Anette Haellmigk
by Randall Robinson, SOC

From the Summer 1994 issue of the Operating Cameraman

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Anette Haellmigk, SOC is a delight to talk with. Her credentials have brought this talented operator to the forefront of today's cinema. Cinematographer on "Kisses", "The Milkman", "Undine", "Fairplay", "The Making of In The Line of Fire", and second unit director of photography on "House of Spirits" and Tony Bill’s "Untamed Heart." Ms. Haellmigk found herself operating the "A" camera on such pictures as "House of Spirits", "Tales from the Crypt", "Hudson Hawk", "Total Recall", "Rocket Gibraltar" and "The Never Ending Story."

SOC: We first became aware of you when you were assistant cameraman on "Das Boot", ("The Boat"). with Jost Vacano as the director of photography. A very interesting picture. It seemed like a very difficult shoot because everything was very tight, almost claustrophobic

ANETTE: It was a really difficult shoot because everything was shot on an actual boat or submarine. No sets. Jost had invented a new handheld camera which at the time was really very progressive. He was using an Arri 2C with two gyros attached that would balance the horizontal and vertical. This changed the handheld look to a smooth floating look. It amazed everyone.

Actually, "Das Boot" was my very first job in the camera department. I started as a loader, then quickly moved up to being the first assistant. In Europe or in Germany you get thrown into much bigger responsibilities right away.

SOC: So it was all handheld. It wasn’t Steadicam?

ANETTE: No, not at all. Steadicam was not really available in Germany at the time. People there had only heard about it.

SOC: I noticed the big chases down through the narrow corridors and when you came to a doorway, the actor would go running through but there would be something that would cause the camera to stop; maybe somebody would cross?

ANETTE: Right, right. That was to give Jost enough time to step through. The hatches were no larger in diameter than maybe 2 l\2 feet. He actually had to step through, then continue on. He needed to slow the action down a bit so he could get his long legs through. It’s fantastic how he created these movements! In the beginning when we started shooting, they didn’t dream these kinds of shots could ever be done. As the shooting went on, Jost got more of a feeling for the submarine or for the area. With his new camera invention, he gave them shots they thought impossible. Steadicam wouldn’t have worked because it’s too long and wouldn’t fit through the small doorways.

Also, Jost was not only progressive in terms of creating new cameras and techniques. He also was a progressive enough thinker to see a woman could work in camera as well as a man. He has helped this effort and I am very, very thankful to him. He believed in my abilities. I have much respect for him.

SOC: So when did you first start operating?

ANETTE: I started operating on "Robocop." Then I operated on Paul Verhoven’s "Total Recall" starring Arnold Schwartzenegger.

SOC: Here in the United States?

ANETTE: "Robocop" was shot in the U.S. and "Total Recall" was shot in Mexico with post production done in the U.S. I did with Jost also "52 Pickup" before these two films. That was still as an assistant. And then on "Robocop", I switched to operating the camera which worked out really nice. Ever since then I have been operating and I enjoy it very much.

SOC: You’ve actually been working lately as director of photography as well.

ANETTE: So far, I’ve done most of my cinematography work in Germany. The transition here in the U.S. is taking a bit longer than I had anticipated. I just moved to this country. It takes a while to get established. So I will travel and take work as a D.P. in other places until I settle in here. I had just returned here from a D.P. job in Germany and was offered a job operating camera on "House of the Spirits" starring Meryl Streep, Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons. Even though my goal is to be a D.P., I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to operate again.

The Director was Billie August, who is Danish and the D.P. was Joergen Persson, who is Swedish. He has done, "My Life as a Dog" and together with Billie August, "Pele the Conqueror," which got an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. In Europe, Joergen is considered the master of natural lighting. And since one of my passions is lighting working for him was an offer I didn’t want to pass on.

I shot screentests for them here in the U.S. when they where still testing actresses because Meryl Streep hadn’t made her commitment. I showed the director my reel which he liked very much and they invited me to operate their film and become the 2nd Unit D.P.. Now I’m going to go back to Germany to work on another film.

SOC: Well, it must have been very interesting working with Glenn Close and Meryl Streep as a woman camera operator. Did you have a lot of camaraderie? Did you find it easier working in that situation?

ANETTE: All these ladies are very nice but they don’t let you come close in a way. In the film they go through extreme age changes that carry them from 25 years old through age 70. There was a lot of heavy makeup effects in terms of the aging process and they all wore wigs. Glenn Close had worn a wig that had a very sharp hairline. I really had to watch very carefully to make sure these details were invisible and convincing to camera. Both actresses said they felt very happy about how I took care of these elements. The makeup artists were very happy as well.

