Peter Cavaciuti (SOC-ACO-GBCT-Assoc BSC) was born in London to an Irish mother and father of Italian heritage. He is among the best camera and Steadicam operator in the world. Cavaciuti worked with directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin, Tim Burton, Denis Villeneuve and Sam Mendes. In 2017 he won The Operators Award for the film Allied, directed by Robert Zemeckis.
You are one of the most important Steadicam operators in the world. Can you explain to our readers what exactly your work consists of?
Firstly I would describe myself as a Camera Operator/Steadicam Operator, for sure early in my working life operating I was a jobbing Steadicam Operator and this opened many doors to my career as a Camera Operator. When I started back in the early 1980s, there were only a handful of Steadicam Specialists Operators in the UK, such as John Ward (RIP), Nigel Kirton and Jan Pester and myself. Today things are much more competitive. As an Operator I have to be able to make a number of decisions if required, for example, to choose the correct Camera Platform to place the Camera on, whether a dolly on a dance floor or track, telescopic crane, a gimbal head or Steadicam for example. And I have to advise in pre-production on the booking of these platforms.
Also again, when required, an Operator needs to be able to understand how best to shoot a scene ‘the coverage’ after they have seen the rehearsal, taking into account the blocking of the scene namely working out the details of actors moves in relation to the camera, the number and type of shots required. All this has to be done taking into account any physical restrictions a particular location or set may have, the chosen style of shooting the Director and Cinematographer may require, many things can affect the choice of camera platform, therefore Camera Operator needs their arsenal of knowledge when required, time can also have a bearing on many decisions. Specifically, on Steadicam, ideally, it should be executed with visual smoothness and grace, there are many more aids these days to help a Steadicam Operator like the Tiffen Volt which has tilt and roll stabilization. I’m not a Steadicam Operator who believes that doing Steadicam itself keeps you fit and trim alone. Stretching via Pilates in my case, supervised Gym training and solo running are all part of my life as a Steadicam Operator, Steadicam can take a toll on an Operator's body and specifically targeted exercise is essential for a long career to counter the effects Steadicam exerts on the body.
Can you share with us your background?
I was brought up in a loving working-class background, my father was an ex-coal miner of Italian descent who grew up in South Wales and my mother was a former factory worker in London who emigrated from Ireland. She met my father in London in the 1950s. I grew up in New Barnet, North London attending a local primary school St Catherine’s and later a slightly more distant state school Bishop Douglass in East Finchley. I was always keen on drawing and art as a child and in Bishop Douglass, I had a wonderful art teacher, Wendy Binder, who guided me towards Art College. My intention was to be an artist, a painter and sculptor when I attended Hornsey College in 1977, but while there I was captured by film and decided I wanted to pursue a career in the film business in the Camera Department. I was fortunate to be offered a job in Liverpool in 1982 on the soap Brookside as a trainee. I still miss Liverpool.
What was your first film?
The first film I worked on was a Letter to Brezhnev, shot in Liverpool. Many of us had left Brookside or decided to leave to work on Brezhnev. I literally chose my job as the 1st Assistant Director, as my friends were the Writer Frank Clarke and Chris Bernard the Director offered me the chance to shoot it but I guess I was sensible enough to turn the opportunity down since I certainly was not a DP at that stage, but I was a very good organiser if not somewhat green. The first film I worked on was The Highlander, on pickups.
You have worked with many great cinematographers like Adrian Biddle, Don Burgess, Vilmos Zsigmond, John Mathieson, Peter Suschitzky, Dariusz Wolski and especially with Sir Roger Deakins, winner of two academy awards. In an interview, Deakins defines you as the best. What can you tell me about your collaboration with Sir Roger Deakins? You collaborated with him in movies like Kundun (Martin Scorsese,1997), Skyfall (Sam Mendes, 2012), Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017) and 1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019).
Roger and I first met in February 1985 on an Eric Clapton promo, Forever Man, directed by Godley and Creme, its worth looking at as Roger has to jump off a dolly because a Titan Crane grazed his head then hit the magazine of the Panaflex toppling the camera. This event is part of the promo, which had multiple cameras all in a shot. I think it was only a one day shoot? Myself I and Jan Pester did the Steadicam work, in-fact I was operating a Panaglide. Roger had just finished 1984; his gaffer and friend John Higgins, aka ‘Biggles’, was also on the shoot. I did not see Roger again until 1993 when he asked me to work on The Secret Garden, although I did literally knock on his door in Santa Monica a couple of times in the intervening years when I was getting my Steadicam serviced at Cinema Products in LA, but Roger was out.
What can you tell me about your experience with Stanley Kubrick in Eyes Wide Shut? The movie’s cinematographer was Larry Smith on his debut.
