Page 9 - Fujifilm Exposure_31 The White Countess_ok

Photos main: Derek Suter on aerial location;
facing page l-r: with Lukas Erni (left); Suter now and then; with Terry Winsor and John Deaton; left: on the set of Save Angel Hope with star Billy Boyd and Erni
latitude. For the film, which was shot Super 35mm, 1:85, we used the Super F- 500 8572 as well as some of the F-64D 8522 and F-250D 8562.”
“One of our biggest sequences had this truck crashing into a car. We had six cameras on it – one at 100 frames, another at 150 frames, a pair at 60 frames and two photosonics, which had come out from Panavision, at 360 frames each. The result was fantastic,” said Suter.
Terje Gaustad, who’s producing the film along with Chris Kenny, paid this tribute: “Derek is a highly experi- enced cinematographer and a great person to be around. We encountered difficult lighting situations almost every day, which Derek mastered in a timely fashion and without compro-
mising the quality and style required for the job. Derek and his crew were the key to achieve the grand look of the picture.”
Suter’s final graduation to features might have come later than some, but he remains grateful about that long learning curve which began when, as the Shepherd’s Bush-born son of a coalman – hence the nickname ‘Sooty’ – he first got a job as a driver with Lee’s. Moving on to the electrical side, he “went through the mill”, ending up as a gaffer. “However, I think I always had an inkling about wanting to end up on camera.”
A great believer in operators – he particular mentions Jamie Harcourt, Nick Lowin and, of course, a very reg- ular colleague Trevor Coop – he is also a fulsome supporter of the BSC for whom he quite recently, and very proudly, became a board member.
Looking back, he reflected: “You know, I think my saving grace was the fact I came up the way I did, for the sim- ple reason I now know lenses inside out. That’s been a great asset to me as a result of going through the mill. I wish more technicians could get the chance to go through that same mill. I’m sure it would benefit them.” ■ QUENTIN FALK
Save Angel Hope was originated on 35mm Super F-500 8572, F-250D 8562 and F-64D 8522
Fuji Motion Picture And Professional Video • Exposure • 7