CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
$4 April 2018 www.csc.ca
Christophe Collette csc on
Eye
on Juliet
Stirling Bancroft csc Adventures in Public School
A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers
FEATURES – VOLUME 10, NO. 1 APRIL 2018 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.
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 non-partisan groups in our industry but have no political or union affiliation.
Drone Love: Christophe Collette csc on Eye on Juliet
By Fanen Chiahemen
CORPORATE SPONSORS
Stirling Bancroft csc Takes Adventures in Public School
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Credit: Carolyn Wong
AC Lighting Inc. All Axis Remote Camera Systems Applied Electronics Limited Arri Canada Ltd. Canon Canada Inc. Codes Pro Media Cooke Optics Dazmo Camera Deluxe Toronto DMG Lumière FUJIFILM, North America Corporation FUJIFILM, Optical Devices Division Fusion Cine Henry’s Camera HD Source Inspired Image Picture Company Keslow Camera Kino Flo Lee Filters Miller Camera Support Equipment Mole-Richardson MOSS LED Inc. Nikon Canada Inc. PRG PS Production Services Panasonic Canada Panavision Canada REDLABdigital RED Digital Cinema Red Square Motion Rosco Canada S1 Studios Toronto Sigma SIM SIMMOD LENS Sony of Canada Ltd. Technically Yours Inc. Technicolor The Source Shop Urban Post Production Vistek Camera Ltd. Walter Klassen FX William F. White International Inc. Zeiss ZGC Inc. ZTV
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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.
William F. White February Freeze 2018
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 2 4 8 10 32 34 36
From the Editor-In-Chief In the News On Set CSC Member Spotlight – D. Gregor Hagey csc The Masters Tech Column Production Notes/Calendar
Cover Lina El Arabi in Eye On Juliet
Canadian Cinematographer April 2018 Vol. 10, No. 1 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc EDITOR EMERITUS Donald Angus EXECUTIVE OFFICER Susan Saranchuk, admin@csc.ca EDITOR Fanen Chiahemen, editor@csc.ca COPY EDITOR Karen Longland ART DIRECTION Berkeley Stat House WEBSITE www.csc.ca ADVERTISING SALES Guido Kondruss, gkondruss@rogers.com EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER Bruce Marshall, brucemarshall@sympatico.ca CSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS Phil Earnshaw csc Carlos Esteves csc Joan Hutton csc Antonin Lhotsky csc Bruno Philip csc Joseph Sunday PhD George Willis csc, sasc CSC EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT George Willis csc, sasc PAST PRESIDENT, ADVISOR Joan Hutton csc VICE PRESIDENTS Carlos Esteves csc, Toronto Bruno Philip csc, Montreal MEMBERSHIP CHAIRS Arthur Cooper csc Zoe Dirse csc EDUCATION CHAIRS Carlos Esteves csc George Willis csc, sasc AWARDS CHAIR Andre Pienaar csc, sasc Samy Inayeh csc PUBLIC RELATIONS CHAIR Bruce Marshall 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.
2 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc
T
here was a lively discussion on CSC Facebook recently, where some individuals were asking for accountability from the CSC with regards to governance, inclusion and gender parity. All are fair questions, and the CSC needs to be part of these discussions. However, what seemed to be lacking with the queries was reasoned insight into the CSC’s integrity as an organization. The CSC was characterized as an “old boys club” that hides behind “words on paper” to avoid dealing with socio-political issues. I guess to some people, words do not hold much sway. The inconvenient truth, though, is that words are very important and especially for the CSC. The “words on paper” refers to the CSC bylaws that incorporate the CSC’s mandate. It is a legal document required by law for an organization to exist. The founders of the CSC in the 1950s envisioned a professional organization unencumbered by politics that would set standards for cinematography and provide an open environment to socialize and talk shop. They also had a very practical reason for going this route. The founders did not want the CSC to be confused with being a union. They did not want the CSC to appear as a rival to existing industry unions that already dealt with politics and work issues. I think the founders’ reasoning was wise and prescient because by the time I arrived at the CSC 40 years ago, for me it was an island in a rough sea. I was one of a handful of female camera assistants in North America and one of about three in Canada for the longest time. I probably experienced every roadblock one could experience working as a woman in a perceived male profession. I found the environment at the CSC friendly, professional, and, above all, I was not only welcomed and treated as an equal, but encouraged and helped along in my chosen career path. This ingrained notion of equality and encouragement resonates through to today in an organization that continues to be about love of craft. The CSC’s mandate is to “foster and promote the art of cinematography.” It’s not “his” cinematography or “her” cinematography or black, white, green or purple cinematography. It’s simply cinematography. No one is hiding behind words at the CSC, but rather upholding an ideal that is as true now as it was 60 years ago. There will be a part two of this discussion in my next column.
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The CSC congratulates the following members for their 2018 Canadian Screen Award wins: • Achievement in Cinematography: Nicolas Bolduc csc (Hochelaga, Land of Souls) • Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Documentary: Alfonso Maiorana (Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World) • Best Photography, Comedy: Gerald Packer csc (Schitt's Creek “Grad Night”) • Best Photography, Drama: Steve Cosens csc (Cardinal)
Boris Mojsovski csc Wins ASC Award The Society congratulates Boris Mojsovski csc, who took home the award for his work in 12 Monkeys (“Thief ”) in the Episode of a Series for Commercial Television category at the 32nd Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards for Outstanding Achievement, held on February 17 in Los Angeles.
PS Production Services Honours Tom Cox with Dales Industry Builder Award Tom Cox, managing partner and executive producer of SEVEN24 Films, received the 2018 Douglas James Dales Industry Builder Award earlier this year. Named for the late Doug Dales, founder of PS Production Services, the annual award is presented to a producer whose sustained, voluntary, selfless service, contribution and commitment has benefited the Canadian film and television production industry. The award was presented at the PS Dinner on the Hill, held in conjunction with the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time Conference in Ottawa. Cox’s productions span 30 years and include award-winning feature films, dramatic series, miniseries and television movies. Cox is committed to ensuring that every region of Canada supports a vibrant and sustainable environment for content development and production through strong independent companies creating projects for domestic and international markets. In addition to his role at SEVEN24 Films, Cox is an executive board mem-
ber of the Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association and Chair of the AMPIA Producers Committee. He is also a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contribution to the arts.
Credit: Andrew Van Beek
In The News
CSC Members Honoured with CSA Awards
(From L to R) Jamie Haggarty (president and CEO, Sim), Tom Cox and Rob Sim (founder, Sim).
