PRODUCTION NEWS

EURO CINE EXPO SET FOR 2023 RETURN

Euro Cine Expo 2022 opened its doors on the 1st and 2nd July 2022, two years after the event was first announced, but which was delayed due to the unforeseen global pandemic. The Munich-based Expo welcomed exhibitors and visitors from around the world, delivering an international platform for the film, TV and cinematography industry.

Show organisers Rob and Claire Saunders, of SCS Exhibitions, chose a unique location for the show itself, The Zenith Hall, plus the adjacent Coal Bunker and Boiler Room for networking opportunities and a diverse seminar programme, curated by Cinematography World, which included guest-of-honour Vittorio Storaro AIC ASC joining live from Rome, as well as new product launches, and panels on diversity and green initiatives. “The venues in Munich offer the opportunity to grow and develop Euro Cine Expo into a much bigger and far stronger event and, following positive reactions from exhibitors, key associations and visitors, our plan is exactly that,” said Claire Saunders. The team behind Euro Cine Expo has plans to host the event at the same time of year as the Munich Film Festival, and to develop and strengthen this timing to bring further synergy with Euro Cine Expo, which will benefit attendees and exhibitors. “We have been overwhelmed by positive feedback, plus the offer of support and partnership from European associations. Euro Cine Expo will return in 2023 and we are already working on changes to the layout which we feel will improve the flow and experience for all attendees,” added Saunders.

“There are lots of ideas and plans for the next edition, which we will be sharing in the coming months. In the meantime, we thank everyone for making this first edition so wonderful. The feeling and buzz at Euro Cine Expo was fantastic and we look forward to seeing everyone again in 2023.”

PKE LIGHTING ACQUIRED BY SUNBELT RENTALS

Film, television and photographic lighting rental specialist, PKE Lighting (PKE), has been acquired by Sunbelt Rentals. The acquisition is aimed at strengthening Sunbelt Rentals’ proposition in the British film and television industry following its recent acquisition of Movietech.

Operating on a national level, PKE provides services to UK television shows and is well-positioned for growth in the UK. PKE and Movietech will work closely with sister company William F. White International (WFW), a film and television production rental specialist business, also Sunbelt Rentals company.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to be under the same umbrella as Movietech and WFW, which will allow us to continue to be successful well into the future,” stated PKE owner/director, Mike Pollard. “With Sunbelt’s support we will be able to invest in additional inventory and rental solutions that will expand our equipment offering and service for our clients.”

Commenting on the acquisition Andy Wright, Sunbelt Rentals UK CEO added: “These are exciting times as we expand our footprint in the UK. The combined knowledge and expertise of PKE, Movietech and William F. White International will be a true differentiator for our film and television clients.”

Established in 1991 and based in Irlam, Greater Manchester, UK, PKE provides the film and television industry an inventory encompassing lighting equipment, transport options and power generators across multiple locations around the UK.

CVP APPOINTS SALES TEAM TO SUPPORT NEW EUROPEAN FACILITY

Film, TV and cine production solutions provider, CVP, has appointed Benoit Foucault and Niels Lubbers into senior sales roles, in Belgium and the Netherlands respectively, to coincide with the company’s continued investment and expansion into Europe with the opening of CVP Belgium.

Foucault brings over 20 years of media industry experience, most recently having spent the last ten years as sales and rental manager at TV Connections. He has a track record for establishing and developing sales, and arrives with a deep understanding of the media production market. Lubbers brings solid experience in film, TV and camera sales having built and grown CameraTools.nl for 14 years, before working with ColourTools.

“Growing our teams and CVP’s presence across Europe is a strategic priority,” said Jon Fry, managing director of CVP. “At a time of rapid growth, Benoit and Niels bring knowledge and experience of the whole supply chain – from content production, and supplier community through to content distributors. As we grow, our priority lies in continuing to bring our expertise and personalised attention closer to our customers, to be nearer to the projects and provide quicker response times.” CVP originally set-up operations in Belgium in 2021 and has invested significantly in new sales and warehouse infrastructure since. The Belgium facility comprises 650sq/m, stocking the latest and most popular production equipment. The facility enables the company to tackle the challenge of availability with its large local stock holding across both the UK and Belgium, and improves delivery times and access to knowledgeable technical sales and support advisors. Customers can also access more competitive prices for their kit from mainland Europe, as CVP Belgium offers free shipping on EU orders over €1,000 and duty and VAT free prices where applicable.

“CVP Belgium provides a practical solution to the needs and challenges of our EU customers, removing their barriers to efficient and costeffective productions. Our presence in Europe fulfils our mission to put our customers at the heart of our operations,” added Fry.

CINEMATOGRAPHY WORLD TEAMS-UP WITH FOCUS PULLER AT WORK

Cinematography World has become an official media partner of Focus Puller At Work (FPAW), the international collective of focus pullers and other industry professionals, which provides a global resource for all-things about camera assisting.

With more than 2,500 members from over 60 different countries, FPAW connects people around the world, who work within the camera department, and provides a focal point to share information and learn from each other. The FPAW platform offers informative podcasts and a communitydriven forum; a community file-share server for manuals and other camera related documents; and a blog, where people working in the camera department, and partners, are invited to write about certain topics.

CAMERIMAGE 2022 GAINS MOMENTUM FOR 30TH CELEBRATION

The 30th edition of EnergaCamerimage, the international art of cinematography film festival, will take place from November 12-19 in Torun, Poland, and news is rolling-in thick and fast in advance of the jubilee event.

Cinematographer Stephen H. Burum ASC will be recognised with the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award, and will collect the accolade in-person in Toruń, where festival visitors will have the opportunity to admire some of his films. Burum is best-known for his collaborations with director Brian De Palma, on classics such as The Untouchables (1987), Casualties Of War (1989), Carlito’s Way (1993), Mission: Impossible (1996), Snake Eyes (1998) and Mission To Mars (2000). His canon of work also includes Joel Schumacher’s St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), Danny DeVito’s The War Of The Roses (1989), and Ken Kwapis’ and Marisa Silver’s He Said, She Said (1991).

The festival, will also honour visual arts pioneer Ulrike Ottinger with its Avant-Garde Achievements In Film Award. Ottinger is known for work that challenges audiences’ notions of visual arts, and has stayed active for five decades across film, photography, theatre, opera and exhibition.

Ottinger made her film debut in 1973 with Laocoön & Sons, in which she laid out her aesthetic outlook. In her next movie, Madame X: An Absolute Ruler (1977), she challenged masculine tropes – gaining international success and helping to underpin the formation of the feminist movement. Joan Of Arc Of Mongolia (1989) was an emancipatory story of female identity, whilst anthropological themes dominated many of Ottinger’s documentary films, particularly the ones focused on Asia such as Taiga (1992), an eight-hour epic on the life of nomads living in that country.

Renowned Australian cinematographer, Vance Burberry, will be the recipient of the Award For Achievements In Music Videos. His long list of collaborators includes performers as Guns N’ Roses, Alice Cooper, Cher, Celine Dion, Pearl Jam, Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears, Ozzy Osbourne, Busta Rhymes, Def Leppard, Gloria Estefan, The Weeknd and R.E.M, among many others.

Attendees will also get the chance to see designs for the new European Film Center CAMERIMAGE (EFCF) that is to be built in Torun. Camerimage also recently revealed the official poster for its 2022 edition, designed by Piotr Jabłoński.

PIXIPIXEL BECOMES CARBON NEUTRAL

Pixipixel, the London based rental house, and an Albertapproved sustainable supplier, has received carbon neutral certification as part of its sustainability commitment, making it one of the first UK rental facilities offering camera, lighting and generators to achieve this milestone.

Pixipixel’s carbon neutral certification comes after independent assessment and verification of its greenhouse gas emissions for the last financial year, conducted in accordance with the standards set by the Department For Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department For Business, Environment & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Most of company’s emissions – approximately 107 tonnes of carbon dioxideequivalent (tCO2e) – arise as a result of vehicle fuel consumption. Pixipixel is expected to considerably reduce this figure by up to 90% in 2022 following its switch from diesel to HVO fuel in autumn 2021.

