same university, where they were best friends. To share the monumental impact Garrett Brown has had on filmmaking, Deschanel spoke of the inventers of cinema—the Lumiere brothers—and noted how they “became bored and were convinced there was no future in it. They didn’t wait around to see cinema evolve into the greatest art form of the 20th century.” He noted that Garrett Brown was different, however, “Garrett Brown not only invented one of the greatest technological tools since the invention of cinema, the Steadicam, but he stuck around to became one of its greatest artists; creating some of the most memorable and affecting images in the history of cinema.” Deschanel continued, “It is hard today to imagine the joy of seeing these images for the first time, because we are now so used to them. But the Steadicam made shots possible that seemed impossible at the time. Garrett revolutionized the making of movies.” Beyond the Steadicam, Deschanel mentioned how Garrett Brown has also revolutionized sports broadcasting with inventions such as the Skycam, used in every NFL football game, as well as the swimming Mobicam and the Dive Cam, which is used in the Olympics to follow divers into the water. Deschanel closed with a clear expression of why Garrett Brown was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, “Unlike Thomas Edison and Louis Lumiere, Garrett Brown knew what it was that he was inventing… He invented with a desire to see what had never been seen before. Then he showed us how to use it.” Next, the audience watched a moving tribute to Garrett Brown and the “impossible shots” that the Steadicam has made commonplace. In his acceptance speech, Brown observed how being on stage at that moment was much like the moment he first used the Steadicam on a feature film. He expressed his immense admiration for camera operators and spoke of operating as “a performance art, in real time. We are writing and designing the film as we are seeing it.” To close, he shared a sense of gratitude and wonder at how his life has turned out, “I must say to you that I love my life. The fact that I can go on inventing… and still work on new gear for this profession. But I particularly love the fact that, you my peers, have given me this honor. Actually, I have to confess, I’m absurdly pleased with myself for being recognized for operating!” Brown ended by thanking everyone at the SOC for the award and for “representing all the crafts and all the arts in the movies that I love.” After Garrett Brown’s acceptance speech, the main event may have been over, but the audience was invited to continue the celebration at Preston’s in the Loews Hollywood Hotel. Congrats were shared to all the nominees and winners, and plenty of photos taken during the evening were shared on social media, many viewable by searching with the show’s official hashtag: #SOCAwards.
Derek Stettler Derek Stettler is a filmmaker and freelance writer who also writes for American Cinematographer. He has been an Associate Member of the SOC since 2015. A lifelong lover and student of cinema, Derek discovered filmmaking as his life's passion after graduating high school in 2010, having since made a number of short films and commercials. Derek currently works as a freelance editor and camera operator, and recently worked on his first feature film as key grip and 2nd AC. Photo by Carter Smith
As the SOC Awards are the only awards show focused on the crew’s skill and craft, it is important to the SOC to be able to share the event with all who work in the industry. So to those who were unable join the affair, the main event was live-streamed around the world on socawards.com. Additional photographs from the red carpet and the show are available to view there as well.
CAMERA OPERATOR · SPRING 2017
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