British Cinematographer - Issue 31

ISSUE

31

JANUARY 2009

MESMERIC #20: CAMERA CREATIVE DOUBLE OSCAR-WINNER CHRIS MENGES BSC TAKES US INSIDE THE READER

ALSO INSIDE … #11: CLOSE UPS – ANTHONY DOD MANTLE DFF BSC ON SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, GARY SHAW ON MOON, AND TRISTAN OLIVER ON FANTASTIC MR FOX #14: LIGHTING SPECIAL – ILLUMINATING INSIGHTS FOR 2009 #22: ON THE JOB – THE HEAT AND DUST OF AUSTRALIA AS CAPTURED BY MANDY WALKER #30: MEET THE NEXT WAVE – SHANE DALY

RRP: £5.00

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 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.

Cover Photograph: Image from The Weinstein Company’s The Reader lensed by Chris Menges BSC

>> Editorial Team

>> C O N T E N T S UK P03 P05/28 P08 P11 P19 P30 P34

President's Perspective: Sue Gibson BSC says the British film industry needs the future generation to continue its history of excellence in cinema Production / Post & Techno News: the latest news concerning cinematographers Who's Shooting Who?: everyone's favourite guide to which DPs are working where Close-Ups: Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC, Gary Shaw, and Tristan Oliver To Live & Let DI: discover who's delivering the DI grades right now Meet The New Wave: Shane Daly… and the tale of the exploding prop bag GBCT News: the chairman's statement, plus other news from the Guild

INTERNATIONAL P24 P25 P26 P31

Letter from America: Richard P. Crudo ASC says cinematographers must “adapt or die” F-Stop Hollywood: awards season starts, and there's plenty of British talent on view Plus Camerimage 2008 Diary: sprouts are not the only amazing discovery at this year's festival!

IMAGO News: Nigel Walters BSC, president of IMAGO, rounds up the federation's activities for 2008-09

FEATURES P20 P22 P14

Camera Creative: Chris Menges BSC on The Reader On The Job: Mandy Walker on Australia Shooting The Future: Lighting up 2009 - a look at the latest illuminations on offer

British Society of Cinematographers – Board Members: President, Sue Gibson. Immediate Past President, Gavin Finney. Vice Presidents, Joe Dunton MBE, Alec Mills, Chris Seager, Nigel Walters. Governors, Sean Bobitt, John de Borman, John Daly, Harvey Harrison, Tony Imi, Phil Meheux, Nic Morris, Tony Spratling, Mike Southon, Derek Suter, Robin Vidgeon. Secretary/Treasurer, Frances Russell.

Guild of British Camera Technicians – Board Members: Jamie Harcourt (Chairman), Trevor Coop (Immediate Past Chairman), Caroline Sax (Vice Chairman), John Keedwell, Steve Brooke-Smith, Shirley Schumacher, Jane Jackson, Tim Potter (Vice Chairman), Keith Mead, Rupert Lloyd Parry, Jason Coop, Sam Goldie, Suzy McGeachan (Honorary Treasurer)

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).

Revolutionary Road

Carolyn Giardina: is a freelance journalist based in the US. She previously served as the technology reporter at Hollywood Reporter, the editor of Film & Video, and as senior editor of post-production at SHOOT. Her work has also appeared in IBC Daily News, Digital Cinema, Post and Below The Line.

Dear Readers 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

John Keedwell: the GBCT's Eyepiece Editor, is a documentary and commercials cameraman who has worked on many productions around the world. He crosses over in both film and tape productions and has great knowledge of the new formats and their methods of production.

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.

Rachael Turk is a Sydney-based freelancer and the former editor of Inside Film, Australia's filmmaker magazine. She has a TV series in development with Australia's national broadcaster ABC. Email rachael.turk@gmail.com

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Happy New Era to all our current and future readers. The British filmmaking industry might be on its knees, but British cinematographers are currently standing tall. A look at the nominees during awards season tells you a lot, and a visit to your local Odeon will reveal even more.

From the posters in the foyer and the 'Coming Soon' trailers, BSC members have shot more than a handful of the current and forthcoming attractions.

And they cover the whole spectrum of filmed entertainment too, from easy viewing to the not-so-easy talking Chihuahuas in Beverley Hills, madcap French police inspectors, hope in the slums of Mumbai, frustrated marriages in the 'burbs, and post-Holocaust tales that will take you into the heart of darkness.

It's clear, more so than ever, that if you want a half-decent career in filmmaking, you have to think outside of the box, outside of these shores, spread your wings and to go international. It's a globalised business, so you have to think big too.

But at what cost to you? And your family? Questions like these, questions about the cinematographer's very raison d'etre, are high on the agenda, and we'll be exploring this in more detail, getting inside the heads of cinematographers, and what makes them tick. Have a look at what Chris Menges and Anthony Dod Mantle have to say in this very edition on these subjects, and you'll see what I mean.

Time and time again at the Plus Camerimage Festival last November

cinematographers of all walks told us that the biggest challenge facing them isn't the choice of camera, the backend workflow or the DI, but getting back to the art of storytelling.

See the salient comments made by Tom Stern about “technology mud” in our Camerimage Diary, and the pithy comment from Richard Crudo in his Letter From America, as he questions “Do we create from a place in our hearts, or a USB port? It's hard to tell sometimes.”

We have some great content, or should I say, 'feature attractions', lined up for you in the coming year, reflecting the world of cinematography as it stands today and tomorrow.

Good luck to everyone who's up for an award this year. We'll be watching.

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president’s perspective

The next generation I write this having just returned from the Plus Camerimage festival of cinematography in Poland, feeling inspired, although hoarse, numb, nonplussed, and just a little exhausted from not enough sleep.

The inspiration came from being surrounded by so many cinematographers, directors, and like-minded people, who truly love the cinema and who are determined to pursue their goals of excellence, and ensure that what they know and have learnt is passed on to future generations. Unusually, everybody is there because they really want to be there - to exchange views, pass on ideas, learn new techniques, and to see new equipment, all in an atmosphere of open collaboration. Workshops, seminars and presentations were in abundance, with such an atmosphere of creativity. It went on well into the early (or not so early) hours every day.

I was surprised at the lack of student films from the UK. The NFTS has always been seen as one of the best film schools in the world, so where were their films at Camerimage?

I'm hoarse from talking to so many old and new friends, students and award-winning cinematographers - all being totally accessible to each other.

I'm numb from sitting on cinema seats for many hours. I was on the Jury of the Student Etude Competition, and had to endure those seats for the best part of 12 hours in one day. I must say the standard of most of the student films was exceptional. I remember the films I made as a student were by no means as accomplished as those on offer at Camerimage, so obviously the film schools and academies must be doing something right. Some were little gems that shone out and, believe me, they had to - we saw 31 films that

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day. However, I do have some reservations about what I saw, and what shocked me most was the level and amount of gratuitous violence that appeared. Maybe it's a reflection of our society that students expect to portray horrific scenes with as much blood and gore as possible, so much so I had to look away at times. I hasten to add the worst offender wasn't a prize-winner.

I am nonplussed, because I was surprised at the lack of student films from the UK at Camerimage. Was this because the selectors didn't find them acceptable candidates, or did the film academies just not submit them? If it was the latter then I urge them to apply next year, as this is a truly international festival and one of the very best places to showcase the talent I know we have in this country. We showed some wonderful films from our screen academies at the last BSC New Cinematographer's Night last November.

The NFTS has always been seen as one of the best film schools in the world, so where were their films at Camerimage? Do they regard a festival that positively celebrates cinematography not worthy of being a showcase for their films? It wouldn't surprise me, as it seems the attitude of the mainstream industry sometimes thinks cinematography is just a “craft” and not a creative discipline.

For instance, Sean Bobbitt's film Hunger wasn't there as the producers thought the Marrakesh Film Festival was a far more prestigious an event than Camerimage.

Was it the cost of making a 35mm print that put them off, or just apathy on their part? Films can be submitted on DVD and then a print made if they are selected. I'm sure they could find sponsorship if they were chosen, as the British film industry needs the future generation to continue our history of excellence in cinema.

There weren't any student films from the USA either, and I think this situation needs redressing. The support of industry professionals from the USA and UK was in abundance at Camerimage, and it's our duty to encourage the screen academies not to hide their lights under a bushel. Not only is it a place to have their work applauded, it's also a great opportunity for them to meet, listen, and talk to some of the greatest masters of cinematography in the world. Roger Deakins, Gabriel Beristain, who are both past students of NFTS, Pierre Lhomme, Stephen Goldblatt, John Toll and Nigel Walters, President of Imago, were all there, as well as director Alan Parker - all of them accessible and happy to give freely of their knowledge and wisdom. If they were able to give

The British film industry needs the future generation to continue our history of exc e l l e n c e i n cinema.

seminars to individual schools this would probably take years to organise, but there they all were either giving seminars, or available just to talk to. What a golden opportunity for students to take advantage of, and many did, filling the foyer of the Centum Hotel every night, catching the celebrities like moths as they arrived back after another hard day of screenings and interviews. To those in a position to change this sad state of affairs please take heed. We think our students are worth encouraging, and having seen all the films on offer there I'm amazed why they weren't represented.

Although I wasn't at Camerimage for the whole week, and didn't manage to see all the films, nor attend all the workshops and seminars I wanted to, I must give some feedback about the Image Forum. It was a great success.

Well-attended, it promoted discussion and a buzz for the whole time I was there. It's time to get the broadcasters involved now and to let them take part too. They have demonstrated it's possible for competitors to collaborate and share information, so why not get them to join in. We all know the adage, “information is power” so come and get informed.

I'm sure you will be hearing more about this group, so watch this space.

Sue Gibson BSC President British Society of Cinematographers

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production news

BSC Operators' Night British Society of Cinematographers held its 57th Operators' Night at Elstree Studios on Friday December 12th. The guest of honour was Oscar-winning screenwriter, Ronald Harwood (The Dresser, The Pianist, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly) made Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1974 and president of the international PEN Club from 1993 to 1997. He was awarded the CBE in the 1999 Queen's New Year's Honours List for his services to literature. Harwood was the first Oscar-winning screenwriter to write a book solely about the craft of screenwriting, and he entertained the audience with a wonderfully amusing speech relevant to the camera department.

Among other guests, Sue Gibson BSC, the society's current president, paid tribute to visiting DPs Philippe Rousselot AFC ASC, who is shooting the Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jnr., and Dion Beebe ACS ASC who was working on Nine at Shepperton Studios, directed by Rob Marshall, and starring Daniel Day Lewis and the Oscar-winning Marion Cotillard.

The Bert Easey Technical Award was presented to Stan Miller of Rosco for the LED 'LitePad' HO system and for the ingenious Rosco View. The award was accepted by Mike Hall (ex-Rosco) on Miller's behalf.

John Daly BSC read the citation for The Charles Staffell Visual Effects award, which was presented to Peter Chiang, visual effects supervisor on films such as Stardust, The Bourne Ultimatum, Flyboys, United 93 and Pride and Prejudice.

The ARRI John Alcott Memorial Award was presented to BSC immediate past president, Gavin Finney BSC who, in the last year contributed most to furthering the Society's aims, upholding its standards, helping members to understand the jargon surrounding digital acquisition, and making it his aim to ensure the cinematographer has a voice when it comes to choosing on which format to shoot.

Presentation: (l to r) Sue Gibson, Gavin Finney, Ronald Harwood, Peter Chiang and Arthur Wooster BSC Alec Mills BSC read the citation for the BSC's Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Arthur Wooster BSC for his outstanding contribution to Second Unit Photography. The modest Wooster, though mortified to find himself the centre of attention, walked to the stage accompanied by opening sequence footage from The Living Daylights.

Sue Gibson BSC presented certificates to the society's newest members Robbie Ryan BSC (Red Road, Brick Lane), David Higgs BSC (RocknRolla, Lesbian Vampire Killers) and new associate member Gerry Vasbenter (steadicam operator Blood And Chocolate, Wild Child, The Duchess). Chris Seager BSC made a special presentation to the society's treasurer Frances Russell, who was assisted on the night

by Gemma Davies and Audra Woodburn.

Raffle prizes that helped to raise funds for the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund and Great Ormond Street Hospital, were donated by ARRI, Direct Lighting, Deluxe London, Filmgear Lighting, Fuji, Kodak, Panalux, Peter Macdonald BSC and Madelyn Most, Pinewood Studios and Technicolor.

BSC members bang the gong Members of the BSC are winning, and getting nominated for, a range of gongs during awards season. Amongst the winners of the 11th annual British Independent Film Awards at the end of November, was cinematographer Sean Bobbitt BSC, who won the Best Technical Achievement Award, sponsored by Skillset, for his work on Hunger. Bobbitt's cinematographic work has been variously described by critics as "breathtakingly beautiful" and "a work of cinematic art". The film, which was shot using 2-perf, also won the Camera d'Or at Cannes 2008 and features a scene lasting no less than 16 and a half minutes.

Also amongst the recent winners, was Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC, who won best cinematographer awards for Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle, at the 2008 Plus Camerimage Festival in Lodz, and at the 43rd National Society of Film Critics Awards held in New York. Dod Mantle, who is also being tipped for an Oscar nomination, described it as “a very exciting time”, when interviewed on BBC Radio 4.

Also, for the first time in its 23-year history, the ASC has nominated three BSC members for the 2009 ASC Outstanding Achievement Award in the feature film category, which will be presented on February 15th at the Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles. They include Dod Mantle, for Slumdog Millionaire, Roger Deakins for Revolutionary Road, and Chris Menges and Roger Deakins, who share a joint credit

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Hunger: earned Sean Bobbit a BIFA award for The Reader. The other nominees are Claudio Miranda for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Wally Pfister for The Dark Knight.

There have been two BSC nominees among the five finalists four times before, including Chris Menges and Tony Pierce-Roberts in the first year, but this is a first for a BSC trio.

This year's nominations are the eighth and ninth nominations for Deakins who earned top honours in 1995 for The Shawshank Redemption and in 2002 for The Man Who Wasn't There. It is the fourth nomination for Menges, the second for Pfister, and the first for Dod Mantle and Miranda.

CineMasters It was an interesting meet on Monday 8th December, in the Paul Hitchcock Room at Pinewood Studios. The subject was the Skillset Partnership with Pinewood and the LCC & EIM Academies to promote one of their new initiatives, the Set Crafts Apprenticeship Scheme. This apprenticeship scheme focuses on the unsung heroes of our film industry; the carpenters, plasterers, painters, grips and scenic artists, all of whom under this flagship will be tutored by practitioners of these crafts.

Ivan Dunleavy, on behalf of Pinewood Studios, was kind enough to present a cheque to the value of £10,000 towards the project. The other notable people present were Barbara Follett MP, Minister for the Creative Industries, who gave a wondrous speech but one that was somewhat naïve and ill-informed. The backbone of the film industry is like an army on the move supporting a highly talented and creative workforce, and as such is unique.

Unfortunately, by the time new Ministers appreciate this, and the importance of passing on the knowledge from one generation to another, they are moved on and we have to start the initiation process all over again, so no progress is ever made.

Dinah Caine OBE, CEO of Skillset, was very excited by the new partnership. For me, I was gratified to see that all our talks with the Ministers and Skillset Team and the advice we offered for the document A Bigger Picture has borne fruit. They have moved forward to initiate Academies, but we still have to push ahead with our Cine Masters scheme to insure that these Academies and the Colleges and Film Schools benefit from the hundreds of years of 'passed down' knowledge that exist within this film industry.

The CineMasters project, developed with funding from Skillset, provides both a means of passing on the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm of present film craftspeople to those wishing to work in the industry in the future, and a way to “spread the word” among interested people outside the industry about the wealth of talent and knowledge held in the industry by our Guild members.

With the assistance of Skillset, the Sector Skills Council for the film and media industries, a website has been set up at: www.cinemasters.org.uk. Visitors to the site can see a brief outline of how the departments that make up a film crew work, and check the professional credits (and awards) of the individual CineMasters who have agreed to join the scheme and make themselves available to talk to students about their lives and work.

I would like to say thank Sally Fisher and those technicians that come to our Cine Guilds meetings, giving up their time to uphold the standards in training and in the industry and I hope that we may all experience a brighter New Year.

Joe Dunton MBE, BSC Chairman Cine Guilds of Great Britain

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production news

BSC ASC honours

Picture by Thomas Napper

A new skills partnership including one of the world's pre-eminent film brands and one of the UK's leading film schools was launched recently, with the aim of giving a much needed boost to UK filmmaking.

McGarvey: over the moon at doing the double Seamus McGarvey BSC was recently invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers. The meteoric McGarvey, who was Oscar-nominated last year for Atonement, and whose next film The Soloist will be the featured in our March edition, was proposed by Roger Deakins BSC ASC, Dion Beebe ACS ASC, Amy Vincent ASC and Rodney Taylor ASC. He joins a small but distinguished list of BSC members who have achieved dual membership status. These are Gabriel Beristain, Roger Deakins, Stephen Goldblatt, Chris Menges, Doug Milsome, Tony Richmond and Peter Suschitzky. Whilst all the other BSC members were resident in UK when they were invited, both Menges and McGarvey remain UK based.

ASC honours Nolan Award-winning writer-producer-director Christopher Nolan will receive the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Board of Governors Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking.

Nolan will be feted during the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards celebration on February 15th.

Previous recipients of the ASC Board of Governors include Gregory Peck, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Robert Wise, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Altman, Warren Beatty, Stanley Donen, Norman Jewison, Irwin Winkler, Sydney Pollack, Ron Howard, and Annette Bening.

Nolan has earned a diverse range of credits, including such memorable films as Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight, a run-away hit at the 2008 box office, which earned rave reviews from critics.

Nolan was born in London. His father is English and his mother is a United States citizen. He was an avid movie fan and Super 8 mm film hobbyist during his youth in London and Chicago. One of his Super 8 films aired on the PBS affiliate in Chicago. He studied English literature at University College in London, where he met his future wife and co-producer Emma Thomas. They were both members of the university's film society, which arranged screenings of classic motion pictures for students.

