Christopher Chapman (January 24, 1927 – October 24, 2015) was a Canadian film writer, director, editor and cinematographer. Best known for his award-winning 1967 short film '' A Place to Stand'', he also pioneered the multi-dynamic image technique used in films and television shows.

Personal life

Chapman was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, shortly after midnight on January 24, 1927, and just minutes after his twin brother Francis. Christopher and his twin had four elder siblings, Philippa, Howard, Robert, and Sally. Another brother, Julian, died in infancy. They were children of distinguished architect Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman (of Chapman and Oxley) and concert pianist Doris Chapman. In the 1950s, Christopher spent a year in England designing cars for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

before returning to Canada and becoming a filmmaker. Chapman was married to Barbara-Glen Chapman (née Kennedy), his wife of 44 years. He died at the age of 88 on October 24, 2015, at his residence in ReachView Village, a long-term care facility in

Uxbridge, Ontario Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. Communities The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include Altona, Coppin' ...

. He was survived by his wife and son Julian Chapman (former Deputy Commander of

4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the First World War. During the Second World War the division was reactivated as the 4th Canadian Infantr ...

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Career

Over his career, Chapman made approximately 40 films for television, the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

, theatrical release, tourism organizations, science centres, and international expositions. Chapman's first film, '' The Seasons'', won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

(CFA) for Film of the Year in 1954.Christopher Chapman, Toronto Wins Award for The Seasons
" ''Montreal Gazette''. April 22, 1954. p. 13. – via Newspapers.com. In 1965 Christopher and Francis Chapman jointly won the

for Best Colour Cinematography at the 17th Canadian Film Awards for ''

Expedition Bluenose Expedition may refer to: * An exploration, journey, or voyage undertaken by a group of people especially for discovery and scientific research Places * Expedition Island, a park in Green River, Wyoming, US * Expedition Range, a mountain range in ...

''.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 69-71. Another of his films to win the CFA Film of Year was his 1967 short, '' A Place to Stand'', which also received two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations in 1968, winning the one for Best Live-Action Short. The film, commissioned by the

Government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

, featured Chapman's innovative multi-dynamic image technique (or 'the Brady Bunch effect'), wherein moving panes of moving images are used within the single context of the screen. Over a year of filming, Chapman shot of film, which he then edited into 18 minutes, though the images moving across the screen were the equivalent of an hour and three-quarters of film. The process exhausted Chapman and he was still unsure of using it until its first screening occurred: "There were a couple of

stenographers Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''st ...

, who were eating their lunch watching the screening, and they were agog," Chapman said. "But I wanted to run. I was exhausted and thought it was a failure, but a chap grabbed me as I was going out the door. He'd been standing at the back of the screening room and said he was blown away by it. It was Steve McQueen." In 1968, McQueen starred in '' The Thomas Crown Affair'', directed by

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (born July 21, 1926) is a retired Canadian film and television director, producer, and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. He has directed numerous feature films and has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best ...

, a film that used Chapman's split-screen technique. Jewison added the multiple-image sequences into the film after seeing ''A Place to Stand''. Over the years since, many films and television series have used the technique, with the most recent known to be the American series '' 24'', which, by using the technique, documented the simultaneous actions of its characters. In 1970, Chapman directed a film for the

Hudson’s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

, called ''Impressions'', as part of HBC's 300th anniversary celebrations.Impressions
''Keystone Archives Descriptive Database''. Winnipeg, MB: Archives of Manitoba.
" Archives of Manitoba. July 2020. ''Impressions'', another film of Chapman’s to use his multiple-dynamic technique, follows the HBC's 300-year history using both historic and modern images: iconic images of the fur trade are paired with modern department stores; scenes of farming are shown with oil production are seen, and so on. In 1984, Francis and Christopher Chapman collaborated on a three-dimensional nature film for the nascent

Science North Science North is an interactive science museum in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The science centre, which is Northern Ontario's most popular tourist attraction, consists of two snowflake-shaped buildings on the southwestern shore of Ramsey La ...

.Pam Hobbs, "Face to face with nature at Science North". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', August 11, 1984.

Filmography

Honors

In addition to his film honors, Chapman was appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 1987 and awarded a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Tor ...

in 2000. Chapman served as president of both the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

and the Directors Guild of Canada. He was also a member of

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto (usually just called ''The Arts and Letters Club'') is a private club in Toronto, Ontario, which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors and others working in or with a ...

References

External links

* *
A Place to Stand
', 1967, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman 1927 births 2015 deaths Canadian cinematographers Canadian film editors Film producers from Ontario Film directors from Toronto People from Uxbridge, Ontario Members of the Order of Canada Best Cinematography Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts