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CINEMATOGRAPHER
Canadian
Canadian Society of Cinematographers
Summer 2009 Vol. 1 No. 3
EXCITING
ADVENTURE
begins
page 3
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Canadian
A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, formerly CSC News
The Canadian Society of Cinematographers
(CSC) 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.
The purpose of the CSC is to promote
the art and craft of cinematography and
to provide tangible recognition of the
common bonds that link film and video
professionals, from the aspiring student
and camera assistant to the news veteran
and senior director of photography.
Pierre Gill csc
8
Hot Docs 2009
18
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 non-partisan groups
in our industry but have no political or
union affiliation.
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Michel Bisson csc
3
CONTENTs
v o l u m e
1 ,
N o .
3
Summer 2009
2 From the President
3 Michel Bisson csc: Shooting in the Third World Is a Moving,
Life Experience
A simple compassion for the suffering of people in less fortunate parts of the world has led
Michel Bisson csc to several humanitarian journeys over the last 14 years. By Don Angus
8 Shooting the Shooter: Pierre Gill csc and the Making of Polytechnique
Once past his initial misgivings, Pierre Gill csc saw the restrained power the film could have and signed
on as DOP, eager to help Denis Villeneuve achieve his disturbing but scrupulously respectful vision.
By Maurie Alioff
14Watchmen: Under the Hood: High Tech Meets Old School,
Lensed by Glenn Taylor & Christopher M. Oben
CSC associate member Chris Oben had the opportunity to contribute to the blockbuster
Watchmen and its subsidiary productions in a number of different capacities. By Christopher M. Oben
18
Hot Docs 2009 Wrap By Lance Carlson
21 Industry News
25 Camera Classified
26 CSC Members
28 Production Notes/Calendar
Cover image Watchmen images courtesy of Warner Bros.
‘Minutemen’ photo by Clay Enos
Canadian Cinematographer
Summer 2009 Vol 1, No. 3
CSC EXECUTIVE
President: Joan Hutton csc
Vice-President: George Willis csc sasc
Treasurer: Joseph Sunday phd
Secretary: Antonin Lhotsky csc
Membership: Philip Earnshaw csc
Publicity: Nikos Evdemon csc
Director Ex-officio: Dylan Macleod csc
Director Ex-officio: D. Gregor Hagey csc
Education: Ernie Kestler
From
The
PRESIDENT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Joan Hutton csc
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
George Willis csc, sasc
EDITOR EMERITUS
Donald Angus
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Susan Saranchuk
admin@csc.ca
EDITOR
Wyndham Wise mfa
editor@csc.ca
ART DIRECTION
Berkeley Stat House
COPY EDITOR
Donald Angus
PROOFREADERS
Karen Longland
Paul Townend
WEBSITE CONSULTANT
Nikos Evdemon csc
www.csc.ca
ADVERTISING SALES
Donald Angus
donangus@sympatico.ca
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131–3007 Kingston Road
Toronto, Canada | M1M 1P1
Tel: 416-266-0591 | Fax: 416-266-3996
Email: admin@csc.ca
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No. 478423
2 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
I
am not sure how strongly I can emphasize to all our CSC members the importance
of your input, commitment, support and participation in our Society’s goals and
services. Apathy does not progress make. All of us in the CSC executive are
trying hard to generate new ideas to promote and strengthen the CSC’s role not only in
fostering but also promoting excellence and artistry. And we need more ideas and
suggestions from all members.
Aiming towards those goals, our Canadian Cinematographer magazine did not only
change its name but also its look and content and will continue to be attractive and
informative. Our CSC Awards are expanding their scope in honouring both traditional
and new categories of film and video cinematography. Our Awards Gala team is
meeting its difficult task with innovation and excellence.
Our new CSC website, with its simple and functional elegance, has introduced many
new elements for promoting our goals and our members to cyberspace. Producers,
directors and filmmakers can connect to our website for information about our Society
and its members. We have been getting up to 350,000 hits a month, depending on the
season.
The CSC Reels is one of those areas where producers and directors, can with a simple
click, see the work of our members. But only a small number of our members have sent
us their demo reels. Adding your demo reels to the CSC Reels is a win-win proposition.
You increase exposure for your work, while the CSC, your professional association,
gains by displaying the widest and most diverse range of cinematographic excellence –
which in turn reflects positively back to you.
The CSC is proud to have this incredible roster of outstanding cinematographers and
would like to have everybody’s demo in the CSC Reels. We are aware that many of you
have agents hosting your reels in their servers, or have them in your personal websites,
but you should have them in the CSC Reels as well.
It is sad that we have to try so hard, to have your support for something that will
benefit all. Nikos Evdemon csc, our publicity chair and web master, has spent endless
hours putting all this together. All you have to do is send him your DVD. They can be
sent to him directly, nikos@evdemon.ca, or to our administrative office, admin@csc.ca.
Starting with this issue of Canadian Cinematographer, those members whose reels are on
the site will be indicated on the CSC members pages.
On a final note. This is the last issue of Canadian Cinematographer before our
summer break. We will be back in September. So to all our members, sponsors and
readers, have a great summer and see you in the fall!
Michel Bisson csc
Shooting in the Third World Is a Moving,
Life Experience
By Don Angus
Photos by Kim Saltarski
M
ichel Bisson csc pulled out a photograph of Jennifer,
a five-year-old girl living in the slums of Cartagena,
Colombia, and his voice choked with emotion. His eyes
watered and his smile widened with joy. He was, he recounted,
on a shoot for American-based Children International when
Jennifer literally attached herself to him.
“She hugged and held on to my leg,” Bisson said. Despite the
urban squalor, “she smiled all the time.” On the spot, the rugged,
motorcycle-riding, freelance cinematographer decided he wanted
to sponsor Jennifer… and Children International got it done in
quick order. “Jennifer’s mother was dying of cancer, and it was
very emotional when I told her that I was sponsoring her child.
She passed away seven days later.” Because of Bisson’s sponsorship, Jennifer now has her own room in a small cinder-block
home and goes to school.
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
3
For shooting in tropical climates, “A hat with a large brim is a must. I’ve had sun stroke three times in my life.” Michel Bisson csc
All in a day’s work for the Toronto-based cameraman, whose
athletic frame, soft heart and photographic smarts have led him
on several humanitarian journeys over the last 14 years to Africa,
Haiti, Paraguay and Colombia. Bisson himself claims no selfless
philanthropy, other than a compassion for the suffering of people
in less fortunate parts of the world. He doesn’t work for free, but
he gives the production houses that hire him a discounted rate
which includes a state-of-the-art camera and accessories.
Over the years, he has worked in Benin (West Africa), Haiti
and Paraguay for the now-defunct Bascombe Group, Toronto
(producer/director Kirston Nielson), on behalf of the Christian
Children’s Fund; for Northern Lights, Toronto (producer Ian
French and director Kim Saltarski), in Colombia and Zambia for
Children International; and for Northern Lights again (French
and Saltarski) on a Ghana (West Africa) shoot for Plan Canada.
4 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
Born and brought up in Montreal, Bisson has had a successful
and varied career since he first shot film with his father, news
cameraman Jean Bisson, at the 1976 Montreal Summer
Olympics. He has shot series, MOWs, documentaries,
commercials, PSAs and promos, including a few 3D video projects, and has been virtually a one-man band on some low-lowbudget features (see CSC News February 2005). Nothing has
compared with the challenges and rewards of capturing images in
the Third World for the two-minute-to-half-hour direct-response
television (DRTV) programs that charitable organizations screen
in late-night time slots.
“The long flights, shooting in pretty bad slums, the language
barrier – these television shows are lots of hard work. They have
allowed me to travel to many different countries and experience
things that most people only see on television. I loved every
minute of it. You get to see the real world and how many people
need help on this crazy planet. Everyone should experience this
at least once in their life. It will change the way you view the
world… and appreciate your life and where you live. Canada is
a great place.”
