Get PDF - Canadian Society of Cinematographers

December 2008 Volume 28, No. 4
A Christmas Story
Harald Ortenburger csc
Remembers Shooting a Canadian Classic
Shooting for the Best:
An Interview with Andreas Poulsson csc
In Memoriam:
Patrick Spence-Thomas & David Lee
C-Series Digital Cinema Lenses
E-Series Digital Cinema Lenses
FUJINON Super Cine E-Series rentals available at:
Big Vision • Cinequipt • Clairmont Camera
Dalsa Digital Cinema • Fletcher Chicago
Koerner Camera • Panavision • Plus8 Digital • Sim Video
FUJINON INC.
12-16715 Yonge St., Suite 203, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, L3X 1X4
Phone: (905) 898-1382, FAX: (905) 898-3350
2621 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach, CA 90278-1604
Phone: (310) 536-0800, Fax: (310) 536-0022
FUJINON INC. 10 High Point Dr., Wayne, NJ 07470-7434
Phone: (973) 633-5600, Fax: (973) 633-5216
1-324 Uetake, Kita-Ku, Saitama City, Saitama 331-9624 Japan
Phone: 81-48-668-2152
www.fujinon.com
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.
A Christmas Story
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.
8
The Champions
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.
CORPORATE SPONSORS
All Axis Remote Camera Systems
Applied Electronics
Amplis Photo Inc.
Arri Canada Ltd.
Canon Canada Inc.
CinequipWhite Inc.
Clairmont Camera
Cooke Optics Ltd.
Creative Post Inc.
D.J. Woods Productions Inc.
Deluxe Toronto
FUJIFILM Canada Inc.
Image Pacific Broadcast Rentals /
Image Central Broadcast Rentals
Kingsway Motion Picture Ltd.
Kino Flo
Kodak Canada Inc.
Lee Filters
Mole-Richardson
Osram Sylvania Ltd./Ltée
PS Production Services
Panasonic Canada
Panavision Canada
Precision Camera
Rosco Canada
Sim Video
Sony of Canada Ltd.
Technicolor
3D Camera Company
Videoscope Ltd.
William F. White International Inc.
ZGC Inc.
ZTV
4
CONTENTs
14
David Lee
v o l u m e
2 8 ,
N o .
4
D ece m b e r 2 0 0 8
02 From the President
04 A Christmas Story, 25 Years and Still Going Strong: Harald Ortenburger csc
Remembers Shooting a Canadian Classic
By Don Angus
08 Shooting for the Best: An Interview with Andreas Poulsson csc
By Wyndham Wise
14 Industry News In Memoriam: Patrick Spence-Thomas and David Lee
17 Classifieds
18 CSC Members
20 Production Notes and Calendar
Cover image: Bob Clark’s A Christmas Story; DOP Reginald Morris csc,
operator Harald Ortenburger csc
Correction: Due to an error in transcription in the October issue of CSC News, on page nine,
column two, line eight of the interview with Robert Saad csc, the text should have read: “He
[Ivan Reitman] had hired a DP from England who was phased out and I shot the last two or
three days of the film [Foxy Lady].” On page 10, the operator on the series “Wind at My Back”
was Brian not Bruce Harper.
CSC NEWS
December 2008
Volume 28, No. 4
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]
ART DIRECTION
Berkeley Stat House
I am very pleased to announce that the CSC is now offering sponsorships for our 2009
CSC Awards. There will be three levels: Platinum, Gold and Silver. Some of the benefits
of sponsorship include complimentary tickets to the CSC Awards Gala, premium seating
and sponsoring a category program. Award sponsorship packages have been sent to each
of the CSC corporate sponsors, and we are pleased with the feedback to date.
I would like to encourage all CSC members to attend meetings and events
organized by your executive. Recently, we emailed invitations to members in the GTA
to attend events held by Rosco at the Holiday Inn on King Street West, Toronto,
Cooke Lenses at PS Production Services, and a screening of Emotional Arithmetic at
Technicolor with Luc Montpellier csc in attendance. The turnout was low at all of these
events. We are appreciative of the support that our corporate sponsors show to the CSC.
Please do your best in joining us at future CSC events to help demonstrate appreciation.
COPY EDITOR
Donald Angus
We re-sent the survey to the membership along with renewal invoices in November. We
are hoping for a better and more complete response this time around.
PROOFREADERS
Karen Longland
Paul Townend
I invite you to visit our redesigned and revamped CSC website. Nikos Evdemon csc has
been working on it for several months to give the CSC a fresh look online. We want to
thank Nikos for all his hard work and long volunteer hours to make this possible.
WEBSITE CONSULTANT
Nikos Evdemon csc
www.csc.ca
ADVERTISING SALES
Donald Angus
[email protected]
CSC OFFICE
131–3007 Kingston Road
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M1M 1P1
MEMBERSHIP INQUIRES
Tel: 416-266-0591
Fax: 416-266-3996
Email: [email protected]
CSC News is a publication of the Canadian
Society of Cinematographers. CSC News
is printed by Winnipeg Sun Commercial Print
and is published 10 times a year. Subscriptions
are available for $35.00 for individuals
and $70.00 for institutions.
Canadian Mail Product Sales Agreement
No. 478423
2 • CSC News - December 2008
You might have noticed subtle changes to the look of CSC News, and I am pleased to
say we have had some feedback already. From John Walker csc, we received this email:
“Congrats on the latest issue. I really liked the interview with Bob [Robert Saad], and
I liked the photos and layout. Keep up the good work.” And from associate member
and business representative, IATSE 667, Rick Perotto: “My congratulations to the CSC
magazine, it’s very good. The CSC has come a long way, and you should be proud of
it.” There will be more changes over the coming months leading up to the CSC Awards,
Saturday, April 4 2009.
In this issue of CSC News, Don Angus writes on A Christmas Story, which is considered
to be the most-viewed Christmas movie ever made. Operator Harald Ortenburger csc
talks about working with American-born director Bob Clark and British-born DOP
Reginald Morris csc on this Canadian classic. Also in this issue Wyndham Wise interviews
Andreas Poulsson csc. For 20 years Andreas was one of busiest cameramen working for
the National Film Board of Canada. During his time with the Film Board, he shot films
for some of Canada’s best and most innovative directors, including the late, great Donald
Brittain, Michael Rubbo, Tony Ianzelo and Sturla Gunnarsson.
This issue brings us to the end of 2008, and so on behalf of the entire CSC
executive we wish you and yours the best during the holiday season, and a happy
and rewarding 2009!
A Christmas Story
25 Years and Still Going Strong:
Harald Ortenburger csc Remembers
Shooting a Canadian Classic
By Don Angus
H
arald Ortenburger csc, tall and lean with greying hair and
closely trimmed beard, smiled as he looked back on the
shooting of A Christmas Story in Ohio and Ontario a
quarter of a century ago. He was chatting over a coffee at Timothy’s
on Danforth Avenue in east end Toronto. In 1983, he was camera
operator for director of photography Reginald Morris csc.
“There was [director] Bob Clark, morphing into a kid…he was
just as old – or as young – as the kids,” Ortenburger recalled.
“That was why he was a really great director. On Porky’s he was
an adolescent. We had a lot of laughs on A Christmas Story, a lot
of laughs.”
The Canadian-produced feature – it took home statuettes
for direction (shared with David Cronenberg for Videodrome)
and screenplay at the 1984 Genie Awards, plus seven other
nominations including best picture – is considered to be the
most-viewed Christmas movie ever made. Since 1997, the
film has been best known for traditionally airing in a 24-hour
Christmas marathon on TBS. And last month, Warner Bros. released
A Christmas Story: Ultimate Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray Disc.
The Cleveland, Ohio, house where the picture was shot has
been completely restored to its 1983 film look and is a tourist
site, complete with a gift shop across the street. St. Catharines
and Lindsay, Ontario, stood in for many scenes in the fictional
northern Indiana town of Hohman, and studio work was shot at
Magder Studios in Toronto.
