Irish director of photography Seamus McGarvey stands in the first rank of international cinematographers. He talks to Ryan Kernaghan about influences, technique, and his most recent project Sahara.

Having just shot his biggest film to date – Sahara – in the Moroccan desert, Seamus McGarvey is enjoying some downtime before flying to Mississippi to photograph Don Cheadle's directorial debut, the Soderbergh/Clooney-produced Tishomingo Blues. During a relatively short but nonetheless auspicious career, Seamus McGarvey has worked with directorial luminaries such as Stephen Frears, Mike Nichols, Michael Apted and Stephen Daldry, and has become the youngest ever member of the British Society of Cinematographers. With sublimely photographed films like The War Zone and The Hours already under his belt, and with Sahara due for release in April 2005, he is now quietly becoming one of the most sought-after cinematographers in the world.

With a budget of $170 million, Sahara is the biggest film McGarvey has shot to date. He was as cinematographer in early Summer 2004, after completing work on Along Came Polly. Ostensibly an action film, Sahara sees Penélope Cruz, Mathew McConaughey and William H. Macy crossing paths in an attempt to uncover the source of catastrophic industrial pollution and a raging epidemic afflicting thousands of people around the Nile. The film is the first feature to be directed by Breck Eisner, son of Hollywood mogul Michael. Not only is Sahara an aesthetic departure from his previous work – largely made up of drama (The Hours, The War Zone) and comedy (High Fidelity, Along Came Polly) – it's also the most photographically demanding film he has undertaken. 'The logistics of administrating a camera team are mind boggling. We had eight cameras: a first unit with three cameras; a second unit with three; a marine unit; an aerial unit; a models and an entire visual effects unit. Altogether, we had sixteen cameras running concurrently, and I had to see everyone's rushes and still direct the photography of each unit as well!'

The full article is printed in Film Ireland 103.