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A PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
Canadian Publications Mail
Product Sales Agreement No. 478423
March 2004
Volume 23, No. 7
In the Heat of India
Derek Rogers csc
Shoots Shipbreakers
ALSO
IN
THIS
ISSUE
ON CAMERA: Bentley Miller Meets Ace Lightning
REMEMBERING: Reg Morris csc
AWARDS: Pierre Gill csc an ASC Winner
SHOWCASE: CinequipWhite Goes Tropical
VIDEO FILE: Here Comes Panasonic P2
PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Annual General Meeting
volume 23, No. 7
March 2004
The Canadian Society of Cinematographers was
founded in 1957 by a group of Toronto, Montreal
and Ottawa cameramen. Since then over 800
cinematographers and persons in associated
occupations have joined the organization.
Our members now represent the film and
video community in all ten provinces. Our aim
continues to be to promote and foster the cause of
cinematography and the interests of the Canadian
film and video community.
We facilitate the dissemination and exchange
of technical information, and endeavor to advance
the knowledge and status of our members within the
industry. As an organization dedicated to furthering
technical assistance, we maintain contact with nonpartisan groups in our industry, but have no political
or union affiliation.
CSC EXECUTIVE
President: Joan Hutton csc
Vice-President: Richard Stringer csc
Treasurer: Joseph Sunday phd
Secretary: Antonin Lhotsky
Membership: Philip Earnshaw csc
Publicity: Robert Brooks csc
Education: Ernie Kestler
Membership inquiries: 416-266-0591
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CSC OFFICE
Canadian Society of Cinematographers
Administrator: Susan Saranchuk
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Toronto, Ontario M1M 1P1
Tel 416-266-0591 Fax 416-266-3996
email: admin@csc.ca
Editor: Donald Angus (416) 699-9149
email: editor@csc.ca
Editor-in-Chief: Joan Hutton csc
CSC NEWS is a publication of the Canadian Society of
Cinematographers. CSC NEWS is printed in Toronto and
is published ten times a year. Subscriptions are
available for $75.00 per year in Canada and
$95.00 per year outside the country. Canadian
Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 478423.
Contents
2 - President’s Report
- Annual General Meeting
1 4 - Cover Story
-xDerek Rogers csc: Shipbreakers
8 - On Camera
- Bentley Miller: Ace Lightning
4
12 - Remembering…
- Reg Morris csc
14 - Awards
- Pierre Gill csc Wins ASC
16 - Showcase
- February Freeze
8
18 - Video File
- Panasonic P2
20 - Action Production Notes
- CSC Calendar
Visit: www.csc.ca
12
COVER PHOTO: National Film
Board of Canada
president’s report
Joan Hutton csc
CSC Annual General Meeting
T
Photo: Don Angus
here was bad news and some
good news at the CSC Annual
General Meeting on Feb. 16. A
small but exuberant group of members,
convening as usual at Precision Camera
Inc. in Toronto, heard a gloomy financial summary for 2003 that reported
an operating deficit of $30,733. This
was $4,873 more than the budgeted
deficit of $25,860, and reflected what
was a difficult year for the Canadian
film industry in general.
Treasurer Joe Sunday could not
attend the AGM, but he wrote in his
report that “the CSC suffered an unacceptably large deficit during 2003. At
the beginning of 2003, the executive
recognized that commitments were
already leading to a large budget deficit,
and attempted to reduce the negative
Executive, staff, members and PCI/Sony sponsors at the CSC Annual General Meeting Feb. 16.
impact. However, an extremely poor
year across the industry meant that
member fees, advertising income, and
sponsor contributions to normal CSC
operations were all greatly strained.
“The CSC executive will refocus
attention to ensure that this trend is
reversed. This will initially mean that
all budget items will be either frozen
or reduced for 2004, following the
example of many responsible companies who took quick remedial action in
2003 to minimize the loss from the
poor filmmaking economy. It is also
necessary to implement a small increase
in fees, starting in 2005, to help return
the CSC to life.”
2 • CSC News
/
March 2004
To that end, the meeting approved
increases in annual fees for full members to $180 from $170, for associate
members to $120 from $110 and for
affiliates to $90 from $80, effective
Jan. 1, 2005.
The good news is that 2004 is a
publication year for the CSC Directory,
published every even year, and advertising revenue after expenses will help
defray operating costs this year. Also,
CSC News advertising is showing signs
of picking up after several slow
months. Many thanks to the members
in attendance for their constructive
ideas for operational improvements
and new revenue generation.
Membership chair Phil Earnshaw
csc, who also could not attend, wrote
in his report that total CSC membership at the end of 2003 stood at 520,
down 28 from the previous year. Full
membership increased by 10 to 213,
while the number of associates was
down one to 117 and affiliate membership decreased to 152 from 187. Full
Life membership was down two to 26
while Full Associate membership
stayed at seven. There were five honorary members, unchanged.
Fourteen new or upgraded members
were granted full membership in 2003:
Michel Bisson csc, Eric Cayla csc, Carlos
Esteves csc, Kenneth Hewlett csc, Silvio
Jesenkovic csc, Ian Kerr csc, Marc
Laliberte Else csc, John Lesavage csc,
Matthew Phillips csc, Hang Sang Poon
csc, Don Purser csc, Branimir Ruzic csc,
Gavin Smith csc, and Michael Wale csc.
In her report, administrator and
awards chair Susan Saranchuk said the
2003 CSC Awards Gala and the
CSC/Kodak golf tournament were successful, with the latter raising about
$7,000 for each of two charities.
In my president’s report, I noted the
deaths last year of members Gerd Kurz,
Ernie McNabb csc, Eugene Boyko csc
and Ed DeFay csc, as well as Christopher
Slagter, who had been a charter member
in 1957. I also included Conrad Hall asc,
who, while not a CSC member, was an
icon in the world of cinematography.
The meeting observed the traditional
minute of silence.
No nominations were received for
the Executive Board, and most of the
current executive agreed to serve for
another year. Ernie Kestler moved from
his position as secretary to the role of
education chair, taking over for Harry
Lake csc, who stays on as an adviser.
Antonin Lhotsky has agreed to serve as
secretary. Our auditors for this year are
Bob Bocking csc and John Hodgson.
A committee headed by Bob
Bocking csc and Joe Sunday is still
working to review our By-Laws and
Regulations, which, having been written in 1957, are in need of updating.
They are looking for people to join
them on this committee.
I noted that three of our members
were nominated for ASC Awards: Serge
Ladouceur csc, Jonathan Freeman and
Peter Wunstorf. Jan Kiesser csc asc was
nominated for an Emmy. Eight of our
members were nominated for Geminis:
David Frazee csc, Luc Montpellier csc,
Eric Cayla csc, Marc Charlebois csc,
Jacques Desharnais csc, Michael Grippo
csc, Maurice Chabot, and Marc Gadoury
csc. Montpellier and Gadoury were
winners. Prix Gemeaux winners were
Louis de Ernsted csc and Ronald Plante
csc, with nominations going to Daniel
Jobin csc and Serge Desrosiers csc.
