Get PDF - Canadian Society of Cinematographers

CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
$4 March 2011 www.csc.ca
Pascale Bussières
Stars in Marécages
DOP Serge
Desrosiers csc
10-MAR
10
0
56698 94903
9
Reel Canada • 2010 AGM Reports • The Newman Airhead
A publication of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers
The Canadian Society of Cinematographers
(CSC) was founded in 1957 by a group of
Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa cameramen.
Since then over 800 cinematographers
and persons in associated occupations
have joined the organization.
The purpose of the CSC is to promote
the art and craft of cinematography
in Canada. 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.
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
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FEATURES – VOLUME 2, NO. 10 MARCH 2011
14
Serge Desrosiers csc Talks about His Work on Marécages
By Lance Carlson
The Newman Airhead
18
By George Willis csc, sasc
Guerilla Warfare: In the Educational Trenches
with Reel Canada
20
By Jack Blum
COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS
2 From the President
4 2010 CSC AGM Reports
8 In the News
12 3D Seminar: Karl Herrmann csc
23 Camera Classified
24 Productions Notes / Calendar
Cover: Pascale Bussières in Guy Édoin’s Marécages, DOP Serge Desrosiers csc
Canadian Cinematographer
March 2011 Vol. 2, No. 10
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Joan Hutton csc
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
George Willis csc, sasc
EDITOR EMERITUS
Donald Angus
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Susan Saranchuk
FROM
THE
PRESIDENT
Joan Hutton csc
[email protected]
COPY EDITOR
Wyndham Wise mfa
[email protected]
ART DIRECTION
Berkeley Stat House
PROOFREADER
Karen Longland
STUDENT INTERN
Savia D’cunha
W
orking in unstable locations or in dangerous situations is part of the
reality of our profession. However, these are usually calculated risks
attempted willingly by shooters to get that incredible shot or document
that amazing story. When danger comes knocking at your door threatening your home,
family and self, it takes on a whole new urgent meaning. I’m sure everyone is familiar
with last month’s uprising in Egypt, which culminated in the ousting of President Hosni
Mubarak. One of our members, Gamal El-boushi csc, acs and his family live in Cairo
and experienced the terror of those unsettling days firsthand.
WEBSITE CONSULTANT
Nikos Evdemon csc
www.csc.ca
ADVERTISING SALES
Guido Kondruss
[email protected]
CSC OFFICE / MEMBERSHIP
131–3007 Kingston Road
Toronto, Canada M1M 1P1
Tel: 416-266-0591; Fax: 416-266-3996
Email: [email protected]
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Email: [email protected]
Canadian Cinematographer makes every effort to ensure
the accuracy of the information it publishes; however,
it cannot be held responsible for any consequences
arising from errors or omissions. The contents of this
publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part
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of the authors and not necessarily of the publisher.
Upon publication, Canadian Cinematographer acquires
Canadian Serial Rights; copyright reverts to the writer
after publication.
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Commercial Print and is published 10 times a year.
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Subscribe online at www.csc.ca.
During the uprising, the CSC office and members of the executive were in regular
contact with Gamal, who says the street outside his home was at times a battleground,
and both of his cars were set on fire. He was arrested while shooting the violent
demonstrations. The police kicked and punched him, confiscated his camera and
mobile phone and “frog marched” him to their command centre for a harsh interrogation. Before being released, Gamal says he was forced to sign a document stating he
would not attempt any further filming and he was ordered to stay at home indoors
until further notice.
Gamal, who lives with his extended family, says they were too frightened to
venture outdoors. With good reason. Human Rights Watch has confirmed at least 300
deaths during the uprising. Many observers feel this is a conservative figure, and the
death toll was probably much higher. During the Cairo demonstrations all of us at
the CSC prayed for Gamal and his family’s safety and for the safety of all Egyptians.
A military council is now in power and by time this column goes to print, we can only
hope that a just and free peace will prevail in Egypt.
I would like to announce a shift on the CSC executive. Director ex-officio, Dylan
Macleod csc has become CSC education co-chair and joins forces with existing
education chair, Ernie Kestler, to give CSC education initiatives a hard one-two punch.
Both Ernie and Dylan were instrumental in producing the CSC’s successful and highly
acclaimed 3D workshop in February 2010 with Geoff Boyle fbks. With advances in our
industry occurring at lightning speed, we are certain that the combined talents of
Dylan and Ernie will keep CSC education on top of our industry’s technological
curve.
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2 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
The votes have been counted, the nominations have been released, and we’re now into
the home stretch for the 2011 CSC Annual Awards show. So jot in your calendars
April 2 at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, Toronto to find out who wins big.
Canadian Cinematographer - November 2010 •
#
THE 2010
AGM
EXECUTIVE REPORTS
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
W
elcome to the CSC annual general meeting for
2010. First, as is customary, let us take a moment to
remember colleagues who passed away during the
last year. Sadly, we lost four groundbreaking members from
our community in 2010. Derek Vanlint csc passed away at age
78 last February 23 in Toronto after a short illness. Full-life
member Kenneth R. Davey csc died at the age of 94 on May 7
in Victoria B.C. Doug Dales, the founder and head of PS
Production Services, died on December 3 in Toronto at the age
of 60 and founding CSC member Don Wilder csc passed away
December 8 in Abbotsford B.C. at the age of 84.
I would also like to make mention the regrettable demise of a
Canadian film and television institution. A victim of changing
times and the economy, service house Precision Camera closed
its doors in December after 31 years. Not only was Precision a
pillar of our professional community, it was also a good friend
and sponsor of the CSC. But with every dark cloud there is a
silver lining, and most of Precision’s employees have migrated to
other jobs in our industry.
For our industry, 2010 was neither a bad year nor a stellar year.
We seem to be in a holding pattern, with a modest increase of
one per cent for the overall net earnings for the Canadian film
4 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
and television industry. In the middle of this, the CSC is still
alive and kicking. The 2010 CSC Awards Gala at the Sheraton
Centre was a glowing success with its women in film and television theme and our tribute Canada’s military cinematographers. We’ll hear more about that later from Bob Bocking,
our awards chair. Beyond our society, CSC members have been
recognized for their work in the most stellar ways, by sweeping
the 2010 Geminis, winning Genie Awards and a host of other
national and international tributes. There are simply too many
to mention here.
I would, nevertheless, like to make a special mention the film
Northern Lights, directed, produced and shot by Antonio Galloro
csc. It was nominated for best documentary at the Marbella Film
Festival in Spain and won best international documentary at the
2010 New York International Independent Film & Video
Festival. Northern Lights is a feature-length documentary film
that celebrates the spirit and success of Canadian cinematography and the CSC. Hearty congratulations to all CSC
members for their outstanding wins and nominations.
