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March 2009 Volume 28, No. 7
The
Making
of
Watchmaker
By Christopher Ball csc
Paul Tolton csc plays ball
Lights! Camera!…More Lights?
The CSC Lighting Workshop
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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.
Paul Tolton csc
Plays Ball
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.
Watchmaker
10
Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg
14
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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4
CONTENTs
v o l u me
2 8 ,
N o .
7
March 2009
02 From the President
04 Play Ball!: The Work of Paul Tolton csc Opens the MLB Network
For Paul Tolton csc, the 2009 baseball season has already begun. He was the director of photography for Big
Studios, the Toronto-based company that produced and designed all the visual packaging for the new Major
League Baseball network.
By Don Angus
07 Lights! Camera!…More Lights?: The CSC Lighting Workshop from an Actor’s Point of View
“George Willis [csc, sasc] is a terrific instructor. He has the unique quality of being able to simplify complex
lighting concepts. His lighting philosophies are truly inspiring,” Zöe Dirse csc.
By Sydney Kondruss
10 A Visual Roller Coaster Ride for the Senses: The Making of Watchmaker
Inspired by the genius of Norman McLaren, Christopher Ball csc used the master’s “cameraless” techniques
to produce a three-minute-47-second “visual roller coaster ride for the senses.”
By Christopher Ball csc
14Industry News
17Camera Classified
18CSC Members
20 Production Notes/Calendar of Events
Cover image: Christopher Ball csc hand-colouring
Watchmaker. Image courtesy of the filmmaker.
CSC NEWS
March 2009
Volume 28, No. 7
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
[email protected]
EDITOR
Wyndham Wise mfa
[email protected]
In the CSC News October 2007’s
“President’s Report” we ran the archival
photo below as part of our celebration of the
50th anniversary of the Canadian Society of
Cinematographers. At the time we knew
it was an important gathering of some of
the founding members of the CSC, but no
one was really sure they could name all 11
gentlemen, properly attired with their
jackets and neckties. Recently we have heard
from Vi Crone, whose husband Bob owned
Film House, where this photo was taken,
and her memory of the names is included
below the photo. You will see that there is
one name missing, and if anyone knows
who this gentlemen is, please be in touch.
Standing to the far left, in profile, is Don
McBride, chief staff mixer at Film House,
and behind him is Brian Holms from
Versafilm. In the back row, the person on
the left is unknown, then Gordon Petty
from Film Effects, Bob McLeod, Glen
Ferrier from Panavision and to the far
right, Christopher Chapman csc. Down
front are, from the left, Maurice Jackson
Samuels csc, Roy Tash csc, George Morita
csc and Len Green, the head of sound
engineering for Film House. The photo
was taken at Film House, 22 Front Street
West, Toronto, circa 1965.
ART DIRECTION
Berkeley Stat House
COPY EDITOR
Donald Angus
PROOFREADERS
Karen Longland
Paul Townend
WEBSITE CONSULTANT
Nikos Evdemon csc
www.csc.ca
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Donald Angus
[email protected]
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Toronto, Ontario
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Email: [email protected]
CSC News is a publication of the Canadian
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No. 478423
2 • CSC News - March 2009
April 4 / Le 4 avril 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
29th Annual Genie Awards
Contact the Genie Awards Box Office
Direct
(416) 366-7616
Toll Free
1-800-644-5194
For more information visit
www.genieawards.ca
Le 29e Gala des prix Génie
La billetterie des prix Génie
Ligne directe :
416 366-7616
Sans frais :
1 800 644-5194
Pour plus d’information, consultez le site
www.genieawards.ca
PREMIER / GRANDS PARTENAIRES
The Genie Award statuette was created by Sorel Etrog. / Le trophée Génie a été conçu par Sorel Etrog.
Play
Ball!
The Work of
Paul Tolton csc
Opens the MLB
Network
By Don Angus
T
he opening of the 2009 baseball season is just around
the corner, when the professional boys of summer play
out an annual sports spectacle measured in nine-inning
installments.
For Toronto-based cinematographer Paul Tolton csc, the
season has already begun; he watched his work literally flash
before his eyes when the Major League Baseball Network
premiered on January 1, 2009 to an initial subscription of 50
million homes across North America. Tolton was the director
of photography for Toronto’s Big Studios, a broadcast design,
animation, graphics and visual effects company that produced
and designed all the packaging, including show openers/closings,
network IDs, transitions, promos and commercials for the new
specialty cable television channel. The MLB network airs live
games plus original programming, highlights, classic games and
coverage of baseball-related events.
“There have been over 80 visual pieces delivered to the network
to date,” Tolton says. “The range of duration of each piece varies
vastly, some three seconds in individual transitions, 10-second
intros, 20-second promos to 30-second spots.”
He says about 15 per cent of the scenes on the MLB network
are classic captures from baseball’s film treasury of historic
moments and achievements. Archival footage of Babe Ruth’s
“called shot,” Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard round the world,”
Jackie Robinson’s daring steal of home plate, Roger Maris’s 61st
home run in 1961, Bob Gibson’s 17 strikeouts in the first game
of the 1968 World Series – they are all there, blended almost
seamlessly with modern “extended” footage.
“We used historical footage of actual baseball heroes and events,”
Tolton says, “but we also created other shots, other angles to
extend the real historical moment and historical footage.