The company transitioned to renewable energy in all facilities in 2019, which prevents approximately 30+ tCO2e from entering the atmosphere annually. The company recently upgraded all Flobanks in its lighting inventory to Bicolour LED fixtures as part of its sustainability plan and commitment to phase out all fluorescent tubes from its rental stock.

Pixipixel is also committed to reducing waste, with none of its waste going to landfill; staff have been trained in the basics of the climate crisis and workshops have been held to listen to employees on their ideas on emission reduction actions with the assistance of Creative Zero.

“We have made great progress to run our business more sustainably and intend to go further with our carbon reduction plans to aid not only our business in being more efficient but contribute to our clients’ efforts to reduce carbon footprint on their productions,” said Steve Knight, managing director of Pixipixel.

MUSTAPHA BARAT ABC ELECTED IMAGO PRESIDENT

Mustapha Barat ABC was recently elected as the president of IMAGO, the international federation of cinematographic societies.

In a statement released by the federation, Barat commented, “I would like to thank everyone for the trust bestowed in me. I was recently elected as the president of the Brazilian society of cinematographers (ABC), and am honoured to be the first president of IMAGO from a Latin American society.

I am aware of all the responsibilities and challenges that lie ahead and I see it as an opportunity to continue the steps taken by some of my predecessors to build new paths for IMAGO , as well as to shine a light on our work and plans for the future as they are relevant to cinematographers.

I see the expansion of IMAGO as essential, by bringing back the European societies that left as well as including Latin American, African and Asian societies. The aim is also to make IMAGO a centre of communication and interaction in all matters related to cinematography, by improving the IMAGO website, using social media platforms and an IMAGO mobile app. Our technical, education, working conditions, authorship rights, diversity and inclusion committees all do great work, and the resumption of the masterclass committee is fundamental.

We are in a world where intolerance is in evidence, and I aim to create an atmosphere that is more conducive to understanding, friendship and camaraderie. I am open to ideas, want to work in the most transparent and democratic way, and pay tribute to Luciano Tovolli AIC ASC and the other founding members of IMAGO.”

STEPHEN LIGHTHILL ASC RE-ELECTED AS ASC PRESIDENT

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) board of governors of recently elected the organisation’s 2022-2023 officers and Stephen Lighthill ASC was re-elected president for a third consecutive one-year term. He will serve alongside vice presidents Amy Vincent, John Simmons and Shelly Johnson; treasurer Steven Poster; secretary Gregg Heschong; and sergeantat-arms Chris Chomyn.

“As an organisation, we are focussed on education, continued improvements of safety practices, and further expanding our diversity and outreach efforts,” noted Lighthill. “The last year has presented many adversities for our community, and we are proud of how our members met these challenges while continuing to take storytelling to new places.”

REMEMBERING RON COLLINS

Ron Collins passed away recently by natural causes aged 80, in Sri Lanka, his chosen home after a long and successful career as a cameraman and business leader in the UK film and TV industry.

Collins started as a newsreel cameraman at British Movietone News in 1961, where his talents were quickly recognised, and he rapidly rose through the ranks, specialising in long-lens coverage of sports and major events. One of the highlights was filming from the top of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

When he left after eight years, to become freelance, he subsidised his income by joining with ace camera engineer George Hill to manufacture and sell lens conversions and accessories. Meanwhile, his mother, Hettie, a talented seamstress, made changing bags and camera covers. Reflecting what they did, Collins called the company Optical & Textiles Ltd. Clients soon started to call the business ‘OpTex’ and a legend was born. Between 1969 and 2005, OpTex International grew to become a major reseller and supplier of production equipment to film and video companies, employing a staff of more that 70, and becoming a recognised innovator of camera, lenses and equipment, such as the Aurasoft light used on many Hollywood movies. OpTex was awarded a Prime Emmy Award for the development of the first image intensifier for TV ENG Cameras during the Gulf War.

