A 'wonderful' pre-dawn landscape was painted oo the studio wall at Magders. Nicholas directed eye lights at this painting to create reflections on the cars, giving the illusion that it was an exterior shot At one time there were 40 cars in the studio and these were lit by only one 8 k HMI and approximately 20 eye lights. Surprisingly, the dramatic look was achieved with this small amount of light At the disposal of Nicholas was the Pan Arri camera with Panavision Primo lenses and a Chapman crane complete with all the "toys". According to Nicholas, the Primo lenses were fantastic. They rendered pictures that were crisp and virtually free of abberations with excellent edge to edge focus. The crew worked in the studio for three days, a day or two outside and a couple of evenings on the final shot where the cars came over the hill. This last set up involved two crews and 50 cars, all of which were driven by P.A.s not by stunt drivers. Thanks to the excellent work by the A.D.s a potential disaster was avoided. It is interesting to note that the Partners Film Company shot the set-up described above, even though Directors was the producer of all three 'Landscape' commercials. On the day the location was surveyed, the sun was shining gloriously just what the script called for. However, when the crews arrived it was hot and humid and the sun barely managed to penetrate the thick haze. There was hardly a shadow. Fortunately, Nicholas was able to find the right graduated filter which added contrast and enhanced the dramaticimpactofthe scene. The resulting footage exceeded even his expectations! Nicholas was very pleased when the esc recognized the craftsmanship in the flagship Chrysler Landscape spot at the 1989 CSC Awards. "It was very nice of the CSC to recognize the 'Landscape' commercials as being good enough to win the award for Best Cinematography. It may sound
Of the three commercials, "Landscape", "Autobahn" and "Pillar of Salt", "Landscape" is by far the best. It is a montage of beautiful and dramatic shots cutto music and sound effects with the precision of a well-conducted symphony. Tranquil images of a fawn, morning dew falling off a leaf, close-up of hands on a steering wheel and tall grass blowing in the breeze arejuxtaposed and shattered by a stampede of running feet in army boots. A flock of birds take to the air, the seatbelt is fastened and the car speeds off in a cloud of dust. Over the hills come two rows of cars and a voice says, "Chrysler: changing the landscape".
Photo courtesy of the Directors Film Company.
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Nicholas Allen-Woolfe esc shooting with a Canon 150-600 mm lens - a still camera lens adapted for film.
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cocky but I thought it was good enough that it deseiVes an award because it was different and new and I've gone out on the limb a bit. It was nice to get the recognition." Based on the strength of Nicholas' car commercials (he's also shot for OM/Pontiac), it is tempting to label him as a commercial or even 'heavy metal cameraman', as car cinematographers are known in some circles. Nicholas was quick to deflect this type oflabelling and expressed his aversion for being put in a slot. In recent years most of his work has been commercials principally because they enable him to experiment with new ideas, equipment, film stocks, exposures, etc. To a certain extent music videos can offer this as well, whereas features do not allow the cinematographer time to experiment. He would like to work on features, music videos and even documentaries if the subject interests him or if the director is someone he
would like to work with. Ifthe word 'specialist' has a place in his life, he would associate it with interior lighting. He offered these comments regarding his approach to lighting automobiles. "There used to be a mystique about photographing cars in that only certain people can do it. It's rubbish. Basically it's quite simple if you use bounce-light. Direct-light can be used but you have to make sure the angle is appropriate so that there are no hot spots. Dulling spray is sometimes helpful. "To bounce light on to a car I use large 12 by 15 foot panels. The light source can be anything from 10k downwardS. My favourites are the eye lights because they are small and easy to hide: "If the angle is tricky, I often use panels, backdrops, velour or teasers to prevent fixtures from being reflected in the vehicles. The reflected panel(s) you see in the car is the thing that gives it the texture, shape and attractive highlights. PAGE 5
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Sometimes a combination of direct and bounce-light is very nice." Once Nicholas is engaged to shoot a commercial it is very important for him to meet with his director. He doesn't want to see any of the in-between people nor the script. As far as Nicholas is concerned, the script is merely a formality for the DOP. His opinion is based on the assumption that by the time he arrives on the scene, the concept of the commercial would already be firmly entrenched. The director would have read the script many times and in all likelihood know what he wants. It is far more important for him to get inside the director's mind and interpret what he wants. "Many directors are visually oriented and they have a certain way of seeing a particular commercial which he has to convey to his cinematographer. "In the old days most directors left the lighting to his DOP and basically he would just go ahead and lights it Today, they are much more sophisticated and are quite knowledgeable. There are some directors out there who have very keen senses of lighting. For instance, a director may want atmospheric, moody lighting. Often directors will have with him four or five still pictures that conveys how he wants the commercial to look. I would look at the lighting and other elements in these pictures and decide what it needs. "It is very helpful to have pictures especially if I haven't worked with the director before. Graham Hunt, Bob Canning and Gillean Proctor are some of the commercial directors who use pictures oroth~r elements to show what they want to see." For director Bill Irish of Circle Productions, he sometimes uses a fea.ture film to illustrate what he has in mind. There may be five, six or even ten different styles for consideration and by process of elimination he eventually ends up with the right one. Colour or a mixture of colours and mood are important elements and very often he would receive suggestions from the cinematographer.
On set ofRowntree Chocolate "Black Magic" spot in November '89.
Photo courtesy of Circle Productions.
