Name: Anthony Carpendale
Age: 36
Star sign: Scorpio
Home town: London
Currently based: Hove/Brighton.
Occupation:
Freelance film-maker (camera operation, direction, editing, post production).
How do you get your name out there?
Social networking, video hosting sites, blogs, screening events, and some new projects will hopefully gain some word of mouth.
Have you been busy?
I (recently) took a two-year hiatus when my girlfriend was diagnosed with kidney failure. I tried to keep working, but soon secondary conditions became too complicated and I performed her dialysis every day for a year. We’re aiming to be super-busy from now on.
Current assignments:
I’m finishing off some projects from years ago, including comedy-horror music videos for unsung geniuses Dissolved and Thumpermonkey Lives! Otherwise I’m focusing on new plans, including an anthology horror feature I’m currently writing.
Alongside those projects I’ll be experimenting with collective film-making, some of which will also be anthologies. I’m also working on a documentary with my girlfriend Helen about organ transplantation and donorship. I donated a kidney to her just shy of a year ago and the whole experience showed us the potential for a documentary.
Shooting where?
UK this year. I would love to shoot in Japan, as it’s an amazing-looking place. I made an overloaded short out of the random footage I took six years ago, but wish I’d shot a feature.
What types of productions have you mostly shot?
Mostly short films, music videos, performance films, gigs and show reels. The films I’m not embarrassed about are on my webpage.
You say you deal with ‘the micro budget guerrilla side of things’. Tell us more!
I’ve always liked to improvise and shoot hand-held on the fly, capturing whatever looks most interesting in a location (often without permits) or a performance without being restricted by highly scheduled shooting scripts. Shooting micro budget means crews are tiny or non-existent. It can be exhausting due to having to take on multiple roles including post, but creativity and energy can be at the forefront.
What was your first ever shooting job?
Dole Scum, a short film I made without a crew in 1999, shot on a temperamental clockwork Bolex 16mm camera that I had no real clue how to use. The script was based on a very funny UK underground comic strip, and I managed to dupe the Prince’s Trust into giving me funding by convincing them that the film was a worthy bit of social realism, when in reality it was a stoner comedy about unemployed slackers. It looks ropey now, but was fun to make.
Most recent, interesting assignments?
I’ve been shooting French street artists Generik Vapeur, who drive around on giant cameras and hang full-size cars from a steel washing line with giant pegs. I also made three improvised short films in 48 hours as part of a local film challenge. It proved how easy it is to shoot my style on a DSLR.
Current equipment you use? What editing systems do you use?
I am currently shooting a lot with the Canon 550D due to its versatility, lightness and lens options. Ideally I’m looking to get the 5d Mk II or 7d as soon as possible. It’s fantastic that you can now get beautiful results on such low-cost cameras. That said, I do miss the ruggedness of the camcorders I used to shoot with, such as the Sony PD150 and the Canon XM1. You could toss those things around and shoot in the crappiest weather conditions and they’d still keep going.
Other gear you have access to?
Old 16mm film cams such as Bolex and the Russian Krasnogorsk, various Super 8, Canon HV30, and a Fisher Price Pixelvision PXL200 toy camera, which generates soupy, grainy black-and-white visuals recorded onto cassette tape.
Equipment “wish list”?
RED cam primarily, in whatever version I can get my hands on, with a nice set of primes.
What piece of gear do you wish someone might make?
I’m all for miniaturization and objects that can morph into something else, so some kind of Steadicam/Slider /tripod combo that you could fold up and stuff into a back-pack would be nice. I am looking forward to the day when affordable DSLRs can shoot at 4K or higher resolution, on memory cards that can hold 24 hours of footage (I like to film continuously.
Best thing about your job?
Just the ability to be creative and work with interesting, like-minded people.
Contact details:
T: 011 44 (0)7837 886094
W: www.vimeo.com/antcarpendale
