Editor: Lizz Vernon
National eNews and much much more....
Message from the President:
Greetings ACS colleagues and friends, It certainly has been a busy month for me attending the IMAGO Board meeting and the Oslo Digital Conference in of all places, wait for it, Oslo and more recently the fantastic event that is the NT Branch Awards for Cinematography in Darwin, but before I give you all a rundown on both, I want to again take an opportunity to pass on our sincere condolences to Cathie Windon and the extended Windon family on the passing of our much loved friend, mentor and ACS spiritual leader, Ron Windon ACS. Ron influenced the careers of so many and the ACS, indeed the industry as a whole will forever keep a special place in our hearts and minds to his memory. The service at the Chapel was beautifully done with a large number of Rons friends and colleagues in attendance to pay their respects.
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Afterwards at the ACS HQ, a large group led by the Windon family honoured Rons memory with a tipple or three and shared fond stories about this great man, loved and respected by many. A beautiful portrait of Ron will hopefully be placed prominently in the ACS HQ in the very near future..
The IMAGO Oslo Digital Cinema Conference took place in Oslo, Norway under the auspices of the Norwegian Society of Cinematographers and the guidance of IMAGO President, Paul Rene Roestad FNF on the 8th, 9th and 10th September at the Norwegian Film Institute and Cinematek in Central Oslo. This particular event was one that I believe the Society can also implement in the future, as it requires minimal set up time as long as the venue and of course funding can be found, as the whole running of the event does centre around the most practical venue.
It also would provide an opportunity for our ACS sponsors to have a small booth, as we have done in the past in Hobart and Adelaide to present their products to those in attendance. There were many topics presented, which comprised 21 individual speakers and two screenings. I will endeavour to cover off as many as I can for your reading pleasure, but there is more information on the IMAGO web site as well:
The Oslo Digital Cinema Conference began with a presentation from London based NSW Branch member, Brett Danton who spoke glowingly about the new Canon C700 and the advantages he found with RAW workflow on a recent TVC for Jaguar shot here in Australia. Brett has agreed to share this presentation with us when he returns Australia in November. I must say that the screen at the NFI was superb and all images were screened at optimum quality for all to see, particularly relevant given IMAGO and the Committee for Creative Technologies are in discussion regarding establishing a grading Star System for all cinema screens, at this stage in Europe, but the future does hold promise for our region as well.
NEXT GENERATION IMAGING AND THE IMPACT OF HDR - David Stump ASC
35mm, 5000ISO HIGH SPEED SENSORS - Cinematographer Matthias Bolliger spoke enthusiastically about the Panasonic Varicam and the added positive impact it brought to his low light work with the high speed sensor. There is more here at this link:
ACES- EXPERIENCES, NEW DEVELOPMENTS & THE FUTURE ~ Alex Forsyth flew from Los Angeles and gave an insightful presentation on ACES.
So, What is ACES? ACES (Academy Color Encoding Systems) is a series of guidelines and specifications for every type of color management, from image capture to post-production to distribution. ACES is a free and open color management system, meaning it is not tied to a specific platform or program. Its designed to work with the technology of today, as well as future workflows.
The ACES color space includes everything the human eye can see, meaning there are no restrictions or limitations of the color space. It is not a program or workflow or look. ACES was designed to help you with your workflow. ACES consists of encoding specifications, transform definitions and guidelines, metadata definitions, standard screen specifications, and the specifications for archive-ready image data and metadata.
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Adopting ACES - ACES is becoming popular among large scale blockbuster films, especially those that tend to be CG/VFX heavy. The growing list of films using ACES include:
Chappie, The Lego Movie, Oblivion, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2.
If you want to consider adopting ACES standards in your productions, you can dive into all the technical writings on ACES by visiting the ACES Documentation page. Additionally, you can find other support and resources at ACES Central, the dedicated hub and forum for all things related to ACES colour encoding. MORE by clicking link or image.
