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[from interview by Filmz] |
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MARCEL ZYSKIND |
Born: 1979, Denmark.
Career: Ph commercials dir by Walter Stern [for Rabobank], Chris Cunningham [for Gucci], Harmony Korine [for Budweiser], Peder Pedersen [for LU], Nicolai Fuglsig, a.o. Ph music videos.
Awards: European Film Award nom [2003] for 'In This World'; European Film Award nom [2004; shared] for 'Code 46'; San Sebastián IFF 'Best Cinematography Award' [2004] for '9 Songs'; KaraFilm Festival [Karachi IFF] 'Best Cinematography Award' [2006] for 'The Road to Guantánamo'.
Website: Marcel Zyskind
With a raft of features under his belt at
the age of 27, Danish-born director of photography, Marcel Zyskind, appears to
have had the kind of accelerated career that most twenty-somethings in the film
industry can only dream of. In part, this is down to his successful
collaboration with Michael Winterbottom, after a big break working as DoP on the
prolific director's harrowing people-smuggling drama, 'In This World'.
Shot on DSR-PD150Ps using anamorphic lenses to give it an epic, cinematic feel,
the film incorporated several improvised and covertly-filmed scenes.
Zyskind has worked on all of Winterbottom's subsequent features. Now their
latest collaboration, 'A Mighty Heart', has once again brought the duo
back to Pakistan. While filming in Pakistan and India was never going to be as
low key as previous Winterbottom endeavors, the feature is shot in the same bare
documentary style as 'In This World' and 'The
Road to Guantánamo', using an HDW-750P supplied by Arri Media,
and using natural light where possible.
"We had to be quick and flexible.
Filming was a case of driving around Mumbai, filming, jumping in a car again and
moving on," recalls Zyskind. He admits that it was harder to shoot this way
with 150 paparazzi following their every move. "The first day of the shoot
in Mumbai, Dan Futterman and Angelina Jolie let the press take good shots of
them walking in front of the hotel and by the beach. But then, when a week goes
by and you still have lots of people chasing after you, it becomes a bit much.
Sometimes we'd send out a decoy ahead of us and then go off and shoot in the
opposite direction."
Because of previous problems getting official permission to shoot in Pakistan
while filming 'The Road to Guantánamo', Zyskind traveled to Karachi alone as a
'tourist' to steal beauty shots for the film, and the Indian city of Pune
doubles for Karachi in most of the dramatic scenes. According to Zyskind,
digital cameras were a definite plus when it came to border control. "They
are less conspicuous. It was easier to get in than if we'd had film cameras and
crew," he says.
Zyskind has learnt his craft mainly through experience and cut his teeth as a
focus puller on fellow Dane Lars von Trier's 'Dancer in the Dark' in
1999. When the film's DoP Robby Müller landed a job working with Michael
Winterbottom on the 2001 Manchester clubland feature, '24 Hour Party People',
he took Zyskind with him to be a focus puller and camera operator using lots of
DSR-PD150P camcorders.
For Zyskind it was to be the start of a relationship with a director who constantly looks to push the envelope in terms of both technology and production techniques. "Michael tries to throw things up in the air and see what happens."
Working with Winterbottom, a keen digital
camera advocate, over the past seven years, Zyskind says that he has noticed a
marked improvement in digital quality. "The picture is getting sharper and
when you blow it up for the cinema, that's looking a lot sharper too."
Whatever type of camera he uses, he says that where he can he always tries to
shoot with available light. "It's the most beautiful thing, although it's
not always in the right place so you cheat a bit and use light panels with small
LED lights on them, as we did on 'The Road to Guantánamo'."
Zyskind
also keeps his hand in with 35mm, last year shooting 'Mister Lonely', an
impressionist fairytale by US underground filmmaker Harmony Korine, which tells
the story of a Michael Jackson look-alike lost in Paris.
So what ambitions lie ahead for a DoP who is still three years off his 30th
birthday? "I try not to think about it too much," he says, "Six
months ago I became a father - and that's what I call an achievement." [From
the Sony Professional website, 7 May 2007.]
