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NZCS Newsletter #4

Up to date information can also be found on our website ­ http://www.nzcine.comAnd our Facebook page ­ http://www.facebook.com/groups/nzcine/

If you have any articles or photos to contribute, please contact dianne@nzcine.com

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RICHARD BLUCK NZCS WINS AT CAMERIMAGE

On behalf of all NZCS members, a hugecongratulations to our own President,Richard Bluck NZCS for winningat Camerimage.

Best 3D Documentary Film: Beyond theEdgecin. Richard Bluckdir. Leanne Pooley

Photo Credit Wiola Labedz

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THE 2014 RIALTO CHANNEL NZ FILM AWARDS ­ NZCSWINNERS

LEON NARBEY NZCS ­ for Services to Cinema

Photographer Max Mamaev

DAVE GARBETT ­ Best Feature Film Cinematography for Everything We Loved

Photographer Max Mamaev

BEVAN CROTHERS ­ Best Documentary Cinematography for Hip Hop­eration

Photographer Max Mamaev

GRANT McKINNON ­ Best Cinematography in a Short Film for Ross & Beth

Photographer Max Mamaev

ATTENDING CAMERIMAGE with Richard Bluck

Camerimage is the largest Cinematography focused Film Festival. Held in Bydgoszcz, Poland in midNovember it is eight days of films, workshops, seminars, and trade exhibits. There are ten competitionsheld during the course of the festival with a major closing ceremony on the last evening where thewinners are announced. I was invited to attend as Beyond The Edge, a 3D film about the conquest of Everest in 1953 was in the3D competition. As this was a unique opportunity, my partner Michelle Scullion and I decided to attendand so we headed off with very little notice on a trip around the world. We attended the festival inPoland, visited Warsaw, Berlin, Paris, attended The Hobbit premiere in London, then New York andfinally Los Angeles before heading home.

I was very honoured to be one of two recipients to receive the 3D award. As the 3D category includesfeatures as well as documentaries the judging panel had last year given two awards for a feature and adocumentary. Gravity and Wim Wender’s Pina won the awards last year and the Judges felt there wasjustification in doing the same this year.

The festival is attended by Cinematographers and film­makers from all over the world. The festival has astrong focus on Student Filmmakers so there were a lot of film students from all over Europe. Inattendance numbers the festival has over 1000 industry members, 310 films invited, 200 press and70,000 visitors during the festival. There are 10 different juries made up of Cinematographers, Directors,Producers and film­makers.

Look out for more from our President on the website http://www.nzcine.com

POSTCARD FROM INDIA by Ian McCarroll

Ian has been in the industry since 1990 and shooting since ’92 when he became a loader and hadaccess to cameras and short ends. And the knowledge to put the bits together. He mainly shoots TVCsbut enjoys drama and has recently finished his second feature. He contributed this "postcard" on hisrecent trip to India.

I’ve been fortunate enough to be shooting a film, (working title Beyond the Known World), in India overthe past couple of months. Led by the talented Indian director Pan Nalin (Samsara, Valley of Flowers and Faith Connections) wehave been shooting in and around the Kullu Valley in Hamarchial Pradesh, Northern India, beforerecently heading over a couple of serious mountain passes, (the highest being 5300m) to the absolutely

beautiful and spiritual township of Leh in Kashmir. Next stop Delhi for a night shoot before wrapping upwith a weeks shoot in NZ late November. We’ve had an interesting mix of NZ and Indian crew and as always getting past the cultural andlanguage barriers has been an exercise at times, but I guess after a while you get to know each othersstyle of working which helps. I managed to bring over Ben Rowsell as camera assistant which has been fantastic. Working withsomeone where you know each others skills and requirements saves a lot of time and effort. Oftenshooting rehearsals with minimal blocking, not to mention the logistics of travelling with two Alexa XTs(thanks Curious) and the associated bits and pieces calls for a certain quality of camera assistant, andBen has filled that position splendidly. Trying to sort local crew from the other side of the world is not always easy but preceding the shoot itwas great to be able to chat to a couple of NZ DoPs who had worked in India and were able to supplyme with a few contacts and give me a run down on how the locals worked. i.e. with every reasonablesized bit of gear you hire you also get an attendee to keep it company. It ruined production having totravel, accommodate and feed these attendees and it was quite painful at times watching three cameraassistants change a lens. Although the Indian (Bombay) film Industry is massive and produces huge films and music videos, thecrew and gear out of Delhi is another world and the quality and range of gear is quite limited. I wasexceptionally fortunate to land a local gaffer Sebastian (Siby) Veliath who was outstanding, takingcontrol of the lighting and gripping scenarios. He had a solid bunch of guys also which is where thingsoften fall down I’ve been told. Brant Fraser (production designer) and I often joked that we designed by location and lit by schedule.The budget was limited and the biggest lamp that got pulled out was an M18, we did get nailed on theodd occasion with full sun but generally speaking we managed some beautiful frames with natural light.

