About twenty years ago the morning the front door bell rang. At the time I was living in a Brunswick Road barrel fronted Regency... »
Feature Films
Account Book, 1962 to 1976
Surviving in David’s papers was this account book which gives a detailed list of the feature films and TV commercials he worked on after leaving Transport until the height of his early career in 1976 and Joseph Andrews. It contains only one reference to London Transport, in 1962 , undoubtedly acting as a freelance. Share/Save »
Mademoiselle, 1966 for Woodfall
“My first picture with Tony was made in France with an entirely French crew, apart from myself and an editor I didn’t like. Oscar Lewenstein had uncovered a screen-play by Jean Genet written many years before, to while away one of his sojourns inside a French prison, that Genet himself had forgotten about….... »
Light and Vermeer
“I think it is terribly pretentious for people who are cinematographers to go around and say they looked at a painting by such and such a bod. Nothing irritated me more than, when I was doing Catch-22, Mike Nichols said I want it to look like Andrew Wyeth, that sort of thing is a... »
Reflected Light/Direct Light
David first used the technique of reflected light rather than direct lighting on a documentary film he was doing about London Transport buses (All That Mighty Heart 1962). “And it had a scene in Welwyn Garden City. In some house there was a housewife tidying up and vacuuming before getting on a Green Line bus.... »
On the Set of Catch-22
“The visual style of the film is the province of the lighting director, David Watkin, whose work on Charge of the Light Brigade particularly impressed Nichols. Watkin has the disarming habit of, when being asked a direct question, answering with “Well-…” and then leaving the room. He has spent a great part of... »
The Cameraman Sleeping on Set
Speaking of his attitude on set, “What it meant was that I would light a set, watch a rehearsal and then I would actually go to sleep, because it is the one thing you can do on a film set that makes you less tired. Fortunately I don’t snore and I also wake up... »
Anxiety on Set, early days
“I have been apprehensive only twice in my whole life. The first was when I arrived at that bakery in the Mile End Road, there was a car park and I saw all these trucks and lorries and generators. I saw the mass of a feature film unit for the first time that morning... »
Out of Africa – 1985
Out of Africa (1985) Based loosely on the autobiographical book by Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Blixen) published in 1937. The movie received 28 film awards, including seven Academy Awards. David Watkin won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Out of Africa. Director: Sydney Pollack Cinematography: David Watkin Camera and Electrical Department Peter Allwork:... »
Phil Grabsky, Seventh Art
I feel very fortunate to have met David. As it transpired, it was towards the end of his life but the man was so full of vitality that you could never have guessed he was ill. I was introduced to him following the completion of a film I’d made on a small boy... »
Chariots of Fire – 1981
Directed by Hugh Hudson Written by Colin Welland Cinemtography by David Watkin Executive Producer: Dodi Fayad Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film loosely based on historical events surrounding the British athletic team before and during the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. The story follows Harold Abrahams, a Jew out to overcome prejudice, and Eric Liddell, a... »
Yentl – 1983
Directed by Barbra Streisand Writing credits: Jack Rosenthal (screenplay) and Barbra Streisand Cinematography: David Watkin Camera and Electrical Department Frank Batt: key grip Garrett Brown: Steadicam operator John J. Campbell: first assistant camera (as John Campbell) Derek Gattrell: gaffer (as Derek Gatrell) Gordon Hayman: camera operator: second unit David James: still photographer Brian Kemp: best boy Peter MacDonald: camera operator Douglas Milsome: camera operator: second unit... »
Marget Wallace
Filming Tea with Mussolini I met David at a party at Franco Zeffirelli’s home in Rome. My son had been cast to play Franco Zeffirelli in Tea With Mussolini (TWM) and I was to be his chaperone (required by law as he was under 18 years of age). We were told about David and his... »
John Venables at Movietech
I knew David for just over thirty years; I first met him in 1977 on a commercial that we were supplying equipment on. About a year later we were to supply equipment on the film Chariots of Fire which David was to light. David had a couple of scenes that needed high-speed photography and we... »
Camerimage 2004
David received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. The T-Shirt that year quoted David on its front: One tries not to fuck it up. Below are snaps of David’s friends, Peter Macdonald and Madelyn Most at Lodz. Daniel Barenboim “Shortterm thinking, or even worse, thoughtlessness, makes many people think that culture, education and the arts are there... »
Tea with Mussolini
Director: Franco Zeffirelli Writers: John Mortimer (writer) Franco Zeffirelli (autobiography) Release Date: 2 April 1999 (UK) Produced by Marco Chimenz, executive producer Clive Parson, producer Pippo Pisciotto, associate producer Riccardo Tozzi, producer Giovannella Zannoni, producer Frederick Muller, producer (uncredited) Original Music by Stefano Arnaldi Alessio Vlad Cinematography by David Watkin Film Editing by Tariq Anwar Casting by Mirta Guarnaschelli Emma Style Art Direction by Carlo Centolavigna Biagio Fersini Gioia Fiorella Mariani Costume Design by Anna Anni Jenny Beavan Alberto Spiazzi Share/Save »
The Wendy Light
Conception of a new lighting technique Watkin conceived of the idea for a new light which would tackle the problem of light falloff during night shoots. Because of the inverse square law, light from even moderately strong sources starts to fall off fairly quickly as the subject walks away from the light source. Therefore films... »
More BTF Images of David
British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues (extolling the virtues of places that could be visited via the British transport system – mostly by rail), and “industrial films” (as they were called) promoting... »
Peter Handford, Sound Recordist
David Watkin interview with Peter Handford This interview was recorded in the garden of Peter Handford on the 1st October 2002, by Barry Coward. In 1985 Peter won an Oscar and a Bafta for his work on Sidney Pollack’s Out of Africa. He also worked alongside David on Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and Oh!... »
A Tendency to Sleep
David would, very occasionally, take a little nap on set.. And, on those rare occasions, invariably somebody would have a camera at hand… David found a little cave-like area near the church in San Gimignano, where he could beat the heat and nap. When Baird found this out, he followed suit. I call these pictures Cinematographer... »