Photo: Donny Duncan NZCS

Our NZCS Professional Development Manager, Donny Duncan NZCS, recently ran a Camera Skills for Drama Workshop in Tauranga, at the invitation of Film Bay of Plenty.

The venue was the the Incubator Creative Hub at the Village Cinema community venue which was the perfect size for two  day-long workshops of around 20 people each. The course was pitched at cam assistants wanting to take the next step, camera ops wanting to extend their creative pallete, and writers, producers and directors wanting to know more about their relationship with the cinematographer and to gain some technical insights.

Subjects covered in the full-day session included: breaking down a script, tools to set a creative style, pre-prod and location recces, working with a 1st AD, and the building blocks of professionalism – reliability, integrity and passion.

The practical part of the course included setting up an Arri Amira kit , analysing the effect of various focal length lenses, and a demo of a variety of lighting units, including new technologies like full colour spectrum programable LED units.

Further discussion was held on why we move the camera, and how we move the camera, operator tricks of the trade, lighting approaches, useful apps, VSFX basics and the art of “cheating”.

The session finished with a look at new technologies like Virtual Studio Production.

Thanks to Jade and Tracey at Film BoP, Unitec Screen Arts for providing the camera kit and Professional Lighting Services for sponsoring a lighting demo package.

The NZCS is keen to extend professional development courses into the regions and this trip to Tauranga and our recent Masterclass in Christchurch have both been received with great feedback from participants, so with help from sponsors we will program more of these into the agenda this year.   

~ The NZCS Professional Development team

All photos taken by Producer / Photographer Julie Gursha

Christchurch was treated to a masterclass in early July catering to a range of experience levels, some in the early stages while others already deep into their careers. Taught by the legendary New Zealand cinematographer Alun Bollinger NZCS, or more affectionately known as AlBol.

The day began with a discussion on filming techniques from the Peter Jackson classic “Heavenly Creatures” where AlBol talked through an assortment of problems and the various creative ways of solving them. One such technique involved attaching a bungee cord to the ceiling to allow for long handheld takes and whip-pans, pre-dating the introduction of the easyrig.

We then moved into a more practical exercise of basic 3 point light before quickly “destroying” the technique and finding alternative ways of basic lighting set-ups. AlBol opened the floor to discuss any problems people have come across such as reflections in glasses, and the group worked to find fast, practical solutions.

At the lunch break the group headed around the corner to the local cafe for lunch, before setting up a scene within the same cafe. There was a discussion on blocking, where AlBol walked through the scene with the talent and talked about which angles he’d shoot at and why. Local gaffer Zac Beckett-Knight was on hand to demonstrate the DP-Gaffer relationship and worked quickly with his team to get through the multiple setups of the afternoon session.

The informal nature of the afternoon allowed for a peppering of questions throughout the session. Something attendee Jem Anderson-Gardener described as a “highly beneficial and a great opportunity.” Anderson-Gardener was one of the ten successful applicants and said while a number of concepts were familiar to him, it was refreshing to explore them through the eyes and experiences of someone so seasoned. “As a young DP, it was really inspiring to hear Al talk about his considerable experience, and to watch the way he worked with the cast and crew during the practical stage.”

Michael Paletta was on hand as 1st AC and was supported by NZCS members Madison Ryan and Charlotte Panoho, who brushed up on the skills they’d picked up from the previous NZCS 1st AC masterclass.

The day concluded with a discussion on career options and overcoming obstacles faced by many emerging cinematographers. 

This masterclass was made possible from help from Brett Mills at Queenstown Camera Company (supplying the ARRI camera gear) and Screen Canterbury for their sponsorship.

~ John Ross, Cinematographer

On a blustery July evening, a group of members joined an enthusiastic panel to discuss work-life balance. Generously hosted by Panavision, and a big thank you to Wes for hanging out for us, the panel included Ainsley Calderwood, Nina Wells, John Toon, Jo Raj and was moderated by Mark Minors.

The discussion was a great success, but perhaps just the start of what’s needed. Our panel were all keen and passionate about the topic with members of the audience chipping in with their own thoughts and ideas. Discussing things like 4-day weeks, 8-hour days and rolling lunches there was agreement amongst all that improvements in whatever form could be made to help improve the balance. 

What was clear was that Covid lockdowns have forced us all to slow down and evaluate our own situations. Ultimately this is an industry of passion and we should all assess our own values to decide where we draw that line between work and our personal lives, it’s not easy to do. Mental health is as important as ever and maintaining a healthy and happy pool of crew is crucial to a functional and successful industry.

As is always the case we could have gone on for ages and the surface was barely scratched. The important take away was to firstly to be aware of the issue and then encourage discussion amongst our peers. Talk about these ideas, push to try them out, and give feedback. It’ll be a long road to improvement but we can start by having more discussions like this, talking to one another and being more aware of our own work-life balance. 

We were able to record the audio of this discussion and aim to publish it as a podcast in the coming weeks, stay tuned! Finally a big thank you to Ainsley, Nina, John and Jo for being a part of this interesting discussion. 