4 • CSC News - March 2009
Opposite page: Paul Tolton csc. Above: Filming in Pittsburg
Pirates’ PNC Park. “We shot in Pittsburgh for two entire days
without any people in the stadium, later filling the stadium
electronically in post with crowd simulation software called
CrowdSim,” Tolton. Photos by Jacky Wan courtesy of Big Studios
On Ruth’s called shot, there are stills and a home movie that we
were able to obtain. From these, we drew lighting diagrams for a
green-screen shoot (the green screens were done in Toronto) that
tell us where the shadow of the stadium was. Home plate was
in the shadow but by the time Ruth rounded first base he was
in full sun. We wanted to make sure that everything we shot
would intercut with the real archive.”
Ruth’s much-debated called shot home run for the New York
Yankees came in Game 3 of the 1932 World Series at Wrigley
Field in Chicago. During the at bat, with two strikes against him,
Ruth made a pointing gesture, which existing film confirms. The
story goes that Ruth pointed to the centre field bleachers during
his at bat, supposedly declaring that he would hit a home run to
that part of the park. On the next pitch, Ruth hit a home run to
centre field.
MLB Network. The studio’s clients include HBO, “Hockey
Night in Canada,” the Super Bowl, ESPN boxing and golf and
the show opening for the CBC reality series “Dragons’ Den.” Big
Studios has won three Emmy Awards for graphics work.
Shooting for Major League Baseball, the last of the four major
professional sports (MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA) to launch
its own television channel, began in early September 2008 at
venerable Wrigley Field in Chicago during a game between the
Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. The crew had full access to
the ballpark, second oldest in the majors (built in 1914) behind
Boston’s Fenway Park (1912). The first job was to photograph the
architecture, the ivy-covered outfield walls and other characteristics
that would form the backdrop of green-screen work.
Tolton says he and his crew went into the project “with a full
arsenal of equipment,” a Sony F900 HD package to shoot regular
speed, a RED ONE 2K 35-mm digital camera for 120fps slow
motion and a Phantom high-speed HD camera. The Phantom
was used for “super ultra slo-mo” at 1,000fps. He adds that “we
also had a FlyCam – there are only a few of them around – which
is a six-foot helicopter with an HD cam on board.”
Tolton explains that a key challenge “was to shoot iconic
footage without a specific recognition factor. It had to be
footage that was sort of generic but also dynamic. That was
very difficult. The production had the rights to use team logos,
but personal identity created the problem of limited longevity.”
The solution was to use unknown Triple A players and actors
“to frame so as to avoid seeing faces, except with historical
moments where prostheic makeup and computer enhancement
were used to replicate faces as close as possible.
Over the last five years, Tolton has worked with Big Studios
partner and creative director Jocelyne Meinert on a number of
projects similar to the opening and program packaging for the
“We used authentic team jerseys when we were doing the historical recreations, which were quite a challenge for the wardrobe
mistress,” Tolton chuckles. “She was pinstriping entire uniforms
CSC News - March 2009 •
5
Above: Babe Ruth’s “called shot.” Left: PNC Park. “One of the things we
did on the recreations of historical moments was to insert a little bit of
slo-mo drama. The RED was a fabulous tool for that,” Tolton csc.
Tolton says he enjoyed playing with all his high-price gear;
the FlyCam helicopter, with a crew of three, “was very effective for intimate aerial shots within the stadium, although the
‘prosumer’ HD Camera on board was limiting versus the 35-mm
film version of the chopper I had used on a previous project.” He
used the RED ONE camera for slow-motion images; it shoots
120fps with 35-mm optics at 2K resolution. “One of the things we
did on the recreations of historical moments was to insert a little
bit of slo-mo drama. The RED was a fabulous tool for that.” And
he called the Phantom spectacular. “We were shooting at 1,000fps;
that turns four seconds real time into two-and-a-half minutes
screen time. It lets you see the game in a way the eye cannot.”
with a Sharpie because the pinstripes of modern uniforms are
closer together than historic versions. For the images of star
players from the past, we went through all the options of trying
to find look-alikes. Babe Ruth, for example, was a stout man with
a round face and little pin legs. We had to use one person for his
upper body when he was at bat for his ‘called shot’ home run
(shot from a semi-circular dolly track) and a different person with
spindly legs when he was running around the bases.”
Tolton says he pitched ultra slo-mo to Big Studios and the MLB
“to do something different and unique. Baseball has been shot
and shot and shot, so when we were approaching the project,
we wondered what can we do differently, how can we engage
the viewer and make something that they haven’t seen: the
elegance of sliding into base, a pitcher’s ball hitting the glove, the
dynamics of the leather as it folds in a strange and beautiful way,
the ball meeting the bat – just trying to get a new, interesting
perspective on the dynamics of the game.”
The DOP says his camera team replicated a number of realistic
moments from typical ball games, like a player diving back to
third base on an attempted pickoff throw from the catcher. “We
tried to have an out-of-focus background, like the crowd and
the ivy covering the outfield wall at Wrigley Field. We shot in
Pittsburgh (at the Pirates’ PNC Park) for two entire days
without any people in the stadium, later filling the stadium
electronically in post with the same crowd simulation software,
called CrowdSim, that was used in Lord of the Rings.”
The busy cinematographer squeezed a three-week shoot in South
Africa in between the first MLB shoots in the U.S. and the shoots
in Toronto, and his next stop is a docudrama in Israel. He says he
is “looking forward to future projects where creativity and
technology can produce such exciting visuals, regardless of genre.”
