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Cinematography in Canada Since 1957
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#MichaelGalbraithCsc
@michaelgalbraithdp
So you want to be a director of photography. There are many paths you can take to achieve your goal. You can come up from camera, being an assistant, then operator then a dp. You can go to film school and experiment with cameras and lighting while not facing the money pressure of a real production. You can volunteer for every no money job out there to gain experience. Lots of ways. In my case I worked my way up in the lighting department, first as an electrician, then a best boy then a gaffer to finally making the move to dp. When I first started we shot mainly on film. After the days work, the producers, the director and the dp would go to the lab to view the previous days work projected onto a screen. No matter how long my day was and how early my call might be the next day, I also went to ‘dailies’. I was involved in every lighting set up for every shot for the entire film. I knew we had an 18k with a half cto going through a light grid frame about 6 feet away from that window. I knew we were using a kodac 500 asa tungsten film stock and that we shot the scene at 2.8. I saw the effect of that light and all the others that we used for the shot. It was the only way I felt that I could have an intelligent conversation with my dp. We could talk about the quality of the light, the direction, the colour temp. We could talk about things that we liked and did not like and what we could do better. Thanks to that process I was really able to learn from many dps their approach and methods. You need someone to take a chance on you to give you that break to start shooting. You need to be ready when that time comes. In my case, I needed to hire a great operator to help teach me that part of the process. As a person coming from camera you need to hire a great gaffer and key grip. These people will keep you out of trouble. Don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know. Film making is a team sport. Take advantage of the skill sets of your crew. If you want a more detailed explanation of my journey, then email me and I will fill you in on more details. michaelwilliamgalbraith@gmail.com Tomorrow is a discussion about light meters.
#MichaelGalbraithCsc
@MichaelGalbraithdp
This man in the photo has had the biggest influence on my career and my life. This is my father Howard Galbraith. He was an electrician and gaffer and he started his career at a television station in Toronto. I remember as a child, he would bring me into work with him and I would be mesmerized by all the lights and flags hanging off the set walls. At home I swould go into his room and see clothes pegs and gels on his dresser. Yes in those days they actually used gels to change colour temps on lamps. He taught me about work ethic, dedication and how to behave on a set. He would say to me that if you were a half hour early you were already an hour late. Things like keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut. lol He taught me well and I miss him dearly. Thanks Dad for being a great mentor and father. I can only hope that I live up to his standards and that I can pass on valuable lessons to those people coming up behind me. Tomorrow we will get into some technical talk so see you all then and have a great day.
#MichaelGalbraithCsc @michaelgalbraithdp
Hi everyone. I would like to thank the CSC for allowing me the opportunity to be a guest host for the next two weeks. I look forward to sharing some stories and insights about my experience as a director of photography. I also want to hear about your journeys into the world of film making. How you first got interested in our business, the steps you took and still need to take to achieve your goals. The CSC is a great resource for connecting to film makers. The members are all very generous with their time and willing to share their knowledge so please check it out. You can look at some of my work by going to www.michaelgalbraith.ca or www.mikegalbraith.com. I am also the first Michael Galbraith listed on the IMDB. In the meantime we will get into it a bit more each day so let’s have some fun and I will see you tomorrow.
@matjbarkley #matjbarkley #AssociateMemberCSC
Alright that’s the end of my jaunt down memory lane. Hopefully in another 15 years I’ll have accrued twice as many tips from even more great collaborators. Thank you to the @canadiancinematographer for the invitation and the community,
I’ve mentioned it in pieces throughout my posts but the crew who show up every single day we work are the only thing that stands between these projects winding up as some brainstorm that never gets made.
The amount of people it takes to develop and propel just my single career forward is unfathomable and I appreciate every single one of those boosts (and kicks in the ass) in ways I’ll never be able to proper express.
To all of the Agents, Directors, Crews, Writers, Producers, Post Teams, Agency/Clients and everyone else I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,
The Rental Houses and Production Companies with their invaluable support,
My parents, partners, family and friends that have taken care of me over the years and made space for this thing that gives me so much joy,
Thank you!
MB
@mantlreps.tv @ascentcreatives
@matjbarkley #matjbarkley #AssociateMemberCSC
I used to think I was missing out when I travelled for work because I’d get home a few weeks later and feel like I’d seen the whole thing through a viewfinder instead of my own eyes. I’ve since decided (or maybe rather realized) it’s well worth the trade off to get to meet and work with the many wonderful people who are (generally) so hospitable and keen to show off their community and the talent in it.