A milestone of sorts was achieved with the move of William F.
White and the CSC clubhouse. For the past four years, White’s
has generously provided space for our clubhouse. So when they
bought a new building just down the road and asked us to come
along, we moved. The CSC clubhouse is an integral part of
our Society and is for the exclusive use of our membership for
screenings, meetings or whatever. It just needs to be booked. Our
new clubhouse is located 800 Islington Avenue in Toronto.
In closing, I would like to thank all the members of the
executive and advisory board for their dedication to the CSC,
our executive director Susan Saranchuk, who always seems to pull
a rabbit out of a hat when all else fails, Karen Longland whose
bookkeeping and administration helps keep the CSC moving
and our editor Wyndham Wise for his hard work and diligence
producing Canadian Cinematographer each month.
Joan Hutton csc, president
VICE-PRESIDENT’S REPORT
2010 has been a year filled with exciting new technology. Our
sponsors announced many new equipment releases during the
year to showcase their equipment and these meetings were
generally well attended. There were a total of 25 meetings in
2010 at the following CSC Sponsor locations: Panasonic, Sim
Video, Screen Industries Research and Training Centre, (SIRT),
Sheridan College, Pinewood Toronto Studios, Technicolor,
Vistek ProFusion 2010, Kodak, Sony, Creative Post, Wm. F.
White & CSC Screenings (Great Cinematography in Revue)
(Dark Country in 3D).
George Willis csc, sasc, vice-president
EDUCATION REPORT
The enormously successful CSC 3D Workshop (held February
5–8, 2010) took place at Pinewood Studios, Creative Post and
the AMC theatre at Dundas Square, Toronto. The keynote
speaker was Geoff Boyle FBKS, whose 3D film Dark Country
was screened. There were 32 participants who hailed from
Canada, the United States, Hong Kong, Malaysia and England.
The cinematographers and camera assistants got hands-on
experience, and the observers participated in the lecture portions of the workshop on day one. The cinematographers that
were not members of the CSC paid $2,500; CSC and IATSE
members paid $2,000 to attend. Camera assistants that were not
members of the CSC paid $950; CSC and IATSE members paid
$760. Observers that were not members of the CSC paid $1,200;
CSC and IATSE members paid $900. The workshop generated a
healthy profit for the CSC.
The CSC Lighting Workshop was held May 15 and 16 at
William F. White. Non-members of the CSC paid $325, while
CSC members paid $225. The instructors were Ernie Kestler and
George Wilis csc, sasc. Michael Jari Davidson was there lending
a hand with the lighting set-ups. Gaffer Robert McAdam was
helping everyone with their lighting needs, be they fixtures or
questions. There were 15 particiapnts: Dominic Bisson, Tyson
Burger, Glendon Davis, Cadil Dogan, Ilana Gutman, Aaron
Hucker, Goh Iromoto, Alan Lukatela, Robert Macdonald, Jake
Morris, Adam Nicholson, Craig Pew, Brian Rose, Steve Thorpe
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
5
and Renaldo Tragnone. The workshop was made possible thanks
to the generous contribution of Cinequip, DSA: Design Sets
Assembly, Fujifilm Canada, Image Media Farm, Kodak Canada,
Lee Filters Canada, Rosco Canada and William F. White.
Ernie Kestler, education chair
AWARDS REPORT
The 2010 CSC Awards Night was held Saturday, March 27 at the
Osgoode Ballroom at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto. The
Gala event was attended by 296 members, sponsors and friends,
and the evening was hosted by Heather Allin, actor and president
of ACTRA-Toronto.
All decisions regarding the awards are made by the awards
committee: Robert Bocking, chair, Bert Dunk csc, George
Hosek csc, John Hodgson and Susan Saranchuk. There were 141
entries. The juries were held in Toronto at Deluxe. The juries
were chaired by Robert Bocking. All the categories were judged
at Deluxe. John Hodgson produced and edited the Awards Gala
show tape with David Oliver at Soho Post and Graphics.
Bob Bocking csc, awards chair
PUBLICITY REPORT
One of the best publicity vehicles available to the CSC is our
website, at csc.ca. Our entire membership listings, our executive,
the CSC history, Canadian Cinematographer, demo reels, award
winners and nominees, education courses, plus any and all
information or announcements pertaining to the CSC can
be found there. It’s essentially our organization’s window to
the world.
As CSC publicity chair, my main focus has always centered on
our website. In 2010, the site performed admirably with little
or no problem. Though we have tweaked and improved certain
aspects, it remains essentially the same as 2009. The traffic
through our website has remained steady and at the high end
of our estimates from last year. It generated nearly 1,900,000
successful requests in 2010, and that averages out to over 156,000
requests each month, or an average 5,200 successful requests each
and every day.
We had hoped that most of our full and associate members would
subscribe to CSC Reels for their demos; however, the numbers,
while they have gone up from 29 to 35, have fallen short of our
expectations, even with offering the service for free. On the other
hand, 45 members have direct links from our website to their
6 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
demo reels on other websites. In total, 171 members have direct
links from their CSC listing to their personal websites, which
usually contain their demo reels. I would like to remind CSC
members that, as per your request, connection to your reel on
our CSC Reels feature was updated to direct access by typing csc.
ca/your last name.
A website initiative that was started in 2010 is the taping of CSC
members on their thoughts about cinematography, the film and
television industry and projects on which they are working or
have worked in the past. Several CSC members such as Antonio
Galloro csc and Kim Derko csc have already been interviewed.
The raw tapes will be edited and then added to our site. The first
edited tapes will be appearing, hopefully, by the middle of 2011.
Nikos Evdemon csc, publicity chair
TREASURER’S REPORT
Even in the midst of lingering difficulties for the national and
global economies, the CSC has made significant progress this
year towards regaining financial health. As an organization, we’re
definitely not free from concerns, since we still have an accumulated deficit at the end of 2010. Each of our activities is being
consciously reviewed to ensure that we are considering it within
the current environment, rather than any past formula.
As Treasurer, I am pleased that all CSC activities are being
managed in such a way that our finances have benefitted this
year. The other executive members devoted a great deal of
time and expertise to making these activities and other services
attractive to current and new members; I congratulate and thank
them all. From my financial viewpoint, I’d personally like to
highlight Carolyn Wong who persuaded a great many members
and companies to remit amounts that they owed to the CSC for
too long.
Due to all this vigilance, we managed to reduce the accumulated
deficit at the end of 2010, so that is now just under $2,000. This
praiseworthy result was achieved through extraordinary efforts
and dedication in hard times, especially by our executive director
Susan Saranchuk and the team that she coordinates. How she
managed to move and improve the Clubhouse without a major
expenditure is beyond comprehension. Finally, I am proposing
a modest increase in fees for the year 2012, convinced that the
CSC will still remain the best value for any similar professional
society.
