IEC
Born: 10 August 1968, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
Education: La Fémis [Image/Cinematography; graduated in 1994].
Career: Ph commercials dir by Erick Zonca, Thierry Rajic, a.o. Ph music videos dir by Judith Cahen, a.o.
Also active as lighting des for the theater. Co-founder of 4A4 Productions, Paris.
Awards: Namur IFF 'Golden Bayard Award' [1998] for 'Sitcom'.
'Io sono l'amore/I Am Love' [2008]: 'During pre-production, Yorick Le Saux helped [director] Luca Guadagnino narrow down his tools of choice. "Luca is probably the most technical director I've worked with," observes Le Saux. "He knows everything about cameras and lenses. I think he can tell you every special speed that Christopher Doyle used on a Wong Kar-wai movie in the Nineties! My work was to show him a lot of things - aspect ratio, filters, film stocks, lenses and so on - and then reduce and explain why we didn't need this or that. My job consisted of simplifying and finding a good way to shoot the story." Guadagnino adds, "My dream is to spend four months with special technicians finding those things that fit my movie."
Guadagnino originally wanted to frame the film in 1.33:1, "like 'The Magnificent Ambersons'," he says. But Le Saux dissuaded him. "I said, 'It's okay if you want the film to be shown on a cell phone, but to be on screens now, it has to be either 1.85 or 2.40,'" recalls Le Saux. "He was concerned about seeing the ceilings and the architecture of the palazzo, so, in the end, we chose 1.85."
The palazzo was well worth exploiting. Built in the 1930s for a wealthy family, the Villa Necchi Campiglio was designed by Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi and is now a museum, which meant the filmmakers had to contend with severe restrictions on grip and lighting equipment. "It was difficult because they were always on our backs, watching," says Le Saux. "It was impossible to put lights overhead, so almost everything went through the windows, but the windows were so huge that every light seemed small. Our budget was limited, so I was using natural light with reflectors and white bounce. I'd also try to determine the best hour for shooting, but each time, we were late."
Le Saux operated the main camera, an Arricam Lite that was equipped with a Cooke S4 prime lens or an Angénieux Optimo 24–290mm zoom. "It's a better way to feel the light," he says of operating. "When I'm not looking through the camera, I cannot feel the light from inside the movie." The B camera, which was infrequently used, was an Arri 535B.
To help differentiate the story's two worlds, Le Saux used two different tungsten stocks: Kodak Vision3 500T 5219 for the palazzo and Fuji Eterna 250T 8553 for Antonio’s bungalow and garden. "With daylight stock, the contrast on the Riviera would have been too high, too strong," he notes. The lovers' world was intended to be soft and sensual, so filtration was also boosted for the countryside scenes; Le Saux used Tiffen Pro-Mist and Soft/FX filters, sometimes at levels as high as 1 or 2. "We used a lot of filters," he notes. "The idea was to approximate the look of some of the 1970s film stocks. Sometimes we shot one extra take with a stronger filter, and if it was too much, we just didn't use it. But we did go very far." [From article by Patricia Thomson in 'American Cinematographer', July 2010.]
FILMS | |
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1990 |
Le rabattement des petits côtés [Yorick Le Saux] c; short/10m; prod La Fémis |
1990 |
68-69 [Gérard Guéguan] ?; short/?m |
1991 |
Narcisse [Judith Cahen] v/c; short/22m; 2 seg: 'Autoportraits' (3m) & 'Juste un petit tourbillon' (19m); prod La Fémis |
1991 |
Thomas reconstitué/Reconstructed Thomas [François Ozon] v/c; short/10m; prod La Fémis |
1992 |
Queue de poisson [Judith Cahen] c; short/16m; cph: Sylvia Calle; prod La Fémis |
1994 |
Zingaro [Juliette Cheneau] ?; doc/?m |
1994 |