 LUCIANO TOVOLI AIC ASC Image: https://www.canacosmi.com |
LUCIANO TOVOLI AIC ASC - The highlight of the day was the screening of the Antonioni film Professione: Reporter and the ensuing Q&A with the maestro" Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC. One cannot help but be captivated listening to Luciano talk with great reverence about Michelangelo Antonioni along with most Directors he collaborates with. Of particular interest in this film and explored in detail by moderator Kjell Runar Jensen from the Norwegian society, was the amazing one shot scene which features Jack Nicholson lying on a bed, looking out to a courtyard and the camera moving slowly across the room, through the bars of the window into the courtyard to capture a scene involving the arrival of a car and a beautiful woman, the camera follows her into the building, rotating 180 degrees and then settling, looking through the bars from outside as she enters the room with the police to see the body on the bed. In effect a 360 degree shot, which was truly outstanding given the technology of the day. Must see - Professione: Reporter! One of the most interesting sessions for me was the one dealing with CINEMATOGRAPHERS AUTHORS RIGHTS - This was a case study from Norway by Bjorn Alexander Brem from the Norwegian Filmmakers Association, who spoke with great knowledge about this rather vexing issue for us here in the Southern hemisphere, although he did point out not all was perfect in the Scandinavian system, but it was in reasonable shape compared to most, who like us, have nothing to speak of. I have included his presentation and welcome any questions you may have.
I can tell you that this issue of Authors Rights for cinematographers will be discussed by IMAGO in Helsinki with the potential to seeing if this can become a global initiative of IMAGO. Philippe Ros AFC, Rolf Coulanges BVK and Mick Van Rossum NSC from the IMAGO Committee for Creative Technologies collaborated to bring a presentation dealing with:
TEXTURE CONTROL IN THE WORKFLOW. This was a fairly technical presentation but the overall take out was the control of the final image, which is a subject close to all our hearts. Philippe, Rolf and Mick are three extraordinarily talented cinematographers who also possess a real solid technical understanding of those areas that tend to get us mere mortals into trouble. I have included Philippes presentation which I hope will help explain it with more clarity..
 Norwegian filmmaker ~ Janike Mikkelsen |
VIRTUAL REALITY 3D: Case Study - The Champions ~ Norwegian filmmaker, Ms Janike Mikkelsen presented a fantastic overview of her groundbreaking work on The Queen Concert film - The Champions. She related the story about being contacted by astro physicist Dr Brian May who just happens to be the lead guitarist of Queen who had heard of her extraordinary ability as a stereographer and asked if she would be interested in producing a film based on their next concert. This was a project for the fans and initially was only one song, The Champions, but eventually it became the whole concert, which was another story altogether. LUCA BIGAZZI is an acclaimed Italian cinematographer who with his quiet reserved approach to visual storytelling has received seven David di Donatello Awards for Best Cinematography. He has worked with directors such as Silvio Soldini, Mario Martone, Felice Farina, Gianni Amelio, Francesca Archibugi, and Paolo Sorrentino, one of Italys most revered Directors, nominated six times for the Palme dOr. I have been a huge fan of Lucas work for sometime and his most recent work on The Young Pope was a tour de force. His work with director Sorrentino features virtuosic camera movements but his architectural framing, and the way his lenses create the actors space to move, showcases the use of the frame that are a feature of all his work as a cinematographer. Luca Bigazzi stands right alongside the other great Italian cinematographers at the very top of his game, and to hear him speak with such clarity and subdued passion about his role as a cinematographer is something not to be missed.
IMAGO REQUESTS TO MANUFACTURERS The last session of the Conference was one delivered by Philippe Ros AFC, Rolf Coulanges BVK and Mick Van Rossum NSC from the IMAGO Committee for Creative Technologies. The basic idea was that Cinematographers (IMAGO in cooperation with other Societies) should work to obtain greater influence over the cameras, software and equipment that we use. A complex issue that requires considerable collaboration, but certainly a step in the right direction. This would essentially involve Cinematographers working and collaborating with manufacturers more than we currently do to tailor make equipment to specifications. This is a big and important step and requires IMAGO to get consensus and backing as to what to prioritize amongst as many Societies as possible, thereby we will have a greater possibility to succeed. This, I am sure you agree is a great starting point, with a great deal of work to be done before the collaboration can begin.
AUTHORS OR DIRECTORS OF CINEMATOGRAPHY? At the ASC Summit in Los Angeles, Vittorio Storaro AIC ASC spoke about the notion to adopt the screen credit as Author of Cinematography which is opposed to Director of Photography. There are many who believe the latter is an outdated title as in the literal sense we are cinematographers NOT photographers. Semantics perhaps, but I also feel it is time we considered a change, but I favour Director of Cinematography. What do you think? Please email me and let me know, as this will be discussed at the next IMAGO Assembly in Helsinki at the end of October.
