a publication of the canadian society of … · christopher soos csc, sigur ros glosoli (adam...

A PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 478423

May 2006Volume 25, No. 9

volume 25, No. 9May 2006

Contents

2 - President’s ReportHomecoming

4 - 2006 CSC Awards8 - Awards Spotlight

TV Series Winner Glen Winter csc

14 - Colour TheorySmallville Spectrum

17 - Kodak New Century Award

18 - Fuji Award

19 - Bill Hilson Award

20 - Performance AwardMarc Gadoury csc

21 - In MemoriamJohn Seale

22 - News Clips

23 - Classifieds

24 - Action Production NotesCSC Calendar

Visit: www.csc.ca

The Canadian Society of Cinematographers wasfounded in 1957 by a group of Toronto, Montrealand Ottawa cameramen. Since then over 800 cinematographers and persons in associated occupations have joined the organization.

Our members now represent the film and video community in all ten provinces. Our aim continues to be to promote and foster the cause of cinematography and the interests of the Canadianfilm and video community.

We facilitate the dissemination and exchange of technical information, and endeavor to advancethe knowledge and status of our members within theindustry. As an organization dedicated to furtheringtechnical assistance, we maintain contact with non-partisan groups in our industry, but have no politicalor union affiliation.

CSC EXECUTIVEPresident: Joan Hutton cscVice-President: Richard Stringer cscTreasurer: Joseph Sunday phdSecretary: Antonin LhotskyMembership: Philip Earnshaw cscPublicity: Nikos Evdemon cscEducation: Ernie KestlerDirector Ex-Officio: George Willis csc sascMembership inquiries: 416-266-0591

CORPORATE SPONSORSApplied ElectronicsArri Canada Ltd.Canon Canada Inc.Cine-Byte Imaging Inc.CinequipWhite Inc.Clairmont CameraCooke Optics Ltd.D.J. Woods Productions Inc.Deluxe TorontoEyes Post GroupFour Seasons AviationFuji Photo Film Canada Inc.Kingsway Motion Picture Ltd.Kino FloKodak Canada Inc.Lee FiltersLorne Lapham Sales & RentalsMole-RichardsonOsram Sylvania Ltd./LtéePS Production ServicesPanasonic CanadaPanavision CanadaPrecision CameraRosco CanadaSim VideoSony of Canada Ltd.TechnicolorVideoscope Ltd.William F. White International Inc.

CSC OFFICECanadian Society of CinematographersExecutive Director: Susan Saranchuk3007 Kingston Road Suite 131Toronto, Ontario M1M 1P1Tel 416-266-0591 Fax 416-266-3996email: [email protected]: Donald Angus (416) 699-9149 email: [email protected]: Joan Hutton cscwww.csc.ca

CSC NEWS is a publication of the Canadian Society ofCinematographers. CSC NEWS is printed in Toronto and is published ten times a year. Subscriptions areavailable for $75.00 per year in Canada and$95.00 per year outside the country. CanadianPublications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 478423.

8

4

COVER PHOTO: Scene from Smallville

© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

17

The CSC Awards gala may have runa bit long this year, but as usual itwas jam-packed with glamour,

wit, poignancy and exciting images.We'll work on the length of the programfor next year, although 2007 is the CSC's50th anniversary and there will be spe-cial stories to tell and tributes to make.

This year, we had two additionalawards, for Corporate and Performancecinematography, bringing the total num-

ber of competitive categories to 13, plusthe three traditional “outstanding contri-bution” awards. Ken Shaw, CTV newsanchor who was back for his second con-secutive year as host, noted that “thebroad spectrum of cinematography disci-plines embraced by the CSC honours liststems from the CSC's policy of inclusionrather than exclusion, of paying tributeto all the men and women who createmoving images.”

We'll tighten up the program, certainly, but without sacrificing the warm feeling of getting to see old friends again and of making new ones. The CSC Awards party isone most of us look forward to allyear long. It's sort of like an annualreunion or a homecoming. There is a lot of laughter, and a few lumps in the throat when you stop toremember friends and colleagueswho were the heart and soul of thiscelebration but who are no longerwith us - people like Fritz Spiess, KenPost, Gerd Kurz and Bob Brooks. Itwas especially heart-warming to seeLillian Brooks present the RobertBrooks Documentary Cinemato-graphy Award, named in honour ofher late husband. Lillian's thoughtfuland humourous remarks made usrealize how important she and manyother wives of our founding mem-bers have been to the Society overthe last 49 years.

Lillian said that “Bob was alwayscommitted to the CSC from its verybeginning . . . and he expected others tobe committed, too! I remember not longafter we met, the CSC was very young

then, he told me they were going to pro-duce a membership directory. He asked ifI would help and I did.

“Looking back on those days now,long before computers and spell checks, Iam convinced that it was a test to see if Iwould be as committed to the CSC as hewas. After typing the directory for quite afew years on my trusty IBM typewriter,complete with carbon copies, I am happyto say that I passed the test, becauseeventually he asked me to marry him!And so my years of association with theCSC began, for which I feel very privi-leged and thankful.

“Bob never failed to promote the CSCand he never failed to recognize andrespect the work of his peers - Canadiancinematographers and Canadian film-makers. Bob loved documentaries and heloved the CSC. This Award in his name isa great honour. He would have beenthrilled and we, his family, are too!”

Thank you, Lillian.In my report last month, I thanked

the many people involved in the con-tinuing success of the CSC Awards. Iwould like to reiterate the Society's grat-itude to Awards Chair Susan Saranchuk,to the awards juries, co-chaired by JimMercer csc and John Hodgson inToronto and Henry Lebo csc inVancouver, and to our generous corpo-rate sponsors. There would be no showwithout them.

And, of course, congratulations tothis year's winners and nominees. We arefortunate to have such talented and ded-icated individuals as members of ourSociety. Let's do this again next year -maybe a bit shorter. •

2 • CSC News / May 2006

Joan Hutton csc

president’s report

Like aHomecoming

CSC News / May 2006 • 3

It is once again an exciting time to be a Canadian cine-matographer,” CSC President Joan Hutton csc said inher opening remarks at the 2006 CSC Awards gala on

April 8 in Toronto. “Despite a too-healthy loonie, the indus-try has recovered or is recovering on many fronts, and tech-nological advancement in both film and video continues toenhance the production of motion pictures in this country.”

Just like five years ago, she said, “before the infamy of9/11, the outbreak of SARS and the subsequent recession inthe film and television business in Canada, today there isincreasing Canadian content in the pictures we see on ourtelevision sets and on theatrical big screens.

“Tax credits and a roughly 14-cent premium on the dol-lar continue to make Canada an attractive destination, but,more than that, Hollywood and other producers know weare really good at what we do, that our infrastructure isworld-class. Our CSC members are continuing to be recog-nized, both inside and outside of Canada, for their out-standing visual skills. We offer congratulations to DerekRogers and Bernard Couture for their Gemini wins andBruce Chun for his Prix Gemeaux. Couture also was nomi-nated for a Genie. Jan Kiesser and Glen Winter earned ASCAward nominations and Thomas Burstyn and RodneyCharters were nominated for Emmys.

“All this acclaim just adds to the shine of the CSC

Awards. There is no greater litmus test of success than theaffirmation of one's own colleagues. We honour the artisticand technical achievements of cinematographers who havecreated masterpieces in all forms.”

Ken Shaw, National Editor and Anchor of CTV News at6, returned for a second consecutive engagement as host,declaring himself a sequel - Ken Shaw: Part II. Better, hehoped, than Rocky 46 or Halloween 32.

The 2006 CSC AwardsWinners and Nominees

There were 13 categories in the 2006 cinematographycompetition, plus three special honourees.

The Bill Hilson Award was presented to Ralph Ellis,renowned nature and wildlife filmmaker, for outstandingservice contributing to the development of the motion pic-ture industry in Canada. The Fuji Award was received byBill White, president of William F. White InternationalInc., for outstanding service to the Canadian Society ofCinematographers. The Kodak New Century Award wentto Rob McLachlan csc asc for outstanding contribution tothe art of cinematography.

Here, listed first and in bold type, are the winners in com-petitive categories, followed by other nominees in brackets:


“

TV SERIES: Glen Winter csc (right), presented by actor David W. Keeley.

FRITZ SPIESS COMMERCIAL: Adam Marsden (left), presented by actor Al Catlin.

DRAMATIC SHORT: Colin Hoult csc, presented by Diane Cappelletto, The Lab by Deluxe.

