Ernest Vincze obit

Ernest Vincze BSC HSC (1942-2024)

 

He was not on the list.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ernie Vincze on 6th October 2024, aged 81. Born in Budapest, Hungary, Ernie called London home for most of his adult life.

Ernie was a well-respected cinematographer with a passion for his work and visual storytelling. Starting out in ground-breaking documentary work he moved into narrative film and television where he forged a career that lasted decades. His dedication and talent earned him two BAFTA nominations and two BAFTA awards, both for his cinematography on the Doctor Who reboot. Ernie was elected to the British Society of Cinematographers in 1978 and was an active member of BAFTA, serving on several committees and judging panels, throughout his life. He also generously shared his expertise by teaching cinematography at the National Film and Television School (NFTS), passing his passion on to future generations.

Outside of his illustrious career, Ernie was an avid tennis player and fan of music. He was a loving and dedicated husband, father and grandfather, and leaves behind family, friends and colleagues who will miss him greatly.

Our thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time especially his wife Lyn. Thank you Ernie for your work and all you did for our community.

Biography from Phil Méheux BSC

ERNEST VINCZE BSC HSC

1942 - 2024

Honorary Full Member

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Ernie Vincze describes himself as a, ‘self-taught, self-made cameraman’, who lived through communism for the first 22 years of his life. At school, he became interested in human studies, particularly philosophy, ethnography and anthropology. At age 15, he found a cinema in Budapest that showed documentaries all day. ‘I knew then that I wanted to be involved.’ He applied for a university course in directorial/cinematography studies but was not accepted as he was too young so, he applied to the Hungarian national television station as a runner.

He started in the camera room in the early 1960s maintaining film cameras. Due to a shortage of qualified cameraman, he soon found himself working alongside veterans, graduating to main camera at football matches. Later, he made friends with a visiting English teacher who sponsored him to come to the UK.

Ernie arrived in England in early 1964, took the train to London and booked himself into a youth hostel. He did a number of menial jobs until he came across Reflex Films who needed a camera assistant. Asked if he was familiar with the Éclair camera, he said yes, but realised the next day that he knew nothing about it. Ernest confessed and was sent to the camera room where the technician showed him everything about the camera. He worked a few more times for Reflex Films, which was a turning point in his life.

His next job was as an assistant for the documentary film company, Allan King Associates where his first job was a film portrait of RADA directed by Dick Fontaine and photographed by Chris Menges ASC BSC. Both became his mentors, ‘Teachers in the art, psychology and construction of documentary filmmaking.’

In 1974, Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo were planning to shoot a low-budget feature film backed by the BFI. They wanted everyone to work for free, for the ‘love of cinema.’ After days of deliberation, Ernest phoned Kevin and offered his services.

His commitment, and hard work paid off a couple years later when Winstanley (1975 d. Kevin Brownlow) screened at the London Film Festival to great critical success. Producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory were in the audience. The next day he received a call from New York and was on the plane to photograph the Merchant Ivory film Roseland (1977).

He became a member of the BSC in 1978 and was Head of Cinematography at the National Film and Television School from 2000-2002. He lived in London.

OTHER CREDITS: Fox (TV series), Jane Austen in Manhattan, High Hopes, A Woman of Substance, Shanghai Surprise, The Camomile Lawn, Doctor Who

SELECTED AWARDS: BAFTA TV Award Nomination: Kennedy (1983 d. Jim Goddard) BAFTA TV Award Nomination: A Very British Coup (1988 d. Mick Jackson)

BAFTA Cymru Award Winner: Doctor Who (2006)

BAFTA Cymru Award Winner: Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned (2007 d. James Strong)

Cinematographer

Guy Henry in Holby City (1999)

Holby City

5.8

TV Series

director of photography (as Ernie Vincze)

2005–2012

20 episodes

 

Angela Griffin, Liam Scholes, Ava Flannery, Vincent Jerome, Noah Valentine, Katherine Pearce, Thapelo Ray, and Adam Ali in Waterloo Road (2006)

Waterloo Road

7.1

TV Series

director of photography (as Ernie Vincze)

2009–2010

6 episodes

 

Christopher Eccleston, Peter Capaldi, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Jodie Whittaker in Doctor Who (2005)

Doctor Who

8.5

TV Series

director of photography

2005–2009

38 episodes

 

Joanne Froggatt, David Harewood, Gordon Kennedy, Sam Troughton, and Jonas Armstrong in Robin Hood (2006)

Robin Hood

7.4

TV Series

director of photography

2009

7 episodes

 

John Leeson, Elisabeth Sladen, Yasmin Paige, Daniel Anthony, Tommy Knight, Sinead Michael, and Anjli Mohindra in The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007)

The Sarah Jane Adventures

7.4

TV Series

director of photography (as Ernie Vincze)

2007

2 episodes

 

Sea of Souls (2004)

Sea of Souls

7.4

TV Series

Cinematographer

2004

2 episodes

 

