American Cinematographer Magazine Issue December 2020 Ac1220

DECEMBER 2020
Eyes on the World

Nonfiction Filmmaking
ASCMag.com November 2020 1

2 October/November 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years
ASCMag.com October/November 2020 1
AMERICAN CINEMATOGR
December 2020 Vol. 101 No. 12 DECEMBER 2020
APHER • DECEMBER
2020 • NONFICTION FILMMAKING
– DEADLIEST CATCH
On Our Cover:
– DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

A Arctic wolf
An
I AM WO
documented for National
Geographic’s Hostile
Planet, executive-
P Eyes on the World
24 produced by Guillermo
Nonfiction Filmmaking
ASCMag.com November
2020 1
Navarro, ASC, AMC. (Image courtesy

of National Geographic.)
Features
24 Eyes on the World
Documentarians and others who shoot real-world
footage discuss their tactics and philosophies
40 Rough Seas
The team behind the Discovery Channel series
Deadliest Catch braves extreme conditions
46 Mirth and Death

Kirsten Johnson’s ode to her father, Dick Johnson Is Dead,
puts a metaphysical spin on the documentary form
50 Modern Times: AC Since 2010

Highlights from the past decade of the magazine’s
cinematography coverage
Departments
40 8 Editor’s Note
10 President’s Desk
12 Shot Cra: Cinematic remote interviews
46 18 Picture Partners: Unjoo Moon
and Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS
22 Short Takes: Thrall
56 New Products & Services
58 In Memoriam: Peter Sova, ASC
59 International Marketplace/Classified Ads
60 Clubhouse News
61 Ad Index
64 Wrap Shot: The Revenant
VISIT WWW.ASCMAG.COM
2 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

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An International Publication of the ASC
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Stephen Pizzello
————————————————————————————————————
WEB DIRECTOR and ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
David E. Williams
————————————————————————————————————
EDITORIAL
SENIOR EDITOR Andrew Fish
SHOT CRAFT and TECHNICAL EDITOR Jay Holben
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER and WEB PRODUCER Mat Newman
DIGITAL CONTENT CREATOR Samantha Dillard
WRITER/RESEARCHER Tara Jenkins
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Benjamin B, Rachael K. Bosley, John Calhoun, Mark Dillon, Michael Goldman, Jim Hemphill,
David Heuring, Noah Kadner, Debra Kaufman, Michael Kogge, Iain Marcks,
Ma Mulcahey, Jean Oppenheimer, Laurea Prevost, Phil Rhodes, Patricia Thomson
PODCASTS
Michael Goldman, Jim Hemphill, Iain Marcks
BLOGS
Benjamin B • John Bailey, ASC • David Heuring
————————————————————————————————————
CREATIVE DIRECTION & DESIGN
Edwin Alpanian
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American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 100th year of publication,
is published monthly in Hollywood by ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A.,
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THIS MONTH’S EDITOR’S
CONTRIBUTORS NOTE
raphers who shoot the National Geographic
Samantha Dillard is AC’s digital reality series Life Below Zero; and the exec-
content creator (“Connecting With utive producer of the popular reality shows
the Camera,” p. 36). The Dead Files and Reasonable Doubt, whose
cinematographers have been striving to lend
Andrew Fish is AC’s senior editor their work a “cinematic” quality.
(“ASC Video Highlights,” p. 38). Remote-production methodologies have
also been proliferating — largely due to the
Jay Holben is a filmmaker, ongoing global pandemic. Shot Cra (page
AC’s technical editor, and an 12) and Short Takes (page 22) relay the re-
associate member of the ASC spective experiences of AC tech editor Jay
(Shot Cra, p. 12). Holben and staffer Tara Jenkins on two recent
projects that required them to work around
Tara Jenkins is a USC MFA film Covid restrictions by employing creative tech-
and TV production candidate and nical and logistical strategies.
an ASC staffer (Short Takes, Expanded platforms for documentaries and Our Picture Partners column (page 18)
p. 22; “Story First,” p. 31; “ASC other reality-based programming have pro- presents a Q&A with filmmaking collaborators
Video Highlights,” p. 38). vided today’s audiences with more options who are also life partners: director-producer
than ever. Whether your tastes favor histori- Unjoo Moon and cinematographer Dion Bee-
Terry McCarthy is the ASC CEO cal docs, true-crime investigations or reality be, ASC, ACS, who worked together on the
and a former correspondent for adventure shows, the choices are seemingly Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman. “We have
Time magazine, ABC News and infinite — a heartening development for cine- a long history — we’ve worked on short films,
CBS News (“Documenting matographers who shoot and help to produce commercials, and documentaries — but any
The Dissident,” p. 34; “Rough these projects. As ASC member and veteran first feature presents its share of challenges,”
Seas,” p. 40). documentary filmmaker Shana Hagan enthus- says Beebe. “One of our biggest was re-cre-
es, “There are so many platforms to present ating New York and Los Angeles in Sydney,
Guillermo Navarro, ASC, AMC our work. Every streamer, broadcaster or the- Australia, so there was trepidation, but there
is a cinematographer, director, atrical distributor has a wide variety of docu- was mostly excitement about going back to
producer and Society member mentary programming in their library. In recent Australia to make a movie there together.”
(“Platforms Expand,” p. 26; “Truth years, I’ve been in awe of the original docu- Though our yearlong series of excerpts
Through Film Language,” p. 32; mentary content so many folks are producing. from each decade of the AC Archive con-
“New Tech Sparks Creative I’m grateful when companies find great docu- cludes this month — with selections from the
Options,” p. 33). mentaries from years past to re-master them. I 2010s curated by web director and associate
love when a whole new audience gets to redis- publisher David E. Williams (page 50) — read-
Stephen Pizzello is AC’s cover fantastic, classic documentaries.” ers can now access the entire 100-year history
editor-in-chief (Picture Partners, Given this proliferation, we felt it appro- of the magazine (more than 1,200 issues) by
p. 18; “Eyes on the World,” p. 24; priate to focus this month’s editorial lens on subscribing online at ascmag.com.
“Objectivity and the Art of the various forms of real-world cinematography,
Documentary,” p. 27; “Herzog giving voice to some of the visual artists who
Goes With the Flow,” p. 28). work in this realm. Our special focus begins on
page 24 and includes insights from ASC mem-
Patricia Thomson is a New York bers such as Hagan, Buddy Squires, Guiller-
correspondent for the magazine mo Navarro and Joan Churchill; the director
(“Mirth and Death,” p. \^). of photography and an executive producer Stephen Pizzello
of Deadliest Catch; director-cinematogra- Editor-in-Chief
David E. Williams is AC’s Web pher Kirsten Johnson, who explores mortality
director and associate publisher with her own father in the documentary Dick
(“Modern Times: AC Since Johnson Is Dead; the filmmakers behind the
2010,” p. ]0). acclaimed documentaries The Dissident and
Boys State, both of which premiered last Janu-
ary at the Sundance Film Festival; cinematog-

PRESIDENT’S
DESK
“Documentaries are most powerful
when we learn to trust the filmmakers
by knowing their point of view.”
The earliest cinéma vérité documentaries ished film, and represents the contradictions
in this country, shot with hot-rodded Auricons, and confusions I have mentioned above. That
like Primary (1960), were true “fly-on-the-wall film is Gimme Shelter. It began as a sponsored
films.” The Maysles brothers made such films, film (to document a Rolling Stones concert
like Salesman and Grey Gardens, but these tour), became a documentary as Al and
films ran up against the passions of the ’60s, David Maysles wanted to document the band
when audiences sought films that leaned on and also off the stage (and so filmed a
more into the issues of the day: civil rights, the memorable scene of the band mixing the tour
war in Vietnam, political conflict. record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio), went
And so documentaries like Hearts and back to being a performance film as the band
Minds, Peter Davis’ 1974 film critiquing the appeared at a free concert at a stock-car track
Vietnam War, were made. I think of them as outside San Francisco, and then back into
essays, using reality and interviews to distill documentary mode as the concert descend-
some truth out of conflict. We find ourselves ed into violence and chaos, and 18-year-old
in a similar place today, in the fading light of Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death in front
2020, in deep conflict. Documentaries like of the stage. My role was on-stage cinematog-
Hillary (2020) perhaps lean too far in one di- rapher throughout the December 1969 con-
rection, because the subject — Hillary Clinton cert at Altamont Speedway. I saw and filmed
— allowed access to her campaign and was the chaos first-hand — it was hard to watch.
Documentaries: granted an editorial role… so was it a docu- In the decade that followed, the divisions
Stranger Than mentary or sponsored film? Sometimes with

docs it is hard to know… we may think we can
in our country became ever more profound,
due to the war in Vietnam, but also due to the
Fiction weed out fact from fiction, but we o¤en can’t. self-immolation of President Richard Nixon
All documentaries are a selective view of the and his Watergate scandal.
This issue of AC is devoted to documenta- world: what is included, what is excluded, The more things change, the more they
ries — “creative non-fiction,” as film critic what angles things are seen from, or not seen. stay the same. America always recovers
Richard Brody described them in a recent One hopes the current generation, which from its darkest days. With the “creative non-
issue of The New Yorker. Many ASC members was brought up on posing for selfies, will fiction” of documentaries to light the way, tell-
have shot or directed documentaries at some make documentaries that include their voic- ing us stories about ourselves, some that may
point in their lives, and some of our members es, where they’re coming from, their points of be hard to watch, we learn so much about our
have had big documentary careers: Roger view, because documentaries are most pow- world, and how to live in it together.
Deakins, ASC, BSC (a string of BBC docu- erful when we learn to trust the filmmakers by
mentaries), Joan Churchill, ASC (Aileen: Life knowing their POV or bias.
and Death of a Serial Killer), Buddy Squires, Honeyland fits that bill. It was the first win-
ASC (most of Ken Burns’ documentaries, inner of the new Documentaries category at the
cluding The Vietnam War), Ellen Kuras, ASC annual ASC Awards last January, with cinema-
(who won an Emmy for Jane), and one of tographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma earn- Stephen Lighthill
our newest members, Shana Hagan, ASC ing the prize. A heartfelt film, with the main President, ASC
Photo by Michael M. Pessah, ASC.
(63 Up). character in almost every scene, it transported

Documentaries are called “fact-based,” you effortlessly to Macedonia and made you
but of course there is a wide array of docu- believe in that world as presented.
mentary genres: interview films, performance This month of December 2020 (a year I will
films, historical summaries, biographies. They be happy to celebrate the end of…) marks the
may all purport to “document” the facts, but 51st anniversary of a documentary I worked
invariably some hew closer to the facts than on early in my career, which remains indeli-
others, depending on the filmmaker’s choices. ble to me as an experience and also as a fin-

SHOT CRAFT by Jay Holben
Who’s Zooming Who?

At the end of March, shortly aer California issued its stay-at-home It was decided to connect to the interviewees remotely via Zoom,
orders, the ASC embarked on a project to produce an online series but not rely on the webcam and internet for actually shooting the
of hour-long, interview-format episodes featuring Society members. interviews. Instead, we would provide equipment to each interviewee:
While the challenges of navigating lockdown restrictions and working camera, lens, tripod, lighting and sound, and then deliver each pack-
without a crew had already begun to be addressed by the production age to each person — leaving it safely on their doorstep — for them to
community at large — in particular with late-night talk shows deploy- set up and shoot their own sides of the interview. We made sure that
ing iPhones and videoconferencing applications to connect to guests all of the equipment was properly sterilized with a wash of isopropyl
remotely — our challenge at the ASC involved the quality of the image. alcohol, and that the deliveries were made at a distance.
The standard webcam used for most Skype and Zoom sessions The Society was very fortunate to partner with ASC associate
leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to image quality, and relying member Tor Rolf Johansen of Blackmagic Design, who provided
on internet connections and unknown-variable compression effects four Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks (aka “P4Ks”), which are
on videoconference-recorded sessions was not desirable. The ASC micro 4/3 sensor cameras with 4096x2160 photosite-count sensors
was steadfast that this production would need to reflect the visual capable of shooting in Blackmagic raw or ProRes 422. We recorded
standards of the Society — the high caliber of cinematography that the each interview to ProRes 422 HQ at 23.976 fps in 4K. Each of these four
ASC represents — and not resort to what most people were doing with cameras was paired with a Fujinon 18-55mm T2.9 MK cine-style zoom
highly image-compromised webcams. lens, generously provided by Fujinon and ASC associate members
The goal was to get the best possible and most cinematic-feeling Tom Fletcher and Chuck Lee.
image that we could under the incredibly restrictive conditions. Additionally, and just as crucially, Johansen was able to secure four