Bisson sponsored another child in Asunción, the capital of and
largest city in Paraguay, with the help of the Christian Children’s
Fund. She was a squeegee girl of about 12 who had been working
on the streets since the age of eight. “We shot a piece on her, and
I saw the drive she had so I wanted to give her a jump on life.
I figured if somebody just helped her out a little bit, she had a
chance to get out of the gutters, at least surviving instead of living
out of a box.” That girl is now a woman of 25 and doing well.
The first shoot was about 14 years ago in Haiti; the most recent
was in Zambia in April last year. The Cité Soleil slums in Portau-Prince, Haiti, were a jolt to a first-time visitor. “Right away
you are thrown into a world of poverty,” Bisson recalled. “It took
me about three or four days to get used to it. It’s kind of scary
in a way. At one point you’re shocked by the smells, the people
around you are in really bad shape; then, after a while, everything
seems normal to you. You can never get rid of the smell though.
Some places will knock you right over.”
The average shoot is about nine or 10 days. “We location scout
at the start for a day or two and get acclimatized because of time
and climate differences. It takes about two days to get to Africa,
sometimes on as many as five different airlines and five more to
get back. One day of rest, one day of scouting, looking at the
different stories and then start shooting. We’ll shoot probably
three or four days in a row, take a day off and then go back at it
for another three or four days.” The shoots are about a year-totwo years apart because funding is always tight.
“We started off shooting the shows with [Bisson’s] Betacam
400, then moved to a rented Panasonic SDX-900 in NTSC
because the client wanted 16:9. Then we shot on HD with my
Panasonic HDX-900 at 24p, which gave me more latitude in the
dark huts and cabins that don’t have any electricity at all. Once
inside, I used the clear filter on the wheel and changed the colour
temperature in the camera’s menu to 5600K. That way I could
get 640 ASA. The HDX-900 records on DVC PRO 33-minute
tape that helped us out with the high-shooting ratio. In six days
of shooting, we shot 30-to-35 tapes. If we had to render all that
footage on to a computer every night from a card, I would not
have gotten any sleep.
“I brought two Fujinon HD lenses – a wide-angle zoom
HA13x4.5 and a telephoto zoom HA22x7.8. The wide lens I
used about 80 per cent of the time because we were mostly up
close and personal. The telephoto lens I used to shoot the locals
in the village – usually hiding beside a hut to catch them going
about their lives – on a two-time extender which gave me about
340 mm. Once they saw us it would be all over; we would get
swarmed.
“I also brought one 36-inch round and one California bounce
“She hugged and held on to my leg… she smiled all the time.”
Michel Bisson csc
4 x 8 reflector that I used most of the time in the huts and interviews, and my never-go-anywhere-without Easy Rig, my poor
man’s Steadicam. When you are shooting hand-held in the sun for
eight-to-10 hours a day at 30C and 90-per-cent humidity, it will
save your life. Of course, I brought a lightweight O’Conner 1030
tripod with baby legs, a Panasonic 17-inch monitor for checking
the shots at the end of the day in the hotel, along with a portable
monitor with a wireless transmitter for the director [Saltarski],
who enjoyed showing the shots to the kids. They loved that.
“At first I brought a lot of lighting,” Bisson continued. “But later
I brought only one Kino Flo Diva-Light 400 that works 110 to
220v and has 32k and 50k bulbs and a portable Ultralight 30w
just in case. The natural light with a reflector works best and gives
a great look you really capture the mood of the location.”
Northern Lights has engaged Bisson for a three- or four-week shoot
in Rwanda for Plan Canada in late August for early September.
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
5
“You get to see the real world and how many
people need help on this crazy planet. Everyone
should experience this at least once in their life.”
Michel Bisson csc
6 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
When Shooting in the Third
World, Be Prepared
S
hooting in underdeveloped, third world countries can be
tough, says cinematographer Michel Bisson csc – long
flights, hot climates, bad slums, open sewage, insects, few
if any production resources, customs problems and language
barriers. So, like the Boy Scouts, his motto is Be Prepared.
Besides a careful selection of essential camera and lighting
equipment (covered in the main story), Bisson has some tips
for survival in conditions most Canadians can barely imagine.
Clothing, for example: “On one trip to Haiti, the producer
brought sandals because of the heat; she ended up spending the
day in the Jeep looking at the wireless monitor and the next
day she had shoes on. Lots of times we were shooting on top of
garbage dumps, open sewers, even slogging through the jungle.
I wore shoes that covered my ankles, thick wool socks, not cotton, and T-shirts in a material that wicks away moisture (from
Mountain Equipment Co-op). A hat with a large brim, and not
black, is a must. I have had sunstroke three times in my life; it
will knock you out for 36 hours.
“Another thing is getting the right shots (inoculations) for the
area you are going to. One trip I got up to $1,600 worth of shots
and medication. Also, make sure the production company gets
you health insurance. I also get my own just in case someone
messes up at the office.” As for travel documents, Bisson says
you must have a passport of course, “but it can’t be within six
months of expiry or you could be turned back.” Make sure your
carnet is valid wherever you go, too. “You have to check not
only the country you are traveling to but also the countries that
you travel through to get there, especially the United States. We
did not need a carnet to enter Colombia, but when we changed
planes in Miami on the trip home the customs agent said we
needed a carnet to enter the U.S. After about an hour he let us
through. We just made our plane.”
Also, he advises, “make sure all the serial numbers match the
descriptions of the equipment you are travelling with. Once I
was flying to the Middle East and the Canada Customs agent
did not like a couple numbers on the paper so she held us up
for two hours. On that note, when you are leaving a third world
country always give yourself at least four hours at the airport
before boarding. In Benin, West Africa, we used every second.”
Bisson, with more empathy than rancour, suggests that in some
places a camera crew should maybe consider hiring a local bodyguard. “It’s not that people are that dangerous,” he says. “it‘s just
that we carry expensive equipment that can disappear quickly,”
and it has. “One time in Paraguay we went into a village where
we made the guard stay with the Jeep and toured the area with
the local priest. We were in safe hands; nobody messed with
the priest. As for the guard, he was glad to see us at the end
of the day. He was all alone and the local kids were throwing
things at him and teasing him. We had the priest on our side.”
– Don Angus
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
7
Shooting
the
Shooter
B
efore he decided to commit himself heart and soul to
director Denis Villeneuve’s Polytechnique, Pierre Gill
csc was spooked by the project. “I refused to shoot that
movie,” he told me during an interview, remembering how he
stormed out of his car at a gas station in the Laurentian Mountains
and “threw the script a mile away. I lived that moment in 1989. I know
exactly where I was when I heard the story. I had friends who
were at the Polytechnique.”
The moment was a snowy day in early December. Marc Lépine
walked into the University of Montreal’s engineering school, looking like any other 25 year old until he pulled a semi-automatic
rifle out of a garbage bag and opened fire. During his shooting
spree, Lepine murdered 14 girls, wounded 13 other students,
and traumatized an entire society. In his suicide note, he ranted
against women, especially the feminists who “ruined my life.”
8 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
Gill’s first reaction to Villeneuve’s nervously anticipated dramatization of the slaughter mirrored the apprehensions of many
Quebecers who wondered why anyone would want to probe such
deep wounds. Naturally, some feared that the movie would turn a
horrific loss of life into some kind of splatter-filled shockorama.
In fact, Villeneuve, highly regarded director of Un 32 août sur
terre (1998) and the Genie-winning Maelström (2000), is the
moviemaker least likely to see the Polytechnique massacre as an
opportunity for cheap thrills. Villeneuve wanted to break the
taboo against confronting the event, offer catharsis and create,
as Katherine Monk wrote in her Vancouver Sun review of the
English-language version of the picture, “an ode to the strength
and beauty of the fallen.” As Peter Howell said in his critique
in the Toronto Star, the film reflects on “moments in life when
nothing makes sense and sadness descends.”