Craig Mullins csc of Demoreel.com
approached the CSC Executive with a
proposal to screen members’ reels on
the CSC website www.csc.ca. This is
now in place and a notice will be sent
out soon letting everyone know how
to sign up.
I closed my report by thanking the
members of the Executive and Advisory
Board, Susan Saranchuk, and CSC News
editor Don Angus. Special thanks to
Ken Kurz and Bill Long at Precision
Camera Inc. for the AGM venue again,
and to PCI and Sony of Canada (Dave
Keller) for setting up the new Sony
XDCAM for members to play with
before and after the meeting. ●
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cover story
Derek Rogers csc
in the Heart of Darkness
I
n May, at 6:00 in the
morning, the temperature
is already 36 degrees Celsius. By
noon, inside the hull of a rotting
ocean liner, the temperature
reaches upwards of 48 degrees
and Canadian cinematographer
Derek Rogers csc finds himself
standing beside one of the 30,000
men that work in the shipyards
of Alang, India, one of the most
extreme shooting environments
he has ever experienced.
DANGEROUS JOB: “The ships are beached on shore where they are dismantled piece by
piece, in scorching heat, mostly by hand.”
4 • CSC News
/
March 2004
Shooting the Ship Breakers
of India — Hot and Hotter
“One day, one of our
By Micol
monitors imploded. I
looked in the manual
and it said ‘good up to 44 degrees’
and it was 49 degrees in the hull.
It was hot,” he recalled with a smile.
Rogers was asked to shoot the feature-length documentary Shipbreakers
by National Film Board producer
Peter Starr and Storyline Entertainment producer Ed Barreveld, a project under director Michael Kot that
would shoot for a month in one of
the world’s largest and most dangerous ship-breaking centres. He said he
eagerly anticipated the enormity of
the assignment, but apprehensive
about what the reality of the shooting conditions would be.
“The site was incredible! You
had to take a second just to understand the epic scope of the place,”
the Toronto-based DOP exclaimed. “There were hundreds of
beached ships in what I would call
a ship graveyard, not a shipyard.
They don’t have any docks there,
so the ships are beached on shore
where they are dismantled piece
by piece, in scorching heat, mostly by hand.
“The conditions are unbelievable;
not only do you have extreme temperatures, but it’s gritty, dirty, and
these guys are hanging off ropes with
blowtorches and sometimes don’t
even have shoes on.”
The conditions are so
extreme that a 2002 study
by Greenpeace classified the shipbreaking industry as one of the top
10 most dangerous jobs in the world.
Workers are exposed to asbestos dust,
heavy metal fumes and dioxins.
Explosions are common and account
for many of the 400 deaths that are
reported each year. Rogers himself
was involved in a close call while
shooting.
“I think it was the third day we
were there; in the ship next to the
one where we were shooting there
was an explosion and six men were
killed. They were basically vaporized
when the engine they were working
on exploded. The safety standards
are pretty wild.”
On a shoot with these kinds of
conditions, Rogers needed an experienced crew and equipment that
could take a beating.
“We took two HD Sony 900 cameras and minimal crew from Canada
with us, and we hired an Indian
‘Bollywood’ crew out of Mumbai to
assist with some of the second-unit
shooting. I can’t say enough about
how great the crew was! We had to
improvise a lot because the equipment just couldn’t take the dust and
heat. We weren’t as mobile as we
• see page 6
Marotti
CREW AT WORK: “We took two HD Sony 900
cameras and minimal crew from Canada.”
ROGERS AND CREW MEMBER: “We hired an Indian
‘Bollywood’ crew out of Mumbai to assist with some
of the second-unit shooting.”
CSC News / March 2004 •
5
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March 2004
• from page 5
had hoped, and had to stop frequently
and wrap the cameras in blankets
because of the dust. I can’t lie, there
were some equipment casualties.”
Rogers added: “I don’t want to get
into the whole debate about HD versus 35mm film. I liked shooting on
HD, but I do have a few recommendations. For you Sony reps reading this,
I would love to see someone construct
an ‘environmental HD camera’ . . .
almost an ‘extreme camera’ that has a
more durable casing and that can perform in dusty conditions and extreme
temperatures.
“The HD format was the right
choice for this particular shoot because
we wanted to capture the rawness of
the story and that meant we had to
move quickly, sometimes running
through piles of rotting scrap metal.
We decided to shoot at 30 progressive
even though the film will be ultimately blown up to a 35mm print for theatrical release.
“That meant though that I had
to be more exigent in the type of
lighting I chose. The camera had to
respond to varying degrees of natural
light. So, before I left Canada, I did
some tests to try and get a feel for
how the camera would react to a host
of situations, including also varying
weather conditions. I basically pre-set
four types of scenarios that ranged
from a hazy sun setting, to a low-light
dusk setting.”
In addition to lighting considerations, Rogers described the ever-changing terrain. “To really capture the vastness of the site we decided to rent a
crane for two days, and unlike in North
America, the crane came with a crew of
about eight guys to help man and
move it. These guys were world class! I
was 28 feet in the air on this thing,
which was an exact replica of a Giraffe
crane that you would get in Canada or
the U.S., and these guys were moving it
through sand, scrap metal, oil, and
debris with ease.”
Even though the scale of the project
seemed to demand massive crews and
lots of equipment, Rogers instead decided not to bring in any additional lighting and use only ambient light. In addition, he shot simultaneously what was
happening inside the ship through
close-up steadicam shots of the labourers, and what was happening outside
the ship through panoramic crane shots
to reveal the size and scope of the workplace.
“On this film,” he said, “it was so
essential to show the raw humanity of
these people, but at the same time not
lose the enormity — that sense of
epic. Again, keeping that purpose in
mind, I decided to use natural light
wherever possible. That meant bringing in reflectors wherever I could to
catch the shafts of light from both the
top of the hull and from the sections
that the men were cutting. This way
you really get a feel for what these
men are up against.”
It was Rogers’ keen understanding
of the sensitivities involved with the
project in both a technical and personal level that impressed Starr and
Barreveld.
“We hired Derek because of his outstanding visual sense and experience
both as a feature DOP and great doc
shooter,” said Starr. “He understands
‘big canvas films’ such as this one. We
recognized right away the complexities of shooting in Alang, both technical and especially personal. We had to
work hard to maintain our access to
the men under such dangerous conditions. I know that Derek is not easily
intimidated.”
As a parting thought, Rogers enthused: “I think that every DOP should
shoot one documentary a year. When
you shoot features, I think we deal with
what I call ‘soft subjects’ and we are
lulled into a dream-like state almost.
Documentary shooting is raw drama
and sometimes it’s good to see life as it
is. This experience really helped me to
select a moment and it sharpened my
skills as an image maker.”
Shipbreakers will be released theatrically in May by the NFB and Storyline
Entertainment, with a one-hour version
to be edited for the CBC’s Nature of
Things, National Geographic International
and Discovery HD Theatre. Rogers is currently working on a number of projects,
including another NFB production
called Insomnia with director Annette
Mangaard.
