Haris Zambarloukos was born on 11 March 1970 in Nicosia, Cyprus. He graduated from school in 1988. He spent one year in the army, as there is conscription in Cyprus. He obtained a BA in Fine Art from the central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design in London. In 1997 he obtained a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in cinematography from the American Film Institute. His mentor was the late cinematographer Conrad L. Hall (1926–2003). He worked with Hall as a camera intern on A Civil Action (1998). Zambarloukos went on to shoot documentaries, shorts, and commercials in Europe and Central America before becoming DP on his first feature.
How did you get involved with films?
Well, my interest wasn’t really cinema, it was art and music. I was good at science and maths and I came from a family of engineers. I went to do an art course, thinking I would go into fine art or architecture. I discovered cinema while I was on my course. I decided that is what I wanted to do. I felt then I wanted to become a cinematographer. I do believe the English Foundation course is fantastic to take, giving you a year to try a few things and see if you have artistic inclinations and know where to go.
Why did you decide cinematography was for you?
I think I always liked sequential art and I liked photography a lot. For me photography was part of fine art, I didn’t see a difference between photography and painting. Film and cinematography came to replace that. On the foundation course they insisted we see fine art films. I saw many expressionist films including the work of Stan Brakhage [1933–2003] and slowly evolved from a fine art film approach to a narrative film approach.
How long did you study cinematography?
I did a hybrid of school and a kind of apprenticeship. I worked in the summer while I was studying. I did a postgraduate course. In total I spent seven years at film school.
What was your first day as a DP like on features?
It was nerve wracking. I was grateful it was a director I knew and a producer that I knew well. There were people I studied with so we were, in a way initiated together and we thought this is the beginning of something; are we truly ready for it. I must say I loved my first film Camera Obscura (2000) and watch it every couple of years or so. I don’t know how we pulled it off. Probably being that scared and wanting to do something worthwhile and not let ourselves and other people down was probably the driving force.
Did you ever pull focus?
Yes, I did, but it was very limited. I have to say I wasn’t very good at it. It’s a very strict discipline. I would say it’s one of the hardest jobs in the film industry and undervalued. You really need to dedicate yourself to be a good focus puller, let alone a great one. A great focus puller is an artist and a supreme technician. It is a misunderstood and undervalued skill.
What was it like working on Mamma Mia!?
It was a very enjoyable film. Musicals are complex in themselves. I think a musical like Mamma Mia! (2008) was more complex because nothing was in sequence or in order, because part of it was shot in a studio in the UK, another part was shot on one island in Greece, then we would jump to the next shot and we are on another island. There were months apart between shots that are only seconds apart on the screen. The most difficult thing for me on the film was a sense of continuity. You really had to be aware of everything you did and have a good memory of it. Good note taking was essential and everything was very well rehearsed, so we all knew what we were doing.
What would you say was your biggest challenge so far?
A challenge is to choose material you are excited about. Never think it is easy. The biggest challenge is to find a challenge.
I see you have worked with actor/director Kenneth Branagh [1960– ] four times—did he ask you to work with him again after your first collaboration?
He asked me to work with him again. I love working with Ken; I would drop anything to work with him again. He’s a great director and a wonderful man but I think as a cinematographer you have to accept each film is a unique experience and you shouldn’t expect a director to ask you back.
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Haris Zambaloukos with Helen Mirren on the set of Eye in the Sky (2015), directed by Gavin Hood. Courtesy of Mark Martin
What do you think of digital cinematography compared to film?
I have only shot two films digitally, Locke (2013) and Eye in the Sky (2015), so my experience is a lot more on film. Digital is the camera system we have to use but it’s hard to let go of something I grew up with. I would say it’s not just a tool, but also a voice. However much I enjoy working digitally it doesn’t compare to film in result or methodology of shooting for me.
Do you see film disappearing soon?
