Canadian Cinematographer Magazine November 2020

CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS

$4 November 2020 www.csc.ca

AMERICAN WOMAN Gregory Middleton csc, asc

Matt Bendo A Dog Cried Wolf

A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers

FEATURES – VOLUME 12, NO. 6 NOVEMBER 2020 Fostering cinematography in Canada since 1957. The Canadian Society of Cinematographers was founded by a group of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa cameramen.

Since then over 800 cinematographers and persons in associated occupations have joined the organization.

Wanted: American Woman - Gregory Middleton

csc, asc

By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer

The CSC is a not-for-profit organization run by volunteer board members of the society.

Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support.

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CORPORATE SPONSORS

Matt Bendo: A Dog Cried Wolf

By Fanen Chiahemen

Courtesy Focusbug Technologies Inc.

AC Lighting Arri Canada Cinetx Inc. Company 3 Cooke Americas Frame Discreet Fujifilm, North America Corporation Fujifilm, Optical Devices Division Fusion Cine Grande Camera Henry’s HD Source Inspired Image Keslow Camera Kino Flo Mole-Richardson MOSS LED Nikon Canada Panasonic Canada Panavision Canada Red Digital Cinema REDLABdigital Rosco Canada Rotolight Sigma SIM SIMMOD LENS Sony of Canada The Source Shop Technicolor Urban Post Production Vistek Walter Klassen FX William F. White International Zeiss

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Courtesy Blink Twice Films/Film Loft Productions

We facilitate the dissemination and exchange of technical information and endeavor to advance the knowledge and status of our members within the industry. As an organization dedicated to furthering technical assistance, we maintain contact with nonpartisan groups in our industry but have no political or union affiliation.

Courtesy Elevation Pictures

The CSC provides tangible recognition of the common bonds that link film and digital professionals, from the aspiring student and camera assistant to the news veteran and senior director of photography.

Focus Pulling Technology Kicks It Up A Notch

By Ian Harvey

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 32 34

From the Editor-In-Chief From the President In the News CSC Award Winners CSC Member Spotlight – Mike Grippo csc On Set Obituary What's Up at the CSC Tech Column Production Notes/Calendar/Classifieds

Cover Actress Hong Chau in American Woman

Courtesy Elevation Pictures

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Canadian Cinematographer November 2020 Vol. 12, No. 6 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc EDITOR EMERITUS Donald Angus EXECUTIVE OFFICER Susan Saranchuk, susans@csc.ca CSC PRESIDENT & BOARD DIRECTOR

George Willis csc, sasc CSC BOARD DIRECTOR Claudine Sauvé csc EDITOR Fanen Chiahemen, editor@csc.ca COPY EDITOR Patty Guyader PHOTO EDITOR Janek Lowe ART DIRECTION Berkeley Stat House WEBSITE www.csc.ca ADVERTISING SALES Guido Kondruss, gkondruss@rogers.com CSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Zoe Dirse csc Jeremy Benning csc Rion Gonzales Joan Hutton csc Kristin Fieldhouse Guy Godfree csc Caudine Sauvé csc George Willis csc, sasc CSC EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT George Willis csc, sasc PAST PRESIDENT, ADVISOR Joan Hutton csc VICE PRESIDENTS Philip Lanyon csc Bruno Philip csc MEMBERSHIP CHAIRS Arthur Cooper csc Zoe Dirse csc EDUCATION CHAIRS George Willis csc, sasc Martin Wojtunik AWARDS CHAIR Arthur Cooper csc ONLINE CONTENT COMMITTEE Jeremy Benning csc – Co-Chair Christina Ienna – Co-Chair Carolyn Wong – Co-Chair DIVERSITY COMMITTEE Kristin Fieldhouse - Co-Chair Nyssa Glück - Co-Chair Rion Gonzales - Co-Chair Samy Inayeh csc - Co-Chair MENTORSHIP COMMITTEE Nyssa Glück – Co-Chair Iris Ng – Co-Chair RELATIONSHIPS Gaston Bernier OFFICE / MEMBERSHIP / SUBSCRIPTIONS 131–3085 Kingston Road Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1 Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996 Email: admin@csc.ca, subscription@csc.ca Canadian Cinematographer makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes; however, it cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed within the magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily of the publisher. Upon publication, Canadian Cinematographer acquires Canadian Serial Rights; copyright reverts to the writer after publication.Canadian Cinematographer is printed by Winnipeg Sun Commercial Print and is published 10 times a year. One-year subscriptions are available in Canada for $40.00 for individuals and $80.00 for institutions, including HST. In U.S. rates are $45.00 and $90.00 for institutions in U.S. funds.

International subscriptions are $50.00 for individuals and $100.00 for institutions. Subscribe online at www.csc.ca.

ISSN 1918-8781 Canadian Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40013776 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses 131–3085 Kingston Road Toronto M1M 1P1 THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.

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FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc

I

wonder how many viewers of the BBC/Netflix dramatic series Black Earth Rising know that a crew member died during its making.

Seasoned and highly respected British camera operator, 54-year-old Mark Milsome, was killed in Ghana in 2017 when a stunt he was filming for the series went horribly wrong.

Recently, a coroner’s inquest was held in London, U.K., to piece together what exactly happened. Witnesses testified that the nighttime stunt involved a Land Rover driving onto a hidden ramp from a sideways angle, causing the vehicle to topple over. The original British stunt coordinator who was to oversee the maneuver unfortunately fell ill and couldn’t travel to Ghana. He was replaced by a coordinator from South Africa who in turn brought his own stunt driver. Although the stunt had been rehearsed, on the night in question, the driver was speeding “uncomfortably fast” as he drove towards the ramp. Apparently, the speedometer in the Land Rover was broken. The vehicle mounted the ramp head-on, not at the rehearsed angle, and failed to roll over. Instead, a horrified crew watched as the Land Rover raced over the ramp directly into Milsome’s camera position, killing him and injuring his grip. It’s mind-numbing how this could have happened after Milsome was assured multiple times by the stunt coordinator that his location was safe.

The apparent purpose of the London inquest was not to find blame, but rather document missteps that led to this accident and possibly provide directives for improving U.K. safety regulations regarding movie stunts.

Fine for the U.K., however, it begs the question how would British regulations prevent accidents on film sets in a foreign country? Conversely, would Canadian safety regulations have any weight in Ghana? Likely not. With the number of international co-productions ever increasing, perhaps the notion of a universal organization that governs safety with punitive authority on international film sets should be given some serious scrutiny. Just imagine being able to work anywhere in the world with the entire film and television industry watching your back. Now that’s a thought, even if seemingly far-fetched on the surface. If an organization of this nature could prevent heartbreaking tragedies like Mark Milsome’s accident, its realization would be more than worthwhile for all of us. No one should ever die or be maimed making a movie.

FROM THE PRESIDENT George A. Willis csc, sasc

T

he Taoist philosophy cites the yin and the yang in life as basic opposites while still maintaining a balance. This led me to think about how we perceive so many issues that are a part of our everyday life. In turn, I thought about how we like to regard some of these issues in a positive manner, even though there is a realization of negativity as we perceive it. This is simply because we are human beings and not machines; we have emotions that affect us all differently, and therein lies the dilemma of how to handle news and information, both good and, let’s say, disappointing.

The words of two iconic Canadian music artists come to mind. The first is Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. In the lyrics, she sings, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?” I thought of these words in reference to the announcement by former Vice President Carlos Esteves csc that he would be vacating his position as Chair of the Board of Directors on September 20. In addition to his role as CSC Chair and Vice President, Carlos was also Co-chair of the Education Committee.