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Recently Bill shot a spot in a doctor's office. He wanted authenticity but not flat lighting. In the end, Nicholas solved the problem by pumping light through the blinds to create sunlight OfNICoolas, whool he has wOrtced several times, Bill Irish has this to say, "Nicholas is like his Jaguar; meticulous, highly polished and made with great care. He is equal to all the cameramen I've worked with. He is completely 'egoless'. He would cooperate ifcooperation is required or add if you want him to add. On a director's pallette, Nicholas is cobalt blue, a base colour that contains all the colours. "The most difficult commercial that we have worked on was the 'Black Magic' spot. It opened with a young boy coming through the door with a box of chocolates. His grandfather ruffles his hair as he passes the sweets around the room. In the end, he was left with an empty box. That commercial was challenging because I wanted a 'non-commertial' lode. Nicholas was able to achieve the effect by using lighting that was very warm and not garish." When asked if Nicholas has any flaws as a cinematographer, Bill was stymied. A few moments later he replied, "Oh yes, he does have one faulthe's better looking than I am." Last year Nicholas worked a total of 95 days, all on ~mmercials. This figure does not include pre-production meetings or travel days. This is all he ever wants to do in commercials because of the long hours. Due to cutbacks, it is
not unusual to work 20 hours in the studio in order to finish the job in "one" day. This is often the case with lowbudget commercials where the producers are trying to save on rentals and director's and cinematographer's fees. The crews love it because of the overtime. Unreasonable working conditions are something that irks Nicholas, who is normally gentle and easy-going. "It's stupid and senseless because a cameraman's best work is done in the first 8 to 10 hours of the day. I don'tcareifyou are 21, 41 or 71, you cannot work and give your best in a 20-hour day. Furthermore, after 15 hours we are losing money because we are on a flat rate. It is our own fault to a certain extent because we should all put our feet down and say, 'look, in America
AVISID PAGE 7
a commercial or feature cameraman is engaged to work for 8 or 10 hours on flat rate, thereafter they go into overtime.' It doesn't work this way here. A bunch of cameramen should get together, particularly the heavyweights and change a few things." Having said that, Nicholas was quick to point out that he and other commercial cinematographers make fabulous salaries. His complaint is that afteralongday'sworkheendsupmaking less than his gaffer or grip. According to Lesley Parrott of the advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson, a commercial cinematographer's daily rate in 1989 was $3,000. This is a far cry from the paltry $15 dollars a week Nicholas earned as a "tea boy" in 1961. At that time, he was just a boy of seventeen who longed to be a cameraman. In contrast to what is available to the young, aspiring filmmaker today, established film schools were few and far between in the early 1960s. Because of this, Nicholas went directly from high school into the film industry. During those formative years he didn't set his eyes on shooting commercials but merely desired to be a good cameraman. The fact that he is shooting
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Nicholas Allen-Woolfe esc lines up a shot for a McDonald's commercial (Feb. '90).
commercials was the result of luck and persistance. Having tried unsuccessfully to join the IATSE union for four years in the late 1960s, he was finally accepted in 1972. His career started to take off almost immediately after he became an lA member. Suddenly, from a documentary and TV cameraman he began shooting commercials, because that was what the union was into in those days. "I thought I died and gone to heaven- it was wonderful." Sitting in his sunny livingroom with all the material things that spell success and prosperity, Nicholas AllenWoolfe ponders his good fortune for being in a trade where he is paid to do what he loves. Sleeping soundly next to him on an easy chair is one of his pets - a yet unnamed kitten. The kitten rolls over on its back; a characteristic feline expression of contentment. Nearly thirty years have gone by since Nicholas broke into PAGE 8
the film business in England. He has come a long way since then. At the time of writing, Nicholas is busy shooting commercials for Fleecy, Kelloggs, TRW and Diet Pepsi, however, not all at the same time, of course. It was recently announced that he has two nominations in this years CSC Awards for Best Cinematography in a Commercial. The two spots were shot for Pontiac. His holiday continues.
WANG CHOW
CSC CAMERA ASSISTANTS COURSE The Society has been offering the camera assistants' course since 1975. In that year, esc members volunteered as instructors and Cinequip, Film House and Cinevision provided the equipment and space. Eighty-five people registered for the course on the first night, indicating a great need for such a course at that time. According to the minutes of the AGM that year, "It was considered a successful undertaking and will be offered next winter, although the enrolment may be limited to 15, with a fee of $25.00." Needless to say, the fees have increased since then, but the numbers have always been kept down. Thanks to the hard work by the many instructors and coordinators over the years, like Mark Irwin esc, Neil Seale, Nadine Humenick, and most recently John Holosko and John Lindsay, the course has been a tremendous success. It is a very specialized, hands-on course for camera assistants with an appreciation of assisting who are looking to upgrade and expand their knowledge. The course is a very intensive learning experience and the numerous instructors involved in the course are working assistants and specialists in their fields. The Selection Committee is now in the process of making its selection from the applications received for this year's course. The photographs on the left show George Morita esc instructing one of the earlier or perhaps even the first camera assistants course. (That was when Elvis was considering a career as a cinematographer). So far, we haven't been able to identify any of the students. If you know who any of them are or if you happen to be in the photograph, please give me a call. JH
â&#x20AC;˘
... a more recent photo from the 1988 course. PAGE 9
MARCH 1990
VOL. 9, NO. 7
ISSN 0820-3431
NEXT MEETING:
CSCAWARDS:
MONDAY MARCH 26TH
SATURDAY, APRIL 7TH
Len Gilday esc & Patrick Carey esc
Deborah Parks - first woman to receive a CSC Award- with Bob Bocking esc
Ed Defay esc presenting Janet Good with the Bill Hilson Award
Paul Sarossy & Ron Stannett esc
Robert making an impromptu presentation.
