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els he began taking freelance photos for the Daily Express but pursued his studies and eventually got a degree in electronics. Returning to photography he worked with respected stills pho- tographer, Sam Sawdon, but by now the lure of film had set in.
“When I was still in my teens I went to Pinewood to take some pic- tures for the Express, of Roger Moore filming North Sea Hijack.
“I was very confident that I knew what I was doing but it was the first time I’d ever been on a film set. I did- n’t have a blimp, so every time they yelled ‘action!’ I’d be clicking away and the third time it happened the director screamed at me. It was the gaffer who took me to one side, we got talking and I told him that this was where I wanted to be.
“I sort of went a funny route. I had a degree in electronics by the time I started, so that side of the job was no problem. But I was always fascinated by lighting. Camera movement was one thing but the harder part was learning about lighting. So I began working on films and remained a gaffer for 12 years.”
Finding success in that role, Butland wanted to rise up the ladder but found directors were unwilling to swap a good gaffer for an untested DP.
“Then one day Marcus Thompson called and asked me to light Middleton’s Changeling for him. It sud- denly happened for me, we went to Spain and after the first day I realised I could never go back to gaffering. And I never did.”
There is about Riki Butland the sense that he is a team player. A man totally in love with his craft for sure, but someone who sees himself as one, albeit integral, part of the film crew. He is dedicated, revealing that his light reading includes the odd technical manual but he is not so swept up in his own work that he loses sight of the production as a whole.
“I feel my job as a cameraman is to do my prep,” he explains. “If you can bring as much information and knowledge with you as possible you’re halfway there. There’s always going to be issues and problems that arise, so instead of wasting time on the things that should have been organised you’re concentrating on things that are changing.
tle bit tighter, I can make it look sunny’.” Dealing with the weather and the usual vagaries of a low budget and tight schedule, were the major chal- lenges on Redemption Road. An unusual road movie, scripted by its three stars – Ken Sharrock, Stephen Marcus and Tony Bluto – the film is directed by Butland’s friend, and fre- quent colleague, Lloyd Stanton.
Shooting on the Fuji 250D and the Fuji 500 tungsten stocks, Butland’s brief was simple: make it look like a movie.
“It wasn’t a case of being shot on anamorphic or Super 35 and blowing it up,” he continues, “it was to do with the depth. I never consciously thought about it, it’s just the way I’ve always done things. Lloyd’s actual brief was that it was a comedy but it was a character comedy. He didn’t want that flat type of lighting, which I don’t do anyway.
“We talked about it and I said we had these three big guys here, let’s care about them and make them really look like film stars. And that’s what we went for.
“The other fundamental point we started from was not wanting that typical cold, English look. We wanted an LA feel- ing, with that gold rim light, something much warmer. That was always in the back of our minds, and we always shot it for print, not for telecine.
“But because of the weather we were losing daylight at about 5.50 and we were still shooting at ten past six. I was backing off lights and working like mad to get it to match and people couldn’t even see each other. But it’ll be all right on the 250 daylight.”
A fan of Vittorio Storaro’s early work, and of Nestor Almendros and Jack Cardiff, Butland’s enthusiasm for the medium is palpable. It is also clear that he has reached a particular point in his own career ‘road’ that he relishes.
“If I can be involved in a film 24 hours a day, seven days a week, then that really appeals to me. I know it may sound sad, but that’s my greatest pleasure.
“It’s taken me 20 years to get here and this is where I’m happiest. What else is there? Getting a group of people of common mind together who all want one thing – to make a great film.” ■ ANWAR BRETT
Redemption Road and M.I.A. were originated on Fujicolor Motion Picture Negative
RIKI BUTLAND
“If I can be involved in a film 24 hours a day, seven days a week, then that really appeals to me. I know it may sound sad, but that’s my greatest pleasure.”
“You can worry about the art of it and if you’re ahead of the game that also means the director can have his time with the actors. At the end of the day that’s the only thing that counts. If they’re not telling the story then you haven’t got anything anyway.
“That’s what we’re there for, to tell the story, not just to make it look great. I’ll always try as hard as I can though. When it was pouring down with rain on Redemption Road I’d say ‘let’s go a lit-
“These three men come togeth- er,” Stanton explains, “they end up being forced on this journey they don’t want to take, to a place they don’t want to go to. It’s an allegory for the fact that men can’t talk to each other, except about football and the weather. And when they do, they say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
It’s a story of men trying to sort their lives out and on the way they have this picturesque adventure.”
Photo: Poster Redemption Road; Riki Butland at work with crew; Sadolin commercial
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