Blackmagic Web Presenter boxes, which are extremely useful tools
that take the input from the P4K camera (or any camera with HDMI or
SDI output) and, via USB input to a computer, present it to the comput-
er as if it were a webcam. With the Web Presenter box, the compact
professional cinema cameras integrate seamlessly with Skype, Zoom,
or any other application that accepts a webcam signal.
For lighting, Robert Magness of Aputure provided four LS 300X
bi-color LED fixtures, and four Light Dome II 36" so boxes. Litepanels
provided four Astra 1x1 panels.
These kits were augmented with a Movo LV8-C wired lavaliere
microphone, four Sachtler Ace tripods, and stands for the lighting.
The topic for the episode would be high dynamic range, and ASC
members Markus Förderer, Polly Morgan, Marshall Adams and Erik
Messerschmidt, as well as colorist and ASC associate Dave Cole,
would be our interviewees.
ASC member Bill Benne took responsibility for gathering all of
the equipment and seing up each package to be as easy to build
as possible. From labeling of the components to providing detailed
instructions, Benne put considerable effort into making this process Opposite (clockwise from top le): Markus Förderer, ASC, BVK;
as painless as possible for the interviewees. He decided the best Erik Messerschmidt, ASC; Marshall Adams, ASC; associate
method for recording locally was to connect a solid-state Samsung members Jay Holben and Dave Cole; and Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC.
Above: Holben’s at-home setup.
T5 Portable SSD 1TB hard drive — which is small and fast — to the
camera via USB-C. Benne also custom-fabricated four Delrin plastic
baseplates to aach to the tripod quick-release plates — a rigging PC laptop. The initial interview with Förderer produced unsatisfactory
that provided beer support for the Fujinon zoom lenses. These Delrin results with my sound — there was incessant microphone noise —
plates additionally offered an ideal docking position for the Samsung which persisted even aer replacing the wired lavaliere mic, so the
drives, which were secured to the plate just under the lens via hook- setup required some revision. Thanks to the generosity of sound mixer
and-loop tape. Each interviewee was also provided with an ND 0.6 Kally Williams, I was able to incorporate Sound Devices’ MixPre-6
screw-on filter to help keep the T-stops of the lenses fairly wide open, small sound mixer, with a K-Tek boom pole and Sennheiser boom
and to maintain a pleasing and cinematic depth of field in the image. mic on a C-stand connected via XLR to the MixPre-6. In addition,
Because I was hosting the episode in addition to handling producing/ the sound from Zoom was routed via a ⅛" stereo to an XLR adapter
directing duties, I ended up with one of the four equipment packages. into the MixPre. The output from the mixer was then sent to the Web
One of the important aspects of the setup was the interviewees’ Presenter box via ⅛" stereo to RCA stereo, so the audio from my mic
eyeline — that they would be able to have as comfortable as possi- could be heard by the interviewees. Using the mixer’s headphone jack,
ble a conversation and establish a good eyeline for the production I connected a pair of earbuds to the output so that I could monitor
camera. To accomplish this, we instructed each subject to place their both the interviewees’ sound via Zoom and my own sound to make
camera to the side of their computer screen. This would create an sure it was clean. My isolated boom track was recorded on the MixPre
eyeline that was similar to the familiar setup where an interviewee talks to an internal SD card.
to an off-camera interviewer. Additionally, people generally set their Lighting is, of course, critical to maintaining a cinematic look. Each
computers on a desk or a table, which places the screen (and web- interviewee was responsible for their own lighting — luckily, four of the
cam, which is typically at the top center of the screen) at a position five subjects were cinematographers! Messerschmidt and Förderer
significantly lower than their natural eyeline — so everyone is typically opted for natural light, while Morgan, Adams and Cole employed
looking downward on a web conference. We made sure that each Aputure and Litepanels fixtures. I used a Rosco DMG Lumiere MiniMix
subject elevated their screen — and the production camera — to a LED fixture as my key light — its thin profile made it particularly
natural eye height when they were seated. In many cases, this required nonintrusive — and as I didn’t have any diffusion rolls, I used a 4'x6'
employing an improvised platform to elevate their screens. As my met- sheet of lining silk, which is very close to standard diffusion silk. I
Images courtesy of Jay Holben
al monitor riser wasn’t enough, I repurposed a box of printer toner that used a LitePanels Croma fixture that was Mahellini-clamped to my
was the ideal height to get the external monitor at my natural eye level. bookshelves as a backlight/edge, and placed a second Croma into a
The next request was to make sure the production camera was 2'x3' piece of foamcore for a bit of fill. I also taped up a BB&S Lighting
at least 5' away from the subject, in order to avoid the also-common Pipeline Free LED tube to the back of a dark bookshelf to give a bit of
webcam wide-angle-too-close distortion effects. background light.
For my setup, the Blackmagic P4K was connected via HDMI to Instead of the ND filter, I incorporated a circular polarizer on the
the Web Presenter box, which was connected via USB to my Lenovo Fujinon 18-55mm zoom to help reduce monitor and light reflections
ASCMag.com December 2020 13

Here are some takeaways that may
help in making your at-a-distance
productions feel more cinematic
• Instead of webcam, move to a more professional camera
with a larger sensor and, importantly, a different lens. Even an
iPhone can be beer than most built-in webcams.
• Maintain distance between the camera and your subject to
avoid too-close-distortion effects.
• Shoot at 23.976 or 24 fps instead of 29.97/30 or 59.97/60, which
many webcams do.
• Don’t rely on ambient/available light in your home. Try for a
larger, soer key source. If you don’t have a source, try to work
near an open window for a larger natural source.
• Shoot at a more open f/ or T stop so you’ll have a beer depth
of field.
• Keep your subject away from the background so the back-
ground falls more out of focus.
• Use an interesting background, not a blank white wall.
• Raise the screen and offset the camera for a more natural (and
flaering) eyeline.
Top: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. Bo om: Blackmagic

Web Presenter beneath a Sound Devices MixPre-6, connected to a
powered USB hub (far right). Le: Rosco’s DMG Lumiere Mini Mix
LED.
in my eyeglasses and keep the image at a more wide-open stop.

Because the shallow depth of field made it too easy to lean in and out
of focus, and without an AC or any autofocus features to follow me, I
stopped down to a T4 on the lens.
Another impressive aspect of the P4K cameras is the Blackmagic
Camera Control app that allows full control over the camera via Blue-
tooth. This enabled remote verification of camera seings, as well as
rolling and stopping, and adjusting ISO when needed to compensate
for any changes in my lighting due to ambient light conditions. With
the camera 6' away, this feature was extremely handy.
The production was ultimately broken into two one-hour episodes,
both of which were colored in Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve by Jason
Knutzen at Pace Pictures. The episodes are coming soon.
When a second ASC interview-format presentation began produc-
tion, the Blackmagic camera packages were still spoken for. So for this
new project — featuring Society members Daniel Pearl, Joseph Labisi
and Christopher Probst, speaking on the topic of music-video cinema-
tography — my setup remained the same, while the participants were
asked to record themselves on their iPhones and send me the files
overnight via Dropbox. Although the result wasn’t nearly as good as
the Blackmagic setup with the Web Presenter box, it was substantially
beer than the standard webcams.
It’s important to note here that for those who don’t have access to
the Web Presenter box — they are in high demand and hard to find —
there are other options. Canon, for instance, has released Webcam
American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Two-Camera Setup and DIY
Teleprompter
Another helpful aspect of the Blackmagic Web Presenter box is
its ability to accept two inputs, one HDMI and one SDI, and switch
between them. This was useful for another recent presentation, for
which I employed the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K cam-
era as the main camera and hooked up a Canon EOS R through a
Blackmagic mini HDMI-to-SDI converter to the Web Presenter box
for a second camera, so that items on my desk could be periodical-
ly displayed onscreen as a visual aid.
As this was a lecture-format production as opposed to an
interview, I incorporated an impromptu teleprompter (see below)
by taking the glass out of an 8"x10" frame and positioning that in
front of the Fujinon zoom at a 45-degree angle. Below that was a
laptop with my presentation in PowerPoint. I placed a 1'x1' mirror in
front of the laptop screen to reverse the image and reflect it into the
8"x10" glass — and a properly oriented reflection of my PowerPoint
presentation could be seen in front of the lens. While a bit crude,
this rig effectively allowed for reading notes while still maintaining
direct eye contact with viewers.
Top: Litepanels Croma fixture aimed into foamcore.

Boom: BB&S Pipeline unit taped to bookshelf corner.
Uti for their EOS cameras. With the installation of soware on your
Utility
computer, you can use a Canon EOS camera connected via USB as a
co
webcam in a similar fashion.
we
There are many factors that contribute to what an audience might
interpret as “cinematic,” and there’s no one answer to achieving it. We
int
hope that sharing our experiences at the ASC will be helpful in your
ho
pursuits. Good luck — stay safe and happy shooting! u
pu

PICTURE PARTNERS
Photos by Tony Mo
, Hugh Hamilton and Lisa Tomase
i, courtesy of Quiver Distribution.
Creative Union Produces sic with that change and with the movement. It’s so relevant to what’s
Helen Reddy Biopic I Am Woman going on in the world right now.
Interview by Stephen Pizzello When I met Helen, she was in her early 70s. It was at a dinner,
Cinematographer Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS and director Unjoo Moon and Dion was seated next to her, but I made him swap seats with me.
have worked together for years on a variety of projects that include When I realized she was the Helen Reddy, all of those memories came
shorts, commercials and documentaries. The husband-and-wife team flooding back to me.
recently had the chance to make their first feature together — the Helen was very blunt and straightforward, as a lot of Australians
Helen Reddy biopic I Am Woman, starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey as are, but she was also very funny, and she had a very wry sense of
the Australian pop singer, whose biggest hit made her an icon of the humor. She had just moved back to Los Angeles many years aer she’d
women’s movement during the 1970s and inspired the movie’s title. walked away from the entertainment industry — primarily to be with
Six days aer our Zoom interview with the couple about their her children, but she’d also decided to do this kind of revival tour. Hel-
project, Reddy passed away at the age of 78, on the same date as the en was maybe about 72 then, and all of a sudden she was performing
first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden — in Florida, Palm Springs and Las Vegas, and I got to go with her to the
leading Moon to Tweet, “I think Helen would have been amused that laer two shows.
she disrupted two men arguing on TV when news of her death broke She was at a different stage of her life, but she still had all of those
in America. And even more ironic is that so many people ended up incredible fans that had been traveling with her. Some of them had
listening to her feminist anthem tonight.” been at every single Helen Reddy concert that had ever been done
in America! In the time I spent with her, she wasn’t one to sit back and
What were your impressions of Helen before and aer you reflect on things; she wasn’t living in the past — she was living in the
met her? present and very much in the moment.
Moon: I was quite young when Helen was at the height of her ca- How did Helen feel about entrusting her life story to you?
reer. For me, her music seemed to make the women in my life stronger Moon: Giving your life rights to somebody is always a huge chal-
and bolder. I was siing in the back of the Volvo station wagon, and lenge for anyone, because you’re handing over a lot of control about
when my mother and her friend were siing in the front of the car and how the story is going to be told. Helen had some concerns initially,
Helen’s music came on, they would wind down their windows, let their and she thought it might be beer to do it as a documentary. But I felt
hair loose in the breeze and sing along really loudly. My family hadn’t we should really be focusing on those years when her music had been
lived in Australia for long, and my mother barely spoke English, so that really big, and [show her] the way the fans remembered her. It takes a
was prey amazing to see. It was extraordinary to watch. lot of time for someone in that position to be able to trust you, and to
The ’70s were a time of change for women, and I equated her mu- trust that the filmmaker will tell the story in the spirit of who they are. I

Director-producer Unjoo Moon and her husband,
cinematographer Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS, block out a shot.
Peter Allen, before so many people.

