CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
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Artfully Clever Luc Montpellier Lenses Splinters
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A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers
FEATURES – VOLUME 10, NO. 8 JANUARY 2019 Credit: Courtesy of Luc Montpellier csc and Emotion Pictures
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 non-partisan groups in our industry but have no political or union affiliation.
Artfully Clever: Luc Montpellier csc Lenses Splinters By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer
Credit: Mark Stevenson & Allan Leader csc
The CSC is a not-for-profit organization run by volunteer board members of the society. Thank you to our sponsors for their continued support.
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The Magic of Cinecittà By George Willis csc, sasc
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 2 4 6 8 10 12 32 34 36 Cover
From the Editor-In-Chief From the President In the News On Set CSC Member Spotlight – Vincent De Paula csc Profusion 2018 CSC Lighting Faces Workshop Tech Column Production Notes/Calendar Luc Montpellier csc Lenses Splinters
Canadian Cinematographer January 2019 Vol. 10, No. 8 EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc EDITOR EMERITUS Donald Angus EXECUTIVE OFFICER Susan Saranchuk, susans@csc.ca EDITOR Fanen Chiahemen, editor@csc.ca COPY EDITOR Patty Guyader ART DIRECTION Berkeley Stat House WEBSITE www.csc.ca ADVERTISING SALES Guido Kondruss, gkondruss@rogers.com 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 CHAIRS Andre Pienaar csc, sasc Samy Inayeh csc DIGITAL PORTALS Carolyn Wong (Content Manager) RELATIONSHIPS Gaston Bernier OFFICE / MEMBERSHIP / SUBSCRIPTIONS 131–3085 Kingston Road Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1 Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996 Email: admin@csc.ca, subscription@csc.ca
Canadian Cinematographer makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes; however, it cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written consent of the publisher. The opinions expressed within the magazine are those of the authors and not necessarily of the publisher. Upon publication, Canadian Cinematographer acquires Canadian Serial Rights; copyright reverts to the writer after publication.Canadian Cinematographer is printed by Winnipeg Sun Commercial Print and is published 10 times a year. One-year subscriptions are available in Canada for $40.00 for individuals and $80.00 for institutions, including HST. In U.S. rates are $45.00 and $90.00 for institutions in U.S. funds. International subscriptions are $50.00 for individuals and $100.00 for institutions. Subscribe online at www.csc.ca.
ISSN 1918-8781 Canadian Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40013776 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses 131–3085 Kingston Road Toronto M1M 1P1 THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION.
2 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Joan Hutton csc
A
s a new year begins, my thoughts turned to what advances or events in the last 12 months would continue to have a profound influence on the immediate future of our film and television industry. It wasn’t camera advances, new gear, smoother workflow, 8K or any of the other myriad of cinematic influences that crowd the minds of cinematographers. I kept doing a full circle to the “Me Too” movement each and every time. It claimed the top spot, and rightly so. The last time I wrote about this was in the January 2018 issue, when creative organizations had gathered to hammer out a Code of Conduct to eliminate sexual harassment in our industry. That code has now been completed, and the CSC fully endorses it and has adopted it as policy. The Canadian Creative Industries Code of Conduct, along with an affirmation designating the camera truck as a safe haven for anyone seeking refuge from inappropriate behaviour on a production, was inserted into last November’s print issue of this magazine. The Code of Conduct and affirmation is also available on the CSC website in the policy section, where it can be printed or downloaded. The Code of Conduct is a concise and encompassing document, and at its heart are three main points that bear repeating: w It confirms our commitment to safe and respectful workplaces and to an industry free of harassment, including sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence. w That harassment can take many forms, including unwanted sexual attention, inappropriate jokes or texts, threats, and other unwelcome verbal, written, visual or physical communication or conduct. w That everyone has a responsibility to build a safe and respectful workplace.
It is this last point, however, to which I would very much like to draw attention because without it everything falls apart. We can talk about sexual harassment, form committees about respectful and safe work sites, write about bullying, draft codes and “tsk” about all of it, but nothing will happen without our taking personal responsibility to push forward with change. It’s no longer good enough to turn a blind eye to an awkward or menacing situation and not get involved. We all share a moral obligation to speak out when we see wrongs so that they can be righted. Otherwise, how can we even look at ourselves in the mirror?
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would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the very best for 2019. The Society has many new initiatives planned for the future, and to realize all that we have planned, we are focusing on what we believe is essential for our accomplishments, and that is our vision. Vision. Quite possibly the most important word in the vocabulary of a cinematographer. However, vision extends beyond solely the creative visualization of something specific. If one examines the word “vision,” it can be found to influence thinking on a very broad scale. It is also very significant in terms of the world of business, which requires the capacity to envisage market trends and plan accordingly. Strangely enough, this is very closely linked to the creative process of filmmaking. As filmmakers, we are constantly aware of the changes in filmmaking and all that it encompasses, and we realize that manufacturers are always trying to find ways to influence our thinking for they, too, have a vision for their company and their products as well as their brand. With this in mind, the creating of initiatives, as well as the necessity of planning for the future of the CSC, is very important both in the short and the long term. One of our important initiatives is to unite the provinces within Canada and to see the Society expand. For many years, we have been aware of this intention, but there has never been a real opportunity until recently when IATSE 669 initiated dialogue with the CSC. In November 2018, the idea began with a view to offer the CSC’s Lighting Workshop to industry members in the BC area. The various lighting workshops offered by the CSC have received exceptional reviews, and because of this we were approached to conduct a workshop in Vancouver. Discussions with Michelle Yardley, safety officer and head training coordinator of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 669, and the ICG 669 Women’s Committee resulted in this initiative being given the go-ahead. We would like to thank Michelle for her superb planning and organizational skills, as well as her commitment and hard work. Vice President Carlos Esteves csc and I flew out to Vancouver at the end of November to conduct a lighting workshop at the premises of one of our sponsors, William F. White. We would like to acknowledge those employees of WFW who also contributed to the success of this endeavour. This initiative is an example of the vision that the Society has for the future and how we intend to continue building our brand. While basically technical in nature, the most important part of this workshop was to encourage the participants to look beyond the mechanics of filmmaking and to concentrate on making their vision a reality. It is always rewarding to offer an opportunity via these workshops and then to observe the outcome of the creative thinking via the participant’s own vision. Based on the answers to the questionnaire that we give the participants to fill out at the completion of the workshop, we are pleased that this lighting workshop was very well received. We hope that this will be the forerunner of many more initiatives such as this and the next step will be to offer workshops in other provinces.
4 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
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In The News Zoe Dirse csc
CSC Member Films Among Golden Globe Award Nominees The CSC congratulates the following members whose projects were among the nominees for the 76th Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture Drama: BlacKkKlansman (DP: Chayse Irvin csc) Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Sharp Objects (DPs: Yves Bélanger csc & Ronald Plante csc) The 76th Golden Globes take place on January 6.
