Canadian Cinematographer November 2021 by The CSC

CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS

November 2021 www.csc.ca

DANIEL GRANTCSC

NIGHT RAIDERS Jonathon Cliff csc Jordan Oram

A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers

FEATURES – VOLUME 13, NO. 5 NOVEMBER 2021 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. 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. 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. 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.

Daniel Grant csc and Danis Goulet Explore Colonial History Through Dystopian Lens

By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer

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Credit: Jordan Oram

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The Journeyman: Prism Prize Winner Jordan Oram Makes His Mark By Fanen Chiahemen

COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 2 6 8 30 32

From the President Member Spotlight: Russ Goozee csc On Set Tech Column Production Notes/Calendar/Classifieds

Cover Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as Niska in a still from Night Raiders.

Canadian Cinematographer November 2021 Vol. 13, No. 5 EDITORIAL BOARD FANEN CHIAHEMEN, Editor-in-Chief, editor@csc.ca ROBYN BACON, Photo Editor PATTY GUYADER, Copy Editor SIMON EVERS, Graphic Designer GEORGE WILLIS, csc sasc CLAUDINE SAUVÉ csc SUSAN SARANCHUK, susans@csc.ca CSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Zoe Dirse csc Jeremy Benning csc Rion Gonzales Joan Hutton csc Kristin Fieldhouse csc Guy Godfree csc Claudine 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 Penny Watier 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 CHAIR Rion Gonzales 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 Thompson Printing and is published six 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. Contact admin@csc.ca to subscribe.

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 PRESIDENT George A. Willis csc, sasc

ome believe that the status quo is safer than change, which they fear might result in confusion and chaos. But change comes for many reasons, whether it’s change simply for change’s sake, or change based on sound reasoning. I have always been of the opinion that a certain modicum of reasoning needs to exist behind any change. This President’s column will soon undergo some change as it will no longer be a part of the printed Canadian Cinematographer magazine after November 2021. This is certainly no cause for concern, as it will still be available on a digital platform via a CSC newsletter. The question might be posed why the change. The answer is simple: it’s time. The simple truth is that not everything can be expected to survive as is for many reasons, and a decision has been made to update and upgrade Canadian Cinematographer magazine. We believe that a change in the right direction will be a new format look. This is change for a good reason, because the aspect ratios have, in the main, moved to a more modern image visualization format. The magazine cover will reflect that intent, coupled with a new size dimension and a revised masthead. One of the most important aspects of a magazine is recognition. When one considers the fact that there is a plethora of magazines on a display shelf, the requirement is for the CSC magazine to gain prominence over others. It should be noted that even though the design and layout of pages within a magazine are to be carefully considered, the need for a bold and recognizable cover is what potential readers will be aware of before even opening the magazine. To further explain the rationale, think for a moment about some of the more iconic magazines: Time, Rolling Stone, Seventeen, Life, People, Bazaar, Vogue, Look, Esquire and more. Those who subscribe to any particular magazine only look for the masthead and ignore the contents until later. Why? Because they are followers of the magazine that supports their lifestyle. This is why recognition is so important. There is one further aspect to consider and understand – the current masthead was designed in 2009 and has not changed; there has not been any reason for a new look until now. With this intended change, comes the realization that it will take time to reestablish a readership because of the new masthead. A positive side to this is that the magazine will be sent by mail to the established readership, therefore the recipients will not have to search among the competitive magazines that are displayed on magazine racks in stores and other outlets. So, with this information in mind, I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to read my ramblings over the years. This change will hopefully result in continued reading of the column, and I look forward to any comments that might come as a result of the new design format. Happy reading.

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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.

Xa’xtsa Community Film Learning Project: Camera Workshop and Short Film

mid record-breaking heatwaves coupled with limited access to First Nations communities, associate member Cliff Hokanson braved a 3.5-hour off-road journey with a team of four youth to deliver a camera workshop to the Xa’xta First Nations community. Douglas (Xa’xtsa) First Nation are the traditional owners of an area of land covering the northern half of Harrison Lake. The promotion, expansion, and marketing of the pristine Sloquet Hot Springs are of key importance to the community of 120 Xa’stsa members living in the BC wild and remote village of Tipella. With limited economic opportunities, tourism’s decline due to COVID-19 has severely impacted the livelihoods of a resilient people that remain in one of the most pristine rainforests in Canada. Hokanson’s work with the community will not

only garner them a short video to raise awareness of these hot springs and campgrounds but also outfitted them with the film equipment and education to create more videos. This strategy gives the community the option to share Indigenous teachings to an online market, as well as to ensure the domestic tourism market is made aware of this spiritually profound destination. The CSC kindly donated to the project, which funded a Metabones adapter for a 4K Blackmagic camera. Additionally, the Capilano Indigenous Digital Film program donated two new tripods and two Panasonic P2 card cameras.

but now has shifted gears to become a fulltime cinematographer. With Métis Indigenous heritage, Hokanson continues to give back to the Indigenous film and music content creators to support forward growth in Indigenous economies. One such project supported a local Indigenous cultural teacher by assisting him to take his workshops online. Ancestral Link teaches sacred traditional crafts to Indigenous communities. Hokanson worked with owner David Fierro to film the process of making a traditional hand drum so that his workshops could continue online during the COVID lockdown. Following the workshop, Hokanson continued to work with Fierro to build Ancestral Link Studios in East Vancouver, which, with Hokanson’s assistance, aims to generate Indigenous content for online delivery. This is a critical step to ensuring Indigenous arts and tourism businesses in BC recover and thrive in the wake of COVID.

Hokanson has provided extensive services to many Indigenous artists, communities and students. Early this year, he had the opportunity to teach for three months at the Capilano Indigenous film program. While he was offered to continue on a full-time basis, he opted out to pursue his passion as director of photography. Hokanson is known for his Steadicam skills

ACCEPTANCES / AWARDS / NOMINATIONS Michael Jari Davidson, associate member (cinematographer) Consent Agreement (short film), accepted: Official Selection, 35th Annual Edmonton International Film Festival, Edmonton, October 2021 Kelly Mason, associate member (director/cinematographer) Pave the Road (documentary), winner: Best Documentary, Chelsea Film Festival, New York, October 2021

4 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

Photos: Cliff Hokanson

Xa’xta First Nations workshop participants.

