APRIL 1990
VOL. 9, NO. 8
ISSN 0820-3431
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING: SATURDAY, MAY 12TH, 1990
THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
NEWSLETTER VOLUME 9
NUMBElt 8
APRIL1990
TORONTO,ONTARIO,CANADA
ISSN 0820-3431
Editor in chief: Robert Docking, esc Editor: Jennifer Hietala
Dear Members,
March and April are usually busy months for the Society and this year was no exception, particularly with the Awards and the Camera Course. Both, I would like to report were a success! Jim Mercer esc our awards chairman, is taking a much deserved break at the moment. Jim is ¡ a very organized person and let's face it, that's what it takes to "chair" such an event. I was pleased to see Ed Defay esc at the awards, particularly since Ed has been so involved with the awards over the years. It was also good to see out of town members such as Curtis Petersen from Vancouver and newscameramen Kevin MacDonald from ASN Halifax and Alan Watson from CFRN Edmonton. John Holosko certainly put his heart and "sole" into the camera course this year and the students I've spoken to have had wonderful things to say about the course. Hope you enjoy this issue. Wang Chow has written a most interesting article on Derek Vanlint and James Crowe upon returning from far away places has written about his experiences in "Out of Control". Just a reminder that screenings for upgrading to full membership will take place in June or July (when Jim Mercer surfaces again}; more on that in the next newsletter. Also, it's time to start thinking about the next directory, but that too will have to wait for the next issue.
Editorial Office and CSC Office 72 Fraser Avenue, Suite 203 Toronto, Ontario M6K 3E1 Tel (416) 538-3155 Fax (416) 538-8821
esc Executive President: Robert Docking 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.
Contents
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING SATURDAY MAY 121H, 1990 THE LAKESHORE INN 2000 LAKESHORE BLVD. WEST (AT WINDERMERE) The meeting will start at 9:30am. Lunch will be seiVed at 1:00pm.
Profile on Derek Vanlint bsc, esc .... 3
esc Awards ... 11 "Out of Control" ... on location in Thailand and Peru with James Crowe ... 15 Secretary's Report ... 19 Out of the Blue ... 20 Letter from Amsterdam ... 21 Carrottop Comer ..... 22
LESS IS MORE ••.
A PROFILE ON DEREK VANLINT, BSC, CSC
Labatt's Blue Light commercial registered 7.5 on the Richter scale; bowled over a capacity crowd and ready knockedout observer! The above statement reads like a newspaper headline; but is it fact or fantasy? The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Imagine a bone-chilling blizzard, an avalanche of snow and ice crashing into frigid waters causing tremendous explosioos; polar bears scrambling for cover; bottles of ice-cold beer thrust out of the dark watery depths, bursting through pack ice. This hardhitting, gutsy television commercial is the work of one of this country's top commercial houses- Derek Van Lint and Associates. DVLA works out of a renovated red brick building tucked in an industrial pocket of west end Toronto. The art deco interior with its collection of antiques is contrasted by the firm's youthful staff. The man who heads the company, Derek V anlint, is soft-spoken with a dry, biting sense of humour. Born in the east end of London (England) to clerical parents, Vanlint worked his way up in the film business like many before him. Of his humble beginning, which he shared with Playback Magazine last December, he CSCNEWS
wrote: "IwasaPAinchargeoftea,toast and dripping; but primarily my role was to call the cameraman 'sir', elevating him to a status of respect that his ability would never achieve.'' During his youth, it was his intention to study architecture. He was, however, thrown out of school, perhaps for being ''a little too streetwise' '. His interest in still photography turned this otherwise unhappy event around and his career began. Over the next few years young Vanlint worked in a developing and printing company, apprenticed as a photographer's assistant, shot weddings and portraits on weekends and even managed a recording studio. Conscription into the army gave him the opportunity to serve as a photographer. The turning point in Vanlint 's life came when he saw a black and white film photographed by Bill Butler Sr. The title of this European film can be loosely translated as "The small town mayor's daughter.'' It was the first time in Vanlint's life that he saw cinematography as an art form . He returned to see the film several times; not for the entertainment value but to study the filmic techniques. 3
In the flickering shadows ofButler's film · the young man found his true calling. Impressed and inspired, young Vanlint decided to make a concerted effort to break into the motion picture business. He took a job as a PA for one third of his normal salary. Vanlint describes one of his early experiences on the set: ''Me, being of an age that st:xual content influenced my movie-going more than star appeal or a director's stamp, didn't realize that the lady in the bath was going to be: one, the most overdressed lady on the set; and two, was possibly the oldest person on the stage, if not in the entire studio complex. Needless to say, I never saw the star again without thinking of her wig, nylon eyelashes or false teeth.'' Disenchanted but not disheartened, V anlint soldiered on to become a clapper/loader, camera operator, DP and finally director/cameraman. There were set backs, however. In 1961, while he was operating he became so disillusioned with his DP that he quit and left the business. Instead of shooting a feature with Cary Grant in Spain, he opened a photo studio. Soon afterwards he was offered a job to light a commercial. Using
Photos courtesy of DVLA/Young & Rubicam
still photography techniques, the commercial turned out to be a huge success and the phone began to ring off the hook in his studio. Tirls was an auspicious time for V anlint and other English cinematographers because the commercial production industry was coming into its own and producers were looking for new talent. Secondly, the movement ''Lumiere Anglaise'' or English Light was in vogue and English cameramen were in demand. According to Vanlint, '.'Lumiere Anglaise'' described an overall look that was fresh and innovative. Cinematographers dropped their Kodak rule books and became less governed by their exposure meters. They experimented and pushed back the limits of cinematography. Cameramen weren't afraid to let windows bum out; they applied techniques that suited the subject rather than imposing a predetermined style or formula. More attention was given to propping and set design. People were more conscious of graphics and form . As subjects, real people were "in" while models and stereotypes were ''out''. As a result, skilled English cameramen were sought after by foreign producers during the 1960s and 1970s and their talents were exploited throughout the world. Riding on the wave of this "British invasion" Vanlint travelled to
many exotic and not so exotic places. He landed in Canada in the early 1980s and as it turned out, it became his final destination. The harmonious multicultural and racial mosaic impressed him to such an extent that he took residence and became a Canadian. As a director/cameraman, the professional freedom given him by clients in Canada was also a deciding factor. He
"Everything was controllable but I would be lying if I said it was easy."
