Asia which had its world premiere at the Berlinale this year. In addition, Koppfilm often comes onboard selected projects as a co-producer with its services including Matthias Luthhardt's Cannes film Pingpong or Volker Koepp's documentary Sons. The quality of the sound postproduction facilities are also of a high standard: Babelsberg Postproduktion, now part of the Elektrofilm Group, was responsible, for instance, for the sound recording and mix for Stefan Ruzowitzky's Second World War drama The Counterfeiters which won the Academy Award for best foreign language film this year. Elektrofilm has five recording studios, two mixing studios and nine editing stations at its disposal, and the audio workstations are ProTools, Fairlight and Augan, all server connected systems Meanwhile, BASISBerlin, based in the Oberbaum City media quarter, has built up a strong reputation in the areas of sound design, editing, recording and rerecording, including a highend foley stage and a mixing studio working with Digidesign Icon D-Control and Protools 7 HD5 technology. BASIS credits include the John Malkovich-starrer Mutant Chronicles and Luigi Falorni's Berlin competition film Heart of Fire, and it has worked most recently on such films as Wim Wenders' latest feature The Palermo Shooting and video artist Shirin Neshat's feature debut Women Without Men.
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innovation
Ronford-Baker Atlas
Ronford-Baker Slider
Ronford Baker: One of The UK Greats We're starting to look at some of the great innovators within the UK film and TV business. This issue we focus on Ronford Baker, well known throughout the world for their crafted tripods and tripod heads. Grip Rupert Lloyd Parry GBCT takes a close look at the company. Jeff Lawrence, a precision engineer and now the owner of Ronford-Baker is an extremely modest man. He is one of the unsung heroes of our business. His unyielding attention to detail and beautiful craftsmanship are recognised worldwide, and hardly a film is shot that doesn't have one of his products on set. He's been a pivotal figure in the design and production of Ronford-Baker equipment for 40 years and last year became the owner of the Ronford-Baker company. Ron Ford and Harry Baker formed their company in 1966. Camera servicing and repair in the sixties had been a very ad hoc affair, and the two met when Harry worked for Tiki engineering. A few years later Ron, who was supplying equipment for The World of Susie Wong, had a problem with a dolly, which Harry serviced at home in his garage. It was there that the foundations for RonfordBaker were made. Films were traditionally shot for many years using wooden tripods. This was fine for a while, although the wooden tripod had one universal flaw, the wood swelled when immersed in water. This made them difficult to work with and when Ron was searching for a solution for the upcoming production of Ryan's Daughter he teamed up with Harry. Harry and his team devised a product so simple and beautifully functional that it would hardly change over the next forty years. Their combination of aluminium and stainless steel tripod legs became so popular that sales of their different types have now streaked past 20,000 units, and this has become the benchmark against which any competitors are measured.
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Although the original plan was for the two to form a company repairing and servicing cameras, engineering quickly became the main focus. Ron would move on in 1972, but by that time the Ronford-Baker label had become so synonymous with quality that his name would forever remain on all future products. In need of premises Harry's brother-in-law, who ran a milk delivery service, offered the two spaces at his dairy. They moved in with three young machinists, one of which was Jeff Lawrence. Forty years later the company is still there, the number of machinists has swelled and business is thriving.
visited Jeff with a rough drawing and the need for a simple solution to a problem, you've missed a trick. His meticulous and thoughtful approach to bespoke camera rigs makes him one of the most useful numbers in any grip's mobile phone. From machining a single nut to producing a complex tracking system, once the project has been left in his capable hands you can guarantee that a swiftly-made, beautifully-crafted and totally reliable piece of equipment will be handed back to you.
Not only does Ronford-Baker produce reliable products, but those products are also always pieces of sculpture in their own right. There is something enormously satisfying and tactile about having a scribble on the back of a call sheet transformed into a practical and faultless piece of engineering. Arriving at the dairy for Jeff to hand over his latest creation is very similar to that first moment you sit in a new car. The most rewarding part, even if he is just machined a replacement bolt, it still feels like being handed the keys to a Ferrari.
