TONY PIERCE-ROBERTS

#1: "Home of the Brave" [2006]

TONY PIERCE-ROBERTS BSC

Born: 24 December 1944, Birkenhead, UK, as Anthony Pierce-Roberts.

Career: Emigrated to Rhodesia [Africa] when he was 11 years old. Worked for the Central African Film Unit on wildlife doc's and assisted BBC crews. Returned to England in 1966 and became freelancer. Hired by the BBC in 1967 where he worked for 4 years as c.asst working with doph Brian Tufano. Became doph for the BBC in 1972. Left the BBC in 1980.

Ph commercials dir by John Stephens, a.o.

Member [now honorary accredited] of the BSC.

Awards: BAFTA TV Award [1981] for 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'; BAFTA TV Award nom [1983] for 'P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang'; NYFCC Award [1986], BSC Award nom [1986], BAFTA Film Award nom [1987], 'Oscar' AA nom [1987] & ASC Award nom [1987] for 'A Room with a View'; BSC Award [1992], 'Oscar' AA nom [1993], ASC Award nom [1993], BAFTA Film Award nom [1993] & Camerimage 'Golden Frog' nom [1993] for 'Howards End'; BAFTA Film Award nom [1994] for 'The Remains of the Day'.

'Underworld' [2002]: 'The new vampire thriller was shot on location in Budapest, Hungary, in the 3-perforation, Super 35mm format and finished in a totally digital environment. This method is growing popular with people who desire the image quality of 35mm film but intend to finish digitally because it slashes 25% off the cost of raw stock without compromising image quality. By converting the film images to digital formats it allows productions the best of both worlds - the immediacy of digital production and the image quality of film-originated material. Technical supervisor in charge of the project, James McQuaide, envisioned a work method where negative would be transferred to 24p HD format as "digital dailies", which could be projected to cast and crew on location and simultaneously transmitted to the editor and eager executives in Los Angeles. By the end of each shooting day the film footage was sent to the ARRI Lab in Munich for processing and then passed on to their post facility for transfer to the 24p HD format. The 24p material was then compressed into MPEG2 data format. The MPEG2 data was then transferred to a digital projection file format and placed on hard disc drives, which were flown to Budapest and projected for cast and crew using a JVC digital projector. The fact that these dailies were coming off a hard drive meant they had full random access to scenes in any order desired. "What was truly exceptional with 'Underworld'," says McQuaide, "was that it was the first time we'd used the drive-based dailies system from beginning to end. To be able to sort in any manner imaginable [i.e., take, camera, etc.] and skip from take-to-take, day-to-day, not only expedited dailies screenings - which on a film with days as long as ours was a godsend - but turned these screenings into the kind of decision-making sessions usually reserved for the Avid." Meanwhile, the MPEG2 files were also sent over the Internet via FTP to Lakeshore Entertainment's headquarters in Los Angeles, so that editor Martin Hunter and the Lakeshore execs could see the dailies a day or two faster than would have been possible if film or tape media had to be shipped to them all the way from Munich.' [From the cinematographer.com website.]

