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TELLING THE STORY
First-time feature DP Charlie Stanfield on his big screen debut, Whatever Happened To Pete Blaggit?
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the Eterna
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Photos from top: the Ruby Casino; Rai Jenkins as Zombie Bride; Mark Jeavons, Paul Ullah and DP Charlie Stanfield; a stunt in action; Stanfield and Jeavons; Lead actress, Executive & Co-producer Gabrielle Amies; Stanfield at work with the Arri SR3 Super 16mm; main: Rob Leetham in Pete Blaggit pose; inset: Santa and the Blag Mobile
“When considering what format to shoot on, we shot a number of tests before finally deciding that Super 16 would be the best way to achieve the look we wanted.”
With the budget constraints firm- ly in mind, Stanfield designed a light- ing package that could run off a 13- amp mains supply for all locations other than the large church interiors. For this to work, he also wanted one film stock that would be able to cope with the low lighting conditions in which he was working, but could also handle a bright day exterior as well.
Stanfield looked at a number of stocks to see which could cope with this, but it wasn’t until Brian Tufano and Stuart Harris invited him up to the NFTS to look at a test that had been shot on the new Fujifilm 16mm Eterna 500T 8673 that he made his choice.
“When I first saw the tests I could- n’t believe my eyes,” he says. “Like
y philosophy is very sim- ple,” says cinematograph- er Charlie Stanfield. “It’s something I learnt in my film school days. When I am shooting, I always ask myself the question, ‘Are
these images telling the story?’” This approach to storytelling
proved essential on Stanfield’s first feature film, Whatever Happened To Pete Blaggit?. shot entirely on location in and around Birmingham. the film’s bland suburban backdrops required an imaginative cameraman with a clear vision.
Written and directed by Mark Jeavons, whose first feature The Boy with the Thorn in His Side
showed at Cannes last year,
it stars Rob Leetham and
Adam Rickett (of Coronation
Street fame). The comedy
focuses on Pete, a wedding video-maker in the throes of
a mid-life crisis, who is trying
to get his life back on track
but ends up getting himself
into more and more trouble.
Shooting the feature was
a chance for Stanfield to
bring together 10 years of experience in film and, he
hoped, bring a clear and imaginative vision to the film’s bland suburban backdrops.
He initially studied film theory at Newcastle for an undergraduate degree before spending five years as a camera assistant, working on TV dramas, pop promos, short films and features, most notably assisting Andrew Dunn BSC on Robert Altman’s Gosford Park.
He then got a place to study cine- matography at the National Film and Television School where he was trained by, and had the privilege of working with, many of Britain’s great cinematographers, including Brian Tufano BSC and Billy Williams BSC.
During these two years, Stanfield lit more than a dozen short films, including Wide Sky, for which he won the Best Cinematography award at Bristol’s ‘Brief Encounters’ film festi- val, and X-mass, which has won sever- al international awards. After leaving
the NFTS, he began shooting pop pro- mos, short films and idents, before travelling to Morocco to operate on the feature, La Gazelle Dans Le Vent, a British/Moroccan co-production.
Pete Blaggit was a challenging proj- ect, mainly owing to limited time and money, but the experience was helped by the successful working relationship between Stanfield and Jeavons.
“I know it’s a cliché, but from the moment we met we really hit it off,” says Stanfield. “We both appeared to have a very similar take on the story that Mark had written and similar sen- sibilities about how it might be told in a cinematic way, working within the constraints of our budget.
many of the faster film stocks, it seemed to cope extremely well in low light and in the shadow areas, seeing right in to the blacks. But while some of the faster film stocks have problems with the highlights, the Eterna stock dealt magnificently with the highlights and contrasty situations. Coupled with minimal grain, this stock was ideal and the definite choice for the production.”
Principal photography began towards the end of 2006. They were working to a tight four-and-a-half week schedule, shooting entirely on location in Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
“Mark and I had looked at various films and images together to help us come with a particular visual style for
the project,” Stanfield explains. “Although most of the film is based in reality and set in a naturalistic world, Pete Blaggit’s character also ventures to the dark side of his own paranoia. For this we wanted to find a visual style that would help separate these two worlds.
“Although early on we had considered shooting colour reversal to help cre- ate the look, we decided to create this through the light-
ing, camera movement and production design, while maintaining the consis- tency of the image that comes with using one film stock.”
Speaking of the experience of shooting his first feature, Stanfield raises his eyebrows and grins. “It was an amazing experience. but a challeng- ing one. Working on a tight budget is both restrictive and liberating.
“The conventional rules don’t nec- essarily apply, therefore one is con- stantly looking for inventive solutions to problems and the best possible way to tell the story. It’s a great feeling to have achieved pretty much what we set out to do”. ■ RUTH ELIZABETH
Whatever Happened To Pete Blaggit, originated on 16mm Eterna 500T 8673, will be showing internationally at festivals
Fujifilm Motion Picture • The Magazine • Exposure • 33