Do you have any observations or sage counsel about doing a
project like this with your spouse?
Beebe: Having gone through this experience multiple times with
Unjoo, my advice to [filmmaking] couples, or just to partners who
are doing projects together for the first time, is that a certain level of
professional courtesy is required. There can be a tendency to be too
familiar, too blunt or too direct when you’re talking about something.
Opposite page: As her career is peaking, Helen Reddy We do that with people we know very well, and in relationships we’ve
(Tilda Cobham-Hervey, above) performs her hit “Delta Dawn” had for a long time. But when you’re in a working environment with a
at Carnegie Hall.
crew, amid the dynamics with the actors, it’s important to be aware of
spent a year with her even before we started the screenplay, just get- that — you’re not at home, in the kitchen. You want to conduct the set
ting to know her — walking on the beach, going to lunch. She wrote a in a professional manner. You can be clear with each other — and Un-
book, but her autobiography doesn’t necessarily go into all the areas joo and I are very direct with each other — but you can be too familiar.
that we deal with in the film, and the whole Lillian [subplot] got pieced You can’t forget where you are.
together through my relationship with her. Moon: There are a lot of advantages for us working together
At the time, her son was her manager, and he agreed with me that and knowing each other so well, though. It was a really tight shoot-
it should be a film, a fictionalized version of her life, rather than a docu- ing schedule and a really tight budget. And especially for someone
mentary. I remember saying to her, ‘Helen, I’m not making a documen- like Dion, who’s used to working with a lot more money, this project
tary. I’m not going to get everything right — every word, every person. presented a lot of challenges. Though the budget was probably at the
But the one thing I promise you is that I’ll make a film that really honors higher end of movies that were made in Australia during the year we
the spirit of who you are, what your life is, and the impact that you and were shooting, it was probably the least amount of money Dion’s had
your music have had on people.’ She was really happy with that. to manage. But we have quite similar tastes, so that really helped. We
As married filmmakers, did you have any feelings of “sensible could be really clear with each other, and we could spend a lot of time
trepidation” as you embarked upon this adventure together? with each other beyond the shooting day. We were under a lot of pres-
Beebe: Well, sure, because we were doing our first feature sure not to go into overtime, which we completely understood, but at
together. We have a long history — we’ve worked on short films, the same time, we knew that nobody cares whether you go overtime
commercials and documentaries — but any first feature presents its or not on a movie — they want to see what’s on the screen. We had to
share of challenges. One of our biggest was re-creating period New really know what we were doing when we walked on set, and we had
York and Los Angeles in Sydney, so there was trepidation, but there that extra time in the evenings to prepare. We could have dinner and
was mostly excitement about going back to Australia to make a movie talk things through — it was really a 24-7 experience.
there together. Beebe: We had a lot of time to look at the script and go through all
Moon: It was the most time we’d goen to spend together in of the sets and locations. We both realized on any shooting day that
years! Aer living here for awhile, Dion and I really wanted to go back if we weren’t geing shots within an hour or so, we weren’t going to
to Australia and make a film there, and we’d been looking for the right make our day. So our days were very planned, and since we’d already
kind of story to tell, one that could have an international audience but had those conversations, we could divide our skill sets. Because I
that we could still make in Australia. We felt very strongly that it was a knew what the shots were, I could get the crane built, I could get the
quintessentially Australian story, even though the story is mostly set in camera ready, I could get the set lit — while Unjoo could work with
America. Think about all the Australians in show business who have Tilda to refine her role as Helen, particularly when we were doing vocal
come here — the actors, the cinematographers, the directors. Helen performances on stage.
really paved the way for all of us, because she was one of the first Aus- Moon: As polite as we try to be with each other, we were still very
tralians who did it — she was here before Olivia Newton-John, before honest if something wasn’t working. If I felt Dion needed to reframe a

that conversation is about allocating resources — knowing where you
really want to put the money you have. On this project it had to do with
crowds and where to spend our VFX dollars. Unjoo was very clear that
the moment when the curtain comes up at Carnegie Hall had to feel
like, ‘Wow, she’s really become a star’ — dramatically.
We used a montage to show some of that progression, and while
those shots pass by really quickly, each of them was an event unto
itself to actually stage and shoot. In one scene we show Helen on the
tarmac with her private plane at the airport. Well, we needed to have
access to an airport at night, and we needed a period limo, but that
shot is only onscreen for maybe 20 seconds. We had to fight very
hard for those montage shots, because they’re all very brief, but Unjoo
recognized that those moments were essential to convey that Helen
had really made it in show business.
For the climax at the Washington Monument, we did have some
reference footage of Helen singing there at the 1989 Women’s March,
but we weren’t able to have such a huge crowd. We knew we needed
to create that kind of big shot for the moment when she walked out on
stage, so we kind of worked backwards from that. We built a platform,
and we had a lile bit of bluescreen, but we really had to identify and
isolate the key elements we needed to carry off those bigger moments
in a very streamlined way, without any unnecessary sort of excess.
Reddy, who passed away this year, remains an icon of female Was there diversity on the production?
empowerment. Moon: The project was mainly run by women. Rosemary Blight
was my fellow producer, and we had lots of women as department
shot, or if he felt the blocking wasn’t working, we were very open and heads and crewmembers, but it still felt very natural and organic.
clear about those things. Dion’s B-camera operator was Velinda Wardell, and we had women as
What format and lenses did you use on I Am Woman? camera assistants on both the A- and B-camera teams. Our grip, John
Beebe: We shot on the Alexa 65. Early on we discussed going Balbi, also made sure he had a woman on the grip team.
large format on this project — not because we saw it as a huge, Beebe: We had a great crew, but we didn’t have to go out of our
vista-type picture, but because this format is great for portraiture, way to try to fill it with diversity. The people we hired were just the best
faces and close-ups. The movie is a fairly intimate character and rela- and most capable people for the job.
tionship piece. It does have musical performances and it does cover Unjoo, as a woman filmmaker, what kind of influence or im-
a period of three decades, but the goal of shooting large format was pact do you hope the film and its message will have?
primarily to manipulate depth of field and capture the best quality. Moon: When I was developing the screenplay in 2017, I went to
Prior to starting in Sydney, I’d been lens testing in L.A. and decided the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., and I stood on the same spot
to go with Arri DNA lenses. The large-format cameras and lenses were where Helen stands at the end of the movie. I looked out at the Lincoln
not easily available in Sydney, which meant that cameras were shipped Memorial, and it was this big sea of pink hats all crowded around that
from the U.K. and lenses from L.A. Decisions had to be made early to water feature, and someone walked by carrying a sign that said, ‘I’m
get gear in time. Arri was incredibly supportive in this. strong. I’m invincible.’ Standing there in 2017, I could really feel the
The combination of the DNA lenses at very low stops and the impact of Helen’s words in a song that was wrien more than 50 years
inherent nature of a larger sensor creates very shallow depth of field. ago.
This was key to the look of the movie and also a way to hide a lot of un- Helen’s story was already quite poignant, but it became frustrat-
wanted, non-period detail on the streets of Sydney. It also helped take ingly sad to realize that it was more relevant than ever in today’s world.
some pressure off our VFX budget, as the so-focus drop off buried At one point during prep we thought we’d be releasing this movie
much of the background detail. into a world where America had its first female president, but then the
The movie really shows Helen’s evolution as she progresses world changed and things became very different. So even though the
from a small nightclub, where she’s singing to a mostly empty film is intended to be inspiring and empowering, most women walk
room and a bartender, to venues that increase in size as her away from it feeling like there’s still so much to do. Aer young women
career takes off and she becomes an icon. see the movie, a lot of them come up to me aerwards and say, ‘I had
Beebe: In terms of scale, we were working up to her performance no idea all of that was happening before my time, and now I really want
of the song “Delta Dawn” at Carnegie Hall and then to the big climax to go out there and change things.’ u
at the Washington Monument. And when you’re on a budget, a lot of

SHORT TAKES
Images courtesy of Tara Jenkins.

Lockdown Horror an organic way. This was made easier by using the same lights in both
By Tara Jenkins locations and matching color temperature and RGB color from one
location to the other. From within my bubble, I myself made an appear-
Filmmaking during the Covid-19 pandemic has been a lesson in ance in the production as a body double — seing camera while at the
creatively finding new solutions, from the largest blockbusters down same time being directed by our intrepid director, Xanthe Parillo. We
to micro-budget shorts. As the fall semester began at the USC School leaned into a found-footage aesthetic, allowing us to capitalize on the
of Cinematic Arts, the school informed students that all classes, and fact that the actors would be recording themselves.
therefore all student productions, would be completed online. The new remote-production rules also meant new considerations
For me, a graduate student gearing up to shoot a 12-minute narra- that were not even on the radar pre-Covid. Suddenly, the speed
tive short, the switch to completely remote production meant figuring of the actor’s Wi-Fi was of paramount importance, as streaming
out how to create a polished result without ever actually touching takes through Zoom was the only way the crew could see what was
the camera on set. Our horror-film script, Thrall, which centered on happening on set. Casting actors meant also casting locations, and
the toxic dynamic between a mother (played by Susan Deming) and the labor-intensive aspects of seing lighting and production design
daughter (Haeleigh Royall), had to be radically changed in order to had to be tempered by the number of hands in the actor’s bubble that
take place in one location. Adding to this challenge, we cast two actors could help set up each scene. Any equipment shipped to an actor has
in separate “Covid bubbles,” which meant that we had to make two to undergo a rigorous cleaning and have a 36-hour turnaround time to
locations look like the same house, and find ways to trick the audience make it as safe as possible for the actor to use it.
into believing both actors were in the shot at the same time, when in This creates the possibility of spending a semester and thousands
reality they never met face-to-face and were shot on different days. of dollars on a production with a crew and cast that never actually meet
Using composite shots and sometimes body doubles, we found in person — and might not meet for many months to come. It also cre-
ways to allow the complex dynamic between characters to develop in ates a restricted form of being “on set”; the majority of the day is spent

The filmmakers used the iPhone’s Filmic Pro feed as well as the
laptop camera to monitor production.
siing at a table, and “lunch” means walking two feet to your fridge and
taking a break from the computer screen. Though not glamorous, the
challenges and creative opportunities presented by remote produc-
tion are capable of bringing about exciting work. the crew, we were able to stay in constant communication and change
Shooting a completely remote production requires intense plan- things quickly and in real time.
ning and a reliance on actors to not only give the performance the sto- The waiting period required for cleaning equipment, which
ry needs, but also act as camera operator, grip and myriad other crew prevented us from borrowing lighting from USC as usual, led us to buy
positions during a single day. As a cinematographer, my role encom- most of our gear, apart from the cameras. This limited the amount of
passed lighting the production, retaining control of my vision without lighting gear we could obtain, but it also forced us to be especially
touching the set, and puing my crew and the actors at ease as much creative in our shooting schedule and how we blocked each scene.
as possible. Some of our scenes involved difficult character work, as This gave the actor great flexibility, as we lit the rooms to allow for
our lead actor devolves into madness over the course of the story, improvisation and for the scene to unfold differently each time.
which culminates in a self-exorcism scene. Cognizant of the low-light The budgetary and technical constraints of our project required
capabilities of the iPhone 11 and GoPro Hero7 Black, we worked to us to approach shooting in an organic way, where the space was lit as
create a space that was dark and moody but also had enough light to naturally as possible. Since the whole room might be shown, and we
minimize noise. I came up with a lighting design that could be almost were restricted from asking the actors to go outside to light through
completely controlled by application once rigged in each room. Using the windows, we needed to create lighting that either blended in with
an RGB NanLite PavoTube, two Aputure MCs, two Quasar Science the décor of the home or hid above the plane of view — while still
tubes — one daylight balanced, the other a Crossfade — and dimma- giving a key light to the actors in the important moments, so that we
ble LED bulbs, I was able to instruct the actors to use presets on the never lost their eyes. By placing the NanLite and Quasars above win-
applications to achieve the look and color I’d been able to work out by dow spaces to supplement and add color to natural lighting, we were
testing the lights in my own bubble. As much as possible, we tried to able to do just that, without worrying about lights potentially being in
respect the actors’ need to prepare for each scene, and streamline the eye-level moving shots operated by the actors.
technical aspects so we could put story and character first. Over the course of two weekends, we were able to finish primary
The iPhone, which was paired with Moment lenses for certain shooting without ever meeting each other in person, other than to
shots, was employed for the daughter’s ostensive video message to drop off equipment at the door while wearing full personal protective
a friend, while the GoPro served to provide security-camera footage equipment.
from around the house. The exciting challenge of remote filmmaking does not come from
To further facilitate the production process, I gave the actors a how much or what kind of equipment can be used, but rather how to
15-page PDF file that explained how to use the lights, the GoPro Hero7 make the process work with both hands tied behind your back. The
and the iPhone 11. truest test of your knowledge of your cra is whether you can articulate
Forethought and clear communication were the make-or-break what you need well enough that someone who knows lile about your
factors on set every day. Every aspect of the in-person shooting cra can execute your plan. Through the remote-production process,
process that could be replicated remotely was, from location scouts the concept of filmmaking is stripped down to its core, and you have
via Facetime to Zoom breakout-room rehearsals with the actors. Using to focus on the fundamentals of telling a visual story. Nothing else
a dual system of Zoom to view the set and Google Duo for walkies for maers — except Wi-Fi speed! u

Eyes on the World
Evolving technologies — and philosophies — inform the work
of cinematographers shooting nonfiction productions
By Stephen Pizzello
CINEMATOGRAPHERS DOCUMENTING REAL-WORLD capture the essence of more tangible subjects.

