The family of BAFTA-nominated cinematographer, director, drone cameraman and 3D artist Ranald Wood have paid tribute to man they say was “destined for movies”.
Speaking for the first time since his sudden death in January age 44, Ranald’s dad and brother reflect on the life of the Aberdeen creative who was devoted to his family.
Adventurous spirit
Ranald Stuart Murray Wood was born on December 28 1978 at Summerfield Hospital, Aberdeen. Youngest son of Richard and Miriam Wood, he had two siblings, Ricky and Jenny.
He attended Loirston Primary and Portlethen Secondary schools where he enjoyed sports, especially football, swimming and golf.
An inherent sense of adventure and affinity with Scotland would be honed and fortified over the years during many family holidays to the west coast. Fishing on the banks of Loch Awe in Argyll, or in the rivers of Mull would remain favourite places for Ranald to spend his time.
Made for movies
Ranald knew from an early age he was destined for the movies. Battle scenes would be recreated in the garden using the Findon burn as a paddy field from Platoon and family members enlisted to recreate scenes from favourite movies. Even his dog, Duke, would be roped in to play an adversary.
This passion saw him leave school at 16 in 1994. He joined his father and brother in the family film production business TVP, which Richard started in 1983.
An excellent cinematographer, Ranald took on the essential role of deciding the overall look and visual style of each film. This included lighting, camera angles, camera movement and the handling of all the technical aspects, for cinema, television, music videos and adverts.
His expertise in film making was recognised in 2013 when he was nominated for two BAFTAs. One for cinematography, then the BAFTA audience award for his feature film itself based on the Scottish cannibal Sawney Bean.
Family ties
Ranald became a company shareholder with his brother Ricky.
Not only were they business partners but the pair were inseparable friends. They spent almost 30 years working together every day and lived in close proximity to one other in Aberdeen.
Building a strong family identity was important to Ranald, and even more so when he became an uncle to Maria and Mimi, then later Sofia, Carlotta and Enzo.
He loved that his sister married an Italian – keeping the heritage of his beloved grandma – Madarda Guisippena Maria Nuvoloniu – alive and well. To that end he was regularly spotted in Rustico and Little Italy enjoying the food and a wee vino rosso.
Ricky said: “Strength of family meant everything to Ranald, and he wasn’t afraid to speak out at times when needed to pull everyone together.
“He loved socialising with his siblings and their families and kept in touch with our parents in Aboyne via Facetime when the pandemic made it more difficult. ”
Deeply sad
Described as “one of the lucky ones”, Ranald knew what he loved and he spent his life doing it. Whether it was bagging Munros, filming around the world, meeting the stars of the big screen or just working with his dad and brother in the family business he lived life to the full, probably to a score by John Williams, James Horner or Hans Zimmer.
Richard Wood, Ranald’s father said: “Ranald was more than a cinematographer; he was a visual 3D artist in his own right and his work will be revered by the industry for many years to come.
“TVP will celebrate 40 years in business this year and it’s so sad that Ranald won’t be here to celebrate this with us as he played a major role in its success.
“He also loved Scotland, summitting over 30 mountains last year, including Ben Nevis with his brother. He was planning to travel to Mount Everest base camp later this year to see the Himalayas.”
Huge loss
Ranald died suddenly at home in the early hours of January 30.
The post-mortem examination reported that the 44-year-old died due to a type of heart failure.
He is buried next to his beloved grandparents at Portlethen Church.
“We miss him. That’s an understatement actually. The sense of loss is huge, and not just for me.
“One of our best friends, Bruce Ferguson, was diagnosed with cancer last October. Right up until the day Ranald passed, he was hoping for him to recover. He’d talk about that most days.
“Bruce attended Ranald’s funeral but sadly passed away a month ago. It has been a terrible time for all that know them both,” said Ricky.
Asked how Ranald would want to be remembered, the response was a line from Braveheart, his favourite film.
“Every man dies, not every man truly lives!”
You can read the family’s announcement here.
Conversation