NEWS: At 77 years old, Roger Pratt, the cinematographer for Batman and Harry Potter, has died.

It is sad to hear that Roger Pratt died in December. His credits included two Harry Potter movies and Tim Burton's Batman. In a statement today, posted on the website of the British Society of Cinematographers, the society confirmed Pratt's death. The cause was not known. He was seventy-seven years old. Says BSC's Preserving the Vision, "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our friend and colleague Roger Pratt BSC."

Pratt was born in Leicester on February 27, 1947. An early interest in movies developed when his father screened the Moody Institute of Science in Los Angeles and made the Christian movie Fact and Faith at the church each year. He attended Durham University in 1966 and General Arts in 1969. He later attended the London Film School.

He has worked with director Lord Richard Attenborough on such films as Shadowlands (1993), In Love and War (1996), and Grey Owl (1999). Some of his outstanding works include Batman (1989), Frankenstein (1994), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Troy (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Inkheart (2008), and The Karate Kid (2010).

Pratt received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography for The End of the Affair, with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore. Also, he received BAFTA nominations for The End of the Affair and Chocolat (1999).

While a clapper loader on Monty Python and the Holy Grail, in 1975, Pratt first met up with Terry Gilliam, a longtime Monty Python cohort. The success of many fantastic projects was borne from their creativity together.

Some of Pratt's incredible work with cinematography in the field got his name out as he received an award for Lifetime Achievement in 2023 from the BSC. “I was mesmerized by the annual showing of religious films in the church, at times like Christmas and especially Lent. A box full of rolls of film, projectors, screens, and loudspeakers. The lights go out, the whirring of mechanics," Pratt recalled. "Then, there were actual people talking, laughing, moving, and dying. I say dying because it had to do with Christ and his crucifixion."

Pratt's innovative work on the movies changed the Harry Potter franchise forever. His creative method would bring this imagined world of Hogwarts into reality, which fascinated all viewers and set a standard for fantasy movie aesthetics. Every scene he created was full of wonder, taking the viewer to a fantastic and imaginary world.

The legacy of Roger Pratt will survive through the beautiful images he brought forth and the inspiration to both fans and filmmakers alike. He will be sorely missed.