IEC
#1: Photo by William Kallay
#2: [Right] - "I Am Legend" [2006]
ANDREW LESNIE
Born: 1 January 1956, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Died: 27 April 2015, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Education: TAFE NSW [Technical and Further Education Commission]; Australian Film and Television School [AFTS; now AFTRS] [graduated in 1979].
Career: Studied film and television before joining ABC-tv as a camera assistant. After going freelance, he divided his time as a professional assistant and shooting low budget short films and music videos. He assisted on documentaries, several feature films and hundreds of commercials. He also spent 18 months on 'Simon Townsend's Wonder World!', a children's afternoon magazine style show [on Network 10] where he was able to experiment and pioneer some new photographic techniques.
Ph news, current affairs, commercials [dir by Paul Middleditch, a.o.] and documentaries. Ph music videos, e.g. 'Cut Your Roses Down' [1993; a: INXS; d: Lynn-Maree Milburn & Richard Lowenstein].
Was a member of the ACS since 1989 and the ASC since 2005.
Appeared in the doc 'A Passage to Middle-earth: Making of 'Lord of the Rings'' [2001].
Awards: ACS 'Milli' Award 'Australian Cinematographer of the Year' [1995] for 'You Seng'; ACS 'Milli' Award 'Australian Cinematographer of the Year' [1996] for 'Babe'; AFI [Aus] Award [1997], ACS 'Award of Distinction' [1998] & Film Critics Circle of Australia Award [1998] for 'Doing Time for Patsy Cline'; ACS 'Hall of Fame' [2002]; 'Oscar' AA [2002], ASC Film Award nom [2002], BAFTA Film Award nom [2002] & CFCA Award [2002] for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'; BAFTA Film Award nom [2003] & CFCA Award nom [2003] for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'; ASC Film Award nom [2003] & BAFTA Film Award [2004] for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'; AFI [Aus] Award nom [2004], Film Critics Circle of Australia Award nom [2004] & WorldFest Houston 'Gold Award' [2004] for 'Love's Brother'; ASC Award nom [2006] for 'King Kong'.
Obituary: The cinematographer Andrew Lesnie, who has died aged 59 of a suspected heart attack, was a key part of one of the most formidable, even foolhardy, projects in modern cinema: Peter Jackson's innovative adaptation of four novels by JRR Tolkien into almost 18 hours of cinema. Lesnie won an Oscar for his work on the first installment, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'. He happened to be available to shoot it only because he had quit 'Mission: Impossible II' three weeks into production following artistic disagreements with that film's director, John Woo.
Jackson retained Lesnie's services for 'King Kong' and 'The Lovely Bones'. When he came to give the three-film treatment to Tolkien's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey', 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' and 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' - there could be no other choice for cinematographer.
Lesnie's achievement in the Tolkien films was to bring both grandeur and intimacy to Jackson's vision. He benefited from the novelty of a New Zealand landscape that had been largely unexploited in cinema, but his work cannot be dismissed as just pretty pictures. Crucial to the movies was the tension between a gloomy, churning underworld of orcs and uruks, dragons and ringwraiths, and the bucolic idyll that the hobbits and elves were defending - a metaphor in landscape form of the inner conflict for which the struggle for the ring was the catalyst.
Jackson knew from Lesnie's sophisticated work on 'Babe' (1994) and its darker sequel, 'Babe: Pig in the City' (1997), that he could bring human warmth to footage that would be heavily reliant on complicated digital effects. "I thought they looked amazing, the way he'd used backlight and the sun and natural light to create a very magical effect," said Jackson. "'Babe' had that larger than life feel about it that I wanted."
Despite working predominantly in movies steeped in effects, Lesnie kept his images rich and painterly. He also displayed organizational aplomb, marshalling nine camera units across the 'Lord of the Rings' films.
Born in Sydney, he landed his first job in the Australian film industry as a runner on 'The Getting of Wisdom' (1977). While studying at the Australian Film and Television School, he worked as a camera assistant on 'Patrick' (1978), a fondly remembered horror movie from the grungier 'Ozploitation' end of the market.
In 1981, he shot an on-set documentary about 'Mad Max 2 [: The Road Warrior]'. George Miller, director of the 'Mad Max' series, was impressed enough to hire him again when he came to make the 'Babe' films, and to ask him to oversee the live-action unit for another CGI-animated family entertainment, 'Happy Feet' (2003).
