81 minute read
PRODUCTION NEWS
MOVIETECH ADDS SCORPIO 17’ CRANE TO ITS GRIP INVENTORY
Independent camera, lens and grip specialist Movietech, has taken delivery of the new ServiceVision Scorpio 17’ telescopic crane system into the grip inventory at its Pinewood Studios base.
The 17’ model features the same smoothness and high-precision performance of the Scorpio crane family, in both low and high-speed movements. The lightweight, modular design allows the crane to be quickly adjusted, without the need for any specialist tools. It can take payloads of 60Kg in underslung and 40Kg in overslung modes, and can be used for shooting car chases or large-scale interior sets. Movietech Grip recently also added a Multi Jib from Grip Factory Munich.
Movietech’s John Buckley said, “We’ve been steadily investing over the past year to extend our grip department and offer one of the industry’s most expansive product ranges. The Scorpio 17’ is a great fit with our existing crane selection and an ideal companion to our range of grip and camera accessories.”
Movietech-Scorpio-17
CVP APPOINTS NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
CVP has appointed Camille Brayer to the newly-created role of business development manager, in response to increased demand for the company’s personalised services and support.
Based out of CVP’s Newman House Showroom in Fitzrovia, Brayer is part of the team responsible for customer-facing experiences, which includes a concierge service, tailormade kit tours and bespoke technology demonstrations.
Brayer joins CVP from Panavision off-shoot Direct Digital, where she held a wide-ranging brief that encompassed managing studio shoots, advising on the best choice of equipment for budgets and supporting demonstration. She balances this experience with an education steeped in film – a BA in art and film from UEA in Norwich, and an MA in cinematography gained in NYC and LA. She has also been one of the CVP team tasked with spearheading routes back to production in the postlockdown period.
Following its recent refurbishment, CVP’s London townhouse showroom, Newman House, is open for business by appointment, and regularly runs workshops and demonstrations. It has a refreshed look and newlyintroduced zones allowing visitors to explore their specific interests, allowing visitors to get hands-on with the latest technology solutions from leading manufacturers such as ARRI, Red, Sony, Canon, Zeiss, Panasonic and Blackmagic Design.
“Camille is an experienced and empathic account manager who has shown great awareness in prioritising client needs, and we are sure she will be an invaluable addition to the clientfacing ethos at CVP and the Newman House set-up,” said comments CVP MD Jon Fry.
PIXIPIXEL LURES GAFFER HOWARD DAVIDSON & ADDS NEW GENERATORS
London-based camera/lighting rental house, Pixipixel, has added gaffer Howard Davidson to its account handling team. Davidson has worked in the industry for over 30 years, starting in New York in the 1980s, before moving to London in 2006, where his most recent lighting credits include The Colour Room, The Score, Dreaming Whilst Black and The F1rst Team, plus the Pixipixel-serviced productions After Love, Sky comedy The Reluctant Landlord and BBC’s series Famalam.
Pixipixel has also added two new 200kW generator carriers, fuelled with HVO renewable diesel fuel, which are part of the company’s efforts to support production crews in reducing carbon emissions. The new 18-tonne vehicles have both single and threephase output combinations to support TV and film productions.
NANLUX RELEASES POWERFUL LOW-ENERGY EVOKE SPOTLIGHT
LED lighting specialist Nanlux has launched the Evoke 1200 LED spotlight, a powerful, low-energy alternative to traditional sources, with an output comparable to that of a 1.8kW Par or 2.5kW HMI Fresnel. The IP54-rated Evoke 1200 has been designed specifically to meet the exacting requirements of cinematographers, live events, stills and broadcast professionals.
At the heart of the system is a powerful COB delivering high levels of controllable, flicker-free light. Available as both 5600K and Tungsten 3200K models, the Evoke 1200 features an interchangeable optic system allowing it to be easily configured. The large aperture and sturdy fixings of the mounting system, allow users to quickly switch between optics, and to sculpt, shape and modify the output without compromising in beam quality, colour or intensity.
The Evoke 1200 is fully-dimmable from 0-100% in ultra-precise intervals of 0.1%, and features a selection of on-board, creative effects including INT loop, flash, pulse, storm, TV, paparazzi, candle/fire, bad bulb, firework, explosion and welding. User-settings and custom looks can be locked or stored for later use. The user interface has a 2.8-inch display to help provide precision control over all aspects of output. The Evoke supports both wired and wireless operation via Nanlink APP, DMX/RDM, Bluetooth and Lumenradio TimoTwo. Dual power and battery options further extend the flexibility of the system.
Nanlux MD, Nancy Zheng, said, “The Evoke 1200 is an exciting development in the application of LED technology. Its incredible output and creative abilities make it a highlyeffective, truly versatile alternative to traditional sources.”
Robert Kulesh, executive VP of Nanlux Americas added, “We are delighted to expand the range of Nanlux professional LED products with the addition of the Evoke 1200. The team has done a fantastic job in creating a luminaire which is able to not only compete, but to properly shine, in the marketplace.”
Dynamic Rentals has announced a new European location in Leipzig, Germany, adding to the company’s presence in Burbank, Atlanta, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Copenhagen, Ashford (UK), and Auckland. Like all other Dynamic locations, the new offices in Germany will stock ARRI, Sony, Codex, Fujinon, Chrosziel, Cooke, Zeiss, Leitz, Red, Canon and Angénieux, among other brands for sub-rental and leasing.
Dynamic’s Leipzig premises offer technical, logistical and professional workspaces in an open and collaborative layout. Christian Pedersen, Dynamic’s director of sales for Europe, will take on more operational leadership responsibility within the German market and beyond.
“With this new office the company has further committed to focus on the client experience in sub-rental,” said chief executive officer, Austin Rios. “What started as a search for a Brexit solution has blossomed into a fully-fledged office.”
“Our recent growth gives us representation in five different countries, and with our Ashford office continuing to serve clients in the UK and beyond, this new path will allow us to become even faster and better at what we already do for Europe,” explained chief sales officer, Tom Jay Smith. “We explored many options, but ultimately decided the only way to ensure we continue to deliver well-serviced kit is to control the process entirely ourselves.”
Brandon Zachary, Dynamic founder and COO, added, “Germany was always the frontrunner as our ideal location. Dynamic ships equipment all over the world every day and a huge portion of these shipments are transatlantic. Leipzig is the main DHL hub in Europe and we anticipate saving 24 hours on shipments allowing us to serve our clients more efficiently.”
CHAPMAN/ LEONARD INTRODUCES V SERIES DOLLIES
Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment has launched the new V Series Super PeeWee, Hustler and Hybrid dollies, offering updated designs and features based on customer feedback.
The latest designs enhance production with a long-lasting battery system that gives up to eight hours of continuous use on a single charge. Other features include a USB outlet for charging mobile devices, such as cell phones and monitors mounted on the dolly. The V series dollies also have a stronger payload capacity, allowing more options for grips when it comes to mounting smaller crane arms.
Several customers have benefited from using the V Series dollies on their productions. Joe Cassano, dolly grip on Walking Dead Monuments, commented, “The lithium battery is great, and I love to not be dependent on electricians for dolly bumps. Definitely a great feature!”
Dolly grip, Eric Zucker, commented, “The Hybrid V is the best dolly I have ever pushed. It makes me look good with operators and DPs, even directors and producers. It is so versatile with independent wheels that can move around for getting in tight spots with stability. Its battery saves my butt on long takes and gives me unlimited monitor power. The heavy-duty arm is a game changer.”
DEDOLIGHTS ILLUMINATE ACADEMY AWARDS CEREMONY AT BFI SOUTHBANK
For the first time ever, the 2021 Oscars were held at different locations around the world. The main ceremony took place in Los Angeles on 25th April, with hubs in Paris, Sydney and the BFI Southbank in London accommodating international nominees. Feeds from each venue were included in the main broadcast from LA.
Tasked with bringing a unique look for the London setting, Light Electric, a UK-based specialist in creative visual events, set about something different using several crates of Dedolights and enough Dedolight Lightstream and Eflect reflectors to fill the entire ceiling in the main room of the venue.
The result was a combination of laser beams focussed into reflectors in the main room of the event, with dozens of reflectors suspended from the ceiling. The main walk-through corridor was also lit with Dedolights, making use of parallel beam intensifiers and Dedolight Lightstream and Eflect reflectors.
Jason Clare, gaffer at Reflectric, a Londonbased company specialising in working with reflected light, said, “It was quite a surprise, I was only called a couple of days before the event, and was kind of expected to design the lighting. It was quite chaotic because along with the main forum itself, there was a corridor to light, which had a lot of glass daylight, and we couldn’t really see what we were doing until about nine o’clock on the evening before the event. Although we didn’t have that much time to finish rigging, the event went well and the look we produced certainly created an impression at such a grand event.”
At the 2021 BSC Awards, Dedolight founder and inventor, Dedo Weigert was honoured with the Bert Easey Technical Award for innovative concepts in furthering the art of cinematography.
WARNER BROS. STUDIOS LEAVESDEN EXPANDS WITH NEW STAGES
Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden (WBSL) has launched three new sound stages, providing 83,000sq/ft of additional production space including the debut of V Stage, a cuttingedge virtual production stage.
House Of The Dragon, HBO’s much-anticipated prequel to its acclaimed Game Of Thrones series, is confirmed as the first production to use the new facilities. In addition to the extensive exterior backlot at WBSL, V Stage will enable the series to creatively expand upon its existing variety of international landscapes.
V Stage is one of Europe’s largest virtual production stages. Offering 24,000sq/ft of total space, the inside features a 7,100sq/ft wraparound virtual production environment, using a matrix of more than 2,600 LED panels integrated with a powerful processing system. Bespoke to this design is a dynamic ceiling offering an additional 5,544sq/ ft of LED panels with eight sections that work independently of one another, lifting/tilting to provide new creative scope.
“The launch of V Stage brings a completely new dimension to filmmaking at WBSL, providing an exciting environment in which to deliver a new level of creativity,” said Emily Stillman, SVP of studio operations at WBSL. “With the show’s incredible imaginary worlds and the exceptional quality HBO always delivers, House Of The Dragon is the perfect production to maximise the unparalleled opportunities this space offers.”
Janet Graham Borba, EVP of west coast production at HBO, added, “A production with the ambition and scale of House Of The Dragon really requires a studio that can provide cutting-edge facilities. The new V Stage adds to the highly-supportive home hub for the show at Leavesden and lets us take full advantage of the latest developments in technology.”