In the early 2000’s, OpTex suffered the fate of many similar companies and was taken into receivership. Collins took early retirement, moving to Sri Lanka with his wife Ashoka. There, his enthusiasm as a moviemaker didn’t wane and to the end he was making films of the island. He leaves behind his wife Ashoka, his daughters Nicole and Danielle, and many others who loved him dearly.

SHIFT 4 ACQUIRES THE NEW LEITZ PRIMES

UK rental company, Shift 4, has acquired the latest Leitz Prime lenses, and at press time was the only UK rental house to be stocking them. There are 12 focal lengths available, ranging from 18mm to 180mm.

Seamus McGarvey BSC ISC ASC used the Leitz Primes during the production of Cyrano (2021), the film for which he nominated at the BSC Awards for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature. Balazs Bolygo BSC HSC used them on the Netflix series Anatomy Of A Scandal (2022) and Tony Miller BSC shot the highly anticipated Mr. Malcolm’s List (2022). Shift 4 has just released a comprehensive lens test article (with downloadable 6K RAW files), exploring the technical and stylish capabilities of the lenses. The article explores what a highly regarded group of cinematographers, focus pullers and camera operators who joined Shift 4 for lens tests in London & Manchester thought of these lenses.

DEDOLIGHT INTRODUCES NEO COLOR

Dedo Weigert Film has introduced the colour addition to its Dedolight Neo precision lighting instruments with the new Dedolight Neo DLEDN7-C light head and DTN7C+ colour driver.

Built in collaboration with the colour team at Prolycht, the Dedolight NEO Color is a seamless integration between two of the lighting industry’s leading innovators. The Neo Color is an 80w adjustable colour focussing Dedolight, with a 6:1 variable beam angle courtesy of Dedolight optics, and is powered by a red, green, blue, amber, cyan and lime Hyperlight Color Engine developed by Dr. Anqing Liu of Prolycht.

With a white light range from 2,000K to 20,000K, and the ability to vary the gamut of a white point, the Neo Color offers accurate skin tone reproduction for variable CCTs. In addition users can make full use of colour wheels and prestored effects.

The system is controlled with a simple, intuitive menu via OLED display, DMX, Lumenradio CRMX or Bluetooth and the Magic Chromalink app.

BSC SUMMER LUNCHEON 2022

The 2022 BSC Summer Luncheon proved to be yet another joyful event, as patrons, fellow cinematographers and industry colleagues were welcomed to the Beaumont Estate in Windsor.

The annual gathering has a unique atmosphere, bringing together colleagues and comrades – as well as husbands, wives and partners in a relaxed and informal setting. The weather was glorious as guests enjoyed a sparkling reception.

The host, president Christopher Ross, welcomed new BSC members into the society – Dale Elena McCready BSC NZCS, Rina Yang BSC, Annika Summerson BSC, Ben Wheeler BSC, David Procter BSC, Si Bell BSC, Tim Sidell BSC and Ruairi O’Brien BSC ISC. He also welcomed new Associate BSC members, namely Lucy Bristow Assoc BSC ACO, Chris Bain Assoc BSC, Shaun Cobley Assoc BSC ACO and Tim Battersby Assoc BSC ACO.

Among the various addresses, cinematographer Doug Milsome BSC ASC was in attendance and was presented with his late son’s, Mark Milsome Associate BSC, honorary certificate. He gave a heartfelt and touching speech about safety and was deeply grateful for the continued support he has received from the society and industry colleagues. As always, Richard Blanshard was on hand to take photos of the event.

KODAK CELEBRATES

25 PRODUCTIONS SHOT-ON-FILM AT CANNES 2022

Kodak Motion Picture and Entertainment celebrated 25 productions that were shot on celluloid film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Four on-film titles competed in the Un Certain Regard section, with 11 of the 23 titles selected for Directors’ Fortnight also captured on film. As testimony to the next generation of filmmakers’ commitment to analogue capture, four of the shot-on-film titles premiering at the festival this year were helmed by first time feature directors. 2022 has been a strong year for productions shot-on-film, with Oscar recognition Kodakoriginated titles including Don’t Look Up, Licorice Pizza, West Side Story, The Worst Person In The World, Spencer and 007 No Time To Die. More recently, the IMAX and 65mm film originated Nope, directed by Jordan Peele is a hotly-anticipated amongst cinemagoers.