I feel it necessary to cite this because Carlos and I worked together very closely as a team for many years, but most specifically on the Education Committee. His resignation was indeed a huge disappointment.

Because of Carlos’ incredible work ethic, his departure from the Board left a large void in the Education Committee and it was neces4 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

sary to fill that position by recruiting someone equally committed to the education process.

The 1983 song A Little Good News by Anne Murray offers the hope that we, “Sure could use a little good news today,” and so if one applies the philosophical balance as mentioned above, we are fortunate and pleased to announce that the legacy that Carlos has left will now be taken over by another member of the Society, who is equally committed to the education process.

And so, soon after the announcement that resulted in our disappointment, we were able to restructure and appoint Education Committee member Martin Wojtunik to the position of Education Committee Co-chair. This is a very positive step forward, as we view the process of education within the Society to be extremely important. In light of present (COVID-19) circumstances, we realize that we will have to modify a significant part of our normal approach to education, however, we are quite prepared to take on the challenge of looking at alternative ways of continuing with our education mandate. Martin’s appointment is indeed good news.

Therefore, the philosophy of yin and yang to me does make sense because we do not need to dwell on the negative. We can instead always try to opt for a positive solution to any situation that needs immediate attention. Just think of it this way: the greater the challenge, the greater the reward!

In The News Gregory Middleton csc, asc Receives Primetime Emmy Award The CSC congratulates Gregory Middleton csc, asc on his Emmy Award in the Outstanding Cinematography for A Limited Series or Movie category for his work on HBO’s Watchmen – “The Extraordinary Being”.

CSC Member Projects Among TIFF 2020 Award Winners Inconvenient Indian – shot by Christopher Romeike csc and directed by Michelle Latimer – won the Toronto International Film Festival’s 2020 People’s Choice Documentary Award.

The film, which is an adaptation of Thomas King’s non-fiction book, also won the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. The Amplify Voices Awards, presented by Canada Goose, recognizes the three best feature films by under-represented filmmakers. Philippe Lacôte’s Night of the Kings, shot by Tobie Marier Robitaille csc, also won an Amplify Voices Award. Meanwhile, the short film Benjamin, Benny, Ben, directed by Paul Shkordoff and shot by associate member Peter Hadfield, won the IMDbPro Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Film.

Sim Expands West Coast Studio Operations Sim recently announced the launch of its ninth studio facility located in Metro Vancouver. The new facility adds 120,000 square feet of studio 6 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

space consisting of two sound stages, mill, paint, and lockup space, set decoration and wardrobe areas, as well as production office space. The new Golden Ears location, already booked through to next summer, takes Sim’s total studio capacity to over 550,000 square feet of studio and production facilities. The company also announced that part of the Sim Vancouver vehicle and generator fleet will be fuelled by R100 Hydro-Treated Renewable Diesel (HRD), provided

by Petro-Canada, a Suncor business.

HRD is an alternative fuel produced from renewable materials that can include non-consumable food waste, animal fats and vegetable oils. By converting to renewable diesel, Sim aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 per cent based on typical Carbon Intensity values for conventional petroleum diesel.

Members of IATSE 667 Vote to Merge with IATSE 514, AQTIS In late September, members of IATSE Local 667 voted overwhelmingly in support of a proposed merger with IATSE Local 514 and the Alliance québécoise des techniciens et techniciennes de l’image et du son (AQTIS). Members voted 94.2 per cent in support of the merger. Negotiations between the three organizations have been going on since 2019 and focus on improving the services members will receive, strengthening their bargaining power and amplifying their voice to government. Representatives from all three organiza-

tions agree that this merger is in the best interest of international collaboration between StoryFutures all members as it will stabilize the industry, inviting Academy, Arts Council England, the Canada Media more investment and productions to the sector.

Fund, The Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab and the Canada Council for the Arts.

CSI Partners with the Independent Colourists Guild to Launch Telefilm Canada Launches the Colorist Awards Development Program for 2020-2021 The Colorist Society International is joining the Independent Colourists Guild as partner and coorganizer of the newly launched Colorist Awards.

The first international competition focused exclusively on the craft of colour, the event recognizes outstanding work by colourists across feature films, television, documentaries, commercials, music videos and shorts. Entries are being accepted now through December 31 for work first appearing in 2020. Winners will be announced in March. Entries will be evaluated by an international jury composed of colourists, directors, cinematographers and producers. Work will be evaluated for artistic excellence, technical achievement, stylistic effect and reproductive accuracy. More information is available at coloristawards.com.

Telefilm Canada has announced the details and application dates for the 2020-2021 Development Program, including the newly-created Development Stream for Racialized Persons/Visible Minorities. This is an additional investment envelope of $500,000, designed to reduce barriers to accessing Telefilm’s development funding. Telefilm also expanded the eligibility criteria to the Selective Stream of the Development Program to allow flexibility to companies who historically have not had access to the program. Companies that have had a Canadian feature film which premiered at a qualifying film festival but did not have a theatrical release may now apply. Telefilm has also increased the number of projects per company that can be funded in the Selective Stream to up to two at $15,000 per title.

First UK-Canadian Co-Production Program for Immersive Storytelling Launches

Harold Greenberg Fund Begins Transitioning Following Completion of Funding

A new immersive talent development and co-production fund for UK and Canadian artists, filmmakers and creators is set to launch with its first cohort this month. UK-Canada Immersive Exchange is the first exchange program dedicated to immersive storytelling between the UK and Canada, and it will have a total co-production fund of $510,000 on offer.

The program will establish international collaborations to pioneer new forms of immersive storytelling by bringing together backgrounds and experiences from theatre, performing and visual arts, games, TV, film, and other forms of digital and interactive media. They will work with emerging technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality. Mentors and experts from across the UK and Canadian creative landscape will support the yearlong program, which is supported by a newly formed

Bell Media confirmed recently that the English and French-language programs of the Harold Greenberg Fund/Le Fonds Harold Greenberg will begin transitioning following the completion of seven years of financial support as result of the Bell/Astral transaction in 2013. The English-language program continues status quo for at least the next 12 months with the support of Crave, as the Fund invites additional partners to invest in its future. The French-language committee for Le Fonds Harold Greenberg has chosen to complete its mandate, and will wind down operations over the next six months. With considerable reserve funds, the program will focus exclusively on Fiction Feature Film Production. As of February 28, 2021, the French-language program will close and transfer any remaining funds to another certified independent production fund.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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As part of a continuing series, Canadian Cinematographer will be recognizing two 2020 CSC Award winners per issue.

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8 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

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Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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CSC Member Spotlight

Mike Grippo csc What films or other works of art have made the biggest impression on you?

Films: The Godfather; Days of Heaven; The Conformist; La Dolce Vita. Works of art: the French impressionists.

How did you get started in the business?

I started as a camera assistant to the daily news and documentary cameramen at Global Television.

Who have been your mentors or teachers?

My earliest mentors were Carlos Esteves csc and Robert Brooks csc. They taught me more on a daily basis working as a news cameraman than anyone else. We had a great newsroom and a very talented group of cameramen at Global TV. I was very fortunate to work with them and again have this experience repeat itself, with a very gifted group of colleagues at CBC Current Affairs.

What cinematographers inspire you?