Joe Sunday phd, CSC treasurer
*These reports have been edited for length to fit the page.
Michael Condon, SOC
VP Digital Division
Andree Martin
VP Technical Services
CREATIVITY!
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Let us help you pick the right tools for your job. Film or
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Our goal is to provide outstanding service 24/7. The
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Image Courtesy of eOne Films.
IN THE NEWS
Barney’s Version has been nominated for 11 Genie Awards, 4 Prix Jutras
and an Oscar for Best Makeup.
Courtesy of Clairmont Camera
addition to the Golden Globe Award Barney’ Version won for best
actor in a comedy or musical (Giamatti) and Oscar nomination
for best makeup. Incendies received 10 nominations, including
best picture, best director (Denis Villeneuve), best adapted screenplay and best actress (Lubna Azabal). It has been nominated for
best foreign-language film at the Oscars.
Denny Clairmont Honoured by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences
Denny Clairmont, one of the industry’s premier motion picture
camera technologists, received the John A. Bonner Medal from
the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences. The medal of commendation was presented at the
Scientific and Technical (Sci-Tech) Awards on, February 12 at the
Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Los Angeles Denny and Terry founded
Clairmont Camera in 1976. Today, it is one of the largest camera
rental companies in the world. Clairmont Camera innovated,
designed, and developed essential new products and accessories.
In addition, Denny has been a mentor to several generations of
cinematographers.
2011 Genie Award & Prix Jutra
Nominations
Barney’s Version received 11 nominations from the Academy of
Canadian Cinema and Television for its annual Genie Awards,
including best picture, best director (Richard J. Lewis), best
adapted screenplay, best actor (Paul Gamatti), best supporting
actor (Dustin Hoffman), best actress (Rosamund Pike) and best
supporting actress (Minnie Driver). These nominations are in
8 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
In the category of best cinematography, nominated for a Genie
Award are Bernard Couture csc for 10½, Ronald Plante csc for
Piché, entre ciel et terre, Claudine Sauvé for The Wild Hunt, André
Turpin for Incendies and Stéphanie Weber-Biron for Les Amours
imaginaires. Best picture nominees include 10½, Barney’s Version,
Les Amours imaginaires, Splice and Incendies, and best director
nominees are Richard J. Lewis for Barney’s Version, Denis Villeneuve
for Incendies, Xavier Dolan for Les Amours imaginaires, Vincenzo
Natali for Splice and Podz for 10½.
The winner of the Claude Jutra Award for best first-time
feature is Jephté Bastien for Sortie 67, and producers Don
Carmody, Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer are to receive the
Golden Reel Award for Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D, which, at
$7.02 million, was the highest-grossing Canadian film at the
domestic box office in 2010. With a worldwide gross of over
$296 million, it is now the highest-grossing Canadian film of
all time. The Genie Awards will be broadcast live on CBC on
Thursday, March 10, 2011. The annual celebration of Canadian
film will take place this year in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre.
In Quebec, veteran actor and former Senator Jean Lapointe is
set to receive the Prix Jutra-Hommage, a lifetime-achievement
award, at this year’s Jutra Awards. La Soirée des Jutra, the
Quebec film awards, will take place March 13 and will be broadcast live on Radio-Canada. Lapointe has starred in many highprofile films, including Les Ordres, J.A. Martin photographe, Le
Dernier tunnel and, most recently, À l’origine d’un cri. Nominations
for best cinematography include Bernard Couture csc for Les 7
Columbia Pictures’ Total Recall Is to
Shoot in Toronto
Len Wiseman is directing Total Recall, the modern remake of the
1990 version starring Arnold Schwarzennegar in Toronto with
Colin Farrell top-lining the pricey FX-heavy shoot. Farrell was
earlier tapped as the lead in another spring 2011 Toronto shoot,
David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. But Farrell moving over to
Total Recall opened the way for Robert Pattinson to step into the
Cosmopolis lead role, opposite Marion Cottilard and Paul
Giamatti. Executives at Toronto Pinewood Studios remain
tight-lipped about whether Total Recall will shoot in the
mega-studio, as has been rumoured in earlier media reports.
Panavision’s Workflow Solution:
The Digital Transfer Station
Panavision has announced the Digital Transfer Station (DTS), a
powerful product providing a unique solution to enable greater
flexibility in the production process. The DTS is a complimentary product to Panavision’s SSR (Solid State Recorder) that
increases its capability and also provides consistency throughout
the production workflow. The DTS takes uncompressed content
from the SSR and outputs DPX or QuickTime files while offering production the option to simultaneously generate a backup
tape. This solution provides value to various departments in the
production process. For the cinematographer, it is an invaluable addition allowing, for example, the application of Look Up
Tables (LUTs) so that material can be generated for editorial
needs as well as dailies.
For the producer, DTS provides for near-set quality control of
the master image giving almost instant feedback on set before
the files are sent to post production. The system also helps to
accelerate the delivery of off-line files for the editorial process.
The DTS solution can enhance the entire production workflow, including visual effects and post-production. For visual
effects, this means every frame is available as a DPX file, directly
from set.
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Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
11
0
IN THE NEWS
Image courtesy of Panavision Canada.
jours du talion, André Turpin for Incendies, Nicolas Bolduc csc for
La Cité, Michel la Veaux for Trois temps après la mort d’Anna and
Claudine Sauvé for Tromper le silence.
A 3D Exploratory Seminar
Held at the Emily Carr
University of Art + Design
By Karl Herrmann csc
A
s the chair of new technology training for IATSE 669,
I was recently offered the opportunity to create and
present a 3D training event that was specifically tailored
for DOP members. The training was co-hosted by Emily Carr
University of Art + Design, who graciously offered its digital
studio facility and new Kerner 3D camera rig. Paramount
Production Services in Vancouver supported the training by
donating all the lighting and grip equipment.
A working set was designed to accommodate the issues to be
covered. It was about function and not beauty. Several flats were
brought in, along with a bookcase as background. I then created
varying degrees of depth and contrast by using 8-inch styro balls,
painted black on one side, mounted on C-stands. These were
moved around during the day to accommodate the different 3D
effects under discussion.
The Kerner 3D rig, as outfitted at Emily Carr, is an over/under
front-surface mirror design utilizing two Sony HDC-P1 cameras,
each mounted with matching Fujinon 18x7.6 C-series zooms. All
the functions of the cameras, such as focus, zoom, iris, etc., are
electronically tied together and operated by superb 1st AC Dave
Roman. When the variables changing in the shot simultaneously
exceeded Dave’s number of hands, Sean Arden from Emily Carr
handled 3D considerations such as interocular and convergence.
