In this Issue:
- From The President
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Are you attending NAB 2014?
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Postcard: Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC
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Miller pulls focus on its 60th with a limited edition of LP'54 Classic
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Across the Tasman
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ACS National HQ Report
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Lemac launches new training
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Review: True Detective by James Cunningham
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Cinematography Courses at AFTRS OPEN
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Postcard: Danny Ruhlmann ACS
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WOW Film Festival 2014
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New Canon Remote Controller
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Have you got your ACS Merchandise?
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Imago assembles in Greece
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OzDoc Event: The social impact filmmaker
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Regal Cinema reopens with Oscars 2014 Program
From the President
Greeting ACS colleagues, Our 2014 ACS National Awards for Cinematography happens on Saturday, May 24 this year in Brisbane at The Tivoli, when the Golden Tripods and of course the prestigious Milli Award, for our Australian Cinematographer of the Year will be presented. Please put the date in your diary, phone, iPad, calendar, smartphone, etched into fresh concrete, carved on a tree, whatever it may be! Our hosts this year are Jason Hargreaves ACS and Tony OLoughlan along with the organisational skills, and thoroughly dedicated committee members of the Queensland Branch, so it promises to be an absolute cracker of a night, as is the Queensland tradition! Tickets will be available soon, so please support your fellow cinematographers by going online and purchasing a ticket or two, or three
Attend ACS National Awards, May 24 Brisbane!! Support the ABC
The ACS, along with many other guilds, is helping campaign to preserve Government funding to the ABC. The ABC has long supported all of the Guilds and their members required to produce quality television drama for all Australians. The current government, at this point in time, appears to want to cut funding, and the ACS stands alongside the ABC so that it might continue producing and creating great Australian drama, comedy and all other culturally significant Australian programs. Please support the ABC where and whenever possible.
To Dick Marks OAM and the AC Magazine team my heartiest congratulations on the incredible standards that you have set for our flagship magazine. The issue Edited by Geoff Burton ACS was an absolute standout, and brought back many memories of the first time I saw Back of Beyond. May the quality of this prestigious magazine continue to go from strength to strength. Why not organise a gift subscription for a friend. A very special thanks to all those members who give back to the Society and the members by responding to Q&A requests. In recent times, John Seale ACS ASC who at the time was having a break in WA with Louise was more than happy to host a Fury Road evening for the WA Branch. Garry Phillips ACS hosted a full house Q&A on The Railway Man at the HQ, along with new ACS member Bruce Young who spoke about his body of work including Underbelly, Love Child etc and Allan Collins ACS is off to Darwin and Alice Springs for a screening /Q&A or two for the NT Branch. As an observation; maybe, just maybe we should all go see more Australian films, put more bums on seats so we can ensure our industry, our dedicated Producers, Directors, Writers, Editors, Composers and Cinematographers continue to receive the support and the funding required to produce Australian films, Australian stories for us all to enjoy. We make great films here in Australia, so lets show the world how proud we are of our local industry, and go see more Australian films! Lets talk safety for a minute and let us never become complacent about on set safety, and understand and listen to those Safety Officers that only have our best interests at heart. It may be a great shot, but think carefully about the potential risks that could be involved. What reminded me to mention this is the recent tragic death of a young, 27 year old female member of the camera department, Sarah Elizabeth Jones in South Georgia, USA. Click on the links but we warned this a very sad story. Article from Variety.com
Article from thestate.com So please, listen to the safety guys, as they do know best. Until next time
Ron Johanson OAM ACS
National President
ARE YOU ATTENDING NAB THIS YEAR?
As many of you will know the biggest Broadcast show in the world, NAB fast approaches. If you are planning on attending NAB this year please register with me at rjohanson@cinematographer.net.au and I will ensure your presence is communicated to all our wonderful sponsors so they can give you the very best attention and information about their products and Australian representatives at the show. For more details on NAB go to: www.nabshow.com
GREETINGS FROM WORLD'S END A Postcard from Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC
Hi Ron,
I'm currently on 'The Water Diviner which marks Russell Crowe's directorial debut.
We did a studio shoot last year at Fox, have been on location in South Australia and now Turkey. It's been a physically demanding shoot and we had to contend with weeks of high temperatures in the centre (our highest day was 49degC). However the cast and crew have remained very buoyant due to a strong belief in the script and Russell, who's bringing a lot of energy to the project. The fantastic cast includes Olga Kurylenko, Isabel Lucas, Megan Gale, Jacqueline McKenzie, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman and Robert Mammone. I've been supported by a terrific camera crew, operator/steadicam Peter McCaffrey, 1st ACs Colin Deane, Scott Dolan and David Elmes, 2nd ACs Meg White and Rebecca Crowe (no relation), and our wonderful second unit squad led by the ever youthful Ernie Clark ACS, along with 1st AC Frank Hruby and 2nd ACs Viv Madigan and Maxx Corkindale. Not forgetting our favourite secret weapon, truck loader and ACS attachment Nick Forster, who frequently ends up operating the fourth or fifth camera when we do battle sequences (and anything else). The relentlessly cheerful Dave Nichols is our key grip and the always-supportive Reg Garside is gaffing. Nir Shelter is our onset DIT, with Keiran Bleakley handling rushes, while the endlessly adaptable Dave Booth is doing onset VFX.