Barry Ackroyd bsc; Yves Bélanger csc; Néstor Almendros asc; Gordon Willis asc; Vittorio Storaro asc, aic; Sean Bobbitt bsc. However, growing up in the CBC documentary world, cinematographers that inspired me there were Nikos Evdemon csc; Rodney Charters csc, asc, nzcs; Vic Sarin csc; Rudi Kovanic csc; and Pierre Letarte csc.

Name some of your professional highlights.

I have been lucky enough to witness some incredible world events in which history is happening before your very eyes. For example, being in the Bahamas at Muhammad Ali’s last fight; sneaking into East Germany covering the fall of the Berlin 10 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

Wall; being stuck in Hebron for the start of an Intifada; filming two Emmy Award-winning documentaries that were based in the Middle East and Turkey; dramatizing the novel, The White Bone, and spending a month filming elephants as they went from Kenya to Tanzania; discovering history making artifacts that came out of melted glaciers in the Yukon at 9,000 feet; travelling the planet getting only one chance to document unique events that are unlikely to ever happen again; working with producer George Martin for two years across the U.S. and England interviewing some of the world’s greatest musical artists; every documentary with The Nature of Things; being at the end of the track and filming Donovan Bailey run right down the barrel of my lens to win Gold at the 1996 Olympics; and being Emmy nominated for Best Cinematography in a Documentary for PBS’ The Trouble with Islam.

What is one of your most memorable moments on set?

It’s challenging to narrow it down to just one memory, but perhaps going into Sarajevo for the first time, covering the Balkan conflict. Or maybe it was when I was filming in the East German refugee camp in Budapest and Helmut Kohl announced that the Berlin Wall would be coming down.

Credit: Mike Downie

What do you like best about what you do?

family for extended periods of time.

Definitely documenting the moment because What do you think has been the greatest it only happens once, so it’s about not missing invention related to your craft? that opportunity. As a team, I love working as a small crew. It’s listen, observe and be ready to film. The wireless monitoring system has changed my It’s about anticipating action as it unfolds, mak- relationship of filming with my directors and sound ing instant and compromising decisions to visually people. tell the true story.

What do you like least about what you do?

The toughest part of the career is being away from

How can others follow your work?

I use all social media plus my IMDb page.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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On Set

Amy Belling csc on the set of Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas.

Credit: Theresa Bennett

Affiliate member Anthony Sardo at African Lion Safari for YES TV’s Living Local. Credit: Meisha Watson

Neil Cervin csc and the crew of Van Helsing Season Five Kamloops Unit social distancing and posing for a COVID crew photo.

Credit: Neil Cervin csc

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Affiliate member Andres P. Galicia Credit: Jeffrey Care

Daniel Villeneuve csc shooting romcom You May Kiss the Bridesmaid for Incendo Productions in Montreal.

Associate member Roy Marques with Mallory Bond on location at Erindale Park, Mississauga, recording a music video in 24P HD.

Credit: Natacha Lemay

Credit: Natasha Bond

a with gaffer Adam “Chuck” Warren on the set of the short film First Kings.

Brad Rushing csc on the set of ESX production A California Christmas. L to R: 1st AC Lauren Peele, 2nd AC William Hayes, Rushing, and director Shaun Piccinino. Credit: Anna Bowen Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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In Memoriam

Credit: John Narvali

Harry Makin csc (1930-2020)

H

arry Makin csc was considered one of the finest cinematographers of his generation, renowned for his powerful visual interpretations and technical acumen. Makin was an astute cinematic talent who was innovative, ground-breaking and could raise a production to loftier heights through his creativity. Makin often compared filmmaking to a glass, where the director would begin filling it, but it was the cinematographer who topped it to the brim.

Makin’s love for imagery began early in life. Born in Winnipeg, Makin as a lad of 12 was often seen carrying a Kodak Brownie camera taking photos of his beloved hometown. But simply taking snaps was not satisfying enough for Makin’s young inquisitive mind. Fascinated by the photographic process, Makin built his own darkroom as a teenager where he used a Brownie with its back end removed as an enlarger. At age 17, Makin left school and began working at the Canadian National Railroad where he spent the next four years pounding iron as an apprentice blacksmith. Little did Makin know then that working for the railroad was a prescient undertaking that foreshadowed one of his most defining projects as a cinematographer later in life.

As a young adult, Makin leapt at the chance to indulge his passion for photography professionally when he was hired by a local

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advertising agency to set up their photographic department. By 1959, Makin had stepped over to the fledgling Winnipeg CBC station as stills photographer. It was there that his transition to cinematography began. At a new TV station in a new industry, Makin multitasked from processing film to studio lighting. Eventually, home became the film department. It was during this nascent period as a cameraman shooting news reels and documentaries that Makin perfected his craft, always experimenting with lighting, composition and camera techniques, often to the chagrin of impatient TV reporters complaining that Makin was wasting too much time with his setups.

As his experience solidified, Makin’s adeptness at technology and artistic imagery became noted. So much so that the CBC loaned him to the federal government, who in turn loaned Makin to Ghana Broadcasting where he set up a film and television department for the West African nation.

On Makin’s returned to Canada he landed at the CBC in Toronto.

Although it was steady work, Makin needed more licence for his creativity. After two years, he left the confines of the CBC to strike out on his own. Makin soon became very much in demand as his artistic and technical skills rapidly propelled into the upper echelons of Canadian film community as a top-tier director of photography.

Makin’s prolific career spanned more than four decades during which he shot dozens of documentaries and scripted narratives including the acclaimed features Mahoney’s Estate (1972), A Quiet Day in Belfast (1974) and If You Could See What I Hear (1982). Makin was the DP on director Eric Till’s A Fan’s Notes, which was accepted into competition at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. He again worked with Till on the critically acclaimed TV miniseries The National Dream: Building the Impossible Railway (1974), which brought Makin his first CSC Award and full circle with his smithy days at the CNR. Makin also worked extensively in commercials, which garnered him two more CSC Awards that stand alongside two Bessie Awards for his outstanding commercial cinematography.

Makin has also been recognized internationally numerous times for his visual artistry, including an award from the New York Film Festival for his exceptional cinematography on Peter Ustinov’s Leningrad (1979) from the highly regarded TV series Cities.

A lifelong member of the CSC, Makin joined the Society in 1967 as an associate member and was granted his accreditation as a full member in 1969. Makin considered the CSC an important organization for promoting cinematography in Canada. He was very active in the society for many years including a leadership role as CSC President in 1974.

The CSC paid tribute to Makin in 2005, honouring him and his remarkable career with the CSC Masters Award (formerly the Kodak New Century Award) “for outstanding contribution to the art of cinematography.”

Although Makin received many accolades during his life for his exceptional talent and ability, he simply thought of himself as the luckiest of men being able to do what he loved to do, making movies.

Harry Makin csc passed away on September 18, 2020, at age 89.

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Canadian Cinematographer - October 2020 •

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What’s Up at the CSC The CSC is a not-for-profit volunteer-run organization which serves to foster the art and craft of cinematography in Canada. We encourage our members to volunteer on the various committees dedicated to different aspects of our society.

Being part of a committee is also a benefit of being a member; it’s a great way to network and get to know other cinematographers and to come together with shared visions to create new initiatives or assist with ongoing ones.

Online Content Committee (OCC) is responsible for all online content of the CSC. The OCC provides feedback and consultation on anything going out to the members or our public platforms. They are also responsible for the website, store and content created or curated on social media.

Co-Chairs: Jeremy Benning csc, Carolyn Wong and Christina Ienna.

