short ends Member Blast

ACS launches Cinematographers Questionnaire

The Cinematographers Questionnaire is a new initiative by the Australian Cinematographers Society and AustCine Publishing to chronicle details of films and productions from a cinematographers point of view, for use now to promote the film and the industry as well as archive for our education and a future generation of cinematographers

The questionnaire is a simple and not very time-consuming process, and is helping the ACS enormously. As stalwarts like Butch Calderwood ACS and John Leake ACS labour to secure information of Australian cinematography from the past, we will all be doing our bit to ensure that the current history will be better chronicled, presented and archived for our education and for future generations.

Please pass the questionnaire onto any Australian cinematographer you know.

In time, we will publish selected of the questionnaires and photos, which will over time, make our website a valuable resource on the web.

The Cinematographers Questionnaire

The Full Questionnaire is available for download at www.cinematographer.org.au/features/cinequestion.

Below is a guide of what the questionnaire consists of

  • Why did you decide to do this project?
  • Describe the relationship you had with the director? and  explain how you came to work together.
  • Did you do anything special for the preparation of this film?
  • Can you state the look you were after and what camera gear, filtration, film stocks and processing (or other formats), lab or post facilities you used to achieve your aims?
  • How much pre-production time did you have, and how did you spend it?
  • How did you view rushes? Did you have much say in the process?
  • Talk about your relationship with the production designer.
  • Your relationship with the first assistant director.
  • State who your gaffer, key grip and focus puller were, and either your relationship with them or their contribution to the shoot
  • How were the cast?
  • Any logistically difficult scenarios
  • How long was the shoot?
  • Any interesting stories from the shoot
  • Your relationship with the editor.
  • Did you have much input during post-production?

All contributions should be forwarded to cinequestionnaire@cinematographer.org.au

From Andrew Lesnie ACS who conceived the idea of the Cinematographers Questionnaire… “I keep thinking about all those Australian films that have slipped under the radar, without any information regarding the Director Of Photography or the photography of the films themselves. Our ‘international’ cinematographers generally get coverage with overseas publications, and local magazines usually manage to cover directors, writers, producers and cast.

I’ve had the opportunity to watch some beautifully photographed Australian films recently and would like to read about the cinematography of these films, ideally in the Australian Cinematographer.

Filling out the ‘Cinematographers Questionnaire’ will not only improve the high standard of prose enjoyed by our cinematographers, but (if the timing’s right) it will also allow them to contribute to the publicity of a project and possibly help those flagging box office takings.

The other bonus of the ‘Cinematographers Questionnaire’ is that it gives young cinematographers a chance to practice the promotion that has become (for better or worse) part of life in the modern media. We used to let the images speak for themselves. Not any more.”