Stan Lee — the American comic-book writer, editor and publisher behind The Fantastic Four, X-Men and The Avengers — died on November 12 at the age of 95. Born Stanley Lieber, the New York native first entered the print world as a paperboy and author of obituaries and press releases. He joined the Marvel predecessor Timely Comics at a young age and rose from page and proofreader to editor of the comics division by 18. From then on, all productions emerged under the pseudonym “Stan Lee.” It wasn’t for another 20 years that Lee first devised The Fantastic Four to counter DC Comics’ earliest lineup of the Justice League. The team gave rise to a new breed of comics — Marvel Comics. Spiderman soon followed, along with X-Men, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Panther and Doctor Strange. At Marvel’s peak, it sold 50 million copies per year. Lee retired from editing in the early 1970s and transitioned to Hollywood productions in 2001. His POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment went on to create animated series, film, reality shows and graphic novels. Credit: Courtesy of Marvel
Marvel Comics Legend Stan Lee Dies at 95
Award-winning cinematographer Zoe Dirse csc (Punch Like a Girl, Sisters in Arms) was among five women to be honoured at Women in Film & Television – Toronto’s 31st annual Crystal Awards Gala on December 4. The Crystal Awards, established in 1988, is WIFT-T’s annual tribute to women who have made significant contributions to Canada’s screen-based media industry, as well as the men who champion them. When Dirse began her career in 1979, she was one of only two female camera assistants in IATSE 644. Since 2000, she has also helped mentor and shape the careers of emerging filmmakers, teaching cinematography at Sheridan College. Dirse was also honoured with the DOC Institute’s Rogers-DOC Luminary Award at a ceremony on December 5. The award honours industry leaders who inspire up-and-coming filmmakers. The DOC Institute is an initiative of DOC Ontario, the largest chapter of the Documentary Organization of Canada. Award winners were chosen by a jury of documentary filmmakers and producers from across the country.
Stan Lee
6 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
Former Telefilm Head François Macerola Dies at 76 François Macerola, former head of Telefilm, died on November 8 at the age of 76. Macerola served as Telefilm Canada’s executive director from 1995 to 2001, and chair of the board from 2001 to 2002. A lawyer by training, Macerola contributed to the industry’s international growth, helping to expand Canadian cinema’s presence at festivals and markets around the world, and spearheading an increase in coproduction activity. He was also instrumental in setting up the Canada Feature Film Fund and helped forge the first partnership between Telefilm and the private sector through the Canadian Television Fund, now the Canada Media Fund. In addition to Telefilm, Macerola held positions at the highest levels of the National Film Board (1976-1989), Place des Arts (2004-2008) and the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec (2009 -2014). He also had a successful career in the private sector, notably at Malofilm Distribution, the Cirque du Soleil (2003-2009) and, most recently, at QuébéComm. He was also a loving and devoted father to his two children, Stéphanie and Louis.
TIFF Announces New YearRound Theatrical Series for Canadian Film The Toronto International Film Festival
Credit: Copyright © 2018 Eddy Perez Photography All Rights Reserved
Zoe Dirse csc Wins WIFT-T’s Crystal Award, DOC Institute Award
in November announced a new screening series for Canadian film as part of the organization’s strategic focus on showcasing Canadian creators and talent. This new series will replace the Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival, which was held every January, by offering each feature film the opportunity to have a full theatrical run at the TIFF Bell Lightbox throughout the year. The top 10 Canadian shorts will be presented in a winter screening as part of TIFF’s year-round shorts programming, and the top 10 Canadian student shorts will be screened as a part of the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival, the popular youth film festival that TIFF presents each February. Films shot by CSC members were among those chosen for the series, including: Anthropocene (Nicholas de Pencier csc); Freaks (Stirling Bancroft csc); Firecrackers (Catherine Lutes csc); Giant Little Ones (Guy Godfree csc); Mouthpiece (Catherine Lutes csc) and Paseo (Nicolas Bolduc csc).
NCC Approves $40-million Ottawa Studio The National Capital Commission (NCC) in November approved Ottawa Film Office’s proposal for a $40-million sound stage campus and creative hub. The facility, which will be run by Toronto’s TriBro Studios, is expected to create an additional 500 jobs in Ottawa’s screen-based industries, as well as 500 construction jobs, in the first few years. Ottawa’s Film Commissioner Bruce Harvey said the hub is also expected to generate $40 million worth of productions in its first few years of operation. Construction on the complex is scheduled to begin this spring and completed by the summer of 2020, according to Harvey. The proposed site for the project is the former Greenbelt Research Farm, located just southwest of West Hunt Club Road and Woodroffe Avenue. The facility will feature four 20,000-square-foot sound stages, 25,000 square feet of carpentry and art department space, 25,000 square feet of production office space, and between 100,000 and 200,000 square
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RED Unveils DSMC2 DRAGON-X RED Digital Cinema in late November unveiled the DSMC2® DRAGON-X™ 5K S35 camera. RED also announced the DSMC2 PRODUCTION MODULE and DSMC2 PRODUCTION KIT for early 2019. The DSMC2 DRAGON-X camera uses the DRAGON sensor technology found in many of RED’s legacy cameras with an evolved sensor board to enable RED’s enhanced image processing pipeline (IPP2) in camera. In addition to IPP2, the DRAGON-X provides 16.5 stops of dynamic range, 5K resolution up to 96 fps in full format, and 120 fps at 5K 2.4:1. DRAGON-X offers 300 MB/s data transfer speeds and simultaneous recording of REDCODE® RAW and Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD/ HR. RED also announced the new DSMC2 PRODUCTION MODULE. Designed for professional shooting configurations, the accessory mounts directly to the DSMC2 camera body and incorporates an industry standard V-Lock mount with integrated battery mount and P-Tap for 12V accessories. The module delivers a comprehensive array of video, XLR audio, power, and communication connections, including support for 3-pin 24V accessories. It has a smaller form factor and is more lightweight than RED’s REDVOLT EXPANDER with a battery module.
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On Set
Director Jordan Canning, Robert Scarborough csc and 1st AC Dan Duguay shooting Baroness Von Sketch Show, Season Four.
Credit: Dennys Ilic
DP Brad Rushing csc shooting on location at an art gallery in Houston, Texas, for feature film Sanitatum. (L-R) Steadicam operator Mark Calver, make-up artist Mariana Davila, propmaster Jaime Fernandez, gaffer Mark Wells, key grip/dolly grip Kevin Parker.
Associate member Philip Lanyon filming Season Three of the series Frontier.
Credit: Kevin Speckmaier
Associate member Pawel Pogorzelski (on the dolly), with director Ari Aster and A camera operator Brian Sullivan on the set of Hereditary.
Ron Stannett csc with director Terry Ingram (left) prepping for Hallmark’s Wedding in The Vineyard.
