American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 75

shot in what was by then the cinematographer's trademark handheld style.
"I then got a phone call from a
director called Tony Simmons, who had
seen Elephants' Graveyard on TV," recalls
Méheux. "He said he was looking for a
cameraman to shoot a low-budget
feature film in a handheld, available-light
style. So I went to meet him in Covent
Garden, and he introduced me to his line
producer, Martin Campbell."
This meeting with Campbell
marked the beginning of perhaps the
most important working relationship of
Méheux's career. As well as becoming
firm friends, the two would go on to
make nine features together once
Campbell began directing. At the time,
though, Méheux's immediate concern
was whether or not to leave the security
of a job at the BBC in order to work on
Black Joy, Simmons' low-budget feature.
He took the plunge and resigned from
his BBC post, shooting the film mostly
handheld with an Arriflex 35BL with
1,000' loads at real locations, utilizing all
of his documentary skills.
After Black Joy, Campbell
produced Alan Clarke's controversial
1979 youth prison film, Scum, starring a
young Ray Winstone, and again brought
in Méheux. Used to operating himself,
Méheux hired a camera operator so he
could familiarize himself with that way of
working, though he still took the reins
when it came to handheld sequences.
One particularly iconic handheld shot
follows Winstone as he walks up a flight
of stairs and through various rooms of the
prison, seeking out another inmate on
whom he inflicts a savage beating.
Méheux has called on his own
operating prowess at various times
throughout his career. He did so in 1988
when Campbell directed his first feature,
Criminal Law, though mainly because
they couldn't find an experienced operator
who spoke English in Montreal in those
days. "Then we did Defenseless as a nonunion film in Los Angeles, and I operated
that as well," recalls Méheux. "That was
my introduction to Hollywood; I never
thought I'd work there, to be honest.
Shortly afterward I operated again on a

Top: Méheux
shooting in
Almería, Spain
for The
Discoverers:
Christopher
Columbus.
Middle: Méheux
lines up a shot
for SEAT cars on
location in
Lanzarote.
Bottom: The
cinematographer
at work on the
HBO film
Apology.

www.theasc.com

February 2015

75


http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - February 2015

Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 1
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 2
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - Contents
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 4
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 5
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 6
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 7
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 8
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 9
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 10
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 11
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 12
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 13
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 14
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 14a
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 14b
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 15
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 16
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 17
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 18
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 19
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 20
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 21
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 22
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 23
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 24
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 25
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 26
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 27
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 28
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 29
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 30
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 31
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 32
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 33
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 34
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 35
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 36
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 37
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 38
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 39
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 40
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 41
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 42
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 43
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 44
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 45
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 46
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 47
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 48
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 49
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 50
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 51
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 52
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 53
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 54
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 55
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 56
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 57
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 58
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 59
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 60
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 61
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 62
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 63
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 64
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 65
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 66
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 67
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 68
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 69
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 70
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 71
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 72
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 73
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 74
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 75
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 76
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 77
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 78
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 79
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 80
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 81
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 82
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 83
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 84
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 85
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 86
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 87
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - 88
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - February 2015 - Cover4
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