Professional life

I first met Gerry Fisher in 1975 on the set of Joseph Losey’s Mr. Klein. At that time, I was 2^nd AC in Pierre-William Glenn’s team, who was operating on this film. I admired his work on Accident, Secret Ceremony, The Offence, A Doll’s House and Man in the Wilderness, and was shadowing him on the set, trying to learn his cinematography.

Gerry Fisher was one of the greatest men I met in my life. Joseph Losey asked me to be the Director of Photography on Monsieur Klein in the event Gerry didn’t obtain the special dispensation to work at this position in France (professional cards reigned supreme in those days…).

Cinema schools from around the globe have their own annual congress, the CILECT. This year, the congress was held at Newport Beach, from 13-16 October 2014, just an hour south of Los Angeles, hosted by Chapman University, and the theme of the conference was “Previsualization”.

It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of our colleague, cinematographer Carlo Varini, AFC, due to a tragic accident that occured on Sunday, May 18, 2014. He was sixty-seven years old.

It is with great sadness that we learnt of the death of our British colleague Oswald Norman Morris, BSC, on Monday, 17 March 2014 at his home at Fontmell Magna, Dorset (UK) at the age of 98. Along with Freddie Young, Jack Cardiff, and Christopher Challis, “Ossie” Morris was a member of that generation of English directors of photography who learnt their trade while cinema itself was developing around them.

It is with deep sadness that we received news of the passing of our colleague, director of photography Jacques Loiseleux, AFC, on Monday, 17 March 2014. A founding member of our association and one of its pillars, one of its souls, Jacques served as its General Secretary for over ten years and was one of its Vice-Presidents. He was eighty-one years old.

The fifth annual Master Class organized by the Romanian Society of Cinematographers (RSC) was held at the University of Art and Cinema of Bucharest from 24-26 October. The guest of honour this year was Frederic Goodich, ASC. The “topic” of the session was: “Crop or Squeeze”.

A few weeks ago we announced the death of British cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, BSC, aged 99. Marc Salomon, a consulting member of the AFC, presents the biofilmography of this director of photography whose career began in 1929 and whose talented shadow is still visible in the more than sixty feature-length fictional films he shot.

I must say that I am rather dumbfounded by the turn events have taken and the conflict between directors and technicians that is looming on the horizon. Indelible scars have already been made. I do not understand the point of this fratricide war, for our interests are identical. I have always made films for directors.

Back then, they, too, debated over a Convention…rather; the Convention was the place where they debated. That National Convention was composed of 749 representatives elected by direct suffrage for the first time in our country’s history, the distinction between active and passive citizens having been abolished.

When it comes into effect on 1^st October 2013, all of our Cinema-related professions will have a Collective Labour Agreement. Despite the bitterness of the negotiations, there were neither winners nor losers. Our profession must find a way to return to the harmony and serenity it has lost over the last weeks and months.

On 1 July 2013, after ten years of negotiations, the decision to extend the Collective Labour Agreement for French Cinematographic Production was signed.
The wrenching debates that preceded this ratification have caused the end of support that we once thought indefectible.

We were saddened by the death of Gilles Galerne on 26 November 2012 as a result of a rare disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). He had founded the K5600 company in the early 90’s with his father Jean and his brother Marc. The AFC’s member directors of photography present their sincere condolences to his entire family, and especially Marc. Pascal Lebègue and Richard Andry, both members of the AFC, join his brother Marc in presenting their hommages to Gilles.

I always liked to think that we belonged to the same tribe…a tribe of “loudmouths”… accepting and open to the unknown… ready to face anything on earth!

Luc, your filming friends from those films that take months, years, to film, just the right amount of time to forge friendships. We are all here, all united in thinking about you.

Last Indian summer of the 20^th century – Northeast United States – first meeting with Luc Drion. A few centimetres away from his camera the Canadian geese of Winged Migration were flying in formation over a brilliantly coloured forest. They flew in all weather, under the rain and the snow, in the fog, full speed ahead.

Belgian cinematographer Luc Drion, SBC, left us on 2012 October the 25^th, during the shooting of Nicolas Vanier’s feature Belle and Sébastien, in French Alpes; a wasp stung him. Eric Guichard, AFC talks about his friend Luc.

Chris Marker chose the day of his 91^st birthday to leave us, discreetly and without a sound, in his typical style. I was lucky enough to have known him professionally and personally. I travelled with him to Japan and to Cape Verde to film L’héritage de la chouette (The Owl’s Legacy). Chris adored Japan, the Japanese, cats, and new technologies. He used to tell us about his big philosophical theories regarding the values of Japanese civilisation and its cat myths.