Bernie MacNeil, esc
LOOKING BACK ...
In 1973 the Roy Tash Newsfilm Award was presented to Alphee Moreau (CHCH TV cameraman and CSC member) by Prime Minister Trudeau. Mr. Moreau won this award for his fllming during the state visit of Premier AlexiKosyginofthe U.S.S.R., when on the afternoon of Monday, October 18, 1971, a man emerged from the crowds in front of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill and tried to strangle the Premier. It was only the third time that the award had been presented. The gold-plated Eyemo 35 was valued then at $2,000! (From left to right: Roy Tash, Prime Minister Trudeau, Alphee Moreau, Robert Crone) PAGE 10
The 33rd Annual Awards Evening promises to be the best yet! We've ~ad a lot of entries in all categories, including 'unique productions' which is new this year. We are celebrating the Awards at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre, April 7th, in conjunction with Vicom 90. There will be a cocktail hour from 6:30 to 7:30 with champagne courtesy of Kodak. The entree this year is salmon, followed by pears and berries in port for desert. For ticketS, please call Jennifer at 538-3155. Looking forward to seeing you there! In the past, we have judged members' work for upgrading to full membership in March. However, this year we have decided to screen films for upgrading during the summer months; that should give members enough time to prepare a demo reel. Jim Mercer, Awards Chairman
This year Vicom 90 has added the following seminars, "Directing the Camera" and "Directing the Actor". Directing the Camera
production and how the director can maintain creative control in post production if the film is being transferred to video tape. This seminar is designed for producer/directors, directors of photography, camera operators, videographers and independent producers.
Seminar No. 301 Saturday, April 7th from 8:30am- 11:30 am
Directing the Actor
Directing the camera conducted by award-winning director/cameraman, Robert Tregenza, is an infonnative and entertaining seminar which examines the creative and conceptual side of camera work. Robert will take you behind the lens to discuss and show what ¡every camera operator needs to know about film style in order to contribute to the look and coverage required by a scene. The need to understand editing; the proper selection of focal length and how it affects editing decisions in the cutting room; how camera placement in a scene determines editing styles; how depth of field is a crucial element in storytelling; and how to motivate camera movement in a scene will be included. Robert will also briefly discuss camera styles over the past 50 years to illustrate a variety of styles director and cameramen may be asked to create, and throw some illumination on natural versus expressionist lighting styles. He will also discuss post
Seminar No. 313 Saturday, April 7th from 1:00pm-4:00pm Increasingly, camera operators are called upon to become involved in directing. What you need to know to help your client if you are asked or expected to help direct in a TV commercial or corporate video is the highlight of this wide ranging seminar by award-winning director/cameraman, Robert Tregenza. You will learn about the difficulties and differences of worlcing with multiple versus single cameras; the importance of developing character motivation; how vital is it to rehearse; and how to maintain characterization when shooting out of sequence. You will also fmd out how to work with stage trained actors versus perfonners and how to determine the appropriate dramatic level within a scene. A must for all commercial camera operators, directors, videographers, and producers.
About Robert Tregenza ...
Clairmont Camera is.onthe Lot at North Shore Studios. 555 Brooksbank Avenue, Bldg 7, Suite 130 N. Vancouver, B.C. V7J3S5 â&#x20AC;˘ (604)984-4563
PAGE 11
President of the Baltimore Film Factory, has his Ph.D. from UCLA Theatre Arts/Motion Picture, 1982. He is an award-winning director/cameraman with wide-ranging production skills which have proven successful on both coasts in creative applications as diverse as feature film productions, corporate video, commercials, foreign documentaries and interactive videodisc. He has directed videotape productions for ffiM, DuPont, and Chrysler and recently he has shot 35mm spots for national and regional agencies and clients such as Nissan, and the American Cancer Society. In 1988 he directed and photographed his first 35mm feature film "Talking to Strangers" shown at theBerlinlntemationalFilm Festival, Toronto, Turin, and M ontreal Festivals.
The cost to attend either of these seminars is $65.00 (less 10% association discount), however, at the March 26th meeting, there are a number of complementary tickets to be drawn ¡(another good reason to attend the meeting). For further infonnation call (416) 660-2491 .
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This article appeared in the Association ofItalian Cinematographers' annual. The publication is a wonderful collection of photos and short articles written by AIC members. Although I have studied Italian, I must confess that the publication is a bilingual one and the translation is not mine. JH It was a great experience for me to have participated in the shooting of the film "Burro". A truly great experience, for several reasons. This film, directed by J.M. Sanchez, was mostly shot on location in Pannabilli, a channing village situated in a triangular area of land bordering on the Marches, Tuscany and Romagna. Here, the villagers, as well as being hospitable and courteous, also have a keen sense of observation. After many, many years of having worlced as a Director of Photography all over Europe, for the first time (maybe it wasn't the first time, but the last time was so far back I can't even remember) I felt I was treated like a person doing a specific job, instead of "one of those crazy film people". What I mean to say is that the villagers didn't regard us with suspicion, as if we were .some kind of travelling
freak show. In fact, it was the opposite, as when I talked to the youngsters, I found them capable of evaluating and appreciating our work, and also had the feeling they were saying thank you for how much the cinema gives people. This gave me an enonnous amount of pleasure and satisfaction! Now, I'd like to recount the episode that inspired me to write these lines. It was the last day of shooting, and we were preparing to film a night scene with a fair amount of action: lightning, rain and a lot of extras milling around! The people of the village watched the shooting with great interest, and kept us company until dawn, in spite of the cold. While we were packing up our gear and preparing to leave, and I was talking to Sanchez, an older couple approached. They wanted to say goodbye and thank us (this is the exact truth) for the pleasure our worlc and presence had given them during the period of filming. They confessed they were very sad that we were leaving. Then, the man looked at me, and said: "Christ, you have a hard job, don't yoo! I never woold have thought it!" After so many years, someone had finally understood. Thanks!
