American Cinematographer - July 2015 - 86

Clubhouse News

Top left: ASC members share their experiences during an open house at J.L. Fisher. Bottom left:
Retired associate member Volker Bahnemann (third from right) was on hand for the recent
presentation of the annual award given in his name. Right: Associate member Garrett Brown
addresses a gathering at the Clubhouse.

ASC Members Speak at
J.L. Fisher Open House
J.L. Fisher recently fired up the grill for
its ninth annual open house and barbecue,
which was co-presented by the ASC, the
International Cinematographers Guild and
the Society of Camera Operators. A number
of companies and other industry organizations helped turn Fisher's parking lot into an
outdoor exhibition hall, and as tradition now
holds, the day concluded with a spirited
"Dialogue with ASC Cinematographers"
moderated by George Spiro Dibie,
ASC. Dibie was joined by Society
members
Billy
Webb,
Shelly
Johnson,
Dave
Perkal,
Paul
Maibaum,
Michael
Goi,
Bill
Bennett, Robert Primes, Frederic
Goodich, Oliver Bokelberg and Suki
Medencevic. Taking questions from the
audience, the panel spoke to getting the
most out of whatever format a project
employs, whether film or digital; making
necessary compromise look like intended
style; and trends - both good and bad -
that are taking hold in contemporary
86

July 2015

production. "I think you have to play nice to
be successful," Bokelberg offered, to which
Bennett added, "My key grip once told me,
'Stay flexible, stay employed.'" Goi summarized the spirit of the conversation when he
said, "Film entertainment is a constantly
evolving aesthetic. I think it's an exciting
time."
Society Hosts HDR
Demonstration
Curtis Clark, ASC, chair of the Society's Technology Committee, joined UHDTV
Subcommittee Chair Don Eklund to spearhead a daylong demonstration of the latest
high dynamic range technology as applied to
monitor displays. Eklund initiated each hourly
session with a presentation on HDR monitors
and the importance of achieving the best
outputs on professional and consumer
displays. Clark then escorted the participants
from the Clubhouse's main room into the
boardroom, where eight monitors - including a Sony BVM-X300 demonstrated by associate member Gary Demos, and a Canon
DP-V2410 demonstrated by Clark and associAmerican Cinematographer

Brown Leads Steadicam Panel
The Society and associate member
Garrett Brown, inventor of the Steadicam
and a National Inventors Hall of Fame
inductee, recently hosted a dinner meeting
at the ASC Clubhouse entitled "Garrett
Brown & Friends: The Moving Camera." The
event included a demonstration of the
modular M1 Steadicam, the Steadicam
Tango - a crane-like Steadicam accessory
- and the hands-free Steadiseg Steadicam
Segway. Brown's presentation included
examples of notable Steadicam scenes,
including clips from Terminator and Casino,
followed by a panel discussion with
Steadicam Guild members David Emmerichs,
Jerry Holway and Dan Kneece, along with
Steadicam operators Chris Fawcett and
Geoff Haley. Explaining Steadicam technology in relation to human movement and
vision, Brown noted, "When you walk, you
see a damn beautiful dolly shot."
Fifth Annual Volker Bahnemann
Awards
The Fifth Annual Volker Bahnemann
Awards for Cinematography - named for
retired ASC associate Volker Bahnemann
- were awarded to Sheldon Chau at the
graduate level and Antoine Combellas at the
undergraduate level at New York University's
Tisch School of the Arts. The grants were
established in 2010 to honor Bahnemann's
48 years at Arri, 32 of which were served as
CEO and president of Arri Inc. and Arri CSC.
The grants - which are funded through
donations from Arri, Arri CSC (now Arri
Rental), the Stahl family, and friends and
colleagues - are a perpetual bequest to
annually recognize talented cinematography
students with a production grant to fund
their thesis projects.
●

Photo of Clubhouse by Isidore Mankofsky, ASC; lighting by Donald M. Morgan, ASC.
J.L. Fisher photo by Kelly Brinker. Garrett Brown photo courtesy of associate member Mark Bender. Bahnemann Award photo courtesy of Arri.

ate Joseph Bogacz - were on display.
Other participating vendors included Dolby,
Vizio, Panasonic, LG and Samsung. All monitors ran footage from a film shot by Robert
Primes, ASC.

American Cinematographer - July 2015

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