The film, set in 1940, is a shamelessly funny look at bespectacled
youngster Ralphie Parker and his typical American family, warts
and all, celebrating, or trying to cope with, an untypical Christmas season. Nine-year-old Ralphie wants only one thing for
Christmas – an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range
model BB gun with a compass in the stock. His dream runs afoul
of a cautious mother, an exasperated teacher and a surly Santa,
who all warn: “You’ll shoot your eye out.”
Everything is seen through the eyes of the narrator, the offscreen voice of the adult Ralphie (provided by Jean Sheppard, the
4 • CSC News - December 2008
author of In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, on which the film
is based). So, Ortenburger explained, everything is exaggerated
by time recollected. The photography of Morris, now deceased,
is virtually flawless, the operator acknowledged. The DP was
nominated for the cinematography Genie for A Christmas
Story. “Reggie Morris was a brilliant DP,” Ortenburger said.
“He was unflappable. He had no nerves. If Reggie hired you to
operate, that meant you had a stamp of approval because he was
very critical.”
Did the camera crew have any troubles with a cast of mainly
nine- and 10-year-olds? “The lead kid, Peter Billingsley, was an
adult as far as intelligence and his demeanour [was concerned].
He was amazing. You’d ask him to hit his mark, and he did. We
had no difficulties with the kids; they were all terrific. It was like
coming upon a gang of kids, and we just happened to have a
camera. The brilliant casting of all these kids was done by Marcia
Shulman, who today is executive vice-president at Fox Network.”
Billingsley was recently seen as William Ginter Riva in this year’s
Iron Man.
Morris, born and trained in England, was “from the British
system,” Ortenburger said, meaning “he let me work with Bob
[Clark] and he did the lighting. Bob was extremely prepared. So
there were never any surprises for the camera, for Reggie or for
me. It was always very much laid down – this is what we’re going
to do – and Bob had a system which he worked out with his AD,
Kenny Goch, with whom he had worked for a long time. He
storyboarded all the scenes…and it worked because they had very
good knowledge of the logistics. He would never design a shot
that was impossible to light. He drew the frame of a scene and all
the characters were circles with numbers on them and then their
movement was laid out with dots and an arrow for the camera.
The moment you saw that, you knew what the shot was going to
be. You were set. There was not much guesswork.”
But, Ortenburger added, Clark could be flexible and improvise
when he needed to. “If there was a better suggestion or some
logistic crept up that wasn’t there before, he knew how and he
wasn’t afraid to improvise.” The director and Morris had worked
Above: Behind the camera is Harald Ortenburger. In front,
from the left, are Jay Kohne, 2nd assistant camera, Gordon
Langevin, 1st assistant camera, and DOP Reginald Morris.
Right: Ortenburger with director Bob Clark.
together on three movies before Porky’s and Porky’s II
– Black Christmas, Tribute and Murder by Decree – “so
they didn’t have to talk. They were like a well-oiled
machine.” A Christmas Story was shot with Panaflex
cameras on Eastman 5247 colour negative stock.
DP Morris and operator Ortenburger collaborated
on six movies altogether, including A Christmas
Story, Porky’s and Porky’s II: The Next Day.
Ortenburger was DP on three projects in the early
to late 1990s, earning full membership in the CSC,
but his heart was in operating.
Ortenburger started his career at Arriflex in Munich when he was
16, apprenticing as a precision mechanics and optics technician.
He completed his apprenticeship in 1963 and was transferred to
New York City, where he got an education on everything Arriflex
made. Two years later, he came to Toronto to work for Arri, then
moved to Cinequip.
“Nobody predicted that it was
going to be such a classic,
but we certainly knew it was
special when we made it.”
Harald Ortenburger csc
“Commercial DP Bill Gimmi [csc] got me into the union, which
was very difficult at that time – I was one of three in two years. I
worked with Bert Dunk [csc, asc] as an assistant, and he gave me
some pointers and ideas, some of which were totally frightening
because I didn’t know what he was talking about. But he guided
me through it.”
CSC News - December 2008 •
5
Peter Billingsley
He got his big break from Laszlo George csc, hsc – who got a
picture and told Harald to practice on the geared head. The
feature was Nothing Personal in 1979, with Donald Sutherland
and Suzanne Somers. “I was A-cam operator and at that point
I had never operated a camera. I don’t know why he chose
me; I’d probably be still doing what I was doing if it wasn’t
for him.”
He said Porky’s did a lot to get him rolling. “It got me my
visa to go to the States because it was such a high-profile
picture, and then DP Fred Schuler [asc] asked me to operate on a
Rodney Dangerfield comedy called Easy Money.” His career has
since taken Ortenburger to the sets of major motion pictures
created by hall-of-fame directors and DPs. Besides Clark, for
whom he did four pictures, one of his favourite directors was
Richard Benjamin – Mermaids, Maid in America, Milk Money
and Mrs. Winterbourne – and, yes, it’s strictly coincidence that
all four films start with an ‘M.’ He operated on two films by
Sidney Lumet, Critical Care and Gloria, and, he said, “I was
in awe. Am I really working with this guy? He was fantastic.
Extremely organized; the night before, you already had the
morning shot. The day is completely planned, every shot –
where he starts it, where he ends it.” He said Clark, who was
killed in a car accident in 2007, was the only other director he
worked with who was as prepared as Lumet.
Ortenburger has operated for A-list DPs such as George,
Morris, Dunk, John Bartley csc, asc, Ernest Day bsc, Conrad
Hall asc, Haskell Wexler asc, Vilmos Zsigmond asc, Dante
Spinotti asc, aic (on the 2008 release Flash of Genius) and many
more. But his favourite cinematographer was Englishman
David Watkin bsc, whom he first met when Watkin lit
Moonstruck for Norman Jewison in 1986. They worked on
four other features together over the next 10 years, Used
People, Milk Money, Critical Care and Gloria.
A Christmas Story
Watkin, who passed away early this year at 82, “totally let me
work the English system,” Ortenburger remembered. “His
body of work is staggering. To me, he was always the greatest.
When I was scouting a location for David, he would always
say, ‘Make sure it’s backlit.’” Before starting principal photography on Moonstruck, Watkin told his operator in a brief
meeting: “Whatever you and Norman can come up with I
can light. All I’m asking is that if you see something you don’t
like, come and get me.” That was it. “Not lighting, of course.
I mean, no one would have told David Watkin how to light,”
Ortenburger added.
What does Ortenburger consider his strength as one of
Canada’s premier operators? “Even though my composition
is a strength,” he answered, “I would say the reason I got to
work with the likes of David Watkin is because I am able to
interpret what the director has in mind and set up the shots.”
He said he chose to operate because he wanted to stay
primarily in Toronto. “For me to have been a DP on the
pictures that I operated for, that would have been a long shot.
I have been lucky enough to touch film history.”
6 • CSC News - December 2008
We make the movies
“Intelligent” Products,
Saving Time and Money
Production through Post
Cooke Close
Thurmaston, Leicester, UK
T: +44 (0)116 264 0700
F: +44 (0)116 264 0707
E: [email protected]
www.cookeoptics.com
A TRULY
OUTSTANDING
CINEMATOGRAPHER
EXPERIENCE...
TORONTO MONTREAL VANCOUVER
(416) 585-9995
(514) 939-5060
(604) 689-1090
www.technicolor.com
CSC News - December 2008 •
7
Shooting for the Best: An Interview with
Andreas Poulsson csc
By Wyndham Wise
F
or 20 years (1967–1986), Andreas Poulsson csc was a
staff cameraman at the National Film Board of Canada.
During that time, he worked with some of the best
and most innovative directors ever to make films at the NFB,
including the late, great Donald Brittain, Michael Rubbo, Tony
Ianzelo, Sturla Gunnarsson, John N. Smith, Peter Raymont and
Cynthia Scott. His impressive list of credits includes the Oscarnominated After the Axe, Genie-nominated Canada’s Sweetheart:
The Saga of Hal C. Banks, and the Emmy Award-winning Henry
Ford’s America and Vincent and Me. CSC News spoke to Andreas
at his home in Vancouver in October.
the Foreign Service, but that didn’t work out because I hadn’t
been a citizen for five years. I attended the film society at UBC,
Cinema 16, and they used to have regular screenings of mostly
foreign films, but also documentaries. That’s where I first saw
documentaries made by the National Film Board. There was one
called 60 Cycles [1965] that really turned me on. It was about
a Tour de France type of bicycle race in Quebec shot by JeanClaude Labrecque, an NFB cameraman who also directed. The
movie had no commentary, with beautiful shots cut to music.
