Friday, February 22, 2013

Mr. Bucky Goes to the ASC


My first official foray into Hollywood was a trip to the building which houses the ASC or American Society of Cinematographers. In case you are not aware, a lot of filmmaking groups have their own secret society. There is the Director's Guild. The Screen Actor's Guild. The Writer's Guild of America. So on and so forth. All very clandestine and hush hush. In order for me to gain entrance to the ASC I had to bring half a kilo of my firstborn's hair and a box of Fruit Loops. (Actually a paid a monetary fee) Visiting the campus was incredibly exciting. Not as exciting as being invited personally, but cool nonetheless.

They do not have their own parking area, so I was instructed to park at an underground garage down the street. Being that I am not familiar with LA whatsoever, I had no idea where I was. After parking and walking out of the entrance, I walked by the Dolby Theater (where the Oscar's are held!), on to Hollywood Blvd (the Walk of Fame... stars and such!!), and past Mann's/Grauman's/TCL Chinese Theater.  Not gonna lie, I got chills seeing all of this for the first time. My pleasure was tempered a bit by the shenanigans that happen on Hollywood Blvd. You see, it's incredibly touristy which draws a lot of panhandling, characters in costumes wanting you to give them money for pixs, and people handing out mixtapes for cash. Oh well... you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have Hollywood.

Back to the ASC. They host a breakfast lecture series. Upon arrival, a really nice breakfast spread was awaiting us. There were communal tables which is nice as I look at the events as a way to both gain knowledge and gain connections. Met some really cool folks there actually and would love to work with them at some point. After a bit, we were summoned into the big house for the lecture session. The ASC will bring in a cinematographer who will discuss their career and show clips from the movies they shot, talk about said clips, and then end with a Q&A.

The lecture I attended was a look at the career of Amy Vincent. Most recently she worked on "Hustle & Flow" and "Black Snake Moan." The program was both entertaining and educational and I'm hoping to catch the next in their series. It was interesting as it was probably the most technical film Q&A that I've attended thus far. I dig it.


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