De Borman elected as new BSC president.

John De Borman BSC was elected as the new president of the British Society Of Cinematographers at a board meeting on Sunday 27th June, taking up the mantle from outgoing president Sue Gibson BSC, who had completed her two-year stint in the role.

De Borman, who was born in Paris and has a fine art background, is well regarded amongst peers for his passion and commitment to filmmaking. His credits as a cinematographer include, The Full Monty (1997), Hideous Kinky (1998) for which he won the Evening Standard, best technical/artistic achievement award, Hamlet (2000), Serendipity (2001), Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006), which earned him a BAFTA nomination, and An Education (2009) for which he received a best cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival. His work on Gillies MacKinnon’s Small Faces (1996) was the picture that saw him accepted into the BSC’s ranks.

De Borman commented, “It’s a great honour to take on this role. The BSC has a rich and wonderful history, and I want its future to be more open, inclusive and collaborative – to bring together not just cinematographers and their crews, but to create a community where anyone involved in filmmaking is welcome – directors, producers, actors and the other departments like design, construction, costume and make-up, even runners.”

He said that he had already written an extensive proposal to the BSC governors outlining his aims and plans for new events, industry collaborations and the society’s website, to be revealed in more detail in our next edition. “I have a lot of enthusiasm and energy for the role of president, and have listed a whole bunch of things to shake things up,” he added.

BSC vice president Joe Dunton MBE BSC commented, “John has tons of passion for operating, lighting and making pictures, derived from a fine arts background. He has a really good eye as a cinematographer. I’ve known him since 1982 when he was operating on Dance Craze. His outgoing personality will help to put the profile of the BSC and cinematography – film and digital – back into the window of greatness that the society’s forefathers created.”

Higgs collects a BAFTA.

David Higgs BSC, who was recently voted on to the BSC board of governors, won BAFTA’s Photography and Lighting Fiction Award for his cinematography work on C4’s Red Riding: In The Year Of Our Lord 1983, directed by Anand Tucker and written by David Peace, which he shot using a Red camera. Higgs won out against Chris Seager BSC, nominated for his work on BBC2’s Hamlet, and Alan Almond BSC for BBC2’s Desperate Romantics. Also nominated were Tony Miller for BBC1’s Small Island, and Lukas Strebel for BBC1’s Garrow’s Law and BBC’s Wallander.

ARRI announces first Alexa shipments.

ARRI announced that it shipped its first Alexa digital camera in June. Production ramp-up of the new camera is now underway, with initial delivery priority given to customers who purchased the flagship D-21 camera following Alexa’s unveiling at IBC2009.

ARRI is also shipping, in-camera, all the required hardware expansion for its brand new DTE (Direct-To-Edit) capability, which through the use of Apple’s ProRes 422 (HQ) and ProRes 4444 codecs allows high fidelity footage to be recorded onto Sony SxS PRO removable media cards, providing immediate availability of material into Final Cut Pro and Avid editing systems. A small number of beta-test customers will pilot the DTE capabilities of the camera for a limited period of time to further evaluate performance of these new features. The full release of Alexa’s DTE functionality will be made available to all customers as a firmware upgrade after the beta-test phase.

Coincident with product roll-out is the pioneering use of Alexa by Pace on the forthcoming 3D motion picture Hugo Cabret, directed by Martin Scorsese, which entered principal photography on the 28th of June with Robert Richardson ASC as cinematographer. Pace, a key technical partner for ARRI, and the first customer worldwide to take delivery of Alexa, is supplying cameras, lenses, stereoscopic systems and a new generation of 3D rigs designed around the camera.

Commenting on his investment in Alexa, Vince Pace, CEO, stated “We’re excited by Alexa’s roll-out into the new age of stereo cinematography. Our commitment to the industry is centred around the fact that the new trend in 3D has to be built on a strong 2D legacy. ARRI has done just that, delivering a camera with both technical and creative performance that raises the bar for digital cinematography. For a DP, the camera delivers on increased dynamic range and sensitivity to help make the transition to 3D seamless.”