I still think it’s a great film. As a piece of filmmaking – editing,
pace, music, photography – it all came together.
WW: When and where were you born?
WW: What led you to the Film Board, apart from watching
60 Cycles?
AP: I was born November 11 1944 in Oslo, Norway. My
father was Norwegian and my mother was Danish. When I was
two years old, my family moved to Copenhagen and I grew up in
Denmark. My father died when I was 12, and my mother married
a Canadian.
WW: As a child in Copenhagen, were you watching films?
AP: Yes, I loved the movies. We had a local theatre, and you
could get in for 15 cents and sit in the first row. I used to watch
Westerns. I loved Rio Bravo [1959], but I was older then. There
was another one I really liked, The Flame and the Arrow [1950].
I’ve never seen it since, but it made a deep impression when I was
a little guy. Danes loved Westerns and films about jazz. It was
very exotic American stuff.
My aunt was a professional photographer, and she was a very
good one. She used to do the family photos, and I admired all
her cameras. She had a darkroom, and when I was about nine or
10 I remember being in her dark room and watching her make
prints and seeing the pictures appear. I was really struck by that. I
thought it was completely magical. That really got me interested,
and ultimately it was photography that led me to cinematography.
For my twelfth birthday my uncle gave me a camera. It was a
Kodak Brownie box camera, and I have done still photography
ever since. I still have pictures I took with that Brownie.
WW: Where did you go to school?
AP: I went from grade one to nine in Denmark. It was after
grade nine that we moved to Vancouver, in 1961. I went to the
University of British Columbia, but I still didn’t know what I
wanted to do. I toyed around with becoming an architect, then
8 • CSC News - December 2008
AP: After seeing the Film Board documentaries, I did some
research and thought it would be a wonderful place to work.
I discovered that there was an NFB producer stationed in
Vancouver at the time. I did manage to get an interview with
him, which led to another interview a few months later. At that
second interview there was a Film Board director, John Howe.
I knew about photography, but apart from watching movies, I
knew very little about film. He asked me, “What area would be
of interest to you?” I didn’t really have any clear idea about the
various disciplines and the tasks involved in making a movie. I
just blurted out that I liked documentaries. Then he asked, “But
what part of making documentaries are you interested in?” I told
him I was interested in photography, so he suggested I should be
in the camera department.
The Film Board at that time would hire trainees, people with
virtually no experience, and train them in various disciplines. I
did get the job, but I was planning on going to Europe for the
summer. Then I got a phone call a few weeks before I was about
to leave and told if I really wanted the job I’d better show up in
Montreal now or forget it. I jumped on the train, and on May
16 1967 I started as a trainee in the camera department at the
NFB.
WW: One of your first credits is Goodbye Sousa, a film about a
community orchestra that loved playing the music of John Philip
Sousa, which was directed by Tony Ianzelo. It won the Canadian
Film Award for Theatrical Short in 1973.
AP: Actually I didn’t shoot that one. Tony directed and shot it.
My credit should be assistant cameraman, not cameraman. It
was a wonderful little movie. Tony was an extremely talented
“Shooting drama with a good script and a good,
talented director, for me that is the best.”
Andreas Poulsson csc
filmmaker who started out as a cameraman then branched out to
directing his own films. He had a gift for making films in small
towns and getting people to trust him. It was fun to work on.
WW: You have worked quite a lot with Michael Rubbo over the
years, and the first one you did together was something called
I Am an Old Tree (1975).
AP: Rubbo was down in Cuba for a month shooting a movie
that involved [former Newfoundland Premier] Joey Smallwood
called Waiting for Fidel [1974]. The idea was that Rubbo would
follow Smallwood around, who was trying to get a private
audience with Fidel Castro, which never happened. They sat
around waiting for the meeting, and Michael filmed the whole
frustrating process. Eventually there was a reception, where
I think they met Fidel for a few moments. Anyway, Michael
became very interested in Cuba and wanted to make another
film. But Douglas Kiefer [csc], who was his cameraman on the
Fidel film, had to return to Canada because his wife was about to
give birth. So I was sent down to replace him. I didn’t really know
Michael, I had met him before, but suddenly I was plunged right
into a film about Cuba.
I spent a month with Michael making this documentary that
ended up being called I Am an Old Tree. I had admired Michael’s
movies especially the one he had made in Vietnam called The
Sad Song of Yellow Skin [1970], which I thought was terrific.
Michael very much had his own style. He put himself into his
own movies. I have always thought if Michael had been in a
different time period, like today, he would be our own Michael
Moore. Documentaries have a much higher profile these days.
Back then the best we could hope for was festival screenings and
television. A lot of people thought that Rubbo was being selfindulgent, but his theory was that if you put yourself in the film,
then the subject is talking to you and not just into the camera.
They would forget about the camera. And I thought Michael had
a great presence on camera. It worked very well for him.
WW: When did you move up to the rank of cameraman?
AP: I was an assistant cameraman for six years, from 1967 to
1973. Then in ’73 I got an opportunity to shoot a documentary
up in Labrador with Roger Hart, and that was my first experience
as a cameraman. It was called Labrador North. It was supposed
to be about a Royal Commission conducted by Don Snowdon
CSC News - December 2008 •
9
on the conditions in Labrador, but when we started shooting,
Snowdon decided he didn’t want us to film the proceedings. So
we made a documentary about life on the Labrador coast instead.
It was my first film, and a really beautiful place to shoot, very
harsh. After that film, I was no longer an assistant cameraman.
WW: In 1975, you shot another film for Rubbo called I Hate to
Lose. I have not seen the film, but it is listed in The NFB Film
Guide as a docudrama. Would you tell me something about that
one?
AP: It’s not a docudrama in the sense of combining drama with
documentary techniques. It really was a documentary about
Nick Auf der Maur, a Montreal journalist who founded his own
political party, which I believe was called the Democratic
Alliance. He formed it in time for the 1976 provincial election,
the one that was won by the Parti Quebecois. He only ran with
six or seven candidates. He saw it as an alternative to the PQ and
the Liberals. Ideologically, he was closer to the NDP. Nick Auf der
Maur was an engaging and very interesting guy. Stuart McLean
[future CBC Radio personality and author] was his campaign
manager. Michael was intrigued with the idea of starting your
own political party, and Nick was up against George Springate
in the Montreal riding of Westmount. Of course, Nick lost and
Springate won for the Liberals. The film was part of a series of
films the Film Board made about the political process. Later I
shot another film about small-town politics in Smith Falls,
Ontario [Welcome to Smith Falls, 1978].
WW: And you shot The Champions with Donald Brittain in 1978,
which was about the long-running political rivalry between Pierre
Trudeau and René Lévesque. But before that, you shot Henry Ford’s
America (1977). Was that your first film with Brittain?
AP: Yes. Here I was lucky. Doug Kiefer had been Don Brittain’s
regular cameraman, but Doug was not able to do that one, and
he recommended me. Of course, I knew about Don and had
seen his films and admired him. He was quite a big presence at
the Film Board during the 1970s. He had made Memorandum
[1965] and Never a Backward Step [1966], about Lord Thomson
of Fleet, and he, for me, was the superlative documentary filmmaker, writer and narrator. I got the chance to make a film with
him, and I was a little bit nervous, but he was the kind of guy
who could put you at ease. He was a wonderful, charming,
interesting man. I got to love the guy.
WW: He also had the reputation as a heavy drinker.
AP: He certainly did, and on Henry Ford’s America he drank
a lot, but at the same time he was completely functional. He
would have shots throughout the day, but he was never drunk or
incapacitated. I think it was his fuel. He needed it. Later on he
had to quit. It did get to him eventually. The general idea was
that the film was going to be about the development of the car,
the history and the role it had come to play in society. Through
Don’s research, he decided to focus on the Ford Motor Company.