The 2006 CSC AwardsThe 2006 CSC Awards'An exciting time to be a Canadian cinematographer''An exciting time to be a Canadian cinematographer'

By Don AngusPhotos by John Narvali

Roy Tash Awardfor Spot News:Giancarlo Desantis, Suspect Pinned, Citytv - CityNews(Steve Boorne, Tsunami - Aftershock, Citytv - CityNews; Max Trotta, Dave Piedra, Chris Dunseith, Q.P. Man Ablaze, Global Television)

Stan Clinton Awardfor News Essay:Paul Wing, Poets, CTV Ottawa(Randy Maahs, Cowboy Action Shooting, CTV Ottawa; Brian Nichol, St. Raphael's, CTV Ottawa)

Student:Riley Pearcy, Idaho, The Art Institute of Vancouver(Piotr Skowronski, The Sirens of Bastogne,Confederation College, Thunder Bay; Ahmad Tamimi, The Shortest Dream, Vancouver Film School)

Corporate:John Hodgson, Automated People Mover(Peter Warren csc, Garrison Guitars;Peter Warren csc, MBNA)

Music Video:Christopher Soos csc, Sigur Ros Glosoli(Adam Marsden, Pilate - Melt into the Wall;Christopher Soos csc, AudioSlave - Be Yourself)

Docudrama:William Reeve csc, Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag(Damir Chytil csc, True Crime Scenes II: Family Secrets;James Jeffrey csc, First Canadians)

Robert Brooks Documentary:Michael Boland csc, Hard Rock & Water(Jay Ferguson, Alter Egos; John Minh Tran, Mozartballs)

Dramatic Short:Colin Hoult csc, My Uncle Navy & Other Inherited Disorders(Adam Marsden, Waiting; James Wallace csc, Drive)

Performance:Marc Gadoury csc, Canticum Canticorum(Paul Tolton csc, Shadow Pleasures; Carolyn Wong, Fold)

Fritz Spiess Commercial:Adam Marsden, West Nile Standing Water(André Pienaar csc sasc, Campbell's Harvest Colour; Paul Tolton csc Lotto Pianus Interuptus)

TV Drama:Rene Ohashi csc asc, Stone Cold(Paul Sarossy csc bsc, Black Widow; Attila Szalay csc, hsc,Masters of Horror “Haeckel's Tale”)

TV Series:Glen Winter csc, Smallville “Lexmas”(Henry Chan csc, The Collector “The Pharmacist.”; DavidMoxness csc, Kevin Hill “Love Don't Live Here Anymore”)

Theatrical Feature:Bernard Couture csc, Le Survenant(Pierre Gill csc, Maurice Richard; Rene Ohashi csc asc, Saint Ralph)

In AppreciationThe 2006 CSC Awards celebration was made

possible through generous patronage by:Clairmont Camera, for hors d'oeuvreD. J. Woods Productions, for door prizes and supportDeluxe Toronto, for program and awards sponsorship Fuji Photo Film Canada, after-dinner liqueurs, raffle/door prizes, nominee gifts and moreFujinon, for door prizesKodak Canada, for reception martinis, photography, raffle/door prizes and jury hostPanasonic Canada, for door prizes Panavision Canada, for student prizes, nominee gifts, door prizes and supportPrecision Camera, for give-away gifts, nominee gifts, door prizes and support

• see page 6


ROBERT BROOKS DOCUMENTARY: Michael Bolandcsc, presented by Lillian Brooks.

DOCUDRAMA: William Reeve csc (right), presented by reporter Alan Fryer, W-Five, CTV.

CORPORATE: John Hodgson (right),presented by Walter Corbett csc.

• from page 5Rosco Canada, for supportSim Video, for support and door prizeSoho, for production of the show tapeSony Canada, for raffle/door prizesTechnicolor, for support and production of awards show Videoscope, for production of show and door prizesWilliam F. White International, for dinner wines

The PresentersDiana Swain, the Toronto host of

CBC News at Six, presented the RoyTash Award for excellence in spotnews cinematography. Diana also han-dles a number of other network assign-ments, including documentaries andsubstitute host duties for CBC's TheNational. She is a five-time GeminiAward nominee, recognized for herreporting, writing and hosting. Shewon the Gemini for Best News Anchorin 2000.

The Stan Clinton Award for bestcinematography in a news essay waspresented by CTV National Newsreporter Kathy Tomlinson. Kathy iscurrently CTV's "Whistleblower," usingher passion for investigative reportingto expose wrongdoing, injustice,incompetence and waste inside andoutside the government. She wasinstrumental in having a wrongly con-victed woman released from federalprison.

The award for Music Video Cine-matography was presented by Bernie

Finkelstein, president of True NorthRecords and chairman of VideoFact,which he co-founded in 1984 to assistCanadian talent improve the quantityand quality of homegrown musicvideos. He founded True North Records,Canada's first independent recordcompany, in 1969, and he is managerfor Bruce Cockburn and other record-ing artists. He was recently inductedinto the Canadian Music Hall of Fame,and was the recipient of the WaltGrealis Special Achievement Award atthe 2006 Juno Awards.

The Bill Hilson Award was pre-sented by Bob Bocking csc, a long-serving CSC member, former presidentand current executive adviser whohimself was a recipient of the BillHilson Award in 1979.

Stewart Aziz, Eastern Canada Vice-President of Marketing for PanavisionCanada, presented the StudentCinematography Award.

The Corporate CinematographyAward was presented by WalterCorbett csc, an award-winning direc-tor of photography and president ofthe Canadian Independent CameraAssociation.

The Docudrama Award was pre-sented by Alan Fryer, investigativereporter for CTV's W-FIVE. Previously,Alan was CTV's Washington BureauChief, where he covered some of themost significant international eventsof the past decade, including theimpeachment of President Clinton,the disputed election of 2000 and the

terrorist attacks of 9/11. In 2004, hereported from Baghdad on the ongo-ing war in Iraq. He is a 22-year veteranwith CTV News.

The newly named Robert BrooksAward for Documentary Cinemato-graphy was presented by LillianBrooks, a little over a year after her hus-band, a founding member of the CSCand its first elected president, passedaway. Bob Brooks csc was an award-winning documentary filmmaker whofor many years worked under the ban-ner of Robert Brooks Associates - theprime associate being his wife, Lillian.The two of them organized the earlyyears of the CSC Awards banquet andcompiled the first membership directory.

The Kodak New Century Awardwas presented by Johanna Gravelle,country manager of Kodak CanadaEntertainment Imaging.

The award for Dramatic Short waspresented by Diane Cappelletto, vice-president and general manager of TheLab by Deluxe.

A new category this year, thePerformance Cinematography Awardwas presented by Andrea Nann, a con-temporary dance choreographer, per-former, teacher and artistic director ofthe Andrea Nann Dreamwalker DanceCompany in Toronto.

The Fritz Spiess Award forCommercial Cinematography was pre-sented by Al Catlin, an accomplishedactor and writer with many commercial,television and film credits. Al was the2005 winner of the Kari Award and


STUDENT: Riley Pearcy, The Art Institute of Vancouver (centre), with presenter Stewart Aziz ofPanavision Canada (left) and runners-up Piotr Skowronski, Confederation College, Thunder Bay(right), and Ahmad Tamimi, Vancouver Film School.

ROY TASH AWARD FOR SPOT NEWS: Giancarlo Desantis, Citytv -CityNews, presented by Diana Swain, CBC News.


Marketing Magazine's Jury Choice Award forhis performances in a television campaignpromoting the Canadian Film Centre's WorldWide Short Film Festival.

The Fuji Award was presented by GraemeParcher, Senior Director of Sales for MotionPicture and Recording Media, Fuji Photo FilmCanada.

The TV Drama Award was presented byAron Tager, a versatile and gifted actor witha long list of credits in television drama,programming for children, commercialsand independent features. Currently, he co-stars in the new comedy series Billable Hourson Showcase.

The TV Series Award was presented byactor David Keeley, whose recent televi-sion roles include hockey star Bobby Orr inThe Terry Fox Story and dim-witted rockerMark Wilson in Ken Finkleman's At TheHotel on CBC. He was last seen on the bigscreen playing Agent Anderson in JonathanDemme's 2004 remake of The ManchurianCandidate.

The Theatrical Feature Award was pre-sented by film director Gail Harvey, whoselatest feature film, Some Things That Stay,was released in 2004 and garnered a fourout of four star review in the Toronto Star.Starring Gail's talented daughter, KatieBoland, the film won Best Feature Film atthe Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto lastyear, and was nominated for a Directors'Guild of Canada award.

Short EndsAwards Chair Susan Saranchuk reported

that 320 guests attended the 2006 AwardsGala at Toronto's Crowne Plaza Don Valley

Hotel, compared with 316 last year. Therewere a record 189 entries in 13 (two new cat-egories - Performance and Corporate) com-petitive categories, up from 154 in 2005.

There were 10 volunteers to help makethe evening run smoothly - NancyAngevine-Sands, Guido Kondruss, SydneyKondruss, Graeme Kondruss, ChristinYoung, Melissa Longland, Jennifer Mallette,Ryan Sullivan, Scott Thorn and JamesO'Bryan (camera operator).

Ticket sales for the raffle prizes (a KodakEasyShare Z7590 digital camera, a FujifilmFinePix F10 digital camera and a SonyBravia 32” LCD widescreen TV) totalled$2,010, up $920.

The CSC thanks the 2006 jurors:Michael Balfry csc, John Banovich csc, JohnBerrie csc, Robert Bocking csc, Henry Chancsc, Kamal Derkouai csc, Bert Dunk csc, asc,David Frazee csc, George Hosek csc, JoanHutton csc, Martin Julian csc, Jan Kiessercsc asc, Alwyn J. Kumst csc, John Lesavagecsc, Phil Linzey csc, Larry Lynn csc, OusamaRawi csc, Maurice Jackson-Samuels csc,Andrew Watt csc, George Willis csc sasc.Jury co-chairs, Toronto: Jim Mercer csc,John Hodgson. Jury Chair, Vancouver:Henry Lebo csc. Jury Assistants: DarleneChoo, Lecily Corbett, Michael Garvey,Elizabeth Kondruss, Graeme Kondruss,Sebastien Portmann, Ryan Sullivan.

Thanks also to Kodak EntertainmentImaging for the generous use of their the-atre by the juries.

Susan Saranchuk brought the evening toa close by thanking host Ken Shaw for hiseloquence and humour, and extended spe-cial thanks to all the presenters. •

STAN CLINTON AWARD FOR NEWS ESSAY: PaulWing, CTV Ottawa, presented by Kathy Tomlinson,CTV National News.

THEATRICAL FEATURE: Bernard Couture csc (not present), presented by director Gail Harvey, accepted by Gaston Bernier, Kodak EI Montreal.

PERFORMANCE: Marc Gadoury csc (not present),presented by Andrea Nann, Andrea NannDreamwalker Dance Company, accepted byGaston Bernier, Kodak EI Montreal.

TV DRAMA: Rene Ohashi csc asc (not present),presented by actor Aron Tager, accepted byagent Dora Sesler.

MUSIC VIDEO: Christopher Soos csc (not present),presented by Bernie Finkelstein, president of TrueNorth Records (right), accepted by Ray McLeary.

As alternating director of pho-tography on the hit WarnerBros. television series Smallville,

Glen Winter csc can't leap tall build-ings in a single bound . . . yet. For now,he settles for helping a teenaged ClarkKent understand his Superman powersas he grows in his rural Kansas home-town. The job has its rewards for superwork; Winter won the 2006 CSC Awardfor TV Series Cinematography lastmonth with the Smallville episode“Lexmas” and the episode “Sacred”was recognized earlier this year with a

nomination by the American Societyof Cinematographers.

Vancouver-based Winter, who start-ed his Smallville awards collection lastyear by winning the CSC TV Series“Eyeball” with the episode “Memoria,”has alternated episodes with BarryDonlevy since season two of the series,which originally debuted in 2001. Eachepisode is produced with eight days offirst-unit work and two days of sec-ond-unit work. It often includes visualeffects work depicting the paranormaleffects of Kryptonite. This schedule

allows six days of prep time for eachepisode. The first assistant directorsalso alternate with the cinematogra-phers, so a team bond can form overthe course of the season, adding to theefficiency.

“The prep is extremely importantto us,” says Winter. “On some previousprojects, the only time we could doany prep is during lunch or betweenshots. The money we save by nippingproblems in the bud more than com-pensates for the extra time. We're ableto have input as the locations arebeing found, and we can often avoidlighting nightmares. The productionruns smoothly and efficiently as aresult. There's no second-guessing.Often a director will want a certainpiece of equipment to accomplish aparticular shot, and I'll be able toknow for sure whether we really needit. It's really a streamlining effect inevery aspect.”

The show is centred on the Kentfamily farm, which is a warm and safehaven. As young Clark ventures fur-ther into the outside world, the lookbecomes harder and cooler. Hyper-realism is the goal.

About two-thirds of each episode isproduced on standing sets and the reston locations, mostly in the flatter, sun-nier, southern areas of British Columbia.Smallville's warm feeling is generated inpart by coral filters on the lens, warmgels on the lamps and careful planningto work with the angle of the sun.

“From the beginning, the show wasdesigned to be as rich and golden aspossible,” says Winter. “That can betricky in the darkness of the


Young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) argues with his friend and nemesis Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) in a scene from Smallville.

awards spotlight

“You have the warm, happy, soft inner-world of the Kents, which is really fun to light. And then you can get into more X-Files, shadowy lighting around the outside edges and in the darker recesses of Smallville.”

By David Heuring

(C) 2

006

War

ner B

ros.

Ent

erta

inm

ent I

nc.

Glen Winter csc: TV Series Cinematography AwardGlen Winter csc: TV Series Cinematography AwardCreating Parallel Universes for SmallvilleCreating Parallel Universes for Smallville

Vancouver winter. We usually warmthings up with a quarter or half coralfilter when the sun is out. When thesky is white it can take on more of thebrown colour, so we'll go with an eighthcoral on cloudier days.”

Winter also likes to use warm gelson the key light while keeping the fillor soft frontal light neutral. He watch-es for opportunities to create “butteryshafts of light” - a term that hasbecome a catchphrase on the set. “Weoften use 5K Mole projectors, whichhave become my favourite tool duringthe past couple years, to blast beams oflight through the windows to create ahot shaft in the smoke,” he says.“They're small enough to hide, andthere's no other way to get a shaft likethat. You can spot them right up, andwe usually go with a half straw gel towarm them up.”

Working in British Columbia hasrequired the crew to become adept atworking around rain. “If it's raining atnight, sometimes we'll just play therain,” says Winter. “In the daytime, ifit starts to rain, we're more likely tooverexpose a little. We've developedwhat we call flyswatters, which are 20-by-20-foot, clear fabrics that we fly off80-foot Condors. Our team has gottenpretty good at flying these thingsaround to keep rain off the actors. Allin all, the weather has been surprising-ly cooperative.”

Smallville is produced in three-perf35mm format. The filmmakers protect

for the 16:9 but concentrate on the 4:3NTSC frame, which is how most viewerssee the show. The A camera is usuallyequipped with a 4:1 Primo zoom lens,and the B camera usually has an 11:1Primo zoom mounted. Both zooms gen-erally serve as variable primes, with noracking in shots.

Kodak Vision 500T 5279 film is themain stock, used for about 80 per centof the show. Some scenes are pho-tographed on Eastman EXR 100T 5248film. Winter often uses a Polarizer filterin exterior situations. The normal stopfor interiors is 4 and for exteriors, thestop is often 8 or 11, with the goal beingas much depth of field as possible.

“We use 5279 even outside in thewinter,” says Winter. “The grain of the5279 stock is great. It handles the var-ious gels that we use nicely. The con-trast is fantastic. We end up havingquite a bit of smoke on the set to allowfor shafts. It's the perfect balancebetween keeping good contrast andstill seeing into the depths of the shad-ows. Our barn set, which has so manycorners and shadows and areas thatfall off, is where you really see thebeauty of the stock. You want areas tofall off into darkness, but you can stillsee depth and grain in the wood.”

Some of the visual effects work isdone on the set with the main unit.Visual effects supervisor John Walsh isusually on hand to oversee these scenes.Green screen shots are usually done with

• see page 10


DOP Glen Winter csc on the set of Smallville.

Glen Winter csc accepts his 2006 CSC TV SeriesAward for Smallville “Lexmas.”

• from page 9the EXR 5248 film. Winter often uses the speed ramping capabilities of theARRI 435 and Panavision Millenniumcameras. “Often we'll decide at thelast minute that an in-camera solu-tion is the best,” says Winter. “Icredit Greg Beeman, our executiveproducer and showrunner, with car-rying the torch for us. He reallyleads by example and often hassome of the coolest ideas. He's also abig proponent of the camera move-

ment style we've adapted over thelast few years. We have a lot ofdynamic shooting and swirling cam-eras when a shot needs kinetic ener-gy. We could not pull off the incred-ible amount of challenging shotsthat we do without our amazingoperators John Davidson and ChrisMcMullin as well as focus pullersMarcus James and Corey Budney.They are the best I have ever seen.”

When the story shifts to Metro-polis, the look becomes cooler, with

more mixed colour temperatures.The look becomes more hyper-real-istic without going all the way to acomic book tone. Close-ups areoften done from slightly below theeye line, which communicates aheroic feel without being exaggerat-ed or overly stylized.

“There has certainly been an evo-lution over the seasons,” saysWinter. “We don't set out to give theshow a comic book feel. We take itto the edge of that but it's not in theDick Tracy realm. We have a strict'no-dutch' rule, because that takesthings into a campy, unrealisticrealm. The producers don't wantpeople to necessarily think of acomic book when they see it. It'simportant for us to ride that fineline, and prevent the look fromoverwhelming the material. That'swhy it's such a cool show to workon. We have these parallel universeshappening in every show. You havethe warm, happy, soft inner-worldof the Kents, which is really fun tolight. And then you can get intomore X-Files, shadowy lightingaround the outside edges and in thedarker recesses of Smallville. That'sreally fun, too. It's a very ambitiousshow, and I wouldn't have it anyother way.”

