Background
John Alcott was born in Isleworth, England, in 1931, to the father of Movie Executive Arthur Alcott.
John Alcott was born in Isleworth, England, in 1931, to the father of Movie Executive Arthur Alcott.
Alcott died from a heart attack in Cannes, France in July 1986. He was 55. He received a tribute at the end of his last film Number Way Out starring Kevin Costner. At a young age, Alcott started his career in film by becoming a clapper boy, which was the lowest position in the camera crew chain.
As time progressed however, he moved his way up and eventually became the third highest position of the camera following the lighting cameraman and the main camera operator.
His position was extremely important, as his job was to adjust, focus and measure the lens and distance between the actor or object being shot and the camera itself. Alcott"s big break was given to him by Stanley Kubrick, who was a master cinematographer, director, producer and screenwriter.
Kubrick promoted Alcott to lighting cameraman in 1968 while working on “2001: A Space Odyssey” and from there the two created an inseparable collaboration, in which they worked together on more than one occasion. Alcott studied lighting and how the light fell in the rooms of a set.
He would do this so that when he shot his work it would look like natural lighting, not stage lighting.
lieutenant was this extra work and research that made his films look so visually beautiful. Not one, but three films worked on by Alcott were ranked between 1950–1997 in the top 20 of “Best Shot”, voted by the American Society of Cinematographers. Not only was Alcott a highly regarded cinematographer, in the 80s when he immigrated into the United States of America he directed and shot commercials for television
While in Cannes, France, Alcott suffered a heart attack and died on 28 July 1986.
In memory and honour of John Alcott, the "Bachelor of Science John Alcott ARRI Award" was created by the British Society of Cinematographers to honour fellow lighting cameramen in film.
British Society of Cinematographers.