Welcome

Welcome to my site. I’m calling this section “Inspiration” because I hope that’s what it will be. It’s a place to explore links, videos, photos, art, architecture, anything to get the creative juices flowing, recharge your batteries or refocus your energy. Hope you can find something that inspires you. Cheers, Arthur

Let’s talk about staging

Once you have your awesome script, you need to transform it from words to images. Steven Soderbergh has been kind enough to take Raiders of the Lost Ark and remove the pesky sound track and all of it’s 1930’s art directed colour to give us a bare bones (but still beautiful) tool to examine Spielberg’s brilliant staging. We’ve all watched …

The Childhood Nightmares of Arthur Tress

Photographer Arthur Tress spoke with children about their bad dreams and then created these images. Any one could be the beginning of a film. Check them out here.

Favourite Movie Moments

What inspires a Cinematographer? Which films infiltrated their unconscious and helped shape their vision and approach to their craft? An article at Empire asked 21 top cinematographers exactly that. John Toll, the DP on such memorable films as The Thin Red Line, Braveheart and Legends of the Fall chose The Night of the Hunter. This striking film from 1955 was …

It all starts with a script

It all starts with a script. A Pilot Script to be precise. This website published 10 great examples in their original versions, before they were refined and polished, but obviously still good enough to get the series green lit. It’s great for everyone to read scripts no matter what department you are in and especially good to read great ones …

“OCD” by Neil Hilborn

Came across this on Upworthy and was blown away by it. Less than three minutes of spoken word poetry that cuts to the heart of what it means to be in love. If that’s not worth a listen, I don’t know what is.

Roger Deakins – Some Video Insights

Cinematographer Roger Deakins talks with BSC President John de Borman pre Skyfall. This first one is a bit longer if you want to grab a coffee and spend some time with the master. (Though he is amazingly humble.) It’s fantastic to hear Roger Deakins talk about a scene as you watch it. A wonderful example of planning on the one …

Roger Deakins top ten tips

It’s hard not to be a fan of Roger Deakins. Beautiful naturalistic lighting that always enhances the story and characters. A total mastery of lensing, framing and camera movement. A quick article with ten insights can be found here.

John Cleese – How to be creative

I love John Cleese. Smart, funny and a great storyteller. This talk is from 2009 in Germany. Have a listen. There is a second more in depth lecture from 1991. Find it here.

Cosmopolis Toronto

Toronto is the best city in the world! It may not be the most beautiful. It certainly doesn’t have the best winters. What it does have is the best people. Not just the ones born here, but from all over the world. This project has a photograph and story of someone from every country in the world. They are all …

Detroit – Then and Now

This website is a fascinating look at the timeline of a city. From prosperity to decline and now the attempted revival. The interactive element is engaging, but really it’s about gazing into these abandoned places and trying to figure out their stories. Take a look here.

Ten Best Sentences

The power of the written word. One of my favourites… “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too …

Instagram

Here are the photographs that I’ve posted to Instagram.

Nostalgia

The creation of mood is important for a cinematographer. These are images and words that create a mood for me and therefore excite my curiosity.

Photos By Stanley Kubrick

Before he was a director, Stanley Kubrick was a LIFE photographer. He was great at that too. Have a look.