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CSC Member Spotlight

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

As far as movies, when I was young it was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Willard, which was a movie about rats, scared the shit out of me as a kid, but I loved it. 2001: A Space Odyssey cemented the idea that I wanted to be a cinematographer! The way Geoffrey Unsworth BSC and John Alcott BSC used extreme backlight to create almost another character. How did you get started in the business?

Credit: Rob Fowler

My start to the film business was actually pure luck. I was sitting around Winnipeg and got a call from an old friend of mine, Linda Petty, who would move to Toronto to start working in wardrobe for Partners Film. She said, “Come to Toronto, and you can stay on my couch.” Over the next couple of months, they were saying how those poor PAs worked so hard. One day I asked how much did those poor PAs make? $90 a day. $90 a day! I thought that was a lot of money back then, so I cobbled together a résumé and started as a PA at Partners. Who have been your mentors or teachers?

When I was at Partners, one of the DPs was George Morita. I watched him for years setting up lighting and executing beautiful shots. I learned how to treat the crew with respect so that they feel a part of the project. Stanley Mestel was another DP at Partners who I was able to assist for when I was more experienced. The way he would use double bounces and big soft sources really inspired me. Later on in my career, I was able to operate for Rene Ohashi csc, ASC. I learned that I had my fill light too far away from camera. He used the fill light directly from camera, which gave nicer contrast on the dark side, and you always had an eye light.

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What cinematographers inspire you?

I think the DPs that inspired me the most are Conrad Hall asc, Sir Roger Deakins asc, bsc, cbe and Caleb Deschanel asc. I think Conrad and Roger are very similar in the way that they use lighting and camera movement not to take away or bring you out of the movie, but to be with the actors and the story. Caleb brings another level of filtration and gorgeous extreme back lights just on the edge of unusable washed-out flares.

Power meets performance Name some of your professional highlights.

Early in my career, I was the DP on Universal Soldier; it was my first really big show, and I had the best crew I have ever worked with. Working with James Cameron on re-creations for a documentary called The Lost Tomb of Jesus was definitely a highlight. We talked for hours on how to achieve the story, and one day it finally dawned on me that he thinks in the same common-sense way that I do. What is one of your most memorable moments on set?

A memory that stands out from early on in my career, I think 1995, I was on a feature with Sean Bean, and we had to finish the wide shot at an airport before it started raining at night. I knew the rain was coming so I panned over a 12K HMI that was used from the last setup. It worked perfectly for 3/4 backlight. I reversed the camera on the track that was in place from the last scene and in the background was the B-52 bomber that was perfectly lit in the background. The director was on board and so was Sean, so we just said roll. The dolly moved with Sean as he ran towards the huge airplane. Like the pro he is, he stopped and caught the backlight on the side of his face as he lit a cigarette. It started to pour rain just as we cut.

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What do you like best about what you do?

I actually get to make a story come to life. Being able to create and make from the ground up makes me feel on top of the world. I honestly love the prep of a movie, reading the script for the first time, looking at the locations for the first time and trying to envision where the actors are going to go.

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What do you like least about what you do?

I guess it would be the stress that comes with being a director of photography. When things are going well, it’s great, but sometimes there are situations where the crew and actors are really loud when you’re trying to communicate, and it seems impossible. What do you think has been the greatest invention (related to your craft)?

A lot of people would say that the greatest invention in the film business is the advent of high-definition cameras or the three-axis gimbal. The thing that has helped me the most I think is when Kino Flo came into being. Now I could put a light right against the wall or on the ceiling inside a small room and still have decent spread. How can others follow your work?

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I am on Instagram and Facebook, and everything that I’ve done is listed on IMDb. You can see my demo reel at russgoozee.com.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

TORONTO | MISSISSAUGA | OTTAWA CALGARY | EDMONTON

VISTEK.CA

Credit: Refah Mamoud

Associate Member Michael Jari Davidson metering a shot on the Sundance Institute-developed film OZIGWAN in North Bay, Ontario.

Credit: Naz Andrukhiv

Credit: Praven Yoganatha

On Set

Credit: Natacha Lemay

Credit: Christina Laurice

DP/A camera operator David BercoviciArtieda (associate member) operating the “Ecuadorian Swamp Dolly” on the Netflix feature film Rescued By Ruby

From left to right, key grip Carlo Secchiaroli, DP Daniel Villeneuve csc and boom operator Louis Dutil shooting on a windy Montreal rooftop on the set of Be Mine, Valentine, TV movie for Incendo Productions.

8 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

Paul Sarossy csc, bsc, asc at the DIT station on the Calgary set of Billy the Kid.

Cinematographer Dale Sood (associate member) on set of “Crier”, a music video for French Canadian artist Melanie Brulée. Featured in photo: Actors Jaelen Gafoor (L), Percy Anane-Dwumfour (R). Equipment in photo: Sony FX9, Asahi Takumar cine-modded vintage lenses.

Credit: Maya Fink

Credit: Ricardo Hubbs

Associate member Daniel Abboud operating handheld on stage during an amateur drag show on the production of Rosie.

Affiliate member Anthony Sardo beekeeping with host Christina Laurice in Guelph, ON, for Yes TV's Living Local.

2021 NOVEMBER 7

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Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

DANIEL GRANTCSC & DANIS GOULET EXPLORE COLONIAL HISTORY THROUGH DYSTOPIAN LENS

NIGHT RAIDERS

10 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

fter spending over a decade producing short films together, filmmaker Danis Goulet (Barefoot) and cinematographer Daniel Grant csc (Into The Forest) have collaborated on the feature film Night Raiders, which transposes the devastating impact of residential schools to a dystopian futuristic society where children become property of the state. Despite the low budget, the Canada-New Zealand coproduction has been able to create a vast world inhabited by Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Brooklyn Letexier-Hart, Gail Maurice, Amanda Plummer, Alex Tarrant, Violet Nelson, Shaun Sipos, and Suzanne Cyr. At the film’s Canadian premiere at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival, Goulet was lauded with the TIFF Emerging Talent Award. By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer

A scene in the Academy, a state-run institution in Night Raiders that represents residential schools.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (right) and Brooklyn Letexier-Hart as mother and daughter in Night Raiders.