Winter has established an impres-sive list of credits, including the fea-tures Horsey, Barnone, Convergence,MVP: Most Valuable Primate, MVP 2:Most Vertical Primate, Air Bud: SeventhInning Fetch and Best Buds. His televi-sion credits include the series 2gether:The Series and the telefilm Murder Atthe Cannes Film Festival. •

(David Heuring moved to Holly-wood in 1987 where, after gainingsome practical film production expe-rience, he began writing for AmericanCinematographer magazine, at whichhe was editor for five years. Since1995, Heuring has continued writingabout cinematography, filmmakingand post-production for such indus-try trade publications as AmericanCinematographer, International Cine-matographer, Film & Video, Screen,Digital Cinematography, In Cameraand CSC News.) •


CSC FULL AND LIFE MEMBERS

CSC FULL MEMBERS

Nicholas Allen-Woolfe cscJim Aquila cscEduardo Arregui cscJohn Badcock cscMichael Balfry cscChristopher Ball cscJohn Banovich cscJohn Bartley csc ascStan Barua cscYves Bélanger cscPeter Benison cscDean Bennett cscJohn Berrie cscThom Best cscMichel Bisson cscCyrus Block cscRobert Bocking cscMichael Boland cscRaymond Brounstein cscThomas Burstyn cscBarry Casson cscEric Cayla cscHenry Chan cscMarc Charlebois cscRodney Charters csc ascBruce Chun cscDamir Chytil cscRichard Ciupka cscArthur Cooper cscWalter Corbett cscSteve Cosens cscBernard Couture cscRichard Crudo csc ascDean Cundey csc ascFrancois Dagenais cscSteve Danyluk cscDavid De Volpi cscKamal Derkaoui cscKim Derko cscJacques Desharnais cscSerge Desrosiers cscJean-Yves Dion cscZoe Dirse cscMark Dobrescu cscWes Doyle cscGuy Dufaux cscAlbert Dunk csc ascPhilip Earnshaw cscIan Elkin cscMichael Ellis cscCarlos Esteves cscNikos Evdemon cscDavid Frazee cscMarc Gadoury cscJames Gardner cscDavid Geddes cscIvan Gekoff cscLaszlo George cscLen Gilday cscPierre Gill cscJohn Goldi csc

Russ Goozee cscSteve Gordon cscBarry Gravelle cscDavid Greene cscJohn Griffin cscMichael Grippo cscManfred Guthe cscThomas Harting cscPeter Hartmann cscPauline Heaton cscBrian Hebb cscDavid Herrington cscKenneth Hewlett cscEdward Higginson cscRobbi Hinds cscRobert Holmes cscJohn Holosko cscGeorge Hosek cscColin Hoult cscDonald Hunter cscJoan Hutton cscMark Irwin csc ascMaris Jansons cscJames Jeffrey cscSilvio Jesenkovic cscDaniel Jobin cscPierre Jodoin cscMartin Julian cscNorayr Kasper cscGlen Keenan cscIan Kerr cscJan Kiesser csc ascAlar Kivilo csc ascDouglas Koch cscCharles Konowal cscRudi Kovanic cscJim Kozmik cscKen Krawczyk cscLes Krizsan cscAlwyn Kumst cscJean-Claude Labrecque cscSerge Ladouceur cscGeorge Lajtai cscMarc Laliberte Else cscBarry Lank cscHenry Lebo csc

John Lesavage cscHenry Less cscPierre Letarte cscPhilip Linzey cscWalt Lloyd cscJ.P. Locherer cscPeter Luxford cscLarry Lynn cscDuncan MacFarlane cscDylan Macleod cscBernie MacNeil cscGlen MacPherson cscHarry Makin cscDonald McCuaig cscRobert McLachlan csc ascRyan McMaster cscMichael McMurray cscStephen McNutt cscGraeme Mears cscSimon Mestel cscAlastair Meux cscGregory Middleton cscC. Miles cscGordon Miller cscRobin Miller cscPaul Mitchnick cscLuc Montpellier cscGeorge Morita cscRhett Morita cscDavid Moxness cscCraig Mullins cscDouglas Munro cscStefan Nitoslawski cscDan Nowak cscRene Ohashi csc ascRon Orieux cscHarald Ortenburger cscGerald Packer cscRod Parkhurst cscBarry Parrell cscBrian Pearson cscDavid Perrault cscBarry Peterson cscBruno Philip cscMatthew Phillips cscAndré Pienaar csc

Edward Pietrzkiewicz cscRonald Plante cscRandal Platt cscMilan Podsedly cscHang Poon cscSteven Poster asc cscAndreas Poulsson cscPascal Provost cscDon Purser cscJoel Ransom cscOusama Rawi csc bscWilliam Reeve cscStephen Reizes cscDerek Rogers cscBrad Rushing cscBranimir Ruzic cscRobert Saad cscVictor Sarin cscPaul Sarossy csc bscGavin Smith cscChristopher Soos cscJohn Spooner cscRonald Stannett cscBarry Stone cscMichael Storey cscRichard Stringer cscMichael Sweeney cscAdam Swica cscAttila Szalay cscChristopher Tammaro cscJason Tan cscGabor Tarko cscJohn Tarver cscBrian Thomson cscPaul Tolton cscBert Tougas cscChris Triffo cscSean Valentini cscDerek Vanlint cscGordon Verheul cscRoger Vernon cscSteve Vernon cscDaniel Villeneuve cscDaniel Vincelette cscMichael Wale cscJohn Walker csc

James Wallace cscTony Wannamaker cscPeter Warren cscAndrew Watt cscJim Westenbrink cscTony Westman cscKit Whitmore cscBrian Whittred cscRon Williams cscGeorge Willis cscRichard Wincenty cscGlen Winter cscPeter Woeste cscBill Wong cscBruce Worrall cscCraig Wrobleski cscYuri Yakubiw cscEllie Yonova csc

FULL LIFE MEMBERS

Herbert Alpert csc ascDavid Carr cscChristopher Chapman cscRobert Crone cscKenneth Davey cscKelly Duncan csc dgcKenneth Gregg cscBrian Holmes cscMaurice Jackson-Samuels cscDouglas Kiefer cscNaohiko Kurita cscHarry Lake cscDouglas Lehman cscDonald McMillan cscJim Mercer cscRoger Moride cscDean Peterson cscRoger Racine cscRobert Rouveroy cscIvan Sarossy cscJosef Sekeresh cscWalter Wasik cscRon Wegoda csc


3CCD: 1440 X 1080 EACH.HD-SDI OUT: SMPTE 292M.SMPTE TIME CODE IN/OUT.20X HD VIDEO LENS.AND BUILT-IN GENLOCK.

FOR UNDER $11,500*

Whether you’re a broadcast ENG producer, documentary, feature or commercial videographer, yourHD camcorder has arrived. Here are just a few of its unparalleled litany of features. The Canon XL H1 isbuilt around a 3CCD system with separate native 16:9 CCD’s. Each 1/3" CCD has 1440 x 1080 pixels,resulting in high resolution, accurate colour reproduction and a wide dynamic range with virtually nocolour noise. For pristine image quality, the XL H1 features uncompressed digital HD-SDI output (SMPTE292M). And multi-camera shoots are no problem, thanks to SMPTE time code input and output and

Genlock synchronization. The features and innovations continue as you alsoget Total Image Control which includes 3 colour matrixes, 2 cine gammas, andadjustable: knee, black stretch, setup level, master pedestal, horizontal detail,

coring, sharpness, 2 noise reductions, colour gain, hue, and master colour setup adjustments. Sinceeach adjustment is individual, you can create your own custom look and store it on an SD memorycard. The XL H1 delivers 1080i HD resolution, along with three different frame rates of 60i, 30 Frameand 24 Frame – so no matter what your production, the XL H1 has you covered. There’s also the optional60i/50i Video Mode Option, which means that you can record in both NTSC and PAL. You can eventake photos with the XL H1 either in video or camera colour space. And in keeping with Canon’s OpenArchitecture approach, optional CONSOLE Image Control & Storage software delivers unprecedentedflexibility and versatility. Proving, of course, that the XL H1 is truly high definition’s highest expression.You’ll find so much more about this amazing, af fordable HD camcorder at www.canondv.com.

THE CANON XL H1 HD CAMCORDER.

©2006 Canon Canada Inc. Canon is a registered trade-mark of Canon Inc. IMAGEANYWAREis a trade-mark of Canon. *Actual price is determined by individual dealers and may vary.

One show is bright. The other isdark. One is primary colouroverload and a cute young

cast. The other is grey and dusk andmetal and washed out and dark circlesunder the eyes. The Vancouver rainaids one and impedes the other. Oneshow often veers into family valuescandy land, while the other some-times lingers too long in dystopia. Oneleans visually on inspiration fromdecades of art and comic books; thecreators of the other wanted to dosomething entirely new.

Smallville and Battlestar Galactica,both seen on Space, reside far apart inthe fantasy/sci-fi universe, but they

have one important thing in common:Both shows look striking and should setstraight anyone who doubts televisioncan be a serious visual arts medium.

They are, of course, not the onlyexamples of ambitious design, merelythe cream of the crop.

You no longer need to go to themovie theatre to see colour and designused to striking effect. At any giventime you can turn on your televisionand catch an episode of one of thethree CSI corpse shows, which eachhave their own easily recognizablepalette. You know whether the stiffkeeled over in Vegas, Miami or NewYork even before you hear The Who

tune playing over the opening credits. Huge TV screens, every fleck of

dust clearly rendered in high defini-tion, an abundance of programmingand the expectations of a specialeffects-reared audience all contributeto the necessity of painting a prettypicture as well as telling a good story.And you don't arrive at eye-catchingby accident.