Among his career credits and awards, Tolton has picked up a
Gemini Award nomination and four CSC Award nominations,
for music video, feature, performing arts and commercial. (Paul
Tolton’s reels can be seen at www.paultolton.com.)
6 • CSC News - March 2009
Lights! Camera!…
More Lights?
The CSC Lighting
Workshop from an
Actor’s Point of View
By Sydney Kondruss
I
t was January. Cold and dark – pretty much the most
depressing time of the year – and as a struggling new
actor I was trying to think of ways to stay connected in the
film business. So, on Saturday, January 17, I decided to take
the CSC Lighting Workshop. “Why?” you may ask. “What’s so
special about taking this workshop?” Well, I was about to find
out, because I can honestly say I know diddly squat about
cameras, lights or being a DOP. I can pretend I do, but even
I don’t think my acting skills are that advanced. The workshop
took place at William F. White International, 1030 Islington
Avenue in Toronto, a building I’ve always felt comfortable in, maybe
because the CSC clubhouse resides there. At 9 a.m. there was
a full house of 18 participants of different ages, ethnicities and
working backgrounds. Everyone sat down and awkwardly waited
for their first instructions.
Then appeared George Willis csc, sasc, the course leader, who is
poised, with a strong presence – an essential quality in a teacher.
He told us we were going “back to basics.” I felt immediate relief.
Placed beside George was a pile of strange gadgets. Essentially
lighting tricks, I was soon to learn, which I could have used when
making my own dramatic short film that, as it turns out, could
easily be rebranded as an instructional video titled How Not to
Light a Set.
I couldn’t believe it. I was being taught how to light a set with
tin plates as reflectors, open cardboard boxes using the flaps for
barn doors, windshield wiper fluid containers and flexible cutting
boards as diffusers, and CDs as reflectors – it looked great. To be
honest, I don’t care how experienced, or not, someone is, these
tricks are valuable to anyone. They can be used on the poor-man
set or the forgetful-guy set that quickly needs a solution.
Above: Author and participant, Sydney Koudruss. Below: Patrick Doyle,
cinematographer and Steadicam owner/operator from Halifax, NS.
Photos courtesy of Ernie Kestler
CSC News - March 2009 •
7
George Willis is
a terrific instructor.
He has the unique
quality of being
able to simplify
complex lighting
concepts. His
lighting philosophies
are truly inspiring.”
–
Zöe Dirse csc
The second day, the weather got even worse. More snow,
more cold, but that didn’t matter because it was “hands-on day.”
Knowing each other a bit more, everyone was feeling more social.
We formed five groups and each group had a different situation
to light. Our group location was a tiny space with a large circuit
board; there was barely enough room for two people to stand in.
George coined our group “the closet queens.”
Remembering what he had said the day before, in his
sophisticated South African accent, our group planned the
assault on the closet and circuit board by going back to basics.
I armed myself with a windshield sun reflector, and we turned
that tiny room with the breaker box into an intense nuclear
meltdown scene complete with a flashing red light and a warning
sound FX from a fellow student. Beep! Beep! Beep! It turned out
pretty darn good, but mainly because my partner happened to be
the very talented CSC affiliate member Ian McLaren.
To emphasize my point about Ian, here is his description of our
nuclear-meltdown exercise: “We used two Arri Fresnels, one 150
watt and one 300 watt. We doubled up a full CTO to create
the emergency flashing light with the 300. The 300 was paired
with the 150 because the light lost from the doubled CTO was
so great. We wanted red but, at the time, all we had was colour
correction. We put that lamp on a flicker generator to create the
emergency light effect. We put a one-quarter CTB on the 150 to
act as a ‘battle stations’ – à la Hunt for Red October – area light
that acted as a kicker for the actor. This light was also patched
into the flicker generator but was configured not to flash. This
is done so that when the actor tripped the breaker, we could kill
both lights simultaneously. At this time in the scene, the actor
was left with only a flashlight for illumination. The gag of the
meltdown being averted, we used a two-foot, four-bank KinoFlo
to act as the ‘all systems normal’ state of lighting. We flickered
the ballast before reaching our exposure level.”
8 • CSC News - March 2009
See what I mean? Lucky me to have been partnered with Ian.
Everyone hurried to finish their projects, receiving guidance
from CSC education chair Ernie Kestler, gaffer Bob McAdam (a
wicked cool guy) and CSC executive director Susan Saranchuk,
who was helping everyone with anything, which she is pretty
much an expert at doing. Finally the time had come. We were
about to bare all, revealing our “babies” and show the world
our lighting technique. We received nothing but constructive
criticism and support from George in his assessment of our
meltdown.
More from Ian: “George was impressed with our use of space as
the closet was very, very small, but in the context of the frame
we made it feel very big. He said it was very stylized. One of
the things he was teaching us was motivated lighting, not
lighting something for lighting’s sake. He was very impressed
with the three states of lighting we employed: the first being
the state of emergency, the seond being the single flashlight used
by the actor and the final state of all things normal. He thought it
was fairly innovative and a good use of a tight space.”
Steve Szolcsanyi, production manager for Parkland
Media, Toronto, is framed.