USING THE LETTERS - A small concern of mine is when an international cinematographer automatically, it seems has his or her home country letters after that of where the film or project is produced. I feel it important the we insist that the letters ACS come before those of another country of which the cinematographer is an Accredited member, given they are the letters of our national Society. Let me know how you feel about this. NT AWARDS WRAP UP So, having said all that, its time to talk about the event that is the ACS NT Branch Awards for Cinematography.
 Early birds get the best seats... |
With a new concept this year, the Awards form part of the Darwin International Film Festival which is held annually in the famous Deck Chair Cinema. Correct! An outdoor evening presentation, set amongst the cooling palms, bougainvillea and the resident curlews and fruit bats of the capital Darwin.
My thanks to the tireless and intensely proud NT Branch President, Andrew Hyde and the Committee for inviting me to attend on behalf of the National Executive, but I was not alone as NSW President, Roger Lanser ACS made the trip along with Richard Back from SA and Robb Shaw-Velzen ACS from the ACT.
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Ray Martin AM again hosted these very special Awards with that true gentleman from Tasmania, David Brill AM ACS as Guest of Honour. Enormous credit to Awards Producer, the talented Tim Wood who guided these Awards, and were as one would expect from the Territory, somewhat unique in that they were in two parts, one being for members and guests and the other for the general public, as part of the Darwin International Film Festival, giving them the opportunity to see the winning Gold entries in full on the huge outdoor screen, which proved to be an outstanding success. There were 34 awards presented across15 categories, which was an outstanding result and represented a broad cross-section of the high standard of work emanating from the Territory by our ACS members.
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Roger Lanser ACS commented: "The good times and friends feel to the whole event and the relaxed Darwin vibe and style the boys employed with the awards night was terrific. The tropical setting, drinks by the sea with flambos and music and the Aussie tropical feel was unique. To see the work up on a big screen, big and bold like that was brilliant
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Other overheard comments among guests were: "Amazing presentation"
"Outstanding work from the NT."
"This is what it's all about.
"Congratulations ACS NT Branch.
"Deckchair Cinema concept with NT Awards is awesome! I cannot emphasise enough the work of NT Branch President, Andy Hyde along with the Awards Producer, Tim Wood, Mitchell Woolnough and others for yet another successful NT Branch Awards presentation. Ray Martin AM and David Brill AM ACSl were seen coming and going from the ABC Studios on several occasions, and of course on Sunday morning the NT Branch held a fantastic Q&A Retrospective of their careers, moderated with great skill by Andy Hyde.
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This was an outstanding presentation and testament to both Ray and Davids capacity to entertain and keep us all informed, particularly when it comes to the responsibility of the commercial networks to produce and keep producing local and regional news. After all, as Ray reminded us, its what they have a broadcasting licence for
to inform. To listen to the conversation going to and fro, and the amazing recall and the telling of great stories of their time both working together and independently was sheer brilliance. Ray and David have a great love and respect for each other and this was truly evident. If this happens again in the future, and these two great raconteurs are together on the same stage do not miss it.
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Roger Lanser ACS, NSW President observed: The Martin - Brill Q&A event was attended by local journalists, producers, ACS members and local film makers.
After a very informative introduction from NT President, Andrew Hyde, Ray jumped right in ands spoke about the importance of the "great mateship" that Australian cinematographers have, and he praised them for their can do spirit and their acceptance globally as 1st class news and current affairs cinematographers, as well as feature films and television drama. He also commented on how having David Brill as his cinematographer put him at ease knowing that he would have beautiful story telling pictures to create the narrative with. Ray was keen to remind us all that his work took him into all sorts of sensitive and at times dangerous situations and this required a stealthy eye from his cinematographer to be able to shoot without fear of being compromised. Regarding his particular interviewing style, Ray mentioned he enjoys putting his interviewees at ease and that where the interview was done and the composition of himself in relationship to the subject was vitally important in the whole process, as it sets the tone for not only the interview but the viewer.
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Tasmanian born David Brill AM ACS is an incredibly modest, but knowledgeable man who told stories from the frontline of working with film and film cameras and the difficulty of keeping the exposed stock safe until it could be gotten out" and the tough rivalry between the TV networks during a foreign conflict to the point of sabotage, so that one network could well have the exclusive story that went to air that night. He spoke of all the new emerging technical equipment and how new rules apply and instant review of your footage is available, but this was not possible in the past. He also mention the long delays in hearing whether or not the footage was OK relating to exposure, framing and story content, as it was flown out to another country for processing then onto the TV station producers and editing as apposed to todays instant review, live crosses and conformations.