I'm looking forward to having a couple of quiet days at the end of this one! Also looking forward to seeing the finished film, as it's been a profoundly moving experience.
Hope this finds everybody well. Cheers,
Andrew
 Russell Crowe and Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC Picture courtesy: Ernie Clark ACS |
MILLER PULLS FOCUS ON ITS 60th WITH A LIMITED EDITION OF LP 54 CLASSIC
2014 marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of R. E. Miller Pty Ltd which was originally registered on June 29th 1954. Miller Camera Support, has affectionately become known in the industry as Miller Tripods, will be celebrating its 60th birthday by releasing a limited edition of the Light Professional fluid head and wooden tripod systems aka LP 54 Classic. Miller Tripods, now an inseparable part of Australia's film and television history, started its story when a young engineer Rob Eric Miller invented the worlds first patented fluid action tripod head back in 1946
Since then, Miller has manufactured over 100,000 fluid heads and tripod systems, exported to more than 65 countries with its products being used by over 265 television networks and thousands of DOPs worldwide. Today Miller is proud to still be a wholly owned Australian company that designs and manufactures all of its products in Australia and exports globally. The release of LP 54 Classic marks Millers 60th anniversary. The intriguing fact of LP 54 Classic is that Miller will be using the original parts from the last LP production run. In partnership with ACS, one of the extremely prestigious and rare industry icon, LP 54 Classic tripod systems will be raffled with proceeds collected and donated to the industry charity - Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society (MPIBS). "I kept the LP parts because of their nostalgic and historic value. I always thought that one day I will do something special with them" said Mark Clementson, the Managing Director at Miller. "The idea was floated around to build some retro tripods with the original parts and do something to help the industry that supported Miller over the years". "When Mark came to me, I thought it was a fantastic idea, and suggested donating the proceeds to MPIBS." commented Ron Johanson, "Miller has been supporting ACS since its inauguration and we are delighted to be involved in this great cause. We hope to generate over $10,000. I appeal to the generosity of our members. The Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society has relentlessly assisted industry members over the years, recently assisting ACS member, Phil Balsdon through his continuing rehab period. The MPIBS is extremely grateful to Miller Camera Support and the ACS for agreeing to donate the proceeds to the Society, said Murray Forrest, Chairman of the MPIBS.. This wonderful initiative will provide timely help to a number of our colleagues in need. Tickets for the Miller LP54 Classic will go on sale from 17th March through the ACS. The ticket price is $10 each or $25 for 3 tickets. The draw will take place at the ACS National Awards in Brisbane on 24th May 2014. The LP 54 Classic will not be available for sale and only two systems will be raffled in Australia, one is at the ACS National Awards and another during a celebratory event in August, which will be announced later this year.
Across the Tasman...
Read the latest from our colleagues and friends across the Tasman. http://www.nzcine.com/
ACS NATIONAL HQ REPORT: February 2014
The HQ has had a busy month with a variety of activities taking place. Pieter De Vries ACS is back in action once again resuming his very popular training classes and will continue them throughout the year.
PDV Digital Cinema Workshops http://www.pieterdevries.com.au Ian Nicholson a NSW member has commenced his Sydney Short Film classes on Wednesday nights starting in February through April. www.sydneyshortfilmschool.com Leica Akademie Australia conducted a successful weekend workshop with principal Nick Raines and will hold another one in April. www.leica-akademie.com.au The Australian Production Designers Guild now holds their monthly meetings in the Boardroom on the last Monday of each month. http://www.apdg.org.au/ As a National ACS sponsor, Miller Camera Support have used the Boardroom for one of their recent company meetings. The NSW Branch once again held its regular 3rd Thurs Drop In, where cinematographer, Bruce Young discussed his work, which is on the cutting edge of Australian TV production. Bruce has a great body of work, examples of which he screened, and he certainly kept the audience informed and entertained as he spoke of his working methods and his film making philosophy.
