American Cinematographer - November 2016 - 85

Left: Frederic Goodich, ASC with his wife, Donna, at the Wine Country Film Festival. Right: Goodich leads a master class in Bucharest, Romania.

Luciano Tovoli, ASC, AIC and established by Dr.
David B. Kaminsky. Soon after it began in
1999, Goodich joined Kaminsky as the event's
associate chair, helping to stage the day at
venues around the world.
Goodich was also a tireless educator
and taught at the American Film Institute;
ArtCenter College of Design; California Institute of the Arts; Valencia College; and Seoul,
South Korea's Chung-Ang University, among
other institutions.
"From the time I met him through the
rest of his life, what most distinguished Fred
Goodich was his absolute passion for cinema
and the culture of cinematography," shares
Robert Primes, ASC. "No one loved movies
more than Fred. He completely immersed
himself. He traveled the world going to film
festivals and gatherings of cinematographers.
He invited John Bailey and me to the Bangkok
Film Festival [AC June '04], where he seemed to
be practically running the show. I'd find him
catching double bills at the Directors Guild. He
brought colleagues to AFI to teach lighting and
blocking. He kept up relations with cinematographers around the world. He was everywhere."
Primes, Bailey, Mankofsky and Anderson each wrote letters of recommendation for
Goodich to become an active member of the
ASC, and on Feb. 12, 2007, he was officially
invited into the Society. Anderson reflects that
Goodich "brought his love of the industry, and
the work he'd done at festivals and teaching
students, to our Society. He was heavily
involved in participating on the Board [of
Governors], putting together meetings,
outreaching to groups, and just generally
making everybody feel welcome and proud to
be a cinematographer."
"Fred served with amazing love for and

commitment to the ASC," Bailey agrees. Once
Goodich had become a member, Mankofsky
adds, "He was always very active at the ASC
and very, very helpful. He was the secretary [on
the Board], which is a tough job. He was a very
good member."
Just this past June, Goodich was reelected to serve a sixth consecutive term as
secretary of the Board. He was also chair of the
Society's International Committee and an
active participant on the Spotlight Award
Committee. As he told AC in his "ASC CloseUp" (June '16), "Membership authenticated
and reinvigorated my life's passion - the technical and artistic sides. It led to teaching and
shooting gigs. And new friendships! I look
forward to participating in Society activities,
hanging out with colleagues of different backgrounds, sharing issues and tales of our experiences, engaging with students. I value the
responsibility of being an ASC officer and the
chair of the ASC International Committee,
grateful for the privilege and the trust
bestowed."
Goodich continued to tackle a variety
of projects. In 2012, he wrote and directed the
short Kickstart Theft, which was shot by the
late Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, HSC (AC Nov.
'12), and he participated in the ASC-PGA
Image Control Assessment Series (AC Sept.
'12).
He also continued to travel, representing the ASC and carrying high the torch for
cinematographers everywhere. In 2013, for
example, he attended the Imago/FNF Oslo
Digital Cinema Conference to discuss the
ICAS, and journeyed to the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in
Bucharest, Romania, where he presented two
master classes. That same year, he presented a
session at the Wine Country Film Festival in
www.theasc.com

Northern California; about the event, Goodich
told AC (Clubhouse News, Dec. '13), "The
lecture demonstrated how great cinematography is not about 'capturing,' but rather about
'creating and constructing' meaningful
images. Cinematographers don't just take
pictures; they make pictures."
Most recently, as chair of the Society's
International Committee, Goodich spearheaded the organization and presentation of
the International Cinematography Summit (AC
Sept. '16). "Fred's ongoing love of foreign
movies continued with his chairmanship of the
ASC's International Committee and his work
on behalf of the [ICS]," says Bailey. "Talking
about international cinema with Fred was a
bright beacon, cutting through the sometimes-murky air of Hollywood movies. Fred
and his love for great filmmaking will be so
missed."
Primes adds, "His passion so permeated the Clubhouse that his sudden death has
created a great vacuum." ASC President Kees
van Oostrum reflects, "He was a wonderful,
kind spirit with an unending loyalty to the
ASC."
"He was always so passionately interested," says Anderson. "That continued up to
basically his final moments. Getting the [news
of his passing] was a total shock - I expected
him to always be there. His contributions were
very special. He was a very unique and
talented cinematographer, teacher and good
friend. We were so glad to have him part of
us."
Goodich is survived by his wife, Donna,
and son, Nikolai.
- Jon D. Witmer
●

November 2016

http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - November 2016

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