The giving of gifts President’s Perspective / Mike Eley BSC The giving of gifts President’s Perspective / Mike Eley BSC This year marks the BSC’s 70th anniversary. In September of 1949, Bert Easey, then head of the camera department at Denham and Pinewood Studios, saw to fruition his idea of a British Society Of Cinematographers, … Read more
Singing the Praises Across The Pond / Mark London Williams Singing the Praises Across The Pond / Mark London Williams One of the great ironies of the now-concluded award season in L.A. (by which we mean, “the lull before the Emmy campaigns start”) especially for this column, is that if you wanted to talk to … Read more
Double Act Laurie Rose BSC / Stan & Ollie Double Act Laurie Rose BSC / Stan & Ollie BY: Ron Prince Stan & Ollie follows the world’s most famous comedy duo, Laurel & Hardy, as they attempt to reignite their dwindling film careers, during a gruelling music hall tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland … Read more
Opportunity Knocks Spotlight / ScreenSkills Opportunity Knocks Spotlight / ScreenSkills BY: Michael Burns With production in the UK booming, the newly-formed ScreenSkills is dedicated to keeping the talent pool well-stocked. The film industry is traditionally seen as one of the most difficult to break into, but that might not be strictly true. “I think there … Read more
Wizarding World Philippe Rousselot AFC ASC / Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald Wizarding World Philippe Rousselot AFC ASC / Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald BY: Ron Prince Header Image by Jaap Buitendijk “I probably work best under a sense of terror, and feel that way when I start every single job,” remarks Philippe … Read more
Dance Lesson Mike Eley BSC / The White Crow Dance Lesson Mike Eley BSC / The White Crow BY: Trevor Hogg After adapting William Shakespeare for his directorial debut Coriolanus (2011), Ralph Fiennes explored the mistress of author Charles Dickens in The Invisible Woman (2013), and for his third effort delves into the defection of … Read more
Shining a light on… Gaffers ‘R’ Us / Martin Smith Shining a light on… Gaffers ‘R’ Us / Martin Smith BY: David Wood Fact file Age: 43 Born: Brighton, Sussex Training: City & Guilds Electrical Apprenticeship Early career: Electrician at Sovereign Electrical Lives: Shoreham-by-Sea Hobbies: Flying Selected filmography (as gaffer, unless otherwise stated): 6 Underground … Read more
Spellbound Dion Beebe ACS ASC / Mary Poppins Returns Spellbound Dion Beebe ACS ASC / Mary Poppins Returns BY: Ron Prince She’s back! Set in 1930s London, three decades after the events of the original film, Walt Disney Pictures’ $130m musical fantasy sequel, Mary Poppins Returns, sees the former nanny of Jane and Michael Banks reappear in … Read more
Courtly capers Robbie Ryan BSC ISC / The Favourite Courtly capers Robbie Ryan BSC ISC / The Favourite WANT TO READ IT ALL? Below is only a teaser, and the full interview can be found in the January 2019 issue (91) of British Cinematographer magazine. If you purchase a year’s digital subscription from just £30, … Read more
A Common Language Among Filmmakers Across The Pond / Mark London Williams A Common Language Among Filmmakers Across The Pond / Mark London Williams Sort of like the space between the end of the first Daniel Craig James Bond film, and the start of the next, consider that we’re picking up essentially where we left … Read more
Hart pounding Eric Steelberg ASC / The Front Runner Hart pounding Eric Steelberg ASC / The Front Runner All images c/o Columbia Pictures BY: Trevor Hogg One of the catchiest headlines was published by People Magazine in 1987, which read ‘Hart Stopper’ in reference to Florida model Donna Rice and her alleged extramarital affair that … Read more
Lovely Warfare Łukasz Żal PSC / Cold War Lovely Warfare Łukasz Żal PSC / Cold War BY: Trevor Hogg Awards seem to follow the collaborations of filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski and cinematographer Łukasz Żal PSC who were responsible for Ida becoming the first Polish film to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and with … Read more
Ghostly Past Alfonso Cuarón / Roma Ghostly Past Alfonso Cuarón / Roma WANT TO READ IT ALL? Below is only a teaser, and the full interview can be found in the January 2019 issue (91) of British Cinematographer magazine. If you purchase a year’s digital subscription from just £30, or a year’s all-inclusive subscription from … Read more
Open Houses and Holiday Gatherings Across The Pond / Mark London Williams Open Houses and Holiday Gatherings Across The Pond / Mark London Williams Lead image: Tiffen’s Tyson Galland walks a new user through a Steadicam demo at Tiffen Company’s open-house event in December Of late, each month’s column has appeared early the “following” month, … Read more
Credit worthy President’s Perspective / Mike Eley BSC Credit worthy President’s Perspective / Mike Eley BSC There are few things in our industry that divide opinion as quickly and as decisively as awards ceremonies. Or, more precisely, to whom the awards are given. “Really?! They gave best movie to…(insert film title here)!?” Or, “What do … Read more
Glass act Innovator / Gerhard Baier Glass act Innovator / Gerhard Baier BY: Michael Burns The name Leica should need no introduction to readers of British Cinematographer Magazine, but the name Ernst Leitz Wetzlar may be slightly less familiar. It shouldn’t be, though. This, the new name of the CW Sonderoptic lens manufacturing company, is … Read more
Long Lost Love Nanu Segal / An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn Long Lost Love Nanu Segal / An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn Stylish, absurdist comedy, An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn, was shot in the remote Californian town of Eureka. Here, British DP Nanu Segal talks us through the unique creative challenges she faced bringing … Read more
Eyes wide open Clapperboard / Nina Kellgren BSC Eyes wide open Clapperboard / Nina Kellgren BSC BY: Valentina Valentini Lead image: Up on the crane during the shoot of Solomon & Gaenor Nina Kellgren BSC was recently named most prolific female cinematographer by the British Film Institute. Though this was not the path she thought … Read more
Watching the detective John Pardue BSC / Luther Watching the detective John Pardue BSC / Luther Lead Image: BBC – Photographer: Des Willie DP John Pardue BSC wrote in with details about his work on the new BBC series Luther. “Luther is a great opportunity for a DP to create something visually stunning. The scripts … Read more
Stargazer Meet The New Wave / Will Baldy Stargazer Meet The New Wave / Will Baldy Filmography (so far): TV dramas… S4C Home Work (2017, dir. Ed Thomas), BBC Doctor Who 11 (2nd Unit) (2018, dir. Jamie Childs), and Sky Atlantic Curfew (action unit) (2018, dir. Colm McCarthy). Shorts… The Words (2018, dir. Ben Mankin), … Read more