THE LIGHT STUFF•BARRY CONROY
BARRY CONROY•THE LIGHT STUFF Main: Barry Conroy, on Free Fire with DP Laurie Rose BSC Opposite lower: With father, gaffer Louis Conroy Below: Barry, spot check
THE BRIGHT SIDE Gaffer: Barry Conroy by David Wood
Most difficult location? On a show a couple of years ago, a location was found which had very limited access in a tightlypacked pine forest. We had a lot of night scenes and needed a hard backlight, soft fill and overhead soft light. We managed to get a machine on a firebreak road, but couldn’t get any balloons or other machines in to do the fill or overhead. We ended-up rigging 2K Jem Ball lamps high-up in the trees with bi-colour LED fittings in them which we had 3D printed and wrapped in LED strip. We then used LV4 Pro controllers from EMP designs and Tracer batteries to power them. We ended up making 20 of them and it worked out great in the end. It was a bit of a rig though!
Cinematographer Laurie Rose BSC says: The gaffer/DP relationship is a crucial one for me. They do rather have to be a conduit for my macroanxiety, to make sense of wild ideas, organise them and bring them to life, with a great team and still have a laugh. If they’re along for that ride with you then they’re very special and you want to hang on to them. Barry and I are of a similar age and his calm, considered approach counters my haphazard methodology perfectly. He always has a brilliant alternative and has the courage and knowledge to offer ambitious, practical solutions when all about is mayhem - it’s literally in his DNA. Cinematographer Owen McPolin ISC says: Often DPs think they choose the gaffers they work with, but the opposite is really true. At the root of the relationship lies trust and without that, the process of lighting and prediction becomes laborious, inefficient and liable to disaster. It’s that critical really. When you work with an accomplished gaffer, they can almost predict the requirements based upon the style they perceive in their DP. Although I try my damnedest to stump Barry, he manages to distil lighting to its simplest core and by doing so, solves the given conundrum without so much as involving me, freeing me to tell the story. I trust him implicitly and when we work together my only worry it will be the last time, as he is clearly destined for enormous things.
Favourite movie? My favourite to work on was Free Fire (2016) with Laurie Rose BSC and director Ben Wheatley. We had a warehouse in Brighton fully-rigged with in-built lighting and hidden fixtures so we could almost shoot anywhere in the building. The cast and the crew had so much fun on the shoot together. It was filled with dust, bullet hits, fire and water, but also lots of laughs!
How did you get started? My dad, Louis Conroy, is a gaffer and he got me an apprenticeship in 1999 with Paddy O’Toole in Cine Electric Lighting Company in Ireland. When I finished there I started working as a daily on various productions and then James McGuire started crewing me on jobs. I went on to best boy for James and thank him to this day for all the advice and guidance he gave. Another big break was while working the floor with gaffer Terry Mulligan. He offered me the second unit gaffer position on a TV show called Camelot. It was an amazing experience and it gave me the confidence to start chasing jobs as a gaffer.
Did you always want to be a gaffer? I don’t think so, but I always worked hard and wanted to do the best I could, whatever the job. Once I was offered a gaffer job I grabbed it with both hands and gave it everything. I think being a gaffer finds you, rather than you going looking for it. How did you learn the trade? The best learning I got was from working with and watching others – my dad firstly (he still teaches me to this day), but also Terry Mulligan, James McGuire and Noel Cullen. They all taught me so much simply by watching them. Through my years as a best boy I learnt all about the organisation of equipment and labour and how important it is to simply write stuff down. When I started gaffering, DPs like Martin Führer BSC, John Conroy ISC, Owen McPolin ISC and Laurie Rose BSC all had different ways of achieving things so I’ve learnt to be very adaptable. I’m still learning everyday on-set and I suspect I always will. When is the gaffer/DP relationship at its best? I really enjoy working alongside DPs and gaining their trust. It is a great thing when you get on and build almost a second sense of what they want. The camera
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test and pre-light days are always key for both parties to figure each other out and get a feeling of how we like to work. On The Green Knight with DP Andrew Droz Palermo and director David Lowery, all three of us would talk through a scene on scouting trips and then when it came to our tech-talk, Andrew and I would both have similar ideas for lighting. All this prep work meant that the shoot went smoothly. Tell us about your crew My best boys Paul McNulty and Tommy Keyes, as well as Graeme Haughton who is my rigging gaffer, have all been by my side for years. My floor crew changes as people go off to become best boys and gaffers themselves, which is brilliant. Now we have Marc Cole on the genny and Mark McGowan taking care of the floor. I would also be lost without Terry Mulcahy who takes care of all things dimming and DMX. This is an integral part of film lighting now. Your biggest challenge? It would be the project I’ve just finished; a tenepisode TV series called Foundation for Apple TV+ which was huge. Multiple DPs, massive sets with a lot of LED practicals and big lighting set-ups. It was also shot across various countries, which added to the logistical challenges. We would be shooting in one country while setting-up in a second with another crew and planning for a third. This is where the behind-the-scenes work of a brilliant best boy and a rigging gaffer really show their worth. The crossover units and ever-changing schedules added to the workload.
Latest kit A really good piece of kit is a great wireless set-up. We recently got our hands on the Radical Wireless Blackbird and Sparrow DMX and were really impressed with the range and stability of connection. The Blackbird version is also weatherproof which is brilliant. I try to follow as many companies, gaffers and sparks on social media to see what they are using and what’s new. It’s great seeing how people use new innovations. Social media is great for rigs and ideas. I also enjoy testing new gear. What I love most are the accessories that are continually coming out - they change the way we can use certain lights. For example, how DoPChoice Snapbags and Octarig suspension systems allow us to soften LED sources. Sometimes what’s great is being able to use new technology to recreate an old technique. Using LED fixtures as space lights is a perfect example. Also, having ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ people on the crew is great for their knowledge of other fixtures we wouldn’t normally think of.
I’m still learning everyday on set and I suspect I always will Any advice for aspiring gaffers? Put down your phone and watch what’s going on around you. Never be late. Oh, and smile and enjoy yourself. What we do for ‘work’ is great!
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Cinematographer Tico Poulakakis CSC says: Anyone can be clear in their vision, but completely unable to accomplish it on a larger scale without someone to help them execute it, imbue it with additional complexity and elevate it beyond what the original had to offer. My most recent collaboration with Barry on Foundation is a shining example of that. He has the logistical prowess to run an army, but the ability to remain grounded in the intent of a scene and what it should look like, to stay calm during its execution and add to it. Barry thinks like a DP, which makes my job so much easier and more enjoyable.
STUDIO LOCATION FEATURES COMMERCIALS DRAMA TELEVISION EQUIPMENT GENERATORS TRANSPORT SUPPORT INNOVATION SAFETY SUSTAINABILITY 12/04/2021 CINEMATOGRAPHY WORLD MAY 202118:08 71