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PAGE 12
Maris Jansons works all day with the television camera. As the Director of Photography on theW ar of the Worlds TV show- soon to be shown in Canada - Maris sets up shots, camera angles, backdrops, shadowing, focussing, everything. So the guy comes home to his High Park. digs after a long day and what do yoo figure he does as a relaxing oobby? He spends long hours, working with the other kind of camera - the kind that records still life. However, there's method to this madness (and to be frank, no other word would do it justice). Jansons will be opening an exhibit of his photography, the best shots of his 10 year hobby, early in March. "A year ago, I would have said 'no' to an exhibit," he said. "Tirls," he said, gesturing at the 30-or-so beautifully-framed colour photographs, "Tirls, I was going to keep to myself. It wasn't for the public- just my friends and I." So why is he doing it now? "Ah, I was coerced by my friends," he shrugged. "But this has turned out to be just like work." He grimaced, recalling loog oours, developing his colour prints in his basement darkroom.
"It takes a lot of time- the developing and printing. Darkroom work is both interesting and boring - it's great to see the work coming out but it takes so long," he said. It's a lot different, he noted, than his day job. Flipping on a VCR, we watch scenes from War of the Worlds so Jansons can explain what a director of photography does. "It's a lot of instinctive things in the set-up (of shots)," he said, watching the monitor. "Oh, check out those two aliens," he said as two evil-looking types fill the 20-inch screen. "Two of the sweetest guys you'll ever meet," he chuckled. "Basically, I set up the backgrounds, put in the shadows, set the tone, rig cameras to whatever they have to be rigged to- planes, ceilings, floors, dolly trucks, whatever." "We shoot the whole scene in rehearsal and I check the camera angles (throughout)," he said. Jansons worked his way up to director of photography after starting as a key grip, then becoming a gaffer and a lighting director. He's worked on a large number of TV shows and movies, including Alfred
Hitchcock Presents... , Bionic Showdown, Captain Power, Quest For Fire, Anne of Green Gables, The Edison Twins, The Dead Zone and Scanners. Started Own Business After 15 years of steady paycheques, Jansons was able to start his own business, Lightsource Inc., which supplies lighting and camera equipment, usually to productions he's working on. But the Swansea Public School/ Humberside Collegiate graduate - who lives so close to his former public school, he could throw rocks and hit (but probably doesn't)- went through both psychology and journalism courses at the University of Western Ontario before latching onto film work as an interest Once he decided that was his calling, he continued his education, getting his Masters ofFine Arts at Columbia University in New York City. It's still his first love but his still photography exhibit has caught his attention for the nonce. "What I do for a living is photograph and it's nice to do what I want to do rather than what I'm paid to do," he said of the exhibit His exhibit, Slices of Time, is opening on March 4 and running 8 a.m. until6 p.m. until April at the Studios, 258 Wallace, one block north-west of Bloor and Lansdowne.
This article, reprinted with permission, originally appeared in the March edition of "The Villager".
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PAGE 13
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Did you know that Lee Colortran Inc. makes high temperature gels that last three times longer than conventional gels? How about gels that come in five foot rolls instead of four? These are just a couple of infonnative tidbits unveiled at last month's meeting. Paul Roscorla of Lee Colortran and two representatives from William F. White were present to demonstrate their wares to a receptive audience. Various polyester and resin gels and filters were passed around for the members to inspect The variety of hues and textures available are definitely too numerous to enumerate in this report. In fact a very thick book would be required to do them justice. Suffice to say that Lee has almost every conceivable colour between tobacco and coral and then some. There were also nets, stars, locons and graduated filters to bolster a cinematographer's creativity. The tire-kicking session included many penetrating questions which were ably handled by these gentlemen. Paul Roscorla was recently promoted to General Manager at Lee Colortran. Prior to his involvement with Lee, Mr. Roscorla was a freelance gaffer with the Partners Film Company. We wish him well at his new position. Bob Johnson of William F. White took over the floor and introduced the ENR series of portable dimmers. Made of engineering-grade plastic, these devices weigh 35.5 pounds and are modular in design. This means that nonfunctioning control modules or "cards" can be replaced very quickly. In addition, the ENRs are also very quiet. They emit a low frequency hum that is audible in the background, PAGE 14
but we were told that this could be filtered out in post production. These dimmers are available in 1.8 kw, 2.4 kw and 6.0 kw, single or three phase power. And yes, a flicker module or modules are available if you want to simulate firelight. Next on the agenda was the Bill Mason retrospective. Mr. Mason was a filmmaker at the NFB who passed away in October of 1988. A video compilation of his life's work, made available courtesy of Mr. Ralph Ellis, featured interviews with Mr. Mason and his friend and cinematographer Ken Buck as well as clips from his nature films. An avid canoeist and wilderness buff, Mr. Mason used his skills as a filmmaker to capture the beauty and majesty of Canada's abundant lakes and woodlands. Mr. Mason had a sense of adventure which took him through many whitewater rapids. He had an offbeat sense of humour which he demonstrated in a couple of his films. "Spirit of the Wilderness" and ''Paddle to the Sea" are just two of his sensitive, personal and memorable films. Mr. Mason was a writer as well as a filmmaker. "Song of the Paddle" ~d "Path of the Paddle" are two of his books. Bill Mason lived a full and productive life and we were privileged to have been able to share some of those moments with him through his documentaries. From here the meeting moved upstairs to Post Production Services Ltd. Mr. Gary Milgrom showed us his Sony Dl editing suite with its IBM 386 computer using AT&T software. At his disposal were two Sony Dl machines, four Betacam SP machines, a Sony BVP 7 camera and, last but not least, the Abekas Dl disk recorder. The Abekas' specialty is complex, multi-layered effects. It can record up to 400 generations