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CSC News / March 2004 •
7
on camera
An Encounter with . . .
Ace Lightning and the
Carnival of Doom
By Bently Miller
CSC Associate
O
n a dark and gloomy night,
punctuated by peels of thunder and flashes of lightning,
Mark Hollander, a teenage boy from
England new to North America, is alone in his room playing a computer
game — Ace Lightning and the Carnival
of Doom. Everything is normal until a
previously unseen warning appears on
Mark’s screen:
“Entering Level 7. Enter at your own
risk.”
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hits
the satellite dish atop the family home
and “The Game Begins.” This is the
first episode of the youth series Ace
Lightning and the Carnival of Doom,
a Canada/UK, Alliance Atlantis/BBC
co-production which I shot “film
style” on digital video, with a few
twists, beginning in 2001. After a year
off, a second season followed in 2003
and there are prospects for a third.
To sketch the plot, the lightning
bridges the gap between the game and
our world, allowing the combatants
CARNIVAL OF DOOM: Teenage hero Mark Hollander (Thomas Wansey)
faces the unknown in Ace Lightning and the Carnival of Doom.
8 • CSC News
/
March 2004
from the game in the Sixth Dimension
to escape into ours. The good guys are
led by super hero Ace Lightning, a
member of the Lightning Knights,
who recruits Mark, our English teenager, as one of the Knights. The bad guys
include Lord Fear, Staffhead, Anvil,
Dirty Rat, Pig Face and Lady Illusion.
The show’s otherworldly experience is unique partly because of the
interaction of live and animated characters, the latter of whom, including
Ace himself, appear in roughly half of
each 30-minute episode. In addition,
the series was shot with the Sony
DVW-790WS PAL camera in 16:9 format using the BBC’s electronic cinematography process. In this end-toend process, the DVW-790WS records
the signal digitally, ensuring that the
signal remains in the digital domain
(there is no standards conversion of
any kind) until the material is output
to tape as NTSC 4:3, PAL 16:9 or whatever format the distribution company
accepts for delivery to a broadcaster.
Ace Lightning is seen in over 80
countries and has been dubbed into
German, Spanish, French, Italian,
Cantonese, and a number of Slavic
languages.
When Rick Siggelkow, executive
producer for BBC Worldwide North
America, and producer Jim Corston
approached me to do this series, we
had extensive talks about the concept
and the themes behind the show.
We had a relationship dating back
to 1991 and early episodes of the popular children’s series Shining Time
Station, followed by collaborations on
a number of other television projects.
These shows were often a combination
of multi-camera studio and singlecamera field production.
Ace Lightning and the Carnival of
Doom was shot film-style almost entirely on location in Toronto, save for a few
studio sequences. The schedule was
demanding and lengthy. Season 1 occupied seven months of 2001, from preproduction to the last day of principal
photography. My participation also
involved a training session that began
on May 10, 2001, with a three-day tour
of the BBC studios in Shepherd’s Bush
Green, London.
I met with the technical standards
team and electronic cinematography
mentor team to discuss the technical
parameters of shooting with this technique. I learned about the entire
process, how and why it works and the
range of photographic results that can
be obtained using this system.
The show’s finished product closely emulates the “look” of Super16 film
in tonality and texture. The Sony
DVW-790WS PAL camera accepts the
BSC1 setup card that shapes the
“look” of the camera, controlling key
scene parameters such as gamma,
black and white clip, the knee, detail,
white shading, flare, chroma levels
and others. The camera, when loaded
with the setup from the card, emulates the performance characteristics
of a film stock.
Even though we were shooting
video in the digital domain, I exposed
as if we were shooting 16mm film. I
did not worry about small areas of
overexposure as long as it made sense
photographically. You can push the
limits of contrast, and we often did,
although it is important to be mindful that there is no value in overexposing a highlight by two or three
stops when one stop of overexposure
will do. Overexposed is overexposed.
Although the exposure latitude here
isn’t as great as with film, if you are
creative you can stretch your exposure
over the entire range that is available
to you to make the photographic
statements that you want to make.
The production faced funding
challenges, but we did not allow that
to influence what we put on the
screen. We just had to work more
quickly. The live-action shooting
schedule was reduced in the second
season to three from four days per
episode, and cost-saving measures
were used wherever we could. For
example, using ground-supported
trussing for the studio-based sets eliminated the need to hang a grid. This
initiative cut the rigging time from
3.5 days to two. Since this was a coproduction, different components of
the budget came from each country.
The two camera bodies, along with
batteries and chargers, came from
Metro Broadcast in London. Sim
Video in Toronto supplied the rest of
the camera package, which included
2x Canon 5-47mm Cine zoom lenses.
Even though we were shooting in a
digital video format we treated the situation as if we were shooting film. We
shot a rack leader for each camera and
aligned the monitors (including the
onboard LCD) to give true frame lines.
This was crucial since we were dealing
with two aspect ratios. Camera assistants Lori Longstaff and Bob Standish
also did full lens tests on both camera
bodies and the Canon lenses.
During the testing phase of preproduction we determined that the
cameras had an ASA of 400 tungsten.
We used this value as our starting point
for exposure during the course of production. To ensure consistent exposure
throughout the series we used the
Cinematographer’s Control Chart from
Gamma and Density Company. We
reasoned that with the amount of post-
ACE CREW: DOP Bentley Miller (left) worked with
operator Steve Cruickshank and 1st AC Lori Longstaff
on Ace Lightning and the Carnival of Doom.
MOIST MIDWAY: On location with Ace Lightning and the
Carnival of Doom, the show must go on rain or shine.
production that each frame would
undergo, we needed a solid colour and
monochrome reference that would
allow us to establish a working relationship with the colourist, Loraine
Grant at Tattersall Casablanca. The
chart was worth its weight in gold,
helping us to establish and maintain
the “look” of the series from start to
finish. We used a lot of colour, contrast
and shading to create a show with its
own visual style.
Shooting a show with as much
compositing as Ace Lightning presents
• see page 10
CSC News / March 2004 •
9
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10 • CSC News
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March 2004
• from page 9
many challenges, not the least of
which was shooting and composing
for 16:9 while protecting for NTSC 4:3.
This makes framing for 16:9 somewhat
awkward. In the first season we struggled early on with the heights of the
animated characters. Even though the
characters had been scaled and we had
their reference heights, it was difficult
to judge the frame size when they
weren’t really there on set. Lord Fear is
nearly 7’ tall and Pig Face is 3’6” tall. It
is difficult to accommodate such a great
height discrepancy in the same frame
along with the human characters.
Further complicating this issue were
the actions of the animated characters.
How fast do they move from point A to
point B? What is acceptable in terms of
panning to accommodate the characters when they run towards the lens or
away from it? The animated characters
can’t physically cross the real-life characters without the need to do expensive rotoscoping, and this was not economically feasible. An educated guess
and experience were our allies here. For
the most part we gave the animators
good frames to work with, but on occasion they would have to adjust a character’s size to fit the frame.