Pierre Gill csc
and the Making of
Polytechnique
Three weeks after being rattled by Jacques Davidts’s script for
Polytechnique, Pierre Gill took another look at it and met with
Villeneuve. Once past his initial misgivings, he saw the restrained
power the film could have and signed on as DOP, eager to help
Villeneuve achieve his disturbing but scrupulously respectful
vision. When the film was released earlier this year, critics and
audiences responded positively to the duo’s approach and the
controversy waned. Telefilm Canada included Polytechnique in a
showcase of Canadian movies at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York, the Bloc Québécois set up a pro-gun control screening
for parliamentarians, and the film played at Cannes Film Festival.
Gill recalls that as soon as discussions about the “touchy
project” began, he not only agreed with Villeneuve’s idea that
Polytechnique should be a black-and-white movie; he saw it as
an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shoot one. The widely
experienced cinematographer (winner of five CSC Awards, one
Photo credit: Dominic Bourget
By Maurie Alioff
from the ASC, two Genies and a Prix Jutra) says that he was
a “bulldozer” in his support of the director’s choice because
monochrome “was the only way to get the audience to participate” in the film’s imagining of the attack.
“There’s a very big difference between colour and black and
white,” Gill explains. “When you have a black-and-white picture
in front of you, you find your own emotion. If you look at an
image of the Canadian Rockies in black and white, the
mountains are very textured and they feel old and powerful. If
you have the same picture in colour, the image will tell you that
you have to feel good, you want to ski and do this and that.” In
the case of Polytechnique, the insistence of colour, spilling over
with red blood, “would have been a disaster.”
Once producers Maxim Rémilllard and Don Carmody okayed
black and white, Gill and Villeneuve began refining their visual
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
9
Image courtesy of: Alliance Films
Maxim Gaudette as mass murderer Marc Lépine in Polytechnique.
strategies, a process that continued into post-production. “We
have to shoot this film with four short lenses,” Gill remembers
saying to Villeneuve: “a 21, a 27, a 35 and a 40. Anything that’s
longer is dangerous because we have a guy with a gun.” Short
master prime lenses, mounted on an Ari 235, gave the movie a
naturalism, rather than engage in typical movie glamorization of
a gun-wielding young man.
Polytechnique was shot entirely on Kodak Vision3, 5219, “a very
fine grain, amazingly crisp and beautiful colour stock,” says Gill.
Combined with the precision of the lenses, it allowed cinematographer and director to avoid making what he calls “an artsy,
grainy black-and-white movie.” Moreover, at 500 ASA, the 5219
gave the moviemakers the latitude they needed to shoot with
the fluorescent lighting of two college locations, as well as other
instances of available light. Gill credits his gaffer René Guillard
with matching the light sources on sets constructed in warehouses,
with “the fixtures and colour light that we had in different real
schools. It’s not because you take out colour that you match. It’s
far more complex.”
For both moral and creative reasons, Gill believed that he and
Villeneuve should resist the temptation to hyper-aestheticize the
black and white into the glossy contrasts of a film like the Coen
Brothers’s The Man Who Wasn’t There.” At the stage of the final
correction, “the first thing we did was to start putting contrast
into the picture,” Gill recalls. “But I said to Denis and the colour
timer, ‘We’re going to stop and watch the film, the offline on a
big television screen.’” Viewing the footage with sound, it was
clear to Gill that Polytechnique “is a grey-and-white movie.”
Working out the tonal subtleties during 2K post-production, Gill
experienced “one of the most exciting things that happened to
me on that project.” At Technicolor Montreal, a Parisian colourist
called Charlotte Mazzinghi figured out that a friend’s special
plug-ins would allow the team to “play in the blue, red and green
layers” on the Lustre-colour correction system.
10 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
Rather than merely render from colour to black and white, “we
were doing what you do in a darkroom. We were able to do
a beautiful black and white much easier and much faster. It
made my vision come up very quickly and easily, instead of
working hours and hours on different levels. It was an example
of technology and film mixing perfectly.”
Throughout the making of Polytechnique, the moviemakers
aimed at drawing viewers into a close approximation of unsensationalized reality. “With every shot we needed to be
careful,” Gill says. “Every single shot, and I’m saying every one of
them, was a question of ‘is the camera too low, are we too tight,
are we too far?’ Before opting for any of the film’s rare close ups,
“we talked about it for a long time. A close up in that kind of
movie means a lot.”
A movie in nearly constant motion, Polytechnique relies heavily
on Steadicam work executed by the skilful Daniel Sauvé. “There
are no dolly shots,” Gill continues, pointing out that some shots
were possible only because of the short lenses. “With Steadicam,
we could move slowly into corridors, follow the actors anywhere
and go through doors.” Set on an apple box, the Steadicam was
even used for static images, a big time saver according to Gill.
In certain key situations, Gill hooked up a small camera to “different rigs we called the cat cam, the monkey cam, the crazy
cam or the guitar cam, whatever you want,” and often operated
himself. For instance, when depicting the shooter attacking
groups in large open spaces, “I was running with the students,
hiding under the desks, pushing chairs. I was wearing a helmet
and a lot of protection equipment, looking like a Robocop. I
wore so much protection, I could film three feet away from the
shooter with no problem, concentrating on the feeling of being
a person in the crowd.” Fond of plunging into the action, Gill
also shot hand-held while skating with Roy Dupuis during the
filming of Charles Binamé’s 2005 bio-pic of Maurice Richard,
The Rocket.
Director Denis Villeneuve
wanted to break the taboo
confronting the Montreal
massacre and offer catharsis.
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
11
Of all the movie’s painful scenes, the toughest to shoot was the
one in which the seemingly robotic killer (played by Maxim
Gaudette) interrupts a classroom lecture, orders the men to leave,
and mows down the women, including characters played by
Evelyne Brochu and Karine Vanasse. “To film that scene was
unbelievable,” Gill remembers. “You wanted to vomit.”
Shooting the film’s most traumatic moment, Gill worried that the
professor’s overhead projector would provide a light source that
would look “so good and so cool that we would be in trouble.”
Gill found ways to bring down the impact while allowing for the
camera to pick up the abstract shapes of the projector graphic
on the killer’s face. “I was going nuts about this,” says Gill, who
is happy that the film’s occasional “crescendos” never disengage
audiences from the grey zone he and Villeneuve created.
Loaded with evocative details like orange peels strewn on the
floor beside the girls’ bodies, Polytechnique never stops reminding
viewers that the horror of the massacre is unfolding on a snowy
Montreal day. Flakes swirl through the Polytechnique windows.
The killer’s face appears against frost. He trudges through a heavy
snowfall with his death kit. The network of wintry images gives
the film a dreamy sense of place, contrasting with the story’s brutality while paradoxically enhancing its chilly darkness.
Because the more elaborate images of snow strained the picture’s
budget, Gill had to convince the producers that “they were to die
for. I fought with my blood. There was colour on the meeting
table. I said, ‘Guys, we need the snow, don’t cut it. It’s a character
in the movie.’ And finally, they decided to go for it.”
This wasn’t the only time that Gill put up an argument for
something that Villeneuve wanted, acting as a buffer, or
finessing the director out of a tight spot. When the producers
were breathing down Villeneuve’s neck, and he worried about
overruns, Gill would say, “Sorry, but we’re going to shoot that
scene; it will be in the movie until the end of time. There are
some scenes in the script that are not important, and we’ll save
time on those days.”
After abstaining from moviemaking for nearly 10 years, the 42-yearold Villeneuve dove back in with last year’s short Next Floor, which
picked up innumerable prizes, and then took on the challenge of
Polytechnique. “The movie put a lot of weight on his shoulders,”
says Gill. “I think I made him feel very secure, and sometimes he
told me, ‘You’re my big brother.’ Denis is a great director and a
great human being. I would work with him anytime.”