Franz Kraus, MD of ARRI in Munich, commented, “ARRI has delivered on its commitment to customers, with an entry price point of 45,000 Euros, and a rich feature list which today’s technology-savvy and quality-driven customers have fully embraced. With important reference productions such as Hugo Cabret and many accolades from industry innovators, Alexa is now positioned in the market at the very highest level, offering unrivalled quality, reliability and performance at a very competitive price.”

Cooke extands /i Technology tools.

Cooke Optics Ltd, a premier manufacturer of precision lenses for the motion picture industry, has announced that a set of valuable new functions has been added to its /i Technology protocol for users of Cooke 5i prime lenses, which will provide further lens and camera information to camera operators and post-production teams.

The new functions allow data to transfer from third party external equipment to the lens, as well as from the lens to the camera, for recording with other metadata information. The combined data stream of information, which can then be stored in the camera or on an External Data Source Unit (EDSU), can provide a wide array of relevant data, such as 3D encoder information, details from electronic slates, or metadata from wireless devices such as iPhone apps.

“We’re delighted to be working with Cooke on yet another significant advance in bringing production and post closer together,” said Michael Lancaster, managing director of The Pixel Farm, a development partner with Cooke for four years and whose PFTrack software intergrates with Cooke’s /i Technology. “The streamlined transfer of data from the set, lenses and camera into post production makes accurate, high-quality VFX creation easier for everyone involved – cinematographers, VFX supervisors and VFX artists – as well as saving time and therefore money.”

“/i Technology is designed to be open access, and this set of functions takes that a step further,” said Les Zellan, chairman and owner of Cooke Optics. “The kind of data you can transfer is user-defined, so you can really record anything relevant or useful to you, as long as it fits into the allowed space - 60 characters with no carriage return.”

The new functions are available immediately within new and existing Cooke 5i lenses. The new manual, which details the functions, is available to download from the Cooke’s website.

Kodak’s new brace of Vision3 stocks.

Kodak has sent another message that its commitment to film is unwavering, by adding two new films to its Vision 3 family of motion picture products. The stock additions include a medium-speed, tungsten-balanced colour negative camera film, and a colour intermediate film optimised to work with digital postproduction technologies.

“These new stocks are the tangible results of our ongoing commitment to filmmakers,” said Kim Snyder, president of the Entertainment Imaging Division, and vice president of Eastman Kodak Company. “They were designed based on our customers’ suggestions and with the goal of increasing creative freedom and efficiencies in production and postproduction.”

Kodak Vision3 5213/7213 is a 200-speed, tungsten-balanced film. It features extended latitude, enabling cinematographers to record more details in highlights, and delivers finer grain for natural-looking images in the darkest areas. The emulsion is designed for both controlled interiors and challenging high-contrast exteriors, and is available in all formats (65 mm, 35 mm, Super 16 and Super 8).

“This new stock is a significant improvement over the already excellent Vision2 5217,” said ASC president Michael Goi (The Mentalist, My Name is Earl), who tested the film. “Reds in skin tones have a noticeably more natural balance, and I felt I could almost touch the high resolution results in texture.”

Kodak Vision3 Colour Digital Intermediate Film 5254/2254 is designed for use with contemporary film recorders, both laser recorders and numerous CRT recorders, that are still widely used in the marketplace. The imaging characteristics of this new intermediate film enhance the speed and efficiency of DI postproduction while rendering sharper images that represent the intentions of filmmakers.

Pictorvision plays in the A-Team.

Second unit DP Larry J. Blanford is always excited when he can get to do aerial work himself. In the case of 20th Century Fox’s feature version of the 1980’s television series The A-Team, he says he was even more excited because he got to put Pictorvision’s latest aerial camera stabilising system, the Eclipse through its paces.