Some of our young actors were
under 16, the permissible age for working overtime, so sometimes we would
have to shoot out an actor to get them
off the clock, leaving backplates until
after the live-action sequences were
complete. This presented occasional
problems for the animators to integrate animation with live action. The
light would change between live
action and the backplates session,
making it difficult to match. But fortunately the animators have tremendous
latitude in their compositing workstations and they were able to match disparate scenes almost flawlessly.
Production designer Rupert Lazurus
and I discussed his thoughts and ideas
about how the show should look, and
our collaboration formed the basis for
much of what we did in the field. He
provided me with detailed drawings of
each set and the accompanying colour
scheme as well as the overall thematic
colour scheme for the show. We conferred on an almost daily basis during
pre-production and production.
Serendipity played a role, too. A
carnival midway is a central locale in
Ace Lightning, the place where most of
the fantastical interactions between the
escapees from the Sixth Dimension and
our human characters occur. During
my research for the show, PBS was airing a series on the history of the circus,
with emphasis on the barkers, the freak
shows and the sundry attractions of the
midway. In watching this series, I got a
sense of the historical reasons for some
of the colour choices and designs — the
bright reds of the striped tents, the
faded yellows of the canvas, the electric
pinks and blues of the candy floss and
the brightly coloured costumes, the
rich blue-blacks of iron cages, and the
muted tones of the faded painted banners and midway booths.
These are the tones we strove to
emulate in the carnival scenes and hint
at in the scenes that took place in other
locales. In my research to build a colour
palette, I pored over the swatch books
of all the colour media manufacturers.
After considerable testing with all of the
colours I was familiar with, I was disappointed that none of them suited what
I needed — until I remembered a colour
palette that had been shown to me by a
Rosco rep. The Calcolor palette proved
to be exactly what I was looking for.
They blended well with white light,
gave consistent, quantifiable results
and even more important were predictable. The four densities, 15, 30, 60
and 90, provide the cinematographer
with a palette that is almost infinitely
variable and can be mixed on the fly in
pressure situations.
“Get it to The Lab”
16/35mm colour negative processing
Set up • Academy leader • Cleaning
Ready for transfer
Quotes for Video Post in conjunction with
Deluxe Toronto
EYES Post Group
C O N TA C T :
Ed Higginson
ed@thelab.on.ca
Al Lindsay
al@thelab.on.ca
Tel:
(416) 461-8090
Fax:
(416) 461-0768
Toll free: 1-888-822-2505
183 Carlaw Avenue • Toronto, Ontario • M4M 2S1
(Bentley Miller is a CSC associate
member. He was one of the early
members of STLD Canada, which
has now ceased active operations.
He was a past editor of the STLD
Canada newsletter and wrote a regular column for Broadcast and
Technology. He has been a director
of photography for five years,
working on a range of projects in
video and film. He particularly
enjoys the challenge that matte
work presents, but his first love is
telling stories whatever the medium. His latest project is Second
Time Around, a reality drama for
the W Network.) ●
CSC News / March 2004 •
11
remembering…
Reginald H. Morris csc
“Captivating camerawork”
irectors of photography get mentioned Canada with his young family in 1955.
The family lived in Quebec while Reg
in movie reviews only occasionally,
worked
with the National Film Board of
but during his remarkable career in
Canada.
He
went freelance in 1963 and moved
feature films Reginald Morris csc got his fair
his
family
to
Toronto where he built his sucshare of accolades in the press. “Captivating
cessful
career
as
a cinematographer in both telecamerawork,” one scribe called his cinematogvision
and
film.
Besides the Canadian Society of
raphy on the 1986 telefilm Barnum with Burt
Cinematographers,
Reg was a member of IATSE
Lancaster as the legendary showman. If he had
and
ACTT
of
England.
needed one, that could have been Morris’s sloHe won numerous awards, including both
gan. His genius behind the camera gave him
the
CSC feature (Black Christmas) and commercial
comfortable status with the celebrities he
cinematography
honours in 1975, the CSC feaworked with over the years, like Lancaster,
ture
award
(Second
Wind) in 1976 and the CSC TV
director John Huston, Sophia Loren, Michael
drama
award
(The
Fortunate Pilgrim) in 1989.
Douglas, Henry Fonda, James Mason, Jack
He
was
nominated
for Genie awards in 1980,
Lemmon and many more.
1981
and 1984 for his work
Morris, a charter member
on
Murder
by Decree, Phobia
of the CSC when it was
and
A
Christmas
Story respecfounded in 1957, passed away
tively.
Other
film
credits
peacefully at Rouge Valley
include
Tribute,
Middle
Age
Centenary Health Unit on
Crazy,
Loose
Cannons
and
Jan. 8 after a lengthy battle
Porky’s I and II, still the biggest
with Parkinson’s Disease. He
box office hits in Canadian
was in his 86th year. He is surfilm history. Television credits
vived by his wife of 56 years,
include The Seaway, The Forest
Muriel, and children Lesley,
Rangers and Lady in a Corner
Melanie and Anthony and
and Christmas Eve, both with
their families. His brother,
Loretta Young.
Oswald, also a cinematograAs his own personal favpher, lives in England where
ourite,
Morris told CSC News
Reg, as he liked to be called,
in
January,
1997, that “I
was born in 1918.
always
thought
the best film
Reg began his film career
I
ever
shot
was
Murder by
as a combat cameraman durDecree,”
a
Canada/UK
coing World War II. He was
production
made
in
England
attached to the British 8th
in 1978. The film starred
Army cinematography unit
Canadian actor Christopher
in North Africa for the duraPlummer as Sherlock Holmes
tion of the war and was also
and James Mason as Dr.
part of the peacekeeping Reg Morris csc began his film career as a
Watson. Also featuring Sir
force in Greece immediately combat cameraman during World War II,
John Gielgud and Canadians
after. He returned to England attached to the British 8th Army cinematogin 1946 to pursue a career in raphy unit in North Africa. His photo, but not Donald Sutherland, Susan
Clark and Genevieve Bujold,
cinematography, working at his name, appeared in this magazine ad for
Denham and Pinewood stu- DeVry cameras, saluting the 1943 war docu- the movie still gets occasional TV replay.
dios until immigrating to mentary Desert Victory.
D
Reg Morris csc
Reg Morris csc with director John Huston
on the set of the 1980 thriller Phobia.
12 • CSC News
/
March 2004
One of his most historic credits
was as DOP on Dry-landers (see CSC
News, January/1997), the 1963 motion
picture that was the National Film
Board’s first feature-length presentation. Directed by Donald Haldane and
starring Frances Hyland and James
Douglas, Drylanders was shot in Superscope. Morris, an NFB staff photographer in Montreal when Drylanders was
shot on the Saskatchewan Prairies in
35mm black and white, recalled that
Superscope was a wide-screen process
for which the camera had to be adapted. “They widened the gate slightly to
give them the wide-screen ratio. It was
a regular lens.”
