鈥淚 wanted to create striking visuals鈥︹�� reminisces 88 year-old Oscar-winning cinematographer, Billy Williams, famed for his work on the Ken Russell classic, Women in Love. Keeping a 200-strong audience captivated, the Walthamstow-born cinematographer went on to frame his various successes and challenges in a scintillating talk that encompassed a career of more than four decades.
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Presented with a choice of heading into the city and working for his uncle as an 鈥渙ffice boy鈥�, or the ever more glamourous option of travelling around the country with his father as a cinematographer鈥檚 apprentice, Billy chose the latter and quickly learned his trade shooting documentary features in the middle-east, in areas of Iraq like Mosul, where he filmed 鈥渋ncredible archaeology, now sadly destroyed.鈥�
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This work then led to a fortuitous meeting with infamous producer Harry Saltzman, who teamed Billy up with flamboyant director Ken Russell after viewing some of his work on Tony Richardson鈥檚 Red and Blue, exclaiming 鈥淟et鈥檚 give this kid a break!鈥�
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From the flickering amber firelight that surrounds Oliver Reed and Alan Bates as they do battle in the nude, to the azure, English countryside providing the backdrop for lovers Tibby and Laura whose fate is sealed as the sun fades, Billy鈥檚 unusual use of filters throughout day and night scenes won him acclaim against his contemporaries, who found this unique technique and use of colour powerful and suited to Russell鈥檚 exuberant style.
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Billy also recounts that there were also moments of difficulty in many of his productions; from making 鈥淥liver Reed jump into the river three times鈥� to 鈥渆xamining the face of a working coal mine with Russell鈥�. In remembering his work with the femme fatales of Hollywood, Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor, Billy recalled Hepburn鈥檚 tenacity and desire to wind-up new directors with extraordinary rages and tantrums 鈥渦sing language that would make a Sergeant Major blush鈥�, and unfaltering professionalism from Elizabeth Taylor, whose first take was 鈥渁lways perfect鈥�.
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Billy鈥檚 talk ended with a Q&A from the audience, who asked what it was like to work on Oscar-adorned Gandhi, which he explained was 鈥渁 rewarding film to work on鈥�, though he became ill as the film went to production, leading to his shared Academy Award. Billy continued to explain his desire to keep working 鈥渋n film schools and talking to students鈥t鈥檚 very rewarding and keeps me in touch with what is going on, by being on-set and doing workshops.鈥�
In examining the future difficulties facing would-be cinematographers, he said: 鈥淭he trouble is, everybody seems to have an opinion. People passing by, walking on set鈥� In my mind, it鈥檚 the cinematographer and the director. These two must work together alone at this point to create the film.鈥�
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An exhibition of photography by 蜜桃AV MA Cinematography for Film and Television students is also on display in the Lees Lecture Theatre lobby, on Talbot Campus. The SHOT17 exhibition represents the culmination of ten photographic briefs given to students as part of formative non-assessed assignments.
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The exhibition is free to attend and open to all, Monday - Saturday, 9am - 6pm, until Friday 14 July.
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