Film Biz Chat: One on One with DP, Vance Burberry ASC, ACS

Vance grew up in Sydney Australia, his passion for light began while working as a stage hand at a theater company in Sydney. Vance marveled at the way light could transform the stage into this magical world that would allow the audience to become immersed in the story being told. Vance soon began working in the lighting department, learning the craft of theater lighting design. One day, Vance read and re-read the bible of theater lighting, “Stage Lighting design” by Richard Pilbrow. This changed his world. To make a living which was very hard in theater at that time, he started lighting for local rock bands, eventually lighting concert tours for major Australian artists including Cold Chisel and INXS. During a world tour with INXS in 1984 ending in the US, he was hired to stay and finish what would be the final tour of the GoGo’s.

After the tour Vance worked on several projects until one day he landed working on a film set. This is where he discovered a whole new world of light. Vance quickly moved up to the Gaffer position in the music video world. at the time heavy metal bands wanted big concert lighting which was my background. This soon propelled him to the DP position, allowing him the freedom to design and create the lighting on set.  Vance shot videos for Guns' and Roses, Tesla, Extreme, Alice Cooper and many more. 

Cinematography is not only a craft but a spiritual journey. For Vance to tell a story visually requires an emotional connection. It's incredibly important to balance the creative aspect with the challenges every producer faces, his experience allows collaborate and find solutions to many of these problems. Vance loves challenges of all aspects of what he does and cannot imagine doing anything else.