DP MIKE STANIFORTH ON MOMENT OF GRACE
Cinematographer Mike Staniforth wrote in with details about his work on the film Moment Of Grace, directed by Keith Farrell
“Moment Of Grace, is about a young woman who makes an unlikely ally in a damaged stranger, who convinces her to escape her life of vice and find the child she gave away. After shooting on ARRI for the majority of my career, I was given the opportunity to test the Sony Venice when prepping for Moment Of Grace. The quality of the image impressed me most. The codec and colour science has been welldocumented, so I knew already what Sony Venice camera was capable of, but what really helped was the dual-native ISO.
Once we had finished our tests, I created a custom-LUT with Affinity photo on the iPad based on images of the paint shade, wardrobe and light we were using. Budget limitations meant I didn’t get the lighting package I’d wished for, so any help with fast lenses and low-light camera performance were very welcome.
We teamed up with London based Reflectric who have invested in The Light Bridge CRLS system. This meant we were going to get a lot more light for our budget and the ability to reflect light into places that wouldn’t have been possible with a small crew working quickly.
Setting the base EI to 2500 for interiors made it feel like I was getting away with murder or even cheating. A lot of the night interior scenes were lit with two or three Astera Titans and practicals. Even then I was dimming down because the camera was seeing so much.
We used the P+S Technik Evolution 2x Anamorphic lenses. They worked so well with the Sony Venice and gave me the gritty look we were after. The size and weight helped, as I knew there were going to be some long, handheld days, and we had the RAW recorder, which added some size to the camera. Ivan Hinchley came on-board for some Steadicam work and, beside using the Easyrig, the Sk8plate dolly was used most often for when we needed camera movement.
We shot in a caravan for a day, so using the Venice’s Rialto capability, and the Sk8plate, allowed us to incorporate some movement in a tight area during long scenes. The film is currently in post-production and is due a cinema release in spring 2022.”
‘DO DIRECTORS DREAM OF VIRTUAL SHEEP?’ ASKS DP JAMES MEDCRAFT
Virtual production stages are abounding worldwide, including the new V Stage at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and ARRI’s mixed reality stage outside London. Cinematographer James Medcraft has been heavily involved with many virtual production projects over the last year, and has written an extensive article from the DP’s perspective (available exclusively at www.cinematography. world) about how this new technology might influence the industry over the coming years.
“Over the last year there’s been much hype over virtual production, a process of using LED screens as digital backdrops to shoot on location scenes in-studio. Yet with all of the excitement of a technology that poses profound changes to our industry, it’s received surprisingly little industrial debate. As cinematographers we have one of the most important and challenging roles in the evolution and development of this technology,” says Medcraft.
“Since The Mandalorian came out more than two years ago there’s been intense publicity over the possibility of the technology. With seemingly endless uses from a location simulator to an immersive keynote studio, the technology holds new possibilities for directors and storytellers.
“Whilst this all sounds too good to be true, I feel in order for film to get the most out of this technology some radical changes in production workflow will need to happen. And with these new tools comes increasing responsibility for the cinematographer to craft the image in-camera.
“If you’re interested to read more I have a more extensive article on the Cinematography World website, where I discuss the workflow in more detail and some of the projects I’ve been involved in.”
ACROSS THE LIGHTING LANDSCAPE By Michael Goldman
ARRI LIGHTING
Ivo Ivanovski, general manager of ARRI’s Lighting Business Unit, reports that the company’s lighting division is solidly rebounding out of the Covid-19 shutdown “as the last months have shown us that our organisation is robust, and able to cope with the situation.”
He adds that ARRI learned to innovative new ways to support, educate and service clients during the pandemic using digital remote collaboration tools, but still hopes for a healthy return to “traditional” interactions with customers in coming months.
“Everything became more digital in the last year, and the pandemic simply accelerated the inevitable,” Ivanovski says. “There is no going back, although personal relationships will always remain key for success. And I have to admit that we have really missed personal exchanges. We’re looking forward to having some events, roadshows, and open houses again soon to share ideas with our partners, customers, and friends.” Meanwhile, Ivanovski adds that ARRI and the rest of the industry are now trending toward intelligent lighting fixtures, such as the company’s Orbiter LED system, which debuted in 2020 but is now rapidly gaining traction as productions and the industry generally open-up.
“We believe lighting fixtures have to become intelligent fixtures with upgrade possibilities,” he explains. “Manufacturers need to develop and offer systems that will be able to follow market trends, user needs and technological developments. The Orbiter was designed around this idea. It’s a versatile product platform that will keep developing to include more options, including firmware updates, in order to improve workflow efficiency for our customers.” CINEO LIGHTING
Officials at Cineo Lighting tell Cinematography World that the company is investing a great deal of time and resources into improving and expanding the quality of its suite of LED lighting tools. According to Rich Pierceall, VP of LED operations for Cineo, the industry has discovered that “the application of more advanced materials has made a big difference in allowing LED to exceed the light quality of traditional sources.” “A camera can only capture light that bounces off the subject being photographed, so it’s the spectral shape that determines the overall usability of an LED source,” he explains. “At Cineo, we are formulating spectra that are more artistically pleasing, using materials like Red Nitride phosphors and multiple blue pumps to create a faithful rendition of skin tones.”
Along those lines, in recent months, Cineo has broadened its product line with its ReFlex series, which Pierceall describes as “large, powerful, digital hard lights. Several technologies converge to make this happen—the density of LED dyes can be dramatically increased using flip chip technology, along with eutectic bonding to phononic substrates.
Cineo has patented several of these technologies, along with immersion cooling to manage the intense heat created in a smaller physical area. With our ReFlex products, we are developing small, extremely bright LED light engines that will find themselves in LED hard lights ranging from 5K to 20K equivalents.”
He adds that in the fall of this year, Cineo will also be launching its next-generation 4x4 soft light fixture, called Quantum II – a tool the company says will be offered as an affordable alternative for smaller production budgets. MOLE-RICHARDSON
Venerable lighting provider Mole-Richardson’s big recent news is the company’s move of its headquarters after six years in Pacoima, in the San Fernando Valley. Nancy Murray, the company’s sales manager, reports that Mole recently completed its move into a new headquarters on Bledsoe Street in Sylmar, the northernmost part of the city of Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Mole-Richardson spent much of the pandemic year making engineering upgrades to its 20K equivalent LED Fresnel, which is now available under the name Vari-Big Eye LED – the largest fixture in the company’s line of LED Fresnels with a 24-inch lens and variable-colour temperature ranging from 2700K to 6500K.
“They include LumenRadio wireless connectivity, plus/minus screen correction, improved RDM, and fourchannel DMX,” says Murray. “Alternatively, they can also be controlled by Bluetooth through the Mole-Richardson app, which is available on the IOS platform, and they are also firmware upgradeable. So, we are very excited about that
development.”
Murray adds that Mole-Richardson’s line of variable Spacelites is now also “new and improved” after additional engineering work over the last year.
“We’ve had variable LED Spacelites for a while, but with our older LED chip technology,” she explains. “Now, the newest version is on the same platform as our variable Fresnels so that all our newest LED’s now utilise the same chip technology. The new Vari-Spacelites are available in three sizes—200W, 400W, and 900W.”
MBS GROUP A UNIQUE PRODUCTION
PARTNER This page: (below) –MBS Media Campus stage; (top) – Culver Studios stage exterior, Opposite: (top) – Silvercup Studios (New York); (below) – Television City (Los Angeles).
By Michael Goldman
Executives at the MBS Group concede a great irony about the company, now one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated media production, development, vendor and service organisations. As big as the MBS universe has grown – with several sibling companies servicing 365 stages globally, owning 71 stages, partnering with 40 studios, typically servicing around 400 shows a year, being one of the largest lighting and rental companies around, and employing over 800 people across the world – it is actually still “a tight-knit group, a family, just like when the company started,” according to Michael Newport, MBS chief marketing officer.
Newport is referring to the fact that MBS, though acquired by Hackman Capital Partners in 2019, is still operated by Richard Nelson, the company’s CEO and founder when it was Manhattan Beach Studios.
“With all the growth in the industry right now and people moving from company to company, many of the same people that started the business are still part of it today,” Newport adds. “I think this gives clients comfort to know they can always come back and deal with the same people and get the same service they have been used to. It is special and different from a lot of other companies out there.”
This is unusual considering the fact that the MBS Group empire has rapidly grown exponentially. It currently includes: the Burbank-based MBS Equipment Company, specialising in lighting and related production equipment rentals and sales with large rental operations in major production markets throughout North America; MBS Equipment Europe; PMBS (Pinewood MBS Lighting), based on the Pinewood Studios lot; MBS-3, the company’s studio services and facility management division; MBSi (MBS Innovations), the MBS technology and product development division; and ownership of major stages across the world. These encompass the MBS Media Campus in Manhattan Beach, the company’s independent production facility; Raleigh Studios (Hollywood), The Culver Studios (Culver City), Television City (Los Angeles), Eastbrook Studios (London), Silvercup Studios (New York), Second Line Stages (New Orleans), and many more.
Indeed, the company’s footprint as a lighting and equipment rental giant includes a major presence all across the US from Hawaii to California, New Mexico, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Orlando; across large swathes of Canada, and throughout the UK and the rest of Europe.
Jeremy Hariton, chief operating officer for the company, emphasises that MBS’s physical expansion has been paired with a philosophical expansion regarding the company’s role in the production industry since it was acquired by Hackman in 2019.
“Hackman has sort of a thesis about investing in real estate, not just to be landlords, but to be production partners with our tenants,” Hariton relates. “That gave us the ability to grow our business in new ways. Hackman allowed MBS to grow from a footprint and capital standpoint, but also in terms of our ability to buy new equipment and service clients better. If you think of our company in terms of the fact that we both own and operate sound stages and provide equipment globally to people both on and off the stages, and we operate studios, that has allowed us to be a production partner with the many tenants in the studios that we have.”
On the issue of partnering with and supporting tenants, he points to the longterm relationship the company has with James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment, the longest-tenured client on the MBS Media Campus, where the Avatar sequels are being made, and several stages the company rents to Lucas Films. Those include the volume stage at the Media Campus where the groundbreaking virtual production work for the Emmy-winning Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, was done. And those are just a couple of examples.
