Pleas, explain to me!

Those abbreviations stand for organizations that the director is associated with. Here's a pretty complete listing that includes film schools:

ORGANIZATIONS & FILM SCHOOLS

AAC - Austrian Association of Cinematographers/Verband ?-sterreichischer Kameraleute
ABC - Associação Brasileira de Cinematografia/Association of Brazilian Cinematographers

ACK - Association of Czech Cinematographers

ACS - Australian Cinematographers Society [founded in 1957]

ADF - Asociación Argentina de Autores de Fotografía Cinematográfica

AEC - Asociación Española de Autores de Obras Fotográficas Cinematográficas [Spain]

AFC - Association Française des Directeurs de la Photographie Cinematographique

AFI [Aus] - Australian Film Institute

AFI [USA] - American Film Institute, Los Angeles, CA

AIC - Associazione Italiana Autori della Fotografia Cinematografica [Italy; founded in 1950]

AIP - Associação de Imagem Cinema - Televisão Portuguesa [Portugal]
AMC - Asociación Mexicana de Cinefotografos/Mexican Society of Cinematographers

ASC - American Society of Cinematographers [formed in 1918; official charter issued in January 1919]

BAC - Asociacia na Balgarskite Operatori [Bulgaria]

BSC - British Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1949]

BVK - Bundesverband Kamera/German Society of Cinematographers

BYU - Brigham Young University, Provo, UT

CSC - Canadian Society of Cinematographers
DFF - Dansk Filmfotograf Forbund [Denmark] [founded in 1954]

DFFB - Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin/German Film and Television Academy, Berlin

DGA - Directors Guild of America

ESC - Society of Cinematographers in Estonia

FNF - Foreningen Norske Filmfotografer [Norway]

FSC - Finnish Society of Cinematographers/Suomen Elokuvaajien Yhdistys

fsf - Föreningen Sveriges Filmfotografer/Swedish Society of Cinematographers

HFF - Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film [TV & Film Academy], Munich, Germany

HKSC - Hong Kong Society of Cinematographers

HSC - Magyar operatörök társasága/Hungarian Society of Cinematographers

ICA - Israeli Cinematographers Association

ICG [600] - International Cinematographers Guild [Local 600 IATSE], USA

ISC - Indian Society of Cinematographers

LFS - The London Film School, UK [founded in 1956; from 1974-2001: The London International Film School]

LNFS - London National Film School, UK

NFBC - National Film Board of Canada

NFTS - National Film + Television School, Beaconsfield, UK

NF[T]A - Nederlandse Film [since 1974: en Televisie] Academie/Dutch Film [and Television] Academy

NSC - Netherlands Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1994]

NYU - New York University/Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY

PSC - see STOFF

RGC - Russian Guild of Cinematographers

SASC - South African Society of Cinematographers [founded in 1954]

SBC - Belgian Society of Cinematographers/Belgische Vereniging van Kineasten/Association Belge des Cinéastes [founded in 1993]
SCS - Société Suisse des Chefs Opérateurs/Swiss Cinematographers Society [founded in 1996]

SMPTE - Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

SOC - Society of Camera Operators

STOFF [PSC] - Stowarzyszenie Tworcow Obrazy Filmu Fabulamego/Polish Society of Cinematographers

UCLA - University of California, Los Angeles, USA

USC - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA

WICA - Western India Cinematographers Association

ZFS - Zdruzenje filmskih snemalcev Slovenije/Slovenian Association of Cinematographers


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And, as an added bonus....
Abbrievations for Film AWARDS

AA - Academy Award ['Oscar'] given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences [USA]

AFI [Aus] - Australian Film Institute

AFI [USA] - American Film Institute

Ariel - Award given by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas

BAFTA - British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Bodil - Award given by the Filmmedarbejderforeningen [Film Workers Association] in Copenhagen. The members of the Association are the film critics of the Copenhagen newspapers. Awarded for the first time in 1948; named after Bodil Kjer and Bodil Ipsen, two Danish actresses

BSFC - Boston Society of Film Critics

César - Award given by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma [France
CFCA - Chicago Film Critics Association

DKP - Deutsche Kamerapreis Köln; award given by WDR-tv, the city of Cologne and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie since 1980. The first time the prize was awarded was during the Photokina of 1982.

Edda - Award given by the Icelandic Film and TV Academy [IKSA] since 1999

Emmy - Award given by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences [USA]

FI - Film Institute

Genie - Awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television

Guldbagge - ['Golden Beetle'] main Swedish film award given by the Swedish Film Institute since 1964

FF - [International] Film Festival

IFTA - The Irish Film & Television Academy

LAFCA - Los Angeles Film Critics Association [formed in 1975]

Leo - Award given by the Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Foundation of British Columbia

Milli - Annual award [since 1958] presented to the 'Australian Cinematographer of the Year'. The award gets its name from the millimeters used to measure film lenses; its design represents the lenses of an early model camera.

