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OLL WITH POETS
OLL WITH POETS
That’s really Coleridge’s POV, that’s the state of mind he’s in when he writes these great poems.”
At 31 Lynch is already a veteran of commercials (Grolsch, First Direct, BMW) and pop videos (Robbie Williams‚ Millennium, Angels: Bjork’s All Is Full of Love). But Pandaemonium marks his feature debut, and it’s a pretty challenging one at that.
“When I read the script it was really interesting to have to visualise words, especially because these poems are supposedly among the best in the English language. The challenge to visually recreate Kubla Khan or The Ancient Mariner in a day is pret- ty tough. You really have to think on your feet all the time and come up with ways to make it visually brilliant but do it in a short space of time.”
Using Fuji F500 stock, 64 daylight and 250 day- light, Lynch has met the challenges set before him
with an air of confidence mixed with enthusiasm. For his director the Fuji stock will have one acid test to pass - “let’s see how it photographs daffodils,” he quips - but for Lynch it has been highly satisfactory. One particular poser was how he should light a room for night time, with no moon and no fire - and all this as the sun blazed outside.
“Well I did it,” Lynch smiles triumphantly, “and someone said ‘it’s a bit dark’. But of course it would be, wouldn’t it? We had to push the stock right down so that the meter was not reading anything at all and just shoot it, basically. I did put a bit of low key lighting in there, but it looks gorgeous. So far I haven’t done anything by the book and it’s all worked out quite well.” Taking his visual cues from lush French movies such as Manon des Sources and Cyrano De Bergerac, Irishman Lynch is clearly
enjoying his movie debut, not least because of loca- tions that are full of delightful surprises.
“Obviously they walk a lot in this film,” he adds. “They stride purposefully across hills and into valleys that are thousands of years old, with these huge, old oak trees. In the right light it is the most incredible place. The feeling is a Manon Des Sources/Jean de Florette kind of thing. So I don’t feel any pressure at all. On days like this it’s great being a cameraman, to be in a place of natural beauty and to get light this good. It’s a wondrous thing.” ■ ANWAR BRETT
Pandaemonium was originated on Fujicolor Motion Picture negative
Photo opposite page inset: Director Julien Temple; above main: Samantha Morton, Emily Woof, John Hannah and Linus Roache in Pandaemonium top right down: Linus Roache as Samuel Coleridge in Pandaemonium; setting up a shot, and below, cinematographer John Lynch