WIFT (Women in Film and Television) held their upcoming Awards judging session last week. http://www.wift.org/ The ACS National Executive has also held several meetings this month in the Boardroom. Lemac Film and Digital will conduct several Technical Basics training sessions during March at the ACS HQ. Support the Headquarters and the ACS at upcoming events and watch it grow. Remember the HQ is there for all members to use. For details contact
David Lewis ACS Anna Howard ACS
dlewis@cinematographer.net.au ahoward@cinematographer.net.au
Lemac launches new training programs across Australia
Lemac has always been a technical leader and outstanding source of knowledge for the industry. We are now offering training courses due to unprecedented demand in this time of rapid technical change. The first of our upcoming courses in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are listed below with more to follow.
Sydney Thursday 6th March - Sony PMW-F55/5 with Paint and Gamma Intensive
Melbourne Tuesday 4th March - Data 101 On Set Data Sydney Tuesday-Thursday 25-27th March (3 Day Course)
Technical Basics Course for Film and Television Professionals - For more information on these and other fantastic courses Lemac are running click here.
REVIEW: TRUE DETECTIVE - by James Cunningham
For those who have already seen the first episodes of the new HBO series True Detective will certainly know what all the fuss is about. Matthew McConaughey (in the middle of a career rebirth; Mud, Dallas Buyers Club, The Wolf of Wall Street) and Woody Harrelson both star in and produce this truly excellent miniseries. Rarely do concept, writing, direction, cinematography and performance all of such high calibre come together so effectively - especially in the medium of television. The series was created, and is written, by American author Nic Pizolatto, who chose 36-year-old Cary Fukunaga (a feature film director who made Sin Nombre which won him a best director award at Sundance and an acclaimed 2011) to direct, who then in turn chose Emmy-Award winning Australian DOP Adam Arkapaw (Animal Kingdom, Top Of The Lake) to shoot it. This high-reaching series pursues two detectives, McConaughey and Harrelson, as they narrate, in frame story, a case the two worked in the 90s. Most recently, the episode entitled Who Goes There (there are only eight episodes in the series) concludes with a six-minute long complex, intense and baroque tracking shot that showcases the very finest of what True Detective offers. Its a jaw-dropping piece of cinematography that speaks volumes about the genius involved in this show. The closest analogy that springs to mind is a similarly shot conceived by Alfonso Cuaron and Emmanuel Lubezki in Children of Men (2006). True Detective is special in that each season will feature a different cast of characters with a completely different plot. It's an tense, alluring, melancholy, and thought-provoking crime drama where character and ideology play as considerable a role as the assortment of evidence or the hunt for a suspect. This is TV at its best. Get on board. JAMES CUNNINGHAM
Melbourne, Australia
CINEMATOGRAPHY COURSES @ AFTRS OPEN
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AFTRS Open has a range of Cinematography and camera courses in the coming months including Ellery Ryans Modern Cinematography this weekend and Peter James Anamorphic Lens Masterclass in April. All ACS members receive the 10% Industry discount.
Peter James Anamorphic Lens Masterclass
A two day advanced Cinematography workshop to unlock the secrets of Anamorphic lenses with AFI winner and ACS Hall of Fame inductee Peter James, ACS. Explore lighting, perspective and lens choice with Peter as he passes on his 40 years of industry experience on such films as Driving Miss Daisy, Paradise Road and Meet The Parents. 5 - 6 April click here for more info
Data Wrangling on Set: File Based Cameras
This one day course is an introduction to managing data from file-based cameras in an on-set environment.?Working in the AFTRS Studio, you will get an overview of all types of data and metadata from file-based cameras from manufacturers including Sony, Canon, Blackmagic, Arri & Red and you will learn how to prepare for and manage this data confidently and responsibly in a high pressure on-set environment.12 April click here for more info
Advanced Lighting Skills
An Advanced Lighting Course for Cinematographers wanting to expand their knowledge in lighting for film and television drama. Over three days, students will light a set to various scripted scenarios under the tuition of a professional cinematographer. Students will work with a gaffer, best boy, camera operator, grip and two actors in AFTRS' state of the art studios. 25 - 27 June click here for more info
To view all upcoming AFTRS Open cinematography courses visit the website: www.open.aftrs.edu.au
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A Postcard from Danny Ruhlmann ACS in Bulgaria
Hi Ron,
I've left London's record winter rainfall behind and have continued "survivor" at the Nu Boyana studios in Sofia. The facilities here are pretty amazing and we are on schedule despite the bad weather . The shoot is going well and has been an enjoyable experience. With Russell Boyd ACS suggestion, I met a local steadicam, "A" camera operator, London born, raised in Italy who now lives in Sofia, Lorenzo Senatore who was a great find. After meeting him in pre production and one look at his IMDB page, I totally knew he would be invaluable. After some negotiations with the producers I managed to take Lorenzo to London with me for our work there. Here in Sofia he has helped build a crew that are very good. He also has a great knowledge of local eateries and cooks an amazing Cabonara. We would not be on schedule without his wonderful contribution.
