Andrew Lesnie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrew Lesnie ACS, ASC
Born	1 January 1956 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	27 April 2015(2015-04-27) (aged 59) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1978–2014
Awards	Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Andrew Lesnie was an amazing Australian cinematographer. A cinematographer is the person in charge of the cameras and lighting on a movie set. They make sure the film looks great! Andrew Lesnie was best known for his work on the famous Lord of the Rings movies (2001–2003) and The Hobbit movies (2012–2014). Both of these popular film series were directed by Peter Jackson. Andrew Lesnie even won an Oscar in 2002 for his fantastic work on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Early Life and First Jobs

Andrew Lesnie was born in Sydney, Australia, on January 1, 1956. He went to Sydney Grammar School. After finishing school in 1974, he started his career in movies in 1978.

His very first job was helping with the camera on a film called Patrick (1978). He was still studying at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) at the time. After graduating in 1979, he worked as a cameraman for an Australian TV show called Simon Townsend's Wonder World. This job gave him lots of chances to practice his camera and lighting skills in many different places.

After two years, Andrew Lesnie moved on to work on many other Australian TV shows and films. He helped create movies like The Delinquents (1989) and Spider and Rose (1994).

Becoming a Famous Cinematographer

Andrew Lesnie's work really started to get noticed after the movie Babe (1995) came out. This was a sweet story about a talking pig! He also worked on its sequel, Babe: Pig in the City.

His biggest success came when he became the main cinematographer for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. He won an Oscar for the first movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, in 2002.

After that, he continued to work with Peter Jackson on other big movies. These included King Kong (2005) and The Lovely Bones (2009). He also filmed all three Hobbit movies, which were also directed by Peter Jackson.

Filming The Lord of the Rings

For The Lord of the Rings movies, Andrew Lesnie used special 35mm film cameras. He worked closely with director Peter Jackson to plan out every shot. They used computer programs to help decide how to frame each scene and what angles to use. Andrew Lesnie also made sure the colors in the actors' makeup and costumes looked natural and earthy.

When he won his Oscar for The Fellowship of the Ring, he thanked his chief lighting technician, Brian Bansgrove. He said Brian was a huge part of making the film's look so good.

Filming The Hobbit

For The Hobbit movies, Andrew Lesnie used advanced digital cameras. He and Peter Jackson decided to film these movies in 3D. They used many special camera setups, each with two cameras, to create the 3D effect.

They also chose to film at a faster speed than most movies, using 48 frames per second instead of the usual 24. This was a new idea at the time. It was meant to make the picture clearer, reduce blur, and make 3D movies easier to watch.

His Last Film

Andrew Lesnie's last movie was The Water Diviner. This film was directed by and starred Russell Crowe. It was released in Australia in December 2014 and in America in April 2015, just one week before Andrew Lesnie passed away.

Life and Passing

Andrew Lesnie lived on the north coast of Sydney, Australia. He was a member of two important groups for cinematographers: the Australian Cinematographers Society and the American Society of Cinematographers.

Sadly, Andrew Lesnie died from a heart attack at his home in Sydney on April 27, 2015. He had been dealing with a heart condition for about six months.

Filmography

Andrew Lesnie worked on many films throughout his career. Here are some of them:

Awards and Nominations

Andrew Lesnie won and was nominated for many awards for his cinematography. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Andrew Lesnie para niños