Christopher Chapman (January 24, 1927October 24, 2015) was a Canadian film writer, director, editor and cinematographer. Best known for his award-winning 1967 short film '' A Place to Stand'', he also pioneered the multi-dynamic image technique used in films and television shows.

Personal life

Chapman was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, shortly after midnight on January 24, 1927, and just minutes after his twin brother

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

. Christopher and his twin had four elder siblings, Philippa, Howard, Robert, and Sally. Another brother, Julian, died in infancy. They were children of distinguished architect Alfred Hirschfelder Chapman (of

Chapman and Oxley Chapman and Oxley was a Toronto-based architectural firm that was responsible for designing a number of prominent buildings in the city during the 1920s and 1930s. Even with the departure of Chapman, the firm's last projects appeared to be in the ...

) and concert pianist Doris Chapman. In the 1950s, Christopher spent a year in England designing cars for the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

before returning to Canada and becoming a filmmaker. Chapman was married to Barbara-Glen Chapman (née Kennedy), his wife of 44 years. He died at the age of 88 on October 24, 2015, at his residence in ReachView Village, a long-term care facility in

Uxbridge, Ontario Uxbridge is a township in the Regional Municipality of Durham in south-central Ontario, Canada. Communities The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge. Other settlements within the township include the following: ...

. He was survived by his wife and son Julian Chapman (former Deputy Commander of

4th Canadian Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. It is currently responsible for Canadian Army operations in the Canadian province of Ontario and is headquartered at Denison Armoury in Toronto. The division was first created as ...

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

Brigadier General).

Career

Over his career, Chapman made approximately 40 films for television, the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

, theatrical release, tourism organizations, science centres, and international expositions. Chapman's first film, '' The Seasons'', won the

Canadian Film Award The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

(CFA) for Film of the Year in 1954.Christopher Chapman, Toronto Wins Award for The Seasons
" ''Montreal Gazette''. April 22, 1954. p. 13. – via Newspapers.com. In 1965 Christopher and Francis Chapman jointly won the

for Best Colour Cinematography at the

17th Canadian Film Awards The 17th Canadian Film Awards were held on May 15, 1965 to honour achievements in Canadian film. Entries this year numbered 104, including four features. Interest in the event, which was hosted by radio personality Max Ferguson, was such that an ...

for ''

Expedition Bluenose Expedition may refer to: * An exploration, journey, or voyage undertaken by a group of people especially for discovery and scientific research Places * Expedition Island, a park in Green River, Wyoming, US * Expedition Range, a mountain range i ...

''.Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''.

Stoddart Publishing Stoddart Publishing was a Canadian book publisher and distributor, owned by Jack Stoddart, which ceased operations in 2002. History In 1967, General Publishing purchased the Musson imprint, based in Canada, from British publisher Hodder & Stough ...

, 2000. . pp. 69-71. Another of his films to win the CFA Film of Year was his 1967 short, '' A Place to Stand'', which also received two

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominations in 1968, winning the one for Best Live-Action Short. The film, commissioned by the

Government of Ontario The Government of Ontario () is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. The term ''Government of Ontario'' refers specifically to the executive—political Minister ...

, featured Chapman's innovative multi-dynamic image technique (or 'the Brady Bunch effect'), wherein moving panes of moving images are used within the single context of the screen. Over a year of filming, Chapman shot of film, which he then edited into 18 minutes, though the images moving across the screen were the equivalent of an hour and three-quarters of film. The process exhausted Chapman and he was still unsure of using it until its first screening occurred: "There were a couple of

stenographers Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''st ...

, who were eating their lunch watching the screening, and they were agog," Chapman said. "But I wanted to run. I was exhausted and thought it was a failure, but a chap grabbed me as I was going out the door. He'd been standing at the back of the screening room and said he was blown away by it. It was

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

." In 1968, McQueen starred in '' The Thomas Crown Affair'', directed by

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...

, a film that used Chapman's split-screen technique. Jewison added the multiple-image sequences into the film after seeing ''A Place to Stand''. Over the years since, many films and television series have used the technique, with the most recent known to be the American series '' 24'', which, by using the technique, documented the simultaneous actions of its characters. In 1970, Chapman directed a film for the

Hudson’s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, called ''Impressions'', as part of HBC's 300th anniversary celebrations.Impressions
''Keystone Archives Descriptive Database''. Winnipeg, MB: Archives of Manitoba.
" Archives of Manitoba. July 2020. ''Impressions'', another film of Chapman’s to use his multiple-dynamic technique, follows the HBC's 300-year history using both historic and modern images: iconic images of the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

are paired with modern department stores; scenes of farming are shown with oil production are seen, and so on. In 1984, Francis and Christopher Chapman collaborated on a three-dimensional nature film for the nascent

Science North Science North is an interactive science museum in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.Helga Loverseed, "Impressive science museum symbolizes the new Sudbury". ''The Globe and Mail'', May 9, 1987. The science centre, which is Northern Ontario's most popula ...

.Pam Hobbs, "Face to face with nature at Science North". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', August 11, 1984.

Filmography

Honors

In addition to his film honors, Chapman was appointed a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1987 and awarded a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

in 2000. Chapman served as president of both the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria on 16 ...

and the Directors Guild of Canada. He was also a member of

The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto The Arts and Letters Club of Toronto is a private members' club in Toronto, Ontario, which brings together writers, architects, musicians, painters, graphic artists, actors and others working in or with a love of the arts and letters. It was foun ...

References

External links

* *
A Place to Stand
', 1967, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman 1927 births 2015 deaths Canadian cinematographers Canadian film editors Film producers from Ontario Film directors from Toronto People from Uxbridge, Ontario Members of the Order of Canada Best Cinematography Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Producers of Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners