Andrew Lesnie ACS

ASC ASC may refer to: Educational institutions * Anglican Schools Commission, Australia * Andres Soriano Colleges of Bislig, located in Surigao del Sur, Philippines * Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia Organizations Australia * Australian Singing ...

(1 January 1956 – 27 April 2015) was an Australian

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 ...

. He was best known as the cinematographer for ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and its prequel ''The Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both directed by New Zealand director

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

. He received the

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) ...

for his work on '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' in 2002.

Early life and career

Lesnie was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 1 January 1956, the son of Shirley (Lithgow) and Allan Lesnie, who worked for the family's company, butcher suppliers Harry Lesnie Pty Ltd. He was educated at

Sydney Grammar School (Praise be to God) , established = , type = Independent, day school , gender = Boys , religious_affiliation = None , slogan = , headmaster = R. B. Malpass , founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran , chairman = ...

. Andrew was well liked and popular at school. Lesnie finished 6th form and his Higher School Certificate in 1974. He started his career in 1978 as an assistant camera operator on the film ''Patrick'' (1978) while he was still in school at

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

(AFTRS).Moran, Albert and Vieth, Errol (2005
''The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema''
Scarecrow Press, Inc. sd His first job after graduation in 1979 was as a cameraman on the

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

-winning Australian magazine-style afternoon TV show ''

Simon Townsend's Wonder World ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' was an Australian children's television show that aired on Network Ten from 1979 until 1987. It was created and hosted by journalist Simon Townsend. In 1993, the show was relaunched on the Nine network as ''Wo ...

''. Simon Townsend gave Lesnie almost daily opportunities to develop his craft with little restriction over a wide variety of stories and situations, and to experiment with camera and lighting techniques in hundreds of locations and situations. After two years of working on the show, Lesnie moved on to numerous Australian film and television productions, including the mini-series ''

Bodyline Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman, ...

''. Later, he worked as a second camera assistant on the film ''

The Killing of Angel Street ''The Killing of Angel Street'' is a 1981 Australian thriller film loosely based on the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) green bans against development in inner Sydney city waterside suburbs. It briefly touches on the real-life disappearance of ...

'' (1981). Lesnie would then go on to develop his craft as he photographed films such as ''Stations'' (1983), ''The Delinquents'' (1989), ''Temptation of the Monk'' (1993), and ''

Spider and Rose ''Spider and Rose'' is a 1994 Australian film directed by Bill Bennett and starring Ruth Cracknell, Simon Bossell, and Max Cullen. It is about the relationship between an elderly lady and a young ambulance driver. Although the film was marketed ...

'' (1994).

Career

His work began receiving major attention after the release of the anthropomorphic pig story ''

Babe Babe or babes may refer to: * Babe, a term of endearment * A newborn baby * An attractive (especially female) person People Nickname * Babe Adams (1882–1968), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Babe Barna (1917–1972), American Major L ...

'' (1995) and its sequel, '' Babe: Pig in the City''. He was director of photography on

's ''

Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' trilogy, and received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

for his work on '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' in 2002. Since then, he filmed several other Jackson-directed films, including ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

'' and ''

The Lovely Bones ''The Lovely Bones'' is a 2002 novel by American writer Alice Sebold. It is the story of a teenage girl who, after being raped and murdered, watches from her personal Heaven as her family and friends struggle to move on with their lives while she ...

'', and also filmed ''The Hobbit'' films directed by Jackson.

''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–03)

Lesnie used motion picture camera company

Arri The Arri Group () is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. Hermann Simon menti ...

Arriflex 435 The Arriflex 435 is a movie camera product line created by Arri in 1995 to replace the Arriflex 35III line. The number reflects its position as a successor camera to the Arri III and the fact that it is designed for 35 mm film. The 435 cameras a ...

Arriflex 535 The Arriflex 535 is a movie camera product line created by Arri in 1990 to replace the Arriflex 35 BL line. As such, its potential applications are widespread, and thus it is regularly used as a primary camera on feature films, second unit work ...

, and ArriCam Studio

35mm 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format ...

film cameras for the trilogy. He used

Carl Zeiss Carl Zeiss (; 11 September 1816 – 3 December 1888) was a German scientific instrument maker, optician and businessman. In 1846 he founded his workshop, which is still in business as Carl Zeiss AG. Zeiss gathered a group of gifted practica ...

Ultra Prime Lenses and

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

's 5279 (tungsten-balanced) film stock to photograph the films. Lesnie planned far ahead into the production with

with previsualisation programs to help establish frame sizes and angles, as well as construction of sets. During filming, Lesnie emphasised earthly colours in the makeup and wardrobe of the cast and extras. At the acceptance speech for his Oscar win for ''Fellowship of the Ring'', Lesnie dedicated his acceptance to chief lighting technician

Brian Bansgrove Brian Bansgrove (18 July 1941 – 29 December 2001) was a New Zealand gaffer (chief lighting technician for motion pictures) best known for his work on ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy. Andrew Lesnie, who won the 2002 Academy Award for C ...

, who he described as a major contributor to the quality of the film's cinematography.

''The Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–14)

For production, Lesnie used

Red Digital Cinema Red Digital Cinema (''Red Digital Cinema Camera Company'') is an American company that manufactures professional digital cinematography cameras and accessories. The company's headquarters is in Foothill Ranch, California, with studios in Hollyw ...

's Epic cameras as well as

Ultra Prime Lenses to photograph the film.

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

and Lesnie decided to shoot the film in 3D with as many as 15

stereoscopic Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the depth perception, illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stere ...

camera rigs (2 cameras each) with 3ality. They also decided to shoot the film in an uncommon frame rate of 48 frames per second versus the industry standard of 24 frames per second. This would make Lesnie the first cinematographer to employ such a method that claims to induce more clarity, reduce motion blur, and make 3D easier to watch.

''The Water Diviner''

Lesnie's final film, ''

The Water Diviner ''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Anastasio ...

'', directed by and starring

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

, was released in Australia in December 2014 and in America in April 2015, one week before his death.

Personal life

Lesnie lived on Sydney's north coast. He was a member of both the

Australian Cinematographers Society The Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing a forum for Australian cinematographers to further develop their skills through mutual co-operation. Location Its Nati ...

and the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

. Lesnie died of a heart attack in his Sydney home on 27 April 2015.

Death

Andrew Lesnie died of fatal heart attack on Monday the 27th of April 2015, after having suffered from a heart condition for half a year.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Andrew Lesnie's profile on the AFTRS websiteRussell Crowe remembers late cinematographer Andrew Lesnie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesnie, Andrew 1956 births 2015 deaths Australian cinematographers Australian Film Television and Radio School alumni Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners Best Cinematography BAFTA Award winners People educated at Sydney Grammar School People from Sydney