I was working on Lost in Space when I first received a call about meeting with Stanley Kubrick Eyes Wide Shut. It was more than disappointing at the time that I could not attend an interview or rather that an interview would have been futile since I was not available when the film was due to start as I would still be on Lost in Space. Little did I know that as I finished this film that I would get a call to be interviewed by Stanley. I remember rushing after work one Friday night from Shepperton Studios to Pinewood to meet Stanley, just off a dirty & dusty set, sweaty and in my shorts to meet Mr Kubrick! I had to get there in a hurry since Stanley had to be back home. The interview must have gone well since I was offered the job since Liz Ziegler the first Steadicam Operator on the film
Peter Cavaciuti with Stanley Kubrick on the set of Eyes Wide Shut
had already done 10 months and needed to return home to LA. For me it was and remains a dream to have worked with Stanley; I saw 2001 when it was released as a child, it had a profound effect on me even then, increasing my sense of wonder at the world and universe and also sparking an interest in all Stanley’s films and in cinema in general. Consequently, I was booked for three weeks on Eyes Wide Shut but worked on it for 8 months until it finished. I had the privilege to have a number of private conversations with Stanley. For example, I wondered into a large room once in Mentmore Towers, where we were shooting on a night shoot, whilst we were on an evening break, and there was Stanley in the centre of the room sitting alone, I apologised for disturbing him and went to leave the room but Stanley beckoned me back and said: “Hey Pete, stay and have a chat”. I took my opportunity and asked every question about 2001 I could muster that had been brewing all those years since I was a child, it was a wonderful talk. Stanley was as precise in his shot construction and his demands in the manner and precision he wanted them executed with as I had been led to believe. We often shot 20 takes plus and even up to 57 takes to achieve what he wanted. I found Stanley and affable and friendly man and I do miss him.
Is there a particular sequence of your career shot by you that you remember with more pleasure/satisfaction?
In Skyfall, I think the Casino entrance shot and the revealing of the ‘new’ MI6 are very satisfying shots. They both look straight forward to achieve but they both required a great deal of precision and swift tracking at certain points. The Casino shot has a very difficult wrap around Daniel Craig 007 as he travelled down the last set of stairs on the interior of the Casino where Bond passes his closest point to Moneypenny, Naomi Harris. I had to have a steep 45-degree inclined ramp installed for that point as I had to almost run down the stairs, so a ramp was the only way to get down fast enough, since steps would slow me down. I had to track left to right fast down the ramp panning left as I did so getting ready for Daniel to move straight at me, this is a very difficult move to execute keeping the rig level is the real challenge here. I had one grip, Gary Hymns shadowing me as I ran down the ramp for safety. The MI6 reveal required many fast left or right-hand moves to keep the actors in the frame along a twisting corridor, on the initial move back from the entrance I had to place the rig fully extended out and physically around one corner whilst I still the next physical corner.
What was the most difficult scene of your career?
I think, without a doubt, the greatest technical and physical challenges I have faced were on 1917. I started physical training 6 months before the film as I knew how physically difficult it would be, so I needed to be prepared. The most difficult shot was in the collapsing German underground bunker, purely because it was a very very narrow space (there were even narrower trenches in the film) and I was constantly been pummelled with rocks and dust and relied a great deal on our key grip Gary Hymns to literally point me in the right direction as sometimes even seeing was a challenge!
Your son Guido also followed his work: you influenced him in this choice? Did you work together in 1917?
Of course, Guido has been on and off film sets all his life and he has always found them interesting places to be and clearly still does. Guido is certainly visually motivated he always had a keen interest in photography, he has a science background also and was a keen actor at school and whilst he was studying biology at UCL and for a time after. I would say that I never encouraged him into the business since I would say it’s a place for those who are prepared to give up much of their social lives, so it’s better your passion takes you there. For sure Guido has this passion. Indeed we did work on 1917 together, Guido was present on every single shot in the film, whether it was a crane, trinity, Steadicam or Stabileye, he was certainly always on the front line in 1917.
Who was the director you worked with, more technically prepared?
I would say that Christopher Menaul - who I operated A Camera / Steadicam for in 1992 on A Dangerous Man - was probably the most technically prepared. It was Ralph Fiennes first film. We had a very modest budget. Chris, being a talented and very bright man, understood we had to hit the ground running, so he had all his shots in his head with the Lens of choice in mind. Chris was a joy to work with. Witold Stok was our wonderful Cinematographer, every day was a joy. Along with our great Grip Martin McCullagh, a legend.
What do you like most about your profession?
I love that every day is different and I like the people, it’s our Circus.
With which camera are you comfortable? Do you like it more?
This is really impossible to answer, any camera with a lens that’s not too heavy. I love old stills Cameras I have a romance with Nikon Photomics.
Have you ever thought about becoming a cinematographer?
A few times, but not for long as I love my work as an Operator, it’s a fantastic job. One day soon I want to shoot a documentary but it’s a secret.
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