British Cinematographer
In
Roberto Jarratt's varied career spanning 60 years in the industry he
has helped BBC Italy produce documentaries, acted as consultant to
Lord Sidney Bernstein founder of Granada TV and been Managing
Director for revered lighting specialist Mole Richardson Italia.
Perhaps
his most enduring achievement began in the early 1990s, following
from the realisation that the Italian motion picture community faced
a gap in the market for a high quality, new-technology-focused rental
and service company, reports Adrian Pennington.
With
three young industry enthusiasts, Jarratt set about creating a modern
rental company for the motion picture business. With himself as
president, Panalight was born with its three original partners still
heading the company: Carlo Loreti, managing director; Jarratt's son
David as vice president and director of light & grip; and Roberto
Schettini, vice president and camera director.
“The
aim was to focus on the international market which was just beginning
to show renewed interest in Italy at that time,” explains David
Jarratt. “We were able to lead the company to the top of the
European market by investment in technology research and development,
combined with technical expertise.”
To
establish an edge over other rental companies, Panalight immediately
invested in the most advanced technology of the time – the ARRI 535
and 435 35mm cameras and the top-of-the-range film unit Moviecam
developed by Fritz Gabriel Bauer – striking deals exclusive to
Italy. In the lighting sector, Panalight offered the De Sisti and
ARRI product range – again aiming for the top of the market –
providing the full range of filters together with the Lee Colortran
products. More recently, Panalight has concentrated investment in
ARRI products strengthening collaboration with the German company.
“From
the beginning, Panalight had the chance to supply important and large
Italian-based productions which demanded more and more technological
commitment,” explains Jarratt. These included The
American (DP Martin Ruhe),
The Passion (DP Luca Bigazzi),
La Vita è Bella (Tonino Delli
Colli), The English Patient (John Seale ACS ASC), The
Talented Mr Ripley (John Seale ACS ASC), The Tourist (John Seale ACS
ASC) and The Life
Aquatic With Steve Zissou (DP
Robert D. Yeoman).
Over
its 25-year history Panalight has established a strong relationship
with Panavision. This stems back to the 1990s when, with Panavision's
global chairman Bill Scott, Roberto Jarratt helped develop
Panavision's business in Italy, Malta and Greece.
“Roberto
always envisaged the importance of working jointly with Panavision
and thanks to his insight, Panalight today can offer the very latest
Panavision products,” says David Jarratt.
Headquartered
a couple of miles from Cinecittà Studios in Rome, where they also
have an office on the lot (Cinecittà Panalight) which serves as the
studios' official kit supplier, Panalight maintains branches in
Milan, serving the north of Italy, at Panalight Sudtirol in Bolzano
and Panalight Apulia in Bari. Since 2011, a Maltese division offers
full service to the island.
Last
year was a record one for the company, attributed to the attractive
tax incentives issued by Cinecittà Studios and the government's
Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism. The tax
credits, which came into force last April, were intended to attract
bigger budget Hollywood movies and to benefit domestic film and TV
projects.
As
a result, blockbuster productions such as Baltasar Kormakur's Everest
(DP Salvatore Totino AIC ASC), The Man From UNCLE (DP
John Mathieson BSC), Ben Hur
(DP Oliver Wood) directed by Timor Bekmambetov, Zoolander 2
(DP Dan Mindel ASC BSC) and Giuseppe Tornatore's La
Corrispondenza (DP Fabio
Zamarion) were all based in Italy and all serviced by Panalight. The
company further supplied equipment and services to Point
Break (Ericson Core) and the Ron
Howard-directed Inferno
(Salvatore Totino AIC ASC). Last year, the company serviced Alice
Rohrwacher's Le Meraviglie (DP
Helene Louvart), which won the Grand Prix du Jury at the Cannes
Festival.
Panalight's
proven ability to win business is explained by its continued
investment and smart eye for the latest equipment. “We've grown the
company to the same technological level as any company in the US or
UK,” says Jarratt. “But we have to keep vigilant. The market is
increasingly competitive and always demanding higher-end new
technologies.”
Aside
from the full range of traditional film cameras, Panalight offers
digital units from Blackmagic Design to the ARRI Alexa XT and Red
Dragon, supported with a comprehensive lens inventory including
vintage Anamorphics from Todd AO and Xtal to the recent modern Zeiss
Master and Cooke Anamorphics.
Its
lighting roster, features new LED lighting fixtures, like the Cineo
and ARRI Skypanel, as well as the 'M' series which grips to a special
Technocrane and 3-axis stabilised remote head like the Flight Head V.
Significant
investments in the last two years have been made in a Scorpio Arm, a
controlled motorised arm for filming on a Mercedes driving up to
150kmh, and the Panaranger, for mounting on a Polaris Ranger Crew 800
jeep.
These
gyrostabilised pursuit systems and remote heads are operated by
PanaTeam, a crew of qualified professionals who “represent one of
the few top teams in Europe able to produce first class results with
this kind of system,” says Jarratt.
Sister
company Cinetecnica provides gear for transportation, from grip
trucks and trailers to motor home and generators. Despite adopting
these latest technologies, Panalight has also taken another important
step in traditional equipment when this year it become the Italian
seller for Kodak Film stock.
“This
is a prestigious commitment which will ensure continued availability
for unique shooting choices,” says Jarratt. “It is the experience
and passion of our staff that allows Panalight to meet any technical
and creative requirements and to achieve the best possible solution
for every budget.”
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