Snakeboy and Sandcastle

Short

Cinematographer

2002

 

Macbeth (2001)

Macbeth

7.4

TV Movie

Cinematographer

2001

 

Linda Green (2001)

Linda Green

6.7

TV Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

2001–2002

 

The Mystic Masseur (2001)

The Mystic Masseur

5.8

director of photography (as Ernie Vincze)

2001

 

The Strangerers (2000)

The Strangerers

6.8

TV Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

2000

2 episodes

 

Shooting the Past (1999)

Shooting the Past

8.4

TV Mini Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1999

3 episodes

 

Joi Johannsson and Pálína Jónsdóttir in The Dance (1998)

The Dance

6.9

Cinematographer

1998

 

Big Women (1998)

Big Women

6.6

TV Mini Series

director of photography (as Ernie Vincze)

1998

4 episodes

 

Mark Tully's Faces of India

TV Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1997

 

Weekend Bird

Short

Cinematographer

1997

 

Edward Woodward and Peter Woodward in The House of Angelo (1997)

The House of Angelo

6.8

director of photography (as Ernest A. Vincze)

1997

 

Screen Two (1984)

Screen Two

6.3

TV Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1997

1 episode

 

Rough Justice (1982)

Rough Justice

9.2

TV Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1996

1 episode

 

Isabel Allende: An Extraordinary Life

Cinematographer

1995

 

Heavy Weather (1995)

Heavy Weather

7.0

TV Movie

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1995

 

Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Marlaine Gordon in TV Operas (1993)

TV Operas

TV Series

Cinematographer

1995

1 episode

 

Melvyn Bragg in The South Bank Show (1978)

The South Bank Show

6.9

TV Series

Cinematographer

1994

1 episode

 

Grushko (1994)

Grushko

6.2

TV Series

Cinematographer

1994

 

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in Jeeves and Wooster (1990)

Jeeves and Wooster

8.4

TV Series

director of photography

1991–1993

12 episodes

 

De terre et de sang (1992)

De terre et de sang

6.9

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1992

 

Jennifer Ehle and Tara Fitzgerald in The Camomile Lawn (1992)

The Camomile Lawn

7.4

TV Series

director of photography

1992

4 episodes

 

The Nightmare Years (1989)

The Nightmare Years

6.9

TV Mini Series

Cinematographer

1989

4 episodes

 

Dispatches (1987)

Dispatches

6.6

TV Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze, lighting cameraman)

1988

1 episode

 

Ray McAnally in A Very British Coup (1988)

A Very British Coup

8.2

TV Mini Series

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1988

3 episodes

 

Business as Usual (1988)

Business as Usual

6.0

Cinematographer

1988

 

Dogplant (1988)

Dogplant

6.4

Short

Cinematographer

1988

 

If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium (1987)

If It's Tuesday, It Still Must Be Belgium

4.8

TV Movie

director of photography

1987

 

Alan Arkin, Rutger Hauer, and Joanna Pacula in Escape from Sobibor (1987)

Escape from Sobibor

7.4

TV Movie

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1987

 

Madonna and Sean Penn in Shanghai Surprise (1986)

Shanghai Surprise

3.3

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1986

 

Biggles: Adventures in Time (1986)

Biggles: Adventures in Time

5.6

director of photography

1986

 

Behind Enemy Lines (1985)

Behind Enemy Lines

5.6

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1985

 

Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil (1985)

Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil

6.5

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1985

 

A Woman of Substance (1984)

A Woman of Substance

7.5

TV Mini Series

director of photography

1985

3 episodes

 

Sharma and Beyond (1984)

Sharma and Beyond

7.2

TV Movie

Cinematographer (as Ernie Vincze)

1984

 

Kennedy (1983)

Kennedy

7.7

TV Mini Series

director of photography

1983

7 episodes

 

Suzanna Hamilton in A Pattern of Roses (1983)

A Pattern of Roses

6.0

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1983

 

The Boy Who Won the Pools (1983)

The Boy Who Won the Pools

6.8

TV Series

Cinematographer

1983

10 episodes

 

Der Narr von Wien

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1982

 

Tangiers (1982)

Tangiers

7.0

Cinematographer (as Ernest A Vincze)

1982

 

The Pantomime Dame (1982)

The Pantomime Dame

Cinematographer

1982

 

Worlds Apart

TV Mini Series

Cinematographer

1982

1 episode

 

Kathy Burke and Chrissie Cotterill in Scrubbers (1982)

Scrubbers

5.6

director of photography

1982

 

ABC Afterschool Specials (1972)

ABC Afterschool Specials

7.1

TV Series

director of photography

1981–1982

3 episodes

 

High Hopes

Cinematographer

1981

 

NBC Special Treat (1975)

NBC Special Treat

6.8

TV Series

Cinematographer

1976–1980

2 episodes

 

Blade on the Feather (1980)

Cream in My Coffee

7.2

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1980

 

