Daniel Landin

Daniel Landin is a British cinematographer known for his work on feature films, commercials, and music videos.

A member of the British Society of Cinematographers,^[1] he has collaborated with directors such as Jonathan Glazer and worked on films including Under the Skin (2013).^[2]

His cinematography has been recognized for its distinctive visual style and atmospheric composition.^[3]

Landin started working with super 8 and VHS video in 1978, collaborating with the industrial music group Throbbing Gristle, documenting live performances and art events.^[4]

In 1979, he formed the experimental militant classicist group 'Last Few Days' with Simon Joyce and Keir Fraser,^[5] a highly conceptual collective whose primary aim was live performance in unconventional venues (chapels, cinemas, burger bars, silos, tunnels, etc.). Recording was a secondary priority and was mainly live, apart from the 'Polavision' soundtrack produced by Cabaret Voltaire at their Western Works in Sheffield 1982.^[6]

As the performances became more ambitious, visual imagery became intrinsic to the events. Working on super 8 and 16mm, Landin created films that were projected during performances. Confrontational events were staged in which synchronized films were simultaneously projected onto multiple screens to accompany challenging and provocative live music. This work continued and led to performing with William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin at The Final Academy (Brixton Ritzy, 1982).^[7]

Further collaborations led to 'The Occupied Europe Tour,' a collaboration between Last Few Days and Yugoslavia's Laibach in 1983 (11 countries in Eastern and Western Europe). This experience of working extensively in the Socialist Bloc and the study of Hungarian Language subsequently led to a commission co-writing The Rough Guide to Eastern Europe (Routledge and Keegan Paul, 1985), which was the first guide for the independent traveler in what was then a relatively unknown and misunderstood region.^[8]

Returning to the UK in 1985, Landin studied Fine Art Film and Video at St Martins School of Art, while working as a camera assistant and film extra (including a 3-month stretch in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket). After graduating, Landin directed several short films, including A Broken Spine, Ring of Fire (with Kate Cragg), Thou Pluckest Me Out Screaming, and The Child and the Saw (with Richard Heslop), which won 1st Prize 'Golden Dancer' at the Huesca International Film Festival in 1987.^[9] His films were exhibited at numerous festivals, including the Berlin Film Festival (Panorama) in 1986, 1989, and 1990, as well as the Edinburgh and London film festivals.^[10]

In 1986, Landin directed the film Procar in collaboration with Richard Heslop and Herbert Verhey for live performances in Amsterdam with the Car Ensemble of the Netherlands. The film later appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1987, featuring a remastered audio recording of the Car Ensemble as a soundtrack.^[11]

That same year, Landin directed the short film for Laibach's Država, a filmed performance of Laibach and Michael Clark at Sadler's Wells, London, based on Clark's No Fire Escape in Hell.^[12]

In 1994, he co-directed Laibach, A Film from Slovenia with Peter Vezjak, featuring Chris Bohn. The documentary explored Laibach's complex polemic and included insights from radical philosopher Slavoj Žižek.^[13]

Landin began working as a cinematographer in 1991, initially shooting short films and music videos for artists including The Verve, Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Massive Attack, Björk, Franz Ferdinand, The Rolling Stones, PJ Harvey, David Bowie, Madonna, and Cher. He has also shot numerous television and cinema commercials for brands such as Stella Artois, Giorgio Armani, Sony, BMW, Guinness, Nintendo, Levi's, Wrangler, PlayStation, and Nike.^[14]

Following a commission as Director of Photography for Alexander McQueen on his only directing venture (Alarm Call - Björk, 1996), Landin worked in a highly collaborative role with McQueen as a lighting designer, contributing to McQueen's conceptual fashion shows in London, Paris, and New York until 2009.^[15]

Using cinema in live events has remained a key interest. In 2012, Landin collaborated with Danny Boyle on the "Isles of Wonder" segment of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, shooting staged components for projection and simultaneous broadcast.^[16]

Documentary film