EVENTS, topics and people face a different range of In recent years, the progress of technology — especially
objectives and challenges than their counterparts in the the increasing availability of smaller, lighter cameras with
fictional-narrative realm. While the creators of movies and larger sensors — has granted greater freedom to anyone
television shows seek to immerse viewers in illusory envi- shooting documentaries or reality shows. This development
ronments that spring from the imagination, those who work has led many filmmakers in those worlds to pursue ev-
on documentaries and other reality-based projects strive to er-more-ambitious imagery, with some placing a priority on

Photo by Miguel Willis, courtesy of National Geographic
Cinematographer Barrie Brion in Greenland for

National Geographic’s Hostile Planet.
visuals that feel more “cinematic” in style and scope. organic beauty and texture, but there were still limitations
“The ability to be ‘more cinematic’ has gotten easier and in terms of resolution, depth of field and the speed of the
better in some ways, if just technologically,” says cinema- stocks. Now that both feature films and documentaries
tographer Buddy Squires, ASC, an Oscar-nominated and are being shot on 35mm sensors, those boundaries have
Emmy-winning filmmaker whose work with Ken Burns dissolved a bit. There are very small cameras with very big
and other renowned documentarians has made him an icon sensors, so you can make incredible images. You end up
of the form. “When we were shooting 16mm film, it had with the possibilities of something like the mountain-climb-

Eyes on the World
a filmmaker who’s truly attuned to capturing his or her

surroundings with ambition, insight, creativity and intellect.
“For me, the best films have always been those that pay
attention to the imagery,” Squires maintains. “That’s why
we make motion pictures — it’s our medium. There are
great writers who create amazing novels, and we remember
particular phrases and thoughts that last for ages. There are
images that also have the power to last, make an impression
and stay with us. The pursuit is always trying to get to that
image, in whatever circumstance. The means of arrival are
constantly shifting and changing technologically, but they’re
also always the same — for me, it’s about being aware of my
surroundings, the world I’m interpreting. For someone else,
it might be about previsualizing, or creating things in a pre-
planned setup, but for me it’s always about improvisation,
even when the material is ‘scripted.’ Personally, I am always
reactive to the circumstance in which I find myself. My forte
is not in being given a storyboard and told, ‘Go make this
happen.’ I have to be in a place where I can watch the way
Shana Hagan, ASC and director Michael Apted. the people are moving, I have to look at the light, I have to
look at the room — and then apply my sensibilities to those
ing documentary Free Solo, which was gorgeously shot [by surroundings.
Jimmy Chin, Clair Popkin and Mikey Schaefer]. The camera “In my work with Ken Burns, we’ve always approached
can now go to places where one could just not bring a our films from the position that the images are paramount,”
large-sensor camera in the past.” Squires says. “Part of our inspiration came from our teacher
Newly minted ASC member Shana Hagan (see sidebar, and mentor, photographer Jerome Liebling. I won’t speak
page 36) agrees: “From the filmmaking perspective — with for Ken, but my work really derives from the social-docu-
the advent of smartphones and small HDSLR and mirror- mentary tradition of people like Lewis Hine, Jacob Riis, Dor-
less cameras — people can make their own films using very othea Lange and Walker Evans. From them, I’ve developed
inexpensive equipment. You don’t need a fancy camera to a real sense of the importance of every single image on the
make a great film. Having access to this basic gear is vital to screen.
allowing filmmakers to tell their own stories.” “That education has honestly separated my thought
However, technology can never replace the vision of process from a lot of early documentary work, which was
more focused on something that might be more akin to
journalism,” he adds. “The people I’ve grown up loving and
Platforms Expand respecting all along are people with tremendous eyes. Ricky
When I was doing documentaries 20 or 30 years ago, the audience Leacock is probably the seminal example of somebody from
was very limited. There were companies that would travel around an earlier era of documentary who, if one didn’t realize the
the country with a lile 16mm projector, showing them here and intention with which Ricky was framing and moving, one
Navarro photo by Hector Cruz Sandoval, courtesy of the ASC.

there. But the fact might be fooled into thinking that his sometimes peripatet-
that today there is ic camerawork was random. Not at all! Those images are
access to so many so thoughtful and composed in a way that sears into the
channels, and the viewer’s mind. If you go from the very early Louisiana Story,
Hagan photo courtesy of Shana Hagan, ASC.
output of material which is very classically composed, to his much later vérité
is so large, now you work, there’s something going on in all of those images.
have options. That’s It’s what makes something a good film rather than just a
a primary reason why piece of reportage, and I’ve always been really committed to
the field has grown that.”
enormously. Director Werner Herzog — as acclaimed for his docu-
mentary work as he’s been for his features — is known for
— Guillermo Navarro, his indomitable spirit and willingness to take risks visiting
ASC, AMC precarious places to capture potent images that reveal the
“emotional truths” of the subjects he explores (see sidebar,

Objectivity and the Art of the Documentary
In the world of documentary filmmaking, the question of objectiv-
ity oen arises. But ASC member Buddy Squires, who has done
his share of socially conscious docs that convey strong messages
with distinct perspectives, offers, “We do what we do because
we’re trying to express something. In terms of genres, I would not
draw a sharp line between journalism and art and documentary
filmmaking. I think it’s important to always try to be honest to one-
self, to try to be honest to history, to try to not come at something
with a preconceived idea of what is. For me, bad filmmaking or
bad journalism is when you’ve already made up your mind before
you start gathering material. Good filmmaking or good journal-
ism is starting out with a question and aempting to answer that
question.”
Offering an example of the thought process a documentarian
might bring to a specific subject, Squires muses, “What made
Muhammad Ali great? What really made him great? Was it just that
Buddy Squires, ASC
he was a great athlete? Or that he was a commied member of
the Nation of Islam? Was it that he took a political stance that cost the world for the Italian non-governmental organization Emergency,
him the three best years of his boxing career? Was it just watching whose staffers have helped save more than 9 million lives around the
that body in motion, or listening to the words that came out of his world.
mouth? Well, let’s explore that — let’s explore it openly. Let’s see “I flew in as a massive bomb was going off in Kabul that killed
what the words are, let’s see where it goes.” 90 people, and I was there for the next several days when there was
Squires believes there’s room for opinionated positions in street fighting and a constant flow of severely wounded people in
documentary work. He cites some of the projects shot by late ASC and out of their hospitals in the middle of Kabul,” Squires says. “And
member Haskell Wexler, whose work on both documentaries and it was incredible to watch those nurses, doctors and logistics people
features oen conveyed his political leanings (and who famously while they were under fire and trying to come to grips with the medical
blended the two forms in the quasi-documentary feature Medium needs of the people that had been cast off as a certain kind of ‘shrap-
Cool), as an example. “There is no one truth, so I think to say that nel’ from the political situation. We were then able to connect that to
one cannot make a political film would be ridiculous,” he adds. the larger anti-war stance of Emergency’s co-founder, Dr. Gino Strada,
“Some of the very best films ever made are political films. People and how he’s trying to provide free medical care for anyone involved in
are expressing their opinions and giving voice to it through their a conflict, whether they are on one side or the other, or just caught in
work. Ultimately, art is simply a potent transmission of one person’s the crossfire.
perceptions and perspectives to others.” “In those situations,” he advises, “one has to rely on the backlog
Wexler himself clearly agreed with this philosophical posi- of talent and experience one has, and bring it all to bear when life is
tion. In a 1969 interview about Medium Cool with film critic and at its most uncontrollable. One is rarely welcomed with open arms
fellow Chicagoan Roger Ebert, he noted that the presence of the when things are that tense, and when mistakes can cost lives. But any
camera in any situation, and the selective choices made by the good vérité filmmaking is about establishing trust with the people
filmmaker, almost always infer a particular point of view. “Nothing with whom you’re working. That trust can be established very quickly,
is ‘real,’” Wexler contended. “When you take a camera down to or it can take a very long time. It’s about behaving and responding in
Michigan Ave. and point it at what’s happening, you’re still not ways that make people trust you, and encouraging them to feel you
showing ‘reality.’ You’re showing that highly seductive area that’s have their best interests at heart. In that particular circumstance, when
in front of your camera. One of the things we have to deal with, I things started flying around and geing really tense, they saw how I
think, is whether ‘professionalism’ comes before individual social reacted and how I listened to them. When dozens of wounded were
responsibility.” coming through the doors, and they told me I couldn’t remain between
Asked to recall some of the more memorable experiences the gurneys in the ER, I listened, backed off, and filmed from the top of
he’s had during his travels, Squires mentions his time in Afghani- a chair for awhile. You have to respect their space, respect what they’re
stan and other countries while shooting and co-directing the 2019 doing, and understand that what you’re doing is asking for intimate
documentary Beyond the Beach: The Hell and the Hope, which access to their lives. To interpret what’s happening in those situations
provides a look into the lives of doctors, nurses and volunteers is the highest elevation of the cra.”
who have given up their everyday lives to work in war-torn areas of — Stephen Pizzello

Eyes on the World
Werner Herzog (le) and

Edward Lachman, ASC.
Herzog Goes With the Flow
Herzog photo by Edward Lachman, ASC. Lachman photo by Werner Herzog.

Truly daring documentarians have never let technology, risky and in the jungle his glasses had fogged over. He said to me, ‘Can I
circumstances or “the rules of filmmaking” stand in their way. While clean my glasses before I make a decision?’ And I said to Edward,
accepting the Board of Governors Award at last January’s ASC ‘You have to have a clear vision — wipe your glasses. Do it!’ Then
Awards ceremony, intrepid director Werner Herzog — whose long he turned and said to me, ‘Werner, what is gonna happen if we’re
list of credits includes dozens of documentary features and numer- up there and the volcano explodes?’ And I said, ‘Edward, we shall
ous documentary shorts — saluted his cinematographers for their be airborne.’ His answer was, ‘I’m coming along.’ And I thank him
“courage” as “good soldiers of cinema.” Herzog’s most frequent forever for that.”
collaborator of recent years, Peter Zeitlinger, ASC, BVK was lauded A few years prior to his ASC Awards speech, over lunch at Le
for being “strong like an ox,” and the director also gave a special Petit Four on Sunset Boulevard, Herzog offered some sage advice
shout-out to Edward Lachman, ASC, with whom he’d embarked on what to do if one ever found oneself in the vicinity of an erupting
upon a particularly memorable — and hazardous — shoot. volcano: “Most people will turn and run. This is wrong! You should
Herzog recalled, “When we filmed [the 1977 short] La Soufrière stand where you are, judge the arc of the lava chunks, which are
on a volcano that was about to explode, we had to decide, ‘Shall we usually the size of a Volkswagen, and step out of their path when
do this? Are we going to go all the way up to the mountain or not?’ they come down.”
And Edward said to me, ‘Can I have a moment? Can I step out of the It’s possible he had his tongue firmly embedded in his cheek
car?’ We had just passed roadblocks [set up] by military and police, — but with Herzog, one can never be sure.
and the mountain was still 20 kilometers away. Then he came back, — Stephen Pizzello
above). While accepting the ASC’s Board of Governors Not all cinematographers feel that documentaries need
Award this past January, Herzog expressed profound appre- majestic visuals to be compelling and relevant, however.
ciation for the willingness of his collaborators to join him on Veteran documentarian Joan Churchill, ASC (see sidebar,
his filmmaking adventures: “It is something very special to page 31) places a priority on story over style, opining, “I
work with those who transform a vision onto the screen — think at this point, content is more important than cine-
with those who understand and share a vision, with those matic storytelling.” Citing the urgency of current events in
who are capable [of transforming] images that are seem- our very troubled times, Churchill maintains, “The kind of
ingly normal and unobtrusive into something mysterious, shooting that is the most telling is focused on the content,
something elevated, something different. I love to work not the fact that it is made up of beautiful images.” She
with those who are capable [of understanding] the hypnotic adds, “I want very much to capture people in their lives and
quality of certain moments that nobody else would see right not make them feel like they’re in a movie. If you minimize
away. I also like those who see landscapes with me — the the filmmaking, people forget about you and you can just
way [natural] landscapes transform directly into landscapes show what their lives are really like.”
of the soul.” Guillermo Navarro, ASC, AMC has produced spectac-

ular images as a feature-film cinematographer, director,
and also as executive producer of National Geographic’s
globetrotting documentary series Hostile Planet (see page
32). But he also shares Churchill’s view that documentarians
can serve a noble role as social observers. “One of the most
important underpinnings of the documentary world is that
you’re there not only to fact-check, but to actually see what’s
going on. You’re there to document it, and that carries a lot
of weight — [especially] in terms of political narratives. The
need for the presence of filmmakers who document [his-
tory] has been very high in our modern world, and there’s
now an overlap of that need with investigative journalism
— in which the cinematographer also plays a key role, and
which is very quickly consumed.”
Substance and style can go hand-in-hand, of course.
Photo by Haskell Wexler, ASC.

While some documentarians and even the creators of reality
series have found inspiration in cinematic techniques that
can lend their productions a more stylish look (see “Cine-
matic Reality” sidebar, page 37), feature filmmakers have
also been known to adopt the strategies of their documenta-
ry and reality counterparts.
In her Folio: Award-winning February 2019 profile of
ASC Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Robert Richard- Joan Churchill, ASC takes aim.
HMI LED
JOKER ALPHA SLICE
ASC 2020 v5.indd 1 2/16/20 5:23 PM
Eyes on the World
Photo by Kevin Mazur, courtesy of the ASC Archives.