BSC Show dates confirmed The next annual BSC New Equipment Show will take place on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th March, at Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood. The show, which again aims to focus on all the latest in film and HD equipment, opens from 12 noon to 7:30pm on the first day, and from 10am until 5pm on Saturday. For more information visit www.bscine.com.

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Skills partnership signals new era for training

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Pinewood Studios, Skillset, the Skillset Screen Academy at the London College of Communication (LCC), and the Ealing Institute of Media (EIM) announce the launch of the Skills Partnership, a joint initiative to tackle skills gaps in UK filmmaking.

The initiative was launched by Barbara Follet MP, the Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism, at a ceremony held at Pinewood Studios. The partnership brings together under one roof the business acumen and scale of operation of Pinewood with the advanced teaching in craft and technical skills at the Skillset Screen Academy at LCC and EIM. Rob Buckler of Skillset, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Creative Media Industries and driving force behind the initiative, attended the signing of the partnership, along with Dinah Caine, Skillset CEO, who hailed the initiative as a breakthrough for UK film-making, and Ivan Dunleavey, CEO of Pinewood Shepperton plc.

“This is a remarkable achievement that is only made possible because of the hard work and commitment of Pinewood and the Skillset Screen Academy at LCC and EIM,” said Caine. “We know that UK talent is regarded as the best in the world. But their commitment to skills training ensures that films being shot in the UK will continue to have access to a highly skilled workforce.”

The event also saw the opening of the first office of the Skillset Screen Academy on site at Pinewood. It

Sign of the times: Dinah Caine, Chief Executive, Skillset, with (back row l-r) Rob Buckler, Director, Skillset Screen Academy at the London College of Communication (LCC) and Ealing Institute of Media (EIM), Ivan Dunleavy, Chief Executive, Pinewood Studios and Barbara Follett MP, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism is base for the delivery of advanced training schemes like Set Crafts Apprenticeships and the 35mm project - a joint industry/education training initiative that combines the best of set building skills with those of production, design, writing and directing.

What's shooting on Fuji?

Feature films shooting on Fujifilm include: Green Zone, DP Barry Ackroyd BSC, dir Paul Greengrass; The Unloved, DP Tom Townend, dir Samantha Morton; 1939, DP Danny Cohen, dir Stephen Poliakoff; Jasim, DP Ed Wild; The Shouting Men, DP Matt Fox; The Sea Change, DP Rain Li, dir Elizabeth Mitchell; The Tempest, DP Christopher Doyle HKSC, dir Julie Taymor; Dead Man Running, DP Ali Asad, dir Alex De Rakoff; and Mesocafe, DP Alessio Valori, dir Ja'far 'Abd Al-Hamid. TV dramas shot on Fujifilm include: Waking The Dead - Series VIII, DP Mike Spragg; Free Agents, DP Magni Ágústsson; The Royle Family Christmas Special, DP Jeremy Hiles, dir Caroline Ahearne; and The Philanthropist, DP Joel Ransom, dir Duane Clark.

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production news

News British films get £2m Lottery funds More than £2 million of National Lottery cash is being invested in 15 British film production companies to develop new feature films through the UK Film Council's Development Fund.

The investment is being awarded through the fund's Production Company Vision Awards, a new initiative designed to help creative producers, with a vision for the future of UK film, to develop projects that will broaden the quality, range and ambition of films and talents in the UK. As part of the Development Fund, the Vision Awards will provide companies with up to £150,000 over two years, to enable them to nurture talent and to generate, source, research and develop feature film projects with a degree of creative autonomy.

“We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for the scheme from the production community and the number of applications that we received,” said Tanya Seghatchian, head of the development fund.

“Given the strength of those who applied we decided to give 15 awards rather than the 10 originally envisaged. We hope that they will work with us to build a more dynamic, talent-driven home for filmmakers and to broaden the quality, range and ambition of films being developed in the UK.” More than 90 companies applied for funding. The companies to receive Production Vision Awards include: Blueprint Pictures - launched in 2004 by Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin, Blueprint produced Becoming Jane and Martin McDonagh's In Bruges.

Dan Films - run by Julie Baines and Jason Newmark, which produced Michael Winterbottom's debut feature Butterfly Kiss, and Chris Smith's Creep and Triangle.

Ecosse Films - run by Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae, the company behind the Oscar-nominated Mrs Brown, currently in prep on Nowhere Boy. Fiesta Productions - Esther Douglas and Fiona Neilson produced Richard Laxton's Life & Lyrics and have developed films with UK directors Mike Newell, Mat Whitecross and Jeremy Lovering.

Free Range Films - Kevin Loader and director Roger Michell are long-time collaborators having made The Buddha of Suburbia, The Mother, Enduring Love and Venus.

Left Bank Pictures - set up by Andy Harries, producer and long-time collaborator with writer Peter Morgan (The Queen), has just produced Tom Hooper's The Damned United.

Origin Pictures - newly launched by former Head of BBC Films David Thompson who is currently exec producing Armando Iannucci's In the Loop, Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road and Martin Campbell's Edge of Darkness.

Potboiler Productions - Simon Channing Williams and Gail Egan produced the Oscar-winning film The Constant Gardener, as well as all of Mike Leigh's films.

Qwerty Films - producer Michael Kuhn is behind Saul Dibb's The Duchess, Johnny Campbell's Alien Autopsy and Chris Smith's Severance.

Revolution Films - headed by Andrew Eaton, long-time collaborator with writer/director Michael Winterbottom and producer of 24 Hour Party People, Cock and Bull Story, In This World.

See-Saw Films - Iain Canning and Emile Sherman are the producers/executive producers behind Control, Candy, Rabbit Proof Fence and Hunger.

Sigma Films - credits include David MacKenzie's Hallam Foe, Lars Von Trier's Dogville, Lone Scherfig's Wilbur and Shona Auerback's Dear Frankie.

Vertigo Films - run by Allan Niblo and James Richardson, has produced and distributed several award-winning projects such as The Football Factory, London to Brighton, It's All Gone Pete Tong, Dirty Sanchez and In Search of a Midnight Kiss.

Warp Films - the Sheffield based company run by Mark Herbert and Robin Gutch has produced Shane Meadows' Dead Man Shoes and This Is England, plus Richard Ayodade's Submarine 104 Films - Birmingham-based and run by director Justin Edgar and producer Alex Usborne, has a background in making films on social themes including Special People, an award-winning debut made by and starring disabled young people.

What's shooting on Kodak?

The following features have all shot with Kodak stocks: Prince of Persia, dir Mike Newell, DP John Seale; Creation, dir Jon Amiel, DP Jess Hall, Kick Ass, dir Matthew Vaughn, DP Ben Davis BSC; Sherlock Holmes, dir Guy Ritchie, DP Philippe Rousselot; Nine, dir Rob Marshall, DP Dion Beebe; From Time to Time, dir Julian Fellowes, DP Alan Almond; A Boy Called Dad, dir Brian Percival, DP David Katznelson; and Pelican Blood, dir Karl Golden, DP Darran Tiernan. Television productions shot on Kodak include: Ashes To Ashes, Kudos Film, DPs Holly Pullinger, Simon Archer and Fabian Wagner; Midsomer Murders XII, Bentley Productions, DP Colin Munn; Taggart, STV Central Ltd, DP Grant Scott Cameron; New Tricks VI, Wall to Wall, DP Sean Van Hales; The Street, BBC, DP Steve Lawes; and The Fixer, Kudos Film, DP James Welland.

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who’s shooting who?

Who’s Shooting Who? Mind yer step: Bruno Sorrentino in Rome on The History of Christianity

Natasha Braier wrote in from South Africa where she was shooting an ad for Nationwide. “It's a very interesting job motion control with more than 20 layers, shooting different speeds from eight-second exposures to 1,000fps. Very technical, but good fun so far, and I am working with an amazing British motion control and post team.”

Over at Dinedor Management…Tom Townend recently started prep on The Unloved a feature being shot in Nottingham and directed by actress Samantha Morton for Revolution Films. Just before Christmas, in Namibia, Florian Hoffmeister finished filming The Prisoner, the Granada/AMC remake of the cult '60s television show that's set to be one of the biggest TV series of 2009. Ian Moss had a spectacular 2008 on television work, most of which was screened around Christmas - Caught In A Trap a TV movie for ITV went out on

Eye on the prize: Trevor Forrest takes a squint through the eyepiece on Tormented

Legend: Peter Thornton on the set of Robin Hood

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Christmas Eve; Anne Frank a mini-series for the BBC went out on Christmas Day. He also shot the Christmas ghost story Crooked House for Tiger Aspect, and a new series of Moving Wallpaper for ITV. Trevor Forrest just finished on a horror feature for Forwards Film, BBC Films and Pathe called Tormented, and helmed the live multi-camera DVD for Mighty Boosh and Warp Films. Mike Fox BSC finished on BBC drama The Narnia Code, having also shot dailies on Being Human for BBC3 / Touchpaper TV, and working with Lenny Henry for Comic Relief. Matt Fox has started on the feature film The Shouting Men for Away Days Productions. Steve Buckland recently completed on Carnival's Hotel Babylon, and Peter Butler is continuing on Silent Witness for the BBC. Grant Cameron lensed Taggart for ITV Scotland, while Peter Thornton just finished his second block of Robin Hood, and shot dailies on Skins for Channel 4 and Company Pictures.

Garry Turnbull is back from Dubai where he shot a dramatised documentary for the Qatar Tourist Board, and Peter Field finished lighting second unit on TV drama Skellig for Feel Films. He also shot dailies for Larkrise To Candleford for the BBC, while fitting in idents for Channel 4's food month, and operating on the commercial re-launch of Cadbury's Wispa. Martin Ahlgren went to Budapest for a commercial for Russian chocolate brand Vozduchny. Eric Maddison FSF was busy shooting a corporate for Nokia, commercials for Rolex and Saudi Telecom, and a music promo for Pendulum.

Andrew Johnson shot a corporate for Ansell, whilst Ben Filby has been busy on commercials for Confused.com and Furniture Village, and fitting in corporates for Equifax and Royal Mail. Pete Ellmore has been extra-busy on commercials for Boots, Kettle Chips, Nescafe, Anchor and Knorr. Damian Daniel shot music promos for Ashley Walters and Mutya Buena & Clubland Live, while Franklin Dow has photographed music promos for Towers of London and Johnny Foreigner.

Casarotto Marsh's… Remi Adefarasin BSC recently starting prepping on Nancy Meyer's latest feature Untitled, a romantic comedy that will shoot in New York and LA, starring Steve Martin and Meryl Streep. More congratulations to Sean Bobbitt BSC who won the BIFA Best Technical Achievement Award for his work on Steve McQueen's Hunger. Julian Court is currently on Colin Barr's Best in Belfast for BBC. His work was seen recently in Einstein And Eddington and The Devil's Whore, which transmitted in

November and December respectively. Mike Eley was most recently in South Africa, shooting Angel with Director David Atwood for Tiger Aspect. Edu Grau just shot A Single Man in LA with first time features director Tom Ford, starring Julianne Moore and Colin Firth. After Matt Gray finishes on feature The Firm with director Nick Love, he will shoot the pilot Sherlock for Hartswood - a modern take on Sherlock Holmes to be directed by Coky Giedroyc. David Luther continues to work on Law And Order for Kudos, and Seamus McGarvey ASC, BSC is due to shoot Sam Taylor-Wood's debut feature Nowhere Boy in the very near future. Tim Palmer shot Phil John's block of Ashes To Ashes for Kudos, and James Welland (yo James!) has started on the second block of The Fixer for Kudos, with the director Paul Whittington.

Satire: Magni Agustsson shooting Free Agents which is set in an actors' agency

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who’s shooting who?

In deepest Soho, Wizzo Features'… Carl Nilsson recently wrapped on the short film Post-It Love, a comedy directed by Si & Ad, produced through Academy Films. Magni Agustsson lensed Free Agents for renowned producer Nira Park at Big Talk Productions directed by James Griffiths; the show is a satire similar in style to The Office set in an actors' agency and stars Sharon Horgan and Stephen Mangan of Pulling and Green Wing fame respectively. Donal Gilligan has just wrapped on episodes of Shameless for director Tony Slater-ling through Company Pictures. Duncan Telford is shooting Living With The Infidels for Producer/Director Aasaf Ainapore, a black comedy webisode written

by Kira-Anne Pelican that focuses on a bumbling terror cell in Bradford who are forced to come to terms with the temptations of Western life: Man United ...

Cable TV ... and Western women! Stuart Bentley is currently shooting a documentary feature in Jamaica called War In Babylon about famous cricketers, directed by Stevan Riley and produced by Charles Steel (Last King Of Scotland); it's a co-production between Cowboy Films and Passion Pictures.

Jan Richter-Friis is currently in Australia shooting the feature At The End Of The World directed by Tomas Villum Jensen, and last but not least Karl Oskarsson has just wrapped on the epic Czech feature Three Seasons In Hell directed by Tomas Masin and produced by Monika Krystl through Dawson Productions.

Berlin Associates'… Owen McPolin is shooting The Take, a Company Pictures production for Sky, produced by Willow Grylls and directed by David Drury. Shot using a Red camera in 16:9 aspect ratio, the production started shooting Dublin at the end of November and wraps mid-February.

The news from Sara Putt Associates is that… there are new arrivals in the form of Jan Jonaeus, who lit an episode of the BBC's detective thriller Wallander, and Dirk Nel who has been working on a documentary about Lawrence of Arabia for the BBC on location in Jordan, Syria, Israel

Nukes: Duncan Telford on a location shoot for Vanunu And The Bomb and France. Doug Hartington has completed Darwin for BBC Manchester and has gone straight on to Churchill's Darkest Hour for Furnace. Will Pugh has finished on Blink Film's Exorcist project in the US, and started on Tiger Aspect's new project Stephen Tompkinson's African Balloon Adventure. Before Christmas, operators Des Whelan and Vince McGahon were working on Warner Bros.' Sherlock Holmes.

Peter Wignall and Julian Morson recently finished on Kick Ass for Plan B. Joe Russell has just started on Dr Who for BBC and Gareth Hughes has been doing dailies for The Take in Dublin.

for Pioneer Productions in Taiwan, and Jeremy Humphries is due to start on the massive To The Ends Of The Earth project for BBC in Africa. Nigel Kinnings is on Granada's Ground Warfare in the USA, and Chris Openshaw continues on Incense Trail for Diverse and BBC, this time in Jordan and

Israel. Bruno Sorrentino recently completed The History of Christianity for Pioneer Productions, and Si Wagen just completed Nick Baker's Weird Creatures for Icon in Borneo. Operator Ed Lindsley just finished operating on The Wake Wood for Hammer Films in Ireland

Over at Digital Garage… Steve Gray just completed two chilly months in the Antarctic following HMS Endurance and the Antarctic Survey team for Spiderlight. Sean Carswell has been on Celebrity Wife Swap for RDF. Pete Haynes recently finished on Hurricanes

Blow me down: if it isn't Pete Haynes in Taiwan on Hurricanes

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who’s shooting who?

Double Hour. Stephen Blackman recently shot a new Virgin commercial with directors Traktor through Partizan in London.

Simon Chaudoir lensed two high-end beauty spots, one for Max Factor with Alistair Taylor-Young at ASD Lionheart in Prague, the other for Nivea with Stephen Mead in Palma through Short Films. Brendan Galvin is shooting a new Gatorade commercial with Tarsem c/o Radical Media in Spain and Boston, and Philipp Blaubach has just completed another ad for the Sainsbury's campaign directed by Jonny Campbell through Mustard, London. Neus Olle is coming to the end of shoot on documentary feature Mercedes Pinto, currently in Tenerife. Carlos Catalan is safely back from Mumbai where he recently graded Zoya Akhtar's Luck By Chance. Charlotte Bruus Christensen is still in preproduction for Thomas Vinterberg feature Submarino which begins lensing in Copenhagen as of… now! Jonathan Harvey is busy with commercials. MMM recently added DP David Raedeker, who shot a wonderful short for Rebecca Johnson, Top Girl, and has won several awards for his cinematography on Elvis Pelvis. Barry Ackroyd BSC was his mentor this year as part of the Guiding Lights scheme.

The graduate: Felix Wiedemann has joined MMM from the NFTS McKinney Macartney Management… is delighted to welcome two new directors of photography to its ranks: Fabian Wagner and Felix Wiedemann. Fabian has been working with Kudos on Ashes to Ashes, Hustle and Spooks: Code 9 and just leapt on to The Fixer. Felix is an awardwinning filmmaker, joining the agency from the National Film School where was mentored by Brian Tufano BSC, among others. Ben Butler has been shooting commercials with Helen Downing and JJ Keith. Mick Coulter BSC has just returned from Barcelona where he shot a Honda commercial for Andrew Hardaway. He has also been filming commercials with Gerard de Thame. Denis Crossan BSC recently worked on commercials and promos for Simon Cole, Anthea Benton and Petro. Shane Daly's recent work includes the latest Booths campaign for Nick Auerbach and Cereal Partners for Ian Eames. He also shot the latest Razorlight promo for Mike Figgis, and you can discover more about Shane in Meet The New Wave in this edition! John de Borman BSC recently shot commercials for Bharat Nalluri and the latest Rimmel campaign for Rankin and Chris. Gavin Finney BSC has been working on commercials for Simon Delaney and Betsan Morris-Evans. Nina Kellgren BSC will be embarking on another journey with artist Zarina Bhimji in the New Year shooting in India. John Lynch has been busy shooting commercials including, Rice Krispies for Ornette Spenceley, O2 for Rupert Jones and Harp for Declan Lowney. He also shot the Guinness Idents for Film 4 for Benito Montorio and most recently was filming Johnson & Johnson with Dom & Nic through Outsider. Phil Meheux BSC has wrapped on Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson and directed by Martin Campbell. Sebastina Milaszewski is about to go to South Africa to shoot a Nivea commercial for Jason Harrington.