MVPA - Music Video Production Association

Nika - Main national film award in Russia

NSFC - National Society of Film Critics [USA] [formed in 1966]

NYFCC - New York Film Critics Circle [formed in 1935]

Robert - Award given by the Danish Film Academy. Awarded for the first time in 1983; designed by and named after the Danish sculptor Robert Jacobsen. The award is given to films, actors, directors and other technical staff

Thanks for that comprehensive search and posting, Piffka. Very illuminating for many movie goers and you beat me to it!

Many Many Thanks
Many Many Thanks Piffka!
It was very impressive all the info you provided.
Thank you again!

You're welcome Carlo (and thanks LW). I hope that you enjoy your time on a2k.

Sorry, I guess you don't win your bet with your friend.

Well, to be fair and like ASID in the interior design industry, these organizations require a stringent test and often proof that one does have a degree from an accredited school. I know in ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) you must have at least a two year higher education document to be an associate.

The ASC, American Society of Cinematographers is 85 years old! Link:


http://www.theasc.com/

Good point, LW. Plus some of those acronyms ARE for film schools. So there you go, Carlo... the possibility that neither of you is completely wrong or right. You have wiggle room!

It appears to be a toss-up IMHO.

ASID also requires that one show they have done many completed full scale design jobs, eliminating a lot of the "decorators" who work in furniture stores. I'm sure one has to have actually worked on several movies as a cinematographer before they can be admitted to ASC or any of the other organizations. That they can display the acronym for a film school would mean they graduated from that school and are authorized to have the acronym after their name. In a way, it is a sort of degree. Some cinematographers have graduate work credentials.

ASID...acid huh? Given some of the designs I've seen that sounds appropriate.

Cool link, LW. Did you see the list of films that were recommended by some of the members? I couldn't find out how they became members... just a brief reference that someone was "invited to join." Seems that some worked mostly in TV, most worked mostly in feature films.

When they combined NSID (National Society of Interior Designers) and AAID (American Association of Interior Designers), they rejected calling it the American Interior Design Society for obvious reasons. It's unfortunately more of a social club than actually helping a lot of its members. In Orange County, the head of ASID takes all the choice jobs that come in and sloughs off the lesser jobs to her friends in the organization. It's become an elitist social club and only impresses clients who are interested in style over substance. It's hard to place criteria on artistic accomplishments. There's been movements to classify interior designers in California as contractors but it's never made it into law.

Yes, you are invited to join if it is discerned that you've made sufficient accomplishments in the field of cinematography and you have a sponsor or sponsors. That's the extent of my knowledge about the organization as they keep a lot of that part of the operation a secret.

Took me a minute to see the obvious. <duh> Would it be a bad thing for interior designers to be classified as contractors?

In California it would mean that a decorator/designer could only take a 20% deposit on merchandise ordered. Of course, that doesn't include retainer fees. The real stumbling block is that we really aren't "building" anything. We are selling decisions of taste. We act as an agent to have a licensed contractor perform any remodeling such as what I specialize in, lighting systems. My contracts specify I am being retained as an agent to purchase on behalf of the client who is the owner-contractor. On commercial jobs, it can be a different story. But this is diverting from the subject of the thread even though it's a good example of how these societies work.

I see. In some ways that is like a general contractor who may act as an agent for all sorts of subs, but I have no knowledge of deposits or anything like that. Those sorts of things, as far as I know, are determined by contract in this state.

(Sorry for the slight diversion.)

I would introduce a credit problem into the equation since nearly all manufacturers of furniture and other interior design goods required 50% deposits leaving the designer financing the client's purchases. Believe it or not, too great number of wealthy people who can afford designers are flakes. Designers are primarily selling their services as they only can markup goods 15% to 30% (30% being almost out of the question now because at designer discounts, that makes the client's price above retail).

Anyway, although I was involved in writing the first basic purchase agreements now used by ASID, I no longer belong to the organization. The dues are plainly not worth it.

Hmmm. that's too bad. Nobody wants to finance somebody else's purchases unless they get a nice interest rate, particulary if that somebody else is likely to be a flake. This proposed contractor limit of 20% would be a state law? Cool that you did work for ASID even if no longer a member. Were the dues a lot?

<I wish I could afford a designer (she says, wistfully).>

The dues are high and you really get very little in return except some parties!

The 20% is a now California contractor state law -- mainly inacted because of contractors taking 50% or more in deposits and then not delivering or skipping out with the money.

Well, nobody needs that.

This 20% law must be hard on contractors 'cause most of them would, like a designer, have to cover a 50% deposit on materials. I suppose you could figure some of that was mark-up, but still... sounds like CA is not a great place to run a business.