Press reviews of Drylanders lauded
Morris’s cinematography: . . . “beautifully photographed,” “superb camera
work,” “a magnificent camera,” “glimmering photographic moments.” The
Ottawa Citizen enthused that “nothing
should be taken away from Reginald
Morris’s low-keyed, wide-screen photography, with its shots of cloud-spattered
skies, swirling snow, dust blizzards, harvest threshings, and endless Prairie vistas striking exactly the right note of
atmosphere.”
Personal reviews of Reg’s life and art
have been just as generous. CSC
President Joan Hutton csc expressed
sadness at his passing and recalled that
“I worked with Reggie when I was a second assistant and have never met a finer
gentleman.”
Peter Luxford csc said that Reg
was “a wonderful mentor for me
and many others in the film industry,” while CSC Affiliate Perry
Hoffman said he was “a true friend in
a business where genuine friendships
are hard to come by.” Former Society
president Robert Rouveroy csc called
him “a cameraman’s cameraman,”
and Harry Lake csc said he was a
“master.”
“Reg was a long standing member
of I.A.T.S.E. Local 667,” the union
said in a tribute, “who willingly gave
of his time as an Executive Board
member and most importantly, as a
wonderful mentor to many of our
members.”
(The CSC News thanks Muriel
Morris for providing biographical
information and photographs.) ●
CAMERA CLASSIFIEDS
FOR SALE: Used equipment. Arri
SR package, w/10-100 Zeiss, w/Arri
Shade & Accs, 2 mags &
case,15,000; Arri “S” package, VS
motor, primes, cable, battery, 2,500;
Panasonic DVX 100P DV Camera,
w/standard accs., 3,400; Ang. 12240, 12-120 Arri “B” mount, call for
price;Ang. 5.9mm (Arri S), Ang. 10150 (Éclair), Ang. 12-120 (CP), call
for price; Century lenses, 25-250
zoom, 500mm w/ 2X, 230mm,
300mm, call for price; Bolex packages, Rex 3’s, Rex 5’s, EBM’s, other
Crystal motors, call for price; Filters
and more used gear: Check our web
site www.llsr.com; Phone: (604)
298-3224 Fax: (604) 298-2023;
Looking for used film or video, email
llapham@llsr.com
FOR SALE OR LEASE: Camera truck
with custom-designed pro-built
racking - 2002 GMC 3/4 ton 2500
cargo van in mint condition with
only 5400KM (factory warranty); full
alarm system - loaded luxury - 4.8
V8 automatic, air conditioning,
power locks and windows, captain’s
chairs, Clarion stereo with tape and
CD changer. Buy or Lease. Call John
Hodgson for more info about the
excellent and flexible lease rate
options available 905-828-0634
FOR SALE: Sony BVW-75 BetacamSP Editor/Recorder. Completely
overhauled at Precision Camera at
a cost of over $5,000. This machine
looks brand new and has 0 hours.
This deck, along with a Sony BVW2015 HR Trinitron monitor (ex.
cond.) and a bonus BVW-75 (for
parts) can be yours for $9,500.
Many other items for sale. For fur-
ther information, go to: www.fieldview.com/forsale. Tel: (416) 9207979 – Fieldview Motion Picture.
Email: david@fieldview.com
FOR RENT: Pro 35 Adaptor with PL
Mount and Nikon Mount. Call Henry
Less at 416-678-5377
EDITOR AVAILABLE (DGC) with
FCP4 G4 system to assemble and
cut demo reels. Interactive process,
to most accurately and creatively
display your body of work. Located
conveniently in downtown Toronto’s
Little Italy. Rates negotiable.
Contact: Matt Cluett 416-531-3731
/416-893-8718 mattcluett@mac.com
WANTED: Used Lighting: 2x 1K
Ianiro redhead open-face, each
complete with safety wire mesh, 4way barn-door, full scrim set
w/holder. 1x 650W Strand or Arri
fresnel, complete with 4-way barn
door, full scrim set w/holder. 1x
300W Strand or Arri fresnel, complete with 4-way barn door, full
scrim set w/holder. Other items of
interest: Speed Ring (for 1K Ianiro),
Chimera w/fabric baffle, stands,
clamps, etc. I’m open to alternative
items from this list. Please call
Andrew @ 416-535-1475 or email:
watt@ca.inter.net
FOR SALE: Arri SRII Super 16 camera, PL mount, 3 mags, 3 batts, b&w
video assist, 5x7 matt box w/various filters, 12-120 Zeiss zoom T1.4,
50-300 Nikon zoom T4, Sachtler 7+7
Studio head w/legs; many extras,
original owner, great shape. Offers:
Jim Jeffrey (905) 274-2028 or
melville51@sympatico.ca
Camera Classifieds is a FREE service to CSC members. If you have items
you’d like to buy or sell, please fax your list to (416) 699-8521 email editor@csc.ca
CSC News / March 2004 •
13
awards
Pierre Gill csc
Wins TV Honour at ASC Awards
John Schwartzman, ASC
Wins with Seabiscuit
P
ierre Gill csc, Tami Reiker and
Jeff Jur, ASC claimed ASC
Outstanding Achievement Awards in the television competitions at the
18th annual American Society of
Cinematographers awards gala at the
Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on
Feb. 8.
Gill won the competition for the
best telefilm on a network channel for
Pierre Gill csc takes home ASC hardware.
14 • CSC News
/
March 2004
Hitler: The Rise of Evil, which aired on
CBS. Reiker won the cable award for
the Carnivale pilot, which aired on
Home Box Office. Jur took top honours for “Pick a Number,” an episode
of Carnivale.
It was Reiker’s first nomination. It
was the second ASC Outstanding
Achievement Award for Jur, who won
last year for the telefilm Last Call. Gill
was nominated for the telefilm Joan of
Arc in 2000.
This was the first time in the history of the ASC Awards that a single program took top honours in both the
television movie/miniseries/pilot and
episodic categories. Carnivale is a classic good versus evil drama set against
the backdrop of the Dust Bowl and
Great Depression that wracked the
United States during the 1930s.
John Schwartzman, ASC rode
Seabiscuit to victory in the feature film
competition. The award was presented to Schwartzman by Jim Sheridan,
the Oscar-nominated writer-producerdirector of In America. It was the first
victory for Schwartzman in the ASC
competition. He was nominated for
Pearl Harbor in 2002.
The other nominees in the feature
film competition were Russell Boyd,
ACS for Master and Commander: The
Far Side of the World, Andrew Lesnie,
ACS for The Lord of the Rings: Return of
the King, John Seale, ASC, ACS for Cold
Mountain, and John Toll, ASC for The
Last Samurai.
Other nominees in the TV movie/
miniseries/pilot category for network
television were Ernest Holzman, ASC
for The Calling/Miracles pilot (ABC),
Michael Mayers for The Lyon’s Den
pilot (NBC), Bill Roe, ASC for the Las
Vegas pilot (NBC), and Eric Van
Haren Noman, ASC for Brush With
Fate (CBS).