“My

relationship with Daniel has been one of the most satisfying of my career,” Goulet reflects. “We started together on a short film called Wapawekka in 2010, which was an intimate drama that he shot at my family’s cabin in Saskatchewan. We have crafted a visual language together, and that process has been incredible.” The collaboration made the transition to feature films easier for Goulet. “I knew that I didn’t have to worry about the image being beautiful and it allows you to focus on many other things like working with the actors. Even though Daniel is so towering-tall, it is amazing how invisible and gentle he is. Daniel creates a working environment that people can trust. It’s one of the things that I greatly value about him.” Financing issues caused the production to be shifted from Winnipeg to Ontario. “Having to move out of Winnipeg was heartbreaking for me,” Goulet admits. “I’m from Saskatchewan and it has always been my dream to shoot this film on the Prairies. Daniel is such a strong partner that we were able to pivot through that difficult time of preproduction.” The significance of the location move was not lost on Grant, with land being a central theme of Night Raiders. “It is about colonial powers taking land, and Danis is Cree-Métis and from Saskatchewan, so she wanted to capture the feeling of the Prairies,” the DP states. “Even though we shifted to Ontario, Danis still wanted to try to capture the same kind of feeling.” Stills of Winnipeg were shot by Grant and provided to visual effects supervisor Martin Tori (Gerald’s Game) as reference for the fictional city divided by a wall. The look of the film didn’t change [despite having to shoot fairly close to Toronto],” according to Grant. For the filmmaking duo, producing a grounded science fiction feature was not a major leap. “A few years ago, we shot a short film called Wakening, which was in a way a template for Night Raiders,” Grant notes. “It was a different story set within a similar world. However, there are so many different elements to a feature, in particular this one, which is so dense and things are constantly in motion. On top of that, we had a lot of visual effects and special effects

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elements that we had to incorporate in a smart way. Visual effects can jump in the magnitude of expense depending on how you shoot it. It was continuous discussion about how each of these things were going to be accomplished. We didn’t want the audience to feel the edges of the budget or of the world. It needed to feel that there was always more beyond the periphery that you couldn’t see. We wanted to be as immersive as possible.” Shot Designer was used to map out the blocking of the scenes and camera positions. “I would take photographs of locations and would do a simple Photoshop composite of what the city might look in the background at a certain angle of the market,” Grant explains. “For most of the locations, [production designer] Zazu Myers did SketchUp drawings. There is an app that allows you to print SketchUp into your iPad or iPhone and use it in AR mode. Even if we weren’t at the location, if we could frame shots inside of that just with the phone and draw in what we might see. Sometimes we would use Artemis, for example, when Niska goes up to a balcony and sees the whole city. Every frame was discussed by Danis, Zazu, Martin and I.” Most of Night Raiders was shot handheld with a single ARRI ALEXA Mini camera. A second one was operated by Patrick McGowan. “We used a mix of Zeiss Super Speeds and Standard Speeds,” Grant states. “The Super Speeds are lightweight small lenses that are good in low light. The Standard Speeds are even smaller but not as fast. 80 percent of the movie was shot either on a 35 mm or 32 mm. The second camera tended to be longer lenses, like 65 mm and 85 mm, to pick out shots. In the daytime, we used natural light and seldom used a bounce. For nighttime scenes and day interiors, lighting was built into the locations, which consisted of Astera Titan Tubes and LiteGear. Because we had to shoot so quickly, I gave myself a rule to only have one light stand on set. I didn’t always follow that. If I needed an additional light, sometimes I would have an electrician hold it because the camera was often seeing 360 degrees. Our biggest set exterior was at the Academy [a state-run institution that represents residential schools], which had hardly any light. My gaffer Jonathan Brown suggested using LRX so it would be a single source that covered the entire space. I wanted it to

Credits: Christos Kalohoridis

“We didn’t want the audience to feel the edges of the budget or of the world. It needed to feel that there was always more beyond the periphery that you couldn’t see. We wanted to be as immersive as possible.” – Daniel Grant csc

Director Danis Goulet (with headphones) on the set of Night Raiders. DP Daniel Grant csc (with camera) and director Danis Goulet on the set of Night Raiders.

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

Niska is introduced to the Night Raiders at Kitsakis, led by Ida (Gail Maurice).

look like there were flood lights on the top of the building and the LRX ended up being the perfect solution.” Cold weather occurs in the first act followed by a time cut of several months. “It was important to Danis that we feel that seasonal change,” Grant remarks. “The scenes with deciduous trees were shot first from midOctober 2019 to the beginning of November 2019. Then we shot a couple of locations that had no trees. Followed by scenes with coniferous trees. We ended the shoot with anything that would be cold weather.” The 20 days of principal photography concluded before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. “We added two extra days to the shoot, which were scheduled for November 2019,” Goulet recalls. “But then it started to snow like crazy. We got lucky. The day before our pickup shoot the snow melted. Right as we called, ‘Cut’ on the final shot snow started pouring down again! We edited that winter and when we locked our picture was right around the time of lockdown. Because we’re an international coproduction with New Zealand, all of our visual effects, sound design, and music composition were there, so all of that continued.” Visual effects were critical in ensuring that world building achieved the proper scope. “It’s a matter of all of the keys working in tandem to cre-

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“We were creating an aesthetic of suffocation. There are very little wide shots in the movie. To me that was all about expressing the weight of the oppression of that world. You never get a sense of space or room to breathe or opening up.” – Danis Goulet

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers as Niska. Brooklyn Letexier-Hart in a scene with Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers.

ate this vision,” Goulet states. “Our production designer Zazu [American Woman] was brilliant and helped to develop the look of the drone, which was built into a prototype, and recreated that in the digital space. But we were also so lucky that through our partnership with New Zealand we ended up working with was Park Road Post, which did a such an amazing job with the world building. Also, we were committed to shooting on location rather than being in a studio surrounded by greenscreens. I always wanted that tactile feeling of a real world. As we debated what would be visual effects and real, it was important to me that we found locations for the key visual effects of the world, like ruined buildings in downtown Hamilton or a wall that is a factory in Hamilton.” Night Raiders was one of the first productions to shoot at Stelco on Hamilton Harbour. “We did everything there for the giant wall that Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

Amanda Plummer as Roberta, with Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers in the background.

