ON FILM - Variety 2001

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ON FILM - Variety 2001

Rob McLachlan CSC

“Movie scripts are getting more descriptive in mood and tone, but you have to know where to draw the line. A painting isn’t defined by how pretty it is. You judge art by how it makes people feel. It’s the same with film. The lighting can be beautiful, but if it doesn’t help the flow of the story, it doesn’t mean anything. Personally, I find it more satisfying to work on the edge and take risks rather than play it safe. For example, on one film, I lit a scene half with strobes and half normally. We exposed the film at 12 frames per second and printed it back to 24. The result was a startling illusion of someone moving faster than time — sharp, yet blurred. How did I know it was the right thing to do? It felt organic and I trusted my instincts.”

Rob McLachlan, CSC has earned eight Outstanding Achievement Awards from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) along with three consecutive American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) nominations for the episodic series Millennium. His narrative credits include the telefilms Adrift, A Vision of Murder, Other Women’s Children and High Noon, which was also nominated for an ASC Award. His cinema features include Final Destination and The One.