Once Jackson snapped him up for the 'Lord of the Rings' series, his career came to be dominated by large-scale, big-budget blockbuster projects. These posed a variety of technical challenges, the most pronounced of which was the use on the three 'Hobbit' films of cutting-edge digital cameras specially made for the production.
Jackson's decision to create heightened visual immediacy in the second three-parter by shooting in 3D at 48 frames per second, rather than the standard 24, remains controversial. To most eyes, the 48fps version looked eerily overlit; the actors appeared to be within touching distance. After a negative early reaction from critics, previews of the remaining films tended to be in 24fps, though Jackson made 48fps versions available as well. Whatever the future for 48fps, Lesnie was the first cinematographer to have worked so extensively in the format.
No matter what the size of the production, Lesnie never lost his taste for playfulness. "There was a lot of room for improvisation on 'The Hobbit', in both performance and coverage," he said. "Even with the huge amount of preparation we'd done, it was important to remain open to a good idea or a happy accident." [From obituary by Ryan Gilbey in 'The Guardian', 29 April 2015.]
| FILMS AT THE AFTS | |
|---|---|
|
1976 |
In Search of Ben Hall's Boot [Andrew Lesnie] c; doc/16m; ph: Andrew Jackomos, Peter Duller, Mario Andreacchio & Denny Lawrence |
|
1977 |
Chakola - a cinematography workshop exercise/Chakola 1 [John Tweg] 16mm/c; doc/18m; cph: Steve Arnold, Kim Batterham, a.o. |
|
1977 |
Chakola - a cinematography workshop exercise/Chakola 2 [John Tweg] 16mm/c; doc/14m; cph: Steve Arnold, Kim Batterham, a.o. |
|
1977 |
Excerpts [Andrew Lesnie] 16mm/b&w; ?/11m; ph: ? |
|
1977 |
Asylum [Martin Rooke] c; short/8m |
|
1978 |
Stella [Denny Lawrence] c; cred as lighting; short/28m |
|
1978 |
Give It All Back [Stephen Knapman] c; mus perf/?m |
|
1978 |
Anything (Legal) Considered [Michael Harvey] pilot ('Getting It All Together'; 22m) for sitcom; cred as lighting + film cam; studio cam: Stephen Arnold |
|
1978 |
"Shelter from the storm" [Geoff Bennett] c; short/27m; cred as film cameraman; ph (cred as doph): Steve Arnold |
|
1978 |
The Outing [Denny Lawrence] c; short/23m |
|
1978 |
The Way She Moves [Geoff Bennett] c; short/25m; cam + title efx: Kim Batterham |
| FILMS | |
|---|---|
|
1980 |
The Comeback/Total Rebuild/Pump Action [Kit Laughlin] 16mm/c; doc/44m |
|
1981 |
Before the Flood/The Same Stream [James Bradley] 16mm/c; short/26m |
|
1981 |
Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior/Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior [George Miller] p/b&w-c; doc cameraman; ph: Dean Semler |
|
1981 |
The Making of 'The Road Warrior' [?] ?; doc/?m |
|
1981 |
Stations [Jacki McKimmie] c; short/23m |
|
1982 |
Double Concerto: A Film About the Pianist Roger Woodward/Roger Woodward in Concert [Hugh Piper] 16mm/c; doc/53m; or ph Steve Arnold |
|
1982 |
Artreach [Genni & Kim Batterham] 16mm/c; doc/20m; cph: K. Batterham |
|
1982 |
Early Frost/Something Wicked [Brian McDuffie] c; co-addph; ph: David Eggby |
|
1983 |
Night and Day: The Festival of Sydney [Terence McMahon] 16mm/c; doc/26m; cph: Tony Wilson |
|
1984 |
The Man You Know [Steve Jacobs] 16mm/c; short/36m |
|
1984 |
Fantasy Man [John Meagher] c |
|
1984 |
The Making of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome [Charles Lamprell] c; doc/35m; co-addph; ph: Jerry Brookman & Michael Ewers |
|
1985 |
Unfinished Business [Bob Ellis] 16mm/c; + small part |
|
1985 |
Starship/Lorca and the Outlaws [Roger Christian] p/c; 2uc Australia; ph: John Metcalfe |
