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    Winter 2020 Edition  
What's in this edition...
  • Message from the ACS President Ron Johanson OAM ACS
  • Message from ASC President Kees Van Oostrum, ASC
  • Thinking of Accreditation
  • Inaugural ACS Expat & International Member Zoom Chat Meeting -7th June
  • AC Mag - Please confirm we have your correct postal info
  • Mabo Day recognises Eddie Koiki Mabo's contribution to Indigenous Land Rights
  • WIFT Masterclass Bonnie Elliot ACS in conversation with Mandy Walker ASC,ACS
  • ROSCO Webinar: Camera & Art Departments "Bridging The Gap"
  • Digital Cinema Society - Link to Events & Educational Resources
  • The Martini Ep 112, Reed Morano, ASC - June 5th
  • MEAA PETITION - Add your name to add your voice
  • Stay Creative @ HOME #FUJIFILMFROMHOME
  • @austcine - check out our National Instagram
  • Women of Steel - Online June 10th - 21st June
  • AFTRS - There's never been a better time to Upskill
  • Alexa's 10th anniversary - ARRI want's to here from you!
  • APDG webinar: Dialogues in Design - 10th June
  • Jon Shaw ACS shares his latest showreel
  • Eirini Alligiannis takes Best Doco @ Venice Shorts Film Awards
  • 20/21 ACS Awards Categories
  • 20/21 ACS Sub Committees 
  • RED -  Q&A with Briapatch DP Zachary Galler
  • Huge respect to all our National Sponsors - couldn't do this without you!
A Message from the President
Photo by John Stokes ACS

Dear ACS members and friends,

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water!  

So the COVID -19 had us by the throat and we were starting to get on top of  that monster when once again America enters the path of racial turmoil.

It is not my place to comment specifically but I will say; we need to try and understand at all times the other person’s point of view, which is easy if you’re so far away, but when I see all the news cinematographers and reporters trying to get the story to us, sometimes in fear of physical damage you need to ask why. Democracy, the politicising of life in general, just seems so sad for a country that comprises good people outnumbered by a few who cannot protest in a peaceful and civil way and always resort to violence. I feel for all our colleagues who go to work each day to keep the population aware of what is transpiring, without fear or favour, but it seems to bite them on the bum. 

I fear for the safety of families and loved ones of our ACS members who are working and residing in the USA at this time, many emotionally close to us in Los Angeles. Our thoughts are with you all, stay safe I beg you. An extra thought for ACS member and 7 News cinematographer; Tim Myers ACS who ran into a door, or was it a police shield and a punch to the face. Hope you’re ok Tim along with your colleague, Amelia Brace who copped a baton across her back. Certainly looked like a tough day at the Washington bureau.
After the success of the National Awards we had many calls and emails of congratulations, so again I thank all those concerned;
Ray Martin AM,
Ernie Clark ACS, Gerald Wiblin, Mark Morris,
Kirsty Stark, Daniel Charlton & Maxx Corkindale.

The NZCS and the BSC requested to see the replay with a view to using the same concept….Great news!

To all of you, we are slowly beating the Covid - 19 monster, but please stay on guard and do not let it sneak up again. STAY SAFE, BE AWARE & WASH THOSE HANDS.


Ron Johanson OAM ACS 

National President,
Australian Cinematographers Society 

A Message from Kees van Oostrum, ASC

June 2, 2020

The recent violent events in our country against the backdrop of the onslaught of a deadly virus have created an era of considerable uncertainty and anguish. I do not doubt that your heartfelt feelings are with the victims of discrimination and unjustified violence. In the name of these men and women and countless more, thousands of Americans have taken to the streets — to express a rage born of despair.

I believe that I will speak for the majority of our ASC members to express concern regarding a substantial commitment to our democracy. I would like you to join me in the belief that America can choose a better self.

“In the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard,” Dr. King said. “As long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again.”

Although the ASC has no political affiliation or motive, it is a society of people and often through our work connected to human interest. With 100 years solidly behind us, I can only encourage you to cherish the “Loyalty” that we stand for and work towards a fairer society providing the most fundamental protections in the Constitution; “the right to life, and to not be deprived of that life without due process of law.”

Let us all start to work on the future.
      
Sincerely,


Kees van Oostrum, ASC
President
Thinking about Accreditation...
Now is the time to start thinking about the work you are going to submit if you are eligible to apply for Accreditation this year.

Please use the link below to review all the conditions, and if you require further information along with any advice regarding your submission please contact me or your Branch President.
ACS Accreditation

INAUGURAL ACS EXPAT & INTERNATIONAL MEMBER ZOOM CHAT MEETING

Commencing Sunday 7th June & continuing until further notice, the ACS has decided to embrace our international & expatriate members more by instigating a first Sunday of the Month Worldwide Zoom based chat meeting.

To cover all nations the time of day is set at midnight Sunday (0.00 Monday) AEST– for example, 0700 in LA or 1500 in London.
The response has been fantastic & we look forward to catching up with old mates & those we are yet to meet.

