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Cinematography in Canada Since 1957

The CSC has grown with the country’s film and television industry, and continues to uphold the objectives for which the not-for-profit organization was founded.

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Insight: Harald Ortenburger csc

Legendary camera operator Harald Ortenburger csc shares advice from his 30+ year career.
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The CSC Partners with CineGround on hosting CSC Montreal Space

The CSC partners with CineGround to house CSC Montreal Space for workshops, screenings & events.
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Presenting the 2023 66th Annual CSC Awards winners.
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Scheduled Workshops

The CSC is committed to improving access to opportunity in the film and television industry as well as professional development in the form of workshops, our internship program and the Field of View Mentorship program.

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#JackYanChen #AssociateMemberCSC @JackYanChen

That’s it for me! Just want to thank the CSC @CanadianCinematographer for having me for the past two weeks and Carolyn Wong @416wc for the invitation and encouragement.

To be perfectly honest, I had a lot anxiety about guest hosting this account. Social media is very hard for me. Tell me to set up a frame and a few lights under pressure and it feels instinctual. Tell me to come up with a few topics that’s really engaging and I’d often find myself sitting there, attempting to write on my laptop and staring into a blank screen for hours. What should I say? What visuals should I post? How does formatting work? Is any of my stuff even good enough?

I’m extremely grateful for this experience. To be given a platform to just talk honestly about my experiences, keeping it educational, and hopefully peel back a little bit of the smoke and mirrors for the newcomers that might feel lost at times.

In the spirit of #AsianHeritageMonth and #AapiHeritageMonth, I’d like to amplify the works and voices of a few Asian (every type of Asian) Cinematographers in our community. (Can only tag 20). We may have worked together at some point. We may have been colleagues, chatting at the rental houses or screenings. Perhaps you’ve taken some time in the past to chat with me with advice, or I may just be a silent admirer of your work and I sincerely hope I get to meet you one day. To any young Asian filmmakers that’s looking to start down this path, here is list of many people that look just like you at various stages of their careers, and they are doing it.

Feel free to reach out and keep in touch through email or DM. But suspect I’ll be taking a little social media break after this.

Much love,

-Jack Yan Chen

Additional resources @bipoctvfilm, @asiancanadianfilm , @hire.higher @ecru.club

Tags: @alextse.films @younandy @Dannyohcw @gurmeetsingh_dp @tremblingwater @thejasondsouza @phongmap @heyyoumenwong @emily.jzhang @tonyskuji @thesusanliu @quanlong @wnwestin @michael_ca0 @natw1n @davidnguyen_dp @ryan_wzt @pyourvision

#CanadianCinematographer #CSC #bipocfilmmakers #asianfilmmakers

#JackYanChen #AssociateMemberCSC @JackYanChen

Tourism Nova Scotia – Your Ocean Playground

Very excited to be sharing one of my absolute favourite adventures, in commercial work with director @chazwahl. A quirky story campaign about couple that walks around the entire coastline of Nova Scotia and we follow in their adventures. Not only was there a main spot, we were also tasked with shooting a series of little snippets of narrative story moments. I found those very charming.

From scouting all the major locations, we played with the idea of postcards being a very big source of inspiration as so many locations easily offered up that kind of slice of life aesthetic. Maybe this comes from being a tourist myself.

Shot on the Alexa Mini with Cooke Si4’s as well as a Fujinon HK 24 to 180 provided by @wfw_intl Halifax

For an outdoorsy person like me, this was an absolutely blast. But the true nature of a job like this this involved multiple days where call times were for 6:00 am or so. Traveling around the province was a tough part of this job to start as a lot of the locations weren’t easily accessible.

We stayed in small cabins, remote motels rooms and even a geodome. Day one, we actually hiked up a mountain in Cabot trail, for 3 hours at 5:00 am in the dark with a full pack of film gear to reach the starting location in the spot.

Thank you to everyone who came on this adventure and for all the memories we’ve made. I wouldn’t have this any other way!

Dir. @chazwahl
Prod. Mike Masters @millzymitosis @accomplicecontentco
Agency. @visitnovascotia @m5theagency
AC: @d.m.young_film @jlacassells
Gaffer: Shawn Snip Key Grip: Pete Fraser
Colour: @wadeodlum @alteregopost
PD. @jqstewart
Edit. @amylmieke VFX. @emmet_rans @cailska
Drone Team. Craig Kennedy @crayken and Darryl Duzak @Skylinestudiodigital
HMUA. @mackintosh.louise
Wardrobe. @katedevl_ @gavinimagined
Stills. @casavehcia
PC. @kent_kristin
Pas. @chelseaspeedy @el.scotiadoran, Morgan Drew
Sound. @scott.j.mackey

Starring: @ferelithyoung and @iambrianalexander

#CanadianCinematographer #AsianHeritageMonth #visitnovascotia #cookeoptics

#JackYanChen #AssociateMemberCSC @JackYanChen

A letter to your past self - We all had to start somewhere

Today I took some time to reflect and think about some of the challenges and hurdles throughout my career. While freelance Cinematography can seem glamourous, there are some definite some high highs, and low lows. For our newer filmmakers reading this, know that you aren’t alone.

Some of my lows:

Not getting a call for 3 months or more to DP, all while sitting at home scrolling through social media and being extremely envious of all of my talented colleagues doing such amazing work.

Getting very close to quitting and looking for something more stable because the financial realities became too real.

Spent about a year and half shooting only “survival” type jobs and having a moment of realization that nothing I did in that period was going to make the reel.

Not doing enough to learn the business side of it all because “I just wanted to be an artist”, and then freaking out every April, come tax time.

Gone through a string of 4 or so interviews and not landing a single project.

This list can go on and on. But if I could write a letter to myself back then, this is what I'd say.

So, you want to be a Cinematographer and shoot films for a living. Maybe one day join the union, be on a kick ass roster and win multiple awards. But remember you are on a journey, and you picked a passion that’s truly a lifelong pursuit. Life isn’t fair. Life is just life. So, focus your attention on the things you can control and be prepared as much as possible when opportunities come knockin’. Because boy, they will. Create your own luck. Be grateful for your community and everyone you work and grow with. Always open doors rather than close them. Be ready to give but also be ready to truly receive. Look for mentors and soak up their knowledge like a sponge. Appreciate their time, they gave it to you even though they didn’t have to. And if you’re still feeling low? Go easy on yourself and learn to get up again. Maybe at this very moment, you're exactly where you’re supposed to be.

#CanadianCinematographer #AsianHeritageMonth #setlife #mentalhealthmatters

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