OCONNOR INTRODUCES NEW O-RIG 15mm ROD SUPPORT SYSTEM

The Universal Hand-Held Support Rig Offers Flexibility Needed 

for Accessorized Digital Cinematography

 OConnor, a Vitec Group brand and premier provider of fluid heads, tripods and camera accessories for film and television production, will unveil its new O-Rig 15mm Rod Support System at NAB 2015. The versatile, hand-held support rig is perfectly suited to the a la carte configurations of today’s accessorized digital cinematography. The O-Rig is designed to work with any camera/lens combination in 15mm LWS (Light Weight Support) configuration, including the latest offerings from Sony, Canon, Nikon, ARRI, AJA, JVC, Panasonic, Vision Research and RED. OConnor will showcase the newest addition to its award-winning lineup of camera supports and accessories at their NAB exhibit (Booth #C6025) in Las Vegas, April 13-16.

OConnor’s O-Rig is camera and lens agnostic, providing cinematographers maximum flexibility. Its new, proprietary universal baseplate enables quick and easy camera and lens changes. A height adaptor offers cover for all camera bodies, providing rotation of wide-angle filters, and increasing the lens coverage of OConnor’s O-Focus follow focus unit. Uniquely crafted to deliver superior ergonomic performance, the O-Rig also allows users to effortlessly move from shoulder mount to tripod and back again.

“Whether our users need to bolt an increasing amount of equipment to their camera or they’re looking to maximize their rig for as many configurations as possible, the O-Rig can support them,” said Steven Turner, Product Manager for OConnor. “All of OConnor’s products are engineered to meet the demands of today’s challenging camera work, and now, more than ever, flexibility is key. We believe cinematographers, operators, and rental facilities will be pleased to have such a robust and durable solution from a trusted brand.”

The O-Rig system is housed in a robust Storm Case, fitted with custom-cut, high-density foam. Each kit includes: an award-winning O-Grips handgrip system; an infinitely adjustable offset adaptor, which allows users to easily reposition camera viewfinders and provides comfort adjustments for shoulder pads; and a shoulder pad with hand-stitched leather construction and aluminum detailing, giving versatile positioning of rods through pad for optimizing counterweight, camera balancing, and body ergonomics. Individual elements within the O-Rig kit will also be available, and are compatible with other 15mm LWS accessories.

While the new O-Rig system delivers robust quality and ease of use, it was also designed with an eye towards the future. “The O-Rig is the definition of future proofing,” added Turner. “As camera technology continues to evolve rapidly, cinematographers and operators cannot be locked in. They need adaptable solutions that allow them to change and grow, and the O-Rig delivers that versatility without comprising performance.”

The O-Rig 15mm Rod Support System will be available worldwide in May. Customized shoulder rig packages, designed to support specific cameras, can be assembled upon request.

For more information, visit OConnor at www.ocon.com.      

COBRA GYPSIES. A DOCUMENTARY OF THE KALBELIYA

 By George Leon

Cobra Gypsies offers a contemporary and colorful window to the amazing ancient culture of the nomadic Kalbeliya tribes, living in rural Rajasthan, Northern India. The film explores their culture of eternal dance, syncopated music, snake charming, colorful fashion and the nomadic way of life of these exotic looking castoffs, ancestors to the modern Roma Gypsies living in Europe today.

 COBRA GYPSIES - full documentary

Cobra Gypsies seems like an amazing accidental ethnographic film and it is reminiscent of the aesthetics utilized by Nouvelle Vague visual anthropology filmmaker, Jean Rouch on documentaries like "Me a Black" (Moi, un Noir)"  but in a more transparent factual way.

Although, the Kailbelyas subjects posed for the camera like for a fashion editorial spread, the action permeates ingenuity and sets a frank connection between the Kailbeliya subject and the audience.

Raphael Treza, a French musician and filmmaker, creates in Cobra Gypsies not only a compelling documentary with an outstanding soundtrack, but a colorful digital postcard like journal, postmarked in Rajasthan for the whole world to see.

In 2010, the Kalbeliyas folk songs and dances of Rajasthan were declared a part of the Intangible Heritage List by the UNESCO 

You can hear the soundtrack here

NEW SERIES OF ARRI MASTER ANAMORPHIC FLARE SETS

ARRI launched a new series of Master Anamorphic Flare Sets. Each of the 7 ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lenses gets its own individual and easily replaceable front and rear glass elements. They can be used individually or in combination.

The ARRI Master Anamorphic Flare Sets are highly versatile and economical accessories for the ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lens series. Each of the seven Master Anamorphic focal lengths has its own specific flare set, comprising easily replaceable front and rear glass elements with a special lens coating that encourages flaring, ghosting and veiling glare. The flare elements can be used individually or in combination to provide the lens with three additional looks for enriched on-set creativity.