OCC Members: Rion Gonzales, Michael Jari Davidson, Martin Wojtunik, Owen Deveney, Andrew M. Richardson, Eric Oh csc, mysc, Justin Lovell, Guido Kondruss and Bryon Wong.

Diversity Committee (DC) focuses on mentorship, advocacy, outreach and education. Its goal is to support members who identify as diverse (including POC, LGBTQI, differentlyabled and female-identifying) and to encourage ongoing examinations of inequity throughout the industry through advocacy and outreach. The committee also aims to actively recruit diverse members through events, partnerships and outreach, and is overall committed to the principles of inclusion and equity. The Diversity Committee actively supports the mentorship and education committees.

Co-Chairs: Kristin Fieldhouse, Rion Gonzales, Nyssa Glück and Samy Inayeh csc.

Advocacy/Outreach/Education Team (AOE): Rion Gonzales, Ashley Iris Gill, Zoe Dirse csc, Jordan Oram, Luther Alexander, Alysha Galbreath, J Stevens and Christina Ienna.

Codes of Conduct: Nyssa Glück, Kristin Fieldhouse and Carolyn Wong.

Awards/Membership Diversity Team: Alan Poon csc and Dave Lam. Mentorship Committee was formed to create an ongoing mentorship program that aims to make the cinematography profession more inclusive and foster diversity behind the

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camera. The Committee is responsible for collecting data to help pair mentors with mentees and providing material to guide the mentorship experience. The committee is also responsible for gathering feedback from those who have gone through the program and helping to promote it.

Co-Chairs: Iris Ng and Nyssa Glück.

Mentorship Team: Maya Bankovic csc, Samy Inayeh csc, Angel Navarro, Norm Li csc, Catherine Lutes csc and Christina Ienna.

Membership Committee is responsible for overseeing the criteria, processes and application of membership in the CSC. They are also responsible for organizing and implementing juries, which are open to all full members, to evaluate full membership applications.

Co-Chairs: Arthur Cooper csc and Zoe Dirse csc.

Education Committee (EC) is responsible for the development and establishment of the CSC’s educational workshops and demonstrations. The committee also oversees any materials used in the delivery of workshops and demonstrations. Lighting Workshop Instructors are accredited full CSC members.

Co-Chairs: George Willis csc, sasc and Martin Wojtunik.

Education Members: D. Gregor Hagey csc, Daniel Abboud, Ernie Kestler, John Holosko csc, Christina Ienna, Richard Fox, Rion Gonzales, Andrew Richardson, Rod Crombie, Scott McIntyre anbd Todd Dyum csc.

Awards Committee is responsible for overseeing the criteria, processes and implementation of the Annual Awards for the CSC. They are also responsible for organizing and implementing the juries, which are open to all Full Members, that evaluate all of the submissions to determine the nominees and winners.

Chair: Arthur Cooper csc Editorial Committee is responsible for all content, design and advertising initiatives pertaining to the CSC magazine Canadian Cinematographer, which is published 10 times per year from September to June.

Chair/Editor-in-Chief: Joan Hutton csc Editor: Fanen Chiahemen Editorial Team: George Willis csc, sasc, Janek Lowe, Guido Kondruss, Claudine Sauvé csc, Patty Guyader and Susan Saranchuk.

To learn more about CSC Committees, reach out to us on the Contact page: csc.ca/contact

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AMERIC WOMAN

Gregory Middleton csc, as

(L-R) Hong Chau and Sarah Gadon in the film American Woman.

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All photos courtesy Elevation Pictures

CAN N

sc

B

By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer

efore the coronavirus pandemic turned film festivals into virtual events, the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival had the world premiere of American Woman, the feature directorial debut of Emmy-nominated screenwriter Semi Chellas (Mad Men). The adaptation of the Pulitzershortlisted novel by Susan Choi revolves around a fugitive posing as a housemaid protecting a cadre of radicals and a kidnapped heiress from the FBI as they write a book about themselves.

The period drama set in the 1970s is distributed by Elevation Pictures and can be found on digital platforms and on-demand; the cast features Hong Chau, Sarah Gadon, Ellen Burstyn, Lola Kirke, John Gallagher Jr. and David Cubitt with their performances captured by Gregory Middleton csc, asc (Game of Thrones), who was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for his cinematic contribution.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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(L-R) John Gallagher Jr., Hong Chau, Sarah Gadon.

“It’s always a question of discovering what the language is going to be in every project that you do.”

E

very project has a unique point of view for Middleton. “A lot of the story is quite internal, and we had to find a way to tell it from the point of view of Jenny [Hong Chau], even though she’s passive until the midpoint of the movie. It’s always a question of discovering what the language is going to be in every project that you do. From a technical standpoint, the shoot was relatively short; it was shot in the summer. Period films are always tricky because you’re trying to establish the period.

But on a small low-budget film you have to be judicial about what is shown.” Visual effects were not an option for painting out present-day elements or creating seasonal transitions. “We had to do a couple of scenes in the winter. An aerial shot was produced with some stock footage that blended from summer to winter so you could see the passage of time.

When FBI agent John Spivey [David Cubitt] shows up at the farmhouse with a couple of local deputies, we got some fake snow and ice on parts of the roof.

They’re all in winter clothes and hats. When you look out the door, we tried to cover any green reflection from bright green trees so to make it look as white

20 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

and snowy as possible.”

Lighting schemes reflect the physical and emotional journey of Jenny. “Once Jenny takes Pauline [Sarah Gadon] away from the would-be terrorists, they have a road trip romance, so I tried to emphasize a beautiful golden light for a couple of those scenes,” Middleton explains. “It went with the location and [with] what was going on with them. Jenny and Pauline had been cooped up in a dark morose place for a long time, so I wanted to open up into that expanse and have the feeling of light, space and freedom in some way. There is a shot between them when they get close and there is a brief almost-kiss. I deliberately treated that to be romantic because this is Jenny’s recollection of it; she is under the spell of Pauline.”

Part of the preproduction was experimenting with different LUTs, which “are an imperfect science as far as how they will behave depending on the exposure that you’re using,” Middleton says. “For me, it’s the best way to have an on-set image that is closer to what I would like it to look like later. We altered between two or three LUTs depending on the environment.”

Sitting in the director’s chair for the first time was

(L-R) Actors Lola Kirke, John Gallagher Jr., Hong Chau and Sarah Gadon.

Chellas. “I’ve worked with several writer-directors before, so it’s something I’m familiar with,” Middleton remarks. “Every filmmaker is different in their process. When someone is making their first feature, they are also discovering the process that will work for them. It’s a craft as much as an art. Part of that is practice, and part of that is discovering the techniques and methods that work for you. Semi is an accomplish writer. I’ve been a fan of her work for many years. I came across [her] script adaptation for a book called The Stone Diaries 20 years ago, which was one of the first scripts that I read, jumped up and asked, ‘Who wrote this?’ It was beautifully written.

I was excited to be able to get to work with her on her first film. We spent quite a bit of time preparing

American Woman initially for a shoot in Upstate New York the year before. We did some scouting but then the financing fell through at the last minute. In the intervening time, we kept in touch and talked about the movie. When it was remounted on a smaller budget to shoot in Toronto, we had already done quite a bit of work. Then it was more about adapting the ideas that we were developing into the new parameters of the production. Semi has an incredibly rich mind as far as understanding drama, pace and how people behave.

It was collaborative. We spent a lot of time together trying to create a shot list, and come up with ideas, concepts and images that would precisely tell what we were looking to tell.”

Favourite movies for Chellas featuring fugitives on

Actors Sarah Gadon, John Gallagher Jr., Lola Kirke and Hong Chao.

