Get PDF - Canadian Society of Cinematographers
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Get PDF - Canadian Society of Cinematographers
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 CORPORATE SPONSORS alphacine/Toybox Applied Electronics Arri Canada Ltd. CinequipWhite Inc. Clairmont Camera David J. Woods Productions Inc. Deluxe Toronto Eyes Post Group Four Seasons Aviation Fuji Photo Film Canada Inc. Kingsway Motion Picture Ltd. Kino Flo Kodak Canada Inc. The Lab in Toronto Lee Filters Lenhoff and Lenhoff Lorne Lapham Sales & Rentals Maxell Canada Mole-Richardson Osram Sylvania Ltd./Ltée Otto Nemenz International PS Production Services Panasonic Canada Panavision Canada Precision Camera Rosco Canada Sim Video Sony of Canada Ltd. Videoscope Ltd. Wescam William F. White International Inc. ZGC Inc. CSC OFFICE Canadian Society of Cinematographers Administrator: Susan Saranchuk 3007 Kingston Road Suite 131 Toronto, Ontario M1M 1P1 Tel 416-266-0591 Fax 416-266-3996 email: [email protected] Editor: Donald Angus (416) 699-9149 email: [email protected] 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. ● FINE GRAIN A C C U R A T E C O L O U R REPRODUCTION W I D E E X P O S U R E LATITUDE G U T S T O SIT FIVE FEET F R O M S O M E T H I N G T H A T C O U L D RIP Y O U R H E A D C L E A N O F F We do our part. You do yours. As a consistent innovator in the advancement of motion picture film, Fujifilm has everything you need to get the shot you want. No matter what you’re shooting. www.fujifilm.ca/MotionPicture 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 P+S Technik Digital Image Converters Use 35mm primes on your 2/3” or Mini DV camera and get the same depth of field, angle of view and focal length as with 35mm film cameras. Use PL, Panavision or Nikon mounted 35mm primes on any high-def or standard def 2/3”video camera. Get creative with the hindreds of lens choices that used to be available only to 35mm filmmakers. Pro 35 Use PL, Panavision or Nikon mounted 35mm primes on your Canon XL-1/1-s, Sony PD-150, VX2000 or Panasonic AG-DVX100 Mini DV camera. Professional results, Mini DV budget. Mini 35 Mount the lenses used in filming on a video camcorder and preview the scene as the film camera will actually see it. Record shots on location, evaluate lighting. Replace camera with optical viewfinder for director’s viewfinder. VDF-35/16 Director’s Viewfinder Available for sale or rental, information package on request. 200 Evans Avenue, Unit 4 Toronto, Ontario M8Z 1J7 Tel: (416) 463-4345 Fax: (416) 469-2609 [email protected] Providing Aerial support to the film industry since 1987 AS 355F1 TwinStar AS35OD & AS350B2 ASTAR Bell 206B JETRanger Fly Away Home • The Big Hit The Wall • The Jackal Universal Soldier La Femme Nikita Barney’s Great Adventure Blues Brothers 2000 • Bait Dick • Bless This Child Exit Wounds • Driven Dracula 2000 • John Q Wescam Spacecam Imax Tyler Mounts Mega Mounts Lester B. Pearson International Airport Toronto Canada David Tommasini, President internet: www.fourseasonsaviation.com Tel: (905) 671• 9644 Fax: (905) 671• 9536 Toll Free: 1• 877• HLCPTRZ ⁄ 452 • 7870 6 • CSC News / 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. The One Swatchbook that has it all ... ROSCO CANADA 1241 Denison St., #44, Markham, Ont., L3R 4B4 905-475-1400 Toll Free: 1-888-767-2686 Fax: 905-475-3351 w w w .r o s c o - c a .c o m (Micol Marotti is a Torontobased writer.) ● 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 Focused. Advanced. Reliable. And then there’s the camera. As a premium dealer for the Sony Communication Systems Network Group, we have a full line of cameras and all necessary ancillary products to ensure the success of your project. All products are available for sale or rent, from an extensive inventory geared toward professional video capture and production. Production Rentals Service Leasing Hardware Sales Videoscope Magnetic Media TORONTO 1.416.449.3030 LONDON 1.519.668.0660 TOLL-FREE 1.877.38.SCOPE w w w. v i d e o s c o p e . c o m Event Staging Systems Integration 10 • CSC News / 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 [email protected] Al Lindsay [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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