For one particular sequence shot in British Columbia around the Vancouver Port, Blandford found shutting off the larger lighting fixtures first unit cinematographer Mauro Fiore ASC and gaffer Dave Tickell had made would make it easier, safer and the action would be much more visual.

“I decided to shoot ‘au natural’ with the Genesis, along with Panavision’s f2.8 11-1 zoom,” he says. “Historically, most aerial systems tend to struggle with stability with that large a lens. The weight and length seem to always be an issue. Not with the Eclipse.

“This was one of those ‘energy’ shots so important to an action picture,” he explains. “One thing we had working against us was that pilot Fred North had very little room to manoeuvre. With so many ships in port, the large space got small very quickly. So, to cover the action, Fred needed to make tight turns with the helicopter having to bank extremely steep.” Not a problem for the Eclipse even though Blanford was shooting anywhere from 100mm to 275mm in the banking shots.

“At one point we did a shot where we rose up from the water to literally drop away as fast as Fred could, while I pulled back on the lens,” he adds. “Fred was able to almost dump the helicopter on its side and the Eclipse stayed level. We had the images being transmitted to the ground. Quite a few people commented that they could see what the helicopter was doing and then would look at the monitor and were stunned that the images they were seeing were coming from the same helicopter. These shots were fun!”

At the core of the Eclipse’s stability is the patented XR Motion Management technology, enabling the most advanced steering, stability and pointing capabilities. The Eclipse will not topple, provides an absolute level horizon and also features faster start-ups and resets.

“After using the Eclipse, Blanford says, I was so glad I decided to do this aerial work myself. The system really showed me what the possibility for aerial cinematography is for future films.”

Element Technica introduces ultra-small Neutron 3D rig.

Element Technica, designer and manufacturer of 3D rigs for video production, has introduced a new, ultra-small Neutron 3D rig. 3D stereoscopic feature film production crews, as well as those who produce sports and entertainment venue programmes, have awaited the Neutron, which is designed to mount lightweight 3D camera packages for stereoscopic video capture from smaller jibs, Steadicams, portable camera and point-of-view positions.

Live sports and entertainment production demand even smaller, less obtrusive cameras for point-of-view camera angles where the camera must fit into a tiny and sometimes dangerous space, where it is unseen and out of the way. The Neutron rig enables 3D imaging from a smallest form-factor, with the ability to mount the smallest 2/3-inch or 1/3-inch imager HD cameras such as the SI-2K MINI and the Iconix.

Though the Neutron rig is much smaller and lighter in weight than Element Technica’s Quasar 3D rig, it provides the same simplicity of assembly and operation, ability to integrate with standard stereoscopic production controls, and the ease of changing camera configuration quickly between side-by-side and beamsplitter modes. Like the Quasar, the Neutron can be configured into both over/thru and under/thru beam-splitter modes.

UK film contributes over £4.5 billion to GDP.

The UK film industry contributes a total of over £4.5 billion a year to UK GDP and more than £1.2 billion to the Exchequer, according to an independent report published by Oxford Economics.

The Economic Impact of the UK Film Industry – commissioned by the UK Film Council, Pinewood Shepperton plc, Framestore, Cinesite and Double Negative – concludes that the UK film industry is substantial, is weathering the recession well, and its long-term trend is one of strong growth and expansion.

The report also concludes that the UK’s film tax relief is vital to sustaining current levels of global competitiveness and job creation. Without the UK film tax relief in place, UK GDP would be reduced by around £1.4 billion a year. That compares with a current cost of the film tax relief of around £110 million a year, meaning that an extra £13 in GDP is generated for every £1 invested.

Welcoming the report’s findings, Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey said, “The creative industries are a British success story. They continue to grow, and the government sees the real potential they have to help our economy in the coming years. This report is evidence of how important British film is, to our economy, as well as promoting our cultural life, our identity and diversity on the international stage.”

