ALAIN DOSTIE

2007

ALAIN DOSTIE

Born: 12 September 1943, Quebec City, Canada.

Education: University of Montréal.

Career: Started in 1963 as c.asst with the National Film Board of Canada. Became freelance doph in 1973.

Ph commercials.

Awards: 'Genie' Award nom [1987] for 'Les fous de Bassan'; 'Gemini' Award nom [1992] for 'Le dortoir'; 'Genie' Award [1993] for 'Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould'; 'Genie' Award nom [1996] for 'Le confessionnal'; 'Genie' Award [1998] & 'Jutra' Award [1999] for 'Le violon rouge'; 'Gemini' Award nom [2001] for 'Nuremberg' [Part 1]; 'Jutra' Award nom [2002] for '15 février 1839'; 'Genie' Award nom [2007] & 'Jutra' Award [2008] for 'Silk'.

'Silk' [2006] marks the fourth collaboration between Alain Dostie and François Girard. "We know each other so well, it's like family," says the DOP.

The film's disparate shooting locations - Sermoneta, a village just outside of Rome, which doubled for the south of France, and Matsumoto, Japan - made the three and a half months of pre-production especially tough. "There were two production offices, so François was traveling back and forth," says Dostie, who initially made two trips to Italy and Japan to conduct shooting tests before returning to Montreal to prep.

Filming commenced in wintry Japan on February 25, on a set built entirely in the snow. "I've never seen so much snow in my life," remarks Dostie. "We don't know what snow is in Quebec."

The veteran cinematographer, who never studied film but can't remember ever doing anything else, says he "thought a lot" about how to achieve a different look for 'Silk'. "When we started shooting in Japan, I realized that I didn't have to do anything special - just shoot what was in front of the camera," says the lenser. "I didn't have to think about it as different because it was different."

Japan's grey and brownish winter landscape provided a sharp contrast to Italy. The cameraman notes it felt more like "a vacation" when the 15-member Canuck crew, including 'The Red Violin' production designer François Séguin, proceeded to springtime Italy in April for the remainder of the 55-day shoot. "It was a lot easier," he adds. A second unit covered scenery and travel shots in Africa and Siberia.

In addition to battling treacherous weather conditions in a remote area of Japan, the shoot was further complicated by the cultural and language barriers that existed between the Canadian filmmakers and Japanese crew. "We used signs and interpreters to communicate," recalls Dostie, who says he was captivated by the Japanese culture. "To me, it's one of the last exotic places on earth."

The DOP, who tried to light "as simple and as Zen as possible," says there were no crowds or big setups for the shoot, which featured only a few actors at a time, with the exception of a market scene. "It's a lot more difficult to shoot a scene with two actors doing the Japanese tea ceremony because there's not much there, and yet it has to be magic," Dostie explains. "There are no words, but everything is happening... [the main character] is falling in love."

Dostie used exterior fixtures only slightly - "just to improve the shadows" - because he wanted to imbue a documentary quality in the scenes. "I fought to avoid the period-film traps of using oil lamps and candles," he says. "I wanted it to look more real."

'Silk' was shot in the Super 35 format with a Panaflex camera, which mostly sat on a dolly. "François cannot do a shot without moving the camera, but not in an obtrusive way," Dostie notes.

The camera was manned by Sylvaine Dufaux, who worked as an assistant operator on 'The Red Violin'. "If you operate yourself, you're doing two jobs, which leaves you no time to talk with the director," says Dostie.

The DOP was very happy with his decision to use only one film stock - Kodak's Vision2 500T 5218 - for the entire film. "I've been thinking about [doing] it for years, and I was always chicken at the last moment," he says. "But it's a lot simpler because you set your eyes at 500 ASA and you never change."

CG work on 'Silk' wrapped at Ex-Centris in Montreal, with post-production otherwise done at Vision Globale/CitéLab. Dostie is currently doing digital intermediate work on the film for the first time in his career, but says he feels "very confident" with the process. [From article by Marise Strauss in PLAYBACK Magazine, 2006.]