Henry Ford II, the grandson of the founder, figures prominently
in the film. We went to Dearborn to shoot all sorts of things, car
10 • CSC News - December 2008
shows, dealerships, and we did get permission to shoot in the
corporate headquarters, various meetings, etc. Our big request
was to interview Henry Ford himself, and this became rather like
Waiting for Fidel. We kept on trying, and weeks would go by as
we shot other things. We ended up going to California to shoot
the car culture there.
Then suddenly we got word that we could film Henry Ford on
such and such a day at such and such a time, so we went charging
back to Detroit to film the interview with Ford in a boardroom.
He was charming and interesting, and the two of them got along
quite well together. Before we went into the interview, Don
whispered in my ear and told me not to take the camera off him
for a second. Later on we filmed him in a stockholders meeting.
The film won an International Emmy Award.
WW: Soon after the Ford film, you shot The Champions (parts I
and II, 1978) with Brittain, which is about the Trudeau-Lévesque
political feud.
AP: We used a lot of archival footage in that one. Don had
the film in his head for quite a while. Each one was very
interesting in their own way, with opposing views of the
country. This eventually became three one-hours, which was not
the original intention.
WW: You revisited them again in 1986, with a third installment.
AP: The first two were made up to the point Trudeau quit as
leader of the Liberals the first time. Then he returned to head
the party when the Clark government was defeated and of course
he repatriated the Constitution. So it was decided to do a third
part to finish the story. Originally, it was just going to be one
documentary about the two men but we had so much material,
it was decided to make it into two parts. Part one dealt with
their history, early education, etc, and part two was their political
careers.
Part three dealt with their final years and opened with Trudeau’s
famous “walk in the snow.” Because of our meager resources,
I got to play the part of Trudeau with my wife’s fur coat and
a hat. We scrambled to shoot it one afternoon when it started
snowing. Don called me up and told me to get to the park right
away. When I look at it now, I’m embarrassed because I walk far
too fast for a man contemplating leaving the highest office in
the land, and I can’t understand why Don didn’t ask me to walk
slower. I was badly directed [he laughs]. Actually, we never got to
interview Trudeau, and had to use archival footage, but we did
succeed in getting into Lévesque’s office and got to shoot him at
work, at a meeting with his riding association and going to the
legislature.
WW: A few years later you shot a film for Sturla Gunnarsson, After
the Axe (1982), which was a docudrama that received an Oscar
nomination.
AP: It was an early Sturla Gunnarsson film. He and his writer
Steve Lucas came to the Film Board, and I was assigned to it.
I was very impressed by them. After the Axe is about a guy
being fired from a corporation due to a change in management.
It was a fictional story and the person being fired was played by
an actor, but real people played the job counselors, psychologists
and such. At first the guy hopes to get the same type of job he
originally had, but soon realizes to find work he is going to have
to re-invent himself. James Douglas, who played the part of the
guy fired, was a veteran Canadian actor and he did a great job of
playing it tough but you could sense his vulnerability behind the
façade. Sturla is an extremely talented director, and I was very
pleased to have a chance to work with him. I’m sorry I’ve not had
chance to do so again. When the film got the Oscar nomination,
it was a thrill for all of us. It was a tough and challenging shoot,
but certainly interesting, stimulating.
WW: You returned to working with Rubbo again in 1984 on a
film about the noted author Margaret Atwood, Once in August.
I understand she was a difficult subject and initially would not
co-operate.
Top: Andreas Poulsson, right, with Donald Brittain on the set of Canada’s
Sweetheart. Above: Poulsson with Helen Shaver, left, and James Earl Jones
on the set of Summer’s End.
AP: The way I heard it from Michael, it was very difficult to talk
to her to set up the shoot, but he finally did. The argument he
used to convince her was this: He told her there are going to be a
lot of people who are going to want a make a movie about you, so
why don’t you let me do it now and get it over with so you can say
you’ve done that. And somehow it worked. Michael asked me to
shoot it, and we went to her summer cottage on an island up
in Northern Ontario near Temiscaming. It was quite remote.
Michael was planning on a cinéma-vérité type of shoot, with the
cameras rolling all the time. But when we were arrived on the boat,
approaching the dock, Margaret came down to greet us and
immediately told us to stop shooting, “Oh no you don’t. You shut
that thing off right now or you go away.” She was having none of it.
So we had this big meeting, and we were told what we could
shoot and what we could not shoot. Actually, it went very
well and she was very nice to us. Michael wanted to get
behind the façade of Margaret Atwood to find out what
made her tick and what kind of person she really was. But she
was resistant to this, understandably. One day, Michael, in a
fairly typically move, said to her, why do you take the camera
and sound equipment and lights, and you make a movie about
yourselves, and we won’t be there or be any part of it. Her parents
were at the cottage along with her husband and daughter.
I showed them how to work the camera and set up some lights,
although I don’t recall how much of that footage is actually in
the movie.
CSC News - December 2008 •
11
Tales for All Above: Poulsson, behind the camera, shooting Vincent and Me in Amsterdam; on the right: the poster for Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller
WW: Which brings us to 1985 and perhaps your most famous film,
Donald Brittain’s Canada’s Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks,
starring Maury Chaykin, for which you received a Genie Award
nomination for best photography. Banks was a notorious corrupt
labour leader brought up from the States to weed out the so-called
communists in the Canadian shipping unions.
AP: Chaykin was fantastic in the part. He even looked like
Banks, and we were extremely lucky to get him. It’s another
subject that Don had researched for quite a while. I remember
reading the outline of his script, and I knew a bit about Hal
Banks, and I thought why would anyone want to make a film
about this incredibly ugly individual. Don’s response was that it
was a very important story to tell, and of course he was right.
It was made for the CBC as a co-production with the NFB,
and Don found the conventions of drama difficult to deal with
– the discipline of a script, actors learning their lines and the
rehearsals. And I think the actors found it difficult, because the
script as such was just an outline. Don would write the dialogue
for the scenes on the back of napkins at lunchtime. Some of the
actors found this difficult to cope with. Maury was fine with it.
But Don was able to charm the actors, and everyone liked him.
WW: After Canada’s Sweetheart, you shot the third installment of
The Champions and the low-budget feature Sitting in Limbo for
John N. Smith, but your time with the Film Board seems to have
come to an end. What made you decide to leave?
AP: After I had done the Hal Banks film, I really became
interested in doing drama. I wanted to go beyond documentaries
and shot dramas as a director of photography. The possibilities
of drama at the Film Board were limited, but then the people
at Atlantis Films – Michael MacMillan, Janice Platt and Seaton
McLean – approached the Board with a proposal of a co-production of 18 half-hour dramas based on Canadian short stories.
I had actually gone to Winnipeg for three years, and worked in
the NFB office as a producer, which was not all that successful.
Eventually I managed to get back to Montreal about the same
time as the Atlantis people came to the Film Board. I got along
very well with Seaton and Janice, and they were wonderfully
enterprising. I ended up shooting 14 of the half-hours.
12 • CSC News - December 2008
From that I developed a strong relationship with Atlantis,
and through that process I began to think that if I had the
opportunity, I would leave the Film Board and become a
freelancer. But of course I had a certain nervousness about this,
because my whole working life had been with the Film Board
where you are protected and get a pay cheque every two weeks.
To step out, I would need a big project to step on to. And that
came to me through Atlantis. Seaton and Janice offered me the
opportunity to shoot a series called “Airwaves.” This was 12
episodes, which meant six months of work, and I thought this
is it, it’s now or never. So I gave my notice to the Film Board, and that
was in September of 1986. Unfortunately, it was not such a great
series, and it was not renewed for broadcast and suddenly I was
at loose ends.
It was at that time that Michael Rubbo came back into my life. He
had also left the Film Board and was now making feature films for
Rock Demers’s Tales for All. He had directed The Peanut Butter
Solution [1985], and was slated to make another, Tommy Tricker
and the Stamp Traveller, and he asked me to shoot it. That was a
great opportunity for me, exactly what I was looking to do.
WW: Tell me a bit about shooting Tommy Tricker (1988), because
it was one of the most successful of the Tales for All and a huge hit
in France when it was released over there.