“On behalf of the entire team at Kodak, we congratulate the motion picture artists whose exceptional work was selected to screen and compete at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival,” said Steve Bellamy, President of Kodak Motion Picture and Entertainment.

“Film capture continues to grow exponentially across the feature film, TV, music and commercial segments, as evidenced by the strong showing of onfilm titles across the Cannes festival this year.

“Kodak would like to extend a huge “thank you” to the artists who evangelise and fight for the medium. There’s simply nothing as magical as the photochemical image and we are honoured to help these auteurs realise their artistic visions on film.

The films shot on Kodak film and as part of the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 between 17 – 28 May were:

Official Selection – Un Certain Regard: Corsage – Marie Kreutzer (35mm) Godland – Hlynur Pálmason (35mm) Sick Of Myself – Kristoffer Borgli (35mm) Harka – Lotfy Nathan (35mm) first feature

Out Of Competition: Mascarade – Nicolas Bedos (35mm)

Premieres: Don Juan – Serge Bozon (35mm) Le Pupille (The Pupils) – Alice Rohrwacher (16mm/35mm)

Cannes Court Métrage: Same Old – Lloyd Lee Choi (16mm) Cherries – Vytautas Katkus (16mm Ektachrome)

Directors’ Fortnight – Feature Films: L’Envol (Scarlet) – Pietro Marcello (35mm) Les Années Super 8 (The Super 8 Years) – Annie Ernaux & David Ernaux-Briot (S8) first feature Les Cinq Diables (The Five Devils) – Léa Mysius (35mm) Enys Men – Mark Jenkin (16mm) Falcon Lake – Charlotte Le Bon (16mm) first feature Funny Pages – Owen Kline (16mm) first feature God’s Creatures – Anna Rose Holmer & Saela Davis (35mm) Un Beau Matin (One Fine Morning) – Mia Hansen-Løve (35mm) Le Parfum Vert (The Green Perfume) – Nicolas Pariser (35mm)

Directors’ Fortnight – Short Films: Maria Schneider, 1983 – Elisabeth Subrin (16mm) Jitterbug – Ayo Akingbade (16mm)

Critics Week - Feature Films: Aftersun – Charlotte Wells (35mm) When You Finish Saving The World – Jesse Eisenberg (16mm)

Critics Week – Short Films Hideous – Yann Gonzalez (35mm)

ACID - Feature Films Yamabuki – Juichiro Yamasaki (16mm) Magdala – Damien Manivel (16mm)

COLORFRONT EXPRESS DAILIES 2022 SUPPORTS NEW ERA OF SET-TO-POST WORKFLOWS

Colorfront has released Colorfront Express Dailies 2022. Shipping now, Express Dailies 2022 runs on the new Mac Studio M1 Ultra workstation, and features support for the latest digital cinematography camera formats, such as ARRI Alexa 35 4.6K, with its ARRI Reveal colour science, ARRI Textures and 17-stops of dynamic range, plus Red V-Raptor 8K VV, Sony Venice 2 8.6K and Blackmagic Design 12K RAW.

Significantly, Colorfront has upgraded the colour management capabilities of Express Dailies 2022 to embrace a new era of workflow operations, and deliver versatile option to help users streamline end-to-end, colour-accurate workflows.

Express Dailies 2022 delivers full support for ACES 1.3, the latest Academy Color Encoding System, including ACES Metadata File (AMF), which is designed for greater flexibility when implementing ACES viewing pipelines.

Bruno Munger, Colorfront’s director of business development notes: “ACES AMF takes set-topost workflow to another level by removing the guess-work of applying colour pipeline and colour decisions across multiple applications on multiple shots from different cameras. Having ACES AMF within Express Dailies 2022 gives users a supreme way to manage precise colour communication between on-set and dailies, through to editorial, VFX and post-production mastering, and extends the capabilities of Express Dailies 2022 to enable new and highly-efficient workflows.”

