ROBIN VIDGEON   BSC

 

Born: 12 August 1939, Hampstead, London, UK, as John Robin M. Vidgeon.

Career: Started in the camera department of Pinewood Studios in 1956. Went freelance in 1959.

Ph commercials dir by Richard Perry, a.o.

Regular cinematography tutor at the London Film Academy. Teaches Film & Digital Cinematography at the Met Film School, Ealing Studios, London. Gave Masterclasses at the University of Greenwich.

Member [now honorary accredited] and former president [1994-95] of the BSC. Fellow of the British Kinematograph Sound and Television Society [BKSTS].

Awards: John Alcott Memorial Award [1999].


 FILMS

1968

Mini and Mod [prod: Keith Williams] c; doc/8m; ep #462 of the cinemagazine series 'Look at Life', 1959-1969; prod by The Rank Organisation

1983

The Dress [Eva Sereny] c; short/24m

1984

King David [Bruce Beresford] p/c; 2uc; ph: Donald McAlpine

1986

The Mission [Roland Joffé] J-D-C Scope (+ 70bu)/c; 2uc; ph: Chris Menges

1986

Bellman and True [Richard Loncraine] c; 2uc; ph: Ken Westbury; also 3-part tv-miniseries (1989)

1986

Hellraiser [Clive Barker] c

1987

The Penitent [Cliff Osmond] c

1987

Mr. North [Danny Huston] c

1987

Parents [Bob Balaban] c; cph: Ernest Day; 2uc: Randi Chernov

1988

Hellbound: Hellraiser II [Tony Randel] c; 2uc: Wally Byatt; matte ph: Neil Culley

1988

The Fly II [Chris Walas] p/c

1988

Work Experience [James Hendrie] c; short/11m

1989

Nightbreed [Clive Barker] c; action unit ph: Wally Byatt; ph Los Angeles: Steven Fierberg; model ph: Harry Oakes; anim ph: Karl Watkins

1989

Highway to Hell [Ate de Jong] c; 2uc: Philip Alan Waters

1989

Memphis Belle [Michael Caton-Jones] c; 2uc; ph: David Watkin

1990

The Fool [Christine Edzard] c

1991

Under Suspicion [Simon Moore] c; co-addph; ph: Vernon Layton & (ph USA) Ivan Strasburg

1991

Concerto for the Earth/Concierto por la terra [Bayley Silleck] Showscan (65mm; dual-strip 3-D)/c; mus short/16m; 2uc: Noel Archambault; prod for the Pavilion of the Environment, 1992 World's Fair, Seville, Spain

1991

As You Like It [Christine Edzard] c

1993

The NeverEnding Story III [: Escape from Fantasia]/Die unendliche Geschichte III - Rettung aus Phantasien [Peter MacDonald] c; aph: Tony Westman

1994

August [Anthony Hopkins] c

1995

101 Dalmatians [Stephen Herek] p/c; completion ph; ph: Adrian Biddle

1996

Event Horizon [Paul W.S. Anderson] p/c; co-addph (+ dir add unit); ph: Adrian Biddle

1998

Lights [Marcus Dillistone] 16mm & 35mm/c; 4 seg; cph: Alex Thomson, Sue Gibson & John Rosenberg; demo film for Fuji F500 film stock

1999

The World Is Not Enough/Pressure Point [Michael Apted] p/c; co-addph; ph: Adrian Biddle

1999

Fukusai Deli [Robin Vidgeon] ?; short/10m

1999

Dead on Time [James Larkin] c; short/15m

1999

102 Dalmatians [Kevin Lima] c; completion ph; ph: Adrian Biddle & Roger Pratt

2002

Desert Bloom [Mal Wolfe] HD (3D)/c; corporate film/?m; for Saudi Aramco

2002

Nine Lives [Andrew Green] c; 2uc: Alec Mills

2002

Octane/Pulse [Marcus Adams] s35/c; cph: Dan Landin

2002

LD 50: Lethal Dose [Simon De Selva] s35/c

2003

Cortex [Raoul Girard] c; cph: Alex Mahler

2004

the fairweather girl [Adam (Amy) Coop] c; short/8m; released 2010

2005

Mortal Kombat: Devastation [mink] originally scheduled to start in May; status unknown

