Professor Emeritus To Be Honored by Cinematographers

Professor Emeritus Woody Omens, who taught cinematography here for 15 years before retiring last year, will receive the 2005 American Society of Cinematographers Presidents Award at a special gala on February 26, 2006.  The award, according to the ASC, is reserved “for individuals who have made exceptional contributions to advancing the art and craft of filmmaking.”  ASC president Richard Crudo calls Woody a “role model and source of inspiration for every filmmaker with unrealized dreams.”  Past recipients include Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown, visual effects pioneer Linwood Dunn and Douglas Trumball, documentarian Albert Maysles, and cinematographers Charles Wheeler, Guy Green, Ralph Woolsey and Richard Moore, among others.  Omens received his master’s degree from the USC School of Cinema in 1965 and later served as the president of the ASC.  The gala will be held at the Century Plaza Hotel.