AP: It’s about some kids who find a magic stamp, which allows
them to mail themselves anywhere. A boy was going to mail
himself to Australia, but the letter get misdirected and he ends
up in China for a while. I had always made documentaries with
Michael, but with Tommy Tricker, it was his idea and he had
written the script. But like with Don, he had trouble with the
tyranny of the dramatic form, and all its conventions. As much
as possible, he wanted to introduce an easy-going and fluid style
to the making of the movie. But it’s difficult with kids, who really
want instruction. They like to know their lines and the marks
to hit. So it was made in a more traditional manner, and for the
most part the kids did a great job.
WW: And then you did a couple of made-for-television movies for
Helen Shaver, Summer’s End (1999) and Due East (2002).
AP: Due East was shot in Vancouver and Summer’s End was
shot in Muskoka, in Ontario. I had met Helen on the series
“Poltergeist,” which was shot in Vancouver. She directed several of those and acted in them. It went four seasons, and I shot
the third and fourth seasons. I got to know Helen quite well,
so when she was offered the chance to direct Summer’s End for
Showtime, she asked me if I would like to shoot it. However,
because there was Ontario government money involved, there
was some issue about using Ontario crews and I was based in
Vancouver. Initially I couldn’t do it, but the cameraman they
had hired didn’t work out, so the producer called me and I
was on a plane the next day. That turned out to be a very good
shoot. It was Helen’s first feature-length movie and the great
American actor James Earl Jones was in it. I thought it turned out
really well, and Helen was wonderful with actors.
WW: Of all the movies, shorts and documentaries you have shot
over the years, which one is your favourite or the one you are
most proud of?
AP: That’s really hard to say. I’m really proud of the ones I made
with Don Brittain and I’m proud of After the Axe. Really, it’s not
so such the films but the people I have had a chance to work with,
like Don and Michael Rubbo.
WW: What is the best piece of professional advice you received?
And of all the genres, which is you favourite?
AP: I remember Michael Rubbo told me when I first met him down
in Cuba: “When you shoot documentaries, I would like to see the
camera have its own sense of built-in curiosity.” And those words
stuck with me. When you are shooting hand-held and candid
situations, you have to remember the camera is the observer and
make it curious so that it shows people what is interesting about
the scene.
I love shooting drama. I think the discipline of working scenes
with actors and lighting it and proper camera movements and
see it all come alive – that always excites me. But maybe it has
something to do with age. When you are young and can run
around with the camera all day long, that was great. But now,
I can sit in a chair and watch it all happen from a monitor. It’s
easier on the back. Shooting drama with a good script and a
good, talented director, for me, that is the best.
WW: When did you join the CSC and who recommended you?
AP: I joined the CSC the year I left the Film Board, which was in
1986, and it was Tony Ianzelo who recommended me. I learned
quite a lot from Doug Kiefer while at the Film Board, as his
assistant. He was quick and decisive, which is why he worked
with Don Brittain a lot. I learnt from him, and there was
another cameraman at the Board, Pierre Letarte, who I think is
also a CSC member. I worked with him as his assistant as well.
He was in the French camera department, then he switched to
the English department. I ended up working with him on several
documentaries. Pierre was really quick, and I liked his style. I
probably copied a lot from him.
Selected filmography
Goodbye Sousa, 1973 (ph with Tony Ianzelo, Canadian Film
Award for Theatrical Short); I Am an Old Tree, 1975; Log
House, 1976 (also directed with Michael Rubbo); I Hate
to Lose, 1977; Henry Ford’s America, 1977 (International
Emmy Award, Best Non-Fiction Television Film, TV);
Tigers and Teddy Bears, 1978; The Champions Parts I and
II, 1978 (Canadian Film Award for Feature Documentary,
TV); Solzhenitsyn’s Children…Are Making a Lot of Noise in
Paris, 1979 (TV); Co Hoedeman: Animator, 1980; Challenger: An Industrial Romance, 1980; For the Love of Dance,
1981 (co-ph); After the Axe, 1982 (Academy Award nomination for Short Documentary, TV); Margaret Atwood:
Once in August, 1984 (ph with Zöe Dirse csc, TV); The
Children’s Crusade, 1984 (co-ph, TV); The Sight, 1985
(TV); Canada’s Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks, 1985
(Genie Award nomination for Best Cinematography, TV);
The Champions Part III: The Final Battle, 1986 (TV); Sitting in Limbo, 1986 (co-ph); Tommy Tricker and the Stamp
Traveller, 1988; Vincent and Me, 1990 (Daytime Emmy
Award, Outstanding Children’s Special); Summer’s End,
1999 (TV); We All Fall Down 2000; Due East, 2002 (TV);
The Bone Snatchers, 2003; Chestnut, 2004
Episodic television
“Airwaves,” “Twlight Zone,” “Mom P.I.,” “Poltergeist: The
Legacy,” “The Outer Limits,” “Night Visions”
CSC News - December 2008 •
13
INDUSTRY NEWS
invited to play at this year’s Small Town
Film Festival in Chatham, Ontario, his
hometown, and the Mitten Movie Project’s
Zombie Night in Royal Oak, Michigan.
When asked how he became involved
with Still Here, his answer seems typical
of today’s technology. “I saw a posting
on Facebook,” he said. “The director,
Gavin Michael Booth [of Windsor-based
Mimetic Productions], was looking for
a cameraman and I applied.” In keeping with this contemporary approach to
doing business, a trailer of Still Here
can be found on YouTube, and Michael
has his own well-developed website –
michaeljaridavidson.com – where you
can find out more about this talented and
ambitious member of the Canadian
Society of Cinematographers.
In Memoriam
October saw the passing of two of
Canada’s finest soundmen, post-sound
expert and founder of Spence-Thomas
Productions, Patrick Spence-Thomas,
and Oscar-winning mixer and recordist
David Lee.
Michael Jari Davidson.
Photo by Brian White
A CSC Upgrade for
Michael Jari Davidson
Michael Jari Davidson, a 2008 graduate
of the University of Western Ontario/
Fanshawe College’s four-year Media
Theory and Production program, was
upgraded from CSC Affiliate Member to
Associate Member in October.
It caps an exciting and busy year for
Michael. He has just come off his first
feature shoot, the low-budget relationship drama Still Here, which was shot in
and around Windsor, Ontario, in August.
“It was an ambitious shoot,” he told CSC
News. “We only had 21 days and massive
scenes such as a funeral with 300 extras,
and a football game with over 300 people
in the stands.”
To make things easier on himself, Michael
14
• CSC News - December 2008
used his own Panasonic HD HVX200
camera package with a Brevis 35 adaptor and Nikon primes, and used a crew
that had participated with him in camera
assistant workshops at Sheridan College.
“Paul Steves was my first, Ben Leigh my
second, the gaffer was Josh Kish,” he said,
“and they were all great to work with.”
Still Here will be released theatrically in
January with the hopes of a screening at
the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival.
Michael is passionate about the craft of
cinematography and joined the CSC during his first year of school. “I shot as many
shorts and music videos as possible in
school in order to gain experience.” In the
winter of 2007, during one of the biggest
blizzards to hit the province in 10 years,
he shot and directed a 10-minute zombie
short called Run Like Hell. Technicolor in
Toronto did the post. In October it was
Patrick Spence-Thomas (1933–2008)
began his distinguished career in 1962
with the legendary Budge Crawley,
Canada’s first movie mogul. But after only
two short years at Crawley Films, he set
out on his own as a freelance soundman
with a Nagra III recorder purchased with
a small amount of money borrowed from
his father.
Working for CBC’s groundbreaking news
magazine program “This Hour Has Seven
Days,” Patrick travelled the world covering historical events such as Martin Luther
King’s trip to Oslo to receive his Nobel
Peace Prize, the Civil Rights movement in
Mississippi and the Vietnam War.