Serge Desrosiers csc on the set of the upcoming Incendo movie Sisterhood.
ACCEPTANCES / AWARDS / NOMINATIONS / Nicholas de Pencier csc (cinematographer, co-director, producer) Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (documentary), accepted: Sundance Film Festival, January 24-February 3, Park City, Utah Daniel Lino Erse, student member (cinematographer) Left Behind (short), official selection: 7th Delhi Shorts International Film Festival, October 28, 2018, Delhi, India; official selection: National Film Festival for Talented Youth, October 25-28, 2018, Seattle; official selection: Youth Lens, November 17-18, 2018, Brampton Geneviève Perron csc (director of photography) Bye bye 2017 (TV special),
8 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
winner: Meilleure direction de la photographie: humour, variétés toutes catégories, Gala des prix Gémeaux, September 2018, Montreal Alan Poon csc (director, co-DP with Garry Tutte) Nests of Gold (short doc), winner: Best Short Documentary, Forest City Film Festival, October 28, 2018, London, ON Brad Rushing csc, (director of photography) Three Days in The Hole (short), nominated: Silver Screen Jury Prize, Hollywood Film Festival, October 25, 2018, Los Angeles
Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019 •
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What is one of your most memorable moments on set?
Vincent De Paula csc What films or other works of art have made the biggest impression on you?
At a very young age, I developed a love for painting. I discovered the masterly treatment of light by Vermeer, the use of colour and perspectives of De Hooch, the Chiaroscuro of Caravaggio or Monet, and the Impressionist style. I discovered the importance of an image and soon I started to pay close attention to the photography of Saul Leiter, André Kertész, Fan Ho, Robert Frank, Stephen Shore and also realized about all the things I could say with the use of light and composition. Painting and photography were quickly followed by an obsession for films, the great European masters and the very present American influence in Spain at the time were such an amazing influence. How did you get started in the business?
I was at film school and I managed to get in the camera department of a local documentary and news channel that gave me my first opportunity at operating a camera at a very young age. Soon after I graduated, my ambition took me abroad and I started shooting independent films and commercials in London, UK, where I become a cinematographer. Who have been your mentors or teachers?
I never assisted or operated for other DPs. I am a self-taught cinematogra-
10 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
Credit: Eric Milner
CSC Member Spotlight
feature film 2 Hearts is such an incredibly emotional true story that I immediately felt so strongly connected to it.
pher; I have always been on my own and straight to filming after I graduated, so I didn’t have the opportunity to see others working on set. The American Cinematographer magazine became my bible and I read every single magazine religiously. And of course working as a young cinematographer on a large variety of projects while learning the craft, as well as life experience travelling and exploring different cultures. What cinematographers inspire you?
There so many great cinematographers that have inspired me in one way or another, it is almost unfair to name only a few: Conrad Hall asc; Caleb Deschanel asc; Gordon Willis asc; Sven Nykvist asc; Ed Lachman asc; Roger Deakins asc, bsc; Christopher Doyle hksc; Janusz Kaminski asc; Jonathan Schwartzman asc; Robert Richardson asc; M. David Mullen asc; Bruno Delbonnel asc, afc; Emmanuel Lubezki asc, amc; and Bradford Young asc. Name some of your professional highlights.
Being able to actually choose the projects I want to be involved with. I could have a much bigger list of credits, but I have always been quite picky on what I do. Doesn’t work for everyone, and not everyone has to be that way, but I just need to have a connection with the story I want to tell. My latest
I remember filming a feature in the UK in one of the coldest winters to date. We were shooting on film, and it was such a cold night that the mirrors and glass inside the viewfinder of my camera froze and cracked, making my viewfinder pointless. I managed to finish all the night scenes pretty much blind, slightly altering the amount of camera movement, especially shooting dark at night. What do you like best about what you do?
The people that we meet and the great collaborations that come out of it. Being able to create all these emotional moments through lighting, framing and camera movement. Watching great performances by actors in the right environment that we all create as a team is what gives me goosebumps all the time. Of course, travelling the world doing what we do, we have to consider ourselves privileged. What do you like least about what you do?
The pressure and limited time that we sometimes have to deal with, the very long hours that come with this profession and the politics of this business. What do you think has been the greatest invention (related to your craft)?
The film camera started it all, and I consider myself lucky to have been able to do a lot of film work, even to this day. Now we are very lucky to be dealing with the newest and latest technology in LED lighting and digital sensors that continue to improve every year. How can others follow your work?
My website is vincentdepaula. com, and anyone can follow me on Instagram at vincentdepaula_csc or find me on Facebook .
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Artfully Clever
Luc Montpellier csc Lenses Splinters
By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer Photos: Courtesy of Luc Montpellier csc and Emotion Pictures
A
cclaimed director Thom Fitzgerald (3 Needles, Cloudburst, The Hanging Garden) frequently moves between the worlds of theatre and cinema, and for his latest feature, Splinters – an adaptation of the stage play by Lee-Anne Poole – he turned to Luc Montpellier csc to craft the images for the screen. “We were trying to create a realistic portrait of how it is to live in rural Halifax and on these orchards,” Montpellier says. “A lesbian comes back home after her father passes away and she encounters all of the prejudices which come along with that, as well as dealing with her family.” A month of Skype conversations between the cinematographer and director were followed by two weeks of official prep and four weeks of principal photography. The entire production took place on location in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, from
14 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
September to October 2017. Key crew members assisting Montpellier were gaffer Shawn Snip and key grip John Adamson. “Our production manager Doug Pettigrew is from the area, so he knew exactly where to take Thom,” Montpellier says. “Doug had the perfect farm, and Thom fell in love with it. We were able to visualize where the key points could be staged. There were very few times where I didn’t know where to put the camera, which is a testament to the location. It was like a huge studio backlot that had these amazing views going off of the veranda. I’m sure being in a real
“Lately, I have been working on bigger films and TV shows, so I enjoyed coming back to my independent film roots and getting my hands dirty framing the shots with Thom next to me. I had never seen anyone be able to pick apart what is not working in a scene so precisely as Thom. He’s such a great dramatist that way.”
