IEC
Born: 1948, Canada.
Education: CÉGEP, Limoilou, Québec; Film School of Concordia University, Montreal.
Career: 'I became a cinematographer late in my career after first working in other fields like music and photography. Though I enjoyed taking pictures, I wanted to add movement. So I followed some friends' advice and began tinkering with the audiovisual equipment at the school where I worked. Well, I soon got hooked, and so I enrolled in film school at Concordia University. After two years, I was fortunate to get an apprenticeship with the National Film Board [NFB] of Canada. At the NFB, I met many people and explored different facets of the profession like camera work, lighting and film developing. Then I saw a film that deeply inspired me: 'J.A. Martin, photographe' by Jean Beaudin. It was beautifully lit, shot and framed, skillfully structured, and well acted. I saw that the director of photography was Pierre Mignot. I told him that his work had moved me and that I wanted to become a cinematographer and learn to shoot like him. He sent me to see his assistant, who in turn found me work as a second assistant on Pierre's next project - Jean Beaudin's follow-up film 'Cordélia'. During this production, I learned as much as I possibly could. My career was launched.' [From the KODAK Canada OnFilm website.]
Ph commercials dir by Emmanuel Moss-Desmarais, Charles Binamé, a.o.
Awards: NYFCC Award nom [1990] for 'Vincent & Theo'; NYFCC Award [1992] for 'The Player'; 'Genie' Award nom [2001] for 'To Walk with Lions'; Jutra Award [2003] for 'Séraphin, un homme et son péché'; 'Gemini' Award nom [2005] for 'A Bear Named Winnie'.
Jean Lépine: 'For me, moviemaking is done with film. It's our craft. Yet I do admit that digital has its advantages in post-production. Once the film is color-timed, the cinematographer is out of the picture. The film is now in the distributor's hands. Sometimes what theatre audiences see is much different from what the cinematographer approved during color timing. The colors aren't the same, or the exposure varies between scenes. All this obviously depends on the equipment used to make copies. I dream of having a benchmark version of the film that is digitized. For now, the digital copy is only an intermediate version used for the special effects. But I wish we'd always have a definitive digitized master for preserving the aesthetic qualities of a film shoot. After all, the texture and grain of film are integral parts of moviemaking. Though the technology exists, it's not yet accessible for many projects.' [...] 'On 'Habitat', I had an early glimpse of what digitization could do. I realize that with the powerful computers used these days, everything is becoming easier. But let's not forget that film stock has also improved. Emulsions for shooting and printing have evolved. Film stock is more sensitive, especially for night scenes, and less grain is visible and less lighting is needed. It's wonderful to have a choice of films and emulsions and select a process that suits the effect you want. Because I have experience, I prefer working the film a bit more. Directors who hire me know that. This ability to work the film is why I like film stock much more than digital. Not to say I'll never shoot in digital, but with film, I certainly have more control over what's shot. With digitization, the imaging work is mostly done after the shooting.' [From the KODAK Canada OnFilm website.]
FILMS | |
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1977 |
Alice [Claire Wojas] b&w; short/31m |
1981 |
Les adeptes/The Followers [Gilles Blais] c; doc/79m; cph: Roger Rochat, André-Luc Dupont, a.o. |
1989 |
Vincent et Théo/Vincent & Theo [Robert Altman] c; also a 2-part tvm |
1990 |
Les amazones [Pierre Mignot] 16mm/c; short/26m |
1990 |
On a marché sur la lune [Johanne Prégent] c; short/26m |
1990 |
Black Robe [Bruce Beresford] c; co-2uc; ph: Peter James |
1991 |
Montréal vu par... Six variations sur un même thème/Montreal Sextet/Montreal Stories [seg 'La dernière partie' dir by Michel Brault] b&w-c; 6 seg; other ph: Paul Sarossy, Éric Cayla, Guy Dufaux, Georges Dufaux, Pierre Mignot & Pierre Letarte |
1991 |
The Player [Robert Altman] c |
1991 |
La vie fantôme/Phantom Life [Jacques Leduc] c; addph; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1991 |