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He told an anecdote about halting a motorised military assault in Asia, stop the war in Davids words, because his camera magazine jammed and he needed to fix the jam before they went any further into battle. The assault was stopped, both sides waited, he fixed the jammed Eclair camera then instructed them to restart the assault, which they promptly did.
Both Ray and David both spoke of legendary news cinematographers and the importance of their recognition, in particular the great Neil Davis. Questions from the audience on various topics were put forward and it ended with a healthy, open discussion about new equipment like drones, high resolution cameras and the new styles of news gathering by the public with phones and the trend towards quick editing and 1 minute snappy story style of the commercial networks. Some good, some bad but all having a place in the current environment.
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Ray finished with a relevent point about Australia, a country with only 22 million that had 2 national broadcasters and 3 commercial netwoks and we should always understand this is not the case in other countries. Networks must supply news and current affairs and this created an open competitive market and that was not common globally.
Both Ray Martin and David Brill were pressed for questions after the event had finished, which was a great indicator of the importance of open Q&As like this one. The NT Awards for Cinematography are a reminder to us all of the importance of the Society , and we must continue to encourage and support the smaller Branches in their endeavours to provide their members with every opportunity to advance their careers at every turn.
REPRESENTATION TO CANBERRA by the Australian Screen Industry Group - The Guilds, will take place on October 18th at Parliament House, Canberra in the area known as The Alcove. It will be a fantastic opportunity for us as a Group to meet with the Parliamentary Friends of the Screen Industry and others in Government to talk openly and frankly about the problems that we face in relation to the future of our industry. Unfortunately, I wont be able to attend but the Society will be represented, at this point in time by an august group including John Seale AM ACS ASC along with David Lewis ACS, Roger Lanser ACS, Lizz Vernon as our ACS Guilds Co-ordinator, and from the ACT Branch, Miguel Gallagher and Robb Shaw Velzen ACS. This promises to be a very informative event, and I will keep you informed regarding the outcomes.
Until next time
Ron Johanson AM ACS
National President ACS AWARDS TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE https://secure04.0918dp.bne3-0918dp.server-web.com/ssl/awards_booking/default.asp
Support the Society and the work done by our members by booking your tickets to the various ACS Awards for Cinematography presentations in your State.
Congratulations Mandy Walker ACS ASC
Mandy now holds a position on the ASC Board of Governors Woody Omens, ASC has resigned his position as a Regular ASC Board Member. Roberto Schaefer, who is the Alternate Board Member receiving the highest number of election votes, has been elevated into the position of a Regular Board of Governor for the remainder of Mr. Omens term, which expires in June 2019. Subsequently, the 4 remaining Alternates have also elevated in order, leaving a vacancy in the 5th Alternate position. Mandy Walker ACS ASC is the ASC Member with the next highest number of votes in the Annual Election of the Board of Governors and is entitled to the seat as the 5th Alternate Member of the ASC Board of Governors.
The 2017 ACS Awards for Cinematography season has begun...
Remaining State/Territory Awards presentations dates: SA / WA: 28th October 2017 @ The Adelaide Oval
QLD: 11th November 2017 @ The Tivoli in Fortitude Valley
NSW / ACT: 18th November 2017 @ SMC Function Centre, Sydney
VIC / TAS: 25th November 2017 @ Dark Studio, Kensington Vic The 2018 National Awards will be held in Queensland on Saturday, 5th May 2018 at Brisbane Customs House.
The ALLEN KIDS
Fighting
over
who
reads
the
AC Magazine
first!!!
...We never did find out who won!
Ben, ...Clara?
"No Activity" camera crew in downtown LA.
Do us all a favour and watch and share this doco with your family, especially your teenagers...