Pierre Gill has put in 20 plus years as a cinematographer, working numerous productions at home and abroad, collaborating
with some of Quebec’s most interesting and talented directors,
including Jean-Marc Vallée, Léa Pool and Charles Binamé. His
work ranges from the restraint of Polytechnique to the experimental
flamboyance of Binamé’s Le Piège américain (2008), which
deployed 17 different film stocks. At this point in his career, Gill
wants to direct himself, and is developing “a very big feature film
called VK with a story set in 1763.”
12 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
On the left: Pierre Gill csc: Cinematographer
as Robocop. Top: Co-producer and star of
Polytechnique, Karine Vanasse. Below her,
Evelyne Brochu. Images courtesy of Alliance Films.
“I was running with the students, hiding
under the desks, pushing chairs. I was
wearing a helmet and a lot of protection
equipment, looking like a Robocop. I wore so
much protection, I could film three feet away
from the shooter with no problem, concentrating on the feeling of being a person in the
crowd.” Pierre Gill csc. Photo by Dominic Bourget.
Written by Doug Taylor, VK depicts the real-life Wolfgang von
Kempelen who created a chess-playing automaton with the
appearance of a turbaned-and-robed magician. Known as The
Turk, the machine matched wits with Napoleon Bonaparte and
Benjamin Franklin. They apparently didn’t realize it was operated
by a human player hidden away within its mechanical innards.
In March, Gill flew to L.A. for a meeting with Oscar-winning
Adrien Brody, who had been intrigued by the script. “He is delighted with the project and my approach,” Gill told me recently,
just before Brody signed onto the project.
Few cinematographers direct, or even want to. Gill says that
he “ended up working as a cinematographer by default.” At
Concordia University, he studied all aspects of moviemaking, but
he was a gifted cameraman whose fellow students wanted him
to shoot for them. “I’ve always been closer to the script than the
lights,” Gill continues. If he’s a successful cinematographer, it’s
because “my goal is to make sure that we get the shot that will
tell the story.”
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
13
14 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
The challenge for the film adaptation was to properly tell the
massive and sprawling story in a form that was watchable in
theatres. The film pays homage to the original graphic novel
by utilizing flashbacks and fictional historical documents to
flesh out the characters and the developing plot. But as many
references as there are to the original book in the final screenplay, two major elements of the film could not be included in
the theatrical release without tipping the running time well past
the 180-minute mark. Tales of the Black Freighter and Under the
Hood are companion films to Watchmen and are available only
on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Throughout the course of the Watchmen main-unit filming
in late 2007 and into 2008, I had the opportunity to contribute to the film and its subsidiary productions in a number of
different capacities. First, I had the good fortune to be a cameraman for the DVD, Internet and publicity content produced by
Eric Matthies of Los Angeles-based EMP Inc. Second, I was
invited by Watchmen production manager Jim Rowe to operate one of two Sony F900R HDCam cameras used to capture
Billy Crudup’s performance of his character, Dr. Manhattan. The
data from our VFX unit cameras was used to assist and guide
the animation of Dr. Manhattan who was created entirely in
CG by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Third, I was able to
contribute to the mock documentary Under the Hood as cinematographer. Officially my Under the Hood credit is for additional
cinematography.
Under the Hood was produced and directed by Eric Matthies
and primarily lensed by director of photography Glenn Taylor.
As Taylor was also contracted to DP the “behind the scenes”
footage for the entire 100-day Watchmen shooting schedule, this
meant that I was able to take on some of the workload of Under
the Hood.
Photo credit Clay Enos
T
he Warner Bros./DC Comics feature film Watchmen
is an adaptation of the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
1986 graphic novel of the same name. The original publication is well known for its complexity, multi-layered subtext and
rich detailed illustration. It was chosen one of Time magazine’s
Top 100 pieces of literature in the 20th century. More than two
decades since the story’s genesis, it has now been over a year
since the principal photography of Zack Snyder’s Watchmen was
completed in Vancouver.
Early in pre-production, Taylor and
Matthies discussed shooting Kodak,
black and white, 16-mm reversal and/
or negative film to recreate the 40s-,
50s- and 70s-era newsreel footage of the
film’s masked crime fighters. The intention was to intercut actual archival footage
with our material. As an owner of a Bolex H16
myself, I was very happy to oblige and concurred
that actually shooting film would definitely give the images
a filmic look. Previously Taylor had shot the-making-of Jet Li’s
Romeo Must Die almost entirely on 16 mm using an Aaton XTR.
He and Matthies had been very pleased with the results.
Hooded Justice, Silhouette, Silk Spectre, Moth-Man, Dollar
Bill, the Comedian, Captain Metropolis and Nite Owl are all
Watchmen historical figures placed in the context of the
story of Under the Hood. Collectively they are referred to as The
Minutemen. For each of these characters Matthies staged scenes
that were either “accidental” or newspaper photo-ops. This
conceit gave our production a vehicle to show the costumed
heroes in full character.
As an example, in the story, the character Silhouette is
reported as having busted up a child pornography ring and
given the gang a severe beating. Matthies and his production
team cast the three ruffians and then borrowed Silhouette from
the Watchmen main unit to shoot our scene – basically a photoop. In our one-shot vignette, Silhouette, played by Vancouver
actress Apollonia Vanova, leads the chained men from the
doorway of a seedy alley and forces them onto their knees and
makes them smile for the news camera.
For this particular setup Matthies and I chose a Canon 15mm still lens adapted to C-Mount and Kodak 7222 Double-X
B&W negative stock. A 100-foot daylight spool was loaded into
the director’s trusty Bolex H16, and I prepared for the shot by
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
15
cranking up the spring-wound motor. The first take worked well but as a precaution we shot
another take on the Bolex and a third on my HVX200, using a Century .6X wide angle to match
the 15 mm as closely as we could.
Although the scene gained character and atmosphere from the alley, which was part of the
New York backlot constructed specifically for the main unit, it was a dark set. Basically it
was my job to properly expose the players in the existing light. This would have been more
difficult if the weather had not cooperated, providing semi-consistent overcast skies. I
also had key grip Steve Machan routing some backlight with a mirror board and some
closer fill from a large 4 x 8 styro bounce that gave directionality to the light and helped
to see under the brims of the hats and to create some ‘specularity’ on Silhouette’s black
costume. Even though the digital material from the HVX200 looked great, it was the
footage from the Bolex that made the cut.
Matthies, Taylor and I setup mock interviews of many other notable, but also
sometimes sidelined characters, from the main Watchmen feature. These included
Hollis Mason, Sally Jupiter (a.k.a. the first Silk Spectre), Bernard the newsstand
vendor, Wally Weaver and Laurence Schexnayder. One of my favourite setups of
Under the Hood was the stylized lighting for Sally Jupiter’s interview. It was one
of those moments where everything seemed to come together just right. The
art department and set decorating team built and decorated a perfect 1970s
brick-walled den background. The hair, make up and wardrobe team executed
a wonderful 1970’s look for Carla Gugino (Sin City, Night at the Museum), and
Taylor’s choice to use hard light as per the look of the period complemented
and enhanced each of the other departments’ work. All these elements allowed
Matthies to encourage a very believable and engaging performance by Gugino.
The lighting fixtures for the Sally Jupiter interview included an undiffused
Desisti 600W Fresnel as the key and an Arri 300W as backlight/rim.
A dimmed 500W Red-head was bounced off a 3 x 3 piece of showcard for fill.
A separate 300W Fresnel rimmed the interviewer and a half CTB gelled Cotelux
fluorescent fixture spilled some ambient fill onto the brick wall to give
contrasting color to the yellows otherwise present in the set decor and wardrobe.
Although much of the look of Under the Hood was created through lighting
and appropriate choice of film stock, a considerable amount of time and effort
went into colour timing the material from the various acquisition formats. The
majority of the scenes/interviews were shot in HD with Taylor’s Panasonic
HDX900 in 1080 24PA. We also made good use of a Panasonic HVX200 in
either 720 24PN or 1080 24PA as a kinetic hand-held camera and as a backup
for the Bolex.