The following are a selection
of quotes, taken at random,
from some of the course
participants:
“There were lots of good take-
home ideas,” Sandy Thomson
“George Willis is an engaging and informative instructor,
his experience is obvious and
demonstrated by his useful tips
and tricks for lighting within a
budget,” Katie Matheson
“All the questions about
cinematography you can’t
ask on set,” Sean McBride
“The workshop reminded participants of the fundamentals,
and we applied them in a
critical environment in creative
ways,” Dan Crowder
“Plain, boring, by-the-book
lighting techniques? Not in
this lighting workshop. We
learned how to light a set
using easy-to-do creative
techniques,” Steve Szolcsanyi
Course instructor George Willis csc, sasc,
standing, directs Katie Matheson
The critique is a truly valuable part of the course because as an
actor you need feedback to become stronger, and more skilled at
your craft. I could see in the faces of my fellow participants that
they felt the same way. I think as an actor it’s important to understand all the jobs on a film so that you can learn to better
appreciate them, and I feel I accomplished a part of that at the
CSC lighting workshop. I learned things that would have taken
me years to figure out on my own. But, most importantly, I
learned how challenging it’s to be a DOP and how creative it can
be. It’s not just about wires, lights and cameras; it’s also about a
vision, a message and a story being told through the eyes of a
passionate team member – the director of photography.
The CSC Lighting Workshop was made possible thanks to the
generous contribution of Cinequip, DSA Design Sets Assembly
Limited, Image Central Broadcast Rentals, Lee Filters Canada,
Rosco Canada, William F. White and Bob McAdam. The
participants were Jimmy Bennett, Myles Borin, Dan Crowder,
Zöe Dirse csc, Patrick Doyle (from Nova Scotia), CSC affiliate
member Tony Edgar, Luke Gallo, Sydney Kondruss,
Jeyachchandran Manikasingam, Katie Matheson (from
Vancouver), Sean McBride, CSC affiliate member Ian
McLaren, Cherlene Merlo, Cabot McNenly, Sean Sealy,
Steve Szolcsanyi, CSC associate member George “Sandy”
Thomson (from Burlington, ON) and Prejeeve Thurairajah.
CSC News - March 2009 •
9
The
Making
of
Watchmaker
By Christopher Ball csc
M
any years ago in grade school I remember seeing
my first Norman McLaren scratch animation, called
Hen Hop (1942). Norman McLaren worked at
the National Film Board of Canada from 1941 to 1987 and
established the animation department. He was a pioneer in the
art of handmade cinema, also known as cameraless or scratch
animation, where the filmmaker draws, scratches or paints
directly on the film.
Over the years, McLaren’s technique percolated in my mind and
eventually morphed into a concept for a project that utilizes
the techniques of handmade cinema, but also uses live action,
rotoscoping and visual layering to create a collage set to music.
The opportunity to embark on the project recently presented
itself when, at a concert with co-producers Megan Wennberg and
Aram Kouyoumdjian, I mentioned the idea. They both thought
the project would be fun and interesting, and we decided to see
if we could get something going. We
first looked for music that would be
suitable for the proposal, which meant
it had to be rich and complex with
lots of instruments and multiple
melodic layers to complement the
texture of the image. Megan thought
of The Tom Fun Orchestra – an indie
rock ensemble from Sydney, Nova
Scotia, which features an unconventional mix of electric and acoustic
instruments – who we approached,
and they were immediately onboard
with the idea. We started to put a
package together for funding and after
Christopher Ball csc lines up a shot with 1st
A/C Becky Parsons and 2nd AC D’Arcy Fraser.
10 • CSC News - March 2009
a couple of dead ends, Bravo!Fact came through with 50 per cent
of our budget, enough to proceed with deferrals while we raised
more funding.
The concept was to utilize live-action footage as the base image,
overexposing it to create white space on the screen where the
animation could be drawn in afterwards. The filmed images
would also be hand-coloured, traced, scratched or blocked out
to create layers of imagery.
The live-action shoot was completed in early February 2008
with the nine members of The Tom Fun Orchestra performing
against a 40-foot-by-40-foot white backdrop. It was shot on an
Arri 35III camera, and I overexposed the film (Kodak Vision
500T 5218) by four-to-eight stops to make sure that anything
that was bright went pure white and to “thin” out skins tones and
colours so that we could add that back later by hand-colouring.
Watchmaker: A roller coaster ride for the senses.
Right: Christopher Ball csc works from a movement
guide on the rotoscope.
This footage was processed, transferred to MiniDV, and Kim
McTaggart did the picture edit to the music track. From the
off-line edit, we did a negative cut and produced a 35-mm
answer print, which was our “raw” footage. Simultaneously, the
soundtrack was transferred to 35-mm magnetic stock. We also shot
“movement guides,” which were shots of things like water flowing,
waves crashing on shore, people running and jumping, fields of
dots or lines on turntables and trees rushing by out of car windows.
This footage was processed and printed on 35-mm film.
hard lines vibrate and colours pulse erratically. Pairing this insane
motion with a slow-or-normal-motion rotoscope creates a visual
tension that throws the viewer off. You know it’s real; but it’s
totally abstract at the same time. I also took some old Steenbeck
spare parts and built a paint stand, which allowed us to paint on
the film and then go through a series of rollers to dry before the
take-up reel. Finally, I put together an old-fashioned edit bench
with rewinds, synchronizers and a 35-mm Steenbeck six-plate
editing table. Anyone remember those?
While all this was going on, I started to set-up the animation
studio in my basement. I had found an old sketch of a machine
that Norman McLaren designed for his films, which enabled
me to draw on a frame and then project that image onto the
next frame so I could see the progression of my animation. I
commissioned Clark Biesele to recreate the machine from this
rough sketch, which turned out to be quite an undertaking. After
some fine machining and a month of playing around with lenses,
prisms and apertures, the apparatus was built. We didn’t really
know what to call it, so we referred to it as the Biesele Prism
Rotoscope.
