James Layton ACO has won the 2018 TV Operator Award
“A Discovery of Witches” came my way via Suzie Lavelle BSC, who persuaded me to take a chance on Cardiff and commit to 6 months of fantasy. It turned out to be a great move; wonderful crew and a fantastic cast. We set up the first block with director, J.C. Medina, who wanted to maintain a cinematic approach to the show despite it being for TV. We worked mainly with a single camera and aimed for longer developing shots whilst ignoring many standard rules. As much as we could we used wider lenses to make the most of the beautiful set builds and scenery whilst Suzie devised a visual approach towards vampires, witches and daemons, with each style working to enhance the inner state of each creature.
The job was a lot of fun. The wonderful Welsh crew have a special place in my heart whilst Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode are the most fun actors I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. I’m so glad that all the hard work has gone down so well with audiences and fans of the books around the world.”