The report examines the many ways in which the UK film industry contributes to ‘UK plc’. In terms of jobs, the UK film industry directly employs around 36,000 (up by 30% since 2000 and 7% since 2006), supporting a total of 100,000 direct and indirect jobs (up from 95,000 in 2007). The industry provides jobs for some of the UK’s most highly qualified workers, with 58% of the production workforce university educated and London having a global market share of approximately 20% in film visual effects work.

Between 2000 and 2009, fixed capital investment in infrastructure and new technology has totalled almost £1.1 billion. In 2009 alone, capital investment in the core UK film industry is estimated to have been £147 million, with most of the investment undertaken in the production sector. Inward investment is estimated to account for around £3.6 billion of film’s contribution to GDP and £960 million in Exchequer revenues. Exports – in 2008, UK film exports totalled around £1.3 billion.

Culturally, British films are important to UK audiences. A film shown in the UK can expect its box office to be up to 30% higher if it is indigenous. On this basis, UK films are estimated to have boosted the box office revenues by an average of around £60 million a year over the last decade.

Tim Bevan, chairman of the UK Film Council, said, “This report highlights the financial and cultural benefits of a vibrant British film sector, driving growth and productivity across the creative industries. With world-class film facilities, a highly-skilled workforce and effective government support, including a film tax relief that provides certainty for business, the British film industry is firing on all cylinders and is well-placed to play an increasingly valuable role helping the UK economy grow in the years ahead.”

Ivan Dunleavy, chief executive of Pinewood Shepperton plc, commented: “It’s clear to see just how important the film industry continues to be to the UK’s economy. The new coalition government has been extremely positive in recent times on issues such as the film tax credit which, along with the UK’s skills and expertise, has helped to keep the UK competitive in a global market.”

When Craig met Marty.

This is the moment when Craig McCall, aficionado of Jack Cardiff, met director Martin Scorsese, also a fan of the late great British cinematographer, at the UK premiere of Cameraman: The Life & Work of Jack Cardiff at the BFI Southbank, London. A packed audience was present for the first public screening of the documentary. McCall, the film’s director and producer, plus actor and writer Sanjeev Bhaskar and BFI head Amanda Nevill joined Scorsese on stage to commence the evening.

What’s shooting on FujiFilm?

The following features and TV dramas chose FuljiFilm stocks… Will, DP Oliver Stapleton BSC, dir Ellen Perry; Everywhere And Nowhere, DP Brian Tufano BSC, dir Menhaj Huda; Mad Dogs, DP Tony Slater-Ling, Dir Adrian Shergold; Age Of Heroes, DP Mark Hamilton, dir Adrian Vitoria; Spooks - Series 9, DP Fabian Wagner, dir Michael Caton Jones; Waking the Dead - Series 9, DP Mike Spragg; Attack The Block, DP Tom Townend, dir Joe Cornish; Jane Eyre, DP Adriano Goldman, dir Cary Fukunuga. Commercials & Promos supplied with FujiFilm via Island Studios and Panavision include… Tescos (Smuggler), DP Denis Crossan BSC; Mars (Partizan), DP Robbie Ryan BSC; Yves Saint Laurent (Eponymous), DP Andre Chemetoff; Knorr (Partizan), DP Baz Irvine; EGG (Another), DP Ben Butler; McDonalds (Smuggler), DP Carl Nilsson; Radio 4 (Red Bee), DP Rob Hardy; King of Shaves (Great Guns), DP August Jakobson; Carlsberg (Fold 7), DP Simon Paul; Biffy Clyro Promo (Academy Films), DP Ed Wild; Natwest (Rogue Films), DP Robbie Ryan BSC; Activia Yoghurt (2AM Films), DP Stuart Graham; James Corden’s World Cup Live Promo (ITV Creative), DP Dan Bronks; Plan B Promo (Partizan), DP Robbie Ryan BSC; Big Brother (Channel 4), DP Richard Mott; Daily Mail (Great Guns), DP Denzil Armour-Brown; Titan (Dab Hand Media), DP Rain Li; McLaren (Stink), DP Milan Chadima; and Rimmel (Annex), Robbie Ryan BSC.