It won’t disappear straight away; it has a purpose and a place. It is still better than digital, however inconvenient it is at the moment. However there is a lot of convenience to digital, it gives you a choice in a look. I have to say this, without being negative that you have to be good enough to shoot film.
What is a digital intermediate?
A digital intermediate is a process we have been using for the last ten years. A film is transferred to a digital format for the colour grading process. Prior to that the finishing of a film was photochemical. In a photochemical finish you have a contact printer and you are working with primary and secondary colours in grading a film. A digital intermediate is more akin to Photoshop. Your negative is scanned or data files from a digital camera are uploaded to a readable file where you apply a correction frame by frame, as opposed to shot by shot. As DIs progressed you could not only affect it frame by frame but you can change areas within a frame, for example, we can do things which you couldn’t do photochemically because that was overall correction. You could make it a little bit darker, brighter and make it for example redder, but that affected the entire frame. A digital intermediate allows you to be specific within a frame.
Have you a favourite piece of kit you use on the set?
I have to say I don’t. Every shot is so varied. I change my methodology according to the film and the script required. So I treat every film as if I’d never shot a film before and I test what I think is appropriate.
When there was a choice of film stocks did you have a favourite?
I have shot most of my films on Kodak stock. I would say that most cinematographers would say that they would use the fastest stock that was available up to that date. We got to a point where we hit 500 ASA and it never really got any higher, though there was a Kodak stock called eighty nine, which was 800 ASA. The goal of most of the films I have done was to get a realistic colour reproduction with the lowest amount of light. I would say 5219 from Kodak is a very naturalistic fast colour stock. Fuji, which we can’t get now made some fantastic stocks. Agfa was another I loved and they all looked different. There would be different effects within the same make. There were some films that required something special, but I would say that ninety percent of the time we were all looking for the fastest film stock we could get that had the most naturalistic colours and skin tones, because the heart of every film is the human face.
Have you considered directing?
No, I love being a cinematographer; I have no ambition to direct. I have been really lucky; I have enjoyed every film I have made. I feel very privileged to have worked with a director more than once and enjoy it because it does get easier and better the more times you work with someone. You feel like the filmmaking is shared.
Do you prefer studio, location, or both equally?
Both equally. Each has its frustrations and things that make your job easier. Most films are a combination of both and you have to choose appropriately. That’s a really big choice and an important one and often one that is asked of the cinematographer for a particular scene. I think it’s one you have to pay attention to. If you make mistakes there you could really compromise both your work and most importantly the directors’ and actors’ work.
Do you feel creativity suffers because of long hours worked?
Yes, long hours don’t work. I have not been on any films that have had long hours. In the UK we work a ten-hour continuous day without a lunch break, fitting food in when we can. It’s fantastic because you go home early. For the cinematographer in particular and for most crewmembers it’s not just a day of shooting. There are always things to discuss before and after shooting. So for me the ten-hour continuous day is by far the best.
Have you a favourite location in the world?
I would say South Africa would be one of the top ones. Greece is another—I felt like I was working at home.
What was the hardest shot/thing you have ever had to frame and light?
It’s not the complexity of the shot, it is that responsibility of feeling like a particular performance is crucial to a film and it could be the simplest close up and you feel you have got to get it right. I get it on every film. It’s not the planned ones; it’s the simplest close up of a protagonist at a vulnerable moment. You feel as a cinematographer it’s your responsibility to make sure that every take and every second and every frame of every take is not just useable but as poetic as you can make it.
Would you name some of your favourite films you have worked on?
There would be Camera Obscura for sure because it was my first feature and it was very unapologetic in the way it was made. There is something about being unapologetic, just doing something because you truly feel that’s the way it should be made and that’s the story to be told. Another is Enduring Love (2004), probably because it was the first film with a great director, Roger Mitchell [1956– ]. There was also complex human psychology in the story telling. On Venus (2006) I was in awe of the actors—feeling that as a cinematographer you had a responsibility to be in that league. I realised you need a maturity equivalent to the actors you were photographing. I have loved all the films I have made with Ken Branagh, but Cinderella (2015) was such a responsibility. We really wanted to do something special and I doubt we have but we all tried our absolute best. The thing I learned from Cinderella is, “No matter what, try your best.”