Documentary projects shot by Robert Richardson, ASC (center) include the Rolling Stones
concert film Shine a Light, directed by Martin Scorsese (right). Richardson led a team of
renowned cinematographers during the shoot.
son, AC contributor Patricia Thomson noted that Richardson also tapped Richardson’s dexterity with formats and emul-
began his career working on documentaries, after a former sions. The film was Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997), which
classmate at the American Film Institute gave Richardson’s interlaced profiles of a lion tamer, a robotics scientist, a
name to documentary producer-director Jeff B. Harmon, mole-rat specialist, and a topiary gardener. “We shot straight
who was prepping The Front Line (1984). The project would 8, Super 8, 16mm, Super 16, 35mm, 35mm step-printed,
intertwine opposing sides in El Salvador’s civil war, and black-and-white, infrared color, infrared black-and-white
Harmon needed a cinematographer to follow the military — on and on, the kitchen sink of film stocks and cameras,”
death squads. During his interview, Richardson was asked Morris says. “We’d be shooting the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros.
whether he’d been to war before and whether he could Circus, and Bob would line up a series of cameras in a row,
shoot under fire, and was informed he’d need a bulletproof fully loaded — from Super 8 to 35mm. He’d shoot one
vest. “The experience was life-changing,” attests Richard- camera, then pick up another and shoot that camera, then
son, who came under fire multiple times. Nonetheless, “that pick up a third and keep shooting. He would have a way
experience cemented my deep love and need for filming.” with each camera, each format, each emulsion, of creating
Richardson was later able to bring the techniques he unique images. Extraordinary images. Who else could really
had employed on documentaries to his feature work with have done that?”
director Oliver Stone, who recalls, “Bob had a documentary Richardson summed up his own view on evolving tech
background, which we used a lot in Salvador, but we’d re- and techniques with a comment that can provide inspiration
fined it by the time we got to JFK. The suggestions for all the for cinematographers working on documentaries, features,
visual stocks and things to make it more fragmented, a lot reality series or any kind of project at all: “One must be in an
of that came from Bob and from the editors. It was a hectic industry and a world where there are constant shifts, wheth-
shoot, very hectic. In Dealey Plaza, where we opened the er at a molecular or cellular level, or social, or whether in
film, we had about 16 cameras at one point. It was a massive our craft with lighting, digital capture, lensing, etc. I believe
assemblage of footage and different stocks even there.” in blending the best of the past, present and future.”
A few years later, renowned documentarian Errol Morris

Story First
Veteran documentary cinematographer Joan Churchill, ASC has vérité, and while she is auned to what the story is calling for, it is
created a prolific body of work with a distinctive vérité style by way the observational that she finds herself pulled toward most. “I want
of embedding herself in the lives of her subjects. For Churchill, very much to capture people in their lives and not make them feel
while technology has changed, the fundamentals of storytelling like they’re in a movie,” she says. “I certainly have done films that
and documentary filmmaking have not. are beautifully lit, and we shoot with large-chip cameras and two
“I think at this point, content is more important than cine- different camera angles, but it isn’t what I love doing. I love integrat-
matic storytelling,” she says. Churchill notes that in this time of ing myself into the life of the people I’m filming and really geing
the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic recession, the rise of to spend a lot of time with them. If you minimize the filmmaking,
the Black Lives Maer movement, violence on the streets, and people forget about you and you can just show what their lives are
the presidential election, she especially holds strong her opinion really like.”
that “the kind of shooting that is the most telling is focused on the This followed in her work on a recent feature, Bedlam,
content, not the fact that it is made up of beautiful images. Just look directed by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, as Churchill spent six years
at the effect of the cell-phone footage of George Floyd’s death. following patients with mental illness and their families as they
Smartphones, body cams, security cameras [capture] the most interacted with the flawed healthcare system. Over the course of
compelling images of current times.” the production, technology advanced and cameras became suc-
Known for her work on such documentaries as Searching cessively smaller, which Churchill deemed an ideal situation. “The
for Jimi Hendrix with directors Chris Hegedus and D.A. Penne- larger-chip cameras, unless someone is really skillful, can’t follow
baker, and Who Needs Sleep? with director Haskell Wexler, ASC, something that is really happening,” she says. “And when you are
Churchill believes that each individual story calls for a different on the streets with homeless people, you are grateful to have a
type of filmmaking. When photographing Last Days in Vietnam small, unobtrusive camera.
with director Rory Kennedy, the cinematographer “shot in these “It’s so amazing,” she adds, “that we have the wherewithal
incredible mansions with beautiful art,” Churchill says, “but we shot now to really insinuate ourselves into people’s lives and show the
it with a shallow depth of field because it was people talking about world what that is like, even with an iPhone. Everything else seems
the deep past. The background just didn’t maer. Sometimes it’s to be theatrical to me. For me, it’s the content that is compelling
appropriate and sometimes it’s not. But for observational shooting, — not the way it looks. And now even with the iPhone, combined
I prefer seeing where that person is in their environment.” with the Filmic Pro and the Cinematographer Kit apps, it can look
Throughout her career, Churchill has always gravitated toward amazing.”
— Tara Jenkins
Photo by Alan Barker.
Joan Churchill, ASC shoots documentary filmmaker

Dawn Porter for the organization Protect the Results.

Guillermo Navarro, ASC,
Eyes on the World AMC, seen here on the
set of the Oscar-winning
feature Pan’s Labyrinth.
Navarro photo by Teresa Isasi, courtesy of the ASC Archives.

Hostile Planet photo courtesy of National Geographic.
Truth Through Film Language
By Guillermo Navarro, ASC, AMC
Documentary brings us back to the origin of film — the need to When I took on the responsibility of executive-producing
document reality. It was this need that led me, early in my career, to National Geographic’s Hostile Planet, I felt it was important to put
participate in projects involving the Indigenous people of Mexico, more weight on film language than on voiceover — so the images
who survived as a community from the conquest to our present would tell the story of what it’s like to be one of these creatures.
day. I learned a lot from their lives and their perspective of the I very stubbornly preserved this theme throughout this very big
world. It was the kind of experience that you’re not only trying to endeavor. I also knew it was essential to tell the complete stories of
transmit to an audience, but it’s an experience for yourself. It was what these animals go through, rather than what I call the “paparaz-
part of my growing up as a human being and as a professional. zi” moments that have been a longstanding recipe in countless
Through my eyes, I could share what I was learning. I was not cre- productions, in which everything is geared toward the moment
ating a narrative — I was allowing the narrative to speak for itself, of the kill. The animals’ real adversary is not each other, and by
by its own actions. The experience of being involved in documen- communicating the narrative through film language, the succes-
tary was a sense of being connected with reality, in that the image sion of images allows you to understand and see the truth of their
that was filtering through the lens was a real representation of the condition — that their real adversary is climate change. They’re on
truth, of what was really happening. the front lines of that fight.
I brought a lot of that experience into my dramatic-feature In this way, I brought my feature experience back into this
work, where you have the opportunity to play with reality, where world. It’s a question of taking what we have learned of the use of
it’s more a reflection of reality than a straight documentation of it. film language and figuring out how to apply that to documentary.
For me, it has been essential to be in those two fields, and to make That’s where the filmmaker makes that difference, and has on
them almost merge. (Ed. note: Navarro’s narrative feature credits their shoulders the responsibility of incorporating film language
include his Academy Award-winning cinematography on Pan’s — in both documentary and feature. Film language is a language.
Labyrinth [AC Jan. ’07], as well as his work on Cabeza de Vaca, It has its rules and its grammar. We have to be very versatile in it.
The Long Kiss Goodnight, Jackie Brown [AC Jan. ’98], The Devil’s And I think there are still a lot of layers to be discovered in it. We’re
Backbone [AC Dec. ’01], Hellboy [AC April ’04] and its sequel, and not done with it. This is a celebration of our trade, and we have to
two chapters of The Twilight Saga. He has also directed episodes feel that obligation, responsibility and sense of purpose that these
of such series as Hannibal, Narcos, Godfather of Harlem [AC Dec. tools give us as we create images to tell the stories — the pursuit
’19] and For Life.) of truth.

New Tech Sparks Creative Options
I’ve said many times that one of the biggest challenges in filmmak-
ing — in feature and in documentary work — is defying gravity. The
image of a filmmaker from some years ago is someone walking
around with 20 cases, all of them heavy. And that’s just to start
working. But with today’s modern equipment, which is smaller and
very technologically advanced, the camera can be much more of
a participant, which creates a much more immersive experience
than just shooting from a very long lens from very far away. That
is also part of bringing film language into the equation — not just
observing from a distance, but allowing the viewer to experience it.
It becomes more of a human experience.
Another incredible tool we had on Hostile Planet was the
drone. If you have a great drone operator, you can do things that
Meerkat photo by Holly Harrison. Penguin photo by Tanja Bayer.
were absolutely impossible to do before. There’s a sequence in

All Hostile Planet photos courtesy of National Geographic.
the episode “Oceans” — one of my favorites — where a drone is

chasing a group of orcas in Norway. For that incredible event where
they hunt for herring, the drone is tracking along with the fins of the
orcas, so you are there. The drone was also very important in the
“Mountains” episode, where you fly as an eagle and go along with
her, and see that perspective of the world. We used to use helicop-
ters, but of course if you were low enough, the wind that the rotors
create would affect what’s happening below. The drone is very
clean in that sense — unless there is a malfunction, it really doesn’t
affect your surroundings. There’s no other way that you can capture
footage like this. It inspires filmmakers and makes them want to do
more things that were impossible to do before.
— Guillermo Navarro

Eyes on the World
Photo by Jake Swantko.

“There’s a team that’s going to kill you soon.”
Documenting The Dissident

By Terry McCarthy
An overhead aerial shot of cars moving through the streets of which is what it was. Bryan trusts my instincts in that respect.”
Montreal cuts to an interior where a worried-looking man is on a Fogel adds, “What Paul Greengrass did in the Bourne movies was
cellphone call. A tension-building soundtrack plays. We hear TV a real inspiration for us. They feel so real, with huge vérité elements.”
news reports about the mysterious disappearance of a journalist The result is a film that goes beyond simply documenting facts,
who entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul and never to eliciting a strong emotional tension that keeps the viewer riveted
came out. The camera follows the man on the cellphone as he throughout, as the documentarians provide compelling testimony that
walks outside and heads down the steps of a subway station. Khashoggi was murdered at the express orders of Mohammed bin
He reads an incoming text message: “Just be careful, move from Salman (aka “MBS”), the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Khashoggi’s
city to another one… Do not use your phone, there’s a team that’s body was cut up with bone-saws and then allegedly burned in an oven
going to kill you soon.” in the residence of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul.
It feels like a Jason Bourne thriller. In fact, it is the beginning There are three principal interviewees in the film — Omar, who
of the documentary The Dissident — directed by Bryan Fogel and was in touch with Khashoggi up to a couple of hours before he died;
shot by Jake Swantko — a real-life exposé of the murder of Wash- Khashoggi’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who waited vainly for him outside
ington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Oct. 2, 2018 by Saudi the consulate; and the chief prosecutor in Istanbul who investigated
agents in Istanbul. The man on the cell phone is Saudi dissident the murder, Irfan Fidan. One of Swantko’s main challenges on this
Omar Abdulaziz, a friend of Khashoggi, who is now living in exile in production — which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival
Canada under police protection, fearing for his life. and has been acquired for distribution by Briarcliff Entertainment —
“Once Bryan said ‘Let’s make this,’ there wasn’t a lot of time was to elicit an intimacy with these subjects through the camera. “We
to sit around and talk about how to make it look, because the story aimed for a place where the subject is telling their story as an active
was still happening,” says Swantko, who worked previously with participant, not just si¥ing for an interview with someone who flies in,”
Fogel on Icarus (which earned Fogel and producer Dan Cogan the the cinematographer says. Swantko spent considerable time blocking
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2018). “We had each interview, which took two to three hours of set-up time. “I told the
to go and film the interviews — with Omar in Canada, and then in crew that this isn’t a run-or-gun situation. We needed bigger locations
Turkey. But then I thought to myself, ‘What kind of look do I want?’ I — rooms over 1,000 square feet.” For a more dramatic look, he wanted
decided to go with the Red Weapon Woven CF 6K and Panavision to be able to move in and out on the interviewee’s face. He put in a
Primo SL Series T1.9 primes, and make it a slightly dark thriller — dolly on a 4' track, with one end almost touching the subject’s knee,

Top photo by Abdilkadir Karakelle. Boom photo via Jamal Khashoggi’s Instagram.
BREAKOUT BOX
BREAKOUT BOX
BREAKOUT BOX
BREAKOUT BOX
BREAKOUT BOX
BREAKOUT BOX
[[ART NOTE: THIS ONE SHOULD HAVE SOME
SPECIAL TREATMENT]]
Above:
Cinematographer
Jake Swantko
shoots in Istanbul.
Le: Jamal Khashoggi
(right) with Saudi
Crown Prince
Mohammed bin
Salman (le).
“but once Bryan started engaging the subject with questions, we happening at that point in his life, considering the threatening text
never had anyone looking at the camera.” In addition, he would have messages — and they agreed to do the shoot, and that the memory
a second fixed camera over Fogel’s shoulder as he did the interview, cards would be given to Omar. “I can tell you, taping up a brick of
and a third camera at three-quarter angle from shoulders up. “The seven or eight CF cards and handing them over — it gets real!”
dolly gave me three different shots — a low wide close-up at the end Swantko says. Three months later, Omar agreed to give back the
of the rail, a medium shot in the middle, and a low medium shot at the cards and let them use the material in the film.
back of the rails.” “I light and shoot exactly the way I want the end product to
Says Fogel, “I am very rarely second-guessing Jake’s choices look,” Swantko says, so color grading (performed by Luke Cahill
— I allow him to establish the shot, I give it a look, and I say ‘great.’ I at Different by Design) didn’t take long. “I wanted as much cine-
think of Jake as my brother, my best friend, my partner.” matographic quality as possible to make sure we told the story right
Aer Khashoggi was killed, Omar was terrified he was next — because you almost owe a special duty to the story of a journalist
on the Saudis’ list, and was initially reluctant to take part in the being killed. It was a really hardcore story, a really unseling story.”
documentary. Fogel told him it was very important to film what was

