14th Annual Awards For Outstanding Achievement In Cinematography

Popp and Andrew Huebscher received the American Society of Cinematographersí second annual student award. The Gregg Toland Heritage Award is named in honor of the legendary cinematographer. The presentations were made at the ASC Outstanding Achievement Award gala, February 20, 2000 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, CA. Popp studied at the American Film Institute and Huebscher received an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California. ""A jury consisting of some of the worldís most talented cinematographers decided these two individuals deserve to share this recognition,"" says Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, who chairs the organizationís education committee. ""We looked at many excellent entries from students who were recommended by the heads of cinema department at some of the worlds finest film schools. That bodes well for the future. There are many young people coming out of our film schools with the talent needed to succeed as cinematographers.""Matthew Clark (New York University), Mark Taft (American Film Institute) and Martin Ahlgren (School of Visual Arts, New York City) received ASC certificates of merit from the judges. Kovacs says the award provides financial support and encouragement to talented individuals during the early stages of their careers. It is reserved for recent graduates or students in their last year of school. ""Filmmaking is collaborative process, but in the end it is the cinematographer who has the responsibility for recording images on film in way that supports the intentions of the director, actors and everyone else on the creative team,"" says Kovacs. ""It requires innate talent, determination, and a lot of experience, which isnít easy to get at the beginning of your career. Our purpose is to encourage talented young people to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams.""The ASC student awards are dedicated to the memory of a different cinematographer each year. Toland began his career in 1919 as an office boy at a Hollywood studio at the age of 15. Within a few years, he was an assistant to cinematographers George Barnes, ASC, and in 1931, Toland became one Hollywoodís youngest cinematographers. Toland was considered a maverick in his time. He worked under contract to Samuel Goldwyn throughout his career, however the mogul frequently ""loaned"" the cinematographer to other studios. That gave Toland the luxury of working with many of the industryís most innovative and talented directors and the freedom to experiment with different looks. Toland experimented with crystal, sharp images and deep focus at a time when most Hollywood movies had a softer and more stylized look. He earned six OscarÆ nominations between 1935 and 1941. Toland won the Academy AwardÆ in 1939 for ""Wuthering Heights,"" but he is probably best known for ""Citizen Kane,"" which he filmed with Orson Welles in 1941. ""When I was a student at the state film school in Budapest during the early 1950ís,we were allowed to screen films available in the archives on Saturdays,"" Kovacs recalls. ""Iíll never forget the day we found Citizen Kane. It seemed like every student in the school was in the room that Saturday and we all marveled at the artistry displayed by Gregg Toland. I think it made a profound impact on all of us. It was a magical experience."" Raised in Germany, Popp first gained an interest in photography as a young boy. He watched his father develop a black-and-white photograph in his familyís photo lab. He studied cinematography in Germany, and has traveled the globe refining his art while working for German network television and various documentary productions. Popp came to Los Angeles to study at AFI, where he graduated from in December of 1999. His entry consisted of excerpts from his short film, ""Shadows,"" a documentary on the holocaust that will premiere this month. His most recent work includes a special commercial on HIV. On receiving the Gregg Toland Heritage Award, Popp says, ""I consider Toland the godfather of cinematography. To have any name attached to his in any way through this award is a great honor.""Huebscher was born in Minnesota and graduated from USC in 1999 with a bachelorís degree in Cinema-Television Production. From a young age, Huebscher had an interest in cinematography, shooting Super 8 films and eventually working with a local cinematographer in a high school work experience program. His entry consisted of a demo reel highlighting his work on short films, music videos and commercial work. Currently he is continuing his work on short films, and shooting a series of Latin music videos.""Each era of filmmaking has cinematographers that push the art to the next level,"" says Huebscher. ""I canít think of a more influential cinematographer than Toland during his era. He helped pave the way for new approaches to filmmaking. Iím honored to receive an award associated with him."" ASC has some 225 active members in many countries and another 110 associated members who are working in allied fields supported cinematography.