Receiving BSC Certificate - December 2013

It was a great honour to be invited up to receive my official certificate of BSC membership at Operator's Night. Sean Bobbitt BSC was conducting proceedings and fellow new member Matt Gray BSC was awarded his certificate at the same time. From left to right: Sean Bobbitt, Matt Gray, Tim Palmer.

'Gangsta Granny' Airs Boxing Day BBC1, 6:05pm

'Gangsta Granny', in an unprecedented move for BBC1, has cut short the six o'clock news to take a prime 6:05 pm slot on Boxing Day 2013. Click HERE for more information about the program and interviews with cast members David Walliams, Miranda Hart and Julia McKenzie. Click on the Radio Times cover below for publicity still from the set

'Critical' - New Drama for Hat Trick/Sky

Signed on now for 'Critical', Hat Trick's new medical drama for Sky. Written by Jed Mercurio the high octane drama focuses on the so called "golden hour" - the critical period after a traumatic injury when treatment can save lives. The first director is Jon East. It should prove to be a very exciting project considering the dynamic production and design team involved. More to come as things gear up. 

RTS Nomination - 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'

It was a great honour to be nominated in the 'Best Photography - Drama' category for 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'. Sadly I didn't win but the prize could not have gone to a better person and a more deserving project: Gavin Finney BSC for 'The Fear'. Congratulations Gavin!

New Size Balloon - 'Gangsta Granny' 20/11/13

Leelium's new size 'sausage' balloon with a narrower profile 4' diameter and 8.5 cubic metre volume is incredibly versatile in smaller spaces. It couldn't have been a more perfect fit for this church hall. Furthermore the fact that it is skinnier makes the side flags more effective at keeping any spill off the walls.

Police Helicopter PoV - 20/11/13

Here's a shot that's meant to simulate a police helicopter's view down to the ground with its searchlight focused on the suspects. The simple and effective solution was to rig a 575W Cinepar adjacent to the camera on the Chapman Hydrascope crane. Swoop the arm in, wriggle it around a little, add some wind down below and presto - a pretty convincing effect.

'Gangsta Granny' - Prism-tastic 20/11/13

A very resourceful and creative use of the low angle prism. The camera had to be hand held due to space limitations and the circuitous journey taken. This could have made it very awkward to operate but grip Felix Milburn-Foster designed a nicely balanced rig that enabled B camera operator Barney Piercey to execute the shot flawlessly. I graciously relinqushed operating duties to Barney on this one in the interests of lumbar conservancy.

'Gangsta Granny' - In Production 04/11/13

This is a fun shoot! Great cast: David Walliams, Miranda Hart, Julia McKenzie, Rob Brydon and an inspired production team led by producer Jo Sargent and director Matt Lipsey. More to the point my brand new 'Canada Goose' jacket had its first outing on Wednesday night. Never have I experienced such attire envy. Every member of the crew coveted this jacket. But look carefully at the pictures below and take note of esteemed grip Felix Milburn-Foster's legwear. Shorts indeed. Meanwhile your humble scribe felt very foolish, cooking like the veritable Christmas goose in his new jacket. Anyway another good use of the steadicam on a rickshaw, this time in the capable hands of operator Jason Ewart.

Tin of Sardines - 18/10/13

Nothing could be simpler. It's a straightforward two shot looking through the front windscreen. There isn't even any lighting. Take a step back into the rear compartment of Vera's Land Rover and things look a little more interesting. From left to right: Jules Ogden-focus puller, the driver, David Richards-director, Ed Clark-camera operator and your humble scribe is taking the photograph.

Victor Pasmore's 'Apollo Pavillion' - 18/10/13

This was an extraordinary location. When the modernist British artist Victor Pasmore was living in Newcastle in the 1950s he was appointed consulting director of architectural design for the new town of Peterlee. His 'Apollo Pavillion', surrounded by ornamental lakes and gardens, was the centrepiece of the new town. Today it sits rather forlornly in the middle of a non descript housing estate outside Sunderland but thankfully the structure has been restored. Needless to say it provided a wonderfully graphic backdrop to many scenes.

 

More Fun With Prisms - 18/10/13

Another good use of the Low Angle Prism on 'Vera'...and a new way of rigging the PeeWee in low mode. I have never seen this done before but Anthony Ward inverted the neck of the dolly allowing it to accept a paddle mount. This gets you lower, is more stable and allows for more reach than the low mode 'lollipop' Clever boy Anthony! Camera operator Ed Clark is manning the camera.

'Vera IV' - Boat Rigs for Rowing Sequence 6/10/13

A pre-title sequence with two racing quads on the river Tyne involved the use of multiple cameras and formats. In addition to the main Alexas, a Sony 900, Canon 5D and Go Pro cameras were utilised. Considerable planning was required to ensure that all cameras were used to best effect without interfering with each other. Once again an enormous debt of gratitude goes to grip Anthony Ward who rigged the cameras. The splashbag housed Alexa was mounted on a Libra Head off the tracking boat. This delivered smooth stabilised tracking shots. A second Alexa with Canon 400/800 mm lens was shore based. A Sony 900 was used on a second camera boat for close ups of the rowers. Finally a third boat was prerigged with a Canon 5D and three Go Pro cameras. The clip below shows, in order, a Key Head shot of the boats passing under the Milennium Bridge, the Libra stabilised shot, Canon 5D forward facing, Go Pros off the outrigger, bow and oar.