Hariton points out that the bread-and-butter of the MBS domain remains traditional film lighting and equipment along with stage ownership, management and consulting work – activities that have been resolutely marching forward in recent months after weathering, along with the rest of the industry, the impact of the 2020 pandemic.
Indeed, Jeff Soderberg, the company’s EVP for innovation and production, notes that, at press time, MBS units were already involved in working on somewhere between 130 and 150 different shows across the world, significantly more than shortly before the pandemic-forced global shutdown.
“Obviously, there was a lot of uncertainty when the pandemic hit, but the messaging at MBS was to figure out how to make the best use of that time and come out as a better company, and now, I think that is really starting to show,” says Soderberg.
“We are now in a period where there is actually a lot of work out there. It’s hard to keep up with the demand for stages and facilities, staffing and equipment, in fact. And we have lots of new initiatives around new technology and new ways we can help filmmakers get the job done in the most efficient way they can.”
Hariton adds that MBS took the opportunity during the pandemic to start up new remote training programmes and doing outreach to clients along the way.
“We created an entire training program through Zoom and Kahoot! [social media platform],” he says. “We had people engaged in systems working on things like inventory and training. And we were able to engage with our community in terms of getting filmmakers together in different regions, speaking directly with the people in our warehouses.
“We focussed real hard on those kinds of things during that period, along with figuring out how to get everyone back to work safely, including coming up with our own protocols for providing equipment rentals in a safe way. So that was another way to engage with the community during that time, and I think that type of on-going engagement really helped us be ready for when people came back to work. A lot of credit goes to the Hackman team – they came out of Covid and furiously started to invest.”
One new and important MBS initiative is the aforementioned MBS Innovations, or MBSi, which the company calls “a consortium think tank” regarding new trends and technologies in the world of lighting. Soderberg says this includes the wider realm of data, communications, on-set interactivity between different types of equipment, pixel mapping, console programming, new virtual production methodologies, and much more.
Grown out of a UK-based initiative by MBS Group European managing director Darren Smith and the company’s technical guru, Steve Howard, Soderberg says the idea behind MBSi was initially “to work with directors of photography, gaffers, and others, in a highly-technical way to develop new products and services. We saw its success in UK and decided it was probably something we needed to do in the US also.
“So, through our advisory board, which gives us access to key industry leaders and their research, we started sharing thoughts and ideas on industry trends and lighting technology concepts, as well as developing ideas for implementing future technologies. Out of this, we expect to have several products that will move into the pipeline for delivery to the industry soon.”
This initiative has included a sort of “virtual production laboratory” to develop virtual production workflows and ideas, according to Soderberg. MBSi has already joined with other industry partners to provide technology to launch an LED-based virtual production stage service at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, and as Soderberg notes, more such projects are in development.
“Virtual production is now the sort of Wild West of film production – something that everybody wants
to do, but very few entities can actually afford to do it properly,” he adds. “We are positioned really well in that area to help our clients do research on it and expand that access across the industry.”
MBS is also well-positioned to participate in a wide range of industry training programmes addressing various demographics. Most recently, Hackman-owned Television City in Los Angeles, which is managed by MBS, recently announced the creation of Changing Lenses, a programme designed to promote diversity, opportunity, and training for underrepresented communities across the industry.
The same team has also partnered with the Women In Media organisation to create a programme for female applicants, selected by Women In Media, that offers on-set technical training for grips, set electricians, set builders, managers and more. The UK-based Illuminatrix Rising programme to train, support and encourage female cinematographers also receives support from the company through PMBS, and other similar initiatives are underway or being planned.
Such involvement is part of the company’s belief that “democratisation of the industry” is particularly important, in Hariton’s words “to broaden the scope as much as possible and make opportunity in this industry available to a wider group of people.”
Despite all these facilities, initiatives, project, and resources, however, Newport points out that the real trick to MBS’ success is its ability to provide soup-tonuts support to clients and partners, no matter what aspect of their work might be involved.
“For us, it isn’t so much about providing grip and electric equipment, though we do that,” Newport says. “It’s also about being a resource to help clients figure out what facilities are available in our platform that could fit their project in whatever country, state, or city they are looking to be.
“We try to be a resource in these areas, whether it is helping finding space in a studio we own and operate, or at a partner studio that we provide equipment services to, or even in locating conversion space or warehouses, if other options aren’t available. We just want to be their go-to resource. And since many projects are global, we work to provide seamless transitions for them as they move from one location to another, or if they need to operate in more than one place at the same time.”
MBS is constantly evolving facilities and expanding services for the global media market
WHODUNNIT?
Our regular round up of who is shooting what and where
MCKINNEY MACARTNEY MANAGEMENT LTD Dale Elena McCready NZCS recently worked on The Rising, an eight-part Sky series, and is now shooring on No Return. Stuart Biddlecombe is working on The Devil’s Hour for Amazon. Mick Coulter BSC recently wrapped on Outlander in Scotland. Sergio Delgado is filming Canoe Man for ITV. Mike Filocamo is working on Elite in the Ukraine and India. Gavin Finney BSC is shooting Darkness Rising for C4/HBO, directed by Peter Kosminsky. Jean Philippe Gossart AFC is prepping The Lark for Netflix, a prequel to The Witcher. Steve Lawes has finished on The Hot Zone: Anthrax in Canada for National Geographic. Sam McCurdy BSC is shooting Scriptures S1 in Canada for Warner Bros.. Andy McDonnell recently finished filming BBC’s You Don’t Know Me. John Pardue BSC is working on Signora Volpe for ITV Studios/Route 24. Chris Seager BSC is making Carnival Row 2.2 for Amazon. Mike Spragg BSC recently wrapped on The Last Kingdom S5. Richard Stoddard lit Extinction for Sky One and Brassic S4. Robin Whenary is filming the Doctor Who Christmas Special in Cardiff. Denis Crossan BSC, Clive Tickner BSC and Alessandra Scherillo have been shooting commercials.
INTRINSIC In features, James Mather ISC has started on the Olivia Colman vehicle, Joyride, in Ireland for Subotica. Dave Miller is prepping the Michael Sheen feature, Age Of Tony, for Sigma Films. Nic Lawson is in prep for a Marvel feature. In television drama, James Mather ISC has also been grading the Irish drama Kin. Nic Lawson has graded Annika in Glasgow, where David Liddell begins prep for Crime. Malcolm McLean continues operating on The Ipcress File. Richard Donnelly is shooting on The Nevers S2. Tony Coldwell has finished on
ONE COMPANY – CAMERA & LIGHTING
When you need rental kit and expert service, look to Pixipixel. With our friendly, experienced team and expansive inventory in both camera and lighting, we will support you all the way to make your production as smooth as possible. For a personal service, just talk to us. Silent Witness. Tom Hines recently wrapped on The Canterville Ghost in Herefordshire, before beginning the second block of The Chelsea Detective. Andrew Johnson has returned for more Holby City. Bebe Dierken has been shooting drama in Germany, and Rasmus Arrildt DFF has been busy in his native Denmark. Ciaran Kavanagh has completed on Charmed in Canada. Gabi Norland operated on Ted Lasso, Stella Vortex and CURS>R, and has been both lighting and operating on live-streaming performances by The Ballet Rambert. Martin Roach, Gareth Munden and Dave Miller have been shooting commercials.
ECHO ARTISTS Stuart Bentley BSC has wrapped on director John Crowley’s Life After Life for BBC. Nadim Carlsen recently shot The Long Night for director Ali Abbasi. Carlos Catalan is filming Eps 4, 6 and 8 of Amazon’s The Power with director Shannon Murphy. Federico Cesca ASK is prepping S2 of Industry for HBO with director Birgitte Staermose. David Chizallet AFC is shooting Dead Lions with director Jeremy Lovering for See-Saw/Apple TV. Nick Cooke has concluded on the series This Is Going To Hurt for Sister Pictures/BBC. Ruben Woodin Dechamps lit the short, Weekend Dad, with director Dorothy Allen Pickard for BBC/ BFI. Edgar Dubrovskiy is shooting the Sky documentary The Devil’s Advocate with director Sam Hobkinson. Bonnie Elliott ACS is shooting The Shining Girls with director Daina Reid for Apple TV. David Gallego ADFC is lensing Laura Mora’s The
Opposite: (top) Arnaud Carney in Paris with Hollysiz on her music video ‘Thank You All I’m Fine’; (below) Andre Chemetoff on-set of Asterix. This page: (top) Will Baldy; Maceo Bishop SOC shooing Untitled Ray Romano Project; Pat Aldinger with director Anuk Rohde filming Tones Of Dirt And Bone; and Simon Rowling wearing a RED headcam!
Kings Of The World. Lachlan Milne ACS NZCS has wrapped on A24’s The Inspection with director Elegance Bratton. Will Pugh has concluded on the series Crime for director James Strong. Niels Thastum DFF is working with director Pernille Fischer Christensen on the series Leonora. Maria von Hausswolff is shooting Hylnur Palamason’s feature Vanskabte Land. Nicolas Canniccioni, Rachel Clark, Andrew Commis ACS, Charlie Herranz, Jo Jo Lam, MacGregor, Anders Malmberg, Lorena Pagès, Christopher Miles, Michael Paleodimos, Korsshan Schlauer, Noel Schoolderman, Bartosz Swiniarski, Chloë Thomson BSC, Felix Wiedemann BSC and Sean Price Williams have all been busy in commercials.