Also nominated for the episodic
television category were John Aronson
for “Dead Wives Club”/Crossing Jordan
(NBC), Thomas A. Del Ruth, ASC for
“7AWF83429”/The West Wing (NBC),
Chris Manley for “Dr. Germ”/Threat
Matrix (ABC), and Eric Schmidt for
“Time to Hate”/Cold Case (CBS).
Other nominations in the TV
movie/miniseries/pilot category in
the basic cable or pay television
competition were Stephen Goldblatt,
ASC, BSC for Angels in America (HBO),
Michael Mayers for The Pentagon
Papers (FX), Donald M. Morgan, ASC
for Out of the Ashes (Showtime), and
Ashley Rowe, BSC for Tennessee
Williams’ The Roman Spring of Mrs.
Stone (Showtime).
Michael Chapman, ASC received
the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Chapman was honoured for his body
of work, including such classics as
Raging Bull, The Fugitive, Taxi Driver,
The Wanderers and Invasion of the Body
Snatchers. The award was presented by
David Duchovny, who lauded the cinematographer for his artful visual storytelling, and also predicted that
Chapman’s best work is still ahead of
him. “Someday we’ll be back for part
two of the Michael Chapman Lifetime
Achievement Award,” he said.
Miroslav Ondricek, ASC claimed
the International Achievement Award
for his extraordinary body of work,
which includes Amadeus, Ragtime,
Hair, Silkwood, Slaughter-House Five
and Awakenings. Ondricek is a native
of Prague, where he is currently teaching at the national film school. He
received the award from actress-director Penny Marshall, who has collaborated with Ondricek on A League of
Their Own, The Preacher’s Wife and
Riding in Cars With Boys.
Irwin Winkler received the ASC
Board of Governors Award, which
ASC presents annually to an individual who has made extraordinary and
enduring contributions to advancing
the art of filmmaking. Winkler has
produced and directed films that
have earned 12 Oscars in major categories and 33 other nominations,
including Rocky, Raging Bull, The
Right Stuff and Goodfellas. The award
was presented by actor Kevin Kline
who observed, “I am told on good
authority that the surest way to put a
big smile on a cinematographer’s face
is to tell him or her that Irwin
Winkler is on the phone.”
Howard Anderson Jr., ASC received
the organization’s Presidents Award.
This tribute is presented annually to an
individual who has made unique contributions to the art form. Anderson is a
visual effects pioneer who has earned
several Oscar nominations, but is perhaps best known for his work on the
classic television series I Love Lucy and
Star Trek.
Film historian and documentarian
Kevin Brownlow received a special
award of recognition for his “incomparable contributions to preserving
the heritage of the past for future generations of filmmakers and fans,” in
the words of ASC President Richard
Crudo. Brownlow is a self-taught historian and documentary filmmaker.
He has authored books (The Parade’s
Gone By) and produced documentaries (Abel Gance: The Charm of
Dynamite, Unknown Chaplin, Buster
Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow and D.W.
Griffith: Father of Film) about the
silent movie era, in addition to finding, restoring and preserving irreplaceable films for posterity. ●
CSC News / March 2004 •
15
Lighting ★
★ Grip ★
Generators ★
★ Camera ★
★
★
VANCOUVER
TORONTO
2820 Underhill Avenue
Burnaby, BC
V5A 3C5
Tel: 604.434.4008
Fax: 604.434.4066
80 Commissioners Street
Toronto, ON
M5A 1A8
Tel: 416.466.0037
Fax: 416.466.9612
PRAIRIES
ATLANTIC
74 Stevenson Road
139 Thornhill Drive
Winnipeg, MB
Dartmouth, NS
R3H 0W7
B3B 1S2
Tel: 204.632.6813
Tel: 902.468.4747
Fax: 204.632.6820
Fax: 902.468.3535
www.psps.com
showcase
CinequipWhite’s
‘February Freeze’
Turns Up the Heat!
W
hat do you get when you
mix over 40 suppliers, a
CSC/CICA flea market and
CinequipWhite? You get February
Freeze 2004 — a showcase of equipment, a venue for new products, and
the opportunity for clients to get in
touch with the staff of CinequipWhite
and the many suppliers that support
the industry.
With its tropical South Seas theme,
February Freeze, at CinequipWhite’s
Islington Ave. office in Toronto on
Feb. 10, was a rousing success. It
brought together people from across
North America for one afternoon and
evening of information-gathering,
featuring Panasonic seminars on HD
and P2 technology. Sennheiser introduced the G-2 Evolution wireless
transmitter and ETC was showing off
its new Revolution moving light.
New this year was the CSC/CICA
flea market. The event attracted a large
number of browsers and shoppers,
checking out the used gear, making
great deals and finding a few gems
here and there.
CinequipWhite’s February Freeze
was a sure way to beat the February
blahs. It’s an event to mark on your
calendars; next year is sure to be bigger
and better. ●
Photos: Richard Stringer csc
AT THE BAZAAR: Lori Longstaff, Phil Earnshaw csc and Jim Aquila csc were among the CSC wheelers and dealers at the CSC/CICA flea market that was
part of CinequipWhite’s popular February Freeze. That’s David Pennock mesmerized by Phil’s sales pitch.
ALOHA: Protected from evil spirits by the mask of Hannibal Lecter, Paula
Lambe (left) and Blanche Fernandez welcome guests to CinequipWhite’s
February Freeze showcase.
16 • CSC News
/
March 2004
WAIKIKI WHITE: It may have been cccold outside, but the South Seas
theme of CinequipWhite’s February Freeze made it feel tropical inside.
