australian cinematographer ISSUE #54 June 2012 RRP $10.00 Quarterly Journal of the Australian Cinematographers Society www.cinematographer.org.au Lights, Camera, Action. Our New Cabrio PL Mount with Integrated Removable Servo. Introducing the FUJINON PL Mount 19-90 Cabrio Zoom Lens U Longest focal range (19-90mm) of any lightweight zoom U Quick convertible-removable servo zoom handgrip U Built-in lens motors for focus, iris and zoom U Self-aligning system for easy and accurate calibration U Luminous barrel markings for shooting in dark situations U Only 2.7kg including servo motors For more information contact FUJIFILM (02) 9466 2600 or email [email protected] www.fujifilm.com.au PLAY IN THE SHALLOW END Focus on capturing shallow depth of fi eld or working in low-light conditions. Rent or buy, Videocraft has a diverse inventory of the latest interchangeable lens camera kits, EF and PL mount lenses, monitors and a variety of external recording options. Achieve the cinematic look you want. WE LOVE WORKFLOW! Videocraft can also offer industry-proven fi le-based workfl ow solutions that integrate with your post-production, making data a dream! KNOWLEDGE SOLUTIONS SYDNEY MELBOURNE CANBERRA 5/18 HOTHAM PDE 148 HIGHBURY ROAD 4/70 DACRE STREET SUPPORT ARTARMON NSW 2064 BURWOOD VIC 3125 MITCHELL ACT 2911 612 9436 3050 613 9888 8511 612 6241 2122 VIDEOCRAFT.COM.AU CONTENTS BY DEFINITION of the Australian Cinematographers Society’s Articles of Association “a cinematographer is a person with technical expertise who manipulates light to transfer visual information by the use of a camera into aesthetic moving images on motion picture film or electronic recording systems” Quarterly Journal of the 2011/2012 NATIONAL EXECUTIVE Australian Cinematographers Society PRESIDENT Ron Johanson ACS (Qld VICE-PRESIDENTS Ernie Clark ACS (SA), Alan Cole ACS (Vic) SECRETARY David Wakeley ACS (NSW) ASSISTANT features SECRETARY David Burr ACS (NSW) TREASURER Mylene Ludgate (SA) ASSISTANT TREASURER Ernie Clark ACS (SA) HISTORIAN Ron Windon ACS NSW PRESIDENT Calvin Gardiner Snow White & the Huntsman ACS VICTORIA PRESIDENT Alan Cole ACS QUEENSLAND 08 DOP - Greig Fraser PRESIDENT Tim McGahan ACS SOUTH AUSTRALIA PRESIDENT Ernie Clark ACS WESTERN AUSTRALIA PRESIDENT 16 Jason Thomas TASMANIA PRESIDENT Peter Curtis ACS AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY PRESIDENT Robb Shaw- Mark Toia Velzen NORTHERN TERRITORY PRESIDENT Andrew Hyde 16 Dick Marks chats to Mark Toia WEBSITE Simon Russell [email protected] Australian Cinematographer is published quarterly for members and associates of the Australian Centenary of Douglas Cinematographers Society 30 Mawson’s Expedition DOP - Peter Curtis ACS EDITOR Dick Marks OAM CHAIRMAN Ted Rayment ACS ASSOCIATE EDITORS Heidi Tobin, Nicola Daley ART DEPARTMENT Brad Sampson Raised Wild 36 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Greig Fraser, Mark Toia, 36 DOP Brad Dillon Peter Curtis ACS, Toby Oliver ACS, Brad Dillon, Roger Lanser ACS, Jonathan Dawson, Manny Aston BA PROOFREADER Ian Baseby TRANSCRIPTION Margaret Kudelka PRINTING Heroprint PUBLISHERS AustCine Publishing - Level 2, 26 Ridge Street , ACS National Awards North Sydney NSW 2060 NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA 39 ISSN 1440-978X PRINT POST APPROVED PP255003/03506 Miss Fisher’s Murder 42 Mysteries DOP - Roger Lanser ACS 42 Beaconsfield BRANCH ADDRESSES 56 DOP - Toby Oliver ACS NATIONAL & NEW SOUTH WALES ACS Headquarters, Level 2, 26 Ridge Street, North Sydney NSW 2060 VICTORIA PO Box 2023, Sth Melbourne, VIC 3205 QUEENSLAND 11 Balaclava Street, Woolloongabba QLD 4006 Cover: Charlize Theron SOUTH AUSTRALIA PO Box 705, North Adelaide, SA 5006 Snow White & the Huntsman WESTERN AUSTRALIA PO Box 476, Leederville, WA 6903 PHOTO Greig Fraser TASMANIA 48 Diamond Drive, Blackmans Bay, TAS 7052 AUST CAPITAL TERRITORY PO Box 1558, Woden, ACT 2602 NORTHERN TERRITORY PO Box 2111, Parap, NT 0820 04 / BY DEFINITION ISSUE #54 JUNE 2012 departments 08 06 From the Editor 06 Your Opinion 07 From the President Short Films 44 State Roundup 30 48 New Gear The Big Picture 50 Manny Aston BA Film Review 52 Jonathan Dawson Book Review 54 Jonathan Dawson 39 CML 55 Oliver Stapleton BSC 64 Next Issue... 56 Copyright AustCine Publishing and The Australian Cinematographers Society (2012) All expressions of opinion are published on the basis that they are not representing the offi cial opinion of the Australian Cinematographers Society, unless expressly stated. Australian Cinematographers Society accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any opinions, advice, representations or information contained in this publication. Australian Cinematographer is copyright, no part of it can be reproduced without prior written permission from the Society. All reproductions in this magazine have been done so with permission and credited accordingly. CONTENTS / 05 that bloody word again!) unemployment fi gures. And PHOTO: Paul Di Benedetto ACS understandably so. So how excited should we be about this wonderful, liberating, democratic, life changing but constant change? How vigilant should we be, less we become the next redundant member of the crew? That’s up to you, the individual cinematographer. All I can suggest is that we raise our concerns with our crew mates, our director and producer friends. Remain true to the art. And that cannot be a bad thing. Me, I’ll stay in Tassie. A local member down here Paul Di Benedetto ACS, has a boat and with that boat he zooms around the waters close to Hobart, hurls himself seal-like into the freezing water and plucks big daddies like this from the clear, pristine ocean, then very kindly deposits them on my doorstep. Quite often accompanied by side plate size abalone, fresh scallops, and mussels. And that, my friends, is defi nitely, without doubt, a bloody good thing! Cheers, Dick Marks. FROM THE EDITOR I retired from active duty in the fi lm industry 8 years ago, being of the opinion that 37 years was enough. And just to make sure I wouldn’t be running into my old fi lm mates, who YOUR OPINION would most likely try to drag me back in, I moved to Hobart. Dear Ron, Great place to escape the rat-race, the heat of Bris Vegas, and to smell the roses. Thank you for publishing Peter’s article. I am glad someone has Right to the very last day I was shooting 35 mm fi lm… very raised those very valid questions! pre 9/11 wouldn’t you say? Since then the fi lm industry (which, by the way, should no longer be called the ‘fi lm’ Yes, the problem is here, it is hurting us and we are obliged industry, but the ‘digit’ industry might take some getting to do something about it. Everything Peter referred to in used to), has changed so much that I sometimes ask his article is valid, the situation he described is awful and cinematographers of my vintage ‘Remind me, what industry we are in no position to control it anymore. The freelance did we belong to?’ But that, in itself, is not such a bad thing. nature of our industry, the ever-shrinking budgets and the You see, I’m not a total Luddite, but at-the-speed-of-light lack of time, pushes us to constantly lower the standard change can more than often challenge the status quo to the of our work, regardless of how much heartache it causes. extent that people just hurl their hands in the air and refuse It shouldn’t happen at all. In the last couple of years I have to be buffeted by those gnarly winds. And that, too, is not noticed that our creativity is only measured by the time we such a bad thing… you know… wheat, chaff, men, boys, spend setting up a shot, or solving the problems due to the springs to mind. I have got used to not referring to shooting sloppiness of others. There is nothing wrong with working as fi lming, I now know what LUT means, I can read Andrew fast, keeping the energy up on the set, as long as we have Lesnie discussing the shooting (or should that be capturing?) the chance to refi ne our footage in post, as Peter clearly of The Hobbit without feeling seriously without and I can explained. It’s my experience that when we get to that stage, almost accept that cinematographers are now talking no one remembers what happened months before on the set about ASA’s in the thousands… given that I started my fi lm career using 16ASA reversal stock, you can understand and especially when the post production budget is almost the massive leap I’ve had to make there. Now surely that’s expended. Sadly, the budget to afford us the opportunity to a good thing, wouldn’t you say? Higher speed, less light… grade our images was probably never there in the fi rst place, less light, smaller lighting bills. Maybe you won’t even need a as should be the norm. gaffer. But now, on You Tube, I see a program called a warp I believe one of the most effective actions we can take is to stabiliser, which converts very wobbly moves into smooth, educate the next generation of cinematographers, directors seamless dollies… a very dark science. But think about and producers. You might recall my fi xation with the idea it… no steadi-cams, no dollies… that’s great, isn’t it? The of the ACS being involved in this endeavour and since we democratisation of our industry… you know, now anyone can make a fi lm, er, movie, with little or no crew. Wow! Now last discussed it, I am even more convinced that no other we’re getting somewhere. Just you and your little HD DSLR, institution is better equipped to fulfi ll this role.