If you are overseas, wish to be involved and we haven’t contacted you, please email David Wakeley ACS who will send you the link.
dwakeley@cinematographer.net.au
AC Magazine ~The ACS Flagship Magazine ...Out Quartly
Missing something...  If you've moved remember to let your ACS Branch Secretary know your new address in order to continue to receive your copy of AC MAG
Mabo Day
June 3rd was Mabo Day, a special day which commemorates the work of Eddie Koiki Mabo whose contribution to Indigenous Land Rights led to the Mabo High Court Decision 1992. These slides from BlakBusiness - www.instagram.com/blakbusiness - have more information and include a great list of relevant shows to watch on ABC iView and SBS On Demand."
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/mabo
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/892709443993/mabo-life-of-an-island-man
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/11723331504/first-australians-we-are-no-longer-shadows
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/11830339567/mabo-anniversary
"As National Reconciliation Week draws to a close the ACS continues to acknowledge Australia's First Nations Peoples, their connection to the land on which we live and work, their invaluable contributions to the screen industry, and supports the pursuit for equality.

Last chance to register for tonights Masterclass

Attend our live webinar about bridging the gap between Camera and Art Departments

Join us for a virtual round-table discussion about the often under-appreciated relationship between Camera and Art Departments during production.  Moderated by Phil Greenstreet of Rosco Digital Imaging, participants include Darran Tiernan, David Franco, and Chris Farmer; all of whom have recently worked together on the upcoming HBO limited series, Perry Mason.
Join Us!
June 10, 2020
7:00pm (GMT +1) – 1:00pm EDT – 10:00am PST
This event is free, but you must register in order to attend.
Click Here to Register
If you haven't checked out Digital Cinema Society, you could be missing out... Click the image below to see all their events and resources.
The Martini - Candid conversations with a twist
Episode 112: Cinematographer/Director Reed Morano, ASC


From ARRI's home to yours: "The Martini" is a virtual show that aims to get close up with filmmakers through candid conversations about creativity, inspiration, and passion for the art form. Please join them for a live webinar with cinematographer/ director Reed Morano ASC (I Think We're Alone Now, The Handmaid's Tale, Meadowland, Kill Your Darlings, Frozen River, Little Birds).
 
Friday, June 5, 2020 at 11am PST / 2pm EST

Please register via the link below. Details for accessing the meeting will be distributed one hour prior to the start time.

Register for webinar here:
Register HERE - The Martini Episode 112
*How do I sign up?*
ARRI is streaming this live webinar on Zoom. In order to use Zoom's interactive features you have to download the app and set up an account - it's free, and you can sign up here http://news.arri.com/yj7af2zr-dookl20z-fcn1nkhy-6vt. If you have security concerns you can also join the webinar in your browser: the "**Join from your browser" link will appear after clicking on the link to join the meeting

MEAA PETITION

PLEASE PARTICIPATE BY CLICKING ON THE LINK, READING AND CONSIDER SIGNING TO SUPPORT.
Dear Paul Fletcher,
 
We need your help to make sure that the creative workers and iconic institutions that inspire, provoke, and bring together Australians can survive this crisis. We want to get back to work, but we need your support.
·        Job Keeper needs to be expanded to cover all of the hardworking, entrepreneurial freelancers and casuals who make their living in our creative industries.
·        Financial assistance is needed to recover from the devastating losses caused by COVID-19 shutdowns.
·        Australia needs regulatory and tax incentives that will drive our cultural life and guarantee future job and investment.
·        Our creatives need help to get back to work safely and securely in the ‘new normal’.
Our plan is to give it to MP Tony Burke next week as Parliament resumes, and we’d love to get as many signatures as possible before then. 
CLICK HERE - READ - CONSIDER - SIGN
Sign up or Log @ Fujifilm-connect.com


The Australian Cinematographers Society 

@austcine

@austcine

SEE WOMEN OF STEEL ONLINE
JUNE 10-21 Day and night

I had  started to write this email with a request for the ACS to let members know that our WOMEN OF STEEL documentary is a finalist in the Sydney Fiilm Festival ‘virtual’ Documentary Award which is online across Australia June 10-21 — tickets available https://ondemand.sff.org.au/film/women-of-steel// And indeed I do hope that ACS members might take a look at our film and other documentary finalists too.

However, while I think our film is terrific, one of the most notable things about it is that it was made entirely by 500+ donations and volunteers within the Wollongong community —  so had no genuine cinematographer. And as I was musing on how such a film could be chosen as a finalist, I look at the credits of the other nominated documentarie.