Panavision Launches Millennium DXL2 Camera Panavision introduced the new Millennium DXL2 8K camera at the BSC Expo 2018 in February. The large-format camera incorporates Panavision’s optics and camera architecture, the RED MONSTRO 8K VV sensor, and Light Iron color2 science (LiColor2). The RED MONSTRO 8K VV sensor in the DXL2 offers16-plus stops of dynamic range with improvements in image quality and shadow detail, a native ISO setting of 1600, and ProRes 4K up to 60 fps. Images are presented on the camera in log format using Light Iron colour science. An integrated PX-Pro colour spectrum filter custom-made for the DXL offers an increase in colour separation and higher colour precision to the image. Built-in Preston MDR, 24v power and expanded direct-to-edit features are also standard equipment on the DXL2. An anamorphic flare attachment (AFA) offers a controllable method of introducing flare with spherical lenses. DXL2 cameras are available now to rent exclusively from Panavision on a worldwide basis.
4 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
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In The News
The CSC is proud to announce that Sigma and Zeiss have become the Society’s two newest sponsors!
Sigma has been a dominant and innovative force in the still lens market since it was founded in Japan in 1961 by the late Michihiro Yamaki, who was young optical engineer at the time on a mission to produce the world’s best glass. Today, Sigma is a multi-national company that has branched into cameras, flashes, camera accessories and most recently, in 2016, a superb line of Cine Prime lenses and high-speed Cine Zooms. Sigma’s cine lenses have been lauded by professionals as being extremely well designed with an ergonomic feel and have the capacity to produce stunning images. They punch well above their moderate cost. Welcome aboard, Sigma! Sigma is distributed in Canada by Gentec International. gentec-intl.com/brands/sigma/
The renowned Zeiss cine brand of lens has been influencing the worldwide motion picture industry for as long as there has been cinematography. It all began in 1846 when the company’s late founder, Carl Zeiss, a trained mechanic and optician, began manufacturing microscopes in Jena, Germany. In its early years, the Zeiss company developed mathematical formulas and validated scientific techniques to produce sharper images, setting the basis for modern optics manufacturing. By 1890, Zeiss produced the first photo-optical anastigmatic lens with distortion-free imaging. For more than 100 years, the Zeiss name has become synonymous with craftsmanship, precision and quality. A giant in our industry, Zeiss has been recognized many times over for its innovation. The accolades include three Science and Engineering Academy Awards in 1987, 1999 and 2012. A hearty welcome to Zeiss from the CSC! Zeiss is distributed in Canada by Gentec International. gentec-intl.com/brands/zeiss/
NFB and APTN Partner to Strengthen Role of Indigenous Peoples in Canadian Audiovisual Industry
ARRI Launches Large-Format Camera System ARRI in February unveiled a complete large-format system comprising the ALEXA LF camera, ARRI Signature Prime lenses, LPL lens mount, and PL-to-LPL adapter. Featuring a sensor slightly bigger than full frame, ALEXA LF records native 4K with versatile recording formats, including ProRes and uncompressed, unencrypted ARRIRAW up to 150 fps. The 16 large-format ARRI Signature Prime lenses, range from 12 mm to 280 mm and are fitted with the ARRI LPL mount. Optimized for large-format sensors, the new LPL lens mount has a wider diameter and shorter flange focal depth, allowing the ARRI Signature Primes and all future large-format lenses to be small and lightweight. The LPL mount will also be available for other ARRI cameras and is being licensed to third-party lens and camera manufacturers.
6 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
The National Film Board and APTN recently announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding that will pool the organizations’ efforts and expertise in implementing protocols, programs, training and other initiatives aimed at strengthening relations with Indigenous peoples and creators. The partnership will primarily allow the organizations to: pool their expertise to develop protocols regarding the access and use of archival materials in the NFB’s Indigenous collection and find ways to make this material more accessible to media artists; develop production projects that make use of NFB documentary archival materials (stock footage, film clips and complete films) in new works
that contextualize the content from an Indigenous viewpoint; help make the NFB’s Indigenous collections accessible through distribution, and work jointly through screenings; jointly develop internal protocols and best practices for the production and distribution of documentaries, animation and interactive/immersive works by Indigenous creators; develop and implement hiring strategies grounded in best practices for onboarding, integrating, retaining and providing professional training to Indigenous employees; develop and implement cultural competency training for NFB staff regarding Indigenous issues; and share audience-data analysis and research on reaching audiences.
Credit: Gregor Hagey csc
On Set Credit: Celine Pinget
Team Camera from Wayne: First row, from left Gautam Pinto (DIT), Harder Singh (trainee), D. Gregor Hagey csc (DP), Lauren Carson (B 2nd), 2nd Row from left Brent Craig (A 1st), Nigel Doucette (A 2nd), Brad Hruboska (B Op), last row from left Michael Bailey (B 1st), Brett Hurd (A Op).
Above: Dana Barnaby on the set of The Art of Us. Left: Director/cinematographer David Bercovici-Artieda lines up a shot for the TV Pilot The Fixer by Stephan Miers. (On screen, actress Charlie Monroe.)
CSC Annual General Meeting
Monday, May 7, 2018 at 6:30 pm Technicolor Toronto. Boardroom No. 1 49 Ontario Street
Following the meeting we will have a light dinner and refreshments, courtesy of the good folks at Technicolor. Great opportunity to meet and chat with your fellow cinematographers! Hope to see you there, CSC member!
ACCEPTANCES / AWARDS / NOMINATIONS / Ilias Adamis gsc, associate member Shadows of Dreams (documentary), accepted, official selection, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, 2-11 March 2018 Alan Poon, associate member (Director/DP) (shared DP credit with Garry Tutte), Nests of Gold (short doc), Jury Prize - Seoul International Food Film Festival, November 2017
8 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
Othello Ubalde, associate member To Do List (short), Winner, Best Comedy, Dam Short Film Festival, Boulder City, Feb 8-11; accepted Portland Comedy Film Festival, March 21-24, Tallahassee Film Festival, March 23-25, Short. Sweet. Film Festival, Cleveland, OH, March 2-4
The CSC Awards Gala will be held at the Arcadian Court in Toronto on April 14, 2018.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2018 •
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Credit: Brett Hurd
CSC Member Spotlight
D. Gregor Hagey csc What films or other works of art have made the biggest impression on you?
In my youth, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Alien and 2001 all had a big impact. Later in life, Raining Stones, The Holy Mountain, Playtime, Songs from the Second Floor, Children of Men and There Will be Blood. How did you get started in the business?
I won a government competition for a student job placement and chose the film industry. The Ontario Film Development Corporation placed me on a TV series as a
PA where I learned the art of garbage collection and road cone wrangling. I quickly moved on from locations to lighting and spent seven years as a technician. From there I shot short films, documentaries and indie features. Who have been your mentors or teachers?
While at Ryerson, Jim Kelly. After school I didn’t have a formal mentor, but I’ve learned much from Michael McMurray csc, Stephen Reizes csc, Phil Earnshaw csc, Doug Koch csc, Gavin Smith, David Greene csc, asc and Alwyn Kumst csc.
