ASC Accepting Student Entries for Bud Stone Heritage Award

[Sue Smith]

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) has dedicated the 2009 Heritage Award to the memory of Burton ?Bud? Stone, who was president of Deluxe Laboratories for 18 years. The organization has simultaneously issued a call for entries in the 23rd annual competition for undergraduate, graduate or recently graduated film school students. The deadline for submissions is November 1. The Bud Stone Heritage Award will be presented to one or more recipients during the 23rd Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards on February 15, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel here in Los Angeles.

 

?Bud Stone was an influential leader in the industry who became a legend in his own time,? says ASC President Daryn Okada, ASC. ?He had an unwavering appreciation for the role that cinematographers play in the collaborative art of visual storytelling. He also made incomparable contributions to supporting cinematographers and raising their public profile.?

 

Inaugurated in 1999, the ASC Heritage Award has been dedicated to the memory of a different cinematographer each year. This is the first year that the award will be dedicated to the memory of an extraordinary individual in the film industry.

 

?This tribute was a unanimous decision made by our board of directors,? says Isidore Mankofsky, chairman of the ASC Education Committee. ?Bud Stone was an honorary member of ASC, and served as chairman of the Outstanding Achievement Awards Committee for 17 years.?

 

Stone worked his way up through the ranks at several film labs in New York and New Jersey before being named president of Deluxe Laboratories in 1976. He served in that role until 1994, when he retired. In 1996, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented the prestigious John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation to Stone ?in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the highest standards of the industry.?

 

?Bud Stone had a special affinity for cinematographers,? says ASC Awards Committee Chairman Michael Goi, ASC. ?Our members will forever have a special place in our hearts for Bud.?

 

When Stone received an honorary doctorate from Florida State University in 1996, he gave the graduating class sage advice: ?There are no certain ways to succeed in life, but there are some very sure ways to fail. One certain rule for failure is to flaunt your status as an important person. The alternative is to treat everyone you meet as the most important person you know. The second rule for failure is to only do what is expected of you. The third rule is that the opposite of love is not hate. It?s indifference. Work with people who have heart and are passionate about what they do.?

 

Stone died on April 18 at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 80.

 

Applicants for the 2009 Bud Stone Heritage Award must be in either their final year or a recent graduate of a United States school that offers film study curricula. Requirements include a nomination by the dean, department head or a faculty member, and submission of a student film. Entries will be judged by an ASC jury who will evaluate both the artistry and skill with which the applicants tell stories with moving images that augment the visions of the directors and performances by the actors.

The ASC was chartered in January 1919. There are currently some 300 active members of the ASC who have national roots in some 20 countries. There are also 150 associate members from sectors of the industry that support the art and craft of filmmaking. Membership and associate membership is by invitation based on contributions that individuals have made to advance the art of visual storytelling.

 

For more information or to download an application, visit www.theasc.com, or call 323-969-4333.

 

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