“It is about colonial powers taking land, and Danis is CreeMétis and from Saskatchewan, so she wanted to capture the feeling of the Prairies. Even though we shifted to Ontario, Danis still wanted to try to capture the same kind of feeling.” – Daniel Grant csc

separates Weyakwin City from Emerson State,” Grant explains. “The characters were shot against it and then visual effects extended either side so that it looked like a long continuous monolithic wall. We weren’t going to be able to create the city itself, so the market had to be an alley way. The Cotton Factory had an ‘L’-shaped alleyway that is fairly cramped. Zazu designed the stalls within that space so you would get a feeling of a cluttered market. An entire street in Hamilton had been cited for demolition. The other side of the street had beautiful pristine houses so we could only use specific angles. The Academy was a decommissioned psychiatric hospital in St. Thomas which had incredibly long underground hallways. Zazu built the cages [where the children sleep] and those were inspired by the ICE facilities in the United States.” Initially, Niska (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers) and Waseese (Brooklyn Letexier-Hart) were supposed to be living in cabin, but the logistics of transporting one thwarted the idea, so a school bus was used instead. “We bought the bus so it could be set on fire,” Grant reveals. “A specific location was needed so that the bus looked like it was in the middle of

18 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

the woods. It would be seen almost exclusively at nighttime. We also needed to be able to fly a drone with a spotlight and then shoot the drone down. I told Tom Comet at DroneBoy that I wanted to shoot the drone falling through the trees and see the dancing of the light hitting branches. I knew there was no way to do that with visual effects and have it look real. First, we shot the heavy lift drone with spotlight. Then we had it lift an old drone with a light. It had to be timed so that when Niska fired a real blank, the pilot would release the old drone causing it to fall through the air and crash onto the ground with the light still on it. We had to shoot quickly so it was very stressful! “We had an unusual situation where we had to shoot a driving scene at night,” Grant continues. “Initially we had wanted to use projection because it was going to be set at dusk, and it wasn’t practical for us to shoot this long scene in a moving vehicle. I did all of this research and found plates that were shot in Bulgaria which looked like a good match for our locations. I went through this process to figure out how to get it all working, and it was going to take a full day to rig and shoot. In the end, that process was too expensive,

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Brooklyn Letexier-Hart.

My relationship with Daniel has been one of the most satisfying of my career. We have crafted a visual language together, and that process has been incredible. I knew that I didn’t have to worry about the image being beautiful and it allows you to focus on many other things like working with the actors.” – Danis Goulet

so we had to shoot it in an hour and a half inside of the lunchroom, using a very simple method. We put up blacks around the car, had a couple of grips shaking it, put little lights on a dolly track 30 feet away from the car and had a grip slowly move them across the frame.” Footage was captured in ProRes except for visual effects shots, which were open gate ARRIRAW as it allowed for a certain amount of repositioning to be done in post. “We shot in 3.2K but finished in 2K. We went with the 1.85:1 aspect ratio because we wanted the imagery to feel grounded rather than intentionally cinematic. “A lot of the film deals with the main characters being closed in on either side and the threat of drones above them. The drones are a tool of subjugation of the occupiers. Head room became important because there is always the unconscious threat of something in the sky above you.” A first-person film language was adopted. “We shot a long messy master and then we chopped up the master,” Goulet states. “We sometimes do it in two sizes. The camera is always on the move and usually stays within a three-foot orbit of the main character Niska; it is a heightened subjective way of shooting. We were creating an aesthetic of suffocation. There are very little wide shots in the movie. To me that was all about expressing the weight of the oppression of that world.

20 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

You never get a sense of space or room to breathe or opening up. The visual language changes somewhat when they get to a camp that is on a land and you can see that there is a bit of space in those shots. Niska looks up at the sky. We were running around with a shallow depth of field, which feels tactile and visceral. All of that contributes to the feeling of intimacy and experiencing everything through the eyes of the character.” The warm mid-tone LUT was based on stills taken by Grant while location scouting and created at Deluxe. “I wanted to counter what had been done before in terms of the colour palette,” Goulet says. “You want to avoid dystopian clichés. Zazu and I took inspiration from colours that are in common use with the Indigenous community, and one common symbol is the Medicine Wheel; the palette of that is black, white, yellow and red. We have stayed a lot in that palette overall. There is not a lot of blue in the movie at all.” The final grade was done by Bill Ferwerda at Deluxe Toronto. “We were able to get the majority of what we wanted in camera, but certainly tinkered for a long time to get the urban market scenes just right,” Goulet remarks. “Night Raiders is a grounded genre film, so you don’t want to have that dystopian filter on things. Daniel and I wanted to avoid that. We tried to create something which had a naturalism to it.”

Fresh Blood

Jonathon Cliff Puts a New Spin on the Vampire Genre csc

22 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

By Fanen Chiahemen

onsuming blood to survive is one of the defining tropes of the vampire film genre, but in the horror comedy feature Kicking Blood, Anna (Alanna Bale), a centuries-old vampire, decides to quit her bloodsucking habit after she meets and falls in love with homeless recovering alcoholic Robbie (Luke Bilyk). Written and directed by New Pornographers’ Blaine Thurier and produced by Jennifer Jonas and Leonard Farlinger of New Real Films, the film replaces the standard motifs of vampirism by framing the folkloric creatures as addicts. “What excited me about the script when I read it was that although on its surface it is a genre film, it does present a slightly new take on that genre,” DP Jonathon Cliff csc offers. “While it is a vampire film, it is also a love story that is anchored around a theme of addiction. I love genre films and really haven’t done many of them, and what I appreciated about the script was that it was slyly subverting the genre while also respecting its boundaries.” Cliff knew his gear selection would be key to underscoring the theme of addiction in Kicking Blood, which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and was shot in Sudbury. “In the last couple of years, I have fallen back in love with anamorphic photography, and I aggressively pitched it to Blaine and the producers from very early on in prep,” Cliff says. “Recent developments in cheaper anamorphic technology have made the format more accessible to a film of this small scale. The Atlas 2x anamorphic lenses by Orion are reasonably priced, lightweight and have a fast t-stop, so that’s what we used. I was quite interested in how macro shots in widescreen tend to emphasize the eyes and how the eyes really can represent a map of intimacy in relation to a character. I also think that the internal terror of

Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

Anna contemplates quitting her bloodsucking habit.

