IEC
CHRISTIAN SEBALDT ASC
Born: 22 May 1958, Munich, Germany. Moved to the USA in 1984.
Career: Trained at Bavaria Studios, Munich, for 2 years [1976-78].
Ph commercials for Samsonite, Toyota, Nike, a.o. Ph doc's.
Married [2001-present] to script superv Mary Anne Seward.
Appeared in the doc's 'Inside the Federation' [2004, Michael Gillis] & 'Working with a Master: William Malone' [2006, Frank Woodward; ph: Ira Speir].
Awards: Silver Clio Award [2001] for Samsonite commercial ['Bomb Squad' dir by Phil Boston]; DVDX Award [2005] for 'Species III'; ASC TV Award nom [2009] & 'Emmy' Award [2010] for 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' [ep #207 'Family Affair']; KODAK Vision Award [2010].
Website: Christian Sebaldt
Christian Sebaldt: 'Watching my dad produce and direct commercials in Munich, Germany, sparked my interest in photography. One day they were on a go-cart racetrack promoting fountain pens, the next day they were filming a fire inside a coal stove, trying to cope with the black smoke filling up the stage. It seemed the cinematographer continuously faced new challenges and never had a dull day. Years of experimenting with black-and-white still photography in my little lab in my parents' basement and experiencing the never-ending visual possibilities made cinematography the only career choice for me. I spent two years at the Bavaria Film Studios and Lab in Munich as a trainee in every department, including processing, color-correcting, printing and visual effects. I was working on optical printers and animation stands and worked on front projection for movies like 'Avalanche Express', shot by Jack Cardiff, and TV commercials. Once a week a retired cinematographer took us trainees under his wing and taught us shooting and editing. There is no better way to learn than from your own mistakes, and at the time it seemed we made them all! When I moved from Munich to Hollywood, I had no connections in the industry. Anybody willing to endure my five-minute demo reel got his chance! Finally I was recommended for additional camerawork to Wolfgang Obst for a nature film about the last California Condors. He recommended me to others, and since then I've been able to pay my bills doing what I love.' [From the ASC website.]
'Parasomnia' [2006]: The Super 16 revolution in the independent film genre has shifted into high gear during recent years with the convergence of advances in film and DI technologies.
Christian Sebaldt was shown a prototype model of the new Arriflex 416 Super 16 camera during a visit to the ARRI factory in Munich, Germany. Soon afterwards, Bill Malone invited Sebaldt to read his script for 'Parasomnia', a story that he planned to direct.
Malone opted to produce the film in Los Angeles, which enabled him to recruit a stellar cast and crew who were happy to work close to home. He and Sebaldt filmed an ambitious 120-page script in 28 days, mainly on three sets at Santa Clarita Studios with a few days at a local hospital and some exterior locations.
'The new camera is lightweight, compact and quiet, and the viewfinder is incredible,' Sebaldt says. 'I could easily judge focus and lighting while the camera was rolling and the Ultra Prime T1.3 lenses are crystal sharp without flaring.'
Sebaldt mainly covered the action with a single camera that was usually moving on a Steadicam or jib arm on a Panther dolly, or occasionally handheld. He recorded images on KODAK VISION2 7217, a 200T film that he slightly overexposed at E.I. 160.
'We shot a handheld daylight sequence in a moving car,' Sebaldt says. 'I exposed the negative so the exterior didn't blow out and the faces weren't too dark, because I knew we could tweak the shot in DI, and make the outside darker and the faces a little brighter.'