L to R: Luc Montpellier csc, DIT Evan Elliot and 1st AC Gareth Roberts
farmhouse for the interiors helped our actors because they could look out a window and see the orchard and the hills rolling off. For me it’s the same way. I want an audience to be able to see a bird flying outside. I don’t want to have to blow out the windows in a studio.” Montpellier, who has been lauded with a CSC Award for Soul Cages and a Gemini Award for Hemingway vs. Callaghan, says a major part of his preparation for any project involves utilizing digital technology. “You could shoot a feature film on a DSLR and it would be totally acceptable. I am constantly taking photographs and videos of locations that we’re potentially going to shoot. Now with the laptop you can colour correct. If we want to see how a piece of wardrobe is going to look, I can easily shoot a video clip and show what the texture of the image will be like,” he explains. On Splinters, which had its world premiere at the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival, an important element was conveying a sense of legacy. “Thom and his company Emotion Pictures own a RED SCARLET camera with a Mysterium-X sensor. I had to put some vintage glass in front of that because I didn’t want the image to be too modern and electronic looking,” the cinematographer explains. “I called my friends at Panavision and they dug up these old Zeiss High Speed lenses that were used in the 1980s and 1990s. The antiglare coating on the front had been rubbed off chemically, so when the light hits it creates a halation effect. You still have coatings on the corners of the lenses, therefore, every lens had its own unique look.” Montpellier operated the single camera with lenses ranging from 18 mm, 25 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 100 mm to 135 mm. “That was a good choice, not only because of budgetary reasons, but with this being such an intimate film, it was Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019 •
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Above: Sofia Banzhaf as Belle. Below: Still from Splinters, featuring Deb Allen and Shelley Thompson.
“A lot of times, Thom would block with the actors, nod at me, and walk away. It was quite liberating to be able to work like that because I would have to figure out where the camera was going to go based on how I felt. It made me feel like another actor on the floor. I was appreciative of the trust he put in me. It made you to want to bring more to the process. That’s fantastic directing.” 16 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
nice to have a smaller crew on the set. Lately, I have been working on bigger films and TV shows, so I enjoyed coming back to my independent film roots and getting my hands dirty framing the shots with Thom next to me. I had never seen anyone be able to pick apart what is not working in a scene so precisely as Thom. He’s such a great dramatist that way,” he says. He explains that a certain camera style was needed to create the look Fitzgerald wanted. “Thom said, ‘I want this to be a dance much like a musical.’ A sense of theatricality was important. It was less about cuts and more about blocking actors to the camera and editing within this big shot. We could cover things to get around something that wasn’t working. A lot of times, Thom would block with the actors, nod at me, and walk away. It was quite liberating to be able to work like that because I would have to figure out where the camera was going to go based on how I felt. It made me feel like another actor on the floor. I was appreciative of the trust he put in me. It made you to want to bring more to the process. That’s fantastic directing,” according to Montpellier who himself had ambitions of becoming a director while attending Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, but changed his mind upon discovering he loved being a cinematographer. The DP says that on Splinters no storyboards were created, but scene transitions were kept in mind. “Thom and I would always have a post-mortem at the end of the day because we would have a one-hour drive back to Halifax from Annapolis Royal,” Montpellier explains.
Cast and crew shoot a funeral scene
“Transitions were a crucial thing that we talked about. Thom had a strong handle on the ebb and flow within the script. We needed intention behind things. That’s what’s beautiful about the early Woody Allen films. The blocking was so natural that you get a sense that it’s really happening. That informed the lighting of a scene too. I was lighting through windows a lot and had very little equipment on the set. I wanted to use a lot of dancefloor as opposed to Steadicam. The dancefloor is an old-school way of hitting marks. I would walk around the room and people would put tape marks on the floor for the key moments that I would need to grab. Not only did I have to be in tune with what the actors were doing, so did my dolly grip. We shot in widescreen and sometimes for the interiors. It opened up this beautiful landscape to choreograph the actors.” For lighting, he used ARRI M series HMIs. “We didn’t always have a generator, and these new M series ARRI lights have a special reflector in them. I used M40s a lot as they have enough punch I could use them to source through windows with a diffusion frame,” he says. “Sometimes I wanted to use the one light source from the window but needed to cheat to get some light in a back corner. I didn’t want to put a light there because it’s going to wash the whole room and make the scene look like a sitcom. I gave myself rules with every room that I went in. It was that dance between Thom, the actors and me deciding where things were going to be.” A neutral light was chosen to enhance the naturalism. “I worked with the art department, wardrobe, hair and makeup to manipulate the tones rather than me imposing a look,” Montpellier explains, adding that a certain personal mobile device came in handy. “I ended up using my iPad Pro as a lighting source offcamera, and with Adobe Draw was able to dial in the exact colour that I wanted to use.” Splinters was shot in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio and stored on RED MINI-MAGS at 4K 5:1 compression. “The LUT was developed 10 years ago at Technicolor based on a Kodak film stock and converts the digital colours to a log so you have velvet reds,” Montpellier reveals. “I had this idea of an old cigar box with faded graphics and inside are kept childhood trinkets. I approached the palette with that in mind and because it’s on an orchard a lot of earth tones were necessary.” Other inspirations came from the aesthetic Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019 •
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From the top photo: The rolling hills of Nova Scotia served as the backdrop for the film. Belle takes a walk into the ocean. "I was lighting through windows a lot and had very little equipment on the set," Montpellier says. Sofia Banzhaf (Belle) in a still from Splinters.
“There were very few times where I didn’t know where to put the camera, which is a testament to the location. It was like a huge studio backlot that had these amazing views going off of the veranda.” 18 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
of films being influenced by the technology available at the time. “When you look at Serpico and The Godfather, there’s a certain age to them. I wanted to create a filmic look from the 1970s. The lenses, LUT and the sets having earthy tones combined to produce an ageless feeling,” Montpellier says. R3D files were utilized to create the dailies, with colour decisions being made on set between Montpellier and DIT Evan Elliot, while the DI was handled by freelance colourist Marc Savoie in Halifax. During the shoot, the weather was characteristically erratic for the region. “In Halifax there’s a saying, ‘In 15 minutes you’ll have three different weather patterns,’” Montpellier says. “We cut up a lot of sequences like the bus journey of our lead character Belle [Sofia Banzhaf] that takes her through different parts of the coast. We shot those at different times and had to track how Thom wanted to cut that stuff so to avoid having one shot that was sunny then another shot that was overcast then another shot that was raining. We rolled the dice and got lucky with the weather. There was a scene outside between Belle and her brother, but because the weather wasn’t great, we took it into a barn and kept the doors open.” Another moment has Belle sitting in the Atlantic Ocean drinking a bottle of wine. “We shot that scene in 10 minutes. The main problem was we would do a take and suddenly the tides were going out so fast I had to pick up the camera in waist-deep water and move it another 10 feet. Sofia also had to move another 10 feet and we would then have to try to film it. There was a frantic aspect to shooting that scene. The camera is about six inches above the water and you’re in the ocean, so if a huge wave came over it would have overtaken us. I have to hand it to Sofia because even though we were yelling at each other from across the way, you didn’t feel any of that tension when the camera rolled,” Montpellier recalls. “There were a few actors from the play who were in the film,” he notes. “They had an extensive knowledge of the material but in a different form. It was fun to bring them to the filmmaking aspect of it where you get to redo things. Theatre actors tend to blow me away because they’re not riddled with those old tricks that actors sometimes have in film and TV. There’s a freshness to the whole thing. When you start seeing something you haven’t seen before, it is inspiring.” A crane shot needed to be improvised, Montpellier recalls. “We would have liked to have a crane for the final shot. There comes a point when Belle’s mother realizes that she loves her daughter no matter what. They’re coming towards us in the orchard and the whole community has come together to help out with the harvest. We pan slowly across the field and end up on Belle and her mom, and we did jib up on the dolly with a bunch of risers. We did about 10 takes. It did feel like a crane shot even though we didn’t end up going to the sky,” he says. “I really enjoyed going back to my roots where you don’t always have the tools, but you’re still able to create an image that will bring people together.”