What I found astonished me. Every year 70-100 Australian documentaries are submitted for this big $10,000 Award and only ten are nominated. Now, I have great confidence in the discernment of the Sydney Film Festival selection process — the finalists are generally all significant and often cinematically very interesting and their Festival sessions almost always sell out. Indeed, I expect that year’s selection will no doubt be as exciting as ever BUT VERY FEW OF THEM HAVE BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED BY CINEMATOGRAPHERS!
Women of Steel – Trailer – SFF 20
TICKETS: https://ondemand.sff.org.au/film/women-of-steel/
This is a trend in documentaries which I have observed increasingly in recent years. In some but by no means all such cases, the films might be intimate or socially delicate and demand a one or two person crew. Or perhaps the kind of documentaries that can afford to pay cinematographers are, by virtue of their very professional approach, not so fresh, engaged, astonishing  or sufficiently significant. Or perhaps there’s a new breed of brilliant all around talent filmmakers. I can only speculate. Nevertheless, this year only 3 out of the 10 films nominated for this prestigious award were photographed by someone who earns a living as a cinematographer as such: Dale Cochrane  (The Leadership), Caroline Constantine ACS & Kathryn Milliss (Rosemary’s Way), and Kathryn Milliss and Alan Collins ACS (The Skin of Others). The other films were shot by their directors with or without the help of other filmmaker associates or by filmmaker/directors who also sometimes shoot films for someone else. One lists himself as a musician/filmmaker. This DUI tendency with these films extends also to the editors albeit not quite to such a degree.

In view of this fascinating development as well as because the films are bound to be interesting, I urge all ACS members to take a look at the documentaries in this year’s Sydney Film Festival — https://ondemand.sff.org.au/. They raise some serious questions in my mind about the role of cinematographer in creative documentaries.
Martha Ansara 
AFTRS - EXPLORE ALL THE COURSES HERE
ALEXA in Australia & New Zealand
Have some early memories or photos of using ALEXA for the first time in Australia or New Zealand? We'd love to hear about them. Please consider sending a few words about your experience to Kiran, who'll compile them for a future retrospective.
Send us your early ALEXA memories!
Send us your early ALEXA memories!
"It was the first digital camera I had seen where I thought the technology had crossed the knife edge and taken us into a new world.”
- Roger Deakins CBE, ASC, BSC
Explore the last 10 years of ALEXA
Please RSVP for the Zoom Link: admin@apdg.org.au
DATE: Wednesday June 10, 2020
TIME: 7:30pm AEST
RSVP: Please RSVP to admin@apdg.org.au for the Zoom link
COST: Free for APDG members

Jon Shaw ACS Director of Photography 2020

Check out the work Jon shot over the past few years, he's had so much fun working with so many amazing people and production companies.  
Click the above image to enjoy the showreel.

Some good news from Eirini Alligiannis

My short Documentary won Best Documentary at the Venice Shorts Film Awards.  Thank you family and friends for your love and support.
Well done Eirini, this short film has been a resounding success across many Festival platforms.

2020 ACS Awards Categories

Category 1: CineKids
      ~ Group 1. 10 – 12 years
      ~ Group 2.  13 – 15 years
Category 2: Student Cinematography
Category 3: John Bowring ACS - Breaks and Promos
Category 4: Music Videos
Category 5: Syd Wood ACS - Local / National News
     ~ Single Cinematographer Submission
    ~ Multiple Cinematographer Submission
Category 6: Neil Davis - International News
     ~ Single Cinematographer Submission
    ~ Multiple Cinematographer Submission
Category 7: Current Affairs
Category 8: Entertainment & TV Magazine
Category 9: Art, Innovation and Specialised Cinematography
Category 10: Corporate – Corporate Branding and Advertising
Category 11: Corporate – Branded Content, Education and Events
Category 12: Commercials – Local/Regional
Category 13: Commercials – National/International
Category 14: Documentaries
Category 15: Ron Taylor AM ACS Wildlife & Nature
Category 16: 2nd Unit Cinematography
Category 17: Dramatised Documentaries
Category 18: Short Films
Category 19: Serial TV & Comedy Series 
Category 20: Drama Series
Category 21: Feature Films – Budget under $2m
Category 22: Feature Films – Budget $2m and over

Every year the Awards committees work hard to make sure entries are in their correct category.... Please download and read the category information and guides to entering, this year there are additional questions to ask yourself to help you place you work in the correct category for judging. 

All the best.

DOWNLOAD 2020 ACS Awards Categories, Rules & Lodgement Specs
Like to know who's doing what around the ACS Check out the Sub Committees:  2020 – 2021 NATIONAL SUB COMMITTEES
ACS 20/21 Sub Committees

National Major Sponsor
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National Platinum Sponsors
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National Gold Sponsors
AFTRS logo        ARRI Australia logo        C R Kennedy & Company PTY LTD logo        Gear Head logo        Kaleidoscope Digital logo
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The Post Lounge logo        VA Hire logo        Well Above logo

National ACS CineKids Sponsor
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National Silver Sponsors
Miller Australia logo        Rosco logo        Rotor Head logo

National Bronze Sponsors
Blonde Robot logo        Camerahire logo        Dragon Image logo        EE Group logo        Kino Flo Lighting Systems logo
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National Supporters
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The Production Book logo

                                                
Australian Cinematographers Society
Level 2, 26 Ridge Street, NORTH SYDNEY, NSW 2060

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