Sebaldt took digital still images of all set-ups, and selected five or six a day to manipulate in Adobe Photoshop as visual references. After the negative was processed, dailies timer Scott Maloney at Modern VideoFilm transferred the images to digital files in HDSR 1920x1080 RGB format, matching the looks indicated by the digital stills. In the DI, Sebaldt desaturated colors in spooky scenes and made romantic scenes a bit warmer. [From article by Bob Fisher in the 'ICG Magazine', July 2007.]
| FILMS | |
|---|---|
|
1986 |
Shoplifting: Preventing the Crime [Barry Clark] c; doc/23m |
|
1988 |
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail [Barry Clark] b&w-c; docudrama/26m |
|
1988 |
Children of the Empire [Cliff Lord] c |
|
1988 |
The Bounty Hunter [Robert Ginty] c; 2uc; ph: Robert M. Baldwin |
|
1989 |
Wedding Band [Daniel Raskov] c; 2uc: Eric Woster |
|
1989 |
Mortal Passions [Andrew Lane] c |
|
1989 |
Hollywood Chaos [Sean McNamara] c; + co-exec prod |
|
1990 |
Play Murder for Me/Negra medianoche [Héctor Olivera] c; addph; ph: José María Hermo |
|
1991 |
Future Kick [Damian Klaus] c; 2uc & addph; ph: Ken Arlidge |
|
1992 |
Bloodfist IV: Die Trying/Bloodfist IV: Deadly Dragon [Paul Ziller] c |
|
1992 |
Inevitable Grace [Alex Canawati] c; 2uc: Malcolm Abbey |
|
1992 |
The Skateboard Kid [Larry Swerdlove] c; addph; ph: Don E. FauntLeRoy |
|
1992 |
The Fantastic Four [Oley Sassone] c; co-2uc; ph: Mark Parry |
|
1993 |
White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II [Catherine Cyran] c; ph Los Angeles & addph; ph: Richard Michalak |
|
1993 |
The Liars' Club [Jeffrey Porter] c; addph; ph: Christopher Faloona |
|
1993 |
Revenge of the Red Baron/The Adventures of the Red Baron/Plane Fear [Robert Gordon] c |
|
1993 |
Scorned/A Woman Scorned [Andrew Stevens] c |
|
1994 |
Mother/The Haunted Heart [Frank LaLoggia] c; ph: tv newscaster crew; ph: Gerry Lively |
|
1994 |
No Dessert, Dad, Till You Mow the Lawn [Howard McCain] c |
|
1994 |
Caroline at Midnight/Someone's Watching [Scott McGinnis] c |
|
1995 |
Illicit Dreams [Andrew Stevens] c |
|
1995 |
Galgameth/The Adventures of Galgameth/The Legend of Galgameth [Sean McNamara] c; vfx ph: Chris Endicott |
|
1996 |
Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick [- The Life and Times of William A. Wellman] [Todd Robinson] b&w-c; doc/93m; cph: Theodore Angell |
|
1996 |
Casper: A Spirited Beginning [Sean McNamara] c/V; 2uc: Andrea Rossotto & Brad Rushing; addph: Eric Swanson |
|
1997 |
Suicide Kings [Peter O'Fallon] c; 2uc; ph: Christopher Baffa |
|
1998 |
By Default [Sean McNamara] c; short/5m |
|
1998 |
Addams Family Reunion [Dave Payne] c/V; 2uc: Brad Rushing |
|
1998 |
Casper Meets Wendy [Sean McNamara] c/V; 2uc: Tom Calloway & Rick Lamb; green screen ph: Mark Doering-Powell |
|
1998 |
Richie Rich'$ Christmas Wish/Richie Rich: A Christmas Story [John Murlowski] c/V; 2uc: Todd Barron |
|
1999 |
House on Haunted Hill/Haunted Hill [William Malone] c; 2uc (+ insert ph); ph: Rick Bota |
|
1999 |
Shadow Hours [Isaac Eaton] c; addph; ph: Frank Byers |
|
1999 |
Time Share/Bitter Suite [Sharon von Wietersheim] c; 2uc: Frederic Goodich |
[Left] with dir Sean McNamara - "Race to Space"
|
2000 |
Race to Space [Sean McNamara] s35/c; 2uc & vfx ph: Mark Doering-Powell |
