Award-winning cinematographer Michael Ferris will talk about his trade to local women filmmakers.
By Paul Sisolak / Special to The Malibu Times
Michael Ferris trained his eye under the tutelage of auteurs like Orson Welles and John Cassavetes, but says he owes so much of his craft to women in Hollywood who work behind the camera.
“I’ve always known women in film, and always had an interaction with them,” he said. “I wanted to talk about some of the really standout women I’ve worked with over the years.”
An award-winning cinematographer and Malibu resident, he’ll appear this Friday as a guest speaker at the next networking breakfast for the Los Angeles chapter of Women in Film (WIF), where Ferris, whose career spans more than 40 years, will share his experiences in the film industry and the people who’ve helped shape his art as one of the most sought after cameramen in the business for some of cinema’s most famous and beloved movies.
Ferris, like so many stalwart Hollywood legends, had a deep love for movies as a child, but didn’t pursue filmmaking as a career straight away. Born into a Naval family, the California native spent some time in the Air Force and completed degrees in psychology and literature, even working for a brief stint on Wall Street.
In the late 1950s, during his time as a captain in the military, Ferris had acquired his first camera, furthering his love for photography and capturing images to film.
By the time he chose to dedicate himself to the movie business, Ferris was originally contracted as a stuntman, but realized that filming the action, rather than acting it, was his true calling.
“When I had my first experiences on the set, it took me about 30 seconds to realize that being behind the camera was it,” he said.
His first big break came in 1971 as an assistant cameraman for “The Other Side of the Wind,” Welles’ final, full-length directorial feature.
“Orson made me realize the humanity of celebrity,” Ferris said. “His talent and his daring made him someone unusual and unique.”
The following year, Ferris began a four-film association with the legendary John Cassavetes, a period which helped influence the veteran lens man to become what he is today.
“He [Cassavetes] was the founding moment in my career,” Ferris remembers. “He did so much for me in such a short period of time, but he was such a unique person. It’s who he was, his outlook, his film sensibility and the fact that he gave me opportunity. He has a very special place in my heart. His films are unique and human and rich. If they touch you, they touch you like nobody else.”
From the start, Ferris realized that bringing to life those sensibilities on film required precision and skill as a technician. The Cassavetes period, which included “A Woman Under the Influence,” “Mikey and Nicky,” “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” and “Opening Night,” was where Ferris learned to perfect the art of cinematography-that what takes place in front of the camera means nothing if the artists behind the camera are not masters of their trade.
“You have to learn to see through a rectangle,” Ferris explained. “What you’re doing is selecting. You’ve got to narrow the information down and connect all those thoughts and manipulate the minds of the audience.”
Ferris’ foray into stunt work has also aided him as cameraman on movies for the second unit, an auxiliary film crew responsible for shooting location footage and dangerous action scenes. A look into Ferris’ filmography makes apparent that some of the most famous scenes in movie history ingrained on the public consciousness were all his: the dive-bombing, pre-Top Gun fighter jets of “Blue Thunder,” the high-octane action of “Die Hard,” a time-traveling DeLorean in the two “Back to the Future” sequels and underwater sequences in “Never Say Never Again,” Sean Connery’s return to the James Bond role.
Throughout the years, Ferris has had the opportunity to work with the likes of Clint Eastwood, Brian DePalma, John McTiernan, Richard Donner, Ricou Browning and others.
He was also given this year the Society of Camera Operators’ prestigious lifetime achievement award.
But he said that women working in film, particularly those who choose a career on the production end, have taught him some of the most valuable lessons in filmmaking in what is wrongly perceived as a male-dominated industry.
“I think what we’re talking about are the numbers,” he said. “The perception is that it’s so male dominated, but that’s not true.”
Ferris credits his friendship with camera operator Catherine Coulson as one example, also a Cassavetes protege.
“She was a unique woman in that she was personable and had a good sense of humor, and smart, and very capable,” he said.
Another, he said, is Kathleen Reilly, a second assistant director on some of Ferris’ earlier films.
“Once we became friends and she saw my level of ability as a cameraman, she recommended me to people,” he said.
The demands of the technical end of filmmaking, Ferris said, can be hard work on both men and women. Reilly, he said, was forced to retire on disability from health problems developed from years of carrying heavy cameras and cases.
“What we do is physical,” he said. “There’s no way around those limitations.”
The industry has placed so many more competitive demands on cameramen and women, he said, in regard to the level of visual detail that modern audiences demand today as opposed to years ago.
“Today’s eye is much more sophisticated,” Ferris said. “As audiences become more sophisticated, you have to respond to that.”
Still, Ferris said that at his WIF appearance on Friday, he hopes to encourage women, and men, of any age or generation to pursue their dreams, in film, or any industry, with a philosophy that can apply to anyone.
“At some point, I decided I wanted to be the best doggone assistant cameraman,” Ferris says. “It’s all attitude. If you want something, you go after it, and you get it. It’s got to be the desire you really have.”
The WIF breakfast, 8 a.m. Friday, June 10, will take place at the Malibu Chart House restaurant, 18412 Pacific Coast Highway. Admission is $15 for WIF members, $20 for nonmembers. More information can be obtained by calling Candace Bowen at 310.457.8664, or emailing Candace@malibuonline.com