What’s shooting on Kodak?

The following feature have employed Kodak film stocks…Harry Potter, dir David Yates, DP Eduardo Serra; Patiala House, dir Nikhil Advani, DP Santosh Thundiiayil; Chalet Girl, dir Phil Traill, DP Ed Wild; 127 Hours, dir Danny Boyle. DP Anthony Dod Mantle DFF BSC, The Veteran, dir Matthew Hope, DP Philipp Blaubach; The Awakening, dir Nick Murphy, DP Edu Grau; and Decoy Bride, dir Sheree Folkson, DP Nanu Segal. Plus the following shorts… Steve, dir Rupert Friend, DP George Richmond, and The Ham & Piper, dir Mark Norfolk, DP Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz. TV dramas include… New Tricks VII, Wall To Wall Television, DP Sean van Hales; Merlin III, Shine Ltd, DPs Dale McCready and Peter Greenhalgh BSC; Any Human Heart, Carnival Film & TV, DP Wojciech Szepel; Unreasonable Behaviour, Soho Casting Studio Ltd, DP Richard Stewart; Accused, RSJ Films Ltd, DPs David Luther and Fabian Wagner; and This September, Gate TV, DP James Aspinall. Commercials captured on Kodak include… Magnum (Spoke Films), DP Peter James; Very.com (Short Films), DP Chris Ross; Mini, (Hungryman), DP Steve Keith Roach; Asda (HLA Prods), DP Keith Goddard BSC; Morrisons (Park Village), DP Oliver Curtis BSC; Lacoste (Blink Prods), DP Simon Chaudoir; Santander (Partizan), DP Ben Smithard; Tetley Tea (Independent), DP Oliver Cariou; Coca Cola (ITV Creative), DP Tim Green; Morrisons (Home), DP Remi Adefarasin BSC; McDonalds (HLA Prods) DP Martin Hill; Youngs (Hungryman), DP Simon Chaudoir; The Times (Hungryman), DP Philipp Blaubach; Yeo Valley (Flynn), DP Alex Barber; Daily Mirror (Park Village), DP Oliver Curtis BSC; Mazda (Rattling Stick), DP Ben Smithard; Persil (Knucklehead), DP Simon Chaudoir; Britian’s Next Top Model (Virgin Media), DP Tim Green; Nike (Factory Films), DP Adam Frisch; Sky (Blink Productions), DP Stuart Graham; Million Pound Drop (CH4), DP Kieran McGuigan; Flake (Home Corp), DP Stuart Graham, and Boots, DP Adrian Wild; Natwest (Rogue Films), DP Martin Hill; Barclays (Stink), DP Will Bex; Stornaway (Davey Inc.), DP Steven Annis; Sainsbury’s (Academy), DP Remi Adefarasin BSC and Birdseye, DP Stuart Graham; Asda (HLA), DP George Richmond; Adidas (Knucklehead), DP Dan Landin; Morrisons (Outsider), DP Federico Alfonso; Vodafone (Rattling Stick), DP Franz Lustig; BBC Opera Season (Red Bee), DP David Johnson BSC; Nationwide (Spank), DP John Mathieson BSC; Thunderball (Station), DP Ian Foster; Mentos (Stink), DP Ulrik Boel Bentzen; Hyundai (Rasha Films), DP John Ignatiaus; Lacoste (Blink), DP Simon Chadoir; Savlon (Spank), DP Stephen Blackman; Kate Nash (Warp Films), DP Chris Ross; and Diane Vickers (RSA), DP Tat Radcliffe.

Camerimage 2010 head to Bydgoszcz.