In 1967, he purchased some used sound
dubbers, cobbled together a homemade
mixing desk, and opened for business in
Toronto as Spence-Thomas Productions;
although, he continued to work as a sound
recordist with credits that include Don
Shebib’s Good Times Bad Times (1969),
Ivan Reitman’s Foxy Lady (1970), Paul
Almond’s Journey (1971), Don Haldane’s
The Reincarnate (1971), Peter Pearson’s
Only God Knows (1973) and Gerald
Potterton’s The Rainbow Boys (1973). In
1988, the Canadian Society of Cinematographers honoured him with the Bill
Hilson Award “for outstanding service
contributing to the development of the
motion picture industry in Canada.”
Today, Spence-Thomas Productions has
two locations in downtown Toronto with
four studios and is one of busiest sound
post houses in the business. His son,
Richard, has been in charge for the past
10 years. “Patrick embodied film sound in
Toronto for many years,” he told CSC News.
alike. Throughout our industries’ formative years Patrick was a driving force and
a father figure to many young creative
talents. His energy, wisdom and sense
of humanity persisted to his last days, and
I am very proud to have worked so closely
with him for the last 25 years and to be his
son.” A celebration of his life was held at
the Academy of Spherical Arts, Toronto,
November 2.
work as sound mixer on the Toronto-shot
hit musical Chicago (2003) and he received
a BAFTA (British Oscars) for the same film.
He was also involved in the development of
the Dolby SR system for sound recordists.
He won an Emmy Award for the television movie Unnatural Causes (1986)
and was nominated for Gotti (1996). In
addition, he won a Canadian Film Award
for The Silent Partner (1978), was nominated for four Genies – Tribute (1980),
Crash (1996), Resident Evil: Apocalypse
(2004) and Tideland (2005) – and he
received a Gemini Award nomination for
Harrison Bergeron (1995). His extensive list of credits date back to the early
1970s and include Cannibal Girls, Who
Has Seen the Wind, Strange Brew, Police
Academy, Mrs. Soffel, X-Men and Silent Hill.
His youngest son, the film editor Allan
Lee (A Winter Tan, Skinwalkers), said of
his father, “Quite simply, my father was
the most charismatic man I ever knew.
Our house growing up was always ‘the
cool house’ where our friends were always
welcome.
“What I loved most about my dad was
his unique, mischievous, wicked sense of
David Lee (1938–2008) passed away humor and his ability to treat all as
at his home in Panama City of a blood equals, never talking down to people.
infection.
Born in to
Scotland,
was My best memories are the vacations we
system
was designed
deliver Lee
a high
“His commitment, enthusiasm and
veteran ofdigital
the Canadian
movie industry
performance
cine camera
with the took together. We never returned home
never-ending charm was a source quality
of andofwon
an Academy
35mm
film. Award (with Michael without having met new friends.” A
inspiration to producers and crafts people Minkler and Dominick Tavella) for his celebration of David’s life was held for
The RED One Digital Camera
CSC News - December 2008 •
15
02 Final
The Robert Saad
Filmography
There were several errors in Robert Saad’s
filmography in CSC News, October 2008,
page 11. The follow is a corrected selection
of his credits as listed on the International
Movie Database, www.imdb.com.
The Rainbow Boys (dp, 1973), Cannibal
Girls (dp, 1973), The Hard Part Begins
(dp, 1973), Shivers (dp, 1975), Death
Weekend (dp, 1976), Torn between
Two Lovers (op, 1979), Utilities (op,
1981), Ticket to Heaven (op, 1981), The
Amateur (underwater op, 1981), Class of
1984 (op, 2nd unit, 1982), Strange Brew
(op, 1983), Martin’s Day (op, 1984),
Police Academy (additional photo, 1984),
Mrs. Soffel (2nd op, 1984), One Magic
Christmas (op, 1985), Police Academy
3: Back in Training (dp, 1986), Bluffing It (op, 1987, TV), Police Academy 4:
Citizens on Patrol (dp, 1987), Speed Zone!
(dp, 1989), Millennium (op, 1989),
Perfect Witness (op, 1989, TV), Beautiful Dreamers (2nd assist. cameraman,
1990), The Last Best Years (op, 1990,
TV), The Photographer’s Wife (dp, 1991),
F/X 2 (dp, 2nd unit, 1991), Love &
Murder (op, 2nd unit, 1991), A Little
Piece of Heaven (op, 2nd unit, 1991,
TV), Last Wish (op, 1991, TV), Double,
Double, Toil and Trouble (op, 1991, TV),
Under the Piano (dp, 1995, TV), “Road
to Avonlea” (dp, 1996) The Morrison
Murders: Based on a True Story (dp, 1996,
TV), “Fast Track” (dp, 1997), “Wind at
My Back” (dp, 1996–97), Sleeping Dogs
Lie (dp, 1998), Happy Christmas, Miss
King (dp, 1998, TV), Don’t Think Twice
(dp, 1999), Anne of Green Gables: The
Continuing Story (dp, 2000, TV), Oh,
Baby (dp, 2001, TV), The Piano Man’s
Daughter (dp, 2003, TV), Solar Strike (dp,
2005, TV), Trip (dp, 2006, TV)
C a n y o n D e s i g n G ro u p : 8 . 1 5 . 0 8
Bleed: 5.625 x 8.125”
Trim: 5.5625 x 7.8125”
Live: 7.875 x 10.4737”
Elizabeth Radshaw has been named the
The CSC News — J1626
Client: Deluxe
Hot Docs Canadian International Docu-
mentary
Festival
hasPMannounced
626_CSC_2F.qxd
8/15/08
4:02
Page 1 that
development, polishing presentations and
readying budgets for pitching to commissioning editors in the international
market. She also planned marketing
strategies for programs and was active in
promotions at key international markets.
Additionally, Elizabeth Radshaw has also
been associated with the NFB and various film festivals in Canada and the U.S.
She is a graduate of McGill University in
Montreal.
Issue Date: xx/xx/xx
Ad Size: 1/2 Page Island
Hot Docs Names Elizabeth
Radshaw New Director
of the Toronto
Documentary Forum
new director of the Toronto Documentary Forum (TDF), the Festival’s international market event. “We are delighted to
welcome Elizabeth to the team,” said Hot
Docs executive director Chris McDonald.
Radshaw comes to Hot Docs from TVF
International Television Distribution
in London, a U.K.-based independent
specialist factual distributor, where she
was head of acquisitions. She acted as a
consultant to producers with projects in
Deluxe
his friends and all those who loved him
November 9 at Sim Video in Toronto.
16 • CSC News - December 2008
CAMERA CLASSIFIEDS
Equipment for Rent
Viper-Filmstream Camera Full-Package for
Canada, U.S. and Asia. Package includes Carl
Zeiss Digi-Prime full set, tripods and mattbox,
Waveform monitor, 8inch onboard and 24inch TV
logic monitor, etc. The equipment has two years
and is well maintained. Along with the above,
we can add “Shinki” or “S-Two” recording system (un-compressed hard-disk based) with two
digital engineers, also a D.I service is offered.
Camera is owned by an equipment firm based
in Seoul, Korea. For more details, contact: ‘Clemens Chang’ 82-11-9271-9081; clemens27@
empal.com.
Equipment for Sale
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: 416-4529247; [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 internalfocus 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, [email protected].
Two Complete Video Villages for Sale $2,000.
At this price, these units will pay for themselves
in less than five weeks on a normal television series. Cost to create new would be over $5,000.
Plus these very sharp, robust AC/ DC monitors
are no longer available! Includes four x 9inch
Sony AC/DC monitors, four 12V batteries and
chargers, four A&J hard cases, remote controls and antenna signal boosters, spare power
cords, connectors, etc. BNC cables in winder,
two stands, dolly carts and doorway boxes with
storage drawers. Contact :Robert McLachlan :
office: 604-926-5253; cell: 604-761-4041; [email protected].
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].
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.
Sony DVW700 Digital Betacam camera. Excellent
condition. One Sony viewfinder, one Sony battery
case, one Sony tripod adaptor, and one 8x160-mm
Canon zoom lens. $19,900 plus taxes. Call 613-2553200.
Padded Barney for Arri SR. Bright Red. Look cool
while keeping your camera hot. $100 obo. Contact:
Peter: 416-698-4482; 604-730-0860; [email protected].
Aaton XTR Super 16 package 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
& 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
17
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].
