Andrew Lesnie

Biography

Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC (1 January 1956 – 27 April 2015) was an Australian cinematographer. He was best known as the cinematographer for The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and its prequel The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), both directed by New Zealand director Peter Jackson. He received the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2002.

Lesnie was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 1 January 1956, the son of Shirley (Lithgow) and Allan Lesnie, who worked for the family's company, butcher suppliers Harry Lesnie Pty Ltd.

He was educated at Sydney Grammar School. 

Andrew was well-liked and popular at school. Lesnie finished 6th form and his Higher School Certificate in 1974. He started his career in 1978 as an assistant camera operator on the film Patrick (1978) while he was still in school at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS).

His first job after graduation in 1979 was as a cameraman on the Logie Award-winning Australian magazine-style afternoon TV show Simon Townsend's Wonder World. Simon Townsend gave Lesnie almost daily opportunities to develop his craft with little restriction over a wide variety of stories and situations and to experiment with camera and lighting techniques in hundreds of locations and situations. 

After two years of working on the show, Lesnie moved on to numerous Australian film and television productions, including the mini-series Bodyline.

Later, he worked as a second camera assistant on the film The Killing of Angel Street (1981).

Lesnie would then go on to develop his craft as he photographed films such as Stations (1983), The Delinquents (1989), Temptation of the Monk (1993), and Spider and Rose (1994).

His work began receiving major attention after the release of the anthropomorphic pig story Babe (1995) and its sequel, Babe: Pig in the City. He was director of photography on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and received an Oscar for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2002. Since then, he filmed several other Jackson-directed films, including King Kong The Lovely Bones, and also filmed The Hobbit films directed by Jackson.

Lesnie used motion picture camera company Arri's Arriflex 435, Arriflex 535, and ArriCam Studio 35mm film cameras for the trilogy. He used Carl Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses and Kodak's 5279 (tungsten-balanced) film stock to photograph the films.

Lesnie planned far ahead into the production with Peter Jackson with pre-visualization programs to help establish frame sizes and angles, as well as the construction of sets. During filming, Lesnie emphasized earthly colors in the makeup and wardrobe of the cast and extras.

At the acceptance speech for his Oscar win for Fellowship of the Ring, Lesnie dedicated his acceptance to chief lighting technician Brian Bansgrove, who he described as a major contributor to the quality of the film's cinematography.