From the Pres
Christmas is just around the corner so may I wish our members, your families and friends to have a wonderful, healthy and safe festive season.
Hopefully we might catch up at our Christmas drinks on Monday night December 10.
Congratulation to our own Geoffrey Hall ACS, his Gold Tripod winning entry “Wake in Fright - Episode 2” in the DRAMA or COMEDY SERIES & TELE-FEATURES category at the National Awards in May this year will be our ACS nomination for theTV DRAMA category at the 2nd IMAGO Awards for Cinematography to be held in Belgrade, Serbia on Saturday, 16th March.
With as many as 53 countries nominating films in Feature films, Student, TV Drama and Documentary it promises to be a busy period for the various judging panels.
Let's keep our fingers crossed for Geoffrey and his excellent work.
Also lots of congrats to our own SA branch ACS member Bryan Mason and the team as their film Animals will have its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2019! Well done to all.
SA Branch Annual Christmas Drinks
Ho, Ho, Ho!
Help us celebrate another huge cinematographic year by joining us for our annual Christmas drinks at The Colonist Hotel.
When: Monday December 10
Time: from 6pm
Where: Colonist Hotel, 44 The Parade, Norwood.
Cost: Free - ACS Members & SA Branch Sponsors only
Eats: Delicious finger food
Book: via the link below. No booking - then not included in door prize draw.
Door Prizes: You betcha! Includes a free SA membership, a free entry into 2019 SA &WA Awards, a copy of Shadowcatchers, Panavision T shirts and hats and a ‘Australia Day’ DVD & BluRay
Bookings close: 8/12/18
The Video Village & DIT + Demo of Red Gemini 5K Camera
Chris presents his new gear.
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Chris Daniels gave a great presentation of his latest DIT / Video Village set up and what an impressive set up it is, he has invested a lot in getting the best gear and showed how adaptable and accurate it can be. Used properly this could save a lot of money in post production and for DoP's your rushes could look like you want all to see.
I must take this opportunity to say thanks to Anifex for allowing us to once again have an ACS event in their studio.
James Ward-Miller also presented Picture Hire's latest offering of the amazing Red Gemini camera with a 5k sensor.
The high speed abilities of this camera are really quite impressive, if you haven't yet seen it please contact Picture Hire.
James Ward-Miller takes us through their new Red capabilities.
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Catalina Moller Profile
Catalina, to get things going tell us what’s your favourite film or TV show?
I always find this question the most difficult to answer yet ironically whenever you tell people that you’re pursing a career in the film industry it’s the first thing they ask! I have so many favourite movies & tv shows spanning all genres but the film that has recently inspired me the most is the documentary ‘The White Helmets’ (2016) directed by Orlando von Einsiedel. This heart-wrenchingly gripping piece of work is exactly the kind of journalistic documentary filmmaking that I strive to end up creating.
When did you first become interested in our industry?
My interest in the film industry arose from a combination of my childhood hobbies and my adolescent experiences. I’ve been a bookworm since I was four and I later realised the thing I loved most about reading was the process of visually creating the stories in my head and that’s why I was always so disappointed when a book was adapted to screen because it never lived up to what my imagination had created!
During my early teen years, I started to become interested in photography and completed a few external TAFE courses to further my skills. While I thoroughly enjoyed being visually creative I have always had a strong sense of social justice and always envisioned myself in a career where I could bring about social change or shine a light on societal injustices (how cliché, I know), so for the longest time I thought I would end up in law or journalism. It wasn’t until the beginning of 2013 when I went on a volunteer trip to Cambodia with my high school before starting year 12 that I realised how powerful a medium film could be. I took a really old camcorder my mum had laying around the house and documented everything during the two weeks we were there.
Once I got home I discovered how impactful the footage that I had captured were on people who watched it that had absolutely no idea about the not-that-long-ago disturbing history of Cambodia. It was then that I realised that I could use film as a visually creative medium to bring awareness to the social topics that were important to me and I could have a career that still felt purposeful to me but also incorporated my love for visual art.
Catalina frames up her shot.
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What did you do when you decided to further your career?
Initially I went to Flinders University to study a Bachelor of Arts with the hopes of transferring into the Bachelor of Creative Art for Screen Media at the end of my first year, however, by the end of my first year I felt as though university covered a lot more theory as opposed to practical content and I didn’t want to keep going if I wasn’t getting what I wanted out of it.
That led to my decision to defer the following year to see if I could somehow find some more practical work experience and focus on building up my own portfolio and network with people in the industry in Adelaide. So, for all of 2017 I did just that, I went to industry events such as the MRC Filmmakers Conference and the SAFC Screen Ready Conference, I emailed production companies to see if there were any opportunities for work experience, I was lucky enough to meet other filmmakers who added me to online Facebook groups that were constantly posting varies roles for various projects and I got involved with as many as I possibly could.
It wasn’t long until I heard about MAPS film school and what kind of course they offered so I decided instead of going back to Uni I apply for their 2018 intake and I was successful!
What has been your most interesting or rewarding project so far?
I recently worked on a short film called Dystonia by Peter Chiverton which was based on the true story of his wife Margot who was an incredibly talented and accomplished bassoonist but was unfortunately diagnosed with a neurological disorder called dystonia at the height of her career.
I would have to say that this project was the most rewarding so far because it was made with the intention to raise awareness of a condition that affects to many lives but is not commonly known – which is exactly the kind of purpose that got me interested in filmmaking in the first place!
It was also incredibly rewarding seeing how ecstatic Peter and Margot were with the final project, knowing it was a story so dear to their heart and seeing them so overwhelmed and thankful for all the hard work put into it from the cast and crew was just an amazing feeling.
Despite you being new, your reputation in the industry is well known. Where do you think your future lies?
Well, given my early interest in photography it’s no surprise to me that I’ve fallen in love with the camera department. I love how many endless opportunities there are to be as creative as one chooses to be with the camera and the lighting. While my very long, long, long term goal is to be a documentary filmmaker, the path I want to take between then and now is to continue to work with and learn from some of the amazing cinematographers here in Adelaide, like Mal Ludgate ACS & Dave Gregan, and work my way up so I can eventually establish myself as a cinematographer too.
What’s your next project?
Being a current MAPS student, I have two more short films I’m shooting before the end of the year. One is a 60-90 second single take tracking shot as part of my camera major assessment that I’m really excited for as the concept I’ve come up for it is a comment on current issues in society. The second one is a MAPS advance diploma grad film which I was fortunate enough to be asked to shoot and am being given the opportunity to get really creative with my lighting design so I’m equally as excited for that one!
Tell us some fun facts about yourself.
- I have an almost four-year-old son named Rylee
- I was born in Chile, South America and moved to Australia when I was 18 months old
- I can speak relatively fluent Spanish
- I can do a really good dolphin impersonation
Thanks Catalina for telling us your story and I hope you and your son have a wonderful Christmas.
Upcoming dates
December 3 Committee Meeting
December 10 SA Branch Xmas Drinks
February 4 1st Committee Meeting for 2019
May 18 ACS National Awards for Cinematography in Melbourne
Why not visit your National HQ
If you are in Sydney drop into our ACS HQ, Level 2, 26 Ridge Street, North Sydney. The NSW committee will do their best to open up for you, contact David Lewis ACS dlewis@cinematographer.net.au or 0408 273 702
ACS online shop open
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