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Sidney Allen Bruce Perou (born 1937
) is a British
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
and
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
notable for his work in caves.
He has been called "renowned throughout the caving and broadcasting world,"
"possibly the greatest cave film maker of all time,"
and "the man who brought caving to the masses."
His work has received international acclaim.
Early life
Perou was born as Sidney Allen Bruce Perou in April 1937 to his father, Sid, and his mother, Harriet (who went by "Kit").
He was a serviceman in the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
.
Career
In the mid 1960s, Perou worked as a sound recorder at
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
when it was owned by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
Because of his recreational
caving
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...
experience, he was assigned to work on the documentary ''Sunday at Sunset Pot'' in 1967.
The documentary detailed the attempted rescue of caver
Eric Luckhurst from Sunset Hole.
Perou was initially assigned to work on the documentary as an assistant sound recorder.
However, due to the physical and technical limitations of the initial
camera operator
A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task.
In filmmaking ...
and Perou's cave experience, he was asked to take over filming operations.
This was Perou's first experience filming underground.
After ''Sunday at Sunset Pot'', he left his job at the BBC to move to Yorkshire, as he had decided that he wanted to be a filmmaker.
In Yorkshire, his first commission was for ''
The World About Us
''The World About Us'' was a BBC Two television documentary series on natural history which ran from 3 December 1967 to 20 July 1986.''Encyclopedia of Television'' (2d ed.), ed. Horace Newcomb, p. 324, 620, 1363. The show was created by David At ...
'' to film ''The Lost River of Gaping Gill'' in 1970.
As a cinematographer and director, Perou was involved in the creation of over a dozen cave documentaries,
and over 50 films in total.
He was considered especially talented at lighting the caves so that it appeared as though the only sources of illumination were the
cavers' headlamps.
In 2010, Perou retired from filmmaking and emigrated from the United Kingdom.
Awards and honors
Together with
Lionel Friedberg Lionel Friedberg is a documentary film director, producer and writer who has written or produced films for, among others, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, PBS, the History Channel and National Geographic. He has 18 credits as Director of Photogr ...
, Perou won an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
in 1993 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Informational Programming for his work in
Lechuguilla Cave
At , Lechuguilla Cave is the eighth-longest explored cave in the world and the second deepest () in the continental United States. It is most famous for its unusual geology, rare formations, and pristine condition.
The cave is named for the can ...
which appeared as part of a 1992 ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' special, ''Mysteries Underground.''
While ''Mysteries Underground'' won the most prestigious award of any of Perou's projects, several other documentaries won regional awards or prizes at cave-related film festivals.
The documentary ''The Lost River of Gaping Gill'' won Best TV Reportage prize at the 7th Festival International du Film de Spéléologie in 1984, Silver Gentian Prize at the 1985 International Film Festival in Trento, the Pye Colour Television Award for Best Regional Production in 1985, and shared "best story or adventure film" with ''Hollow Mountains of Mulu'' at the International Festival Internacional de Cinema Espeleològic in 1984.
The series ''Beneath the Pennines'' won the Grand Prix at the International Caving Film Festival in 1978,
as well as the
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
's Regional Programme of the Year Award.
In 1999, Perou won the Giles Barker award.
Life in media
Perou authored a book on his experiences titled ''30 Years as an Adventure Cameraman''.
In 2010, Martin Baines released a documentary on Perou's life titled ''The Sid Perou Story''.
Personal life
Perou's first marriage was to Alison Wellock,
a woman whom he met during the planning of the filming of ''The Lost River of Gaping Gill''. They married on 27 March 1971 and had two children: Martin and Tom. Alison died in 1996 at age 47 after an illness.
Filmography
Perou worked on many films related to outdoor activities such as
caving
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...
,
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
,
hot air ballooning
Hot air ballooning is the activity of flying hot air balloons. Attractive aspects of ballooning include the exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing), the lack of a feeling of movement, and the bird's-eye view. Since the b ...
, and
hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...
.
*''Sunday at Sunset Pot'' (1967)
*''The Lost River of
Gaping Gill
Gaping Gill (also known as Gaping Ghyll) is a natural cave in North Yorkshire, England. It is one of the unmistakable landmarks on the southern slopes of Ingleborough – a deep pothole with the stream Fell Beck flowing into it. After fallin ...
