The Shadowcatchers: A history of cinematography in Australia is a photographic history of Australian cinematography, written by Martha Ansara and published by the Australian Cinematographers Society, which launched the project for its 50th anniversary in 2008.Australian Cinematographers Society website, National Headquarters: Up and Running! http://www.cinematographer.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=636
Summary The Shadowcatchers documents the history of Australia's national cinema and the industrial practices and role of the cinematographer from the 1890s to 2011. The book contains excerpts of oral histories of cinematographers recorded for the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia discussing the nature of filmmaking under the impact of broader political, social and technological forces throughout Australian cinematic history, as well as photographs from Australian and international stills photographers.
The book was developed with input from veteran members of the Australian Cinematographers Society, creating a sense of an insiders’ view of what happens behind the camera. Themes include the changing culture and technology of Australian cinematography, the specific nature of the work, the importance of actuality and commercials production, international influences, relationships between cinematographers and directors, cast and crew, and the sorts of studios and locations where films have been made. Twenty-six biographies are also presented, covering early cinematographers such as the Burnes of Queensland, Academy Award Winners such as Dean Semler, Russell Boyd and John Seale, war correspondents Damien ParerThe Kokoda Track: Exploring the site of the battler fought by Australians in World War II, About the Kokoda Track: 1942 and Today http://kokoda.commemoration.gov.au/about-the-kokoda-track/damien-parer.phpAustralia's War 1939–1945, Fall of Timor, http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/japadvance/guerillas.html and Neil Davis,Australian War Memorial website, Neil Davis profile http://www.goodbuymovie.com/ and Movietone News cameraman Bill Trerise.Australian Cinematographers Society website, John William (Bill) Trerise ACS (1898-1987) http://www.cinematographer.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=542
The Shadowcatchers has been published in two editions: a softcover edition and a hardback collectors edition, limited to 250 numbered copies and signed by the five living Australian winners of the Academy Award for cinematography, Dean Semler,Dean Semler (1996), Dances With Wolves, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1337948793575 John Seale,John Seale (1996), The English Patient, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1337948612300 Andrew Lesnie,Andrew Lesnie (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1337948311661 Russell BoydRussell Boyd (2003), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1337949059542 and Dion Beebe.Dion Beebe (2005), Memoirs of a Geisha, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1337948050763
References
External links Imago: European Federation of Cinematographers, https://www.imago.org/index.php?new=567 Film & Digital Times, Issue 46, February 2012, https://www.fdtimes.com The Shadowcatchers website: https://web.archive.org/web/20080724005613/http://www.shadowcatchers.com.au/ Senses of Cinema Issue 64, September 2012, http://sensesofcinema.com/ Screening the Past July 2012, http://www.screeningthepast.com