10 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
What cinematographers inspire you?
What do you like best about what you do?
Emmanuel Lubezki asc, amc; Roger Deakins asc, bsc.
Collaborating with directors. Composing shots. Lighting sets. Watching great acting.
Name some of your professional highlights.
What do you like least about what you do?
Wayne (pilot), Beauty and the Beast (S1), Suck, Blood Honey, Stickman and How To Plan an Orgy in a Small Town. What is one of your most memorable moments on set?
Filming Iggy Pop “dying” in a Queen Street alley for the movie Suck.
Politics. Shooting overnight. What do you think has been the greatest invention (related to your craft)?
Camera lenses (Cooke triplet, double Gauss).
How can others follow your work?
Instagram: dg_hagey or www.dghagey.com
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Christophe Collette csc
Drone Love on
Eye
on Juliet By Fanen Chiahemen
12 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
Credit: Sebastien Raymond
W
hile director Kim Nguyen’s 2016 film Two Lovers and A Bear featured a doomed young couple trying to escape the confines of their tiny Arctic community, his latest feature tells a different kind of love story in a contrasting environment. In Eye on Juliet, Detroit-based Gordon ( Joe Cole) works as a drone operator remotely guarding a desert oil pipeline in an unnamed Middle Eastern country where a young woman named Ayusha (Lina El Arabi) has been unwillingly betrothed by her parents to an older man. Via a collection of hexapod robots that he controls, Gordon observes Ayusha’s comings and goings from half a world away, becoming fascinated with her, ultimately deciding he will do anything in his power to help her escape her fate. “What I wanted to achieve with this film was kind of an intimate love story between two people who are separated by I don’t know how many miles. I wanted to create this feeling of intimacy although you have these two people that are very far apart,” the Montreal-born Nguyen offers. “I see the geopolitical aspects of the film as more of a backdrop. For me it’s more a film about technology, and I hope people will see it as a metaphor for how modern ways of communication are sometimes also ways of pulling people apart.”
Collette prepping a night exterior magic hour shot.
Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018 •
13
“
Kim’s rule was you find a really nice landscape where you’re looking at the mountains, and then pan 90 degrees and shoot. Because Kim’s idea was the robots would rarely find themselves in incredible settings looking at beautiful mountains; they would just look at whatever’s in front of their eyes six inches from the ground. So if there’s a big rock in front of their eyes, that’s the rock we want to see.” – Christophe Collette csc
Indeed, in awarding Eye on Juliet the FEDEORA (Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean) prize for best film at the 2017 edition of Venice Days – an independent event on the fringes of the Venice Film Festival – the jury lauded the film “for the inspired way in which technology becomes a tool for bringing people together by means of compassion and dignity.” Bringing the film to the big screen was no easy task, DP Christophe Collette csc reports. “It was a challenging script just from the read of it,” he recalls. Apart from the fact that it was shot in just 31 days on three different continents – from the Ouarzazate Desert in Morocco to Paris to Montreal – Nguyen wanted to shoot with practical robots rather than using any special effects. The director found a robot designer in Oregon who made the hexapods. “We quickly established that even though we were doing sci-fi, it’s best to do sci-fi as if the technology is already outdated, so I wanted to make sure it’s not super efficient but has all these flaws that would give it more life,” he says. One of the robots’ flaws was the restriction of their movement. Not only did they move “very slowly,” Collette says, but “if it has to go over rocks or go down a few inches on rocky grounds, or
14 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
if the ground isn’t flat enough, it’s actually not going to make it, it’s just going to stop or trip over.” Furthermore, even though the robots were meant to be used for surveillance in the film, there was no actual camera built into them. “Most every time we’d shoot the robot, we’d shoot its POV as well, and if the robot was with Ayusha, we’d have to do an over-the-shoulder with the robot too,” he says, adding that over-the-shoulders were tricky. “We’d have to bring the camera under the robot because it’s supposed to be looking up at someone that is five and half feet tall, and the thing is six inches high. So most of the time, we’d have to dig a little or bring up the robot, so we’d carry this little platform so that he’d be a little higher and we’d be able to bring down the camera and look up. So framing the shoot was different from anything else I’d ever done because it had its own set of rules, having a six-inches-high ‘actor’ as one of the lead characters.” The desert climate also wreaked havoc on the devices. “The robots were not meant for this weather,” the DP says. “There’s so much minerals in the desert and there’s so much wind. The wind would bring up dust and it would get in the system, and they weren’t weather-proofed. So from day one, the robots started
“Framing the shoot was different from anything else I’d ever done because it had its own set of rules, having a six-incheshigh ‘actor’ as one of the lead characters.” – Christophe Collette csc
breaking. They had to rebuild and clean them at night. In the end, there was only one that was really working well, and it had spare parts from all the others.” The robots also saw in two visions – what the crew called normal imaging and thermal imaging, Collette says. “And the normal image cannot be this super-clean anamorphic image; it wouldn’t make sense. We didn’t want to go glossy. We didn’t want to go too poetic in the lensing as well in general. We wanted a photography that was not too present because the story is already on the limit of what’s believable,” he explains. “My first reaction to the scenario was to be poetic in the lensing – I wanted to do vintage glass, some flares and a more textural quality to the images, and Kim was like, ‘No, that’s not the way I think we should shoot it. We should shoot it so the photography is not another layer over all those layers.’ And he was right I think. “I was not involved in the texturing of the robot images, but we actually re-filmed those images. We projected it on a wall and re-filmed it with a Sony A7 set at a super high ISO rating. Kim ended up doing this by himself in his living room.” With little prep time for the film, Collette says, “it took a while for me to figure out how all of this would work together, and
Clockwise from left: Gordon watching the monitors. Ayusha rides through the desert to meet the man she loves. Hexapod robots monitor the desert oil pipeline. Ayusha passes a hexapod. Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018 •
15
From top: Ayusha talks to her mother. The hexapods were practical robots built by a robot designer. Ayusha with a hexapod.