“We set out to establish a uniquepalette for our show,” says Smallville co-creator Miles Millar from Los Angeles.“Not just unique to the show itself, butunique to television. There's so manychoices on TV today and if you're chan-nel surfing, you need something thatwould make you stop when you seesomething arresting. For us it was aboutmaking the show beautiful, authenti-cally beautiful, through the lightingand the sets and the colours.”

Millar, whose show just reached the100th episode milestone and merrilycelebrated by killing off a character,says the classic Superman colours - red,blue, yellow - appear in every frame ofthe show. As well, “Clark Kent alwayswears those colours in some form.Although he doesn't wear the actualcostume, he always wears the blue orred or yellow in some combination. Soyou always get that classical element,but in a contemporary way.”

Having a comic book helps createa visual universe, but in buildingSmallville's unique look, a little extrasomething was needed.

“(Edward) Hopper was a clear influ-ence in terms of the look of the show;we had images of his painting on thewalls when working on the produc-tion design. We wanted it to look veryclassic Americana. Norman Rockwellwas also an influence.”

Richard Hudolin, on the phone from


colour theorySmallville and Battlestar Galactica live at opposite ends of the colour spectrum, but both look gorgeous. These and other showsprove that the quality gap between TV and movies has finally narrowed

By Malene ArpeToronto Star Pop Culture Writer

Providing Aerial support to the film industry since 1987

Tel: (905) 671•9644 Fax: (905) 671•9536 Toll Free: 1•877•HLCPTRZ ⁄ 452•7870

Lester B. PearsonInternational Airport

Toronto Canada

David Tommasini, President

internet:www.fourseasonsaviation.com

Wescam

Spacecam

Imax

Tyler Mounts

Mega Mounts

AS 355F1TwinStar

AS35OD & AS350B2ASTAR

Bell 206BJETRanger

Fly Away Home • The Big HitThe Wall • The Jackal

Universal SoldierLa Femme Nikita

Barney’s Great AdventureBlues Brothers 2000 • Bait

Dick • Bless This ChildExit Wounds • Driven

Dracula 2000 • John Q

Vancouver, is Battlestar Galactica's pro-duction designer. While sharing nameand villains with the short-lived '70sseries, the new show does not share thewonky sets and the costumes that lookedlike they were sewn from particularlyugly curtains. In order to distance itselffrom the campy original, the show's cre-ators needed to set the bar high.

"There was a Battlestar in the '70s,but we stayed as far away from that aswe could,” Hudolin says. “The onlything we kept was the basis of thefighter, but we even changed that. . . .

“We made big efforts not to havebright, popping colours. We're alwaysbleaching and pushing back the inten-sity of our colour.”

Someone who's paid a lot of atten-tion to television genre shows and theway they look is Rhonda Wilcox, aGeorgia English professor and theauthor of the recently published WhyBuffy Matters: The Art of Buffy theVampire Slayer. She cites Smallville as ashow she'll watch because it's “visual-ly vivid,” while “not quite as strong assome of the others in some ways.”

She agrees that series creators aregetting better at stretching the small-screen canvas.

“Instead of the simple back-and-forth middle shot, you get angles, vis-tas, pans - and they seem to be emo-tionally cued,” she says via email.“Last night I was watching Bones(which has gotten drastically bettersince its beginning); there was a shotof a small group on the beach on theleft of screen, the human figuresdwarfed by nature - the compositionseemed almost Japanese in effect. Andof course the earlier show starringDavid Boreanaz - Angel - was visuallyvery dark and used fast shots flashingby in a fashion recalling experimentalcinema. . . . Currently, of course, Lostis really strong visually.”

Wilcox points out that Lost's direc-tor of photography is John Bartley (cscasc), whose work with The X-Files setthe standard for production values.

Millar also acknowledges The X-Files as a favourite for its stunningvisuals: “The moment you turned it onyou knew you were watching the X-Files. Very unique, very specific.”

X-Files was, of course, also shot indamp Vancouver. Millar says his crew

often battles the downpour to staywithin the bright Smallville palette.

“Technically it's difficult because ofthe environment in Vancouver. It'soften grey and rainy, while you veryrarely see the rain in Smallville. If itrains in Smallville, it rains really, real-ly hard and that's a deliberate look aswell, where we'll put in massive rainshowers and soak our actors for hoursin pouring, fake rain,” Millar says.

“But a lot of the scenes are shot inrain, and you'd never know it. We putbig screens up and projectors for thecast, but that's always a challenge. Wehave special filters for the lenses, it ismore of a lighting challenge, week inand week out, than most shows haveto deal with.”

For the darker Battlestar, the rain isa blessing. “Vancouver is a great placeto shoot because it has a unique kindof light and the rain actually helps usa lot, especially in the winter. A lot ofit is done in camera when we're doingexteriors and we try to go places thatfall within what our colour needs are,”Hudolin says.

A dependable look, or what Wilcox

refers to as “the visual equivalent ofgenre,” is important for shows to succeed.Franchises like the CSIs and the Law &Orders are reliable, not only because oftheir writing and acting, but for the com-fort zone they offer the eye. You knowexactly what you're going to get.

“Every show that succeeds has alook. It's something we've learned from(producer) Stephen Bochco. Every showhe starts, he figures out what's theunique look of the show, like with NYPDBlue that had that gritty, handheld look.The look is essential,” Millar says.

His own show, the tale of young Clarkbefore he dons the cape, has smaller,compartmentalized visual comfort zoneswithin the larger scope of the series.

“We wanted it to be a fantasy loca-tion with the ideal farmhouse, the fan-tasy farmhouse, the fantasy mansion,everything just slightly bigger than real-ity. So the farm feels very lived-in andworn and inviting, with golden colours,and the barn that is Clark's oasis is alsovery weathered and worn but it feels likeevery kid in America would love to havethis barn to go and hang out in. . . .

• see page 16


• from page 15“Meanwhile, the Luthor mansion ismuch colder and rather than the goldencolours, Lex's colours are charcoal andblack and silver; you always see Lex inblack or grey or purple and it's contrast-ing the different environments. Themoment we go to Metropolis, it's muchmore about metals and blacks and greys,where Smallville is about colour.'

Having shot a successful minis-eries on film, the makers of Battlestarwere faced with the technical diffi-culties inherent in recreating thelook when the series was picked upand they started shooting it in highdefinition. HD has the tendency tomake colours pop out “like on a juke-box,” says Hudolin.

“We had to go back and basicallyhad to repaint all the sets to take themway, way, way back in terms of theirintensity, so they would appear as theydid in the miniseries,” he says. “It wasa huge job to get everything back towhere it was supposed to be. Justbecause the technology needs just a lit-tle light and it makes everything looklike an MTV ad. Once we figured thatout, we then knew what intensity ofpaint we should be using and colourswe should stay with. It was a big exper-iment and it worked well.”

And what if someone gets a brightidea and wants to change a show'spalette?

"People watch it because there issomething in it that they like. Story,acting, design, lighting. You canchange them slowly, but to changethem radically episode-to-episode is amistake. Then they're turning on theTV and they're not seeing what it wasthat they expected to see. So youhave to give them kind of a comfortzone, and you can go off that a littlebit, but subtly. Then they'll be usedto that and that's how you do it.” -Reprinted with permission - TorstarSyndication Services

(Battlestar Galactica is shot in HD byStephen McNutt csc and Smallville in35mm film by Glen Winter csc andBarry Donlevy. Winter won the 2006CSC TV Series Award for his work onthe episode “Lexmas” and earned anASC Award nomination for theepisode “Sacred.”) •


P+S Technik Digital Image Converters

Mount the lenses

used in filming on a video camcorder and preview thescene as the film camera will actually see it. Recordshots on location, evaluate lighting. Replace camerawith optical viewfinder for director’s viewfinder.

VDF-35/16 Director’s Viewfinder

Use 35mm primes on your 2/3” or Mini DV

camera and get the same depth of field, angle of

view and focal length as with 35mm film cameras.

Available for sale or rental,

information package on request.

200 Evans Avenue, Unit 4 Toronto, Ontario M8Z 1J7 Tel: (416) 463-4345 Fax: (416) 469-2609 [email protected]

Use PL, Panavision or Nikon mounted35mm primes on your Canon XL-1/1-s,

Sony PD-150, VX2000 or Panasonic AG-DVX100 MiniDV camera. Professional results, Mini DV budget.

Mini 35

Use PL, Panavision or Nikon mounted35mm primes on any high-def or standard

def 2/3” video camera. Get creative with the hindredsof lens choices that used to be available only to35mm filmmakers.

Pro 35

Videoscope is a premier dealer for the Sony Broadcast and CommunicationSolutions Group

Gearing up for HDPURCHASE CREDIT PLAN

Now available only at

VideoscopeGord Haas and Larry Au 1.416.449.3030


Kodak is always extremely proudto be part of this annual cele-bration recognizing excellence

in motion imaging,” Johanna Gravelle,country manager of Kodak CanadaEntertainment Imaging, told the 2006CSC Awards. “This year marks 19 yearssince we created the first Kodak NewCentury Award, to pay trib-ute to a cinematographerwho has earned the admira-tion of his peers in the CSC.

