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The Lightsabre Interview Gil Taylor
Welcome to
Lightsabre. We are thrilled to present
one of British cinemas true greats, one of the Grand Masters of the
British Society of Cinematographers and cinematographer of Star Wars Gil
Taylor. Q -Gil, welcome to
Lightsabre. A - Thank you Mark, its a
great pleasure to talk to you. Q Over the span of
your career you worked with almost every great director in cinema history,
including Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski,
J. Lee Thompson, Delbert Mann, Curtis Hanson, Roy Boulting
and Richard Donner.
But perhaps you are best remembered as the man who set the look of
Star Wars. How do you feel about that,
now your career is at an end? A I am most happy to be remembered as the man who set the
look for Star Wars. I wanted to give Star Wars a unique visual
style that would distinguish it from other films in the science fiction
genre. I wanted Star Wars to have clarity because I think
space isn't out of focus, also I was mindful that there was an enormous
amount of process work to be done in America with Dykstra after we had
finished shooting in England, and a crisp result would help this
process. The cinematography was specially designed by myself
so that these huge dark spacecraft could be illuminated to contain all the
action. I literally tore the sets to pieces and inserted
huge quartz like panels which would give George Lucas freedom to shoot
in all directions quickly without re-lighting. My special light screens
used 7000 photofloods on large dimming apparatus. This powerful pattern
made a huge impression on the audience.
I was honoured to be awarded the Golden Globe from the American
Academy of Science Fiction Fantasy and Horror Films for 1977 for my
outstanding photography of Star Wars. I also received a BSC award. Although
my career is at its end, I still communicate with
Star Wars fans from all over the world with autographs and
photographs. In addition to this I have my paintings of my
impressions of Star Wars. Q During the war
you serviced as a G. D. Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer
Reserves, and became an Operational Cameraman as well as shooting cine film
of bombing raids and taking a unit to the front. What are your memories of those days, and
how did they prepare you for your career in film? A My
wartime experiences were incredible, particularly from when I joined a flying
operational unit as an air gunner on a Lancaster bomber to enable me to use
the first cine cameras on a night operation over Germany. This was
requested by Winston Churchill, and my material was delivered to lO. Downing Street for him to view. He was keen for
the public to see what our lads were doing. I did ten of these
operations including Cologne and Dresden. On the opening of the Second
Front, I took a small operational unit of 3 cameramen to direct and cover
every kind of news story including the unforgettable concentration camps, Belson amongst them, and up to meet the Russians and the
Armistice. You ask
how these experiences helped to prepare me for my film career. Well,
they certainly made me tougher, and inspired me to become a Director of
Cinematography. Q What has it been
like to be a part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- Exciting
and gratifying to still be written to and asked for autographs 29 years after
making the film. Q What memories do
you have of being on set back in 1976?
How did Lucas, then still a young director, cope with the huge
pressure of a Hollywood production, and what advice were you able to impart? A We
had great fun and much laughter on set, as the actors took their dialogue
apart and George put it back together again! This was a daily
happening. Lucas was under enormous pressure from 20th Century Fox the whole time. Myself and the British crew gave him their full support
for the duration of the film. Q You worked as
cinematographer on Stanley Kubricks Doctor Strangelove. What were your impressions of Kubrick? A Kubrick
was a frustrated cameraman with immense talent. I sometimes felt as if
his hand was on the brush and I was the paint coming off it! Q You had the
pleasure of being a part of the Beatles phenomenon when you worked on A Hard
Days Night. Looking back at your
career, that was equally as iconic as being a part of Star Wars. Was it that film that ignited your love of
art? A Yes, it had a huge influence on me. I enjoyed every moment of making the film, their music was inspirational.
Q What would you
change about your Star Wars experience if you could go back and do it again? A
Nothing. It was a great
experience Q You gave Star
Wars a very specific `look that filtered through to The Empire Strikes Back
and Return of the Jedi. In these early
days of digital cinema what are your thoughts? Do you feel like Spielberg, that you want
the veneer of the emulsion on a print, or do you feel like Lucas, ready to
enter a new realm of presentation? A As I have not shot a film using the digital process, I
feel I am not able to comment on this, but I am sure I would share the same
observations as Mr. Spielberg. Q You worked on The Dambusters, a film that years later would influence Lucas when he was
preparing Star Wars. Given that you
were involved in so many iconic films, how did you chose
your projects? A The Dam Busters bouncing bomb runs over the Dams and their exits I thought were similar to the Star Wars requirements, so I suggested that Lucas should acquire a tape of the film. As to how I chose my film projects, I was most fortunate in that the offers of the films I shot were always made to me. Q Now you are retired you have shifted your
focus onto your artwork, concentrating largely on Beatles and Star Wars
pieces. How much satisfaction does
this bring you? A A very small part of my artwork was concentrated on film art. I am an impressionist painter of landscapes, with a great love for horses and farm animals. I love painting because I become completely absorbed in what I am doing which helps compensate for not making films! Q A quick question about our site,
Lightsabre. Any comments? A I think Lightsabre is a splendid site with a wide variety
of interest and knowledge. Q - It's been a great interview, and thanks for
being our guest on Lightsabre. Just
one final question. John, Paul, George
and Ringo are trapped on the Death Star and Stormtroopers are chasing them
down a corridor. Suddenly they are
trapped in a dead end. Knowing the
lads as you did, how would they escape? A I think
the boys would probably have called for R2! |