explains: "Prior to the Christmas of 1987,60 to 80% of my work was either in America or for Americans. At the moment, only 5% is American- it's a choice I've made. I formed a company of my own at the end of 1988 with the intention of getting my profile back in Canada. What happens when you do most of your work for Americans is that if you go toNew York, the storyboard is carved in stone. At the rushes stage, they take it away from you. So what you see at the rushes and what you see as a commercial are two entirely different things. In Canada, they give you a much more open storyboard. They allow and 4
expect you to interpret. The one who does it best at the right price would usually get the board. I can't remember a commercial where I wasn't allowed to cut with my own editor.'' As a self-confessed romantic, V anlint has a preference for soft, impressionistic lighting such as that used in the "Kelloggs Raisin Bran" and "After Eight" commercials. The dreamy "After Eight'' spot opens with a breeze blowing through an open window, lifting a pair of ethereal origami figures in the air. The airborne paper figures waltz around a candlelit room in slow motion, superimposed and synchronized to the graceful steps of a dancing couple in period costume reminiscent of the 1920s. The origami figures flow in and out of frame; dancing in and out of the shadows as if alternating between reality and fantasy. The spot ends with the dancing figures returning to their original resting place on a silver tray in front of a box of After Eight mints. V anlint fondly recalls the fun and challenge of shooting this commercial. The idea began when art director Jim Brown of Ogilvy and Mather showed him a book of antique photographs. From these pictures Vanlint developed the storyboard. "I used beamsplitting techniques with angular, semisilvered mirrors. The first mirror was 45 APRIL1990
degrees to the lens and I have an another mirror and I have a background behind that. Quite often I was filming three subjects at the same time.'' The origami figures were animated by a string, which was later electronically removed in editing. To create the appropriate mood, Vanlint emphasized the interplay of light and shadow with contrasty lighting. Long dissolves and multiple layering (up to nine passes in some scenes) introduced in post production completed the illusion. While the ''After Eight'' spot is soft and romantic, the "Labatt's Blue Light" commercial is hard-hitting and vigorous. The impact is even greater when one realizes that most scenes were fabricated in the studio. Vanlintexplains: "Theopening shot of that commercial looks like a perfectly genuine avalanche but it is actually a 12by 14footsetmadeofsaltand styrofoam. The icicles were made of dried out, poured plexiglas. Spatial depth was created with pieces of styrofoam placed in the foreground. All the pieces were precut with pull-outs so everything would collapse in the right order wren it came tumbling down Large pieces of plexiglas were fastened onto rods and jacks which were 'moved by pulling levers and pushing buttons. In front of the set piece was a 6 by 4 foot water tank filled with 6'' of water, out of which bottles of beer emerged. Circular jacks carefully rigged and hidden under the tank were used to raise these bottles out of the water. The explosions were simulated by water cannons that fired on cue. Everything was controllable but I would be lying if I said it was easy.'' According to Vanlint, approximately half of his commercials use special effects. Some effects are done in the studio while others are created in post Vanlint edited on film until 1987. Nowadays unless he is editing for the cinema, he wouldn't go back to celluloid. The progress that has been made in post production effects over the last few years is truly amazing. For example, one can CSCNEWS
"Nintendo" set at Trinity Studios in Toronto, August 1989
speed up the tape (transferred from film), reverse or slip it, ADO it etc. Like many things in life, special effects have evolved out of necessity. He elaborates: ''A lot of visual effects are forced on us because the budgets won't allow us to go to Italy or other locations so we have to do models, cross matte paintings and others. The paint box is very useful because if you painted a 5
matte for 10 o'clock sunshine and there was no sunshine at that time, then it didn't fit into your set piece. With paint box you can do a lot of post production mattes that are tailor made for the film you've shot.'' Post production effects have become so sophisticated that it is often difficult to tell what was "done on the floor'' orin editing. Vanlint talked about
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the pros and cons of physical effects spectacular effect will not wmx without versus electronic/video effects. "No- good lighting. Regarding this important body will let you blow up the Taj Mahal. facet of filmmaking, Vanlint believes But if you can blow up the cabin without that less is more. killing anyone, then that's the way to go Producers tend to like shots that because yoo will koow exactly what yoo've are bright and glossy and often a DP has got. The client can see exactly what you to light to please them. There are times see in the viewfinder. It's a big help. If when the script dictates a particular treatI'm turning the camera at 120 or 250 ment, as described in the following exframes, I liave ample. Ten days playback facilities into "Alien", Vanthat allow you to lint was nearly fired In commercials you can see the shot at that by 20th Centwy Fox make every shot to look speed Therefore, because the film, to like "Rembrandt" and you can see how quote V anlint, was continuity can be violated. long it takes the "so dark" that the car to fly through studio executives the air. Or, in couldn't see the acanother example, you can playback and tors. When he was confronted by this see how well-defined the splash is from a . quandary, Vanlint had two thoughts. drop of liquid. Firstly, if he wanted the scenes brightly " Most physical things are better lit, he would have used more lights. done on the floor. There are certain Secondly, it was preferable to be fired by things that will work better with models Fox than a company he respected. When or judicial cutting. Visual things such as the dust settled, V anlint stayed on to putting a building in a scene is better complete "Alien''. Vanlint also shot done in post because you don't know "Dragonslayer" in 1981. what the weather is going to be or what Vanlint believes that cinematogtime of day you'll be shooting.'' raphers, particularly the less experienced, Given the magic and wizardry tend to use too many lights. They often available to filmmakers, even the most end up with two or three nose shadows or 6
APRIL1990
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Derek lining up a shot for a toothpaste commerical •
multiple shadows on a wall when there is continuity can be violated. In a feature only one window in the shot. He cited where a story has to be told, continuity Gordon Willis' film ''Interiors'' where becomes very important because its absome scenes were beautifully lit with sence can confuse the audience. Bad only one or two lamps. continuity also draws the audience's atVanlint discovered the virtue of tention to the fact that they are watching simplicity quite early in his career. ''A celluloid instead of getting lost in the lot of my early experience was in small story. As the cinematographer, you are studios. The first trying to tie the story together time I ever walked on to a stage was with lighting. "As the DP, you should There should for a commercial always know where the light always be a for a large store in is coming from ••. once England. The set source of light you've decided on the was from wall to whether you can wall with 120 exsource, you should be as true see the source or tras. When I not. Perhaps to it as you possibly can." looked at it my first your set didn't reaction was that have a window because of budgtrere was eitrer IXt enough electricity or lights in the studio etary considerations or you needed more to light the large set. Then I realized that room to work. You have to create the I don't have to light everything; people window so that people will think, when do walk through shadows and there is they look at the shot, that there is a winvariation. In fact, it is very boring if you dow in the room and that's where the put a lot of light on it because you would light is coming from. As the DP, you flatten it all out. Ifyou do this, you would should always know where the light is in effect, kill the work of the production coming from, whetherit's an open door, designer, art director and set dresser. a window or a lamp. Once you've de"In commercials you can make cided on the source, you should be as true every shottolooklike ''Rembrandt'' and to it as you possibly can." CSCNEWS