Sarah Gadon as Pauline.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

21

“When someone is making their first feature, they are also discovering the process that will work for them. It’s a craft as much as an art.

Part of that is practice, and part of that is discovering the techniques and methods that work for you.”

Cinematographer Greg Middleton csc, asc and director Semi Chellas on the set of American Woman.

David Cubitt (right) as Agent Spivey.

22 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

the run are Badlands, Bonnie and Clyde and Thelma & Louise. “Semi and I talked about scenes in other films that emulated the stuff we liked or could be used as references,” Middleton continues. “We worked with storyboard artists for a few different scenes but mostly we sketched them out together.

One thing that is challenging with a smaller production is when you’re in real production prep, your day ends up being totally occupied with the mechanics of getting the film ready. We spent a lot of our time on weekends going through the script and coming up with shot ideas.” The narrative evolved in the edit suite. “Semi experimented in cutting how to rearrange the story structure; she changed a few orders of scenes. Originally, the prison scene was not a framing device for the entire film but its own thing at the end.” An emphasis was placed upon medium shots so as to observe the behaviours of the characters. “It’s important to remember that a closeup is a tool. It’s a question of point of view and when to do it. If you do it every scene then you start to have scenes that don’t seem to have any point of view,” Middleton maintains. “You are shifting energy with the way the camera is used. You’re looking for a nice journey for the audience in order to illuminate what is happening.”

The point of view briefly switches during the kidnapping flashback. “The scene with Pauline was always going to be a point of view shift right into her memory of it,” Middleton explains. “It was going to be intense, frightening and traumatic, which was important. Jenny is imagining what she’s been told, but it’s meant to be in the first person. We did a lot of handheld camera for when Jenny is tackled on the couch. What I wanted to do is put the camera right between the two people who are wrestling and fighting; it’s hard to get even a smaller modern camera in there. What we did was take our ALEXA Mini and strip it down to barely the body and lens. I literally handheld between them; the audience feels like they’re being pummelled around while Jenny is being tackled and dragged away.”

Preproduction lasted around five weeks with principal photography taking place during July and August of 2018 for 24 days. “You’re concerned about

the occasional thunderstorm when shooting during the summer in Toronto,” Middleton notes. “We generally were lucky but had a few days of some bad weather. It mostly caused problems at the farmhouse. But at least for the farmhouse we were there for a long length of time because a lot of the movie takes place there, so we had the freedom to move scenes around if we had to. We had two or three days in the studio and built a couple of hotel rooms and the kitchen with the little closet when Pauline is kidnapped. Some car interiors were shot on stage because we couldn’t afford to turn the whole unit on a night schedule in the middle of the week. At the end of the film when Jenny is released from prison, we dressed the gates to our warehouse. We were trying to make the most of whatever environment we had, which is what you do with every small low-budget film.” Then there was the matter of the nighttime rain scene encountered on the road trip. “That was the last night of shooting,” Middleton states. “It’s essentially the same road

shot on the other side of the street, so we’re looking in the same direction for both directions. It’s like a French reverse. We changed a couple of lights in the background to make it look different. It was still summer so we had a short window to shoot all of those scenes. We shot the interiors of the car on a stage during the day.”

Panavision supplied cameras for the film, which was shot with the ALEXA Mini outfitted with Panavision anamorphic T Series lenses. “We carried two cameras and a third body that could be built for certain types of things,” Middleton says. “A bit of time in prep was spent shooting both Sarah and Hong with different focal lengths to see how it would feel. This was also for Semi to get used to the idea of how each of these things can feel different and could guide us as to how to use them and when. The focal lengths for the film were between 25 mm and 150 mm. Most of the film was shot between the 50 mm, 75 mm and 100 mm. We shot anamorphic, which was something I wanted to do

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Canadian Cinematographer - October 2020 • T O RO NTO • MISSISSAUG A • O TTAWA • CAL GARY • E D MO N T O N • V I S T E K . C A

23

The Visual Technology People

(L-R) Hong Chau and Ellen Burstyn as Miss Dolly.

“It’s important to remember that a closeup is a tool. It’s a question of point of view and when to do it.

If you do it every scene then you start to have scenes that don’t seem to have any point of view.”

Sarah Gadon as Pauline.

24 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

because I find that the intimacy of closeups in anamorphic is useful. It has an inherent slight period feel to them. A lot of films that we saw in the 1970s were shot in anamorphic to shoot widescreen. The main reason is that it isolates the characters, which is helpful with a period film because sometimes we were trying to hide the nonperiod elements in our backgrounds.” The aspect ratio was 2.35:1 with the capture system being ProRes 422 HQ. “LEDs are a newer technology so are more expensive and there is a high demand for them especially when we shot this two summers ago,” Middleton says. “For the smaller spaces, I used a few SkyPanels and LED light mats that can be put up against a wall. I also used a bunch of Astera LED tubes. You can use them in a variety of ways, like to bounce off of a ceiling or put them in corners. There were some tungsten bulbs and a few small HMIs. We had a 12K PAR at the farmhouse and a few 4Ks.” Key crew members were gaffer Jonathan Brown, key grip Chris Toudy, A camera operator Dave Sheridan, B camera operator Jeremy Lyall, DIT Spencer Gray and colourist Andrea Chlebak at Deluxe. “I sent Jeremy Lyall to shoot some second unit shots of car drive-bys,” Middleton says. “When

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Richard Waters as Thomas.

Jenny is driving and the police drive past her, I was doing that with the A camera in the car with her, and my A camera operator David Sheridan was setting up a shot for a drive-by with a sign in the foreground. We were doing splinter unit during the same shoot day.” There are a fair number of driving shots. “You sit in the backseat with the camera over your shoulder or let them drive themselves or we had the car on a trailer and the cameras on dollies or mounts next to the camera so that the operators could operate the cameras and we towed them all along,” the DP says. “We would use the real backgrounds and found some good rural areas.

For the night scenes, that we did on a stage. I did a poor man’s version of projections for that. I shot a few plates at dusk of trees going by with my small Canon 5D camera and built a few backgrounds of trees going by. We rented a projector and had some rain on the windows. The POVs from inside the car looked real.

“The biggest challenge was fitting in the number of different scenes that we had in various locations in the original script,” he observes. “It seemed like a limited film until you added up the number of places where you needed to be. I’m proud of a couple of things in the film. I’m happy with the hotel scene at the end. It’s the most intimate scene between Jenny and Pauline. I’m happy how it turned out as far as Jenny’s point of view of this romantic version of Pauline in this pivotal moment. There is a nice closeup of Sarah in that scene and that’s in the climax of that part of the journey; it worked as an image to convey that.”

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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Painterly Instincts

Matt Bendo

A Dog Cried Wolf

2020 CSC Award Winner

By Fanen Chiahemen

The short film A Dog Cried Wolf follows country girl Holly (Ella Jonas Farlinger) coming of age in the wake of her mother’s death.

When Holly’s grief-stricken father (Jeff Teravainen) gets entangled in some bad business, Holly stumbles upon a wounded man (Aaron Poole) caught in a deal gone wrong, and she cares for him in secret, hoping he might provide her with the escape she desires.

26 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

I

n the screenplay by Logan Graham Greene, cinematographer and associate member Matt Bendo saw potential in the narrative beyond a short film. “It seemed like a relatively big story that I could envision being turned into a feature, so originally the plan was to create this movie and have it be a stepping stone as I transition into doing narrative work,” he says.