without loss of quality. By comparison, the Sony Dl recorders can only accommodate 30 generations. However, the Abekas can only recorda maximum of 50 seconds. Mr. Milgrom was quick to point out that 50 seconds is more than adequate since most commercials are only 30 seconds long and the special effects contained within the spots even less. The Abekas can also be used as a stills store. In this capacity, 50 seconds of recording time translates into 1500 frames. The facilities at Post Production Setvices Ltd. are capable of reproducing 16.7 million colours for your editing needs. Believe it or not, this is still not enough to reproduce the nuances found in nature. To worlc around this limitation, the imag,e can be softened a little to give it a more natural look. Gary Milgrom is very knowledgeable about his gear and he fielded many interesting queries. His rates are also very competitive and he is eager to setve. To him and Paul Roscorla, Bob Johnson, Gerd Kurz and to those who took time out of their busy schedules to attend this meeting, a hearty thank you from the CSC. Last, but not least, our collective appreciation should go to Robert Docking esc who has recently been organizing these informative and entertaining meetings. See you at the next one! Wang Chow, Secretary
Nadine Humenick has been vicepresident of the esc for the past few years, a job that takes time and effort She has done an excellent job over these years and has organized some interesting meetings, but feeling the pressures of time and worlc has decided to step down. Everyone in the CSC would like to thank Nadine for the worlc she has done for our organization and wish her the best in her future endeavors. I have taken over the position of vice-president and for those who don't know me, I'd like to give you a mini-bio. I have worlced in the Canadian film industry since 1974 after studying film at RyersonPolytechnical Institute. I began worlc as a camera assistant in documentary film and moved up to features and commercials. I was one of the first female cinematographers in Canada. Presently, Paul Jay and I run High Road Productions, a film production company. I shoot documentary and tape productions and operate on feature films. In 1989 I was awarded "Best Cinematography in a Documentary" by the CSC for the NFB film "For Richer for Poorer". In our meetings this year I would like to place the emphasis on our worlc as cinematographers. While we get to know each other personally, it is always difficult to keep in tooch with members' worlc. So, this year it will be a two-prong approach, keeping up with the latest innovations in technology, and screening and discussing films and videos. I am very interested in any input members have to offer. If you have a suggestion for a meeting or a film to screen, I can be reached at High Road Productions at 461-3089. '\
Joan Hutton, Vice-President
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Well, ~ello again. I'm happy to report all's well at the bank thanks to many members who have returned their dues in good time. There is still a tidy sum due from last year yet to come in, but I'm hopeful the delinquent members will see the light I've been kept on the run lately for crv, as has Jim Mercer esc and Robert Holmes. Did you read Jim's piece on Czechoslovakia in the January NL? I thought it was first class. My big trip just recently was to Cuba which was quite an experience. It took us over twelve hours to get there from Toronto, via Montreal's Mirabel airport (which reminds you of Siberia) and Cubana Airlines, to an old hotel in downtown 'Old Havana'. If you think security is tight at Canadian airports, just try Cuba's with film or video equipment. They have x-ray machines to get INTO the country and have video machines at the airport to examine any tapes being brought in. However, leaving the country at Varadero was no problem. Let me say right now, if you have to go to Havana, try to stay at either the Riviera or Havana Libre, both of which have swimming pools. They are still pretty run down but have some resemblance to civilization. The Cuban people are very friendly and you can wander around the streets at night in complete safety. When you first arrive, you notice the darkness of the streets at night, due to conservation of hydro, but this doesn't stop the people from going out. Hydro by the way is 11 Ov. There is almost nothing to buy, only the usual junk in the hotel 'tourist' shops. The cheapest thing is the rum, of course, only three or four dollars a bottle and, I might add, very good. If you go to Cuba for a holiday, Varadero will probably be your destination. It has a beautiful beach, not very
PAGE 16
crowded and cheap. Don't expect too much in the way of food or accommodation though. We didn't have any problems shooting there, even without our government rep. A couple of times we thought we we rein trouble when some policemen approached us, but it was usually to see if we were being bothered by the local kids! Surprisingly enough, it was hard to find anyone who would say anything against Fidel, on or off camera. I did manage one coup, so to speak, a couple of days before we left. At the end of a very animated evening as guests of our 'fixer', we were shown a short film produced by another dinner guest, Enrique Colina, a movie critic and film producer for Cuban TV. It was so good I asked if I could obtain a copy to show atone ofour meetings. In Cuba this was quite a deal, so after explaining there were five of these award winning shorts made for TV (and because of their content, took about a year to get them actually shown), he said he would try to get me a copy before we left Cuba. They basically deal with showing people how to improve every day living conditions and are quite amusing. Look for them at a forthcoming esc meeting. If there are any out-of-town members interested in arranging a showing,l'dbegladtosendacopyonBetamax or VHS. Maybe a good chance to get something going in Montreal or V ancouver. One last thing, if you are still a member of our Society and have NOT received an invoice for '90 dues, please let either myself or Jennifer know. It's your Society and it costs money to run! Thank you all. Your Treasurer, Duncan MacFarlane, esc
