Illo Tempore Film Awards
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William Heise - Praised for a Lifetime's Work (19th of April 2003) The Illo Tempore Tribute at the 2nd Illo Tempore Film Awards is given to the illustrious cinematographer, producer, director and actor - William Heise. As William K.L. Dickson's right hand from the very begging, Heise managed to define the art of film-making, particularly with his cinematographic vision. At times when special effects were used to a minimum, due to the lack of equipment, he made remarkable achievements in the field. The decapitation scene in The Execution of Mary Stuart is one of the first technical successes in movie history. After winning four annual awards, and the Achievement Award and the Merit Prize for Cinematography, William Heise is awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the second individual to receive it simultaneously with the Illo Tempore Tribute. In his career he has been involved in the production of over 100 silent films. Most of the films tended to have a presentational aspect, in spite of all that, they did have an artistic touch to them, a mark of the work of William Heise. The Directorial Achievement Award has been given to the French-born Emile Reynaud. In his short career he put the pillars of the animated film as an independent form of motion pictures. His productions are characterised by the continuous plot, and use of sound (music in particular), and are of a decent length (around 15 min.) in comparison to the life-action films of the period. Animation has not enjoyed an adequate respect for a long period of time, however, the modern achievements are partly due to the director of such classics as Pauvre Pierrot and Autour d'une cabine. The Achievement Award for Male Performance is awarded in premiere to a royal figure. Albert Edward Sax-Coberg Gotha, the future King Edward VII of United Kingdom, has appeared in a number of documentaries made until the beginning of World War I. However, as the novelty of motion pictures was a real issue at the time, most of the protagonists ended up acting in front of the camera. King Edward VII was not an exception, though his presence always maintained the appropriate royal dignity. William Heise is also awarded the Achievement Award for Production. He has been credited on circa a dozen short films, but their impact was memorable in the years of their release. Dickson Greeting, Newark Athlete, Bowary Waltz are some top-titles from his production list, the first two winning the Best Picture, and the International Award for the best US Production, at the 1st Illo Tempore Film Awards. Emile Reynaud's films' pianist and composer, Gaston Paulin, gaines the Achievement Award for Film Music. Sound was a rarity in the 19th century, and Paulin managed to prove that this was a significant part of any motion picture. Music gave life to movement, and movement acquired passion. Arguably he was one of the first to generate the long-standing tradition of music accompaniment to silent productions. William K.L. Dickson is to be recognized yet for another of his contributions to film history. In the last decade of 19th century, he was the cinematographer of over 40 titles, most of them short and having a representational aspect to them. His style was to develop in time, reaching modern standards by 1899 in King John. The worthy winners of the Merit Prizes are Louis Lumière, Emile Reynaud, Edward Sax-Coberg Gotha and Gaston Paulin. |
Copyright © Illo Tempore Film Awards 2003. The copyrights of the pictures are kept with the authors. |