Cameraman of the Month - February Steve Lawes

Posted by Darren Jamieson on 15th Feb 2013

Name:	Steve Lawes
Job Title:	Cinematographer
Filmography:	Steve is a UK based Director of Photography, with credits on major Network Television Series including the BBC’s critically acclaimed ‘Sherlock’, for which he has received a RTS Craft Nomination and a Bafta Cymru Award, and the multi award-winning ‘Jimmy McGovern’s – The Street’. Steve has worked on international projects for Sky HD and HBO including the feature film ‘Skellig’ and the Action series ‘Strikeback’. Steve’s background was in stills photography, a film school graduate who has worked in the Film, Television and Commercial industry for over 18 years.

Q1: What’s the best thing you’ve ever watched?

Opera - in any shape or form.

Q2. Who was your idol when you were growing up or who is your idol now?

Lee Majors in The Six Million Dollar Man.

Q3. What was the first camera you ever bought or used?

Polaroid land camera.

Q4. What is your favourite camera and why?

Aaton XTR 16mm - was the main camera that I worked with for the first 10 years of my career.

Q5. What’s the most bizarre/funniest/ favourite thing to happen whilst on a shoot?

Once shooting second unit, I travelled for 3 hours to Kent with the Focus Puller only to realise when we got there that he had forgotten the only zoom lens we had... I won’t name names.

Q6. What’s your favourite or worst place to film and why?

Best Place - South Africa - Crews are superb.

Q7. Who is the most interesting person you have worked with?

Jim Broadbent

Q8. Name one unnecessary item that you cannot do without on a shoot?

85% Dark Chocolate

Q9. What would you like to film that you haven’t already?

The Earth from space

Q10. What job would you be doing if you couldn’t do what you do now?

Something to do with Helicopters (my other passion)

Q11. What’s one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring Cameraman?

Take the job seriously but not yourself too seriously... Always read the call sheet.