Catching up with Cinematographer, Ari Wegner ACS
It was an honour speaking with Cinematographer, Ari Wegner ACS, after she made history at the BSC award ceremony recently. She is the first woman ever to receive a BSC award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film for her stunning work on The Power of Dogs, directed by Jane Campion (and it was about time!). Read on to get to know and feel empowered.
Fran: So lovely to meet you at the BSC event.
Ari: You too.
Fran: Is LA Home?
Ari: No, I live in Melbourne usually. I’m just on the road for the awards but I never shoot in Melbourne anyway so. Melbourne is just where I am between jobs.
Fran: Congrats for the win! It’s an award for your cinematography but as you said in your speech, there’s obviously more behind that. How does it feel now that it’s been a week and bit after the ceremony?
Ari: Thanks, yes, it still feels very special when you zoom out and look at the whole history of cinematography and how it’s really been a bleak desert for women being recognised. In the past five years or so we’re finally starting to see the recognition being in line with the many women that are actually out there doing great work. So as much as it is easy to be demoralised by the past, I’m actually really excited about the change I see. It can feel slow, but if you look at the whole history of cinematography it’s finally happening.
Fran: I think that presently there is a sort of universal understanding and approach; our attitude has changed, are we being more inclusive? Do you think the industry is making changes?
Ari: I do. I know the change feels slow but what has changed is people’s mindset and a hunger for filmmaking in general, even over everything - journalism, music - suddenly there’s a kind of realisation that women make up half the population of the world and that it makes absolutely no sense that the stories and the voices we hear loudest shouldn’t reflect that, and it’s no surprise to me, that films that get made by women, really connect with people, as of course half of the audience of the world are women.
Fran: Yes, I feel it’s obvious for us, but it should have been obvious to all a long time ago. How was it working with Jane Campion ?
Ari: Jane is such a special person. The opportunity to work with her and get to see her work is a dream come true. Being actively engaged in that process and help Jane give birth to this ‘kind of baby’ that they are nurturing. You are nurturing something together and what you are left with, is something that hopefully will outlive all of us. It’s a film that can be enjoyed and watched over and over again and once you have done that work, it just exists in the world… It’s great.
Fran: Obviously it depends on the person, I don’t think there would be but is there a difference working with a woman rather than a man? (we don’t get many women directors at that level…)
Ari: Yes, in my personal experience, Directors are all so different, which is also what I love about working with different Directors. They are all so diverse and those differences come from basically everything you’ve experienced up until the point that you meet someone. And that is what makes them who they are, and gender is a part of that, because those experiences you’ve had throughout your life are either in subtle or less subtle ways have shaped you, influenced or nudged by once over the totality of it all. There’s nothing I can grip onto to say that: this is what it’s like to work with a male director and this is what it’s like to work with a female director. There are so many differences between individuals that gender’s just one part of thousands of factors.
Fran: How do you feel as a cinematographer after working on this particular feature film, do you think you’ve grown? What do you take away from it?
Ari: You learn so much on every project, that’s also what I love about my job. No project is ever the same, no story is ever the same, it’s different challenges, not even ever two shots are the same. One thing I really experienced that I hadn’t experienced before, was the power of pre-production and I did have a gut feeling that this would be the case, that if a director and I would have had adequate time together before we shoot, we could get to another level of craft and that changes the experience on set because you’re so prepared. I had an inkling that would be the case, but actually experiencing it it’s very much true and also seeing how that changes the energy and the dynamic on set and how it even changes what you could do with other departments as well, where everything really fits into place. So when it comes to shooting, you’re not just shooting you’re first idea but you’re shooting what the best is. That’s a really great place to be in, when ideas start flowing, and with someone like Jane, who sets up an amazing environment where if you have an idea you just say it and there is no chance that you’ll be shamed, laughed at or put down.
Fran: Was there a particular scene that was challenging from a technical point of view ?
Ari: Every scene has its challenges. A pretty tricky one was towards the end of the film, when Peter tells Phil that he has got some hides that he wants to give to Phil and the camera spins around them. We needed two close ups of two of the lead actors but you’re seeing 360 degrees of the set and it’s a really charged emotional, delicate scene between two great actors and a great director, so you need to create a way to light where both faces look great from both sides without seeing any gear and do it in a way where you’re not going to be between every take tweaking something or asking an actor ‘oh can you lean back a touch’. I’m very guilty of tweaking between takes, but there are some scenes where I know the minute I try and make a change, I know is not worth doing for the interruption it would cause for the actors and director. I was lighting from above (with a Steadicam) and I ended up being on the aperture pull, the focus puller was pulling focus and I was pulling the aperture so that on the dark side that we got to, I could open up a bit and stop down and that’s the solution we came up with. I’m always very careful about protecting highlights, so that’s one of my non-negotiable things. I always protect two things: one is my director, the other one is my highlights haha.
Fran: I know you’re quite outspoken about the challenges of childcare in the industry, how do you think being a parent in the industry will evolve ? You don’t always see women HODs at your level who are also parents. What are your views on this?
Ari: First we have to start talking about it because for the longest time it’s almost been taboo to talk about your life outside of the film set. I felt the change in the last five years or so, more women and men talking about their families on set. I’m not a parent myself but it’s something I really do want to be in the future, and if I’m honest, I have in many ways delayed starting a family out of fear that it could impact my career and when I say that out loud, it feels really dark, there’s something wrong about that, but that is the truth. If we want a more diverse film industry and we want more diversity, across all departments, we can’t do that if anyone who has kids is pushed out, because that is also such a huge part of the population or the people who do have kids and manage to stay in the film industry are silently suffering and then that stress goes over to their family or themselves or partners or their kids. It’s not sustainable.
Fran: Any advice to give to people out there starting out or wanting to become a Cinematographer ?
Ari: Honestly when I was starting out , it never occurred to me that I couldn’t do it. I had a belief that it would be possible and I think you really do have to believe it’s possible in order to do it, and believe and trust in yourself first. I just really loved cinematography and wanted to do it. I’d say believe that it’s possible. If I trace back to a lot of the great opportunities that have come my way, they really do trace back to this group of people that came together - for me it was in Melbourne, in Australia, around my late teens, early 20s during my time at film school, but this can happen whether you’re at film school or not - it’s a group of people that come together that all love filmmaking, some are into camera, some are into directing, some are great at props, some want to produce. And when you can find people that are at your stage, those people are going to become your colleagues for life and of course mentors are amazing and we all know that, and there’s plenty of wisdom that can come from mentors but there’s also something amazing to just do it with a bunch of people that are at your level and you can learn by failing or take risks when almost no one is watching, that is the most fun bit. There’s a camaraderie where everyone helps each other, it snowballs, it’s super fun. Looking back, I couldn’t even appreciate it at the time how great that period was, it’s so pure. Just a group of friends working on a project. I’d say find people who are at your stage, support them, and let them support you, build an ecosystem and watch it blossom.
Fran: That’s very well put and a beautiful way to end.
Photo courtesy of Aaron George