The front and rear glass elements of each Flare Set have a special lens coating that enhances flaring, ghosting and veiling glare. These effects are consistent across all of the Flare Sets. You can control the aberrations by changing the lens aperture or positioning extra flare lights out of frame (Maglights attached to mattebox aiming into the lens). The Master Anamorphics retain their resolution, lack of distortion and corner-to-corner optical performance even with the Flare Sets attached.

An ARRI Master Anamorphic Toolkit (purchased separately) is used to exchange the front and rear optical elements. It only takes a few minutes: each flare element is pre-aligned in a metal frame.With the Master Anamorphic Flare Kits, a set of Master Anamorphics multiplies and essentially becomes four different sets, each with different characteristics, while still being free of curved horizons, focus breathing, mumps, barrel and pincushion distortion.

By using the ARRI Master Anamorphic Toolkit, the front and rear glass elements can be exchanged with the regular Master Anamorphic elements in a matter of minutes, since each flare element is pre-aligned in a metal frame. A set of Master Anamorphics effectively becomes four different anamorphic lens sets, each suitable for different flaring requirements while maintaining the famously distortion-free optical performance.

Main Features
Each focal length can now deliver four distinct looks
Economical way of offering greater on-set creativity
Distortion-free optical performance retained
Flare elements can be exchanged in minutes

RHYTHM IS THE LANGUAGE OF OF LIFE: TAP WORLD

 RHYTHM IS THE LANGUAGE OF OF LIFE:  TAP WORLD

A feature-length documentary on Tap Dance.

By George Leon

The language of music is rhythm and rhythm is the language of life. Dance and music are a universal language. Every culture has music and a dance that is attached to the tradition of their people. Tap dancing is a traditional American art form and it have inspired a  number of talented  creative dancers since the  times of the famous Bill Bailey, Cholly Atkins, Ann Miller, Hermes Pan, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Bunny Briggs, Fred Astaire to the new generation of tap dancers such as, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Ted Levy and Van Porter, and Steven Harper.

Tap World, is a documentary about the best and most creative tap dancers to be found today in our backyard and around the world. The participants are not necessarily rich or famous and some of them are just teachers and students, but all of them are certainly talented.  TAP WORLD brings to the audience an explosion of music, rhythm, movement and folklore, the culture of Tap Dance.

Steven Poster  ASC, Chloé Arnold and Maud Arnold,

 with dancers and participants of the film

The project started around 2012 by choreographer and performer, Chloé Arnold and teacher and performer Maud Arnold. The production team was led by Emmy Award winning executive producer Dean Hargrove and producer Jeff Peters who created the acclaimed tap dance short film TAP HEAT. Dean Hargrove directed TAP WORLD and Steven Poster, ASC was Producer/Supervising Director of Photography.

 A special  dance act was presented prior the premiere

In order to acquire the necessary footage of dance and interviews around the world, the production team created a website portal  to receive submissions - a casting call, if you will- to be reviewed under the strict guidelines set by the producers. After months of  traveling and screening submissions,  the results were amazing. A vibrant compilation of  two generations of tap dancers, each of them with their own  original style and identity, yet all of them dance in perfect sync regardless of age, race, place of origin and geographic location.

If you can say it...you can dance it!  Tap..ball heel..scuffle...riff.
The language of music is rhythm and rhythm is tap...toe stand..stomp...jump..!

 Executive Producer and Director Dean Hargrove

"Historically tap dance has brought different cultures together allowing them to communicate through jazz and dance. The global community of tap dancers is growing rapidly and the new young tap dancers coming out today are not only becoming great artists but also leaders for our communities"

 Robert Forster and Denise Grayson attended the premiere

TAP WORLD it is a feel-good ethnographic documentary showing a interlaced global culture bounded together for the love of an art form. The spirit of collaboration of all performers demonstrate the required perseverance, skill, and talent needed it to become a proficient dancer.  But beyond of  those requirements, the documentary also shows that there is hope for a better future practicing the art of tap dancing. For example, in Brazil, it is hope for a better education for those living in the marginalized society of the favelas when they are able to go to tap dance school and learn this truly universal craft that later on they could call it their own. 

 Dean Hargrove and guests

I had the best time watching the film, it is well produced and it is certainly inspiring and educational. From this moment on, I will be more discerning when watching an old Fred Astaire routine on "Remember When TV"  or if I get to attend to a modern stage to see the likes of  Savion Glover or if  by the street or subway, I hear  tap..tap..tap..heel..heel ..slide, I will be sure then to stop and take my time to see the tap dancer perform.