2007

Broken Planes [Richard Perry] s16/c; short/9m

2009

BSC F & DIEs [Film & Digital Image Evaluations] [?] a test of 18 film and video cameras and 19 formats; cph: Gavin Finney, John Daly & Chris Seager

 

[Right] with c.op Ken Coles and dir Richard Perry

"Following Footsteps"

 

2009

Following Footsteps [Richard Perry] 16mm/c; addph (+ c.op): Ken Coles

2009

Gone Are the Days of Summer [David Bispham] c; short/9m

2013

Queen of Diamonds [Richard Perry] HD/c; short/18m; + co-prod

 

 TELEVISION

1985

[Sidney Sheldon's] If Tomorrow Comes [Jerry London] 3-part miniseries; 2uc; ph: Paul Lohmann (#1) & Dennis Lewiston (#2-3)

1987

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story [Charles Jarrott] 2-part tvm; 2uc; ph: Alan Hume & John Lindley

1987

Mr. Corbett's Ghost [Danny Huston] tvm/60m

1989

The Paradise Club [pilot 'Unfrocked in Babylon' dir by Lawrence Gordon Clark] 20-part series, 1989-90

1990

The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner [Ken Russell] tvm/50m; ep LWT series 'The South Bank Show'

1990

The Crucifer of Blood [Fraser Heston] tvm

1991

The Big Fish [Declan Donnellan & Nick Ormerod] tvm/15m; ep (1992) of Channel 4 series 'Short and Curlies'

1992

The Mystery of Doctor Martinu [Ken Russell] tvm/65m

1992

The Secret Life of Arnold Bax [Ken Russell] tvm/60m; ep LWT series 'The South Bank Show'

1992

Lady Chatterley [Ken Russell] 4-part miniseries

1992

Comics [Diarmuid Lawrence] 2-part tvm

1993

The Wexford Trilogy [Stuart Burge] 3-part series/DigiBeta

1994

My Good Friend [Martin Dennis] 14-part series, 1995 & 1996; 1st series/DigiBeta, 1995 (7 ep)

1994

Seaforth [ep #4 'The Club', #5 'Under the Counter' & #6 'Sod's Law' dir by Stuart Burge] 9-part miniseries; other ph: Graham Frake & Simon Kossoff

1994

How High the Moon [Peter Smith] 10-part series; other ph: Graham Frake

1994

Bliss [Les Blair] tvm/16mm; uncred cph; ph: Witold Stok; ep BBC-tv series 'Screen Two'

1995

Class Act [7 ep dir by Herbert Wise (3 ep) & Rick Stroud (4 ep)] 14-part series, 1994-95; 2nd series, 1995 (7 ep)

1995

Die Eisprinzessin/The Ice Princess [Danny Huston] tvm/60m

1995

Thief Takers [ep #1 'No One Likes to See That' dir by Colin Gregg & #2 'Company of Strangers' dir by Terry Winsor] 25-part series/16mm, 1995 (pilot) & 1996-97; other ph: Derek Suter & Frank Gell (pilot 'Cash and Carry')

1995

Elgar's Tenth Muse [Paul Yule] tvm/60m; ep Channel 4 arts series 'Without Walls'

1995

Breaking the Code [Herbert Wise] tvm

1996

[HBO's] Tales from the Crypt [ep #86 'Cold War' dir by Andy Morahan, #89 'Smoke Wrings' dir by Mandie Fletcher, #91 'Confession' dir by Peter Hewitt & #92 'Ear Today... Gone Tomorrow' dir by Christopher Hart] 93-part series, 1989-96; 7th season, 1996

