Editing Gilbert Taylor

{{Short description|British cinematographer (1914–2013)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Gilbert Taylor
| image              = Cinematographer_Gilbert_Taylor.jpg
| caption            = Taylor with [[George Lucas]] filming ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''
| birth_place        = [[Bushey Heath]], [[Hertfordshire]], England
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1914|4|12}}
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|8|23|1914|4|12}}
| death_place        = [[Newport, Isle of Wight]], England
| years_active       = 1930–1997
| spouse             = {{marriage|Dee Vaughan|1967}}
| children           = 4
}}
'''Gilbert Taylor''', [[British Society of Cinematographers|B.S.C.]] (12 April 1914 – 23 August 2013) was a British cinematographer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9fd649c7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711184503/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9fd649c7|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-11|title=Gilbert Taylor|work=BFI}}</ref>

He was best known for his work in films like ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'', ''[[The Omen]]'', and ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'', having collaborated with directors like [[Roman Polanski]], [[Stanley Kubrick]], [[Alfred Hitchcock]], and [[Mike Hodges]].

He was nominated for two [[BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography|BAFTA Awards]], and received a [[Lifetime achievement award|Lifetime Achievement Award]] from the [[British Society of Cinematographers]].

==Early life==
The son of a Hertfordshire builder, Taylor grew up in [[Bushey|Bushey Heath]]. A paternal uncle was a newsreel cameraman and contact with him from the age of ten gave Taylor early experience of working with cameras and developing film stock.<ref name="Hilton">{{cite web|last=Hilton|first=Kevin|url=https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/all-time-greats-gilbert-taylor-bsc/|title=Shadows Make Good Movies|work=British Cinematographer|date=4 May 2015|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref> As a teenager, he studied architecture before deciding to pursue a career in film.<ref name="Ellis73">{{cite book|last=Ellis|first=David A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uA8DdKZSD0YC&pg=PA73|title=Conversations with Cinematographers|location=Lanham, Maryland & Plymouth, England|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2012|page=73|isbn=9780810881266 }}</ref> While his father disapproved of the film industry, populated he thought by "harridans, whores and gypsies", it was his mother who consented to their son's altered career plans.<ref name="Telegraphobit2013">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/10265404/Gilbert-Taylor.html|title=Gilbert Taylor|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=25 August 2013|access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref>

A neighbour offered Taylor, aged 15, a job as a camera assistant to William Shenton, a cinematographer working for [[Gainsborough Pictures|Gainsborough Studios]] at their Islington base. In 1929, Taylor worked on the studio's final two silent films.<ref name="Ellis73"/> Shenton took Taylor to Paris where he worked on two more silent films, before returning to Gainsborough.<ref name="Ellis74">Ellis, p. 74</ref> He then worked at [[Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)|Elstree]] for [[Associated British Picture Corporation|British International Pictures]], where he was clapper loader on the [[Alfred Hitchcock]] film ''[[Number Seventeen]]'' (1932). Despite his junior status, formally a second camera assistant, Taylor was entrusted with some of the special effects work, including the use of [[Matte (filmmaking)|mattes]], to disguise the roofs of <!-- Source: "dilapidated". -->poorly-maintained buildings.<ref name="Hilton"/><ref name="Ellis74"/>

During six years service in [[World War II]] as an officer in the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]], he became an operational cameraman flying in [[Avro Lancaster]] [[bomber]]s, documenting the damage after British bombing raids.<ref name="Bergan">{{cite news|last=Bergan|first=Ronald|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/25/gilbert-taylor|title=Gilbert Taylor obituary|work=The Guardian|date=25 August 2013|access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref> Taylor recalled: "This was requested by [[Winston Churchill]], and my material was delivered to 10 Downing Street for him to view. He was keen for the public to see what our lads were doing. I did 10 of those operations, including raids on Cologne and Dresden".<ref name="Newbold">{{cite news|last=Newbold|first=Mark|url=http://www.jedinews.co.uk/misc/articles/gilbert-taylor-interview/|title=Gil Taylor Interview|work=Jedi News|date=24 July 2005|access-date=10 April 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411140633/http://www.jedinews.co.uk/misc/articles/gilbert-taylor-interview/|archive-date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

