Rachel Clark BSC on climbing the ranks of the camera department

Cinematographer Rachel Clark BSC began her career as a trainee, working her way up through the camera department on films including Bronson, Control and American Honey. In this video, she recounts the moments that shaped her creative voice — highlighting her experiences working with and learning from collaborators such as Robbie Ryan BSC ISC and Hélène Louvart AFC — and the inclusive, team-oriented spirit she now brings to her own sets.

Getting Started

“A lot of the people I have operated for or shot 2nd unit for are people that gave me chances back in the day,” Clark reflects. “My first job as a camera trainee was with Danny Cohen [BSC]. I had been a runner on This Is England, and I'd pestered the camera department a lot, and Danny eventually just gave in and gave me a job." From there, she continues, "I started loading, being a 2nd AC on different jobs, lots of low-budget indie movies in the north, like Bronson and Control.”

Clark’s first opportunity to work as a 1st AC and pull focus was on writer-director Andrea Arnold’s feature American Honey, shot by Robbie Ryan BSC ISC. "We did it all on a follow focus," Clark recalls. "I would be on one side of the camera and Robbie would be on the other, and we'd fight in for the wheel. Sometimes he would want to actually pull to infinity — he'd want the person to be out of focus, and I wouldn't know because it's in his brain. So we had this relationship where we would share the focus a little bit. I was literally next to him, and we would stamp on each other's feet and elbow each other out the way, and it became this little dance between us.”

Focus-Pulling Lessons

Stepping up to 1st AC, Clark found, presented challenges and lessons that role proved invaluable as she continued on her path toward becoming a cinematographer. "To be a good focus puller," she shares, "you have to get through that first few years of the stress and the fear of 'I'm going to mess it up,' or 'I don't know what I'm doing.' And every job, you've got to get into the rhythm of the DP, and how they move, and how the actors move, and how the lenses are scaled.

"I also think focus-pulling makes you an amazing operator because it's storytelling as well," she continues. "It's not just about getting someone in focus. Often you're pulling between the lines of dialogue. It's bravery, because you have to trust your instincts. If you hesitate for a minute, you've messed up. And it's the same way operating. You've got to understand when people might stand up, when people might move."

Ultimately, Clark says, her experiences as a 1st AC "gave me a lot of confidence. I was standing next to the camera, I was talking to actors, talking to directors."

Up Through the Ranks

"When I started focus-pulling, I was also shooting shorts at the same time and operating for people," Clark notes, continuing to trace her career path. "For about two years, I got in with this 2nd-unit stunt team, and I did Justice League, Fast and the Furious, Black Panther, and it was all car rigs. That's all we did, was just car chases. I got really good at fitting lots of cameras in a car really quickly and fixing them when they broke.” 

For director Sarah Gavron’s feature film Rocks, Clark was hired as B-camera operator and 2nd-unit cinematographer, working with lead cinematographer Hélène Louvart AFC. She cites the experience as a key opportunity and a significant moment of professional growth. "They proposed this kind of job where I have a mentorship and I would do all the prep, all the production meetings, all the Recces with the DP, with the director," Clark explains. "I ended up shooting lots of B camera, lots of 2nd unit. And then when Hélène couldn't finish the film — she had to do another movie — she just said, ‘Oh, Rachel can finish the film. I trust her.’ That was an amazing chance for me. And after that I said, ‘I can't assist anymore. This is it.’ And I started shooting and operating from there.”

Learning Along the Way

Before pulling focus on American Honey, Clark had worked as a 2nd AC on the Andrea Arnold and Robbie Ryan collaborations Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights. "I was really lucky that when I was an assistant, Andrea Arnold and Robbie Ryan always were so inclusive with their crew," Clark says. "If anyone found a shot that was cool, they would always say, 'Show me.' What I learned from them on all of their jobs is how to interact with actors and how to create a space that makes everyone comfortable and makes people allow you to get the best performance out of them."

Climbing the ranks and working with other cinematographers also made Clark well-acquainted with Panavision. "All my DPs were pretty much Panavision, so Panavision just always felt like home to me," she shares. "I've been going to Panavision for over 15 years. I've spent a lot of time around that coffee bar. I was always comfortable with their lenses and cameras and stuff, and lots of Panaflexes when I was loading and operating."

Sharing Opportunities

In her own work as a cinematographer, Clark strives to make her crew feel as included and supported as she had at key moments during her years coming up through the camera department. "Something I always try and do with my team is involve them," she explains. "I had this game when we were shooting, I'd get everyone to shoot GVs and little inserts and stuff, and I was like, 'Everyone has to try and get a shot in the movie. That's the game. You have to watch what I'm doing. You have to understand the framing, what the style is, what the director wants, and then just go and find something and shoot it.'

"If I'm rehearsing or if I'm doing lunch, I encourage everyone to use the camera and look through the eyepiece," she continues. "I just wanted my crew to engage, just to start people thinking that they maybe can be a DP too. The camera is not a scary thing. You should be able to touch it, pick it up, look through the eyepiece. We all take pictures on our phone every day, it's no different. I just wanted to make that easy for people to start thinking about that."