'Shocking' short film targets young adults using phone while driving Academy award winner Eva Orners film follows five drivers for 10 days, recording every text, call and Snapchat selfie... Academy award winning film-maker Eva Orner has directed the centrepiece of Victorias latest road safety campaign, targeting young adults who use their mobile phone while driving. The 22-minute documentary, Its People Like Us, follows five young drivers who allowed Orner to place cameras in their cars for 10 days, recording every moment they looked down to check or send a text, took a call, or, in one case, sent a series of selfies on Snapchat. The footage is intercut with interviews of the young adults describing their phone use. None seemed aware of how frequently they used their phone while driving. ~ Cinematography by Ellery Ryan Jr and Jaque Fisher CLICK IMAGE TO WATCH VIDEO
@austcine Check out each new Host
Guest Hosts by invitation ~ ACS Instagram account @austcine
AFTRS MASTERS & GRADUATE CERTIFICATES APPLICATIONS CLOSE 16 OCTOBER
Master of Arts Screen: Cinematography (2y, full time) Open till 16 October
Graduate Certificate: Cinematography (1y, part-time) Open till 16 October
AFTRS DIPLOMAS
Diploma in Camera (16 weeks, part-time) Open till 1 December
Diploma in Colour Grading Open till 1 December
AFTRS SHORT COURSES AFTRS short courses include CAMERA & SOUND BASICS, AFTRS annual 5-day CAMERA ASSISTANTS WORKSHOP in October and LIGHTING FUNDAMENTALS in November. Details here AFTRS ANNUAL CAMERA ASSISTANTS WORKSHOP
Good Camera Assistants are always sought after in the industry. AFTRS annual 5-day Camera Assistants workshop is coming up at the end of October.
30 October 3 November, Details: Details here
Extended details via the links section below
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Panasonic presents Cinematic Moments with Taka Mitsui & Don McAlpine ACS ASC ~ @ the ACS HQ - 12th October |  | AFTRS MASTERS & GRADUATE CERTIFICATES APPLICATIONS CLOSE 16 OCTOBER Master of Arts Screen: Cinematography
An intensive career accel... More » |  | Sydney Premiere ~ MadHattan from The Kimberly to New York Carolyn Constantine ~ 18th October We hope you can join us for the Sydney Preiere of our new film...
Madhattan From The Kimberley to New York
Wednesday 18th October 2017
6pm for 6... More » |  | VIP Event @ SUNSTUDIOS ~ Take a peek at the all new C200 ~ 18th October |  | CW SONDEROPTIC & LEICA ~ ACS Leica Kit Thanks to our National sponsor CWSONDEROPTIC we are pleased to be able to offer the members the opportunity to use our new ACS Leica kit, which compri... More » |  | Dear Hollywood: 9 Top Women Cinematographers Who Are Ready to Direct Having proved themselves in a man's profession, these women are gifted and tough enough to take on directing a feature.
Heres how studios s... More » |  | The Mountain Between Us: How Cinematographer Mandy Walker Shot at 11,000 Feet Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker is up for a challenge, whether it's the outback at 120 degrees or minus 30 on top of a mountain. ~ Arti... More » |  | GCI - Global Cinematography Institute (Co-Founders Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC and Yuri Neyman, ASC) |  | ARRI Launches New Full Spectrum ND External Filter Due to the high expectations for modern deliverables, current industry image quality demands, and a growth in customer and end-user demand for top-qua... More » |  | David Mirabella chooses the Sony PXW-FS5 Super 35 4K camera |  | 2017 ACS AWARDS for CINEMATOGRAPHY The 2017 ACS Awards for Cinematography season is here, NT Awards were terrific next stop is SA / WA on the 28th October 2017 @ Frasers - Adelai... More » |  | POSTCARD FROM UGANDA - Brad Dillon Hi Ronny, a quick POSTCARD FROM UGANDA .
Second trip to the country for me, a very different one to the last, shooting the Animal Planet Drama Doc... More » |  | ROSCO LABORATORIES ACQUIRES LED LIGHTING SPECIALIST DMG LUMIÈRE Win-win deal brings two successful businesses together to further enhance customer-driven LED lighting innovation.
Rosco, a leading manufa... More » |  | Postcard from Joel Froome Hey everyone, howre you all?
Just wanted to send a quick hello from beautiful Switzerland, where Im currently shooting Academy Award nominated d... More » | | A Silent Agreement ~ In an Australian first, Auslan [Sign Language] Film NSW Branch member and proud Macedonian, Bebi Zekirovski explains the idea behind the feature film A Silent Agreement on which he worked as the DoP.
... More » |  | Sony unveils its first 8K System Camera with three 8K sensors at IBC 2017 Sony continues to drive the evolution of imaging technology expanding the possibilities for 4K production and more
The UHC-8300, its first... More » |  | ACS SHOP - Winter Specials |  | ARRI ~ new products @ ABC 2017 The already popular SkyPanel family of LED soft lights just got bigger with the introduction of ARRIs largest and brightest SkyPanel to date, the S36... More » |  | LINKS Update your user page or checkout our Facebook page... More » |  |
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