The Lost Bus
Into the Fire

A Conversation with George Billinger, SOC; Kevin Emmons, SOC; Kent Harvey, SOC; Juergen Heinemann, SOC; Pål Ulvik Rokseth & Corey Weintraub​
Hosted by David Daut

In November of 2018 in Butte County, California, a combination of strong winds and poorly maintained electrical equipment sparked what would become the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state’s history. Loosely based on Lizzie Johnson’s book Paradise, The Lost Bus chronicles the fire from the perspective of Kevin McKay, a school bus driver who is called to help evacuate a group of young students only to wind up caught in the very heart of the inferno rapidly spreading around him.

Being such a technically complex shoot involving stunt driving and simulated fire, all captured in Paul Greengrass’s signature documentary style, The Lost Bus required quite a bit of collaboration between the first and second unit camera teams, with both units frequently working together to cover the same sequences. For this video feature, Camera Operator was able to assemble a panel of talent from both camera teams including first unit A camera operator George Billinger, SOC; first unit C camera operator Kevin Emmons, SOC; second unit B camera operator Kent Harvey, SOC; second unit C camera operators Juergen Heinemann, SOC, and Corey Weintraub; and director of photography Pål Ulvik Rokseth.

Divorced, down on his luck, and taking care of a son who is ashamed of him, Kevin McKay is already having a rough go of things. On the morning of November 8 while his son is sick with the flu, all Kevin wants to do is drop his school bus off at the depot so he can pick up some medicine and get home to his son, but as a wildfire in the mountains begins to spread, he’s instead tasked with evacuating a class of elementary students to safety. As the fire continues to engulf Butte County, this simple evacuation becomes a fight for survival as Kevin desperately tries to drive his bus to safety. The Lost Bus is directed by Paul Greengrass from a screenplay by Brad Ingelsby and Greengrass. It stars Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

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George Billinger, SOC

George has been active as a camera operator since the early 1990s and specializes in Steadicam. He has had the pleasure of working with directors such as Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, Joss Whedon, Peter Weir, Scott Frank, and Antoine Fuqua. His credits include Lincoln; War of the Worlds; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Oblivion; The Terminal; Ray; Greyhound; Terminator Genisys; and Prey. George resides in Los Angeles, CA.

George had the honor to lead the SOC as a recent past president and was especially proud of its many accomplishments during his tenure. George encouraged efforts to offer expanded educational opportunities, increase membership, and strengthen industry relationships, just to name a few.

Kevin Emmons, SOC

Kevin was raised a military brat and traveled and lived extensively throughout the U.S. From a young age, he has carried a camera everywhere, documenting his travels as photography became a lifelong passion. After graduating from college with a film degree, Kevin spent several years traveling the world filming documentaries in China, Russia, Tibet, and Cuba (to name a few).

Continuing his passion for cinematography, he moved to advertising, shooting everything from fashion, athletes, celebrities, to lifestyle spots. Kevin has been a director and cinematographer on well over 1000 national commercials for such diverse clients as Reebok, Ford, Kraft, Coke, McDonald’s, and Budweiser. His images have won awards at local and national levels, including Addys, Tellys, and Clios.

After a long career in advertising, Kevin now works on long-form projects as a camera operator and 2nd-unit DP.  His recent features include films with The Coen Brothers and The Director Paul Greengrass. He also just wrapped up on a Netflix series with the Duffer Brothers (creators of Stranger Things).

Juergen Heinemann, SOC

Juergen Heinemann’s love for cinema began at the age of eight. To this day, he still finds going to the movies to be a magical experience.

Juergen has been a camera and Steadicam operator for close to ten years. Starting his path in Southern California, he is now based in New Mexico. Juergen works primarily in the feature film world. He feels privileged to be able to create images that bring the projects he is involved with to life, so those stories can be shared the world over. The craft of operating and visual story telling, is one that he is constantly practicing and honing. Always striving to learn new techniques to help tell these stories.

They say a picture is worth a thousand word. If that is the case, then the moving image is worth a million emotions.

Kent Harvey, SOC

Kent Harvey, SOC, is a camera operator and cinematographer based out of Denver, Colorado. A long-time mountain and adventure enthusiast, Kent began his career in the early ’90’s after working for several years as a professional rock climbing and mountaineering guide and wanting to combine his passions for film making, story telling, and adventure. Kent worked his way up through the camera department starting out as a film loader in 1993 working on documentaries, commercials and feature films. In 1996 Kent joined the union as a 2nd AC while working with Shelly Johnson in Colorado on a Stephen King television remake of The Shining. By the early 2000s, Kent was shooting ski action for Warren Miller Films along with other adventure doc work in mountains around the globe.

In 2002 Kent was hired by the 2nd Unit DP of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Jonathan Taylor, to operate on a sequence filmed in Colorado that involved a camera position several hundred feet up a rock face. Having impressed Jonathan, he asked Kent to come out to L.A. to continue work on the film. It was this opportunity and the relationships formed that led to Kent moving to Los Angeles in 2004 where he continued working with Jonathan Taylor on Spider-Man 3; Iron Man; and Iron Man 2; and other notable films as well as cultivating relationships with other DPs. At the same time Kent continued to shoot on adventure film related projects which have provided him the opportunity to have climbed and filmed to the summit of six of the famed “Seven Summits” around the world, including Mount Everest twice (2009 and 2012). Today Kent works as both a camera operator and DP depending on the project. Recent projects include The Lost Bus; Superman; Alto Knights; Unstoppable, and more.

Pål Ulvik Rokseth

Pål Ulvik Rokseth is a Norwegian cinematographer with a deep interest in stories that move between the quiet and the grand. Whether working on large-scale productions or more intimate films, he focuses on finding a visual language that serves the emotional core of each story. His work includes 22 July and The Lost Bus, both directed by Paul Greengrass, as well as The Wave; The Burning Sea; Amundsen; and Munch. Both 22 July and Amundsen were nominated for the Golden Frog at Camerimage. In 2024, he shot Armand, which was awarded the Caméra d’Or in Cannes, and Handling the Undead, which premiered at Sundance and later won Best Cinematography at the Amanda Awards. Pål approaches each project with curiosity and care, and values the quiet strength of good collaboration.

Corey Weintraub

Corey Weintraub is a New Mexico-based camera operator and director of photography. Corey  was born to artist parents and developed his interest in photography from his father, Richard.  After attending the University of New Mexico, Corey entered the film business as a camera assistant in the early 2000s and joined Local 600 in 2005. Shooting mainly narrative projects,  Corey became a full time operator and DP in 2014.

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