CSC FULL
AND
CSC FULL MEMBERS
Nicholas Allen-Woolfe csc
Jim Aquila csc
Eduardo Arregui csc
Michael Balfry csc
Christopher Ball csc
John Banovich csc
John Bartley csc asc
Stan Barua csc
Yves Bélanger csc
Peter Benison csc
Dean Bennett csc
Barry Bergthorson csc
John Berrie csc
Thom Best csc
Michel Bisson csc
Cyrus Block csc
Robert Bocking csc
Ludek Bogner csc
Michael Boland csc
Raymond Brounstein csc
Thomas Burstyn csc
Barry Casson csc
Eric Cayla csc
Henry Chan csc
Marc Charlebois csc
Rodney Charters csc
Bruce Chun csc
Damir Chytil csc
Richard Ciupka csc
Arthur Cooper csc
Walter Corbett csc
Bernard Couture csc
Richard Crudo csc asc
Dean Cundey csc asc
Francois Dagenais csc
Steve Danyluk csc
Louis de Ernsted csc
David De Volpi csc
Kim Derko csc
Jacques Desharnais csc
Serge Desrosiers csc
Jean-Yves Dion csc
Mark Dobrescu csc
Wes Doyle csc
Guy Dufaux csc
Albert Dunk csc asc
Philip Earnshaw csc
Ian Elkin csc
Michael Ellis csc
Carlos Esteves csc
Nikos Evdemon csc
Henri Fiks csc
David Frazee csc
Marc Gadoury csc
James Gardner csc
David Geddes csc
Ivan Gekoff csc
Laszlo George csc
Len Gilday csc
LIFE MEMBERS
Pierre Gill csc
John Goldi csc
Russ Goozee csc
Steve Gordon csc
David Greene csc
John Griffin csc
Michael Grippo csc
Manfred Guthe csc
Thomas Harting csc
Peter Hartmann csc
Pauline Heaton csc
Brian Hebb csc
David Herrington csc
Kenneth Hewlett csc
Edward Higginson csc
Robbi Hinds csc
Robert Holmes csc
John Holosko csc
George Hosek csc
Colin Hoult csc
Donald Hunter csc
Joan Hutton csc
Tom Ingle csc
Mark Irwin csc asc
Maris Jansons csc
James Jeffrey csc
Silvio Jesenkovic csc
Daniel Jobin csc
Pierre Jodoin csc
Martin Julian csc
Norayr Kasper csc
Glen Keenan csc
Ian Kerr csc
Douglas Kiefer csc
Jan Kiesser csc asc
Alar Kivilo csc
Douglas Koch csc
Charles Konowal csc
Rudi Kovanic csc
Jim Kozmik csc
Ken Krawczyk csc
Les Krizsan csc
Alwyn Kumst csc
Jean-Claude Labrecque csc
Serge Ladouceur csc
George Lajtai csc
Harry Lake csc
Marc Laliberte Else csc
Barry Lank csc
Henry Lebo csc
Richard Leiterman csc
Miklos Lente csc
John Lesavage csc
Henry Less csc
Pierre Letarte csc
Philip Linzey csc
Walt Lloyd csc
J.P. Locherer csc
Peter Luxford csc
Larry Lynn csc
Duncan MacFarlane csc
Dylan Macleod csc
Bernie MacNeil csc
Glen MacPherson csc
Harry Makin csc
Donald McCuaig csc
Robert McLachlan csc
Ryan McMaster csc
Michael McMurray csc
Stephen McNutt csc
Graeme Mears csc
Simon Mestel csc
Gregory Middleton csc
Gordon Miller csc
Robin Miller csc
Paul Mitchnick csc
Luc Montpellier csc
George Morita csc
David Moxness csc
Craig Mullins csc
Douglas Munro csc
Dan Nowak csc
Rene Ohashi csc asc
Ron Orieux csc
Harald Ortenburger csc
Gerald Packer csc
Rod Parkhurst csc
Barry Parrell csc
Brian Pearson csc
David Pelletier csc
David Perrault csc
Barry Peterson csc
Bruno Philip csc
Matthew Phillips csc
André Pienaar csc
Edward Pietrzkiewicz csc
Ronald Plante csc
Randal Platt csc
Milan Podsedly csc
Hang Poon csc
Steven Poster asc csc
Andreas Poulsson csc
Pascal Provost csc
Don Purser csc
Joel Ransom csc
Ousama Rawi csc bsc
William Reeve csc
Stephen Reizes csc
Derek Rogers csc
Brad Rushing csc
Branimir Ruzic csc
Robert Saad csc
Victor Sarin csc
Paul Sarossy csc bsc
Gavin Smith csc
Christopher Soos csc
John Spooner csc
Ronald Stannett csc
Barry Stone csc
Michael Storey csc
Richard Stringer csc
Michael Sweeney csc
Adam Swica csc
Attila Szalay csc
Christopher Tammaro csc
Gabor Tarko csc
John Tarver csc
Brian Thomson csc
Paul Tolton csc
Bert Tougas csc
Chris Triffo csc
Sean Valentini csc
Paul van der Linden csc
Derek Vanlint csc
Roger Vernon csc
Steve Vernon csc
Daniel Villeneuve csc
Daniel Vincelette csc
Toronto
Vancouver
Tel: (416) 444-7000
Tel: (604) 291-7262
Michael Wale csc
John Walker csc
Tony Wannamaker csc
Peter Warren csc
Andrew Watt csc
Jim Westenbrink csc
Tony Westman csc
Kit Whitmore csc
Brian Whittred csc
George Willis csc
Richard Wincenty csc
Peter Woeste csc
Bill Wong csc
Bruce Worrall csc
Craig Wrobleski csc
Yuri Yakubiw csc
FULL LIFE MEMBERS
Herbert Alpert csc asc
Robert Brooks csc
David Carr csc
Christopher Chapman csc
Robert Crone csc
Kenneth Davey csc
Kelly Duncan csc dgc
Dan Gibson csc
James Grattan csc
Kenneth Gregg csc
Brian Holmes csc
Maurice Jackson-Samuels csc
Myron Kupchuck csc
Naohiko Kurita csc
Douglas Lehman csc
Donald McMillan csc
Jim Mercer csc
Roger Moride csc
Dean Peterson csc
Roger Racine csc
Robert Rouveroy csc
Ivan Sarossy csc
Josef Sekeresh csc
Walter Wasik csc
Ron Wegoda csc
Louis Wolfers csc
CSC News / March 2004 •
17
video file
Panasonic Canada
Introduces P2 Technology
Image to Edit Without Tape
P
anasonic Canada has introduced
the revolutionary DVCPRO Professional Plug-in (P2) technology
which allows images to be captured on
P2 Secure Digital (SD) memory cards
and transferred directly to editing software, eliminating the need for tape.
The format will be available this spring.
P2 technology puts the information
right into the editor’s hands with no
digitization or conversion, saving
hours of work. Data is immediately
accessible on the P2 card in file format.
The card is recognized instantly when
inserted into a PC’s PCMCIA slot. The
system will have a major effect on the
broadcast and news-gathering industries, which depend on tape-based systems. The format has already spawned
a new broadcast acronym – IT News
Gathering (ING) system.
“P2 is a fundamental technology
shift that is also going to deliver
significant benefits to broadcasters
and news organizations in terms of
speed, operational efficiency and
increased ruggedness of equipment,”
says David Craig, Product Manager,
Broadcast and Security Systems,
Panasonic Canada. “Most important,
P2 is fully compatible with existing
DVCPRO operations and therefore
allows for a seamless transition.”
The P2 memory cards can be
reused thousands of times, with no
degradation to the data. The cards
contain no moving parts or mechanisms, while tapes and disks are susceptible to errors under severe conditions such as extreme temperatures,
shocks or vibrations. The P2 card can
handle DVCPRO and DVCPRO50. A
single P2 card stores 18 minutes of
18 • CSC News
/
March 2004
DVCPRO at 25Mbps and nine minutes
at DVCPRO50. A key feature of the P2
card is the rapid transfer rate; a 4GB
P2 card has a maximum of 640Mbps
transfer rate, enabling DVCPRO and
DVCPRO50 to be downloaded at faster
than real-time speeds. Panasonic also
announced that further versions of
the P2 card will be introduced as higher capacity SD memory cards are
launched.