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Allan Leader csc The Dictators Rulebook PROJECT The Dictators Rulebook – Six one-hour documentary series examining the tactics used by six different tyrants of the 20th century. DICTATORS Saddam Hussein - Iraq Benito Mussolini - Italy Idi Amin - Uganda Francisco Franco - Spain Kim Il-sung - North Korea Manuel Noriega – Panama FIELD CREW Director: Mark Stevenson Director of Photography, DMT and sound recordist: Allan Leader csc
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By Allan Leader csc
Photos: Mark Stevenson & Allan Leader csc
VISUAL APPROACH e approached each episode like a film. Series producer Matthew Booi worked closely with the team of writers to deliver a script for each episode that reads like a feature. Aesthetically, we committed to filming everything with a shallow depth of field and filming between T 1.5 - T 2.8. Every decision was made to make the series as cinematic as possible. Since all six of the dictators held power in the past, archival footage is incorporated in each episode. We decided that if archival footage existed, it was appropriate to always use it despite poor quality in some cases. It could have been tempting to recreate many scenes, but it wouldn’t have been as authentic as incorporating existing footage. We decided that all recreations would imply rather than being too literal. For example, we recreated a scene inside a car with a young Saddam attempting to rise up from being a street thug to a future dictator. We needed to re-create a scene that took place under the blazing sun on the streets of Baghdad. Filming in Iraq was out of the question. We filmed in rural Ontario outside Hamilton on a day that was pouring with rain and completely overcast. As part of prep, I had the art department build two mobile panels approximately 15 feet wide x 15 feet high. They were aesthetically treated to look like the side of a typical building in Baghdad. When filming, these panels were moved around the exterior of the car for each frame and eliminated the farmers field we were in. The grip team created overhead cover to keep the rain off the car so that we could mainly shoot from the exterior of the vehicle through windows. We created the appearance of hot sunlight by directing hard light into the vehicle with HMIs. For the scene, Saddam is in the back seat waiting for the opportunity to assassinate a political leader. We build tension with a series of shots in 48 fps cut between Saddam preparing his rifle in the back seat and cut back and forth to two other accomplices in the front seat smoking heavily. The three men burst out of the car and the camera lets them disappear. We resisted recreating the gun battle itself. The feeling was that it would feel too literal. As a rule, large supplemental lighting was minimalistic. During prep, I requested sourcing period practical lights in working order for all of our interiors. Many scenes were shot with these practicals as the main sources. Additional lighting occasionally came from one or two ARRI SkyPanels. For the majority of scenes filmed in each of the dictators’ offices we used practical desk lamps as the main source of lighting. For interrogation scenes in the Kim Il-sung episode, we visually incorporated a single practical overhead light – which was period accurate – into the master shot. It provided the realistic look of an interrogation taking place in North Korea.
W
Manuel Noriega receives a payoff by American drug smuggler, Steven Kalish.
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Interview in Washington, D.C., with journalist John Dinges, author of Our Man in Panama, focused on Noriega.
For a scene in the Manuel Noriega episode, we recreated FBI offices. We framed the wide shot, added haze for atmosphere and turned on the overhead fluorescents. When we looked at the monitor, it was clear that the look we wanted was already in place. Adding light would have been the wrong aesthetic choice. As we filmed coverage in the FBI offices, we utilized negative fill for various frames to create contrast, but otherwise the existing overheads lit the scene. PROCESS IN THE FIELD Principal photography ran from September 2017 to April 2018. We shot for approximately eight months (in blocks) on location around the world. We would pre-scout locations in advance before travelling to each country. Pre-scouting locations for The Dictators Rulebook was the most involved for any documentary series I’ve filmed in over the past 28 years. I’d estimate looking at more than 2,000 locations across the world for the series. Since we rejected so many locations in order to maintain the bar we set for unique interview locations, we were constantly reviewing location photos in between interviews and at the gates in airports. In many cases, we drove to scout locations in person immediately after stepping off a plane after 20 hours of travel. Interviews ran between three and four hours each. Typically, we filmed two – occasionally three – interviews in a day. I would transfer the data to multiple hard drives late into the night then ship one of the hard drives back to Canada before we stepped onto our next
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plane. This allowed the teams back in Toronto to be building the series as we were on the road filming. RECREATIONS All recreations were shot at 48 fps with a shallow depth of field. The motivation was to clearly establish a distinct look that will help the audience differentiate between recreations and archival footage. For the majority of the recreations, we incorporated haze for atmosphere. Subjects were mainly back or rim lit. Rarely did we ever front light faces so as to keep the characters in the shadows. We always started by looking at the image on the monitor with the existing lighting provided by the practicals. Very often we worked with those exclusively as sources. With the latitude of digital cameras, it often felt right and motivated. We approached each recreation the same way we would for a feature film. Extensive research by production designer Florian Schuck and props master Saha Tolstoy ensured that every lamp, picture, desk, ashtray, medal, carpet, typewriter, piece of furniture, gun, knife, map and newspaper was accurate for the region and period in history. The dedication to representing everything accurately was amazing. This established an authentic canvas for each recreation. Significant emphasis was placed on casting each dictator, which included recreations of them as boys and young men all the way up to when they were in power and beyond. I sat in on most of the casting sessions and collaborated on casting decisions based upon how the actor would translate visually.
DP Allan Leader csc films at sunset along the North-South Korean border.
CIA offices in the mid ’80s for Noriega episode.
