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by Randy CassinghamRandy Cassingham's Honorary Unsubscribe Recognizes the Unknown, the Forgotten and the Obscure People who Had an Impact on Our Lives
David Watkin
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Watkin wanted to be a musician, but his father wouldn't let him. His second choice was to work on movies "because I knew film-makers didn't have to wear a suit." He took up cinematography, and developed his style with early films featuring The Beatles, as well as The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968), Catch-22 (1970), and The Three Musketeers (1973). But he's best known as the director of photography for Chariots of Fire (1981) and Out of Africa (1985), the latter winning him an Academy Award for Cinematography, one of seven Oscars for the lushly photographed production. To achieve a natural look when filming at night, Watkin invented a huge lighting array that was hoisted 150' in the air by a crane. Dubbed the "Wendy Light" (film electricians nicknamed Watkin "Wendy" because he was gay), the light has become standard equipment for night shooting. In all, he worked on more than 60 films, and was given a lifetime achievement awards by the British Society of Cinematographers in 2004. Watkin died at home from cancer on February 19. He was 82.
From This is True for 17 February 2008
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