SA eNews May 2017 - From the Pres - Profile Lennon Cooper

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From the Pres

The 2017 National Awards for Cinematography are being held in Sydney on May 6. Can I take this opportunity to wish our possible award winners all the best, I look forward to hearing who won what.

The AGM follows all day on Sunday May 7 and committee members Mylene Ludgate, JoAnne Bouzianis Sellick, Viv Madigan and I will represent our branch.

After the screening of the film Ellery & Sky took us through some of the rushes in the SAFC theatre. Photo J B-Sellick.

On 19th April 21 ACS members attended the Preview screening & Q&A of Emo the Musical with Ellery Ryan ACS & Sky Davies.

These two very talented cinematographers were very honest about how they shot it and it was good to hear about the difficulties and solutions of shooting a low budget feature film. Thanks again to the SAFC for their support and use of the theatre for this session.

Don't forget put Saturday October 28 on hold for the 37th Annual SA & WA Awards for Cinematography which will be held at the Adelaide Oval with pre dinner drinks in the Rick Davies Bar overlooking the oval whilst the formal presentation will be a sit down dinner in the Cathedral Room.

If you have an idea for a trade or educational night suggest it to either myself or one of your committee, their names are on the SA page of our website.

Click to go to the SA branch page »

Recently SA committee members D Tang and Maxx Corkindale, represented the SA branch by attending and presenting at the recent Kids Camera Action Workshop on April 13. Better watch out the kids they are educating could take our jobs soon!

Maxx imparts some valuable knowledge. Photo D Tang.

In Sydney soon?

If you are planning a trip or shoot in Sydney please consider dropping into our National HQ in North Sydney. The clubhouse is great, the old gear, memorabilia, mementos and library are just incredible and worth visiting too see for that alone. Just contact Richard Wilmot or David Lewis ACS and check out your HQ, grab a coffee or use the internet. It's great and it's for all ACS members.

Contact HQ Manager
David Lewis ACS
dlewis@cinematographer.net.au
0408 273 702

Asst HQ Manager
Richard Wilmot
richardwilmotproductions@gmail.com
0450 223 837

Lennon Cooper Profile

Lennon covered the NBA Finals in 2015

Lennon, whats your position in this business?

Well I wear a few hats, they are Chief Cameraman, Editor & Producer for the Adelaide Bureau of Fox Sports Australia.

Who are some of your favourite/inspirational cinematographers or filmmakers?

The most inspirational filmmaker to me is James Cameron. The fact that he makes high grossing blockbuster films simply to fund his true passion of underwater exploration is admirable.

Two cinematographers I really enjoy are both from Adelaide, they are Malcolm Ludgate ACS and Dean Semler AM ACS ASC. I have always been fascinated with the challenges that come with underwater cinematography, and theres no one better than Malcolm. I recently revisited Semlers entire filmography and his work is breathtaking and stands the test of time.

What was your first job in the industry?

My first break was at Network Ten as a Live Eye Camera Assistant in 2000. That role only required me for 3 hours in the afternoon each day. I chose instead to come in 6 hours early every day for 6 months and learnt how to edit & shoot News in my own time. Eventually it paid off when Dean Faulkner was promoted to Chief of Staff and I moved into his role.

In my time at Ten, my love for sport saw me often spending my entire day covering sports news for Sports Tonight, which I loved.

Lennon shooting an interview in 2008 with the now infamous Lance Armstrong.

What does your current role entail?

I was sought out by Fox Sports to start the Adelaide Bureau in 2007, they had heard about my unique skillset as a cameraman/editor who loved sport.

Our Bureau has always been a two-person team of myself, and a sports reporter/presenter, which presents obvious challenges to cover everything that Adelaide sport has to offer.

I generally cover AFL, NBL, A-League etc. I do not shoot matches. I mainly shoot/produce news & features for Fox Sports.

Shooting in Bahrain for the 2009 World Cup Qualifier

What is the most rewarding part of your role?

There are so many. Seeing parts of the world I otherwise wouldnt have is obviously up there. Having total control over the creativity and innovation of our feature stories brings me immense satisfaction, and the occasional ACS award to boot ;) Covering some of the biggest events on earth with unlimited access never gets old either.

But the most rewarding part of my role has been nurturing young reporters and watching them evolve into amazing TV talent. My proudest achievement has been that all four of my reporters in my time at Fox Sports News, have all gone on to be national TV presenters, and I couldnt be happier for them.

Shooting in Dubai for the 2009 World Cup Qualifier

You say you travel for your work, where are some of the places youve worked?

Ive been very lucky to have done over 30 overseas assignments in my time at Fox. Countries include USA, Japan, South Africa, Korea, Dubai as well as lots of interesting parts of the Middle-East like Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran and more. Im heading to China for AFL in a few weeks too☺

What has been your most interesting project so far?

NBA Finals 2015; as a huge basketball fan, being given the chance to cover the NBA Finals will probably never be topped for me. Interviewing Lebron James and Steph Curry everyday still feels surreal when I look back on it.

Other notables were the US Open and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa too.

Australia Qualifies for the World Cup - Oman 2010

Tell us some of that challenges you faced doing that?

The biggest challenge with covering the NBA Finals is the logistics involved with travelling from one side of the US to the other every 2-3days for a full month with nearly 200kg of gear. Luckily we only missed one flight and it was after the last game. Phew☺

Different time zones meant for extremely long days too. Often doing live crosses to Australia at 2-3am.

I also pride myself on not using the same location twice. So that gets interesting come day 30 shooting in the same Arena's ☺

What are you currently working on?

Whilst Im preparing for China with Fox, Im also producing a documentary for my brand new basketball Youtube channel, NBAussie Films. It follows the journey of an 18 year old US phenomenon who chose to come to Australia this year over the US college system and will be drafted into the NBA this July.

This will be my third feature length sports documentary, and it helps feed my creativity during the AFL Season where it can become somewhat repetitive. Unlike my previous documentaries that were released on DVD and premiered at Wallis Cinemas, this one will go straight to youtube, in an effort to attract a big US based audience.

Generally, I use my youtube channel for professional development, where I can combine my love of basketball & my flair for short, fun & entertaining edits. It allows me all the time I need to work out a new skill or editing effect that I can go straight to, when needed in my Fox Sports role.

Thanks Lennon, a really interesting journey. It's great to see what dedication and enthusiasm can do to help propel one's career. As a Gold Award winner at last years State Awards Lennon could potentially win a National Award. Good luck Lennon!