“We didn’t want to go glossy. We didn’t want to go too poetic in the lensing as well in general. We wanted a photography that was not too present because the story is already on the limit of what’s believable.” – Christophe Collette csc 16 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
we had to devise a technique that would allow us to go super fast because we didn’t have multiple cameras; we couldn’t be like, ‘Okay, there’s a camera for the robot, there’s a camera for the actors.’ It was kind of a small package in a sense, so I had to figure out a technique with our Steadicam operator Simon Blouin, who did a fantastic job.” In the end, they decided to operate most of the robot shots on the Steadicam in low mode with the Freefly MōVI stabilized gimbal paired to the MIMIC controller set on a head, so Collette could operate remotely. To lighten the load, he opted to shoot with the ALEXA Mini. “And then I wanted to shoot anamorphic just because I find that with anamorphic you don’t need to switch lenses as much, and I didn’t want to switch lenses too much. Rebalancing was a bitch on the older gimbals, so I went with the Scorpios,” he says. “So I basically played almost the whole movie on a 40 mm, and we had a splinter unit (second unit director Éric Bolduc joined the crew for a few days in Morocco) that was going around with a zoom lens and doing some visual stuff like the mountain landscapes and things like that.” Despite the fact that they were shooting against the striking backdrop at the foot of the Atlas range, Collette says Nguyen opted to de-emphasize the beauty of the location. “He decided to pick the villages that were not the picture-perfect villages and he downplayed everything so it would take on more of a human scale and not favour all the massive mountains and these incredible landscapes,” the DP says. “Kim’s rule was you find a really nice landscape where you’re looking at the mountains, and then pan 90 degrees and shoot. Because Kim’s idea was the robots would rarely find themselves in incredible settings looking at beautiful mountains; they would just look at whatever’s in front of their eyes six inches from the ground. So if there’s a big rock in front of their eyes, that’s the rock we want to see. We don’t want to see the mountain. And he found that the best way to get images that were believable was to cut out the sense of
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style and any judgments you may have about the landscape.” In Morocco, Collette worked with natural sunlight in exterior shots and lit the interiors. “There’s so much light in the desert it’s insane,” he observes. “Out the windows it was blown out most of the time, so I had to bring up the level inside so that there was not too much stop difference, and there was too much wind for netting. I used the regular stuff – some small HMIs and some tungsten and LED lights, so kind of like a super basic documentary package, aside from the night exterior, where we brought in an array of 18Ks to light up the desert.” The natural lighting aesthetic also extended to the Detroit office where Gordon works. “Kim wanted the office to look very much like a telemarketing office,” Collette says. “Initially my feeling was that the office should be dark and moody, and the characters lit by screens, but then Kim had this idea that he wanted to visually connect both characters, so he decided that the office should be in the tones of the desert. So in the office there were the beige walls that are very much reminiscent of the ground in the desert.” Nguyen also wanted a bit of direction in the lighting, “so we rigged the entire office with LED lights,” Collette says. “All the ceiling was LED lighting, and I got the lighting to evolve from cyan-ish to amber warm. “So at first the characters are not connected, and as they connect further, I got the universe to get much closer in terms of the palette. And towards the end, the beige on the wall is precisely the colour of Ayusha’s world, and Gordon’s skin tone matched the warmer universe of Ayusha.” The beige background also led Collette to frame actor Cole in tight close-ups as he watches the screens. “He’s sitting in front of these monitors, and behind him is just a beige wall, so if you go into medium shots it gets a little boring; there’s nothing else to see really, nothing more to fill up the frame,” the DP explains. “Also, it made the movie more personal to be in a close-up on him. And it was all performance-based, there’s not much physicality to the way that he plays at the monitor. It’s hard to play physical when you’re just seated at a chair opposite a monitor.” Despite the challenges of working with robots in the desert, Collette indicates he was thrilled to work with a director he had long admired and who frequently collaborates with a cinematographer Collette looks up to – Nicolas Bolduc csc. “One of my favourite Canadian films is War Witch [shot by Bolduc],” Collette says. “This film is very different from War Witch – what we did is way more controlled, and War Witch had this improv quality to it and beautiful handheld lensing. I’m a huge fan of Nicolas, so for me it was very much an honour to be replacing him on this movie (Nicolas had previous commitments). I had to kind of work in the way he works because Nicolas and Kim have done everything together. So I had to put myself in his mind a little, trying to offer Kim the same freedom Nicolas offers him on shoots, but of course I also tried to do what I wanted to do, and it was a different movie with its own set of rules. It was kind of a weird thing but a great thing at the same time.”
18 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
Credit: Sebastien Raymond
Gordon and Ayusha embrace.
Collette, day exterior, handheld, at the lover’s den or meetup point.
“What I wanted to achieve with this film was kind of an intimate love story between two people who are separated by I don’t know how many miles. I see the geopolitical aspects of the film as more of a backdrop. For me it’s more a film about technology, and I hope people will see it as a metaphor for how modern ways of communication are sometimes also ways of pulling people apart.” – Director Kim Nguyen
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2018 •
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Stirling Bancroft
csc
Adventures in
Public School I
By Fanen Chiahemen
n director Kyle Rideout’s comedy feature Adventures in Public School, Liam (Daniel Doheny) is a 16-year-old physics whiz who has been home-schooled his whole life by his over-protective mother, Claire ( Judy Greer). When a local high school girl catches his eye, Liam concocts a plan to attend a public school for his last year of schooling, hoping to win over his love interest, as well as overcome some of his social awkwardness before going off to college. The film – which Rideout co-wrote with Josh Epstein – premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, and in December the festival named the film to its annual year-end list of the 10 best Canadian films. “It’s a very quirky film,” Rideout offers. “Josh and I were really interested in this mother-son relationship. We were tired of seeing teenagers on screen complaining about their moms, or their parents, and we just thought it would be so much more interesting to just see the exact opposite, the teenager being best friends with the parent.” In the camera work, he also wanted something different, he says, “something that set it apart and represented Liam’s journey
– everything is a little off centre in his world.” To that end, cinematographer Stirling Bancroft csc devised a photography that reflected the unique worldview of the main character. “Because Liam is socially awkward, we wanted the framing to feel personal to his perspective. We thought about how someone who might have been protected from watching TV by a protective mother might interpret the weighting of a frame in an unconventional way,” Bancroft says. “Liam is precise and logical but also naïve and inexperienced. We wanted to develop a photography style that felt unaware of certain cinematic conventions – like the 30-degree rule or the rule of thirds – but had found other ways of compensating. Liam is a young man on the edge of society with his eyes in the stars, and the way he’s framed reinforces that idea. He’s almost always in the lower corners of the frame with enough headroom that his ideas could be represented in a comic thought bubble.” Without much of a budget, the film was shot over 20 days on location in the Vancouver area, with Keslow Camera (formerly Clairmont) supporting the production. “They really came
Doheny with Russell Peters who plays a staff member at the public school.
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Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018 •
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Credit: Ricardo Hubbs
Liam's mother Claire (Judy Greer) enthusiastically home-schools her son. Opposite: Claire throws a party for Liam at home.
Credit: Ricardo Hubbs
Director Kyle Rideout with lead actor Daniel Doheny.
DP Stirling Bancroft csc and director Kyle Rideout.
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through and helped us along because we couldn’t afford much in the way of equipment,” Bancroft says. Although the production shot on two ARRI ALEXAs, there was only one full camera crew, so Bancroft operated most of the show, while the second camera stayed on the truck. “We brought in a second team for bigger dialogue days or vehicle work, and I took myself off the camera for the party scenes because they were bigger lighting set-ups. But it was always a bit of a dance to crew only what we needed on that second camera,” he says. “Some days the B camera team was just a first AC or a Steadicam operator. It was challenging, but it helped us focus our two-camera work because we never wanted it to feel like we had two cameras on a scene, and I think the one-plus-one approach helped us to avoid over-covering scenes and losing the feeling of intentional camera work and framing.