John Pardue has been shooting Hyundai commercials through Serious Pictures and Ocean Spray through Crossroads. Mark Partridge finished his long work on Lark Rise To Candleford and will be grading his episodes in the New Year. Tony Pierce-Roberts BSC is set to film the basketball biopic Sweetwater for director Martin Guigui, recounting the life of the first black player signed by the NBA. Jake Polonsky has been filming promos including Dima Bilan for Trudy Bellinger, Dido for Ben Ib, Anastacia for Nigel Dick and Lily Allen for NEZ. His recent commercials include XFactor for Alex & Nick through Flynn and Abbey for Si & Ad

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through Academy. Jake is about to shoot Odyssey for Rory Kelleher through Company Films before travelling to South Africa to work with Katie Bell through Twin Film, Munich.

David Tattersall BSC will be shooting Rob Letterman's feature film Gulliver's Travels next year, starring Jack Black as the eponymous Gulliver as he travels to Lilliput, finding a land of diminutive proportions. Clive Tickner BSC has recently been working with Nick Jones through AFC. He also shot the latest Snow Patrol and Boyzone promos for Kevin Godley through MJZ. Darran Tiernan has just finished shooting the murder mystery Pelican Blood for director Karl Golden.

The latest from United Agents is…Barry Ackroyd BSC has wrapped on the reshoots for The Green Zone, Alwin Kuchler has been in New York shooting the feature film Solitary Man with Michael Douglas and Susan Sarandon, Eduardo Serra AFC, BSC has started his long stint on the new Harry Potter films where he should be employed until April 2010, and Marcel Zyskind is off to the States to shoot Michael Winterbottom's latest film, A Killer Inside Me. Alan Almond BSC has recently completed Julian Fellowes' feature From Time To Time and his closing episodes of BBC's Little Dorrit were on the box just before Christmas. Danny Cohen BSC is working on Stephen Poliakoff's 1939 and recently become a member of BSC. Steve Lawes is currently filming the first two episodes of The Street in Manchester for David Blair. United Agents is also very happy to welcome David Higgs BSC and Dale McCready as new clients. David, also a new member of the BSC, is currently grading both Lesbian Vampire Killers and Anand Tucker's 1983 (part of Revolution Films' Red Riding Trilogy) whilst Dale is about to begin work on the second series of Merlin for Shine. Rain Li is currently on the Isle Of Mull shooting The Sea Change with directors Brek Taylor and Elizabeth Mitchell. Tim Maurice-Jones is shooting an H&M commercial for Johan Renck in London c/o RSA and RAF, whilst Steve Keith-Roach has just returned from a Disney shoot in South Africa with director Patrik Berg c/o Partizan Paris, and Peter Suschitzky BSC was also out in Capetown shooting an ING bank commercial for Nawel through Marcassin, Paris. Daniel Bronks has recently shot the new Nokia commercial with Saam through Partizan, in London. Tat Radcliffe is coming to the end of filming in Turin and Buenos Aires on Giuseppe Capotondi's feature thriller

Last, but by no means least, here's a shout to all our readers… please make sure that you, or your agents, keep on keeping in touch. Please keep sending us the information and images that help to make this section of the magazine so vibrant and vital. QED. United's Alessandra Scherillo, who wrote and sent images under her own steam for our last edition, wrote in again to thank us and to say her parents were “proud as punch” with the coverage. It's a pleasure. In fact, Alessandra sent in some shots of a recent shoot she did for a Samsung ad in Venice, working with Natasha Demidova, a new Russian directing talent, through Metra Films in Moscow. “It was great fun, if not the easiest place to shoot,” she remarked.

Keep it coming in 2009 folks!

Mechandising in Venice: Alessandra Scherillo recently shot a Russian commercial for Samsung on the canals

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close ups

DP Gary Shaw

Moon Moon might be one of those films that sneaks up and surprises you. It was made entirely on K Stage at Shepperton Studios, with greenscreen on W, and for a modest £1.8m budget. It's the debut feature for director Duncan Jones, writer Nathan Parker, and the cinematographer Gary Shaw. Yet, it manages to list Trudi Styler amongst the producers, a no lesser figure than Kevin Spacey as the voice of 'Robot', and the burgeoning talent of Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) in the lead.

Rockwell plays astronaut-cum-miner Sam Bell, stranded on the moon, whose solitude has given him time to reflect on his past mistakes and his uncontrollable temper. Just before his return to Earth, he discovers his employers have plans to replace him with a new and familiar recruit - a clone of himself.

“Although I had shot model units on films like Harry Potter and V For Vendetta, Moon was the first feature that I had done,” recalls Shaw, whose background includes optical cameras at Geoff Axtell Associates and motion control at Mill Film, before breaking into commercials working for directors including Duncan Jones and Paul Street.

“I did a couple of commercials for Duncan, involving CG and live action, and we got on really well and started talking about film,” says Shaw. “John Mathieson was originally up for Moon, but when he became unavailable, I got a call and readily accepted the job.

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Creative references to inform the stylistic look of the space station, isolation and drama in Moon came from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (DP Geoffrey Unsworth BSC), Ridley Scott's Alien (DP Derek Vanlint), and Peter Hyams Outland (DP Stephen Goldblatt BSC, ASC). In terms of shooting doubles with “a certain eeriness”, Shaw and Jones took note of David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers (DP Peter Suschitzki BSC) and Spike Jonze's Adaptation (DP Lance Acord).

But everything was dictated by the budget, and the tight 33-day schedule, “so we kept everything as simple, real and as natural as possible,” says Shaw, who also operated on the production. “Duncan knows what he wants. He has a great eye for a shot, and we would walk through shots together with the viewfinder. We spent time working out the best way of shooting sequences with doubles on set, but without making the results look too tricksy or post-intensive. So there's quite a lot of simple split screen photography in the film. Sam (Rockwell) is a fantastic actor and this style allowed the strength of his performances to carry the story forwards.”

That's not to say there aren't any special set pieces or tricks in Moon. Shaw employed motion control to add dynamic moves to scene in which Sam plays table tennis against his alter-ego. And, applying his knowledge in repeatable camera moves, Shaw and his immediate camera crew of 1st assistant camera David Penfold, focus puller Mihalis Margaritis and 2nd assistant camera Mark Dempsey, worked out a way of shooting what Shaw calls “handheld motion

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“We kept these moves very simple, just with pan and tilt, and the great thing is that they worked really well,” says Shaw. Cinesite was responsible for the VFX post production.

format gave the film some genuine production value. We shot wide, most of the time, as we didn't have much in the way of dressing around the set. The film really shows off the simple, but very nicely crafted, white and grey sets created by our production designer Tony Noble.”

Shooting 3-perf, Shaw framed Moon in 2.40:1 aspect ratio, which he describes as “a fake Anamorphic. The 3-perf helped with savings on the one hand, as we were exposing as much neg as possible, whilst the

Moon was filmed on Kodak 5274 200 ASA tungsten stock, with a camera and lens package from Panavision, and lighting from Panalux. Film processing was done at Deluxe, which also provided the DVD dailies.

control”. This involved following an initial move by watching a mix and overlay on set.

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close ups

Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC (on everything but)

Slumdog Millionaire Every picture tells as story. But for Anthony Dod Mantle every story helps to tell him what the pictures should be.

“As a cinematographer you need to read between the lines, and address what the script is all about. That governs everything - the format, aspect rations, cameras, and so on. Cinematography is an homage to the story.”

British Cinematographer caught up briefly with Dod Mantle before Christmas 2008, prior to the media frenzy that has engulfed Slumdog Millionaire. He had just won the Golden Frog at the 2008 Plus Camerimage Festival in Poland for his work on the Danny Boyle-directed film, and had wrapped the day before on Lars Von Trier's Antichrist. He was also being a Dad - getting ready to take one of his sons to play in a Saturday afternoon football match, but only after scraping the ice off the Volvo.

“It's a film the world seems to want. I am very fond of India, and happy to have played a part in making the film there,” was his immediate remark about Slumdog Millionaire, before the conversation rapidly evolved away from how he combined digital and film cameras on the production, into a broader one about his work and what makes him tick.

Born in Witney in Oxfordshire, and schooled in the UK, Dod Mantle said that although he now lives in Denmark, he wakes up every day feeling British. “Having two children makes you hyper-aware of who you are in a foreign

culture, although some of that culture and style does rub off on you in the end.”

An adventurous, existential spirit took him as a young man on self-motivated photographic assignments to India and the Far East where he took thousands of photographs, “I needed to come away from familiar surroundings, and to experience other sorts of life.” The images he captured of another world proved pivotal in his acceptance to a BA photography course at the London College of Printing, now the LCC, where he recently returned to give masterclasses. A romantic streak then led him to Copenhagen, and ultimately to marriage and family life.

From 1985-89 he studied cinematography at the National Film, School in Copenhagen. He worked with several Danish film directors during the 1990s, and established close relationships, particularly with Thomas Vinterberg and Las von Trier, co-founders of the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established new rules for simplifying movie production, as well as Lone Scherfig.

In 2001 he worked back-to-back with Danny Boyle on the BBC TV dramas Strumpet and Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise.

“These were really fun pieces of work, with lots of renegade stuff going on and Timothy Spall in his underpants,” he recalled. It proved a bonding experience too. Dod Mantle and Boyle became very fond of each other, and did 28 Days Later soon after, which “was an amazing piece of direction, and our christening to mainstream filmmaking.”

After 28 Days Later, Dod Mantle returned to Denmark to shoot Vinterbreg's It's All About Love followed by Lars Von Trier's Dogville, before coming back to the UK to shoot Millions with Danny Boyle. He described these experiences “as very emotional, and all leading somehow on to Slumdog.”

Speaking about his guiding lights, Dod Mantle said, “Conrad Hall has meant more to me than most. I will never forget his reaction towards me at a screening in Palm Springs of The Celebration (Festen, dir Thomas Vinterberg), a film that I had shot using available light. It was my first time in the US and I took a bit of knocking from some of the audience. But Conrad came over and lifted me off the ground with a great bear hug. He became a great friend until the day he died. I learnt from him that I had to do the projects that were right for me, those that I believed in from my guts, and those that would use my skills best to help tell the story. It sounds a bit poncey, but there's a spiritual element too. There are sometimes deeper reasons why you choose one project over another it's part coincidence, part destiny, part fate.

Sometimes you have to defer decisions about which project you are going to before you finally put bread and water on the table.”

When it comes to the fundamental lifestyle choices a busy DP has to make, Dod Mantle said, “I suffer from guilt being away from my family. The most important thing is to keep your family together, and to make decisions about what you do based around that.”

The big attraction for Dod Mantle with Slumdog Millionaire, “was that it felt from

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the start like a good piece of filmmaking. The script was good. It's a hymn to life: a hymn of images and sound that applaud the possibilities of life in the most catastrophic of situations. You have to believe in the kids so strongly, so I went back to the child in the script and the child in us all, to the world of opportunity, adoration and hope, and this informed the choice of formats and shooting styles in the film.

“César Charlone (The Constant Gardner, Blindness) is a dear friend, like a brother. Like him, I believe that films are made in preproduction, and the most important work you do is before you start shooting - anticipating the pot holes and avoiding them. Once you are on the ground you are in a different place, locked into a full-on machine with little time for improvisation. You then have to focus on your sensitivity towards the actors too, whether it's child form India or Nicole Kidman in front of the camera. Working on Slumdog was physically arduous and mentally exhausting, but with friendship and rapport, trust and understanding you can survive it. It helps if you have on-going relationships like the one I have with Danny - he's is a handson filmmaker, with lots of energy, and it helps you to cut through the crap.”

Dod Mantle realises he is in a privileged position in the modern, cosmopolitan cinematographic world. When he's not shooting likes to host student masterclasses, and to give something back. “I really like to take people through the process of being a cinematographer, the collaboration and trust, what goes on in the heart and mind.”

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close ups

DP Tristan Oliver

Fantastic Mr Fox Amongst the productions at 3 Mills Studios is Twentieth Century Fox's stopmotion animated feature of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, directed by Wes Anderson, with cinematography by Tristan Oliver. This children's tale, about a sly fox and his battle for survival against three mean-spirited farmers, is slated for a November 2009 release. It has a similar production model to Warner Bros.' Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (DP Peter Kozachik), which grossed almost $120m, and which was also entirely based at 3 Mills.

Three stages have been cordoned-off into 30 individual units, each shooting different scenes using Nikon D3 DSLRs. The set building, puppet workshop (with puppets created by Mackinnon & Saunders), editorial and VFX departments are housed on-site, and the production outputs around 90 seconds to two minutes of animation every week.

The UK's legacy of stop-motion talent was one of the main reasons the producers brought the production to the UK, and Oliver is a veteran in this particular cinematographic discipline. His credits include Aardman Animation's Chicken Run and Wallace &

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Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and an award-winning Sony Bravia commercial featuring colourful, claymated rabbits. More recently Oliver plied his trade on The Weatherman, a short film written and directed by Will Becher, which has been entered for 2009 BAFTA and Oscar awards.

“Like a lot of stop-frame projects, Fantastic Mr Fox had been floating around for a while,” says Oliver. “I was very proactive, got called for several interviews and got the job. I had to bring some ideas for the vision of the film.

Wes (Anderson) had a strong idea about how he wanted the film, preferring a flat, even look. I like a moody, keyed look. We arrived at a happy compromise, somewhere down the middle. The production is colourful, but not in a conventional way - it's very autumnal with lots of yellow, red and orange, and virtually no green or blue.”

Oliver says that the Nikon D3's full size, 8-perf chip, provides good dynamic range. “It's not quite as good as negative, although it's getting there,” he says. “The film-out DI tests that we have done through CFC Framestore have been excellent though, and I'm pleased with the overall performance.”

It's the lenses, however, that have been the

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most problematic. “You are very much forced into using stills lenses, and they are not anywhere near the quality of decent cinema lenses. The design of the optics means that we're always having to deal with flares from point sources -quite often it looks like you have a starburst filter on the lens. So you have to be very careful about how they are used.”

Oliver's main lens selection includes 20, 24 and 35mm lenses - equating to motion picture focal lengths of 10, 12 and 18mm plus Cooke 5:1 zooms. The light path is kept clean with no filtering at all.

“Wes is a fan of the wide angle, so we use the 35mm lenses a lot for close ups,” says Oliver. “He also likes extreme depth-of-field,

so I am having to stop down to f16 and f22, which pushes the lenses very hard.”

Oliver and Anderson are also doing as much as possible in camera, “not just fire and smoke, but old-fashioned things like Pepper's Ghost. It's an illusionary technique used in the theatre and magic tricks that uses plate glass and lighting techniques to make objects seem to appear or disappear, or 'morph' into one another,” he explains.

As for the workflow, the cameras shoot in 14-bit, uncompressed Nikon raw format, which is converted into a 10K Cineon log for the post production teams. The production team use high-quality JPEGs converted from the raw files for reference. The shoot is expected to wrap by the end of April.

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FEATURE

shooting the future

DP John Christian Rosenlund on the set of The Brothersome Man

The Light Fantastic Light changes all the time. It can be gloomy at this time of year, yet still impressive. For making pictures the fundamentals, however, do not change - you need light to make great looking photography. Report by Kevin Hilton, with additional reporting by John Keedwell.

There have been some important shifts over the years in lighting equipment - from the non-incandescent carbon arcs of the silent era to incandescent lighting in the form of tungsten filament lamps to HMIs from the 1980s onwards.

And there are another evolutions in the light fantastic happening now: LEDs, at one time limited to electronic displays and digital watches, are making an impact on cinematography; and wireless technology is increasingly being used to control batteries of lights.

The lighting options available to cinematographers and gaffers are now less about power and the kind of light produced; in an increasingly green-minded and forward-looking world, the plight of the environment and the need to have an ecologically sound future are major considerations. The humble and taken-

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for-granted light bulb is now something of a bogey item, understandable given the amount of harmful emissions that can be produced.

According to European Union figures the amount of carbon dioxide produced by incandescent light bulbs can be reduced by 25 million tonnes a year through the use of energy saving equivalents in both the home and for business. Different European governments have differing approaches and timetables to EU legislation designed to make a switch-over to more energy efficient means of illumination; the UK plans to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2011.

LEDs GE is working on a high efficiency incandescent lamp, due to be on sale by 2012, while David Cunningham, developer of the Light Palette, amongst other luminaires, has registered a patent for a similar device that uses an inner coating to produce more light. In the meantime, there is the LED and its organically enhanced variation, the OLED (organic light-

emitting diode). The corporate presentation sector is already using LEDs as "scenic lighting" to create the backdrop, rather than conventional physical staging. OLED technology, whose emissive electroluminescent layer is composed of a film of organic compounds, is a bit further down the pipe for the production industry.

Such systems are already being used in television screens, computer displays, small, portable system screens such as cell phones and PDAs, advertising, information and indication.

OLEDs can also be used in light sources for general space illumination, and large-area light-emitting elements. OLED lifetime already exceeds that of incandescent light bulbs, and OLEDs are being investigated worldwide as a source of general illumination, such as the EU OLLA project which is looking at next generation light applications.

A relative newcomer to the lighting market, and one that started out with LED systems is Litepanels, which uses ultraefficient diodes to generate bright projected soft light that can be used both in the studio and on location. Now part of the

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shooting the future

FloBank (left) and HighLite 440 (right) by Panalux

Vitec Group, which owns Manfrotto and Tomcat, Litepanels' range includes the compact Litepanels Mini in 3200K Flood, 5600K Flood and 5600K Spot, LED Ringlite, Litepanels Infrared for shooting in total darkness and the new Litepanels 1x1.

Rosco is another contender with LED technology, offering the similarly named LitePad. Two years on from launch, Rosco is making even more of a bid for LED in the cinematography market with the LitePad HO. The initials stand for "high output" and the unit is claimed to be 33 percent brighter, with a real daylight temperature, than its predecessor. The LitePad DL (Daylight) is still available and is intended more for display, architecture and event applications. The LitePad range has won several awards in its short life, including the Bert Easey Technical Award at the recent BSC's Operators Night.

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BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

ELP supplies general film and lighting and control systems for movies and TV dramas, with a burgeoning business in LED. The company is currently working on Nine at Shepperton, an adaptation of the stage musical. This is a coming-together of film and theatrical styles, with DP Dion Beebe working with Broadway lighting director Mike Baldassari, something that ELP managing director Ronan Willson says is a growing trend.