1996

[Catherine Cookson's] The Moth [Roy Battersby] 3-part miniseries

1996

Bliss [ep #1 'In Memorandum' dir by Richard Standeven, #2 'Enemy Within' dir by Simon Shore (SS), #3 'A Far Cry' dir by SS & #4 'All Fall Down' dir by Crispin Reece] 4-part series, 1997; followed pilot (1995; ph: Nic Knowland)

1997

[Catherine Cookson's] The Round Tower [Alan Grint] 3-part miniseries

1997

[Catherine Cookson's] Colour Blind [Alan Grint] 3-part miniseries

1998

[Catherine Cookson's] Tilly Trotter [Alan Grint] 4-part miniseries/16mm

1998

CI5: The New Professionals [ep #4 'Hostage' dir by John Davies, #7 'Skorpion' dir by Ken Grieve & #9 'Miss Hit' dir by Sidney Hayers] 13-part series/s16, 1999; other ph: Ken Brinsley, Frank P. Flynn, a.o.

1998

Big Bad World [Udayan Prasad (2 ep), Piers Haggard (2 ep) & Sandy Johnson (2 ep)] 16-part series, 1999 & 2001; 1st season, 1999 (6 x60m); ph 2 ep dir by ?; other ph: John Daly (2 ep dir by U. Prasad) & Graham Frake (2 ep)

1999

Passion Killers [David Evans] tvm/50m

1999

Where the Heart Is [4 ep dir by Alan Dossor & Moira Armstrong] 110-part series/s16, 1997-2006; 4th season, 2000 (16 ep); other ph: Peter Morgan (2 ep), Chris O'Dell (2 ep), Ian Punter (2 ep) & Allan Pyrah (6 ep)

2000

The Thing About Vince [Christopher King] 3-part miniseries/16mm

2000

The Cazalets [Suri Krishnamma] 6-part series

2001

Rockface [ep #5-6 dir by Terry Winsor] 6-part series; other ph: Sean Van Hales (#1-2) & John Rhodes (#3-4)

2001

A Is for Acid [Harry Bradbeer] tvm

2002

Solid Geometry [Denis Lawson] tvm/30m/DigiBeta

2003

The Brides in the Bath [Harry Bradbeer] tvm/s16

2006

Diamond Geezer/Rough Diamond [ep #2 'Old Gold' dir by Paul Harrison] pilot (2005) + 3-part series, 2007; other ph: Peter Jackson & Dominic Clemence

2006

City Lights [Tony Smith (#1-3) & Martin Dennis (#4-6)] 6-part series, 2007

 

[Center/seated] with his crew and actors Sir David Jason [in coat] &

Adrian Lukis [2nd from the right] - "A Touch of Frost - In the Public Interest"

 

2007

A Touch of Frost [ep #38 'Mind Games' dir by Paul Harrison (PH), #39 'Dead End' dir by Roger Bamford & #40 'In the Public Interest' dir by PH] 42-part series/s16, 1992-2009; 14th season, 2008 (3 ep)

2009

A Touch of Frost [ep #41 'If Dogs Run Free: Part 1' & #42 'If Dogs Run Free: Part 2' dir by Paul Harrison] 15th season, 2010 (2 ep); see 2007

 

 FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR

1956

Tiger in the Smoke [Roy Baker] 2nd c.op; ph: Geoffrey Unsworth

1956

Doctor at Large [Ralph Thomas] 2nd c.asst; ph: Ernest Steward

1957

A Tale of Two Cities [Ralph Thomas] clapper-loader; ph: Ernest Steward

1958

Carry On Nurse [Gerald Thomas] clapper-loader; ph: Reginald Wyer

1959

Carry On Teacher [Gerald Thomas] clapper-loader; ph: Reginald Wyer

1960

The Siege of Sidney Street [Robert S. Baker & Monty Berman] clapper-loader; ph: R.S. Baker & M. Berman

1960

The Hellfire Club [Robert S. Baker & Monty Berman] co-focus puller; ph: R.S. Baker & M. Berman

1960

Fury at Smugglers' Bay [John Gilling] co-focus puller; ph: Harry Waxman

1961

The Mark [Guy Green] co-c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1961