There were crucial moments where these effects were closely scrutinized. I was actually very grateful the director of photography was happy to hear from me, if I thought there was a problem. I have also experienced the opposite where they say it’s none of your business.

SOC: It must have been interesting when they looked around the camera to see a woman back there. You’re one of the few operators in the business who is a woman. They must have felt comfortable. Proud that a woman was behind the camera.

ANETTE: Yes, I hope so, yes. And of course also for the men I think they enjoyed it. Although it’s always important to create an understanding with your comrades that being a woman doesn’t matter in terms of doing a professional job. But on the other hand, I think it’s very good to bring that female influence in there because guys smooth out a little bit also, having a woman on the camera.

SOC: I think this is a very important element to discuss actually, because there are a lot of women in the industry now as well as in a capacities of life where they haven’t been before. It’s an adjustment for men as it is for women.

ANETTE: Well, I think I have been very fortunate in terms of my past experiences working with men and how I was accepted as a woman entering into this industry. When I started as an A.C. in Germany, I was really the very first one. I must say I was treated with a lot of respect. During the first two weeks, they really watch closely what you do. And it seems to me once you have passed this point, they accept you.

SOC: We would like to hear about being a camera operator in Germany. How is that different from here in the United States?

ANETTE: Well, the primary thing is that there really aren’t any operators per se. In Germany you step up from the A.C. position immediately to cinematographer. In Germany we use the term cinematographer since you do the operating yourself. More like a photographer. This seems for me a very, very hard step to do all at once and not gradually, going from A.C. directly to D.P.

In the U.S. the D.P. does not operate. He really functions much more like a director. He directs the photography by delegating responsibilities. I had my training as an operator in the United States and got familiar with the working system here. After completing my first work in the U.S. I returned home to Germany and advertised myself as a camera operator, which was a new concept there.

However, there are rare situations when a German cinematographer might choose to use a person like an operator, because maybe the project becomes too complex. Once, I was asked to operate camera on a film which initially started without an operator. The cinematographer didn’t get along with the actress too well.

So they hired me as a link to work between the two of them. In Germany you don’t get fired or let go because of creative differences. When the producer or director has made the commitment to work with certain people, you work with them throughout the whole show. I mean, it must be very severe that they would say now we must exchange someone. If you would get fired from a job it would be so devastating because you can only get fired if you totally mess up your work.

When I was hired to operate as a link between the cinematographer and the actress there was a little bit of friction in terms of competence and what I was allowed to say or what input I have, sometimes it was a little bit tricky. It was very interesting. I really couldn’t blame the cinematographer, because he was used to working without an operator. So I have to find out the personality of the director of photography to guess what he wants.

I also think that’s an advantage to being a woman. I think it’s easier for women to tune into other people. I think men in general have a little bit more ego about it. Out of there nature. I think women try to integrate more where as men are more on guard.

SOC: The job of operating does tend to make you bend in that position, try to accommodate everybody. You’re leaving soon for Europe to shoot another picture?

ANETTE: It’s a comedy with a quite well known director in Germany, Doris Doerrie. She normally works with her husband Helge Weindler, who is the director of photography. The job is interesting in that I will be working as the director of photography on the occasions when Helge options not to. So this is a great opportunity for me. I feel comfortable with this because they are happy to have me.

I am very excited to work with this woman director. I went to see her speak once a few years back. She was fascinating and I thought I would very much like to work with her someday. And a chance to be exposed to another style of working photographically with this D.P.. This job is extremely challenging in that I will have to imitate his style completely when he turns over the shooting to me. It’s not second unit style. It’s having the D.P. turning the shoot over to another D.P., switching back and forth.

SOC: Being a woman, how is it when you are the director of photography with the entire crew. Do you have any different reaction? Is it more difficult?

ANETTE: I don’t think so. In Germany I have done a few films and have found a group of people that really get along fine. The feedback that I get from them is that they really like to work for me. I really try to involve them in the decision making. I approach it more like this is what I want, what can you offer me to achieve that? They really seem to like that because they get involved more.

SOC: Rather than dictate to them.

ANETTE: Yes. Having worked on so many sets I’ve learned that the more you involve people the more you get out of them. I’ve seen this when I was working as an assistant. D.P.’s have said, "you have to do this like this, and do this like that," I started to resist a little bit.