“It's becoming more common to see crossover of techniques from various production disciplines into the world of filmmaking,” Willson comments. ELP supplied theatre-style trussing and hoists to give greater flexibility, and so save time in setting up shots, which would have been difficult with traditional

Licht-Technik well-known for its Bag-O-Light systems scaffolding. Gaffer John Higgins also specified pre-rigged six lamp bars, again kit found more commonly in theatres.

BSC vice president Chris Seager, who recently finished shooting New In Town, starring Renée Zellweger, and is now working on Andy "Gollum" Serkis' directorial debut, Dark Blue Rising, says LED looks like it could be the next radical step in lighting, following HMI and Kino Flo. Both, he says, brought about a major change in lighting techniques and spelled the end for older lamps like the brute. "The future development of LED lighting is certainly bright and it's here to stay," he says.

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shooting the future

ARRI is seeing a healthy demand for what might now be considered "old technology". Andy Barnett, technical support at ARRI Media, says the staple products like Fresnel spots and tungsten and HMI lamps, and specific models like the ARRISun, are still a major part of filmmaking today. The launch of the True Blues last year emphasises this; these lamps build on ARRI's ranges over the last 20 years but have lighter, more flexible housings.

Fluorescents Despite the continuing demand for older style lamps, like spotlights, there has been a shift in terms of on-set shooting.

"One thing that has changed in studios is the use of more fluorescents," says Barnett. "This is for soft light and a move away from tungsten."

Desperate Housewives is shot using a mixture of quartz and LED lamps including Barger Lites and LitePanels Another benefit is its compact size, making LEDs ideal for smaller sets where there is limited space, as on the feature documentary The Mountain Within, about an attempt on Mount Kilimanjaro by seven disabled climbers. Rosco LitePad HOs (six 305mm x 305mm units and six 152mm x 152mm models) were put in tent pockets so interviews could be filmed in the darkness under canvass.

Steve Knight, managing director of hire company Direct Lighting confirms that LED is making inroads into film production, but which lamps and the amount of power used depends on the camera system. "Some HD and digital shoots are getting away with less lighting and fewer lights," says Knight. "Softer LEDs like the LitePad are being used in these situations."

powerful but compact lamp and Catinari commented, "It has a unique quality of light - powerful and soft at the same time.

We used it on a daylight interior scene as the only source and I love the way the light 'hits' the actors and creates a subtle shadow, which is much more natural than the usual hard edges we mostly get."

Nick Shapley at LCA reports a trend for brighter lower wattage HMIs running from batteries. To satisfy demand the company, which handles the Filmgear range in the UK, is offering 800w, 575w, 400w 200w HMIs with AC/DC ballasts.

The Filmgear units allow either AC or DC operation from newly introduced Lithium Poylmer battery packs and twin chargers.

In a typical scenario an 800w HMI can run for 120 minutes from 2x30v 28Ah batteries.

Panalux has responded to the increased interest in fluorescent luminaires by introducing the HighLight and FloBank, energyefficient lamps that offer a range of versatile, general-purpose heads to deliver an even, balanced light source. After a period of consolidation following the merger of AFM Lighting and LEE Lighting, Panalux has rebuilt its premises at Pinewood Studios, which now features a dedicated equipment engineering and refurbishment facility. The company has also invested in new equipment, particularly up-to-the-minute technologies, "green" systems and innovations in LED and low-wattage technology.

Desisti Lighting, like many manufacturers, is responding to concerns over the ecological impact of lighting systems and produced the Techno-Ecology System. This comprises a series of support rails with built-in power supplies that are intended to cut the cost of installation. These support cold light lamps that are controlled within the system and do not require external dimmers, such as a DMX. Some form of control over lights is critical in multi-lamp, fast moving set-ups. Licht-Technik has developed a hand-held controller for its motoryokes and Click and Move systems; the LT Pilot allows lamps to be focused and dimmed remotely.

Click and Move is a motorised method of changing pan, tilt and focus, with small motors fixed to standard mounts.

Lamps All major manufacturers are looking at LED now but, says Paul Royalty, director of sales at Mole-Richardson, older style lamps are still in demand and can be made more efficient.

Royalty agrees that modern cameras and capture technology are requiring less light, but existing products can now produce greater wattages, like Mole's 5kW tungsten par, which he says has an output more like a 10kW model. He adds that there is a "tremendous amount of research" going into LED to give it the incandescent feel DPs expect but observes that it won't be cheap.

Kino Flo, handled in the UK by Cirrolite, has followed the trend for producing more power from standard lamps with the new VistaBeam Single System, which is claimed to produce twice as much light as the company's existing Single Lighting product. Housed in a slim, portable construction for television and feature film location work, the modular VistaBeam Single features Kino Flo parabolic technology. It is a modular system, with a mounting plate that can be removed to allow the lamp to be taped to a wall or installed in small spaces.

K5600 Lighting introduced a number of new lamps during 2008, including the big Alpha 18K spotlight. This was used for the Italian production Il Grande Sogno, shot in Rome by director Michele Placido and DP Arnaldo Catinari. The 18K is a

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shooting the future

Desisti Lighting is responding to ecological concerns

Wireless Like any other part of modern life, wireless technology is making itself felt in lighting, particularly for control. The Light by Numbers system has had a few upgrades, mainly on the remotes, which are now more reliable and feature a few extras. Light by Numbers' Chris Gilbertson, who has been involved in the big shoot of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time at Pinewood after location work in Morocco (DP John Seale), says the trick with getting people to use systems like this is for them to "overcome their fear of new technology and embrace the benefits of it".

The Light by Numbers system drives standard DMX512 protocol, while a leading competitor, the Softlights Wi-Fi control, is a proprietary, Java-based program. The embedded technology can work with LEDs or run a DMX mains power dimmer but while it can work with that protocol, Henrik Moseid of Softlights says it does not create communication between the light.

Wi-Fi is used to control the ballast through the Micro Controller Unit, thereby complementing the DMX. The Wi-Fi System was used in October 2008 to control 50 Softlights on the French production I'elegance de l'herisson, shot by Patrick Blossier. Light. Moseid says this capability will always be on a film set as long as actresses want to be beautiful.

That attitude is also alive and well in the US, where Desperate Housewives is shot using a mixture of quartz and LED lamps to get a softer illumination for the female-led cast. Among lights used by DP Lowell Peterson ASC are Barger Lites, including the new 4-Litestrip, and LitePanels, with Chimeras on the Bargers to create soft key lights and a Jem for fills.

The trend overall does seem to be towards softer light and, given the narcissism of some actors and in the spirit of equality, it may not just be about old fashioned attitudes regarding the vanity of actresses any more.

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UK

live and let DI

To Live and Let DI British Cinematographer magazine was given a sneak peek of Technicolor's impressive new, DI and post facility in Lexington Street in Soho, which opens officially at the end of January. The operation, which sees Technicolor's West Drayton telecine and DI facilities being merged with those of sister company MPC, occupies around 15,000sq/ft over seven floors, and offers a wide range of services for feature and TV productions. These encompass front-end dailies, full DI grading, film and DCIcompliant digital mastering, along with related audio services. DI grading and editing systems include a pair of Autodesk Lustres, one being a supercharged version with Incinerator, plus two Quantel iQs, with 2K digital projection coming from Barco units. Around 40 staff have relocated from Technicolor's site at West Drayton, with ten arriving from MPC and a further ten additional staff being employed across production, sales, finance and administration. At the time of our visit Technicolor was mastering Bedtime Stories, starring Adam Sandler, and had been appointed one of the companies to deliver digital restoration services to the BFI's back catalogue.

Momentum Pictures' Lesbian Vampire Killers, the debut feature film from director Phil Claydon, photographed by David Higgs, who has just joined the BSC, was given full a DI workflow through Ascent 142, with VFX provided by sister company Rushes, collaborating with prosthetic and animatronic specialists Millennium FX. Due for nationwide release in March, the film is thought to be the first full-length feature shot using Red One cameras. It stars James Corden and Matthew Horne (of Gavin And Stacey fame) as hapless friends caught in a lesbian vampire siege, during which the village women folk are enslaved and the pair are sent on to the moors as a sacrifice.

The film was shot over a six-week period, with 32 shooting days in total, using two cameras and a full 35mm film crew at 3 Mills Studios. A and B cameras were employed, with DP Derek Walker on the B camera.

Speaking about the workflow Higgs commented: “I'd been working with the same producer (Steve Clark Hall) on RocknRolla, which was shot on ARRI D20. We developed a particular way of working with the guys at Ascent 142, and thought we could adapt this workflow for Red. This process included shooting in Log, meaning the images could viewed on set and given an approximation of the gamma curve to see how it would look in post. It also gives more information to play with when it comes to the DI and grading. This worked well on RocknRolla, as it was a very daylight-based film. Lesbian Vampire Killers was shot largely in a studio and 'at night', and the RED camera tends to handle low lights and contrast very well.”

The workflow on the film started with material being recorded onto compact flash cards. These were then copied onto firewire drives for delivery to Ascent 142. Upon receipt, Ascent 142 created LTO back-ups of the data, giving an additional level of security. The production requested a tape delivery for its editorial

Red: Lesbian Vampire Killers is the first feature to be shot in the UK using Red One cameras department, which was working on Avid. Ascent 142 developed a workflow, starting with the export of Pro-res QuickTimes, with filename and timecode burn-ins, via the REDcine application, and these were subsequently played out to HDCam tape via Final Cut. The material was supplied to editorial for ingest into the Avid along with ALE files, which contained all the relevant Red metadata. Following the offline edit, EDLs were supplied by editorial and used to create XML files in Final Cut Pro. These were then used to extract the 2K data used for the final Smoke conform and DI grade.

During the shoot Laurant Treherne inspected all the DPX and TIFF files sent by Higgs to Ascent 142, with the images projected on to a large screen.

Patrick Malone director of DI at Ascent 142, said, “Cameramen used to working with film can anticipate what they will see to a large extent, but with data it's a bit of a dark art, and it's necessary to view continuously. With Red being a data camera you have to put the tools in place that allow you to have that foresight on set because you can't apply simple logic and maths to the equation. David has a lot of faith in Laurant, the two of them having worked on several projects together.”

Around 250 VFX shots were completed at Rushes, including a scene where a vampire is decapitated by Corden's character with a frying pan, which took around five weeks to complete.

Ascent 142 has also carried out the full post-production on the new BBC drama Apparitions, a Lime Pictures production for BBC Scotland, written and created by Joe Ahearne and Nick Collins, with photography by Adam Suschitzky Rushes together with Big Buoy Post Production, completed post on director Marek Losey's first feature film, The Hide, produced by Poisson Rouge Pictures and Solution Films. In this dark thriller, set in the windswept Suffolk mudflats, Roy Tunt, a prematurely aged, mildly obsessive-compulsive bird watcher, receives an unexpected visit to his bird-hide from a wild-looking stranger. DP George Richmond, who recently worked as camera operator on Quantum of Solace and The Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading, shot the film at two main locations using an ARRI D-20.

The Hide was edited and onlined at Big Buoy and graded by Rushes' colourist and director of telecine, Adrian Seery. The interior of the hide was constructed in the studio, which Richmond lit to recreate natural light. In post, Seery sought to maintain this light, keeping it consistent so as not to distract from the drama. The film premiered to critical acclaim at the Dinard British Film Festival 2008.

Technicolor: DI grader Paul Ensby in one of the new Soho-based suites Hat Factory Post was responsible for completing the previews and trailers for Inkheart, directed by Iain Softely and photographed by Roger Pratt BSC. The children's fantasy from New Line starred Brenden Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and Andy Sirkis. Grading was by Olaf Wendt using Hat Factory's Digital Vision Film Master system. More recently Hat Factory Post has been grading 31 North 62 East, a political thriller shot in Jordon, directed by Tristan Lorraine, lensed by Sue Gibson BSC, and starring Marina Sirtis, John Rees Davies and Heather Peace. It was shot using Viper Filmstream camera in Log mode, outputting green and flat images that are typical of that raw material Using the Film Master Hat Factory grader Gwyn Evans worked with Gibson to recreate the magical scenery of Petra (Jordon) which passed for Afghanistan, with many shots requiring multi-layering and some complex compositing.

Along with producing a 360˚ digital environments, and a rather disgusting CGI "Booger Monster" (that's a snot monster, in English), for Bedtime Stories, Soho's Cinesite was also responsible for a major sequence complete with CG planes, tanks and spectacular explosions in Twentieth Century Fox's The Day The Earth Stood Still, lensed by David Tattersall BSC, directed by Scott Derrickson.

Cinesite's main effects involved a sequence in which the US army attacks the sinister robot Gort with two drone (Reaper) aircraft.

The final, and most spectacular, effects in the sequence involve one of the Reapers crashing into a tank on the ground, resulting in a massive explosion. Aside from a greenscreen soldier element, the entire shot is entirely digital.

Crash, bang wallop: Cinesite delivered a major VFX sequence with CG planes, tanks and explosions for The Day The Earth Stood Still

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FEATURE

camera creative

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Ron Prince travelled to the Welsh boarders to meet double Oscar-winning cinematographer Chris Menges BSC at home, and to discover more about his work on The Reader.

Lest we forget The Reader is not an easy film. It wasn't a particularly straightforward production, with cast availability creating many hiatuses. The subject matter is challenging. The visuals are stark. The critics have found it hard to equate the point of counter-pointing sex and Nazism. Researching details about the concentration camps for this piece has been chilling affair. And the man responsible for shooting two thirds of the film lives in a remote spot where Wales and England meet. Yet it's already earned its joint cinematographers, Chris Menges BSC ASC and Roger Deakins BSC ASC, nominations at the ASC annual awards, plus a Golden Globe for Kate Winslet as Best Supporting Actress. With the awards season just beginning, who knows what other glories lie ahead?

The $40million motion picture production of The Reader, produced by The Weinstein Company, Neunte Babelsberg Film (currently in production with Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds) and Mirage Enterprises, is pretty much true to the best-selling book about post-WWII Germany, written by law professor and judge Bernard Schlink in 1995. Partly autobiographical, it deals with the cascade of personal and national guilt as subsequent generations struggle to comprehend the Holocaust, romantic trauma, and the transformative power of the written word. Schlink's book, adapted for the big screen by David Hare (Wetherby, The Hours), was well received in his native country, and the United States, winning several awards. It became the first German novel to top the New York Times bestseller list, and Oprah Winfrey made her book club selection. It has been translated into 37 languages, and is included in the curricula of collegelevel courses in Holocaust literature, and how many reading groups is anybody's guess.

“I am fascinated by that whole period of German history,” muses Menges, who won Academy Awards for his work on The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986). “My grandfather was German. My uncle was a navigator in RAF/Polish airforce. I was brought up during the war in London, dodging the doodlebugs. So I had an investment and wanted to know more about what happened for myself. The story is complex and hurtful, and uses a child as a metaphor for a generation of Germans affected by what happened to

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Germany, and subsequent generations, under the Third Reich.”

The story follows 15-year old Michael Berg (David Kross) in post-WWII Heidelberg in Germany, who becomes drawn into a passionate but secretive affair with Hanna (Kate Winslet), a 36-year old tram conductor. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens.

But, despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken.

Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life - this time in the courtroom on trial for allowing 300 Jewish women perish in a fire at a church that she was watching as part of her duties as an SS guard at an extermination camp near Auschwitz. During the trail, both Hanna and Michael could save Hanna from being sentenced to life in prison by admitting her illiteracy, but they don't.

As time passes, the older Michael (Ralph Feinnes), a divorcee with an all-but estranged daughter, tries to reconcile the truth with his feelings for Hannah. He tapes readings of books and sends them to her and she eventually she learns to read.

However, the day before her release, she commits suicide.

Michael visits one of the survivors of the fire, the principal witness at the trial, seeking some form of redemption and offering Hanna's meager savings. She points out how inappropriate their relationship was, how it damaged him, and that forgiveness does not come so cheaply. After the meeting, Michael goes to visit Hanna's grave for the first and only time, with his daughter.

Menges' involvement with The Reader began in October 2007 with a telephone call from producer Redmond Morris, enquiring about his availability. The production, which counts Harvey and Bob Weinstein amongst the executive producers, and Anthony Minghella and Syndey Pollack as producers, had already got underway with Roger Deakins having shot for 31 days in Germany, but he was unable to continue on the film.

“I've known Roger for the best part of 30 years, and am a great admirer of his work. Even so, I called him immediately to

make sure he was OK with me picking up the reins,” says Menges. “I had worked with Stephen Daldry before on film tests for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and was naturally drawn to the subject matter.”

The swapping of cinematographers confirmed, Menges immersed himself in prep and went to Berlin for a week during December 2007, working particularly closely in the production office with Daldry, Claire Simpson the editor, production designer Brigitte Broch, costume designer Ann Roth and make-up designer Ivana Primorac - to get a clear understanding of where the production was going.

In terms of the artistic references, he says, “There was a lot of talk about the drawings of Picasso, and the films of Polish director Andrzej Wajda, particularly the trilogy of A Generation, (1955) Kanal (1955) and Ashes And Diamonds (1958). They are truly fascinating studies of political and social evolution in Nazi occupied and post war Poland. They have a great strength in the framing, the use of light, sense of realism and energy - all highly appropriate values for this film, and very important references for me.”

As for taking over the cinematography from Deakins, Menges says, “I studied Roger's material, and thought that a lot of what he had shot was wonderful. We think about many things in terms of photography in very similar ways. We both prefer to use bounced or natural lighting, are keen on catching improvisation, and we both like to operate the camera. So it was not very difficult to follow on. The only slight change I made was to the stock. Roger shot on Vision2 500T 5218 and I changed to Vision3 5219, as I like that stock.”

He also inherited Deakins' crew that included gaffer Bjoern Susen and focus puller and. Andy Harris. “I brought in Adrian McCarthy as dolly grip. I could not have got anywhere without someone as good as Adrian. He's focussed on the script, hears the words and moves the camera in response to the performance of the actors,” he says.

