Cameraman John Seale is packing up his gear for the thousandth time since he started in the business. But this time around, the shoot hes heading for is much more personal.
You could say that Seale was born into the business. Type his name into your search engine and the name that pops up is likely to be his fathers (another cinematographer named John Seale, an Aussie, is unrelated). John Seale Sr. started out shooting medical operations but eventually ended up in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and in the movies, when there wasnt much of an industry in the west. He was a cinematographer for the CBC until 1979, and freelanced for 20 years after that, well into his 70s.
At age seven or eight, young John used to hang out on set in Gibsons, while his dad shot the iconic Canadian show The Beachcombers.
Youd get the tourists up there, and the whole town would lock up and watch it it was a huge event, Seale says.
After some time on his own working in the oil fields and on a pipeline, Seale joined his dad for a couple of years, shooting commercials, working on documentaries, and picking up the skills of the trade.
Seale then went out on his own and started knocking on doors, offering commercial packages where he did all the labour, from storyboarding and lighting to shooting and editing. He joined the union and specialized as a focus puller and a camera assistant on such varied projects as Macgyver, Millennium, Smallville, Dead Like Me, Rat Race, Smokin Aces, I Love You Beth Cooper and several of the Final Destination films, to name a few.
The industry is full of stories, and Seale likes to tell the one about legendary actor Tony Curtis, and a wardrobe issue that nearly snuffed out Bounty Hunters II: Hardball.
Tony was playing a gangster and part of his deal was he could pick his own outfit, Seale says, adding that Curtis was a pleasure to work with but showed up in a suit that fit him 30 years ago and was too tight. Nobody would budge, so after a break the opposing gangster came back and said of Curtiss character: And after I friggin kill that guy, Im going to kill his tailor. A few new lines and the problem was solved, Hollywood-style.
Seale came full circle when he filmed episodes of The Beachcombers, just as his father had done. We would shoot on the water all day, with young, fresh, eager crews, and you could water-ski home from work it was amazing.
But his favourite experience occurred when he was shooting a feature film and his father joined him on set. Dad hadnt touched a camera in years and the producers let him operate the shot, while I pulled focus for him, he says. Thats a great memory I still get choked up.
Seale and his wife Suzanne have been married for almost 20 years. The film industry is responsible for a lot of collateral damage in marriages, he says, pointing to his own parents, whose union didnt make it through the business. For example, Seale worked on popular TV show Millennium for three years, spending 10 months of year working from Monday at 7 a.m. until late Friday, early Saturday morning when the sun came up. Saturday was basically a sleep day, so I saw my wife just on Sundays, Seale says. After the glamour wears off, the reality of the business shines through. These young guys are gung ho but I tell them youve got to have the business in a perspective where it works for you and you dont work for it.
But these days the couple shares a new passion, which brings us back to why Seale is packing up his gear.
In 2004, he heard a friend speak about his hard childhood in Africa and it struck a chord. So Seale and his wife put on a fundraiser, got film industry input, and sent containers back full of bikes, clothing, and computers. They raised enough money to drill a well for an orphanage in Burkina Faso, and to finance half of a school. That well is watering Muslims and Christians alike, notes Seale, who says that he and his wife were forever changed by their trip.
Their upcoming project targets at-risk children in the slums of Agdao in the Philippines. The couple has committed to feeding 100 children a hot meal once a day for a year, to build a school to educate and rehabilitate children who are too-often forced into the sex trade, and to foster independence through farming micro-businesses. The need couldnt be more urgent flooding killed more people just last week, in an area still devastated by the December 2012 typhoon that killed more than 1,100 people.
The couple has put their money where their mouths are: they sold their 4,000 sq. ft home in Lions Bay in order to go into the field full time and will personally match $30,000 in donations for the feeding program.
We all have to try and make a difference, Seale says. You dont see a hearse pulling a U-haul people arent going to be talking about all your stuff at your funeral.
Every dime in donations to the Kids of Hope charity is accounted for, says Seale, who is paying for his own flight and says that the team is absorbing their own administration fees. Were small enough that people can talk to us and see what were doing.
And hes taking that trusty camera along, to document their experiences and the foundations progress. Im very grateful for the film industry. You get to meet some great actors; people feed you, you get top-notch treatment, Seale says. But going to Africa and the Philippines and helping to save some lives its humbling and just so rewarding.
I know that we cant solve it, that you cant save everybody. But try to imagine that its your kid we want to save them one at a time.
To donate or make enquiries about Kids Of Hope, go to kidsofhope.ca.