In an on-going collaboration between Colorfront and Pomfort, a unique round-tripworkflow supporting Colorfront Engine has been implemented in Pomfort’s Livegrade Studio on-set colour grading system, to enable the exchange of clip-level ACES AMF metadata and colour descriptions in ACES viewing pipelines.

Additionally, Colorfront is developing a brandnew Colorfront Engine Plug-In for Blackmagic’s Davinci Resolve colour grading/non-linear editing system. The new plug-in supports ACES AMF workflow, as well as the application of Colorfront Engine parametric looks and transforms during post-production operations, ensuring perceptually matching simultaneous SDR/HDR deliverables.

ARRI LAUNCHES NEXT GENERATION ALEXA 35 CAMERA

ARRI recently launched the ARRI Alexa 35, a 4K Super 35 camera that, the company says, is designed to elevate digital cinematography to new heights. ARRI’s first new sensor in 12 years builds on the evolution of the Alexa family, delivering 2.5 stops more dynamic range, better low-light performance, richer colours and filmic textures.

Alexa 35 measures at 17 stops of dynamic range (exposure latitude), offering 1.5 stops more in the highlights and one stop more in the shadows than previous Alexa cameras, while retaining the naturalistic film-like highlight roll-off. Sophisticated stray-light suppression in the camera and lens mounts ensures that the full contrast range and character of each lens are captured by the sensor to provide an optimal source for HDR (High Dynamic Range) projects. Sensitivity settings range from EI 160 to EI 6400, and an optional Enhanced Sensitivity Mode can be applied to settings between EI 2560 and EI 6400.

ARRI’s discussions with filmmakers, and review of the image pipeline, have led to significant improvements in image quality and faster workflow. Reveal Color Science is the collective name for a suite of new image-processing steps used by Alexa 35 internally, and also available through third-party postproduction tools for ARRIRAW processing.

Reveal Color Science includes an improved debayering algorithm for cleaner compositing, a new colour engine for more accurate colour reproduction, a new wide gamut colour space for faster grading, new LogC4 encoding to contain the increased dynamic range, and new LogC4 LUTs (Look Up Tables) for improved colour fidelity. It is backwards compatible, meaning that ARRIRAW footage captured by Alexa LF and Mini LF cameras can be also processed.

ARRI Textures is a unique feature allowing cinematographers to fundamentally alter the way in which the camera records images, should they wish to. Up until now, Alexa cameras have been preprogrammed with a default texture that determines the amount and character of grain in the image, and the amount of contrast at different levels of detail, perceived by the viewer as sharpness. For the first time, Alexa 35 provides the option to choose from a menu of ARRI Textures, much like selecting a film stock.

With its Super 35 4:3 native 4K sensor, Alexa 35 can be used with a vast global inventory of modern and vintage, Anamorphic and spherical, Super 35 and large format lenses. Filmmakers wanting to shoot with ARRI cameras, whilst having to fulfil 4K mandates, now have a very broad lens choice.

THE LIGHT BRIDGE ADDS NEW DIFF 0 TO CINE REFLECTOR KITS

The Light Bridge, makers of the Cine Reflect Lighting System (CRLS) has added to its line-up with the new Diff 0, now part of the company’s C-Drive+ and C-Move+ Kits.

Lightbridge’s reflectors utilise a precision aluminiumcoated, smoothly-polished, wrinkle-free surface that reflects up to 97% of the light hitting them, with 100% colour rendering. Now there are five cine reflectors in every size, each offering various levels of reflectivity, ranging from the minimum, Diff 0 to the maximum diffusion Diff 4.

The new Diff 0 offers all the handling and surface benefits of the other cine reflectors, but is formulated and engineered to a mirror surface. A ‘real mirror’ replacement, Diff 0 offers the benefits of being lighter weight and shatter-free, in addition to outputting greater reflectivity as there is no light loss due to through-the-glass transmission. Designed to provide optimum control, CRLS tools act as key lights, capable of aiming diffused light with precision accuracy.

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