After pre-production meetings, Menges then spent a week visiting locations in Berlin and Cologne, before starting to shoot the Feinnes' prison scenes and locations in the Czech Republic.

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camera creative

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company

FEATURE

Lights: Menges chose to keep things looking as naturalistic as possible and to respond to the performances

In all, Menges shot for 67 days, during his stint on the film, and comments, “I have never shot on-off, on-off like this before. I am used to getting up a head of steam and going for it.” That said, when it came time to shoot the passionate scenes on a stage at a studio in Cologne, Menges was expecting to spend two weeks rehearsing and shooting, and to have everything meticulously planned. “But great intentions sometimes fall away, we actually shot them really fast within two days.”

It is this sense of the unexpected that Menges says he really thrived on during the production. “I like working with Stephen Daldry. He likes a certain amount of chaos, a sense of anarchy on set. I like that sense of spontaneity too. I quite enjoy a set where the creative energy might change, might develop and might provoke something interesting. I like to operate and capture that. Stephen is a gracious man, talented, fun and enjoyable to work with. He brings out the poetry in people's work and that's rewarding.”

But there were some harrowing moments. During April 2008 Menges, David Kross and a small German crew made their way to the well-preserved Majdanek concentration camp on the outskirts of the city of Lubin in eastern Poland for a twoday shoot. During WWII this was where mass transports of Jews began arriving in April 1942, during the period that Auschwitz was being converted into an extermination camp.

People driving past the camp, while it was in operation, had completely unobstructed views of the smoke wafting from the top of the tall brick chimney of the crematorium, and the gas chamber building just a few yards from a busy street. In the film, Majdanek doubles as the camp Michael visits where Hanna had been a guard, and where she had weak and sickly women read to her before they were sent to the gas chambers – either to make their last days more bearable, or maybe to guarantee their entry to the chambers so they would not reveal her secret.

“It was an incredibly awful experience,” recalls Menges, who framed some of the film's most iconic, symbolic and potent images there. “It's impossible to be there without crying your heart out for the poor souls who suffered so badly, and who had been tortured and killed. There was a big group of Israeli school children at the time of our shoot, and they were

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I l i ke a v o l a t i l e c a m e r a . Yo u h a v e t o live in the moment, to respond to the actors' performances, so that things are alive.

completely shattered by the experience. You cannot be but profoundly troubled by being there. It's hell on earth.”

And it's here we perhaps get to the core of Menges' raison d'etre for working on the film and his career path in cinematography.

“The Reader is not a story of redemption or forgiveness. It's about how a new generation of Germans came to terms with what the earlier generation had done. It asks the question: if you love someone who is guilty do you become entangled in their guilt? You cannot help but get emotionally drawn into this material. I only work on films that I can learn from. My work is my university, and the work I do is about educating myself.

That's why I wanted to do this story. In fact, the crew, who were predominantly German, gave their hearts and souls to this production. Many of them are living with that contradiction of denial.”

The Reader was shot Super 1.85:1, 3-perf, with a camera, lens and lighting package supplied by ARRI in Munich, and a sizeable 640,000ft of stock being used, which Menges puts down to frequent scene changes, particularly those which explore the relationship between Hanna and Michael.

Regarding the lighting, Menges says the biggest problem was shooting in Germany in the winter. “It can be incredibly dark, wet and dreary, even with fast stock. In general I chose to work with bouncing light from multiple sources, to keep things looking as naturalistic as possible and to respond to the performances.”

actors' performances, so that things are alive. That's the wonderful thing about operating. I like a volatile, moving camera, and could not imagine working without a dolly grip and focus puller responding to the dialogue. I like handheld too, as it gives you an urgency and frees you up, although there's not much handheld in the film.”

Although film dailies were occasionally used as a guide to monitor the work done at the lab, Menges mainly viewed dailies on DVD or ARRI LocPro. “I really miss the chance to sit down and watch film dailies with the director, and also miss the conversation about shot density you would have with the film grader, who would then take the material away and produce great rushes. In many ways working with photochemical had a purity to it. It's a big loss, but it's the world we live in now.”

The Reader was given a DI grade on Lustre at Technicolor in New York by Tim Stipian. “The producers wanted me to attend, and I would expect to attend. I have never been asked not to, but I can see how a DP might get excluded from this process these days. But you have to say it's a very odd thing to employ someone to bring so much that is original to the table in terms of lighting, framing, composition and performance and then not to ask them to have a major handson role in maintaining that through post production. In DI today, you can manipulate the images so much that you have to be very careful not to lose your way and lose the concept of what you shot. That's why I keep a note book plastered with references on every production.”

In an online retort to a wide-of-the-mark Guardian review, Professor Julian Dodd uses the adjective “toe-curling” to describe the disturbing emotions The Reader stirs up. Of course, films are there to keep us entertained, but for Menges, “they also need to challenge us and help us come to terms with the world in which we live.” The Reader was never meant to be an easy film. In this respect, he classes it alongside Ken Loach’s Kes, Alan Clarke’s Made in Britain, The Killing Fields directed by Roland Joffé, and Stephen Frears’ Dirty Pretty Things, when asked to compare it to other films he has shot during a long and distinguished career that shows no signs of slowing.

Photos courtesy of The Weinstein Company

However, it was during the 10-day Christmas break that news came that Nicole Kidman, who was to play Hanna, was pregnant and had discounted herself from the production. In the first two months of the New Year, Menges found himself travelling back and forth between Berlin, London and New York, shooting scenes for the film and screen tests with Kate Winslet, now cast in the role of Hanna. The production schedule saw Menges typically shooting in week-long or fortnightly blocks, interspersed with significant breaks according to the actors' availability, with very little of what was being shot in consecutive running order. Indeed, the passionate scenes, between Michael and Hanna which feature in the first half of the film, had to wait until the very end of the production schedule when actor David Kross turned 18 on July 4th.

For the bath and sex scenes in Hanna's apartment, Menges simulated natural daylight to make it sympathetic to the eurphoric moments for the young boy. For the scenes in Majdanek he used available light to capture the cold devastating feeling of the ghostly camp, and for the courtroom scenes he mixed blue and tungsten to create the austere formality of a war trial. The prison was lit with Xenon lights and fluorescents, “to make it feel cruel and cold.”

In terms of camera movement, Menges believes the relationship between the camera and the actors is incredibly important. “You have to live in the moment, to respond to the

Winner: Winslet received a Globe for her portrayal of Hanna

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FEATURE

on the job

The art direction and cinematography has to follow the journey t h r o u g h t r a g e d y, c o m e d y, romance and action adventure.

for the task. And just as Australia traces the emotional journey of Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) across the continent, its filming sees the blossoming of one of the world's finest cinematographic talents.

Portrait of the landscape Walker - who is world-renowned for her work on The Well (1997), Lantana (2001) and Shattered Glass (2003), and won Cinematographer of the Year at the 2008 Hollywood Film Awards - became involved with the project in 2005. Armed with her Leica 35mm camera, and an HD viewfinder purpose-made by Panavision to fit their lenses for the project, she joined Luhrmann and his wife, the two time Oscar awardwinning production and costume designer, Catherine Martin, on a reconnaissance mission around the country.

Heat and Dust Baz Luhrmann's epic film Australia shows the country in a new light.

The job of DP Mandy Walker was to capture that light - no matter what the conditions, as Rachael Turk discovered.

The film Australia was always going to be big. The ambition, if not audacity, of naming a film after a continent so vast and volatile could perhaps only have come from Baz Luhrmann - a director who not only took on Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet), Puccini (La Boheme) and the visual reimagining of turn-ofthe-century Paris (Moulin Rouge!) but made his lead Nicole Kidman a Guinness World Record holder for highest paid actress in a commercial in his £18 million Chanel spot.

For a cinematographer, the scale of undertaking that Australia represented was enormous. The concept had its roots in historical epics such as Out of Africa, Lawrence of Arabia and Gone With the Wind.

The script called for scenes as diverse as aerial shots over the ancient landscape, cattle stampedes in the order of 1,500 beasts and the bombing of an entire city. The production involved shooting in the remote north-western corner of the country, in 43degree heat with dust and flies.

“The region in which the film takes place was, and is, a brutal place,” Luhrmann concedes. “This is the driest continent in the world with the greatest distances between which points there is no population. I am using my country as a canvas on which to create a metaphor for 'the faraway'. It is an exotic place at the end of the world where you can be transformed by experience and ultimately by love.”

But Mandy Walker, who had shot the awardwinning Chanel spot for Luhrmann, was up

As Walker explains, Luhrmann - right from these early stages - emphasised the importance of capturing the power of the Australian landscape.

“Baz had always said to me, 'the location is a character in the movie',” she says, “And when he talked to me about it, it was always in terms of the emotional journey. It's not a naturalistic film, but it moves through a lot of different phases. The art direction and cinematography has to follow this journey through tragedy, comedy, romance and

Australia: a naturalistic film that it moves through a lot of different phases

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FEATURE

on the job

Concept: Australia had its roots in films like Gone With the Wind

Meticulous: director Baz Luhrmann and DP Mandy Walker figure it out togther

action adventure. We looked at Australian painters of the time - Drysdale, Nolan, Dickerson, McKubbin - and how they viewed the landscape. Also old Australian films like The Overlanders [dir. Harry Watt, 1946] and Jedda [dir. Charles Chauvel, 1955].”

Walker enhanced these emotional cues in the grade with EFilm's senior colorist Olivier Fontenay. “Mandy would describe each sequence as 'sad', 'confused', 'happy', 'tragic' and son on,” Fontenay recalls. At time of shooting, he provided her with a “weatherproof” negative, exposed right on target, so that they would be able to accommodate changes to the look at later stage, from desaturated to Technicolor.

Staging some of the scenes to experiment with lenses and light, they eventually decided on mid-range lenses rarely wider than 21mm (35-50mm), with long lenses for heightened moments. Walker chose Kodak film stock, which she said reacted best to the colours and textures of the landscape. A 6.5 hectare set was established in the northern coastal town of Bowen - the 600 extras forming a significant impact on a population of 9,500.

They brought in a 12-metre crane and an 8metre crane, a Manitou forklift and a Space Cam, and a gyroscopic stabilised head on loan from the US for rock-steady long lens shots. The set was then replicated on sound stage. Walker had a crew of 60 in her department. There were also two other units: an “action” unit for four weeks and a second

unit, led by Greig Fraser, running for the duration of the shoot. Walker's first assistant on A-Camera was Jason Binnie, her grip Evan Pardington and gaffer Shaun Conway, with Peter McCaffrey the camera operator “On location for four months, we gleaned all we could with the actors riding through the countryside. Then we came back and enhanced the scenes on stage. We'd shoot a big crane wide shot at dusk then shoot the scene back in the studio,” Walker says. “I tried to control the lighting as much as possible on location, putting in a lot of fill [lighting] so that I could match that back in the studio”.

The story tells how Lady Ashley must join forces with the much-maligned drover (Hugh Jackman) to save both her cattle station, Faraway Downs, and the part-indigenous Nullah who finds himself in their care. They were flanked by an all-star cast including Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson, David Gulpilil and David Wenham. For scenes early in the film in which the characters find themselves at odds with her environment, Walker's use of harsh white light, top-down lighting and short depth-of-field dislocates them from the rugged native background. As Lady Ashley becomes more integrated with the land and its inhabitants, Walker moves into warm, more evocative hues.

Rugged and romantic “We listed all the scenes to be shot in the middle of the day in harsh white light, and it was when the character was going through hard times. Romantic, beautiful, rich scenes would be shot at the end of the day and we worked the schedule around that,” she says.

“The movie changes in terms of how it will affect the audience. Baz would say 'I think this is a Steadicam shot because…' and it would be about the character feeling a bit unstable; or the lighting needing to feel a bit blue, always an emotional reason.”

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But it was the cattle drive sequences that required all the innovation the camera crew could muster. A Cable Cam was set up between two 18-metre towers 600 metres apart, between which it ran by remote control camera at up to 200km/hour. This allowed them to get low and close to the action without frightening the animals with a

tracking vehicle. The stampede serves as one of the penultimate dramatic points of the film and the final VFX-enhanced version has been put forward for Oscar consideration.

But even in scenes of this scale, says Walker, Luhrmann worked on micro level. “He is so meticulous, he'll be changing someone's hat or moving a horse. Composition was always about the story to be told in that scene or shot.”

And as the dust settles on what is the largest film in Australian history, and Walker returns to Los Angeles, her US agent and potential Academy acclaim, the boy from the tiny Australian lumber town Herons Creek carves his name once again in the annals of cinematic spectacle.

Images from Australia © Twentieth Century Fox.

Camera Kit CAMERAS Panavision Millenium, Millenium XL, Pan-Arri 435 all set for Super 35 1:240 LENSES Panavision Primo Spherical lenses. Primo 11:1 Zoom, 3:1 Zoom, 4:1 Zoom, a Macro Zoom and an Optimo 15-40mm Zoom, plus a set of older Panavision Ultra Speed lenses FILTERS 85 Color Correction Filters, NDs and Occasional Grads TRIPODS Arri Geared Head, O'Connor Fluid Head, Ronford legs

VFX and Post It was a case of “all hands on deck” to get the post-production over the line, with workers camping out in facilities 24 hours a day. With the visual effects supervised by Australian Chris Godfrey (Moulin Rouge!, The Thin Red Line) and music led by long-time Luhrmann co-producer Anton Monsted, the digital and post-production companies included: Animal Logic, Photon VFX, Complete Post, Digital Pictures / Iloura, Evil Eye Pictures, Framestore, Fuel International, Hydraulx, The LaB Sydney, Lola Visual Effects, Rising Sun Pictures, Big Bang Sound, CLA Studios, Efilm, Fox, Studios Sydney, Trackdown Scoring Stage, Soundfirm, StageOne Sound, OTC Productions and Paragon Studios.

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INTERNATIONAL

letter from america

I'm not a Luddite, but...

Richard P. Crudo ASC says that, like it or not, cinematographers must “adapt or die.”

Here are belated Christmas wishes along with warmest regards for a healthy and prosperous New Year!

The autumn season 2008 in the U.S. was marked by a considerable slowdown in feature film production.

Nonetheless it was a very busy time for the cinematographer interested in sharpening the many skills we're now required to have at hand. Thanks to the ASC Technology Committee, an aggressive series of seminars, demonstrations, informationals and good, old-fashioned brainstorming sessions were held, usually in collaboration with innovative manufacturers and often several times within the same week.

One disturbing thing about current trends is the increasing c o m p l ex i t y o f e a c h subsequent generation of equipment.

The point of this massive activity, as always, was not just to keep us informed, but also to help keep us relevant. Like it or not, the operative phrase as it applies today is “adapt or die.”

The scope of our job has increased enormously in the past decade. It's our great good fortune to have this group keeping us on the cutting edge of every fresh development.

The ASC Technology Committee is made up of some of the best creative and technical minds in the business. It's amazing how far they've come since their inception back in 2002. A large part of its success is due to cinematographer and supplier members alike checking their biases and loyalties at the door. It was recognized early on that this policy would be the only way to achieve true clarity on the stickiest issues of

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our time, and it has served us well. An effective testimony to their expansive influence is the industry's adapting of the ASC Color Decision List, which assigns color grading to images and accurately moves those color decisions across different platforms from dailies through editorial to DI. Also, its ranks have grown to include representatives of the Directors Guild of America, the Producers Guild and the Art Directors Guild.

Apparently everyone wants in on the action, and that can only be a good thing since none of their findings are held secret.

The more pure knowledge we're able to put out there about new tools and techniques - knowledge that is free of marketing or promotional spin - the better it will hopefully be for those of us who actually have to use them.

One disturbing thing about current trends though, is the increasing complexity of each subsequent generation of equipment. This “piling on” of technology often brings a new set of interlopers to the process who, if not kept in check, will end up raising greater barriers between us and the realization of our original intent. Do we create from a place in our hearts or a USB port? It's hard to tell sometimes. Workflow is a term that wasn't kicked around too much until relatively recently; now it seems to have affixed itself to almost every discussion of cinematography. Generally, this translates into a need for more gear, the adding of steps to the process and the complication of what once was reasonably simple. The techno-lust crowd - and their ranks are growing - will sweep this aside as an inevitable bump on the road to a final and better method. If they really believe that to be true, then it's obvious we're backing our way into the future, and a perverse one it will be.

Reliability, consistency and ease of use are the defining characteristics of any successful system, yet the experiences of many cinematographers show these elements are lacking in a number of the new digital approaches trotted out for approval. In fact, these three pillars usually don't appear to have been part of the initial concept at all! At risk of sounding like a broken record - or more appropriately in this case, a glitched CD - I would urge the people who design and build those tools to go back to the egg and pay more notice to just whom they're making them for. Does anyone remember the wind-up 35mm Eyemo loaded with a daylight spool of DoubleX Negative? How about the Hazeltine printer? Basic, utilitarian, and hopelessly outmoded as hardware, of course.

But the root concepts behind them will always remain valid.

By their essential nature, these tools let the cinematographer

Do we create from a place in our hearts or a USB port? It's hard to tell sometimes.

concentrate less on how to do something and more on the why behind doing it. This understanding, completely lost in the rush to reinvent the wheel every time out (while charging higher fees to do it!), points up an amusing bit of contemporary irony. When a device is legitimately conceived as an answer to a creative challenge, it lessens the work while at the same time increasing the flow.

Granted, in certain areas we're enjoying remarkable advances, but these are strange times, my friends. To show how insidious the influence of the techno-lust cult has become, I always feel the need to preface any countering statements with the phrase, “I'm not a Luddite, but...” What a shame!

Plainly, technology forms the basis of what we do. Without it, neither our jobs nor movies could exist. It has to improve, expand, mutate. But press the experts on almost any new offering and you'll learn there are a hundred even newer ways for it all to go off the rails.

The bottom line? We have to stop mistaking movement for progress. We have to stop thinking of the means as the end.

Maybe it's time to cut back on all these big tech conferences and start calling a few purely to discuss the art of cinematography. Then we can stop for a moment to consider really hard just what it is we're suppose d to be doing.

