The John Seale Master Class at Camerimage

Australian cinematographer John Seale, best known for his Oscar-winning work with the late Anthony Minghella on The English Patient, will receive the Golden Frog Award for career achievement at the Plus Camerimage Festival currently on until 3rd December in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
 
Not only will his achievement be celebrated with the screening of a handful of films, he also presented a Master Class sponsored by Panavision (see images).


John was also Director of Photography on The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain and The Perfect Storm, as well as working as DoP with fellow Aussie Peter Weir on Witness and Dead Poets Society. His subsequent DoP credits included Rain Man, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

Alpha 4kW Steals the scene on 'Quartet'

Gaffer, Reuben Garrett, currently on set with director Dustin Hoffman and DoP, John De Borman filming Quartet, spoke to LCA for the need of a specific light required in a restricted location.

"We used the Alpha 4V2 with the shallow medium bank chimera  as we needed a lightweight soft source that could be used on a boom arm.  The restriction of our location meant that we could not use a Cherry Picker and had to rig a light from the balcony of the room we were shooting in.  The balcony was on a listed building which was over a hundred years old so any solution had to be lightweight and not damage the structure of the building. Any other 4K with a Chimera would of been too heavy.  

In preparation,  John De Borman, DoP and Director Dustin Hoffman had discussed the look of the characters of the film which were mainly elderly.   They had talked about showing the beauty of their age as much as the distinguishing features of there age therefore the modelling of the key light was essential.  The combination of the Alpha 4V2 with the medium chimera was perfect for this and suited many of the restrictions of our locations."

A great night at BSC Operators night

A great night was had by all at the Annual British Society of Cinematographers Operators night on Friday.

The night gives the BSC the opportunity to acknowledge their operators and as usual was held in the main ballroom at Pinewood Studios.

Attending the evening was Dustin Hoffman and John De Borman, along with their production team who arrived straight from shooting Dustin's first directorial role in the feature, Quartet.

Dustin Hoffman

John De Borman giving his speech

Billy Williams and Dustin Hoffman chatting over dinner

New Cine Magic Tube seen at BVE

Seen at BVEnorth for the first time, the brand new Cine Magic Tube. 30W 60cm Plasma Tube AC/DC, 100% dimmable and changes colour temperature from 2500 degrees kelvin to 8400, or anywhere inbetween.

Watch the CMT in action:

For more information contact Nick Shapley @LCA - nshapley@lcauk.co.uk

Meet LCA at BVE Manchester

Taking place at Manchester Central on the 16th and 17th November, BVE North is the essential exhibition for broadcast, video and audio professionals.
 
Come and meet LCA and the Team at stand 225 where you can see on show a selection of lights from Briese Lighting, K600, Filmgear and Litepanels.

We look forward to seeing you!

DoPchoice Snapgrids - the choice of DoP's!

If you've wondered why the DoPchoice Snapgrids are different to existing louvers and why they won the Cinec Award 2010, the read on...

NO TUMMY.
Conventional grids always droop when used upside down. DoPchoice Snapgrids are even upside down tightly stretched, because of the integrated stretching frame.

NO WEAROUT.
Strips of conventional grids are just stuck together so the louver easily gets damaged. For every DoPchoice Grid they use specially developed robust fabric which keeps the grid stable. All strips are neatly sewn strips.

NO HASSLE.
Stretch and install your DoPchoice Snapgrid in 3 simple steps. Because of the patented Snapgrid technology you save a lot of time installing the Grid in a Softbank or on a Frame. 

Three easy steps to  using your DoPchoice Snapgrid

DopChoice Snapgrids are available for:

  
 
Chimera Softbox
The DoPchoice Snapgrids produce 40-degree coverage and mount many  Chimera Lightbanks via Velcro^®.  The built-in snap frame allows for fast set-up without the hassles of “belly sag” when your Lightbank is overhead in a horizontal position.  They are constructed of pre-stretched fabric with a built-in stainless steel frame.  Every Snapgrid comes with its own storage case.

Frost/Gel Frames 4x4ft and 5x5ft
You want a quick softlight solution on your film set? Very often a Frost Frame is used for this. Now we have the perfect tool to avoid spill light and to direct your soft light: The DoPchoice Snapgrids for Frostframes.
It’s so easy to attach the Snapgrid on every 4x4ft (1,2 x 1,2m)  and 5x5ft (1,5 x 1,5m) Gel Frame with the help of the bungee fasteners. The integrated Snapgrid Frame keeps the Grid always tight even if the frame is overhead in a horizontal position!  The DoPchoice Snapgrids for Frost Frames are available in 40° and 50°. Special sizes are available on request.


Kino Flo 4Banks and Diva 40
The DoPchoice Snapgrids produce 40 and 50-degree coverage and mount on any  4Bank Kino Flo System and the Diva 400.  The built-in snapframe allows for fast set-up without the hassles of “belly sag” when your 4Bank is overhead in a horizontal position.  They are constructed of pre-stretched fabric with a built-in stainless steel frame.  Every  DoPchoice Snapgrid comes with its own storage case and 2 side covers. They avoid the spill light to the side and can also be used without the Snapgrid.  The flexible ventilation flaps assures a good air circulation. No hassle with color shift of the tubes!
 

Made in Germany and sold at www.lcauk.com


Contact LCA for more info and pricing sales@lcauk.com

An Interview with Roger Deakins

Thursday 19th May was a great day for cinematography, when the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), organised a showing of Roger Deakins classic film, the Shawshank Redemption, at the Odeon in Piccadilly followed by a Q&A session. 

The interview was conducted by John de Borman, President of the BSC, also a renowned Director of Photography, and is currently filming Quartet starring Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly. John has also worked on An Education, The Full Monty, The Guru and recently The Engagement.

Lighting the interview was the Briese 77, supplied by Pixi Motion. These were the only lights required.

 

Roger Deakins is currently working on his latest project with director Sam Mendes, Skyfall, the latest Bond movie staring Daniel Craig as 007. His other achievements include block busters such as True Grit, No Country for Old Men, Jarhead, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and recently In Time and The Company Men.



You can see the Q&A session on the SC website at http://www.bscine.com/events/

It's an Honor for Briese

The Briese 140 has been in action once again. Ed Moore, DoP, needed a certain light to do a specific job and tells us why he used the Briese 140:

"This shoot was for a national TV advert featuring Honor Blackman. I needed a very flattering, powerful key light that would enable me to balance interior levels against a large set of windows with the minimum of NDing required. The Briese Focus 140 was the perfect tool for the job - it has an extremely effective reflector which coupled with the 2.5KW HMI lamp provided ample amounts of light... but more to the point the design of the unit and its diffusion produced a very lovely quality of light that worked fantastically.  The size of the 140 was a perfect match for a seated subject a few meters away."

Technical specs for the Briese 140

Lamp options: 1200w MSR daylight, 2500w MSR daylight, 2000w tungsten, Low volt tungsten (Equivalent to 5000w)
Standard kit diffusion: 1/4 Grid Cloth, 1/2 Grid Cloth
Optional diffusion: 1/4 silk, Full silk
Honeycomb option
Dimensions: Diameter 140cm, Depth 104cm, Weight 8.2kg

For more information on the Briese 140, contact LCA - Lights, Camera, Action on +44(0) 20 88 33 7600 or email sales@lcauk.com. Visit our website at www.lcauk.com

To contact Ed Moore, Director of Photography;

07980 524136 | http://www.edmooredop.com