“This year, I'm verypleased to present the 2006Kodak New Century Awardto Rob McLachlan.”

Gravelle said that “likemany great cinematogra-phers, Rob's love of moviesstarted in his youth. Fuelledby a father whose interest inhome movies extended wellbeyond the simple hobbystage, and involved filmsplicing, editing and sounddubbing, Rob made his firstmovie for an English classproject when he was only12. From that point on, hewas hooked.

“He enrolled in the UBCFine Arts program, but soonshifted to the Simon Fraser UniversityFilm Workshop to learn more aboutfilm. A part-time job at Woodward's(department store) led to his first pay-ing gig - a short piece on the making ofpeanut butter. Shot on a16mmBeaulieu, this 7 1/2-minute film wonfirst prize in the B.C. Student FilmFestival.

“The die was cast; Rob and a fellowstudent started Omni Film Productionsand officially entered the film business.Throughout the '80s he shot, directedand edited scores of TV commercials,

for clients such as Yukon Tourism,Canadian Airlines, Pharmasave, HomeHardware and BC Tourism.

“He travelled the globe makingfilms for Greenpeace and produced anumber of industrial films and docu-mentaries for clients such as the BBCand the National Film Board - includ-

ing a film for External Affairs entitledCanadian Wild Pacific Salmon, whichgarnered his first CSC Award.

“Rob's venture into features startedin 1985 with the film Abducted. His next work, on Impolite, garnered his second CSC Award, and set the stagefor bigger budget films with FinalDestination, The One, King's Ransom,Cursed and Willard. In 1986 Rob became the youngest cameraman everawarded full membership in theCanadian Society of Cinematographers.

“His big break in TV came in 1987

on the remake of the Sea Hunt series.Here, he worked as an operator withRichard Leiterman, eventually workinghis way up to DOP. Rob continued tohone his cinematic style on numeroustelevision series, including Beachcombers,MacGyver, and The Commish, to name afew. And he brought it all to the small

screen in a big way with hiswork on Millennium - garner-ing three ASC nominationsand winning three CSCAwards.

“Rob has earned num-erous national and interna-tional awards and accolades.Even when he loses, he wins.His CSC and ASC nominatedwork for High Noon lost outto the Lone Gunman pilot -which he also shot. Rob loveswhat he does. His body ofwork encompasses literallyhundreds of TV commercialsand over 40 major documen-tary credits.

“Congratulations, Rob.Thank you for sharing yourunique vision and for captur-ing amazing images that con-tinue to inspire us. Ladies andgentlemen, on behalf of

Kodak it is truly my pleasure to presentRob McLachlan with the 2006 KodakNew Century Award.”

In his acceptance remarks, McLachlansaid the evolution of his work over thelast 30 years has been “in direct relation-ship to the quality of crews I workedwith. I've worked with crews all over the world (and) nowhere else do theycare as much, nor work as hard with asmuch bonhomie and wit as they do inHalifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgaryand Vancouver. I salute them. I lovethem.” •

“

The Kodak New Century AwardThe Kodak New Century AwardFor outstanding contribution to the art of cinematographyFor outstanding contribution to the art of cinematography

Robert McLachlan csc ascRobert McLachlan csc asc

KODAK NEW CENTURY AWARD: Robert McLachlan csc asc, for outstanding contribution to the art of cinematography. Presented byJohanna Gravelle of Kodak Canada.


“

The Fuji AwardThe Fuji AwardIn recognition of extraordinary contributions to the CSCIn recognition of extraordinary contributions to the CSC

Bill WhiteBill White

Bill White was only 17 when hestarted working at the movieequipment supply company his

father, William F. White Sr., foundedin 1963 with a $1,500 loan,” recount-ed Graeme Parcher, Senior Director ofSales for Motion Picture andRecording Media, Fuji Photo FilmCanada, in presenting the 2006 FujiAward.

“Bill Jr. became president in 1978,and the rest, as they say, is history.William F. White International Inc., as the company is officially knowntoday, stretches right across Canada,with branches in Vancouver,Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg,Toronto, Ottawa, Montrealand Halifax. The internation-al appellation comes fromaffiliate Sparks Camera andLighting Ltd. in Budapest. Tomost of us in the business,the company is just calledWhite's, and it, and Bill, arevirtually synonymous withthe quality, integrity andcharacter of the Canadianfilm and television industry.

“However, we are nothere to honour Bill White'soutstanding contribution tothe development of theCanadian motion pictureindustry. The CSC coveredthat when they presentedBill with the Bill HilsonAward in 1994. This time, agrateful Society wishes tohonour this good friendwith the Fuji Award inrecognition of his extraordi-nary contributions to theCSC.

“Bill has long been oneof the Society's prime sup-

porters and cheerleaders. He hasalways been unconditionally generousin his unstinting support - advertisingregularly and prominently in the CSCNews magazine and the CSC Directory,making donations to the CSC Awards,providing financial and material assis-tance to the CSC Golf Classic, provid-ing space and technical instruction forthe CSC Camera Assistants' Course and playing host to CSC LightingWorkshops.

“Most recently, he turned overCamera Bay No. 5 in White's Torontofacility to the CSC for use as the

Society's new clubhouse, library andarchive. Before that, he recognized theimportance of the work of the late FritzSpiess csc and provided display andstorage space for Fritz's copious collec-tions and memorabilia. He even sup-plies the moving trucks.

“Bill has always known the valueof good relationships with his peersand his customers. He is famous forhis affable disposition and his hospi-tality. Some of his open house partiesat White's are legendary. He has assist-ed countless young producers, direc-tors and cinematographers with free

or low-cost lighting pack-ages and technical help, giv-ing them a much-neededand appreciated hand to getstarted.

“Over the years, Billhas been a friend and advis-er to all, from directors ofphotography to second assis-tants. He is too young toleave a legacy, but when hedoes, it will likely be reflect-ed in the hundreds ofmovies and television pro-ductions that carry the cred-it, 'Production Equipmentby William F. White.'

“He has been slowedlately by the replacementof a wonky hip with a tita-nium model, but we areconfident that a re-engi-neered “Bionic Bill” will betearing up or wearing outsome golf course in thenear future.

“Ladies and gentle-men, on behalf of the CSCmembers and executive, Iam proud to present the FujiAward to Bill White.” •

FUJI AWARD: Bill White (right), for outstanding service to the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. Presented by Graeme Parcher of Fuji Photo Film Canada.


The 2006 Bill Hilson Award waspresented to Ralph Ellis, arenowned nature and wildlife

filmmaker, by Robert Bocking csc forhis outstanding service contributingto the development of the motion pic-ture industry in Canada. Bocking is along-serving CSC member, formerpresident and current executive advis-er who himself was a recipient of theBill Hilson Award in 1979.

Bocking, an accomplished naturecinematographer who worked withEllis on numerous projects, noted thatBill Hilson was for many years incharge of quality control standards forprogramming at the CBC. “CBC cam-

eramen as well as independent pro-ducers submitting programs to theCBC had to meet his stringent stan-dards. Tonight's recipient of this awardis not only worthy of Bill Hilson'smeasure of filmmaking quality andcontent, he has set some high stan-dards of his own.”

Ralph C. Ellis is one of Canada's mostsuccessful producers of television dramaand nature documentaries from the1960s to the present, Bocking said. “Hisnature documentaries - the original reali-ty programming, by the way - were of thehighest quality, from both a technicaland content perspective. They have beenseen in over 100 countries worldwide.

“His TV series included AudubonWildlife Theatre, Wildlife Cinema, To theWild Country, Wild Canada (with nar-rator Lorne Greene of Bonanza fame),and Profiles of Nature, which ran from1984 to 2005 - one of the longest-run-ning series by an independent produc-er in Canadian history.

“Among his dramatic series,”Bocking said, “was Adventures inRainbow Country, telecast in the1970s, which received the highestratings for a television series at thattime. Matt and Jenny, another TVdrama, was produced in 1979. Therewere many TV specials as well.”

Bocking continued: “The work hegenerated helped many CSCmembers on their way, notto mention all the otherindustry personnel whoworked on his productionsover the years.Cinematographers workingon his productions werenumerous, and includedmany cameramen specializ-ing in the field of nature cin-ematography - the late DanGibson csc, the late RobertBrooks csc, John and JanetFoster, the late WilliamCarrick, Harry Makin csc,who worked on Adventuresin Rainbow Country, andmyself, to name only a few.

“His high-quality, mul-tiple-award-winning programsspeak for themselves. I havebeen fortunate to have workedwith Ralph for over 35 years.Therefore, it gives me greathonour and personal pleasureto present this year's recipient,Ralph C. Ellis, with the BillHilson Award.” •

pThe Bill Hilson AwardThe Bill Hilson AwardFor outstanding service in the development of the motion picture industryFor outstanding service in the development of the motion picture industry

Ralph EllisRalph Ellis

BILL HILSON AWARD: Ralph C. Ellis (right), for outstanding service contributing to the development of the motion picture industry in Canada. Presented by Robert Bocking csc.


CSC Performance Award winner Marc Gadoury csc.