Eyes on the World
Connecting With the Camera

Shana Hagan, one of the ASC’s newest members, has shot dozens Hagan: From the filmmaking perspective — with the advent of
of documentary features and numerous documentary series. smartphones and small HDSLR and mirrorless cameras — people
Her credits include the Academy Award-winning short Breathing can make their own films using very inexpensive equipment. You
Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien, as well as 63 Up, The don’t need a fancy camera to make a great film. Having access
Kingmaker, Shakespeare Behind Bars, Generation Wealth and This to this basic gear is vital to allowing filmmakers to tell their own
Film Is Not Yet Rated. AC spoke with Hagan about her insights into stories.
nonfiction filmmaking. And in terms of audiences, there are so many platforms to
present our work. Every streamer/broadcaster/theatrical distributor
American Cinematographer: What are your thoughts on has a wide variety of documentary programming in their library. In
documentary aesthetics evolving toward a more cinematic recent years, I’ve been in awe of the original documentary content
experience for viewers? so many folks are producing. I’m grateful when companies find
Shana Hagan, ASC: I think documentary filmmaking has great documentaries from years past to remaster them. I love
always been cinematic, but the new tools we have today allow us when a whole new audience gets to rediscover fantastic, classic
to take our viewers places they’ve never been before. There are so documentaries — American Movie, Grey Gardens and The Thin Blue
many new tools in our toolbox, and you can essentially tailor your Line, to name a few.
gear needs to your desired aesthetic. Even with all the fun toys — What do you think today’s audiences are looking for in
drones, sliders, primes, et cetera — my favorite tool is a handheld documentaries?
camera with a great zoom and a traditional EVF siing balanced on Hagan: I think documentary filmmaking is in a golden era, and
my shoulder. When I’m physically connected to the camera, I feel that audiences are craving real stories with meaning and purpose
it’s an extension of me. I’m always coming back to my handheld, — stories that entertain, educate and enlighten. People love great
and love connecting with story and subjects to capture intimate, stories.
impactful moments. We’re all storytellers. I think we learn about each other and
I love traditional cinéma vérité and find the work of D.A. Pen- ourselves through the stories we share, and there are so many
nebaker, the Maysles brothers and Frederick Wiseman incredibly stories out there. In documentaries, tough issues become tangible
cinematic. Again, for me, the key is how to utilize all these new tools and personal. I think documentaries show us that most of us want
to help you tell your story beer. I appreciate when cinematography the same things — like shelter, food, water, family, safety, security, a
can combine with story to elevate a scene to another level and let clean planet. Recognizing this common bond unites us as humans,
the audience really feel the moment. motivates people to create change, and reminds us of the power of
How would you say modern technology has made docu- storytelling.
mentaries more accessible for filmmakers and for audiences? — Samantha Dillard
Photo courtesy of Shana Hagan, ASC.
Shana Hagan, ASC angles in on her subjects.

Cinematic Reality
Television producer Rob Rosen’s credits include stints as practical reasons, the team favors low-waage LED lights in order
a supervising producer on Kitchen Nightmares and, more to avoid overloading the circuits.
recently, as executive producer on the hit reality series In 2016, I created the true-crime series Reasonable Doubt for
The Dead Files and Reasonable Doubt. In recent years, he’s Investigation Discovery. At this point, there was no turning back.
observed and helped encourage a trend among reality shows Instead of treating the visuals as an inconvenient aerthought,
striving to create more cinematically engaging imagery, and a big part of the show’s development involved creating a visceral vi-
he offers his personal perspective on this shi. sual style that would immerse the viewer in raw, real-time homicide
investigations. We achieved this, in part, by treating the camera as
In the early days of reality television, any producer who spent a character in the show. Operators were instructed not to anticipate
too much time discussing lighting or shot composition would the action, but to follow it. The show also features dramatic re-cre-
quickly get the unwanted reputation of being pretentious and ations — another chance for us to flex our cinematic muscles. Us-
self-indulgent. ing Lensbabies and moody, noir-inspired lighting, we try to create
The shows were about conflict and competition. As long as impressionistic and dreamy dramatizations — a stark contrast to
the viewers could see Gordon Ramsay’s Shar-Pei-like forehead the cinéma-vérité footage we get out in the field.
wrinkle in frustration, or Kim Kardashian’s haute couture as she ran Visuals have become a much more integral part of our
errands around Malibu, no one was complaining. storytelling, with composition, color, camera placement and lens
In 2011, I began show-running the paranormal reality series selection viewed as tools and strategies that can greatly enhance
The Dead Files on the Travel Channel. Instead of seeing cinema- and complement the stories we’re telling. Should we use a super
tography as a necessary evil, the show’s creator, Jim Casey, saw it wide-lens to create distance between two people who are at odds
as an integral part of the storytelling. I was finally going to put my with each other? Should we desaturate the color palee as some-
film-school degree from Boston University to use. one emotionally relives a traumatic memory? How do we position
We treat each episode of The Dead Files like its own indepen- cameras to create a power imbalance in an interrogation?
dent horror movie. The show’s cinematographer, AFI alumnus Rob For veterans of scripted film and television productions, this
Toth, and I meet to decide what kind of mood, tone and compo- mindset probably seems rather mundane and obvious — it’s the
sition each scene calls for. The job has its challenges. We have to way you’ve always worked. But those of us in the world of reality
work with our locations — there’s no time to paint walls or do elab- TV are entering a golden age where it’s no longer an indulgence to
orate set decorations. We’re also rarely able to shoot scenes with discuss lighting and film composition, but an essential part of the
a single camera. This means Rob’s team will use up to 12 lights per job. Listening to Gordon Ramsay lay into a failed chef is still enter-
setup in order to shape the light for a multi-camera shoot. They’ll taining, but careful consideration of how to light and compose the
oen set up a menace arm to create dramatic off-key lighting. For angry wrinkles on his forehead is now of equal importance.
Executive producer Rob Rosen (far le

) and cinematographer
Rob Toth (wearing cap) on set with the Reasonable Doubt team.

Eyes on the World
ASC Video Highlights
Boys State photo courtesy of Apple TV Plus.

Ben Houdek, courtesy of BBC.
Life Below Zero photo by
Life Below Zero Boys State

The National Geographic series Life Below Zero depicts the daily As part of AC’s panel series at the Canon Creative Studio during
trials and tribulations of the isolated inhabitants of remote corners the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, moderator Iain Marcks spoke
of the frigid Alaskan wilderness. For an ASC Clubhouse Conversa- with cinematographers Thorsten Thielow and Wolfgang Held, and
tion video interview recorded earlier this year, cinematographers director-producers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, about Boys
Michael Cheeseman and Danny Day discussed — with interviewer State, a political coming-of-age story presented in a cinematic style
James Neihouse, ASC — their work on the docuseries and their and captured in just seven days.
creative approach to non-fiction shooting in hostile environments. Here are some highlights of their conversation:
With regard to capturing wildlife, Cheeseman said during
this conversation that “natural story happens constantly every day, Thorsten Thielow: It was really important to us to be as
so we’re just following the action as it happens.” And when asked intimate as possible with the characters. This was a big challenge
about the intimate interviews he and Day achieve with their human when we talked about it in preproduction — “How can we create a
subjects, Cheeseman noted the importance of the relationships visual language with seven shooters?” We thought it would benefit
that have formed since the show launched in 2013. The more trust us to limit ourselves to one lens, so ... most of it was shot on a
there is between the filmmakers and subjects, he says, “the more 35mm. We needed to be as close as possible to our subjects. We
vulnerable [the subjects] are going to be, the more they’re going to couldn’t just stand in a room and zoom in and out; we needed to
open up, and the more they’re going to tell more natural stories.” be right there and right with them, and experience their experience
The filmmakers are “always looking for a different way to film through the camera.
[than] ways we’ve seen before,” Day said. “When we’re filming a Wolfgang Held: We’ve had a lot of discussions among vérité
scene, we are [also] making a mental checklist of specialty shots [filmmakers] about whether or not to use a zoom lens. [Documen-
that we want to get [later] when we have slow time. By using our tary] used to be all zoom lens — you could be far away then zoom
drones, slow motion, GoPros, motion-control shots or time lapses, in — but there’s a certain honesty with a medium-wide 35mm lens.
we’re trying to show that scene with a different look and from differ- You can only be that close when you have a relationship with that
ent angles.” Day grins when Neihouse mentions a drone-executed character ... Once you know people and they’ve let you in to film
dolly zoom move he noticed in a recent episode — a maneuver that with them, they let you be that close.
Day describes as “something new to catch the eye from previous Jesse Moss: A great thing about making this film was break-
seasons.” ing the mold of how a documentary could or should be made, and
When employing drones to capture wildlife, Cheeseman has trying something that felt closer to scripted production in its scale
found that he can “gain [the animals’] trust” by starting out high, and complexity. u
“and then get lower and lower and lower, and they don’t mind.”
Both cinematographers agree that their aim is to set this show To watch the complete video interview, visit ascmag.com/arti-
apart by creating imagery that “looks incredible.” Says Cheeseman, cles/spotlight-on-boys-state.
”My goal in every project I take on is to show that you can make art
with whatever camera you have.” — Excerpted by Tara Jenkins and edited by Andrew Fish
To watch the complete video interview, visit ascmag.com/vid-

eos/clubhouse-conversations-life-below-zero.

Our First 100 Years Celebrates
the ASC’s Centennial
To honor its 100th Anniversary, the ASC has published this commemorative
154-page hardcover book featuring dozens of high-quality archival photos
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Rough Seas
Cinematographer David Reichert and executive
producer Brian Love on the perils and cinematic
evolution of Deadliest Catch
By Terry McCarthy
THE BASIC PREMISE OF DEADLIEST

CATCH IS STARKLY DRAMATIC.
There’s a storm coming. It is winter
in the Bering Sea off the Alaskan
coast. Fishing boats pitch in huge
seas as deckhands try to manhandle
800-pound steel cages full of crab
onboard. Their captains peer anxiously
through freezing spray to make out the
next monster wave coming at them.
Splash, crash and repeat.

Rough Seas
Deadliest Catch cinematographer David

Reichert shooting in the Bering Sea.
This would clearly make for a “After 15 years, the audience has cinematography. The series has both
successful 90-minute documentary seen a lot of the scope [of the fishing] adopted new technology for filming in
— yet the brilliance of the Discovery and it could become repetitive — so we such unforgiving environments, and
Channel series has been its ability to had to find a way to make it more cin- encouraged the camera operators on
keep the audience coming back for 16 ematic and get people more involved,” each of the six (or sometimes seven)
seasons and more than 260 episodes, says Brian Lovett, who was part of the boats they are documenting to be more
with Season 17 currently in production original team that created Deadliest creative — and intimate — in their
and anxiously awaited by its fan base. Catch in 2003, and is now an executive shooting.
The show has done this by keeping producer of the series. “In the early “In the first season, they went out
its viewers invested in the people on 2000s, at the beginning of reality TV, there and pretty much sprayed and
the fishing crew as they confront the it was all about danger, drama and prayed,” says David Reichert, who has
power of the ocean and their own death. Now it has evolved into danger, been director of photography on the
inner demons, often simultaneously — drama and characters.” series since 2013. “A big difference in
and turning some of the boats’ captains Central to this evolving storytelling the show now is that we are shooting
into minor celebrities on the side. style is the enhancement of the show’s more cinematic material, with different
frame rates, different depths of field
— and the editors and producers have
figured out how to use it.”
When Reichert and Lovett spoke
with AC, in separate conversations,
they each made it a point to illustrate
this evolution by comparing how
recent episodes have dealt with situ-
ations like an approaching storm, as
compared to episodes from the early
seasons. In 2005, the first season’s fifth
episode (“Dead of Winter”) opened
breathlessly with rapidly paced shots
of waves crashing over decks, crab
pots swinging dangerously, and men
getting injured, as the radio warns
of a growing storm and announces
that five men are still missing from a
capsized boat. By contrast, in 2019, the

Chase-boat camera (on the le-hand side
of the crane) mounted on gimbal.
15th season’s fifth episode (“Shifting

Stack”) — in which the fleet is also
facing an approaching storm — opens
with the camera holding on waves in
slow motion, and then we see a captain
in his darkened wheelhouse framed
with plenty of negative space, and a
lingering shot of a deckhand looking
wistfully out to sea, with a soundtrack
of a plaintive ballad in the background.
As 30' waves the height of the wheel-
house crash by, one captain says, ap-
parently to himself, “I am, like, serious-
ly scared.” And you believe him. to water and the ocean becomes very
All photos courtesy of Discovery.
“The technology “Everyone is on their own, and

it is incredibly moody,” says Lovett.
ominous … Use it for a crabber’s facial
expression and you really see what
has changed, but “Before, we would have gone with their mood is.”
what hasn’t is the more action, but this was a very strong
opening, stressing how the crewmem-
Many of the show’s current camera
operators are veterans of the series,
environment — bers are thinking as the storm comes.” and have learned how to deal with the
the intense cold, Reichert adds that simply holding
shots for more than a few seconds is
extremely hazardous conditions. “Now
we have over 100 years of ‘deadly
the saltwater, the something that they used to not do. catch’ experience on the boats as we
heavy equipment “What helps is the frame rate — we
have the ability to shoot up to 120
speak,” Lovett says. But there are also
new crewmembers — greenhorns —
on deck.” frames per second. Add slow motion who always start out on the deck, and

