American Cinematographer - September 2008 - (Page 8) Editor’s Note ungarian cinematographer Gyula Pados, HSC first caught our eye with the thriller Kontroll (AC April ’05), a surreal blend of suspense, comedy and romance. Since then, he has further distinguished himself with the features Fateless (AC Jan. ’06), Evening (AC July ’07) and now The Duchess (“Portrait of a Lady,” page 30). Pados began his career at age 18 as a camera assistant on Hungarian television projects, later serving as an assistant on two projects with ASC icon Vilmos Zsigmond. The elegant period look of The Duchess indicates that Pados took very good notes during his formative years. In this month’s cover story by London correspondent Mark Hope-Jones, the film’s director, Saul Dibb, notes that Pados brings more than just a keen aesthetic sensibility to his work: “I think a lot of cinematographers naturally get obsessed with the aesthetics, but Gyula’s first question is always, ‘What’s the scene about?’ His focus is on how the camera and lighting will help tell the story. It’s not so much about the how as the why.” Zsigmond and his late friend Laszlo Kovacs, ASC occupy center stage in No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo and Vilmos, a new documentary directed by ASC member James Chressanthis (“A Tale of 2 Cinematographers,” page 54). Our Paris correspondent, Benjamin B, sought out Chressanthis and director of photography Anka Malatynska for their thoughts on the project, which traces the ASC legends’ remarkable lives and careers. Chressanthis notes that he strove to shake up the familiar rhythms of the documentary genre. “Many documentaries, even very good ones, end up falling into the trap of being … a school lesson,” he observes. “I didn’t think of this film as a documentary, but as a non-fiction dramatic film.” This month’s focus on international production is further explored in Jean Oppenheimer’s article on Blindness (“A Frightening Fable,” page 44), which reteamed cinematographer César Charlone, ABC with director Fernando Meirelles. In adapting José Saramago’s novel for the cinema, the production shot in Brazil, Uruguay and Canada, where they benefited from the invaluable input of native crewmembers. “I prefer to use local crews wherever I go,” Charlone notes, observing sagely, “Whoever is at home has more resources and knows how to help you get things, and they take you to better bars!” This issue includes other insightful articles that illustrate AC’s worldwide reach, including an account of the recent digital restoration of Max Ophüls’ final film, Lola Montes (“A Long-Awaited Redemption,” page 64), coverage of the Australian Cinematographers Society’s recent 50th-anniversary celebration (Global Village, page 10), and an article on the British documentary Man on Wire (Production Slate, page 18), which recounts the memorable exploits of French tightrope walker Philippe Petit, who walked back and forth between the roofs of the Twin Towers in 1974. H Stephen Pizzello Executive Editor 8 Photo by Douglas Kirkland. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0707/index.php?startid=24 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/ac/ac0707/index.php?startid=24 http://www.theasc.com
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