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Founded | 1977 |
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Founder | Terry Cole, John Deaton, Mike Fox, Geoff Glover |
Type | Professional Guild |
Focus | The care and quality of cinematography through progress and innovation |
Headquarters | London, UK |
Location |
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Members | 450 |
Key people | Chairman - Tim Potter Guild Admin - TBD |
Website | www |
The GBCT is a non-profit organization that serves as a representative body for camera technicians who work in the film and high-end television production industry worldwide. With approximately 450 members, many of whom are also affiliated with other moving image craft organizations such as the British Society of Cinematographers and the Association of Camera Operators, the GBCT operates out of Panavision London offices.
As a member of the Cine Guilds of Great Britain [1] (CGGB), the GBCT does not act as a trade union. The relevant trade union for UK members is the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU). Other members of the CGGB include the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC), the society of British Film Editors (BFE) and the British Film Designers Guild (BFDG).
In 2011 the GBCT joined with the BSC, GBFTE and BECTU to form a not for profit collecting society, Screen Craft Rights, [2] to receive copyright payments from sales of film and TV productions to Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden and distribute them to UK cinematographers, designers and editors.
On 12 May 2020, the GBCT was one of four signatories on a statement related to Covid-19 safer working practices. Other signatories were the BSC, ACO and BECTU Camerabranch. [3]
The GBCT has a long-standing affiliation with the University of Arts London through the UAL Diploma provision. [4]
Professionals in the industry have long recognised the importance of camera craft to finished films and television programmes, with specific awards for cinematography from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as well as more craft specific awards such as The Operators Award, [5] organised by the GBCT, the BSC and the Association of Camera Operators as well the Guild of Television Camera Professionals Awards for Excellence in Camerawork.
The GBCT, along with CGGB, made representation to the UK parliaments Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport in 2007 to ask for assistance in training existing technicians to deliver effective training to new entrants. [6]
The Guild, as it is known colloquially among members and the industry, was formed in 1977 by focus pullers Terry Cole and John Deaton and camera operators Mike Fox and Geoff Glover who wanted to create a non-political association with an authoritative presence in the industry. Their intention was to create an organisation that protected the interests and aspirations of a growing freelance workforce while developing new talent and maintaining high standards. [7]
The GBCT has eminent trustees drawn from the moving image industry who monitor its constitution. The current trustees are:
Producer: Steve Clark Hall
Producer/Director: Richard Lester
Cinematographer: Phil Méheux
Director: Joe Wright
Former trustees include the late Sue Gibson, founding trustee, the late Sir Sydney Samuelson CBE and the late director Michael Apted
Members work with and within the camera department, including roles such as grips and script supervisor and specialist technicians for visual effects, aerial and underwater filming. To be accepted for membership they would have to be nominated by four existing members before their nomination is sent to the membership committee. If the committee approve the application then the GBCT Board, made up of the Chairperson and thirteen members of the GBCT, will then scrutinise and discuss the application before deciding whether or not that person can become a member.
Members could be working in a number of grades including (but not exclusive to) clapper loader, focus puller, camera operator, digital imaging technician, and director of photography/cinematographer.
Full: This category is specifically for current practitioners living in the UK and Eire
Overseas membership: This category is open to British technicians resident outside the UK, or non-British technicians who work regularly in the UK
Associates: Associate members are individuals closely affiliated to the GBCT
Trainees: Membership services and facilities is provided to Guild trainees for the duration of their time as trainees
Retired members: This section is only available to existing Guild Members
Honorary: Honorary Membership is awarded to individuals who have been instrumental in helping to support the Guild in some form or other or by enhancing its standing within the industry. Members in this category include the founders of the GBCT, Remi Adefarasin OBE BSC, Angela Allen OBE and Chris Menges BSC, ASC.
The GBCT Crew Directory [8] has been published annually since 1980. It is supplied to members and distributed to production companies and personnel. Between 1980 and 2000, the GBCT published "Eyepiece" [9] on a bi-monthly basis and has a regular feature, written by members, for the BSC publication under the title "GBCT News". [10]
One of the most significant areas of work for the GBCT is training and the maintenance of standards. This has included work with the sector skills council ScreenSkills [11] to provide training for military veterans. [12]
The "GBCT Camera Trainee Programme" is aimed at technicians wanting to work in high-end fiction production. [13] The programme uses existing practitioners' experience and knowledge to provide training and mentorship to trainees who are placed on productions including feature films, TV drama and commercials.
The GBCT and its members have worked with University of the Arts London to design, develop and deliver a series of accredited qualifications for the camera department that blend academic knowledge with vocational skills. The courses include Level 2: Clapper Loading/2nd Assistant Camera; Level 3: Focus Pulling/1st Assistant Camera; [14] Level 2: Grips and Level 3: Key Grips. [15] The courses are financed by ScreenSkills.