Occasionally Matthies asked Taylor and me to shoot A and B cameras side-byside to cover a scene in wide and tight shots. In this case we were in hand-held
mode one with the Bolex H16 and the other with the HVX200. An example of
this was for Mothman’s bank robbery arrest. Taylor recalls intentionally operating
and making quick zooms on the barrel which would better emulate the look of
a 1970s cameraman’s work without the servo zooms of today’s higher end HD
cameras. In another situation we captured a wide shot of Mothman being interrogated at the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings with the Bolex
and used the HVX200 for simultaneous inserts and ECU’s of the set and props.
Looking back at the time spent working on the set of Watchmen, and having the
opportunity to contribute creatively to the companion project Under the Hood, I
realize now that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will not soon be forgotten.
Endnote: The Tales of the Black Freighter/Under the Hood DVD has been released and is
now available for purchase.
16 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
S
o many films, so little space. With 170-odd
documentaries screening, of which 65 were
Canadian – buoyed by the fact that this included a
70th anniversary retrospective of the National Film
2009
Wrap
Board of Canada – there were an abundance of really
exceptional films to see at this year’s edition of Hot
Docs, the International Documentary Film Festival. Opening night at festivals is usually
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
17
Above: Kara Black’s Delian Mode. To the right: Jennifer Baichwal’s
Act of God. Previous page: Hubert Davis’s Invisible City.
for blockbusters, and blockbusters are what we got – Jennifer
Baichwal’s Act of God and Larry Weinstein’s Inside Hanna’s Suitcase.
Both Canadian docs were screened at the Winter Garden Theatre in
downtown Toronto. Act of God was shot and co-produced by Nick
de Pencier – CSC associate member and Jennifer’s husband – in 35
mm. If nothing else, this tells you that they had a decent budget,
and since the film is about lightning, my questions to de Pencier
were this: Did he shoot the lightning in HD rather than film?
And did he take advantage of pre-role buffer so as not to miss the
flashes? He confirmed that it was the only sensible way to shoot
lightning, and the blend of formats made for a stunning theatrical
look for the film, which is an exploration of the psychological
impact on survivors of lightning strikes rather than any kind of
technical or scientific study.
With Inside Hanna’s Suitcase, a brilliantly crafted film and
heart rending story, I was struck by the shear brilliance and
luminosity of the cinematography, including the stylized
re-enactments that were matched with archival photos and
film. Larry Weinstein was able to introduce me to Horst
Zeidler, the film’s DOP just before he headed back to Germany.
I wondered if he had used an HD camera with extended
dynamic range, or cooked up his own settings to achieve
the look of the film. Zeidler assured me that it wasn’t any
particular application, but he worked within the limitations
of the video range (F-900) and was certainly meticulous about
the lenses he used. For example, he related that on the
Canadian leg of the shoot, he didn’t just order a camera
package from Sim Video, but went through every available lens
and picked the best. It obviously paid off and is probably
indicative of Zeidler’s thoroughly professional and meticulous
approach to equipment, lighting and execution, from prep to post.
Fig Trees, produced and directed by maverick John Greyson,
is a delightful multi-image, multi-genre mix of opera, rock
video and cheesy docudrama exploring how governments
and pharmaceutical companies have prevented patients from
getting access to AIDS drugs. It was shot by Ali Kazami
(Canada) and Jesse Rosensweet (South Africa), and is a
stunning series of eclectic visuals, music and ideas that keeps the
viewer enthralled. I only had a few brief moments to chat with
18 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
Kazimi, and he was thrilled and proud of being able to meet the
challenge and maintain consistent image quality in spite of the
varied settings and styles.
There is no other way to describe Peter Greenaway’s Rembrandt’s
J’accuse other than tour de force. And, yes, it’s documentary,
albeit a very big-budget one. Based on the painting “The
Night Watch,” it is ostensibly a forensic investigation into the
motive of the 34 characters that appear in the painting, and their
collective conspiracy to kill. But what it really is, is a historical
treatise on visual literacy, and, yes, he even works in a little lesson
on Rembrandt’s famous lighting. It also utilizes multi-images,
including Greenaway himself inserted as a brilliantly charming
and humorous narrator. I assume it will be in theatres soon,
and I recommend it highly for both entertainment as well as
enlightenment value. It was shot by Reinier van Brummelen nsc,
who has some history with Greenaway and is an accomplished
lighting designer and DOP for film and a variety of commercial
and television projects.
Rupert Murray’s The End of the Line is a message film about
the plundering of fish life in the oceans (specifically blue-fin
tuna); the Canadian connection referenced by the demise of
the cod fisheries around Newfoundland. The somewhat stark
message is that if we continue to capture fish from the oceans at the
current rate, by 2048 there will be nothing left but plankton. You
may not want to eat sushi or tuna after watching this film, but
you cannot but be impressed with the stunning underwater HD
images of schools of fish flying past the lens of Rupert Murray.
Diary of a Time Square Thief is an extremely well shot
investigative journalistic piece, more poetic than hard-nosed.
A Dutch film shot by Jacko van’t Hof, it’s been showing in
theatres in Holland since January, but there is no indication that
it will reach the cinemas over here. I am not familiar with Hof ’s
work, other than the fact that I did see his name crop up on
two other Dutch films at Hot Docs, so he is obviously favoured
by several leading documentary directors there.
Photo credit: Alex Hermant
Jennifer Baichwal’s Act of God was shot and co-produced by Nick de Pencier – CSC associate member and Jennifer’s husband – in 35 mm.
Waterlife is a follow-up of sorts to The Falls, the documentary on Niagara Falls made about 12 years ago by Kevin
McMahon. It was inspired by Bill Mason’s NFB classic short
Paddle to the Sea (1966), and beautifully shot by John Minh
Tran (CSC associate member). Tran has shot several films
for McMahon, Waterlife being a particularly exciting
challenge for him. It was shot over the period of almost a
year to capture the seasons and allow time to plan and
capture the power of nature and the stresses man is imposing.
Tran told me that some of that pre-planning was to look for
patterns and to design shots that involved the viewer, such as
the use of a waterbag on surface shots of pools and shorelines.
He got wet a lot. Also there was liberal use of jib with remote
head. Shot primarily on a Sony 900R, he utilized the Iconix
pencil camera for some of the tight shots. To capture slow motion
in cinema-quality impact, Tran used a prototype of the new
Phantom high-speed camera with stunning results. The 35-mm
release print from DI was finished at Technicolor and will be
hitting theatres June 5. – Lance Carlson, CSC Associate Member
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
19
Rupert Murray’s The End of the Line
Festival Winners
A
20 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
t the festival awards ceremony, held Friday, May 15, the Best
Canadian Feature Award was presented to Invisible City (Hubert
Davis). The award is sponsored by the DOC and the Brian Linehan
Charitable Foundation and comes with a $15,000 cash prize. The Special Jury
Prize: Canadian Feature was presented to Waterlife. The prize is sponsored by
the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation and comes with a $10,000 cash
prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation.
The Best International Feature Award was presented to The One Man Village
(Simon El Habre, Lebanon). This award is sponsored by A&E and comes
with a $10,000 cash prize, courtesy of Hot Docs. The Special Jury Prize:
International Feature was presented to Cooking History (Peter Kerekes,
Austria, Czech Republic & Slovakia). This prize is sponsored by the
Ontario Media Development Corp. The Best Mid-Length Documentary
Award was presented to Rabbit à la Berlin (Bartek Konopka, Germany &
Poland), sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts. The Best Short
Documentary Award was presented to The Delian Mode (Kara Blake;
Canada), The award is sponsored by Playback. The HBO Emerging Artist Award
was presented to Chung-ryoul Lee, director of Old Partner (South Korea).