“I was quite interested in how macro shots in widescreen tend to emphasize the eyes and how the eyes really can represent a map of intimacy in relation to a character. I also think that the internal terror of addiction is heightened by extreme closeups and there is nothing like an extreme closeup in anamorphic. The focus falloff, the imperfections and the inherent softness in certain places within the frame all seemed like the right storytelling tools to accentuate a story about addiction.” addiction is heightened by extreme closeups and there is nothing like an extreme closeup in anamorphic. The focus falloff, the imperfections and the inherent softness in certain places within the frame all seemed like the right storytelling tools to accentuate a story about addiction. “I also love landscapes in the 2:39 aspect ratio,” Cliff states. “I was interested in the post-industrial landscapes of Sudbury which can be rather bleak and foreboding and I tried my best to emphasize these attributes to tie in with the themes of the story. Our dependence on resource extraction to fuel our modern lifestyles and its effect on us and the landscape we live in definitely has a visual and thematic relationship to vampirism and addiction, so it seemed like the appropriate choice. Most of the landscape transition shots were shot day for night and enhanced through exposure choice and a lot of filtration in the camera, which gives them a slightly surreal flavour.” One of Cliff ’s goals was to use colour to highlight the film’s themes. “I think red has obvious symbolic associations with blood, passion and violence so it is prevalent, especially in the space where Anna lives,” Cliff observes. “I tried to use cooler colours like blue and sometimes teal to act as a contrast to the red. I often use contrasting colours to create a sense of depth and dimensionality, but in this story I also wanted to use it to represent Anna’s internal struggle with life and death. As a character, she inhabits a shadowy world of death but is increasingly being drawn

towards the light of life, which will ironically probably kill her. I tried to use light and colour to express this narrative journey visually.” Discussions between Thurier and Cliff in preproduction included how they would depict the vampires’ intense highs visually. “Blaine and myself have some experience with drugs of various sorts so it was a common basis for our discussions,” Cliff reveals. “When a vampire ingests blood it’s not necessarily hallucinatory, but just kind of a super enhanced reality. For simplicity’s sake, I opted to do this mainly through colour interacting with Alanna’s face. On a budget like this, it was a simple cost-effective way to create an enhanced reality on screen without VFX or SFX. I did some tests with gaffer Sean Hearn and then a few colour tests with Alanna in prep putting different colours on her face.” For Cliff, shooting in Sudbury was like returning to his roots. “Both my parents were born there so I spent a lot of time there as a child and many memories came flooding back being there again after all these years. I think it was an ideal

“What excited me about the script when I read it was that although on its surface it is a genre film, it does present a slightly new take on that genre. While it is a vampire film, it is also a love story that is anchored around a theme of addiction.”

24 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

Credit:Victor On

“Our dependence on resource extraction to fuel our modern lifestyles and its effect on us and the landscape we live in definitely has a visual and thematic relationship to vampirism and addiction. Most of the landscape transition shots were shot day for night and enhanced through exposure choice and a lot of filtration in the camera, which gives them a slightly surreal flavour.”

place for this story and we never tried to make it feel or be somewhere else,” the DP says. “As a photographer, I have always been interested in the ‘meaning’ of places and how the visual reality of a place tells its story. There are parts of Sudbury that feel like they are from a different bygone era, and they have been left to decay in the present. To some degree, that is what all vampire stories are about. This seemed like the exact place where a vampire might interact with a specific place visually.” After a delay of almost a year due to the COVID-19-related lockdown in March 2020, the crew shot in the city for several weeks in the dead of winter. “I think we only shot past midnight once

26 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

Alanna Bale as Anna, a centuries-old vampire. Jonathon Cliff csc lines up a shot on the set of Kicking Blood.

or twice. However, on one of those nights it was -26 C. The actors, the crew and a lot of the electronics froze, and it was a real struggle to get through it,” Cliff says. “At one point, it was so cold that the grease in the lens began to freeze, and the focus motor would no longer turn the focus ring. I remember texting a focus puller pal in Winnipeg for advice and he suggested wrapping a heating pad around the barrel of the lens and turning it on full high heat. When the temperature drops below -25 and you need filmmaking in the cold advice, always turn to your friends in Winnipeg. “Shooting night scenes is always extremely taxing if you must actually shoot them at night,” Cliff maintains. “It is very hard on the crew, and it negatively affects the cast not only in their ability to perform but sometimes in how they look on camera. Knowing this going in, it was my goal in prep to find locations where we could shoot day for night by controlling the daylight. In February in Sudbury it’s dark by 5 p.m. so you really don’t have to stay up all night to find darkness when you require it. On a micro budget film like this, I try to use a lot of available light at night (streetlights, landscape lights, etc.) and just try to supplement it with small portable LEDs that are mostly battery powered.” Cliff completed colour correction with Jim Fleming at Urban Post. “We have done five or six films together, so we definitely have a shorthand and are able to work very quickly together. I trust him to take a pass or two on his own and then we start to work through it together,” Cliff says. “In this case, we designed a general purpose LUT in preproduction, which I used to light with on set and I put it on all the dailies across the board as we didn’t really have the resources to do live grading on set or any colour correction in Sudbury. By using the overall LUT, when the film was cut the picture was in a fairly good place overall for Jim to smooth it out rather quickly and efficiently. “I think some of my favourite scenes to shoot were Anna’s fantasy sequences where she interacts with very bright light. They serve to be visually contrapuntal to the overall darker tones of the film. It makes narrative sense that if a vampire is beginning to fantasize about becoming human that those fantasies would be very brightly lit,” Cliff muses. “The sequence where she sees herself in a coffin is shot outdoors in very bright sunlight on snow in a birch forest. It was just a matter of planning to have the sun in the right place and shooting it at the right time of day. I think that all of the high key white elements and a couple of great anamorphic flares really help to make it slightly surreal and oddly captivating.”

