On Sunday, February 8, ten lucky Digital Cinema students from DePaul University’s College of CDM, led by Professor Scott Erlinder, joined dozens of other film school students from across Chicago in a lighting and cinematography group tutorial event held at Essanay Studio and Lighting, a rental house and studio located on the near west side.  The event was hosted by two well-respected members of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), Vilmos Zsigmond and James Chressanthis, who led the exercise and entertained questions and comments by students.  Zsigmond, who won the Academy Award in 1978 for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Chressanthis, director of photography for TV’s hit show Ghost Whisperer, are both very passionate about passing on the trade secrets for the sometimes “invisible art” of cinematography to eager newcomers.

By the time students arrived at around 10:30 AM, a living room set had been constructed and decorated in Essanay’s immense Stage 1.  Witnessing the preparation of a professional set was magical for some students.  Matt Newman, senior DC major, noted how impressive the “sheer scale of the event” was.  Students were able to observe Essanay’s electricians hoist up and prepare large, professional lamps several times more powerful than the smaller kits students are used to.

Chressanthis and Zsigmond shared hosting duties for the event, splitting their time between the students’ questions and the actual management of the set .  Thus observers were given the chance to talk directly with the two esteemed Directors of Photography as well as witness them in action.  Ryan Juszkiewicz, second year grad students in DC’s masters program, noted that, “With the combined experience of Vilmos and James, we were able to get a well rounded perspective of how to approach feature film and television.”  Demonstrations included adjusting lighting to match certain times of day (morning, night, dusk) and how these lighting atmospheres affected the mood of the scene.  Witnessing the expert cinematographers at work was, without a doubt, extremely informative for aspiring cinematographers and directors.  “We learned problem-solving techniques for all different types of lighting situations,” said Glenn McManus, DC grad student.

Seeing Zsigmond and Chressanthis at work was just as great a learning experience as talking with them.  Students were allowed and encouraged to ask the two ASC members questions, and typically their answers were delivered with friendliness and humor.  In an industry where learning from established professionals is often difficult and sometimes impossible, the intimacy displayed in the Q & A segment of the tutorial was definitely welcome and enjoyed by the students.  “They covered everything from lighting, composition, lenses and filters,” said Ryan Juszkiewicz.  Overall, the event at Essanay was an amazing experience of awe and information for the students present, a great learning experience that gave ten DC majors a taste of what the professional world of filmmaking is really like.

                                                                                              - Sean Waldron, Digital Cinema Student