The unrivalled reliability of their heads has meant that classic designs like the Fluid 7 and 2015 have been, and still are, an intrinsic part of any filmmaker's equipment list. It's hard to imagine what life would be like without the influence of Ronford-Baker. With the new generation of Atlas heads proving just as popular as the original designs the company is going from strength to strength. Their recent introduction of the Atlas 30 has proved particularly successful, and embraces the need for a head designed expressly for a blossoming High Definition market. The company hasn't stopped there, and they now produce an unrivalled selection of camera support solutions, grip equipment and camera accessories. All the major UK rental houses rely of Jeff's unique skills, ingenuity and prompt quality service. Some of Ronford-Baker's current projects are Moose bars, Base plates and other accessories for the new Red camera. Over the years the company has tackled a huge variety of camera handling issues. Jeff and his technicians' ingenious approaches have always meant solutions that add an extra dimension to the original brief. It is his great understanding of what we, as camera crews need, coupled with his ability to think outside 'the box' that has so often made our life easier on set. For those who haven't
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FEATURE
on the job
Explosive: Direct Line ads were inspired by the final scene of Antonioni's Zabriskie Point Every now and then a DP gets thrown something challenging. It's even more challenging when you are also the director. No more so than the idea from creatives Ian Brassett and David Anderson at M&C Saatchi in London. They were inspired by the final scene of Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point, which captures a house exploding in beautiful slow motion set to the music of Pink Floyd. Debris glides through the air in a surreal, psychedelic way. They wanted to shoot cars nose diving, cascades of water falling onto furniture, hundreds of bricks dropping on cars and wrecking balls smashing walls. All of this was to be placed in a non-specific white room; something resembling an art gallery and was to be shot at 1,000fps. Quite a departure for the insurance company Direct Line, yes the one with the red phone. From the moment we received the call from Graham Fink (creative director at M&C Saatchi), Paul McNally (producer) and I had to put the whole project together in three weeks. Our immediate concerns were, a) what format to shoot it on, and b) which studio to use. But technical questions about water, pyrotechnics and the natural forces of gravity and water also needed an answer: what height, for example, did we need to drop the car? In terms of format, I felt that exposing for white walls and water highlights would look good on film as it has the latitude. Many of the current video formats such as the Phantom V5, Tornado and Weiss camera systems have very small latitude. (Having used a Phantom V5, I knew it to be only about two stops.) The Tornado not only needs a Quantel suite and operator on set, but there is also a 'delayed live' in the viewfinder making operation difficult. And none of those cameras come close to the quality of film, since they are basically SD video resolution. But to light such a large area for a Photosonics film camera gave me another headache - I'd not shot such a large area before at 1,000 fps. I would have to light up to stops of between 32 and a half and 45 and a half for the Photosonics systems with the slow Pentax stills lenses. The other big problem was film's instability for post work as well as the unreliability of the whole set-up when you came to turn over. Building the sets up in post had its problems too: all the detritus bouncing off the walls would mean that, in trying to put it all back together, it would end up looking like an event created in post and the creative team wanted a real event 'in camera' just as they had in Zabriskie Point.
Beautiful Destruction (a homage to Zabriskie Point)
For a time I went down the Photosonics film camera route; the lighting budget, meanwhile was getting pretty big, and kit had to come from two different rental houses. The obvious thing to both Paul and me was to do all this out of doors - but not in England in December. The two giant sets were finally constructed on a back-lot in Cape Town. In South Africa the sun's path is very high in summer, so once the sets were silked we could get the stop and have a pretty big window for matching the light for any plate shots. We angled the sets to the best sunpath and built a 40'x40' frame and prayed that the notorious winds in Cape Town would not get up too much. Shooting outside made sense for things like the height of the car drop which in a studio would have been a mere 25' or so. Finally I looked at one more non-film camera, which was the very new Phantom HD. I went over to Pirate (the only guys who had it in the UK) to check it out. The simple test was to point it outside and look at the exposure across their car park in sunlight. Reassuringly it had the latitude to deal with the whites and was a true HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) high-speed camera, having the resolution and massive 14-bit colour depth to make the images look good. This camera made the whole shoot possible. We did not need as much light as a Photosonics film camera, and the quality and latitude were good enough to get beautiful images and not compromise the photography. We decided on using two Phantom HD cameras - shipping another one over from LA. Another great feature with video of course is knowing you've got the shot straight away: with
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ISSUE 27
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
FEATURE