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From director of photography, Derek Vanlint made the transition into directing out of frustration and the desire to control his own images. For Derek, there are two types of directors, "Those who don't need me and those who don't deserve me. When you are working with a director and he sees your first day's rushes, you hope that he either loves it or hates it and is never indifferent about it If he feels indifferent, then he is indifferent about the cinema per se, all he worries about is telling the story; the spoken word. If he has an opinion, he's going to express it on the first day. He might say that it is not what he's after and you should be more gutsy or get it darker in certain areas or lighter etc. These are normally resolved before you go on the floor. He should have seen material that you've done and he in turn would have shown you materials that he would like to see in his movie. Once you've done something he likes, he gains confidence in you and he gives you more freedom. If you give him something he doesn't like, he becomes suspicious of you. Ifhe'sin the position to do it, he'll fire you. The thing is that he usually doesn't have the budget to do all the things in the film he has shown you. People often pick up a ''Blade Runner'' or something and say, "that's what I want'' and you find out that he has $40,000 to do it. It doesn't quite work. You can go for the idea of it but not the immensity." On set, where Vanlint is director/cameraman, there exists an air of civility. Considerably olc;ler than most of his crew, he is the elder statesman, a father figure but not paternalistic. He is respectful and polite with his crew. In return, his crew exhibits a sense of loyalty and caring that is admirable. Most of the crew members address him as ''sir'' with sincere deference. Vanlint's requests are carried out quickly and efficiently. In one set up where the camera was lowered to an awkward position, without being asked, an apple box was brought in immediately for Vanlint. 8
After more than four decades in the business, Derek Vanlint has developed a great deal of patience. In a recent Aqua-fresh commercial where a shot required a hand to come in at a precise moment to knock over a box of toothpaste to create a domino effect. When the hand came in too early, he simply requested, ''just a touch later'', holding his hand up to show the small space between two fingers. Another take passes through the gate, ''There was a bit of hesitation''. Another take followed. Again, the shot was not up to par. Without any outward sign ofimpatience, Vanlint said' 'I'll cue you, love." Shortly thereafter, a good take was in the can. Although the production was a couple of shots behind schedule when the crew broke for lunch, Vanlint did not appear concerned. Patience, talent, hard work and above all, an indestructable constitution are all necessary attributes for survival in the extremely competitive world of commerciil production. Vanlint offers these observations: "(when you are bidding for a commercial) you have a meeting and you get on the same wavelength with the client. Then you come back and you do a quote; how much is it going to cost? You know that you are quoting against two other companies - that keeps you honest Unfortunately, there is no loyalty like our loyalty to technicians. If we have a grip who is more expensive than others but he's going to save you hours on the floor, you kind of go for him because of what he does. "On the other hand, you do a great job for an agency and the next board comes along and you are $20,000 more expensive than someone else, the client more often than not chooses the one that's cheaper. The client pays and it's his choice. We've lost two quotes quite recently. On one of these jobs we quoted five days and the client asked if we can do it in four. They really wanted us, but someone else had quoted four days. I replied that I will quote you for four days but there'll have to be a fifth day contingency. It's not the amount of shots that APRIL1990
The images in the Che.vrolet Cavalier commercial evoke the look of "The French Lieutenant's Woman". Photos courtesy of DVLA & McLaren:Lintas.
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I want, but the fact that I want certain weather conditions in order to get the look we've talked about at the meeting. I felt four days was very risky. I was being honest. Sometimes you have to make a conscious decision: will you do it for the price, will you do it within that time frame? Will you compromise yourself and the job? I had to say no. It's heartbreaking because it's a job I would love to have done.'' With high interest rates and a weak economy hanging over Canada like a dark cloud, nervous and hard-pressed advertisers are slashing their advertising budgets and resorting to ''hard sell''. To exacerbate the situation, the almost universally hated goods and services tax, ready to take effect in a few months, may well push the struggling commercial production industry into total collapse. Vanlint says: ''We have to support an industry that can grow. One of the things that keeps us going is the fact that Americans come up here. They started coming up because our dollar was so much cheaper. Our industry has grown; we now have a lot more stages, camera equipment and facilities than eight years ago when I first came. Now I see the whole thing about to go down the toilet because of the new tax. It will make us less competitive. In fact, it will swing the other way. There are film indusUies in Florida, Texas and the Carolinas - they are far more competitive than L.A., New York or Chicago and the work can end up going there. It's financial considerations that push people to new areas. The work usually goes to an area that already has an industry because it would be too expensive to bring everybody in. With the new tax the commercials won't come here anymore. It's a shame." In 1985 V anlint joined producer Roseanne McWaters and fonned the partnership McWaters Vanlint and Associates. Two years later the partnership dissolved. Derek Van Lint and Associates was then fonned with the Partners Film Company as co-owner.
In the summer of 1989, Vanlint severed his ties with Partners when it was purchased by SuperCorp. ThefirstyearthatDVLAopened its door for business, the fledgling company pulled in 53 shooting days. Last year, that increased to 135 days, nearly tripling the previous year's volume, ranking DVLA as the 8th busiest commercial production house in Canada. DVLA's commercials are as diverse as his client list, which includes such household names as Kelloggs, Labatts, Visa, Chevrolet, Wardair, Certs and others. Derek Vanlint' s demo reel not only reveals an enviable standard of craftsmanship, it is also a revelation of his ability in handling dialogue, special effects and studio work. The ''Chevrolet Cavalier'' spot where the mysterious woman runs over the rocky shoreline ofPeggy's Cover is haunting and surrealistic. Romantic and fanciful are apt descriptions of the ''After Eight" commercial whereas "Edelwein" is subtly elegant and lyrical. The effective "Chevrolet Lumina van" spot where a powerful gust of wind bends a tree to conform to the sleek contour of the vehicle is brilliant in its simplicity. Vanlint's commercials are the result of a perfect marriage between imagination and reality. The variety of shooting he does makes it very difficult to put a specific label on him. An attempt to define his style is like trying to catch a ray of sunshine. It's impossible. Nevertheless, Derek Vanlint seems to have the uncanny ability of making the impossible, possible.