|
1985 |
Fair Game [Mario Andreacchio] c |
|
1985 |
Emoh Ruo [Denny Lawrence] c |
|
1986 |
Dead-End Drive In/Dead End [Brian Trenchard-Smith] scope/c; addph; ph: Paul Murphy |
|
1986 |
Australian Dream/Outrageous Party [Jacki McKimmie] c |
|
1987 |
Inside Pine Gap: Top Secret (Place Without a Postcard)/Journey to an American Spy Base [Robert Plasto-Lehner] c; doc/50m; 'Journey to an American Spy Base' is the international version |
|
1987 |
Dark Age [Arch Nicholson] c |
|
1987 |
Around the World in Eighty Ways [Stephen MacLean] c; 2uc; ph: Louis Irving |
|
1987 |
Farewell to the King [John Milius] c; 2uc; ph: Dean Semler |
|
1988 |
The 13th Floor [Chris Roache & (add scenes) Adrian Carr] c; ph add scenes; ph: Stephen Prime |
|
1988 |
Boys in the Island [Geoff Bennett] c |
|
1988 |
Encounter at Raven's Gate/Incident at Raven's Gate [Rolf de Heer] c; 2uc; ph: Richard Michalak |
|
1989 |
Tripe [Greg Woodland] b&w; short/22m; prod AFTRS |
|
1989 |
The Delinquents [Chris Thomson] c; add camera crew: Richard Merryman, Steve Arnold, Ivan Johnston, Anna Howard & Ben Nott |
|
1989 |
The Shrimp on the Barbie/The Boyfriend from Hell [Alan Smithee (= Michael Gottlieb)] c; ph Australia; ph New Zealand: James Bartle |
|
1990 |
It's Not Easy [Judy Rymer] c; doc/21m |
|
1990 |
The Girl Who Came Late/Daydream Believer [Kathy Mueller] c; 2uc: Ian Jones; addph: Roger Lanser |
|
1992 |
The Kangaroo Kid [Dean Semler] unfinished |
|
1993 |
You Seng/Temptation of a Monk [Clara Law] c |
|
1993 |
Fatal Past [Clive Fleury] c |
|
1994 |
Spider & Rose [Bill Bennett] c |
|
1994 |
Babe/Babe, the Gallant Pig [Chris Noonan] c; addph: Ken Arlidge |
|
1995 |
Two If by Sea/Stolen Hearts [Bill Bennett] c |
|
1996 |
Dark City [Alex Proyas] s35/c; co-addph; ph: Dariusz Wolski |
|
1996 |
Doing Time for Patsy Cline [Chris Kennedy] c |
|
1997 |
The Sugar Factory [Robert Carter] c |
|
1997 |
Babe: Pig in the City [George Miller] c; addph: Ian Jones |
|
1999 |
Mission: Impossible II/M:I-2 [John Woo] left prod less than a month into filming; replaced by doph Jeffrey Kimball |
|
1999 |
The Australian Ballet [Barrett Mitchell] c; perf/unedited |
|
1999 |
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [: The Motion Picture] [Peter Jackson] s35/c; 2uc: Alun Bollinger, Simon Raby, John Cavill, Allen Guilford, Nigel Bluck & Richard Bluck; vfx ph: Tony Anderson & Brian Van't Hul; vfx miniature unit ph: Alex Funke; aph: Phil Pastuhov; uwph: Murray Milne |
|
2000 |
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [Peter Jackson] s35/c |
|
2000 |
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [Peter Jackson] s35/c; all 3 'The Lord of the Rings' films were filmed back-to-back during 1999 and 2000 |
|
2002 |
Love's Brother [Jan Sardi] c; addph: Russell Bacon |
|
2003 |
Happy Feet [George Miller, Warren Coleman & Judy Morris] dv-to-35mm scope (+ 70mm)/c; anim + live action; ph live action unit; released in 2006 |
|
2004 |
King Kong [Peter Jackson] s35/c; 2uc: Richard Bluck; aph: David B. Nowell; vfx ph: Alex Funke |
"I Am Legend"
|
2006 |
I Am Legend [Francis Lawrence] p+s35 (+ IMAX-70bu & D-Cinema)/c; action unit ph: Brian Pearson; aph: Hans Bjerno & (uncred) David B. Nowell; vfx ph: Mark H. Weingartner; filmed 2006-07 |
|
2006 |
Shine a Light [Martin Scorsese] HD (Genesis)+s8+s35-to-35mm (+ 70bu)/b&w-c; mus doc/122m; co-c.op; ph: Robert Richardson |
|
2007 |
The Lovely Bones [Peter Jackson] s35+RED+HD (Iconix)-to-35mm scope/c; aph: David B. Nowell |
|
2008 |
