Today..ASC open house at Mole Richardson

[Steve Das]

Today is Annual ASC Open House
Used to be at the ASC clubhouse...but it's now at Mole Richardson
guess not enough space before..nothing about lighting demos..:undecided:

Saturday, February 20, 2010 at Mole-Richardson, 925 North La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

From Red Studios just take Willoughby across to La Brea..and you're there...be there or be square...
___________
Schedule
1:30 p.m.– 2:30 p.m.
Conversation with John C. Flinn III, ASC & Sol Negrin, ASC

3:00 p.m.– 4:00 p.m.
Film or Digital: The Aesthetics of Format Choice
with Rodney Charters, ASC; Steven Fierberg, ASC; Rodney Taylor, ASC

http://www.ascmag.com/news/News_Articles/News_279.php

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The ASC Clubhouse has been closed for renovations, that's all. Will be finished this year soon, hopefully.

 

[Steve Das]

Thanks for the heads up David...was wondering..as the open house is the one day they let the Barbarians through the ASC Gates :drool5:
Hehehe...do you remember when there was no fence around ASC clubhouse? Ironic... it was hell harder to become ASC member
in the days before the fence went up.

Just realized 2 months ago you couldn't give directions from Red to
Mole Richardson as Red literally had no physical presence in Hollywood.
Talk of Barbarians at Gates...Red got in..just bought their own set
of mini-studio gates ..was about time w/ the new sensor and all..

But seriously how did the final ASC Clubhouse plans go ?..know at one
time they were scary ambitious w/ talk of a theater and a multi-story underground parking garage.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

The plans got scaled back for financial reasons. It's probably a good thing in the sense that the primary reason for the clubhouse is to be a meeting place to exchange ideas and socialize, so in some ways, it's being restored a bit back to what it was in earlier decades, when it was more comfortable to hang out in.

The theater was a nice idea but simply too expensive, it's not just the building and equipment, it's the tech support, etc. The ASC is a small organization in the sense that it's mainly run on a volunteer basis by the members, other than a small but hardworking (and overworked) support staff.

But the other problem has been where to put the staff of American Cinematographer, which is a much bigger operation. That's where the old house basically wasn't big enough and why there was talk about a building an office building next door, the one with the theater. In the past, they were in a temporary trailer in the parking lot and a tiny stucco building in the back. When the renovation started the magazine staff was moved to the Pickford Building, owned by AMPAS, on Vine, plus the staff of the ASC. Since an ASC office building was never built, only the original clubhouse restored, basically I think the magazine staff is going to stay at the Pickford Center and the ASC staff move back into the old house.

Though that's a bit sad because I liked to visit both staffs, that's harder now that they will be several blocks apart in Hollywood. But it will be nice to get back into the clubhouse, we haven't done as much socializing in the past year due to a lack of a focal point like the clubhouse.

Film schools in the past have arranged weekday visits to the clubhouse and the ASC will usually round up a group of cinematographers to meet with them.

 

[Marc Wielage]

There were a lot of interesting conversations at this ASC panel discussion, particularly on the second session on "Film vs. Digital." Veteran DP Dean Semler (Dances with Wolves, etc.) had some memorable stories that I found very entertaining; he was the life of the party for this segment.

The overall message seemed to be that traditional DPs are going to have to be ready to go with the flow and shoot on anything the project dictates, whether it's 35mm, 16mm, Red, Genesis, Arri, Sony, Canon, or whatever. It's clear to me it's still about the lighting, not so much about the choice of camera.

The magazine will be posting the videos online for subscribers and ASC members sometime in the next few weeks.

 

[Adam Beck]

The "Friends of the ASC" is a pretty sweet opportunity for filmmakers. From what I saw demonstrated, it should be considered as a on-line conservatory on cinematography.