“There are ways you can make natural light look and feel more intentional. Editors talk about the invisible cut, and I think cinematographers think about how they can make the world they create reinforce the conflicts and moods without drawing attention to themselves.”
“We shot the opening sequence handheld, and I pulled my own focus for that sequence to give it an amateurish quality. I wanted it to feel like perhaps Liam’s father was shooting it on a Bolex, and later a video camera. I would have loved to shoot those sequences on actual 16 mm and VHS, but it would have been too risky on our schedule and without a film lab nearby. “Kyle loves to work with a very shallow depth of field, so my first choice would have been to shoot the film with Master Primes, but Lecily [Corbett] at Clairmont [now Keslow] giggled at our request. We wanted champagne but were budgeted for sparkling wine. We ultimately went with the Ultra Primes, which turned out to be a forgiving and uncompromising lens set for the show,” the DP says. “Liam’s a young man isolated in the world trying to figure out where he belongs. Things aren’t typically clear to him at a distance; he’s exploring a new world, and a shallow depth of field creates an appropriate fog. It’s a testament to our first AC Alex Torres that so much of the film is in focus because I don’t think we ever opened up to more than a T2.” The shallow depth of field helped not only from an artistic perspective but also from a logistical one, Bancroft adds. “Shooting a low-budget film with shallow depth of field is always a good option because you can protect so much of the sets, the background actors, and you can hide a lot in the softness,” he says. Not being able to afford big cinema lights worked for Bancroft’s preferred lighting philosophy. “I love the look of lighting inspired by reality, but I don’t think natural light should be boring,” he says. “The best exterior lighting is made Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018 •
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Liam attempts to get up to some mischief.
in the AD department, the best night interior lighting in the art department, the best interactive lighting in SFX. I often still need to augment with conventional cinema lighting tools from grip and electrics, but it’s important not to start with a pre-made solution from the truck for a unique problem. “So there are ways you can make natural light look and feel more intentional. Editors talk about the invisible cut, and I think cinematographers think about how they can make the world they create reinforce the conflicts and moods without drawing attention to themselves.” The biggest light on Adventures in Public School was an ARRI M18, he says, and he got to use LED panels for the first time. “I was terrified they would flicker or cast a green tint, but they turned out to be quite good,” he states. “Some of the LEDs we used allowed us to play with colour in a way that was possible on a low-budget film set. It’s not often possible to have a rainbow of gels and all the colour corrections you could possibly want. With LEDs, we could dial in the colour and sometimes make discoveries. Working with colour could be spontaneous because we could generate a specific shade of rose pink or shade of cyan without having ordered gels in prep.”
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In the school location, he used almost no lighting. “I mean, we used the overheads and let them be what they are,” he says. “Occasionally I’d pull some tubes out the ceiling and put in a Kino fixture so I could make the light a little more flattering in some places, but for the most part we were very fast in the school and we didn’t fuss too much with the lighting, we just shot.” They also shot on longer lenses in the school scenes, Bancroft adds. “It’s the first time Liam goes to school, and we liked the feeling of that compression, that things are not clear to him and he has a hard time finding his way through it all,” he explains. “We also did a number of Steadicam pushes because we wanted the story to feel very much attached to him.” The school is brightly lit with candy-coloured hallways, reflecting Rideout’s nostalgia for the ‘90s. “We spoke a lot about the film having a kind of cyan blue, almost teal and pink feel, and you definitely get that in the hallways,” Bancroft says. “The hallways are teal, which always looks great against skin tones, but always pushing pinks into the whites so they felt a little warmer. And the school is bright because it’s an institution, and institutions always have those overhead lights that create a lot of fill. So it’s always going to be a flatter comedy look.”
“Liam is precise and logical but also naïve and inexperienced. We wanted to develop a photography style that felt unaware of certain cinematic conventions – like the 30-degree rule or the rule of thirds – but had found other ways of compensating. He’s almost always in the lower corners of the frame with enough headroom that his ideas could be represented in a comic thought bubble.”
Clockwise from left: Claire tries to give Liam a crash course on rebelling by teaching him to smoke. Judy Greer as Claire. Daniel Doheny as Liam.
Meanwhile, Liam’s home emphasizes the streetlights pushing into the windows at night. “We wanted it to feel bright enough to be funny, but there are a number of serious scenes
Rosco Color meets DMG Lumière Technology
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in there too, especially upstairs, so we wanted to let those spaces kind of play in ways that reflected story,” Bancroft recalls. “I think some of my favourite looks are upstairs because Mum’s bedroom is quite neutral and conventional, but Liam’s room is darker and moodier – it kind of shows his sensitive but stormy nature. We really wanted to feel like you were inside his mind, reaching out into the stars, so it has a certain look to it.” Night exteriors were lit with just 15 to 20 small lights rigged into various spots. “We didn’t have the power to light up big blocks or put in lifts with 18Ks or anything like that, so it really made us much more reliant on Par Cans on the ground and LEDs in boxes and Kino Flo Selects to give a bit of a colour glow to some places,” he says. The fact that Doheny was starring in his first feature was barely noticeable, Bancroft says. “He was fantastic; he didn’t need any help from me,” the DP recalls. “He’s a trained theatrical actor, so he’s got no trouble hitting a mark or making an eyeline or repeating a performance. So all the things that really make cinematographers’ and camera operators’ lives difficult he had all that from his theatrical background, and what he brought in addition to that was something quite different. There was one scene where he’s in the bedroom with Judy, and they’re sitting in bed together, and he jumps off the bed and wraps his arms around the backs of her knees and leans back to chat with her. And it’s the most charming little moment; it’s something that his character would do, and he did it every time. There are very few actors working I know of that would make that choice. Because it’s so weird and so particular, and we’ve trained actors through our film and TV process to walk in, hit this mark, look this way and say that thing. So what he brought was something unexpected and alive.”
FebruaryFREEZE 17th Annual
William F. White, February 6 and 7, Toronto
Photos by Carolyn Wong
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1. Perryscope by Whites Camera.2. William F. White General Manager, Eastern Canada, Michael Drabot chats with a guest. 3. Douglas Koch csc 4. First AC Chris Raucamp, Sherry King, Russ Goozee csc and William F. White's Trevor Huys. 5. Visitors check out gear. 6. Affiliate member Lori P. Longstaff with a guest. 7. Associate member Carolyn Wong with Carolyn Cox, William F. White's education and training coordinator. 8. Technicolor station. 9. Michael Grippo csc, Gayle Ye and Philip Earnshaw csc. 10. CSC President George Willis csc, sasc. 11. Arthur Cooper csc and camera operator Perry Hoffman. 12. Joan Hutton csc and Ernie Kestler with Inger Whist. 13. Setting up for a DP panel. 14. Setting up for a demo.
