One evening recently, after shooting had finished for the day, NZCS members and guests received rare insights into cinematography on Shortland Street.

Cinematographer Simon Tutty

One evening recently, after shooting had finished for the day, NZCS members and guests received rare insights into cinematography on Shortland Street. The NZCS event was held within the actual Shortland street set, once everyone had signed their non-disclosure form. 

In a conversation enlivened by lots of detailed questions from the audience, Simon Tutty, one of the directors of photography, and Dylan Reeve, post production supervisor, explained how, with the crew’s help, they shoot about 120 minutes of broadcast television per week. It is a relentless schedule that sees them limited to around three weeks off Christmas.

But as Simon Tutty pointed out, the sheer amount of time spent in a three-camera dance with pedestals and a steadicam means that the motor and craft skills of the crew get to be pretty good, making it an ideal training ground for new camera crew.

A script was circulated so that the audience could see the starting point, and Dylan Reeve (pictured) played a number of clips to illustrate and explain the final product. He also contrasted two before-and-after scenes that showed the marked improvement in look created by introducing Panasonic VariCam 35 cameras and Canon zooms last year.  The more more cinematic perspective provided by the sensor was immediately obvious, but also less light is required, and they have the option of off-speed shooting without any additional equipment.

This was amply demonstrated with a slow-motion clip showing a patient’s admission and treatment in the ED department. 

Using cinematography like this to tell the story rather than spelling out everything in dialogue is something Tutty expects to offer directors more of in future as he explores ways to keep the show fresh – despite the relentless schedule.

Dylan Reeve (L) and Simon Tutty answering questions on the Shortland Street Set

Time to offer our congratulations to NZCS Platinum sponsor ARRI who have reached the amazing 100-year milestone.    

2017 marks 100 years since August Arnold and Robert Richter rented a small former shoemaker’s store in Munich and set up shop as a film technology firm. The two young friends started with just one product: a copying machine they built on a lathe Richter had received as a Christmas present from his parents. Taking the first two letters of their surnames, they christened their new enterprise ARRI.

In Sydney, Australian GM Brett Smith (pictured) who joined ARRI last year says the company has just celebrated a record year in camera and lighting. 

"That success has not been achieved by chance," he says. 

When the company was founded the partners were teenagers too young to to sign the incorporation documents. Executive board member Dr Jorg Pohlman says first and foremost the pair were film enthusiasts, driven by a love for visual storytelling and technology. 

"If you walk around ARRI today you’ll see that same enthusiasm and passion – it defines who we are and what we do.” 

Full release

The NZCS website has been upgraded to the same level of security as major website like banks and major retailers. 

The NZCS website has been upgraded to the same level of security as major website like banks and major retailers.

Previously the site only encrypted pages where data was entered. Now, as soon as you reach the site it invokes https, a communication protocol that secures all communication between the site and the browser or mobile device. 

While there was no unusual risk with the past approach, from this year Google's popular Chrome browser will display warning messages for sites that do not use https.

NZCS members feature prominently in the nominees list for the 2017 Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards (AKA the Moas) to be held in February.

Photo: Hunt for the Wilderpeople: Shot by NZCS member Lachlan Milne ACS

NZCS members feature prominently in the nominees list for the 2017 Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards (AKA the Moas) to be held in February.

Up for the Rialto Channel Best Film are Hunt for the Wilderpeople shot by Lachlan Milne ACS, Mahana Shot by NZCS Cinematographer of the Year Ginny Loane, and The Rehearsal shot by Andrew Commis ACS.

Nominees for NZOnAir Best Television Feature include How to Murder Your Wife shot by Richard Bluck NZCS, while Ginny Loane shot Jean, which was also nominated for this category.

Image Zone Best Cinematography NZCS member nominees are Simon Raby for Deathgasm, Lachlan Milne ACS for Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Ginny Loane for Mahana, and Waka Attewell/Alun Bollinger for The Great Maiden's Blush.

Nominees for PLS Best Documentary Cinematography include NZCS members Jacob Bryant for A Flickering Truth, Mathew Knight for Belief: The Possession of Janet Moses, Jacob Bryant for Chasing Great, Adam Luxton jointly credited for On an Unknown Beach, Christopher Pryor for The Ground We Won, and Dominic Fryer for Tickled.

Meanwhile, corporate members Halcyon Digital and Park Road Post have been nominated for the contribution to Deathgasm, and WETA Digital for Hunt for the Wilderpoeple.

When you travel by air with film or video equipment there are restrictions on dangerous goods including the lithium batteries that you will almost certainly be taking with you. 

The most well-known restriction on lithium batteries is that you must not put loose or spare batteries in checked-in baggage.