The P2 camera-recorder, which will
also be available this spring, will come
with five P2 card slots, giving a total
potential record capacity of 80 minutes
with 4GB P2 cards in the DVCPRO format. With no moving parts, the camcorder is extremely resistant to shock
and vibration and has a lower power
consumption compared to previous
tape systems. The key feature of the
camcorder (2/3” IT 3CCD with 600,000
pixels) is the ability to select DV,
DVCPRO or DVCPRO50 as the recording format. Pictures are also stored on
the P2 card with a MXF “wrapper”
ensuring broadcast open standard IT
compatibility for file transfer. In addition, the P2 camcorder features
SDI/IEEE1394/USB2.0 interfaces and
3.5” LCD monitor. It is prepared with
its option slots for Wireless-LAN and
Proxy Video applications.
The P2 deck will link the ING system into the standard broadcast infrastructure. The P2 deck will be capable
of handling five P2 cards and, with
interfaces and operation similar to a
VTR, on-air transmission is possible
from an OB truck. Clip management
and simple playlist functions are available on the P2 deck, which includes a
LCD monitor. A DVD-RAM/R drive can
The Panasonic P2 camera-recorder
be installed in an optional 5.25” bay
slot to archive footage copies onto
disk.
Also available will be the P2 Editor
and the P2 drive. The drive features a
five P2 card reader/writer equipped
with a USB 2.0 interface that links the
cards into a PC. This would be one of
the routes linking ING to newsroom
networks. As with a P2 deck, there is
no need for digitizing and the material is immediately available for editing
and file transfer. Once footage is on
the network it can be shared by
browsing clients, servers and non-linear editors. The P2 Editor comes
equipped with a PCMCIA card slot for
P2 cards and a non-linear software
editing system. A jog pad and audio
fader are also available as options. The
P2 editor can also connect to a DVDRAM/R recorder enabling archive
copies of footage to be made.
TOYBOX PACKAGES CONAN O’BRIEN
Streams Taped Show to New York
from Toronto
Toybox Toronto provided the packaging and finish for NBC’s The Conan
O’Brien Show during the show’s visit to
Toronto last month. Toybox supplied
complete packaging and finishing for
the high-profile show during its fourday stint in Toronto.
The Conan production booked four
editorial venues for four days at the
Toybox facility, which packaged the
show’s vignettes and streamed the production directly to NBC for the production of promos. Once finished, the
shows were fibre-optically streamed
from Toybox to New York for broadcast
in its various time slots.
FUJINON TO LAUNCH NEW
ZOOMS AT NAB
HD Lens Boasts Longest Focal
Length, Highest Magnification
and Widest Angle of View
With the longest focal length
(137mm, 274 with a 2X extender)
and the widest angle of view (64.5
degrees at 7.6mm) in its field, the
newest HD ENG/EFP zoom lens from
Fujinon is in a class of its own. To be
introduced during next month’s NAB
2004 (Booth SU11542) in Las Vegas,
the HA18x7.6 BERM/BERD is ideal for
high definition news and remote
video production and designed to
complement 2/3-inch high definition
video cameras.
While the HA18x7.6 boasts a
wider angle and higher magnification
(18x) than Fujinon’s previous model,
the HA17x7.8, it is close to the same
size and weight (85x204mm, 1.58kg),
making it ideal for handheld HD production. It features easily programmable digital features, allowing the
operator to customize the lenses to
his/her preference. And this lens can
be controlled remotely via a PC’s
RS232 control port.
Also new from Fujinon: The new
A18x7.6 BERM/BERD broadcast ENG/
EFP zoom lens reflects the latest advancements in optical technology
from
Fujinon.
The
A18x7.6
BERM/BERD, which will be introduced in Fujinon’s booth at NAB
2004, features a wide angle of 60
degrees at 7.6mm, focal length range
of 7.6 to 137mm, 18x magnification,
and greater image clarity than previously available from a standard
ENG/EFP zoom lens. ●
JOSEPH,
WAITING ON
THE NEW 1/3
PAGE VERT.
LORNE LAPHAM
AD. PLEASE
INSERT HI-RES
PDF. THANKS.
CSC News / March 2004 •
19
ACTION PRODUCTION NOTES & CSC CALENDAR
British Columbia, Prairies
STARGATE ATLANTIS (series); DOP: Andreas Poulsson csc;
AMERICAN MELTDOWN (MOW); DOP: Doug Koch csc;
1st: Grizz Salzl; to Oct. 21, Burnaby.
March 1-31, Vancouver.
TOUCHING EVIL (series); DOP: Attila Szalay csc; Op:
DEAD LIKE ME (series); DOP: Tony Westman csc; to
Brad Creasser; B-Op/SC: Michael Davies; to April 19,
July 27, Burnaby.
Burnaby.
THE DEAD ZONE (series); DOP: Stephen McNutt csc;
TRU CALLING (series); DOP: David Moxness csc; B-1st:
2nd-unit DOP: Michael Balfry csc; to April 20,
Andrew Medicky; to March 23, North Vancouver.
Vancouver (HDTV).
5 DAYS TO MIDNIGHT (mini-series); DOP: Joel Ransom
Ontario, Atlantic
csc; B-Op: Ryan McMaster csc; to March 10,
DOC (series); DOP: Barry Bergthorson csc; B-Op:
North Vancouver.
Cudah Andarawewa; to June 25, Toronto (HDTV).
GILLIAN GUESS (feature); DOP: Danny Nowak csc; to
QUEER AS FOLK (series); DOPs: Thom Best csc, Gavin
March 19, Vancouver.
Smith csc; Op/SC: Iain Baird; to March 19, Toronto.
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE (mini-series); Op/SC:
RIVER KING (feature); DOP: Paul Sarossy csc bsc;
Carey Toner; March 10-June 11, Calgary.
March 9-April 27, Halifax.
LONG WEEKEND (feature); DOP: Brian Pearson csc; B-Op:
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT (cable); DOP: Michael Storey csc;
Glen Dickson; to March 4, Vancouver.
March 1-26, Toronto.
LOST IN SPACE (pilot); DOP: Rob McLachlan csc;
THE STRIP (series); DOP: Luc Montpellier csc; to
March 2-17, Vancouver.
March 16, Toronto.
MARY HIGGINS CLARK: THE CRADLE WILL FALL (MOW);
SUE THOMAS F.B.EYE (series); DOP: Yuri Yakubiw csc;
DOP: Mark Dobrescu csc; Op: Ken Krawczyk csc;
Op: J.P. Locherer csc; B-Op: Russ Goozee csc; to May 21,
wrapped Feb. 21, Moose Jaw, Sask.
Toronto (HDTV).
SANTA’S SLAY (feature); Op: John Spooner csc; 1st:
(Editor’s note: Quebec production listings
Kirk Chiswell; to April 9, Edmonton.
are no longer available from STCVQ.)
Schedule of Meetings and Events of Interest to CSC Members
TORONTO
Sat., April 3 — CSC Awards Gala. At Westin Prince Hotel. Info: 416-266-0591
Check www.csc.ca
20 • CSC News
/
March 2004