Page 26 - Fujifilm Exposure_4 Samantha Janus_ok

est in cars he might never have entered the film industry. One of British cinema’s busiest and most respected operators, Proudfoot describes himself as an actor’s operator, someone who has risen through the ranks to a point where
he is constantly in demand. But, above all, he’s someone who gets a kick out of solving all the day-to- day problems that can arise on a film set anywhere in the world.
Three contrasting new films bear that out. From the Edwardian splendour of The Wings of the Dove, shot on location in London and Venice, to the fairy tale magic of an all new version of Cinderella shot in France, to the Belfast-based The Boxer, a gritty drama with a grainy, stripped bare look to match - each posed very different problems for Proudfoot and his colleagues. And all this, thanks to a passion for fast cars.
“Oh this is a story,” he chuckles. “I
was an apprentice grease monkey at
Porsche in Isleworth when I left school.
The wife of a very good friend of mine
worked for Rank Shorts & Documentaries, and they used to make a series called Look at Life - ten minute documentaries from all around the world. They’d run a new one at the local cinema once a week. They had some really old camera cars, Rolls Royces and Humbers, but they kept breaking down and because they couldn’t afford to buy new ones they used to take them to the local garage and book it in just like everyone else. So they decided to get their own mechanic, and through my wife’s friend, I got the job.”
After a spell as the on-set mechanic Proudfoot had a stroke of good fortune, being offered the chance to take over when one of the junior crew left. His entry into film production had begun, and his technical education started in earnest.
“I stayed with this company for another couple of years until the end of the 60s,” he continues, “then the business closed down. But in that time I must have gone around the world at least once doing these weird documentaries with two men and a camera. After that I got a freelance job with The Avengers and that was the start of my freelance career, which is how it’s been ever since.”
From the low budget, high energy pressures of filming for the small screen, Proudfoot gained valu- able experience and has no hesitation in giving cred- it to what he learned during this fondly remembered golden period of British television.
“I first started operating on The Sweeney,” he smiles, “and they were all shot on location in 10 days in odd places like coffee bars and pubs. So you very quickly learned to shoot around problems all the time, and working on shows like that taught me an enormous amount. Above all, that there’s always an answer in the end and it always comes down to plain common or garden common sense.”
Proudfoot has been solving such problems, and applying good common sense, on film sets through- out the UK and Europe for the best part of 20 years now, and has a rich depth of experience as a camera
His past credits include Shopping, Damage, Air America, Restoration, The Van, Blame It On Rio, Hackers and Batman.
The Nuts And
The Nuts And
H ad it not been for Mike Proudfoot’s inter- operator with a variety of different directors and DPs.
“I’ve tried not to work with the same DP all the time,” he explains, “I don’t think it’s too healthy, it doesn’t keep you on your toes enough.”
Having said that, of course, there are some names that recur on his CV, one of which is Iain Softley, director of Hackers and The Wings of the Dove, who ordered his cinematographer Eduardo Serra and Proudfoot to give contemporary London that distinctive Edwardian look.
“The locations were very sympathetic to what we were trying to do,” Proudfoot adds. “Obviously they went to vast expense to take street lights down and everything, and in the end it wasn’t that difficult because it was planned properly. But there are a lot of ingredients to get right.
“It’s a job I wouldn’t want to do, run locations on a film shooting in London. It must be hell. Everybody joins in, but the job comes down to the production manager and set designer, to get permission for us to shoot there and to fill the streets with horses and carts, and dirty all the streets down. I think we hid a few things, and there was a bit of magical work done
in post production. But what the paying public final- ly see on screen was pretty much all for real.”
Switching from the London and Venice locations on that film, to the rainy streets of Belfast for The Boxer - a very different love story, starring Daniel Day-Lewis - was a bit of a shock to the system for Proudfoot, not least because he was brought into the project quite late on in pre-production.
“Chris Menges was the DP and originally he was going to operate as well, but about ten days before they were ready to start he rang me and asked if I would help. So the biggest problem for me was that I’d done no preparation, and they’d been boxing for three months and knew it inside out. I arrived on the Easter Monday 1997, and we started shooting on the Tuesday. It became a real struggle, but I just had to take it on board and do my preparation while we were actually shooting.
“On my day off I’d go to the gym, and I’d sit and watch them for hour after hour. I wasn’t a big boxing fan beforehand, but I know a lot more about it now I suppose - particularly how to keep out of a boxer’s way with a hand-held camera on my shoulder. Which is how much of the ring stuff was shot. Luckily I only hit Daniel once with the camera.”
Photos: Mike Proudfoot with director Peter Yates and below, Daniel Day-Lewis in The Boxer
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