Richard P. Crudo ASC

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f-stop hollywood

Photo Credit: Andrew Schwartz/Miramax Film Corp.

INTERNATIONAL

Happy people altogether: (from L-R) ASC president Daryn Okada, EFILM’s Steven J. Scott, and Richard Crudo ASC at the HPA Awards

Coup: Roger Deakins BSC ASC on Revolutionary Road with Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio

Nun's Priest's tale: Roger Deakins BSC, ASC on the set of Doubt with Meryl Streep (L) as Sister Aloysius and Amy Adams as Sister James

British names in Oscars buzz With awards season underway in Hollywood, Wally Pfister ASC and Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC directors of photography on The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire, respectively - have earned recognition from a number of critics groups, writes Carolyn Giardina.

Pfister's work, shooting 35mm and IMAX, on The Dark Knight was honoured by groups including the Chicago Film Critics Association and San Francisco Film Critics Circle, while the cinematography for Slumdog Millionaire was cited by critics' groups such as the New York Film Critics Circle and earned the Golden Frog at Camerimage 2008 last November. Mantle lensed Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire with a combination of 35mm and SI 2K cameras.

“The digital camera helped me to move fast and discreetly,” he says, adding that it was used, for example, to bring energy to the sequences of the child actors running through the slums. “I could run with the small cameras. It gave me the ability to be closer to them, and be less obtrusive. It enhanced the intimacy.”

Roger Deakins BSC ASC lensed several titles that are earning Oscar buzz in major categories including best picture. These include Doubt, the drama based on the play of the same name by director/writer John Patrick Shanley, starring Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman; and Sam Mendes' adaptation of the Richard Yates novel of the same name, Revolutionary Road, reteaming Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett. Deakins also shot a portion of Stephen Daldry's The Reader, for which he shares the DP credit on the film with Chris Menges. BSC ASC (For more on The Reader see interview with Menges, in this edition.)

Speaking about Doubt and Revolutionary Road, Deakins says the aim was simply a very natural look to compliment the scripts.

“They are both incredibly straightforward,” Deakins says.

“John Patrick lived with this piece for a long time and wanted simple coverage. Same with Sam, really.” Both films were lensed on location, with Doubt in New York and Revolutionary Road in New York and Connecticut.

Also on the awards front, Dark Knight helmer Christopher Nolan will be honoured by the ASC this year, as the recipient of the Board of Governors Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to advancing the art of filmmaking. Nolan will be feted during the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards, Feb. 15 in Los Angeles.

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We s u p p o r t o u r union… but we do not believe in all good conscience that now is the time to be putting people o u t o f w o r k . ” S AG members letter

Post celebration The Hollywood Post Alliance recently presented its 3rd annual HPA Awards. Underscoring the collaboration between director of photography and colourist, ASC president Daryn Okada and past president Richard Crudo ASC presented the awards for colour grading.

EFILM's Steven J. Scott won the trophy for the colour grading of a film that went through a DI process, for his work on Iron Man. Additional winners included Lee Smith, A.C.E. for outstanding editing of a feature film, for The Dark Knight; and Ben Burtt (Pixar) and Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Matthew Wood (Skywalker Sound) for Wall-E in the category of outstanding audio post in a feature.

Ron Burdett received the HPA Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Charles S. Swartz Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Post Production was presented to Elizabeth Daley, Dean, University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Engineering Excellence Awards were handed out to Quantel, FastSoft and Panasonic.

Band Pro Band Pro Film & Digital's Los Angeles facility hosted its annual December Open House, bringing the community together at a time when everyone was anxious to catch up, as they enjoyed plenty of food and drink.

Band Pro has been hosting its annual open house for a decade. Said the company's Michael Bravin: “Especially this year with the economic situation, it's real important for every one to stay close together, respect their colleagues and work together.”

Highlights of the exhibition included Sony's F35 and a pair of portable recording systems.

Codex Digital demonstrated how its Portable and new Transfer Station systems create a tapeless workflow. The Codex Portable, now shipping, records resolutions up to 4K. It is designed to capture up to five hours of 4:4:4 footage, or eight hours of HD plus audio and metadata. Codex's Virtual File System allows captured material to be offloaded 'ondemand' in a wide range of resolutions and common file formats directly into post. Material can also be transferred via the Portable's DiskPack to a Codex Transfer Station, which is compact, transportable and makes everything from back-up copies to full production deliverables, on-set or on location.

Meanwhile, S.two previewed its OB-1, a camera-mounted, on board uncompressed 4:4:4 recorder. Designed to accommodate formats including 2K, 3K and 4K, as well as two streams of 4:4:4 for 3-D work, the OB-1 records to a removable, flash memory based magazine. The company expects to begin to put working units in users hands as 2009 begins, and start delivering in February.

Labour debate As the US economy continues to struggle, anxious members of the Hollywood community are watching every move of the stalled negotiations between SAG and the AMPTP. After a failed effort to come to an agreement using a federal mediator, SAG is asking membership to vote to authorize a strike, meaning that negotiators would have the ability to call a strike. A 75% percent “yes” vote would be needed.

Screen Actors Guild National President Alan Rosenberg said: “A 'yes' vote sends a strong message that we are serious about fending off rollbacks and getting what is fair for actors in new media.”

But SAG membership is divided on the issue. One group recently sent a letter to SAG board members, officers and staff. It begins: “We feel very strongly that SAG members should not vote to authorise a strike at this time. We don't think that an authorisation can be looked at as merely a bargaining tool. It must be looked at as what it is - an agreement to strike if negotiations fail. We support our union and we support the issues we're fighting for, but we do not believe in all good conscience that now is the time to be putting people out of work.”

Ballots were scheduled to be mailed out in early January, with results to be tabulated on January 23rd.

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INTERNATIONAL

camerimage diary

Would you believe it…?

Magic moments: (l-r) Roger Sapsford and Alan Lowne, Billy Williams and Jamie Harcourt GBCT, Sir Alan Parker signing copies of his hardback book

Tuesday, December 2nd: No snow this year. And Warsaw is warmer than London as we arrive for our Chrysler Voyager ride across country to Lodz for this year's Plus Camerimage Festival of Cinematography. There's was an interesting piece in The Independent on the plane over, about how the expected turkey Four Christmases, starring America's most bankable sweetheart Reese Witherspoon, trounced Australia over the Thanksgiving weekend. And, would you believe it, there was also a piece in the editorial leader titled “Credits where credit is due”, declaring what a scandal it is that TV credits are being shrunk to a fraction of their natural size, making it virtually impossible to identify who is responsible for making programmes.

Apparently, the 100 or so names involved with the BBC's Wallander flashed by in 14 seconds. The leader writer called for the credits to roll more slowly. Note to self… we must start a proper campaign at some point soon In the Voyager are Sue Gibson BSC, Tom Stern's wife Françoise, Roger Sapsford representing Bucks Labs, Alan my sproutloving publisher, and my mate Ed, a virgin to the Camerimage experience who has come to shoot some possible online promo footage for the magazine. Talk to Sue, who's on a judging panel for the Student Etudes, about

the BSC film and HD camera tests coming up in the New Year, the appalling lack of films from UK students in this year's festival, and the buzz around the establishment of Image Forum. Time passes quickly when you're are having fun, and all of a sudden we've landed in the foyer of the Centrum Hotel. I ask for a room as high as possible away from the smoke. Don't want the fumes seeping into every fabric this year, if I can help it. There's Billy Williams, Stephen Goldblatt, Sir Alan Parker, Tom Stern, and Frances Russell in the packed lobby. The main screening tonight is The Changeling, and a lot of people are going over to the Grand Theatre to watch it and listen to Tom Stern talking about his work.

Frances tells us she's just seen Nigel Walters, who, as Imago president is on the main jury, on Polish TV. They interviewed about the festival. The Poles take the event and cinematography seriously. Later at the Irish Bar, Darren from Panalux buys us dinner, and I bump into Catherine Derry (A camera on Cronenberg's Eastern Promises), James Welland (fresh from a couple of episodes as DP on Mistresses in Bristol), and Craig McCall (director of the Jack Cardiff doc Painting With Light). Haven't seen Catherine for many years, apart from a brief glimpse of her on the Extras section on the Eastern Promises DVD. There's some ribald chat about her handheld work during Viggo Mortensen's naked fight in the Turkish baths.

Masterclass: (l-r) Tom Stern, Ellen Kuras and Kramer Morgenthau

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Wednesday, December 3rd: Breakfast. Scrambled eggs, Polish sausage and a cup of Rosie Lea. There's Don McAlpine, Michael Chapman, Gabriel Beristain, and Roger Deakins and his wife James. Nigel tells us he's been interviewed on Polish TV, and that it would not be such a bad thing if we covered European cinematography in more depth. Billy Williams, and he has a point, suggested we ought to have given more coverage to this year's Lifetime Laureate Pierre Lhomme. We hear that Anthony Dod Mantle received the most huge round of applause the after the screening of Slumdog Millionaire, for which he won the Golden Frog. Judith Petty and Bill Lovell from ARRI and Kodak's EAMER marketing director Thierry Perronnet are at the door of the breakfast room, making sure as many people as possible know about the Image Forum meeting later this morning. We hear that Dante Spinotti was urging the students attending his Panavision workshop yesterday to embrace and immerse themselves in digital cinematography. He has. Alan calls… he's found some sprouts on the way to the Grand Theatre.

The Image Forum is very well attended and its mission, to be a balanced and reliable source of information about film and digital imaging technologies, is ably put forward by the panel covering the gamut of acquisition to post - Judith Petty as chair, Sean Bobbit BSC (representing Sue, who's judging the student work), Joe Dunton, Jeff Allen from Panavision, Thierry from Kodak, Paul Collard of Ascent 142, and Henning Raedlein from ARRI's digital division in Munich. Perhaps the most interesting revelation is that the BBC re-evaluates its edict over the fate of 16mm every three months. The Image Forum has the potential to be absolutely huge in every way - including its membership and its impact - but it's going to have to rapidly turn its face outwards to the directors and producers and commissioners to be of maximum value.

Spend the afternoon at the Grand Theatre with Ed, shooting vox pops for our online promo for the magazine - watch out for this online in the not too distant future. It's

fascinating to hear what people make, or don't make, of our magazine. Wonder if we can get Roger Deakins to say a few words?

Then it's back to the hotel, where a rather dashing Viggo Mortensen is in the lobby (he's just collected an award for being visually outstanding, or something like that). Check on emails and grab fortywinks before the biggie - Panavision's splendid annual dinner.

And what a great occasion it is again, so many cinematographers and camera crew enjoying the chance to meet and have fun.

So little time to talk to them all, but there are some very convivial moments with Ellen Kuras ASC, Fred Murphy ASC (whose work on The Mothman Prophecies gave me that Dr. Who-hide-behind-the-sofa-feeling when it was on the telly a couple of weeks ago) and Remy Chevrin president of the French Society of Cinematographers. With Pierre Lhomme winning the lifetime award, loads of French DPs, including Dominique Gentil and Bruno Delbonnel, have come to the festival this year, looking very BCBG, and putting over a very happy face. Walk back to the Centrum with Frances Russell, Bruce Finn and Ed. We all have variations of the story about Lodz taxi drivers and missing kidneys. Urban myth?

Thursday, December 4th: Still no snow, quite mild in fact. I hear it's bitter back home. Head over with a mild hangover to Grand Theatre to shoot more vox pops, this time with Nigel and Gabriel Beristain. Nigel has been president of Imago for the best part of eight months, and is clearly putting a lot of effort into galvanising cinematographers around the world, he wants the Canadians in next. The interview with Gaby overruns and we're responsible for

Welcome: 10th floor at Centrum Hotel

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INTERNATIONAL

camerimage diary

or that workflow. He much prefers to talk about how to make a great movie, about how the objective and subjective camera can be used to tell a great story.

Gallery: photo of a photo of Alan Parker and DP Peter Biziou BSC on Bugsy Malone, part of a photo retrospective of Parker's work at the Grand Theatre holding up a screening for the Grand Jury.

Slapped wrists.

Taxi over to the Panavision Masterclass at the Opus Studio, where it's up fairly close and personal with DPs Kramer Morganthau (shooting everything in sight right now), Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Tom Stern (who has shot 17 films in the last six years).

We learn that the cinematographer has to be three things: a leader, liasing between the crew, vendors and the craftspeople; a technologist, who must have a handle on the workflow, as well as the equipment and be the master of the lighting; and last, but my no means least, an artist, to be that person who brings the script to life in images. They

each dispense invaluable advice to a spellbound audience, whilst sipping on cups of tea brought by Hugh Whittaker (maybe they're all mildy hungover too).

Kramer talks about how the DP absolutely must feel something in the script and believe in it before agreeing to take on a job. Ellen extols the bond and trust required between the director and the DP, and how they must work together as a united front from the pre-prod to the DI. Tom, who has been shooting with Clint Eastwood for 11 years, underlines Kramer's point about being true to oneself, and Ellen's point about maintaining relationships, not just on a movie but for the long term. He also talks about “technology mud”, and how easy it is to get bogged down in with this camera

That afternoon, it's back to the Grand Theatre for more interviews. Sir Alan Parker is there, enjoying a glass of wine, as two young Polish ladies (whose names are sadly unknown to me) timidly and endearing approach him. Turns out they have been hard at work researching and producing the special Camerimage hardback tome about Sir Alan and his films, and want him to sign a few copies for special giveaways. Don't know why we had the collywobbles about approaching Roger. He is more than happy to give us an interview about the magazine and to share his thoughts on camera about the challenges facing cinematographers. Double Oscar-winner John Toll ASC (Legends of The Fall, Braveheart) lit the interview for us. Ed is agog. Roger's message is… you'll have to visit us online soon to discover that.

Friday, December 5th: Still mild. Taxi ride back to Warsaw with Patrick Leplat, technical manager at Panavision in France - with lots of chat about film and digital workflows, film and digital cameras. The blight is universal. So much has happened in such a short space of time, and we found sprouts. One again a brief dip into Camerimage has been a revelation and a delight.

Camerimage Diary written, and photos taken, by Ron Prince

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Plus Camerimage 2008 Winners Lifetime Achievement Award: Pierre Lhomme

Main Competition: Golden Frog - DP Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire Silver Frog - DP César Charlone for Blindness Bronze Frog - DP Rainer Klausmann for The Baader Meinhof Complex

Student Etudes: Laszlo Kovacs Student Award Golden Tadpole - DP Aurelian Pechmeja for Dear Mom, to Read If I Don't Wake Up Silver Tadpole - DP Bartek Cierlica for The Gravediggers Bronze Tadpole - DP Nadav Hekselman for Roads

Additional Awards in the Student Etudes Competition: Association of Polish Filmmakers Award DP Aurelian Pechmeja The Light for the Arts, OSRAM Award DP Bartek Cierlica Panavision Award for Best Picture Technique Teppo Högman for High Hopes

Nokia Mobile Movie Competition: Audience award - Monika Kotecka's Jury Award - Julius A. Onah

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UK

post & techno

Bucks Labs gets Kodak credit Bucks Laboratories based in Slough, UK, has become the first laboratory in England to successfully complete Kodak's Imagecare Programme certification.

Bucks Laboratories is an independent facility. It was set up in 1976, initialling providing Super 8mm bulk printing services to Walt Disney. The lab subsequently expanded to provide bulk printing and camera negative processing services in all gauges, and became the first in the UK to achieve ISO 9002 quality accreditation in 1997.

The lab has recently developed its in-house Utopia system, which provides integrated software control of all its printing and processing activities. The latest colour negative processing machine, which has been recently installed, is software controlled to provide high level quality and consistency, and was instrumental in helping the lab to achieve the Kodak Imagecare accreditation. The processing department is headed by Alan Leaper, who is responsible for the Imagecare programme at Bucks.

“Bucks Laboratories is extremely pleased to have achieved accreditation to the Kodak Imagecare Programme,” said managing director David Buck. “We are well aware of the status and significance of this quality award, which we are hoping will lead to increased business both from the UK and internationally.”

There are now 47 labs in 29 countries that have Kodak Imagecare status.

Please contact Roger Sapsford at Bucks.

ARRI may benefit from Dalsa closure Dalsa, the Canadian company whose core business is the manufacture of digital imaging sensors and semiconductors, has ceased operations of its Digital Cinema division. The firm is in negotiations with ARRI to license its camera technology and sell its related facilities.

According to Dalsa Digital Cinema president, Rob Hummell, “It's the perfect marriage of a company that knows how to make great motion picture cameras, ARRI, and DALSA, a company that knows how to make the best sensors.”

Although Dalsa cameras were sought-after as the highest possible quality digital acquisition for visual effects sequences on films such as James Bond Quantum Of Solace and the upcoming Alice In Wonderland, they never gained acceptance as the first unit camera on any major motion pictures. Dalsa's Origin camera, released in 2004 was large, heavy and not particularly ergonomic. Furthermore, the huge volume of uncompressed 4K data created workflow challenges. The company was creating a slimmed-down camera, the Evolution, with third party manufacturers including S.two and Codex Digital creating practical field recording solutions.

At the time of the closure in November, Dalsa was also in the process of manufacturing its own line of custom Anamorphic lenses designed to match its particular sensor dimensions.

However, the parent company decided it could no longer afford to be in the business of manufacturing motion picture cameras. As many as 40 people are thought to have lost their jobs. ARRI was unable disclose any information about its negotiations with Dalsa at the time of going to press.

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Cinesite's Rowe wins Women In Film award Sue Rowe, one of the UK's most experienced visual effects supervisors, won the 2008 Panalux Craft Award, at the annual Women in Film and Television Awards, held in December. The award is given to women who show excellence in the crafts involved in the production of film, television and digital media, and was presented

by Sir Patrick Stewart.

Rowe has worked with Cinesite, one of Europe's largest full-service visual effects facilities, for several years.

Currently involved in the Bruckheimer/Disney production Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, in 2007 she oversaw Cinesite's large quota of work on the BAFTA and Oscar awardwinning The Golden Compass.