I’ve flown for work on a WIDE variety of budgets/scale but they all pay off in their unique way. Swipe for some quick highlights of some of the more memorable projects starting with Scotland w @by.chrisbrown
A dream job if there ever was one, we spent the better part of 2 weeks roaming around Scotland following a very flexible and adventurous itinerary Chris made. No lighting, no support aside from each team captain @sabatins / each other and it turned up some of my favourite simple story telling ever - all put together by the wonderful @caaaaaaaaaaaam and @wadeodlum
@matjbarkley #matjbarkley #AssociateMemberCSC
I used to think I was missing out when I travelled for work because I’d get home a few weeks later and feel like I’d seen the whole thing through a viewfinder instead of my own eyes. I’ve since decided (or maybe rather realized) it’s well worth the trade off to get to meet and work with the many wonderful people who are (generally) so hospitable and keen to show off their community and the talent in it.
I’ve flown for work on a WIDE variety of budgets/scale but they all pay off in their unique way. Swipe for some quick highlights of some of the more memorable projects starting with Scotland w @by.chrisbrown
A dream job if there ever was one, we spent the better part of 2 weeks roaming around Scotland following a very flexible and adventurous itinerary Chris made. No lighting, no support aside from each team captain @sabatins / each other and it turned up some of my favourite simple story telling ever - all put together by the wonderful @caaaaaaaaaaaam and @wadeodlum
India was one of my very first international trips / shoots and one that developed very organically during visits to the workshop
@matjbarkley #matjbarkley #AssociateMemberCSC
My third feature @sweetnessthemovie was with director @emmaaverage who I had only worked with once beforehand and who I will now bury a body for at a moments notice.
I havent quite had the time to build out the post I wanted to for this project but one thing we did during prep (usually with our wonderful PD @electaporado ) was photo board (on location) as many of the “big” scenes as we could. This allowed Emma and I to work through blocking (while leaving room for her to expand with actors on the day) in a way that would let me be as prepared as possible from a lighting stand point and Electa to know how much of a certain space we were seeing / focusing on. It also gave us a great document to give to crew during prep so we could discuss a scene and know everyone was on the same page visually.
On features of this size budget I’ve only ever gotten 1-2 days of tech scouting with my gaffer + key grip which is really only enough time to talk about general ideas / what directions we’ll be looking. Because of that we found ourselves on set discussing specifics of the following week and I made a lot of maps / annotated call sheets (a practice I’ve become very fond of on narrative) to share with G/E + Camera departments.
1st AC @ontario.peach Gaffer @shaneoson Key Grip @t.emms.grip
@matjbarkley #matjbarkley #AssociateMemberCSC
Dish Pit is the 2nd of 3 short films that I’ve had the joy of shooting with @annabanana_hops and our first to land at both @tiff_net and @vimeostaffpicks
Working with Anna has been a dream for me as a cinematographer because she shows up with such strong ideas about how she wants her scripts to feel and then gives me space to pitch her on different ways we can achieve those feelings visually.
Dish Pit was technically fairly simple but we spent a lot of time during prep in the actual location (@dannyspizzatavern for all your dining needs) rehearsing, blocking and planning out the shoot. It paid off because watching @mattyg0uveia + @austin__hutchings perform felt like witnessing real life play out right in front of us.
Our small but very mighty crew spent three days overnight in August and we had some of the most fun I’ve ever had on set (and ate the best thanks to chef @jonathan_neville_pde
For more info on Dish Pit check out Annas interview with @directorsnotes / the full credits on Vimeo and for a sneak peek at our next project swipe all the way to the end!
@matjbarkley #matjbarkley #AssociateMemberCSC
I made the move from Halifax to Toronto in May of 2017 which puts me very close to a full decade in the city.
Nova Scotia provided me a few connections to Toronto but for the most part I spent my first year (or more) doing as much cold calling (emailing) as I could manage. It can be an uncomfortable part of our industry but I’m not sure there’s a better way to inject yourself into a new “market” than getting out and meeting people in person, even if it’s just for a 15m visit at their office.
At some point somebody very smart told me that no one would (or even could) help me with my goals unless they knew what those goals were. There’s a time and a place of course but communicating to folks what it is you want to be doing more of in the future seems to be one of the best ways to move ahead (and help narrow down your own dreams).
I’m not sure if it’s the film industries communal spirit but I’ve always found Toronto as a city much warmer and open than I was lead to believe before moving here. Even something that felt as intimidating as approaching agencies like @seslercompany and @mantlreps.tv wound up being very encouraging conversations that would go on to become invaluable professional (and thankfully also very familial) relationships.
There’s been so many incredible people and projects in the last 10 years that have made living and working in Toronto more than worth it. The east coast will always be home but I do feel like I have 2 of those now.
I really encourage anyone interested in the job to join / get in touch with the CSC as much as you can (in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada!). Having the mentorship programs, social events and technical support (the FB group is incredible for problem solving) etc has been indispensable to me and goes a long way towards making a somewhat competitive position feel a lot less lonely.
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