SMPTE 2015 ~ The Australian connection: The BBC and Ealing Studios
The Australian connection: The BBC and Ealing Studios The next SMPTE Australia Section event on 26 March will be held at the ACS National Headquarters at Level 2, 26 Ridge St North Sydney. It will feature a celebration of the BBC's time at Ealing Studios and how the Beeb drove quality programs by investing in Capture and Edit. You might not realise but the Beeb built Ealing into a powerhouse with the worlds largest crew base. Bernard Ashby, Butch Calderwood OAM ACS and Ray Henman ACS feature in a night of history, fascination and lessons that still apply. This is a free evening that is not to be missed. Details and registration on our SMPTE website.
Off to Tassie for the National Awards...
Don't miss these very special events as part of the 2015 ACS "SOUTHERN LIGHT" AWARDS FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY.
The Screen Tasmania / ACS "Southern Light" Expo
Location / Date / Time:
The Grand Ballroom, Section One.
Fri 1st May (12pm - 4pm)
Sat 2nd May (9am - 3 pm) Exhibitors include Panasonic, VA Digital Hire, Fujinon, ARRI Australia, LEMAC, Sony, Canon, Red Apple Camera Rentals, Panavision, Ignite Digi, Miller Camera Support, Rosco Australia. Pawel Achtel.com Special Presentations A number of presentations will run parallel with the Expo at the Grand Chancellor Hotel. Starting Friday from 1pm Exhibitors, including Panasonic, ARRI Australia, Lemac & Sony will present special individual information sessions.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE RECEPTION
From 6.00pm there will be an official reception at Hobart's historic Government House with her Excellency Professor, The Honourable Kate Warner AM, Governor of Tasmania. Experience all the splendour of this magnificent 1850's house and enjoy some great company over a drink and canapes, before being transported to North Hobart for a special screening of Peter Weir's film GALLIPOLI at the century old State Cinema. Please email RSVP's to Peter Curtis ACS (Tasmanian Branch President) prior to 11th April 2015, so that official invitations can be posted out from Government House. Late RSVP's cannot be accepted. Make sure your email has the word RECEPTION in the subject line.
Screen Tasmania / ACS Screening of Peter Weir's GALLIPOLI with Q&A
Here's one NOT TO MISS!! Enjoy watching a DCP of this iconic Australian film and then Director Peter Weir will be re - united with the GALLIPOLI camera department - Russell Boyd ACS ASC, John Seale ACS ASC and David Burr ACS for an informative Q&A. What promises to be a truly fantastic evening will be moderated by Dick Marks OAM. Put your thinking caps on and have your questions ready!! When: Friday, 8:45pm
Where: State Cinema in North Hobart. RSVP on the link below.
Ray Martin AM Retrospective
Ray Martin has built up a library of 50,000 photographs over five decades - but his biggest regrets are those shots he failed to take. The much-loved TV personality and mad keen snapper has interviewed every American President from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush, and every Australian Prime Minister since Menzies, but never once seized the opportunity to ask for a photo. His interest in photography began in earnest after he moved to New York as the ABC's US correspondent in 1969 and has since developed into a full-blown obsession.
Enjoy travelling with Ray as he brings his photographs to life, with anecdotal stories and observations. This session is open to all those interested in photography or hearing Ray Martin talk about his interesting journeys, he has quite a story to tell. Grand Chancellor Hotel, Hobart.
Free session Saturday 2 May from 11.00am - 12.30pm
Pieter De Vries ACS Workshop/Masterclass
In this two hour enthralling workshop Pieter De Vries ACS will discuss some of the techniques that have made him one of the busiest documentary cinematographers. ~ Finding good angles in a bad location.
~ In a world of large-sensor cameras.
~ Pre-shoot prep, and avoiding common shooting mistakes
~ Following Movement - Handheld & on the tripod Don't miss out - RSVP today
Fancy a Gourmet Day Tour to Bruny Island?
Why not take advantage of a fantastic ACS special gourmet day-tour to Bruny Island. Full day tour includes: Bruny Island Cheese Co, Get Shucked Oyster Farm, The Neck Lookout, Island Produce Fudge & The Bruny Smoke House (Lunch) PRIVATE TOUR Price relative to numbers: 6-12 passengers costs $180 pp or 12+ passengers costs $160 pp. Please book by 19th April 2015 to avoid disappointment.
Hadley's Hotel High Tea ~ Sunday, 3rd May 2015 ~ RSVP Required
A sumptuous feast of fine cut traditional sandwiches, scones, jams, pastries and a good old cuppa!! Cost is $29.00 per person. BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL as RJ has to prepare the scones and put another batch of his famous jam in those cute little jars. Please email your RSVP to Peter Curtis on the link below:
AFI AACTA ~ Offering 10 seats to a screening of MANNY LEWIS
Join AFI Award-nominated producer Martin Fabinyi and writer/director Anthony Mir for a screening of comedian Carl Barrons feature film debut Manny Lewis, followed by a Q&A hosted by screen veteran Peter Castaldi. Co-written by Barron and Mir, Manny Lewis follows the journey of a stand-up comedians quest to find whats missing in his life. The hilarious and ever-so-charming Barron is in good company among a brilliant Australian cast including Leeanna Walsman, Roy Billing and Damien Garvey.
When:
Monday 23rd March 2015
Where:
2015 Sydney Member Screenings - Manny Lewis
Event Cinemas, Westfield Shoppingtown
500 Oxford Street
BONDI JUNCTION, NSW 2022.
ARRI ANNOUNCES NEW ALEXA SXT CAMERAS WITH PRORES 4K RECORDING
ARRIs new ALEXA SXT (Super Xtended Technology) cameras represent the next exciting step in the continuing evolution of the ALEXA family. Retaining the rock-solid foundation on which ALEXA is built, ALEXA SXT cameras additionally
offer ProRes 4K recording, improved image quality, powerful colour management and three fully independent HD-SDI outputs. With in-camera recording of ProRes 4K UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels) and ProRes 4K Cine (4096 x 2637 pixels), ALEXA SXT cameras are the ideal choice for productions that need 4K UHD TV or 4K DCI cinema deliverables, so filmmakers can continue using the ARRI ALEXA platform they know and love. ALEXA SXT cameras keep the acclaimed 3.4K ALEV III sensor of previous ALEXAs and add the state-of-the-art electronics of ARRI's groundbreaking ALEXA 65 camera. These high-performance electronics combine the latest generation of FPGA processors with a lightning-fast internal backplane and form the basis of a completely overhauled image processing chain, advanced pixel correction and optional noise reduction. This results in a further improvement in overall image quality. Like their XT predecessors, ALEXA SXT cameras retain the unique and popular Open Gate, 4:3 and 16:9 sensor modes, which can be recorded in ARRIRAW or ProRes. The creation of new, powerful and unique looks has been made possible by utilising the advanced colour management engine originally developed for the ARRI AMIRA camera. Taking advantage of the extremely wide native colour gamut of the ALEXA sensor, this new engine allows unprecedented control, which in the end means greater creative freedom for the filmmaker. A new type of look file, the ALF-2 (ARRI Look File 2), contains an ASC CDL (Colour Decision List) as well as a 3D LUT (Look-Up Table). The new colour management engine can easily match the look of current ALEXA cameras, but also provides the basis for radically different looks. In addition, previewing of looks on set is improved, including the option to use the wide colour gamut of Rec 2020 gamma, while dailies creation is made more efficient and final grading made faster. ALF-2 files and the tools that create them are compatible between ALEXA SXT, ALEXA Mini and AMIRA.
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To further streamline on-set workflows and deliver what has been asked for by crews all over the globe, ALEXA SXT cameras include three fully independent HD-SDI outputs. This allows, for instance, a Log C image to be used to show the director a pristine image with live grading, a clean Rec 709 image to be fed to video village, and a Rec 709 image with status information overlays to be displayed on the camera's on-board monitor. ALEXA SXT cameras are designed to keep up with the growing needs of changing production methods: their powerful electronics offer significant potential for future hardware and software upgrades, illustrating ARRIs continuing commitment to the future-proof technology concept behind the ALEXA system. The first ALEXA SXT cameras are planned for release around mid-2015; the full range will comprise ALEXA SXT EV, SXT Plus and SXT Studio models, replacing current ALEXA XT cameras (though the ALEXA Classic EV model will remain in the line-up). ALEXA XT cameras (except ALEXA XT M cameras) shipped between 1st eligible for a full SXT upgrade, free of charge. Jan. 2015 and the first shipment of SXT cameras will be Concurrent with the ALEXA SXT release ARRI will offer an SXR (Super Xtended Recording) Module upgrade to owners of existing ALEXA XT, XT Plus and XT Studio cameras. The SXR Module upgrade delivers all the features of the SXT cameras, although it might not offer all the future upgrade potential. The fundamental advantage of the ARRI ALEXA system is its unique combination of the highest overall image quality with the most efficient workflows on set and in post. Based on extensive market feedback, the ALEXA SXT line of cameras further improves upon those qualities, raising the widely accepted gold standard set by ALEXA still higher.
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