== Career ==
After demobilisation, he worked for [[Two Cities Films]]. In ''[[Fame Is the Spur (film)|Fame Is the Spur]]'' (1947), he worked on a dream sequence using [[deep focus]]. The [[Boulting brothers]] were the co-producers of the film and they placed Taylor under contract.<ref name="Farquhar">{{cite news|last=Farquhar|first=Simon|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/gilbert-taylor-cinematographer-who-worked-with-hitchcock-kubrick-polanski-and-lucas-8788509.html|title=Gilbert Taylor: Cinematographer who worked with Hitchcock, Kubrick, Polanski and Lucas|work=The Independent|date=28 August 2013|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref> For the Boultings, Taylor, now promoted to full cinematographer, or director of photography, shot ''[[The Guinea Pig (film)|The Guinea Pig]]'' (US, ''The Outsider'', 1948), ''[[Seven Days to Noon]]'' (1950) and ''[[High Treason (1951 film)|High Treason]]'' (1951).<ref name="McFarlane">{{cite web|last=McFarlane|first=Brian|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/528452/|title=Taylor, Gilbert (1914-[2013])|work=BFI Screenonline|date=2003–14|access-date=10 April 2017}} The text is reprinted from {{cite book|editor-last=McFarlane|editor-first=Brian|title=The Encyclopedia of British Film|location=London|publisher=BFI/Methuen|year=2003|page=656}}</ref> From this point, Taylor began to use bounced and reflected light gaining a more naturalistic look, whereas the use of direct light was still the common practice by his contemporaries.<ref name="Bergan"/><ref name="Farquhar"/> Because it was necessary for London to look unpopulated in ''Seven Days to Noon'', the first of three "end of the world films" Taylor worked on, it was necessary for him to arise at five-o-clock in the morning during a seven-week shoot.<ref name="Hilton"/>

===Kubrick, Lester and Polanski===
Taylor worked on a number of films commended for their black and white photography, such as [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'' and [[Richard Lester]]'s ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]]'' (both 1964). Taylor, without Kubrick who was unwilling to fly in an aircraft, filmed material in the Arctic to be used as background plates in the flying sequences.<ref name="Hughes">{{cite news|last=Hughes|first=James|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2013/08/gilbert_taylor_recalls_shooting_star_wars_for_george_lucas_and_dr_strangelove.html|title=A Long Time Ago …|work=Slate|date=29 August 2013|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref>

He commented later: "''Strangelove'' was at the time a unique experience because the lighting was to be incorporated in the sets, with little or no other light used". Concerning the war room set designed by [[Ken Adam]]: "Lighting that set was sheer magic, and I don’t quite know how I got away with it all". He continued: "Much of it was the same formula based on the overheads as fill and blasting in the key on faces from the side".<ref name="Williams">{{cite web|last=Williams|first=David E.|url=https://www.theasc.com/magazine/feb06/taylor/page1.html|title=High Key Highlights|work=American Cinematographer|date=February 2006|access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref> Although Kubrick and Taylor had a rapport, he found the director to be autocratic. An easier project to work on was the Richard Lester film with [[The Beatles]] which was heavily improvised.<ref name="Hughes"/><ref name="Timesobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/gilbert-taylor-xljlhvld30d|title=Gilbert Taylor|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=26 August 2016|access-date=9 April 2017}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

With Lester, Chris Pizzello wrote in 2003, Taylor "adopted a roving, multiple-camera technique (aided by new, versatile 10:1 zoom lenses) so that the Beatles could move about freely and not worry about technicalities like hitting marks. This fast, fresh brand of filmmaking was a perfect fit for the film’s tiny budget, tight schedule and simple black-and-white aesthetic".<ref>{{cite news|last=Pizzello|first=Chris|url=https://www.theasc.com/magazine/feb03/dvd/page2.html|title=A Hard Day's Night (1964)|work=American Cinematographer|date=February 2003|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref> Taylor and five other operators on the film used hand-held [[Arri]]flex cameras. "The key is not to hold the camera completely still", he once commented "but to let it 'breathe' with you, to move with it".<ref name="Hilton"/>