The city of Bydgoszcz, located in northern Poland on the Brda and Vistula rivers, has agreed to host the 2010 Plus Camerimage Festival of Cinematography. It is located 45km from Torun, where the festival was based in its formative years. An attractive university city, Bydgoszcz has a famous concert hall, the Filharmonia Pomorska, the Opera Nova opera house, and a hugely successful speedway team. There are flights to Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport from Warsaw, Stanstead, Dublin, Berlin, Krakow, Vienna, Copenhagen and Birmingham.

Cinec 2010.

There will be numerous talks and workshops taking place at Cinec, Germany’s largest fair for cine equipment and technology, from 18 - 20 September 2010 in Munich. While more than 130 companies from 14 countries will demonstrate the current state of the art for film shooting and editing, the seminar programme will focus on two of the subjects the industry is currently most preoccupied by: stereo-3D-production and digital workflow. The complete program and schedule will be available on www.cinec.de from end of August, and a preview of the show will be available in our next edition.

Panalight.

Italian film and TV kit rental house, Panalight, a partner of Cinecittà Studios and ARRI, has announced that ARRI’s new Alexa digital cameras will be available in its Rome, Milano and Bucharest outlets. To cope with the changing demands of the market, Panalight has also opened the Panadigital Lab on the Cinecittà lot, enabling filmmakers to discover a wide range of digital cameras and workflow into post production. Also from July, the newest version of Technocrane – the Supertehno 22 – will be added to the company’s inventory, meaning the complete family of Supertechno’s are available from Panalight – from 15 to 50.

AimImage/Ice correction.

The GBCT section in edition 39 misreported news about cameras supplied to The Hurt Locker. To clarify, Barry Ackroyd BSC took four of AimImage/Ice’s Super 16mm cameras to Jordan to film Kathryn Bigelow’s multiple Oscar-winning film.

Cannes Diary 2010.

Is that ash up there?

Or is it a strike down here?

Friday14th: Check in with plenty of time to spare at T5 for the BA348 flight to Nice, hoping the ash cloud doesn’t suddenly arrive. After getting through security, my mobile rings and I meet up with Kishor Ladwa of Technicolor in Huxleys restaurant /bar for lunch. We’re joined by Simon Wilkinson, Technicolor MD, and Kish’s colleague. After discussing the state of the industry, and what events are on in Cannes, we start boarding. Until, that is, we are held up by a Marilyn Monroe lookalike, who seems to have boarded with untold pieces of luggage. There could be trouble ahead.

Arrive in Nice at 18.30, an hour late due missing the time slot. At the luggage carousel Marilyn is heard screaming at her male(?) companion, that he has lost her computer during the journey. He is seen scurrying off back to the plane. No chance, so he heads for lost property. Didn’t I tell you there would be trouble ahead?

I am met at the airport by the ever-charming François Becharef, manager at the Hostellerie du Golf, which has been home-from-home during Cannes for many a year to a lot of the UK’s top facility and service companies, producers, directors and cinematographers. François tells me of the horrific storms and waves that hit the Cote d’Azur the week prior to the Cannes Festival opening, and how the beachside restaurants were only just clearing up. Don’t want to venture too far on first night, so the evening is spent in the company of several Hostellerie residents in a local restaurant we know well, trying to get through hugh portions of mussels, which are the house speciality.

Saturday 15th: Up early for breakfast in company of Joe Dunton, David Tresize of Hat Factory, Darren Smith and Jackie Rowden of Panalux , and several others including line producer Steve Harding, Gary Stone and Linda Deacy of Ealing Studios, Keith Heeks from Agfa. The traditional game on the first morning is, who can get accredited to the festival and get their badges quickest? Especially as the French authorities seem to change ideas every year to fox us all. This year they have organised the accreditation and Palais formalities to a tee, and really well in my case. I win the race, as am onto the Croisette in five minutes flat. Unheard of in previous years. Heading for the UK Film Centre pavilion in the International Village, I bump into Steve Abbott, producer of Fierce Creatures, and many other films of years gone by. Yes, he of Bradford City FC, ex board member, now board member of the Bradford Film & TV Museum.

