Page 6 - Young DPs

This was the point that I knew I wanted to shoot stories, rather than silent fashion portraits. So I started to work out how
I could make my photography move while still maintaining the discipline of frame, lighting, and problem solving approaches that I had learnt from these great photographers.
My first few jobs came about because of my stills and film experience and directors Andrew Douglas and Mike Figgis allowed me to multi task in their teams.
With the same production values simi- lar to Mr. Bean, we wanted to take the type of character (David Schneider from Chris Morris and Mission Impossible fame) to a different level. Maintaining all the commer- cial aspects that our cast and production team had given us, with the added layer colour shifts that follow his euphoria to his sinking heart as he lines up to jump off Chelsea Bridge, we used 160T and 500D for the film, which gave us this amazing range of possibilities to inform the dra-
matic arc of the story. Already stir-
ring in the press, look out for it on
TREVORFORREST
BORN: 6 NOVEMBER 1971, MANCHESTER, UK
How did you get into
this industry, any family “connections?
I started in the film industry after
watching from afar while working with photographer Nick Knight in the opposite studio. We were shooting stills and they were shooting a similar highly stylised portrait next door. But with the camera movement and tracking lights they used for the portrait it seemed to instantly have more story to it.
Becoming a DP, I was very fortunate indeed during the British Cinematography Lighting Classes that I founded to come into contact with many great people who have and continue to give essential advice. To be able to spend time with these people and speak about our craft and industry world- wide has been essential.
Some to mention Benoit Delhomme, Brian Tufano, Robby Muller, John Math- ieson, Clive Tickner and Oliver Stapleton.
Brian sat in the Panavision Cinema with both Chris Ross and I going over our first attempts at short film making, giving us help and criticism as an alternative way of learn- ing, without going to the NFTS.
What was your favourite job
to date and any unusual anecdotes whilst working?
My favourite job to date is the last film I shot for Col Spector. I was totally in my element with the level of collaboration and visual story telling we developed between Col, myself and our amazing production designer, Clive Howard.
We were very analogue about our three- week prep, to the point that we really enjoyed the walk between the different loca- tions. This allowed us the time and brain space to refine the simplicity of our approach and finally to create a cinematic world for David (Stephen Mangan) that gave this simple story its strength.
Who were the most influential people in your career to date,
i.e. cinematographer, director, etc.?
Charlie Kaufman, Gaspar Noé and Wong Kar-wai, Oliver Hirschbiegel for breaking the rules.
The World Press Photographers for showing the hidden stories of distant places, Jan Grarup, Yuri Kozyrev. Film makers who are primarily artists and actors - Miranda July, Julian Schnabel, Sean Penn, who are all making work with a soul.
Dir. Dan Nathan. Crossroads films. 35mm Fujifilm. DP.
• Titles for Sprint Feature length documen- tary analysing the physical strain on three runners’ bodies as they train to be the fastest Youths on Earth over 100m. BBC Films
• Crown Paint, Dir Ben Tonge.
35mm Fujifilm. DP.
• Nick Knight’s Show Studio, Project for Aganovich 35mm. Fujifilm. DP.
What is your experience of working with Fujifilm stock?
The high contrast nature of Fujicolor 160T allowed Ben Tonge and I to shoot a medieval black and white epic swiftly on the tight budget that we had to cope with.
HP5 Ilford stock was our initial preference but with the cost of processing it became limiting.
So after a day of testing with various black and white filters we discovered the 160T had a punchy enough contrast to approach the immediacy and starkness of those classic Black and White stocks.
With two stops over exposure and a #12 filter the results stood up very nicely, especially in projection.
The more emotive tones and colours that I found I could get using Reala 5OOD and ETERNA Vivid 160T were essential when I was asked to make a familiar, darkly comic world out of the well known building which is BBC Central for the short Clive Hole from Alexei Sayles’ award winning book.
The film is a portrait of a man who is running from his decision-making responsibil- ities as the commissioning editor of the BBC and his demise only to return in the closing titles as a parliamentary representative.
What were your most recent projects and what was your job on each?
• Clive Hole, Short Film. Written by Alexai Sayle. Dir James Carter Johnson.
35mm Fujifilm. DP.
I had a very friendly and close working
relationship with both of them and they
taught me to deal with intimate and huge
sets with the same inventiveness as you can
approach a still. Andrew, especially, gave me
the opportunity to shoot the stills for com- • Eti Brownie Chocolate, Commercial. the circuit summer 2008. ”
mercials that he was shooting for TV. That was my real beginning.
22 • EXPOSURE • THE MAGAZINE • FUJIFILM MOTION PICTURE