Stéphane AZOUZE-CARDIN
Swiss Army knife of image work
[SHADE] French Colorists Association - CST
As a technical image supervisor, I've collaborated on numerous film shoots over the years, designing and supervising custom technical equipment. I've worked on helicopters, boats, planes, and even tour buses—all of these special cases have transformed me into a Swiss Army knife of on-site imagery. Beyond the technical prowess, managing a project over a long period allows for greater dedication and time to find appropriate solutions. Here are some of the most iconic projects.​
Tour de France (2012-2022)
Technical supervisor of aerial photography
The world's biggest cycling race, followed live in 180 countries, requires an extraordinary aerial system. For ten years, I was responsible for the preparation, installation, and daily monitoring of the four gyro-stabilized systems (Cineflex then GSS) installed on the Tour helicopters, as well as the calibration and quality monitoring of the cameras of these systems. It was a great technical and human adventure to follow this caravan on the roads of the Tour de France within an extraordinary live broadcast system provided by EMG (Euromedia Group).
Even today I am still collaborating on the adventure of the Women's Tour de France (2025).
Feature film "Woman" (2016-2019)
Technical supervisor for image, workflows and project color grading
Woman is a feature film directed by Anastasia Mikova and Yann Arthus-Bertrand which gives voice to 2,000 women from 50 different countries.
Following my experience on Yann Arthus Bertrand's previous project "Human" (from 2012 to 2015), I was in charge of establishing the image and lighting protocol for the filming of interviews for the different teams of operators who filmed these testimonies around the world. I myself was an operator on several shoots. At the same time, I ensured the monitoring and color grading of rushes in post-production, as well as the search for looks and the color grading of the first versions of the edit, which was spread out throughout the 2 years of filming. Finally, I ensured the final color grading of the film in projection on Baselight, at Mikros in Paris.
The Media TV (2018)
Designer, technical image supervisor, equipment and shading supervisor
Creation and technical and aesthetic image implementation of the independent news web channel launched on January 15, 2018. My work consisted of imagining and creating from scratch a complete and sustainable broadcast video technical system, allowing the live production (or recording) of a multi-camera television set, with a high aesthetic ambition inspired by the film look, all within a limited budget. In particular, I set up an SLog3 image workflow using Sony large sensor cameras, image rectified and aestheticized using LUT Boxes and Livegrade software, allowing high-quality live grading. This hybridization between documentary cameras, post-production grading techniques and live TV production techniques gave a very strong visual identity to Le Media TV which allowed it to stand out from other online media available at the time (end of 2017).
Even today, Le Media TV's visual identity is superior in visual quality to other online media.
"The Bus" (2011)
Designer, equipment and vision supervisor and DP
"The Bus" was an adaptation of a British reality TV show produced by the BBC, whose filming set was set up inside a touring bus transformed into a television studio designed to operate while driving. The challenge: to do better and prettier than the BBC version! I entirely designed and carried out the transformation of a 55-seater bus into an autonomous filming vehicle, equipped with cameras, a video control room and lighting to allow for multi-camera filming while driving. This filming toured a large part of Europe, all the way to Turkey and ending in North Africa. During the filming, which lasted more than a month, I worked as a video /shading supervisor and director of photography. This show was broadcast by M6 in France.
"The Treasure Map" (2002-2009)
Technical video supervisor and chief camera operator
As the video supervisor on this fabulous show, I was responsible for the preparation, installation and daily monitoring of all video gears and filming equipment. On board gears in the 4 helicopters (interior and exterior onboard cameras, Wescam gimbal, video recorders), ENG camcorders, and lighting for the host in his helicopter. I was also responsible for coordinating the camera operators for the operating settings of the ENG cameras during the game, framing a camera myself on the ground or on the skid of a helicopter during certain puzzles. Finally, I ensured the installation of an on-board camera on various vehicles and other boats for the final "Treasure" final. "The Treasure Map" was a very popular game show in the 2000s, broadcast on France 3 until 2009, and hosted by Sylvain Augier and Nathalie Simon.
"Human" (2012-2015)
Technical supervisor and DIT on aerial filming, rush management, camera operator.
"Human" is a feature film directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand which gives voice to 2,000 people from 60 different countries, testimonies interspersed with aerial footage.
Following my experience on Yann Arthus Bertrand's previous film "Home" (from 2007 to 2009), I was in charge of the camera technique for the aerial shots throughout the 3 years of production. As a DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) on the aerial helicopter shoots, I ensured the consistency of the camera settings, controlled the aperture as well as the recording during the takes. I was also in charge of establishing the image and lighting protocol for the interviews for the camera crews who filmed these testimonies around the world, under the direction of DPs Dominique Gentil (AFC) and Philippe Ros (AFC). I also monitored the color grading of the rushes with the laboratory (Technicolor). Finally, I carried out certain filming missions as a camera operator in certain countries (France, South Korea, Ukraine, United States, Germany, etc.)