12 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
Maria Lantin, director of all things digital at Emily Carr, orchestrated our viewing requests such that we could view live in 3D on
a 40-inch monitor and then shortly thereafter review the images,
if desired, projected in 3D on the big screen in the same studio
where we were shooting. This provided a wonderful opportunity,
as it demonstrated the concept that, with 3D, less effect is
often more effective. It also demonstrated the absolute
importance of having a large screening environment available to
any 3D production for dailies.
Viewing on the big screen, after composing and adjusting our 3D
effect on the monitor, also emphasized how important lighting
choices were in 3D. As an example, if we lit the styro balls with
their white side deep in the set and facing camera, making them
the brightest points in the scene and at the same time decided
to converge our shot much closer to camera – say on the white
balls in the foreground – it put a strain on the eyes and was very
difficult to look at. We were essentially telling our brain to focus
in two places at the same time. By simply rotating the brightly lit
high-key styro balls in the background around so the black side
was facing the camera, the image became much more pleasing
and easier to view.
Lighting became a hot topic of discussion when Maria showed
the group a newly released Sony product called the Stereo Image
Images courtesy of Karl Herrmann.
Karl Herrmann csc: “I created varying degrees of depth and contrast by using 8-inch styro balls, painted black on one side, mounted on C-stands.”
Processor (SIP). With this piece of equipment, you can shoot
parallel 3D images, meaning zero convergence and quite
effectively dial in the amount of 3D effect into the shot in postproduction. This is of course not what the cinematographer wants
to hear, but bear with me for a moment. If you’re doing a critical
moving shot, say on a Steadicam, and the convergence would
best suit the story by changing during the shot, perhaps this is
something to consider. Your assistant is already busy with focus.
If you light specifically for the important convergence points
in the compositions as the camera moves from one to another,
using the SIP to deal with it later, could save valuable production
time. It might be helpful for post to march the Steadicam over
to the different compositions and quickly converge the cameras
appropriately and record a few frames as reference.
Converging in post is just one valuable tool the SIP is capable
of doing. I believe everyone in the room felt the SIP was a tool
to consider when shooting 3D. Along with other available post
software, the SIP is capable of adjusting convergence, shot to
shot, thus easing eyestrain once the picture reaches the rough
cut stage. Too much convergence differentiation from shot to
shot has long been a complaint with 3D movies. An important
note regarding the SIP, it can converge in post, but interocular
distance decisions must be made on set during production.
A note to consider: any 3D movie will need some post-sweetening.
This includes matching issues such as alignment, lens distortion,
colorization, roll, etc. All this can be done with current post software, but the cost is a slight enlargement of the image to allow
for the adjustment. Therefore, if you are shooting with a camera
with little or no native over scan, you begin to throw away pixels,
thus resolution, in the process. Since the cameras on the rig were
CCD, we didn’t have the opportunity to do any tests with rolling
shutters. It would certainly be something to consider (and test) if
you are doing 3D with any camera with a rolling shutter.
DOP members got very involved with moving the camera and
exploring camera moves that involved dollying, tracking and
zooming. We then began to adjust convergence along with pulling
focus and zooming – all at the same time – on these moving shots,
just to make it interesting. This led to discussions of various types
of shots and blocking in 3D as opposed to 2D. If one watches a
well-crafted 3D film in the theatre, you will realize that the 3D
effect varies in proportion to the amount of dimension built into
the visual blocking. Try flipping your glasses up and down next
time you watch a 3D film to discover the depth cues that are used.
Justin Carless and James Chase from False Creek Films
(falsecreekfilms.com) brought a wealth of knowledge and some
very useful software to the event. Their focus is on producing
3D drama-driven visual content for films, television and
commercials. If you are getting involved in a 3D project, a
phone call to them might be enlightening. The company has
just published a book, Fundamentals of 3D Filmmaking, which
should be available on Amazon by the time you read this.
The 3D Exploratory Seminar could not have happened without
the diligence of Louise Baker-Griffiths, training coordinator for
IATSE 669, and Sandra Dametto coordinator for Emily Carr
University of Art + Design. Michael Verity and Sean Arden from
ECU provided excellent input, both on their Kerner rig camera
system and especially on the SIP. First AC Dave Roman made
sure all things ran smoothly and Phil Hersee graciously came
by to photograph the day for this article. Simon Hunt served as
gaffer and Michael “Spike” Taschereau as key grip. Again, my
thanks to Paramount Production Services for donating the
equipment necessary to produce the event and to Emily Carr and
Maria Lantin or co-hosting.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
13
Serge
Desrosiers csc
Talks about
His Work
on Marécages
Photo credit: Guy Edoin
By Lance Carlson
Pascale Bussières
S
erge Desrosiers csc, who was born in Montreal in 1968,
has been a cinematographer for almost 20 years. In 2005,
he was given the CSC Award for best cinematography in
a dramatic short for Guy Édoin’s Le Pont, and that same year
was nominated for a Prix Jutra for best cinematography for
Claude Desrosiers’s Dans une galaxie près de chez nous, le film. He
has received two Prix Gémeaux nominations, for best cinematography: video for the series Diva (1997) and best cinema
tography: dramatic or documentary for Jean-Claude Lord’s
Quadra (2000). His filmography also includes Lord’s Station
Nord (2002) and eight episodes of the hit TVA series Taxi 0-22.
In the fall of 2010, I spoke to him at the conclusion of shooting
Marécages (Wetlands), a family drama set in Quebec’s Eastern
Townships written and directed by Guy Édoin and starring Luc
Picard and Pascale Bussières for Roger Frappier’s Max Films.
In an age when most “films” are now being shot digitally, for
Marécages Desrosiers opted to stick to a basic natural anamorphic
film, but with an Ektachrome look and avoided going to a DI.
14 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
LC Tell me a bit about the story of Marécages.
SD It’s the story of a family who live on a dairy farm in the
Eastern Townships. They have financial problems during a
drought as well as a 14-year-old boy who is growing up to be a
man. An event turns the life of the family upside down. Forced to
confront one another, they have to learn how to forgive. We did
do a nice shot near the wetlands with the main actress, Pascale
Bussières, walking toward the swamp with the Techno-crane out
to 55 feet, but it’s not a major character in the film.
LC The film sounds dark. Is it?
SD There’s a major accident about half way through it that
could be considered a bit dark. There’s also nudity and a 14
year old masturbating in a tree, so perhaps there are some
things that you don’t see in every film, but basically it’s a
family drama.
LC What is your history with Guy Édoin? I understand he is a firsttime director?