The majority of recreations were filmed at Digital Canaries Studios in Hamilton, Ontario, with a crew of approximately 45. Sets included offices for each dictator, jails, torture rooms, safe houses, military barracks, FBI offices, streets in Iraq, Panama, jungles of Uganda, interrogation rooms in North Korea, war rooms and underground bunkers.
historians, journalists and government officials. Characters include individuals with direct links to the dictatorship. These include people that lived under the regime, defectors and former CIA Senior Analyst John Nixon, who was responsible for identifying and interrogating Saddam Hussein for three weeks when he was captured. For all interviews, I operated two Canon C-300 cameras. We always started by picking the best visual wide frame for each location and placed a simple chair for the interview within the shot. The A camera was mounted on a 3-foot slider utilizing a 17 mm tilt-shift lens. The B camera was filmed with a combination of 24 mm, 45 mm, 90 mm tilt-shift lenses. The A camera always framed a very wide shot that showed the entire room typically floor to ceiling. This really emphasized the locations we conducted our interviews in. We approached the framing of the interviews differently based upon Experts or Characters. For Expert interviews, the B camera framed with traditional use of lead space in front of the experts. Character interviews always had the B camera framed with very little lead space creating extensive negative space behind each Character. The selective use of negative space creates an uncomfortable reaction because the frame is tight to the front of the face. Psychologically, cropping close to the face of the person is uncomfortable. We decided that this was appropriate for those who personally experienced terror or came face to face with the dictators. Since we incorporated windows in the majority of interview frames, we lit our subjects with a single daylight source. I chose not to backlight any of the interviews. Instead, I added subtle light to backgrounds when necessary to separate the interview subject. It’s a look I prefer for documentary series. The idea to incorporate tilt-shift lenses for a distinct look was inspired by the series Facing, lensed by Ian Kerr csc. I really admired the aesthetic Ian crafted on Facing and spoke with him about the look. It had been 20 years since I had last used tilt-shift lenses with 35 mm film, and they have been off my radar for quite some time. After several discussions with Ian, I decided to utilize the specialty lenses for The Dictators Rulebook. The lenses were used to throw the focus out on significant areas of the frame. In some cases, all that was left sharp was one side of a face or a small corner of the frame. In addition to incorporating them on interviews, I used tilt-shift lenses for the B roll for each episode shot around the world.
INTERVIEWS When director Mark Stevenson, series producer Matthew Boi and I began pre-production we decided each interview location would be a character on its own. Typically, many documentary series conduct their interviews in locations that are convenient for the interview subject or scheduling. Often these include an office, boardroom or home. Early on, discussions between the director, the series producer and myself focused on making the interviews “Extensive research ensured an element that stood out. that every lamp, picture, desk, So the approach was quite ashtray, medal, carpet, typeunconventional logistically. writer, piece of furniture, gun, We selected our locations for knife, map and newspaper was the interviews and brought accurate for the region and the interview subject to the location. The fees asperiod in history. The dedicasociated with securing all tion to representing everything of these locations were accurately was amazing.” significant. In many cases, we flew guests to the locations for their interviews. This is rarely done for documentary series because it’s cost prohibitive. Cream Productions made the commitment from the beginning to film approximately 40 interviews in hand-selected locations. This really allowed us to film all the interviews in aesthetically rich locations. Additionally, Cream flew director Mark Stevenson and myself to each and every location around the world, which meant I was able to film every frame for the entire series. While this is the ideal, many budgets for series dictate that local crews are picked up along the way. The approach taken on The Dictators Rulebook was a unique opportunity that came with a budget commitment by Cream Productions. Interviews for the series are defined as one of two categories – “Experts” or “Characters.” These interviews are the foundation of each episode. Experts include
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PRESENTS
THE 62 CSC AWARDS GALA nd
SATURDAY MARCH 23, 2019 RECEPTION 5:30 pm Arcadian Court 401 Bay Street, 8th Floor Toronto • Ontario • Canada Parking at City Hall
Tickets csc.ca/cscawards
Deadline for entries: January 31, 2019 csc.ca/en/awardsCSC/2019/
Clockwise from top left: Leader films a North Korean defector in an undisclosed location. Director Mark Stevenson oversees a CIA recreation for Manuel Noriega episode. Portraying a torture/beheading ordered by dictator Idi Amin. Filming an actor playing a young Saddam Hussein plotting a political assassination.
INTERVIEW LOCATIONS Canada, Italy, Panama, South Korea, Spain, Uganda, the UK and the US were among the locations we filmed in. Extensive scouting was done for each interview location. As an example, I reviewed photos from more than 650 locations in and around New York city and eventually selected three. We were specifically looking for massive character spaces like warehouses, factories, etc. In London, we filmed in a decommissioned power generation station from the 1800s. In Brooklyn, we filmed in a rundown gutted building built in the 1800s that resembles an asylum. In South Korea, we filmed in a building with broken windows, brick walls and exposed ceilings. In Uganda, we filmed in a huge warehouse now occupied by pigeons with abandoned trains from the Idi Amin era. The director and I loved the look of the location in Uganda, but the lack of stable power was a big challenge. Being resourceful is key when filming abroad. Eventually we rigged two bare wires around a lighting connector to power an ARRI 1K and 650 Fresnel. The common look for all spaces we filmed in was visually raw and exposed. Each space had to be huge to create a sense of insignificance when only one person was being interviewed within it. We selected locations with minimal colour. We also looked for spaces with large distressed windows, which were incorporated into the frame. We looked for empty spaces, and in some cases, we had the space emptied. Visually, this emptiness created tension.
The visual rewards for the majority of the abandoned looking spaces came with compromises. Typically, there was no heat or air conditioning available. In London the temperature was below 0 Celsius in the decommissioned power plant. We had space heaters off camera running to prevent seeing “Pre-scouting locations for The the interview subjects’ Dictators Rulebook was the most breath. On the opposite involved for any documentary end of the spectrum, in the warehouse in Uganda series I’ve filmed in over the past the temperatures inside 28 years. I’d estimate looking were near 40 degrees at more than 2,000 locations Celsius. Perhaps the across the world for the series.” biggest challenge for the interviews was sound. I also did sound for all interviews, something I do regularly for my documentary series. But the locations with broken windows and exposed ceilings allowed sound from the outside to bleed inside. Trains, planes, music, traffic, construction noise, etc. forced the crew to stop and start regularly. As challenging as it was, the end result was worth it.
The Dictators Rulebook began airing in the US, followed by Canada, on PBS, TVO and National Geographic. Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019 •
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ROME, ITALY.
The Magic of
Cinecittà By George Willis csc, sasc
‘‘
Imagination is possibly the most important word in the vocabulary of the cinematographer and it kept nudging me as Tovoli guided us through these enormous exterior sets.” Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, Luchino Visconti, Sergio Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese and Mel Gibson have shot at Cinecittà, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. Movies made at Cinecittà have captured an amazing 47 Oscars. The studio complex is so interwoven into Roman life that it boasts its own subway stop, called what else but “Cinecittà.” It’s located just outside the studio’s gates, and that’s where I was greeted by Tovoli and fellow AIC members Vice President Maurizio Gennaro aic, General Secretary Simone Marra aic and Pino Venditti aic. Internationally recognized DP Tovoli and the AIC are one of the founders of IMAGO, the international umbrella organization for cinematography societies around the world, of which the CSC is a member. Tovoli Starting the studio tour. Left to right: George Willis csc, sasc, Luciano Tovoli aic, asc, Irene Willis, Simone Marra aic, Simona.
