Sue Gibson obit

Sue Gibson(1952-2016)

 She was not on the list.

Sue Gibson (8 November 1952 – 27 July 2016) was a British cinematographer known for the film Mrs. Dalloway (1997). She was the first female member of the British Society of Cinematographers, and later became the first female president of the society in 2008.

Sue Gibson was born in Derbyshire, England. She left Derbyshire at the age of 18, in 1970 after school and followed her passion, taking up photography at the Newport College of Art.

Gibson's experience with photography started after she was given her first camera at the age of fourteen. Her studies at Newport College of Art influenced her interest in film, thus leading her to attend the National Film and Television School, graduating in 1981.

After graduating in 1981 from the National Film and Television School, Gibson started her career in the film industry as a clapper loader. She worked as a clapper loader for only two years until she started her position as Director of Photography for commercials, television shows, and films.

Gibson progressed from working on television commercials to television productions after 10 years: her first being Hear My Song (1991), which then started her work with major films and television series. As Gibson was one of the rare females working in photography and behind the camera in her day, she built her experience based on the help and teachings of those on set around her. When her first production came around, her feelings on working on Hear My Song (1991) were stated as: “It was fantastic and a great film to work on. Being your first feature you put your heart and soul into it” Sue Gibson, quoted from In Conversation with Cinematographers, by David A. Ellis.

Gibson went on to work on various television productions and series, and major film productions, including Mrs. Dalloway (1997), Resident Evil (2002), Alien vs. Predator (film) (2004), and more. She also worked on the British television series Agatha Raisin: The Quiche of Death (2014). The last thing she worked on before her death was 4 episodes of 'Death In Paradise' and was posthumously awarded The Philips Vari-Lite Award for Drama at The Knight of Illumination Awards 2016 for 2 of the episodes.

Sue Gibson has the legacy of holding the first female member of the British Society of Cinematographers, invited to the group in 1992. Her awards and work landed her an offer to be elected as a member on the board of governors for the society in 2004, and later to become the first female president of the British Society of Cinematographers between the years of 2008–2010.

Her legacy as the first female member of the British Society of Cinematographers allowed co-worker, director Marleen Gorris, to speak highly of Gibson in an interview on the film Mrs. Dalloway, claiming she was: "the most important and only woman"

Filmography

Taken from Sue Gibson on the Internet Movie Database:

 

Year     Title     Credit Listing

1983    The Ploughman’s Lunch         Clapper Loader

1983    Birth of a Nation, T.V. movie  Assistant Camera

1983    John Love, short         

1991    A Room of One’s Own, T.V. movie   

1991    The New Look           

1991    Secret Friends

1991    Hear My Song

1997    Mrs Dalloway Director of Photography

1997    Bright Hair, T.V. movie          

1998    Amongst Women, T.V. mini series     

1998    Lights, short   

1999    Pure Wickedness, T.V. series 

1999    Tube Tales      

2000    Saving Grace   Director of Photography; 2nd Unit

2001    Moving on Up

2001    Fourplay         

2001    The Search for John Gissing  

2002    Resident Evil   Director of photography; 2nd Unit

2002    Mrs Caldicot’s Cabbage War  Director of photography

2002    The Forsyte Saga, mini T.V. series      Director of photography

2002-2003       Spooks, T.V. series      Director of photography

2004    AVP: Alien vs. Preditor           Director of photography

2005    Lights 2, short

2005    55 Degrees North, T.V. series Director of photography

2005    Jericho, T.V. series      Director of photography

2005    Riot at the Right, T.V. movie 

2006    Agatha Christie: Poirot, T.V. series (episode 1)          Director of photography

2006    A Sense of Carol Reed, video documentary short      Camera operator

2006    The Holiday    Director of photography; 2nd Unit

2005/2007       Agatha Christie’s Marple, T.V. series, 2 episodes       Director of photography

2007    Confessions of a Diary Secretary, T.V. movie            Director of photography

2007    Women Behind the Camera    Self

2008    Shooting Women        Self

2009    Diamonds, T.V. movie Lighting cameraman

2009    31 North 62 East        

2010    Looking for the Lone Star       Assistant camera

2011    The Mapmaker, short 

2012    Inspector Lewis, T.V. series, 1 episode           Director of photography

2014    Agatha Raisin: The Quiche of Death, T.V. movie      Director of photography