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To our knowledge, cinematographer Isidore Mankofsky may
have been
involved in more academic films than any other individual in his profession. His work
for Encyclopaedia Britannica was inventive, and, more than occasionally,
extraordinary (note the gargantuan human hand on the beach in 'Beach: River of
Sand'). After his career in academic film, he went on to a brilliant
career in feature films ('Somewhere in Time'). Below, you'll find his
biography and extensive academic filmography.
___ . ___
Biography
Isidore Mankofsky, ASC, received his formal photographic training at the Ray
Vogue School of Photography and the Brooks Institute of Photography and counts
forty-three years as a cinematographer. His early career was both as a still
photographer and cinematographer covering wildly eclectic assignments that
included TV specials, documentaries, sports, industrials, news and nine years
with Encyclopedia Britannica Films as staff cameraman. While at Encyclopedia
Films he photographed over two hundred classroom films, covering a broad range
of subjects. Since then, as a freelance Director of Photography his work has
encompassed features, commercials, television and special venue 3-D films. He is
abreast of the latest image capture alternative, high definition video and the
digital domain.
Isidore‘s credits as Director of Photography on feature films include ‘The
Muppet Movie’, ‘Somewhere In Time’, ‘The Jazz Singer’, ‘One Crazy
Summer’, ‘Better Off Dead’ and ‘Skin Deep’, among others. Included in
the TV credits are: ‘The Burning Bed’, ‘Broadway Bound’, ‘The Heidi
Chronicles’, ‘The Oxsana Baiul Story’ and many more. He has received the
prestigious ASC cinematographers’ award for ‘Love, Lies and Murder’ and
four Emmy nominations as well as one further ASC nomination for cinematography,
and best cinematography award from the Atlanta film festival for the feature ‘Suzanne’.
He is an active member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and
Sciences and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.
Isidore’s own personal history is fascinating. One of twelve children of
Russian immigrants (only eight made it beyond infancy), his first name was left off his birth certificate, and his
name was finally formalized upon his joining the military. While filming the massive EB
chemistry series project in 1959, he used the name "Bill Mann", on the
advice of a producer, who warned him of anti-Jewish bias in the state of Florida
at the time. A fascinating raconteur, Mankofsky had the foresight to collect
props, scripts, and other artifacts from his years at EB (1959-1968). He is in
the process of finishing a book on his work as a still photographer.
Filmography in academic film
Films on which Isidore Mankofsky worked, for Encyclopaedia Britannica
* Mankofsky is not sure if he worked on films denoted with an
asterisk, but surmises he did. This information will be updated on a periodical
basis.
‘Chemistry: Introductory Course’ a series of 161 films, prod. Dave
Ridgway, advised by Dr. John F. Baxter, University of Florida, for EB. These
films are not listed individually in the filmography below.
* Airplane Trip, prod. Bill Varney
Airport in the Jet Age, dir. Larry Yust
Art of Huck Finn, dir. Larry Yust
Atomic Energy - Inside the Atom, dir. Stan Croner, prod. Larry Yust
Automobile in America
Beach A River Of Sand, prod. Warren Brown w/John Shelton (possibly Buddy Botham
on other camera)
Bible as Literature I: the Old Testament, dir. John Barnes
Boats and Ships, prod. Stan Croner
Care Of Pets, prod. Larry Yust
Careers in the Office
* Charting the Universe with Optical and Radio Telescopes
Chemical Pollution
City Bus Driver, dir. Isidore Mankofsky
Cloth, prod. Bill Kay
Controversy Over Industrial Pollution, dir. Chuck Finance
Controversy Over the Moon, dir. Chuck Finance
Electrons at Work, prod. Larry Yust
Energy and Work, prod. Larry Yust
Erosion - Leveling The Land, dir. Bill Varney
Evidence for Molecules and Atoms, prod. Stan Croner
Evidence for The Ice Age, dir. Chuck Finance
Explaining Matter: Atoms and Molecules, prod. Larry Yust
Flowering Plants and their Parts, dir. Chuck Finance
Forces, dir. Stan Croner, prod. Larry Yust
Free Press vs. Fair Trial By Jury – the Sheppard Case, prod. Stan Croner
Freedom of Religion: People Of New York vs. Irving Feiner, dir. Dennis Azzarella
Freedom to Speak, Robert Q. Lovett
Gold Rush, dir. Stan Croner