Camera Classifieds:
HDV � XDCAM � HDCAM
Videoscope is your
One-Stop Shop
For Sony Professional HD Cameras
�
�
�
�
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.
CSC News - December 2008 •
Field and Post-Production Equipment
A FREE service to CSC members. If you have items you’d like to
buy or sell, please
e-mail
to [email protected]
1474.VideoscopeCSC-Oct08
9/19/08
3:11your
PM list
Page
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.
HDW-F900R
Experienced Sales Reps and Camera Specialists
Recording Media for all Sony platforms in stock
Sony-trained technicians in our Service Department
Support from our Rental Division
For demos and consultations: 416-449-3030
Larry Au
[email protected]
Gord Haas [email protected]
Joe Freitas [email protected]
Photo by Roger LaFleur
Clear rain cover for Arri III with carry bag (very
little use), $100. Delta-4 NP-1 four-battery charger, $50. One Petroff 3x3 filter tray, $30. Two Sony
ECM-50 lav mics with wind covers, clips and
steel cases, $100. O’Connor 50 Head – Mitchell
mount – with Foba collapsible legs, $800. Two
Arturto (Quartz Color) 3KW soft lights. Both have
egg crates and yokes, first never used, second
has gel holders, feet, standard spud and $200
worth of new bulbs. Excellent condition, $400
for both. Contact: John Banovich: 604-726-5646;
[email protected].
mm, 85 mm, $4,500. Kinoptik 9-8 mm 35-mm format lens c/w sunshade, $1,400. Cooke 25-250 T3
9 35-mm zoom lens c/w PL adapter & optex 2 x
extender, ridgidized case, $5,200. Arri 35-mm IIC
camera w/ turret for Arri standard, Arri bayonet &
Nikon mounts, level seven variable speed motor, 3 x
400’ 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 & baby
legs, $5,000. Please email [email protected] or
[email protected].
PDW-700
PMW-EX3
www.videoscope.com/cameras
Sony logos are the property of Sony Corporation of Japan. All rights reserved.
