|
Ed Slattery, the
Director of Photography,
on the set of MANNA FROM HEAVEN.
Photo courtesy of Ojeda Films.
|
Though still in the shadow
of Los Angeles and New York, the Boston film scene
has been coming on strong in the past decade. Among
the filmmakers on the path to recognition is cinematographer
Ed Slattery, who has expanded his useful love of spaghetti
westerns to a real life career behind the camera.
Among Ed's experience as director
of photography include two feature films, numerous
documentaries, shorts, commercials, news, three years
as staff DP at Multivision, and co-producer of a series
of pilots for the Carrie White Show.
Shortly after leaving a postgraduate
pre-med program at Columbia University, Ed found himself
managing the Rear Window for David Kleiler, now head
of Local Sightings and the Boston Underground Film
Festival. According to David, "Ed has as much knowledge
about the art of cinematography as anyone I know."
Ed continues to assist David in programming for the
Boston Underground and Woods Hole Film Festivals.
I asked Ed about his work
as a cameraman, where he got his start, what he has
done lately, and where he hopes to go.
"My career has come a long
way since the Fall of 1988 when I worked as a camera
PA on 'Big Time,'" a feature directed by Jan Egelson
whose "Blue Diner" recently premiered at the New England
Film Festival. Watching cinematographer Paul Goldsmith
was inspirational, as was the helpful instruction
from 1st AC Jonathan Burkhart. They both made time
for my questions." (Burkhart later went on to found
the Nantucket Film Festival.)
Ed recently attended the premier
at SXSW Film Festival of a 35mm feature he shot in
Buffalo, NY last year called MANNA FROM HEAVEN. MANNA,
produced by Five Sisters Productions had an impressive
cast including Cloris Leachman, Shirley Jones, Louise
Fletcher (each an Oscar recipient), Wendy Malik, Frank
Gorshin, Shelly Duvall, Seymour Cassel, Jill Eikenberry
and Austin Pendelton. The film was enthusiastically
received by sold out audiences in Austin, TX.
|
The opening scene
from
MANNA FROM HEAVEN.
Photo courtesy of Ojeda Films.
|
What is next for Ed? He says
he wants to reach a point in his career where he can
focus solely on projects that are meaningful to him.
"My preference would be to do documentaries that get
to the core of an issue, dramatic films that plumb
the depth of the soul, or comedies that make one squeal
with laughter." His ideal project would "involve being
part of a creative team, with a brilliant script or
subject, a talented producer and director, a great
crew, an amazing cast or, if a documentary, compelling
subject. If I had these elements I'd be happy working
anywhere and the money would be secondary."
Will Lyman, for one, has no
doubt that Ed has the capabilities to achieve all
of his dreams in film. In 1996 Will directed LEAVING
THE POST, a black and white short that Ed shot. "Ed's
one of the sharpest guys I know," says Lyman, "he's
got all the figures and formulas in his head. He's
fascinated by what's in the frame, it's a living,
breathing space for him. He thinks of all kinds of
things I'd never thought of. When Ed shot the first
film I'd directed, I had an award winning director
friend from Canada, George Milhalka, who sat me down
after the film and told me that Ed could be one of
the great ones. I strongly agree." The statement is
a resounding echo when talking to any of the people
who have worked with Ed as he moves forward in his
career.
I also spoke with Chris Lenge
out in LA. Chris worked with Ed as director of "Visions
of LALA" in 1993 and as producer on LEAVING THE POST
in 1996. Lenge says he "is always in awe of Ed's ability
to collaborate and understand the bigger picture as
far as how something is going to visually convey in
a shot and how it is going to tell a story. He goes
above and beyond in the story, in everything through
the staging of the camera and how it helps with narrative
structure, mood, tempo, lighting and everything that
gives the director the feel he is seeking."
I asked Ed what he thinks
are the most important attributes of a cinematographer.
"One of the most important factors in great cinematography
is a close collaboration between the director and
the director of photography. The DP must have the
aesthetic and technical skills to do the job as well
as managerial and diplomatic skills to work with a
crew and cast. The DP must have an eye for composition,
light and shadow, color, movement, and knowledge of
the editors' needs in cutting it all together. Ultimately,
the producers and directors are counting on the DP
to not only make the film look good, but to make it
look right."
Although Ed prefers doing
feature film and documentaries, he still does a wide
spectrum of production to pay the bills. In the past
month he shot a piece for Discovery on guide horses
for the blind, part of a documentary in New Orleans,
and produced a project for Glaxo. He is getting ready
to leave for a stint in North Carolina to shoot commercials.
Locally, for the past three years, Ed and co-producer
Fay Dearborn have been working on a kids' educational
video focusing on the Big Dig. The video features
all major elements of construction especially the
workers and machines. Bob Pemberton and Dan McNichol
will host this series of 30-minute videos. Slattery
hopes it will be the definitive video for kids on
the Big Dig.
Liz
Clark is originally from Pittsburgh, PA and now lives
in Jamaica Plain. She is currently a student a Northeastern
University where she is pursuing a Master's Degree
in Journalism. She can be reached at clidie88@aol.com