'' (1970)
*''What a Way to Spend a Sunday'' (1972)
*''The Deepest Hole in the World'' (1973)
*''
Castleguard - Challenge Under the Glacier'' (1974)
*''Beneath the Pennines''—series (1977)
**''Beneath the Pennines -
Alum Pot
Alum Pot is a pothole with a large open shaft at a surface elevation of on the eastern flanks of Simon Fell, North Yorkshire, England. It connects with nearby Long Churn Cave and Diccan Pot. The pot is accessed via a 1-km private track on p ...
''
**''Beneath the Pennines - Dow Cave''
**''Beneath the Pennines -
White Scar Cave''
**''Beneath the Pennines -
Lancaster Hole
The Ease Gill Cave System is the longest, and most complex cave system in Britain as of 2011, with around of passages, including connections only passable by cave diving. It spans the valley between Leck Fell and Casterton Fell. The water ...
''
**''Beneath the Pennines -
Pippikin Pot''
*''Speleogenesis'' (1978)
*''Rock Athlete''—series (1980)
**''Rock Athlete - In Search of New Summits''
**''Rock Athlete - New Extremes''
**''Rock Athlete - First Ascent''
*''Troll Wall'' (1981)
*''Man Bilong Hole Bilong Stone'' (1981)
*''Raging River of
Annapurna
Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
'' (1981)
*''Pennine Challenge''—series (1984)
**''Pennine Challenge - If You Can Make it to Malham''
**''Pennine Challenge - Harmony in the Limestone Dales''
**''Pennine Challenge - Ups and Downs to Alston''
**''Pennine Challenge - Bad Jokes in Border Country''
*''The Lost River of Gaping Gill - Breakthrough'' (1984)
*''Balloon Over Yorkshire''—series (1984)
**''Balloon Over Yorkshire - Mansion to Moorland''
**''Balloon Over Yorkshire - Search for the Summit Wind''
*''Realm of Darkness''—series
**''Realm of Darkness - The Elusive Depths of Mexico'' (1984)
**''Realm of Darkness - Hollow Mountain of Mulu'' (1984)
**''Realm of Darkness -
Otter Hole'' (1984)
**''Realm of Darkness - Hidden Secrets of Cigalère'' (1985)
**''Realm of Darkness - Caves of Glass'' (1986)
**''Realm of Darkness - Drowned River of Dracos'' (1986)
*''The Fingertip Phenomenon'' (1984)
*''Rally in the Sky''—series (1987)
**''Rally in the Sky - Stage 1''
**''Rally in the Sky - Stage 2''
*''Search Dogs of the Summit'' (1987)
*''Exploring the Great Indoors'' (1988)
*''Adventure: The Climbers'' (1989)
*''The Price of Success'' (1989)
*''Cave Diving Story''—series (1989)
**''Cave Diving Story: The Darkness Beckons''
**''Cave Diving Story: The Devil is a Gentleman''
**''Cave Diving Story: Too High a Price''
**''Cave Diving Story: Where Angels Fear''
*''K2 Triumph and Tragedy'' (1990)
*''Deep into the Labyrinth'' (1992)
*''Hard Decisions at Sleets Gill'' (1992)
*''Mysteries Underground'' (1992)
*''Flight for Life'' (1994)
*''Flight of the Dacron Eagles'' (1994)
*''Gaping Gill - 100 Years of Exploration'' (1995)
*''John Dunne - Big Issue'' (1998)
*''Remembering Pete Livesey''—series (1998)
**''Remembering Pete Livesey - Part 1''
**''Remembering Pete Livesey - Part 2''
**''Remembering Pete Livesey - Part 3''
*''The Mysterious Life of Caves'' (2002)
*''Jerry'' (2004)
*''You Bet it's a Daft Idea'' (2005)
*''A Tribute to Mike Wooding'' (2006)
*''Off White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (2007)
*''Stump Cross Caverns'' (2010)
*''Limestone the Living Rock''—series (2011)
**''Limestone the Living Rock: Limestone Landscapes''
**''Limestone the Living Rock: Our Limestone Caves''
**''Limestone the Living Rock: Limestone in our Lives''
**''Limestone the Living Rock: Lead in our Veins''
**''Limestone the Living Rock: A Scar on the Landscape''
**''Limestone the Living Rock: The Coldstones Cut''
*''Eli Simpson and the BSA'' (2012)
*''Eli Simpson - The Birth of a Yorkshire River'' (2012)
*''The Longest Dive'' (2014)
*''In Memory of Mike Boon'' (2015)
References
External links
Sid Perou- YouTube page, featuring many of his films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perou, Sid
English cinematographers
1937 births
Living people