His work on ''Dr Strangelove'' led [[Roman Polanski]] to seek Taylor for ''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]'' (1965). In committing to the Polish director's first English-language film, Taylor rejected the opportunity to work on a Bond film (''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'') because he thought Polanski "was a very interesting guy".<ref name="BBC230813">{{cite news|title=Gilbert Taylor, Star Wars cinematographer, dies aged 99|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23808854|work=BBC News|date=23 August 2013|access-date=9 April 2017}}</ref> According to Polanski in his 1984 autobiography, ''Repulsion''{{'}}s executive producer [[Michael Klinger (producer)|Michael Klinger]] "protested that Gil Taylor was one of the most expensive cameramen in the business, but I held out for Taylor and I got him".<ref name="Williams"/> Taylor said his "aim was to get a stronger negative and good shadows in the final print. The shadows are what make good movies".<ref name="Hilton"/>

Their collaboration continued with ''[[Cul-de-sac (1966 film)|Cul-de-sac]]'' (1966) and ''[[Macbeth (1971 film)|Macbeth]]'' (1971), the third and last film he shot with Polanski. According to [[Ronald Bergan]], "although shot in colour", ''Macbeth'', "is as near to black and white as possible, with its grey, misty landscape".<ref name="Bergan"/> Taylor received BAFTA nominations over two consecutive years for the first two collaborations.<ref name="Barnes">{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Mike|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-wars-cinematographer-gilbert-taylor-dies-613654|title=''Star Wars'' Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor Dies at 99|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=23 August 2013|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref>

===Later work in colour===
Hitchcock requested Taylor work on his penultimate film ''[[Frenzy]]'' (1972). Despite a claim in Bergan's obituary of the cinematographer that Hitchcock was unaware the two men had worked together forty years earlier, according to Taylor they had stayed in touch.<ref name="Hilton"/><ref name="Bergan"/> Hitchcock never looked through the camera, because of his use of storyboards, leaving decisions to Taylor.<ref name="Hilton"/> The tracking shot, up and down a flight of stairs and then into the street, which invisibly merged shots from a studio set and street location took a day to achieve with the switch disguised by the movement of an extra in front of the camera.<ref name="Farquhar"/>

Taylor's later films include ''[[The Omen]]'' (1976), and ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977). On ''Star Wars'', he established principles about visual aesthetics which have been maintained in the later films in the series.<ref name="Timesobit"/> He told Mark Newbold in 2005:<blockquote> "I wanted to give ''Star Wars'' a unique visual style that would distinguish it from other films in the science fiction genre. I wanted ''Star Wars'' to have clarity because I think space isn’t out of focus, also I was mindful that there was an enormous amount of process work to be done in America with [[John Dykstra#Star Wars|Dykstra]] after we had finished shooting in England, and a crisp result would help this process".<ref name="Newbold"/></blockquote>
Taylor found [[George Lucas]] an elusive person to consult, leading Taylor to make his own decisions as how to shoot the picture after multiple readings of the script.<ref name="Williams"/><ref>Ellis, p. 77–8</ref> Differences of opinion between the director and cinematographer led to [[20th Century Fox]], for whom Taylor had shot ''The Omen'', intervening to retain him on the picture.<ref name="Hughes"/> After the experience of working on ''Star Wars'', Taylor decided he would never work again with Lucas.<ref name="Hilton"/>

His last film credit was ''[[Don't Get Me Started (1994 film)|Don't Get Me Started]]'' released in 1994, but he continued to work on commercials for some time afterwards.<ref name="Chagollan">{{cite news|last=Chagollan|first=Steve|url=https://variety.com/2013/film/news/star-wars-cinematographer-gilbert-taylor-dies-at-99-1200587532/|title=''Star Wars'' Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor Dies at 99|work=Variety|date=27 August 2013|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref>

Taylor was a founder member of the [[British Society of Cinematographers]], receiving their lifetime achievement award in 2001.<ref name="BBC230813"/> He received an international award from the [[American Society of Cinematographers]] (ASC) in 2006.<ref name="Chagollan"/>