Moving through the UK Film Centre I am horrified, but pleased at same time, to learn that in the first two days of the festival, our initial supply of British Cinematographer magazine has gone, according to Christine Colvin, who runs the centre. She said they went like hot cakes, but I cannot believe so many went so quickly. On further investigation the next day we find an extra supply of mags, which go to the Kodak pavilion, Pinewood boat, Fuji terrace, Ascent Media boat, Carlton terrace, the Image Forum website launch on Kodak’s boat, plus various other pavilions in the International village, and press office at The Palais.

At midday we have arranged to meet all BSC members present in Cannes at the Kodak pavilion, but unknown to us it closes at 12 for a private function. So in haste the venue is switched to the UK Film Centre next door. Kishor invites several people present to lunch at a nearby restaurant, including Alan Church, Simon Giles, Joe Dunton, Dave Tresize, Nikki Spencer, and the discussion soon gets onto 3D shoots, digital vs. film, which gets so interesting (despite a huge downpour outside), that we all forget our main course when leaving two hours later. Never been known before, but they all blame Kishor’s new budget restrictions for entertaining. After a visit to the Cyprus pavilion reception, where Michael Haps film is previewed, the evening is given up to a wonderful Fuji party on the Martinez Terrace. It seems like it is so popular, that half of Cannes is squeezed onto the terrace overlooking the sea, and the evening goes really well. A five-star event, with great food and drinks, hosted by David Honey, Millie Morrow, Jerry Deeney, Rachel Baker and Simon Baxter. Did anyone find out who won the cup final? (Yes, a boring 1-0 to Chelsea.)

Sunday 16th: The big event today is the IF (Image Forum) event and launch of their website on the Kodak boat. Dick Pope BSC arrives straight from his red carpet premiere the night before of Mike Leigh’s Another Year, (which received a ten minute standing ovation) a little tired, having got to bed at 2-30am, and fires questions about IF’s website. There is some talk of the F1 Grand Prix in Monaco at breakfast in the Hostellerie, as Dave Tresize and Richard (‘Buffy’) Dunton met a guy the night before offering them a lift from Cannes to the race. The crowd are beginning to arrive at the Kodak boat, and they include a cross section of producers, directors, post facilities and cinematographers, all keen to see the new IF website and hear more about the organisation. IF was formed two years ago by an all-industry committee including Kodak, Panavision, ARRI, Fuji, Ascent Media and Technicolor, in response to the BBC statement and directive that all future programmes be delivered on HD. The industry reaction was, ‘What was wrong with film?’, specifically 16mm, and they believe standards and quality must be maintained to the highest level. The IF members present in Cannes at the event included representatives from half a dozen facilities involved in the formation of the group, and the website was demonstrated by Paul Collard (Ascent) and Thierry Perronet from Kodak, who also hosted proceedings with Julie Taylor Butt, Dan and Sam Clark as a supporting cast on their very nice boat.

In the accompanying photos you will see many of the distinguished guests engrossed in the presentations. Just then Richard Dunton received a phone call (it was 1-10pm) – it was the guy James who Buffy and Dave Tresize met the night before, asking if they on for the Monaco trip, as the FI race began at 2pm local time? Well, they looked incredulous, as with 50 minutes to the race start, how were they to get there? ‘Plenty of time, no worries’, he said. ‘Walk to the end of the harbour.’ He had his helicopter warming up on the helipad to transport them to Monaco. They ran to the end of the jetty, only to find the helipad was on other side of harbour. So into a little dinghy they scampered, as a French fisherman gave them a Bond-style race across to the helipad. I cannot describe the rest of their day /night, but they certainly had a fantastic view of the race from a private hotel suite balcony, with drinks and food laid on, then visited the Monaco Beach Club to watch the rich kids spraying bottles of champagne at £500 a bottle over everyone. Recession, what recession? Then on to the Casino, where they were provided with a few chips to chance their luck at the tables. On to Jimmys club party later that night, but when Paris Hilton arrived at 2pm, the quote from Dave and Buffy was they thought they better leave as the tone of the place went down. So into taxis they got for trip back to Cannes, and at 5am they hit their beds. We caught up with them at 9am breakfast to hear this wonderful day in their lives they will never forget.

