Any unit stills photographers here?

[Archiver]

Something that has recently caught my interest is the output of unit stills photographers. For those who don't know, the unit photographer takes pictures on set during movie and TV production, and these still images are often used for marketing the show.

Mary Ellen Mark did some spectacular BTS and promo work for movies over the years, shooting everyone from Catherine Deneuve to Christina Ricci.

Mary Ellen Mark used Leica rangefinders for a lot of her work, and Nikon SLR's as well. I'm curious if anyone here has worked as a unit still photographer, what kind of movies/shows did you work on, and what gear you use(d).

 

[lamefrog]

Not a direct answer to your question but in the French context its worth mentioning the work of a photographer called Dityvon. He wasn't a unit photographer but he did spend some time on film sets for the purpose of a book which showcased film directors at work. Dityvon was a founding member of an agency called Viva which also included Martine Franck. They photographed in a documentary style derived from HCB (a friend of the agency) and Robert Frank but with a touch of French poetic realism . This project was shot with Leicas and Agfa film. So if you want to see that aesthetic sensibility applied to documenting a film set you can view the gallery here:

http://www.claude-dityvon.fr/collections/show/42.html

 

[Out to Lunch]

A very nice link. Wonderful pictures and it's great to see many of the French actors I remember from my childhood years.

 

[charjohncarter]

Yes, thanks for that link. I think it would be very difficult to do that kind of photography. I did something similar with a local theater group: focus (also DOF), changing exposure, framing with everyone moving around.

Leading Ladies 161 by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[telenous]

A good friend of mine is in that line of work. He used in the past Canon EOS 5Dii and later 5DR with massive blimps to muffle the noise. He has recently switched to Sony A7, I forget which model. We met first before he embarked in photography and he has a ton of wonderful work under his belt now. Very talented, hard-working and genuinely nice. Links below:

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm4187728/filmotype?ref_=m_nm_flmg

https://robertviglasky.com/

 

[telenous]

I love M.E.Mark's stills work, esp. what she did in the Apocalypse Now set. Her film prints are marvellous too. Unfortunately for current productions film is slow and B&W (as an aesthetic) little foreign to what most people are used to.

 

[Muggins]

A good friend of mine is in that line of work.

Well spank me with a prize leek and call me Lionel! I remember Robert from Snappy Snaps in Oxford, at least a decade ago - I was wondering what he was up to only a few days ago!

Small world...

 

[Archiver]

Not a direct answer to your question but in the French context its worth mentioning the work of a photographer called Dityvon. He wasn't a unit photographer but he did spend some time on film sets for the purpose of a book which showcased film directors at work. Dityvon was a founding member of an agency called Viva which also included Martine Franck. They photographed in a documentary style derived from HCB (a friend of the agency) and Robert Frank but with a touch of French poetic realism . This project was shot with Leicas and Agfa film. So if you want to see that aesthetic sensibility applied to documenting a film set you can view the gallery here:

http://www.claude-dityvon.fr/collections/show/42.html

Thank you so much! This series is gold, and one type of work I was looking for. 🙂

 

[Archiver]

A good friend of mine is in that line of work. He used in the past Canon EOS 5Dii and later 5DR with massive blimps to muffle the noise. He has recently switched to Sony A7, I forget which model. We met first before he embarked in photography and he has a ton of wonderful work under his belt now. Very talented, hard-working and genuinely nice. Links below:

https://m.imdb.com/name/nm4187728/filmotype?ref_=m_nm_flmg

https://robertviglasky.com/

Holy cow. Thank you for handing me this gold mine. The number and quality of productions he's worked in is incredible. Something interesting is his progression through movies and television, starting with independent shorts, and moving upwards to things like Woman In Gold, Sherlock and Peaky Blinders. His style is very contemporary, and is entirely reflective of current marketing. Your friend has great skill.

 

[Archiver]

Thank you everyone for your input so far. This recent interest kicked off when I got some lobby cards from the 90s, and I wondered how and with what gear they were shot. It then occurred to me that every marketing still you've seen from a movie or TV show was probably taken by the unit photographer, and that includes photos in magazine articles and books about film. This led me down a suddenly precipitous rabbit hole.

There is a children's storybook for ET The Extra-Terrestrial, with a simply written plot and numerous photos from the production. The photos are gorgeous, and in keeping with the look of the movie. I love the look of these images, and wondered what was used to shoot them.

After a bit of Googling, it turned out that the photographer was Bruce McBroom, who has been a unit photographer for decades, starting with The Party (1967) with Peter Sellers, going on to Sleepless in Seattle, The Hunt For Red October, and many others.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564390/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

More research showed me that I had no idea who Bruce McBroom was. He shot the iconic images of Farrah Fawcett in the red swimsuit, as well as the Beatles, The Doors, and more. How have I never heard of this man??

https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/05/bruce-mcbroom-photographer/

Many of his images are available at mptvimages.com. Looking through them is like looking into a time machine.

https://www.mptvimages.com/images?photographers=Bruce+McBroom

 

[Archiver]

More things are emerging. Here's an article about David James, a photographer who turned down the chance to shoot the original Star Wars! But he later shot The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. He cites Capa, Bresson and Avedon as his biggest influences, and shoots with Fuji XT cameras and a Leica M262.

https://www.thephoblographer.com/20...on-capturing-the-set-of-the-star-wars-movies/

David James has a huge body of work which includes Batman Begins, Highlander, A Fish Called Wanda, Saving Private Ryan, The Last Samurai, and dozens more.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416407/

What is becoming more and more apparent to me is how much the work of the unit photographer influences the marketing and publicity of movies.

 

[CameraQuest]

Something that has recently caught my interest is the output of unit stills photographers. For those who don't know, the unit photographer takes pictures on set during movie and TV production, and these still images are often used for marketing the show.

Mary Ellen Mark did some spectacular BTS and promo work for movies over the years, shooting everyone from Catherine Deneuve to Christina Ricci.

Mary Ellen Mark used Leica rangefinders for a lot of her work, and Nikon SLR's as well. I'm curious if anyone here has worked as a unit still photographer, what kind of movies/shows did you work on, and what gear you use(d).

RFF's own Bill Pierce has done many a movie, and is still shooting.

 

[Archiver]

RFF's own Bill Pierce has done many a movie, and is still shooting.

Oh! How do we page Mr. Pierce in here?? 😀

 

[Evergreen States]

I did some unit work locally for a few no-budget short films. I used a Canon 7D on the first film, a Fuji X100S on the second one. I will have to look in my archives to see what I used for the third one.

I want to start posting pictures in RFF but need to get around to setting up a Flickr or Photobucket…

 

[250f8bthere]

A friend and neighbor has been in the business for a long time. Phil Caruso has an extensive background and an impressive portfolio. You can get a feel for his accomplishments here:

https://www.leica-camera.blog/2016/12/27/lifetime-memorable-images/

 

[raydm6]

I think I've heard of this field but never really paid attention to it. Very nice work here.

Except for set shots, I always thought the stills were from select cinematic frames.