Our lead actors David Wenham and Sia Trockenheim were exceptionally helpful in allowing me todesign the shots on the right side of the line to keep them back lit and coped well with these situations.Another of our leads, Emmanuelle Beart, wasn’t quite used to the lack of lights although she lookedbeautiful under slightly manipulated natural light.

Being able to find interesting ways to tell the story with limited time and resources and mainly availablelight was probably the biggest challenge but also (usually) provided the biggest rewards. Apart from the odd scenic the film was 100% hand held, having actors of such class was paramount tothis approach working as they understood where to place themselves in relation to the camera as it wasoften moving to suit the action. With several scenes shot dusk for night (not really recommended), a couple of night shoots and 2months of hand held we settled on spherical lenses in the end after exploring the idea of anamorphic. The new ARRI master anamorphics looked great, were fast and light weight, but with limited selectionfor a two camera shoot, the decision was made for me in the end as Paul at Panavision helped put avery generous package together..

SHOOTING "SUNDAY" by Ryan Alexander Lloyd

SUNDAY is a truly independentselffinanced feature film set in Christchurch, NewZealand one year after the devastatingearthquakes. While it is not an earthquake film, itis a story like the city of Christchurch: one of pastdevastation, beauty and a chance at rebuildingbigger and better than before.

Starring Dustin Clare and Camille Keenan, twoaward winning Australasian actors onthe international rise, SUNDAY is essentially arelationship drama in the vein ofRichard Linklater’s Before Sunrise and BeforeSunset; a classic tale of two people whoselives intertwine with the city they inhabit.

Seeing your work on the big screen for any Cinematographer and Camera Operator can be a strange

experience. What made this stranger, is my work on the micro budget feature SUNDAY was shot over

two and half years ago, with principal photography starting early February 2012. This was a solid 14

days straight of shooting in and around Christchurch, with a core camera department of myself and the

hardest working 1st AC come grip, part time gaffer, driver and confidant Kirk Pflaum.

The story called for restraint and very little camera movement, framing the cast centre in landscapes of

destruction and beauty. For this reason most of the shoot was on sticks on the RED MX with a Cooke 18

to 100 Zoom, and 27mm Zeiss Standard Prime for any handheld and steadicam scenes. The lenses

were provide by Metro Films in Auckland. Andy Roelants and the team were very supportive of the

project right from the start.

One of the limitations I clearly remember, was having no remote follow focus or iris control on one of the

days. So on much of the steadicam we guesstimated what the sun was going to do over the next 5

minutes, then set the TStop to 11, popped in some ND, and instructed our camera operator Stephen

Press to stay 2 metres in front of the cast and set focus. We then just hoped the sun wouldn’t pop out to

hard. It did at times, so we took on the cheek and tried to recover what we could in post.

Only four scenes were traditionally lit, for which Andy Rennie was a kind helping hand of a gaffer. Due to

this limitation I requested we try and keep the shooting schedule where possible to early morning and

evening, when the light was softer, and we could make the best use of natural light. The kit was nothing

more than a 1.2 HMI and 2 4ft Kino's, much of it was using practical light, bounce card, and in very small

spaces a compact battery powered LED Bank.

The look I was aiming for I think is not so common in New Zealand film, soft fill, and very little shadows

on the actors faces. As it's a romantic drama we needed it to stay inviting to look at.

The film also consisted of a number of flash backs of the couples better days in sun soaked Australia. I

was away on location in northern Victoria when these scenes were shot in late winter of 2012, in and

around Melbourne. DOP Jim Lounsbury picked up the camera and created the grainy shallow depth of

field look captured on the Canon 7D. The second flashback shoot in Melbourne, was on a hot day at St

Kilda beach, where I returned with the Canon 5D. We used my vintage Pentax Asahi 50mm and 85mm

Prime for both shoots.

Since shooting SUNDAY I have shot 12 short films, and a number of TVC and music videos, soSUNDAY shot 2 and a half years ago is like a time machine of sorts. It’s an experience I have learnt fromgreatly, and I am proud with what we achieved, and the creativity derived by the limitations we had towork with. It's incredibly rewarding seeing an audience engage with the film, laugh and cry. I think that

work with. It's incredibly rewarding seeing an audience engage with the film, laugh and cry. I think thatthose moments where something you felt is now felt by a room of people, are what drives me to do what Ido for a profession. I feel lucky to call Cinematographer my job.

The film is being independently distributed and can now be seen at 20+ cinemas across NZ, includingThe Academy in Auckland, Nga Taonga in Wellington and Hollywood 3 in Christchurch. It is alsoavailable on Television (Rialto Channel), the Internet (iTunes/Vimeo), DVD and Airlines (Jetstar+ Air NZ) creating a Multiplatform Release of the film. This carefully designed release is a directresponse to piracy, and will enable everyone in the world to have the choice as to when, where and howthey want to watch the film. No restrictions.

Black & White photo credit: Johanna Macdonald

RIGS AND GLORY

Leigh Elford has worked in the film industry for six years having graduated from Unitec with a bachelor ofscreen arts. Since graduating Leigh has worked on films like "The Most Fun You Can Have Dying" and"Shackletons Captain". He gained experience as a camera Assistant before stepping into the shoesof cinematographer on various short films and music videos. He tells us about a recent project.

A director (a very young one) and a cinematographer (also rather young) sit down to discuss their newproject. They have previously worked once before on a short film and it went pretty well. Thecollaboration between them was strong and they both wanted a Challenge. Director "how about a oneshot short film, entirely taking place in a car". Cinematographer "ok, let me look into it". And so thechallenge begins.

The first Challenge. Next to no money. The second Challenge. How do you keep an audience fromgetting bored. With the budget we had, people recommended a bonnet mount. A fixed position camerafor the entire 8 minutes of running time. I could see the audience clicking away from their streaming YouTube channels to watch puppys being....cute. No. I couldn't have this. The fixed camera bonnet mount solved the budget issue but neglected theinterest of an audience. What to do.... I went back to the script to gleam some inspiration. If I could movethe camera and change perspective on various story beats it might have the same impact as cutting tochange perspective. Every time the story reveals a different part of itself, we can move the camera inconjunction with blocking, creating a really dynamic short film. But how? Could it be achieved with some kind of green screen? Yes. Very easily even. Many ideas on how togreen screen it get floated my way. All of them excellent options. But it would look so polished, so clean.How can we do it practically, on location, organically. The actors reacting to their environments. Thecamera catching something unexpected. I investigate (via the Internet) various rigs. Low riders. Handheld. A MoVI. Everything. A track?Himmmmm some kind of arm rigged to the car. I approach a grip Harry Harrison, to whom I had justbeen introduced. I pitch at what points I want the camera to move in conjunction to the beats of the script."Is it going to be possible to move around the car like this while the actress is driving and performing inreal time"?

Plans are drawn, pitching ideas, meetings,auditions, fine tuning the rehearsal all getunderway. All of a sudden it's time to rig the car.The gripping guys work hard to cut a slit downthe length of the roof. A pipe is welded downrunning parallel to the cut. Mounted to the pipe isa track on a 90 degree angle allowing an armthrough the roof. The head of a tripod is mountedto the top of the camera. Now the camera issuspended in the air allowing us to track aroundthe car as needed. All that needs to be done ispush record.

It's a fine Sunday morning as crew arrive readyin anticipation to perform an entire short film inreal time and all in one shot. It's at this momentone questions oneself. Have I just made aterrible mistake? Have I led this crew down adark path of non usable takes. The sweat builds.The tension, so horrifying. But we get on with it.We position the car at its starting location."Rolling camera, rolling sound, FRAME andACTION. We drive off. The camera is movinggreat. I forget about everything and concentratesolely on the frame. "Cut" first take done. It's notbad but a few mistakes arise. Timing and movesare rehearsed. We shoot nine takes in all andhave 3 solid ones that nail it just right. The rushof excitement from nailing the shot was amazing.Being amongst the performance like that wassimply a joy.

The short film "Blood" will be cruising the short film festivals early next year. Special thanks to BerrenAllan the director for allowing me to push for something a bit more ambitious. Lisa Prestt our producer forworking out all the little details. Harri Harrison for building an epic car rig. And Mathew Thomas forsprinting from one location to another always ready to track the camera around the car. Also worth mentioning are the actors whose performance changed seamlessly with any interruption. SezNeiderer, Elliot Wrightson, Peter De Verus. Thank you all for the incredible performances that made it soworth it.

OPENING THE CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION (EVENT HELD WITH DEGNZ)

A group of about 40 wider industry people attended the ’’Opening the Creative Channels of

Communication’’ panel discussion held at the Horse + Trap pub Mt Eden on the 19th of November.

Sponsored by Directors and Editors Guild, NZCS and The Film Commission the widely experienced

panel of actor writer director Fiona Samuel editor Peter Roberts and NZCS member

cinematographer/director Simon Raby was mediated by Christina Milligan.

An article covering the event can be read on our website http://www.nzcine.com

EXECUTIVE OFFICER

We are very sad to announce that Dianne Moffatt will not be available as our Executive Officer for

2015.

Dianne has put NZCS on a strong footing to go forward and the Committee is very thankful for all

the effort that she has put into the position resulting in a stronger profile and improved

administration.

The Committee of NZCS is currently seeking applicants for the position of Executive Officer.

For more details please e­mail admin@nzcine.com

TIPS & TRICKS

From Kevin Riley:

I credit this one to John Cavill who I saw doing it a lot on Hercules:

“Sometimes when shooting wire rig stunt action it’s useful to be able to both flip and flop theframe in post. However trying to explain the ramifications on screen direction to the rest of thecrew can be a hard process so John would draw stick figures on lighting diffusion paper (tracepaper) with felt tip and then hold them up to the light and Flip and Flop the drawing. This would

always result in everyone understanding what was going to be the final result before a singleframe had been shot."

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