FILMS
1979	Arabian Time-Machine [Helga Graham] 16mm/c; doc/52m; cph: Charles Stewart
*1980*	Excalibur [John Boorman] started film, but was replaced by Alex Thomson
1982	Moonlighting/Fucha [Jerzy Skolimowski] c
1984	Frog Dance - Solos and Indulgences '80-'84 [Richard White] 16mm/b&w-c; mus doc/52m; cph: Chris Morphet, Chris Cox, Wolfgang Tirado, Raymond Grosjean & Steve Shaw; combines interviews and performance footage in a portrait of the life, music and personality of jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill
1984	A Private Function [Malcolm Mowbray] c
1985	A Room with a View [James Ivory] c; 2uc: Sergio Melaranci
1987	A Tiger's Tale [Peter Douglas] c
1988	Slaves of New York [James Ivory] c
1988	Out Cold/Stiffs [Malcolm Mowbray] c
1989	Mr. and Mrs. Bridge [James Ivory] c; Canada ph: Larry Pizer
1990	White Fang [Randal Kleiser] c; 2uc (+ 2ud): Gary Capo; matte ph: Eric Peterson
1990	The Dark Half [George A. Romero] c; 2uc: Robert Wagner & Mike Spiller
1991	Howards End [James Ivory] c
1992	Splitting Heirs [Robert Young] c; uwph: Michael Valentine; aph: Henry Braham
1992	The Remains of the Day [James Ivory] s35/c
1993	The Client [Joel Schumacher] p/c; 2uc: Robert Wagner; aph: Stan McClain
1994	Disclosure [Barry Levinson] p/c
1994	Copycat [Jon Amiel] p/c; addph; ph: László Kovács
1994	Haunted [Lewis Gilbert] c; 2uc: Don Lord
1995	Surviving Picasso [James Ivory] c; 2uc: Colin Corby
1996	Jungle 2 Jungle [John Pasquin] c; 2uc: Dick Quinlan, Gus Makris & Robert Wagner
1996	Something to Believe In [John Hough] J-D-C Scope/c
*1997*	Journey from the Jacarandas [Rory Kilalea] prod was being filmed on location in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, when the Zim dollar fell and the government became hostile to British enterprise; this resulted in the film closing down mid-shoot due to 'force majeur'
1997	Paulie/Polly, a Parrot's Tail [John Roberts] c; 2uc (+ 2ud): Mark Vargo; vfx blue screen unit ph: Bill Neil
1998	Astérix et Obélix contre César [Claude Zidi] p/c
1998	The Bone Collector [Phillip Noyce] s35/c; addph London; ph: Dean Semler
1998	The Trench [Somme, 1916] [William Boyd] c
1999	Blackadder Back & Forth/Time for Blackadder [Paul Weiland] s35-70bu/c; short/33m
1999	The Golden Bowl [James Ivory] p/c
2000	Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) [Stewart Sugg] s35/c; addph: Ernest Vincze, Terry Lou Lewis & Peter Wignall
2001	The Importance of Being Earnest [Oliver Parker] p/c; 2uc: David Brown
2001	The Glow [Marcus Dillistone] c; cph: John de Borman & Thierry Arbogast; demo film for Fuji Reala 500D film stock
2002	Underworld [Len Wiseman] s35/c; 2uc: László Bille; miniature ph: Christopher Warren; see above
2003	De-lovely/Just One of Those Things [Irwin Winkler] p/b&w-c
2003	Separate Lies/A Way Through the Woods [Julian Fellowes] c; addph: Sam Garwood
2004	The White Countess [James Ivory] c; UK ph (scheduled as 1st unit doph, but the distant loc scared him away); ph: Christopher Doyle
2004	Doom [Andrzej Bartkowiak (replaced Enda McCallion)] s35/c; 2uc: Shaun O'Dell; 3uc: Milan Chadima
*2004*	Underworld: Evolution [Len Wiseman] scheduled as doph, but film was ph by Simon Duggan
2005	J'aurais voulu être un danseur/Gone for a Dance [Alain Berliner] s35/c
2005	Lights II - Return of the Shadow [Marcus Dillistone] 16mm+35mm-to-35mm/c; comm short/?m; cph: Ian Wilson; demo film for Fuji film stocks Eterna 400, 250 & 250D
2006	Home of the Brave [Irwin Winkler] HD (Thomson VIPER)+s35-to-35mm scope/c; collab ph: David Stump; 2uc: S. Douglas Smith
2007	Made of Honor/Made of Honour [Paul Weiland] s35/c; 2uc UK: Alan Almond & Andrew Speller; aph UK: Adam Dale
*2009*	Sweetwater [Martin Guigui] scheduled as ph for a February start; film is now back in the hands of doph Jack N. Green with a May 2010 start
*2009*	Vivaldi [Boris Damast] pre-production; scheduled to start shooting in March; later in September 2011; later in March 2013
2011	The Equestrian [Sybil H. Mair] c; short/17m; cph: Will Humphris
2011	Effie Gray [Richard Laxton] p/c; insert ph; ph: Andrew Dunn
2012	4 Cities [-] HD (Canon Cinema EOS C500)/c; promo film/3m; cph: Ben Seresin & Martin Ruhe; for Codex
2013	Vampire Academy/Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters [Mark Waters] HD (ARRI ALEXA)/c