Do you advise directors on set-ups if they are not technically minded?
I think the more technically minded they are the more you advise them because you are getting into the finer details. Again, I think some people may have different experiences. I have worked with directors who do love cinematography. It’s great because if you do say, I think it should be like that, they actually know what you are talking about and they give you an immediate yes or no, great get on with it, fantastic idea, thank you. There is no, “I haven’t got a clue what you are talking about.”
Do you sometimes operate as well as being the DP?
I mostly have a camera operator and I prefer that. I do operate as well. I almost always have to operate on commercials. On a feature I am always given a choice and I will always take on an operator. To be an operator and cinematographer at the same time is too much work in a day. Most importantly I have never really done a film that has single camera. There are two cameras running on every scene all the time. If you are to be a responsible cinematographer you have to look at both angles, but you can only look at one if you are operating one camera. So somewhere you would drop the ball whether it’s composition or lighting on the camera you’re not operating. In order to be precise about everything it’s best to leave the operating to someone else. However, I did do some operating on Eye in the Sky.
Do you find it easy to adapt to each director’s way of working?
I think that is one of the most important things you have to do as a cinematographer. I find the way to do it is to take my time in preparation. I don’t think it’s an easy thing and if you underestimate it I think you could get yourself in trouble. It’s probably one of the hardest things to do as a cinematographer to adapt to each director’s methodology.
Do you have any industry heroes?
The late American cinematographer Conrad L. Hall is my hero. I was fortunate enough to be his intern. I’ve always loved his approach to cinematography and his humanity—he was a wonderful human being who inspired me very much.
Do you have any hobbies?
My main hobby is surfing. I spend a lot of my time on the coast when I am not working. I also enjoy music.
Filmography
First Daughter, short (1997, Ann Madden)
A Civil Action (1998, Steven Zaillian)
Fruitlands 1843, short (1999, Vasiliki Katsarou)
Apsides, short (1999, Spyros Diamantis)
Camera Obscura (2000, Hamlet Sarkissian)
Mr. In-between (2001, Paul Sarossy)
Tunnel Vision, short (2001, Alexander Soskin)
The Birthday, short (2002, Kal Weber)
The Music, TV movie documentary short (2002, Alexander Soskin)
Happy Dark, TV movie (2003, John Sharian)
Oh Marbella! (2003, Piers Ashworth)
Enchantment, short (2004, Simon Aboud)
School of Life, short (2004, Jake Polonsky)
Terrible Kisses, short (2004, Jill Robertson)
Enduring Love (2004, Roger Michell)
Spivs (2004, Colin Teague)
Opa! (2005, Udayan Prasad)
The Best Man (2005, Stefan Schwartz)
Batman Begins (2005, Christopher Nolan)
Venus (2006, Roger Michell)
Sleuth (2007, Kenneth Branagh)
Death Defying Acts (2007, Gillian Armstrong)
Straightheads (2007, Dan Reed)
Mamma Mia! (2008, Phyllida Lloyd)
The Other Man (2008, Richard Eyre)
The Gift, short (2009, Kal Weber)
Creation (2009, Jon Amiel); additional scenes
Thor (2011, Kenneth Branagh)
Prodigal, short (2011, Benjamin Grayson)
Locke (2013, Steven Knight)
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014, Kenneth Branagh)
Cinderella (2015, Kenneth Branagh)
Eye in the Sky (2015, Gavin Hood)
Awards
First Daughter (1997) 2000: Won EC Award
Enduring Love (2004) 2004: Nominated for Best Independent Film Award for Best Technical Achievement
Sleuth (2007) 2007: Nominated for the Golden Frog, main competition. Camerimage
Death Defying Acts (2007) 2008: Nominated for AFI Award for Best Cinematography