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A Message from the NSW President
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We had a great turn out for our Credit Maker Drop In last month with Tania Lambert ACS and Kate Cornish. A big thank you to both of them for being so open and honest about their working experience.
Our April Drop In is going to be fascinating, and is sure to open up some great conversations. Special guest cinematographer, Jamie McVicker will be presenting a deep dive into AI in Cinematography: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. This is a fast moving area that will affect us all, so join us next Thursday 18th April at 6pm.
On Wednesday May 1st @ 6pm we have a special free hands on event at HQ with our friends from Leitz in town presenting their new range of Elsie & Hugo lenses so save the date!
If you haven’t already, now is the time to book your tickets for the ACS National Awards to be held in Brisbane on Saturday May 5th next month, it’s guaranteed to be a great night with friends, colleagues and the best of the best cinematography from across the country.
A reminder to have your say at the upcoming National EGM regarding our new proposed constitution. A vote of eligible members will take place on Sunday April 21 @11am either in person at HQ, via zoom or by proxy. Please see below or check your latest National Short Ends Newsletter for more details.
I was deeply saddened to read in the National newsletter the passing of our ACS colleagues Riki Byrne (Qld), Rob Brown (SA) and Andy Ciddor (TAS), our heartfelt condolences go out to their friends, families and to those that were lucky enough to work with them. Since our last newsletter we also lost industry colleagues, veteran stuntman, Grant Page and legendary TV director, Micheal Jenkins. I remind friends that the details of Michaels’ memorial next Thursday April 18th in North Sydney are below. I was lucky enough to work with both of these industry ground breakers early on in my career and I know their energy, experience and friendship will be greatly missed by many.
Please remember to check in with each other during difficult times, it’s what makes our ACS community strong.
All the best,
Carolyn
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Carolyn Constantine ACS
NSW ACS Branch President
National ACS Vice President
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ACS HQ, Thursday 18th April at 6pm
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AI Image courtesy of Jamie McVicker
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AI and Cinematography
The good, the bad & the ugly
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Generative AI is one of the most talked-about emerging technologies in decades, promising to disrupt entire industries, with Hollywood squarely in the sights of big tech. Revolutionary AI image-making tools are already here, and they’re improving at an eye-watering pace.
We stand at the precipice of a new Industrial Revolution with AI at its centre. Yet, a majority of cinematographers have a limited understanding of how these tools work, how to use them, and the latent ethical risks they harbour.
Despite this, working directors and cinematographers are positioned to get the best results from these tools, and leverage this knowledge as a bulwark against major studios and tech companies who see them as a way to remove us from the equation. For this reason, wholesale understanding of these tools is required industry-wide, so we can shape an informed collective response to them, and ensure that they’re integrated with cinematic production in a way that elevates, rather than degrades, the craft.
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Join Jamie McVicker to demystify the state of the art in generative image-making, exploring how these AI tools actually work, their strengths, weaknesses, and ethical implications, and how they can be applied to the cinematography process. We’ll also explore some AI-driven workflows for pre-visualisation, demonstrating how these tools can be leveraged by working cinematographers to revolutionise the pre-vis process.
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AI Images courtesy of Jamie McVicker
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NOTICE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
11am Sunday 21st April at ACS HQ
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An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) will be convened at 11am AEST on Sunday 21st April at ACS Headquarters, 26 Ridge Street, North Sydney, NSW to consider and if thought fit approve the following resolution, which will be moved as a special resolution.
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Special Resolution
“That the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) adopts as its constitution the document which is the schedule to this notice of meeting and marked ‘A’ for identification.”
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Notes
- A special resolution requires a three quarters (75%) majority of members present or by proxy for voting to pass.
- A special resolution cannot be amended at the Extraordinary General Meeting.
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Proxy forms are due by 11am on the 19th April and must be completed and emailed to National Secretary, Kevin Hudson ACS. khudson@cinematographer.net.au
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We encourage all eligible voting members to attend. Eligible membership categories include Accredited, Full, Active, Retired & Life.
You can also attend via Zoom.
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Zoom Meeting Details for April 21 AEST at 11am
Meeting ID: 822 7609 4753
Passcode: 497361
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Wed May 1st from 6pm at ACS HQ
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Everyone welcome to a hands-on presentation of two new lens series from Leitz.
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- Full frame 13 lens set ranges from 15 mm to 150 mm, all at T2.1.
- The lenses feature a noticeable but gradual falloff of resolution and illumination as the image approaches the corners to create a dimensional pop that gently draws the viewer‘s eye toward the center of the frame.
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- Set of 7 full frame lenses ranging from 21 mm to 90 mm, all T1.5, with 18 mm and 135 mm focal lengths to follow soon. A 50 mm T1.0 lens is also available.
- Small, fast, lightweight, and as close focusing as possible with the full personality of the Leica M lens glass.
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Our friends at C.R.Kennedy have advised that Zeiss have released new lens firmware.
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This new firmware for CP.3 XD, Supreme and Supreme Radiance ensures connectivity to the latest cameras (notably Sony BURANO) and ensures new functionality which will be officially announced soon.
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Please note that a special connection kit is required. If anyone needs assistance please contact Shane Jones - sjones@crkennedy.com.au, D: +61 456 818 217
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ACS National Awards tickets are on sale NOW!
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Saturday 4th of May at the Ithaca Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall
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Hosted by the inimitable Ray Martin AM
and with special Guest of Honor,
Bryan Brown AM.
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The ACS has also secured discounted hotel rates at the two hotels below.