Rough Seas
Above: Capturing a helicopter shot with the Gyro-Stabilized Systems rig as the boats
leave Dutch Harbor. Right: Cinematographer Kelvon Agee shoots in the wheelhouse.
who have to know where to stand and detailed clinic, and get everyone in the
what to look out for. “They need to room back on the same page,” Reichert
ingratiate themselves with the fisher- says. “We want a consistent look across
men, who will keep them safe,” says the series, and that is hard with six
Reichert. “It’s harder for the camera- different crews.” Particularly because cinematic look.” More recently, in 2019,
man to be aware of his surroundings once they have gotten on the boats, they moved to Panasonic cameras — a
as he frames a shot — the fishermen Reichert cannot see any of the footage VariCam LT in the wheelhouse and the
are watching the hooks and cranes.” they have shot until the boats return to lighter AU-EVA1 for the deck camera,
On each boat there is a second the harbor after the fishing is over. “I both of which have dual native ISO
operator who doubles as the producer, have no choice but to have faith — the that allows for better sensitivity in low
and this crewmember’s job is to stay in earliest I get to see it is too late. There light.
the wheelhouse, film the captain, and have been some sad moments when Reichert notes that the low-light
maintain an overview of developing things came in bad, but less and less capability is a boon to shooting in
stories. Often the captains are stories in often.” the wheelhouse, where light needs
themselves. “There is something about During this preparatory week, the to be at a minimum, as “the captain
the crab-boat captains,” says Reichert. team also reviews new equipment needs to see what is happening in the
“The conditions in the Bering Sea are they will use. The show started out dark.” And beyond that, 60 percent of
life-and-death, and their personalities using Sony DSR-PD150 camcorders, the show is shot in the dark, largely
are unbelievable — it does take a cer- and then came Sony HVR-Z5s and because in northern-latitude winters,
tain type of person to do that.” Z7s. When Reichert took over as series the sun rises late and sets early. “We
At the beginning of every season, director of photography in 2013, they use Rosco light panels to augment the
the entire Deadliest Catch camera crew switched to a Canon C300 Mark I in instrument lighting — it is a dark look
gathers in Dutch Harbor, homeport of the wheelhouse and the C100 Mark and that’s what we want. As for the
the fleet, and they go through a con- II on the deck. “It was a huge move EVA1 on deck, despite multiple ex-
centrated film school before they get away from a 1/3-inch sensor to the periments with carbon-fiber housings
on their assigned boats. They look at shallow depth of field of the C300’s and special coatings for the camera,
clips from the previous season, review Super 35 sensor. I see this as a major the show continually returns to one of
what went well and what didn’t, and turning point in the look of the show,” its most useful accessories for keeping
talk about what is coming up. “It’s Reichert says. “We pushed the cameras the camera dry: a $2 extra-large Ziploc
critical to give the operators a very to [larger] sensors to give us that bag.

In addition to those two handheld
cameras, each boat has four to five
fixed cameras running 24-7. There is
one Canon ME200S block camera on
top of the mast — about 70 feet above
the water — that covers 80 percent of
the boat and also sees the horizon and
the incoming building-sized waves.
A second ME200S has its wide-angle
Tokina lens focused on the area of the
deck where the crab cages come in
and are emptied onto the sorting table.
“That’s where 80 percent of the action
is and where 80 percent of the trouble
happens,” says Reichert. In addition,
there are one or two fixed Sony a7S
cameras in the wheelhouse that the
producer can direct wherever the story
requires. “We’re rolling these cameras
24-7 on all six or seven boats — we’re
generating so many terabytes!” The
data is stored on 48TB drives. Over the
last two years, production has been av-
eraging 1,500TB of material per season.
Some of the most impressive shots can go from shore before they have “We wanted to see it from underwa-
of the crab boats are taken from a to turn back. Then there are drones. ter, from ice floes, from the sky, from
chase boat, which has a Red Gemini in “We only really started using drones further away … the boats can get a bit
a carbon-fiber housing mounted on an four years ago when the DJI Inspire claustrophobic.”
extendable 4' arm that can swing out came out, with Red Helium cameras Reichert himself has ventured
over the side of the boat. The camera mounted on them.” The Catch crew underwater to shoot crab boats from
is mounted on a Cinema Pro six-axis flies drones off their chase boat, but underneath their hulls. He is also cur-
gimbal from Gyro-Stabilized Systems the lightweight quadcopters can only rently testing a remote-control floating
(GSS), which “enables us to maintain a withstand winds up to a maximum of camera. “It will be difficult to deploy
perfectly stable shot with anything up 35 mph. They position the chase boats and recover,” he says, “because it’s big,
to a 1,000mm lens,” Reichert says. downwind of the crab boats to make it with a Red Komodo inside the hous-
The camera arm is operated man- easier to retrieve the drones, but even ing. Every year we evaluate our total
ually, and can be swung back in over still, “we have lost plenty of drones — camera package, and every year there
the rail in bad weather, so the camera I have lost two, personally,” Reichert is equipment that we can upgrade.”
is not stripped off by a wave — which says. “In the early days, they didn’t “The technology has changed,”
would lead to $500,000 of equipment have anti-collision mechanisms,” says Lovett, “but what hasn’t is the
sinking into the Bering Sea. “We really which yielded inevitable results when environment — the intense and deep
see the movement of the crab boat shooting amid 800-pound crab cages cold, the saltwater, the heavy equip-
with the gimbal [holding the camera swinging through the air. ment on deck.” It all takes a toll on
steady] on the chase boat, because it In one notoriously extreme effort to their gear. Reichert says that each
shows the angle of the horizon.” The get a unique shot of a crab boat, chase season they lose about 35 percent of
chase boat also makes clear how big boat cinematographer Shane Moore the cameras they use on deck. “These
the waves are — often the crab boat donned a wetsuit and jumped off the are EVA1s, which are $7,000 each with
appears almost completely buried in craft into the frigid water, hoisting $1,000 lenses.” He adds with a laugh,
the trough of a wave. himself onto an ice floe to shoot a crab “But that’s nothing — in the early
To get another perspective of the boat in the distance from across the years we used to lose 65 percent of the
boats, the show has used helicopters to ice. Even the veteran fishermen were cameras! These are the worst shooting
shoot them as they leave Dutch Harbor speechless. “We felt we weren’t getting conditions imaginable!”
— but there is only so far the aircraft off the boat enough,” Reichert says. Splash, crash and repeat. u

Mirth and Death
Director-cinematographer Kirsten Johnson aims for “new cinematic territory”
with the uniquely personal hybrid documentary Dick Johnson Is Dead
By Patricia Thomson
“I’M TRYING TO BREAK THIS FORM, dementia forced him to close his psy- project that she and her father could
TO STRETCH CINEMA’S CAPACI- chiatry practice in Seattle and move to work on together; she even engaged
TY,” director-cinematographer Kirsten New York City to live with her. And her two kids, who chimed in on fanta-
Johnson says of her latest feature, Dick she kept shooting until January 2020, sy ways to finish off Grandpa.
Johnson Is Dead. The work defies clas- right before the movie’s premiere at But shooting these fictional bits
sification; it is a hybrid documentary, Sundance, where it won a Special Jury with a subject in mental decline meant
comedy, memoir, and meditation on Award for Innovation in Nonfiction that the feature’s production was
death — a meta-film about filmmak- Storytelling. as unpredictable as its form. Care-
ing that called for a cadre of fellow The death in the title is fictional, ful planning inevitably falls by the
cinematographers to assist. At its core, and it is depicted in a number of ways. wayside when your lead can’t hit his
it’s about the dementia of a loved one: With the aid of stunt performers and marks, repeat the same action twice
Dick Johnson, the filmmaker’s father. movie magic, Johnson had her father or remember directions. But Johnson,
Kirsten Johnson had been down enact his demise multiple times: a tum- a documentary pro with more than
this road before, as her mother had ble down the stairs, an air-conditioner 50 films under her belt as principal
died of Alzheimer’s disease some landing on his head, a wooden plank cinematographer — including the
years earlier. The fact that there was no at a construction site bonking him in award-winning Cameraperson, which
motion-picture footage of her mother, a the neck. It was all a type of desensiti- she directed — knew how to roll with
dynamic woman, in her prime spurred zation training for the filmmaker. “The the punches.
Johnson to make a movie with her stunts were many things,” she says. “What was so empowering about
father before it was too late. She started “They’re practice. They’re pre-traumat- this shoot was that we figured out a
shooting in 2016, when early-stage ic therapy.” They were also a family methodology by which I could shoot

Director-cinematographer Kirsten Johnson (orange jacket) oversees her
fictional material using my resources dad’s fictional demises and aerlife.
as a documentarian,” she says. “With
this film, we were deeply interested the first time in my career that I have Siegel, Nadia Hallgren, Martina Rad-
in exploring the very nature of the my own prime lenses. It makes me so wan, Andre Lambertson, and Johnson
‘unexpected and the unpredictable.’ I happy.”) The next layer comprised the herself — as well as specialized Phan-
wasn’t interested in chaos, though — it death scenes, including Heaven and tom camera operators John Benam and
was our priority to build a process that Hell scenes, which were captured and Nick Midwig.
would allow each member of the team lit by director of photography John Dick Johnson was still in Seattle
(including my dad) to feel seen, valued “JP” Wakayama Carey. Then came a and in pretty good shape when the
and respected. Instead of imagining layer of behind-the-scenes footage, funeral was staged. (His daughter says
that I can control death or moviemak- which showed the artifice of it all: the she originally intended to start the
ing or time itself — how could we har- stunts, the Heaven and Hell sound- movie with his mock funeral and end
ness the powerful energy of respecting stage shoots and a mock funeral, shot it with his real one, but he is still going
other people, respecting moviemaking, by a wide range of cinematographers, strong four years later.) His friends
respecting death’s power, respecting which included veteran documentary and patients gathered to mourn and
cinema’s strange relationship to time, camerapeople John Russell Foster, Rick recollect while father and daughter
all the while accepting our own inca-
pacity to predict what will happen? So
the cinematic imagination of the film
Photo on opposite page by John Wakayama Carey, courtesy of Sundance Institute.
emerged out of the process of collabo-

ration itself. We knew that we would
have to toggle back and forth between
Photos on this page courtesy of Netflix. Top right photo by Barbara Nitke.
different stages of the process — edit-

ing, re-editing, sound-mixing — early
and often. We didn’t put any limits
on it, except that I really wanted there
to be moments in the film where it’s
impossible not to laugh! I was deadly
serious about the idea that we were
trying to make a film which would
allow my father to live forever, and
at the same time I know that this was
doomed for failure.”
Structurally, the movie is like a
Russian nesting doll. Johnson shot
the core observational footage on her
newly acquired Panasonic AU-EVA1
and Canon Cine Prime lenses. (“It’s

Mirth and Death
The fictional deaths “were many things,”

Johnson says. “They’re practice. They’re
pretraumatic therapy.”
eavesdropped from the church lobby. was terribly moving because I was in this clarinet when we blasted Benny
When the testimonies were over, Dick everyone’s hands. I had no idea how Goodman,” Johnson recalls, awed
entered the nave and walked down the the whole experience would hit me by the capabilities that can reemerge
aisle, shaking hands with the tearful emotionally, and I wanted to be present despite dementia.
crowd. for my dad and the congregants, but I “I thought of Heaven as a live
Including herself, Johnson had five knew that with this group of camera- collage,” says Johnson, who took
cinematographers covering the funeral people, whom I trusted so much, that inspiration from artists such as Max
— with Emmy-winning cinematog- I could experience my father’s funeral Ernst and Saul Steinberg. Steinberg’s
rapher Siegel overseeing the team — for real and not have a moment where bag masks in particular triggered the
using multiple Panasonic VariCams I was wondering, ‘Do we have the idea for the paper masks worn by the
and a couple of the smaller AU-EVA1 shot?’” various characters, including Dick and
cameras. One operator was Hallgren, The production’s most elaborate his late wife dancing, looking as they
“an extraordinary observational-doc- foray into fiction are the scenes in
umentary cameraperson, and one of Heaven. Johnson’s family were Sev-
my closest friends, whom I would trust enth-Day Adventists, and she spent Contrasting States
with my life,” says Johnson. Hallgren much of her childhood thinking hard “All of these layers emerged out of
got a bittersweet shot of Dick coming about Heaven. “I was dismayed by the examining the observational docu-
down the aisle. “She just came to the prospect of it being boring,” she re- mentary footage in the edit room, and
back of the church unprompted,” John- counts. “Then I got onto the idea that it then imagining the unimaginable —
son recalls. “She knew I needed not might be interesting if you could meet the ‘moment of death.’ I thought of all
to have a camera in my hands at that interesting people there.” The Heaven these binaries we assert and bound-
moment.” She also praises Foster for she created for this production is popu- aries we place between states — life/
getting the shot of Dick’s best friend, lated by figures whom Johnson sees as death, present/future, documentary/
Ray, sobbing in the corner. “It was to- artists who have succeeded in trans- fiction, the serious/the transgressive,
tally off the book for the fictional shoot. lating their own pain into art: Buster laughter/tears, the controlled/the
But we had discussed beforehand that Keaton, Frederick Douglass, Bruce Lee, uncontrollable — and we set about
I wanted all of the camerapeople to feel Frida Kahlo, Sigmund Freud, Billie trying to see how cinematic language
empowered to shoot whatever moved Holiday, Farrah Fawcett. There’s also might be flexible enough for us to ex-
them, and John totally came through Jesus performing a movie miracle on pand the ‘no-man’s land’ between all
for the film by finding Ray in that Dick’s deformed toes. Heaven also of those contrasting states. Could we
moment and holding the shot as long contains Dick’s beloved chocolate, the build a cinema which could create a
as he did.” The entire church sequence, car he can no longer drive, and his clar- cathartic state in which laughing and
she notes, “was observational-docu- inet. “He hadn’t played in years, but he crying would be simultaneous?”
mentary people at their strongest. It stood up and started swinging, playing — Kirsten Johnson