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Presenting
THE 61ST ANNUAL CSC AWARD NOMINEES DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS THEATRICAL FEATURE CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Deluxe Nicolas Bolduc csc Hochelaga, Terre des Âmes (Land of Souls) Guy Godfree csc Suck it Up Norm Li csc Hollow in the Land Dylan Macleod csc Trench 11 Ronald Plante csc Bon Cop Bad Cop 2 TV SERIES CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Technicolor Robert McLachlan csc, asc Boris Mojsovski csc Boris Mojsovski csc Bobby Shore csc Craig Wrobleski csc
Game of Thrones “Spoils of War” 12 Monkeys “Thief” Taken “Mattie G” Anne “I Am No Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me” Fargo “Who Rules the Land of Denial?”
TV DRAMA CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Sim Jeremy Benning csc The Long Road Home “Abandon Hope” Jon Joffin asc Tiny House of Terror David Moxness csc, asc The Kennedys: After Camelot Bobby Shore csc Anne “Your Will Shall Decide Your Destiny” (Pilot) Brendan Steacy csc Alias Grace “Part One” FRITZ SPIESS AWARD FOR COMMERCIAL CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Whites Camera Douglas Koch csc National Canadian Film Day “Can't Lie” Christopher Mably csc SickKids Foundation “SickKids Vs: All In” Adam Marsden csc Air Canada “Invictus Games: Above All Odds” Oliver Millar csc Chevrolet “The Hunt Alone” Bobby Shore csc Interac “Life in Beeps” BRANDED/CORPORATE/EDUCATIONAL CONTENT CINEMATOGRAPHY Kris Belchevski Samsung “Russell Westbrook: Driven” Matt Bendo Kombat Arts “Legacy” Daniel Grant csc Manulife “Carnival” Daniel Grant csc Manulife “Simplify Your Finances” Goh Iromoto Bush & Beyond YOUTH PROGRAMMING, COMEDY, MULTI-CAMERA SITCOM CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Vanguarde Artists Management Neil Cervin csc Mech=X4 “Versus the Dark Night” Samy Inayeh csc Man Seeking Woman “Dolphin” Christopher Mably csc Baroness Von Sketch Show “It Satisfies on a Very Basic Level” Brett Van Dyke csc Backstage “The One” Brett Van Dyke csc Dark Haven High “The Lizard of Ooze” ROBERT BROOKS AWARD FOR DOCUMENTARY CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Sony Nicholas de Pencier csc Long Time Running Kevin A. Fraser Invading Giants Goh Iromoto The Canoe Alfonso Maiorana RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World Duraid Munajim My Enemy, My Brother DOCUDRAMA CINEMATOGRAPHY Amy Belling Holy Angels John Choi & Nicolina Lanni The Eleven “Motel Murder” Sam Karney & Tyler Funk Taken “Danita Big Eagle” Felipe Rodriguez Blood and Fury: America’s Civil War “The Battle of Nashville” John Minh Tran csc Notwithstanding
AWARDS CELEBRATION
MUSIC VIDEO CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Dazmo Camera Jason George The Used Rise Up Lights Pierre Gill csc The Killers Run for Cover Cole Graham Ackee Tecumseh Tamagotchi Cole Graham Felix Cartal Hold Tight Bobby Shore csc Stormzy Gang Signs & Prayer DRAMATIC SHORT CINEMATOGRAPHY Kris Belchevski Shadow Nettes Alfonso Chin Haley Todd M. Duym Dawn Catherine Lutes csc Emmy Bobby Shore csc Bumblebee EXPERIMENTAL/UNIQUE CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Partos Co Jericca Cleland csc Ray Dumas csc, Vinit Borrison, Jeremy Benning csc Christopher Lew Athan Merrick
Leap! Horizon: A 360 Journey Sororis Uninterrupted
CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARDS: TV MAGAZINE CINEMATOGRAPHY Ice Allan Leader csc Allan Leader csc Survivor Allan Leader csc Treasure Hunters LIFESTYLE/REALITY CINEMATOGRAPHY Sean Harvey Dead Set on Life “Born and Raised on the Boardwalk” Gurjeet Mann Hello Goodbye “We Are Family” Tony Wannamaker csc Chuck & Danny’s Road Trip “Salt of the Earth” WEBEO CINEMATOGRAPHY Dmitry Lopatin Ian Macmillan Sarah Thomas Moffat Yifan (Evan) Ning Stephen Reizes csc
Teenagers “Gay, Straight, Bi, Whatever” Filth City “I Bet That Hurt” A Frankie Drake Mysteries Cold Case “Episode 6” Be With You “Part 2” Save Me “Trauma Related to Sleepwalking”
STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY Sponsored by Panavision Canada J. Connor Bjornson The Fruit Machine York University Farhad Ghaderi The Good Fight University of British Columbia Chris Munro Perception Sheridan College Alexandre Nour Desjardins The Aviary Concordia University Mark Smith Ramp 32 Sheridan College THE CSC IS PLEASED TO PRESENT THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL HONOUREES FOR 2018 THE MASTERS AWARD John Walker csc For outstanding contribution to the art of cinematography THE BILL HILSON AWARD SHAPE co-founders Mylène Girard and Charles Vallières For outstanding service contributing to the development of the motion picture industry in Canada THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD Karen Longland For outstanding service to the Canadian Society of Cinematographers THE CAMERA ASSISTANT AWARD OF MERIT Kevin Michael LeBlanc For excellence and outstanding professionalism in the performance of the AC duties and responsibilities
Saturday, April 14, 2018 Arcadian Court, 401 Bay St. Simpson Tower, 8th Fl, Toronto
The Cooke Look
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Photo by Aeric Adams
One Look. All Speeds
"Since the Alexa Mini went 4:3 I had shot with nothing but 2:1 squeezed lenses in either 16:9 crop mode or full screen 2:40 totally humbled by the extraordinary and daring magical imagery. Then, I was sharing cinematography on Dynasty with Michael Karasick and Starr Barry when it abruptly became a Netflix show and were obliged to shoot 4K. I suggested that we use the Canon C700 coupled with the new Cooke Panchro/i Classics because The Crown was shot so exquisitely by Adriano Goldman using vintage Cooke Speed Panchros (rehoused by TLS). I loved that dreamy forgiving and painterly palette. By Spring 2017, Cooke had recreated the look of the old lenses using modern glass and barreling. Our timing was perfect. We took delivery of the first two partial sets of the new Panchro/i Classics supplementing them with the vintage Panchros. The new lenses still bloom lovingly until 3.5/4 and have the curved focus field of the originals. The 9 linear iris blades allow for a glorious bokeh. It gives you the quality and feel of anamorphic, especially when shooting wide open.