Action vérité/Truth or Dare [François Ozon] c; short/4m |
1994 |
La petite mort/Little Death [François Ozon] c; short/24m |
1994 |
La croisade d'Anne Buridan [Judith Cahen] 16mm/c; short/58m; cph: Sylvia Calle; co-prod La Fémis |
1995 |
Épingler Camille [Sylvia Calle] c; short/12m |
1995 |
Strictement footinguesque [Judith Cahen] s16-35bu/c; short/25m |
1995 |
Le vide dedans moi [Cyriac Auriol & Lola Doillon] c; short/8m |
1995 |
Tout va mal [Marco Nicoletti] c; short/12m |
1995 |
Une robe d'été/A Summer Dress [François Ozon] c; short/15m |
1995 |
Les soirs blues d'été [Djibril Glissant] c; short/4m |
1995 |
Mon copain Rachid [Philippe Barassat] c; short/17m; 2uc; ph: Bertrand Follet |
1996 |
[Scènes de lit/Bedtime Stories] Le trou noir/The Black Hole [François Ozon] c; short/2m; also seg (#1) of 'Scènes de lit/Bed Scenes/Bedtime Stories' |
1996 |
[Scènes de lit/Bedtime Stories] L'homme idéal/The Ideal Man [François Ozon] c; short/4m; also seg (#5) of 'Scènes de lit/Bed Scenes/Bedtime Stories' |
1996 |
[Scènes de lit/Bedtime Stories] Love in the Dark [François Ozon] c; short/5m; also seg (#6) of 'Scènes de lit/Bed Scenes/Bedtime Stories' |
1996 |
Scènes de lit/Bed Scenes/Bedtime Stories [François Ozon] c; short/26m (7 seg); cph: Matthieu Vadepied (4 seg) |
1996 |
Regarde la mer/See the Sea [François Ozon] c; short/52m |
1997 |
Comme un frère [Cyril Bedel] c; short/13m |
1997 |
La mort dans l'âme [Wilfried Prager] b&w (sepia); short/13m |
1997 |
Sitcom [François Ozon] c |
1997 |
I Would Prefer Not To [Florence Pezon] c; short/15m |
1997 |
Un peu de temps réel [Olivier Torres] c; short/12m; + co-prod |
1998 |
Bonne résistance à la douleur/High Pain Management [Pierre-Erwan Guillaume] c; short/25m |
1998 |
Fin août, début septembre/Late August, Early September [Olivier Assayas] s16-35bu/c; 2uc; ph: Denis Lenoir |
1999 |
Dans le sens du poil [Agathe Teyssier] c; short/16m |
1999 |
Chico notre homme à Lisbonne [Edouard Baer] c; short/26m |
1999 |
Le bel hiver [Olivier Torres] s16-35bu/c; short/32m |
2000 |
Café de la plage/Beach Cafe [Benoît Graffin] c |
2000 |
Un oiseau dans le plafond [Céline Macherel] s16-35bu/c; short/15m |
2000 |
Candidature [Emmanuel Bourdieu] s16-35bu/c; short/42m |
2001 |
Demonlover [Olivier Assayas] s35+s16-to-s35/c; 2uc; ph: Denis Lenoir |
2001 |
SY NYC 12/12/01: The Demonlover Sessions [Yorick Le Saux] c; mus doc/30m; cph: Chris Habib |
2002 |
La vie comme elle est [Emmanuel Bourdieu] dv-to-35mm/c; short/6m; as Yorick Lesaux |
2002 |
Les corps impatients/Eager Bodies [Xavier Giannoli] c |
2002 |
À ta place [Agathe Teyssier] s16-35bu/c; short/33m; + co-prod |
2002 |
Swimming Pool [François Ozon] c |
2003 |
Vert paradis/Les Cadets de Gascogne/Green Paradise [Emmanuel Bourdieu] c |
2003 |
Une aventure/Only the Night [Xavier Giannoli] c |
2003 |
Les parallèles [Nicolas Saada] c; short/31m; + co-prod |
2003 |
5x2/5 x 2: Five Times Two [François Ozon] c |
2004 |
Gloria mundi [Nico Papatakis] c; ph new introduction; ph: Frédéric Variot (filmed in 1975) |
2004 |
Water [Shuichi Yoshida] c; short/28m |
2004 |
Mon meilleur ami [Stéphane Granata] c; short/30m |
2005 |
Les amitiés maléfiques/Poison Friends [Emmanuel Bourdieu] scope/c; + co-prod |
2005 |
Quand j'étais chanteur/The Singer [Xavier Giannoli] c |
2005 |
Un lever de rideau/A Curtain Raiser [François Ozon] s16-35bu/c; short/29m |
2006 |
Début [Pascal Rambert] s16-35bu/c; short/17m |
2006 |
Boarding Gate [Olivier Assayas] s35/c |
2006 |
Le voyage du ballon rouge/Flight of the Red Balloon [Hsiao-hsien Hou] c; or ph Pin Bing Lee |
2006 |
Julia [Erick Zonca] s35/c |
2007 |
Chacun son cinéma [ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'éteint et que le film commence]/To Each His Own Cinema [seg (3m) 'Recrudescence/Upsurge' dir by Olivier Assayas] b&w-c; originally 34 seg |
2007 |
Blanche neige/Schneewittchen [Angelin Preljocaj] c; ballet film/90m |
2007 |
A l’origine/In the Beginning [Xavier Giannoli] was the intended ph, but was unavailable; replaced by Glynn Speeckaert; filmed 2007-08 |