CSC MEMBERS
CSC FULL MEMBERS
Jim Aquila csc
Eduardo Arregui csc
John Badcock csc
Michael Balfry csc
Christopher Ball csc
John Banovich csc
John Stanley Bartley csc, asc
Stan Barua csc
Yves Bèlanger csc
Peter Benison csc
John Berrie csc
Thom Best csc
Michel Bisson csc
Michael Boland csc
Raymond A. Brounstein csc
Thomas Burstyn csc, frsa, nzcs
Barry Casson csc
Eric Cayla csc
Henry Chan csc
Marc Charlebois csc
Rodney Charters csc, asc
Damir I. Chytil csc
Arthur E. Cooper csc
Walter Corbett csc
Steve Cosens csc
Bernard Couture csc
Richard P. Crudo csc, asc
Dean Cundey csc, asc
Franáois Dagenais csc
Steve Danyluk csc
David A. De Volpi csc
Kamal Derkaoui csc
Kim Derko csc
Serge Desrosiers csc
Jean-Yves Dion csc
Zoe Dirse csc
Mark Dobrescu csc
Wes Doyle csc
Guy Dufaux csc
Ray Dumas csc
Albert Dunk csc, asc
Philip Earnshaw csc
Michael Ellis csc
Carlos A. Esteves csc
Nikos Evdemon csc
David Frazee csc
Marc Gadoury csc
Antonio Galloro csc
James Gardner csc, sasc
David A Geddes csc
Ivan Gekoff csc
Laszlo George csc, hsc
Leonard Gilday csc
Pierre Gill csc
Russ Goozee csc
Steve Gordon csc
Barry R. Gravelle csc
David Greene csc
John B. Griffin csc
Michael Grippo csc
Manfred Guthe csc
D. Gregor Hagey csc
Thomas M. Harting csc
Peter Hartmann csc
Pauline R. Heaton csc
Brian Hebb csc
David Herrington csc
Karl Herrmann csc
18 • CSC News - December 2008
Kenneth A. Hewlett
Robert Holmes csc
John Holosko csc
George Hosek csc
Colin Hoult csc
Donald Hunter csc
Joan Hutton csc
Mark Irwin csc, asc
James Jeffrey csc
Pierre Jodoin csc
Martin Julian csc
Norayr Kasper csc
Glen Keenan csc
Ian Kerr csc
Jan E. Kiesser csc, asc
Alar Kivilo csc, asc
Douglas Koch csc
Charles D. Konowal csc
Rudolf Kovanic csc
Ken Krawczyk csc
Les Krizsan csc
Alwyn J. Kumst csc
Jean-Claude Labrecque csc
Serge Ladouceur csc
George Lajtai csc
Marc Lalibertè Else csc
Barry Lank csc
Henry Lebo csc
John Lesavage csc
Henry Less csc
Pierre Letarte csc
Antonin Lhotsky csc
Philip Linzey csc
J.P. Locherer csc
Peter C. Luxford csc
Larry Lynn csc
Dylan Macleod csc
Bernie MacNeil csc
Glen MacPherson csc, asc
Shawn Maher csc
David A. Makin csc
Harry Makin csc
Adam Marsden csc
Donald M. McCuaig csc, asc
Robert B. McLachlan csc, asc
Ryan McMaster csc
Michael McMurray csc
Stephen F. McNutt csc
Simon Mestel csc
Alastair Meux csc
Gregory D. Middleton csc
C. Kim Miles csc
Gordon Miller csc
Robin S. Miller csc
Paul Mitchnick csc
Luc Montpellier csc
George Morita csc
Rhett Morita csc
David Moxness csc
Douglas Munro csc
Kent Nason csc
Robert C. New csc
Stefan Nitoslawski csc
Danny Nowak csc
Rene Ohashi csc, asc
Harald K. Ortenburger csc
Gerald Packer csc
Rod Parkhurst csc
Barry Parrell csc
Brian Pearson csc
David Perrault csc
Bruno Philip csc
Matthew R. Phillips csc
Andrè Pienaar csc, sasc
Zbigniew (Ed) Pietrzkiewicz csc
Randal G. Platt csc
Milan Podsedly csc
Hang Sang Poon csc
Andreas Poulsson csc
Don Purser csc
Ousama Rawi csc, bsc
William Walker Reeve csc
Stephen Reizes csc
Derek Rogers csc
Brad Rushing csc
Branimir Ruzic csc
Robert G. Saad csc
Victor Sarin csc
Paul Sarossy csc, bsc
Michael Patrick Savoie csc
Gavin Smith csc
Christopher Soos csc
Michael Spicer csc
John Spooner csc
Ronald Edward Stannett csc
Pieter Stathis csc
Barry Ewart Stone csc
Michael Storey csc
Michael Sweeney csc
Adam Swica csc
Attila Szalay csc, hsc
Christopher D. Tammaro csc
Jason Tan csc
John P. Tarver csc
Paul Tolton csc
Bert Tougas csc
Chris Triffo csc
Sean Valentini csc
Gordon Verheul csc
Roger Vernon csc
Daniel Villeneuve csc
Daniel Vincelette csc
Michael Wale csc
John Walker csc
James Wallace csc
Tony Wannamaker csc
Peter Warren csc
Andrew Watt csc
Jim Westenbrink csc
Tony Westman csc
Kit Whitmore csc, soc
Brian Whittred csc
Ron Williams csc
George A. Willis csc, sasc
Glen Winter csc
Peter Woeste csc
Bill C.P. Wong csc
Bruce Worrall csc
Craig Wrobleski csc
Yuri Yakubiw csc
Ellie Yonova csc
CSC ASSOCIATE
MEMBERS
Joshua Allen
Don Armstrong
John W. Bailey
Douglas Baird
Kenneth Walter Balys
David Battistella
Gregory Bennett
Jeremy Benning
Jonathan Bensimon
Andrè Bèriault
Roy Biafore
Christian Bielz
Francois M. Bisson
Christophe Bonniere
Scott Brown
Richard Burman
Lance Carlson
Jon Castell
Mark Caswell
Maurice Chabot
Stephen Chung
David Collard
Renè Jean Collins
Jarrett B. Craig
Rod Crombie
Micha Dahan
Nicholas de Pencier
Gareth Dillistone
Randy Dreager
John E. Durst
Jay Ferguson
Andrew Forbes
Richard Fox
Tom Gatenby
Brian Gedge
Rion Gonzales
Vladimir Gosaric
John Hodgson
Cliff Hokanson
James D. Holloway
Suave Hupa
George Hupka
David Johns
Jorma Kantola
Ernie Kestler
Shannon Kohli
Charles Lavack
Jim Laverdiere
Robin Lawless soc
Byung-Ho Lee
Philip Letourneau
John V. Lindsay
Dave Luxton
Robert Macdonald
Mario Anthony Madau
Jeff Maher
Roy Marques
Kelly Mason
Andris D. Matiss
Paul McCool
Patrick McLaughlin
Tony Meerakker
Gerry Mendoza
Tony Merzetti
Bill Metcalfe
Bentley Miller
Paul Mockler
Helmfried Muller
Brian Charles Murphy
Keith Murphy
Christopher M. Oben
Eric Oh
Ted Parkes
Deborah Parks
Pavel ìPashaî Patriki
Rick Perotto
Allan Piil
Scott Plante
Ryan A. Randall
Dave Rendall
Cathy Robertson
Peter Rosenfeld
Don Roussel
Jèrùme Sabourin
Christopher Sargent
Ian Scott
Neil Scott
Neil Seale
Wayne Sheldon
Sarorn Ron Sim
Barry E. Springgay
Paul Steinberg
Marc Stone
Michael Strange
Joseph G. Sunday phd
Andrè Paul Therrien
George (Sandy) Thomson
Kirk Tougas
John Minh Tran
Y. Robert Tymstra
Frank Vilaca
John Walsh
Lloyd Walton
Glenn C. Warner
Douglas H. Watson
Roger Williams
Richard Wilmot
Peter Wayne Wiltshire
Dave Woodside
Peter Wunstorf asc
Steven Zajaczkiwsky
CSC Affiliate
MEMBERS
Christopher Alexander
Dwayne Alexander
Donald G. Angus
Derek Archibald
Garth Archibald
Robin Bain
Iain Alexander Baird
P. J. Barnes P.Eng.
Peter Battistone
Jacques F. Bernier
Mark A. Biggin
Caroline Brandes
Adam Braverman
Gordon A. Burkell
Stephen Campanelli
Tim A. Campbell
Arnold Caylakyan
Jason Charbonneau
VANCOUVER
604-291-7262
Chirayouth Jim Saysana
Andrew W. Scholotiuk
James Scott
George Simeonidis
Brad Smith
Michael Soos
Gillian Stokvis-Hauer
Steven Tsushima
Paula Tymchuk
Anton van Rooyen
Trevor J. Wiens
Ryan Woon
Bernard Chartouni
Maggie Craig
Brad Creasser
Michael Jari Davidson
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
Jeffrey Hicks
Vincent Hilsenteger
Kristy Hodgson
Perry Hoffmann
Brad Hruboska
Marcel D. Janisse
Michael Jasen
Christine Jeoffroy
Rick Kearney
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 OíHagan
Ted Overton
Andrew Oxley
Gino Papineau
Graeme Parcher
Kalpesh Patel
Borislav Penchev
Greg Petrigo
Gottfried C. Pflugbeil
Douglas B. Pruss
Manuel Alejandro Rios Ceron
Lem Ristsoo
Susan Saranchuk
CALGARY
403-246-7267
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
Naohiko Kurita csc
Harry Lake csc
Douglas E. Lehman csc
Duncan MacFarlane 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
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
TORONTO
416-444-7000
HALIFAX
902-404-3630
CSC News - December 2008 •
19
Production Notes
All Saints Day (feature): DOP Miroslaw Baszak; OP Perry Hoffmann; October 20–December 5, Toronto
Cats & Dogs 2: Tinkles’ Revenge (feature): DOP Steven Poser; OP Jim Van Dijk; DOP B cam visual
effects Brian Pearson csc; September 8–December 17, Burnaby BC
“Connor Undercover” (series): DOP Yuri Yakubiw csc; OP J.P. Locherer csc; to December 2, Toronto
Defendor (feature); DOP David Greene csc; November 10–December 5, Toronto
“Dino Dan” (series): DOP/OP George Lajtai csc; to July 2009, Toronto
Farewell Atlantis (feature): DOP Dean Sernier; OP John Clothier; DOP B cam visual effects Donald M.
McGuaig csc; OP Dean Heselden; July 28–December 9; Vancouver
“Go Girl” (series): DOP Milan Podsedly csc; to April 2009, Toronto
“Harper’s Island” (series): DOP Robert McLachlan csc, asc; OP Trig Singer; to January 2009; Vancouver
Il était deux fois dans un jardin (documentary): DOP Marc Gadoury csc; to December 15, Montreal
“The Listener” (series): DOP David Moxness csc; OP Andris Matiss; to January 22 2009, Toronto
A Note of Love (TV movie); DOP Peter Benison csc; November 5–23, Toronto
Opération Casablanca (feature): DOP Yves Bélanger csc; October 23–December 13, Montreal
Pour toujours, les Canadiens! (feature): DOP Jérôme Sabourin csc; November 12–December 12, Montreal
“Reaper” 2 (series): DOP Attila Szalay csc; OP Richard Wilson; to December 22, Burnaby BC
“Smallville” 8 (series): DOP Glen Winter csc; OP Doug Craik; to April 2009, Burnaby BC
The “Socalled” Movie (documentary); DOP Marc Gadoury csc; to July 2009, Montreal
Suck (feature): DOP D. Gregor Hagey; November 24–December 19, Toronto
“Supernatural” 4 (series): DOP Serge Ladouceur csc; OP Brad Creasser; to March 2009, Burnaby BC
“The Wild Roses” (series): DOP Steve Cosens csc; OP Carey Toner; to December 17, Calgary
Calendar of Events
of Interest to CSC
Members
December 2008
Dec. 4–7, Whistler Film Festival, Whistler BC,
604-935-8035, whistlerfilmfest.com
January 2009
Jan. 30–Feb. 1, Canada International Film Festival,
Vancouver, 801-469-9952, canadafilmfestival.com
Feb. 25–Mar. 1, Kingston Canadian Film Festival,
Kingston ON, kingcanfilmfest.com
February 2009
Feb. 13–22, CSC Camera Assistants Course, Toronto,
register online at csc.ca or call the CSC office at
416-266-0591
Feb. 25–Mar. 1, Kingston Canadian Film Festival,
Kingston ON, kingcanfilmfest.com
20
• CSC News - December 2008
ONFILM
RENE OHASHI, CSC, ASC
“During my childhood, I loved to draw and
paint. My drawings were realistic in expression.
That’s how I looked at the world. Shooting film
for news magazine shows and documentaries
sharpened my instincts for thinking on my feet
and making quick decisions. It’s a different
experience shooting dramatic films because I
have to consider the script, the emotions to be
evoked, and my interactions with the director
and everyone else. The execution of this art form
can be very complex, and yet the message can
be eloquently simple. It’s a collaborative process
of discovery. One of the things I love about this
industry is that I can work on a children’s film one
year, shoot a dramatic detective series the next,
and then move on to something entirely different
again. It is important to me that film is maintained
as an archival medium. If I put my heart and soul
into a project, I like to know it will be there for
future audiences and not disappear from the face
of the earth.”
Rene Ohashi, CSC, ASC has earned 11 Gemini
Awards plus two nominations, 10 CSC Awards
and 10 nominations, as well as an ASC Award
along with two nominations. His credits include
Anne of Green Gables, The Arrow, The Crossing,
They, Highwaymen, Saint Ralph, Kidnapped (five
episodes), and Jesse Stone: Sea Change.
[All these programs were shot on Kodak Motion Picture Film.]
For an extended interview with Rene Ohashi,
visit www.kodak.com/go/onfilm.
To order Kodak motion picture film,
call (800) 621 - FILM (3456).
www.kodak.ca
© Kodak Canada Inc., 2008.
Photography: © 2008 Douglas Kirkland