|
2000 |
Ping! [Chris Baugh] c; addph; ph: Ronn Schmidt |
|
2002 |
FeardotCom/Fear dot Com/Fear.com [William Malone] s35/c; addph (+ vfx superv): Frank Wegerhoff |
With Phil Tippett [right] - "Starship Troopers 2"
|
2003 |
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation [Phil Tippett] HD (Sony F900)-to-35mm/c; miniature ph: Frank Petzold |
|
2003 |
Resident Evil: Apocalypse [Alexander Witt] s35/c; cph: Derek Rogers; 2uc: Igor Meglic; miniature ph: Christopher Warren |
|
2004 |
Earthling/Changing Hands [Tristan & Wolfgang Bayer] scope/c; doc/104m; ph Jackson Hole party; other ph: W. Bayer, Scott Ransom, William Mills, a.o. |
|
2004 |
Raise Your Voice/Heart of Summer [Sean McNamara] s35/c; addph; ph: John R. Leonetti |
|
2004 |
Species III [Brad Turner] HD (Sony)-to-35mm/c/V |
|
2004 |
The Dark [John Fawcett] s35/c; 2uc: David Odd; uwph: Mark Wolf |
|
2005 |
Crossover [Preston Whitmore II] HD (Sony F900)-to-35mm/c |
|
2006 |
The Filthy War [Laszlo Hege] announced; scheduled for April 2007 start; status unknown |
|
2006 |
Georgia Rule [Garry Marshall] s35/c; 2uc; ph: Karl Walter Lindenlaub |
|
2006 |
Parasomnia [William Malone] s16-35bu/c; ph video seg: Enzo Giobbé; see above |
|
2007 |
Bratz [: The Movie] [Sean McNamara] s35/c; 2uc: Joseph Urbanczyk |
|
2007 |
Chain Letter [Deon Taylor] scope/c; 2uc; ph: Philip Lee; released in 2010 |
|
2008 |
Robosapien: Rebooted [Sean McNamara] HD (Sony F23)/c; 2uc (+ vfx unit ph): Robert Hayes |
|
2016 |
ZBurbs [Greg Zekowski] HD/c |
| TELEVISION | |
|---|---|
|
1986 |
California Condor [Wolfgang & Sharon Obst] doc special/60m; addph; ph: W. Obst & Franz Camenzind |
|
1992 |
Ghostwriter [Susan Dansby, a.o.] series on writing skills (18 serials - 74 ep), 1992-95; loc ph New York (Betacam); prod for PBS-tv & BBC-tv by the Children's Television Workshop |
|
1994 |
America's Most Wanted [exec prod: Lance Heflin; superv prod: Joseph Russin] reality series, 1988-96 ('America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back', 1996-2003; 'America's Most Wanted', 2003-11); season 1994-95; other ph: Jim Elias, Robert Jaye & Brian Sweet; for FOX-tv |
|
1994 |
The Secret World of Alex Mack [ep #1 'The Accident' or 'New Powers' dir by Peter Lauer (PL), #2 'Hoop War' dir by Christopher Welch (CW), #3 'Shock Value' dir by PL, #4 'The Videotape' dir by Allison Liddi (AL), #5 'School Dance' dir by AL, #6 'Science Fair' dir by Sean McNamara (SM), #7 'False Alarms' dir by SM, #8 'The Feud' dir by CW, #9 'Alex and Mom' dir by Paul Hoen, #10 'A Cold Day in Paradise Valley' dir by CW, #11 'Annie Bails' dir by Ron Oliver, #12 'The Solo' dir by Leslie Ann Hill & #13 'Road Trip' dir by Thomas Lynch] 78-part series, 1994-98/16mm; 1st season, 1994-95; for Nickelodeon-tv |
|
1995 |
Pacific Blue [pilot dir by Ralph Hemecker + 12 ep dir by various] 101-part series, 1996-2000; 1st season, 1996; addph: Ron Condon & Scott Lautanen |
|
1996 |
Pacific Blue [18 ep dir by various] 2nd season, 1996-97; other ph: Bob Hayes; see 1995 |
|
1997 |
Crayola Kids Adventures: The Trojan Horse [Michael Kruzan] tvm/44m/16mm/V; 2uc: Mark Doering-Powell |
|
1997 |
Crayola Kids Adventures: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [Michael Kruzan] tvm/44m/16mm/V; addph; ph: Wally Pfister |
