SHINING A LIGHT ON...

JOHN ‘BIGGLES’ HIGGINS ICLS

By David Wood

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007) Stardust (2007)

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Children Of Men (2006)

Finding Neverland (2004)

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Air America (1990)

Personal Services (1987)

1984 (1984)

Fact File:

Age: 69

Born: Athlone, Republic of Ireland

First job: Samuelson Group

Training: Electrical engineer

Early career: Shell UK

Lives: Kensington, London

Hobbies/ passions: “I like to travel, but home is definitely London. I love the city, its museums, galleries, cinemas and theatres.”

What does the ICLS mean to you?

I became a member of the ICLS during the Covid shutdown, when it was initially set-up. It’s a great organisation for people in lighting and has held some very interesting seminars/Q&As about colour, colour management/matching, DMX and radio control. When I’ve had any queries about equipment, I’ve had really helpful replies pretty quickly from forums on the discord server. I’m 100% behind training/accreditation initiatives that the ICLS is considering.

I look at new kit all the time

Big break: Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC gave me my first big break as a gaffer on 1984. It was a big film with a couple of thousand extras and he was taking a big risk. I learned a lot and we are still friends nearly 40 years later!

What do you think he saw in you?

I don’t know, but I would say I did my research very thoroughly and brought all the options to him for how to light. That’s how it works in my book between the gaffer and the DP, it’s part of your responsibilities.

What do you look out for when hiring?

I get a lot of CVs from people wanting to come into the lighting department with degrees in filmmaking and photography. But, before they can aspire to go further, they need a very good practical grounding in electrical engineering.

There are training schemes out there and they are getting better. But what really interests me is if I see somebody proactively doing electrical theory courses under their own steam. That’s a good start and is indicative of the determination of that person to get to know the craft. If I find people learning the ropes, working in the rental house, doing day release in college, who are prepared to do what it takes, that’s who I want.

What amazes me is there are a lot of more experienced people out there who really have no understanding of how to programme a basic bit of kit like an ARRI SkyPanel. I’ve asked some lighting technicians, and quick as a flash they come back with, “That’s not my job”. But I think you should be able to do the rudimentary programming of kit that’s in everyday use.

It’s very telling every time there’s a fault that the same people always answer the radio, while the also-rans melt into the darkness.

Latest project:

Mickey 17, an upcoming 2024 American sci-fi film written directed and co-produced by Boon Joon-ho with DP Darius Khondji AFC ASC. I spent six months with Darius last year on this. It was technically-challenging, but it all worked.

We filmed at Cardington Studios, in its huge 180ft-tall indoor space, a former airship hangar. I’ve worked there many times and there are no structures for rigging there, so it all has to be custom-built. We needed structural engineers and installed 90 20ft x 20ft lightboxes, with walkways and cable management, and the biggest cherry picker I’ve ever seen. We worked from August to February 2023, installed over 1,000 panels and 400 chain motors, four for each box.

The idea was to create a snowscape on another planet, which was actually made of hundreds of tons of Epsom salt. We controlled every lamp separately and didn’t have a fault in over 1,000 lamps up there.

Developments in LED:

There are a few misguided assumptions about LED lighting, like the idea that LED is lightweight. When you are putting up a 20ft x 20ft Lightbox with 12 ARRI SkyPanels or 12 ProLights ECL panels in it, there’s nothing lightweight about that!

But there’s definitely progress. One issue with LED up until now is that there has not been a good hard source like a Fresnel. Then in 2020 a couple of the lighting suppliers mentioned a new light, the Fiilex Q5. This was the first LED light I’ve seen that had all the components of a Fresnel

Developing an inclusive workplace:

There are a lot more women getting into lighting now, which is fantastic as they are a great moderating influence. Lighting crews could be very toxic places in the past, but now it’s getting better as more women are coming forward. The toxic masculine bullshit that used to be there all the time has reduced measurably.

Best part of being a gaffer:

Every job I do I learn something. My motto is ‘No knowledge is a waste of time’. Everything you learn has to be an advantage to you at some point. It’s soul-destroying when people get to work on a big film and know exactly the same when they finish as when they started.

Core team: lamp, and it has full colour mixing. I thought, “Right, all we need now is bigger ones!”. The company has since introduced the Q8 and Q10. I’ve bought two!

With innovation like this, I can’t think of many negative things to say about LED, given that it provides a lot of light, without giving off a lot of heat. Rental costs can be high, because the cap-ex costs are high, but there’s a point where in terms of their lower energy consumption the two lines of the graph coincide. It’s another step forward in LED matching Tungsten, but it’s a very hard light to totally replace. I like to think it can be entirely replaced because it’s a very inefficient.

Keeping up with progress:

I go to the BSC Expo and rental houses to look at new kit all the time. If you don’t go, you don’t discover the new technology out there and you limit your palette. I’ll take my desk op and rigging gaffer too if I can get them and we’ll put it all on camera where we can.

