As a filmmaker, André Turpin offered us A cancer in the head and endorphin. As a cameraman, he duplicated ads (more than 500), worked with Louise Archambault (Atomic Sake, family), Philippe Falardeau (CongoramHas, It’s not me, I swear!) and Denis Villeneuve (A 32 August on terre, So-called, Fires).
For 10 years he has been collaborating with Xavier Dolan on all his projects. A professional love at first sight, born at Tom’s farm and continued at Mommy, Only the End of the World, My Life with John F. Donovan, Matthias and Maxime. All the actors say so, the couple is nice to see working behind the camera. Because the cinematographer plays a key role in bringing the director’s intentions and the actors’ emotions to life, reflecting a reality beyond words. The duo outdo each other again in The Night Laurier Gaudreault Woke Up.
As you work on the image of a project, how do you read a script?
I must confess that I am a slow reader. But my first reading is a bit amateurish. I read the story like a novel, completely detached from the image concept. I want to understand the quest, the philosophy. When the casting is done, I put faces. I love what Xavier does. I am attached to his work, to its development. The time we talk to each other the most is in the van, when we’re exploring, visiting places, doing tech visits. We talk a lot during the day. That’s the moment I get inside his head, trying to understand his vision.
Photo agency QMI, Jocelyn Malette
Andre Turpin
How do you and Xavier discuss the visual bill?
We can try to put into words the texture we want, but that means nothing. Saturated, soft, silky, raw, we need common visual references. Xavier creates a “look book”. It’s both intense and impressive. It can be 200 pages and it’s all in there. He is a great lover of art and photography. Everything is categorized by sections. The director is the god of aesthetics. Xavier always has a clear idea. The scenery, the costumes, that feeds me a lot. But the most important thing happens when setting up the scenes. We do two days of testing with the actors in the real sets. Here we work on the light, the focal length, the distance, the close-ups.
Everyone who saw it mummy keeps the square image. What did you allow yourself to experience for the series?
We shot in Super 16 instead of 35mm. A too sunny day gets some sweetness with the 16mm. It makes everything sparkle. Xavier was right. I think it’s the first time he’s filmed a gory scene (when he throws up). For the scene of his fall, we designed a special rig to rotate the camera like a turnstile in a playpen. In the final hospital sequence, in the corridor, the epochs overlap. This is also brand new. He fought for the elements of nature. Creating the advent of wind, rain, lightning is very expensive. It’s pure Xavier, very Shakespearean.
Xavier never minimizes the image’s power to convey emotion.
That’s what I appreciate about his cinema and what we find in Laurier. Most TV movies are based on dialogue. This is the easiest tool to advance the story. Music is the simplest means of conveying emotions. Xavier does not limit himself. He invests a lot in form. It touches not only the emotions of the actors, but also the cinematography, the technique, the montage. It’s very complete.
Xavier’s works often show exhausted, injured people. How do you manage to enlarge them?
I am an interpreter. Xavier is the actual cinematographer of the film. The main question is the point of view. Are you standing 5 feet from the actor with a 32mm lens or 20 feet with an 80mm lens? It changes the shape of your face. The angle has a psychological effect. Film crushed from above, allowed to grow from below. There is the photogenic nature of the actors. Lighting can tear someone down, make them more vulnerable. We first illuminate a scene, a mood, a time, an atmosphere, then a face. We adapt to the actors. Then there are the special effects, the makeup. Anne Dorval’s character is laid down differently when she is 20 years younger than when she is on her deathbed.
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