'Breathless' Premieres October 10th

Episode 1 of ITV's new medical drama series 'Breathless' will air on Thursday October 10th at 9.00 pm on ITV1. The final culmination of much hard work and interesting rigs as evidenced by the numerous blog posts below. Click on the picture to take you to the Radio Times publicity page.

'Vera IV' - Dolly Wrangling

Well this was a first for me. Grip Anthony Ward and Rigger David Ode devised this ingenious method of lifting a Peewee over a metal barrier at Dunston Staithes in Newcastle.

'Gangsta Granny' - BBC Christmas Special

Very pleased to have been signed up to shoot a BBC Christmas special dramatising David Walliams' best selling children's book, 'Gangsta Granny'. Filming begins soon after Vera wraps. The director is comedy genius Matt Lipsey (Psychoville, Little Britain, League of Gentleman) with whom I last worked on 'Vexed'.

'Vera' - Prepping - 11/09/13

Finishing a marathon grading session on 'Breathless' with Technicolor colourist John Ensby who is making the show look fantastic. Tomorrow start prep on 'Vera' in Newcastle with director David Richards. I'm looking forward to using my new GoPro on some underwater sequences.

Posterior Dolly 'Breathless' - 23/07/13

Say no more. Devised by operator Jamie Harcourt and relentlessly resourceful grip Ronan Murphy. This is a very useful rig for achieving low angle hand held shots that require lateral movement.

Semi Underwater 'Breathless' - 23/07/13

A neat underwater shot using a splashbag for the Alexa. A Camera/Steadicam operator Jason Ewart and focus puller James Scott pictured under the bridge with the rig and then what the camera was seeing.

Tracking Vehicle 'Breathless' - 29/06/13

Director Paul Unwin wanted a following shot of a vehicle that booms up to a high wide angle followed by a further rise to reveal the car's final destination. Key grip Ronan Murphy mounted a 30' Technocrane on a Silverado tracking vehicle provided by Bickers. My initial thought was to use a Russian Arm but Ronan quite rightly suggested that the shot as described would be impossible to achieve without a telescopic arm. Furthermore the Russian Arm would not provide enough height for the final view. Judge for yourself but it worked pretty well. Here's the best take followed by a clip of the rig in action and for good measure a snap of mission control with director Paul Unwin and myself looking quite cheerful. The sun was shining!

5D Bicycle Rig Pictures 'Breathless' - 21/06/13

Read the previous blog entry for more of an explanation and some video clips. Meanwhile see the pictures below.

Here's the rig - flag arms, knuckles and lightweight tube.

Reviewing the shot - from left to right, director Marek Losey, boom op Paul Schwartz, actor Shaun Dingwall and your humble scribe in the silly hat.

I had to laugh at this photo taken by B Camera focus puller Gabriel Hyman. Where's my grovel pad Ronan?

Ronan Murphy, clearly very happy with his rig - and deservedly so.

5D Bicycle Rig 'Breathless' - 21/06/13

On Jamie Harcourt's advice based on prior experience with a similar rig, grip Ronan Murphy devised this neat little setup for the 5D. It's a shot we've all seen a thousand times before but a little resourceful ingenuity and a 5D enabled the shot to be rigged and executed in a matter of minutes. The lens is a 35mm at f2.0, intentionally wide open in order to blow the modern background. This show is set in 1961. Here's a clip of the setup followed by the shot itself:

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Jamie Harcourt ACO Handheld Gizmos

You may think this shot looks easy but consider the fact that it is handheld, from a very low angle and begins on a big close up detail followed by a tilt up. Here's the shot.

Our ever resourceful and skilful camera operator on 'Breathless', Jamie Harcourt, had the perfect solution. Does anyone remember Tracker trucks and lime green Kryptonics? It took me back to my days at Skate City in the late 70s. Anyway Jamie's truck and wheels screwed into a Ronford snap plate made for a lovely smooth move.

 

Here is another way Jamie can tweak a hand held shot. A simple and ingenious way to add a bit of 'lively stability' to a hand held shot - a tennis ball cut in half fastened onto a monopod. There's focus puller extraordinaire James Scott on the left - not doing much work by the looks of it!

Rollover Shot in Action - 22/05/13

Here's a clip showing the execution of the aforementioned rollover shot. All credit is due to our superb grip Ronan Murphy who worked out the logistics of the rig very quickly. But look at his delicate footwork performing the move. Ronan can feel a shot like no other grip and we are lucky to have him.

Low Angle Prism - 'Breathless' 22/05/13

Made good use of a low angle prism here skimming along the shiny floor of the TUC building in Bloomsbury.