The Young Ones/Wonderful to Be Young! [Sidney J. Furie] co-focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1962

The Boys [Sidney J. Furie] co-focus puller; ph: Gerald Gibbs

1962

The L-Shaped Room [Bryan Forbes] focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1963

French Dressing [Ken Russell] co-c.asst; ph: Kenneth Higgins

1964

Wonderful Life [Sidney J. Furie] focus puller; ph: Kenneth Higgins

1964

King & Country [Joseph Losey] focus puller; ph: Denys Coop

1965

Promise Her Anything [Arthur Hiller] 1st c.asst (focus); ph: Douglas Slocombe

1965

The Blue Max [John Guillermin] 1st c.asst (focus); ph: Douglas Slocombe

1968

The Lion in Winter [Anthony Harvey] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1969

The Buttercup Chain [Robert Ellis Miller] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1970

Murphy's War [Peter Yates] focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1970

The Music Lovers [Ken Russell] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1971

Fratello sole, sorella luna/brother sun - sister moon [Franco Zeffirelli] focus puller (as John Vidgeon); ph: Ennio Guarnieri

1973

The Final Programme/The Last Days of Man on Earth [Robert Fuest] focus puller; ph: Norman Warwick

1973

The Great Gatsby [Jack Clayton] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1973

The Marseille Contract/The Destructors [Robert Parrish] focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1974

The Maids [Christopher Miles] focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1974

Rollerball [Norman Jewison] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1974

That Lucky Touch [Christopher Miles] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1975

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea [Lewis John Carlino] focus; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1975

The Butterfly Ball [Anthony Klinger; perf] c.asst; ph: Ian Wilson

1976

Close Encounters of the Third Kind [Steven Spielberg] focus puller India seq; ph India seq: Douglas Slocombe; ph: Vilmos Zsigmond

1976

Julia [Fred Zinnemann] co-c.op; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1977

Holocaust 2000/Rain of Fire/The Chosen/Lucifer's Curse [Alberto De Martino] focus puller; ph: Erico Menczer

1977

Caravans [James Fargo] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1978

Lost and Found [Melvin Frank] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1979

Nijinsky [Herbert Ross] co-c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1980

The Dogs of War [John Irvin] c.asst; ph: Jack Cardiff

1980

Raiders of the Lost Ark [Steven Spielberg] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1981

The Pirates of Penzance [- The Slave of Duty] [Wilford Leach] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1982

Never Say Never Again [Irvin Kershner] co-focus puller; ph: Douglas Slocombe

1983

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom [Steven Spielberg] c.asst; ph: Douglas Slocombe (& Allen Daviau)

1984

Oxford Blues [Robert Boris] c.asst; ph: John Stanier

1984

Lace II [William Hale; tv-miniseries] c.op; ph: John Coquillon

1998

The Mummy [Stephen Sommers] 'b' cam op; ph: Adrian Biddle

2011

Behind the Camera: Christopher Challis [Richard Blanshard; doc] co-c.op; ph: R. Blanshard

 

 MISCELLANEOUS

2006

Playboy [Richard Perry] s16/c; short/18m; co-special thanks; ph: Andrew Jute; prod London Film Academy (LFA)

2006

Birthday Present [Dario Jurican] ?; short/?m; co-special thanks; ph: Wong Wai-kit; prod LFA

2006

Good Soldier [Patrick Shirley] ?; short/10m; co-special thanks; ph: Tejal Patni; prod LFA

2006

13 [Giacomo Stucchi-Prinetti] ?; short/?m; co-thanks; ph: Alyosha Saari; prod LFA

2006

Affairs of the House [Oliver Maitland Hudson] c; short/13m; co-special thanks; ph: Jack Noddings; prod LFA

2006

Jude's Story [Fernando Ruiz] scope/c; short/?m; co-thanks; ph: Andrew Jute; prod LFA

2006

Needlewood Antiques [Naoki Maeda] c; short/15m; co-thanks; ph: Oliver Valente; prod LFA