When I first started in film, my opinion was invited even though I was so young. And what did I know really about filming? But I was asked, "what do you think about this?" That involvement would really inspire me to do more in order to make something better.

Sometimes there are ego problems. You are forced to work with a person you actually wouldn’t get along with and that creates friction. Sometimes there’s a generation problem.

SOC: But that was more prevalent a few years back. Now we’re more used to the role of the woman today.

ANETTE: I must say my experiences aren’t bad. I think everyone has things in their own personality on the set and how they deal with things. How I experience it doesn’t mean that another woman experiences it the same way, or another operator experiences it that way. I think we bring in a lot of our own personality wherever we go in life, and on the set as well. But it’s still up to the individual man or woman as to how they choose to perform. Everyone is different. We’re all so individual.

SOC: Are you comfortable lighting? Is that a difficult transition going from a working operator to D.P.? Does a woman have a different eye for light than a man would? Do you find yourself playing with color more?

ANETTE: Yes, definitely. As I said, the transition from operator to D.P. is really hard and for a woman even harder since we’re still pioneers. Maybe women are more playful with colors and light. Speaking for myself, I’m certainly into creating atmosphere. But there isn’t too much work out there to make comparisons between women and men. But it is interesting that the films I have seen created by women do seem concerned with light and atmosphere. Women like atmosphere. As a little girl I was trained to make the house beautiful. I now apply that sensibility to my home and craft.

SOC: Just playing house.

ANETTE: It was interesting in "House of the Spirits" because the director and the D.P. really had a distinct style of filming. Since it is a film about story and acting, the camera doesn’t move as much as if they were shooting action. They create a sensation of portraiture. They tell their story with more lockedoff camera positions.

The art direction and the look was very important to them. Beautiful and romantic shots. It became very important to compose the actors and the background objects in the shots to create atmosphere. So besides working with the makeup artists, it was part of my job to work with the art department to watch that the sets and decors really work. In this film, operating was less about moving camera, and more about arranging and coordinating the arts, details and actors in front of camera.

SOC: Did you come on early in the project and have a lot of input?

ANETTE: I had the usual prep time, but I really had a lot of input on the set. In Europe, except Great Britain and France, the departments aren’t divided up the way it is here. It’s a different kind of teamwork, due to the fact that crews are much smaller. One department helps out the other if necessary. And there aren’t any unions there, so crossing over is more of a necessity.

For example the propmaster, who was also the art director would say, " If you want to change something, do it. I know you’ll change it for the better." That was very different from my experiences working here in the U.S. I’m not saying it’s better. It’s just different. And since I was extremely interested, I was happy to be involved.

SOC: Are there a lot of other women in other departments in Germany or are you one of the few?

ANETTE: In camera, maybe we have four now. And we all have had different degrees of success so far on the projects we have worked on. I think I have been lucky to step so far and get to work on these big films.

SOC: Have you met other women in the United States that are in the business and what kind of response do you get from them?

ANETTE: Some. And I do get very good responses from them. My first A.C. and my Gaffer here are women, which wasn’t a decision of gender; it happened more by accident. We work well together. The funny thing about all three of us is we come from a dancing background.

SOC: Does that help bring symmetric qualities to your camera movement?

ANETTE: It has an effect on your discipline. When you study dance it’s like you have to be very disciplined, as well as freestyle movement in terms of choreographing shots. In my work with the camera I really like to have movement. I have been working with Jost Vacano and he is, I think, the master of the moving camera. His mother was a dancer. He learned about movement from her. With dance you are more prone to move I think.

SOC: You’re more fluid. You have an artistic background. What is your training?

ANETTE: Well, I have to give initial credit to my parents. My father and mother owned their own business. My father Ernesto, put me to work there at an early age. He told me that he wanted me to know that I could really do anything a man could do, if my heart was in it. My mother Doris, also ran the business with my father. She comes from a long line of successful working women at a time when this was quite uncommon. They both made it seem quite natural for men and women to work equally side by side. They are amazing people.

My training, in terms of camera work I really learned it on the set. Before that I studied dancing and art history at the University. I studied photography working with fashion photographers. And at one point I was a working professional carpenter. My father bought me the tools and found me the job. He was always a creative thinker. I got into camera work more by accident.

I had a boyfriend at the time who was working as an assistant director in Berlin. He worked with a director who did these underground films in 16 mm. We were all living in a commune kind of thing. One day the director asked me if I wanted to be the assistant camera person on his film and I said sure, not knowing at all what kind of responsibility it actually is.