Bendo decided to also serve as co-producer and co-director on the film along with Greene, and together they were able to craft a cinematic piece that won this year’s CSC Award for Dramatic Short Cinematography. Co-directing with Greene allowed Bendo “to have a bit more control over the images because there’s less of a middleman when it comes to communication,” the cinematographer says. “I had a very specific vision in my head and I wanted to maintain that, and that was a way for me to really make sure I was able to execute exactly what I thought was the right visual style for this film.”

Courtesy Blink Twice Films/Film Loft Productions

That style emphasized pacing and “making sure that every frame was a painting and every image had some sort of significant weight to it,” he says. “There are no images in the film that are without purpose.

A philosophy I always try to stand by is ‘every frame is a painting.’ When I have the time, I love to make sure that every image is composed well. When I’m lighting, I want to actually feel like I’m using cinematography properly as a storytelling tool and not just worrying about covering a scene but instead concerning myself with creating the proper visuals that convey the desired feeling for the audience.”

On the advice of Keslow Camera’s Lecily Corbett while discussing method acting and how those techniques could lend themselves to cinematography, Bendo spent about a week during preproduction at the location in Flamborough, Ontario, trying to place himself in the world where the story occurs.

“I just tried to immerse myself as much as could in the environment and know it inside and out,” he

Credit: Jack Lai Dongjie

Above: Ella Jonas Farlinger as Holly in A Dog Cried Wolf.

Below: Cinematographer Matt Bendo and Ella Jonas Farlinger on the set of A Dog Cried Wolf.

says. “That’s something I haven’t really done before.

Every single day I just kind of walked the area, figured out when light was good and just understood the surroundings. I feel like I was really able to connect to the material because of that.”

Most of the film was shot at the home of gaffer Samuel Pollock’s mother. “It’s an amazing location.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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Both images courtesy Blink Twice Films/Film Loft Productions

Above: Aaron Poole as Tex in a frame from A Dog Cried Wolf. Below: Ella Farlinger as Holly.

28 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

”When I’m lighting, I want to actually feel like I’m using cinematography properly as a storytelling tool and not just worrying about covering a scene but instead concerning myself with creating the proper visuals that convey the desired feeling for the audience.”

I’ve been visiting that place periodically for at least the last five years or so,” Bendo reveals. “So we knew there were a lot of beautiful areas to explore. We were very lucky to be able to shoot in a location like that.”

Bendo captured the action with the ARRI ALEXA Mini in 2.8K 4:3 anamorphic mode. “We used Keslow Camera’s CCI Kowa 32 mm anamorphic lens, which is actually a 40 mm that has a 32 mm wide angle adapter permanently mounted to the front,” he says.

“It ended up giving us the look of the film and was a constant visual perspective for the audience – when the camera was back you felt like you were far back, and when the camera was close you felt like you were very close. We were never far away on a long lens or close on a long lens. And it was a pretty wacky lens, depending on the movement. With the curvature of barrel and all the aberrations it ended up being very painterly while maintaining this sort of fisheye aesthetic to it on the outer edges. When we were doing handheld motion you notice the warping a lot more, and it kind enhanced the chaotic feeling.”

Lighting gear was provided by Bendo or sourced from friends. “[Associate member] Martin Wojtunik lent us his package truck, which was super nice, so we had all the grip gear and a bunch of HMIs,” Bendo says. “But something I didn’t worry about too much was being self-conscious about the lighting. You sometimes worry what are people going to think about this lighting, or is this how these other people would do it? But I tried to light just off of instinct and emotion rather than worrying about what would make sense the most in reality. I just went with my gut instinct; I didn’t think twice.”

Bendo illustrates his approach to the lighting by describing an interior scene in which Holly talks to the wounded man from just outside the door of an upstairs bathroom while he sits in a tub.

“So at first I was thinking, ‘How would this typically be lit? Okay, there would be a nice soft wrappy source coming in from the left, a nice soft light that just separates her from the background...’ And then I was like, ‘No, I’ve got to go with my instinct,’ so I put an HMI outside on the first floor and it shot through the bottom window and up the staircase, and then I angled it so it would hit Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

29

Credit: Jack Lai Dongjie

“There are no images in the film that are without purpose.

A philosophy I always try to stand by is ‘every frame is a painting.’”

Matt Bendo on the set of A Dog Cried Wolf with actress Ella Jonas Farlinger.

her in the face. There’s no diffusion or anything like that, it’s just a very powerful lamp from outside shooting on an angle upwards, and it goes through all the banisters and creates this really interesting pattern where everything’s overlaid, creating this elongated shadow against the wall. It’s a relatively harsh light and I think it gives it a really unique aesthetic through this particular moment. I think the approach was risky, but I was confident it was one worth taking.

“The general approach for the exteriors was shooting when we had the hard light and then making sure we had tree branches handy that we would put over top to create some sort of dappled light. I really like when there’s some sort of movement in the light. I was happy to be able to embrace some hard shadows in this film,” he says.

In a scene where Holly buries her dead dog at night, car headlights were used out of necessity.

“We shot half that scene with coverage originally, but we ran out of daylight,” Bendo recalls. “And it

30 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

was a nice beautiful sunset, a beautiful sky, and so it was just an impromptu thing where we pulled the car up, turned on the headlights, and I was like, ‘Cool, we’re going to film it this way so the shadows fall towards the camera. We’re going to have them be in silhouette, and it’s going to be really dramatic.’

So we ended up doing that whole scene just in one shot, and I think it actually worked out better than the original plan.”

Coming up with such solutions on the low-budget production was a particular source of satisfaction for Bendo. “It’s so fulfilling to shoot in narrative.

It was fun and really rewarding,” he remarks. “But I probably aged like five years during the whole shoot. It’s very tough to not spread yourself too thin when you’re directing and shooting a project.

I thought it was important to have a co-director because I don’t want the acting to suffer if I’m worrying too much about the cinematography. So a lot of the time on set Logan would worry more about performance and I would act more as a technical director worrying about the storytelling and the overall design.”

A Dog Cried Wolf was self-funded by Bendo and

a grave at 2 a.m., and it was me, the gaffer [Pollock] and the sound guy [ Jordan Cutler] digging this hole.”

In addition to the crew, support from the rental house was just as instrumental in creating a successful Ella Jonas Farlinger and Jeff Teravainen in a scene from A Dog Cried Wolf. experience, according to Bendo. “Keslow Greene, with Tyler McMaster and the late Daley Camera has been the most supportive company,” Blake Smith co-producing alongside them, and the he says. “I can’t even express how helpful they’ve majority of the crew volunteering their time. Co- been. They gave me those anamorphics for free for lour finishing was provided by Clinton Homuth. two weeks, which was just wonderful, and Lecily “My camera crew, electrics and grips, were very was providing editing notes. They went above and hardworking dedicated friends. As an example, for beyond what is expected from a rental house. As that grave scene, I remember being outside in the a young cinematographer, I couldn’t thank them cold – because we shot this at the end of October enough for being so interested in fostering my – in this location in the middle of nowhere digging growth as an artist.”

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T O RO NTO • MISSISSAUG A • O TTAWA • CAL GARY • E D MO N T O N • V I S T E K . C A The Visual Technology People

Tech Column

Courtesy James Frater SOC ACO

Focus Pulling Technology Kicks It Up A Notch magnetic resonance to pull focus to below a centimetre and allow for motion shots.

This year Cooke lenses is promoting /i technology, also targeting keeping focus while shooting full frame with a shallow depth of field.

