Variety on the ASC awards; Google adds historic video

-Variety has this preview of the American Society of Cinematographers' awards show this Sunday. John Anderson and Steve Chagollan write:

[Director of photography] Allen Daviau asserts that "it's part of our job to be aware of the advances in technology, and to know when they're working in our favor and when they are not."



Daviau, who won ASC awards for his work on "Bugsy" and "Empire of the Sun," tells his students they will learn more by shooting film and by "previsualizing the photo chemical process."



"Film is going to last longer than people think as an originating medium, because they continue to make better film all the time," Daviau asserts. "Digital cameras are getting better, too, and we can make beautiful pictures with them. But digital doesn't offer the range of film."



Nancy Shreiber, a member of the ASC board, says with film stock "there are no mysteries."



"When I'm on a shoot somewhere in the world," she adds, "a print can be sent to me at a lab there, and I can sit with a timer and send very precise notes back. With digital intermediate, you really have to be there in the room. So it's really something we want to protect."



Crudo, Shreiber and other ASC members use the terms "Kodak" and "film" synonymously, and perhaps with good reason. Kodak has long had a unique relationship with the ASC, which lends the company prestige and a creative face to sell its products. Kodak, in return, sponsors many ASC functions, including pre-awards dinners tied to the ASC awards, the Oscars and the Emmys.

Here's the ASC's info about their awards and an open house they're hosting this Saturday.

- Google and the National Archives have started a pilot program to make available historic videos. They're starting with 103 of them, including WW II newsreels, and historic NASA footage.