The NZCS is delighted to announce an intensive Camera and Lighting for Drama, one-day Masterclass in Christchurch with legendary cinematographer Alun Bollinger NZCS on Sunday 3rd July.

This masterclass aims to introduce beginning and mid-level DP's to basic and intermediate cinematography techniques in a semi-formal, educational environment. It will consist of two main components: 1) Showing clips of the selected work with an explanation of the creative and technical techniques used, and 2) Practical demonstrations of these techniques in an interior location environment, so the attendees can learn how to execute them. 

Basic cinematography techniques that will be demonstrated:

• Three-point lighting  
• Contrast ratios
• Setting exposure (light meter, false colour, waveform)
• Depth of field 
• Lens choice and composition

Intermediate cinematography techniques that will be conveyed:

• Coverage and ensuring set-ups will cut together
• Eye-lines
• Quality of Light
• Camera Movement

Email your application here. Note - this workshop is intended for South Island locals, and a workshop in the North Island will be held soon.

Course will be limited to 10 participants to guarantee plenty of "hands-on" time. 

$180 for NZCS members, and $260 for non-members
Note: You can join the NZCS as a student member for $46 if you qualify (up to one year after graduation)

Lunch and short breaks will be provided. Details of venue upon acceptance of application. Deadline for applications Thursday 23 June.

Event kindly sponsored by:  

Late Knight Productions

Dear friends of ARRI,

You are invited to be one of the first to experience the new ARRI 4K Super 35 camera. This exclusive event will feature hands-on demonstrations with the new camera, in-depth product presentations, and discussions with our experts.

Please choose a session that best suits your time.

Session 1:

Date: 01 Jun, 2022 (Wednesday) Time: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM NZST Location: The Capitol Cinema, 610 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland 1041, New Zealand Slots are limited, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. No admission without registration.

REGISTER FOR SESSION 1

Session 2:

Date: 01 Jun, 2022 (Wednesday) Time: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM NZST Location: The Capitol Cinema, 610 Dominion Road, Balmoral, Auckland 1041, New Zealand Slots are limited, and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. No admission without registration.

REGISTER FOR SESSION 2

We look forward to sharing this exciting news with you in person,
Your ARRI Team

Photo: DP Intern Nikki Winer with DP Bevan Crothers on Wellington Paranormal 3

The NZCS is seeking production company partners to collaborate on our Cushla Lewis Gender Diversity Program which places women in paid roles on films, as interns in the camera department - either at the trainee level or as an emerging cinematographer observational role. The NZCS will subsidise 50% of a living wage for up to five weeks (camera trainee) or three weeks (DP intern) and production company pays the balance.

We had four placements in 2021, although the difficulties of production under the Covid 19 conditions have made it a challenging year for the program. 

The Gender Diversity program was established in 2019 and has proved a great success, with thirteen placements so far, giving women an opportunity in roles to enhance their career development on projects such as The Luminaries, The Power of the Dog, Sweet Tooth, and Wellington Paranormal 3.

There remains a great need for this initiative. While it is hard enough for anyone to get a career established in camera, it is even harder for women, and this program will make a significant difference to the ongoing imbalance in gender diversity, if it can be sustained. 

Looking forward, our hope is that we can continue to address gender diversity issues by helping women kick-start their careers in camera. This will, however, depend on engagement from producers to provide opportunities and budget for interns on their upcoming projects. We have NZCS funds available to subsidise the roles, an unfulfilled need, and a gender imbalance that we have only begun to address. 

Since current participants are generally in the early to mid-stages of their careers, the full effect will only become truly apparent in future decades when women, among the ranks of senior cinematographers, are no longer a novelty but a normality. 

If you are a producer with an interest in supporting this program, please contact Donny Duncan on pd@nzcine.com.  

When roles become available, they will be advertised in the NZCS newsletter or direct mail and NZCS members who identify as female are encouraged to apply. We also have intern positions available to all genders and advertised from time to time when the NZCS is approached by production companies with a vacancy.

Mike Potton photographed on a previous shoot

Cinematographer Richard Bluck NZCS, and 880 Productions NZ Ltd Partnership has very generously provided a training opportunity on the set of the Avatar 2 Pickups for two up-and-coming local cinematographers. Jess Charlton and Mike Potton from Wellington were the successful candidates for the 3 week positions and have both been very enthusiastic about the chance to immerse themselves in the latest technologies.

Jess Charlton: “It's going really well! It's been super inspiring and I have learnt so many things that I couldn't learn any other way.”

Mike Potton: “ Walking into the studio feels much like walking into the future, not just because of the film's genre but also the cutting edge nature of the workflow. It's been a bit like watching a magic show and learning piece by piece the secrets to how the illusion is put together. I've been able to observe how Richard projects a calm confidence in his decision making on set. Chatting to the wider crew uncovers more knowledge, it's been invaluable to drill down into technical details and to hear stories from their years of industry experience.”