Hot Docs board of directors presented this year’s Outstanding Achievement
Award to veteran NFB filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. The Don Haig Award,
presented annually to an emerging Canadian documentary filmmaker, was
awarded to Montreal’s Brett Gaylor (RiP!: A Remix Manifesto). The Don Haig
Jury also named Montreal’s Tracey Deer (Club Native) a runner up for the
award. Each filmmaker received a $10,000 cash prize. The Lindalee Tracey
Award, which honours an emerging Canadian filmmaker with a passionate
point of view, a strong sense of social justice and a sense of humour, was
presented to two filmmakers: Laura Bari from Montreal and Will Inrig
from Ottawa. Each filmmaker received a cash prize of $3,000 from the
Lindalee Tracey Long-Term Fund and $1,500 in film stock, courtesy of
Kodak Canada.
INDUSTRY NEWS
SIM VIDEO’S BIG SHOOT
Imagine you’re talking to a client who
says, “We may have a shoot coming
up in a month or so that will require
over 50 cameras, all hidden from
view, and, by the way, we’re going to
need to figure out a way for the director to view all camera feeds at the
same time.”
Well, that was the conversation John
DeBoer, director of HD sales at Sim
Video in Toronto, had with Michel
Korchinsky, an executive producer at
Circle Productions, which has offices
in Toronto and Vancouver. The Red
shoot, as it came to be known, was
going to put Sim Video to the test.
“Once we made the commitment,
there was no turning back. John and
I talked about it, and we thought it
was an exciting project and decided
to take it on,” says Rob Sim, founder
and president ofSim Video. DeBoer operated
as the technical producer on the shoot and
was behind the decision to use the Red One
camera as the acquisition format.
Ted Schilowitz of Red Digital Cinema
holds the title of “leader of the revolution,” although with over 4,000 Red One
cameras on the market (in only three
years after its launch), it would seem the
revolution is over and Red One won. To
say he was surprised when he first heard
about the shoot in Toronto is putting it
mildly, “When we first spoke to Sim about
the 50-plus camera shoot, our first reaction
was, ‘how the hell are they going to use 58
cameras in one shoot?’”
This was the first big challenge for Sim to
tackle. Although they have 25 Reds, they only
had seven available at the time of the shoot
(November 2008). The rest were out on
other jobs. So most of the cameras were
brought into the Toronto office from other
rental houses around the world, including
New York, London, England, L.A. and a few
from Vancouver and Montreal.
Location, Location
The next big challenge was for the
camera technicians at Sim. DeBoer explains:
“Because the Red doesn’t have its own
accessories, we were forced to swap some
accessories with our own. But all the
cameras came in good working condition,
accept one which had a minor problem.”
Then it was up to the DOP and Ken Rice,
Sim’s HD engineer, to spend an afternoon
working on the look of the camera and to
set all the cameras with that look.
The idea of the commercial [editor’s
note: the client can not be named due to
copyright considerations] was to shoot
without the public knowing it. “It’s one
thing to put 58 cameras on the street,”
DeBoer said, “it’s another to have 58
cameras on the street hidden from view.
The cables, the transmitters…
the public was totally unaware
of them. I watched a rough edit
while we were filming, and it was
like we were spying on people at
6:30 in the morning.”
There were logistical concerns of where they could lay
the feed lines. At one location
they had to go over streetcar
lines, and the Toronto Transit
Commission was called in to
pull the cables across College
Street. The camera truck was
an empty storefront with two
people on full time to handle the gear
and to keep track of it all. This could
have been a big problem with so many
camera packages out at one time, but it
wasn’t. All the gear was accounted for at the
end of the shoot.
In fact, there were so many cameras that the
production had to rent a space near the shoot
to serve as the battery charger room with its
own generator. As for the hidden cameras, they
were positioned in many different and creative
spaces.
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
21
Technicolor Toronto
Your downtown
laboratory and
post facility
Grace Carnale-Davis
Director of Sales
grace.carnale-davis@technicolor.com
Vancouver
604-689-1090
Toronto
416-585-9995
Montreal
514-939-5060
www.technicolor.com
One was the infamous “squirrel-cam,”
which looked like a bunch of leaves in a tree.
Some were in parked cars and a lot were in
trashcans, mailboxes and inside some of
the storefronts. All the cameras were wired
together, except one on a Moped, three in
cars and one in a school bus. These were
all transmitted wirelessly. The idea was
to follow the movement of the subject
running along a street with an invisible eye.
really special about that spot. The most
exciting part for me was the day we got it
all up and running and everything worked.
Every camera rolled. The producer was on
the walkie talkie and said to us all, ‘thanks,
it all worked.’” – Roger Metivier
Rob Sim was watching the first take on
Saturday morning and sweating bullets.
No one has ever done anything like this
before; even the Super Bowl doesn’t use
this many cameras. So Sim had a right to
be a little nervous. But the first take went
perfectly; all the cameras ran in sync.
“This is a breakthrough concept,” he said,
“but whether it flies or not we don’t know
yet. The budget was huge. They [the
client] may look at it, and say ‘it’s not
working,’ but I doubt that.”
At the 2009 National Association of
Broadcasters show held in Las Vegas
earlier this year, Fujinon introduced its
new PL Mount Zoom Lens series. The
lens was shown on working cameras in
Fujinon’s booth, and the 18–85 mm T2.0
(model number HK4.7x18F) will be
available for a May delivery date. Three
other lenses in the PL series – the 14.5–45
mm T2.0, the 24–180 mm T2.6 and the
75–400 mm T2.8-T4.0 – will be available
in December 2009.
John DeBoer concurs, “What I think is
going to happen is the public is going
to see it, and say there was something
Fujinon’s PL series was developed with
advanced optics design to maximize
image capture capabilities of current and
FUJINON INTRODUCES PL
MOUNT ZOOM LENSES AT
NAB 2009
rapidly emerging 35-mm motion picture
film and digital cameras. The PL series of
four zoom lenses provide unprecedented
focal range choices from 14.5 to 400 mm,
with fast T-stop performance and exceptional optical quality.
With minimal breathing, 280-degres
focus barrel rotation, constant and fast
T-stops, accurate and repeatable marks
and comparable size and weights of the
four zooms, Fujinon PL series are ready
to meet the challenges of modern digital
cinematography.
TELEFILM GREENLIGHTS
FILMS STARRING DONALD
SUTHERLAND AND PAUL
GROSS
Projects financed by the 2009 Canada
Feature Film Fund announced by Telefilm
Canada include Donald Sutherland’s
return to Canadian movies with The Con
Artist, directed by Risa Bramen Garcia
and also starring his son Rossif Sutherland
and Rebecca Romijn from the X-Men
series. It’s Donald’s first Canadian film
since The Art of War in 2000. Rossif
recently appeared in Clement Virgo’s Poor
Boy’s Game (2008).
Paul Gross, hot off his Genie Awardwinning Passchendaele, has been hired
to star in William Phillips’s (Treed
Murray, Foolproof) $8-million comic
Western, Gunless, and Daniel Roby (Le Peau
Blanche) has been given the go-ahead
The boys of FUBAR
22 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
todirect the Montreal-based Funkytown
starring Patrick Huard (Bon Cop, Bad Cop).
Also the boys from FUBAR are back with
FUBAR 2. Directed by Michael Dowse,
the first mock-documentary about the
adventures of a couple of Alberta slackers was a cult hit when released in 2002.
And CBC Radio’s Sook-Yin Lee has been
award $1.2 million to direct Year of the
Carnivore, based on her own script.
KODAK LAUNCHES VISION3
250D COLOUR NEGATIVE
FILM 5207/7207
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In April, Kodak Canada launched its
latest product offering in its Vision3
series – Vision3 250D colour negative
film 5207/7207. It incorporates all of the
advancements and imaging characteristics unique to the Vision3 family of films,
optimized for an exposure index of 250
in daylight.
The newest addition to the family is
designed to retain the richness in
colors and contrast that are characteristic
of Kodak Vision3 technology with more
details in the extreme highlight areas.
