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“Film is what this business is all about and if we don’t fight to protect it then we’ll end up with garbage.”
With Kubrick’s influence inform- ing his own design of this project, Dunton recalls that it was working with another American filmmaker, Harold Becker, that inspired this idea in the first place.
“I built a screening room in a 30 foot trailer for Harold, because he wanted to be able to go from the set to somewhere close where he could see some footage. They sent me a portak- abin to put the projector in, but
I told them I had a trailer that would be better than that. I made an eight foot screen with just two seats in front of it, and that gave it the same perspective as you’d get in the best cinema.
“After he used it, Harold thanked me like an old friend, he actually cut me some film footage of his film Domestic Disturbance to use as in my demonstra- tions for this trailer – and that was
before anybody else had seen the film. That gave me a lot of encouragement.
“Now my daughter’s made a movie called Red Means Go, and on that they used the trailer, which was set up with Final Cut Pro in the back of it. Now on location the editor can be on the floor with the director. It’s a new way of making a film, having the editor updat- ing the rushes with you.”
Mention of Erica Dunton’s film also highlights another development that Joe Dunton and son Lester have been working on. It’s a regular 16mm film camera that can also take a high defi- nition magazine, enabling traditional film and new HD formats to capture an image through the very same lens.
“One part of our history is the development of video assists,” Dunton Sr explains. “On every film now you’ll see people huddled behind their moni-
tors watching the film being made.
I started that, a long time ago. This camera is really an evolution of what we’ve been doing video assist-wise.
“On Red Means Go we’ve shot the exteriors and night scenes on film and the other parts of it using High Definition. The lens becomes the com- mon denominator, so that there’s a real continuity there.”
All told, Joe Dunton & Company employs about 30 people between its Elstree base, JDC America and engi- neering division EF Moy. Dunton is determined to preserve his core busi- ness while pushing ahead with new ideas and fresh initiatives.
“We’re really a camera facility,” he continues. “We offer a support facility for the cameras, and for grips and also on the crane side of the business.
For example on the new Harry Potter
film we just did a whole underwater sequence with a crane, and a three axis remote head.
“We’ve also developed an under- water scubacam, which is like a wetsuit for a film camera, and ideal if you want to do a shot of someone falling in a swimming pool. We’ve got lots of projects, but it’s all related to the front end of making the film.”
Image is often said to be every- thing in the film business, but for
Joe Dunton this maxim is less a sign of personal vanity, more a challenge to maintain the finest traditions of an industry he loves while keeping pace with change.
“Film is what this business is about,” he adds passionately, “and if we don’t fight to protect it then we’ll end up with garbage.” ■ ANWAR BRETT
Fuji Motion Picture And Professional Video • Exposure • 23
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