You thought you were finally rid of me, right? Sorry to disappoint you but I'm still very much alive and kicking. It took me a while to get this far, what I mean is that my computer is up and running and I can again bore you with my prose. I find that you really don't need me at all as the Newsletter runs very well and smoothly without me. It looks even more professional now and I was particularly impressed by the quality of the January issue. Ron Orieux esc was captured brilliantly by Wang Chow; his observations on the lot of a cameraman are totally apt and erudite. But the article by Jim Mercer esc was truly astounding! I wish I had written that piece. Every word rang so true! Especially when he writes: "I cannot think of any individuals who influence the world more, on a per person basis, than the newsreel cameramen; and no instrument of change more effective than a hand held camera." Jim knows whereof he speaks. One of these days you should persuade him to tell you about the time that he was stoned in Gaza while trying to give some young Arabs a chance to state their views and was then kicked even more painfully when he tried to afford the same opportunity to their opponents! That was the time when newsdirectors started to invent the mediapull: you know you'll have a nice 30 second clip for the 11 o'clock news when you tum on the camera lights on an otherwise donnant crowd. Jim was there. Jim was also there when the CBC started to invent the provocative interview style for "This Hour Has Seven Days" by turning on the camera, banging on some subject's door and asking the unhappy occupant when he stopped beating his wife.
At one point I myself found out how much influence the newscameraman has. I had gone with Sue Dexter (director}, Stuart French (sound) and Kingsley Brown (interviewer) to Bangladesh to cover their fight for independence for CfV's W5. It ended up a one hour special and was shown twice in prime time. It was all rather grim. Well, you know when a Sunday night audience of say 1.5 million viewers switches off, maybe a few thousand will have a sleepless night because of what they've seen, maybe 5000 will contribute blankets or socks to the nearby Red Cross, and maybe 700 or so will make significant donations. But after this program aired, four MD's and eight nurses quite their safe jobs in Canada to do a stint in Bangladesh! So I ask you, you may be a teacher for twenty years and influence a dozen people, but how likely is that you could convince twelve people to give up a chunk of their lives to help others, just by showing them a film you shot? It was highly satisfying. It was a lesson I never forgot Jim showed us very clearly the immense influence that the newscameramen have had on the progression of history. The Vietnam War became unthinkable after the daily rations ofblood and gore on the six o'clock news, but as it took a day or so for the film to reach the TV station it still was remote enough to allow the war to last as long as it did. The modern TV camera and the handicam have indeed shortened the process of liberation in Eastern Europe. For instance, it moved the Dutch to collect close to an astonishing $10 million for Romania within a week! Jim, please write more!
PAGE 17
On European television ... I found that I'm not watching as much television as I did in Canada as the choices are limited. We have 19 channels, but I don't speak much German, French or Italian, so I'm usually watching only the four Dutch language, two Belgian (with a hard to understand Dutch dialect called Vlaams or Flemish}, and two BBC, one SuperChannel and then CNN. The unfortunate thing is that we are generally two years behind in North American programming. For example, "Murphy Brown" just started and "LA Law" will soon follow. Movies for TV are 1987 and earlier. Even the Moviechannel is way behind HBO and First Choice. I could receive ABC, CBS or NBC with a huge satellite dish (if I was rich). I had thoughts of saving for one as I find it hard to wean myself from my favourite Soap "All My Children", until I discovered that the AFN (American Forces Network) can be had with a small, cheap 60 centimeter dish, so I might settle for that! In the meantime, I rely on the kindness of a Toronto friend to send me a tape now and then as the multisystem VCR that the CSC bestowed upon my departure, works beautifully here, even on a nonnal PAL receiver. Thank you all once more. Otherwise, all I have to do is stay here for two years and everything will be new for me again. As you know, we use the PAL system and it is indeed much better in quality than NTSC, much finer, even small print is easy to read, no artifacts
(those fringes on the edge), but because of the 50 hz frequency, it is often nearly unbearable to look at for the flicker which is very pronounced on light scenes. This spoils it for me, so instead of buying an expensive set I settled for a small one, waiting for the 100hz models to become a bit cheaper. I've seen them on display and the quality is simply astounding, but at around $3,800, it's a bit rich for me. There is less interest for HDTV here as experts claim that for the normal viewing distances and given screen sizes there is little difference between 100 hzTV and HDTV. I've seen HDTV in Toronto and I beg to differ; there is obviously a large difference when compared with NfSC, less with PAL and again less with 100hz PAL. I've decided not to buy HDTV, as it is impossible to conceive of everyone in the world agreeing on a single system. There is however great interest in using HDTV for originating film negative as postproduction and effects are very cost effective. But the Europeans are not going to settle for the Japanese/USA HDTV system: they are inventing their own. And furthermore, they have some very new ideas on picture propagation at Philips. In future letters from Amsterdam, I hope to be able to comment on these developments as I have a friend in their R&D department in Eindhoven.
