Was Clara Schumann a Fag Hag?
The Second Volume of an Autobiography mainly, but not entirely, about the Film Business...
Rachael Adams: Designer, Illustrator, Archivist, Website Creator and A Best Chum to Mr Watkin
Sadly, the remaining copies of David’s autobiography were destroyed after probate to his estate was granted.
Designed, produced and published by Scrutineer’s.
Preface:
David Watkin’s life has been an uncanny fusion of luck and intelligence, and at no stage has his progress been predictable. Born in 1925 in Margate, he developed an intense love of music and literature, yet he first encountered the world of work as a messenger boy and camera assistant at British Transport Films. He left the Documentary Movement for Feature films, via the new industry of TV commercials, and rapidly set new standards in the way films should look. Accompanying the Lifetime Achievement’s Award at Lodz in 2004 was a publication with tributes from fellow professionals, such as Laslo Kovacs, Roger Deakins, and Curtis Clark who, among others, described the impact made on them of his innovative cinematographic techniques. Above all, he is prepared to pursue a creativity of vision in the face of the conservative, accountant-led ethos of the Film Industry.
Rather than be determined by conventional career moves, he has been energised by his collaborations with the Great Originals described within, such as those with Tony Richardson, Peter Sellars, Franco Zeffirelli, Daniel Barenboim, Peter Brook and Terence Donovan, whose spirit and energy infuses his every day.
It is a Life filled with Delight –
in Love,
in Craft,
in Learning and Wit
in equal measure.
Why is there only one word for Thesaurus? (1998) began a chronicle of his long and creative life that this present work sustains and extends.
Product details
Paperback: 564 pages
First Edition: 2008
Publisher: Scrutineer’s
ISBN: 978-0953408016
Although essential parts from the earlier volume (Why is there only one word for thesaurus?) re-appear in Clara, to all intents and purposes, it is a new piece of work.
The books, (first editions), were produced by subscription.
We realised during the design and production of this Second Volume, that David was really rather poorly… there was an urgency to get the books back from the printer, and for David to inscribe copies for his subscribers.
During the wait (while 2000 books were printed), the Scrutineer continued to visit David most days – shifting from Designer & Publisher to Archivist and Website Producer… during David’s final months many hours were spent directing her in organising his letters, photographs and film memorabilia…
The David Watkin (Archive) Website
Rachael Adams and Chris Mullen (below) have begun to trace David Watkin’s contributions to documentary, commercial and feature film-making, relating his achievements and innovations to the very character of the man, complex and perverse, innocent yet knowing at the same time. He wore his learning lightly but with much seriousness.
They have invited friends and colleagues to add their own impressions to the site. The updated version having been initiated as a response to the hundreds of friends of David Watkin from all over the world who wished to contribute to the archive of memories of this remarkable man. The editors are the designer Rachael Adams and the historian Chris Mullen who were in contact with David in Brighton on a weekly, often daily, basis.