|
1997 |
Crayola Kids Adventures: Tales of Gulliver's Travels [Fritz Kiersch] tvm/44m/16mm/V |
|
1997 |
P.U.N.K.S./Rebels [Sean McNamara] tvm/s16-35bu; 2uc: Buddy Botham, Joe Maxwell & Hazie Spiegel |
|
1999 |
Wild Grizzly [Sean McNamara] tvm; co-2uc; ph: Mark Doering-Powell |
|
1999 |
The Strip [various] 10-part (1 unaired) series, 1999-2000; 2uc; ph: Christopher Faloona & Andres Porras |
|
1999 |
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies [Christian Sebaldt] doc/55m/b&w-c; ph (+ dir) re-creations; interview ph: Mark Ritchie; for Turner Classic Movies |
|
2000 |
The Brothers Garcia [ep #3 'The Right Stuff' dir by Virgil Fabian] 48-part series, 2000-04 + 1 tvm (2003); 1st season, 2000 (7 ep); other ph: Fernando Argüelles & Carlos González; for Nickelodeon-tv |
|
2000 |
Level 9 [various] 13-part (4 unaired) series, 2000-01; 2uc; ph: Adam Kane |
|
2001 |
Special Unit 2 [various] 19-part series, 2001-02; 2uc; ph: various |
|
2003 |
The 'Even Stevens' Movie [Sean McNamara] tvm; addph: Harry C. Box |
|
2004 |
Phil of the Future [pilot 'Your Cheatin' Heart' dir by David Kendall] 43-part series, 2004-06; 1st season, 2004-05 (21 ep); other ph: Mark Doering-Powell |
With dir Mick Garris [right] - "[Stephen King's] Desperation"
|
2004 |
[Stephen King's] Desperation [Mick Garris] tvm/s16; aph: Dwayne McClintock & Ralph Mendoza |
|
2005 |
Haunting Sarah [Ralph Hemecker] tvm/s16 |
|
2007 |
On the Lot [ep 'Open House' (2m) dir by Shira-Lee Shalit, 'The Move' (2m) dir by Jason Epperson & 'Die Hardly Working' (2m) dir by Zach Lipovsky] 16-part filmmaking competition series |
|
2008 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [ep #188 'Say Uncle' dir by Richard J. Lewis (RJL), #191 '19 Down' dir by Kenneth Fink, #193 'The Grave Shift' dir by RJL, #195 'Deep Fried and Minty Fresh' dir by Alec Smight (AS), #197 'Kill Me if You Can' dir by Nathan Hope, #199 'No Way Out' dir by AS, #201 'The Descent of Man' dir by Christopher Leitch, #203 'If I Had a Hammer...' dir by Brad Tanenbaum & #205 'Hog Heaven' dir by Louis Shaw Milito] 336-part series/s35-to-HD, 2000-15; 9th season, 2008-09 (24 ep) |
|
2009 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [12 ep dir by various] 10th season, 2009-10 (23 ep); see 2008 |
|
2010 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [12 ep dir by various] 11th season, 2010-11 (22 ep); see 2008 |
|
2011 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [11 ep dir by various] 12th season, 2011-12 (22 ep); see 2008 |
|
2012 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [11 ep dir by various] 13th season, 2012-13 (22 ep); see 2008 |
|
2013 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [10 ep dir by various] 14th season, 2013-14 (22 ep); other ph: Crescenzo Notarile (11 ep) & Ken Glassing (1 ep); see 2008 |
|
2014 |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation/CSI: Las Vegas [9 ep dir by various] 15th season, 2014-15 (18 ep); see 2008 |
|
2015 |
Rush Hour [6 ep dir by various] 13-part series, 2016; other ph: Marshall Adams |
|
2016 |
Forever Boys [Adam B. Stein] pilot; for Disney Channel |
| MISCELLANEOUS | |
|---|---|
|
1980 |
Lili Marleen [Rainer Werner Fassbinder] co-c.asst; ph: Xaver Schwarzenberger |