Here is the official Air New Zealand policy about travelling with lithium batteries updated for 2017. It has a handy table to help you decide what is acceptable. It can be helpful to carry a printed copy with you in case you encounter check–in staff are not fully up to speed.

Air New Zealand, like many airlines, also has a guide on their website. This website guide also warns that your batteries should have the original manufacturers labels on them that show capacity or lithium content.

More detailed documentation from airlines sometimes refers to a requirement that batteries and cells must be of a 'type proven to meet the requirements of the UN manual of tests and criteria'. Reputable manufacturers have certificates showing that their batteries meet this criteria. They can usually be found by a Google search for '[Insert manufacturer] batteries proven to meet the requirements of the UN manual of tests and criteria'

It's important that we all comply with these restrictions, they may seem like a nuisance but they are there to keep us all safe.

Links:

www.airnewzealand.com/travelling-with-lithium-batteries

IATA document Lithium Battery Guidance Document Revised 9 March 2016

Lithium batteries for film Crews 2017.pdf

Members were intrigued as the possibilities of Virtual Reality (VR) Augmented Reality (AR) and 360 degree shooting were revealed at an NZCS event held at the VR Garage in November.

Members were intrigued as the possibilities of Virtual Reality (VR) Augmented Reality (AR) and 360 degree shooting were revealed at an NZCS event held at the VR Garage in November.

Aliesha Staples of Staples Productions explored the techniques and equipment on offer and surprised many with the extent to which VR, AR and 360 shooting is already happening in New Zealand.

It would be easy to dismiss this stuff as gimmicky just because there has been little impact on conventional drama shooting so far. But it’s hard to ignore the potential for the screen industry to be affected by YouTube, Facebook, the games industry, and the electronics industry.

Staples pointed to the efforts of the giant Samsung to promote VR headsets as a hard-to-ignore factor that is opening up the field. (Observe the appearance of VR headsets in mobile stores, of all places).

And while VR may not be the stuff of cinema film screens just yet. The Suicide Squad shows, it can make for a pretty inventive EPK and games spinoff. However, Staples was quick to point out that resolution and colorimetry have moved on since then. After all – that was last year.

Also on show at the event was various 360 shooting options – think of shooting Google Street View style, but without the vehicle loaded with keyboard and servers.  

Because 360 is so easily watched on-line this is a rapidly moving area and it is not just factual film makers, others are trying to figure out how to use this dimension to tell a scripted story as well.

After the main session members were free to have a go within several VR scenarios using a headset, and if you have never done this before, well, it is literally a whole new world. But then you had to be there…

Click image to view gallery

Ginny Loane won NZCS Cinematographer of the Year at the inaugural NZCS Awards on Saturday.

Photo: Barrie Osbourne presenting the NZCS Cinematographer of the Year Award.

Photo: Barrie Osbourne presenting the NZCS Cinematographer of the Year Award.

Ginny Loane won NZCS Cinematographer of the Year at the inaugural NZCS Awards on Saturday. Her success was earned from shooting feature film Mahana directed written and by Lee Tamahori, who was on hand to offer his congratulations.

It was a fitting climax to the event, after NZCS President Richard Bluck acknowledged at the beginning of the evening the lack of women and ethnic diversity in the New Zealand cinematography profession. He promised that NZCS has a programme underway to address the issue but warned that it would take time to bear fruit.

The inaugural NZCS Awards were judged a resounding success by the sellout crowd at the Heritage Grand Tearoom, in Auckland last night.

Photo: Presenting the Al Guilford Emerging Cinematographer Award. Sandra Clover Smith, Sophie Guilford, Christian Hipolito, Antonia Prebble, Richard Bluck NZCS.

Photo: The Al Guilford Emerging Cinematographer Award. Sandra Clover Smith, Sophie Guilford, Christian Hipolito, Antonia Prebble, Richard Bluck NZCS.

The inaugural NZCS Awards were judged a resounding success by the sellout crowd at the Heritage Grand Tearoom last Saturday and NZCS offers a huge thank you to everyone involved.

The event was led by master of ceremonies Antonia Prebble who helped make the evening entertaining and moving along smoothly with lots of breaks for socialising.

The climax of the evening was Ginny Loane winning NZCS Cinematographer of the Year for Mahana directed and written by Lee Tamahori, who was on hand to offer his congratulations.

Over dessert, guest of honour Tom Stern ASC AFC, surprised the audience by waving a roll of genuine 35mm film stock. Then, like a Clint Eastwood gunslinger he drew a mobile phone and GoPro from each pocket as a vivid illustration of how the world of cinematography is changing.