E.LUBEZKI, A.G. IÑARRITU, BIRDMAN TOP OSCARS HONORS

It has been a good two consecutive years for cinematographer Enmmanuel Lubezki who has won every single major cinematography award of the motion picture industry in 2015 for the tenacious and imaginative making of the independent dark comedy Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Birdman won big this year at the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director-Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu-, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Prior Oscar night, Lubezki also bagged for himself, the most prestigious awards of the industry, a BAFTA, an ASC and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.

Last year, Lubezki originated the same fete, winning almost every single cinematography award and sealing the recognition deal by winning a BAFTA award, an ASC award and the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the 3D science-fiction thriller "Gravity" under the helm of his friend and long time collaborator, Alfonso Cuaron.

On Gravity, the complexity of making us believe the actors were actually into deep space was challenging at best, so director Alfonso Cuaron and cinematographer Lubezki utilized the latest on production and post-production techniques and equipment, some of it developed by themselves, to bring the award winning project to fruition. On Birdman,  the challenge was of a different nature and the requirements of the script by director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu was more visceral and immediate as Emmanuel Lubezki explains at the Academy Awards backstage interview:

"You know, this was probably the hardest movie I've ever worked on. And it was really hard because exactly what you mentioned, the shots were very, very long.  And we were not doing coverage so everybody had to do their best every time and not mess it up.  And I think that brought an energy to the movie that otherwise the movie would not have.  And  I think that stress and that a need for concentration made the acting so powerful and the camera and everything in the movie.  So, to my humble opinion, it's so powerful because of that.  And that's something that Alejandro wanted to do since he wrote the script.

He really wanted the movie to be in one shot or appear to be in one shot, and he didn't want to do any coverage because he knew that that was a way to immerse the audience in the movie, in the story, much deeper than than any other, you know, any other way we could have shot the movie.  And also it would make the actors do their best every time because they are used to. Usually, we shoot movies with coverage, and we do a wide shot, and the actors give only 70 percent. And then when they do their close‑ups, they do 100 percent, but this time, they knew the shots were going to be in the movie, so they had to go for the whole thing, but you should talk to them, you know".

Q: What was your first reaction when Alejandro showed you the script and what was the challenge you had with  Birdman?

"Well, the first time he talked about the movie, he said he wanted to do a movie in one shot before I read the script.  And at that moment, I truly, honestly thought I hope he doesn't offer me this movie; I'm not interested.  It sounds like a nightmare. And then when he brought the script and talked about the characters and why it had to be one shot, he captivated me, and I truly wanted to do the movie.  And it was really, really complex, very hard.  You know, there's no book that says how do it.  It was like an experiment.  And I have to say that is because he's a very strong, very curious artist.  We went through the process and made this movie happen."

"I mean every movie has to be told in a different way, whatever is good for the script,  whatever is good for the story, whatever is good for the director.  And this just happened to be what Alejandro wanted  to do and the way he wanted to tell the story and the way he wanted to immerse the people into this emotional  journey of Riggan Thomson and I went for it.  But usually the style doesn't come from me, it comes  from the  script, from the directors, from the locations where you shoot, etcetera, but mostly from what  the directors need to tell their story.  

The cinematographer's job is really to help them translate their ideas into  images, and that's what I tried to do.  So I don't know,  if I will ever try something like this again.  It will depend on what the director wants and what the script needs".

EMMANUEL LUBEZKI WINS AGAIN TOP ASC AWARD

Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC AMC took the top ASC award, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in the Category of Theatrical Release for BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE).

Actor and recent cinematography graduate, Giovanni Ribisi presented the ASC Award for best feature to Lubezki, who also won the ASC top prize last year for GRAVITY. This marks the first time that a cinematographer has won consecutive ASC Awards in the theatrical category. Lubezki previously won in 2012 for THE TREE OF LIFE and in 2007 for CHILDREN OF MEN, and earned a nomination in 2000 for SLEEPY HOLLOW. He is also been a 4 times BAFTA Award winner for Best Cinematography and a 4 times Academy Award nominated and winning Best Cinematography for Gravity. Other nominated films lensed by Lubezki were: Little Princess, Sleepy Hollow, The New World, Children Of Men and Tree Of Life. 

Emmanuel Lubezki ASC AMC flanked by Fred Goodich, ASC 

and his daughter at the 29th American Society of Cinematographers 

Annual Outstanding Achievement Awards.

The other nominees in the feature film category were Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for UNBROKEN; Óscar Faura for THE IMITATION GAME; Dick Pope, BSC for MR. TURNER; and Robert D. Yeoman, ASC for THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.

