Career: Started working as a stop-motion cameraman for an animation studio in London, UK. Formed Valley Films - with Roger Woodburn & doph Peter Biziou - in 1965. Became active as doph of television commercials.

Ph commercials in Great Britain [ca. 150 dir by Ridley Scott] and in Canada [for The Partners' Film Company].

Awards: BSC Award nom [1978] & BAFTA Film Award nom [1978] for 'The Duellists'; 'Genie' Award nom [1986] for 'One Magic Christmas'.

'The Duellists': 'Spaced evenly throughout the film, the pair's artfully choreographed showdowns are staged in some of the most gorgeous settings ever committed to film. Critic Pauline Kael praised 'The Duellists' for its "Géricault-like compositions," and cinematographer Frank Tidy's lighting would earn the approval of Vermeer himself. During his excellent audio commentary on this DVD, [director Ridley] Scott admits that he operated the camera himself, but nevertheless maintains that Tidy's contributions were equally important. Indeed, he and Tidy had worked together on scores of commercials, so the cameraman was well acquainted with Scott's cinematic preferences. "I had no concerns about how much [of the imagery] was in the shadows," Scott notes. "Frank knew that this was what I liked … I don't mind if windows blow out … [and] I don't mind sometimes if [the frame] goes totally dark. Frank just really knew how far to go." At another juncture, Scott huffs that some critics found the film "too beautiful" and "too gauzed," even though no gauze or diffusion was used during the shoot. In fact, the filmmakers achieved the striking look by staging scenes in authentic locations that they strategically enhanced with grad filters and liberal doses of smoke. Scott also feels that the production benefitted from "overcast but beautiful weather," noting that mist, precipitation and indirect sunlight enabled his team to create dramatic but naturalistic moods. He concedes that working in variable conditions occasionally affected shot-to-shot continuity, but is quick to add that neither he nor Tidy worried about this much. "By the time it's been cut together and adjusted and graded, most of the time you don't even notice," he asserts.' [Stephen Pizzello in 'American Cinematographer', March 2003.]

1963        From Russia with Love [Terence Young] c; uncred titles ph; ph: Ted Moore

1976        The Duellists [Ridley Scott] c

1979        The Lucky Star/Le belle étoile [Max Fischer] c; filmed 1979-80

1980        The Grey Fox [Phillip Borsos] c; addph: Tim Sale

1982        Nursery Rhymes [Mike Milburn-Foster] c; live action + anim/60m

1982        Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone/Adventures in the Creep Zone/Road Gangs [Lamont Johnson]

                    35mm flat (1.85:1) & 35mm 3-D (2.35:1)/c

1984        The Mean Season [Phillip Borsos] p/c

1984        Code of Silence [Andrew Davis] c

1985        One Magic Christmas [Phillip Borsos] c

1985        Sweet Liberty [Alan Alda] p/c; addph: George Silano

1986        John and the Missus [Gordon Pinsent] c

1986        Hot Pursuit [Steven Lisberger] c; addph: Arledge Armenaki; + small part

1987        The Raggedy Rawney [Bob Hoskins] c; 2uc: Petr Hojda

1988        Slipstream [Steven M. Lisberger] c; 2uc: Terry Cole; model unit ph: Leslie Dear; motion control ph: Denis Lowe

1988        The Package [Andrew Davis] c; 2uc: George Kohut & Jimmy Blanford

1990        The Butcher's Wife [Terry Hughes] c; + small part

1991        Stop! or My Mom Will Shoot [Roger Spottiswoode] c; 2uc: Ray Delamotte (Santa Rosa) & Arthur Botham (L.A.)

1992        Under Siege [Andrew Davis] c; 2uc: Gary Holt; aph: Frank Holgate

1993        The Fugitive [Andrew Davis] c; ph b&w flashback footage; ph: Michael Chapman

1994        Wagons East! [Peter Markle] c; 2uc: Angel Goded & Henner Hofmann

1994        Getting Away with Murder [Harvey Miller] c

1994        Steal Big, Steal Little [Andrew Davis] c; addph: Haskell Wexler; aph: Frank Holgate

1996        Chain Reaction/Dead Drop [Andrew Davis] c; 2uc: Michael A. Jones; aph: Frank Holgate

1996        Hoodlum [Bill Duke] c; 2uc: William Birch

2003        Some Things That Stay/Run Away Home [Gail Harvey] c

1981        The Phoenix/War of the Wizards [ep #1 'In Search of Mira' dir by Douglas Hickox] pilot (1981; ph: Don Birnkrant) +

                    4-part series, 1982

1987        April Morning [Delbert Mann] tvm; ep #286 'Hallmark Hall of Fame'- series

1989        Final Notice [Steven H. Stern] pilot

1989        Sorry, Wrong Number [Tony Wharmby] tvm

1989        Personals [Steven H. Stern] tvm

1989        The Kissing Place [Tony Wharmby] tvm

1990        The Last Best Year [John Erman] tvm

1990        Hitler's Daughter [James A. Contner] tvm

1992        Through the Eyes of a Killer [Peter Markle] tvm

1992        The Women of Windsor [Steven H. Stern] 2-part tvm; 2uc UK; ph: Laszlo George

1992        Medicine River [Stuart Margolin] tvm

1993        Shattered Trust/Conspiracy of Silence: The Shari Karney Story] [Bill Corcoran] tvm

1993        Black Fox [Steven H. Stern] tvm; filmed July-September; aired in 1995

1993        Black Fox: The Price of Peace [Steven H. Stern] tvm; filmed July-September; aired in 1995

1993        Black Fox: Good Men and Bad [Steven H. Stern] tvm; filmed July-September; aired in 1995

1993        One More Mountain [Dick Lowry] tvm

1994        She Led Two Lives [Bill Corcoran] tvm

1995        The Boys Next Door [John Erman] tvm; ep #309 'Hallmark Hall of Fame'-series

1996        A Holiday for Love/Christmas in My Hometown [Jerry London] tvm

1997        [Ken Follett's] The Third Twin [Tom McLoughlin] 2-part tvm

1998        Dead Husbands/Last Man on the List [Paul Shapiro] tvm

1998        My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story/Death in the Shadows [Peter Levin] tvm

2000        Jewel [Paul Shapiro] tvm

2000        The Christmas Secret/Flight of the Reindeer [Ian Barry] tvm