SD Yes, it’s his first feature, but I had shot three short films for
him previously. One of them, La Pont, won a CSC award. When
he called me to shoot his first short film, I suggested that it would
be a really good idea to shoot anamorphic. That was eight years
ago, and I had never shot anamorphic before. I called Panavision
in Los Angeles and said, ‘Give me a hand,’ and they sent everything up to us for the four days. It was great. We also wanted
to shoot Marécages on film, so we rented the equipment from
Clairmont Camera. Not only did we shoot it on film, but sort
of the old-fashioned way, no DI, just interneg and interpositive.
It will involve neg cutting the anamorphic, which not a lot of
people do these days.
LC I understand you used the Hawk anamorphic lenses. Was it difficult to get the lenses you wanted? And how did they perform?
SD I used the C-Series lenses previously on the short film and
I was quite impressed with their sharpness. For Marécages,
Denny Clairmont told me that he had purchased the new
V-series, and that I should have a look at them because he was
impressed by their quality. So Clairmont was able to provide us
with the Hawk V-Series lenses for our tests. We found that those
lenses have outstanding sharpness and precision when used wide
open, which was a big consideration and it made the decision to
keep them easy. And the ACs like them. They are smooth and
easily changeable without breaking down the lens accessories or
supports, except for the 25 mm, which is more complex. But to
be honest, we did not use the 25 mm for Marécages because it was
too wide. The preferred lens on the film was the 50 mm, but my
own favourite was the 250 mm. I love that lens.
LC How long was the shooting schedule?
SD It was 30 days, but most of the scenes were shot at or around
the farm, so it wasn’t too bad.
LC What was the look and feel of the film and how did you
achieved it?
SD The look is really naturalistic, nothing complicated. Every
time someone wanted to put something complicated in a shot
or scene, it didn’t work. The lighting needed to be very natural;
if you can feel the light, then I would say take it away. Because
we were shooting film, and I was using 5219 and 5213, we were
going for a slightly softer look. There were about seven days of
night shooting. At one point, we were shooting in a barn with
about 55 cows and it was a nightmare for the ADs, the ACs and
the grips. We made up what we called ‘shit deflectors’ around
the camera, but I think everybody got hit at some point, even
the actors. An actor and actress helped a cow in labour. They
actually did it themselves on-camera, which was something very
interesting to watch. It was my first time, and for the crew also,
and it was like, “Wow, the actors are there pulling the calf from
the cow.’ They were being coached off-camera by veterinarians.
Top: Luc Picard. Above: Director Guy Édoin. “Not only did we shoot Marécages
on film, but no DI, just interneg and interpositive,” Serge Desrosiers csc.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
15
LC Did your naturalistic approach work well for the production
design?
SD The production design is perhaps a bit subdued. It’s a rural
setting with tractors and other farm equipment that is a bit
dated, but it could be today. Probably typical of a poor farm
even now. We also shot at a small-town fair, and I think it will
be the funniest part of the film – cows, livestock farmers of
all kinds.
LC Was there much moving camera and how was that
accomplished? Steadicam? Handheld? Dolly?
SD We had everything, including a small 24-foot Techno-jib,
thanks to Denis Paquette from Cinepool, for the entire 30-day
shoot. We also had a Steadicam and dolly. We did several long
sequences – continuous three-to-four-minute takes – that
were kind of tough on Jacques. We did a 180-degree shot with
actors coming in at 75 feet and out at 4 feet, so it was a nice
choreography, but at T2.8-and-a-half on the anamorphic, it
was a challenge for him.
LC What film stocks did you use?
“Taking this traditional approach
[to shooting the film] was actually
a bit complicated for a lot of the
crew,” Serge Desrosiers csc, seen
here on the left with Guy Édoin.
16 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
SD I selected 5219 and 5213 for exteriors because I like the
slightly milky look. Because we were not going to a DI, I was
trying to keep softer look for the daylight shots as well. There’s
not much contrast, which was my intent for the film, almost
like the old Ektachrome, with a subtle bluish tint and not
much contrast. We shot over 2,000 feet of tests with various
filters and ended up with a Coral #2. That was it, nothing else
and not much manipulation in the lab. We even tried bleach
bypass in the test, but it wasn’t what we wanted.
LC It must have been nice to go back to the basics.
SD Yes. We did this in a traditional way, so the lab had to be
consistent from the beginning to the end of the shoot because
we needed to keep corrections to a minimum and some people
freaked out. In the end they all pulled it off. Taking this traditional approach was actually a bit complicated for a lot of the
crew. On the third day of shooting I called everybody together
and said, ‘Look guys, this is not a conventional DI-production
process. We will not be able to scan the negative and erase a
wire or a boom or a stand or stuff like that. Every department
should look through the camera or from the camera view
point, because that is what we are going to get.’ This helped get
everybody onside from the get-go.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
17
“
N
ecessity is the mother of invention…” or so the saying
goes, and what better place to realize the truth of this
than the film and television industry. We are often
faced with the challenge of finding solutions to problems that
arise at a moments notice, whether on set or on location. These
might come in the form of simple logistical issues or the more
technical requirement of constructing a piece of equipment to
accomplish the task. I recently met with Peter Newman, inventor
of the Newman Airhead, and the conversation went something
like the following.
GW Hello Peter, thank you for taking the time to talk about your
invention, the Airhead. What triggered the thought of the Newman
Airhead and how did you proceed from that initial idea?
PN The initial idea was to isolate the camera on the back of
an ATV. For some reason, I had this vision of a four-wheeler
with an inverted passenger seat. A Mitchell Mount would stem
up between the passenger’s legs. The airbag was to remove the
high-frequency rumble caused by the ATV. As I began to
construct the mount, it dawned on me that I should forget
the ATV and concentrate on the head. I’ve been part of several
different configurations of the handheld cheat, with a ball or
sandbag. I thought if I could somehow lock the camera to the
ball and the ball to the dolly.
18 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
By George Willis csc, sasc
GW Can you give us an idea of the time frame?
PN It was around November 2006 when the air bladder entered
my mind. An effects crew was simulating a rather turbulent
aircraft cockpit – they were using these air bags and altering the
PSI. There it was, an inflatable, industrial-strength rubber ball
with mounting plate top and bottom cured into the rubber.
Eureka! I went searching on my next day off to find one of these
air bags. I brought this thing home, where it sat in my shop while
I collected the rest of the parts for a prototype. I purchased a
bearing at a farm implement store and a valve at a plumbing
store. I crudely machined my plates with hand tools.
Before discovering our beloved industry, I worked for a company
specializing in the concept and creation of amusement park
games. There are still games around the world that I was a big
part of manufacturing. My lovely wife, Jennifer, suggests that my
tinkering mind was not as much a product of making games,
but a direct result of my youthful days spent working on a dairy
farm in Caledon. If something was broken, farmers would fix it.