FILMS
1966	La semaine dernière pas loin du pont [Guy Bergeron] b&w; short/11m
1967	Jeux de Québec 1967 [Jacques Bobet] c; doc/10m; cph: Thomas Vámos, Réo Grégoire & Guy Dufaux
1967	Better Housing for British Columbia/La Colombie-Britannique et l'habitation [Marcel Carrière] 16mm/c; doc/16m
1967	9 minutes [Jacques Bobet & Thomas Vámos] c; doc/9m; cph: Thomas Vámos, Réo Grégoire & Guy Dufaux
1967	Avec tambours et trompettes/With Drums and Trumpets [Marcel Carrière] c; doc/28m; cph: Bernard Gosselin
1967	Épisode [Marcel Carrière] 16mm/c; doc/59m
1967	FLQ [Jean-Pierre Masse] 16mm/b&w; doc/20m
1968	Au-delà des murs [Arthur Lamothe] 16mm/c; doc/29m
1968	Swing la baquaise [Jean-Pierre Masse] 16mm/b&w; doc/25m
1968	Taire des hommes [Pascal Gélinas & Pierre Harel] b&w; doc/32m; cph: Louis Potier
1968	In a Sugar Shack/À la cabane à sucre [Michel Moreau] c; short/3m; cph: Roger Rochat
1968	In the Park/Dans un parc public [Michel Moreau] c; short/3m; cph: Roger Rochat
1968	About Pellan/Voir Pellan [Louis Portugais] 16mm/b&w-c; doc/19m; also short version (6m) 'Alfred Pellan, peintre'
1968	Les Acadiens de la dispersion [Léonard Forest] b&w; doc/118m; cph: Jack Long, Thomas Vámos, Gilles Gascon & Michel Thomas-d'Hoste

With soundman Serge Beauchemin - "On est au coton"

1968	On est au coton/Cotton Mill, Treadmill [Denys Arcand] 16mm/b&w; doc/159m (censored version) & 173m (original version); cph: Pierre Mignot; filmed 1968-71; released in 1976
1968	Notes sur la contestation [Louis Portugais] 16mm/b&w; doc/56m; cph: Michel Thomas-d'Hoste
1969	Cap d'espoir [Jacques Leduc] 16mm/c; doc/57m; cph: Claude Larue; released 1975
1969	Éloge du chiac [Michel Brault] 16mm/b&w; doc/27m; cph: M. Brault
1969	Ainsi soient-ils [Yvan Patry] 16mm/b&w; cph: Michel Thomas-d'Hoste
1970	Le Martien de Noël/The Christmas Martian [Bernard Gosselin] c; 66m
1970	Hôtel-Château [Marcel Carrière] 16mm/b&w; doc/59m; cph: Réo Grégoire
1970	10 milles/heure/10 Miles/Hour [Marcel Carrière] 16mm/b&w-c; doc/17m; cph: Pierre Mignot; for EXPO 70, Osaka, Japan
1970	Québec: Duplessis et après.../Québec: Duplessis and after… [Denys Arcand] 16mm-35bu/b&w; doc/115m; cph: Pierre Mignot, Pierre Letarte & Réo Grégoire
1970	On est loin du soleil/Frère André [Jacques Leduc] b&w-c
1971	Je chante à cheval avec Willie Lamothe [Lucien Ménard & Jacques Leduc] c; doc/57m
1971	La maudite galette/Dirty Money [Denys Arcand] p/c
1971	Le reel du pendu [André Gladu] 16mm/c; doc/57m; cph: Thomas Vámos
1972	Tendresse ordinaire/Ordinary Tenderness [Jacques Leduc] 16mm/b&w
1972	Why I Sing/Je chante pour... [John Howe] c; doc/57m (French version: 56m); cph: Pierre Letarte, Laval Fortier, André Gagnon & Jean-Pierre Lachapelle
1972	Hard Rider/L'as du rodéo [Josef Reeve] c; doc/58m; cph: Eugene Boyko
1972	Formation en administration des affaires: techniques nouvelles d'animation [Thérèse Dumesnil] ?; doc/29m; cph: Laval Fortier & Alain-Jean Rouger
1972	Sous le vent [Pierre Mignot] ?; doc/56m; cph: Daniel Fournier & Bernard Gosselin
1972	Réjeanne Padovani [Denys Arcand] c
1973	Images de Chine/Glimpses of China [Marcel Carrière] 16mm-35bu/c; doc/69m
1973	Ping-pong [Marcel Carrière] 16mm/c; doc/14m
1974	Gina/Stone Cold Revenge [Denys Arcand] c; + co-scrpl
1974	Pour le meilleur et pour le pire/For Better or Worse [Claude Jutra] c
1974	Les vautours/The Vultures [Jean-Claude Labrecque] b&w-c
1975	La lutte des travailleurs d'hôpitaux [Denys Arcand] 16mm/b&w; doc/28m; cph: Ronald Brault
1975	On s'pratique... c'est pour les Olympiques/Le Québec se réchauffe [Jean-Claude Labrecque] 16mm/c; doc/59m; cph: André Gagnon, J-C. Labrecque & Jean-Pierre Lachapelle; filmed June-October
1975	Le soleil se lève en retard/The Late Blossom [André Brassard] c
1976	Jornaleros/Travailleurs agricoles [Eduardo Maldonaldo] 16mm/c; doc/84m; cph: Henner Hofmann
1976	Santa Gertrudis, la première question sur le bonheur/Première question sur le bonheur/Primera pregunta sobre la felicidad [Gilles Groulx] 16mm/c; doc/101m; cph: Pierre Mignot
1979	Les voleurs de Job/Where Dollars Grow on Trees [Tahani Rached] 16mm/c; doc/68m
1979	Métier: Boxeur [André Gagnon] 16mm/c; doc/90m; cph: Michel Caron, A. Gagnon & François Gill
1979	Manger avec sa tête [Monique Crouillère] ?; doc/57m; released 1981