2008 |
La femme invisible (d'après une histoire vraie)/The Invisible Woman [Agathe Teyssier] c; + co-prod/co-scrpl |
2008 |
Io sono l'amore/I Am Love [Luca Guadagnino] c; 2uc: Daria D'Antonio; see above |
"Carlos"
2009 |
Carlos [, le film] [Olivier Assayas] ts/c; cph: Denis Lenoir; comp of 3-part tv-miniseries |
2009 |
Potiche [François Ozon] 35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c |
2011 |
Arbitrage [Nicholas Jarecki] s35-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c |
2011 |
One Plus One [Luca Guadagnino] c; fashion short/3m; for Giorgio Armani (spring/summer collection 2012) |
2011 |
Destinée [Luca Guadagnino] HD/c; comm short/7m; prod for Cartier |
2012 |
Skin to Skin [Luca Guadagnino] c; fashion short/2m; for Sergio Rossi |
2012 |
Only Lovers Left Alive [Jim Jarmusch] HD (ARRI ALEXA Plus)/c; 2uc (Detroit): Christos Moisides |
2013 |
Clouds of Sils Maria [Olivier Assayas] scope (+ digital)/b&w-c |
2014 |
A Bigger Splash [Luca Guadagnino] 35mm+HD (Sony F55)-to-digital/c; ph UK: Peter Suschitzky; remake of 'La piscine' (1968, Jacques Deray; ph: Jean-Jacques Tarbès) |
2015 |
Personal Shopper [Olivier Assayas] ts-to-digital/c |
2017 |
High Life [Claire Denis] HD-to-digital/c; ph Poland: Tomasz Naumiuk |
2017 |
Doubles vies/Double Lives/Non-Fiction [Olivier Assayas] s16/c; filmed 2017-18 |
2018 |
Little Women [Greta Gerwig] s35/c; insert ph: Joel San Juan |
TELEVISION | |
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2007 |
Eldorado [Olivier Assayas] mus doc/90m |
2009 |
Carlos [Olivier Assayas] 3-part (x 90m) miniseries/ts, 2010; ph majority ep #1 & 50/50 ep #3; cph: Denis Lenoir (majority ep #2); also ed into a feature film |
FILMS AS CAMERA OPERATOR | |
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1992 |
Victor [François Ozon; short] ph: Sylvia Calle; prod La Fémis |
1993 |
Une rose entre nous/A Rose Between Us [François Ozon; short] ph: Sylvia Calle; prod La Fémis |
2001 |
8 femmes/8 Women [François Ozon; feature] ph: Jeanne Lapoirie |
2011 |
Shut Up and Play the Hits [Will Lovelace & Dylan Southern; mus doc/concert film] co-c.op; ph: Reed Morano |
FILMS AS DIRECTOR | |
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1990 |
Le rabattement des petits côtés [short] + ph; prod La Fémis; see Films |
1992 |
Rémi [short] ph: ? |
1994 |
La French Correction [short] ph: ? |
199? |
Le diable était en chaleur [short] ph: ? |
2000 |
Va au diable [s16-35bu/c; short/20m] ph: Nathalie Sarles; + prod |
2001 |
Making of 'Demonlover' [doc/57m/V] ph: ? |
2001 |
SY NYC 12/12/01: The Demonlover Sessions [mus doc] + cph; see Films |
2001 |
8 femmes - l'enfer du décor [doc/?m] ph: ?; the making of '8 femmes/8 Women' (François Ozon; ph: Jeanne Lapoirie) |
FILMS AS [CO-/ASSOCIATE] PRODUCER | |
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1997 |
Un peu de temps réel [Olivier Torres] + ph; see Films |
1999 |
La fatigue [Frédéric Cousseau; short] ph: Pierre Parmentier |
2000 |
Va au diable [dir; short] see Films as Director |
2001 |
Comme un seul homme/All for One [Jean-Louis Gonnet; short] ph: Mathias Raaflaub, a.o. |
2002 |
À ta place [Agathe Teyssier] + ph; see Films |
2002 |
Osmose/Osmosis [Raphaël Fejtö; feature] ph: Mathias Raaflaub |
2003 |
Les parallèles [Nicolas Saada] + ph; see Films |
2003 |
La nuit sera longue [Olivier Torres; short] ph: Caroline Champetier |
2004 |
Le souffle [Mathieu Vadepied; short] ph: Pierre Bonnet |
2005 |
Mille soleils [Matthieu Vadepied; short] ph: Thomas Bataille |
2005 |
Les amitiés maléfiques/Poison Friends [Emmanuel Bourdieu] + ph; see Films |
2008 |
La femme invisible (d'après une histoire vraie)/The Invisible Woman [Agathe Teyssier] + co-scrpl/ph; see Films |
2009 |
La ligne blanche [Olivier Torres] ph: Caroline Champetier |
2011 |
Un enfant de toi/A Child of Yours/You, Me and Us [Jacques Doillon] assoc prod; ph: Renato Berta & Laurent Chalet |