As soon as the sound arrived on 35-mm magnetic stock, I started
creating a “visual guide track,” which involved running the mag
stock through the Steenbeck or across the synchronizer sound
head at various speeds. In sync with the mag stock was a piece of
35-mm white leader on which I would mark out the melodies,
beats, instruments, base notes and trumpet blasts with various
colour markers. When finished, we could literally see the music
laid out on the white leader. When the final print of the raw
footage came back from the lab, we put that in the synchronizer with the mag stock and the white leader and marked out
and edge-numbered every foot. Now we had a frame-for-frame
visual reference of what the music was doing so we could animate
specifically to the soundtrack in sync. If a drumbeat happened at
245 feet plus eight frames, we could animate a specific image on
that frame of picture. Now we were able to start the animation.
I also built a light table with a 35-mm wide groove for use as a
rotoscope, allowing us to lay down a movement guide (strip of
film) and then place our overexposed raw footage on top. The
motion guides (the rotation of the turntable; a body jumping
through the air or the movement of water) could either be traced
directly or just used as a “real-life” motion reference.
The interesting thing about drawing directly on to film is that the
simplest of lines take on a wild vitality because it’s impossible to
draw perfect identical images from frame to frame. As a result,
The goal of the project was to create a visual roller coaster ride
for the senses. In three minutes and 47 seconds, the viewer
is assaulted with layers of colour, movement and sound –
faster than they can possibly take it all in. The images are
alternately synchronized or intentionally thrown out of sync
with the music, and each layer of image is following something
CSC News - March 2009 •
11
The making of Watchmaker: Christopher Ball csc checks a
section on the Steenbeck. All images courtesy of the filmmaker.
different on the music track. With that in mind, the animators
did not have many restrictions, other than to always reference the
music in some way.
Due to delays that forced us to complete the animation
phase within one month, it became somewhat of a community
project. Eleven animators (the producers, as well as
neighbours, friends and artists) put in 322 hours of work
colouring, scratching, blacking-out, dyeing, rotoscoping and
hand-drawing the film. The print was cut into several sections,
allowing animators and colourists to rotate from bench to bench
as each section demanded. Some setions of the film were put in
35-mm stills film developing tanks overnight with Easter egg dye,
which richly tinted the film. Some sections went through several
passes of animation, rotoscoping and colouring to create the layers
of imagery. There were no limits on ideas and lots of techniques
were tried. I did a number of tests before the animation process
began, so we weren’t going blindly but had a good idea of what we
were achieving. The primary drawing tools were technical pens,
paintbrushes, Kodak emulsion dyes (originally designed for print
and negative touch ups before Photoshop made them obsolete),
India ink, Sharpies, markers, stained glass paint and razor blades
for scratching.
Periodically, we would put the print on the Steenbeck with the
35-mm mag track to see how the film was progressing. Cheers
and whoops accompanied most of these viewings as we saw
the animation come to life. Sometimes we got what we were
12 • CSC News - March 2009
expecting; occasionally we were disappointed, but mostly we
were pleasantly surprised. After hours of splotching paint on
35-mm wide frames while grooving to scores of CDs, watching
our labour literally come alive on the screen was incredibly
rewarding. It could be disconcerting, however, watching the
rotoscope you’d spent hours painstakingly plotting out, flash
by in mere seconds. These viewings were rare because we were
handling an increasingly valuable original, which tried to keep
from being scratched and marked by excessive handling.
Once complete, the film was taken to Creative Post in
Toronto for transfer to HDCAM SR in preparation for a digital
intermediate finish. (I had originally wanted to stay analogue
all the way to the end, but due to the fact that few projects are
doing an optical finish, interneg stock has skyrocketed in price,
making it cheaper to do a DI). The transfer was actually the first
opportunity to see the final product. The brief screenings we’d
had in the animation studio were discontinuous excerpts, viewed
on a dark Steenbeck screen with a mono soundtrack, and we
could never really watch the entire film properly. I was quite
nervous because for months I had been espousing this concept
and how great it would be, without anything I could really show,
and this was the actual moment of truth.
Thankfully, it looked pretty darned amazing. Almost all of the
ideas that we tried in the animation were hugely successful
and the dense layering was extremely hypnotic (even though at
times I was worried it might be too much). The online suite at
Creative Post has a 12-foot screen and a $30,000 projector, so
the first big-screen experience was pretty mind blowing. This is
not a film for anyone who’s taken LSD, least it bring on a serious
flashback. One or two of the staff at Creative Post dropped in to
have a look at the film, and before long there was a big crowd and
lots of comments such as “that’s amazing,” “wow,” ”cool,”
“unbelievable” and the repeated question: “You painted every
frame?” The first public screening was extremely triumphant,
to say the least. I had a big sigh of relief at the end of that day.
The BetaSp version of Watchmaker aired on Bravo!Fact in
November. With additional funding from the National Film
Board of Canada and the Atlantic Filmmaker’s Coop, we
completed the DI and screened the prints at several Film
Circuit theatres around Atlantic Canada. Watchmaker premiered
at the 2008 Atlantic Film Festival and won Best Music Video
at the Silver Wave Film Festival in New Brunswick. Hopefully
for everyone who sees it, Watchmaker will be the visual rollercoaster ride that it was designed to be, especially on a big screen.
The film can be viewed on YouTube or maybe at a Film Circuit
theatre near you.
