Robert McLachlanis a Canadiancinematographer.A successful cyclist in his youth, McLachlan quit the sport to take up cinematography, and entered the field after studying atSimon Fraser University,McLachlan was mentored byRichard Leiterman.His professional career began with documentary work forGreenpeace,before he became involved in both television and feature films; his work has subsequently earned him several industry awards and award nominations.
McLachlan, who was inspired by both his father's photography and his own appreciation for the filmsButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidandWalkaboutto choose his career path, would go on to find recognition as the chief cinematographer for the television seriesMillennium,for which he was scouted specifically. McLachlan's style on this series led to several industry awards and briefly became popular in the medium, as well as leading him directly to future work onGame of Thrones.He founded the documentary production companyOmni Film Productionsin the 1970s, later selling his share of the company.
Early life and education
edit
In his youth, McLachlan was an avid cyclist, accrediting this to the fact that his home townVancouverwas not cold enough for ponds to freeze over to playice hockeyon. During his teenage years, he trained upwards of six hours a day, and won several national championships in the sport. He qualified to represent Canada in the1976 Summer Olympics,but the lack of funding for cycling in North America at the time would have necessitated him funding his own journey and leaving school to do so; McLachlan opted instead to remain in education and focus on his interest in photography.[1]
McLachlan first became interested incinematographyafter viewing the 1969 filmButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid;Nicolas Roeg's work on the 1971 filmWalkaboutfurther cemented his interest in the field. McLachlan was also motivated by his father, who was an avid photographer.[2]An early school assignment to create aSuper 8 filmproject, for which he received an A grade, also proved a formative influence.[3]
McLachlan studied fine art at theUniversity of British Columbiafor a year, before changing courses to attend classes atSimon Fraser University's film department. McLachlan's education focussed on the documentary style ofJohn Grierson;however, when he began work in 1987, he was mentored byRichard Leiterman.[2]McLachlan also cites influences outside the field of cinematography, drawing influence from thechiaroscuro,Dutch artandpre-Raphaelitemovements of visual art, and the works ofAndrew WyethandGeorges de La Tourin particular.[4]
Career
editHaving graduated, McLachlan andMichael Chechikfounded the production companyOmni Film Productionsin 1979, and began to work withGreenpeace,filming documentary footage on a range of subjects. McLachlan narrowly avoided trouble on several of these shoots, finding himself arrested for filming too close to anExxonoil tanker and scarcely missing being assaulted bytrophy huntersinBritish Columbia.McLachlan would later sell his stake in Omni, but remains proud of their documentary work. At the time, McLachlan was unsuccessful in joining an industry union, relegating his work to advertising and small-scale productions; his first union-backed project was on the revival of the television seriesSea Hunt.[1]
McLachlan found success on theFoxtelevision seriesMillennium,earning several awards for his work on the show.[5]He was head-hunted for the series by its creatorChris Carter,who had seen his work on the seriesStrange Luck.McLachlan was initially offered a position shooting Carter's other active series,The X-Files,then in itsthird season,but was unable to start work in time.[3]He developed a distinctive style for the series, shooting it withdesaturatedcolours and lighting scenes as though they were to be filmed in black and white; he also made use of high-intensity strobe lighting usually employed for advertising andmacro cinematography.[6]McLachlan has noted that this style briefly became popular after the series' broadcast but that other cinematographers had difficulty adjusting to it.[7]
Having worked onMillenniumwith directorDavid Nutter,McLachlan was able to parley this connection into a role on theHBOfantasy seriesGame of Thrones.McLachlan has called working on the show's ten-person cinematography team "a major logistical challenge", noting the complexity of its out-of-sequence filming schedules as something unseen on a television series before.[8]McLachlan has also worked on the programmeRay Donovan,and has based that series' cinematography on bothfilm noiraesthetics and those of 1970s cinema, specifically citingThe Long Goodbye,The Parallax ViewandAll the President's Men,as well as the work ofGordon Willis.[9]
Accolades