Roger Deakins, ASC BSC was nominated for UNBROKEN

John Bailey, ASC  received the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award. His work on ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980) and THE BIG CHILL (1983) earned critical acclaim. He has subsequently compiled more than 70 credits, including AMERICAN GIGOLO, THE POPE OF GREENWICH VILLAGE, SILVERADO, MISHIMA, THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST, GROUNDHOG DAY, IN THE LINE OF FIRE, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS, BIG MIRACLE, THE WAY WAY BACK, and the upcoming THE FORGER and A WALK IN THE WOODS.

The ASC International Award was presented to Phil Méheux, BSC. Méheux’s work spans four decades, with films such as THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, THE FOURTH PROTOCOL, GOLDENEYE, THE MASK OF ZORRO, ENTRAPMENT, BICENTENNIAL MAN, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, THE LEGEND OF ZORRO, EDGE OF DARKNESS, and CASINO ROYALE.

Award-winning  Barbra Streisand was recipient of the ASC Board of Governors Award from cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, ASC. She is the only artist to achieve Oscar®, Tony®, Emmy®, Grammy®, Directors Guild of America, Golden Globe®, and Peabody Awards, as well as a National Medal of Honor, France’s Légion d’honneur, the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors. The three films that Streisand has directed - YENTL, THE PRINCE OF TIDES, THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES - earned 14 Academy Award® nominations.

Barbra Streisand with actor/husband James Brolin

Matthew F. Leonetti, ASC was recognized with the ASC Presidents Award for his impressive cinematographic contributions and dedication to the ASC. Leonetti’s credits include POLTERGEIST, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, WEIRD SCIENCE, JAGGED EDGE, STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, and RUSH HOUR 2. Forty years after his first role as director of photography on BAT PEOPLE (1974), Leonetti continues to shoot, including the recent DUMB AND DUMBER TO, whose directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly bestowed the Presidents Award at the ceremony.

Bill Roe, ASC took home the Career Achievement in Television Award,  Roe has been nominated for three Emmy® Awards for his work on THE X-FILES and FAITH OF MY FATHERS. The ASC has nominated him nine times, for which he won consecutive awards for THE X-FILES (1999, 2000). Since 1997, Roe has shot nearly 200 television episodes contributing to CASTLE, BROOKLYN SOUTH, LAS VEGAS, DAY BREAK, ROBBERY HOMICIDE DIVISION, MAD MEN, and such pilots as TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, THE MENTALIST, and EASTWICK.

 The ASC Bud Stone Award of Distinction was given to Otto Nemenz, founder and CEO of the rental facility Otto Nemenz Intl, and Denny Clairmont, president and co-founder of Clairmont Camera. The award is presented to an Associate ASC Member who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the society and/or has made a significant contribution to the motion picture industry.

 Peter Flinckenberg, FSC was this year’s winner of the ASC Spotlight Award for CONCRETE NIGHT. The award recognizes outstanding cinematography in features and documentaries typically screened at film festivals, internationally or in limited theatrical release. Also nominated for the Spotlight Award were Darius Khondji, AFC, ASC for THE IMMIGRANT, and Daniel Landin, BSC for UNDER THE SKIN.

 Film Critic and Historian, Leonard Maltin  attended the 

29th American Society of Cinematographers

 Annual Outstanding Achievement Awards.

 

Cheryl Boone Issacs, President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences   

(AMPAS) attended the 29th American Society of Cinematographers

 Annual Outstanding Achievement Awards.

Jonathan Freeman, ASC took the Outstanding Achievement Award for an episode of a regular series, Freeman was recognized for his work on the “Golden Days for Boys and Girls” episode of the HBO series BOARDWALK EMPIRE. Last year Freeman took home the award for GAME OF THRONES. He previously won for BOARDWALK EMPIRE (2012, 2011), and HOMELAND SECURITY (2005). He has earned additional nominations for BOARDWALK EMPIRE (2011), TAKEN (2003), STRANGE JUSTICE (2000) and PRINCE STREET (1998). 

 Vilmos Zsigmond ASC, Richard Crudo ASC President, Yuri Neyman, ASC

Andy Romanoff and Steven Poster, ASC and President of ICG Local 600 

accompanied by a lovely guest

Stephen Pizzello, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of American Cinematographer 

with writer David Heuring (right)  and guests

For more information about the American Society of Cinematography click here.

To see more pictures of the evening click here  

POSTERS FROM LA JOLLA INTERNATIONAL FASHION FILM FESTIVAL

POSTERS FROM THE 6TH LA JOLLA 

INTERNATIONAL FASHION FILM FESTIVAL

 Outstanding graphic design, powerful stories and 

original films at the cutting edge of the fashion film industry 

For more, visit: http://www.ljfff.com/