In a visual effects career spanning fifteen years, her credits also include Death At A Funeral (2007), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Stormbreaker (2006), Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (2005), The Hitchhiker's Guide To The

Galaxy (2005), Alfie (2004), Ella Enchanted (2004), Troy (2004), Tombraider: The Cradle of Life (2003), What A Girl Wants (2002), and Tombraider (2001).

Quantel 3D wins HPA award British post-production equipment manufacturer Quantel won a prestigious 2008 Hollywood Post Alliance Engineering Excellence Award for its Pablo Stereoscopic 3D system in November. The HPA Engineering Excellence Awards honour outstanding new technologies representing a significant step forward for the post-production industry.

"We know stereo 3D provides a great opportunity for everyone in our industry and the HPA membership is a leading part of this new wave,” said Mark Horton, Quantel's strategic marketing manager. “Receiving the HPA award last year for Genetic Engineering gave a tremendous boost to the product in the market and also to the Quantel engineers that developed it. This year's award will have the same effect and will help to drive the market forward into a new and exciting era."

Quantel's stereoscopic 3D system for Pablo provides real-

time, end-to-end post processing for stereoscopic 3D films. It was designed to overcome the challenges that have hindered stereoscopic 3D post production in the past. It offers the ability to play out and process two streams of synchronous, high resolution media simultaneously without rendering, making the conforming of 3D media almost as quick and simple as conforming conventional 2D media. The system has been embraced by post production facilities including FotoKem, PlasterCITY Digital Post, Stereoscope, Gradient Effects, Modern VideoFilm, 3ality Digital and Pace in the USA and also at post houses in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Paris.

Autodesk, the manufacturer of VFX compositing and DI grading systems, has published two whitepapers one on stereoscopic 3D post production, entitled The Business And Technology of Stereoscopic Filmmaking, and Autodesk And The Red One Camera Workflow Guide, looking at workflow from shooting to online and post production.

ARRI True Blue award ARRI's newest lighting products, the True Blue line of studio and Tungsten fixtures, introduced in 2008, have won a prestigious International Forum (iF) Design Award. iF is an independent organisation that examines the success of design services in an economic context and promotes public awareness on the importance of design. Over 1,000 companies from 39 countries applied 2,808 products for an iF design award.

The True Blue fixtures employ ARRI's new, patented, cross cooling system to reduce lamp housing temperature by 25% and the lens temperature by 17% while offering maximum light output.

Lighting sales manager, Martin Carnell said, “Many of the design innovations in the product line-up were implemented as a result of valuable feedback from customers in the film

and television industry around the globe. The TRUE BLUE range redefines the standard for professional tungsten lighting in terms of functionality, reliability and value.”

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UK

post & techno

Prime Focus receives 24fps Animation Award effects of a level that Indian audiences have never seen in any Indian film before. This was India's first movie that adopted the Hollywood model of using multiple post houses, with Prime Focus as the lead facility.

Prime Focus, one of India's leading post production and visual effects companies, was awarded the 24fps Animation Award 2008 for Outstanding Contribution to Visual Effects, at the industry achievement awards held in Mumbai. The 24fps Awards recognise creative efforts of talent in the animation and VFX industry from India and abroad.

RTS award for Milne

Prime Focus Ltd's services include visual effects, digital film lab (digital intermediate, high-resolution film scanning and film recording), telecine, editing, motion control and high definition production. The company employs nearly 1,500 people across facilities in India, London, New York, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Los Angeles.

The award honours Prime Focus' work on India's pioneer big budget science fiction movie, Love Story 2050. The movie is by far the most ambitious VFX film from India, with visual

LipSync appoints MacCuish as MD MacCuish joined the company following stints at Framestore, Cinesite and MPC. He has worked on a variety of movies, including the James Bond and Harry Potter franchises, Sweeney Todd, The Descent and How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. He has also executive produced several films for LipSync Productions, the company's production arm, including the Toronto Film Festival hit Skin, and 1234 which debuted at the London Film Festival. He is a member of BAFTA and the BKSTS. MacCuish commented, “It's a difficult time in the UK post industry, but as the only company in Soho that is able to offer full picture and sound post, with an excellent VFX team, LipSync Post is ideally placed to grow our client base in both film and broadcast. It's definitely an exciting period and we have ambitious plans, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.”

LipSync Post has promoted Alasdair MacCuish to the position of managing director, after five years as head of digital film at the company.

Well Remembered: Les Ostinelli BSC, FBKSTS, AIC (Hon) Brilliant. knowledgeable, helpful, inquisitive, our friend, my friend, everybody's friend. A lovely man, who helped everybody, and who was a true world diplomat. In the last years of Karl Kelly's life at Pinewood, Les used to often drop in for a chat and a coffee. Those wonderful coffee mornings in the Costa! Both Karl and Les savoured every moment of their past lives during those sessions. I miss Karl greatly and now Les. Yet another era passing.

Condolencies from Tony Covell.

Don Harris Don Harris originally started at ARRI (GB) at its inception in 1983. Originally running the service department, he went on to become sales manager for Western Europe. Working at Samuelsons Film Service in the camera department in the early years served as a good apprenticeship for his eventual success at ARRI (GB), with his extensive knowledge and experience of the film and television industry a contributory factor. Don's great character and personality made him extremely popular with both colleagues and customers alike.

A wonderful friend and colleague. From Renos Louka.

Framestore's director of computer animation, Mike Milne, received a lifetime achievement award at The Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards on 24th November 2008. Milne, who received his award from RTS chair Wayne Garvie, was an early pioneer of combining CGI with live action and won a D&AD Silver Award for his work on ITV's Spitting Image. In 1992 he formed Framestore's first computer animation team, and was director of animation on the first series of Walking With Dinosaurs, the 1999 BBC programme which revolutionised television creature work by bringing big screen quality VFX to the small screen for the first time.

The unprecedented success of Walking With Dinosaurs created a host of sequels and spin-offs, such as ITV's Primeval, which Milne continued to supervise.

Framestore was also responsible for The Tale of Despereaux, the computer-animated children's feature, based on the 2003 fantasy book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, and directed

by Sam Fell and Rob Stevenhagen. Many critics praised the film for its excellent animation, and despite mixed overall reviews, the film had made $23,337,457 worldwide by Boxing Day following a December 19th opening. The film, a Universal Pictures presentation, is Framestore's inaugural animated feature, and is a strong contender for a nomination for this year's Best Animated Feature Oscar.

UK Stunt Girls 2009 Calendar Taking their cue from Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and the other members of the W.I in Calendar Girls, eight professional stunt girls decided to bare it all for the children's charity Make A Wish Foundation, by featuring naked in a 2009 calendar.

These dynamic and highly-trained ladies, all elite members of the UK Professional Stunt Register, are the unsung heroes of action movies, often doubling as well-known stars to perform the action that excites and entertains us.

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For the very first time, they now appear in front of the camera naked in the UK Stunt Girls Exposed 2009 Calendar. Each month features a photo of the girls posing with the equipment and rigging actually used in the stunt industry.

All proceeds from the sale of the calendars will be donated to the Make a Wish Foundation.

In addition to the contribution made by the stunt girls, Pinewood Studios, wire riggers, technicians, stunt engineers, photographers, makeup and hair artists and many others generously donated their time and resources in

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support of this worthy cause. The calendar is now retailing through various outlets and at www.ukstuntgirls.com for £10. Copies signed by international stars including Brad Pitt and

Angelina Jolie will be auctioned at various charity balls.

The girls hope to raise in excess of £50,000.

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UK

meet the new wave

Meet The New Wave We've identified a new wave of cinematographers who… have a decent slew of films under their belts… are not upstarts, but not quite of “a certain age” either… they are not yet members of the BSC, but they have the potential to become the next Seamus or Haris or Sue. Shane Daly Filmography (so far): The Big I Am (2009), The Rainbow Tribe (2008), Psych 9 (2007), Love Me Still (2007), Alpha Male (2006), Baby Juice Express (2004).

When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer?

I saw Vertigo at The Phoenix cinema in East Finchley when I was 12. I had no idea about the film at all and it really hit me.

I remember standing outside afterwards in some sort of shock.

Where did you train?

The University of Westminster, formerly PCL, in London.

What are you favourite films?

I love '60s and '70s American films, so some of my favourites are Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, Annie Hall, The French Connection, Cool Hand Luke, The Conversation, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now. It really was the golden age of cinema, not just the look of that era's type of lenses, stocks and lights, but also the costume and art direction, the mood, the texture of the time. I'm a huge fan of Kubrick, Spielberg, Fincher, Ridley Scott, PT Anderson, Coppola, Alan Pakula, Mike Figgis.

What's the best advice you've had?

My Grandmother told me… “It's not what you know, it's who you know.”

Who are your DP/industry heroes?

Conrad Hall, for the beauty is his lighting, but also the character of the films he chose to make, and Robert Richardson, Eduardo Serra, Gordon Willis, Sacha Vierny, John Alcott, Roger Deakins, Dante Spinotti, Owen Roizman, Matthew Libatique, Rodrigo Prieto, John Mathieson, Lance Accord and Don McAlpine. Amir Mokri and Mauro Fiore are creating really interesting work at the moment.

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Have you won any awards ?

Last year I was fortunate to win Best Cinematography at the Beverly Hills Films Festival and the Luminaria Award for Outstanding Cinematography at the 24FPS Film Festival.

What's you proudest moment?

Probably when The Street 2 won the 2008 Best Drama BAFTA. What's been your best moment on set?

I remember executive producer Sita Williams coming on the set of The Street 2 with the BAFTA and RTS awards for the first series. She arrived to a big cheer, the shoot stopped to celebrate. Although I wasn't a part of the first series, most of the crew were and it was a lovely moment to be part of.

And your worst moment on set?

On the first day of a film I was lighting, one actor was throwing a prop bag at another, but it contained something hard and hit him full in the face. His nose exploded, there was a lot of blood and the unit was stood down for a week. It wasn't good.

Tell us your most hilarious faux pas?

I once commented enthusiastically to an actor what a great job the make up department had done ageing him so much.

To which he replied that he hadn't been in the chair yet.

Away from work, what are your greatest passions?

I'm a keen F1 and Arsenal fan. I'm a little obsessed with cinematography and I love going to the cinema more than anything else. Music is very important too.

What one piece of kit could you not live without?

My eyes.

Which films are you most proud of to date?

The Wire In The Blood episode I shot for Paul Whittington in 2007 (Nocebo) was a very successful collaboration between us. We are both very excited by the work of Alejandro Inarritu,

Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron. We referenced 21 Grams and Children Of Men to create a gritty, grainy look that I hope was a good foundation to what was an extremely unpleasant story about ritual voodoo murders.

What's the hardest shot/thing you've had to light/frame?

Shooting the title sequence for Bangkok Dangerous in Prague, which involved a police convoy at dusk moving a key witness who Nicolas Cage assassinates from a cathedral tower. I'd recced the helicopter shot with the director in the afternoon, and left him at the heliport with an operator. I returned to the location on a bridge in central Prague to man a crane shot, which started from under the bridge then moved out, up and over the bridge to pan 180˚ with the convoy. We were shooting at the same time as the helicopter to cut between the two shots and only had a small window where the sunset would be perfect and the convey would cross at the right moment. The reset on the convoy was longer the sunset was going to last, so it was a very pressured shot.

In the entire history of filmmaking, which film would you love to have shot?

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. What's your greatest extravagance?

My DVD collection.

Which three adjectives best describe your approach to cinematography?

Love. Passion. Energy.

What are your aspirations for the future?

I would like to shoot small, intimate indie films and big summer blockbusters - that would be a great contrast. I'd like to make films that really affect and excite people, that create worlds where audiences can be challenged or just lose themselves for a few hours.

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Camerimage: a picture of Lodz at sunset taken from the Centrum Hotel

The President's Progress One of the joys of jury service is the initial lack of vital decision-making. Previous years had been marked with, “You should have seen this film”, or “You really should not have missed that workshop or masterclass”. Instead the juror is transported into a world of make-believe and inflated selfimportance. His life for six days belongs to Camerimage.

There is only one decision to be ultimately made, the winners.

Until then you just sit through 16 films of varied quality, and at some ungodly hour are spirited away to generous parties thrown by the likes of Framestore, Technicolor and Kodak.

The Alternative Lodz “Do you speak Russian?” were the first words in English as I was whisked into the darkness of the soviet-inspired Lodz architecture. My “Niet”, was followed by a request for a translation into Polish for, “Help, I am being kidnapped.”

To my relief this drew peals of amusement from my attractive female abductors. Realising I was really in civilisation, as if I at home in my adopted West London surrounded by Poles, I was able to relax.

As a medical tourist, my fifth visit to Camerimage seemed destined to be one with a difference. The unknown terror of an internet-arranged dental appointment was partially matched by the somewhat daunting honour of being invited

by Kazik to serve on the main jury. Despite being warned by the dentist, with the loveliest smile in Poland, to be careful with my temporary bridge, one bite of a sandwich soon cracked the replacement, which I somehow managed to swallow! This did not make life any easier the next morning as looking like Dracula I explained why I was suffering with a speech impediment to my old friend in charge of the jury, Marek Zubriekski.

The opening ceremony was enlivened by the extraordinary sight of two ballet dancers in green, gliding on and off the stage. The opening film had the expectation of Roger Deakins as the cinematographer. The first crisis was not long in coming. The projector was a very old acquaintance of

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Fellow jurors included two joint ASC/BSC members in the forms of Gabriel Beristein and Stephen Goldblatt. Gabriel talked about lots of things, but especially fondly about his days at the National Film School where he was tutored by my own mentor Peter Sargent BSC, and studied with our BSC President Sue Gibson. One of the lighter questions posed was how many joint BSC/ASC members existed? Gabriel's pride was understandably immense as he could also add AMC.

previous juries. The projection of' Doubt was deemed by my fellow jurors as unsatisfactory.

The next day brought hurried improvements when doubts about Doubt were confirmed as a new bulb was installed. The Russians unfortunately never withdrew with their projectors, but the appearance of a meter to measure the light on the screen appeared to solve everything and the show went on as we all knew it had to anyway.

The jury is officially requested to elect a president. Influenced by the Latin temperament of Nicola Pecorini we resisted claiming that Switzerland and Belgium survived happily without one. Marek must have wished he was giving a piano recital! When forced the decision was unanimous, it had to be Pierre Lhomme AFC. The jury service was starting in earnest. The nine of us included Juan Ruiz Anchia ASC AEC, John Toll ASC, the photographer Ryszard Horowitz and the editor Steven

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X-Factor: judging the special ones at Plus Camerimage 2008 (L-R) Nicola Pecorini, Nigel Walters, Gabriel Beristain, Stephen Goldblatt, John Toll, Pierre Lhomme, Steven Rosenblum ACE, Rysard Horowitz, and Juan Ruiz Anchia ASC AEC

Rosenblum ACE. Comments such as: “Dark side of the soul”, “No compassion for the audience”, “What would Sven have done with this?”; “Should not be in competition”, were soon forthcoming. Suddenly, the depression, which had not only gripped the main jury but the audience too, was lifted by the showing of a film with a difference, and the audience reaction said happiness and joy. I happened to be sitting next to Anthony Dod Mantle who was heading for America the next morning to help promote Slumdog Millionaire and said to him that he would never receive a reception as cinematographer as he had that night in Lodz. It was incredible.

A glance of British Cinematographer magazine, which Alan Lowne had shipped from London , brought the astonishing confirmation in its F-Stop Hollywood column that the official British entry for the foreign film category for the Oscars was a film entitled Hope, Eternal. This was a film I had shot in 2007 in Africa. Originally entitled Hope, this low-budget film for S4C had been my first experience of High Definition. After one week under the Zambian skies, the clapper board was changed to No Hope, in the subsequent week to Hopeless, and eventually to Evan's Gate after the name of the lead character. This production had floundered when Evan had no one to speak to in Welsh, as it is not common in Africa. The nomination for an Oscar just had to be because there was no competition, but the moral had to be “Never abandon Hope”.

The morning after the end of Festival feels like the end of a shoot. Old friends had said their goodbyes for another year.

Billy Williams was boarding the early morning coach. He is the Pied Piper of Lodz - tall, distinguished and imparting so generously his advice to the trailing young cinematographers, whose presence makes Camerimage such an exciting place.

Billy and Lone Star are the two most venerable institutions of the Festival.

John Toll ASC entered the depleted breakfast room, clutching

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a hurried sandwich and luggage, to say farewell muttering something about a change in times. Apparently over twenty members of the ASC had breezed though the city.

Still remaining were Cesar Charlone and Don McAlpine who was in a state of elation after minutes earlier receiving a text to say that he had been awarded a lifetime achievement by the ASC for his services to cinematography. As he was there at the birth of Australian cinematography shooting Barry Mackenzie Holds His Own, he was entitled to thrust his arms in the air as he shared the news on his Blackberry. Some of his pride would have been for his country even if they had lost to Wales at rugby the previous Saturday. As I shared a taxi to Warsaw with Karl Walter Lindenlaub BvK ASC I reflected that apart from the winners the biggest smiles certainly belonged to my dentists!

EFA After the debacle at the European Film Academy Award in Berlin last year, when cinematographer Chris Doyle caused a stir by accusing almost all of the 1,500 guests of being “whores”, and then forgetting the reason he was there to introduce Michael Balhaus, the organisers this year in Copenhagen must have been hoping for a quieter time.

However, cinematographers managed once again to dominate the next-day headlines across Europe. As the results of the Best Cinematography Award were announced, Oscar Faura, who could be expected to take the top prize for that fine Spanish film The Orphanage, misunderstood the proceedings, and as his picture was flashed on the screen began his walk to the podium. Unfortunately for him, by the time he arrived, his picture had been replaced by the real winner, Marco Onorato, for the Italian film Gomorrah. Oscar Faura retreated with some dignity secure in the knowledge that earlier that day Gomorrah had not been placed by the Camerimage jury in its adjudication.

Inspirations in Copenhagen The Imago Masterclass of November 2008, entitled Inspiration, attracted over one hundred cinematographers from all over the world, and was regarded by those who attended as a great success. The format involved five internationally renowned cinematographers each being moderated by a different cinematographer. These illustrated discussions took place in front of the delegates representing 24 different nationalities in the main auditorium of the National Film School of Denmark.