editMcLachlan has been nominated for, and won, several awards over the course of his career. He has been nominated four times for theAmerican Society of Cinematographersawards, three times for his work on the television seriesMillenniumand once for the television filmHigh Noon.[5]He has also won severalCanadian Society of Cinematographersawards, including wins for the filmsWillardandImpolite,as well as for several episodes ofMillenniumandThe Lone Gunmen.[10]McLachlan's work onGame of ThronesreceivedEmmy Awardnominations in 2013 and 2015,[11][12]and a Canadian Society of Cinematographers award nomination in 2015; he was also nominated by the latter society for his cinematography on the seriesRay Donovan.[13]
| Year | Category | Awarding body | Work | Result | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Outstanding Documentary Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Various | Won | |
| 1986 | Outstanding Documentary Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Various | Won | |
| 1987 | Outstanding Documentary Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Various | Won | |
| 1994 | Outstanding TV Drama Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | The Commish | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Outstanding Feature Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Impolite | Won | |
| 1997 | Outstanding TV Drama Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Millennium | Won | |
| 1996 | Outstanding TV Drama Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Millennium | Won | |
| 1998 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Regular Series | American Society of Cinematographers | Millennium,"The Thin White Line" | Nominated | |
| 1999 | Outstanding TV Drama Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Millennium | Won | |
| 1999 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Regular Series | American Society of Cinematographers | Millennium,"Skull and Bones" | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Outstanding TV Drama Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | The Lone Gunmen | Won | |
| 2000 | Outstanding TV Drama Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | High Noon | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Outstanding Feature Film Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Final Destination | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Regular Series | American Society of Cinematographers | Millennium,"Matryoshka" | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in a Movie of the Week, Miniseries or Pilot (Basic or Pay) | American Society of Cinematographers | High Noon | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Outstanding Feature Film Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Willard | Won | |
| 2013 | Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series | Emmy Awards | Game of Thrones,"Mhysa" | Nominated | |
| 2015 | TV series Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Game of Thrones,"Oathkeeper" | Nominated | |
| 2015 | TV series Cinematography | Canadian Society of Cinematographers | Ray Donovan,"The Captain" | Nominated | |
| 2015 | Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series | Emmy Awards | Game of Thrones,"The Dance of Dragons" | Nominated |
Partial filmography
editFilm
editTelevision
edit| Year | Series |
|---|---|
| 1988 | The Beachcombers |
| 1991 | MacGyver |
| 1992 | The Odyssey |
| 1993 | Cobra |
| 1993 | The Commish |
| 1995 | Strange Luck |
| 1996 | Millennium |
| 2001 | The Lone Gunmen |
| 2002 | Pasadena |
| 2003 | Out of Order |
| 2003 | Tarzan |
| 2003 | Tru Calling |
| 2007 | Bionic Woman |
| 2009 | Harper's Island |
| 2011 | Human Target |
| 2011 | The Secret Circle |
| 2013 | King & Maxwell |
| 2013 | Game of Thrones |
| 2014 | Ray Donovan |
| 2016 | Westworld |
| 2019 | Batwoman |
| 2022 | 1923 |
Notes
edit- ^ab"From Greenpeace Gigs to Ray Donovan".American Society of Cinematographers.March 4, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015.
- ^ab"The ASC – American Cinematographer: ASC Close-Up".American Society of Cinematographers.June 2008.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
- ^abMcLean et al. 2012,p. 398.
- ^McLean et al. 2012,p. 402.
- ^abcdef"The ASC – Past ASC Awards".American Society of Cinematographers.Archived fromthe originalon November 12, 2010.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
- ^McLean et al. 2012,p. 356.
- ^McLean et al. 2012,pp. 401–403.
- ^DeMara, Bruce (April 5, 2014)."Game of Thrones stressful but inspiring for Robert McLachlan".Toronto Star.RetrievedJanuary 25,2015.
- ^Giardina, Carolyn (June 11, 2015)."Emmys: How to Re-Create 13th Century China".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015.
- ^abcdefghijklm"Robert McLachlan – Credits and Awards"(PDF).Robert McLachlan.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
- ^ab"Nominees/Winners".Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.RetrievedMarch 2,2014.
- ^ab"Nominees/Winners | Television Academy".Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.RetrievedSeptember 21,2015.
- ^abc"CSC Awards 2015".Canadian Society of Cinematographers.Archived fromthe originalon April 8, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 8,2015.
References
edit- McLean, James; Henriksen, Lance; Spotnitz, Frank; Carter, Chris (2012). Chamberlain, Adam; Dixon, Brian A. (eds.).Back to Frank Black.Fourth Horseman Press.ISBN978-0988392298.