If any ACS member happen to be shooting in Europe and are looking for an A camera operator , Lorenzo is the guy. Only 2 weeks to go and after what has been a tough ,wet shoot, I'm ready to get home and enjoy whatever good weather is still around in Sydney. Best wishes
Danny Ruhlmann ACS
 With Matt Windon and Lorenzo Senatore on the backlot at Nu Boyana studios, Bulgaria. |
WOW FILM FESTIVAL 2014 from 4th 14th March 2014
World of Women's Cinema: WOW Film Festival 2014 celebrates 20 years. WOW promotes and awards the talents of women directors, producers, writers, editors and cinematographers in the Australian & international film industry. It offers emerging and established filmmakers opportunity to screen short films, documentaries and feature films giving a thematic perspective of ... seeing the world through the eyes of women.
Acclaimed actress and director Rachel Griffiths (Saving Mr Banks, Paper Giants, Six Feet Under) is Patron for WOW Film Festival for 2014 its 20th Anniversary and celebrating International Womens Day. Presenting 2 weeks of short films, forums, 'In Conversations, Awards, parties, networking and a film stills photographic exhibition. Program Details: WOW Website
New Canon remote controller and firmware upgrade for cinema cameras and camcorders deliver enhanced production freedom and efficiency
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Canon has announced the Remote Controller RC-V100, which enables the remote operation of compatible camcorders and digital cinema cameras. Also announced were new firmware updates for Canon professional cinema cameras and camcorders, which facilitate use of the RC-V100 and make possible enhanced functionality to support greater production efficiency.
Remote Controller RC-V100
The Canon RC-V100 was developed to respond to a diverse array of production needs. Enabling users to remotely control main camera functions while employing a button and dial layout optimised for shooting, the device contributes to greater freedom and efficiency in production environments.
The RC-V100 is compatible with the XF305/XF300 professional HD camcorders and five cameras in Canons Cinema EOS System digital cinematography lineup: the EOS C500/C500PL, EOS C300/C300PL and EOS C100. It allows users to remotely control a wide variety of functions built into the cameras, as well as adjust and set various controls, such as exposure and white balance. The Remote Controller RC-V100 will go on sale June 2014 priced at dealers discretion. Firmware updates for greater on-site shooting efficiency
The new firmware updates target the XF305/XF300 professional HD camcorders and six Cinema EOS System cameras: the EOS C500/C500PL, EOS C300/C300PL, EOS C100 and EOS-1DC. The upgrades respond to a range of advanced professional needs spanning a range of fields, from motion-picture production to video journalism. Facilitating enhanced production efficiency, the new firmware not only makes possible the use of the RC-V100 with almost all of the aforementioned camcorders and cameras2 but, for the EOS C300, also supports innovative Dual Pixel CMOS AF autofocusing technology, enabling continuous autofocusing3 with almost the entire lineup4 of Canon EF lenses. Additionally, for the EOS C100, the firmware update lets users take advantage of a Continuous Recording mode.
Firmware release schedule
The new firmware updates for the XF305/XF300 professional HD camcorders and EOS C500/C500PL, EOS C300/C300PL and EOS C100 Cinema EOS System cameras will be made available in February, May and June 2014, depending on the model and function.
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Have you got your ACS Merchandise?
Available from ACS HQ Manager: David LEWIS ACS dlewis@cinematographer.net.au ACS HOODIE $35.00
ACS SPRAY JACKET $60.00
ACS T SHIRT $20.00
ACS CAP $20.00
ACS BEANIE $15.00
ACS PEN $6.00
ACS NOTEBOOK $3.00
ACS MUG $6.00 Visit the ACS website for all your
ACS Merchandise today!
IMAGO assembles in Greece!
Catch up on all thats happening on the IMAGO web site here: www.imago.org
Including a run down of the IMAGO General Assembly in Greece that RJ will be attending in late April. Anyone wanting Moussaka or retsina? Hell bring it back for you!
OZDOC Event
The Regal Cinema - Oscars Season Program - Download Here!
The Regal Cinema program for the 2014 Oscars Season is here, please click on the downloadable PDF link below to see the full program and times. You may wish to print out and if you have time, could you please email on to family and friends that you think may be interested.
Thanks again for your support for the Regal Cinema.
Keep up to date with ACS news via Facebook
ACS National Headquarters
Level 2, 26 Ridge Street,
North Sydney
NSW 2060
Ph: 02 8920 8535HQ Manager: David Lewis ACS email
Assistant HQ Manager: Anna Howard ACS email
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