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The Society celebrated its 33rd Annual Awards on Saturday, April 7th at the Metropolitan Toronto Convention Center. The evening was a tremendous success, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and many dedicated members. Guests were welcomed with a champagne reception courtesy of Kodak Canada, while close-up magician Rudy Hunter performed his magic . The chef at the Convention Centre prepared a wonderful meal starting with Chicken Consomme Celestine followed by Filet of Cohoe Salmon en Feuilletee with Homardine Sauce, and Canadian Wild Rice, followed by Pears and Berries in Port. Wine flowed freely throughout dinner with thanks to Film House. On the subject of libations, I must mention the raffle this year of five, no less, bottles of champagne, chosen by our treasurer, Duncan MacFarlane esc. With guests in a spirited mood, we moved into the adjoining room for the presentation of the awards. Jim Mercer esc produced the show reel for the awards with the help of The Image Group who provided the on line tape edit
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Congratulations to the nominees and the winners and here they are! Best Industrial: Jim Aquila, Michael Koszyca esc, Rob McLachlan esc Best Unique: Rene Ohashi esc, Curtis Petersen, John Stoneman esc Best Student Film: John Freeman (Concordia), Chris Enever (Humber) Best TV Drama: Brian Hebb esc, Maris Jansons, Ron Stannett esc Roy Tash Award: Keith Hanley (CFfO), Geoff Stickle (CITV), Alan Watson (CFRN) Stan Clinton Award: Kevin MacDonald (ASN), Darrell Patton (CKVU), · Jerry Vienneau (Global), Peter Warren (CJOH) Best Documentary: Philip Earnshaw esc/Andrew Binnington, Rob McLachlan esc, Kirk Tougas Best Commercial: Nicholas Allen-Woolfe esc, Peter Hartmann esc Best Theatrical Feature: Rene Ohashi esc, Curtis Petersen, Vic Sarin esc, Paul Sarossy Fuji generously supplied the coffee and liqueurs after the presentation with dancing to the music of Triple Treat courtesy of Rosco. Thanks to our photographer John Narvali for doing a superb job!
Again, a very special thank you to our sponsors for making the evening so enjoyable. See you again next year! 11
Jim Aquila receiving award for Best Industrial from President Bob Bocklng esc
Sheila Fust from Mako Films accepted award on behalf of John stoneman esc for Best Unique Production presented by Stan Ford.
BEST INDUSTRIAL CINEMATOGRAPHY Jim Aquila "Friends for Life" Communique Michael Koszyca esc "Security Awareness" Ontario Hydro Rob Mclachlan esc "Not Another Safety Film" Omni Film Productions Ltd . BEST UNIQUE CINEMATOGRAPHY John Stoneman esc "Oosls In the Sea" Mako Films Rene Ohashi esc "I Can't Take It Anymore-Billy Newton Davis" Vast Productions Curtis Petersen "SkiDoo 1990" Petersen Productions Inc. The BIU HILSON AWARD was presented to Gerd Kurz by last year's recipient, Miklos Lente esc
BEST STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY Chris Enever "Evening Rain" Humber College John Freeman "Ressac· Concordia University John Freeman "Roaches" Concordia University BEST TV DRAMA CINEMATOGRAPHY Brian Hebb esc "Murder by Night" Norstar/Simcom-Universal Marls Jansons War of the Worlds "Loving the Allen" Triumph Entertainment Ron Stannett esc The Hitchhiker-"Cruelest Cut" Quintina/Atlantique Productions THE ROY TASH AWARD Keith Hanley "Eglinton Avenue Fire" CFTO-Toronto Geoff Stickle "Trapped" CITY-Edmonton Alan Watson "Fire· CFRN-Edmonton
~·~
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Jon Cassar accepted on behalf of Marls Jansons for TV Drama category from presenter Joe Sunday
steve Mayhew of PFA presented student awards to John Freeman (1st & 3rd) and Chris Enever (2nd).
u
APRIL1990
Mavis Roberts accepted Best Commercial on behalf of Peter Hartmann esc from Glen Ferrier of Panavision
Kevin MacDonald of ASN Halifax winner of The Stan Clinton Award with The Cllntons and Mary Louise Lynd
THE STAN CLINTON AWARD Kevin MacDonald "The Homeless· ASN-Hallfax Darrell Patton "Horsefly Salmon Run· CKVU-Vancouver Jerry Vienneau "Neonatal Crisis" GloballY-Toronto Peter Warren "Memories of Summer· CJOH-ottawa THE KODAK NEW CENTURY AWARD was presented to Bob Bocklng esc. President. by Colin F.J. Davis. Marketing Director. Kodak Canada Inc. BEST DOCUMENTARY CINEMATOGRAPHY Philip Earnshaw esc/Andrew Binnington "A Radical Romantic" Rhombus Media Rob Mclachlan esc "Summer Song· Prometheus Productions Kirk Tougas "A Rustling of Leaves: Inside the Philippine Revolution· Kalaslkas Productlorw BEST COMMERCIAL CINEMATOGRAPHY Nicholas Allen-Woolfe esc Pontiac "Fiashpoint• Boardwalk Motion Pictures Nicholas Allen-Woolfe esc Pontiac "Thunder Boardwalk Motion Pictures Peter Hartmann esc Classics "Parking Lot• Circle Productlorw BEST THEATRICAL FEATURE CINEMATOGRAPHY Rene Ohashi esc "Millennium· Gladden Entertainment Curtis J. Petersen "Thunderground" Rose & Ruby Vic Sarin esc "Bye Bye Blues· Allarcom- True Blue Films Paul Sarossy "Speaking Parts• Ego Film Arts
Jacqule Ross of Motion Picture Guarantors accepted Best Feature on behalf of Rene Ohashi esc from David Cheng of Fuji Photo Film. CSCNEWS
13
Colin Davis of Kodak presented Bob Bocklng esc with The Kodak New Century Award
Jim Mercer esc
James Crowe
Patrick Carey esc with Ken and Eda Maria Post
UUU\..CUI
Kenneth Post esc
Erane and Bob Bocking esc with Humber College graduates.
uun'-<ua Ml~rJâ&#x20AC;˘~.-l~n~> esc and Jennifer Hietala present bottle of champagne to Elizabeth Batson .
