Q&A with cinematographer Michael Jari Davidson

Michael Jari Davidson at work.

Photo: 

Troy Schantz

In order to succeed at anything one actively pursues, passion must be the foundation. Without that hunger, that drive, that sense of all consuming quest, the end result never tastes as sweet and the product never feels as authentic.

Cinematographer Michael Jari Davidson has that primal fire burning inside him and it’s that boundless energy and enthusiasm that is enabling his star to rise faster than many of his myriad contemporaries.

From short films, to features; industrial videos to television commercials, Davidson does it all and does it well. Of course it helps that Davidson is also incredibly talented, versatile and, well, a helluva nice guy to boot.

We spoke to this versatile craftsman - a man of many hats - last week to poke around in his head and find out where the sourc e of that unique and tireless well of passion flow from.

Can you recall the first time the "magic" of the moving image really resonated with you? When you realized it was your calling?
MJD: Things started to percolate for me in my first year of university. After being in the music business for years, I went back to school and ended up taking an “Intro to Film” course as an elective. My prof screened Eisenstein’s Oktyabr (October) and it blew my mind. The montage, the active viewer, the canted angles. Then it was reading week off from school in March 2005 and I was volunteering on the 35mm Canadian Film Centre film Escape (dir. Sean Frewer). My first ‘real’ job in the business. After watching the camera crew build the Arriflex 35mm camera on the Peewee dolly, it bit me. The bug. I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and I haven’t stopped since.

Where did you train?
MJD: I graduated with distinction with a BA in Media, Information and Technoculture from the University of Western Ontario and a degree from Fanshawe College in Multimedia Design and Production. I have also taken various workshops at places such as Sheridan College in Oakville for the IATSE Camera Assistant’s course, and the Canadian Screen Training Centre’s Summer in Film and Television. I learned how to shoot film over one summer in the Detroit Film Center’s Intro to 16mm Production program.

What are some of the stumbling blocks being a professional DP in Canada? Ever thought of moving?
MJD: Well production dollars have taken a sharp decline in the past decade, not just in Canada, but worldwide. I’ve heard stories from the old guard about DoP’s driving Rolls-Royce’s through downtown Toronto back in the 1980’s. With the Canadian industry being smaller than our southern counterparts, it has made things incredibly competitive here. But being part of the next wave of filmmakers, I find it liberating in a Wild West sort of way. The old rules are gone and it is giving chances for newcomers such as myself to prove ourselves by being creative with stretching those limited dollars into higher production values. As for moving, I am proud to say that I am Canadian, but I wouldn’t hesitate to fly out internationally to work. In today’s day and age it’s not your geographical location that keeps you bound, but only your insecurities.

Define your working aesthetic…
MJD: Cinematographers are interesting people, as they use both hemispheres of their brain in unison, the craftsperson and artist in one. Now while the craftsperson in me approaches each project like a military operation, with a set amount of equipment, personnel and time to achieve a strategic goal, the artist in me attacks the project with fearlessness. I am not bound by the limitations of budget; one of my mentors taught me to use my imagination to evoke the emotion of each scene. While the budget may paralyze others, or cause self-doubt, or start the blame game, I approach each film by thinking what CAN I do with the resources allotted to me? In the beginning, I read each script as a spectator; would I pay to see this film? On second reading, I let my imagination unfold with the script, jotting down notes in the margins, scribbling thumbnails. On the third reading, I bring it back to the real world and define how close I can come to my imaginings with the budget allotted for the film. I use all of this as ammunition when speaking candidly with the director in pre-production, getting to the heart of the creative and finding out how THEY envision the film. The approach going into production is an amalgam of all these things. A creative team working to serve the script.On set, it is a complex puzzle box, part cinematography, part alchemy. I depend heavily on my crew, including cam op Steve Szolcsanyi, focus puller Ryan Prouse and gaffer Tony Smith, in order to make the day. Sometimes the lighting is only augmenting the existing light sources, other times fantastical. Lens selection, framing, camera movement, colour psychology and lighting all work together to evoke the emotion of the scene to support the performances in bringing the script to life.

You've worked with the big budgets, the small...and the none....does each have its appeal?
MJD: Each has its own appeal and its own set of problems. The bigger the budget, the more the pressure falls upon the DoP to deliver on the day. People’s careers, daresay lives, may be at risk. The luxuries seem to suck the art and spontaneity out of a project. Lower budget films always speak to my artistic side; an organic, visceral connection to the expressive form, yet you find yourself sitting alongside a dusty road being eaten by flies or in the pouring rain eating a sandwich. Quite the contrast….

There aren't enough hours in the day and yet you seem to be able to squeeze 25 out of 24. Are you an expert at time efficiency now?
MJD: When I leave this Earth, I want to be able to say that I sucked the life out of every single day given to me. It’s as though I’ve found myself in a raging river, drawing me towards my destiny. I know that sounds a bit romanticised, but that’s the way I feel every day, devouring tasks to reach goals to meet milestones. I’ll let you in on a little secret too that I believe gives me the advantage over my contemporaries. My family comes from Finland (hence the “Jari” middle name) and we Finn’s have something that no other culture has, called sisu. There is no direct translation for it, something like “having guts”, but it means more than that. It is will, perseverance, determination. My grandfather used to say in the mother tongue “I’ll go through stone” which always struck utter fear and adoration in me. It is the echoes of that sentiment that drive me to go beyond daily, more human than human.

You’ve recently begun moonlighting as a film producer as well. Tell us about that…
MJD: I think it’s just a natural progression in what I have been doing all along. As a cinematographer in the indie world, it was in everyone’s best interest that I be fiscally responsible and stretch each production dollar as far as possible, making deals where I could to make the film better. I always push my myself and my crew to rise to the challenge and get better results on the day, getting just few more set ups done, instead of settling for soap opera coverage. I am really into team building and valuing each member of the team and their contributions to reach for higher levels. Producing is just bringing more departments into the family and really bringing projects to fruition, from development to distribution.

Talk about some of your current and up and coming projects?
MJD: I just wrapped a dark comedic feature called Anything Goes directed by Bruno Marino that is in post-production now. That, along with a series of short films for the Canadian Film Centre, which has brought things full circle for me, considering the CFC film Escape was what really started this whole wild ride. I feel a sense of fulfillment now I am DoPing their projects. The big thing I have coming up is the debut horror feature from Fangoria magazine editor-in-chief Chris Alexander called Blood Opera. Chris is has this encyclopedic knowledge of all things film and is a creative genius, so I am thoroughly pumped to be attached to produce and lens the picture. We go to camera in Toronto for Blood Opera on the RED in January 2011. Exciting times!

When you close your eyes, where do you ideally see yourself in a decade?
MJD: Well horror is my genre of choice to work in, so a decade from now, I’d like to be doing one to two big horror pictures a year and taking the rest of the year off to travel with my family. That’s the other thing that keeps me going and striving each day is my strong connection to my family. I hope that in the future I am working on fewer projects, with a less hectic schedule, so that I can pick and choose the ones that really resonate with me.

Do you have a favorite DP?
MJD: I’d have to start with Raoul Coutard, who shot most of Godard’s films including Alphaville, a personal fave. What’s a list without including the legends Storaro (Apocalypse Now), Tovoli (Susperia), Pearl (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Hall (Day of the Locust), and Willis (The Godfather)? Hey, I’m a cinematographer; I could go on and on!

By Ben Cortman

To learn more about Michael Jari Davidson's work visit:
www.michaeljaridavidson.com