Animal magic Close-Up / BBC Dynasties Animal magic Close-Up / BBC Dynasties BY: Valentina Valentini Directing wildlife documentaries is wholly different from directing any other documentary. First off, they’re unusually talented camera operators; and second, when it comes to BBC Natural History Unit (NHU, basically the be-all and end-all of wildlife filmmaking), directors are called … Read more
Method LED Spotlight / Creamsource Lighting Method LED Spotlight / Creamsource Lighting BY: Michael Burns The developing story of the Creamsource brand of high-power LED luminaires began on the backlot of an animated film set in Antarctica, but its roots lie with a teenage inventor from the New Zealand bush honing his skills in Middle … Read more
Miami vibe Benoît Debie SBC / The Beach Bum Miami vibe Benoît Debie SBC / The Beach Bum BY: Ron Prince “Life’s a f***in’ rodeo! I’m gonna suck the nectar out of it, and f*** it raw dog, ’til the wheels come off,” proclaims Moondog, the permanently stoned, drop-out poet at the heart of provocateur helmer Harmony … Read more
Take 40 Innovator / Otto Nemenz Take 40 Innovator / Otto Nemenz BY: Mark London Williams Header Image (l-r): Fritz Heinzle, Marketing Manager; Otto Nemenz, Founder; Alex Wengart, General Manager Although we like to think of innovation often as a “light bulb” moment for the innovator (perhaps an “LED moment,” in the world of modern … Read more
Cooking up looks Meet the New Wave / Aaron Rogers Cooking up looks Meet the New Wave / Aaron Rogers Filmography (so far): Shorts – Pommel (2018), Last Christmas (2018), Thinking In Time (2018), Pollution Of The Heart (2016), Last Leg (2015) When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer? When I was … Read more
Works Of Heart President’s Perspective / Mike Eley BSC Works Of Heart President’s Perspective / Mike Eley BSC The greatest film ever made? For much of the twentieth century it was universally acknowledged to be Citizen Kane. And in the making of that classic, Orson Welles recognised the essential truth of cinema by paying Gregg … Read more
Crashbangwallop! Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC / Curfew Crashbangwallop! Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC / Curfew BY: Valentina Valentini Cinematographer Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC shot almost a dozen short films before she shot her first feature in 2009. For the next few years, she continued to bounce back and forth between arthouse feature films and shorts, before … Read more
First Dan Meet the New Wave / Dan Atherton First Dan Meet the New Wave / Dan Atherton Filmography (so far): Features – We The Kings (DP additional photography, 2018). Shorts – The Passenger (2019), Ivy (2018), Love Pool (2018), Sweet Maddie Stone (2016), Fuel To Fire (2016), Barry Glitter (2015) When did you discover … Read more
Resistance Isn’t Futile Letter From America / Stephen Lighthill ASC Resistance Isn’t Futile Letter From America / Stephen Lighthill ASC Stephen Lighthill ASC, senior filmmaker-in-residence/cinematography, at the AFI Conservatory/American Film Institute, reports on recent events in the Hollywood cinematographic community. Talk about heavy seas; one could sit in front of the flatscreen watching the news … Read more
A Matter Of Life And Death Robert Richardson ASC / A Private War A Matter Of Life And Death Robert Richardson ASC / A Private War WANT TO READ IT ALL? Below is only a teaser, and the full interview can be found in the March 2019 issue (92) of British Cinematographer magazine. If you … Read more
Shining a light on… Gaffers ‘R’ Us / David Sinfield Shining a light on… Gaffers ‘R’ Us / David Sinfield BY: David Wood Fact file Age: 39 School: Thamesmead, Shepperton/Strodes College, Egham Training: Lee Lighting/City Of Westminster College Early career: Lee Lighting at Shepperton Studios First Job: To Kill A King with gaffer John ‘Biggles’ … Read more
Golden Years John Conroy ISC / The Happy Prince Golden Years John Conroy ISC / The Happy Prince BY: Ron Prince All behind the scenes images: © Wilhelm Moser 2018 The Happy Prince , written, directed by and starring, Rupert Everett, relates the final three years in the life of Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. … Read more
Tusk master Ben Davis BSC / Dumbo Tusk master Ben Davis BSC / Dumbo WANT TO READ IT ALL? Below is only a teaser, and the full interview can be found in the November 2021 issue (108) of British Cinematographer magazine. If you purchase a year’s digital subscription from just £30, or a year’s all-inclusive … Read more
A subtle shift in focus Across The Pond / Mark London Williams A subtle shift in focus Across The Pond / Mark London Williams The first new column of spring finds us, once again, “between frames,” as it were. In the annual calendar’s relentless march – NAB! Cine Gear! Emmy! Oscar! – there is a … Read more
Illuminating Innovator / Frieder Hochheim Illuminating Innovator / Frieder Hochheim BY: Kevin Hilton Header image: Frieder went to town on fluorescents on Barfly (1987) For a sound recordist to suggest the need for a new type of florescent lamp – a fixture which, more than others, could cause interference on the location soundtrack – shows … Read more
Prime focus Meet the New Wave / Bart Sienkiewicz Prime focus Meet the New Wave / Bart Sienkiewicz Filmography (so far): Feature fims: Dark Encounter (2019, in post-production), Solis (2018), The Bromley Boys (2018), Piercing Brightness (2013); TV mini-series Immortality (2018) When did you discover you wanted to be a cinematographer? Cinema has fascinated me, … Read more
The British New Wave Letter From America / Roy H Wagner ASC The British New Wave Letter From America / Roy H Wagner ASC I’m a child of the golden age of filmmaking. Well, at least one of those golden ages we speak of with such reverence – the 1940s. As a young aspirant I … Read more
Man’s best friend Tristan Oliver BSC / Isle Of Dogs Man’s best friend Tristan Oliver BSC / Isle Of Dogs BY: Ron Prince “From a cinematographic point-of-view there’s no difference between shooting stop-frame and live action,” says Tristan Oliver BSC, the DP on Wes Anderson’s stylish and highly-acclaimed animated feature Isle Of Dogs, distributed by … Read more
Candid Camera Clapperboard / Cinders Forshaw BSC Candid Camera Clapperboard / Cinders Forshaw BSC BY: Valentina Valentini Header image: © Stefan Falke / NFP “A shot isn’t just a shot,” says cinematographer Cinders Forshaw BSC over the phone from her home in Bristol. She’s talking about film theory, a subject she’d originally shunned during her … Read more