Kirk Tougas (Associate) is a Camera assistant Lisa Pilcher cinematographer and lighting director (Affiliate) recently joined the Society. based in Vancouver. In 1989 he shot · Lisa has worked as camera assistant/ "Dangerous Alliances: The Bedaux Story" camera trainee on various projects with a 16mm feature documentary with George other CSC members including Paul SaUngar (producer/director) on location in rossy aqd Keith Hlady. She took the France, England and Canada. In the Panavision Camera Course in 1989. Lisa same year he also shot a number of can be reached in Toronto at (416) 482documentaries including "Manufactur- 1835. ing Consent", "Parole", and one still in If you're interested in joining the progress for Greenpeace. Society call (416) 538-3155. In 1987 he shot "A Rustling of Leaves: Inside the Philippine Revolution" a 16mm documentary (110 minutes) with director Nettie Wild for Channel Four, London. Theyshotonlocation in Manila, Negros and Mindanao, Philippines. It was nominated Best Documentaryin 1989bytheAcademyofCanadian Cinema. Kirk can be reached in Vancouver at (604) 736-4861.
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The Newsletter deadline is fast approaching and I'm trying to juggle my time between occasional work, wedding plans and moving! Just bought my first house. The move itself was not a bad experience, but it's the unpacking that's sending me in circles. I must say, it is worth the drive to Keswick, especially with the price of homes in Toronto. Therefore, this month's column is sparse or next to nothing! Oh yes, I have a toll free page 1-416-5537356 so call and leave a message. It doesn't cost you anything! Well,yes it costs you ten seconds of your time! Friday's Curse and War of the Worlds have wrapped. There seems to be only a few lines of production rumours on the chalk boards. A couple features and series to start up in May and June. David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch" to shoot in Toronto in July. The camera assistants course will be starting in April, just in time for the new CSC members to check out the Awards night. John Holosko will be teaching the course this year and John Lindsay will assist him. The course has been expanded to include lab tours, post production facility tours and greater emphasis on Betacam. Nothing has been taken away from the course, in fact, additional technical data has been added. It's going to be a very intense nine days! Ted Hackborn, ENG/EFP cameraman at CBC is shooting Toronto After Hours with Alex Amini and David Bronstein. It is a weekly entertainment magazine show highlighting restaurants, bars, music groups, art galleries, theatres, etc .... doesn't sound like work! Jim Aquila esc just finished an inhouse for Canadian Tire. He recently worked on, Laura Sky's "Crying for Happiness" which was shot half on tape and half on film (Beta and 16mm): The tape was then transferred to fllm and the project was fmished on fllm! Ron Stannett esc just finished directing and shooting the Rita MacNeil Christmas Special for CTV Network. This was shot and crewed in the Maritimes. David Perkins assisted Ron on this show. Ron recently directed and shot two GMC truck commercials "western style" in Medicine Hat. Last I heard, he was off to Vancouver to shoot a spot for Marks Work Wearhouse in Vancouver and Chris Harris was to assist him. · I haven't confirmed this yet, but rumour has it that Michael Storey is shooting six weeks of "The Return of Wojeck". James Crowe is currently in Peru shooting a story on drugs ... but more on that in the next issue. I called David Niven recently to see how things were going. Apparently his wife, Janice, was going into labour (I guess my timing was a little off!). Hours later, David and Janice had a baby girl, Allison MacKenzie Niven (9 pounds plus!). How about one of those hospital shots for the next issue? Until then, Lori Longstaff
MEDAWON FilM AND VIDEO lABORATORIES 19 Mercer Street, Toronto, Canada MSV 1H2 Telephone: (416) 977-0019 Fax: (416) 977-7669
PAGE 19
THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
NEWSLETTER VOLUME 9
NUMBER 7
MARCH1990
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
CSCMEETING An Evening with Director/Cameraman
DEREK VAN LINT, BSC CSC Derek will show his demo-reel and discuss being a commercial DOP. Location: 55 Sudbury Street, Toronto (Tel: 588-4003)
March 26th at 7:30 pm
ISSN 082o-3431
Editor in chief: Robert Hocking, esc Editor: Jennifer Hietala Editorial Office and esc Office 72 Fraser Avenue, Suite 203 Toronto, Ontario M6K 3E1 Tel (416) 538-3155 Fax (416) 538-8821
esc Executive President: Robert Hocking esc Vice-President: Joan Hutton Secretary: Wang Chow Treasurer: Duncan MacFarlane esc Membership Chairman: Jim Mercer esc Public Relations: Lori Longstaff, Kenneth Post esc Education: John Holosko Awards Chairman: Jim Mercer esc Membership inquiries: (416) 538-3155 The Newsletter is printed in Toronto and is published ten times a year. Subscriptions are available for $75.00 per year in Canada and $95.00 outside the country.
CSC AWARDS EVENING
Join us in celebrating the 33rd Annual Awards at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre!