the Phantom HD, playback couldn't be better - immediate and on an HD monitor. Further, the playback monitor has a timeline across the bottom to allow ins and outs to be marked for cropping the take at source resulting in quicker downloads and less wastage in post. The digital option gave us the facility to review takes quickly and without that the on-set decisions would have been hard to make. On such a tight schedule having to wait for film rushes clearance the next day could have been disastrous, let alone the potential for negative damage. Being able to get rushes to the editor (Ray Stephens) who was cutting with us on the shoot was imperative to finishing off the films in time; two of which had to be on air before the shoot was finished! Dropping the car on its nose was an event where no one knew quite what was going to happen. We all imagined/hoped that the car would shatter, with pieces of bodywork and detritus flying off which would look spectacular at 1,000fps. Using a giant construction crane we took the car to about 100ft up and dropped it on two cables attached to the bottom of the set. Engines were removed and all the structure of the cars loosened as much as possible. We set pyros to trigger on impact, to help blow out the doors and the wheels. But pyros are tricky to disguise and can spoil the naturalism of the event. (If you put too much in the result is more like an explosion and the flame has to be removed later.) We squeezed the 40'x40' silk over the set. Of all things, the release trigger for the car drop failed, and the wind picked up, swinging the car around. I closed my eyes at this point and prayed. But then the trigger worked; the car hit its target and compressed like a sheet of water. Nothing much flew off and the compression on impact had minimised the effect of the pyros but when we played the whole thing back at 1,000fps with all the glass and disfiguring metal we entered a different world - the suspended reality of high-speed photography. It was quite simply stunning “beautiful destruction” in every way. We solved the problem of the lack of car parts flying around with a series of plates built around the final impact of the car. We
on the job
employed a mixture of pyro and good oldfashioned filmmaking, as the SFX guys went up ladders pulling bits off and throwing them towards the camera. We did have to resort to some post-production, but not before getting 90% of the action 'in camera'. The second sequence had a new set of difficulties. Water is always a problem on set and never goes where you want it to go. The post-production options for the “Splash” film (a room set within a 'gallery' space with thousands of gallons of water dropping into it) were a lot more restricted, as it is a lengthy process to comp in water. It was tricky enough getting the water to drop on the set in the right place, much less creating an even waterfall entering the top of frame and dropping without any fracture at the beginning. All the water was poured from four giant tip tanks cascading down onto a wooden 'sill', which creates the spread of the waterfall. In hindsight it might have been easier if poured from one tank. We would then not have had the problem of trying to co-ordinate the four manual tippers. Getting the right amount of water and tip speed was critical. The water picks up a lot of air when it hits the 'sill' and trying to get the right amount of backlight to pick out the water was another case of trial and error. Just when we had it all worked out there would have to be another adjustment and another room set would be trashed! However, no-one said it was going to be easy and I think that the end results speak for themselves, especially when seen widescreen at the cinema.
Suspension of disbelief: this is going to be one hell of a ride rendition, at least with this generation of HD cameras, is never quite as good. However, in the case of this shoot, a true HD camera like the Phantom HD opened up the possibility of high-speed photography that would not have been achievable before both in terms of budget and time. The Phantom HD allows for a much bigger area to be shot at high speed and opens so many creative possibilities film can't offer both budget-wise and technically. The Phantom holds the whites and can handle highlights in water, and I was very
pleased with the way the results look. It still has that very sharp HD look but then this was a high-concept glossy commercial and the sharpness worked well for the project. John Pardue, director of photography. The series of eight commercials were made for Direct Line Insurance, produced by Paul Mcnally. The Production Company was Frivolous Films @ Serious Pictures. Agency M&C Saatchi, London.
Pyrotechnic work was often very minimal and just enough to create the destruction. The SFX team was helmed by Max Poolman and crossed over into Gideon Van Schoor's stunt co-ordination. Michael Ganss from Pirate looked after the technical side of the cameras with the help of data capture guru Graham Austin. When we shot exploding car parts, Michael connected a 'start trigger' to both cameras and the explosive charges. By pressing one button, the cameras started together followed immediately by an explosion. For me 35mm is still unsurpassed both for its latitude and the rendering of colour and skin tones. High definition is always a bit too sharp and a bit too hard for me. Colour
Nose dive: the car compressed like a sheet of water
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UK
gbct
CineMasters of Great Britain The Cine Guilds of Great Britain has been dedicated to promoting and maintaining the highest technical standards within the UK film industry. Over the years the GBCT has been carefully looking after the interests of camera technicians, through training, raising and maintaining standards and quality of membership. Since its inception the GBCT has held that view as the main driving force, and a large part of the effort is dedicated to training and increasing skills overall. Part of that is ongoing knowledge and another part is training the new people who are joining our everchanging industry.
colleges and schools with an interest in films and filmmaking to benefit from the experience and knowledge of our Guild members-those skilled people who have actually worked within the film industry. The GBCT is an organisation that holds high quality and training in high esteem, and is one of the Cine Guilds who are able to provide input to CineMasters classes.