~fuCF8l~Wle CSC
Norm Allin esc's winning ticket. 14
APRIL1990
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To shoot a documentary on the international narcotics trade; I couldn't have been more pleased. Ofcourse, I was only a phone call away. Producer Rob Roy of Stomoway Productions had contracted moi-meme to D.P. a two-hour special for the CIV Networlc., entitled "Out of Control". Locations would include Thailand, Peru, the streets and crack houses ofNew Yorlc. City. The Golden Triangle and infamous Khun Sa, head of the Muang Tai Army (MTA), juiced my imagination with :thoughtsofwadingdeepinfieldsofwaving coca bushes. It sounded like high adventure ... "From the bars of the Patpong to the Cebiche tables of Peru ... " and so forth and so on. I guess I had to redefine '' adven.ture". Oxford defines it as. "daring enterprise'' but also defines adventure as "incur risk" and states "adventurer" as "one who seeks adventures, mercenary soldier, speculator, one who lives by his wits.'' I resolved to remind myself that I only qualify for the last category. After sitting in the middle of the Uwer Huallaga Valley of Peru sunmmded by the guerilla forces of the Sendero Luminoso, the Shining Path and watching ''Full Metal Jacket'' on the Peruvian military's VCR, just for some light enter15
tainment, the thrillbag of adventure had begun to wear thin. The night before I was to leave Toronto I checked the gear over one more time with David Ostriker esc. David is now an executive producer at Stomoway, but having been an award winning cameraman himself, he walked down memory lane by telling me some hair raising stories of plunging 300ft. down in a dead drop in South East Asis while his pilot tried and succeeded in auto rotating the helicopter from which they were filming. Fortunately, David beat the freelance system as a cameraman and now as an E.P. he could entertain the D.P. On the wall of his office hangs a picture of David shaking hands with UNITA guerillas in Angola. I looked at his wry smile and twinkly eyes and my throat tightened somewhat With stories like that, you could be so far ''in country" that you could become "in continent''. In the barracks of Peru, I tried to suppress David's stories in the back file of my memory, trying to get excited by the gore on the screen. I wanted the job. I had' 'talked the talk'' but could I ''walk the walk"? "Full Metal Jacket" looked stupid on the small screen. After all, we
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were going on a 10 km. patrol the next day, that should be fun. The only problem was that I would have to carry my own Betaca.:n. This was roughing it Kubrick should do a movie in Peru. The commander sitting next to me had lost four lieutenants in the last year to the Senderos (he had chosen the movie). All of the soldiers around us had nom de guerres. We were in Uchiza, a town that had a police force until the police station was blown up by the Senderos. The ten remaining cops that didn't die in the explosion were publicly executed in the town square. Each received a bullet in the head by the guerillas, largely made up of teenage boys or women. The military controls the town now. Maybe the cops were corrupt, I thought The stakes are high in Uchiza. After the patrol we did wade waist deep in coca , the main ingredient in cocaine, thought by some to be the only ingredient Daily the planes come and go, picking up the coca and flying it elsewhere. Columbia, for example. The harvesting is done under the watchful eyes of the Peruvian military. Uchiza is the kind of town where a cameraman can fly around in a Soviet-made gunship one day and an American-made Huey the next! Frontier justice is rendered by the barrel of a gun to anyone who isn't properly aligned politically or economically. Although the military holds Uchiza, they held it last December when an American jooma1ist was kidnapped, sOOt am dumped in the town square. Consequently, our crew stayed close together like an enormous chain bracelet. Parenthetically, if anyone wants to know what's happening inside Peru, you'll just have to watch tre slx>w. There's simply not enough space here to elaborate. However, if you are thinking of going to Peru, check in first with the Canadian Embassy in Lima so they can have the pleasure of xeroxing your vital statistics. On the other side of the coin, Thailand was much more fun which leads me to believe that heroin is trafficked 16
differently than cocaine. For starters, most of the heroin is handled close to the Myanmar (formerly Burma) border or in Myanmar itself. We knew that the border was a dangerous place when our Thai copter pilot would only allow us one pass along the Mae Sai River which acts as a natural boundary between Myanmar and Thailand. The reason: The MTA might take a pot shot rocket launch at us. I thought this was a bit ludicrous because down below trekkers were wandering around looking for the ''Golden Triangle'' and paying good money tool Although things looked calm when we were there, we were assured that attacks do happen and the leader of the MTA, Khun Sa, has been known not to be above ripping off trekkers as well. I guess the tourist brochures neglected to tell the trekkers that fact. Tourism is progressing rapidly in Thailand. For example, there are high rise hotels in Chiang Mai and the Border Patrol Police seems to have the elusive heroin factories on the run. Cashing in on Thailand's Golden Triangle mystique has been very profitable for the country. Nonetheless, the hill tribes in the northern border regions are still persisting in growing the opium poppy despite efforts by the Thai government to integrate them into the greater Thai society. The crop is very profitable and age old associations with its cultivation are hard to change. Encouraging is the fact that only a small minority of the village inhabitants actually consume opium. It's mostly confined to the tourists and the aged who use it as a vacation from pain caused by a hard life. The younger crowd now seek more active pastimes and smoking opium is going out of vogue, however, the traditional opium den still exists in a lot of villages and that's where we went to illustrate the process ofingestion. A word of warning though, watch out for that infamous second hand smoke! While Thailand seems to have mixed tourism, drug pushing and enforcement comfortably to their advantage, Peru has no tourism factor with APRIL1990
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which to sell to the outside world, especially when it comes to coca. Recently Machu Picchu has been closed to tourists by the Sendero Luminoso. It's a poor and vicious country but it has some of the · best vistas on earth. Sooner or later most documentarists will pass through Peru and see it for themselves. It's remarkable. Apples, mangoes and grapes twice their normal size are routinely put before you on the table. Sadly, the produce never gets to a real marketplace. The natives continue to grow coca because there is an infrastructure for marketing their crop. Planes from Columbia regularly pick up the harvest and fly it out of the country. The farmers only wish that Lima could be that efficient with their other produce. Meanwhile, the parade of journalists, government officials and guntoting, social reformers come and go, the farmers try to achieve some semblence of a normal subsistance life. Publicity is one aspect of their lives they can willingly forego. I am surprised that we got the cooperation at all from the coca growers of Uchiza. With Stornoway's patience and Mr. Wilson Ruiz' persistence in Spanish, they agreed to participate in the taping. Wilson has a great underCSCNEWS
Novice monks get a lesson in filmmaking from Les Rose, Satharn Palroah and James Crowe
standing of the Peruvian way of dealing with ''gringo's'' and, in fact, runs a film coordinatim canpany fran (444 Oliclayo Avenue in San Isidro, a municipality of Lima) as well as devoting his time to freelance writing for the Globe & Mail, following the issues from within the country. His knowledge of the economy of Peru was invaluable, especially when it came to negotiating prices. Likewise in Thailand, Praiwan Productions, a partnership between David Walker and Mr. Satbarn Pairoah kept the wheels of production turning. They also specialize in production coordination and we were lucky to have them. The Thai people either like you or they don't, there'snoinbetween. Satharnhas been known to hang up abruptly on the likes of John Huston and David Bowie. Fortunately, Praiwan Productions count Roland Joffe and David Putnam as their friends along with Stornoway. They took great pains to ensure our survival in Thailand Afterall, who likes to get ripped off for souvenirs! The shooting schedule was pretty stiff and they supplied the .production with driver whose name was Doy. We quickly dubbed him "Best Doy" because he was so courteous and efficient.
