Another Tasmanian Winter has definitely arrived, but your ACS branch won’t be going into hibernation. After a busy start to 2022 we're getting into a steady rhythm of regular events. Last month we ran a well attended and informative weekend workshop with Hobart based gaffer/cinematographer Richard Williams. Richard went to a considerable amount of effort to explain and demonstrate the fundamentals of lighting. He led us through the evolution of lighting for film, right through to the latest technology. 

At the same event, Tom Waugh from Ignite Digi brought along a fully optioned up DJI Ronin 4D Kit. Many of us took full-advantage of rare access to the latest gear and put the 4D through its paces. It was a very impressive bit of kit. Even I managed to get the hang of it! No doubt as they start becoming more available they'll be a popular tool on many productions.
 

Richard Williams getting back to basics - ACS Tas Lighting Workshop.  Photo David Brill AM ACS

We have another great local event coming up with Damon Heather. We ran a similar event a few years ago that members particularly enjoyed. Damon has found a way to combine three of his passions: documentary cinematography, trips to very remote parts of Australia, and getting around in classic old Land Rovers! Last time Damon showed us scenes from 'Road to Ruin' and explained the hardships of being both cinematographer and mechanic, as a major setback nearly ended the journey. That documentary, which Damon co-produced with Geoff Lewis, is now available for streaming through iTunes.



Damons latest project has recently been filmed and has a working title of 'Dust and Dreams'. Damon's been tight-lipped with me, but it seems this latest adventure on the Connie-Sue track also delivered some significant challenges that he'll reveal to us at the event. Damon will screen snippets of the journey and behind the scenes photos and info on how they filmed this journey, and lived to tell the tale. Ideally, we would like to run this event in Launceston as well as Hobart – if we get sufficient RSVPs to make it worthwhile. If you're in the north of the state and can make the date, please RSVP as soon as you can so we can lock it in – or if there aren't enough takers – let people know they'll have to try to get to the Hobart one.

Hopefully, by now you would have received an emailed invoice for your 2022/23 ACS membership. They were sent out at the start of this week, so those of you who pay prior to June 30th can claim it as a tax deduction early in the new financial year. We hope you consider your annual subs are good value for money, and choose to maintain your membership into 2023. We've already run half a dozen different events so far this year – all catered and free for ACS members. I intend to keep the ball rolling, so please help us out by remaining a member, and paying promptly. Our branch treasurer, Mitchell Woolnough, is a hard-working cinematographer currently based in Taiwan, so he'd rather not be chasing people for the next six months for late payments!  

If you only became an ACS member in the last few months you shouldn't have got an invoice, as your membership already runs through to June 2023.

For everyone else, if you've not yet received your invoice via email please contact me pcurtis@cinematographer.net.au, and I can chase it up.

I hope to see many of you in a couple of weeks at the Damon Heather event(s). They should be a ripper. Cheers, Peter Curtis ACS (Tas branch President). 

 

Damon Heather and his 'Seriously Series' documentary team recently returned from their latest adventure. This trip took them across the Great Victorian desert, the Nullarbor plain, and the 650 km Connie Sue Highway – famous for being the country’s longest dirt track without a water source. They also journeyed to Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) in the NT. Damon was working as co-producer, DOP, drone pilot, driver, and mechanic.
 

Damon will give us an overview of how he and his mates pull off these productions, and why they do it. Each member of the team has to fill a number of roles. After learning of some pitfalls from previous trips/productions Damon will explain how he approached this particular shoot to ensure he came out the other side with all the right content.  

Of course, things inevitably go wrong when you're working in remote and challenging environments, so we'll hear what challenges they faced, and how Damon and the team adapted. Importantly, Damon will also discuss his plans for the film and how he's tapped into a decent international audience (online) who are prepared to pay to view this sort of content.