The event was hosted by Tina Sorensen and her staff of the Post Graduate Training Department and financed by the generosity of the Danish Association of Cinematographers, which had donated 33,000 Euros from unclaimed residuals from its collecting rights society to help finance the event. The Danes excelled themselves - both in their organisation and the generosity of their sponsors, who included Nordisk Film Post Production and Kodak.

After an initial welcome by Astrid Heubrandtner AAC and Ines Carvalho AIP, and an introduction by Imago President Nigel Walters, the benchmark standard was set by a truly inspirational talk given by Bruno Delbonnel AFC moderated by Herman Versschuur NSC. Bruno's films include Amelie, an inspiration in itself. After listening to him, the audience and organisers realised the next few days could be something special.

And they were not to be disappointed : Cesar Charlone ABC ASC was moderated by Louis-Philippe Capelle SBC. Moving away from City Of God, the major part of his talk had been his search for “inspiration” for his film Blindness, for which he was awarded the Silver Frog at Camerimage.

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Imago's Model Contract proposals. The World Conference will be held in Copenhagen at the National Film School of Denmark with its proven track record of efficiency. Uni-Mei will help Imago strengthen aspects of our remit as passed by the Lodz, Conrad Hall Declaration of 2005, which called for something to be done about the deteriorating working conditions of cinematographers around the world. Any improvement in our conditions automatically results in improvement for those more vulnerable on our crews. Authors rights will also feature at the conference for which opinions of the prospective agenda would be welcome prior to Bradford.

The experience of submitting this EU application will hopefully open doors for future funding for such events as international masterclasses for cinematographers.

Imago Digital Conference 2009 Imago is a supporting member of the European Digital Cinema Forum (EDCF), and is proposing to work with them to hold a follow-up conference, again in Oslo where the last Forum was so successful in 2006. The United Kingdom now has approximately 290 digital projection screens.

The nearest rival in Europe is Germany with 170. High definition remains an alien concept in large areas of Europe.

eDIT Festival 2009

Copenhagen: (l-r) Hermann Vershurr, Bruno Delbonnel, Rolv Haan, Agnes Godard, Louis-Philippe Capelle , Cesar Charlone, Brian Tufano, Nigel Walters Slawomir Idziac, and Andreas Fischer-Hansen

Early in January representatives of the eDIT Frankfurt Film Festival held a successful meeting with the AFC in Paris to discuss a French participation in the Festival which will be held between 4th to 6th of October 2009. The Gala evening dedicated to Guiseppe Rotunno and Ann Coates was a high profile event for Imago, as were the promotional events preceding it in Brussels and Frankfurt where every opportunity was taken to spread awareness of the role of the cinematographer. The IAGA will discuss future awards ceremonies .The Hessen Government support for the eDIT Festival has made a substantial impact on Imago's financial viability.

Widening international cooperation The diversity of the themes and techniques of the cinematographers was to prove the strength of the Masterclasses. Brian Tufano BSC involved the audience to perhaps a greater degree than his colleagues. One of his latest films, Adulthood, featured strongly in his chosen illustrations of his work together, naturally, with Trainspotting.

Winner of a Cesar for Beau Travail, Agnes Godard AFC was ably moderated by Rolv Haan FNF and made up a strong French stage presence, which was not reciprocated in their delegates who consisted solely of Eric Guichard AFC. The British support was only a moderate improvement on the French.

The “inspiration” for Slawomir Idziak did not require much moderation by Andreas FischerHansen DFF after his viewing extracts from his films Three Colours: Blue and Black Hawk Down.

Anyone requiring further clarification of his talk should visit www.filmspringopen.eu.

Imago was able to support the cost to some of those visiting Copenhagen by waiving the fees for the Masterclasses. Special praise for the two young cinematographers who had travelled so far to represent of our recently affiliated member Societies. They were Velinda Wardell from Australia and Matt Meikle from New Zealand. Cinematographers from India, Argentina and Brazil were also present.

Imago is proud of this achievement in organising such a successful and happy Masterclass. This would not have been possible without the support of the Danish FFF under Jan Weincke DFF President, assisted by Paul Rene Roestad FNF. Thank you those who took the trouble to fill the questionnaires, Imago. The next Masterclass? Who knows, but the success of this one gave us all “inspiration” to plan another, and sooner rather than later too. Thank you once more Tina Sorensen and staff.

Imago awaits a final reply from the Canadian society to its invitation to become an affiliate member, and we will continue to work closely through our respective technical committee with the ASC. Much useful information is flowing in both directions and Imago is committed to forging an even closer relationship with the ASC in the future. Invitations will be made to the Korean and Chinese societies to consider affiliations to Imago

New bridges were built in 2008 The President , General Secretary and Vice Presidents will have visited over 14 countries forging closer links between cinematographers world wide in the year leading to our next general conference. Bridges have been built and new links created. For this we are grateful to our sponsors, and to our respective societies, who have to fill the shortcomings in funding. Our aim as that of our founders remains to uphold standards in cinematography.

Manaki and Camerimage festivals It is intended in late September to recognise the contribution of the Manaki Brothers Festival in Macedonia, which celebrates its thirtieth year as the first festival devoted to the art of cinematography, and the also the outstanding contribution of Camerimage to our craft .

The decision by the AFC to move the date of the Micro Salon in Paris to February 6th and 7th has given welcome breathing space before the BSC Elstree Show which takes place on 13th and 14th of March.

We wish all our Societies and many thousands of members well in this New Year.

Nigel Walters BSC Imago President

Into 2009, and beyond…

Imago enters 2009 nearing the first Anniversary of the appointment of a new board in Amsterdam. We approach our Annual Conference (IAGA) in Bradford with the news that the BvK have held their annual conference in Munich and will be welcomed as Imago guests in Yorkshire on the week-end of February 14th. The re-entry of one of our four founding societies to play its rightful part in Europe remains a priority of this presidency. The BSC is hosting the event.

World conference of Cinematographers Following our successful Masterclass in November in Copenhagen, the planning of a similar future event will be high on the conference agenda. Adequate funding remains a problem.

Imago is proposing a world conference of Cinematographers in 2010, and will be submitting an application by the end of March under the European Commission Media Mundi Proposal. This supports closer liaison between the EU and third countries. If the proposal is accepted (we were supported at a meeting in London in December by Uni-Mei, a Global Organisation based in Brussels funded by trade unions) we will have a powerful case for our application to be accepted.

At its annual conference last year BECTU delegates passed a resolution demanding support for

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Lone Star: you do not normally see his eyes, but he has been introducing Camerimage since the beginning

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GBCT - The chairman speaks

Camerimage Credit squeeze Another new year is here, and off we go again on the merry-go-round.

Some people will be working and some won't, but we will all be watching television at some time, and looking at the credits at the end of the programmes to check out who did what. Or at least that is what we would like to do. I've just looked back through my records and I mentioned credits exactly a year ago and tried to start an organised campaign to encourage the broadcasters to agree that fully-legible credits (both in terms of size, typeset and speed of transmission) should be the accepted norm. Unless I've missed something, we as an industry haven't achieved this.

If we value the talent and effort we all put into making f i l m s a n d T V, l e t ' s s e e i t properly and decently credited.

On the BBC Points of View programme recently, the BBC for example were trying to say that viewers were more interested to know what the upcoming programmes were than in reading the credits. They seemed to be stating that it was a “fait accompli”, that titles would be squeezed into an indecipherable blob.

Channel 4, in replying to a complaint about credits transmission, sent a standard reply to a completely different complaint! They didn't seem to understand the difference between complaining about credits and on-screen announcements spoiling my viewing.

As an industry I strongly feel we should make a concerted effort to tackle this situation and call upon every related organization to get together and sort it out with the broadcasters. If we value the huge amount of talent and effort that we all put into making films and TV programmes, let's see it properly and decently credited.

I was fortunate to visit Camerimage in Lodz (pronounced “woodge”) at the beginning of December and was struck by the enormous enthusiasm for film and cinematography. Rupert Lloyd Parry has written a piece about it in this issue so I'll leave it to him to describe what went on, but I would like to sow a seed of an idea for next years' festival. At an ARRI-sponsored workshop for 16mm film there was an almost desperate rush by the younger participants to be part of the three groups that were randomly selected to do a practical “shoot” on a small set at the seminar location. One young student said to me excitedly “This is fantastic!”

So what if we, (BSC, GBCT, camera hire companies, lighting companies, stock suppliers, post production companies, etc) suggested to Camerimage that we run a couple of workshops at the Lodz film school during the festival next year?

Perhaps the film school can supply a stage and a couple of sets, and we turn up with some kit and enthusiastic teachers and get on with it? Just a thought.

Well, good luck this year everyone. There is little doubt it's going to be tough, but we are a resilient bunch and together we should be able to weather the storm.

Jamie Harcourt GBCT Chairman GBCT

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by Rupert Lloyd Parry. GBCT I wonder if anyone catching a flight has ever settled back into the opulent comfort of their oversize airline seat, taken a sip of complementary Champagne and thought how pleasurable international air travel can be? If they have, it certainly wasn't with Ryanair from Stansted.

This is an experience akin to poking your eyes out with a fork, it just takes longer. I am not however going to debate the horrors of budget airlines since this is about Camerimage, and I need all of my word allocation to tell you how great it is. Ryanair was just an unfortunate necessity to get me to Lodz.

Don't believe everything you are told about Poland, not only is it a very friendly place with rather good food, it's also great value for money and the perfect place to do your Christmas shopping. It might seem a little run down in places, but turn a corner and you'll find yourself in a shopping centre that wouldn't be out of place in Dubai. I had expected my very modestly priced hotel (The Campanile) to be utterly grim, it wasn't, and it was a clean, modern and friendly hotel where nothing was too much trouble. The cab from the airport was forty zlotys (a fiver) and only took ten minutes. So far so good, but I had no idea where I was or what to expect next.

In the morning after a very pleasant continental breakfast I set out to find the Grand Theatre, expecting to find myself on the edge of town, it was actually just a ten-minute stroll. I registered and was given my pass for the week (you do need to have booked this in advance). Unless registered as a student, or journalist, head for the VIP desk, you will be presented with a small pocket guide beautifully laid out and

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experiences

Next stop the Jewish Restaurant, highly recommended by everyone and a great place to discuss what you have learned, and what's not to be missed. Unfortunately the film I decided was 'not to be missed' was a documentary set in France spoken in Spanish with Polish subtitles. I tried but failed to understand a single thing that was going on and so thought it might be more productive to play with the new Technodolly back at the Grand Theatre. This is a great piece of gear and essentially is a motion control system incorporating a 15' Technocrane. Working my way along the stands I was invited to the Panavision drinks that night.

With Hugh Whittaker warmly greeting everyone at the door this turned out to be a Who's Who? of world leading Cinematographers. I had after all come over for a bit of networking, but since everyone is letting their hair down it would be churlish to start handing out cards, pushing a glass of wine into the odd hand might curry favour later in the week though. Again this was a place where people were discussing film in a creative and optimistic way, later walking away from the party I felt like this is a business brimming with fresh ideas.

The harsh realities of what, for most of us, has been a tricky year seemed a long way away. I joined this business because I liked films, and as every day passed in Lodz I realised that so did a lot of other people.

Earlier I mentioned there were students out there.

There are a lot of students, but suddenly on Thursday all the coat racks are empty and Camerimage takes on a different pace. There are still forums and workshops and screenings, but it seems things are, if anything, a little more relaxed. The week definitely divides in two but I'm glad I was there for both halves. It's not that the first half is for students, far from it, but there is a sense of the festival getting down to business before having to judge the films and present the awards on Saturday.

I chose that day to watch a friend present a lighting workshop, I hadn't seen him in ages, and in some downtime I crept over in the dark to whisper hello. I had chosen my moment carefully and he shook my hand enthusiastically, six hundred people gave us a round of applause, he hadn't turned off his lapel mike.

describing the seminars, lectures and films that make up Camerimage. Not really knowing where to start I decided to catch a cab to Opus Film Studios and watch a presentation by Dante Spinotti, it took about three minutes, the taxi ride, not the presentation, everything in Lodz is within walking distance.

Here I discovered the students, hundreds of them, as well as a few old faces I had bumped into at the airport. Spinotti talked for a couple of hours about his films and showed some of his work, but more interesting was his enthusiasm for HD. One of the most positive things I will take away from Poland is the extraordinary exchange of advice, information and ideas. Great cinematographers will mix with first year students, technicians and everyone in between, and although it sounds like a clichĂŠ everyone's passion for filmmaking creates a truly unique atmosphere. Filmmakers were not all created equal, but Camerimage is possibly the closest you will ever be to witnessing it. This was going to set the tone for the rest of my visit but first I had an appointment with the Irish bar.

This is set opposite the Grand Hotel, the Grand is where the grown-ups live, and the Irish bar is where the proletariat take them for a beer. I had wondered whether I was going to bump

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into anyone I knew, I shouldn't have worried. If hundreds of cameramen and crews are in town and only one place serves Guinness, you're probably going to meet someone you know.

We chatted about the state of the industry, the credit crunch and our mortgages. Since that was far too depressing we started to discuss the films and what we were going to watch, this week is after all about eating, drinking, chatting, learning and watching movies. Something that did start to get talked about was the Image Forum, I hadn't heard of it so I circled it on my guide as something to visit, but for now I wanted to catch the evening showing of Birdie. Alan Parker was receiving an award and scattered through the week were a selection of his best films. I may have sneaked back to the Irish bar for a quick half afterwards though.

The next day I settled down to a presentation about Image Forum. How this has escaped my attention I have no idea but it was fascinating. I may be a grip, but for me cameras are not just a box with a hole in the bottom. Differing formats, workflows and techniques are highly relevant to everyone around the camera and IF gave me a fascinating insight into film and digital comparison, the results aren't always what you think they will be.

ARRI had also invited me to drinks, but before I went I had decided I must try some Polish food. After watching the particularly excellent but rather long The Baader Meinhof Complex, I went with a Polish producer for a much-needed beer. She decided to order something that translated as 'Reaper and Pettitoes', I went for steak and thank the heavens I did. I don't have a bad word to say about Poland, but if you're not too keen on pork fat and value your life, avoid 'Reaper and Pettitoes'. I then escorted my very brave dining companion to the ARRI drinks, where even more old faces had arrived in town. This time it was Vodka I pressed into their hands. I was feeling quite Polish that night, even if I did order the steak.

I had heard a lot about Camerimage, but it was only after Christopher Doyle was so ecstatic when describing it on the last job that I decided I would give it a go, and I'm really pleased I did. Dee at the office had helped all the GBCT members sort out their trip, and we would have been lost without her. I'll definitely be there next year and feel enthused about working on films again. What we do is a real privilege, but sometimes we may need reminding. Camerimage will do that. www.rupertlloydparry.com

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UK

gbct

Shopping for the right format

by Ben Smithard

My first and only advice in this article is never, ever go shopping at the new Westfield Shopping Centre on a Saturday afternoon. What has this got to do with finding the right format, film or digital, for your next project? Well nothing really, but to some extent everything.

As we all know shooting film for TV, cinema and commercials is a simple decision for everyone concerned. It works. All our recent, and not so recent, memories are fondly wrapped up in great cinematic experiences, most of which have been shot on film.

Furthermore, it's relatively easy to use, store, and project these small pieces of history. I consider myself lucky to have started my career some 11 years ago, and had the opportunity to mainly shoot film for most of those years, and still do for that matter. However, I also shoot digital, and have done for the last few years. After a few fairly large TV projects on digital systems, I do not feel as though I have had to compromise my art or creativity in any way because of being asked to not shoot film. I am still the same cameraman, and this is a big point. We are all still the same creative/technical individuals we have always been, and the tools we are using should not change that, and ultimately they won't. Strangely, I feel that they will make me a better cameraman.

Will we have to change the way in which we work is another question? Well, yes, because we will have to learn whole different methods of capturing our images and there are many out there. Herein lies the problem, there are too many. We have gone from two film formats to over ten digital camera systems seemingly overnight. Why is this a problem? Well let's go back to the shopping centre for a minute. There are too many options, and most are the same really or will be once they have been compressed, messed around in the edit suite and then broadcast down a cable that is too small for all the information.

Having so much choice is not necessarily a good thing at the moment. It leads to confusion on the part of the director, producer, line producer, etc, etc, and sometimes me. I spend most of my time on the Internet trying to find the real definition of 'colour bit depth rate' or is 4:4:4 really that much better than 4:2:2?

My hope is that it will settle down somewhat and we will end up with a few less camera systems that provide what we need to shoot great images. I have my personal preferences when it comes to shooting digital, like the Genesis or the F23, but this is just my experience, it's not right or wrong, they just

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work for me. The Red Camera can produce good images as can the ARRI D2, or the Viper. However, I have invested a lot of my time getting used to the systems that I have mentioned, and jumping from one type of camera to another on every project doesn't seem the best thing to do at the moment.

For example my last project was a BBC single drama, which was all improvised and needed to be shot in an observational reportage style, and it needed to be HD. I ended up choosing the Sony F23, which although a bit of a beast of a camera for handheld produces great images if shot 4:4:4 log. The only problem I had was that if the SRW1 deck was on the back of the camera it made the camera huge and very heavy. I could have cabled out the back of the camera via a dual HD BNC link but then I lose control of the on/off etc from the camera, which is useless when shooting observational. The problem was solved by Panavision who got some solid-state recorders

sent over from Los Angeles. These SSR decks are half the weight and size of the SRW1 deck and solved all the problems. My trusty assistants then designed a battery system that I could carry on the back of my Walter Klassen Steadicam vest, which carries my Easy Rig pole so I was completely mobile.

The only monitor on set was the wireless Morell for the director, so again no cables. I don't buy into the fact that you need lots of monitors for make up/wardrobe etc. This just slows the process up. People should start using their eyes more in my opinion. It worked for years before so why not now? Again this is just my view. Digital is not going away so why not embrace it. My final note is this. I very much hope that I will be shooting my next film this year on 35mm. Why would I do this, I hear you say? Well, it's just better, isn't it?

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ISSUE 31

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