a
17
We wondered about the mysterious little card he kept in his wallet which he would flash at police when they pulled him over for traffic violations. They would look at it and wave him on. Now that's efficient! He put up with a lot of hand waving and shouting because he didn't speak any english. "Back to hotel" is now part of his english vocabulary as "Sawadi Khap" (good morning) and '' Mai pen rai'' (it's all right) are part of my Thai vocabulary. With Thailand and Peru now behind us, Stornoway is now in the process of completing some street shooting in New Yorlc City's crack houses, to explore crack culture as it is evolving. They will finish up in the studios in Toronto this summer. The project reflects the seriousness of narcotics in North American society. When it comes to drugs, our society is not stratified. It has penetrated legitimate commerce to such a degree that conventional methods of itradication may be shown to be marginally effective. The Special will explore the war on drugs and to find out whether it really is a war. Producer Rob Roy and director Les Rose are hoping to raise Canadians' awareness of the situation, particular!y at the teenage level where all the
facts may not be at their disposal. It is slated for a September 9th launch date on
crv. To record the images, we used the CCD Betacam fonnat and ''treated'' the images by using a Petroff mattebox on the lens. The lighting package combined hard and soft light with a wide variety of diffusion materials and gelpacks. We managed to cram all this into an eighty pound case complete with black wrap. For the support gear we shipped a Sachtler 25 video head with standards, babies and high-hat along with a Portamount for copter worlc. and a Supergrip, plus several walkie-talkies (over, over, can you read me over!!!!). The director asked for a film look so we did a lot of rigging and tracking moves, and I must say that although this is the first documentary I have shoton tape, the Betacam is unquestionably reliable. After shooting 150 tapes, we have had only one tape jam and no footage was lost. Of 3000 minutes, only one malfunction. 1bis is very encouraging. Batteries were another matter. You can never predict when they '11 give out on you and wearing a belt in hot weather is a real nuisance. You just have to take a lot more of those NP-1a's and hope for the best A handy item that I brought with me was a "Mustang" inflatable fishing vest that had pockets for five batteries plus room in the back pocket (where the trout should go) for an extra Beta tape. A rip cord inflates it instantly with carbon dioxide and the batteries also provide some flack jacket protection. An ideal gannent for a run and shoot situation. Although I have considerably more to shoot on this documentary, I have been glad to hear that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have just declared war on drugs. It should be an interesting battle
James Crowe
.ROSCO'S NEW PAINT FOR ULTIMATTE IS IDEAL FOR FILM PRODUCTION A paint with a high blue content provides the level of separation required in many Ultimatte applications. Super Blue Paint, manufactured by Rosco Laboratories, is used for Ultimatte compositing when shooting film. It provides sufficient separation in the blue and green without having to saturate the blue layer of the negative. The result is less noise in the telecine transfer and a better composite. Rosco' s Super Blue is also useful for painting the tops of set pieces positioned in front of a blue backing. When using set pieces there is often glare on top of the set piece caused by the -lighting angle. Super Blue's high blue content can compensate for the contamination caused by this glare. Rosco Laboratories began manufacturing paint for use with the Ultimatte System in 1983 with the introduction of Ultimatte Blue and Ultimatte Green. They are water-based paints for easy application and clean-up. Data sheets and otherinfonnation on the system is available from Rosco (416) 475-1400. AGFA CANADA INC. is moving to new offices on April 30th, 1990 to: 77 Belfield Road,Etobicoke, Ontario M9W 1G6 Tel: (416) 241-1110
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Derek Vanlint's pre-meeting fear of ''being here all by myself'' turned out to be groundless. As a matter of fact, the March meeting was the best attended esc function (excluding the Annual Awards) in recent years. Over 40 enthusiastic esc members and friends crowded into Vanlint's renovated production house at west end Toronto. The youthful DVLA hostesses, Rhonda Volk and Diana Seko greeted the CSC with commendable hospitality and grace. A generous spread of refreshments was put out for our enjoyment After a few preliminary remarlcs, Mr. Vanlint showed a demoreel containing many of his recent commercials including: "Visa hell fishing", Certs, Chevrolet, Cavalier, Wardair, Labatt's Blue Light and others. Of each spot, Mr. Vanlint highlighted the various techniques he had used to achieve the desired effect.
remarlcs regarding directors: ''There are two types of directors, those who don't need me and those who don't deserve me.'' This position was crystallized by frustration he had experienced with certain directors. The contentious relationship combined with the desire to control his own images propelled him to make the transition from cinematography to direction. Today, Mr. Vanlint is a director/ cameraman or as he likes to put it "a cameraman/director''. After the meeting, more questions were dealt with on a one-on-one basis. Members lingered to enjoy the refreshments, perhaps digesting the information they had picked up during the evening. The meeting was very informative and most enjoyable. . Thank you, DVLA!
For example, in the Visa spot, the close up of a salmon jumping out of the river was done in a small containment pool with the poor fish on a wire. The shot of the fish underwater was photographed with a periscopic rig made by Mr. Vanlint's assistant using common ABS pipes. In addition to sharing his skills and ideas, Mr. Vanlint also gave tips on how to assemble a demoreel: (1) use works that will show you in the best light; (2) have some who is objective help you select films for the reel; (3) choose quality over quantity; and (4) shoot your own commercial and use it in the showreel, if you are so inclined. Many thought-provoking questions were raised. When queried if he abhors trends, Mr. Vanlint paused and then replied, ''It depends if you are leading the trend or following it." Mr. Vanlint also gave one of his frequently used
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19
I
·
OUT OF THE BLUE
John Stoneman wants you to start thinking about the ''blueing'' of Canada. That's right, not greening. "Blueing". "We're a great maritime nation, bordered by three oceans but people have taken this natural resource for granted,' ' Stoneman says. "I can see attitudes changing but it's very slow.'' Stoneman is too modest to add his high rated CTV series "The Last Frontier" has done a lot to change our ideas about the limits of the oceans.