It says CINETAPE, from Cinematography Electronics, provides a numerical quantifier showing the distance between film plane and the subject. The second iteration, the CINETAPE 2 is smaller and lighter and links to a dedicated /i Lens Display box reading the critical metadata information from /i technology equipped lenses, displaying it all on a multicolored bar graph for quick reference.

“The /i Lens Display combines the metadata from the lens, with Camera operator James Frater SOC ACO works with the Focus Bug during information from the CINETAPE prep for Season 2 of The Witcher.

2 and displays it in a way that is more user friendly for camera people, for hen it comes to getting the shot right, it’s focus pullers, and for those that just don’t want to a case of juggling variables such as expo- mess with all of the individual metadata details,” sure, aperture, lens and more, but add Cinematography Electronics’ Larry Barton, says, motion to the equation and it gets more complex. noting the bar graph shows whether focus is right As such, focus pulling remains an all-important in the middle, at the far end, or at the near end of camera job, but in a post COVID-19 world, how do the depth of field. we best achieve that and strip down the cluster of Meanwhile, Canada seems to be a hotbed for fobodies around the camera while still maintaining cus pulling technology because now here comes focus?

Focusbug CINE RT Ultrasonic Rangefinder TrackOver the years, several digital technologies have ing System out of Vancouver, which is an add-on to emerged to augment the time-tested skill of focus the Heden, ARRI and Preston option with what the pulling by hand. There are a couple of digital mo- founder says gives better control and eliminates istor systems on the market such as Heden, ARRI’s sues of latency using a radio transmitter concealed Cforce and Preston’s systems. There are also options on the subject, in concert with a rangefinder system such as Andra’s Motion Focus – developed initially and ultra-sonic focus. The RF system is expected in 2013 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia – which uses end of this year and adds to their UltraSonic based

W

32 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

Courtesy of Cooke Optics

The CINETAPE 2

system. The idea is to allow the focus puller options if the setup is problematic for one system, if there’s a lot of motion, or to add greater distance, as well as to maintain data stream contact if one stream gets blocked by an object passing in front during the capture.

Focus puller Laird Pierce, who co-founded Focusbug with business partner and fellow focus puller John Ritchie, says in trying to build a better mousetrap, they essentially layered on top of existing products rather than reinvented the wheel. The biggest hurdle was battling latency and working out the idiosyncrasies of each system, so it dovetailed with their design.

“Focus pulling is a responsive act, and the more latency the worse it is,” Pierce says. “We had to create the math for the Digital Signal Processing to overcome the various lags in four different systems we’re working with – Cmotion Cpro, Heden Y-YMER3, Arri’s WC4 and the Teradek RT system, all of which have varying degrees of different latency issues.”

The challenge in a remote focus pull system is that the signal chain creates a lag, so there’s an inherent delay from command to execution, obviously an issue when the task requires pinpoint focus because the lens is wide open and there’s no wiggle room.

Each system has a signal chain latency issue, so for their concept to overlay they had to work with each one to track the latency and then program in a compensation to remove it. “At one point, we were literally counting frames to get it right,” Pierce says. “Then we went out and started testing it.” The iterative process brought them to a product that is getting rave reviews and has spawned a network of resellers around the globe. “When I saw the first iteration, I was like, ‘Oh, can we do this, can we do that?’ That was three years ago. Since then we’ve sold 540 units.”

Pierce went out and put on demos in front of just about anyone who would stop and listen, and his hard work paid off in London. “On Christopher Nolan’s Tenet we had five or six of them on that show between the two units,” he says. “The IMAX camera needs a cage to protect it from frequency or something, and someone threw one of our units on it and there was no interference.”

With the IMAX interest, other projects like No Time to Die also started calling, he says, and the unit took off. Even before COVID-19, he says, the trend was to have fewer bodies around the camera, but the new protocols have accelerated that. “With the reliable monitors and transmitters, the first AC is usually off the camera now, doing their thing remotely with their own monitor,” Pierce says. “I think there are going to be a lot more remote heads with a dolly and just the grip.”

Setup requires some pre-location work in that it needs to be mounted onto the camera and the configuration dialed in for that combination of camera, focus motor and control system, according to Pierce. It’s not plug-and-play, it needs to be set up. “It’s still only as good as the person who sets it up, calibrating the system, the lens and the camera, making sure the flange is perfect,” he says. “The DP just doesn’t reach over and push a button. And things will go wrong. Just like when you’re doing it manually. It comes down to a good prep and setting up your Lens Control System accurately. Just like any focus tracking system.”

Ian Harvey is a journalist who has been writing about digital disruption for 20 years. He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits subject matter ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020 •

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Classifieds

Production Notes & Calendar

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

ANOTHER LIFE II (series)

DP Ryan McMaster csc

to November 23

Langley

BIG SKY, THE I (series)

C Camera Operator Ian Kerr csc

to January 13, 2021

Pitt Meadows

BURDEN OF TRUTH IV (series)

DP Jonathan Cliff csc

to November 20

Winnipeg

CHAPELWAITE AKA JERUSALEM’S LOT (miniseries)

DP David Greene csc, asc (alternating episodes) B Camera Operator Christopher Ball csc

to December 18

Halifax

CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING (LB MOW)

DP Peter Benison csc

to November 2

Ottawa

CHRONICLE MYSTERIES #5, THE: HELPED TO DEATH (MOW)

DP Thomas Harting csc

to November 4

Vancouver

CORONER III (series)

DP Samy Inayeh csc (alternating episodes) Camera Operator/Steadicam Keith Murphy B Camera 1st Assistant Kyryll Sobolev

to January 18, 2021

Etobicoke

DAY OF THE DEAD I (series)

DP Chris Kempinski

to December 14

Burnaby

DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW VI (series)

DP David Geddes csc, asc (alternating episodes)

to May 7, 2021

Burnaby

DEBRIS (series)

DP Michael Wale csc (odd) & Tony Mirza csc

DELIA’S GONE (feature)

Burnaby

DP Steve Cosens csc Camera Operator Paul Sarossy csc, Digital Technician Andrew Richardson

to November 20

North Bay

DP Brenton Spencer csc & Alwyn J. Kumst csc, sasc (alternating episodes)

to May 19, 2021

Vancouver

bsc, asc

FLASH, THE VII (series) GOOD WITCH VII (series)

DP Ken Krawczyk csc

to February 5, 2021

Toronto

HEARTLAND XIV (series)

DP Jarrett Craig

to December 21

Calgary

HELLO, GOODBYE AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN (feature)

B Camera Operator Kelly Mason

to November 13

Burnaby

HOME BEFORE DARK II (series)

DP C. Kim Miles csc & Bruce Worrall csc (alternating episodes) B Cam Operator Langley Nathan McTague

to December 18

Richmond

IN THE DARK III (series)

1st Assistant Pierre Branconnier

to April 22, 2021

Mississauga

KIM’S CONVENIENCE V (series)

DP James Klopko csc

to November 30

Toronto

KUNG FU I (series)

DP Neil Cervin csc (odd episodes)

to April 26, 2021

Langley

LADY DICKS (series)

DP Kristin Fieldhouse B Camera Operator Robert J. Barnett

to December 15

Etobicoke

LOCKE & KEY II (series)

DP Dylan Macleod csc (alternating episodes) C Camera Operator Rion Gonzales

to March 31, 2021

Toronto

MAID (series)

DP (Block 2 & 4) Guy Godfree csc & (Block 3) Vincent De Paula csc

MARI GILBERT STORY, THE (MOW)