Key grip Michel Chohin - 2uc Alain Dostie - 1st c.asst Daniel Jobin - c.op Herbie Smith

doph John Coquillon - "Final Assignment"

1979	Final Assignment/Moscow Chronicle [Paul Almond] c; 2uc; ph: John Coquillon
1980	Le confort et l'indifférence/Comfort and Indifference/Québec et après... [Denys Arcand] 16mm/c; doc/109m; addph: Pierre Letarte, Pierre Mignot, Roger Rochat, a.o.
1980	Au pays de Zom [Gilles Groulx] b&w-c; opera/77m
1981	Au-delà des mots... La loi sur les langues officielles [Jacques Méthé] ?; doc/15m
1981	Elvis Gratton: Le King des Kings [Pierre Falardeau & Julien Poulin] 16mm/c; comp of 3 short films: 'Elvis Gratton' (1981; 30m), 'Les vacances d'Elvis Gratton' (1983; 28m) & 'Pas encore Elvis Gratton' (1985); released 1985
1983	Les années de rêves/The Years of Dreams and Revolt [Jean-Claude Labrecque] c
1983	The Gunrunner [Nardo Castillo] c
*1983*	St. Louis Square [Nardo Castillo] unfinished feature
1985	Haïti. Québec. [Tahani Rached] c; doc/59m; 2uc; ph: Jean-Pierre Lachapelle & Jacques Leduc
1986	Pellan [André Gladu] b&w-c; doc + dram seq/72m; cph: Pierre Mignot (doc ph) & Philippe Constantini
1986	Les fous de Bassan/In the Shadow of the Wind [Yves Simoneau] c
1986	La magie continue [Pierre Lacombe] c; 'Cirque du Soleil'-show/49m
1986	Kalamazoo [André Forcier] c
1987	Iron Eagle II [: The Battle Beyond the Flag] [Sidney J. Furie] c; aph: David B. Nowell
1988	Dans le ventre du dragon/In the Belly of the Dragon [Yves Simoneau] p/c
1988	The Gate II: Trespassers/Gate 2: The Trespassers/Gate II [: Return to the Nightmare] [Tibor Takács] c; 2uc; ph: Bryan England
1989	Le Party [Pierre Falardeau] c
1989	Perfectly Normal [Yves Simoneau] c
1990	Le dortoir/The Dormitory [François Girard] c; short/53m
1992	Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould/Trente-deux films brefs sur Glenn Gould [François Girard] c; 2uc Montreal: Sylvaine Dufaux
1993	Octobre/October [Pierre Falardeau] c
1994	L'arche de verre/The Glass Ark [Bernard Gosselin] v/c; doc/90m; addph (et parfois): Jean-Pierre Lachapelle & François Vincelette
1994	Le confessionnal [Robert Lepage] b&w-c; 2uc: Pierre Mignot
1995	The Biodome Adventure/L'aventure Biodôme [prod: Paul Lapointe] c; doc/52m; cph: Jean-Pierre Lachapelle
1995	La vengeance de la femme en noir [Roger Cantin] c; 3uc: Eric Cayla
1997	Le violon rouge/The Red Violin [François Girard] c; Oxford unit ph: Ernest Vincze
1997	The Assistant [Daniel Petrie] c; cph: Philip Earnshaw
1998	Elvis Gratton 2: Miracle à Memphis/Elvis Gratton II: Le film à voir avec ta tête, sti! [Pierre Falardeau & Julien Poulin] c
2000	15 février 1839/February 15, 1839 [Pierre Falardeau] scope/c
2001	Cirque du Soleil: La magie continue [Pierre Lacombe] v/c; perf/50m
*2004*	Heaven and Earth/Barry [Marleen Gorris] announced; pre-production (2006)
2006	Silk/Soie [François Girard] s35/c; 2uc: Nathalie Moliavko-Visotzky; see above