Like Kodak Vision3 500T 5219/7219,
the new film also incorporates proprietary
advanced dye-layering technology, which
renders finer grain images in underexposed
areas and produces cleaner film-to-digital
transfers for post-production.
Complimentary to the 500T product, this
new medium-speed, daylight-balanced
emulsion offers exceptional imaging in
natural daylight, artificial daylight and a
variety of mixed lighting situations, while
maintaining pleasing flesh tones and color
reproduction.
TORONTO’S FILMPORT UNDER
NEW MANAGEMENT
Open for business for less than a year,
Toronto’s megastudio, Filmport, has
a new owner. In April, the City of
Toronto approved a proposal to install
and help bankroll the new owners,
Britain’s Pinewood Studios Group.
Once the final paperwork is complete,
Filmport will be renamed Pinewood
Toronto Studios.
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
23
major Hollywood productions on the go
or just recently wrapped.
These include movies with major talent
behind and in front of the camera: Cabin
in the Woods (a.k.a. Mordecai), directed
by Drew Goddard (producer of “Lost”
and “Alias” and the writer on Cloverfield),
with DOP Peter Deming (Mulholland
Drive, The Love Guru) and starring Oscarnominated Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
for MGM; and Hot Tub Time Machine,
directed by Steve Pink (Accepted), with
DOP Jack Green (Unforgiven, 40 Year
Old Virgin) and starring John Cusak,
again for MGM.
C a n y o n D e s i g n G ro u p :
CSC News — J1904
02/25/09
01Final
Also filming is Tron 2.0, directed by
Joseph Kosinski, with DOP Claudio
Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button) and starring Garrett Hedlund and
Jeff Bridges, the star of the original Tron
(1982), for Walt Disney Pictures; and
Percy Jackson, directed by Chris Columbus
(Home Alone), with DOP Stephen Goldblatt (Charlie Wilson’s War) and starring
Catherine Keener, Uma Thurman and
Pierce Brosnan for Fox 2000 Pictures.
Deluxe
Meanwhile the studio is occupied with VANCOUVER ABUZZ WITH
its first major multi-million-dollar inter- HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTIONS
national co-production, Scott Pilgrim vs.
the World, based on the Canadian comic Recession, what recession? While Los
book by Bryan Lee O’Malley and star- Angeles is experiencing a downturn
ring Canadian Michael Cera (Juno). The in production and New York City has
director is Edgar Wright, the very talented cut back on its tax credits for film comBrit responsible for Shaun of the Dead and panies and Toronto struggles to fill
Hot Fuzz, and the DOP is Bill Pope, who its brand new megastudio (although
lensed The Matrix trilogy and Spider-Man things are getting busier), Vancouver is
& 3. 01F:1 2/25/09 10:32 AM Page
humming
along just fine with several
1904 CSC News 22.09
1
24 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
Vancouver-based 35-mm MOS camera package:
Arri 35 III 3rd generation specs. 130fps motor,
N35 4 perf movement, CE high-speed base and
accessory box, PL mount, custom Jurgens optics
with color tap and frameline generator; 2 x 400’
mags; FF2; 5x6 matte box; two dual 12v batteries
and chargers. All gear ships in four cases.
Well maintained former Clairmont package.
Contact Adam Braverman: 604-418-0241;
adam_braverman@hotmail.com.
Equipment for Sale
Sony BVW-400a Betacam SP Camcorder
Camera used by professional cinematographer
(one owner), never rented out. Comes complete
with Fujinon A15x8BEVM-28 lens, Petroff matte
box with 4x4 and 4x5.6 filter holders, remote
zoom and focus control for lens, 6 Cadnica NP-1
batteries, Sony BC-1WD battery charger, PortaBrace fitted cover w/ rain jacket (like new) and
Sony factory hard shipping case and manuals.
Lens and camera professionally maintained
by factory technicians. Usage hours are: A –
1,918 hours; B – 1,489 hours; C – 4,286 hours.
$10,000.00 obo. Contact: Craig Wrobleski csc
(403) 995-4202
Aaton XTR Super 16 pkg: including body,
video relay optics, extension eyepiece, three
magazines, Cooke 10.5-mm–60-mm S-16 zoom
lens, Zeiss 9.5 prime lens, 4x4 matte box, 4x4
filters (85,85N6, polarizer, ND6, clear), follow
focus and cases $22,000; Nikon 50–300 -mm F4-5
E.D. lens w/support, $1,000; Kinoptik 9–8-mm 35mm format lens c/w sunshade $1,400. Contact
stringercam@shaw.ca or mike@imagegearinc.
com
DVW700WS Digital Betacam with viewfinder
and two widescreen zoom lenses. Canon J1 5x8
B4WRS SX12 and Fujinon 5.5-47. Very low hours on
new heads. $16,000, plus taxes. Contact: Michael
Ellis: 416-233-6378.
Sony DVW700 Digital Betacam camera. Excellent
condition. One Sony viewfinder, one Sony battery
case, one Sony tripod adaptor, and one 8x160-mm
Canon zoom lens. $19,900 plus taxes. Call 613-2553200.
Betacam SP Camera package. BVP550 Betacam SP
camera with BVV5 recorder, complete with Fuijinon
15x8 broadcast zoom lens, “Red Eye” wide-angle
adapter, 6 IDX Li-Ion batteries, IDX quick charger
with AC adapter, flight case, soft carry case, Sony
monitor and 10 fresh Beta SP tapes ($140 value).
$2,500. Call Christian: 416-459-4895.
Pro Bono
Arri III clear rain cover with carry bag (Like
new, very little use.) $100. Anton Bauer Lifesaver
“Interactive Logic Series” dual charger in excellent
condition, minimal use with AC power cord and
two Proformer batteries (need to be re-celled)
$150. Hard-shell transport case for broadcast or 16
mm, good condition $40. Petroff 3x3 filter tray, $30.
Photos available. Contact: John Banovich: 604-7265646 or John@GreenEarthFilms.net.
Elmo TransVideo TRV16 16-mm film-to-video
converter color CCD. Converts mag or optical film
frame, color, iris, focus adjustments. Excellent
working order. Best offer accepted. Contact: Bea:
feldab@rogers.com.
Betacam SP D30 camera, PVV3 Recorder Back,
Fujinon 16X, 9-144 zoom lens, six batteries, charger,
power supply and case, Sony PVM 80Q 7 1/2inch
monitor and case. $3,500. Contact: Joan Hutton:
416-693-9776.
1474.VideoscopeCSC-Oct08
Camera Classified is a free service
provided for CSC members. For all others,
there is a one-time $25 (plus GST) insertion
fee. Your ad will appear here and on the CSC’s
website, www.csc.ca. If you have items you
would like to buy, sell or rent, please email
your information to editor@csc.ca.
3:11 PM
Page 1
HDV � XDCAM � HDCAM
Factory-sealed Fuji film stock. Three x 400ft.,
35-mm 500ASA, 250ASA and 160ASA. Regular
price, $500 per roll. On sale for $340 per roll. Also
can sew various types of heavy-duty material.
Repairs and zipper replacement on equipment
and ditty bags. Lori Longstaff: 416-452-9247;
llong@rogers.com.
Videoscope is your
One-Stop Shop
For Sony Professional HD Cameras
Sony DSR-130 Mini DV/DVCAM Camera. ENG
rig in excellent condition, comes with softshell carrier. Includes DXC-D30 head, DSR-1
DVCAM VTR, Canon YJ 18x9 KRS internal-focus
1x/2x lens (servo/manual), DXF-701WS ENG
viewfinder, condenser mic and Anton Bauer
battery. DSR-1 hours: A:233; B:133; C:327. Recent
factory servicing, reports and pictures available.
$8,500 obo. Justin Guimond: 604-568-8023, justin.
guimond@gmail.com.
