Written by Shirley Baugher
Most filmmakers specialize in just one aspect of their craft. Vincent Pascoe brings it all to the table: a technician’s know-how, a director’s vision, a cinematographer’s eye, a musician’s ear and an artist’s sensibility. His music videos, short films and feature productions are powerful, timely and engrossing. He is an exciting talent who is destined for great things in the industry.
Pascoe is best known for his ability to create visual imagery filled with mystery and magic. He translates light into emotion and uses technology to enhance a story line. Pascoe is consistently pushing the boundaries of what has been done before and uses everything at his disposal to get that competitive edge. He once said that, as a young student filmmaker, he would visit hardware stores and imagine how he could develop a story using the items he saw there: Christmas tree lights, gardening tools, kitchen appliances, whatever. Now, as a professional, he wanders the aisles of trade shows and thinks about how he can use the most advanced cinematic technology to tell a story that will grab an audience.
How It All Began
Early on, Vincent was inspired by his family to become an “artist”. He learned music theory from his father and a love for theatre from his mother. As an adolescent, he acted in stage plays and musicals and had a brief career as a soloist with various groups. Vincent went on to study music composition at Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and Arizona State University (ASU).
Computers and technology have also been a big part of Pascoe’s life (his step-father’s father was an inventor who worked in the tech field as a project manager). Vince firmly believes that a DP’s job lies at the apex of creativity and technology. Before enrolling in music school, he worked full time in a tech-support job for Compaq. When he became a student, he could no longer devote all his time to the tech job. However, he continued to run his own computer repair and small business networking business while working part time at a community college tech lab.
The defining moment in his life came at SCC when he was asked to compose scores for 16mm short films. Working on these film scores, he realized that film was the language through which he had communicated with his family and that movies were the medium he could use to give full expression to his creative talents. He left his music studies and moved behind the camera into motion picture and television production. In two years, he shot 33 projects on 16mm and super 16mm film—plus many more on video. Vincent Pascoe never looked back.
Over time, Vincent developed his own visual style and mastered the art of finding beauty through the use of light and shadow. He focused on the production of music videos because they allowed him to incorporate his knowledge of musical theory—rhythm and tone—into visual interpretation. He used his performing experience and passion for story-telling to captivate an audience. When the budget was limited, he even designed and built his own dolly and motion control equipment. Today, as a Director of Photography, his films are recognized for their imagery, superb lighting, and use of music as an integral part of storytelling.
Steve Weiss on Vincent Pascoe
At a recent Cinegear Technology Trade Show, Steve Weiss of Zacuto USA, sat down to chat with Vincent about his career and his accomplishments. Here are some highlights of that interview.
Steve: Your use of lighting is amazing. I especially liked the way you lit your music video, The Spanish Dancer. What was your lighting concept for this film?
Vince: I began with a basic silhouette and used shafts and pools of light to build the video; beginning with a focus on the musician and the dancer and building to something grand and surreal—the fabulous desert sunset.
Steve: That was awesome. I also noticed that you had a lot of particulate matter in the film. Did you use fog and dust to create the effect you wanted?
Vince: I used both a hazer and smoke machines. When I was working the camera on film, I experimented again and again to get just the right light to create a mood for the story. Using the hazer with shafts of light allowed me to achieve something magical and different.
Steve: Most people don’t realize that when they look at light, they are not really seeing light. They are seeing the particulate matter through which the light passes. I have noticed that in some of your films you create shafts of light by shooting through dust. Do you use this technique often?
Vince: I do. In some desert scenes, I actually had the crew go down and kick up dust which I shot through to get the sunset effect I wanted. I also use rain and lightening strikes in the backlighting of many of my films.
Steve: You have a talent for incorporating music into the visual imagery of your films, especially The Spanish Dancer. Was this difficult?
Vince: It was hard, but as a musician accustomed to writing and performing, I try to work with musicians to incorporate their passion for music into the visual story.
Steve: You bring up another strong element in your films—the collaborative effort between you and others involved in filmmaking. You “get it” that in filmmaking, all of the elements are important to achieve the final product: atmosphere, lighting, sound, production design, costuming, and direction.
Vince: There is a definite advantage to collaboration. It is always exciting for me when the director, the story, and the actors all come together and provide their individual perspectives to the film. The director has a vision for the entire script. The actors have a sense of how the story should be played and the cinematographer takes these into consideration when determining how to light each scene. The end product is always better for each contribution.
Steve: What are your thoughts on film editing?