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The event is proudly sponsored by Creamsource and is hosted by the Queensland branch.
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National Awards Satellite Events
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Friday 3rd May 2024
5:45 PM - 10:00 PM
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Screening and Q&A with
Andy Commis ACS
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Panavision and the ACS present special screening of Force Of Nature followed by a Q&A session with DP Andrew Commis ACS.
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Stick around after the screening as there will be an after-party in the cinema foyer sponsored by our friends Leitz and Rosco.
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Palace Barracks Cinema, 61 Petrie Tce, Brisbane QLD 4000
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Saturday 4th May 2024
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Meet the Nominees
hosted by Kim Batterham ACS
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In conjunction with the ACS national awards to be held later that evening, Kim Batterham ACS interviews a selection of the nominees and screens clips of their Branch Gold Award-winning work.
Proudly sponsored by ARRI.
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Palace Barracks Cinema, 61 Petrie Tce, Brisbane QLD 4000
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March Drop-in: Erotic Stories
with Tania Lambert ACS and Kate Cornish
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Kate Cornish and Tania Lambert ACS discusss the Credit Maker Scheme
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Kate & Tania discuss the complex pre-production testing process to arrive at the individual 'Style Settings' for each episode in the Erotic Stories anthology
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Images courtesy of Vitali Lisau
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Congratulations to Simon Smith ACS
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The ACS congratulates Simon Smith ACS who has been appointed Discipline Lead in Cinematography for the MA Program at (National Gold Sponsor) the Australian Film, Television & Radio School. Simon follows in the footsteps of Kim Batterham ACS and Steve Arnold ACS, so some big shoes to fill. He will be working alongside ACS NSW Vice-President Simeon Bryan (DL Cine for the BA Program) and Senior Lecturer Tom Gleeson.
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The Cinematography Podcast with Greig Fraser ACS ASC on Dune: Part Two
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Groundbreaking director, writer & producer Michael Jenkins sadly passed away last week. For all his cinematography colleagues and friends in the industry here are details about a memorial which is to be held for Mike.
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A memorial will be held at the Independent Theatre, 269 Miller Street, North Sydney on the 18th April at 12.30
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Memories from Dramaturg, Nico Lathrouis who worked with Mike on many productions;
“I remember after the first week of Heartbreak High being called into Ben Gannon’s office. As I recall it, he said, “Nico, we love the energy of the actors and what you’re doing with them, but they’re not hitting their marks, they’re improvising the lines and talking over one another, and every take is different.” I had, of course, seen Scales of Justice and had the pleasure of working with Mike on an episode of Police Rescue and The Heartbreak Kid and knew something about how he liked to work. We’d talked about it. Now we were facing the reality of it and Ben wasn’t quite up to speed. So everything I said was with the knowledge that Mike had the solution. And he did.
When Ben said, “What can we do?” I responded, “You could send them to Nida for three years.” Well, that wasn’t going to happen. So, I suggested he could change the way we shoot. It’s not the actor’s job, I told him, to get perfect focus. If the focus puller puts five marks down instead of one and rides the focus ring they would get their perfect focus and be more engaged. If lighting lights the space, not pin the actor to a spot, and if the camera follow the action rather than expect the actor to fit into their framing and rhythm, everyone will be more alert to the drama. There’s no need to block a scene if the door is there and the chair is there -- the actor will come and go via the door and sit where the chair is. Connection and interaction is the only reality we can rely on. Which is the point of what we’re doing, isn’t it?
So, Mike stepped in and added cameras and put radio microphones on everyone and the editors found a more dynamic form of editing and away we went. When an actor had to chase another actor, they had to run as fast as they could. Not slow down for the camera. The result was shaky cam which added to that sense of something going on. The action, not the show. Swish pans were used and focus often faltered to find the actor who was speaking or the actor reacting. Mike encouraged actor-centric, which was in fact drama- centric not camera-centric. Human not machine. We took that process into Blue Murder and Wildside. Despite the awards, there was resistance.”
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In Memory of Grant Page
by John Seale AM ACS ASC
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Grant Page, pictured in the 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitaiton! Photograph: Everett Collection Inc/Alamy
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Grant Page was the most fearless man I ever met and worked with in film.
His approach to stunts was calculated, but laced with a “devil may care” attitude which made his film work memorable.
Always with a good humour, his research into the stunts was minimal at best, but the results were always more than satisfactory.
The Film Industry, and indeed every person he knew will miss “the stunt larrikin”
Vale Grant Page
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Additional Assets
‘Additional Assets’ is an ongoing exhibition series that spotlights the breadth of image making mastery in the filmmaking industry by displaying photographs taken as personal projects, on set and beyond.
The first group show features original photographic works by 28 of Australia’s most compelling established and emerging filmmakers including ACS members Tania Lambert ACS, Sherwin Akbarzadeh ACS and Shelley Farthing Dawe ACS.
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m2 Gallery Shop 4/450 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
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Mark your calendars for June and make plans to head out to Hollywood, CA. The LA Expo is cine gear's biggest EXPO and features 350+ exhibits, new product and service introductions, complimentary seminars led by industry leaders, master classes, film competition, and awards ceremony.
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LOCATION: Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank CA
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The ACS is an official industry partner of the CineGear Expo.
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To check out the
ACS National & NSW INSTAGRAM accounts click the respective icons below:
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New South Wales Major Sponsor
New South Wales Diamond Sponsor
New South Wales Gold Sponsor
New South Wales Silver Sponsors
National Major Sponsor
National Platinum Sponsors
National Gold Sponsors
National Silver Sponsor
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