ASC Cinematographers Break Ground on ASC ARRI Educational Center

The American Society of Cinematographers on Tuesday broke ground on the construction of its ASC ARRI Educational Center at its Hollywood headquarters.

The building will be located behind the historic ASC Clubhouse and is slated to be completed in 2019, as the society celebrates its centennial.

“When the ASC was formed in 1919, our founding members pledged to foster and artistically inspire rising cinematographers,” said ASC president Kees van Oostrum. “That mission has made us the society we are today. Through our members and initiatives, we have aggressively continued that edict. As we prepare to celebrate our 100th anniversary next year, the new ASC ARRI Educational Center symbolizes our commitment to the future and provides an excellent gathering place for the exchange of ideas.”

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The educational center is made possible through the patronage of camera maker ARRI, whose president and CEO Glenn Kennel was on hand at the ceremony. “ARRI’s two founders were young filmmakers who produced movies and created lighting and camera equipment to make their visions a reality. We are thrilled to continue their legacy and help create a space to inspire emerging content creators,” he said.

The ASC has numerous education initiatives. Among them is its International Master Class series, intensive workshops that were also created in collaboration with ARRI. In fact, the ASC announced that ARRI would continue to sponsor the International Master Classes for the next decade and host various Los Angeles-based Master Classes beginning in 2019.

ASC members in attendance at the ground-breaking ceremony included Caleb Deschanel, Richard Edlund, Richard Crudo, Steven Poster and Bill Bennett, as well as representatives from ARRI and others in the cinematography community.

During the ceremony, van Oostrum surprised Kennel with a historical photo of ARRI founders August Arnold and Richard Richter that was recently discovered at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library.