DP Kamal Derkaoui csc

to November 10

Burnaby

MURDOCH MYSTERIES XIV (series)

DP Yuri Yakibuw csc 1st Assistant Kevin Michael Leblanc

to November 10

Toronto

Victoria

MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY I (series)

DP François Dagenais csc

NIGHTBOOKS (feature)

DP Robert Mclachlan csc, asc

to December 17

Toronto

PARKER ANDERSONS, THE (series)

DP Mitchell Ness csc

to January 22, 2021

Kleinburg

PEARL IN THE MIST (MOW)

DP/Operator David Bercovici-Artieda

PRIVATE EYES V (series)

DP Eric Cayla csc B Camera Operator Brad Hruboska

to December 14

Scarborough

PUDDIN’ I (series)

Camera Operator Jim Van Dijk

to December 19

Vancouver

RESIDENT EVIL - REBOOT (feature)

Camera Operator Daniel Abboud B Camera Operator Matt Irwin

to December 19

Sudbury

RIVERDALE V (series)

DP (Block 1) Ronald Richard & (Block 2) Brendan Uegama csc

to April 30, 2021

Langley

SEX/LIFE (series)

DP David Makin csc & Mike McMurray csc

to December 10

Mississauga

SNEAKERELLA (feature)

Camera Operator Johnny Colavecchia

to December 11

Toronto

SORT OF (series)

DP Stephen Reizes csc

to December 9

Toronto

SPIN (MOW)

DP Jeremy Benning csc B Camera 1st Assistant Brent J. Craig

to November 20

Brampton

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY IV (series)

DP Philip Lanyon csc (alternating episodes) C Camera Operator JP Locherer csc

to June 4, 2021

Toronto

SUPERGIRL VI (series)

DP Michael Story csc (alternating episodes) C Camera Operator Jill MacLauchlan C Camera 2nd Assistant Robin Miller csc

SUPERMAN & LOIS (series)

DP Stephen Maier & Gordon Verheul csc (alternating episodes)

to June 4, 2021

Vancouver

North Vancouver

Victoria

SURREALTOR (series)

Camera Operator Perry Hoffmann

to December 16

St. John’s

TITANS III (series)

DP Boris Mosjovski csc & Fraser Brown csc (alternating episodes)

to June 4, 2021

Toronto

TRIGGER POINT (feature)

DP Brett Van Dyke csc Camera Operator/Steadicam Colin Akoon

to November 19

Etibocoke

TURNER & HOOCH I (series)

DP (pilot only) David Moxness csc, asc & Corey Robson

to April 19, 2021

Burnaby

VICAP (pilot)

DP Marc Laliberté & Brendan Steacy csc Camera Operator Peter Sweeney

to April 9, 2021

Toronto

WHEN CALLS THE HEART VIII (series)

DP Michael Balfry csc

to November 17

Burnaby

WORKIN’ MOMS V (series)

DP Ben Lichty Camera Operator Andreas Evdemon Trainee Ashley Bowa

to November 19

Toronto

Y I (series)

DP Catherine Lutes csc (even episodes)

to July 5, 2021

Mississauga

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST II (series)

B Camera Operator/2nd Unit DP Christopher Oben

to March 25, 2021

Richmond

CALENDAR NOVEMBER 3-8, American Film Market Fest, Santa Monica, americanfilmmarket.com 4-22, New Orleans Film Festival, neworleansfilmsociety.org

@canadiancinematographer @csc_CDN

NOVEMBER 14-21, Camerimage International Film ´ Festival, Torun, Poland, camerimage.pl/en JANUARY 31, CSC Awards entry deadline, csc.ca

Canadian Cinematographer welcomes feedback, comments and questions about the magazine and its contents. Please send your letters to editor@csc.ca.

Letters may be edited for clarity and space.

34 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2020

Sachtler Video 20P Head (7x7) with carbon fibre standard legs (thick) 100mm ball base, pan handle, interior spreader, rubber feet and hard case. $5000 Michael Ellis 416-729-6988 michaelellis70@gmail.com COLORTRAN Nook light with bard doors and bulb. Includes long power cable and Quartzcolor 2K switch. $75. LOWEL Blender with AC power adapter, battery adapter for Canon E6 batteries, 1 protective screen, 3 diffusion screens. Very Good condition. $250. CHIMERA Triolet with 3 bulb adaptors, Chimera 9890 ring, glass diffusion dome and small Chimera pancake lantern (type 1864). $475. CHIMERA Extra Small Video Pro Plus with 3 screens (type 8115, 16"x22"). New condition. $200. CHIMERA Small Video Pro Plus Strip bank. (type 8155, 9"x 36").

Good condition. $250. epkcine@gmail.com 416.587-4848 ALEXA ITEMS FOR SALE Arri Alura T2.9. 18-80mm (PL Mount, Feet) CAD$20,000 OBO Arri Eyepiece Leveler (EL-3) Brand New CAD$400 OBO Arri Viewfinder Cable Medium KC151S Brand New CAD$350 OBO Please email Ian Toews csc at: ian@291filmcompany.ca Canon CN-E Prime Lenses. 24mm T1.5, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.5. In excellent condition. EF mount, covers S35 and full frame. Asking $3400 each.

Contact info@johnker.com.

35 4x5.6 Schneider filters: ND’s, color correction, diffusion, grads 2 138mm Tiffen Tobacco, Sunset grad 2 138mm Schneider Tru Pola, 85 Pola 2 138mm Schneider CU diopter #1, Cu Diopter • includes case and pouches for every filter.

• Excellent condition • 4x5.6 and 138mm. clears included Today’s value in U.S. dollars $13,705 U.S. Selling price $9,500 CDN CONTACT: Bert Tougas H: 514-634-2374 C: 514-913-2376 I have 15 - 3x3 Tiffen filters for sale - fogs, Promists Grads, 812's etc. all with cases. $185.00 - contact Barry Casson csc - 250-721-2113 or e-mail bcasson@speakfilm.com TIFFEN ULTRA STEADICAM , HD Ultrabrite color monitor ,HDMI Decimator 2,Iso-elastic arm, 4-24 volt batteries, 1-Pag battery charger 24v,1-Lentequip battery charger 12/24v,Klassen vest and carrying bag, 1 Preston F1+Z transmitter 1 Preston MDR-1 receiver,1 Preston control, 2 motors, 2 batteries, charger, numerous Hill motor mount brackets rossette brackets and rods, 1 long dovetail plate,1 short dovetail plate, 1 docking bracket,1 fgs wheel chair/dolly adaptor,rain cover, too many cables, hard cases and accessories to list.This rig was well maintained looks new,all it needs is a few upgrades. $23,000.00 cad 416 817 3938 or acadian@rogers.com Rick Kearney Preston FIZ 2 kit - $5,000 2 x Arri MB-20 studio matte box - $8,000 Arri LMB-15 Clip-on matte box - $1,200 Power-Pod Classic - $5,000 Please contact Michael Balfry csc @: michaelbalfry@gmail. com for a complete list of items.

Looking for a set of old, no longer used, standard legs with Mitchell base. Or any type of disused heavy camera support.

This is to be used to mount a Mitchell BNCR camera in order to place it on display. Anyone with access to such a tripod or with information about one, please contact me: rawi@earthlink.net 416-691-6865 CAMERA CLASSIFIED IS A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR CSC MEMBERS. For all others, there is a one-time $25 (plus GST) insertion fee.

If you have items you would like to buy, sell or rent, please email your information to editor@csc.ca.

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