Masanobu (Masa) Takayanagi grew up in Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture, in Japan. He relocated to Los Angeles to attend Cal State Long Beach, and after completing film school, he applied and was accepted into AFI.
Paul Cameron, ASC, was born in Montreal, Canada, and attended high school in New York City, where his brother lived. While attending school, he worked on stage lighting for plays and helped with lighting for bands. After determining that he wanted to attend film school, he enrolled at the State University of New York. He shot other students’ projects and bartended at a club in Manhattan.
Cinematographer/director David Boyd grew up as a military brat overseas. His first look at a film set happened when he skipped a couple weeks of elementary school to watch the filming of Rene Clement’s “Is Paris Burning?” which was shooting on the streets of Paris.
At the Plus Camerimage Festival last November, I had the privilege of organizing and moderating John Seale’s Master Class, which was sponsored by Panavision, as well as a Cinematographer Panel sponsored by Panalux.
Brendan Galvin was born in Ireland, and attended the Dublin Institute of Technology. He began his career as a trainee, and progressed through the various classifications.
This past October, at the Ojai Film Festival in Ojai, California, cinematographer Owen Roizman, ASC received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Packed into a weekend of screenings, filmmakers and locals had the chance to attend an afternoon conversation with Owen about his work.
Cinematographer Tom Stern grew up in Palo Alto, California, but spent part of his teenage years in France, where he began experimenting with photography. He attended college at St. Johns in Santa Fe, New Mexico, graduating with a liberal arts degree. He continued at Stanford University, where he concentrated on film studies and honed his camera skills by shooting several student films.
Phedon Papamichael, ASC was born in Athens, Greece, and grew up in Germany, where he completed his education in fine arts at the University of Munich. He began working as a still photographer for various European magazines and later relocated to New York City. With an entertainment pedigree including the son of art director/production designer Phedon Papamichael Sr. and the cousin of Nick Cassavetes, it wasn’t long before he moved to Los Angeles and began working in the entertainment industry.
Phil Méheux, BSC, grew up in North Kent, England, in a small town called Sidcup. At 16, he was determined to become a cinematographer, but there were no reputable film schools operating in London at that time.
Cinematographer Bill Roe, ASC, is a veteran of the studio system. He came up through the ranks the traditional way: first as a film loader, and rose up through the camera crew to where he is today, the director of photography on “Castle.” Recently, he has been directing episodes as well. He was 20 years old when he started working in the business, but spent many years during his youth on the set with his father, Jack Roe, who was a first AD.