UNDERWATER LIDRARY "They told me a weekly underwater series wouldn't fly, just to mix metaphors,'' he says. ''It takes two weeks to film one show and wiseacres said there would be a sameness about every program. But far from running out of story ideas we've got enough for 10 years.'' Stoneman came to Canada in 1971 with a verbal promisefromCBC'sdramaheadJohnHirschtohirehim. "He said Canadian TV desperately needed TV-trained directors which I certainly was. But when I arrived, he said he couldn't remember promising me anything.'' Stoneman started his own company and has enjoyed the best revenge of all: his Mako Films has thrived making underwater films to the point he has the largest underwater library in the world. His crv series, now in its third season, takes him everywhere. ''The most uncomfortable spot this year was 170 feet down in Lake Superior where the water is black and ice cold. We were filming aboard a freighter which sank in 1948, and when I opened a cabin door there was an almost perfectly preserved body. We shot a year ahead so this astonishing scene will be in one show next season but not in closeup. I want to show how the lakes are the graveyard of thousands of ships. In one 1913 storm on Lake Erie 30 ships went down.'' Now there's a very real danger this may be the last year Stoneman films episodes making next year the last season. The CRTC has dictated CfV must produce more Canadian drama and that puts ''The Last Frontier'' as well as ''Live It Up'' in some peril. If bureaucracy succeeds in destroying one of Canadian TV's finest success stories, they'll have nothing but themselves to blame. Stoneman says he's constantly being asked where he goes to dive for fun. ''I go to different places for different
experiences. My favorite is probably the Red Sea. The last time I discovered two new veterbrates swimming down there. On my own. And I swear I have a fishy friend called Wally, a Napoleon wrasse who always tags along because the food's so good. I can spot him because he's got a huge scar on his back where something tried to eat him. He's even eaten one of our lighting lamps in a fit of hunger.'' Back in his Toronto lab ''I'll be watching shots and be amazed I dared get so close to the feeding sharks. We feed them to keep them within camera range or we'd never get anything done. But they look awfully close on film. It's a hostile world down there. One diver was bitten by a scorpion fish, the poisonous kind, and almost died in hospital.'' But the crew helped a humback whale get free of a fishing net ' ' and next year we saw her with her calf which was very exciting. I feel the series and others like Cousteau on PBS are slowly teaching people the earth is a small place where there's no place for pollution. We try to teach, not preach, but the images have to be there to support us.'' It takes nine months of the year to film 22 episodes. ''We film in the Caribbean a lot because it's nearest. But it's also dangerous. We were chased by a bunch of pirates clearly in the dope business.''
RETOOLING THE PILOT Stoneman credits CfV's departing president Murray Chercover for retooling the series pilot. ''He said it looked too much like PBS. He wanted the human element in there so viewers would always be wondering what they might do in similar circumstances. They'll see my tiniest diver surrounded by sharks and wonder how she'll get through it. So the introduction of people made the series.'' Warner Bros. sells the shows in 40 countries. ''I was in Jerusalem recently when two American ladies rushed up and talked about the show. In England, a little boy shyly approached my table and said if I were John Stoneman, why wasn't my hair yellow and my ears bigger. I get the craziest mail and I answer all the ones from youngesters. They're all nine years old and they want to be divers and many are girls. One viewer with a pet shade. writes every time it gets fungus.'' Stoneman says wife Sarah thinks of him as a fish out of water. "I'm a gruff skipper, I admit it. I get along much better with creatures who cannot answer back. I take infinite pleasure in diving; I don't know what I'd do ifl ever had to stop. What you see on the screen is the result of hard worlc., decades of experience and some luck. But after 10,000 dives, I'm just like a little kid first getting his toes wet.' ' "Out ofthe Blue" appeared inStarweekMagazine's colwnn "The T.O. Interviews" written by lim Bawden. Reprinted with permissionfrom the Toronto Star.
20
APRIL1990
To get back to the point. It is well known that Michael Douglas, who probably can get money anywhere at all in the Letter world as he is a highly bankable actor and director, still picks from up his financing right here in Holland. Less hassles he says. Amsterdam As Canadian tax laws are highly discriminatory to coproduction, we were introduced at the seminar to some refinements on the theme that introduced the concept of twinning and other sleight of hands. There were very few questions and so at 5 pm sharp the affair got down to the nitty gritty: the wine Yesterday, well, actually it was April 18th, I attended and the fingerfoods and the endless exchange of calling cards. I was so pleased to meet Wendy Wacko again, I've a seminar on the new Dutch Canadian Film co-production always found her so pleasant. It is hard to realise that on the set agreement. It was sponsored by the Canadian Embassy and, I she is probably the most powerful person I've ever seen work. believe the folks from Atlantis. I was a bit late, but caught the opening words by Pat Ferns ofPrimedia who started off, very The only other person that comes to mind is Beryl Fox, but I aptly with that quote by Marx, Groucho that is, that goes was actually scared of her, never of Ms. Wacko. Shook hands with Ted Riley of Atlantis Releasing somewhat like this: ''To be in business with panners it is who now lives in Amsterdam. He loves it here and is quite recommended that you are honest and trustworthy. That will guarantee success. Of course, if you can fake it, it works just determined to stay forever. Bill Niven of Telefilm Canada lives in Paris, the lucky sod. I was also looking forward to as well.'' This set the tone of the affair. I am not a producer and meeting Bob Linnell of Telefilm who is stationed in London, so I could not appreciate the fine points of this seminar. As however, he was unable to attend. With the wine it was easy to observe the powerpoints cameraman I was rather sensitive to a few of the remarks made about the greediness of unions and the advisability of circum- in the room and, cruising around, caught some snippets. I venting them and yes, some ofthe shenanigans described by the should say that the general consensus was that we should wait participants in their convoluted ways to raise monies should've and see. And there I do fault the Dutch producers. As I start to been put on film, but probably would be unbelievable. How- find out who the self starters are, I am conscious of one ever, it was most gratifying to discover that the Dutch producers overriding factor: the average Dutch film person is not hungry. kept a beady eye on the facts. One of the Canadian speakers Many of them live on Dutch subsidies, what we call in Canada, tried to tell us that some ~-productions would happily accom- welfare payments. While in Canada that is a pittance, here it modate, say, 20% participation from Dutch investors. It is represents a nice chunk of a low comfortable income and with clear, however, that if a producer has already raised 80% of the a little bit of ''black'' work you can live well, if not rich. And so, most Dutch producers take it fairly easy and budget, he surely doesn't need a panner. He can easily obtain wait for opportunities. Not only producers, but nearly all that elsewhere. There aren't that many Dutch producers. Film produc- people in the entertainment industry, including actors, live on tion is heavily subsidized. As there are potentially six million these handouts that are really a form of negative taxation. It Dutch moviegoers out of a population of 16 million Dutch seems to work well. One always sees articles in the paper worldwide, it is clear that no Dutch movie ever made its ''nut'' bemoaning that our children are working for the many nonback, unless the budget was under the $600,000 Cdn. mark. So, workers. That is a fallacy. Income is derived mostly from the co-production makes sense and yes, there are quite a few co- enormous Dutch gas fields which supply gas all the way to productions within the European market and soon there will be Finland, the massive duties imposed on all goods shipped more nibbles from the Americans who have a lot of money tied through Rotterdam, and the trade surpluses piling up as Dutch output is very high. up here. It isn't as if the Dutch don't have money. As life here in Holland is decidedly easy, I think not More and more I am beginning to see that Holland will come from this seminar. much business might well be the richest and best run country in the world. This That's all for now. I don't say lightly. Although I happen to come from Dutch stock, but I was born in Indonesia. After thirty five years in Canada, I am now a foreigner residing here on a yearly permit. I have to appear yearly at the Alien Affairs Branch of the State Robert Rouveroy, esc Police in The Hague.