Canadian Cinematographer - September 2021 •

The Journeyman Prism Prize Winner Makes His Mark

Jordan Oram

sssociate member Jordan Oram describes himself as a self-taught cinematographer – fine-tuning his craft through his eye for creativity, penchant for strong communication, and access to mentors in the industry, he has developed an artistry coveted by some of the biggest names in entertainment, making music videos with the likes of Drake, Usher, Coldplay, Miguel and Snoop Dogg, even landing a Grammy nomination for Future ft.Drake’s video “Life is Good.” Along the way, he earned credits on commercials and television shows like CBC’s Detention Adventure (see September 2019), until his dynamic imagery got the attention of director Darren Lynn Bousman, who enlisted Oram to shoot the ninth installment of the Saw franchise, Spiral: From the Book of Saw, starring Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella. This summer, Oram received the Prism Prize Special Achievement Award, presented for “artistic achievements and exceptional contribution to music video art on a world stage,” and most recently he has self-published the biodegradable book The Journeyman, which explores the themes of fear, male vulnerability, curiosity and self-ownership. Oram recently spoke to Canadian Cinematographer about his journey so far.

Canadian Cinematographer: Spiral was your first studio feature. How did you cope with the pressure of coming onto such a well-established franchise? Jordan Oram: I knew there would be immense challenges,

three takes to get it before you have to move on, so with music videos being a really stressful environment the majority of the time, going into a bigger studio feature taught me how to just be calm in the moment, make corrections and adjust on the fly. Being able to adapt to what was happening on the floor reminded me a lot of when I shoot music videos where sometimes what you talk about in prep isn’t exactly what it turns out to be on the floor, but you just have to react and go with what is happening to allow yourself to produce results. CC: Talk about how you created the unique look and feel of Spiral. JO: I knew that the director wanted the film to take place

during the hottest day of the summer. I’m really in love with big warm tungsten sources that really allow you to feel the texture inside of what you’re seeing. So working with the production designer to really consider that all walls needed to be completely dappled with texture, the sweat from the hair and makeup department needed to be profuse on the cast so when you’re looking at those scenes you’re really getting a sense of what something feels like. So you’re seeing it in frame staying really close to the actors so that you feel them on their closeups. Instead of being on longer lenses, I choose to be on something a little bit shorter and be much closer to our talent so that we could move throughout the space with them. There was a lot of Steadicam movement,

but I like the pressure. I had to make decisions that could affect my future, so I really utilized the network of the Canadian cinematographers as mentors and as guides for what I was looking to create. I asked them questions about how to handle bigger productions and tasks, using bigger equipment and how to handle the politics behind the scenes, but I just took my time and did the best I could in the moment, and had a great time. Some of the better advice I had been given was to trust my instincts and to do what felt right for me.

CC: How did you find your music video background was an asset on a narrative feature? JO: I’m used to working with limited resources and lighting

multiple spaces really efficiently, and we didn’t have much time on set to utilize the full ability of a cinematographer in terms of lighting, but I knew my experience lighting 360 degrees to be able to shoot all directions was something that I would be able to perform in a film like Spiral. You also have two to

28 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

Opposite page: Chris Rock in Spiral. Drake, God's Plan Lizzo for Dolby Atmos

a lot of orchestrated camera moves so that we didn’t break the action especially in something as tense an action film as Spiral. CC: What are you most proud of on Spiral? JO: I’m most proud we got exactly what the director and team

set out and envisioned in the beginning. That for me is always an amazing feeling when I can go into a project, extract information from all my collaborators and achieve what is in someone else’s head. It’s not ultimately about what I want that gives me joy after a project, it’s the collective between all of us, the production designer, myself, the art department, hair and makeup, to allow everyone to shine. Watching the film I see every single department performing at their peak, and that for me is enough to go home with a smile on my face. I’m most proud of my reality and that I didn’t let the pressure of the job weigh me down.

aimed to serve as a tool for the next generation, who, after reading, may plant the book and watch it grow as the paper composts away. All that is left behind is flowers, trees, wisdom, and no waste. CC: How did you come up with that concept? JO: I was asked to do a talk, “Behind the Lens” at Soho House,

and I’m really big on scent, smell and texture so I brought my favourite candles to my gathering with over 275 people, and everyone said, “I love how that smells,” so I knew that was something people remembered, maybe even more than what I spoke of. When I was ideating about writing this book, I ini-

CC: How have music videos helped you develop your visual style? JO: I have enacted a very un-

apologetic language as a cinematographer. I never went to film school, and I really learned from doing things. With music videos I have to see it the way I see it with the camera in my hands. The way I approach the projects that I work on now, I’m okay with not doing a job because I’m not working for money. I’m also not working for the society’s idea of having a successful cinematography career, I’m working towards a meaningful artistic career. So the choices that I make are often going to challenge the status quo because I have to be able to do something that hasn’t been thought of. A lot of people that work in the space of music videos often follow a trajectory that has been set before, and I think for me growing up in Pickering, coming from a very different cultural background within the space that I often work in, I’m trying to bring what my reality looks like in all the projects I choose to do. CC: What inspired you to write a book? JO: Going through the time of COVID, I was in quarantine, I

wasn’t able to work and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my career at that moment. I had a lot of questions that I needed to answer for my own self development, so I continued to journal on my phone, and just wanted to leave a mark with something that hadn’t been actualized before. I’m always trying to push the narrative and understand elements past sight, taste, hearing and touch. I knew that there had never been a book in the world that had been planted. So I created the world’s first biodegradable book that is

tially wanted to soak it in essential oils. When I started looking at infused paper, I saw that there was recyclable biodegradable paper, but then I started researching books that had been in this paper and it was impossible because it was so thick. So I reached out to a manufacturer in Nepal and asked if they could make this paper that was thin enough for me to make a book. CC: If you were not a cinematographer what would you be doing? JO: If I wasn’t a cinematographer I would probably be an

investment trader, architect or developer. I love thinking of design, I love buildings and I love the idea of what spaces look like if they were designed for better efficiency sustainability, tiny homes, things that are actually for the future. I just like to enable what it’s like to be a human; I’m still finding myself. After all, I am the journeyman. Stay tuned for Oram’s next big project, the CBC/BET+ original period drama series The Porter, airing next year. Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021 •