Back to the festival, and next on the agenda was the Women In Film event in UK Film Centre, then back to the Fuji terrace for the Cinecitta Studios/Italian tax breaks launch party. Do those Italians know how to party? Food and drink flowed, with the terrace almost as full as for Fuji’s own event the night before. This event was hosted by Mr Mancini, general director of Cinecitta, and Christina their PR. Larry Smith was in attendance, in deep discussion with Joe Dunton on industry matters, and was heard to quote at the end of the evening that Joe was the most famous person he knew. With so many people stopping to talk to Joe around Cannes, from Cyprus, where he was instrumental in a film being shot recently. to the USA where an actress and other people who knew him from being in his daughter Erica’s film turned up at various events, to Steve Lanning and Denise O’Dell over from Spain, it wasn’t surprising. That is Cannes, you never know who will be there!

Monday 17th: Monday breakfast is quiet, Have the numerous events taken their toll? Well, stand by for another big day in town. I head for the UK Film Centre to make sure the magazines are still being topped up, and deliver some to the Pinewood boat in time for the BDC brunch event, where Julia Kenny (sorry, Hilsdon) hosts, and a number of residents visiting Cannes enjoy the company, including producer Andy Birmingham, and director Murray Gough, here with their latest project. Crowds are moving towards the Kodak pavilion, for the annual lunch, and there is always a great crowd at this event. This year is no exception, with cinematographers, producers, directors and clients spilling onto the terrace, as well as packing the pavilion in the sunshine. A lot of people have afternoon appointments before heading to a new event in the calendar, which is the Ascent Media party on the Five Angels (Barclays)boat. If the crowd and quality of people are anything to go by this will become an annual Cannes fixture. I have not seen crowds on the keyside, nor on board, in such numbers since the famous Panavision, Fuji, Lee boat events of yore. Ascent’s Five Angels party was hosted by Neil Mockler, Paul Collard, Steve Boag, Rob Turpin and others, and it really was a highlight of the day, with Colin Brown, our Film Commissioner, hard at work on the top deck, fielding questions from various people, and facing a cross-section of industry folk looking for answers to the UK film industry’s problems.

Tuesday 18th: News breaks over breakfast that David Webb of Kodak and Ian Robinson of Deluxe have fallen foul of ash clouds and BA strikes, and people begin to change or cancel flights in fear of not getting home the way they came. I sit tight and don’t change my evening flight details, looking forward to another traditional highlight of Cannes – the Technicolor lunch at the Carlton Hotel, which does not disappoint. It is even better food, if possible, than previous years, and definitely seems more crowded, including the two 6ft tall, pink-haired, nose and earringed models having their photos on the terrace with some Spanish visitors. I retire after lunch to the Carlton saloon lounge (literally bumping into the diminutive and delightful Carey Mulligan (An Education) in the foyer, to have tea (yes, Englishman abroad) with Joe Dunton and Steve Lanning putting the world of film to rights. Head to the airport for flight BA349, sharing a taxi with Italian visitors based at Cinecitta, who had been down for the event on Saturday night and still extolling the virtues of Italian tax breaks. Everything on time – no ash or strikes intervene.

Cannes had more events this year, in leaner times, than ever before from UK facilities, who are all looking forward to things turning round at home. We can but hope that the influx of USA movies continues, as UK projects and finance seem few and far between.

Yours truly,
Alan Lowne BSC