CSCNEWS
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Canada's film production appears to follow a similar pattern each winter; the production companies always have projects gearing up, then they get post-poned, or worse, cancelled. I hear, however, that "Strikeforce" will finally start up in May. "ENG" wrapped on April 13th. They will resume production in June, with a replacement D.O.P. Regardless of who is chosen to shoot' 'ENG'', the producers have guaranteed 1st. Asst. Mark Hroch and 2nd Asst. Chris Thompson their present jobs. CBC's "Streetl..egal" starts shooting again April 30th. The sixteen episodes will keep camera operator Bill Stunden busy until Christmas! Brian Gedge has been doing second unit pickup days for the feature ''Black Pearl''. I met Mark Willis and Marcus Elliott at Production Services recently who
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have been working on this ''Kung Fu'' type movie. A couple of weeks ago I had an interview to do a four week shoot in Peru with possibly another two weeks in Brazil. The production company wants to capture (perhaps this is not the most appropriate word to use here!) the presence of one of many primitive tribes in Peru. These primitive people have never seen "white man". I guess you could say they wanted to hire me as "special insurance mascot". The crew feared that if these tribes saw ten men together that they may interpret them as another tribe ready for war. Having a woman around would lighten the scenario. Mind you, with my red hair I might be prejudged as a witch, might have ended up as the natives' "Carrot Top Stew". Runner up for that job was better than no interview at all! Richard Stringer, esc and myself will have a small feature to shoot in mid April called "Entry in a Diary". Cathy MacDonald will be 2nd Assistant. We're using Kodak's 5245 stock for interiors. Ion-Dragos Sireteanu is currently in Europe shooting two projects. Prior to that he was in Calgary where several of his paintings were on exhibit. He sold some of his paintings and received an award for "Best Painter". Nadine Humenick shot and edited two commercials for Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons and the Historic Naval and Military Establishment in Midland. Shot last summer on Betacam and edited at CKVR, these spots will be shown on CKVR in Barrie and CKCO in Kitchener. Current! y she is working on travel videos for both sites. Nadine is .the media coordinator welcomes members to visit her if Paul Sarossy and Dave Plank on set of "Shadow Love" they are in area.
music video for "Jaya".
22
APRIL1990
Maris Jansons is in Luxembourg (which is why he was not present at the CSC Awards this year) shooting the pilot for "Dracula, the Series·~ with focus puller, Glen Treilbard, and second, Jeff Hohener. They are using the same camera that "Bordertown"was shot with, the Panaflex Elaine. In Europe the line cycle is 50 Hz and since they would be using HMI's and the shooting at 24 fps, they had to use a 172.8 degree shutter. Rene Ohashi esc recently shot two beer commercials (for Oland Beer) in Nova Scotia for Select (an off-shoot company of The Directors). Bert Dunk esc is shooting a movieof-the-week for Aaron Spelling Productions, called " RichMenSingleWomen" starring Suzanne Sommers, Heather Locklear and Deborah Adair. Andy Shmura is operating and Angelo Collavecbia is assisting. It is the ftrst time that Aaron Spelling has shot on Fuji; the decision being made by their OOP. At the recent ASC Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, two esc members were in attendance. Interestingly enough, Bert Dunk esc attended as a guest of Fuji and Mark Irwin esc as a guest of Agfa. Peter Benison esc recently shot the pilot for a new television series "Detective Spot" directed by Al Waxman, starring canine star, Bodie of "Steel Magnolias". Paul Sarossy recently shot two American music videos for L.M.R. Records (producer Joel Goldberg). First a shadowy ballad for newcomer "Jaya~ · from New York which was shot at Wallace Studios; then an art deco extravaganza for Miami romantic crooner "Stevie B" , completed at Lakeshore Studios. During a screen test assignment for Brigitte Berman at the Film Centre, Paul Sarossy was visited by Norman Jewison and his guest, Brian Mulroney, who took a little ride on the dolly. That's all for now! Why not give me a call and let me know what you're working on. Remember it's a toll free number (1-416-553-7356)1
From the Toronto Sun on March 16190: "Candidly -Cinematographer Paul Sarossy and director Norman Jewlson gave PM Brian Mulroney a fast course in filnunaking on a recent visit to Jewison's Canadian Centre For Advanced Film Studies".
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Re: Camera & Video Equipment Fair Dear Members, The CSC, Camera & Video Equipment Fair is still alive! To those of you who have called to enquire; we thank you for your interest. Unfortunately, due to poor response from previous participating companies (perhaps due to lack of good used equipment) we decided to cancel any plans for an equipment fair this year. We have tentative plans to hold the equipment fair next spring, so now is the time to take stock of all your unwanted equipment and have it ready for what we believe will be an even bigger and better fair than before. Watch our magazine for further announcements. Regards, Sammy
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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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. 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: Ikegaml HL83 (9.5-133 Fujinon lens; complete kit with all accessories and shipping case); Sony 330A BVP (9-108 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 400 ft. magazines, 3 batteries, charger, handgrip, universal viewfmder with super 16mm capability, case and filters; Angenieux 9.5-57mm zoom; Angenleux 12-120mm zoom. Asking $23,500. Also for sale, Sachtler tripod, steel legs, 7+7 fluid head, case, as new $3,500. Would consider trading above Aaton package for Arri III package. Contact Jonathon Kay at 1-604-731-6620 or 1-604-731-6684 (fax). WANTED Mitchell 35 NC or GC; tripod; 400 ft. mag for Bolex; side motor for Bolex; battery and charger. Call Ali at (416) 493-3140.
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