One of my mantras is: “Never refuse the opportunity to do a test!” Sometimes people baulk at the idea of bringing-in a camera and lighting crew on a Saturday to shoot a test, but it pays dividends, because if you set-up on the day of the shoot and something’s wrong it can be a very expensive problem to fix.

My best boy Kevin Edland worked with me on 1984 and he has been pretty constantly with me ever since. My rigging gaffer Wayne Leach has worked with me for a long time. I know their characters, what they’re capable of and their technical abilities. They have a sense of loyalty which is very important. They are always willing to go a bit further than somebody just there for a shift. After a while people can become complacent but there is no room for complacency in filmmaking – you have to stay on top of your game all the time.

Desk ops:

Two grades have become more important in filmmaking with the growth of digital tech. The first is the digital imaging technician (DIT) and second is the desk op. I’ve worked a lot with Argentinian desk op Galo Dominguez, whose knowledge is very, very good on the GrandMA lighting desk, which is an amazing tool in the right hands.

The famous moustache:

I’ve had my moustache since I was 17. Some have beards, some people have their heads shaved. I have a moustache!

Join ICLS and you will be part of a community of lighting professionals that reaches around the globe, allowing for networking opportunities, increased job awareness and crew connections when working abroad, amongst many other benefits. Meet the key officers and board members who have made this happen.

Mike Bauman ICLS –Co-founder & President

Credits as gaffer: Amsterdam (2022); The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2021); Le Mans ’66 (2019); Night Crawler (2014); Iron Man (2008)

“The ICLS is a uniquely precious resource for everyone involved in lighting, at a time when we have seen such tremendous changes in lighting technology. It offers the opportunity to be part of a global community that is generous in sharing knowledge, and it’s my hope that the society will encourage people from different backgrounds around the world to make careers in lighting.”

Rafael Sanchez ICLS –Co-founder & Director

Credits as gaffer: Black Adam (2022); Red Notice (2021); Jungle Cruise (2021); Ant Man And The Wasp (2018); Passengers (2016)

“When I was a young gaffer I would have loved to have been part of an organisation like the ICLS. My wish is that the society continues to grow, brings more diversity to our craft, and gives greater awareness to the contributions made by talented artists in the lighting world. Thank you for choosing or considering being a part of something bigger than us all. Together we are stronger and smarter than we are individually.”

Erin ‘Nelly’ Nelligan ICLS – Director

Credits as console operator/programmer: Saint X (2023); Alaska Daily (2022-23); Midnight Mass (2021); Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021); Julie And The Phantoms (2020); Altered Carbon (2018-20)

“I was invited to an ICLS meeting as a guest and was hooked from the start. Finding a group of people who aspired to join our disparate communities together, share their knowledge, experience and skill, and foster the next generation, while also working on themselves, was refreshing as hell. These folks aren’t from the ‘closed shop’ so many of us grew up with.”

James McGuire ICLS – Director

Credits as gaffer: Cocaine Bear (2023); Nightflyers (2018); The Guard (2011); Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007); The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002)

“I would love to see the society grow internationally, and am keen that our membership reflects and encourages diversity and inclusivity globally in our industry – from those who are at the beginning of their career path as a trainee, to those who already have an established role in the business. In addition to corporate memberships, I am eager to see the rapidly evolving society become more open to associated areas – including camera/DIT and other relevant roles – that incorporate lighting.”

Adam Harrison ICLS – CFO

Credits as rigging gaffer/chief rigging technician: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022); Top Gun: Maverick (2022); Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021); Venom (2018); The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)

“My current role as treasurer/co-chair of the finance committee means the longterm financial health of the ICLS is a main focus. Thank you to our corporate members for your dedication to that spark which forwards the art of lighting. Your never-ending curiosity is the engine that keeps us exploring the endlessness of light itself. My message to aspiring members, and those just starting in the field of cinema lighting, is carry that spark, ask questions, and stay curious.”

Ediola Pashollari ICLS –Executive Director

Martin Smith ICLS –Co-founder & Director

Credits as gaffer: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023); 6 Underground (2019); Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018); Transformers – The Last Knight (2017); 13 Hours (2016)

“Along with being a wonderfully creative job, working in lighting is also highly-technical. I am all for the ICLS developing initiatives and programmes that are focussed on education, training and competency, and the provision of proper, structured and accredited routes into the business. This will take time, but it will be fabulous for our industry.”

Based in New York, Ediola is the ICLS’s strategic and visionary executive director. She holds multiple masters degrees, across business administration, political science and entreprenology, has over 18 years of experience in non-profit organisation/ management, and was the first elected female secretary general of The World Assembly Of Youth (WAY).

“My role mainly entails overseeing and steering the best interests of the society and its members. I would love individual and corporate members to actively assist us in expanding the ICLS to reach its fullest potential. Together we can further develop and maintain a space that is dedicated to education, knowledge, networking and professional growth for the lighting community worldwide.”

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