�
�
�
�
HDW-F900R
Experienced Sales Reps and Camera Specialists
Recording Media for all Sony platforms in stock
Sony-trained technicians in our Service Department
Support from our Rental Division
For demos and consultations: 416-449-3030
Larry Au
lau@videoscope.com
Gord Haas ghaas@videoscope.com
Joe Freitas jfreitas@videoscope.com
Photo by Roger LaFleur
Two Complete Video Villages for Sale $2,000.
At this price, these units will pay for themselves
in less than five weeks on a normal television
series. Cost to create new would be over $5,000.
Plus these very sharp, robust AC/ DC monitors
are no longer available! Includes four x 9inch
Sony AC/DC monitors, four 12V batteries and
chargers, four A&J hard cases, remote controls
and antenna signal boosters, spare power
cords, connectors, etc. BNC cables in winder,
two stands, dolly carts and doorway boxes with
storage drawers. Contact :Robert McLachlan
: office: 604-926-5253; cell: 604-761-4041;
rmclachlan@mac.com.
9/19/08
Looking for HD videographer to work pro bono on
a gay 15-minute film entitled Epiphany. Based
on a real event, and dealing with the relationship
between spirituality and sexuality, the script tells
the story of an ex-religious who visits a massage
parlor and experiences a “revelation” of sorts.
Shooting begins in May and extends into the
fall, depending upon the availability of the cast
and crew. It has a distributor and is scheduled to
premier in March 2010. The script is available upon
request. Interested persons are asked to contact
Andrew Adams at 416-551-3584 or at argadams@
hotmail.com.
CAMERA CLASSIFIEDS
Equipment for Rent
PDW-700
PMW-EX3
www.videoscope.com/cameras
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
25
Sony logos are the property of Sony Corporation of Japan. All rights reserved.
CSC MEMBERS
CSC FULL MEMBERS
Jim Aquila csc
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Rodney Charters csc, asc
Damir I. Chytil csc
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Alar Kivilo csc, asc
Douglas Koch csc
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Glen MacPherson csc, asc
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Robert B. McLachlan csc, asc
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CALGARY
403-246-7267
26 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
TORONTO
416-444-7000
Stephen F. McNutt csc, asc
Simon Mestel csc
Alastair Meux csc
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Paul Mitchnick csc
Luc Montpellier csc
George Morita csc
Rhett Morita csc
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Rene Ohashi csc, asc
Harald K. Ortenburger csc
Gerald Packer csc
Barry Parrell csc
Brian Pearson csc
David Perrault csc
Bruno Philip csc
Matthew R. Phillips csc
Andrè Pienaar csc, sasc
Zbigniew (Ed) Pietrzkiewicz csc
Randal G. Platt csc
Milan Podsedly csc
Hang Sang Poon csc
Andreas Poulsson csc
Don Purser csc
Ousama Rawi csc, bsc
William Walker Reeve csc
Stephen Reizes csc
Derek Rogers csc
Brad Rushing csc
Branimir Ruzic csc
Jèrùme Sabourin csc
Victor Sarin csc
Paul Sarossy csc, bsc
Michael Patrick Savoie csc
Gavin Smith csc
Christopher Soos csc
Michael Spicer csc
John Spooner csc
Ronald Edward Stannett csc
Pieter Stathis csc
Barry Ewart Stone csc
Michael Storey csc
Michael Sweeney csc
Adam Swica csc
Attila Szalay csc, hsc
Jason Tan csc
John P. Tarver csc
HALIFAX
902-404-3630
Paul Tolton csc
Bert Tougas csc
Chris Triffo csc
Sean Valentini csc
Roger Vernon csc
Daniel Villeneuve csc
Daniel Vincelette csc
Michael Wale csc
John Walker csc
James Wallace csc
Tony Wannamaker csc
Peter Warren csc
Andrew Watt csc
Jim Westenbrink csc
Tony Westman csc
Kit Whitmore csc, soc
Brian Whittred csc
Ron Williams csc
George A. Willis csc, sasc
Glen Winter csc
Peter Woeste csc
Bill C.P. Wong csc
Bruce Worrall csc
Craig Wrobleski csc
Yuri Yakubiw csc
Ellie Yonova csc
CSC ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Joshua Allen
Don Armstrong
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Christian Bielz
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Christophe Bonniere
Scott Brown
Richard Burman
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Jarrett B. Craig
Rod Crombie
James Crowe
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John Drake
Randy Dreager
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Jay Ferguson
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Richard Fox
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Byung-Ho Lee
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Keith Murphy
Christopher M. Oben
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Neil Scott
Neil Seale
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Sarorn Ron Sim
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Andrè Paul Therrien
George (Sandy) Thomson
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Glenn C. Warner
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Roger Williams
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Peter Wayne Wiltshire
Kelly John Wolfert
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Peter Wunstorf asc
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CSC Affiliate
MEMBERS
Christopher Alexander
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Rudolf Kovanic csc
Ken Krawczyk csc
Naohiko Kurita csc
Harry Lake csc
Douglas E. Lehman csc
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Harry Makin csc
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Jim Mercer csc
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Ron Orieux csc
Dean Peterson csc
Roger Racine csc
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CSC HONOURARY
MEMBERS
Roberta Bondar
Vi Crone
Graeme Ferguson
Wilson Markle
indicates demo reel online, www.csc.ca
Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009 •
27
Production Notes
Being Erica season II (series); DOP John Berrie csc; OP Andy Chumura; to October 16, Toronto
The Border season III (series); DOP Gavin Smith csc; to October 15, Toronto
Le Baiser du barbu (feature); DOP Pierre Jodin csc; to July 29, Montreal
Blue Mountain State (series); DOP Éric Cayla csc; to August 21, Montreal
The Bridge (series); DOP Thom Best csc; OP David Sheridan; to August 30, Toronto
Casino Jack (feature); DOP Adam Swica csc; OP Colin Hoult csc; Ist assist. Goffried Pflugheil; to
June 22, Toronto
Chabotte et fille (series); DOP Marc Charlebois csc; to June 15, Montreal
Defying Gravity (series): DOP Stephen McNutt csc; OP Tim Spencer; to June 17, Vancouver
Degrassi: The Next Generation season IX (series); DOP Jim Westenbrink csc; begins May 19,
Toronto
Dino Dan (series): DOP/OP George Lajtai csc; to July 19, Toronto
Don Cherry Story (miniseries); DOP Glen MacPherson csc, asc; OP Keith Murphy; to July 16,
Winnipeg
Flashpoint season II (series): DOP Stephen Reizes csc; OP Tony Guerin; to August 1, Toronto
Go Girl (series): DOP Milan Podsedly csc; OP Marvin Midwicki; B cam OP Peter Battistone; to
May 1, Toronto
I, Darwin (TV movie); DOP Christopher Ball csc; to July 17, Halifax
Little Mosque on the Prairie season IV (series); DOP Yuri Yakubiw csc; OP Frank Polyak; begins
May 13, Toronto
Sanctuary season II (series); DOP Gordon Verheul csc; OP Steven Adelson; to July 31,
Burnaby, BC
The “Socalled” Movie (documentary); DOP Marc Gadoury csc; to July, Montreal
Sur traces de Marguerite Yourcenar (documentary): DOP Stefan Nitoslawski csc; to June 30,
Montreal
The Troop (series); DOP Michael Wale csc; OP Brian Johnson; to September 15, Burnaby, BC
Web of Lies (feature); DOP Daniel Villeneuve csc; to June 29, Montreal
Yamaska (series); DOP Daniel Vincelette csc; to December 10, Montreal
Calendar of Events
June 5–7, nextMedia, Banff,AB, 403-678-1216, www.nextmediaevents.com
June 7–10, Banff World Television Film Festival, Banff, AB, 403-678-1216, www.banff2009.com
June 16–21, CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival, Toronto, 416-445-1466, www.
worldwideshortfilmfest.com
June 17–21, Toronto Italian Film Festival, 416-885-5551, italianfilmfest.com
August 27–September 7, Montreal World Film Festival, 514-848-3883, ffm-montreal.org
28 • Canadian Cinematographer - Summer 2009
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