It seemed as though they were forced to basically invent stuff all
the time, just to keep daily operations moving.
GW It sounds like you were applying the same basic philosophy. So
where did you go from there?
All images courtesy of Peter Newman.
THE
NEWMAN
AIRHEAD
PN Once I had a prototype built, which I affectionately named
Frankenstein, the next obstacle was convincing people to put
their camera on it and attempt to compose a shot. I was a little
confused as to how to achieve this. I had been showing various
people this monster and explaining the concept but hadn’t ever
tested it. Finally, one day on set DOP James Gardner csc – who
knew I had been toying with this thing – asked me to set it up.
The shot was in the aisle of a tour bus, and James wanted to
generate a little organic rocking motion.
The head worked and was considered to be a mild success;
however, some things were in need of further attention. There
was no handle, no pan lock and, most importantly, the bag was
a double-convoluted style and proved to be too long. I really
wanted to achieve a hands-free camera, and with the original bag
the weight was too much to hold upright. It would flop down
and scare the hell out of everyone. The motion was nice and the
concept seemed sound, but it wasn’t finished. Suddenly, word
spread that I had this rig to help with tricky handheld shots and
some commercial PMs and DOPs started to call me to rent it.
Although I knew it wasn’t quite right, this was enough
encouragement for me to pursue a real version.
It was at this time that I paid a visit to Neil Williams at Cinegrip.
I was familiar with his quality standards and figured any
engineering input I could extract from him would be a good
thing. This ended up being a great move. When he presented me
with the first real head, I was very pleased with my decision to go
to him for help. I found a bag more suited for the application,
and he had machined and anodized all of the custom parts in a
very professional manner.
GW What was your approach when designing the head?
PN The head was intentionally created with the less-is-more
philosophy in mind. We discussed left-to-right balance and
stabilization, but ultimately it’s only supposed to be holding
the weight. It’s as non-precision as it gets. It was far more
important, in my mind, to use components that people were
already familiar with, namely the O’Connor-style handle, the
Ronford Baker quick release and the Mitchel Mount. I figured it
was hard enough convincing people to try a new motion; there’s
no way they’d go for it if they didn’t recognize any of that stuff.
By now it was fall 2008, and again I was carrying around my
Airhead, showing anyone I thought would be interested. All
of the sudden, people were starting to ask me, ‘Do you know
what that would be good for?’ or tell me, ‘That would have been
so handy on my last show.’ All of the things that I wanted to
address were basically covered – the handle, mount and, most
importantly, the bag. I had achieved the ability to completely
walk away from the camera. That was a big moment for me.
GW Having achieved this, what was the next part of your plan?
PN I was to meet my friend and colleague Adam Quinn at
Panavision Toronto to do a little spontaneous demonstration.
Adam had used the
head a few times and
knew it actually worked. No one else at Panavision had ever heard
of it. He started to build a 535, long rods, Optimo lens, 1,000foot mag, etc. It was a pretty heavy incarnation of a camera. He
gave the camera a little push, and it started bobbing around. I
think it gave everyone watching a bit of a panic but it performed
perfectly. Vice-president Stewart Aziz was willing to take a
chance of offering the heads for rent, and we hammered out some
loose give-it-a-try-type terms. By early 2009, I had dropped off
three heads to Panavision. I will be forever grateful to Stewart for
taking the chance on the product, and of course, Adam for putting himself on the hook like that. It was a very proud moment.
As it turns out, season one of Warehouse 13 had just been
prepping its Genesis package at Panavision. I think the producers
had already decided on a handheld look, and the timing seemed
to be perfect to offer them up my new addition. Key grip Mark
Manchester brought the head out, and I think the B-camera
ended up living on the Newman Airhead, on a linear bed, for
much of season one.
I would say the best thing about this whole experience so far
has been the overwhelming support I’ve received from so many
grips, PMs and operators who have offered the Newman Airhead
to out-of-town DOPs or those who aren’t familiar with it yet. It
shows me that the product works as a useful film tool. There’s
nothing more rewarding than hearing about a job or specific
application where the head has come in handy. My favourite
specific advantage of the Newman Airhead is the ability to stay
on a big fat zoom and still get that organic float to the shot.
GW Thank you, Peter. If you, the reader, have a similar story about
some equipment you have invented or an item of interest regarding
problem solving and want to tell us about it, please contact Susan
Saranchuk at the CSC. We’d love to hear your story.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
19
GUERILLA
WARFARE
In the Educational Trenches
with Reel Canada By Jack Blum
Actor and director Paul Gross (Due South, Passchendaele) speaking at York Mills Collegiate, Toronto.
I
n the fall of 2004, I called Doug Dales and asked if he would
help us out. My partner, Sharon Corder, and I were gathering a few people together to talk about an ambitious idea – a
large, impossible, quixotic idea. Without a moment’s hesitation
he said, “Sure.”
The idea was deceptively simple. Find a way to introduce
Canadian film to high school students across the country.
The people around the table with us were a combination of filmmakers and educators. We assumed that at some point there
would be a few technical challenges and that Doug Dales, who
was owner/president of the equipment house PS Production
Services, might be helpful to have around. Beyond simple
technical support, he had a reputation as the unofficial patron
saint of local filmmakers and had been a champion of our
domestic film industry his entire professional life.
Of course, equipment and hardware turned out to be the least of
Doug’s contribution. He would soon become founding president
of Reel Canada, but I’m getting ahead of myself. The basic idea
was Sharon’s and there were a few principles that she felt could
not be compromised. First, the idea had to be dynamic, fun and
exciting. The kids we would be dealing with were drowning in
Hollywood hype; to reach them, we had to put on some kind of
show. Second, aside from insisting that they be good, we could
not be dogmatic about the nature of the Canadian films we
would screen. We had to embrace auteur work as well as more
commercial fare, drama along with documentary, urban, rural,
regional and miscellaneous.
This proved more challenging than one might have imagined.
After all, it’s practically a national pastime in the Canadian
film community to take a principled stand about what kinds of
20 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
films we should not be making. This was one of the areas where
we often turned to Doug for support. His implacable manner
made him a natural arbiter and he never lost sight of the larger
goal, which was about demonstrating the incredible quality of
Canadian work, as opposed to any particular style or school of
filmmaking. Finally, the programming had to come down to
the kids themselves. The only criterion that really mattered was
whether today’s teenagers would have a chance of actually liking
what we wanted to show them. Anything else would do nothing
to help our cause.
A plan emerged that seemed to fit all the necessary requirements.
We would produce a travelling film festival that would go from
school to school. At each school, participating students would
themselves select the films they wanted to see from a catalogue
that we would provide. We would outfit three different venues
and show six movies over the course of the day, three in the
morning and three in the afternoon, and students would order
tickets just like at a real festival. Of course, there would be special
guests to speak with the kids after each screening.
Now, we knew very little about the education system when
we dreamed up this plan. We had no idea, for example, how
incredibly busy teachers are and how difficult to get a hold of
them. We didn’t know how rigid school schedules are; how much
effort it would take from us and from our teacher partners to get
the rest of their colleagues to give up one full day out of a very
demanding curriculum to watch Canadian movies. We didn’t
know how challenging it would be to transform school libraries,
drama rooms, even weight rooms, into proper screening facilities
with sound and picture good enough to feel like “real” movies.
Or how complicated it would be to set up a ticketing system that
actually allowed the students their choice of films.
All images courtesy of Reel Canada.
Director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Chloe) speaking to a student at Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School in Toronto.
Doug never let on that he did actually understand these things,
but looking back I find it difficult to believe that he didn’t
have more of an inkling than we did. But what good would it
have done to enlighten us? His style of quiet encouragement
succeeded in getting us precisely halfway down the Amazon, by
which time it was far too late to turn back. By the fall of 2005 we
were ready to launch a pilot effort. Support came from Telefilm,
the Harold Greenberg Fund, the Directors Guild, ACTRA and
several others. Six schools in the GTA had agreed to participate.
We had test-screened dozens of films with students and agreed on
an initial program selection, published them in a catalogue and
sent them out to every participating student and teacher.
About three weeks before our first in-school festival, with
the clock ticking loudly, there was a heated dispute among
the committee members over just how ready we were
or weren’t. So “readiness” was always going to involve a
certain amount of guesswork. We once again turned to Doug for
his steady hand and his rich production experience and asked
him to guide us out of the storm. An event management company, the superb Baam Productions, was brought on board and
whipped things into shape in record speed. When we rolled into
those six high schools with projectors, screens, big cinema sound
and special guests such as Paul Gross, Don McKellar and Deepa
Metha, the kids didn’t know what had hit them. But they sure
liked it and so did the teachers and principals.
For most of that pilot season Doug was in Vietnam. Doug’s
relationship with Vietnam began years earlier when he and his
family sponsored several refugees to safety in Canada. Doug’s
Vietnamese charges were welcomed into his home, given
employment at his company and with his continued help eventually brought over their families to join them. In Doug’s version
of a quid pro quo, he fell deeply in love with the country, its culture,
and spent months of every year there. That particular fall, he returned on the last day of the pilot season. We were at Marc Garneau
Collegiate, in Thorncliffe Park, which boasts one of the most
ethnically diverse populations in a very diverse city. Our
special guests were Atom Egoyan, Sarah Polley, Peter Lynch and
Jennifer Jonas, who had proved enough of a draw that our lunchtime break was swarming with television journalists.
Doug arrived from the airport, getting there for only the last 30
minutes of the day and missing all the media excitement, so we
were nervous that he wouldn’t understand the impact that the
festival had clearly had on the school. We needn’t have worried.
In his inimitable way, he took it all in in an instant. This was
one of Doug’s most mysterious qualities – his ability to absorb
critical information and grasp its essence while appearing not
even to be paying attention. We were constantly surprised by his
insights into aspects of the program or issues with staffing or
funding. After the brief bit of festival he had managed to witness,
he declared absolute victory, then gave us a detailed analysis of
what remained yet to be achieved. “Well, you will need three
prototypes,” he told us. He meant that it would take at least
two more seasons of Reel Canada festivals before we really had
a grasp of what worked and what didn’t. We were aghast. Two
more years of this just to get to the point where we could get
serious?
Sharon and I were daunted by the challenge. It was exciting, to
be sure, to demonstrate what we’d always believed, that Canadian
filmmakers had created a fantastic body of work that audiences
– even teenage audiences – would love if they were given access
to them. At the same time, the overwhelming response from
teachers and students alike meant that we had to carry on and try
to build a program that would serve schools not just across the
city but across the country.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
21
From the left, Sharon Corder, director Deepa Mehta (Water, Bollywood/
Hollywood), Jack Blum and Doug Dales.
Doug’s perspective – always taking the long view and never
for a moment losing sight of the goal – made us nervous
about taking on such a huge commitment. But his matterof-fact certainty about the importance of the program was
like the current of a river; there was no point trying to fight
it. Doug was right on target. Somewhere after our third
season, we started to breathe again and realized that the program
had firmed up and taken shape. Our goal of a national program,
while still ludicrously ambitious, no longer seemed entirely out
of reach.
As I write this, we’re in the middle of our sixth season. We’ve
brought Canadian films to Windsor, Kingston, Belleville,
Ottawa, Woodstock, Sudbury and dozens of other communities
across Ontario. We’ve established the program in Vancouver
and visited small towns in B.C. that don’t even have a movie
theatre. We’ve given students the chance to ask questions
of filmmakers like Alan King, Gary Burns and Michael
McGowan, and introduced them – in person – to the likes of
Gordon Pinsent, Colm Feore and Lisa Ray. CSC members Brent
Robinson and George Willis csc, sasc have delighted
audiences with tales of the kind of underwater photography
used in the documentary Sharkwater. And Passchendaele DOP
Greg Middleton csc was impressed with the degree of sophistication in the questions he fielded from the students.
We now have requests from teachers across the country, far more
demand than we are yet able to meet. Our support continues
to grow as well and with hundreds of screenings and tens of
thousands of Canadian students served we feel like we have a
handle finally on how this thing could work. Our prototypes
have evolved into working models, and we continue to set our
sights on bringing Canadian films into high schools from coast
to coast.
22 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
Actor Colm Feore (The Chronicles of Riddick) with students at Parkdale
Collegiate, Toronto.
Of course, Doug won’t be there to see that happen. His shockingly rapid decline and passing has left the entire community in
shock, and it has certainly left us with a hole in our hearts. There
is really no one else who can replace our founding president, no
one who has helped launch so many filmmakers’ careers or kept
so many production companies afloat through the lean years.
There is no one whose stamp of approval means so much to us.
Still, Reel Canada is an important part of Doug’s substantial
legacy, and we are determined to carry it on in honour of
the values he championed his whole working life: integrity,
community, generosity towards the young. At some point after
that event at Marc Garneau, Atom Egoyan commented that the
Reel Canada program was like a guerilla campaign, taking our
culture back one village at a time. It’s been a great privilege to
have been in the trenches with Douglas James Dales.
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on the CSC’s website, www.csc.ca. If you have items you would like to buy, sell
or rent, please email your information to [email protected].
Briese 77 Light, full kit, including Tungsten and HMI flicker-free setup, two Eggcrates
and Manfrotto Mega-Boom. Excellent condition, $ 22,000. Contact: [email protected]
Sony Beta SP DXC-D30WSP/PVV3P, PAL, 262hours drum time, $ 2,500; Sony Beta
SP DXC-D30WS/PVV3, NTSC, 251hours drum time, $2,500; Sony BetaCam SX DNW-7,
NTSC, 257hours drum time, $5,000; and IKEGAMI DV-CAM HL-DV7-AW, NTSC, mint
condition, as new, 61hours drum time, $7,000. All cameras with porta-brace covers.
All owned by me and serviced by Sony Hong Kong. Sony Beta SP/SX player/recorders,
DNW-A25P X2, PAL & NTSC, 500 & 644hours drum time, $6,000; Satchler 575 HMI,
open-face, mint condition with spare bulb, $2,500 & case. The lot for $20,000. Contact:
François Bisson at [email protected].
Sony BVW-400a Betacam SP Camcorder camera used by professional cinematographer (one owner), never rented out. Comes complete with Fujinon A15x8BEVM-28
lens, Petroff matte box with 4x4 and 4x5.6 filter holders, remote zoom and focus control
for lens, six Cadnica NP-1 batteries, Sony BC-1WD battery charger, Porta-Brace fitted
cover with rain jacket (like new) and Sony factory hard shipping case and manuals.
Lens and camera professionally maintained by factory technicians. Usage hours are:
A – 1,918 hours; B – 1,489 hours; C – 4,286 hours, $10,000.00 obo. Contact: Craig
Wrobleski csc at 403-995-4202
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 and cases $17,500.
Nikon 50–300-mm F4-5 E.D. lens with support, $1,000. Kinoptik 9–8-mm 35-mm format
lens c/with sunshade. Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
New Video Camera Rain Covers. Custom rain covers for sale. New design that fits
and protects most Sony PMW EX3, Canon XHHDV, Panasonic VX200 cameras with the
viewfinder extending toward the rear of the camera, $200. Noiseless rain cover for the
external camera microphone, $30. Onboard Monitor rain cover, camera assistants can
see the focus during the shot. No more hassles in the rain, $60. Custom Red One camera covers available upon request. Also can sew various types of heavy-duty material.
Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011 •
23
CAMERA CLASSIFIEDS
EQUIPMENT WANTED
PRODUCTIONS & CALENDAR
Production Notes
Chaos (series); DOP Attila Szalay csc, hsc; OP Richard Wilson; B Cam OP Brian Whittred csc; to April 29, Vancouver
Combat Hospital (series); DOP Gavin Smith csc; OP Sean Jensen; to July 15, Toronto
Covert Affairs II (series); DOP Colin Hoult csc & Jaime Barber (alternating episodes); OP David Sheridan; to October 15, Toronto
Edwin Boyd (feature); DOP/OP Steve Cosens csc; to March 28, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Flashpoint IV (series); DOP Paul Sarossy csc, bsc & Stephen Reizes csc (alternating episodes); OP Tony Guerin; to September 15, Toronto
Fringe III (series); DOP David Moxness csc & Thomas Yatsko (alternating episodes); OP Chris Tammaro; to April 1, 2011, Vancouver
Hellcats (series); DOP Stephen McNutt csc, asc; OP Kevin Hall; to March 17, 2011, Vancouver
How to Be Indie II (series); DOP Yuri Yakubiw csc; OP Brain Harper; B Cam OP Russ Goozee csc; to March 22, Toronto
Laurence Anyways (feature); DOP Yves Bélanger csc; to April 4; Montreal
Life with Boys (series); DOP Mitchell Ness csc; to July 7, Toronto
Mortal Combat (webisodes); DOP C. Kim Miles csc; OP Craig Powell; B Cam OP/Steadicam Pieter Stathis csc; to March 4, Vancouver
Nikita (series); DOP Rene Ohashi csc, asc; OP Steven Adelson; B Cam OP J.P. Locherer csc; to April 6, Toronto
Really Me (series): DOP Gerald Packer csc; to March 11, Toronto
Smallville X (series); DOP Glen Winter csc & Gordon Verheul csc (alternating episodes); OP John Davidson; to March 22, Burnaby, BC
S.O.S. II (series) DOP Marc Gadoury csc; to June 30, Montreal
Supernatural VI (series); DOP Serge Ladouceur csc; OP Brad Creasser; to March 31, 2011, Burnaby, BC
30 vies (télé-roman); DOP Jérôme Sabourin csc; to April 1, 2011, Montreal
Warehouse 13 III (series); DOP Mike McMurray csc; to July 22, Toronto
Calendar of Events
MARCH
2–6, Kingston Canadian Film Festival, Kingston ON,
kingcanfilmfest.com
10, Genie Awards, Ottawa, academy.ca
13, Prix Jutra, Montreal
25–Apr. 3, Cinéfranco, Toronto, cinefranco.com
31–Apr. 9, Images Festival of Independent Film &
Video, Toronto, imagesfestival.com
APRIL
2, CSC Awards, Westin Harbour Castle Conference
Centre, Toronto, csc.ca
28– May 8, Hot Docs, Toronto, hotdocs.ca
MAY
4–5, Hot Docs Forum, Toronto
14–15, CSC Lighting Workshop, Toronto, csc.ca
VANCOUVER
CALGARY
604-527-7262
403-246-7267
VANCOUVER
CALGARY
604-527-7262
403-246-7267
TORONTO
416-444-7000
TORONTO
416-444-7000
24 • Canadian Cinematographer - March 2011
HALIFAX
JUNE
HALIFAX
12–15, Banff World Media Festival
902-404-3630
902-404-3630
ALREADY T HE CAMERA
OF CHOICE
ALEXA is now in use on a vast range of 3D and 2D feature films,
To name only a few...
T V shows, commercials, documentaries and music videos.
ANO NYMO US – 2D feature
All over the world, filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese
H UG O C ABRET – 3D feature
and Roland Emmerich have quickly taken advantage of the
TH E TH REE MUSKETEERS – 3D feature
camera’s exceptional image quality and streamlined workflows
D ISNEY PRO M – 2D feature
to bring their creative visions to life. With a modular design and
RED BULL AIR RAC E – 2D feature
convenient update methods, the future-proof ALEXA enables
ARMANI PERFUME – commercial
cinematic storytelling like no other camera system before.
MERC ED ES BENZ – commercial
...much more to come
www.arridigital.com
© Kodak, 2011. Kodak and Vision are trademarks.
HIGHER
DEFINITIONx3
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