Once again our industry is going through interesting and extremely turbulent times, so it is now worth examining what we are good at and what we can achieve from here on in. May 2007 saw the Cine Guilds set up CineMasters, a project specifically designed to enable the people with the vast experience and knowledge to be able to pass this on to future camera crews.
We are organising courses at the National Film and Television School for those who feel they may benefit from training for this. The scheme has been well received and will bridge the gap between the enthusiasm of those wanting to join the industry and those who have spent their lives making movies commercials and television programmes.”
Academies, UK and US Universities,
Chairman Joe Dunton MBE BSC says, “The Cine Guilds consists of professional craftsmen and technicians dedicated to promoting and maintaining the highest technical standards within the UK Film Industry, both on set and through practical training.
The Cine Guilds consists of the following organisations: The Association of Motion
Picture Sound (AMPS), The British Film Designers Guild (BFDG), The British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), The Guild of British Camera Technicians (GBCT), The Guild of British Film and Television Editors
(GBFTE), The Guild of Location Managers (GLM) and The Guild of Stunt and Action Co-ordinators (GSAC). For more information visit, www.cinemasters.org.uk and www.gbct.org.
Wheel 2 Reel Wheel 2 Reel has been testing its new tracking vehicle at Pinewood Studios. The picture shows Alpha Grip demonstrating the waterproof covers on its Techno 30'. This workhorse of a ten wheeler has a V10, 7 litre, 420bhp, supercharged engine and will comfortably accommodate a Techno 50'. The main back platform is 12ft x 8ft (this can also be extended by another 3ft) and the front platform 8ft x 3ft. With a four door quad cab, air ride suspension and a 5.5kw generator it's an extremely well laid out vehicle. www.wheel2reel.com
GBCT – The chairman speaks We s h o u l d b e proud of what camera technicians of the UK have achieved… and must defend our reputation and position with v i g o u r. Hello again everyone. It's medication time. If only we could fix our business with a couple of tablets. I tried just now to write a piece about a production company trying to slash pay rates. It all got a bit controversial, so I scrapped it. But we must all be aware of not allowing standards to fall, and the rates of pay to fall with them. As a guild or a society, we need to be vigilant and stick together through these tough times. If we allow ourselves to be drawn down a slippery slope it could be a very long slow climb back up. We need to maintain our training with great
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care so that our camera technicians continue to be acknowledged and valued as the best in the world. We should be rightfully proud of what the film and television drama camera technicians of the UK have achieved over the years, and we must defend our reputation and position with vigour. In this respect, perhaps it would be a good idea to talk with production companies and discuss these matters. What are your thoughts? Jamie Harcourt GBCT Chairman GBCT
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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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gbct
New Technology and Shooting Methods Expanding on what I saw at the 2008 BSC Equipment show, it was apparent that in terms of new technology most of it is mainly being developed in post production, recording technology and lighting, writes John Keedwell. In recent years many great advances have been made in LED lights, sensor technology, film stocks, lenses, film cameras and recording devices. This means we are living in exciting times, as new developments can bring advances and are only limited to what our imagination can produce. However, these great tools are simply that, merely advanced tools to be used to convey a story, whatever that may be. As filmmakers we are storytellers, in whatever genre we are working in, from movies to documentaries to commercials. As camera technicians in the GBCT, we constantly have to learn new skills and investigate new technologies to keep ahead. Never before has there been such a change in the workflow of shooting, through to post production and onwards to eventual theatrical release. Looking at some of the specification of modern cameras, you may be mistaken in thinking that a new computer had been invented. The DALSA Evolution, for example, has a 16-bit digital output, giving 12+ stops of exposure latitude, and the recording medium is either hard drive or Codex Portable recorder, not tape. The actual method of recording and the disciplines on-set are all now different on digital acquisition, at the moment there are a series of different technologies and methods competing with each other, much like the VHS / Beta and more recently the Blu Ray / HD DVD battle. The Red camera highlighted this, a camera with a fantastic 4K resolution and image quality, at such a low price (for the camera body anyway) that put it in the reach of many more
It's good to talk: Louis Philippe Capelle in conversation with Lester Dunton, Joe Dunton and Peter Biziou BSC at the BSC Equipment Show.