The principal credits for Watchmaker are Christopher Ball csc,
director / producer / cinematographer / animation; Megan Wennberg, producer / animation; Aram Kouyoumdjian, producer / animation;
Kim McTaggart, editor; and The Tom Fun Orchestra, music.
Top: Shooting The Tom Fun Orchestra. Above: Making the visual soundtrack
guide from the 35-mm magnetic track. “The concept [of Watchmaker] was
to utilize live-action footage as the base image, overexposing it to create
white space on the screen where the animation could be drawn in afterwards. The filmed images would also be hand-coloured, traced, scratched
or blocked out to create layers of imagery,” Christopher Ball csc.
CSC News - March 2009 •
13
INDUSTRY NEWS
A TRULY
OUTSTANDING
CINEMATOGRAPHER
EXPERIENCE...
DELUXE’S STAN FORD
RETIRES AFTER 43 YEARS
TORONTO MONTREAL VANCOUVER
(416) 585-9995
(514) 939-5060
(604) 689-1090
www.technicolor.com
In 1978 Film House purchased Quinn
Laboratories and Mirrophonic Sound.
Ford was general manager of both Film
House and Mirrophonic sound departments. In 1982 Mirrophonic was shut
down and merged with Film House. Film
House again changed hands in 1986 when
Cineplex and partner MCA Universal
purchased Film House from Doug
Macdonald. Ford was promoted to vice
president sales. Doug soon retired and
Cyril Drabinsky became president. In
1988 Film House post-production moved
to its new home at 424 Adelaide Street
East. “It was exciting to have the opportunity to move into a brand new facility
with state of the art equipment. We were
better equipped to provide services for the
feature film market both domestic and
US.” Cineplex then sold Film House to
the Rank Organiztion and changed their
name
to Deluxe. OUTSTANDING
A TRULY
A good friend of the CSC, Stan Ford,
Deluxe Toronto’s vice president for
video & data dailies, retired at the end
of January, just months shy of 43 years of
service to the film industry. “I joined Film
House, one of the few professional film
CINEMATOGRAPHER EXPERIEN
laboratories and sound operations in Canada Commitment to the filmmakers is a
(as Deluxe Toronto was known then) in the hallmark of Ford’s time with Film
summer of 1966,” he told CSC News.
House/Deluxe. He worked on many of
the films for Norman Jewison, David
A chance meeting at a barbecue he attended Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, as well as over
with his brother led him to his future career. 27 movies for Don Carmody and hundreds
A guest, Adam Pedan, a commercial editor of other feature and television projects. He
working out of Film House, told him that is proud of the opportunity to have worked
they were hiring young fellows to work with the world’s best cinematographers,
in its sound department and arranged an directors and producers.
interview for him. “If I hadn’t gone to that
barbecue,” he said, “I wouldn’t be in the film As one of the sales executives for Deluxe,
business today.”
he said, “I represented Deluxe at all of the
TORONTO
various events throughout (416)
the 585-9995
year. WeMONTREA
(514) 939-506
Film House was located at 22 Front Street have always supported the Academy of
West and owned by Bob and Vi Crone (an Canadian Cinema, CSC, DGC, CFTPA
honourary member of the CSC), who found- and the Canadian
Film Centre.” Ford
www.technicolor.com
ed the company in 1963. The processing was also a director of the Canadian Film
lab was on the first floor and a small sound Centre and has been associated with many
department on the second floor. In 1966 Film of the new up and coming filmmakers. In
House was only processing black-and-white 2005 the CSC honoured Stan Ford with the
film and did not get into colour until 1968. “I Bill Hilson Award for his contribution to the
can recall the first feature film that we worked film industry and in 2000 Ford was selected
on called Winter Kept Us Warm, directed as Person of Year, an award presented by
by David Sector,” he remembers. “I also Panavision, W. White Lighting and PS
remember the opening of Ontario Place and Production Services.
the first Imax film that we mixed, North of
Superior, produced by Graeme Ferguson and When asked what are you going to do
Bill Shaw, and my first visit to a movie set in now that you have retired he replied “I’m
1977, Welcome to Blood City, being shot at sure that I will have a busy and fulfilling
Kleinburg Studios.”
retirement with time for travel and golf.”
14
• CSC News - March 2009
THE 2009 GENIE AWARD
NOMINATIONS
In February, the 2009 Genie Award nominations were announced in Ottawa. For
best achievement in cinematography, the
list of nominees includes Pierre Gill csc for
Le Piège américain, Gregory Middleton csc
for Fugitive Pieces, Nicolas Bolduc for Le
Banquet, Bobby Bukowski for The Stone
Angel and Sara Mishara for Tout est parfait.
Pierre Gill csc has won two Genies, for The
Rocket in 2007 and Lost and Delirious in
2002. He was also nominated for The Art
of War (2001), Souvenirs intimes (2000)
and Liste Noire (1996). Gregory Middleton
csc has yet to win a Genie Award, and has
previously received five nominations for
best cinematography, including Falling
Angels (2004), Between Strangers (2003),
The Five Senses (2000), The Falling (1999)
and Kissed (1997).
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The 2009 Genie Awards will take place
Saturday, April 4 at the Canada Aviation
Museum in Ottawa, and will be broadcast on Global Television. This is a slight
departure in venue for the Academy of
Canadian Cinema and Television, which
usually stages its awards ceremony in either
Toronto or Montreal. The first three awards
show, 1949 to 1951, were held in Ottawa.
