Join Us

Saturday February 25, 2023, at the Loews Hollywood Hotel
Five hundred production professionals will gather to celebrate the best of the best operators in motion picture, television and the industry at large. The Society honors Lifetime Achievement Awards to Camera Operator, Camera Technician, Camera Operator, Live and Non-Scripted, Still Photographer, Mobile Camera Platform Operator, and Governors and President’s award. Purchase a seat or a table today!

SOCIETY OF CAMERA OPERATORS ANNOUNCE THE NOMINEES FOR CAMERA OPERATOR OF THE YEAR IN FILM & TELEVISION

The Society of Camera Operators announces the nominees for Camera Operator of the Year in the Film and Television categories.

Camera Operator of the Year – Film Nominees:

• Lukasz Bielan – Bullet Train
• Daniel Bishop, SOC – All Quiet on the Western Front
• Mitch Dubin, SOC – The Fabelmans, with Colin Anderson, SOC, “B” Camera / Steadicam Operator
• Jason Ellson, SOC – Elvis
• Geoffrey Haley, SOC – The Gray Man
• Ari Robbins, SOC – Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Camera Operator of the Year – Television Nominees:

• Dave Chameides, SOC – Ozark, S 4 Ep 14, “A Hard Way to Go” with Cristian Trova, “B” Camera Operator
• Sam Ellison, SOC – Severance, S 1 Ep 3, “In Perpetuity” with Stanley Fernandez, Camera Operator
• Sarah Levy, SOC – Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, S 1 Ep 5, “Pieces of a Man” with Dominic Bartolone, SOC, “B” Camera / Steadicam Operator, Justin Cameron, SOC, “C” Camera Operator, John Lyke, Roller Cam Operator
• Gary Malouf – The Bear, S1 Ep7, “The Review”, with Chris Dame, “B” Camera Operator
• Jarrett Morgan, SOC – Atlanta, S 3 Ep 5, “Cancer Attack”
• Paul Sanchez – The Old Man, S 1 Ep 1, “I” with Hilton Goring, “B” Camera Operator

Voting members will receive an email with online voting instructions and links on January 23rd, 2023. Voting period will be open from January 23rd through February 19th, 2023, 11:30PM PT.

In Memoriam: Hector Ramirez

Hector Ramirez passed away January 11, 2023 after losing his battle with cancer. Mr. Ramirez received the Lifetime Achievement Awards in 2019 for Camera Operator, Live & Non-scripted.

Hector’s television career began in 1968 at KLXA channel 40, a Spanish station and then KTLA where he first became aware of the SOC. After about a year he worked with independent producers and did a brief stay at ABC. In 1973 he landed a job at CBS Television City.  During the 8 years at CBS, he had developed relationships with various directors like Dwight Hemion, Walter Miller, Louis J Horvitz and producers like Marty Pasetta and Pierre Cossette who began seeking him out to work for them in the freelance arena.  

In Memoriam: Jay Nefcy

Jay Nefcy, 74, passed peacefully on December 8, 2022, in Florence, Ore., surrounded by family. Jay was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. He was always filled with love and joy, happy to talk to anyone. Jay was a longtime Hollywood camera operator and a local IATSE 600 SOC member. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Denise, his children Daron and Dillon, his son-in-law Bobby and his grandson Griffin. Jay grew up in Detroit, MI. One of 14 kids in a family filled with love. He had a fulfilling retirement in Florence, enjoying his hobbies of guitar playing, photography and his love of the beauty of nature. He will be greatly missed.

Please consider donations to American Cancer Society Prostate Fund in Jay’s name.

Society of Camera Operators Announce Lifetime Achievement Award and Technical Achievement Award Recipients

The Lifetime Achievement Awards are given in recognition of outstanding achievement by an established person within the field of film and video production. The honorees of the Lifetime Achievement Awards were nominated in five critically acclaimed categories including: Camera Operator Film and Television, Camera Operator Live and Non Script, Camera Technician, Mobile Platform Camera Operator, and Still Photographer. The 2022 recipients are:

• Camera Operator Film and Television – Don Devine, SOC
• Camera Operator Live and Non Script – Charlie Huntley
• Camera Technician – Tommy Klines
• Mobile Platform Camera Operator – Darryl Humber
• Still Photographer – Bruce McBroom

The SOC has also announced the recipients for the SOC Technical Achievement Awards are the renowned ARRI Inc. and Hudson Spider. ARRI Inc is recognized for its ARRI ALEXA 35mm Cinema Camera, the smallest fully featured ARRI production cinema camera ever. Hudson Spider is honored for its Hudson Spider Slider, a compounding slider that is 2ft in length and provides the travel of a 4ft slider.

SOC Awards Timeline

January 2023

• January 6: Camera Operator of the Year Film & Television submissions close
• January 19: Camera Operator of the Year Film & Television nominations announced
• January 23: Camera Operator of the Year Film & Television membership voting opens

February 2023

• February 19: Camera Operator of the Year Film & Television membership voting closes
• February 25: Society of Camera Operators Lifetime Achievement Awards (Camera Operator of the Year Film & Television announced live)