Tech Column

Courtesy of Riedel

Riedel’s Bolero Strikes a Chord on Feature Project Sets

wo-way communication on sets is nothing new, but the advances of digital radio technology are breaking new ground. For example, Jeremy Benning csc says adoption of Riedel’s Bolero system had an immediate positive impact on the administrative part of his job and left more time to focus on the creative aspect working on the Amazon show The Expanse. “For me the biggest thing was the conservation of energy,” he says. “Normally, you spend time running around speaking loudly, giving notes. You’re the leader, and with this system it’s easier to delegate and get feedback from people, from the talent to the key grip.” The difference is in the digital technology that provides highquality audio and consistent distortion-free transmission far beyond older analogue systems. However, the most important aspect may be the user interface. Simply put, it’s easy to learn and use, and flexible enough to allow customization and creation of groups so a conversation about lighting doesn’t have to be broadcast to the entire production. Digital signals mean a far more efficient use of bandwidth, and over the years hardware and software have also evolved substantially. Still, Riedel’s Director of Product Management Jake Dodson says the key breakthrough was the user interface. As so often happens with technology, end users often cling to older systems because they’ve learned the idiosyncrasies and are loathe to take on a new learning curve. It’s one of the reasons he made sure

30 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

engineers and designers focussed just as much effort on the interface to keep it simple and thus be more accepted. “We have to put ourselves in the shoes of the user and get feedback,” he says. The “cine” market is late to the party for a product launched in 2017 that has been mostly used by live sports events, theatre productions such as Cirque Du Soleil and by NFL referees and officials at FIFA events. The Expanse production used 26 belt packs and four antennas and operated on the 1.9 Ghz frequency, but it was the features and quality that made it a must-have for the crew, according to Benning. In just a few keystrokes, users can configure groups so that one button will link to the lighting crew, another to camera department, one to talent and so on right on up to the “Now hear this" voice of God broadcasting to the entire set. “What struck me as brilliant was it offered a way to configure who was on a party channel, but also you could change the buttons so that the one closest to you was the one you used the most,” Benning says. “The crew loves it because each has their own separate mix.” Introducing Bolero, and systems like it, to feature film production isn’t a slam dunk despite his enthusiasm, Benning admits. “The first battle is that it’s four times the cost,” he says. Quantifying the value is also difficult, but, he adds, as with all other technology introduced to productions over the years, such as Steadicams and follow focus, the benefits will outweigh the negatives. Time is money and if better communication cuts the number of takes needed to capture the scene then it all adds up. Meanwhile, Dodson says, rental houses are stocking systems, the word is getting out and Riedel is attracting more interest from the feature film sector. Bolero was first rolled out in 2017 and there have been a couple of iterations, but the changes are firmware-based so it’s very easy and painless to upgrade and expanding a system is done by simply adding belt packs and antennae. Still, the engineers and designers do have a sense of humour about their serious endeavours. “The belt pack design has a buckle so you can hang it up on a hook off the floor,” Dodson says. “We designed that in and then thought, ‘Wait a minute, what if we made it into a bottle opener.’ So we did.” Ian Harvey is a journalist who has been writing about digital disruption for 22 years. He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits subject matter ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca

Canadian Cinematographer - September 2021 •

23 19

Production Notes & Calendar

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE FOR DAISY (MOW)

DP Ron Stannett csc

A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS (MOW)

DP Randall Platt csc

to October 18

Burnaby

BILLY THE KID I (series)

DP (Blk 1) Paul Sarossy csc, bsc, asc DP (Blk 2) Ronald Richard

to October 13

Calgary

BONES OF CROWS (feature)

DP Vince Arvidson csc B Camera Operator Justin Beattie

to January 10, 2022

Vancouver

BRING IT ON: HALLOWEEN (feature)

DP Adam Swica csc

to October 22

Winnipeg

to October 16

Burnaby

BROTHER (feature)

DP Guy Godfree csc Trainee Ashley Bowa

to October 26

Mississauga

CORONER IV (series)

Camera Operator Keith Murphy 1st Assistant Kyryll Sobolev B Camera Operator Max Armstrong

to December 7

Toronto

CHRISTMAS BRIDESMAID (MOW)

DP Thomas Harting csc

to October 18

Burnaby

CHRISTMAS CEO (MOW)

DP Peter Benison csc

to October 8

Nepean

CHRISTMAS DATES (MOW)

DP Ken Krawczyk csc

to November 5

Winnipeg

CHRISTMAS FOR KEEPS (MOW)

DP Pieter Stathis csc

to October 30

Vancouver

CRIMES OF THE FUTURE (feature)

DP Douglas Koch csc Operator Andreas Evdemon

to November

Athens, Greece

DAN BROWN’S THE LOST SYMBOL (series)

DP Fraser Brown csc DP Boris Mojsovski csc, asc DP Dylan Macleod csc (alternating episodes)

to October 15

Toronto

DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW VII (series)

DP David Geddes csc, asc

to Jan. 21, 2022

Burnaby

DEVIL IN OHIO (series)

DP Corey Robson

to December 7

Burnaby

FAKES I (series)

DP Philip Lanyon csc

to December 8

Burnaby

FEUDAL II (series)

Camera Operator Forbes MacDonald Jr B Camera Operator Jeffery Wheaton

to October 14

Hubbards

FIREFLY LANE II (series)

DP Vincent De Paula csc

to April 20, 2022

Burnaby

FLASH, THE VIII (series)

DP Brenton Spencer csc

to April 25, 2022

Vancouver

FROM (series)

DP Christopher Ball csc DP Michael Wale csc (alternating episodes)

to October 18

Halifax

GOOD SAM I (series)

DP Mike McMurray csc DP Kristin Fieldhouse csc (alternating episodes) B Camera Operator Brad Hruboska

to March 22, 2022

Oakville

GUILLERMO DEL TORO PRESENTS (series)

DP Colin Hoult csc (alternating episodes)

to January 28, 2022

Toronto

HARDY BOYS II (series)

DP D. Gregor Hagey csc Camera Operator Colin Akoon 1st Assistant Lem Ristoo B Camera Operator Bruce William Harper

to October 6

Mississauga

IN THE DARK IV (series)

DP Jonathon Cliff csc (alternating episodes)

to May 9, 2022,

Mississauga

INFINITY POOL (feature)

DP Karim Hussain csc

to October 22

Hungary/Croatia

JINGLE BELL PRINCESS (MOW)