CRONENBERG AND EGOYAN
GO HOLLYWOOD
PMW-EX3
Two of Canada’s most recognizable name
directors, David Cronenberg and Atom
Egoyan, are simultaneously making a move
into mainstream Hollywood productions.
Both, in their own way, have built their
careers and reputations with art-house, edgy,
sometimes transgressive films, so it might come
as a surprise to some that now they should be
drawn to such commercial projects.
In the case of Cronenberg, it has been a
slow but steady career arch. The former
“baron of blood,” as he was known in the
early days when he was making the likes of
Shivers, Rabid and The Brood, matured with
such art-house classics as The Fly, Dead
Ringers, Naked Lunch and Crash, and more
recently with the box-office-friendly hits A
History of Violence and Eastern Promises, both
Oscar nominees. Now he has chosen to go
full-throttle Hollywood with his most
Demonstrations available
In stock
Toronto
Vancouver
Halifax
www.pci-canada.com
PRECISION CAMERA INC.
CSC News - March 2009 •
15
02 Final
Company, co-founded by expat and
Hollywood heavyweight Ivan Reitman
(Ghostbusters) and former Universal chairman Tom Pollock, who developed the
film. Ivan’s son, Jason Reitman (Juno), is
an executive producer. Although Chloe
was originally set in San Francisco,
Egoyan persuaded Reitman to relocate to
Toronto, where he could work with his own
team, including DOP Paul Sarossy csc and
composer Mychael Danna.
DOREEN LEON
C a n y o n D e s i g n G ro u p : 8 . 1 5 . 0 8
The CSC News — J1626
Client: Deluxe
Bleed: 5.625 x 8.125”
Trim: 5.5625 x 7.8125”
Live: 7.875 x 10.4737”
A long-time friend of the CSC, Doreen
Leon the day before retiring from her job
as receptionist at Technicolor Toronto.
Issue Date: xx/xx/xx
Ad Size: 1/2 Page Island
Egoyan has chosen to direct Chloe, an
erotic thriller starring Oscar nominees
Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson. Shooting began in Toronto in February, and
it is the first film directed by Egoyan
that is not based on his own script. It
was penned by Erin Cressida Wilson
(Secretary) and is described as “a
smart, sexy thriller in the vein of
Fatal Attraction.” The film is being
produced through the Montecito Picture
Deluxe
mainstream project yet, The Matarese Circle,
an adaptation of Bourne Identity author
Robert Ludlum’s 1973 novel with megastar
Denzel Washington set to play the lead.
The Cold War-era film will centre on an
American (Washington) who must collaborate with a Russian to take on a group that
attempts to infiltrate international politics to
ominous ends. Whatever the result, you
can 8/15/08
be sure Cronenberg
be making
626_CSC_2F.qxd
4:02 PM will
Page
1
it on his own terms.
16 • CSC News - March 2009
Equipment for Rent
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, Porta-Brace 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; Zeiss
35-mm prime lens set (Arri std. mount): 16 mm, 24 mm,
32 mm, 50 mm and 85 mm, $4,500; Kinoptik 9–8-mm
35-mm format lens c/w sunshade $1,400; Arri 35-mm
IIC camera w/ turret for Arri, standard Arri bayonet and
Nikon mounts, level 7 variable speed motor, 3x 400ft
magazines w/ loop protectors, periscope viewfinder,
matte box(takes 3x3 filters) IIC hi hat. Package including
transport cases $3,500; Ronford 2004 fluid head
(150-mm bowl) with Sachtler tall and baby legs, $5,000.
[email protected] or [email protected]
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. $20,000, plus
taxes. Contact: Michael Ellis: 416-233-6378.
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.
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: 604-726-5646 or
[email protected].
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 613-255-3200.
Field and Post-Production Equipment
Cinematographer’s personal Betacam camera and film
sound equipment. Neumann mics, Micron wirelesses, etc.
Sony BVW400 camera, tripod, lights, and grip. Full list at
saltwater.ca/equipment.
Sony DSR-500WSL DV CAM. Camcorder hours: A:1,435;
B:776; C:1,810. English and French manuals, $4,400. Canon
YJ1 8x9 BRS zoom lens, $2,200. Canon YJ 12x6.5 B4 zoom
lens, $4,000. Sony UVW-100 Betacam SP camcorder, Fujinon
S 16x6.7 BRM-18 zoom lens, and Porta Brace soft carrying
case, $1,250. Contact: Nick de Pencier, Mercury Films: 416
516-2661; [email protected].
HDV � XDCAM � HDCAM
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For Sony Professional HD Cameras
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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
[email protected]
Gord Haas [email protected]
Joe Freitas [email protected]
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,
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.
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
1474.VideoscopeCSC-Oct08
9/19/08
PMplease
Page
would like
to buy, sell3:11
or rent,
email1your information to [email protected].
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; [email protected].
Sony DSR-130 Mini DV/DVCAM Camera. ENG rig
in excellent condition, comes with soft-shell 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.
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: [email protected].
CAMERA CLASSIFIED
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;
[email protected].
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; [email protected].