Anne Baxter and Robert Powell in Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)

Jane Austen in Manhattan

4.6

Cinematographer

1980

 

Eamon Boland, Bernard Hill, Larry Lamb, Derrick O'Connor, Elizabeth Spriggs, Peter Vaughan, and Ray Winstone in Fox (1980)

Fox

8.2

TV Series

director of photography

1980

13 episodes

 

Mad Dogs and Cricketers

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1979

 

ITV Playhouse (1967)

ITV Playhouse

6.9

TV Series

Cinematographer

1979

1 episode

 

The South African Experience: Six Days of Soweto

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1977

 

Roseland (1977)

Roseland

6.0

Cinematographer

1977

 

The Eye of Jefferson

Short

Cinematographer (photography)

1977

 

The Queen's Realm: A Prospect of England

7.2

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1977

 

Omnibus (1967)

Omnibus

7.1

TV Series

Cinematographer

1976

1 episode

 

World in Action (1963)

World in Action

7.0

TV Series

Cinematographer (photography)

1974–1976

3 episodes

 

Pilger

TV Series

Cinematographer

1975–1976

2 episodes

 

Winstanley (1975)

Winstanley

7.1

Cinematographer

1975

 

Got It Made (1974)

Got It Made

Cinematographer

1974

 

Disappearing World (1970)

Disappearing World

8.8

TV Series

Cinematographer (photographed by)

1974

1 episode

 

Between the Anvil and the Hammer (1973)

Between the Anvil and the Hammer

6.5

Short

Cinematographer

1973

 

The Iron Village (1973)

The Iron Village

Short

Cinematographer

1973

 

Rock City (1973)

Rock City

6.4

Cinematographer

1973

 

Genesis: Live in Borehamwood 1973 (1973)

Genesis: Live in Borehamwood 1973

Cinematographer

1973

 

Warhol (1973)

Warhol

6.7

TV Movie

Cinematographer

1973

 

Beaton by Bailey (1971)

Beaton by Bailey

7.3

TV Movie

Cinematographer (uncredited)

1971

 

Bird's-Eye View (1969)

Bird's-Eye View

TV Series

Cinematographer (uncredited)

1971

1 episode

 

Camera and Electrical Department

Michael Caine, Helen Mirren, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, and Ray Winstone in Last Orders (2001)

Last Orders

6.9

camera operator: second unit (as Ernie Vincze)

2001

 

Chris Penn, Stellan Skarsgård, Paul Bettany, and Sienna Guillory in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2001)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

6.2

director of photography: additional photography (as Ernie Vincze)

2001

 

Kathy Burke and James Dreyfus in Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999)

Gimme Gimme Gimme

7.5

TV Series

lighting cameraman (as Ernie Vincze)

1999–2000

5 episodes

 

Samuel L. Jackson and Greta Scacchi in The Red Violin (1998)

The Red Violin

7.6

second unit camera operator: Oxford

1998

 

Great Performances (1971)

Great Performances

7.9

TV Series

photography (as Ernie Vincze)

1997

1 episode

 

Cyberspace

7.3

TV Mini Series

lighting camera

1996

3 episodes

 

Dispatches (1987)

Dispatches

6.6

TV Series

camera operator

1995

1 episode

 

Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood (1995)

Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood

8.7

TV Mini Series

camera: UK

camera operator

1995

2 episodes

 

Red Eagle (1994)

Red Eagle

5.5

TV Movie

director of photography: Paris

1994

 

In Suspicious Circumstances

8.2

TV Series

director of photography

1994

1 episode

 

The Secret Policeman's Private Parts (1983)

The Secret Policeman's Private Parts

7.3

TV Movie

photography: United Kingdom

1983

 

ABBA: Words and Music (1980)

ABBA: Words and Music

Short

photography

1980

 

The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)

The Secret Policeman's Ball

6.8

TV Movie

photography

1979

 

World in Action (1963)

World in Action

7.0

TV Series

camera operator

1977

1 episode

 

Pleasure at Her Majesty's (1976)

Pleasure at Her Majesty's

7.3

TV Movie

photography

1976

 

Omnibus (1967)

Omnibus

7.1

TV Series

cameraman

1974

1 episode

 

Pilger

TV Series

camera operator

1974

2 episodes

 

Scene (1968)

Scene

6.4

TV Series

camera operator

1974

1 episode

 

Disappearing World (1970)

Disappearing World

8.8

TV Series

camera operator

1971–1973

3 episodes

 

Luchino Visconti in Bailey on Visconti (1972)

Bailey on Visconti

7.0

TV Movie

camera operator

1972

 

Bird's-Eye View (1969)

Bird's-Eye View

TV Series

film cameraman

additional filming

1971

2 episodes

 

The Tribe That Hides from Man

7.9

TV Movie

camera operator

1970

 

Actor

Right to Work March (1972)

Right to Work March

8.5

Short

Contributor

1972