I
t was a warm morning, the sun was bright, and I was in one of the most exciting places one could be: Rome, the Eternal City. What could be better? Well, it was about to get a whole lot better. I had an invitation from Luciano Tovoli aic, asc, president of the Italian Society of Cinematographers (AIC),
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to visit with him at their clubhouse, which is located inside the renowned Cinecittà studio complex. Cinecittà was founded in 1937 in southwest Rome and today sits on a 400,000-square-metre lot, where some of the most fabled names in filmdom have worked. Filmmakers such as
collection has certainly provided me with new inspiration for a future endeavor by our Society. At the CSC, we have been slowly accumulating cameras, lenses and other items associated with our craft, with the goal of eventually realizing our own museum. While I could have spent all day inside the AIC Museum, I was motivated to press on with phase two of my visit, a personal tour of Cinecittà with Tovoli leading the way. It is little wonder that this patch of cinema acreage is called “Hollywood on the Tiber,” with blockbuster films such as Ben Hur, Cleopatra, The Agony and the Ecstasy and The Passion of the Christ all shot on its sprawling backlot. However, there’s one large ordinary building that gives pause and is a shrine of sorts to many. It’s Studio 5, which was Fellini’s personal studio, complete with an apartment where the
Credit: George Willis csc, sasc
Different views and angles of another extremely detailed “Babylonian” style structure.
is also an ardent supporter of cinematographer copyright, as owners of the images we create and shoot. The AIC clubhouse is an array of administrative and meeting rooms, but its crowning jewel is the Society’s “Museo Storico.” Tovoli and his team guided me through the most wonderful collection of cameras, lenses and film-related items. It was obvious that their museum is the pride and joy of their clubhouse and quite rightly so. The oldest camera in their collection is a fully operational 1908 Debrie Parvo, made entirely of wood, with a brass mechanism and crank handle. The museum also has on display the last Technicolor 3 strip camera ever manufactured, the D-29. The D series shot some of Hollywood’s most iconic films
‘‘
One could only imagine the scope and size of the countless sets that had been constructed in this space. I couldn’t help but wonder what Fellini tales the studio walls must hold. If only they could speak.”
such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain. Only 28 of these cameras were ever made, with the number 13 being skipped over because of superstition, hence the museum’s D-29. Another prized museum possession is one of the modified Technovision Mitchell cameras used by AIC member Vittorio Storaro aic, asc to shoot Apocalypse Now, which gave the legendary DP his first Academy Award win. This opportunity to view and appreciate the AIC’s spectacular cinematography
famous Italian director lived. During his career, Fellini was honoured with dozens of international awards, including five Oscars. His movies such as 8½, La Dolce Vita and Satyricon became instant classics. Inside Studio 5, its enormity was staggering. One could only imagine the scope and size of the countless sets that had been constructed in this space. I couldn’t help but wonder what Fellini tales the studio walls must hold. If only they could speak. In another part of the backlot, there Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019 •
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‘‘
Words cannot adequately describe my experience and thoughts as I walked through these sets, travelling back to Roman and Babylonian times.”
this set was built for the HBO/BBC television series Rome in 2004. It was a reconstruction of Julius Caesar’s Rome, which at that time was one of the most expensive productions in television
history. The set featured the classical mix of all the main civil and religious buildings in the Roman Forum, including the Via Sacra, Basilica Julia, the Arch of Constantine and the Temples
Credit: George Willis csc, sasc
is what’s called the “pool or pond.” It’s approximately 2 metres in depth and about the size of a football field, with an enormous green screen on one side. Even though it was empty, one could only imagine the complexities of getting it up and running. One of the most notable films with scenes shot on the pond is Fellini’s 1973 Academy Award-winning movie Amarcord. Not far from the pond is the set for the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York. Because our group was very familiar with the movie, imagination took over us as we searched for any telltale evidence to where some specific scene may have been shot. We also spent time wandering around other sets of note, such as 15th Century Florence, constructed in 2001 for the movie Francesco, a televised miniseries portraying the life of St. Francis of Assisi. It later became the set for the TV series The Borgias, which was principally shot by our very own Paul Sarossy csc, asc, bsc. Also nearby was a construct of the Temple of Jerusalem, designed by Francesco Frigeri, who was also the set designer for The Passion of the Christ. For the Temple, Frigeri opted for a mix of different architectures – Babylonian, Assyrian and North Yemenite styles. While wandering around these magnificent sets, the quiet reverence was shattered by the clanking and revving of mechanized machinery. In another part of the backlot, bulldozers and graders were busy levelling what had been left of the set for ancient Rome after a fire had torn through the structures. Originally,
Credit: Irene Willis
Luciano and myself in the AIC Museum also in the photo are Maurizio Gennaro aic and Simone Marra AIC.
Cameras,lenses, accessories and other film related exhibits in the AIC Museum.
and scope of lighting these huge scenes. I envisaged a cast of hundreds surrounded by the many cameras and special effects crews, not to mention all of the other personnel necessary to carry out and realize the creative vision. As all cinematographers do, I formed my fingers into the two L shapes that make up the imaginary frame and panned across the expanse of this set, feeling the excitement that is in the DNA of a cinematographer and the magic of filmmaking. Words cannot adequately describe my experience and thoughts as I walked through these sets, travelling back to Roman and Babylonian times. Although we could not experience the atmosphere that would have been created by the film crews possibly using special effects that would have been synonymous with these sets, I most certainly felt that I was there in my imagination. It was an amazing day, and I owe a huge thank you to my wonderful AIC hosts and to the magic of CinecittĂ Studio backlot showing one of the large sets for this marvelous adventure. depicting 15th century Florence.
Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019 •
Credit: George Willis csc, sasc
of Venus and Jupiter. For its construction, the load-bearing structures were clad with wooden panels and fibreglass sheets, while the columns, pediments and gables of the temples were made from polystyrene that was treated and hardened to withstand the elements. Apart from the obvious monumentality, the main feature of the set was its strong colour palette. The reds, blues, greens and vivid decorations allowed viewers to see the original hues of the Roman Republic. As a huge fan of Roman history, I can only imagine what the ancient Rome set must have looked like in all its architectural grandeur and splendour. It’s a shame this set no longer exists. Imagination is possibly the most important word in the vocabulary of the cinematographer and it kept nudging me as Tovoli guided us through these enormous exterior sets. While discussing compass points with him in regard to the set locations, lighting and camera positioning, my imagination ran rampant. I marvelled at the sheer magnitude
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Tech Column
Immortality Is Forever in Cinema
C
an technology bring the dead back to life? Well, yes, now you mention it. Digital technology is on the verge of recreating the images and voices of long dead actors, pushing more capture away from the lens and into the computer. It’s not just theory. At last count, some 15 or more actors have been summoned from the great beyond to perform for the cameras, or at least the computer, such as Audrey Hepburn in a candy bar commercial, and Peter Cushing, 22 years after his passing, as the villain in Star Wars: Rogue One.