PDW-700
PMW-EX3
www.videoscope.com/cameras
CSC News - March 2009 •
17
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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VANCOUVER
604-291-7262
18 • CSC News - March 2009
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Tim A. Campbell
Arnold Caylakyan
Bernard Chartouni
Maggie Craig
Brad Creasser
Colin Davis
Nicholas Deligeorgy
Dominika Dittwald
Micah L. Edelstein
Tony Edgar
Andreas Evdemon
Randy French
Richard Gira
Aizick Grimman
James D. Hardie
Bruce William Harper
John Richard Hergel BA CD
Kristy Hodgson
Perry Hoffmann
Brad Hruboska
Marcel D. Janisse
Michael Jasen
Christine Jeoffroy
Rick Kearney
Matthew Casey Kennedy
Boris Kurtzman
Nathalie Lasselin
Tony Lippa
John Lipsz
Matthew J. Lloyd
Christopher G. Logan
Lori P. Longstaff
Robert H. Lynn
Jill MacLauchlan Parks
Yoann Malnati
Sean Marjoram
Julie McDowell
Justin McIntosh
Ian McLaren
Andrew Medicky
Alejandro Muòoz
Kar Wai Ng
Brent O’Hagan
Ted Overton
Andrew Oxley
Gino Papineau
Graeme Parcher
Kalpesh Patel
Greg Petrigo
Gottfried C. Pflugbeil
Douglas B. Pruss
Lem Ristsoo
Susan Saranchuk
Chirayouth Jim Saysana
James Scott
Brad Smith
Michael Soos
Gillian Stokvis-Hauer
Steven Tsushima
Paula Tymchuk
Anton van Rooyen
Trevor J. Wiens
CSC
FULL LIFE
MEMBERS
Herbert Alpert csc, asc
Robert Bocking csc
David Carr csc
Marc Champion csc
Christopher Chapman csc, cfe
Robert C. Crone csc, cfc, dg
Kenneth R. Davey csc
Kelly Duncan csc, dgc
John C. Foster csc
John Goldi csc
Kenneth W. Gregg csc
Edward Higginson csc
Brian Holmes csc
Douglas Kiefer csc
Rudolf Kovanic csc
Ken Krawczyk csc
Naohiko Kurita csc
Harry Lake csc
Douglas E. Lehman csc
Duncan MacFarlane csc
Harry Makin csc
Douglas A. McKay csc
Donald James McMillan csc
Jim Mercer csc
Roger Moride csc
Ron Orieux csc
Dean Peterson csc
Roger Racine csc
Robert Rouveroy csc
Robert G. Saad csc
Ivan Sarossy csc
Josef Sekeresh csc
John Stoneman csc
Derek VanLint csc
Walter Wasik csc
Ron Wegoda csc
CSC
HONOURARY
MEMBERS
Roberta Bondar
Vi Crone
Graeme Ferguson
Wilson Markle
CSC News - March 2009 •
19
Production Notes
Chloe (feature): DOP/OP Paul Sarossy csc; to March 27, Toronto
Le Concert des voix (documentary): DOP Daniel Vincelette csc; to May, Montreal
“Defying Gravity” (series): DOP Stephen McNutt csc; OP Tim Spencer; to June 17, Vancouver
“Dino Dan” (series): DOP/OP George Lajtai csc; to July 19, Toronto
“Flashpoint” season 2 (series): DOP Stephen Reizes csc; OP Tony Guerin; to August 1, Toronto
“Ghostly Encounters” 3 (series): DOP Arthur Cooper csc; to March 27, Toronto
“Go Girl” (series): DOP Milan Podsedly csc; Op Marvin Midwicki; Op-B Peter Battistone; to May 1, Toronto
Grown Up Movie Star (feature): DOP Jason Tan csc; to March 7, St. John’s, NL
“How to Be Indie” (series): DOP Yuri Yakubiw csc; OP Frank Polyak; PedOP J.P. Locherer csc; to April 27, Toronto
“Musée éden” (pilot); DOP Yves Bélanger csc; to May 31, Montreal
Nostrum (feature): DOP Michael Jari Davidon; to March 15, Toronto
“Smallville” 8 (series): DOP Glen Winter csc (odd); Barry Donlevy (even); OP Doug Craik (even); OP Brian
Whittred csc (odd); to April 2, Burnaby, BC
The “Socalled” Movie (documentary); DOP Marc Gadoury csc; to July, Montreal
“Supernatural” 4 (series): DOP Serge Ladouceur csc; OP Brad Creasser; to March 27, Burnaby, BC
Sur traces de Marguerite Yourcenar (documentary): DOP Stefan Nitoslawski csc; to June, Montreal
Unstable (TV movie): DOP John Berrie csc; OP Andy Chmura; to March 7, Toronto
Calendar of Events
Mar. 27–Apr. 5, Cinéfranco, Toronto, cinefranco.com
Mar. 24–28, Canadian Filmmakers Festival, Toronto, canfilmfest.ca
Apr. 4, CSC Awards Gala, 5:30 p.m. reception, 7:00 p.m. dinner and presentation at the Sheraton Centre Hotel,
123 Queen Street West, Toronto. Tickets available at www.csc.ca
20
• CSC News - March 2009
The Kodak
Totem Award
Designed to emulate the
artistic combination of the art
and science of cinematography,
the Kodak Totem Award
is presented annually to each of
the Genie nominees in the
'Achievement in Cinematography'
category.
This award symbolizes the ongoing
dedication and commitment
to excellence that the nominees
bring to their craft.
Kodak is a proud sponsor
of the Genie Awards.
Congratulations to the 29th annual Genie Award nominees for
Achievement in Cinematography.
Gregory Middleton csc
Sara Mishara
Pierre Gill csc
Bobby Bukowski
Nicolas Bolduc
Fugitive Pieces
Everything is Fine
Tout est Parfait
The American Trap
Le piège américain
The Stone Angel
Le Banquet