==Personal life==
Taylor met his wife, former script supervisor Dee Vaughan, while both were working on comedian [[Tony Hancock]]'s film, ''[[The Punch and Judy Man]]'' (1963), and married in 1967.<ref name="BBC230813" /> The couple had a son and daughter. Taylor also had a son and daughter from an earlier marriage. He died on 23 August 2013, aged 99, at his home on the [[Isle of Wight]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Hickey|first=Shane|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/24/gilbert-taylor-star-wars-cinematographer-dies|title=Gilbert Taylor, ''Star Wars'' cinematographer, dies aged 99|work=The Guardian|date=24 August 2013|access-date=6 September 2018}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1948
| ''[[The Guinea Pig (film)|The Guinea Pig]]''
| [[Boulting brothers|Roy Boulting]]
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Seven Days to Noon]]''

| [[Boulting brothers|John Boulting<br>Roy Boulting]]
|
|-
| 1951
| ''[[High Treason (1951 film)|High Treason]]''
| Roy Boulting
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[The Yellow Balloon (film)|The Yellow Balloon]]''
| [[J. Lee Thompson]]
|
|-
| 1953
| ''[[Single-Handed (1953 film)|Single-Handed]]''
| Roy Boulting
|
|-
|rowspan=4| 1954
| ''[[Front Page Story]]''
| [[Gordon Parry (film director)|Gordon Parry]]
|
|-
| ''[[The Weak and the Wicked]]''
| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[Seagulls Over Sorrento]]''
| John Boulting<br>Roy Boulting
|
|-
| ''[[Trouble in the Glen]]''
| [[Herbert Wilcox]]
| Uncredited
|-
|rowspan=2| 1955
| ''[[As Long as They're Happy]]''
| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[Josephine and Men]]''
| Roy Boulting
|
|-
|rowspan=4| 1956
| ''[[Yield to the Night]]''
| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[It's Great to Be Young (1956 film)|It's Great to Be Young]]''
| [[Cyril Frankel]]
|
|-
| ''[[The Silken Affair]]''
| [[Roy Kellino]]
|
|-
| ''[[My Wife's Family (1956 film)|My Wife's Family]]''
| [[Gilbert Gunn]]
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1957
| ''[[The Good Companions (1957 film)|The Good Companions]]''
|rowspan=2| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[Woman in a Dressing Gown]]''
| 
|-
| ''[[No Time for Tears (film)|No Time for Tears]]''
| Cyril Frankel
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1958
| ''[[Ice Cold in Alex]]''
| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[She Didn't Say No!]]''
|rowspan=2| Cyril Frankel
|
|-
| ''[[Alive and Kicking (1959 film)|Alive and Kicking]]''
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1959
| ''[[No Trees in the Street]]''
| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| ''[[Operation Bullshine]]''
| Gilbert Gunn
|
|-
| ''[[Tommy the Toreador]]''
| [[John Paddy Carstairs]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1960
| ''[[Bottoms Up (1960 film)|Bottoms Up]]''
| [[Mario Zampi]]
|
|-
| ''[[Sands of the Desert]]''
| John Paddy Carstairs
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1961
| ''[[The Full Treatment]]''
| [[Val Guest]]
|
|-
| ''[[The Rebel (1961 film)|The Rebel]]''
| [[Robert Day (director)|Robert Day]]
|
|-
| ''[[Petticoat Pirates]]''
| [[David MacDonald (director)|David MacDonald]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1962
| ''[[It's Trad, Dad!]]''
| [[Richard Lester]]
|
|-
| ''[[A Prize of Arms]]''
| [[Cliff Owen]]
| With [[Gerald Gibbs (cinematographer)|Gerald Gibbs]]
|-
| 1963
| ''[[The Punch and Judy Man]]''
| [[Jeremy Summers]]
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 1964
| ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]''
| [[Stanley Kubrick]]
|
|-
| ''[[Hide and Seek (1964 film)|Hide and Seek]]''
| [[Cy Endfield]]
|
|-
| ''[[A Hard Day's Night (film)|A Hard Day's Night]]''
| Richard Lester
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1965
| ''[[Ferry Cross the Mersey (film)|Ferry Cross the Mersey]]''
| Jeremy Summers
|
|-
| ''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]''
| [[Roman Polanski]]
| Nominated- [[BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography]]
|-
| ''[[The Bedford Incident]]''
| [[James B. Harris]]
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Cul-de-sac (1966 film)|Cul-de-sac]]''
| Roman Polanski
| Nominated- [[BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography]]
|-
|rowspan=2| 1967
| ''[[Theatre of Death]]''
|rowspan=2| [[Samuel Gallu]]
|
|-
| ''[[The Man Outside (1967 film)|The Man Outside]]''
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1968
| ''[[Work Is a Four-Letter Word]]''
| [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]]
|
|-
| ''[[Before Winter Comes]]''
| J. Lee Thompson
|
|-
| 1969
| ''[[A Nice Girl Like Me]]''
| [[Desmond Davis]]
| With Manny Wynn
|-
|rowspan=2| 1970
| ''[[A Day at the Beach]]''
| Simon Hesera
|
|-
| ''[[Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx]]''
| [[Waris Hussein]]
|
|-
| 1971
| ''[[Macbeth (1971 film)|Macbeth]]''
| Roman Polanski
|
|-
| 1972
| ''[[Frenzy]]''
| [[Alfred Hitchcock]]
|
|-
| 1974
| ''[[Soft Beds, Hard Battles]]''
| Roy Boulting
|
|-
|1976
| ''[[The Omen]]''
| [[Richard Donner]]
|
|-
| 1977
| ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''
| [[George Lucas]]
|
|-
|rowspan=3|1979
| ''[[Escape to Athena]]''
| [[George P. Cosmatos]]
|
|-
| ''[[Meetings with Remarkable Men (film)|Meetings with Remarkable Men]]''
| [[Peter Brook]]
|
|-
| ''[[Dracula (1979 film)|Dracula]]''
| [[John Badham]]
|
|-
| 1980
| ''[[Flash Gordon (film)|Flash Gordon]]''
| [[Mike Hodges]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1981
| ''[[Green Ice]]''
| [[Ernest Day]]
|
|-
| ''[[Venom (1981 film)|Venom]]''
| [[Piers Haggard]]
|
|-
| 1982
| ''[[Losin' It]]''
| [[Curtis Hanson]]
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 1984
| ''[[Lassiter (film)|Lassiter]]''
| [[Roger Young (director)|Roger Young]]
|-
| ''[[Voyage of the Rock Aliens]]''
| [[James Fargo]]
|
|-
| 1987
| ''[[The Bedroom Window (1987 film)|The Bedroom Window]]''
| Curtis Hanson
|
|-
| 1994
| ''[[Don't Get Me Started (1994 film)|Don't Get Me Started]]''
| Arthur Ellis
|
|}

===Television===
'''Director'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Notes
|-
| 1969
| ''[[Department S (TV series)|Department S]]''
| Episode "The Man from X" (Credited as "Gil Taylor")
|}

'''Cinematographer'''
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Notes
|-
| 1965
| ''The Man in a Looking Glass''
| [[Cyril Frankel]]
| TV movie, combination of episodes of ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]'' series
|-
| 1966-1967
| ''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]''
|
| 13 episodes
|-
| 1966-1969
| ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]''
| 
| 8 episodes
|-
| 1969
| ''[[Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)]]''
| Cyril Frankel
| Episode "[[My Late Lamented Friend and Partner]]"
|-
| 1972-1973
| ''[[Pathfinders (TV series)|Pathfinders]]''
| [[Jeremy Summers]]<br>[[Robert Asher (director)|Robert Asher]]<br>[[Harry Booth (filmmaker)|Harry Booth]]
| 4 episodes
|-
| 1973
| ''The New-Fangled Wandering Minstrel Show''
| [[Buddy Bregman]]
| TV special
|-
| 1978
| ''[[Breaking Up (1978 film)|Breaking Up]]''
| [[Delbert Mann]]
| TV movie
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0852405}}
* [http://www.theasc.com/magazine/feb06/taylor/page1.html Profile and interview] by the [[American Society of Cinematographers]], on the occasion of his International Achievement Award

{{British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Gilbert}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:British cinematographers]]
[[Category:People from Bushey]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force officers]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Hertfordshire]]