Vince: Editors are essential to creating a good film. They are more objective about what should stay and what should not. Directors are often too invested in their own work and see everything as necessary. Really good films are the result of having an editor take the best of what the director, the actors, and the cinematographer have offered and incorporate their contributions into a cohesive and effective film.
Steve: What are you working on now?
Vince: I just finished editing Rainbow Boy which was a real challenge. It is a groundbreaking film that was written and directed by a Navajo and was shot almost entirely in the Navajo language with subtitles. There were 60 hours of footage and the cast was composed of Navajo people, many of whom had never acted before. The film tells the story of an ancient Navajo warrior who enters a sacred cave and is transported to the future—actually our present. He sees the devastation to the earth brought about by modern man and tries to help humanity through Ozzie Yazzie, a punk Navajo kid who becomes his guide. Eventually, he makes his way back through the cave to his own time where he is given four prophecies about the consequences of human choices and what lies ahead for planet earth. The film was completed a year ago, and is just now being readied for release.
Steve: Sounds like an awesome film. I hope you’ll give us a chance to review it prior to its wide release.
Vince: I’ll try. I also have five music videos for which I did the camera work. One was shot in New York and shows both the dreamlike qualities and the grittiness of the city. The other four, including a country rap piece, were shot on the West Coast. I just finished directing and shooting part of an EPK for Boyz II Men’s twentieth anniversary album and have been shooting for a reality show called 3-gun Nation on vs. This was a challenging shoot since it incorporates live gun fire and multiple formats shooting on the Panasonic AF100, Sony EX3 and EX1, the GO Pro and Couture cameras.
Steve: Did you operate the camera yourself on these projects?
Vince: If I’m only using one camera, I like to operate it myself. If the project requires multiple cameras, then I employ cameramen and direct their work.
Steve: We’ll look forward to seeing your future projects. I predict you’ll be a major star both in the video music field and in the production of feature films.
What They’re Saying
"Excellent work, Mr. V!" –Jon Simpson on The Spanish Dancer
"Very nice. Amazing how the cinematography makes it feel real. Also love the editing!" –Matt Osorio on The Spanish Dancer
"Wow! This is very interesting and I believe it’s like your dreams are coming true." –Nick Jessara on Vincent Pascoe’s Bio & Demo Reel
"This video is something special. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I do." –La Flora Venenosa on Girl of Your Dreams, a music video
"Look at Vincent Pascoe’s reel. Some of it is Red One, some of it is HVX200, some of it is GH1. But do I, as a producer care? No! I looked at Tomorrow’s Yesterday and said, 'Man, I gotta’ hire Vincent Pascoe!' "–Barry Green
Vincent Pascoe is a Director of Photography best known for his ability to create visual imagery that captures the essence of a story, translates light into emotion and pushes the boundaries of technology. Vincent developed a distinctive style early in his career by exploring the possibilities inherent in the dynamics of cinematography, adapting to quickly changing circumstances, approaching challenges as opportunities and finding innovative solutions to the challenges he faced.
As a child, Vincent was influenced in his career choice by his parents. From his father he learned music theory. His mother instilled in him an appreciation for theatre. He became an actor and musician—taking to the stage as an adolescent and performing with various groups as a soloist. He went on to study music composition at Scottsdale Community College (SCC) and Arizona State University. At the same time, he worked as a computer specialist customizing and leveraging technology for creative solutions to problems in both business and the arts.
It was at SCC that he made the decision to become a filmmaker. He was asked to compose music for 16mm student short films. When Vincent recognized that he could apply his musical skills to visual imagery, a filmmaker was born. He transferred from the School of Music to the Department of Motion Picture and Television Production where he has been behind the camera ever since. Vincent shot 33 projects in two years and is still going strong. His music videos are respected throughout the industry for their perfect blend of music and images. The Spanish Dancer is an excellent example of his artistry.
Having been an actor, musician, composer and director, Vincent knows the value of collaboration. He believes that each element in the filmmaking process: directing, acting, script writing, costuming, cinematography and music makes an important contribution to the finished product. Vincent considers each of these elements in the construction of his music videos and feature films. He talks to actors and gets their take on the interpretation of a script. He works with directors to learn their overall vision for the film. He interacts with musicians to determine how the rhythm and tone of the music fits with the film’s other elements. Once all of these pieces are in place, he uses his cinematographer’s eye to blend them all into a perfect visual harmony.
For the past ten years, Vincent has created films that enchant audiences with their passion, willingness to be daring and innovation. He is an important and amazing Director of Photography. He lives and works in Woodland Hills, California.
Check out some of Vincent's recent 3D digital art work
Follow Vincent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vincentpascoe
.jpg)
.jpg)