Bob Roberts [Tim Robbins] c |
1992 |
A Home of Our Own [Tony Bill] c; 2uc: Brian Sullivan |
1994 |
Prêt-à-porter/Ready to Wear [Robert Altman] c; cph: Pierre Mignot |
1995 |
Habitat [Rene Daalder] Hi-Vision (Sony's early analog High Definition format)-to-film/c |
1996 |
Hysteria [Rene Daalder] c |
1996 |
Woo [Daisy Mayer] c; 2uc: Dejan Georgevich |
1997 |
A Cool, Dry Place [John N. Smith] c |
1998 |
To Walk with Lions [Carl Schultz] c; c.op aph: Jacques 'Jackson' Girard |
1999 |
The Intruder [David Bailey] c |
1999 |
The 6th Day [Roger Spottiswoode] s35/c; addph (+ 2uc); ph: Pierre Mignot |
2001 |
Séraphin, un homme et son péché/Séraphin: Heart of Stone [Charles Binamé] c |
2003 |
A Different Loyalty [Marek Kanievska] c |
2003 |
Daniel and the Superdogs/Daniel et les Superdogs [André Melançon] c; film #24 of film series 'Contes pour tous/Tales for All' |
TELEVISION | |
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1988 |
Tanner '88/Tanner: A Political Fable [Robert Altman] 11-part series/v; 2uc: Wally Pfister |
1993 |
JFK - Reckless Youth [Harry Winer] 2-part tvm |
1994 |
Talking With [Kathy Bates] dram special/90m (6 seg); ep of PBS-tv series 'Great Performances' |
1994 |
Allô Prof! [Claude Boucher & Pierre Lord] educational series; for Télé-Québec |
1995 |
Beyond the Call [Tony Bill] tvm |
2000 |
Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story [Tony Bill] tvm |
2001 |
Charms for the Easy Life [Joan Micklin Silver] tvm |
2002 |
Coast to Coast [Paul Mazursky] tvm |
2004 |
A Bear Named Winnie [John Kent Harrison] tvm |
2005 |
Ambulance Girl [Kathy Bates] tvm; for Timelife-tv |
2006 |
Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness [John Kent Harrison] tvm |
FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR | |
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1978 |
Cordélia [Jean Beaudin] 2nd c.asst; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1981 |
Le temps des choix [Aimée Danis & Yves Plouffe; doc tv-series] co-c.asst; ph: Jean-Charles Tremblay |
1982 |
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean [Robert Altman] co-c.asst; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1982 |
Maria Chapdelaine [Gilles Carle] c.asst; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1983 |
O.C. and Stiggs [Robert Altman] co-c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1983 |
Streamers [Robert Altman] co-c.asst; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1983 |
Lucien Brouillard [Bruno Carrière] c.asst; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1983 |
Mario [Jean Beaudin] co-c.asst; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1984 |
Secret Honor [: A Political Myth]/Lords of Treason [Robert Altman] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1984 |
The Boy in Blue [Charles Jarrott] 2u c.op. (+ 1u c.asst).; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1985 |
Anne Trister [Léa Pool] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1985 |
Fool for Love [Robert Altman] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1985 |
The Laundromat [Robert Altman; tvm] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1986 |
Exit [Robert Ménard] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1986 |
Beyond Therapy [Robert Altman] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1987 |
The Dumb Waiter [Robert Altman] c.op; ph: Pierre Mignot; seg of tvm 'Basements' |
1987 |
Nowhere to Hide/Fatal Chase [Mario Azzopardi] c.op; ph: Victor Sarin |
1988 |
April Morning [Delbert Mann; tvm] c.op; ph: Frank Tidy |
1988 |
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial [Robert Altman; tvm] c.op; ph: Jacek Laskus |
1988 |
Cruising Bar/Meat Bar [Robert Ménard] c.op 2u; ph: Pierre Mignot |
1988 |
Speed Zone!/Cannonball Fever [Jim Drake] co-c.op 2u; 2uc: Alan C. Smith & David B. Nowell; ph: François Protat & Robert Saad |
1989 |
Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! [Jean-Claude Lord] c.op; ph: René Verzier |
1989 |
Day One [Joseph Sargent; tvm] c.op; ph: Kees van Oostrum |
1990 |
Ivory Hunters/The Last Elephant [Joseph Sargent; tvm] c.op; ph: Kees van Oostrum |
1990 |
Shadow of the Wolf/Agaguk [Jacques Dorfmann & Pierre Magny] c.op; ph: Billy Williams |
1994 |
Le confessional [Robert M. Lepage] co-c.op 2u; 2uc: Pierre Mignot; ph: Alain Dostie |