Jean-Sébastien Giroux - Director of photography (LV)

Translated from French

WHAT IS YOUR JOB? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK?

I’m a director of light-video (LV) photography and sometimes also do camera duties. I enjoy the way that my work varies from one project to another - it pushes me to add new things to my skill set. 

I work mostly on documentaries. As the director of LV photography, I work closely with the director and I’m responsible for everything that affects the picture in any way. My mission is to achieve the desired results and serve the director’s vision as faithfully as possible. The crews on LV productions are much smaller than on other sets. In general, it consists of a director, an assistant director, a director of photography and a sound recordist. Having a small crew makes us more mobile and lets us move around. When we change locations, the director of photography must adjust to the environment quickly, pay particular attention to lighting, colour and framing, and communicate the technical requirements to the rest of the crew. In this line of work, we rarely have control over our subjects. For example, I can’t ask a surgeon to pause an operation because there isn’t enough light for me to get a good shot. As the director of photography, I have to adapt and find solutions before and during the shoot. 

WHAT PART OF THE JOB DO YOU LIKE THE BEST?

My work is anything but routine! I love facing new technical challenges on every project. In the space of a few days, I may go from a shoot where I’m filming baby elephants in the wild to another where I’m observing an amputation in an operating room. Every day is one of a kind and presents its share of challenges. I consider myself very lucky to get to observe rare moments that few people will experience in their lifetimes. 

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PROJECT?

That’s a hard question to answer, but there’s one project that really does stand out. For several years now, I’ve been working with the same team of six people on a TV show about animals, called Un zoo pas comme les autres. Producing this show has given us the chance to travel all around the world. We’ve visited some incredible places: Thailand, Kenya, Uganda, France, Costa Rica, sites in Canada and the United States, and we’ve bonded as we’ve travelled together over the years. I have many fond memories that will stay with me forever; these colleagues have become my friends.

I’ll never forget the day I found myself surrounded by 13 wild gorillas, including two babies, in Uganda. It was surreal to have that experience with them.

IS THERE AN ANECDOTE ABOUT YOUR WORK THAT COMES TO MIND?

When you’re working on documentaries, unexpected things can happen. Unlike fiction films, you can’t just call “Cut!” and do another take. You have to try to adjust in advance for the environment in which you’ll be shooting and anticipate what you’ll need to do to get the best possible shots. One funny situation came up when I was shooting an episode of Un zoo pas comme les autres. While I was filming the main character, who was holding an animal in his arms, the sun was setting behind him. So I changed position quickly to capture the sunset in backlight. In the heat of the moment, everything is happening very fast, and you often forget about everything else but the shot. But once I finished shooting, I started to feel some tingling and a burning sensation in my legs. I had stepped on a nest of red ants! Actually, this has happened to me more than once. Luckily they weren’t fire ants!

HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE OF THE PROFESSION?

I see the future of my profession as very promising. The advances in technology, and especially in cameras and lighting, let me work much more quickly and effectively. The advent of LED lamps has really changed everything. They are providing better and better performance and becoming more and more compact, powerful and energy-efficient. It means we don’t have to drag a ton of batteries, a generator and heavy equipment with us when we go on shoots, which is really handy for LV, because our crews are often so small. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

There’s a lot of collaboration and fellowship among directors of photography. We share information. We network, we let each other know about new products. In our community, we really help one another a lot. If I have any question or concern, I know I can count on one of my colleagues to help, and they know they can always count on me. 

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE QUEBEC AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY’S GREATEST STRENGTH?

Quebec’s audiovisual industry has a fantastic reputation because of our technicians. We’re recognized for the quality of our work. People here are creative, engaged and resourceful. They know how to work with tight budgets. The positive atmosphere and team spirit that reign on production sets in Quebec are major assets for our industry.