LUX ARTISTS André Chemetoff is shooting Asterix & Obelix: The Silk Road directed by Guillaume Canet. Ari Wegner ACS is prepping Sebastian Lelio’s next feature The Wonder. Michael McDonough BSC ASC is prepping for Lou, directed by Anna Foerster. Arnau Valls Colomer AEC is lensing The English, directed by Hugo Blick. Jessica Lee Gagne has wrapped Ben Stiller’s new series Severance. Jody Lee Lipes ASC has started prep on Dead Ringers, starring Rachel Weisz, written by Alice Birch. Jess Hall BSC ASC is prepping for Chevalier, directed by Stephen Williams. Thimios Bakatakis GSC shot an Aston Martin ad directed by Luca Guadagnino. James Laxton ASC is prepping for The Lion King follow-up, directed by Barry Jenkins. Giuseppe Favale shot a Doritos ad helmed by Henry Scholfield. Nanu Segal BSC shot Emily, directed by Frances O’Connor. Matyas Erdely HSC lit a Lego ad directed by Traktor, and a Eurosport ad helmed by Henry Hobson. Anna Franquesa Solano is framing Expatriates, directed by Lulu Wang. Piers McGrail ISC is prepping Nell Gwynn, directed Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa. Rina Yang shot an NDA commercial directed by Bradford Young, and is prepping for Nikyatu Jusu’s feature Nanny. Lukasz Zal PSC is shooting Jonathan Glazer’s untitled next feature. Ula Pontikos BSC has finished Russian Doll S2, directed by Natasha Lyonne. Tom Townend is on Joe Cornish’s Netflix series, Lockwood & Co. Guillermo Garza shot a Johnson & Johnson TVC, directed by Vincent Haycock. Rasmus Videbaek is prepping the next instalment of The Crown for Netflix. Bobby Shore CSC is shooting Conversations With Friends, directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Mauro Chiarello lensed an Estrella
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ad, directed by Ian Pons Jewell. Manuel Alberto Claro has finished on Kingdom Exodus, directed by Lars von Trier. Jakob Ihre FSF has wrapped on Johan Renck’s feature Spaceman. Krzysztof Trojnar is shooting 2nd unit on 1989, directed by Baran Bo Odar. Martijn Van Broekhuizen NSC has finished shooting block on Sky Atlantic’s Gangs Of London, and David Bird is shooting the 2nd unit. Adolpho Veloso lensed a Trillum spot, directed by Pantera. Adam Newport-Berra shot Bear, directed by Chris Storer. Leo Hinstin AFC is lensing Lisa Azuelos’ feature I Love America. Ruben Impens SBC is lighting Felix van Groeningen’s next feature 8 Montagne. Christopher Aoun BVK is prepping Sisi, a new series directed by Sven Boshe. Steve Annis has wrapped on the feature Inside, directed by Vasilis Katsoupis. Adam Scarth has completed on Pretty Red Dress, helmed by Dionne Edwards. Alexis Zabe has wrapped on Tuesday for director Daina Oniunas-Pusic.
SARA PUTT ASSOCIATES George Amos is a new signing to the roster, whose credits include Tomb Raider and The Power. Emily Almond Barr is prepping for the new series of Sanditon, which she will light for director Charles Sturridge. Giulio Biccari continues on Stay Close for Red Productions. Yinka Edward is working in Nigeria and South Africa on a project titled Damages. Sashi Kissoon is prepping the Sky Arts/ National Theatre feature Death Of England. David Mackie is lighting 2nd unit on The School Of Good And Evil for Netflix. Duncan Telford has returned to light The Cockfields S2 for Yellow Door Productions. Andrei Austin ACO Associate BSC SOC has wrapped on Judd Apatow’s The Bubble, and started prep on The Man Who Fell To Earth. Jon DP Jamie Cairney on a Netflix/Mike Myers comedy. Vince McGahon ACO Associate BSC continues on See Saw’s Embankment, starring Gary Oldman. Julian Morson ACO Associate BSC GBCT is prepping on the much-anticipated fifth installment of Indiana Jones. Alastair Rae ACO Associate BSC continues on The Lost King in Scotland. Aga Szeliga ACO is working on Red Gun for HBO. Tom Walden Associate ACO has started as A-camera/Steadicam on The Midwich Cuckoos for SnowedIn Productions, working with DP David Katznelson BSC. Rick Woollard has been operating Steadicam on Alex Garland’s Men, Apple TV’s Estuary and commercials for BA, Ladbrokes, BT, Hyundai, Persil, Vodafone, McDonald’s and Boots.
WIZZO & CO Murren Tullett has joined the agency and graded
Beacham ACO is in Belfast with DP David Mackie on the 2nd unit of The School For Good And Evil for Netflix. Danny Bishop Associate BSC ACO SOC has wrapped on All Quiet On The Western Front, which shot on location in Europe. Ed Clark ACO is in Morocco working on Rogue SAS for Kudos Productions. James Frater ACO SOC has started on John Wick 4. Ilana Garrard ACO is in Turkey re-starting on The Swimmers. Zoe GoodwinStuart ACO did dailies on Stay Close, The Rising and You Don’t Know Me. James Leigh ACO has wrapped on The Offenders S1, and is prepping for Sanditon S2. Will Lyte ACO is working alongside Jim Archer’s feature Brian & Charles. Diana Olifirova has wrapped Netflix’s Heartstopper, directed by Euros Lyn. Molly Manning Walker has finished on the opening episodes of Superhoe alongside director Dawn Shadforth and is now prepping a feature. Antonio Paladino is shooting a drama in Berlin. Karl Oskarsson IKS is shooting Netflix’s Man Vs. Bee with director David Kerr. Susanne Salavati has wrapped Jane Gull’s feature, Love Without Walls. Tim Sidell is prepping Peter Strickland’s new untitled feature. Sverre Sørdal FNF is prepping Malou Reymann’s followup feature to A Perfectly Normal Family. Hamish Anderson is prepping BBC’s Get Even. Steven Ferguson is shooting Chloe for director Amanda Boyle. Luke Bryant is prepping Neil Marshall’s feature The Lair. Adam Gillham continues shooting an embargoed drama. Nick Dance BSC has wrapped his episodes of Gentleman Jack S2 for director Ed Hall. Hãvard Helle has graded The Loneliest Boy. Ryan Kernaghan continues shooting Karen Pirie in Glasgow. Richard Mott is prepping ITV’s Our House with director Sheree Folkson. Aaron Reid has graded Stephen, a three-part drama directed by Alrick Riley. Jan Richter-Friis DFF is shooting an embargoed drama in Texas. Seppe Van Grieken SBC is prepping The Midwich Cuckoos directed by Jennifer Perrot. Nicola Daley ACS has graded her episodes of Gentleman Jack S2 and joined a Netflix drama. Charlie Goodger is prepping a drama alongside Jim Archer. Ben Magahy is shooting the featuredocumentary Abbey Road, directed by Mary McCartney. Christophe Nuyens SBC continues shooting an embargoed Netflix drama. Oli Russell shot on US drama The Good Fight and completed the grade on Sex Education S3. Gary Shaw continues shooting the opening episodes of His Dark Materials S3. Arran Green shot the short, Find The Light, directed by Missy Malek. Fede Alfonzo framed for Jack Clough, Will Bex for Jim Gilchrist and Joe Douglas for Femi Ladi. Franklin Dow shot with Joe Connor, and Theo Garland with Connor Byrne. David Procter lit for Darius Marder, and Patrick Meller for Sam Brown.
PRINCESTONE Of the agency’s camera/Steadicam operators… Junior Agyeman is shooting Pretty Red Dress for BBC Films/BFI, directed by Dionne Edwards. Simon Baker ACO is filming on the second Downton Abbey movie with DP Andrew Dunn BSC. Cosmo Campbell ACO is on Amazon Studios’ The Power, with director Reed Morano and 2nd unit DP Carlos Catalan. Michael Carstensen ACO is in Wales working on Disney+ TV series Willow for DP Stejn van der Veken, starring Warwick Davis. Matt Fisher ACO worked on the next series of See for Apple TV in Toronto, and is now shooting Disenchanted in Dublin for Disney Films with director Adam Shankman and DP Simon Duggan ASC. Rob Hart ACO is filming The Girl Before, a thriller series for BBC1, with director Lisa Bruhlmann and DP Eben Bolter BSC, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo. Tony Jackson ACO is shooting on The Power. Tony Kay ACO is shooting on The Larkins. James Layton ACO is prepping for the Apple TV+ series Wool from the Silo series of novellas by Hugh Howey, starring Rebecca Ferguson, directed by Morten Tyldum, with cinematographer Hagen Bogdanski. Nic Milner is 2nd Unit DP and operator on The Peripheral for Amazon Studios/ Warner Bros, directed by Vincenzo Natali. Dan Nightingale ACO is shooting Sherwood, a sixpart BBC drama from House Productions. Peter Robertson Associate BSC ACO is filming on The Little Mermaid, for director Rob Marshall and DP Dion Beebe ACS ASC. Diego Rodriguez is the DP on Juventus: All Or Nothing, a documentary shooting in Turin, Italy about the legendary football club. Joe Russell ACO is on Red Gun, the Game Of Thrones prequel, at Leavesden Studios with DP Fabian Wagner. Sean Savage Associate BSC ACO SOC is filming on Amazon Studios’ Citadel, an action-packed spy series starring Priyanka Chopra, Ashleigh Cummings and Richard Madden, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, and will move on to operate on Aquaman 2 at Leavesden Studios. Fabrizio Sciarra SOC Associate BSC GBCT ACO is shooting on Paramount Pictures’ Dungeons And Dragons in Belfast with DP Barry Peterson. Peter Wignall ACO is in Budapest working on Borderlands starring Cate Blanchett, Jack Black and Hailey Bennett. Tom Wilkinson ACO is also in Budapest shooting with DP Richard Rutowski ASC on the next series of Amazon Studios’ action thriller Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, starring John Krasinski as the CIA agent. BERLIN ASSOCIATES Will Baldy is shooting The Sandman for Netflix. Sarah Bartles Smith is lighting a pilot for Tidy
Opposite: (top) Denis Crossan BSC; (below) John Pardue BSC on The Watch; This page: Alessandra Sherillo; Will Pugh on the dolly shooting Crime.
Productions. Harvey Glen has been shooting spots and doing dailies. Len Gowing shot the second block on ITV’s The Bay S3 in Manchester with director Nicole Volavka. Alvaro Gutierrez filmed a block on Killing Eve for Sid Gentle Films with director Anu Menon. Annemarie LeanVercoe is shooting Murder In Provence for ITV with director Chloe Thomas. Nick Martin is framing The Offenders for Big Talk Productions/BBC1 with director Stephen Merchant. Toby Moore shot an episode of BBC’s Call The Midwife and an episode of ITV’s Vera S11. Trevelyan Oliver is shooting The Tuckers S2. Tom Pridham shot 2nd unit on Trapper Keeper for Barking Lion Productions. Benjamin Pritchard has wrapped on Teacher for Clapperboard/C5. Andrew Rodger is shooting block two of BBC’s We Hunt Together with director Bex Rycroft. Pete Rowe is shooting Dodger for NBC Universal with director Rhys Thomas. James Swift recently shot a block of All Creatures Great And Small S2 for Playground Entertainment/C5 with director Sasha Ransome, and a block of Call The Midwife. Simon Walton is shooting Shetland for ITV with director Siri Rodnes. Matt Wicks is on BBC2’s The Witchfinder for Baby Cow. Phil Wood is working on Ragdoll for Sid Gentle Films/Alibi. Simon Rowling completed the short, Daddy’s Girl, and shot an Edinburgh Gin spot.
INDEPENDENT TALENT Darran Bragg is shooting The Larkins with director Andy de Emmony. Bjorn Bratberg is filming The Long Call with Lee Haven Jones. Jordan Buck lit commercials for Vashi with Oliver Duggan, TU with Leone Ward, and Virgin with Tash Tung. Chris Clarke has graded the short, Just Johnny, with director Terry Loane and shot TVCs for Spotify, Sky Sports, Standard Chartered Bank and Fiat. Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC ASC is shooting Lonely Boy with Danny Boyle. Simon Dennis BSC is working on American Crime Story S3 with director Ryan Murphy in the US. Sam Goldie enjoyed the release of Big Boys Don’t Cry, the RSA documentary he shot with director Gray Hughes, and has filmed a Porsche ad in Finland with director Miika Vaso. Catherine Goldschmidt is prepping Red Gun for Geeta Patel. Stuart Howell is shooting The Peripheral with Vincenzo Natali. Eric Kress is working on Borgen S4 for Netflix. Suzie Lavelle BSC is shooting Conversations With Friends for director Lenny Abrahamson. David Luther is lensing new series The Swarm with director Luke Watson. Seamus McGarvey
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BSC ASC is prepping for Wonka with Paul King. Andreas Neo shot commercials with Pitch director Lee Cheney, and for Discovery with Michael and Chris McKenna. Roman Osin BSC is lighting The Last Voyage Of The Demeter with André Øvredal. Tat Radcliffe BSC is filming Matthew Warchus’s Matilda. James Rhodes has been shooting live music with Georgio Testi and Paul Dugdale, including promos for Coldplay, Fontaines DC, Jack Garratt and the Glastonbury Live Stream. George Richmond BSC is prepping Matthew Vaughn’s feature Argyle. Christopher Ross BSC is shooting The Swimmers with Sally El Hosaini. Ben Seresin BSC ASC shot a spot for Hyundai x Marvel with US director Luke Monaghan. Carl Sundberg is framing Flowers In The Attic for showrunner Paul Sciarrotta. Mark Waters lit a special episode of Doctor Who. Maja Zamojda BSC is working on The Great S2, starring Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning.
MYMANAGEMENT Welcomes Carlos Veron, originally from Buenos Aires, who spent many years in the US, now based in London. He has worked on hundreds of projects – commercials and music videos, plus shorts and features that have screened at the Hamptons, Palm Springs, Rome, Buenos Aires and Berlin Film festivals. Petra Korner AAC is prepping HBO’s His Dark Materials S3 at Black Wolf Studios in Cardiff. Ashley Barron ACS is shooting All Creatures Great And Small S2 block three in Yorkshire. Todd Banhazl teamed up with Oscar-winner Adam McKay to shoot the HBO pilot Showtime, chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980’s LA Lakers. Chris Dodds shot for John Lewis directed by Sam Robinson and a 3Mobile ad with director James Kibbey through Unit9. Dominic Bartels continues his collaboration with Black Lab for a long-running commercial project, and shot a Catsan project with director Brad Lubin through Mindseye. Craig Dean Devine wrapped on Ladhood S2 directed by Jonathan Schey, and is shooting Stath Lets Flats S3 directed by Andrew Gaynord. Filip Marek lensed spots for Skoda with director James F Coton, Swyft directed by Jara Moravec, and Stimorol with director Paco Cruz. Pete Konczal teamed-up with director Jonny Mass for a BMW shoot in LA and a JayZ and Beyoncé music video directed by Emmanuel Adjei via The Directors Bureau. Sam Meyer has been shooting music videos and ads including Fanzone directed by Dean Moore, Holly Humberstone & Greentea Peng with director Raja Verdi, and KSI with Troy Roscoe and AJ Tracey with director Curtis Essel. Knucklehead enlisted Sy Turnbull to shoot with The Dempseys on spots for Amazon and Boots before an Aviva commercial through Adam & Eve directed by Rob Spary-Smith. Nicolaj Bruel DFF shot in Tuscany through Mercurio on a Sammontana spot with director Martin Werner, and with BRW Filmworks for Mulino Bianco. Adric Watson shot with Archers Mark director Will Williamson for BT Beyond Limits in Wales, before heading to Kiev to shoot JP Cooper’s ‘She’ music video directed by Greg Davenport at OB Management. Ahmet Husseyin lensed for Nike with Stink, shot an Eloise music video with Lowkey director Nicolee Tsin, plus a short film called Bystander with director Mahmut Akay. Jallo Faber FSF is prepping on the feature Troll with director Roar Uthang, shooting in Norway. Arnaud Carney has been with director Melanie Laurent on a Eugenie VR shoot and a lit a Cacharel spot through Downtown Paris directed by Hugo Lopez. Gaul Porat lensed a CNN spot in Miami with director Charles Todd before heading to Aspen to shoot a Toyota/Olympics promo directed by Leo Zuckerman. Ekkehart Pollack lit back-to-back on car jobs for Citroen with director Henry Littlechild, Toyota with Jake Scott, Bugatti with Ali Bach, and Mercedes with Claas Ortmann. Paul O’Callaghan has wrapped on Imposters, a three-parter directed by Gareth Johnson, for Raw TV/Netflix, and did 2nd unit days on His Dark Materials. Todd Martin collaborated with Division 7 directors Similar But Different for Spotify, Biscuit Filmworks director Dan Difelice for a video game brand in Kiev, before heading to Mexico City to lens Mitsubishi with directors Boki & Chelo.
Ben Coughlan continues his teamwork with Vevo, filming their long-running DSCVR series. Lee Thomas lit three campaigns for Secret Escapes in Wales, Scotland and along the Jurassic coast with directors Alan Friel, Jacques Salmon and Chris Thomas through 76 Ltd, plus the shorts The Fool’s Mate directed by Cian Llewelyn, and Bald with director Luke Bather. Darran Tiernan is shooting Netflix’s crime-drama series The Lincoln Lawyer, with Ted Humphrey as showrunner, EP and one of the writers. Jo Willems shot in Toronto on the adaptation of Windsor McCay’s Little Nemo In Slumberland with director Francis Lawrence. Daisy Zhou teamed-up with director Charlotte Rutherford for an Urban Decay shoot in New York, Prada in LA directed by Martine Syms, followed by a Cuervo Dobe Tequilla shoot helmed by Emma Westenberg. David Lanzenberg is working with director Tim Burton on Wednesday, the live-action Addams Family spin-off series on Netflix, starring Jenna Ortega. Ian Forbes shot for WeTransfer with director Leo Leigh, and went to Devon to shoot the BFI short film Seagull with director Dean Puckett. Robbie Ryan BSC ISC worked with Slow West director John Mclean on a Django Django music video, plus shorts in Dingle, Ireland and Bradford, England. Jon Chema lit a Martell TVC in LA with director Child, then a Spravato ad in Lexington, Kentucky with director Tarik Karam.
WORLDWIDE PRODUCTION AGENCY Vanessa Whyte has wrapped principal photography Ted Lasso S2 for AppleTV+ with directors Matt Lipsey and Sam Jones, and is now shooting a comedy pilot for BBC3/HBO Max/ Various Artists Limited with directing duo Rosco 5. Stephen Murphy BSC ISC has concluded principal photography with directors Hiro Murai, Donald Glover and Ibra Ake on Atlanta S3 for FX, and graded the horror thriller No One Gets Out Alive with director Santiago Menghini for Imaginarium/Netflix. Tony Slater Ling BSC shot with director Adrian Shergold on drama Wolfe for Sky/AbbottVision and is now prepping Stephen Moffat’s thriller Inside Man with director Paul McGuigan for BBC1/Netflix/Hartswood Films. Manoel Ferreira SASC is working on the Netflix drama Fate: The Winx Saga S2 in Ireland with director Ed Bazalgette for Archery Pictures. Callan Green ACS NCZS is prepping the feature Barracuda in Greece with director Richard Hughes for Millenium Media. Ruairi O’Brien ISC continues on the final block of Amazon’s The Power with director Neasa Hardiman. Arthur Mulhern continues on C4 prison drama Screw from creator Rob Williams and STV Studios. Ed
Opposite: (top) Kit Fraser shooting The Fantastic Flitcrofts; (centre) Sashi Kissoon gets to grips with a script; (below) Tom Wilkinson working as A-cam/Steadicam on Jack Ryan; This page: Pete Rowe shooting Dodger.
Moore BSC is lighting the The Birth of Daniel F. Harris with director Alex Winckler for Clerkenwell Films/C4. Mattias Nyberg is shooting the comedy series Mammals with director Stephanie Laing for Amazon/Vertigo Pictures. Andy Hollis is working with writer-director-actor Mackenzie Crook on Worzel Gummidge S2 for Leopard Pictures/ ITV. Anna Patarakina FSF has wrapped on three-part series The Tower with director Jim Loach for Mammoth Screen/ITV. Baz Irvine ISC has concluded on the first block of UK version of Call My Agent with director John Morton for Amazon/ Bron Studios/Headline Pictures. Marc Gomez Del Moral is shooting Sky Studio’s drama series Blocco 181. Catherine Derry has wrapped on CURS>R with director Toby Meakins for Stigma Films, and is prepping the romcom A Christmas Number One, with director Chris Cottam, for Genesius Pictures/ Sky Original Cinema. PJ Dillon ISC ASC shot That Dirty Black Bag with director Brian O’Malley for Palomar/Sundance TV. Angus Hudson BSC has graded BBC political thriller series Ridley Road with director Lisa Mulcahy. Mattias Troelstrup DFF has graded the second block of Hanna S3 with director Weronika Tofilska for Amazon/NBC Universal. James Medcraft worked with director Jay Brasier-Creagh and Squire for a McLaren promotion and Le Col’s new aerodynamic cycling clothing range. Jake Gabbay lit a fashion spot with director Irene Baqué for Fossil via Dog Eat Dog, and shot with Knucklehead director Hugh Rochfort for We Are England Cricket. Matthew Emvin Taylor shot a spot for Gillette with Prodigious director Chris Thomas, followed by a Brewdog ad with Biscuit director Jeff Low. Marcus Domelo filmed a Facebook ad with Agile Films’ director Zack Ella, and a Network Rail spot with directing duo The Queen and Filming Scotland. Benjamin Todd shot for Morrisons with director Henry Scholfield and Academy, and Pandora via London Alley/ Compulsory with director Hannah Lux Davis. Tibor Dingelstad NSC has graded the first block of Hanna S3 with director Sacha Polak for Amazon/ NBC Universal.