CAPTION NEEDED FOR THIS IMAGE: Dalsa Origin on Movietech stand
people to buy. (At least those who were on the waiting list early enough) This camera was fantastic and ground breaking in many ways to find such value for money in a camera. However it hasn't change the fact that all the traditional skills of lighting, camera operating, focus pulling, camera movement, continuity, quality sound, and the onto post acquisition discipline were still very much required to maintain the quality in a production. In many ways these skills are in fact more important than ever before, as the camera is able to resolve such detail, and the audience is now used to looking at high resolution images on home TV screens and computers. It is just as important now, if not more so, to maintain the structure and chain of command within the camera crew and to train accordingly. When we look at a camera such as the DALSA Origin, a 4K camera that is as large as they come, at 34 lbs in weight, the discipline of how that camera is moved around is vitally important, so a competent experienced grip is required. To get the best from the camera also requires a great deal of skill in make up, lighting, camera operation and movement. The recording and post production workflow is also something more akin to a military operation, with huge amounts of data storage and clones needing to be produced. All this needs to be learnt, and a workflow structure set up so that it is easy for trained people to move from one production to another without having to re-learn everything again each time. In a world of predominantly freelancers, this is a very difficult and perilous way to go if not implemented correctly. This can be daunting to some who have been working with the more traditional workflow of 35mm film cameras, the onset workflow and post production route are very different, and in fact many of the issues have still to be worked out. In recent times the Thomson Viper, whilst being a very innovative camera that can still produce magnificent images, the on set recording workflow was originally via the “Directors Friend”. This assumed a camera crew were able and willing to cart around a module about the size of an electronic organ, and set it up each time with the associated cables and correct viewing environment. The monitors were only a representation of what was being shot, so it quickly became an expensive doorstop.
The post shoot storage was also an issue, and still is. If the whole of the shoot is to be stored in some way, how will it be stored and who will pay to do so? In post production, the way the images get to the final screen is now being radically overturned, as more and more digital post production is being implemented. Shooting on film is now increasingly being post produced on a digital platform, with the change in working practices to be introduced. This also brings another issue to the fore, and reminds me of a demonstration I saw in Burbank at the Band Pro HD event in December 2007. Old negatives of the original Star Trek TV series were all being re-scanned with the latest technology for a future release. In the edit suite the images were like they were shot the day before, clean, vibrant, and superb quality, all from a piece of negative that was shot perhaps in 1966, or 42 years ago! The storage of those negatives was obviously well maintained, and the technology I saw was also at the cutting edge of today's technology which made the images as good as they were, however it is also down to the storage medium, film negative. With today electronic storage and the increasing demands on more and more information to be recorded, will the “negative” of some of today's productions be available in 42 years time at the same quality? I fear not. Will we lose a whole generation of films that could not be stored electronically in some way? All this brings me back to my original points, to have a great looking image and story that people want to go and watch is even more of a challenge than it ever was, with competition from computers, TV, and even DVD's and the weather that may halt someone going out to watch a movie at a theatre. Stories come first, the keystone of the whole process, then the shooting of the story by talented crew members, and post production and distribution of the images by a series of competent professionals. To safeguard the future of the business we must invest in training people in the new practices, and maintain high standards at every level, whilst welcoming the new technologies and finding the methods and workflow that can be introduced that makes the transition to digital post production readily available and easy to follow and implement.
The GBCT section is written and compiled by John Keedwell GBCT ISSUE 26
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FEATURE
tribute
John Lee 27th March 1932 - 5th April 2008 It's an honour to be asked by Anna to speak today. I knew John for near on 40 years, but I know that many of you here today knew him longer. And better.
charge of scaffolding, was turfed out of his corner of the yard to make way for the filming of Steptoe and Son. Apparently, very little set dressing was necessary.