Within the GBCT Camera Trainee Programme is one trainee who has been selected to be the Mark Milsome Trainee. [16] This is a placement assisted by the Mark Milsome Foundation, an organisation set up in honour of camera operator Mark Milsome who lost his life while working on a drama in Ghana in November 2017. [17] [18] Members of the film industry worldwide contributed to the fund that has helped the foundation's work. [19]
While it is not a requirement for members to use the letters 'GBCT' after their name, it is encouraged that they do so in common with organisations such as the BSC, the American Society of Cinematographers and the Directors Guild of America.
The Guild produced its own version of the Kelly Cine Calculator, [20] originally designed by DoP Skeets Kelly [21] to calculate, amongst other factors, depth of field and hyperfocal distance. Revising it to reflect advances in optics and film stock technology the Guild worked with Kodak Ltd and Dr Stephen Jackson. The revised version was one of the two most commonly used calculators along with the Samcine Calculator. [22]
Deanne (or Dee) Edwards was the Guild administrator from 2008 until 2022. [23] Dee was recognised at the 2023 BSC Operators Awards with the posthumous presentation of the BSC ARRI John Alcott Award. [24]
A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film. The crew is also separate from the producers, as the producers are the ones who own a portion of either the film studio or the film's intellectual property rights. A film crew is divided into different departments, each of which specializes in a specific aspect of the production. Film crew positions have evolved over the years, spurred by technological change, but many traditional jobs date from the early 20th century and are common across jurisdictions and filmmaking cultures.
The cinematographer or director of photography is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography.
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.
The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu), formerly the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union, became a sector of the Prospect trade union in the United Kingdom on 1 January 2017 following the merger of Bectu with Prospect. It has approximately 40,000 members who work in broadcasting, film, theatre, IT, telecoms, entertainment, leisure and interactive media.
The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of the health and safety of the crew. The role of an assistant to the film director is often confused with assistant director but the responsibilities are entirely different. The assistant to the film director manages all of the directors in development, pre-production, while on set, through post-production and is often involved in both personnel management as well as creative aspects of the production process.
Christopher George Joseph Challis BSC, FRPS was a British cinematographer who worked on more than 70 feature films from the 1940s onwards.
Television crew positions are derived from those of film crew, but with several differences.
Guy Mervin Charles Green OBE BSC (5 November 1913 – 15 September 2005) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. In 1948, he won an Oscar as cinematographer for the film Great Expectations. In 2002, Green was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the BAFTA, and, in 2004, he was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his lifetime contributions to British cinema.
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background. War films and epic films often employ background actors in large numbers: some films have featured hundreds or even thousands of paid background actors as cast members. Likewise, grand opera can involve many background actors appearing in spectacular productions.
Billy Williams OBE, BSC is a British cinematographer.
Peter Austin Harley Newbrook BSC was an English cinematographer, director, producer and writer.
Oswald Norman Morris, BSC was a British cinematographer. Known to his colleagues by the nicknames "Os" or "Ossie", Morris's career in cinematography spanned six decades.
Ronald Charles Taylor BSC was a British cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with directors Richard Attenborough and Dario Argento. Throughout his career, he was nominated for two BAFTA Awards for Best Cinematography and won an Academy Award for his work on Gandhi (1982), which he shared with Billy Williams.
British Film Editors (BFE) is a not-for profit honorary society of professional British Film and Television Editors.
Ernest Day, B.S.C. was a British cinematographer and director of film and television, known for his collaborations with David Lean and Lewis Gilbert. He spent the majority of his career as a camera operator, often referred to Lean as his "eyes", and was the first British cameraman to operate a 70mm film camera. He was nominated for an Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Lean's final film A Passage to India (1984).
Polly Morgan is a British cinematographer who has worked on the studio feature films Lucy in the Sky (2019), A Quiet Place Part II (2020), Where the Crawdads Sing (2022), and The Woman King (2022). She was also the cinematographer for multiple episodes of the TV series Legion (2017–2019). Morgan is accredited by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). To date, she is the only woman to be a member of both, and she is the youngest member of ASC.
Paul Beeson, B.S.C. was a British cinematographer. He was initially at Ealing Studios before going on to work on films for various other companies. He worked on over three hundred feature films, including 74 where he was director of photography.
The Guild of Television Camera Professionals (GTC) is a not for profit organisation representing camera people working in all genres with around 1500 members globally with the majority being in the UK. The stated aim of the GTC is "to preserve the professional status of all those earning their living through working with television cameras and to establish, uphold and advance standards and expertise within our profession."
Alan Stewart is a Scottish cinematographer.
Robin Vidgeon BSC, is a retired cinematographer best known for his work on Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, and Nightbreed. For many years he was a focus puller, working with the late cinematographer Douglas Slocombe and camera operator Bernard (Chic) Waterson.