Montreal-based DOP MarcGadoury csc, winner of this year's inaugural CSC

Performance Cinematography Award,was not able to attend the awards gala

last month, but he expressed in an e-mail that “I am very honoured toreceive this award. I'd like to thank thejury members and the CSC, and con-gratulate all the other nominees.”

Gadoury was a winner last year,too, receiving the Docudrama Awardfor his work on The Unsexing of EmmaEdmonds. He was not able to attend lastyear either, and both years his awardswere accepted by Gaston Bernier ofKodak Canada Entertainment Imaging,Montreal. He indicated that his thankscovered 2005 as well.

The Performance Award winner,Canticum Canticorum, “was an ambi-tious project with a low budget andbig ideas,” the cinematographer said.“To complete the shoot on time andon budget and still obtain the desiredresult, I needed a superb team behindme, and I want to thank all of them fortheir passion. I also want to thankDépartement Caméra in Montréal forall their support with the HD gear,Cinepool for lights and In Extenso forpost-production, especially for colourcorrection. Also, thanks to GastonBernier from Kodak, who accepted theaward for me.

“Finally, I would like salute PepitaFerrari and Louis Piché, director andproducer of Films Piché Ferrari, fortheir boldness in putting together thiscomplex production. This perfor-mance film is a marriage of music,dance and cinematography, a realexpression of art.” •

performanceMarc Gadoury csc:

Thanks . . . Again

35mm/16mm Services | HD/SD Telecine and Editorial | Digital IntermediatesLaboratory Evans: 416.205.8155 | Laboratory Carlaw: 416.461.8090

Postproduction: 416.364.4321


Cinematographer John Seale

John Seale, a retired BritishColumbia cinematographer and a former CSC member, died on

March 13 at the age of 87. A celebra-tion of his life will be held at 2:00 p.m.Sunday, May 21, at HMCS Discovery,1200 Stanley Park Drive, Vancouver.The family requests a donation to acharity in lieu of flowers.

Mr. Seale, born Dec. 2, 1918, inWinnipeg, was an award-winning CBCcinematographer for 25 years, from1954 to 1979, and then freelanced for20 years after his retirement from theCorporation. Over the years, he trav-elled the world as a cinematographer,meeting and filming many luminaries.Among his television projects, he shotThe Music of Man with famed violinistYehudi Menuhin, with whom he trav-elled extensively throughout Europe.He also shot Tristan and Isolde, starringCanadian opera tenor Jon Vickers.

His awards included a CBC AnikAward and three CBC WildernessAwards.

As a young man after high schoolin Winnipeg, Mr. Seale had jobs light-ing the street lanterns of Winnipeg,on the CPR and as a medical photog-rapher at Winnipeg General Hospital.He served in the Royal CanadianNavy during World War II. He had aspecial love of and skill with photog-raphy and carpentry, and he was alsoa champion athlete - a Manitobaspeed-skating champion, an Olympicqualifier in bike racing and speed-

skating and, later, a B.C. seniors ten-nis champion.

Mr. Seale lived most of his life inWinnipeg, North and West Vancouverand, more recently, Victoria. He wasmade a full member of the CSC in 1969after joining the Society as an associatemember in 1967. There is no record of

when he resigned his membership.He is survived by children Judi

Prewett (Rod), Edris Seale (ValNathan) and John Seale (Suzanne);and grandchildren Brendan, Rayne,Spencer and Jacqueline, as well as his children's mother, MarjorieSeale. •

in memoriam

John William Seale 1918-2006

ROSCO CANADA1241 Denison St., #44

Markham, ON L3R 4B4905-475-1400

Toll Free: 1-888-767-2686Fax: 905-475-3351

www.rosco.com/canada

Correction.Calibration.

Diffusion.Reflection.

Bounce.Complete

Control.


K odak Entertainment Imaginghas relocated its BritishColumbia office to a new

facility in Burnaby as of March 27.This move results in a consolida-tion of office resources with theKodak Graphic Communicationsgroup.

The new location at 3700 GilmoreWay, Burnaby, BC, V5G 4M1 maintainsweekday business hours of 8:30 a.m. to5:00 p.m. daily and offers motion pic-ture film pickup adjacent to the mainentrance. For orders or enquiries,please contact Client Services at 1-800-621-FILM (3456).

PANASONIC AG-HVX200Now Available in Canada

Panasonic Canada has announcedthat its hand-held, high-definition,solid-state AG-HVX200 camcorder isnow available across Canada. The AG-HVX200 can shoot on multiple high-and standard-definition formats; uti-lize multiple recording modes andvariable frames rates; and is designedwith all the benefits of P2 solid-statememory recording in a compactdesign.

Panasonic said introductory pric-ing for the HVX200 at a manufac-turer's suggested retail price (MSRP)of $7,000 Canadian for the cam-corder only, and a MSRP of $10,280for the camcorder and two 8GB P2cards.

FILMMAKERS, INDUSTRY PROSDiscuss Workflow at Filmfest

Filmmakers and industry profes-sionals focused on the convergenceof film origination and digital post-production and its effect on work-flow during a seminar in TorontoApril 21. The discussion was part ofthe sixth annual ReelWorld FilmFestival, April 19-23.

Producer Carolynne Bell, writer-director Hubert Davis, cinematogra-pher Rion Gonzales, Cine-Byte Digitalpresident Alan Bak, and Deluxe salesexecutive Mark Branch participatedon the panel, moderated by DavidHeuring, industry writer and formereditor of American Cinematographermagazine. Kodak hosted the seminar.

FUJINON HD FIELD LENSFeatures High Performance

Fujinon has announced a new addi-tion to its line of HD telephoto lenses.Introduced at NAB 2006, the newXA66x9.3ESM fills a gap betweenFujinon's longer (XA72x9.3ESM) andshorter (HA42x9.7ERD) lenses. It alsojoins Fujinon's XA101x8.9BESM HDENG zoom with 101x magnification.Fujinon's new XA66x9.3ESM has afocal length range of 9.3 to 615mm (x1)and 18.6 to 1230mm (x2) and a mini-mum object distance of 2.7m. It has amaximum relative aperture of 1:1.7 (9.3

to 325mm) and 1:3.2 (615mm) andmeasures 252mm (h) x 252mm (w) x644mm (l). The XA66x9.3ESM offersadditional features including digitalcontrols, advanced back focus andoptional macro function.

Also at NAB, Fujinon announcedthree new 1/2-inch HD lenses - theHS16x4.6ERM, XS13x3.3RM andXS17x5.5RM - designed to enhancethe performance of Sony's PDW-510XDCAM HD for DVCAM recordingand PDW-530 XDCAM HD for MPEGIMX and DVCAM recording. Theyoffer users a choice in focal length and price that addresses a wide rangeof applications. Sony's XDCAM HDseries represent the only 1/2-inch chipHD cameras on the market today.

HOWARD HALL RECEIVESKODAK VISION AWARD AT GSCA

Howard Hall received the KodakVision Award at the Giant ScreenCinema Association (GSCA) confer-ence in Los Angeles on March 30. Thetribute is presented annually to anindividual who has made extraordi-nary contributions to advancing theart of large format visual storytelling.

Howard Hall is a visionary produc-er, director and cinematographer who has mastered the art of creatingstories for large format screens, theaward cited. His natural history filmshave made an indelible impression onmillions of fans.

news clips

correctionBLIZZARD AWARD FOR COSENS

The April issue of the CSC Newsincorrectly reported that Gerald Packercsc won the Blizzard Award forCinematography Overall: Drama atthe Manitoba Motion Picture IndustryAssociation in Winnipeg on Feb. 26.The award actually went to SteveCosens csc for Seven Times Lucky. •

NEW B.C. LOCATIONFor Kodak Entertainment Imaging

Hall, a graduate of San Diego StateUniversity, was a diving instructor inthe San Diego area until his careersegued into underwater cinematogra-phy and photojournalism. Hall hasworked on six IMAX films, three asdirector and three as director ofunderwater cinematography. His cur-rent film, Deep Sea 3D opened world-wide on 45 IMAX screens in earlyMarch. His other IMAX projectsinclude Into the Deep, The Living Sea,Island of the Sharks, Journey intoAmazing Caves, Life in the Balance andCoral Reef Adventure.

Past recipients include GraemeFerguson, Stephen Low and DavidDouglas, among others.

PERSPECTIVES ON EASTERNew DVD of '77 Earnshaw Film

A new DVD version of an old filmby Philip Earnshaw csc, The Passion ofChrist, was released in time for Easterlast month. Not to be confused withthe Mel Gibson film, this DVDchronicles the paintings of Canadianartist William Kurelek, who illustrat-ed with 160 images the Passionaccording to St. Matthew. Createdover a three-year period beginning in1960, the series of paintings celebrat-ed Kurelek's conversion from what hecalled a “practising atheist” to devoutRoman Catholic.

Four years after the painter's deathin 1977 at the age of 50, director andcinematographer Earnshaw filmed thepaintings, which have a cinematic feel-ing through the use of perspectives,cutaways and reverse angles. The 28-minute film was narrated by well-known Canadian actor Len Cariou,premiered at the Toronto InternationalFilm Festival and won a Chris Plaque in1982 at the Columbus InternationalFilm Festival.

“It's the most ambitious series ofdevotional art of the 20th century.Not too many people know about it.It's a remarkable body of work andit's been overlooked for too long. Iadmired Kurelek and I found the pas-sion of his faith inspiring,” saidEarnshaw. (The Passion of Christ, DVD$14.95; www.christfilm.com) •


FOR SALE: Lowepro “Mini Tracker”camera backpack, black, like new,$80; Linhof professional tripod withmulti-function head, $100; ARRI studiolamps nearly never used (like new),original packing: two 650W FresnelPlus, one 300W Fresnel Plus, twoBarndoors 650FR – 200AS/C, oneBarndoor 300FR – 125C, one 5” halfdouble scrim and two 6 5/6” half dou-ble scrim, three AS-2 Stand / Tripod(050 / 050A), $700. Contact RalfStellbrink 403-609-1199 or [email protected]

FOR SALE: Canon HD Lens, HJ11ex4.7B WRSD switchable, $33,000; UVFilter, Pelican case; Porta-Jib Traveller,$2500; Wally Dolly portable dolly track,$1000; JVC 9" monitor with Porta Bracecase, $1200; JVC TM910SU; Sony Pvm-12" monitor, $100; 2 Avenger 40" turtleC-stands with griphead & arm, $170each; 2 refillable sand bags, $20 each;Skylite Premium large kit (2m x 2m),$550. All in excellent condition. ContactMark Nieuwenhof, Apollo Media Inc.416-529-8634.

FOR SALE: 52 filters 4 x 5.6, Enhancer,Neutral Density, Black Promist, UltraContrast, Soft FX - 85, 8N3, 6, 9,Regular Fogs, Corals, Sepia, BlackNet, Low Light, Day for Night; 8: 6.6 x6.6. ND Soft Grads, Sunset, Twilight,Sky Blue; 5: 4x4 Circle Diffusion; 3: 41/2 Round Polas; 3: 138 Round Polas.Contact Bob Saad at 416-481-5429.

FOR SALE or RENT: Arri IIC and Arri IIIcameras. Arri IIC camera body,Cinematography Crystal motor, Arri IICconversion to PL mount, Arri IIC con-version to Nikon mount, Arri 400 mag-azine x 2, Arri 200 magazine x 3, SonyMP-1 batteries w/4-pin shoes, smartcable, Summa Powertop battery +charger, Pelican case; Arri III camera

body, c/w dovetail, camera plate, 2-4pXLR, 1 - BNC, carrying handle, NTVG/G, BP-3, RHG, CCD c/w 12V cable,CEI base, Klydesdale camera case,Arri III 400 magazine x 4, Klydesdalecase. Very good condition. Best offer.Contact Henry Less, 416-849-4875; e-mail [email protected]

FOR SALE: Sony BVW-D600 BetaSPcamera; 3 lenses: Fujinon TV ZoomPegasus III, 1:1.7/8.5 119mm, A14x8.5Berm 28mm; Sony D600 - 01263 micro-phone unit; Tiffen 77mm Haze 2A filter;camera bag w/ strap; Porta-Bracejacket; 5 batteries included, Hours: A-1692. B-856. C-2884. $18,000 Cdn. OBO.Contact Ian Cook/Ian Herring 604-531-2244 or [email protected]

FOR SALE: Steadicam – HollywoodLite, excellent condition, configured forAaton; Bauer batteries, high-resolutionLCD display. Supports 4 to 16 lb cam-era, comes with carrying case, $2,800.IDX Delta 4 NP1 charger – chargesfour NP1 batteries at a time. Great con-dition. One NP1 Battery – still holds agood charge, $100. Pictures availableby email: [email protected]

FOR SALE: Paillard Bolex H16 Reflex,excellent condition, recently checked;comes with Pizar 1:1,5 -F+25mm car-rying case, instruction book, cablerelease. $1,400 obo. Contact MarcStrange, 416-405-8583 or [email protected]

FOR SALE: Cameraman’s ownMoviecam Superamerica 35mm cam-era body w/short viewfinder, PL mount(1.85/TV ground glass); mount & bodycovers; transport case, and much more.For details, contact Barry Lank csc (204)452-9422 or [email protected]

CAMERA CLASSIFIEDS

Camera Classifieds is a FREE service to CSC members. If you have items you’d like to buy or sell, please e-mail your list to [email protected]


TORONTOMay 27-28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. – CSC Intermediate Lighting Workshop. Visit: www.csc.ca/education

British Columbia, PrairiesALL LIT UP (feature); DOP: Mark Irwin csc asc; May 29-July 28, Burnaby.BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (series); DOP: Stephen McNuttcsc; Op: Ryan McMaster csc; to Dec. 14, Vancouver.BLADE (series); 2nd-unit DOP: Michael Balfry csc; to July 17, North Vancouver.EUREKA (series); Op: Neil Seale; to July 14, Vancouver. THE 4400 (series); DOP: Tony Westman csc; to July 26, North Vancouver.KICKIN’ IT OLD SKOOL (feature); Op: Gordon Verheul csc; to May 5, Vancouver.KYLE XY (series); B-Op/SC: Michael Davies; to June 19, North Vancouver.THE LOOKOUT (feature); DOP: Alar Kivilo csc asc; B-Op: Mark Willis; to May 19, Winnipeg.MASTERS OF HORROR (series); DOP: Attila Szalay cschsc (with Jon Joffin); to Oct. 5, Burnaby. NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (feature); B-Op: Glen Dickson;2nd-unit Op/SC: Junichi Hosoi; to May 3, Burnaby.NOT MY LIFE (MOW); DOP: C. Kim Miles csc; to May 18, Vancouver.PSYCHE (series); DOP: Mike McMurray csc; to Aug. 15, North Vancouver.STARGATE ATLANTIS (series); B-1st: Grizz Salzl; to Oct. 1, Burnaby.STARGATE SG-1 (series); DOP: Peter Woeste csc; to Oct. 1, Burnaby.THREE MOONS OVER MILFORD (series); Op: Kevin Hall; to June 30, Burnaby.WHITE NOISE 2: THE LIGHT (feature); DOP: Brian Pearson csc; to May 3, Vancouver.

Ontario, Quebec, AtlanticBOB GRATTON: MA VIE, MY LIFE (série-vidéo): DP: Eric Cayla csc; au 20 juin, Montréal. Charlie Bartlett(feature); DOP: Paul Sarossy csc hsc; June 5-July 8, Toronto.CIRCLE OF FRIENDS (téléfilm-vidéo); DP: Daniel Villeneuve csc; au 5 mai, Montréal.FUGITIVE PIECES (feature); DOP: Greg Middleton csc;to May 25, Toronto.GHOSTLY ENCOUNTERS (series); DOP/Op: Gavin Smith csc; to May 17, Toronto.INSTANT STAR (series); DOP: John Berrie csc; July 4-Nov. 5, Toronto.LANCE ET COMPTE – LA REVANCHE (série-vidéo); DP:Serge Desrosiers csc; au 16 mai, LaSalle, Que.MA FILLE, MON ANGE (long métrage – film); DP: Yves Bélanger csc; 8 mai au 13 juin; Montréal.THE RIVAL (MOW); DOP/Op: Bert Tougas csc; to May 14, Ottawa.SAW III (feature); Op: Brian Gedge; May 1-June 12, Toronto.SOPHIE PAQUIN (série-vidéo): DP: Ronald Plante; au 20 septembre, Montréal.THE STATE WITHIN (mini-series); DOP: David Perrault csc; B-Op: Kim Derko csc; to Aug. 3, Toronto.LES TROIS P’TITS COCHONS (long métrage – film); DP: Bernard Couture csc; 8 mai á fin juin, Montréal. THE WIVES HE FORGOT (MOW); DOP/Op: Michael Storey csc; to May 6, Toronto.

Schedule of Meetings and Events of Interest to CSC Members

ACTION PRODUCTION NOTES & CSC CALENDAR

Check www.csc.ca for the latest information

ONFI

LM

MALCOLMCROSS

“When I was a hobbyist shooting andprinting my own black-and-white stills,

I began to learn how film responds to light. I began my career as an assis-

tant cameraman and kind of fell intocinematography. I rarely take my light

meter out. I’ve always lit by eye.I think of myself as a minimalist to adegree. I don’t feel a need to use thelatest toys. My priority is getting the

right look as quickly as possible.Once you understand the language of

film, you don’t have to think about ittoo much. You are always exploring

new challenges and always learning.”

Malcolm Cross has compiled morethan 20 credits for popular dramatic

television series and films,including Her Best Friend’s Husband,What Girls Learn, The Girl Next Door,

Due South, F/X: The Series,Street Legal and Night Heat.

He has earned four Gemini Awardsnominations and an ASC Outstanding

Achievement Award nomination.

To read the full transcript of Malcolm’s interview visit us online

at www.kodak.ca/go/cross

To order KODAK Motion Picture Film,call (800) 621-FILM (3456).

© Kodak Canada Inc., 2006.

a publication of the canadian society of … · christopher soos csc, sigur ros glosoli (adam...

Documents