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The Masters “In recognition of those who have made an outstanding contribution to the art of cinematography.” This past year was not only the CSC’s 60th anniversary, it also marks the 30 years of recognizing extraordinary excellence through the CSC’s Masters Award. This special honour is conferred upon cinematograp hers who have transcended from practicing their craft into leaders of their craft by influencing the cinematic art form thorough their exceptional creativity, technical skills and ingenuity. Originally called the Kodak New Century Award, it was renamed the Masters Award in 2014 to reflect industry changes brought about by the digital age. This is part eight in a continuing series highlighting the exceptional cinematographers who have received the Masters Award. By Guido Kondruss
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Rodney Charters csc, asc, nzcs 2008
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orn in 1948 in the New Zealand coastal city of New Plymouth, Rodney Charters spent much of his childhood helping his father, a professional photographer. While the smell of the darkroom and the feel of cameras were a part of his early life, Charters had other designs as a young adult, enrolling at the University of Auckland to become an architect. It was also during this period that Charters made his first film, a short called Film Exercise, shot with his father’s 16 mm Bolex camera. Critically praised at the Sydney Film Festival, the film paved the way for Charters’ acceptance into the prestigious Royal College of Art in London. Architecture’s loss had now become the film world’s gain. Following graduation, Charters worked in London on commercials in the sound department for the likes of Tony and Ridley Scott. However, his desire to be behind the camera led Charters into documentaries and to Toronto in the mid-1970s, shooting for a variety of productions such as CTV’s W5. By the 1990s, Charters had moved into scripted narratives, building a reputation for his highly creative cinematography. However, it was his work on the exceptionally popular and award winning dramatic series 24 that cemented his status as an extraordinary director of photography. Charters shot 184 episodes of the thriller and is credited with giving the show its tense, edgy feel and look. By combining his documentary skills and feature film techniques in 24, Charters did not simply record the action, but had the camera interacting constantly with the actors as if it were a character too. The show’s unique structure and cinematography is widely considered a high watermark in television filmmaking. Charters has received numerous professional honours, including a Television Career Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers. Charters, divides his time between Port Hope, Ontario, and Los Angeles.
Pierre Letarte csc 2009
Vic Sarin csc 2010
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orn in Beloeil, Quebec, in 1946 and raised in Montreal, Pierre Letarte csc was from a young age fascinated with moving images, ever since he saw his first Tarzan movie in a local church basement. His intrigue was so complete that as a child Letarte built a projector using a telescope lens, a cardboard box and lightbulb to project cut out images onto a bedsheet. Later, as a teenager, while viewing the Japanese anti-war feature A Soldier’s Prayer, Letarte was deeply touched by the film’s stirring images. He decided then that he needed to make movies, not simply watch them. By age 18, Letarte was being trained as a camera assistant by the legendary Roger Racine csc. Seven years later, Letarte was working full time for the National Film Board as a cinematographer, and it was here that his reputation as one of Quebec’s finest cinematographers took hold. Letarte’s ability to find the beauty in stark images and to light with passionate creativity, led to his working with many of Quebec’s top directors of the day, from Denys Arcand to Gilles Carle. Letarte has been honoured with a Genie for his cinematography in the documentary The Ungrateful Land (1972) and later a second Genie for his work on the dramatic feature L’âge de la machine (1977). However, Letarte’s most significant and famous NFB production was the disturbing The Boys of St. Vincent (1992) that portrayed the tale about sexual abuse at a Canadian orphanage run by a religious order. The TV drama was a critical and box office success in Canada and internationally. The Boys of St. Vincent also spawned a creative working relationship between Letarte and the film’s director/writer John N. Smith. Letarte and Smith left the NFB shortly after the film’s release and went on to make several features and TV movies together both in Hollywood and in Canada. Letarte continues to be based in Montreal.
ic Sarin csc is one of Canada’s most accomplished filmmakers. Not only is he a top-ranked cinematographer, Sarin is also an award-winning director, producer and script writer, who moves seamlessly between documentary and dramatic narrative cinema. Born in Srinagar in northern India, Sarin was introduced to movies early in life by his father, who managed a local cinema. Raised on a steady diet of films such as High Noon and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Sarin became hopelessly hooked on motion pictures. After his father accepted a diplomatic posting, Sarin and his family moved to Australia, where he was gifted a 16 mm Bolex camera for his birthday. With no formal training, but imbued with a tremendous natural cinematic sense, Sarin at age 17, began to learn his craft. His first industry job was as a news cameraman for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, but by 1963, he had landed in Canada looking for work. Sarin was eventually hired by the CBC, a productive relationship that lasted 25 years. While with the CBC, Sarin not only travelled the world shooting for public affairs shows such as The Fifth Estate, he also made his mark as a superb director of photography on major TV dramas and documentaries. A meticulous cinematographer, Sarin became known for his exceptional imagery that reached into the realm of poetic motion to produce vibrant visual tapestries in his films. This ability became even more pronounced in his post-CBC work on critically acclaimed features and documentaries such as Margaret’s Museum (1995), Partition (2007), A Shine of Rainbows (2009) and The Boy from Geita (2014). Sarin has received many accolades for his filmmaking, including four CSC Awards and an Emmy. He has also added author to his resume, penning, Eyepiece: Adventures in Canadian Film and Television (2017), an autobiography about his extraordinary life and career. Sarin is based in Vancouver.
Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018 •
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he Holy Grail of scientific research is the quest to unlock the magic of sustainable power: energy storage. Three years from now, it may become a reality thanks to a 94-year-old scientist who first created rechargeable batteries and is now in the process of reinventing them to make them safer, less likely to explode, faster to charge and to have a longer charge/discharge cycle. Dr. John B. Goodenough is no stranger to innovation. His first breakthrough gave us the transistor in 1947 at Bell Labs. The second was as part of a team that created magnetic-core computer memory and set the rules for computer components in the 1950s; and the third, with Akira Yoshino, was the lithium-ion battery in 1987, commercialized by Sony in 1991. Without Goodenough’s labs and students, we wouldn’t have the world of mobile devices as we know it. Now he and colleague Maria Helena Braga at the University of Texas have reconfigured a lithium-ion battery with sodium- or lithium-coated glass electrolyte, tripling storage without overheating. He’s not alone in his quest, of course, but he is way out in front. The big target application is for electric vehicles and it could bring down the cost of a gasoline or diesel engine car or truck. These are early days yet. So far, the University of Texas team has figured the anode of the battery and is still working on the cathode component, and commercial scale rollout is three to five years away. The trickle down to all other batteries will be a gamechanger too, especially in cinematography where it will impact cameras, lighting and rigs. Meanwhile, Hydro-Québec’s $100 million facility, the Institut de recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ), is also working on battery technology and watching Goodenough’s work. IREQ has 500 people working on various projects, many dedicated to battery technology, and among them 20 researchers from Sony’s
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spun-off battery research division, Sony Energy Devices Corp., which was sold to Murata Manufacturing in 2016. Murata has since announced plans to invest US$450 million to boost production globally, including Canada. Others are also vying, including China’s BYD, South Korea’s LG, Google, Apple, Swatch, as well as Sirs James Dyson and Richard Branson. Karim Zaghib, director of energy storage and conversion at Hydro-Québec, is ranked number two in the battery science world, deferring only to Dr. Goodenough, and is confident the barriers will fall and that IREQ will be at the forefront. More recently, IREQ, working with the other world-class research centre for battery technology at the University of Texas, developed and licensed lithium-iron phosphate batteries, notably to Vidéo MTL’s Andrew Lapierre, who manufactured a line of camera batteries for his rental house. The LiFe batteries were safer, less prone to overheat and explode, charged faster and had much longer charge/discharge life cycles and, for a while at least, were a hit. But there were two problems for Lapierre’s Dazmo Batteries. One, li-ion batteries had critical mass in the marketplace, and as such, benefited from huge investments in R&D, which increased efficiency and lowered production costs. Second, he was in the film business, not the battery business. “I wasn’t a battery manufacturer,” shrugs Lapierre, who shut down the project after just a couple of years. Things are evolving quickly, he says, and the IREQ is at the forefront, first to pioneer the technology and create jobs in Quebec and the rest of Canada, but also to get a return on their investment by increasing the 60 licenses they’ve issued for their patented developments. “In 1991, one Sony li-ion battery cost $3,000 a kilowatt hour to make,” Lapierre says. “After 26 years, that cost is $240 a kwh. I think our target is to get that
Credit: University of Texas at Austin
Tech Column
Evolving Battery Technology Promises a Bright Future
Dr. John B. Goodenough
down to $100 kwh, which means electric vehicles become cheaper than combustion engines.” Safety remains the next biggest step, and solid-state batteries will soon be able to power a vehicle for 800 kilometres with one charge and with a recharge time of less than 10 minutes. It’s research Hydro-Québec invests in because 90 per cent of their electricity is sustainable, and storage closes the circle to virtually unlimited power on demand. The future, as Goodenough’s work illustrates, is in refining the technology we know, says Zaghib, who worked with him for 25 years. In addition to glass electrolytes, polymer and ceramic also show promise and are the leading edge because all three offer high conductivity, he says. And that’s good news because the impact of a reliable, fast-charging, long-lasting battery will herald the dawn of a new energy age. Ian Harvey is a Toronto-based journalist who writes for a variety of publications and covers the technology sector. He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca.
Martin Fuhrer, BSC
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LEE FILTERS CANADA/TYI • www.tyi ca • 416-361-9390 • info@tyi.ca Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018 •
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2nd Unit 1st Assistant Kevin Michael Leblanc
to April 6
Toronto
A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS III
DP Bernard Couture csc (alternating episodes) Camera Operator Jim Van Dijk
to May 8
Vancouver
ARROW VI (series)
DP Gordon Verheul csc & Bruce Worrall csc (alternating episodes)
to April 27
Vancouver
BLETCHLEY CIRCLE, THE: SAN FRANCISCO
DP Kamal Derkaoui csc
to June 7
Maple Ridge
BLUE BOOK (series)
DP C. Kim Miles csc
to April 26
Surrey
DESCENDANT (feature)
Camera Operator Michael Soos Trainee Robert Murdoch B Camera Operator J.P. Locherer csc
to April 16
Toronto
END OF THE WORLD PILOT (pilot)
DP Michael Wale csc
to April 4
North Vancouver
FAST LAYNE (series)
DP Neil Cervin csc B Cam Operator Stirling Bancroft csc
to April 27
Burnaby
DP Brenton Spencer ccsc (odd) & Alwyn J. Kumst (even)
to April 21
Vancouver
GOALIE (feature)
DP Jason Tan csc
to April 18
Sudbury
GREEN HARVEST II (series)
DP Glen Keenan csc (odd) & Colin Hoult csc (even)
to November 23
Toronto
ONCE UPON A TIME VII (series)
DP Tony Mirza
to April 3
Burnaby
POLAR (feature)
B Camera Operator Juan Montalvo B Camera 1st Assistant Ciaran Copelin
to April 6
Toronto
PROJECT BLUE BOOK (series)
DP C. Kim Miles csc
to May 2
Surrey
SALVATION II (series)
DP Thomas Burstyn csc, nzcs
to August 24
North Vancouver
SHADOWHUNTERS III (series)
DP Mike McMurray csc (alternating episodes)
to May 15
Mississauga
SPEED BUMP II (series)
DP Gerald Packer csc Camera Operator Rod Crombie
to June 14
Toronto
SUPERGIRL III (series)
C Cam Operator Jill MacLauchlan
to April 24
Langley
SUPERNATURAL XIII (series)
DP Serge Ladouceur csc Camera Operator Brad Creasser
to April 27
Burnaby
TAKE TWO (series)
Operator/Steadicam Greg Fox
to July 26
Burnaby
TIN STAR II (series)
DP Paul Sarossy csc, bsc, asc
to August 3 Calgary
TITANS (series)
DP Boris Mojsovski csc & Brendan Steacy csc
to May 21
Toronto
TRIAL & ERROR II (series)
DP Michael Balfry csc
to May 22
Burnaby
UMBRELLA ACADEMY, THE (TV series)
Craig Wrobleski csc B Camera Operator Peter Sweeney
to July 11
Etobicoke
VALLEY OF THE BOOM (series) DP François Dagenais csc
to May 28
Burnaby
WINGS OVER EVEREST (feature)
to April 27
Vancouver
FLASH, THE IV (series)
Calendar
csc
DP Danny Nowak csc
Classifieds
Production Notes
12/24 (feature)
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE 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 PLEASE 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 - 250721-2113 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. $ 35000.00 can 416 817 3938 or acadian@rogers.com Rick Kearney Preston FIZ 2 kit - $13,000 2 x Arri MB-20 studio matte box - $8,000 Arri LMB-15 Clip-on matte box - $1,200 Power-Pod Classic - $13,500 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. Your ad will appear here and on the CSC’s website, www.csc.ca. If you have items you would like to buy, sell or rent, please email your information to editor@csc.ca.
@canadiancinematographer
APRIL 14, CSC Awards, Arcadian Court, Toronto, csc.ca 26-May 6, Hot Docs Festival, Toronto, hotdocs.ca
36 • Canadian Cinematographer - April 2018
May 7, CSC Annual General Meeting, Technicolor Toronto
@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.
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