Contents Profile on Nicholas Allen-Woolfecsc .... 3 Camera Course ... 9
esc Saturday, April 7th at 6:30 pm
Tickets$ 55
Awards ... 10
Vicom 90 ... 11 Un Giusto Reconoscimento ... 12 West End Cinematographer Turns Off TV Camera for Still-Life Photo Display .. 13 Executive Reports ... 14 Letter from Amsterdam ... 17
TO ORDER TICKETS CALL (416) 538-3155
New Members ... 18 Carrottop Comer ..... 19
BULLETIN BOARD UPCOMING EVENTS March 4th - April: Slices of Time, Exhibit of Maris.Jansons' Photographs, 258 Wallace Avenue March 26th: CSC Meeting - An evening with Derek van Lint BSC, CSC at 55 Sudbury Street, 7:30pm April: Camera Assistants Course {Toronto) April 5-8th: Vicom 90. Metropolitan Toronto Convention Centre April 7th: CSC Awards, Metropolitan Convention Centre {Toronto). For tickets call538-3155. April 27th to 29th: 1990 SMPTE Regional Mini-Conference - Visions 90 will be held at Sheraton Centre in Toronto and will explore technologies that will affect film and television in the next decade.
EXCLUSIVE! For CSC members only! Personal Luggage Tags Send business cards (enough for the number of tags that you would like) or print out you name and address as you would like it to appear on the tag. Tags at $1.25 each plus postage and handling (1-5 tags=$2.00, 5-10 tags=$4.00). Please make cheque payable to the CSC, P.O. Box 421, Unionville, Ontario L3R 5V1
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CANADIAN SOCIETY
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FOR SALE Angenieux 10-150 with chrosziel fluid zoom Angenieux 9.5-57 with chrosziel fluid zoom 12' movie screen. Call Philip Earnshaw 1-416-536-5241 Arriflex lib with hard front, variable motor. Best offer. For further information call Marty Gross at 1-416-536-3355. Arri S 16mm with time lapse accessories, Zeiss 10-1 zoom, 400ft. mag. Hycam K1004E Hispeed Best offer. Call Michael Pankow at 1-613-836-3003. A small number of 16mm sound and 16mm silent Bell & Howell projectors. Prefer to sell as one lot. Call1-416-782-5366 or 782-4172. Just as an aside, Bell & Howell stopped making 16mm projectors last year.
Film cameras: Eclair NPR, L W16 (ideal for documentaries, colleges and universities; 5 mags, one is a 1200 ft. mag). Complete with lenses. Video cameras: lkegami HL83 (9.5-133 Fujinon lens; complete kit with all accessories and shipping case); Sony 330A BVP (9108 Fujinon, complete); BVU-50 3/4" (complete with kangaroo cover, in excellent condition, very low hours) Plus other miscellaneous items. For further information call James Grattan esc at 1-514-932-1463. Aaton 7LTR 16mm motion picture camera, excellent condition with two 400ft. magazines, 3 batteries, charger, handgrip, universal viewfinder with super 16mm capability, case and filters; Angenieux 9.5-57mm zoom; Angenieux 12-120mm zoom. Asking $23,500. Also for sale, Sacbtler tripod, steel legs, 7+ 7 fluid head, case, as new $3,500. Would consider trading above Aaaton package for Arri III package. Contact Jonathon Kay at 1-604-731-6620 or 1-604-731-6684 (fax). WANTED Set of used Zeiss Hi Speed Primes. Call Phil at416-536-5241 Zoom lens for Arri BL 16, Angenieux 10-150 or Zeiss 10-100 or comparable quality lens. 16/35 flatbed (6 plate) Open face light kit Microphones (Sheopes or Neumann) If you have any of the above items to sell, please call Greg at the L.I.F.T. office at 1-416-596-8233.
PROFILE ON: NICHOLAS ALLEN-WOOLFE esc
Photo courtesy of the Directors Film Company.
Life has been good to Nicholas AllenWoolfe, esc. Having arrived in Canada in 1967 from his native England with the intention of staying just long enough to put together a demo-reel, he is still here 23 years later. After successfully carving a niche in the Canadian film industry, life became, to quote Nicholas, "one huge holiday". However, the road to the top wasn't always smooth. His first job in Canada with CFfO TV got off to a bad start when he was hired and then fired within a few weeks. Since shooting TV current affairs wasn't his cup of tea, the dismissal was no great loss. In fact, this unfortunate incident steered Nicholas toward commercials, a sector of the film industry in which he is presently very successful. Having said that, a word of caution is appropriate here. Success doesn't mean easy. The life of a cameraman, even one who has made it, is often very difficult.
Back in the summer of 1988, Toronto was sweltering under the worst heatwaveinmany years. As the mercury was reaching the upper limit of the thermometers, overworked air conditioners broke down by the thousands. Underthis thick blanket of sticky and stifling heat, Nicholas found himself in the midst of shooting a pool of three commercials for Chrysler. Their primary location, Magder Studios, was totally lacking any type of air conditioning. Wearing the smallest tshirts and shorts, the crew emerged from the day's shoot looking like shipwrecked sailorS. The shoot was a breeze, but the suffocating heat is something that everyone still talks about. The "Chrysler Landscape" commercials went on to win the Playback Magazine and CSC awards for best cinematography in a commercial in 1988 and 1989 respectively. PAGE 3
The objective of these commercials was to show how the new series of stylish Chrysler cars were changing the . look of the landscape. Director Gillean Proctor of The Directors' Film Company in Toronto had already established the idea of shooting the spot in a pre-dawn setting when he met with Nicholas to discuss the technical aspects. Nicholas recalled how the details were worked out. "We had lunch and he outlined the ideas to me. Those ideas were very much what you see in the commercials dramatic, moody and pre-dawn. My concern at that time was whether to shoot it at dawn to create the look or to shoot it in the studio. The challenge was to achieve this look and at the same time maintain control without going into days and days of shooting. We ended up shooting in the studio because we wanted control of the lighting."