David Watkin

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 Suggestions for further reading: Master Shots: 100 Advanced Camera Techniques to Get an Expensive Look on Your... by Christopher Kenworthy Amazon Price: $16.47 Customer Review: In shot --- I loved this book. Very easy language and explanation of every shots with picture and comparison with original picture.   Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmake... by Jennifer Van Sijll Amazon Price: $16.47 Customer Review: Lots of other good reviews on this one (some bad as well). I took a look at it and found it to be very nice. At under $20.00 it is a lot better than paying for a $150.00 (used) textbook to use in a class. The basis of the book i...   The Animator's Survival Kit--Revised Edition: A Manual of Methods, Principles... by Richard Williams Amazon Price: $19.80 Customer Review: I purchased this book as I'd like to challenge my drawing skills more. It really is the must have book for developing animators and I feel any art teacher looking for drawing exercises to motivate her students. Perhaps this book should be titled: The...   Drawn to Life: 20 Golden Years of Disney Master Classes: Volume 1: The Walt S... by Walt Stanchfield Amazon Price: $12.44 Customer Review: This book is better than I expected. It's a very big book full of amazing tips for animators at any level of knowledge. The way it explains how you can give life and shape to characters is very simple and efficient, it can be used for animators, illu...   The Filmmaker's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for the Digital Age by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus Amazon Price: $15.75 Customer Review: I loved this book. It is very helpful. Every single shot shows with image and also shows different angle with original picture image. Excellent for anyone.   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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