This view was thoroughly reinforced by the amazing range of clips that demonstrated that New Zealand produces world-class cinematographers across a wide range of genres.

The Australian cinematography community supported the occasion by sending special guests Ron Johanson OAM ACS, ACS National President and David Lewis ACS, ACS NSW President and ACS National Vice President, and a number of Australian-based sponsors.

 

NZCS Awards 2016 winner list

Cinematographer of the year
NZCS Trophy	Ginny Loane	Mahana
Al Guilford Emerging Cinematographer Award
NZCS Pan Glass Trophy & Cheque	Christian Hipolito	Pound
Turtz Award for contribution to cinematography
NZCS Plaque	Dennis Thompson
NZCS Accreditation
Accreditation Certificate	James  Cowley NZCS
Accreditation Certificate	Dave  Cameron NZCS ACS
Student films
Gold	Christian Hipolito	Pound
Silver	Richard Lane	Suck It up
Silver	Manan Fredriksson	Unnatural Selection
Bronze	Tim Philmester	Mad About Pigeons
Bronze	Ross Dredge	The Pissy Tits Street Gang
Experimental and installation
Gold	Kieran Fowler	Dominion
Bronze	Mathew Knight	No man's land
Bronze	Ian McCarroll	Nurse Me
Music videos
Gold	Kirk Pflaum	I Will Be a Figure Eight
Gold	Callan Green	George Michael: Let Her Down Easy
Silver	Kieran Fowler	Mat Zo: Sinful
Bronze	Kieran Fowler	Broadhurst: Little Lover
Bronze	Drew Sturge	Haunted House
Bronze	Donald Duncan	Cairo Knife Fight: Rezlord
News and current affairs
Gold	Grant Findlay	Campbell Live Series 10: Episode 47
Bronze	Jacob Bryant	Maori Television: Native Affairs
Bronze	Nick Zieltjes	3 News
Magazine, lifestyle and reality
Gold	Clayton Carpinter	Topp Country Series 2:  For the Love of Fruit
Silver	Murray Milne NZCS	Intrepid New Zealand: Adams – Miracle in the Southern Alps
Silver	Hamish Pattison	Abandoned Iceland
Bronze	Clayton Carpinter	RockQuest 2015
Corporate and educational
Silver	Ian McCarroll	Air New Zealand: Surf Safari
Bronze	Alexander Glucina	ANZ: AFA Rising Star of the Year 2015
Bronze	Richard Parsonson	Coffee Supreme
Bronze	Matt Gerrand	Life Conference 2016 Closer Promo
Short films
Gold	Andrew Stroud	+/-
Gold	Simon Raby	Unit 6
Silver	Ian McCarroll	Cradle
Silver	Kieran Fowler	Overtime
Bronze	Chris Matthews	Judgement Tavern
Bronze	Mark Lapwood ACS	Hypothermia
Documentaries
Gold	Jacob Bryant	A Flickering Truth
Silver	Bevan Crothers	Dreams Lie Deeper
Bronze	Peter Young	The Women of Pike River
Bronze	Bevan Crothers	Hip Hop-eration
Dramatised documentaries
Silver	Dave Cameron ACS	The Monster of Mangatiti
Bronze	Richard Bluck NZCS	Beyond the Edge
Commercials
Gold	Callan Green	Middleton's Whiskey
Silver	Callan Green	Bridgestone Driveguard
Bronze	Ben Ruffell	Mad Mike Conquers High Lands
Bronze	Sigmund Spath Jnr NZCS	Craig Partners Investments: Wedding
Specialised Cinematography
Gold	Ben Ruffell	Flying south
Gold	John Mahaffie NZCS	Avengers: Age of Ultron
Silver	Murray Milne NZCS	Seafolly
Teleseries
Gold	Aaron Morton NZCS	Orphan Black Season 3: Certain Agony of the Battlefield
Silver	Thomas Burstyn NZCS CSC FRSA	Hell on Wheels Season 4: Two Trains
Bronze	Dave Cameron ACS	Filthy Rich: Episode 18
Telefeatures
Gold	David Paul NZCS	Field Punishment No.1
Bronze	Dale McCready NZCS	A Midsummer Night's Dream
Bronze	Richard Bluck NZCS	How to Murder Your Wife
Bronze	David Paul NZCS	The Kick
Features
Gold	Denson Baker NZCS ACS	The Dark Horse
Gold	Michael Seresin	Dawn of Planet of the Apes
Gold	Ginny Loane	Mahana
Silver	Leon Narbey NZCS	The Dead Lands
Bronze	Kieran Fowler	Terminus
Bronze	Simon Raby	Deathgasm