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Member LoginJohn Radel Claims Top Honours
15 December 2003
John Radel, a cinematography student from the Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS) in New South Wales, has taken top honours in the Australian judging of the annual Kodak Filmschool Competition for his work on the film "Out On The Tiles”.
One of twenty-four entries from film schools around Australia, the film was judged by Queensland cinematographers Ron Johanson ACS and John Stokes ACS. Johanson, whose feature film credits include “Final Cut” and “Freedom”, as well as second unit DOP credits on “Mango Tree”, “The Odd Angry Shot” and “Cut”, has produced numerous award-winning television commercials through his Brisbane-based production house, The Roly Poly Picture Company. Stokes, with twenty-four years experience in the industry, has just completed work on the mini-series, “The Natalie Wood Story” directed by Peter Bogdanovich and also has extensive experience in both television commercials and documentary.
Originally from Queensland, Radel a former rental manager with Victorian camera rental house, Cameraquip, has benefited from several unique training opportunities. 1998 saw him seconded to the Kodak Cinematography Workshop with Eastman Kodak Company’s Don Strine, where he offered invaluable assistance to the program whilst learning formal, accurate lighting techniques for exposure tests. He later worked alongside Ian Baker as a Cinematography Attachment on the Warner Bros. production, “Queen of the Damned” and more recently, in August this year, traveled to Budapest to attend the 7th International Masterclass conducted by the Academy of Drama and Film and the Hungarian Society of Cinematographers (HSC).
His latest work,“Out On The Tiles” is a comic and cautionary tale about the effect having unexpected access to the Internet in the home has on a couple’s relationship.
Radel was excited to learn that his entry will now be judged as part of the Regional competition by Frederick Elmes ASC. He says, “It has turned out to be a very exciting year for me; with the trip to the Budapest Cinematography Masterclass, winning six ACS awards, and then learning I have won this prize. It is quite a bit to take in at the moment.”
Delighted to be invited to judge the Kodak Filmschool Competition, Johanson considers the opportunity to be a way of contributing to emerging careers. He comments, “I feel it’s important that new and emerging filmmakers be given as much support as possible. It's really all about giving back." Stokes was equally pleased to be involved saying, “I am always interested in judging student cinematography because it’s a chance to witness the future of filmmaking. I think this is a great privilege and also a terrific opportunity to nourish my own imagination.”
Both Johanson and Stokes were impressed by the overall standard of the entries saying, “The gap between the entries, be they from first year or final year, was indeed very narrow”
Johanson, Vice President of the Australian Cinematographers’ Society and President of the Queensland chapter, commented, “In any judging situation there are often obvious stand outs, but in this case the visual quality was incredibly even overall. After the judging process it took us a further hour of deliberation and discussion to finally reach our decision.”
Launched in 2000 as part of the Kodak Student Filmmaker Program, The Kodak Filmschool Competition is limited to current students and recent graduates who have completed their education within 12 months of the entry deadline. Films must be originated on either 16mm or 35mm film and produced by a student crew. Johanson is enthusiastic about the initiative saying, “This is a truly national competition and warrants the support of all the film and television learning institutes around the country.”
The Kodak Filmschool Competition is designed to provide a forum for student films to be appraised by recognized industry figures with the intention of recognizing the pursuit of artistic excellence and the vital role cinematographers play in the collaborative process of filmmaking.
As the winner of the Australian national judging, Radel’s work will be entered into the 2003 Regional Kodak Filmschool Competition where he will compete for the major prize of a trip to the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Johanson offers support on behalf of both judges,, “Congratulations to John and his hardworking crew and to all the entrants whose work was submitted. I for one am looking forward to seeing next years entries.”
For more information, visit the Kodak website at www.kodak.com/go/filmschoolcompetition