President’s Blog – May 2013

From the President

Greetings ACS colleagues,

With Anzac Day just behinds us, I wanted to take a minute to recognise the contribution of not only all those that protect our country, but those who bring the news into our homes on a daily, in some cases hourly basis.
I speak of course about the news crews and the journalists who in some cases put their personal safety at risk, to keep us informed.

Australia has a rich tradition of covering these theaters of conflict, from the Boer War to the current situation in North Korea, and so many other conflicts in between.
Many of our ACS members have worked in these theaters of war, and have, in some cases lost their life doing so.

Take a minute to reflect on the contribution these men and women have made, and will continue to make in order for us to understand more about what is taking place here at home, and in other regions around the world.

NEGLAB TO RESUME FILM PROCESSING

Just over a week ago, I received an email from Werner Winkelmann regarding Neglab resuming business and processing film once again, from around September this year.

I’m assured by Werner that the idea is not only based on purely commercial interests, it is more about the passion and the connection that Neglab have established within the industry over so many years.

We all know there will be only a small percentage of motion picture negative film processed here in the region in the coming years, but to have a negative film-processing facility available to us is something that will require the support of the film and television community. With that support, the likelihood is that it can prosper and be around for a long time. But only with that support!!

The ACS believes that all filmmakers and cinematographers in particular, should have a choice on which capture they decide to use, obviously film is now back on the radar.

So here we are, now it’s up to us.

Let’s get behind this for all the right reasons.

Geoff Boyle ACS RAW Workshops Open for Bookings

I’m pleased to announce the opening of bookings for the Geoff Boyle RAW Workshops. We will be opening bookings in two stages, the first for ACS members, then the second phase for other industry practitioners.

In this series of Workshops, Geoff Boyle will take you through RAW workflow from acquisition, to on set media management, to post production. With a healthy mix of theory, practical demonstrations, personal observations and hands on sessions, you will discover the every day issues of using RAW, what it adds and how to handle it.
All RAW camera systems available today will be covered, including ARRI Alexa, Sony P65, F55, Penelope D, RED, Canon C500, Blackmagic Cinema Camera and RED Dragon. Post systems will include: Colourfront Express Dailies, IRIDAS Speed Grade, Da Vinci Resolve and RedCine-X.

Topics will include: Basic Theory, Theory of CFAs, Compression, Camera set up, Use of exposure meters, Cameras and meters, Simple laptop colour grading, Post workflow, Problems that can bite you!

Workshops will be held in Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, with special admission prices for members from the Tasmanian and NT Branches. There will be an additional informal evening workshop in Sydney for Directors, Producers, Editors, Production Managers as well as other industry practitioners.

I’m confident this will be a very popular series of events, so be sure to book as soon as possible.

To find out more information and book, visit the relevant link for your state:

My thanks to all the sponsors and supporters of this event for their contributions, without whom it would have been very difficult to achieve. It should remind us all that we should reciprocate the loyalty of our sponsors and supporters.

DAVID EGGBY ACS Q&A

Congratulations to the Victorian Branch on a fantastic evening held in the Lemac Theatre. One of our very finest, David Eggby ACS screened and spoke about his work on the film he shot in Wales “IRONCLAD”.

The screening was well attended by around 50 – 60 members and guests and they were treated to an enthralling evening as David answered question after question, and spoke briefly about his upcoming film “RIDDICK”. I thank Alan Cole ACS, Joanne Donohoe – Beckwith and the hard working and progressive Victorian committee for the invitation to attend.

 

2013 ACS National Awards for Cinematography

Canberra will be celebrating its Centenary in 2013 and there will be no bigger night than May 25th when Gold award winning cinematographers meet to celebrate their night of nights in our Nation’s Capital! Everyone is warmly welcome to come to Canberra for a weekend of festivities. More details soon, just save the date now so you don’t miss out, as the ACT Branch, under the leadership of Robb Shaw Velzen, will no doubt have some surprises in store.

Until next time…
Ron Johanson ACS

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