Denys Coop

Denys Neil Coop (20 July 1920 – 16 August 1981) was an English camera operator and cinematographer. He was the president of the British Society of Cinematographers from 1973 to 1975.

Denys Coop
A trailer from the film Rosebud (1975), Coop's last film as cinematographer.
Born	Denys Neil Coop (1920-07-20)20 July 1920 Reading, Berkshire, England
Died	16 August 1981(1981-08-16) (aged 61) Hertfordshire, England
Other names	Denys N. Coop Dennis Coop
Occupation(s)	Camera operator Cinematographer
Years active	1936–1981

Coop was best known for his work on the film Superman (1978), for which he and his team won the Special Achievement Academy Award and the Michael Balcon Award.

Early life and career

He began his career in the cinema as an apprentice to Freddie Young. In the 1960s, he was Director of Photography on films such as A Kind of Loving (1962), This Sporting Life (1963), Billy Liar (1963) and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965).

Awards and nominations

In 1979, he was one of a team of artists to win a special Oscar for visual effects in Superman.^[1]

In addition to the Oscar, Coop was also awarded a BAFTA (the Michael Balcon award) for his work on Superman (as Creative Director of Process Photography). He was also awarded the Bert Easey award by the British Society of Cinematographers.

He was nominated for the Best Cinematography (B&W) BAFTA in 1964 for Billy Liar, in 1965 for King and Country, and in 1967 for Bunny Lake is Missing. His black and white cinematography on films such as these, and This Sporting Life amongst others earned him the reputation as one of the finest B&W cinematographers of his generation. ^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

He was followed into the film industry by his son, Trevor (a camera operator), and his three grandchildren, Jason (focus puller), Gareth (a clapper loader) and Amy (an assistant director).