and labs, devoting his off time and energy to making films. Determined to
become a cinematographer from the start, he purchased a 16mm camera
to start shooting. "I used the idea that the kid who owns the football gets
to play quarterback." Over the next few years he worked for free on several
student projects, including one for director Nick Frangakis, who went on to
work on educational films and employed Daviau to shoot them.
In the mid-60s, he freelanced for KHJ Radio making rock and roll pro-
motional films. The work evolved into a television series called Boss City.
Meeting with the show's producer, Daviau showed the promos made for
KHJ and the film he shot for Frandokis to land the job as cinematogra-
pher. While continuing to work at a camera store, he shot and edited
three or four films for Boss City each week.
When the show ended, Daviau began working on commercials and
low budget features, connecting with Peter Deyell on a short film that
never came to fruition. When Deyell discovered that friend Ralph Burris
was putting up money to finance a 35mm short called Slipstream for up-
and-coming director Steven Spielberg, he recommended Daviau for the
job. Spielberg and Burris arranged to meet Daviau at the Sherman
Grinberg film library, where they viewed some of his rock and roll promo
films. Feeling he did not have enough 35mm experience, Daviau sug-
gested they hire French cinematographer Serge Haigner instead, and use
him as the B camera operator.
The film's theme was bicycle racing and was to be shot entirely out-
doors in just two days. Unfortunately, the weather conspired against the
project, which quickly ran out of time and money. Slipstream remains
unfinished. "It was heartbreaking. You could see it then; you just had to
meet Steven Spielberg and you knew exactly what was going to happen."
A year later, when Spielberg was preparing to direct another short
called Amblin', he invited Daviau to shoot it. "We shot that film in 10 glo-
rious days in 1968." When Spielberg showed the completed film to execu-
tives at Universal, they signed him immediately. Attempts were made to
sign Daviau as well, but the union blocked his admission into the cine-
matographer's guild.
"It was a slow year in the industry . . . Somebody may have pushed a
little too hard because years later, I found out that my file got red flagged
at the union, which means `he never gets in!'" Daviau took the high road
and assured Spielberg he would get in the union through one of the com-
mercial houses he worked for. But it was 10 more years before he was
admitted.
Spielberg went on to work on Jaws, and Daviau returned to work on
educationals, industrials, documentaries, and commercials. "I stayed in
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