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GATEWAY TO THE STARS
By Natasha Block Hicks
Photo: NYU Tish Students
©Branda: Courtesy of NYU Photo Bureau
Located close-by the iconic Washington Square Park, New York University’s Tisch School Of The Arts regularly sees its Graduate Film alumni collecting some of the industry’s highest accolades, sometimes within just a few years of graduating – directors Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Cary Fukunaga and Chloé Zhao, and DPs Bobby Bukowski, Andrij Parekh and Joshua James Richards, to name just a few.
Here we join chairperson, Barbara Schock, and DP Mia Cioffi Henry, cohead of cinematography and head of 1st year studies, to find out what makes Tisch so successful.
“I was enamoured with how the programme breaks you down at the beginning to the very bare minimum, then builds you back up to be this really collaborative, coherent voice,” says Cioffi Henry of her own time as a Graduate Film student at Tisch. Based in the Kanbar Institute Of Film & Television, ‘Grad Film’ admits 36 students per year onto its Master Of Fine Arts (MFA) degree programme. Entry is rigorous and competitive. Candidates are required to submit an application form and a fivepart portfolio of creative works including new written pieces as prompted by the school. A filmmaking background is not a prerequisite.
“We are looking for people with stories to tell, period,” says Schock, “we’re internationally renowned for the development of the singular voice in filmmaking.”
Successful students undertake three years of coursework followed by an additional, optional, thesis year. All students follow the same curriculum for the first two years with eight classes per semester across all the cinematic crafts including writing, editing, sound, producing and directing. It is not until the third year that they can focus on a single craft, such as cinematography.
“It’s our philosophy that performing all the creative and technical roles on a film set creates really well-rounded filmmakers,” comments Schock.
The first project the students shoot is a four-minute silent film on 16mm, facilitated by Grad Film’s ongoing partnership with Kodak Film Lab NY.
“We really love teaching on analogue film,” says Cioffi Henry, “for the visual aesthetic, but also because we want students to have purposeful shot lists, and to think before they shoot. They get that basic muscle built in early-on, and it really shows in their later work.”
After their baptism by celluloid, students move on to the Sony FS7, and then in the second year and above they shoot on ARRI Alexa Minis, Alexa Classics, Red Cameras and 35mm film, and also get to visit local rental houses such as Panavision and ARRI to test industry-standard equipment. Students have the use of a teaching soundstage for their productions, and a black box space where the sound and beginner cinematography classes are held. They can also access a further stage at the school’s Todman Centre, and use New York’s Kaufman Astoria when it is available between professional productions.
“We really consider the city to be our set, however,” emphasises Schock, explaining that they encourage students to utilise the various rich backdrops of New York City, including all the boroughs.
“The time in the classroom is really valuable,” Cioffi Henry continues, “but a lot of it is in preparation for the project that students shoot or in service of the project on the way back.” Production continues throughout the semester and – what with each student directing four short films in the first half of the programme, acting as crew for their classmates, and carrying out directing exercises set for the weekends – life is busy.
“I probably shot 20 shorts in my time here,” laughs Cioffi Henry, “which was helpful, since I had never shot anything before I came to Tisch.”
Cioffi Henry’s return to Tisch was facilitated by Tony C. Jannelli, Grad Film academic director & head of cinematography, himself a working DP and camera operator known for The Silence Of The Lambs (1991, DP Tak Fujimoto), who invited her to give a class as an Adjunct Instructor (visiting tutor).
“I really fell in love with the process of teaching,” explains Cioffi Henry, and so she returned full-time. This was made possible by Grad Film’s flexibility in allowing its permanent and adjunct staff to continue to shoot projects outside of the school. Cioffi Henry recently took leave to shoot the indie thriller Superior (2021), directed by Erin Vassilopoulos.
Grad Film’s full-time cinematography staff include Cioffi Henry, Jannelli and Serbian DP Tatjana Krstevski known for The Load (2018). Frederick Elmes ASC, whose credits include Blue Velvet (1986), Wild At Heart (1990), Synecdoche, New York (2008) and Paterson (2016), is a regular adjunct instructor, teaching all the third-year cinematography classes. Other adjunct instructors have included Peter Deming ASC known for Mulholland Drive (2001), Christopher Manley ASC who shot Mad Men (2007-2015), Patrick Capone ASC whose credits include Succession (2018-2021) and Vanja Černjul ASC, DP on Crazy Rich Asians (2018).
Twice a year, a visiting DP will take one of Grad Film’s regular lectures, and the programme also offers a series called The Chair’s Workshop, whereby the chair introduces a new guest each week to give a masterclass followed by a demonstration on the school’s soundstage. Guests have included Vittorio Storaro ASC AIC who shot Apocalypse Now (1979), Eric Messerschmidt ASC, winner of the 2021 Academy Award for Mank (2020) and a virtual Q+A with James and Sir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC.
A rifle through Grad Film’s directory shows a range of age, ethnicity, nationality and gender in the teaching staff. From Spike Lee, the programme’s artistic director and a Grad Film alumnus, through to Cioffi Henry herself, Tisch pushes itself to be an example of inclusion and diversity.
“It means a lot to me that I can be this young person, mother, working cinematographer, black woman, all of those things, as an example for the students,” says Cioffi Henry.
The school publishes a 15-paragraph charter of commitments on its website, including such points as requiring mandatory anti-racism training for staff and students and a promise to create a Black Student Council.
“We attract such a diverse group of applicants and we really take that seriously,” states Cioffi Henry. “We are constantly revising our film list and bringing in adjunct instructors who work on projects with a diverse visual aesthetic. Then the stories that come out of the school tend to be that of representation and that attracts more students as well.”
Being a cinematography student at Grad Film, primarily a writing/directing programme, has some specific advantages.
“We always use cinematographers from within NYU,” states Cioffi Henry. With a smaller ratio of DPs to directors, this means that budding cinematographers are in-demand.
“We have a showcase for cinematographers twice a year,” Cioffi Henry continues, “so that students get to know the cinematographers in the other classes.” ARRI Rental sponsors the event and the associated Volker Bahnemann Award For Outstanding Cinematography, which is a cash prize to a fourth year DP showing excellence in their field.
Other student film showcases include Tisch’s First Run Film Festival, which culminates with the Wasserman Awards, incorporating the Néstor Almendros Award For Best Female Cinematographer, and the Second Year Showcase, a public screening of the results of two semesters’ back-to-back filmmaking.
Professional relationships forged while students at Tisch often carry forward into graduates’ careers. Alumni classmates DP Joshua James Richards and director Chloé Zhao were nominated for the 2021 Academy Awards for their work on Nomadland (2020), with Zhao picking up best director for the film, plus a BAFTA for best cinematography for Richards. Cioffi Henry’s former classmate Erin Vassilopoulos called her up to light Superior, selected for Sundance 2021.
Tisch takes an active role in supporting its alumni and keeping them connected, through its Class Notes social media feed, alumni directory, workshops, networking opportunities and associations, such as the Tisch London Alumni Club. With around 50% of its student body hailing from outside the United States, and the school’s permission to shoot second year and thesis films abroad, these connections can be far-reaching.
NYU estimates of costs accrued by a full-time student attending Tisch are around £60k total per annum, however there are various forms of financial aid available for attendees, including Federal and State Aid for US Citizens and a variety of scholarships, bursaries and loans.
Costs can be softened by student cash prizes, such as the aforementioned Bahnemann Award, and in addition, all students are eligible to apply for a number of third year grants given out by patrons, such as Ang Lee and alumnus Martin Scorsese. Panavision supports student projects with its New Director’s Grant, consisting of a camera package, and $150,000 is available every year to film productions in the form of the Black Family Film Prizes. This list is by no means exhaustive.
Another way to offset costs is for students to work for the school for a wage. Technical assistants, for example, can work as in-class assistants for up to ten hours per week, and six graduate assistant (GA) posts are available for third-year students who have the aptitude to help teach junior students what they have previously learned.
“I think GA is a very prestigious position because it really puts you at the forefront of your class as a strong shooter, somebody who’s helpful, collaborative and technically-minded,” says Cioffi Henry, who was previously a GA herself. Thus, skills and knowledge generated within Grad Film are invested back into the school, and potential future professors given the teaching bug.
Below: 3LR’s Barry Grubb (left) and Matthew Lloyd (right)Opposite: (main) – Tisch students make the most of NY’s skyline, Photo by Cameron Laventure; Opposite: FoS/4 studio line This page: (top) – students shooting in Washington Square, New York; of fixtures. Bottom: adding visiting DP Ellen Kuras ASC with Mia Cioffi Henry (r); technology to the 3LR product mix.(below) shooting in the elements, pic by Elnura Osmonalieva.
DRIVING THE ACTION
Selected Filmography (so far): El Baile De Los 41 (The Dance Of The 41) (2020), Wander Darkly (2020), Mano De Obra (Workforce) (2019), Crystal Swan (2018), Hala (2019), They (2017), Flower (2017) and Las Elegidas (The Chosen Ones) (2015).
When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer? I’m not sure I had a ‘eureka’ moment. I always knew since I started writing and reading that I wanted to tell stories. One day in my English class at uni in Rio a friend said his dad was a DP and I remember thinking ‘Oh that’s what I want to do’. At that point I was studying journalism and really didn’t know people in the film industry. I have a clear memory of the first time I stepped on a film set when I was 20. It was a short film being made in London, but I knew I had found my place in the world.
Where did you train? London College Of Communication where I earned a BA Honours in Film & Video. I also trained with the GBCT in the UK, which really helped me start in the industry. I worked as a clapper/loader in London for many years and tried to get all the on-set experience I could from gaffers and DPs. I had the fortune to have the dear Sue Gibson BSC as my mentor, who pushed me out of my comfort zone and that’s why I started shooting after I left AC’ing.
Later I studied at the American Film Institute, in Los Angeles, where I earned my masters in cinematography, and that really shaped me to become who I am with my work today.
What life/career lessons did you learn from your training? Every job is a new challenge, every film is a new lesson. If you have no experience in the world and no empathy for people, then the camera and all the tools won’t make you a good cinematographer.
What are you favourite films, and why? Movies by Antonioni and Tarkovsky are always film school favourites. There are two films that made an impact when I was younger… Betty Blue (1986, dir. Jean-Jacques Beineix, DP JeanFrançois Robin AFC) – for the power in its use of colour and symbolism.
Before The Rain (1994, dir. Milcho Manchevski, DP Manuel Teran) – I was impacted by the exploration of time/space and the importance of ‘words’, and even now I can’t watch it without crying. Recently I really loved Burning (2018, dir. Changdong Lee, DP Kyung-pyo Hong) and Sound Of Metal (2019, dir. Darius Marder, DP Daniël Bouquet) – both great indies, with excellent performances and cinematography that fully supports the story.
Who are your DP/industry role models? Sue Gibson BSC and Seamus McGarvey BSC ASC are people I met in my early career and really look up to. I admire Amy Vincent ASC as someone who sticks with what she believes, and who is also extremely artistic and knowledgeable. Rodrigo Prieto AMC ASC has such a versatile career and is also known for being a kind soul. That’s what I strive for. Also, Ava Berkofsky – we graduated from AFI in the same class. It’s great to ‘grow’ in this industry and have by your side a friend who is also the most talented cinematographer I have ever met.
What’s the best advice you were ever given? ‘If you aren’t early, you’re late’ – from Rod Marley, a 1st AC who trained me in London. He was so right. I truly believe in ‘right time/right place’ and work hard to be in the right time and right place. I think there’s an element of ‘alignment in the universe’ for things to work in a certain way and I always feel blessed by that.
Opposite: on the set of Swipe Night, an interactive series for Tinder/Picture This page: (top & below) checking the light and enjoying the illumination on the set of El Baile De Los 41.
Photo by Amaury Barrera and Pablo Casacuevas.
What advice would you give the ‘young you’ just starting out? I would ask myself to have more patience, and enjoy the process more. No need to rush. A brilliant career is built step-by-step.
Where do you get your visual inspirations? Everywhere. Right now I’m sitting in my office in Mexico City and there’s this little bit of light entering the room, but the sun is on the opposite side of the building at this time of the day. So I just stepped outside for a minute to see where it was coming from. A tree was chopped down and revealed a metal part of the building across the street: the sun hit it and bounced back into this room. So as I said, literally everywhere.
What have been your best/worst moments on-set? Best: when you forget you are making a film and live with the actors in the scene. Recently whilst making El Baile De Los 41(The Dance Of The 41), director David Pablos and I were the only ones inside a small bedroom, aside from our operator Nico Gril and the actors. The scene got intense, and I remember grabbing David’s arm so hard and forgetting we had a camera in there.
Worst: when people cross the line, stop being professionals and talk to others not in a nice manner. I’m not saying everyone needs to get along tremendously and never argue, but everything should be in the best interest of the film. When it becomes about egos, I just can’t stand that, nor laziness. I can’t stand people who don’t care.
What is your most treasured cinematographic possession? A clip (for gels) that gaffer Campbell McIntosh gave to me one of the last times he let me shadow him onset before he passed. He painted it gold and said that from that day on I was part of the ‘golden crew’. I always have it with me, every feature I shoot.
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I tend to come across as really serious, but people who know me see a big comedic side. Also because of the leadership and the social skills one must have to navigate jobs people don’t actually know how shy I am.
Away from work, what are your greatest passions? Hiking is my favourite thing. Spending time with my girlfriend and our dogs.
It can be tough being a DP, how do you keep yourself match-fit? I’m terrible at it, but it’s essential to be healthy for our work. I just started training and boxing. Along with the physical side, I believe taking care of your mental health and your spirit is just as important. I’ve been a Buddhist for many years and this practice has helped me put things in perspective. I have also started somatic experience therapy and I’m amazed at how resilient and wise our bodies are – even with all the crap we eat, the hours we spend on-set and the many nights drinking!
In the entire history of filmmaking, which film would you love to have shot? Macunaína (1969, dir. Joaquim Pedro de Andrade, DP Guido Cosulich).
What are your current top albums? In no particular order: Transa – Caetano Veloso; OK Computer – Radiohead; Mezzanine – Massive Attack; LA Woman – The Doors; Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones; Moro No Brasil – Farofa Carioca; Ao Vivo – Cassia Eller; and O Tempo Nāo Para – Cazuza.
If you weren’t a DP, what job would you be doing now? I would be an architect. I also have been trying to find a ‘sabbatical year’ to work with immigrants who cross the border between the US and Mexico.
What are your aspirations for the future? I am happy where I am in my career now. But I do strive after shooting a bigger studio movie - maybe a Latinx hero? I would love to find a way to keep the artistic integrity of smaller, more auteur cinema, and take it to a big movie that everyone will pay and go see it.
What is the most important lesson your working life has taught you? Work harder. And then work harder. Be humble and have empathy.
What’s up next for you? I just wrapped on Insecure in LA, where I was the alternate DP on the last season. Back home in Mexico City I have started prepping a small indie for David Zonana for whom I shot Mano De Obra (Workforce). I am also pitching a feature that I will direct/shoot called The Reluctance Of Time And A Sense Of Wonder.
Who is your agent? In the US/Europe it’s WME. In Mexico/Latin America I am represented by 9am.
What is your URL/website address? www.carolinampcosta.com
OUTSIDE THE COMFORT ZONE
By Natasha Block Hicks
Weeks away from wrapping on his first, ‘there-in-person’, feature film as a DP, Maceo Bishop SOC reminisces on the previous chapter of his career as a highly-regarded camera operator, which simultaneously peaked and concluded with his win of the 2020 BSC Operators Award, Feature Film category for Uncut Gems (2019).
“I wasn’t planning on doing that film, I was done with operating,” says Bishop of Uncut Gems, which was lit by Darius Khondji AFC ASC, “but Darius was very convincing. And, of course, I was glad that I did, because it was an incredible experience.”
Unusually, Khondji and director-brothers Josh
and Benny Safdie had invited Bishop to be part of their preparation process on Uncut Gems, looking at locations and participating in discussions ahead of the tight 30-day shooting schedule.
“They had their eyes on it being a collaborative experience from the very start,” reveals Bishop. “I feel it is so important for people to understand that the earlier an operator can be part of the conversation, the more we can offer back to the project. I’m so grateful to the Safdies and Darius for letting me into their creative process.”
Born in Detroit, Bishop was raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by his mother Rachel, an activist and member of the Students For A Democratic Society (SDS) and the League Of Revolutionary Black Workers. A single parent, Rachel would take her young son along with her to meetings, marches and parties.
“My mom was always taking pictures,” remembers Bishop, “ and she was the one who put a camera in my hand. I grew up wanting to tell stories. So when I got to college, I decided I was going to study journalism.” Once enrolled at the University Of Massachusetts (UMass), Bishop’s attention was captured by a film studies module offered by Hampshire College, one of a Five College Consortium giving the state students of UMass access to their private tuition. With no existing filmcentric degree to switch to, Bishop utilised an experimental programme to develop his own curriculum around classes offered by the Five Colleges. “I called it Film Studies, Social and Political,” states Bishop proudly, “I was always pulling my mom’s activism into my world. My civil rights studies professor, Michael Thelwell, had been a consultant on a documentary series called Eyes On The Prize (1987-90, a landmark series documenting the history of the civil rights movement in America) and managed to help me get an internship at the production company. That was my first job in the film business.”
Bishop moved to New York after he graduated where, thanks to his local grandmother, he could be sure of at least one nourishing meal per week whilst he pursued work in camera assisting. After some 13 years of success in that role, he was ready to progress within the camera department.
“I had a young family at the time and Steadicam offered the possibility of making a living in New York City,” says Bishop. “I wanted to bring some humility to the role, to do it more quietly than I had seen it done before. When I was an assistant, Steadicam was considered a rarefied thing. It would come in and all the air would be removed out of the room.”
Bishop explains that he approached Steadicam operating as if he were a translator, through which the DP and director’s ideas could funnel.
“I think the DPs that I worked with appreciated the focus remaining on the story,” he affirms. “Really good operators are, in their DNA, a little bit like DPs and a little bit like directors too. That way they can be sensitive to the needs of those around them.”
Bishop’s first notable professional relationship as a Steadicam operator was with American Gangster DP Harris Savides ASC, whom he met when he replaced an outgoing operator on a commercial Savides was lighting. Pleased with Bishop’s work, Savides invited Bishop back on further commercials work and then the two began to hunt out a feature project to do together.
“We finally found Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011). But by that point, Harris knew that he had brain cancer,” reminisces Bishop sadly, “he was not able to finish that project.” Chris Menges BSC ASC ended-up replacing Savides, but by this point Bishop’s name had begun to circulate and several notable DPs were to look to his services as a Steadicam operator over the next few years, including Sir Roger Deakins ASC BSC CBE on Revolutionary Road (2008), Bruno Delbonnel AFC ASC for the
Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) and Janusz Kaminski ASC for Spielberg-directed drama Bridge Of Spies (2015), for which Bishop also operated B-camera.
It was with Rodrigo Prieto ASC AMC that Bishop first developed a multi-feature partnership. The Mexican DP interviewed him for the Oliver Stone drama Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Bishop’s first full feature credit on B-camera and Steadicam.
“With Rodrigo, that was where I really started to develop as an operator,” says Bishop, “he has an incredible attention to detail. I really absorbed a lot working with him.” Bishop would operate for Prieto on two further features: The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2014).
“There are shots in The Wolf Of Wall Street that feel so true to that film,” reflects Bishop. “There’s a single take scene in the Wall Street ‘war room’ where the camera starts off moving around the whole room and ends with Leonardo DiCaprio delivering his monologue to it. That’s a really fun one.
“But actually the shots that I’m really proud of are not necessarily the biggest shots,” he continues. “When you’re so deep, so steeped in the story that you’re unaware of the mechanism, then I think that’s a great thing”.
Bishop credits Khondji with many of these immersive operating experiences. His first feature with the Iranian-born DP was Woody Allen’s film Irrational Man (2015), following with Bong Joonho’s Okja (2017) and Bishop’s final feature as operator, Uncut Gems.
“Darius has been probably the most supportive DP that I’ve worked with as a camera operator, because he always went further to include me in the creative process,” says Bishop. “I feel really proud of a lot of the shots that we pulled off in Uncut Gems. There was so much going on in the moment, yet we managed to capture these incredible, intense scenes.”