That director actually had a woman from Boston Film School to shoot this film. She showed me a lot, loading magazines and what you have to do in order to function as an A.C. I actually did pretty good at taking care of three cameras at once for a period of two months. On this job, doing it for the first time, it hit me: This is what I want to do. It combines all the things I like to do. I like the artistic part and the technical part. I like dealing with other people as well as traveling. This was ideal and from then on I really focused on doing camera work. And I really think I have been very fortunate with how my career has progressed so far.

I first worked here in the U.S. with Jost Vacano. He had just shot "Das Boot" and had received an Oscar nomination for that. John Frankenheimer really liked Jost’s work in this film so he offered Jost "52 Pickup." Jost asked me to come along and assist. Working here made me realize that in Germany films and schedules are much smaller.

SOC: What I think happens too, there are a lot of films like "The Piano" that could never get produced here in the United States.

ANETTE: Maybe Europeans like to make more sincere films. I remember when I first started, I thought I would do art films. Then I came to the U.S. and did "Robocop" and "Total Recall." When I read the script of "Robocop" I thought; I’m working on this film now, isn’t that weird, a comic film in a way. When actually I thought I would work only on art films. That has changed for me now.

I really enjoy the variety. If there were only films out like "The Piano" I would get bored or if there were only films like "Total Recall" or "Robocop" I would get bored too. I really like the variety. When it’s a good film I really enjoy it no matter what the subject is.

Also, if I had only done art films, I would have missed out gaining experience in the Special Visual Effects and the Special Makeup FX fields. By working on "Robocop" and "Total Recall," I learned quite a great deal about filming complicated effects by working very closely with the FX teams. I was always curious about these special FX and makeup tricks. I always used to see it as a person who looks at a magic trick. How do they do that? Now, I have experienced working with how these tricks are done and realize they are much more complicated and eccentric than I had ever imagined. A lot of work, but a lot of fun!

SOC: You really seem to enjoy the cinema and your position. We’re very proud to have you in the SOC.

ANETTE: Well I’m very proud of that. I think it’s good to be associated with a Society where you are coming out sharing and discussing with your peers. We all have similar and different experiences to share. And common goals.

SOC: Do you carry the SOC after your name?

ANETTE: I do, yes. Actually, I don’t know what the credit on "House of the Spirits" will read because I saw the credits in Germany and it wasn’t on there.

SOC: You have to fight for it.

ANETTE: They had promised me. I don’t know what the credits will be in the United States because they definitely had to be on there.

SOC: You actually have to put it on your deal memo.

ANETTE: Right. Now I have done that.

SOC: Like it’s your birth name. But you’re proud to have that?

ANETTE: Yes, very much. Very, very much.

SOC: Occasionally women in this country seem to be offended by the fact that we’re named the Society of Operating Cameramen as opposed to some other name. It was chosen. We were the Association of Camera Operators originally and the organization changed its name so that we could have the SOC be very clearly our identity. I don’t consider it a gender situation that the person that operates the camera is a cameraman. It doesn’t matter if they are a woman or a man.

ANETTE: I agree with you. I have been thinking about that for a long time now. There was also a time where I was calling myself, or considering calling myself a camerawoman or assistant camerawoman and I thought… it sounds weird. It doesn’t sound right. Then I went to make it more neutral by saying camera person but I think that doesn’t sound right either. I just think that cameraman in a way, is a standing meaning.

SOC: Webster’s Dictionary has it as "a person who operates a television or motion picture camera" is a cameraman.

ANETTE: That’s how I would see it. I mean, I’m not offended by it now. I have accepted it but it’s I know there are other women who are much more specific, let’s say fighting for their rights.

Women want to inform the public, bring awareness to the broader society that there are actually women who do these jobs too, because when you hear the title cameraman, of course you associate a man with it. There are other ways of explaining that women do this work too. That is why it is good to do these interviews.

This interview is very good because it does advertise that there are women in the SOC and there are women in the industry. I think that’s very important because it shows how it has evolved and that it is evolving. If a person is dedicated to a craft, it doesn’t matter if they are a man or woman. If they excel and give the best, that’s everything.

I think it is a very interesting and exciting time indeed to be involved in the film industry. We see women surfacing such as Jane Campion, a very talented woman. Yes, I am extremely happy to be a part of this new frontier of Cinema. I’m looking forward to experiencing more work with talented men... and women!