Jost Vacano

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Jost Vacano at the annual general meeting of the Federal Association of Cinematography, Hamburg 2015

Jost Vacano (born March 15, 1934 in Osnabrück ) is a German cameraman who became internationally known for his camera work for the film Das Boot and for a number of Dutch and US films by director Paul Verhoeven .

life and work

Jost Vacano with his wife Dagmar (2011)

Jost Vacano graduated from the Max-Planck-Gymnasium in Dortmund in 1954 . In addition to studying electrical engineering at the Technical University of Munich and after attending the German Institute for Film and Television , Jost Vacanos began his camera career in the 1950s with advertising and documentary films . During this time, he worked on the documentary Moscow 1957 about the World Youth Festival in Moscow under the direction of Peter Schamoni .

After some television films in which he - u. a. directed by Peter Zadek - as a cameraman, the literary adaptation Schonzeit für Füchse (1966, director: Peter Schamoni) was his first feature film. Vacano also worked with well-known directors in the following years: Among other things, for the Tatort episode Kressin and the Dead Man in the Fleet and German Lesson with Peter Beauvais and for Supermarket and Dear Fatherland may be quiet (film tape in gold for the camera) with Roland Click .

Vacano made it to the front row of German cameramen by 1975 at the latest with the creation of the image of The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum . For this he was honored with the German Film Prize. In 1981 he was able to reap laurels on the international stage: The six Oscar nominations for the theatrical version of Das Boot also included a nomination for Vacano's camera work.

He continued his collaboration with Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen in 1984 with the camera work for The Neverending Story . At this point in time, however, he was already becoming increasingly aware of him in the USA. This is particularly true for the established Dutch director Paul Verhoeven , for whom Vacano had worked for The Soldier of Orange in 1977 and for Spetters in 1980. Under the direction of Verhoeven, he was initially responsible for the images of RoboCop (1987). A collaboration that subsequently resulted in the Schwarzenegger film Total Recall (1990), the box office production Showgirls (1995), the extremely controversial film Starship Troopers (1997) and Hollow Man - Invisible Hazard (2000) should continue. The last-mentioned film also marks the provisional end of the list of productions in which Jost Vacano was involved.

Vacano's image design was characterized by extremely active camera work right from the start of his career. Over the years he has further developed and perfected this style, which relies on working with a handheld camera or steadicam in particular . The camera movements in Das Boot , which ran along the longitudinal axis of the submarine , formed a preliminary highlight . Vacano used a self-made gyroscope for these trips to carry the camera through the boat scenery without wobbling. Vacano developed this technique in 1973 in collaboration with the director Roland Klick for the film supermarket . The dynamic joosticam , as Vacanos Steadicam was called in Hollywood, is an essential part of the film, as it best expresses the state of the leading actor, who is constantly on the run.

True to the motto "Motion Pictures - these are moving pictures", he also placed great emphasis on providing dynamic images in the years that followed. Vacano is now also involved as a lecturer in training the next generation of cameras.

In 2003 Vacano was one of the founding members of the German Film Academy .

Since 2008 Vacano has led a legal dispute regarding a fairness compensation acc. § 32a UrhG because of the extraordinary success of the film Das Boot . The first lawsuit brought against the production company Bavaria , the exploiter of the film licenses EuroVideo and the WDR even had to be decided several times over the years by the Munich Regional Court and the Munich Higher Regional Court, after an appeal procedure before the Federal Court of Justice had been successful and thus the previous one judgments issued were overturned. In the end, the Munich Higher Regional Court decided in December 2017 in this matter in favor of Vacano. He was awarded the full amount of around 600,000 euros including lost interest. In another lawsuit against the SWR and the remaining seven ARD broadcasters, there is a demand for a total of 440,000 euros in additional payment. After an appeal procedure before the Federal Court of Justice was successful here too, and a ruling that has meanwhile been issued by the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court has been overturned, a final decision on this matter is still pending. However, the appeal decision of the BGH is already regarded as a “fundamental judgment” from which cameramen, screenwriters and directors of other successful films can benefit.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

Inauguration of his star on the Boulevard der Stars (2011)

literature

  • Marko Kregel: Jost Vacano - The camera as the eye of the viewer. Schüren Verlag, Marburg 2005, ISBN 3-89472-395-5 .
  • Peter Hartig: "And Action ..." - Interview with Jost Vacano. In: cinearte XL 014 (2010), pp. 14-31.
  • Bernd Giesemann: The cameraman Jost Vacano. Visual concepts and strategies of his camera work. Schüren Verlag, Marburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-7410-0327-1 (also dissertation 2017)

Web links

Commons : Jost Vacano  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ With the camera in the “boat” to Hollywood : Article on the class reunion of the 1954 Abitur class at the Max-Planck-Gymnasium, in the Westfälische Rundschau on March 27, 2004
  2. ↑ Jost Vacano (2011): SOC 2011 Historical Shot: Das Boot by Jost Vacano
  3. ↑ Filmhaus Köln: Jost Vacano ( Memento of the original from October 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 14, 2011.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / filmhauskoeln.de
  4. ↑ die medienakademie: “Das Boot” - cameraman Jost Vacano as guest lecturer in Berlin  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed September 14, 2011.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.diemedienakademie.de  
  5. ^ BGH, judgment of September 22, 2011, Az. I ZR 127/10.
  6. ↑ OLG Munich, judgment of March 21, 2013, Az. 29 U 3312/09.
  7. ↑ BGH, decision of March 19, 2014, Az. I ZR 74/13.
  8. ^ LG Munich I, judgment of June 2, 2016, Az. 7 O 17694/08.
  9. ^ Stephan Handel: The cameraman of "Das Boot" receives 600,000 euros retrospectively . In: sueddeutsche.de . 2017, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on January 24, 2018]).
  10. ↑ Cameraman is suing for additional payment for "Das Boot". In: Legal Tribune Online. July 6, 2011, accessed June 18, 2020 .
  11. ↑ OLG Stuttgart, judgment of September 26, 2018, Az. 4 U 2/18.
  12. ^ Message from the press office: Federal Court of Justice on the further remuneration of the chief cameraman of the film "Das Boot". In: Federal Court of Justice. February 20, 2020, accessed June 18, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Wolfgang Janisch: cameraman of "Das Boot" obtains a fundamental judgment. In: Süddeutsche.de. February 20, 2020, accessed June 18, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Jost Vacano is the 10th winner of the Marburg Camera Prize , in: Informationsdienst Wissenschaft from March 15, 2010, accessed on March 18, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Vacano, Jost
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cameraman
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Osnabrück