* Great Plains: Land of Risk, prod. Stan Croner
Hospital
How Level is Sea Level
How Solid Is Rock
How To Bend Light, prod. Larry Yust
How to Measure Time, prod. Larry Yust
How to Produce Current With Magnets, prod. Larry Yust
Huck Finn & the American Experience, dir. Larry Yust
Huckleberry Finn: What Does It Say?, dir. Larry Yust
* Insects
**Introduction to Heliography, prod. Larry Yust
**Introduction To The Cathode Ray Tube, prod. Larry Yust
Investigating With Green Plants, prod. James R. Christensen
Lemonade Stand, prod. Tom Smith
Liberty Under The Law
Life In a Tide Pool
Life Story of the Ladybird Beetle, prod. Tom Smith
Light and Color, prod. Larry Yust
Looking At Molecules, prod. Tom Smith
Magnetic, Electric and Gravitational Fields, prod. Larry Yust
Mailman
Making the Desert Green, dir. Warren Brown
Mammals, dir. Tom Smith
Manuel from Puerto Rico, dir. Maclovia Rodriguez
Magic Prison: Emily Dickinson, dir. John Barnes
Maps for a Changing World, dir. Larry Yust
Mayor
Newspaper Story, prod. Tom Smith
* Oregon Trail, prod. Stan Croner
Physical Environment, advisor: Dr. Lowenstan
Population Ecology, prod. Stan Croner
Poultry on the Farm
Railroad Builders, prod. Stan Croner
Regulating Body Temperature, dir. Chuck Finance
Rocks That Form On The Earth’s Surface, dir. Chuck Finance
Rocks That Originate Underground, prod. Chuck Finance
Safety in The Home, prod. Bill Varney
Safety on The Streets, prod. Bill Varney
Sand Dollar
Santa Fe and the Trail, prod. Stan Croner
Seaports, prod. Larry Yust
Settlement of the Great Plains (prod. Stanley Croner)
Shippers: Moving Our Goods, dir. Jim Reilly (sp?)
Standing Waves And The Principle Of Superposition, prod. Larry Yust
Story Of Palomar
Tugboat Skipper, dir. John Barnes
Vibrations, dir. Stan Croner, prod. Larry Yust
Water, prod. Chuck Finance
Waves and Energy, dir. Stan Croner
Waves on Water, prod. Chuck Finance
What Do We Still Have Mountains, dir. Warren Brown
What is Electric Current, prod. Larry Yust
What Is Space, prod. Larry Yust
What Is Uniform Motion, prod. Larry Yust
What Makes Clouds, prod. Warren Brown
What Makes the Wind Blow, dir. Warren Brown
Why Do We Still Have Mountains, dir. Warren Brown
Work Of the Heart, prod. Tom Smith
Your Environment
EB’s ‘Short Story/Short Play Showcase’, all directed by
Larry Yust
Bartleby
Discussion of Bartleby
Crocodile
A Discussion of The Crocodile
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Discussion of Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
Lady or The Tiger
Discussion of The Lady Or The Tiger
Long Christmas Dinner
Discussion of The Long Christmas Dinner
Acting For Film (Larry Yust discusses acting in Wilder’s ‘Long Christmas
Dinner’)
Lottery
Discussion of The Lottery
My Old Man
Discussion of My Old Man
The New Tenant
A Discussion of The New Tenant
Directing a Film (Larry Yust discusses directing Ionesco’s ‘New Tenant’)
Secret Sharer
Discussion of The Secret Sharer
Well of The Saints
Discussion of The Well Of The Saints
Editing a Film (Larry Yust discusses editing Synge’s ‘Well of the Saints’)
Films made for Wexler Films, directed by
Larry Yust
(Great) Big Dinner Table
Food and Energy
Food for Life
Food for a Modern World
Food from the Land
How a Hamburger Turns Into You
Measuring with Meters - or - How to Weigh a Gold Brick with a Meter Stick
Vitamins!
What’s Good to Eat?
Other academic films:
Appointment with Pablo (a film for Elizabeth Arden) prod. Bill
Davis & Jim McGinn
Cell: a Functioning Structure (CRM)
Conversation with B.F. Skinner (CRM)
Embryo Development (CRM)
Energetics of Life, prod. Mallory Pearce (Media Guild)
Georgia Sea Island Singers (1963). Made for the Anthropology Department at San
Fernando Valley College, this film presents spirituals as sung during the
19th century on St. Simons Island, off the Georgia sea coast. Produced by
Beth Lomax Hawes.
Invisible Cold Invaders, prod. John Matlock (Media Four Productions)
L.A. is My Lady (E.G. Davidson Productions, dir. Emily Davidson)
Lincoln Heritage Trail (1964), Made for Walter Harrison Smith Company
Nature of Matter: An Atomic View (CRM) prod. Steve Katten
Peptic Ulcers (made for PRI Films, Wakeford/Orloff, dir. Dan Bessie)
Progress in Cancer Research (American Cancer Society)
Proteins: Structure & Function, prod. Mallory Pearce (Film Fair)
Sex Role Conflict (CRM)
Sex Role Development (CRM), prod. Steve Katten
States of Matter (CRM), prod. Larry Logan
Token Economy (CRM)
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