TELEVISION
1974	L'en premier [André Gladu & Michel Brault] doc/27m/16mm; ph seg 'Marjorique Duguay'; ph: M. Brault; ep 27-part mus doc series 'Le son des français d'Amérique' (1974-78)
1980	Sylvain [Jacques Méthé] doc/29m; ep series 'L'enfance de l'art'
1981	Empire, Inc. [Douglas Jackson (ep #1, 3 & 4) & Denys Arcand (ep #2, 5 & 6)] 6-part series/16mm; filmed 1981-82
1991	Hosanna [Lorraine Pintal] tvm
1991	Les lettres de la religieuse portugaise [Denys Arcand] theatre perf/v
1992	Armen and Bullik [Alan Cooke] tvm
1994	The Planets [Barbara Willis Sweete] mus tvm/60m
1995	Yo-Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach [ep (55m) 'Bach Cello Suite #2: The Sound of the Carceri' dir by François Girard] 6-part mus perf series/s16, 1998; other ph: Mark Willis, André Pienaar, a.o.; filmed June 1994-July 1997
*1995*	Gai-jin [Yves Simoneau] miniseries cancelled by NBC-tv after 1 week of shooting
1996	The Best Bad Thing [Peter Rowe] tvm
1998	The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights [Christopher Leitch] tvm
1999	Nuremberg [Yves Simoneau] 2-part tvm; 2uc: Ervin Sanders

MISCELLANEOUS
1964	La corde au cou/Rope Around the Neck [Pierre Patry] co-c.asst; ph: Jean Roy
1964	Caïn/Les marcheurs de la nuit [Pierre Patry] 2nd c.asst; ph: Jean Roy; 1st version (76m) & 2nd version (70m)
1965	Poussière sur la ville [Arthur Lamothe] asst dir; ph: Guy-Laval Fortier
1965	Le beau plaisir/Beluga Days [Pierre Perrault, Michel Brault & Bernard Gosselin; doc] co-c.asst; ph: M. Brault & B. Gosselin
1965	Le règne du jour/The Times That Are [Pierre Perrault; doc/b&w/118m] c.asst + co-sound; ph: Bernard Gosselin; filmed September/October 1965 & Winter 1966
1965	Les voitures d'eau/The River Schooners [Pierre Perrault; doc] c.asst; ph: Bernard Gosselin; filmed November 1965-July 1966
1967	Jean-Paul Sartre [Max Cacopardo; doc/b&w/58m] c.asst; ph: Michel Brault; ep series 'Dossiers'
1967	Chantal: en vrac [Jacques Leduc; dram doc] collab; ph: Thomas Vámos
1971	C'est votre plus beau temps [Alain Dostie; doc/b&w/100m/16mm] ph: Pierre Mignot