Christopher Doyle

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"Anybody who works with me knows what they're in for," says Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

"They know he's had a beer for breakfast. They know he's a little bit out of sync, and he'll probably throw a spanner in the works. Or why would you bother calling me?"

Doyle's style may be unorthodox but it is one that has helped him break out of the Asian cinema scene in which he launched his career and become a major influence on the international mainstream.

Renowned for his extreme camera work and use of filters and saturated colors, Doyle has been creating richly atmospheric visual worlds since shooting "That Day on the Beach" in 1981 in Taiwan.

After a spell in France, Doyle returned to Asia to work in Hong Kong, teaming up with Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar-Wai in 1991 to make "Days of Being Wild" -- a perfect marriage between Doyle's experimental, improvisational style and Wong's loose scripts and sparse direction.

An ongoing creative partnership, the pair achieved international acclaim with 1994's "Chungking Express" and "Happy Together" in 1997, bringing Hollywood opportunities for Doyle in their wake.

In 1998 he worked on Gus Van Sant's "Psycho" before making his own directorial debut to mixed reviews with "Away With Words" the following year. He also worked on "Rabbit-Proof Fence" and "The Quiet American" with Australian director Philip Noyce.

Yet it is in Asia where Doyle continues to produce his most innovative work with films such as Wong's "In the Mood for Love" and "2046" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero."

"The east is rising," he says, "and the energy of the region is reflected in everything we do here, whether commercial, military or cinematic. I just happen to be a part of that. We're in a golden age of cinematography."

Throughout his work, Doyle has maintained the same iconoclastic attitude towards the practice of making movies.

"You only need a little bit of technical knowledge. Most people can get it in a couple of months. The training of the eye is the real job and that takes forever."

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