Many thanks to Associate Producer/UPM Brigitte Yorke and her team for facilitating this placement under the umbrella of the NZCS Cinematographer Intern Program.

Covid-19 has bought big changes in our society. Feelings of disconnection and loss usually bring a fountain of strong opinions and confronting stories. The full impact of Covid-19 on technology, narratives, employment, and mental health has yet to be understood. 

But right back in April 2020, the Global Policy Journal gave good advice which still holds true:  ‘Optimism is more important today than ever, as is our collective mental health and well-being.’

Industry boost

After our first lockdown in March 2020 and a successful year keeping Aotearoa Covid-free, the industry experienced a lucrative boost. Now, to align with the new traffic light system crew have started to implement the newly updated ScreenSafe guidelines. 

This is a mutable landscape. Fortunately, Aotearoa is used to four season in a day, and a change-with-the-weather attitude is part of our industry. Even before the new traffic light system came into force last week, most have readily come to accept a Covid test with the regularity of a morning coffee. 

Technology push

Technical tools have experienced a real push since the start of the pandemic. For instance, live feeds during production, now cover not only angles from the camera, but from around the set.  For offshore directors, producers, clients, agencies and the like, this has become common practice. 

Physical distancing restrictions haven’t just affected travel. If longer lenses weren’t already the preferred option for cinematographers, practicality may move the creative choices in that direction.  

Additionally, Covid is changing some priorities. Framing for online platforms, rather than theatrical releases may come to define the look for this era of film-making. 

Dave Garbett NZCS is of a different opinion. With Evil Dead Rise being one of the first productions to recommence during Level 3, new regulations have not interfered with his creative approach. The use of a remote head is a useful tool to overcome the challenge of physical distancing. 

Intimacy

While cinematographers are taking up their challenges, intimacy coordinators have a different physical distancing perspective. 

Level 3 guidelines did not allow physical touch between actors but the new traffic light system brings more latitude. Jennifer Ward-Lealand, President of Equity NZ and co-author of Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen, has not said goodbye to physical contact onscreen. She says they deal with actors and boundaries all the time, and the restrictions add another layer to the creativity. 

Further, she notes that film productions in Aotearoa are probably one of the safer places to work at the moment due to the rigorous safety protocols, such as regular Covid tests, vaccinations, wearing masks and use of safety officers. 

Ride with the tide

The changes may appear drastic in the film production landscape but the industry has gone through many forced growth spurts in the past like the introduction of sound or colour, moving from standard definition to HDTV, moving from film to digital, and then on to 4K. 

Perhaps our new motto should be: Things take longer than they used to. However, limitations can sometimes see new and unexpected creative, technical, logistical, financing and distribution avenues open up.

Let’s ride with the tide and approach the new year with well-deserved optimism. 

~ Originally from Germany, Alyssa Kath is an emerging cinematographer and NZCS member. She is an NZCS committee member but her opinions are her own, not those of NZCS.

Mark Lapwood NZCS ACS has loved experimenting with timelapse photography for over 10 years, so about a week into lockdown he got his game on, decided to clear out the garage and turn it into a controlled lighting environment to film seeds sprouting in timelapse.

The idea was to have a controlled lighting situation, so the light remains consistent for as many days as it takes for the seeds to sprout.

I blacked out a small space and set up one LED panel as a three-quarter back light, with a couple of small white balance boards for fill. 

To shoot I used two Canon DSLR’s an old school 6D & 70D, one as a wider shot on about a 35mm lens and one as a close up with a 100mm macro. 

After some experimentation and many calculations I set my intervalometer to take one shot every 90 seconds over a period of about five days.

Then I got my hands dirty and planted whole lot of radish seeds in seed raising mix on a plate and put it in my little studio space. 

The challenge of watering these seeds so they keep growing introduced a problem, because if I sprayed them every time they would jump in the final shot. 

So my solution was to use a syringe and gently inject water around the outside of the plate in areas that were outside the frame. 

Another challenge was the issue of camera power running out, and space running out on SD cards. Because every time I would have to touch the camera there’s the risk of bumping the shot. Fortunately I managed to find an old power supply for my Canon SLR, so that enabled the camera to stay on for many days as needed. 

And I used the largest SD card I could get my hands on, 256 gb.

All in all I shot three varieties of seeds, Radish, Rocket and Beetroot, the longest went for five days with a total of 5770 frames! 

The most delicate part of the entire operation was the daily checkups morning and night see if ‘my babies’, had enough water, checking batteries and cards without bumping anything. I did clip a tripod on my way out of the tiny little space on one occasion which required a bit of time in after effects sorting the glitch.

On the whole the results are mesmerising! What creative projects have you been up to during lockdown? Would you care to share in the next newsletter? If so please email Amber Wakefield on: eo@nzcine.com We’d love to see your creative pursuits!

Below are some pix of behind the scenes to enjoy.

You can also view the 'Radish seeds growing time-lapse' here.

~ Thanks, Mark Lapwood NZCS ACS