A Message from the President

ONLINE EVENT

NEW AWARD INITIATIVE FOR QUEENSLAND BRANCH

ACS Queensland is very excited to announce a new, special category of award for 2020. The Outstanding Support Award is designed to shine a light on the many fantastic people that support our projects and the broader industry. If you can think of anyone who you’d like to nominate, we’re now accepting submissions from our membership base, all we require is a short paragraph explaining; who you’re nominating and why! Nominees do not have to be members, it could be your favourite rental house, a focus puller who’s had your back all year, a production designer, or your mum who’s catering saved the day. Submissions will be assessed by the Queensland committee, with the winner announced during the Queensland Awards night. Please send your nominations to acsqld@austcine.org.au  Submissions close October 10

JULIAN PANETTA ASSISTED BY BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL

Kees van Oostrum ASC highlights the  Mark Milsome Foundation Some 20 years ago, Doug Milsome ASC BSC and his wife Debbie were our neighbors in Los Angeles. Doug and I had worked together and became friends. Not only did we talk about cinematography, but our personal lives intertwined. Many an evening was spent conversing about our lives and often about our children. Ours were toddlers. His, Mark and Sarah, were teenagers and embarking on their careers. Mark Milsome, their son, was often spoken about. He was a camera assistant back in England hoping to become a cinematographer following in Doug's footsteps. As creative artists, we all strive to leave something behind, a great shot, a beautifully lit movie or, more importantly in both our lives, a son to continue on. When the word got out a few years ago that Mark had passed on because of a terrible accident on a movie set, I could not imagine the loss this meant for the Milsome family. To lose a child, the father of your grandchild, is beyond any expectation. It seemed so unjustifiable and crude under the circumstances. At first, my thoughts were with Doug, Debbie and the family, but then over the past years, hearing more about the details of a car stunt gone out of control, my sorrow was overtaken by anger. I could not, and cannot, to this day, overcome the feeling that this deadly incident was unnecessary and could have been prevented if some simple safety precautions were in place.   What remains today, besides the memories of a son and a father, is the crude reality of life after. Part of this life is a process of healing for those that stayed behind, Part of this process is the quest for justice. The Milsome family, supported by many friends and colleagues in the industry, have justifiably embarked on this quest to make sense of this tragedy and as an effort to prevent this type of accident in the future.    An inquest started over two years ago, a process to find answers. Answers that eventually will lead to a better world for us in the name and remembrance of Mark Milsome.   The Milsome family needs our support and I hope that you will join them on their path as, in the end, it affects us all. You can read the letter from Sarah Milsome, which includes details of how to donate to the Mark Misome Foundation, now by clicking here. Regards, Kees van Oostrum ASC President IMAGO

ACHTEL 9×7 65 Megapixel Motion Picture Camera

Pawel Achtel ACS has been working on a 9×7 Megapixel Motion Picture Camera for the last couple of years and this week he officially announced it.

Australian cinematographer and camera inventor, Pawel Achtel ACS, is no novice when it comes to inventing and producing high-end camera technology. His company’s DeepX and 3Deep camera systems for underwater cinematography featured revolutionary designs, using carefully tested and matched Nikonos underwater lenses mounted on RED cameras. And, the company’s patented 3D beam-splitter was recently used extensively on James Cameron’s latest Avatar sequels, in New Zealand, prompting the legendary Hollywood director to write that the results were the best underwater 3D images he’d ever seen. By far.

The 9×7 is a 65MP camera that has a resolution of 9.3K x 7K. It was nicknamed 9×7, due to its native resolution being just over 9K wide and 7K tall and boasting twice the pixel count of the highest commercially available large format digital cinema cameras.

This is a specialized camera designed for IMAX and Giant Screen, VFX, and VR, hence the 4:3 aspect ratio and small size to rig it for 3D configurations.
The file sizes huge, but with that, you improve image quality which is important when displaying on giant screens.

Through keynote speeches and a panel over the course of one day, the conference will take a closer look into Denmark’s film industry and the links between fair working conditions, gender equality and high-quality film production.   The online event is completely free to attend and is open to everyone, wherever you may be in the world.

Cinematographers Society embraces greater diversity

Instigated by the Society’s president Ron Johanson OAM ACS, the ACS Women’s Advisory Panel, which was formed eight years ago, has been expanded and renamed as the ACS Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation Panel.

As a result, the membership base has been broadened to include cinematographers of colour, Indigenous Australians, LGBTQI-identifying people and many women from the original WAP, chaired by Justine Kerrigan.

“Working under a mandate to discuss more openly ways to improve these matters within our own Society, in camera departments and on film sets, we anticipate the meetings will become an open forum for all to share thoughts and experiences and to put forward ideas that will help the Society move forward in positive and inclusive ways,” Kerrigan said.

Among the new members of the panel are Cara Hurley, Allan Collins, Lucas Tomoana, Murray Lui, Claire Bishop, Vanessa Cox, Miguel Gallagher, Joanne Donahoe-Beckwith and Ben Cotgrove. 

The continuing members include Sissy Reyes, Ron Johanson OAM ACS, Erika Addis, Anna Howard ACS, Bonnie Elliott ACS, Carolyn Constantine ACS, Lizz Vernon, Velinda Wardell ACS and Katie Millwright ACS. 

This follows the recent election of NSW-based cinematographer Constantine as NSW branch president, the first woman to hold that post. She joins Erika Addis, who is the Queensland branch president.

Johanson said: “The Society encourages all women, people of colour, Indigenous Australians, LGBQTI-identifying people and disabled people to attend our meetings and events, which are carried out in a safe and welcoming environment and to let your collective voices help the Society to grow and foster diverse and emerging cinematographers.”

Last month 27 of Australia’s top cinematographers last night launched the social media campaign #whoisinyourcrew, aimed at boosting the number of women employed in camera teams and, more broadly, encouraging greater diversity across the screen industry.

The brainchild of Bonnie Elliott ACS, the six-week campaign is designed to reach all heads of department as well as directors and producers.

Within the ACS there are 16 accredited women out of 279 accredited members who are still active, which equates to under 6 per cent.

Of 676 cinematographers, 41 or 6 per cent are female. Among 296 camera crew, 50 or 17 per cent are female. The ratio is higher among student members: 29 of 109, or nearly 27 per cent.

For Screen Australia-funded productions between 2016-19, 13 of the 166 features were shot by female DOPs (7 per cent), and 29 of the 253 drama series were shot by female DOPs (11 per cent).

Elliott said: “The #WhoIsInYourCrew campaign has had global outreach and we are hopeful that this ACS campaign will open the doors in other countries and reinforce the message to all societies, which will then enable the ACS to work hand in glove with colleagues internationally.”