Pan, Tilt and Roll - 'Breathless' 21/05/13

This was a two man job. Jamie Harcourt operating the pan and tilt. Myself on the roll. The built in electronic level in the Alexa Plus viewfinder was invaluable here as I was able to roll to a perfect horizontal every time without having to look at the frame. Jamie took care of the business end of things. I could only watch the bubble which was difficult to do with our glamorous BOAC airline stewardess right in front of us. The rig consisted of a Weaver Steadman top half mounted onto a Cartoni fluid head thus enabling 3 axes and a perfectly nodal roll.

'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher'
The Murder in Angel Lane - ITV May 12th 2013

Paddy Considine is back as Victorian detective Jack Whicher on ITV1 at 8.00 pm this Sunday.

Dr Who - BBC 1 May 11th 2013
'A Nightmare in Silver'

The latest episode of Dr Who in which the Doctor combats 'The Ancient Enemy' will be broadcast this coming Saturday May 11th on BBC1 and BBC America. The director is Stephen Woolfenden, visual effects supremo from all the Harry Potter films, so it should be a good one!

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'Breathless' In Production - 28/03/13

Two weeks in now on a very demanding but highly enjoyable shoot. Here's director Paul Unwin in deep discussion with steadicam operator Roger Tooley. The steadicam was hard mounted to a rickshaw for a low angle tracking shot. Below is the crew hard at work on a glorious spring afternoon. From left to right; Grip - Ronan Murphy, Trainee - Dan Glazebrook, myself in hat and Focus Puller - Barney Crocker.

'Breathless' 6 Part Series for ITV - 24/03/13

Prepping now for ITV's new medical drama. 'Breathless' is set in London in 1961 and follows the lives of a team of gynaechologists at a brand new NHS hospital. For the ITV official press release click here. The multi talented Paul Unwin - please visit his website to view his eclectic oeuvre - has written the series and is directing the first two episodes. Block two will be directed by Marek Losey, grandson of Joseph Losey.

Big Tungsten - 06/02/13

When you need power, punch and spread on a bright day, nothing beats a full Dino.

LED-Tastic. More 'Mr Whicher' - 05/02/13

Lite Panels LEDs were the perfect tool to enhance the effect of the oil lamps. They are easily concealed behind the myriad clutter of a Victorian policeman's desk. Best of all... no cables! Working with a director, Christopher Menaul, who likes to shoot everything with two cameras (three given half a chance) and his two favourite lenses are the 18mm and 135mm - you can guess the rest and witness the long suffering sound recordist Glen Marullo's umpteenth nervous breakdown - these little fellows are a godsend.

 

Homage to Roger Deakins - 04/02/13

Well...more like a blatant rip off. As they say though, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" and I'm not ashamed to have utilised a technique pioneered by the great master of naturalistic lighting. I have always admired his ring light made from concentric circles of different wattage bulbs. Our Victorian era saloon bar on 'Suspicions of Mr Whicher' provided the ideal setting to try it out. I showed best boy Paul Starkey various photos of Roger's setups featured in American Cinematographer articles about the making of 'True Grit' and 'Skyfall' and...voila! The only difference is that Paul's version weighs a ton. Definitely not hand-holdable like in 'Skyfall'. On a side note, once again all the 'daylight' is blued-up tungsten.

 

Natural Fill Light - 04/02/13

"Suspicions of Mr Whicher". It could not have worked out better. The snowy rooftops aligned perfectly with the windows of our first floor set. The deep freeze prevented the snow from melting for the entire week. I'd love to take credit for the lighting and wish I could repeat the look that was achieved but without a limitless design and lighting budget I'm afraid it will never be possible. By the way, that's a 20K with full CTB on the picker. There were no HMI lights used for any interiors.

 

Top Hat - 4/02/13

Here's something that gaffer Bernie Rostoski unearthed from the bowels of the Take Two yard. Apparently the lamp had not been used for fifteen years. Our first thought was that with minimal dressing it could be disguised as a brazier in the 'Mr Whicher' Victorian era street scenes. Sadly the Top Hat never performed that service but did prove versatile in small interiors. Cast and crew did keep bumping into the poor thing as it was so discrete and did not look like any lamp that anyone had seen before. That's Bernie in the picture holding it up.

"Bob Servant - Independent" from Wed 23rd Jan 2013

Part 1 of 'Bob Servant - Independent' starring Brian Cox and directed by Annie Griffin, will transmit on Wednesday 23rd January 2013 at 10.00 pm on BBC Four. There will be five more episodes to follow. Read more about this hilarious new series.

"The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" - In Production 14/01/13

A week into filming now and really pushing the limits of the Alexa. In the past I've tended to play it safe with the camera but this time thought what the heck. It's a period piece set mostly at night and the practical lighting is oil lamps and firelight. Why not give the camera a run for its money and see how well it really copes with the types of situation it claims to handle so well. We are shooting with a bog standard set of old Zeiss Superspeeds most of the time at T1.3. All the lighting on set is practical and there are no electrified lanterns being used. The results really are superb and apart from our long suffering but astonishingly brilliant focus puller James Scott, everybody is very happy - so far...

BSC Membership - The Greatest Honour.

I was recently invited to join the British Society of Cinematographers. It is an enormous privilege and I would like to extend a special thanks to all members of the board. There is a tremendous amount to live up to now and I will be doing my utmost to live up to the recognition bestowed upon me by my peers.