TELEVISION
1972	Hard Labour [Mike Leigh] tvm; ep #62 of BBC1-tv series 'Play for Today', 1970-84
1973	Someone from the Welfare [prod: Jenny Barraclough] doc/60m; ep BBC1-tv series 'Tuesday Documentary'
1973	That's My Little Masterpiece [Richard Marquand] doc/40m; ep (16mm) of BBC1-tv series 'Omnibus'
1973	European Heritage [ep #7 (55m) 'Towards Jerusalem - A Revolution and Its Aftermath' dir by Christopher Martin] 7-part doc series
1974	The Roots of Yoga [Hugh Burnett] doc/50m; ep BBC1-tv series 'Tuesday Documentary'
1974	The Fight Against Slavery [ep #1 'The Old African Blasphemer', #2 'One Man's Property', #3 'A Matter of Insurance', #4 'Tight Packers and Loose Packers', #5 'A Grateful Peasantry' & #6 'Free Paper Come' dir by Christopher Ralling] 6-part dram doc series; for BBC2-tv (1975)
1974	Greece - The Seven Black Years - Life in Greece Under the Dictatorship 1967-1974 [Mischa Scorer] doc/60m; ep BBC1-tv series 'Tuesday Documentary' (1975)
1975	Days of Hope [Kenneth Loach] 4-part miniseries; cph part 1 ('1916: Joining Up') & 2 ('1921'); ph: John Else; for BBC1-tv
1975	Orders from Above [Robert Vas] doc/90m; cph: Bill Matthews & Malcolm Kipling; for BBC2-tv
1975	The Glittering Prizes [ep #4 'A Country Life' dir by Waris Hussein] 6-part miniseries/v (studio)+16mm (ext); for BBC2-tv (1976)
1975	A Story to Frighten the Children [Herbert Wise] tvm/85m; ep #130 of BBC1-tv series 'Play for Today' (1976)
1975	Early Struggles [Stephen Frears] tvm/60m; ep #138 of BBC1-tv series 'Play for Today' (1976)
1976	Country Search [ep #1 'Fishing the Herring' prod by David Turnbull] 7-part (x 20m) doc series; for BBC1-tv
1976	Ballet Rambert: The First 50 Years [Margaret Dale] doc/63m/16mm; cph: John McGlashan; see 1978
1976	Ideals and Realities [Ray Sutcliffe] doc/60m; ep BBC2-tv series 'Chronicle', 1966-91
1976	Double Echo [Alan Bridges] tvm/53m; ep #2 of 6-part BBC-tv series 'The Mind Beyond' (part of the series 'Playhouse')
1976	Brensham People [Brian Parker] 3-part miniseries; for BBC2-tv
1976	Who Was Jesus? [prod: Peter Armstrong] doc/120m; cph: Keith Hopper; for BBC2-tv (1977)
1976	Beaune 76 [Tony Laryea] doc/50m; for BBC2-tv (1977)
1977	Satan Superstar [William Nicholson] doc/39m; ep BBC1-tv series 'Everyman'
1977	Prisoners' Wives - Eileen [Rex Bloomstein] doc/45m; cph: Keith Taylor; ep #1 of 3-part doc as part of BBC2-tv series 'Inside Story'
1977	A Run for Your Money [Ron Johnston] doc/50m; ep BBC2-tv series 'Inside Story'
1977	In the Making [ep #10 'Fireworks' prod by Charles Chabot] 13-part doc series; for BBC2-tv
1977	A Little Outing [Brian Tufano] tvm/30m; ep of 6-part BBC2-tv series 'Premiere'
1977	Americans [ep #2 'The School Teacher' & #9 'The General'; prod: James Kenelm Clarke] 13-part doc series; other ph: Philip Bonham-Carter, Ian Stone, Nat Crosby, a.o.; for BBC2-tv (1978)
1977	Life at Stake [ep #2 'Mayday for Pisces III' dir by Lawrence Gordon Clark] 8-part dram reconstructions series; for BBC1-tv (1978)
1978	Rambert at 90 [Margaret Dale] doc/62m/16mm (slightly different version of 'Ballet Rambert: The First 50 Years'); cph: John McGlashan; ep of series 'Dance Month'; see 1976
1978	Something's Wrong [Frederic Raphael] tvm/30m; ep 6-part BBC2-tv series 'Premiere 2'
1978	Connections - An Alternative View of Change by James Burke [ep #1 'The Trigger Effect', #2 'Death in the Morning', #3 'Distant Voices', #4 'Faith in Numbers', #5 'The Wheel of Fortune', #6 'Thunder in the Skies', #7 'The Long Chain', #8 'Eat, Drink and Be Merry...', #9 'Countdown' & #10 'Yesterday, Tomorrow and You' prod by Mick Jackson & David Kennard] 10-part doc series; cph: David Feig; for BBC1-tv
1978	A Touch of the Tiny Hacketts [James Cellan Jones] tvm/65m; ep #179 of BBC1-tv series 'Play for Today'
1978	One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day [Peter Ellis] tvm/30m; ep of 6-part BBC2-tv series 'Premiere 2'
1978	Dinner at the Sporting Club [Brian Gibson] tvm/65m; ep #180 of BBC1-tv series 'Play for Today'
1978	Paul's Children [Peter Armstrong] mus doc (about the world of the choirboys of St. Paul's Cathedral)/50m; ep BBC1-tv series 'Everyman'

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

1979	Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy [John Irvin] 7-part series/16mm+35mm (some shots); for BBC2-tv
1979	Shoestring [ep #5 'Listen to Me' dir by Peter Smith] 21-part series, 1979 & 1980; 1st series, 1979; other ph: Peter Hall, Ken Westbury, John Wyatt, a.o.; for BBC1-tv
1979	Timothy West As Beecham [prod: Robin Lough] doc (rehearsal and highlights of a stage biography of Sir Thomas Beecham)/50m; for BBC2-tv
1980	Hong Kong Venture [prod: Anthony de Lotbinière] doc/50m; for BBC1-tv
1980	Caught on a Train [Peter Duffell] tvm; cph: John Else; ep of BBC2-tv series 'Playhouse'
1980	The Good Soldier [Kevin Billington] tvm (1981)
1981	A Voyage Round My Father [Alvin Rakoff] tvm (1982)
1982	Nobody's Hero [John Goldschmidt] 6-part miniseries
1982	P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang [Michael Apted] tvm; ep Channel 4 series 'First Love'; also released theatrically
1983	The Cold Room/The Prisoner [James Dearden] tvm; also released theatrically
1988	The Bourne Identity [Roger Young] 2-part tvm
1989	No Place Like Home [Lee Grant] tvm
2000	Dinotopia [Marco Brambilla] 3-part miniseries; followed by 13-part series (2002)

MISCELLANEOUS
1970	The Lie [Alan Bridges; tvm] c.asst; ph: Brian Tufano
1980	Dance Craze [Joe Massot; mus doc/89m] co-c.op; ph: Joe Dunton