Jonathan Flanagan

Another interesting comment piece from Barry Ackroyd BSC, (President of the BSC.) https://bscine.com/presidents-column

The acclaimed photographer and later cinematographer, Wolfgang Suschitzky died recently at the grand old age of 104! His best known film was probably the seminal 1971 British gangster drama Get Carter,directed by Mike Hodges and starring Michael Caine. It obviously runs in the family, as his son is Peter Suschitzky BSC,ASC, and grandson is Adam Suschitzky BSC.

Saw it at the BFI on Sunday. It really is stunning in this version which is presented in DCP, (not sure if it is 4K or 2K).

Cinematographer Sue Gibson BSC, has sadly died, at the age of 64, from cancer. Among other achievements, Sue was the first ever female member of the British Society of Cinematographers and was their president between 2008-2010. https://bscine.com/news?id=164

BC magazine has finally launched an excellent and informative site (similar to AC magazine) which is well worth a look. https://britishcinematographer.co.uk

Here is a fascinating interview with Douglas Milsome BSC,ASC, discussing Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, on which Milsome was the Focus Puller. https://bscine.com

Replace the bulky and poor Sony EVF, with a Zacuto Gratical.

Below is a very interesting comment piece for the BSC by its president Barry Ackroyd. The article itself is self-explanatory but it raises very interesting issues regarding the role of the DP (particularly in the DI stage) and proper and fair payment for the role as a whole n a business always looking to cut costs and wages for certain crew. https://bscine.com/presidents-column

This looks very interesting, looking forward to seeing it. https://bscine.com/news?id=149

https://www.theasc.com/magazine/feb06/taylor/page3.html Also check out, David A. Ellis' book Conversations With Cinematographers, which features an extended interview with Taylor about his career.

As David has pointed out Oswald Morris was indeed a true innovator in colour cinematography and there are numerous examples of his talent. However his work in black and white is also equally striking. I would site two brilliant examples. Firstly, The Hill (1965), starring Sean Connery, Michael Redgrave and Ossie Davis, and directed by Sidney Lumet. Set in a British military prison in North Africa during WW2 and run by sadistic NCO's. It was shot in scorchingly dry conditions in Spain, Morris's camerawork perfectly captures the oppressive atmosphere of the camp and you can almost feel the sweat running down your back in many scenes. Also The Spy Who Came in From The Cold (1963) a Cold War drama starting Richard Burton, in one his best performances and directed by Martin Ritt. The harsh contrasty photography perfectly complements the downbeat, ultra real portrayal of the mundanity and isolation of the life of a spy- the very antithesis of Bond and meant to be. Both films masterclasses.

Yes indeed, the Panacam and the brochure I had at the time!

I remember seeing in AC magazine and in literature from Panavision around the mid 80's that they launched a range of cameras for tv video production as an alternative to 35mm and as I recall they used Primo lenses? At that time I think some pretty big high profile shows of the time like Dallas,Dynasty, Little House on the Prairie etc, appeared to abandon the traditional 35mm format and went to video. I remember noticing at the time how the image quality deteriorated markedly as the sharpness, colour and skin tones all looked terrible. They had a curious appearance, not the obvious interlaced video look of standard daytime soaps and sitcoms nor the sharp filmic look of celluloid. It might also have been bad NTSC to PAL dubs that contributed to the poor quality I saw here but when I see repeats of them now especially on a HD TV they really were awful.

The Technique of the Motion Picture Camera (Library of Communication Techniques) Bit of a trip down memory lane, but this book by H. Mario Raimondo Souto, was the first technical cinema book I ever had (for my 18th birthday in hardback). It was very expensive I remember, for the time,but was full of the kind of techie info a camera geek like me wanted. Not so much a book about technique, as the title suggested but lots of stuff about cameras and lenses, I really treasured it and still have my pristine copy. Would be interested to know what was your first 'proper' cinematography or film related book?

David Samuelson, a key figure in the British and international film industry passed away at the end of August aged 91. Brother of Sir Sydney Samuelson, Anthony and Michael, in addition to his career as a film cameraman he also helped run the legendary Samuelson's Film Services in the UK ( also known as Sammy's) which among many other things was the only supplier of Panavision cameras and equipment to film makers shooting in the UK for several decades before Panavision UK opened. However, he was perhaps better known as a major innovator to the industry. He was the inventor/co-inventor of the Samcine inclining prism,CCTV for film cameras, the remote control system for the Louma Crane,Samcine MK2 Calculator,Samcine rigidised equipment cases, Mitchell BNC front projection conversion, dSam depth of field test chart and many more. His many awards included two ASC technical achievement awards for the depth of field calculator and the Cinematographers Computer programme. As well as the Academy Plaque ( with Jean-Marie Lavalou and Alain Masseron),in 1980 and the Technical Achievement Award for the development of the Louma Crane and Remote Control System for Motion Picture Production and the Cameraimage lifetime achievement award in 2006. He was also the author of a number of essential industry manuals on cinematography for Focal Press and contributing editor to the ASC magazine until 1983.

Here is an extended discussion/q+a of Sicario between Roger Deakins and Dick Pope BSC for the BSC.

Cooke Optics have launched their own TV channel featuring a series of cinematography masterclasses by several top British DOP's on various shooting techniques using films like Casino Royale (presumably all shot on Cooke glass), all of which look fascinating. http://cookeoptics.tv/cooketv.nsf/b/index.html

Did any of Nic Roeg's photography make it into the final cut or was it all re -shot by Freddie Young? I always understood that Yuri's mothers funeral sequence was Roeg's?

I think for most people the most famous and memorable Lean edit/transition shot is the blowing out of the match and cut to the desert sunrise in 'Lawrence', taking us and him into the crucial desert scenes. However, in Dr Zhivago, there is also a very surprising cut, where Komorovsky (Rod Steiger) is dancing with Lara (Julie Christie) in the restaurant and Sean suddenly does a furious and unexpected whip-pan ( quite jarring on the wide screen) to the couple sitting down to dinner. I'm not sure what the motivation was for it but it stuck in my mind. I

Saw it last night for the first time in the cinema at the National Film Theatre in 4K. Cast, direction, screenplay,production design and cinematography all superb a genuine classic in every sense.

Here is an interview/conversation between Dick Bush BSC and Roger Deakins on Sicario as part of a BSC series. There are a number (55 to be exact) of these on Vimeo featuring leading British cinematographers in conversation about recent work, press the BSC link on the page.

A very talented cinematographer who did a wonderful job on Oh What A Lovely War for Richad Attenborough winning a BAFTA and BSC award. However, his Imdb listing suggests he shot The Last of Sheila in 1973, and then nothing at all for 12 years until one final film in '85, and then nothing again until his death in 1997 aged 72. Anyone know why the big gap between projects and what he was doing? I can't believe that he wouldn't have been in demand ( even in the desperate state that the British film industry was in in the 70's).

Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood and Bruce Surtees Peckinpah and Lucien Ballard

Only just heard about what sounds like a fascinating film about Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond and their friendship and paralell careers in both Hungary and the US. A screening and Q&A in London last month with Vilmos and the film's director James Chressanthis ASC took place but sadly I missed it! Don't know about any release dates on either side of the Atlantic yet, but definitely one for the diary and the must-see list.

The BSC have now announced the first Digital Evaluation Roadshow for the above will be at the National Film Theatre at the BFI on the South Bank in London on July 8th, where we will see the results of the side by side tests the BSC ran a few months ago. Tickets are £25 and you can register here, where there is also an interesting short making of demo video available. www.bscine.com See you there! (Sorry the site would not let me put this in News and Events section, so please feel free to move it if necessary)