It's hard to talk of John without mentioning his brother Benny. There was “Fred and Ginger”, “Eric and Ernie”, “Gilbert and Sullivan”, but for all of us in the British film industry, for three wonderful decades, we had “John and Benny”.
From the biscuit factory to the old London Weekend studios at Wembley, to their purchase of the prestigious Shepperton Studios and Panavision. With Joe Dunton's cameras and Lee Filters, they were the glue that held the entire film industry together. At their height, John and Benny's company was the biggest in the British film industry and the film lighting company the biggest in the world, as it spawned Lee Italia, France, Malta, Israel and Lee America. During these heady times the two brothers remained the same - down to earth, approachable, constantly generous and always ready to buy you a drink.
They were astute businessmen, visionaries, fellow filmmakers, scallywags, compatriots and brothers-in-arms. They were outspoken, gregarious and, for good or ill, not always politically correct. I'm sure all of you have your own connections and your own stories of John and Benny - most of which I'm sure the Vicar would not want repeated here at St Nicholas's John and Benny's story is a beautiful one which defines a unique period in the history of the British film industry, and the triumph of two working class boys who had ambitions and a few dreams - dreams they allowed the rest of us to share. John and Benny - Brindley and Brandon, as they called one another - began as electricians at MGM. John, the bodybuilder and weightlifter, was the strongest spark in the studio, as he climbed ladders, tanned and handsome, with a brute over one shoulder and a coil of copper cable over the other - well, that's how John told it. They then struck out on their own renting their own lights and - as legend has it - sometimes, other peoples too. The director Michael Winner tells the story that he was once given a Lee's light, a pup, as a present. He said he knew it was a Lee's light because it said Mole Richardson on the side. This is refuted by the great and wonderful Ron Pearce who says that that was impossible, because they spent ages scraping off the red Mole Richardson paint and painting them Lee's yellow. Setting up first at Goldhawk Road they expanded rapidly and bought a disused, derelict Askey's biscuit factory on Kensal Road, which they also turned into a film studio. This scruffy, wonderful place saw the making of some of the seminal films of the period. It was said to be Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor's favourite “studio” which puzzled many in Los Angeles who had never heard of it. Oliver Reed, dressed in his Teddy Boy outfit from Tommy propped up the bar with Peter O'Toole in the 'Lads of the Village' pub opposite. John's uncle Duff, in
Benny was the pragmatist and John the tireless salesman, cheerleader and unquenchable optimist for all that Lees had done and strove to do in the future. To list the hundreds of films Lees have worked on is to recount the history of the film industry from Star Wars to Reds, from Ryan's Daughter to Chariots of Fire. The list is endless. The two brothers instilled in all of their people an ethos, a philosophy, a code of behaviour, a way of life based on loyalty and trust. John and Benny gave a ferocious loyalty and got it back. Lee's sparks, their work ethic and personality, became the heart of every film. John and Benny wanted films to be made. They willed films to be made. In difficult times, they gave when other companies did not. They gave away their equipment to get films made. The producer David Puttnam says, some of our films would never have been made at all, but for John and Benny.
Digital: we have to learn new skills and investigate new technologies to keep ahead If we were being filmed in this church now, Lees would light it. Maybe with one of John's revolutionary Helium balloon lights he championed to the end. When Lees lit St Paul's for the royal wedding of Charles and Diana, the poster said, ”Built by Wren, Lighting by Lees.” Someone had scribbled on the bottom, 'Drinks by John and Benny' Everyone shares with Anna and the family in the loss of this unique and special man. John had but one brother, Benny. But all of us who were touched by his life - to all of us - he was our brother too.
Sir Alan Parker's Eulogy for John Lee St Nicholas Church, Taplow – 21/4/2008
They grew their company but there was a genuine concern for people in the industry. They allowed young cameramen and filmmakers to experiment, and in so doing created an entire generation of cinematographers who were devoted to them. Not just cameramen but operators, assistant directors, producers and directors - myself included. Their generosity knew no bounds. For years they ploughed money into the development of an alternative to the cumbersome brute, which resulted in John and Benny's Oscar for technical achievement in 1987 for the development of the CSI lamp.
Dougie Slocombe and John at the BSC Summer Lunch 2007
L-R: Benny and John Lee receiving scientific academy award certificates; John with Kirk Douglas; John with Bob Hoskins and Benny in Cannes
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ISSUE 27
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER
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ISSUE 26
BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER