Va# IMAGO 2012 REPORT A

IMAGO 2012 REPORT – BYGDOSZCZ, POLAND I arrived in Bygdoszcz, Poland on a very overcast rainy day on Thursday, November 23, and it remained that way until the day I left, a week later. Primarily I was there to attend the Extraordinary Meeting of IMAGO, but took the opportunity to attend the 20th Anniversary of Camerimage… a true visual feast!! Before I begin, it’s important to remember that the ACS became a part of IMAGO because of the lobbying and the work done by former President, Ted Rayment ACS. It was his “foot in the door” that has made it possible for me to continue and to build on the relationship we have with IMAGO and the member countries, of which there are 47 European countries and 15 Non-European countries. This IMAGO meeting was a non-voting one, and only recommendations from the delegates could be put to the IMAGO Board for further determination, in order to vote on them at the IAGA (AGM) in February. The IMAGO Agenda was a very full one, and we didn’t manage to get through everything that needed to be discussed. I do believe that these meetings need to be scheduled subject to the agenda, and consideration should be given to having a 2-day meeting when required. As former National Secretary, Velinda Wardell ACS was attending Camerimage, I asked her to attend the IMAGO meeting as a second ACS representative. Mark Swadel, who lives and works in the UK, represented the NZCS. There were also around 33 other delegates representing the other Societies, including our very own Peter Hannan ACS BSC who was, on this occasion representing the BSC. It was great to catch up with Peter, who is hoping to be back home in May for the National Awards. The meeting kicked off at 10.00am, and after introductions and a very comprehensive opening address from President Nigel Walters BSC, followed by a very warm welcome from the President of the Polish Society (PSC) Jerzy Zielinski PSC ASC, the meeting got under way with the perennial favourite… Financials. IMAGO is financially strong, and it was mentioned that the Associate member countries’ additional fees, if admitted with Full voting rights, would consolidate the financial situation further. IMAGO has applied for EU SUPPORT, which is intended to be used for website redevelopment and staffing of the Brussels office of IMAGO. The result of this application will be known in February. While on the subject of Brussels, the IAGA (AGM) will be held in Brussels from February 14 – 17 inclusive. AUTHORS’ RIGHTS for cinematographers in Australia are non-existent, although we do try in our own small way to attempt to make inroads. However when the USA and Great Britain have no such recognition, and our industries are aligned, it does not auger well. As you are all aware, I’ve always been a strong advocate for us pursuing Authors’ Rights for cinematographers, but I now realise this is an enormous undertaking and we are not in a position to fund it accordingly. I feel we can only watch the progress in Europe and learn from that as best we can. We do know the history of Authors’ Rights in Europe and Scandinavia is a system to envy, and the Polish Society presented a review of their own Authors Rights’ history. The Polish Parliament approved the bill regarding Authors’ Rights after a lengthy process in the year 2000. It excluded TVCs and Music Videos, and there is ongoing professional input regarding Cable television and DVD. The funds are distributed by a Collective organisation to Directors, Writers and Music Composers who were all reluctant to share, but it was agreed on 15% to cinematographers for Feature Films, all subject to many restrictions and rulings. However that percentage is now 9% due to the influx of other departments all seeking Authors’ Rights. Watch this space! The next Agenda item was of most interest to us, as it was regarding the Associate member countries being made full, fee-paying members. These fees at 22 Euros per person are based on member numbers – in our case, Accredited members – and I'm led to believe that the annual fee will be capped in the region of 2000 Euros. It was a very passionate debate, led by IMAGO President, Nigel Walters ACS, who is very pro the inclusion of Associate members with full rights. I addressed the delegates about our desire to become Full members as we, the ACS believed it counter-productive to simply attend these meetings and to not have a voice to suggest and be able to vote on positive change. I reminded the delegates that we have always believed in the spirit of IMAGO along with the ideals that all cinematographers should be one united group, and we should speak with a unified voice. We believed there should be one IMAGO, not splinter groups and that we welcomed the opportunity to be a part of such an organisation. We wanted to be a part of the European Federation, and no other group, under no other name. The discussion continued for a good two hours, with many points of view. The Italians believed there should be two IMAGOs, one for Europe, and one for the rest of the world. My observations were that this was not a favoured option. The French, and I think the Germans, were worried that including Associate members with full voting rights could eventually erode the European model, and that the Associate member numbers could eventually be more than the European. I made the point that we want to be part of the European model and cannot understand why they fear they will lose the European balance from the Federation. Perhaps the number of Associate members to the Board could be capped at 2. In the end, the French agreed to propose that 2 Associate member country representatives become Board members on a 2-year rotational basis. The IMAGO Board would nominate these associates. That was a win!! Now, a sub-committee will discuss all the suggestions regarding the Associates and recommendations will go to the Board for an official proposal to be put forward at the February meeting for voting. That's also a win!! As I said there were many speakers to the item, including Roberto Schaeffer AIC ASC, Luciano Tovoli AIC ASC, Richard Andry AFC, Idan Or ACT (Israel), members of the French, Polish, Danish, Finnish and German Societies, Mark Swadel from the New Zealand Society, and a very emotional address from Tony Costa, during which you could have heard a pin drop. Keep in mind we are greatly respected within IMAGO and I feel the majority of the delegates believe the Associate countries should have full voting rights, as long as they are prepared to pay the fees. If some Associates are not happy to pay the fees, they can remain a non-voting Associate member. This polarising topic could have continued for some time, but once the progressive French Society made the proposal to the Board, we moved on. IMAGO has an excellent Technical Committee in place, chaired by the ever- enthusiastic Kommer Kleijn SBC. These guys really do their homework, and on this occasion renowned French cinematographer, Philippe Ros AFC presented a very informative paper on Archiving, a subject we are currently investigating. I’ve attached the 4 reports for your information, and believe me, they are required reading by all. When I forwarded these reports to David Wakeley he made the comment “There are many of us who had no idea that film was that far down internationally, with 100% digital projection in some countries already. As to archiving, in the short term, perhaps we will be constantly re-transferring from backed up solid state drives each 5 years until a 'locked in' system is developed”. It is a subject with many variables that our own Technical Committee, along with Simon Russell, is looking into with representatives from Hitachi. The IMAGO Master Class Committee reported that the proposed event for later in 2013 in Austria was moving along steadily, with participants still being finalised. Attending the IAGA meeting in Brussels at the end of February is something I think should be thought about. But given the fact we’ve come so far, and we have been instrumental in the likely changes to the way IMAGO is structured, it’s certainly worth discussion. However it is a matter of funding the exercise, and we will need to give careful consideration before we confirm our attendance. I estimate the trip will cost in the vicinity of $6000.00. The meeting concluded at around 6.00pm and was followed by another official dinner for all delegates. Thanks to Panavision, ARRI, Kodak and the people of Poland for their culinary generosity. During Camerimage, which took place at the same time, I met with ACS Honorary Member and Camerimage Executive officer, Marek Zebrowski to ask him if there was a possibility of an ACS presence at Camerimage 2013. He was very receptive to the idea, and I’ll continue discussions with him in the New Year. It could well be that there could be an Australian retrospective with some of our DPs in attendance, along with an ACS hosted reception, once again to fly the ACS flag and to further promote our Australian cinematographers and films. I believe we need to foster and encourage the idea of more Australian cinematographers and Producers entering their films into Camerimage. This includes Student and Documentary films as well, which have a large and dedicated following.

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