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BEN SERESIN   BSC/ASC

 

Born: 3 November 1962, New Zealand, as Benjamin Paul Seresin, to a Russian father and a New Zealand mother.

Career: Moved to Australia at the age of 18 to pursue a career in film. Worked as an asst for 4 years before moving to the UK. Settled permanently in the UK in 1992.

Ph numerous commercials dir by David Denneen, Fredrik Bond [for Adidas], Ringan Ledwidge [for Puma], Traktor [for Levi's], Adrian Moat [for BMW], Andy Lambert [for Guinness], Joe Public [for Nike, Renault], a.o.

Member of the BSC since 2010 and the ASC since 2011.

Is the half-brother of doph Michael Seresin.

Appeared in the doc 'The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen' [2009, Charles de Lauzirika].

Awards: Istituto Cinematografica dell'Aquila 'Néstor Almendros Award' [1998]; Satellite Award nom [2010] for 'Unstoppable'.

Website: Ben Seresin

Dariusz Wolski on Ben Seresin for 'Unstoppable':

'Tony Scott is a very visual person. I have done two movies with him in the past, and I'm very familiar with how he operates and I would say Ben Seresin's contribution to 'Unstoppable' is tremendous. And it's very unique compared to what's going on right now in the movies, because it's a straight-forward action thriller done in a very conventional way, with a minimal use of CG effects. It's all done for real. And it's using an old craft of cinematography, which translates into "Where do we put the lens to make it look real?"

Often writers come up with stories that are completely impossible. Because you can do them digitally, many people think "OK, it looks great," but at some point you ask yourself, "Wait a minute, do I really believe in that?" That's the power of this film. The whole thing happens on a train: two men inside the engine. Basically that's what it is, and everything else is exterior shots. There's no blue screen. They just put a train on the track with three cameras - so then it's just roll performance, you know, while the train is really moving. Again, it just makes it look real.' [Variety, January 2011.]

 FILMS & TELEVISION

1990

Keeper [Michael Cuff] tvm/11m; ep Channel 4 series 'He-Play'

1992

The Peruvian Paso Horse [Gunther Knoerzer (Günter Knörzer)] tv-doc/60m; for Channel 4

1995

Go Back Out/Go Back the Way You Came in [Mike Barker] tvm/30m; part of BBC2-tv 'States of Mind' season

1995

Dalziel and Pascoe [ep #2 'An Advancement of Learning' dir by Maurice Phillips] 60-part tv-series, 1996-2007; 1st season, 1996

1996

The Grimleys [Declan Lowney] tv-pilot/51m; followed by 21-part series + 1 special, 1999-2001; as Benjamin Seresin (1997)

1996

The James Gang [Mike Barker] 2.35 Research/c; 2uc: Daf Hobson

1998

Best Laid Plans [Mike Barker] c

1999

Circus [Rob Walker] c

2000

Lara Croft - Tomb Raider [Simon West] s35/c; co-2uc; ph: Peter Menzies Jr.

2002

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines [Jonathan Mostow] s35/c; 2uc; ph: Don Burgess

2003

Keen Eddie [pilot 'Eddie' dir by Simon West] 13-part tv-series/s16, 2003-04; other ph: Martin Kenzie; for FOX-tv

2003

A Good Woman [Mike Barker] c

2005

Gone [Ringan Ledwidge] s35/c; 2uc: Nino Martinetti

2006

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End [Gore Verbinski] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; addph (oversaw principal ph for 5 weeks because D. Wolski had to start another film); ph: Dariusz Wolski

2007

Free Agents [Richard Laxton] tvm/35m/s16; ep 6-part Channel 4 series 'Comedy Showcase'; followed by series, 2009

2008

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen [Michael Bay] s35+p+IMAX (65mm)+Iwerks (65mm)+vv-to-35mm scope (+ IMAX-70bu & D-Cinema)/c; aph: David B. Nowell & Hans Bjerno

2009

Unstoppable/Runaway Train [Tony Scott] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; aph: David B. Nowell; Pursuit Arm ph: Brooks P. Guyer

2010

The Sorcerer's Apprentice [Jon Turteltaub] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; addph (reshoots); ph: Bojan Bazelli (2008)

2010

X-Men: First Class [Matthew Vaughn] replaced scheduled ph Ben Davis, but was replaced about halfway through filming by John Mathieson

2011

Broken City [Allen Hughes] HD (ARRI ALEXA Studio)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc New Orleans: Lukasz Jogalla & Gregory Lundsgaard; 2uc New York: Patrick Capone; aph 2u New York: Hans Bjerno

2012

4 Cities [-] HD (Canon Cinema EOS C500)/c; promo film/3m; cph: Tony Pierce-Roberts & Martin Ruhe; for Codex

2012

Pain & Gain [Michael Bay] p+HD (Phantom HD Gold/p + Canon EOS 7D + GoPro Hero)+RED Epic/p-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; aph: David B. Nowell; uwph: Peter Zuccarini

2012

World War Z [Marc Forster] HD (ARRI ALEXA M & Studio)+s35-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema [also 3-D version])/c; ph reshoots (October-December), but got sole credit as ph; uncred ph (2011): Robert Richardson; uncred cph (2011): Newton Thomas Sigel (finished film when R. Richardson had to leave); 2uc: Igor Meglic & (Cardiff) Balazs Bolygo; aph: Adam Dale & (uncred) John Marzano

2014

Hearts & Arrows [Benjamin Millepied] HD/c; dance film/22m

2015

I, Beckham [Fredrik Bond] c; comm short/7m; for H&M Fashion

2016

The Mummy [Alex Kurtzman] p+HD (ARRI ALEXA 65 & Mini/p)-to-D-Cinema (scope [also 3-D version])/c; addph (reshoots February-March 2017): Salvatore Totino; 2uc: Andrew Rowlands; aph: Adam Dale; uwph: Pete Romano; vfx ph: Mike Carling

2017

Chaos Walking [Doug Liman] HD (ARRI ALEXA 65)/c; 2uc: Bruce McCleery & Fraser Taggart; aph: Dylan Goss

2018

Godzilla vs. Kong [Adam Wingard] HD (ARRI ALEXA 65)/c; 2uc: Brad Shields; aph: Dylan Goss; filmed 2018-19

 

 MISCELLANEOUS

1980

Race for the Yankee Zephyr/Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr [David Hemmings] best boy; ph: Vincent Monton

1981

Strange Behavior/Dead Kids/Human Experiments/Small Town Massacre [Michael Laughlin] clapper-loader; ph: Louis Horvath

1981

Turkey Shoot/Blood Camp Thatcher/Escape 2000 [Brian Trenchard-Smith] clapper-loader; ph: John McLean

1981

The Pirate Movie [Ken Annakin] clapper-loader; ph: Robin Copping

1986

The Mosquito Coast [Peter Weir] focus puller (1st cam crew); ph: John Seale

1988

Tank Malling/Beyond Soho/Double Cross [James Marcus] co-c.op; ph: Jason Lehel

1990

Madonna: Truth or Dare/Truth or Dare: In Bed with Madonna [Alek Keshishian; concert film/doc] co-c.op concert; concert ph: Toby Phillips

1990

Agatha Christie's Poirot [ep #24 'Wasps' Nest' dir by Brian Farnham; tv-series] co-c.op; ph: Jason Lehel

1990

Robin Hood [John Irvin; tvm & theatrical] c.op; ph: Jason Lehel