Resistance [Andrew Dillon] announced as doph, but left prod due to a scheduling conflict; prod (only the trailer ?) was ph by Ashleigh Carter; the film will also serve as a pilot for a 26-part children's tv-series, but the prod of the series was delayed (not November 2011, but 2012 or 2013) and the number of episodes was cut down |
|
2008 |
Bran Nue Dae [Rachel Perkins] s35+ts-to-35mm scope/c; Aboriginal musical/88m |
|
2009 |
The Last Airbender/The Legend of Aang [M. Night Shyamalan] s35 (+ D-Cinema [also 3-D version])/c; 2uc: Patrick Capone; plate unit ph: Phil Pastuhov; vfx ph: Martin Rosenberg |
|
2010 |
Rise of the Planet of the Apes/Rise of the Apes [Rupert Wyatt] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc (+ 2ud): Mark Vargo; Golden Gate unit ph: Larry Blanford; aph San Francisco: Larry Blanford & Phil Pastuhov |
|
2011 |
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [Peter Jackson (replaced Guillermo del Toro)] RED Epic-to-35mm scope (+ IMAX-70bu [also 3-D version] & D-Cinema [also 3-D version])/c; 2uc: Richard Bluck; aph: David B. Nowell; replaced ph Guillermo Navarro; filmed March-October 2011 |
|
2011 |
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug [Peter Jackson (replaced Guillermo del Toro)] RED Epic-to-35mm scope (+ IMAX-70bu [also 3-D version] & D-Cinema [also 3-D version])/c; 2uc: Richard Bluck; aph: David B. Nowell; filmed October 2011-July 2012 |
|
2013 |
Healing [Craig Monahan] HD (ARRI ALEXA)+RED Epic (scope)/c; aph: Warwick Field |
|
2013 |
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies/The Hobbit: There and Back Again [Peter Jackson] RED One MX & Epic+HD (Sony DVW-790)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema [also 3-D version] & IMAX 3-D)/c; uses footage from the first two films + new footage; filmed 2011-12 (see above) & May-June 2013 (new footage) |
|
2013 |
The Turning [seg (12m) 'Reunion' dir by Simon Stone] c; 18 seg/180m, 107m & 90m (for tv) |
|
2013 |
The Water Diviner [Russell Crowe] HD (ARRI ALEXA XT)+RED Epic-to-D-Cinema (scope)/c; 2uc: Ernie Clark; filmed 2013-14 |
| TELEVISION | |
|---|---|
|
1979 |
Simon Townsend's Wonder World!/WonderWorld: The Original Series [ep #1 dir by Howard Scrivener] 2,000+ part series, 1979-86; for Network 10 |
|
1980 |
Stages [: Peter Brook and the C.I.C.T. in Australia] [exec prod: Brian Adams] doc/53m/16mm |
|
1984 |
Bodyline [Carl Schultz (ep #1 & #5-7), Denny Lawrence (ep #2-3), George Ogilvie (ep #2-4) & Lex Marinos (ep #5 & #7)] 7-part miniseries; 2uc; ph: Dean Semler |
|
1984 |
Winners [ep (48m) 'On Loan' dir by Geoff Bennett] 8-part series/16mm, 1986 |
|
1986 |
Cyclone Tracy [Donald Crombie & Kathy Mueller] 3-part miniseries |
|
1986 |
Melba [Rodney Fisher] 8-part miniseries; other ph: Dean Semler; in USA 4-part ep of PBS-tv series 'Great Performances' (1989) |
|
1988 |
The Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy [Chris Thomson] 2-part tvm |
|
1989 |
How Wonderful! [Lynn Hegarty] tvm/55m |
|
1989 |
More Winners [ep (48m) 'Mr Edmund' dir by George Whaley] 6-part series |
|
1990 |
The Saint in Australia/The Saint: Fear in Fun Park [Donald Crombie] tvm |
|
1994 |
House of Fun [Rebel Penfold-Russell] 13-part children's series, 1994-95; for Network 10 |
| MISCELLANEOUS | |
|---|---|
|
1977 |
The Getting of Wisdom [Bruce Beresford] unit runner; ph: Don McAlpine |
|
1978 |
Patrick [Richard Franklin] c.asst; ph: Don McAlpine |
|
1981 |
The Killing of Angel Street [Donald Crombie] clapper-loader; ph: Peter James |
|
1982 |
Dead Easy [Bert Deling] focus puller; ph: Tom Cowan & Mike Molloy |
|
1982 |
Now and Forever [Adrian Carr] focus puller; ph: Don McAlpine |
|
1993 |
Shotgun Wedding [Paul Harmon] thanks to; ph: Kim Batterham |
