Korda studios holds cinematography school

The cinematographers behind the lens on "The Deerhunter" and "An American Rhapsody" will be back in their hometown, Budapest, next week to begin a fortnight masterclass for students at the Korda Film Studios.

 

Vilmos Zsigmond -- who escaped Communist Hungary and fled to America after the 1956 uprising -- and Elemer Ragalyi, who followed a career in Hungary and Europe -- will spend two weeks from Aug. 31 with young directors of photography who are at the end of their film school studies or just beginning their careers.

 

The Budapest Cinematography Masterclass -- which takes place every two years -- is hosted at the Korda Studios, the new movie-making complex that opened recently near the Hungarian capital.

 

Established 20 years ago, former leaders of the masterclasses have included Laszlo Kovacs ("Paper Moon," "Nickelodeon"), Billy Williams ("Ghandi," "The Manhattan Project") and John Schwartzman ("Armageddon," "Meet the Fockers").

 

Students will shoot scenes from fictional productions on sets built at Korda and analyze the results each day with Zsigmond and Ragalyi in the studio's screening rooms.

 

There will also be lectures given by film school professors from Germany's Konrad Wolf Hochscule fur Film und Fernsehen, Britain's National Film and Television School and the Westminster Film School, and Finland's University of Art and Design Helsinki.

 

Kodak, Panavision, Kodak Cinelab and Focus Fox Post Studio will give professional presentations of the latest technology available to directors of photography.