B Camera 1st Assistant Tony Lippa

to October 18

North Bay

JUBILEE (PART 1) (series)

DP George Lajtai csc DP Gavin Smith csc (alternating episodes) Trainee Youssef Ben Rajeb

to December 13

Toronto

KISS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (MOW)

DP Ken Krawczyk csc

to October 8

Winnipeg

KUNG FU II (series)

DP Chris Kempinski csc (alternating episodes)

to March 10, 2022

Langley

LAKE, THE (series)

DP Robert Scarborough csc 1st Assistant Pierre Branconnier Digital Technician – DIT Andrew Richardson

to October 1

North Bay

MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN (series)

DP Maya Bankovic csc (alternating episodes) Camera Operator/Steadicam Brent Robinson

to October 2

Toronto

MADELINE I (series)

DP (Blk 1) Claudine Sauvé csc DP (Blk 2) DP Elie Smolkin csc

to October 22

Vancouver

MONSTER HIGH: FRESHMAN YEARS (series)

DP Tony Mirza

to December 17

Burnaby

MOONSHINE II (series)

Camera Operator Forbes MacDonald Jr B Camera Operator Jeffery Wheaton

to October 8

Hubbards

MOTHERLAND: FORT SALEM III (series)

DP Brian Whittred csc DP Craig Powell (alternating episodes)

to March 24, 2022

Vancouver

MURDOCH MYSTERIES XV (series)

DP Yuri Yakibuw csc 1st Assistant Kevin Michael Leblanc

to Feb. 14, 2022

Toronto

NANCY DREW, THE III (series)

DP Nick Thomas csc

to December 9

North Vancouver

PHANTOM PUPS (ind. feature)

DP Mark Irwin csc, asc

to December 6

Saanichton

REMOTE (MOW)

DP Barry Donlevy

to November 29

North Vancouver

RIVERDALE VI (series) (Blk 1)

DP Bernard Couture csc

to June 4, 2022

Langley

RUN THE BURBS (series)

DP Gerald Packer csc B Camera Operator Gregory Biskup

to November 5

Scarborough

SON OF A CRITCH (series)

DP Alan Poon csc

to October 2

Mount Pearl

SHORESY (series)

1st Assistant Tony Lippa B Camera Operator Monica Guddat

to December 15

Garcon

SILVER (series)

Operator Michael Soos

to December

Budapest, Hungary

SUPERMAN & LOIS II (series)

DP Stephen Maier DP Gordon Verheul csc (alternating episodes)

to April 15, 2022

Richmond

TALLBOYZ III (TV series)

DP Matt Irwin

to October 30

Toronto

TAMARACK (TV series)

DP Brendan Steacy csc

to November 5

Mississauga

TRADE WINDS I (series)

DP (Blk 2 & 4) Michael Balfry csc

to April 22, 2022

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN (series)

DP (Blk 2) Tobie Marier Robitaille csc DP (Blk 3) Craig Wrobleski csc

to December 3

Calgary

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS IV (series)

DP Michael Storey csc (alternating episodes) 1st Assistant Ciaran Copelin

to December 17

Toronto

WHEN HOPE CALLS II (series)

DP Russ Goozee csc Camera Operator/Steadicam Brian Gedge

to October 15

North Bay

YELLOWJACKETS (series)

DP Kim C Miles csc, asc, mysc B Camera Operator Nathan McTague

to October 1

Burnaby

CALENDAR NOVEMBER 2-7, American Film Market Fest, Santa Monica, americanfilmmarket.com 7, 64th CSC Awards Gala, Toronto, csc.ca 5-21, New Orleans Film Festival, neworleansfilmsociety.org

17-18, ProFusion, Toronto, profusionexpo.com 13-20, EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival, Torun, Poland, camerimage.pl/en

Classifieds EQUIPMENT FOR SALE Arriflex BL camera with 12 - 120 blimpted Angenieux lens, several film magazines, and accessories. Arriflex S camera with 9.5 - 95 Angenieux lens, film magazines, and accessories. C P 16 camera with angenieux 12 -120 lens with several film magazines and accessories. 2 Canon Scoopic film cameras, one takes a 200 foot load. Bell and Howell DR 70 wind up camera with lenses. Al Sugerman at 519-768-1623, or at sugermana8@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 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.

DECEMBER 3-6, IBC, Amsterdam, show.ibc.org 14-17, SIGGRAPH Asia, Tokyo, sa2020.siggraph.org

32 • Canadian Cinematographer - November 2021

@canadiancinematographer @csc_CDN

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.

Further. Stronger. Faster.

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Every film deserves a great line. S O N Y

Venice

C I N E M A

L I N E

PXW-FX9

FX6

FX3

There’s a Sony solution for every level of production. The Sony Venice is now well established as an industry leader for feature films, series and commercials, offering advanced features and benefits with its latest 6.10 firmware, followed closely by the Sony FX9, a proven high-end production workhorse. With anamorphic, 120 fps raw support, S16 crop and more coming in firmware 3.0, the FX9 is set to become a ubiquitous player in the production community. The compact FX6 is a C4K portable general production powerhouse featuring Sony’s variable eND, user LUTs, Dual Base ISO, time code and more. With this model, you can shoot XAVC Intra up to 60 fps 4K DCI, 120 QFHD or 240 HD to dual memory card slots, SD or CF-A cards, and it can also output 16-bit RAW. The latest addition to the line, the Sony FX3, is a compact cine cam about the size of a mirrorless camera that’s packed with pro-level features, allowing single-operator content creators to capture rich, professional-looking cinematic 4K video up to 120p with incredible ease. Its rugged cage-free body features ¼"-20 mounting points and a top handle with an XLR and four-channel audio interface, plus a cooling fan that allows for effective heat dissipation and longer recording times. Like the Venice and FX9, the FX3 and FX6 support Sony’s S-Cinetone colour. And the FX6, along with the pro-level FX9 and top-of-the-line Venice, are all also Netflix approved! To learn more about Sony’s Cinema Line cameras, please contact Vistek’s Commercial Solutions Group at 1-866-707-0785.

COMMERCIAL SOLUTIONS GROUP Direct: 416- 644-8010 • Fax: 416-644-8031 • Toll-Free Direct: 1-866-661-5257 • CommercialVideo@vistek.ca

VISTEK.CA