Peter Cushing
Similar technology in the form of Deepfake is also becoming an Internet issue, with pranksters re-facing video clips, sometimes to put themselves into the frame as a novelty, others to mischievously create fake news using well-known faces. It was a hot topic at the annual graphic industry conference Siggraph 2018 in Vancouver last August with serious ethical concerns. On a commercial scale, the tipping point is a convergence of digital tools. Voice apps have progressed from recognition to being able to mimic voices after only a few minutes of “listening,”
34 • Canadian Cinematographer - January 2019
while artificial intelligence apps are pulling all the components together. So it’s not a leap to bring John Wayne back to the big screen, complete with newly-scripted lines and full swagger as he rolls across a western plain or takes charge in a sci-fi galactic battle. Young John Wayne? No problem. Old, crusty John Wayne. Got it. This is nothing new. CGI’s breakthrough in 1973’s Westworld has been followed with a deluge of movies: Tron (1982), The Abyss (1989), Jurassic Park (1993), Toy Story (1995) and so many, many more. It’s even become a meme itself in movies such as Looker (1981) and The Congress (2014), with Robin Wright as a down-on-her-parts actor who signs her image away for a pile of instant cash only to be dismayed when she sees the roles her image takes on. So far, it’s only been images. Soon voices will parrot scripted lines. Actors might be reduced to donning special suits and shooting against a green screen to avoid location costs. Lighting costs will be reduced because there’s less setup and tear down. It’s a producer’s dream. Big-budget faces and names for low-budget outlay. Of course, there will be holdouts. For example, marquee directors who favour film aren’t about to abandon their principles. Big-name actors will refuse to don the CGI suit, as some already have. The pressure, however, will be relentless, just as it has been with the shift away from film to full digital capture and post editing. What then of cinematographers? Will they be reduced to simply operating a camera on a set where the
lighting and shots have been predetermined by a committee? Will they have any hope of creative input? Or will it all be turned over to artists working at a computer screen? The fight is brewing. Two years ago, some high-profile Hollywood cinematographers called for two separate categories in Oscar nominations to differentiate between those images enhanced by computer technology and those shot au naturel. Since then, the technology has advanced further. The line between real and digitally created is remarkably thin. Postproduction by default adds or subtracts data from the image, and while VFX and CGI are two different concepts, that line is blurring too. Back in the day when analog magnetic audio tape was an audiophile thing, there was an advertising tag line: Is it live or is it Memorex? It suggested the reproduction capability of the tape brand was uncannily close to live performances. And here we are. Just last summer, a Twitter attack on a trailer for The Predator (2018) claimed it was too heavy with CGI. Director Shane Black stepped up for cinematographer Larry Fong, who is known for his love of CGI, shutting down the trolls, saying: “There’s no CGI in this shot. You’re wrong.” Is it live or is it CGI? It’s a two-way street now. It’s also incredibly ironic. Movies are magic. They are smoke and mirrors conjured to tell a story, and the story always reigns supreme. So then, can a movie have too much technology? At what point does the technology rob the narrative, just as in the early days the narrative was dependent on the tech to sell the suspension of belief? So don’t be surprised if that face on the promo poster a year or so from now looks a lot like Maureen O’Hara. It probably will be, though her pedigree might be lost on newer audiences. Ian Harvey is a journalist who has been writing about digital disruption for 20 years. He welcomes feedback and eagerly solicits subject matter ideas at ian@pitbullmedia.ca.
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Production Notes Calendar
Classifieds
ALTERED CARBON II (series)
DP Bernard Couture csc (alternating episodes)
to June 25
Surrey
ARROW VII (series)
DP Gordon Verheul csc (odd) & Neil Cervin csc (even)
to April 11
Vancouver
BOY, THE (feature)
Camera Operator Michael Soos
to March 8
Saanichton
DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW IV (series)
DP David Geddes csc, asc (alternating episodes)
to January 24
Burnaby
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR III (series)
DP Mike McMurray csc (even episodes) B Operator/Steadicam Brent Robinson
to February 12
Mississauga
EXPANSE, THE VI (series)
Jeremy Benning csc & Ray Dumas csc
to February 4
Toronto
FLASH V (series)
DP Brenton Spencer csc & Alwyn J. Kumst csc (alternating episodes)
to April 19
Vancouver
GRAVITY PRODUCTIONS AKA TWILIGHT ZONE (series)
Craig Wrobleski csc Operator/Steadicam Rob Crone csc, cfc, dg
to March 8
North Vancouver
IN BETWEEN (series)
DP Brian Whittred csc (alternating episodes)
to February 20
North Vancouver
INK (series)
DP François Dagenais csc (alternating episodes) Camera Operator Jim Van Dijk
to April 12
Richmond
iZOMBIE V (series)
DP Michael Wale csc
to January 21
North Vancouver
LOST IN SPACE II (series)
DP C. Kim Miles csc (alternating episodes) B Camera Operator Ken Krawczyk csc
to January 30
Burnaby
MAGIC HOUR (series)
DP François Dagenais csc
to April 12
Richmond
MAGNESIUM (series)
DP George Lajtai csc
to July 16
Toronto
NURSES (series)
DP Thom Best csc 1st Assistant Ciaran Copelin
to May 14
Mississauga
REX (series)
DP Stephen Reizes csc
to April 22
St. John’s
RIVERDALE III (series)
DP Brendan Uegama csc
to March 30
Langley
SEE (series)
B Cam Operator/2nd Unit DP Ian Seabrook csc
to March 30
Delta, B.C.
SNOWPIERCER (series)
DP Thom Burstyn csc, nzcs
to January 18
Langley
SUPERGIRL IV (series)
DP Michael Storey csc (alternating episodes)
to May 15
Langley
SUPERNATURAL XIV (series)
DP Serge Ladouceur csc Camera Operator Brad Creasser
to March 26
Burnaby
TWILIGHT ZONE (series)
DP Craig Wrobleski csc
to March 8
JANUARY 19, CSC Workflow Topics Module, Toronto, csc.ca 24-Feb. 3, Sundance Film Festival, Park City, Utah, sundance.org 25-27, IMAGO International Cinematographers Symposium, Vienna, imago.org 25-31, Slamdance Film Festival, Park City, Utah, slamdance.com 31, CSC Awards entry deadline, csc.ca FEBRUARY 28-March 3, Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Kingston, ON, kingcanfilmfest.com
36 • Canadian Cinematographer - January
2018
North Vancouver
MARCH 25-31, Canadian Screen Week, Toronto, academy.ca/awards 16, IMAGO International Awards for Cinematography, Belgrade, imagoawards.org 22-23, Italian Society of Cinematographers’ Micro Salon Rome, Rome, microsalonitalia.com 23, CSC Awards, Arcadian Court, Toronto, csc.ca APRIL 4-6, 3rd International Conference on Teaching & Researching Cinematography, Brussels, imago.org
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE 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 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 - 250-7212113 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,1Lentequip 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 - $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. 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.
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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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