FILMS & TELEVISION |
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2000 |
Den blinde maler [Nikoline Werdelin] tvm (filmed theatre perf); cph: Michael Berenth, Per Rasmussen, a.o. |
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2002 |
Post [Phil Traill] v/c; short/7m |
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2002 |
In This World [Michael Winterbottom] DVcam (Sony PD150)+mdv (Sony PC-9)-to-35mm scope/b&w-c |
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2003 |
Code 46 [Michael Winterbottom] s35/c; cph: Alwin H. Kuchler; 2uc (dv): Anne Marie Lean-Vercoe; 3uc (dv): Roger Eaton & Sebastian Sharples |
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2003 |
Bullet Boy [Saul Dibb] s16-35bu/c |
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2003 |
9 Songs/Nine Songs [Michael Winterbottom] dv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A + Sony PD150)-to-35mm/c; 69m |
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2004 |
Goal! [scheduled as doph with dir Michael Winterbottom, but film was dir by Danny Cannon & ph by Michael Barrett] |
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2004 |
[Tristram Shandy:] A Cock and Bull Story [Michael Winterbottom] HD (Sony F750)-to-35mm scope/c; 2uc: Sam McCurdy |
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2005 |
Wallander [ep #2 'Byfånen' dir by Jørn Faurschou (JF) & #3 'Bröderna' dir by JF] film series, 2005-06 & 2009; 2uc; ph: Peter Mokrosinski |
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2005 |
Quicken [Victoria Beattie] DigiBeta/c; short/13m |
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2005 |
The Road to Guantánamo [Michael Winterbottom & Mat Whitecross] dv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)-to-35mm/c; tv-docudrama with limited theatrical release |
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2006 |
The 18th Electricity Plan [Glenn Leyburn & Lisa Barros D'Sa] b&w; short/15m |
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2006 |
Mister Lonely [Harmony Korine] s35+s16-to-35mm scope/c |
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2006 |
A Mighty Heart [Michael Winterbottom] HD (Panasonic AG-DVX100 + Sony F750)+35mm (Hawk Scope)-to-35mm scope/c; addph: Jim Whitaker |
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2006 |
Ghosts [Nick Broomfield] tvm/HD (Sony F750 & HVR-Z1)-to-35mm; ph China; ph: Mark Wolf; also released theatrically |
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2006 |
Shooting 'Ghosts' [Marc Hoeferlin] c; doc/64m; cph: Nick Broomfield, M. Hoeferlin & Mark Wolf |
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2007 |
Genova [Michael Winterbottom] HD (Sony F750 & HVR-V1E)-to-35mm scope/c; addph UK: Sean Bobbitt & Simon Tindall; addph USA: Bob Long; hph: Luca Massa |
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2007 |
Mammoth [Lukas Moodysson] s35/c; filmed 2007-08 |
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2008 |
Det hvide guld/The White Gold [Peder Pedersen] RED+HD (Panasonic AG-DVX100)-to-HD/c; short/28m |
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2009 |
Lulu & Leon [ph intro ep #1 'Brudte løfter' dir by Jannik Johansen (JJ), #5 'Faldne kvinder' dir by Natasha Arthy, #7 'Røveren der blev røvet' dir by Carsten Myllerup (CM) & #8 'Glædelig f#@king jul' dir by JJ & CM] 24-part tv-series, 2009-10; 1st season, 2009-10; ph: Jens Maasbøl (#1), Aske Foss (#5) & Philippe Kress (#7 & #8) |
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2009 |
The Killer Inside Me [Michael Winterbottom] s35/c; add doph: Sean Bobbitt |
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2010 |
Skyskraber/Skyscraper [Rune Schjøtt] c |
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2011 |
Everyday/Seven Days/Here and There [Michael Winterbottom] c; cph: Sean Bobbitt, James Clarke, Annemarie Lean-Vercoe & Simon Tindall; filmed a few weeks at a time over a period of 5 years (2007-11) |
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2011 |
Trishna [Michael Winterbottom] RED+HD (ARRI ALEXA + Canon EOS 5D Mark II)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Carlos Catalán |
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2011 |
Le Bodyguard Danois [Peder Pedersen] HD (Canon EOS)/c; short/35m; 'b' cam: Peter Holm Riis |
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2012 |
Forbrydelsen/The Killing [ep #31 & #32 dir by Mikkel Serup] 40-part series, 2007, 2009 & 2012; 3rd season/HD, 2012 |
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2012 |
The Two Faces of January [Hossein Amini] HD (ARRI ALEXA Plus/Hawk Scope)/c |
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MISCELLANEOUS |
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1995 |
MandagsChancen [?] tv-quiz show, 1995-2000; c.op |
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1997 |
John Cleeses fornemmelse for humor/John Cleese's Sense of Humour [Eddie Michel; tv-doc/28m] c.asst; ph: Claus Bie & Kim Frandsen |
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1998 |
Danmark i 1000 år [prod: Morten Jønsson; doc tv-series] co-c.asst; ph: Peter Skov |
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1998 |
Nattens engel/Angel of the Night [Shaky Gonzalez] c.asst; ph: Jacob Kusk |
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1999 |
Lykkehjulet [Morten Månsson] tv-quiz show/v, 1988-2001; c.op |
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1999 |
Dancer in the Dark [Lars von Trier] add c.op + focus puller; ph: Robby Müller |
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1999 |
D-dag [seg 'Lise' dir by Lars von Trier; tvm] c.asst; ph: Anthony Dod Mantle |
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2000 |
Rejseholdet/Mordkommissionen/Unit One [ep #12 'Assistancemelding A-26/00' & #13 'Assistancemelding A-28/00' dir by Martin Schmidt] c.op; ph: Lars Vestergaard |
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2000 |
Bäst i Sverige!/We Can Be Heroes! [Ulf Malmros] steadicam op; ph: Mats Olofsson |
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2001 |
Leva livet/Days Like This [Mikael Håfström] steadicam op; ph: Peter Mokrosinski |
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2001 |
24 Hour Party People [Michael Winterbottom] add c.op + focus puller; ph: Robby Müller |
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2001 |
Röd jul [Linus Tunström; tvm] steadicam op; ph: Peter Mokrosinski |
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2001 |
Gabriels ord/Gabriel's Word [David Bjerre; short] steadicam op; ph: Philippe Kress & Stephan Pehrsson |
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2001 |
28 Days Later.../29 Days Later [Danny Boyle] c.op 'b' cam + steadicam op; ph: Anthony Dod Mantle |
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2001 |
La playa de los galgos/The Beach of the Greyhounds [Mario Camus] steadicam op Denmark; ph: Jaume Peracaula |
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2002 |
Smala Sussie/Slim Susie [Ulf Malmros] steadicam op; ph: Mats Olofsson |
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2003 |
The Deal [Stephen Frears; tvm] c.op + steadicam op; ph: Alwin Kuchler |
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2005 |
Wallander [ep #7 'Den svaga punkten' dir by Jonas Grimås] co-c.op 2nd cam; ph: Peter Mokrosinski; see Films & Television (2005) |
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2009 |
Submarino [Thomas Vinterberg] add c.op; ph: Charlotte Bruus Christensen |