The shooting conditions on Uncut Gems were certainly challenging, which Bishop cites as at least part of the reason he was recognised with the BSC Operators Award.
“It’s very claustrophobic as a film, everything is very tight,” explains Bishop. “We were filming on location on really long Anamorphic lenses, usually two lenses tighter than a traditional medium or wide shot, plus the actors weren’t using marks, so I was having to be instinctual and committed to every moment. The full tool bag of skills that I’ve learned over the 14 years of being an operator were at play in the operating on this film.”
The production had rented such a range of the heavy G- and E-series Panavision Anamorphic lenses that the lens cart blew a tire on one of the first days of shooting.
“There was probably something wrong with the tire,” laughs Bishop, “but we all thought it was funny.”
This was a light moment in an intense schedule. “People have described the film as like a two-hour panic attack,” says Bishop, “and as an operator, you really do have to tune-in to the emotions of the scene and respond to it. Rodrigo would say that, as the operator, it’s in your hands and you have to make a choice for everyone, particularly the audience. My take on it is that I’m guiding the audience, thinking where they would want to be to find the truth of the moment.”
Never one to rest on his laurels, Bishop is now pushing himself as a newly-fledged DP. Uncowed by the pandemic, since retiring from operating he has worked as cinematographer on A Christmas Carol (2020), a live-streaming of the Dickens classic morality tale with actor Jefferson Mays playing every one of the 50 plus parts, and has also managed to ‘remotely’ light a new Peter Hedges (About A Boy) feature. Now Bishop is actually onset, and there-in person, as the DP for American comedian Ray Romano on his as-yet-untitled feature directing debut.
“It’s been a great experience so far and it’s exciting because it all feels so new,” Bishop enthuses. “I want to stay out of my comfort zone as much as possible because that’s where so much amazing learning happens.”
Opposite: (top) shooting Uncut Gems; (below) working on Bridge Of Spies. This page: (clockwise) shooting with Mitch Dubin and Steven Spielberg on Bridge Of Spies; working with DP Charlotte Bruus Christensen DFF ASC on The Girl On The Train; Maceo pictured with Dariusz Khondji AFC ASC and Chris Silano during Uncut Gems.
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WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Cinematographer Bobby Bukowski ASC’s career spans three decades with close to 100 feature films to his credit. These include The Messenger(2009), Rampart (2011), Time Out Of Mind(2014) and The Dinner(2017), all with frequent collaborator Oren Moverman, together with Mark Pellington’s Arlington Road(1999), Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes(2014) and Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted(2020).
Bukowski is also a lifelong lover of nature and the great outdoors, qualities that, coupled with his gift for creating beautiful images and striking compositions, made him the ideal collaborator for Robin Wright when the movie and TV star took on the challenge of directing her first feature film, Land, in which she also stars as the lead character.
Land is a powerful and confident debut, and a beautifully-shot movie that follows the journey of Edee Holzer (Wright), newly-widowed and stunned by tragedy. She jettisons her old life in exchange for a spartan cabin, with no power or water, and a solitary existence in the remote mountain wilderness of Wyoming. Living off the grid and without any prior wilderness experience, Edee is buffeted by the elements and unprepared for nature’s formidable realities – including wolves and marauding bears. She struggles to survive, but a timely encounter with a local man, Miguel Borras (Demián Bichir), opens the door to a deeper understanding of nature as he teaches her the skills she needs to live in harmony with nature.
Here, Bukowski, talks about working with the award-winning actress and the challenges of shooting on top of a mountain, sometimes in arduous conditions. This was your first collaboration with Robin as a director. What visual references did you both discuss and use?
We didn’t actually look at many visual references, but we did talk a lot about what the landscape meant narratively at different points of Edee’s journey. I’d sent Robin this image of a lone person, a tiny woman in a vast wilderness, which
Heavy snow, blizzards, icy winds, freezing temperatures… I was in my element
Is it true you wrote a letter to Robin Wright about being the right DP for the job?
Yes, I read the script, and that knew I was perfect for it. I’m such a nature guy at heart and love being in forests and mountains, and it hit me in such deep ways – emotionally, visually and psychically. And, there was virtually no dialogue in the first 20 to 30 pages, so it really excited me as a DP. So I wrote this love letter to her film and all the landscapes, and then we met and began talking about it. Hadn’t you worked with her before, on Rampart?
Yes, and that’s when I first realised how interested she was in directing. I was lighting this bar scene for her close-up, basically with a lightbulb and some diffusion. She was very focused on what I was doing, watched every step, and asked me all these questions about the process. Actors aren’t usually interested in all that, so I could tell right away that she was very intent on learning as much as she could about lighting and camerawork.
really spoke to me. So the idea was that at the start of the film, nature and the wilderness is hostile. She’s not part of it, but is fighting it. Then, as time progresses and she learns more and more about her surroundings, and as Miguel teaches her things, she becomes more integrated with the landscape and nature, more at ease, more at home.
How did you approach the look of the movie? At the start of the film we shot Edee as this small, fragile person lost in the wilderness, and there are a lot of subtle changes as the story progresses. We begin with very high contrast and very crisp colours that emphasise how sharp and dangerous the landscape is. Then all the colours and contrast gradually become softer, with more greys and creams, and we began placing the camera lower to the ground, and shooting through bushes and grass in the foreground to show how she’s becoming more integrated with her surroundings.
How long was the prep and shoot?
Prep was about three weeks, and then it was a 30-day shoot on top of an 8,000-foot mountain in Calgary, Canada, which doubled for Wyoming, The big challenge was that we had to capture all the seasons over the three-year period of the storyline, all in 30 days. So the original plan was to start in September and do all the scenes set in summer, fall and spring, and then come back later to shoot our winter scenes. It started off with beautiful warm weather, but winter suddenly hit us at the end, so that meant adjusting the whole schedule on a daily basis to deal with the bad weather, and we got it all – heavy snow, blizzards, icy winds, freezing temperatures. It was pretty extreme.
Opposite: Land, a Focus Features release; (right) actor/director Robin Wright with DP Bobby Bukowski.
Photos by Daniel Power/Focus Features.
I know you’re an avid outdoorsman, but wasn’t that extreme even for you? (Laughs) No, I was right in my element, and I could monitor how the wind was moving and how the light was changing constantly.
Robin told me you even slept in Edee’s cabin on top of the mountain for most of the shoot. Talk about the benefits and challenges of shooting on location.
The original plan was to build two cabins – one on the mountain, and one on a soundstage – and then shoot most of the cabin scenes on the soundstage. So our production designer, Trevor Smith, and his team built this great log cabin from scratch and moved it piece-by-piece up the mountain to this perfect location.
When I saw it I said, ‘Why the hell are we even bothering with the other one on the stage? We’ll have to put all the bluescreen up for the windows and not be able to capture the light and all the elements and so on.’ So I told Robin, ‘Come up to the cabin and see the beautiful views from the windows – you won’t have any of that on a stage.’ She got it immediately. It’s more beautiful, more flexible. And yes, it was cold. The cabin had no water or heat, and it wasn’t comfortable but it allowed me to see things from Edee’s perspective. And I had the camera and lenses with me all the time, so I could grab them, run out and shoot a sunrise or an icicle melting or snow falling. I loved it.
Was this the toughest shoot ever?
Yes, I’d say so. It was physically so gruelling, especially as I was also operating the camera, but I had very high expectations of the wild beauty I’d be able to capture, and all that was unscripted. I’d just grab the camera and shoot whatever caught my eye.
Tell us about your camera and lighting choices.
I shot with the ARRI Alexa Mini, with Cooke Speed Panchros, Angenieux Optimo Zooms and an Easyrig. I love natural light, so I used very few lights, mostly ultra bounce, unbleached muslin, a lot of solids, large and small, to create contrast. Sometimes I’d use an ARRI M40, plus s30 and s60 Sky Panels.
Did you work with a colourist on the LUT?
Yes, with colourist Joe Gawler. We worked on that before we even got going on the film itself. In terms of the DI, Joe and I have done over 20 films together now, so we know the language and the tools we use, and it’s a really good collaboration. This time it was all done remotely because of Covid. He was in Harbor Post, New York, and I worked from home on a calibrated iPad. I found the whole process quite successful. Of course, I really missed being in the room with Joe as usual, where you can scroll though and maybe discover stuff together, but I’m very happy with the way it turned out, and I think we got a very beautiful look.
ROBIN WRIGHT TALKS ABOUT SHOOTING LAND
You’ve worked with many of Hollywood’s top directors and starred in such diverse projects as Rob Reiner’s cult classic The Princess Bride, David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Robert Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol, Bennett Miller’s Moneyball, and M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable. How did you prep for your directorial debut? Did you get advice from directors you know?
I didn’t talk to any. My main prep was with Bobby, and that collaboration was key to this. Bobby and I had many meetings and watched movies that had inspired us, and we talked in-depth about how we wanted the film to feel and look when this character has all these elliptical memories. And we’d share a lot as we were picking the shot lists and lenses and so on. Bobby was very big on mood boards, so we’d get to see how scenes would look and feel.
And then, nature is also a character in the film throughout, but at the start Edee doesn’t really see it or take it in at the beginning. It’s just there and very cruel, as nature can be. So we wanted that to look very different to later on where she’s communing with nature and appreciating the majesty of her surroundings.
Bobby is also a great outdoorsman. He loves nature, and really understood what we needed to capture in terms of nature. He even slept in Edee’s cabin on top of the mountain for most of the shoot, while my producer and I stayed in trailers behind it, so we could all live the movie we were shooting - and be right in the middle of all the storms and so on. If one hit at 3am, Bobby would grab his camera, head outside and get a timelapse shot.
Would it be fair to say that you and Bobby jumped in the deep end on this shoot? (Laughs) Yeah, and it was brutal. The big challenge was, we never knew what to expect with the weather, and that area’s well-known for very unpredictable weather. So we had to be ready to constantly reschedule stuff on a daily basis. We’d be in shorts and T-shirts shooting a summer scene, and suddenly we’d get word the Chinook winds were coming, and they can be 70mph. So we’d have to shut down for an hour or so and wait for them to pass. Sometimes we’d get three seasons in one day, or rain no one had predicted, so it was constant change and reshuffling, and a very busy set. Of course equipment jammed and broke down because of the extreme cold. It was a very tough shoot, but it was worth it, and Bobby’s such an artist.