New Voices
“We’re entering new territories of cin-
ematic language, and this has to do
Photos courtesy of Netflix. Top right photo on

with the fact that people who haven’t
been allowed into the world of film-
making are finally geing a chance
opposite page by Barbara Nitke.

at it. These realities are absolutely
connected. It’s not like, ‘Oh, this is a
new wave of hybridity.’ This is because
there are more people making films
who have been disenfranchised for
too long — because there are more
people of color making films, because
there are more women making films,
the glorious list goes on. We’re enter- costume designer William Mellette; phy experience, Johnson didn’t realize
ing a long-overdue and long-fought- production designer Nathan Hong what a herculean task that was on the
for phase that marks a transformation Fisher and art director Jane Ji; stunt co- high-speed camera. “I thought I was
of what the history of cinema has ordinator Mike Hilow; actors; dancers; pretty well aware of what I was asking
been. It’s going to look different. We and an incredibly patient stand-in for of everyone, but then there was a
can all celebrate that there are more my dad, Brett Eidman. But none of us certain moment when JP said, ‘Do you
films coming that will be ‘like nothing knew what my father could or would understand what Chris is doing right
we’ve ever seen before!’ Hallelujah.” do at any moment. Everyone was orga- now?’” From then on, “seeing Chris
— K.J. nized and prepped and ready to come get just a moment in focus, like when
in with their elements, but no one Dad’s falling back into the feathers and
knew how the elements would look you just catch his hand in focus, was
did on their wedding day. Collage, together or how it would function. The a total victory. We could have created
after all, was part and parcel of her first assistant director, Kate Branom, that whole world of Heaven, shot all of
approach: “In the film, I’m recombin- was like a brilliant symphony conduc- that, and had none of it in focus.
ing or ‘(Young!) Frankensteining’ my tor.” Again, they adopted a ready-for- “It reminds us that you can have 50
father back together as the dementia anything documentary ethos when people on set, but it all comes down to
pulls him apart.” shooting this most fictional part of the one person’s intuitive capacity to stay
The Heaven sequences required movie. “The constraints of my dad’s with focus,” she adds. “And focus was
a three-day shoot in August 2019. By dementia pushed us into uncharted a metaphor for this entire project —
then, Dick’s dementia had progressed cinematic territory — we were lighting what we can and can’t look at, what
to the point where he was often stuck and filming and choreographing dance we can and can’t catch.
in a loop, repeating the same thing numbers that would play in slow “Whatever I do as a filmmaker,
over and over. Shooting in slow motion motion to music that didn’t exist yet. I want to search my way into new
was one way around that, allowing Instead of previsualizing everything, territory,” she adds, “and this film is
Kirsten Johnson to stretch time and we were assembling relationships of an attempt to directly address cinema’s
expand the time and continuity of her necessities — if ‘this,’ then ‘that,’ but very powerful capacities for time trav-
father’s reactions to things. “Because we won’t know what ‘this’ is until it el. My wish is to make films I can’t see
my father’s dementia had advanced happens. What I did know was that I coming — just like the future which we
so much, the slow motion became a wanted Heaven to be glorious and exu- can never see coming. My hope is that
necessity,” she says. “Then we asked, berant and wacky!” as my films emerge, they’ll be almost
‘What’s going to work well in slow Johnson gives special props to completely unrecognizable to me and
motion?’ That’s how we arrived at Chris Cruz, 1st AC on the Phantom they’ll be a part of moving this craft
feathers, bubbles and sequins.” Flex4K. “It’s incredibly difficult to into unfamiliar languages. The people
For the Heaven shoot, “we had follow-focus with a shallow lens in I work with all want cinema to stay
this big, wonderful crew and all these slow motion, period, even if someone vital, and in order to make it that, we
specialized talents. There were two is hitting their marks,” Johnson says. have to push the form into territories
exceptionally experienced Phantom “We were shooting with long lenses at that challenge us to our core. That’s
operators, John Benam and Nick Mid- 600 to 1,000 fps. My father was hitting what I’m trying to do.” u
wig; choreographer Adam Fleming; no marks.” Despite her cinematogra-

Modern
Times: AC
Since 2010
American Cinematographer has
spent the past decade documenting
outstanding camerawork that continues
to raise the creative bar
By David E. Williams
sparked conversation among not only filmmaking profes-

sionals but also general audiences; many were deeply affect-
ed by what they had seen, their eyes perhaps opened to how
artfully crafted images can elevate a story into a meaningful
emotional experience.
As the January 2010 issue of American Cinematographer
EVERY YEAR, NEW AND DARING MOTION PICTURES landed around the world, the cover story on James Cam-
CAPTURE THE ZEITGEIST, change the discussion, and eron’s 3D sci-fi spectacular Avatar (released in late 2009)
plot a fresh course for the industry to follow. They do it by perfectly reflected this kind of transformative phenomenon.
presenting story and characters in a unique light or novel Lavishly produced, with every technological and creative
way. This happened with such milestone features as Intoler- advantage in play, the picture offered a fantastic story of
ance, King Kong, Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Citizen resistance and romance, grounded in part by a sense of re-
Kane, The Robe, Lawrence of Arabia, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star ality conveyed in the cinematography of Mauro Fiore, ASC.
Wars, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Every composition was dynamic, the colors vibrant, and the
The Last Emperor, JFK, Schindler’s List, Seven, Saving Private “bio-luminescent” lighting atmospheric, but the alien world
Ryan, The Matrix and 300. of Pandora remained relatable and worthy of exploration. It
The visual power of these films — among others — became a destination audiences returned to again and again,

Opposite page: Mauro Fiore, ASC on the set of Avatar (starring Sam Worthington, above)
and accepting his Oscar for Best Cinematography.
much as they had for Cameron’s Titanic (Dec. ’97). Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Dec. ’16) and Gemini Man
Avatar offered an immersive experience in part because (Nov. ’19).
of the cutting-edge 3D digital Fusion Camera rigs designed The gripping outer-space adventure Gravity (Nov. ’13),
and built by Cameron and Vince Pace, ASC; these could directed by Alfonso Cuarón and photographed by longtime
acutely control the complex interocular and convergence dy- collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, delivered an-
namics with which stereoscopic-imaging systems simulate other technical tour de force. Replete with hyperreal visual
the perception of depth. “It required a lot of experimenta- effects supervised by Tim Webber, the movie’s astonishing
tion and a reinterpretation of how I deal with composition imagery accentuated the sense of cinema with seemingly
and lighting,” Fiore told AC. “There were times when it was impossible shots. The approach meshed perfectly with the
a miserable experience, but if you’re going to delve into new plot, featuring a lone astronaut struggling to survive a cata-
technology and a new world, Jim Cameron is the guy to do strophic low-orbit disaster.
it with.” Continuing the serpentine shooting style they had estab-
Three months later, Fiore won the Academy Award and lished on previous pictures, Cuarón and Lubezki strove to
received an ASC Award nomination for his work on the “involve the viewer with long takes and the elasticity of the
picture, and by then Avatar had already become a new shot,” the cinematographer told AC. “We wanted to keep a
benchmark for epic storytelling. Its financial success also lot of our shots elastic — for example, to have a shot start
helped demonstrate that 3D was a viable tool when applied very wide then become very close, and then go back to a
to the right story, and the format subsequently enjoyed a very wide shot.”
revival, used in such films as Tron: Legacy (Jan. ’11), Pirates Lubezki believes the long take (plano sequencia in Spanish)
of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (June ’11), Hugo (Dec. ’11), brings the audience into the movie in a striking way. “The
Oz the Great and Powerful (April ’13), The Martian (Nov. ’15), plano sequencia is immersive. To me, it feels more real, more

Modern Times: AC Since 2010 Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC,
AMC with his third
ASC Award.
And the Winner Is…

American Cinematographer has never been in the business of predict- 2018 Roma, Cold War, The
ing who might win the Academy or ASC award for feature-film cinema- Favourite, Never Look Away, A Star
tography, but the magazine has an uncanny track record of covering Is Born
the respective winners of those honors over the past 10 years, with 2019 1917, The Irishman,
all but two featured in the magazine’s pages and the others featured Joker, The Lighthouse, Once Upon a
online. The vast majority of the other nominees during this period were Time ... in Hollywood
also covered. We’ll see if this trend continues for 2020, a year that has
so far defied most expectations. — David E. Williams ASC AWARDS
2010 Inception, Black Swan,
Swan
Winners in bold. Projects covered in AC are highlighted in orange. The King’s Speech, The Social Network, True Grit
Titles in red were covered online at ascmag.com 2011 The Tree of Life, The Artist, The Girl With the Dragon
Taoo, Hugo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
ACADEMY AWARDS 2012 Skyfall, Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, Life of Pi,
2010 Inception, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, The Social Lincoln
Network, True Grit 2013 Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, Captain Phillips, The Grand-
2011 Hugo, The Artist, The Girl With the Dragon Taoo, The Tree master, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, Prisoners
of Life, War Horse 2014 Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),
2012 Life of Pi, Anna Karenina, Django Unchained, Lincoln, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Mr. Turner, Unbro-
Skyfall ken
2013 Gravity, The Grandmaster, Inside Llewyn Davis, Nebraska, 2015 The Revenant, Bridge of Spies, Carol, Mad Max: Fury
Prisoners Road, Sicario
2014 Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), The 2016 Lion, Arrival, La La Land, Moonlight, Silence
Grand Budapest Hotel, Ida, Mr. Turner, Unbroken 2017 Blade Runner 2049, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Mudbound,
2015 The Revenant, Carol, The Hateful Eight, Mad Max: Fury The Shape of Water
Road, Sicario 2018 Cold War, The Favourite, First Man, Roma, A Star Is Born
2016 La La Land, Arrival, Lion, Moonlight, Silence 2019 1917, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Joker, Once Upon a
2017 Blade Runner 2049, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Mudbound, Time ... in Hollywood
The Shape of Water
intimate and more immediate. The fewer the cuts, the more valley was to use a naturalistic light on the faces and to find
you are with [the characters]; it’s as if you’re feeling what a way to match the light between the faces and surround-
they’re going through in real time. This is something Alfon- ings as closely as possible.”
so and I discovered on Y Tu Mamá También and Children of Lubezki’s onscreen legerdemain helped turn Gravity into
Men.” a box-office smash that won seven Academy Awards —
Webber, who led the visual-effects team at Framestore in including Oscars for Cuarón, Lubezki and Webber — and
London, convinced Cuarón that his desire for long takes elevated audience expectations. The decade’s subsequent
with a “zero-gravity” camera required that they go virtual, action-packed titles — among them Godzilla (June ’14), Edge
with the actors’ faces often the only practical element in a of Tomorrow (July ’14), Mad Max: Fury Road (June ’15), Ghost
CG realm. “We needed the freedom of a virtual camera,” in the Shell (May ’17) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Sept.
says Webber, “so we created a virtual world and then ’18) — all strove to deliver similar dynamic urgency and vi-
worked out how to get human performances into that sual virtuosity. Another of the most anticipated action films
world.” As a result, Lubezki’s role as the director of pho- of this decade, the James Bond adventure No Time to Die,
tography expanded far beyond the live-action realm. “The remains unreleased at this time, delayed by the Covid-19
biggest conundrum in trying to integrate live action with pandemic that has disrupted so many other productions
animation has always been the lighting,” he noted. “The and release plans, but AC provided comprehensive coverage
actors are often lit differently than the animation, and if the in our April 2020 issue.
lighting is not right, the composite doesn’t work. It can look While cutting-edge cinema continued to impress with
eerie and take you to a place animators call ‘the uncanny new options and opportunities, Quentin Tarantino sought
valley,’ that place where everything is very close to real, but something different for his brutal ensemble Western The
your subconscious knows something is wrong. That takes Hateful Eight (Dec. ’15). He and cinematographer Robert
you out of the movie. The only way to avoid the uncanny Richardson, ASC embraced classic analog technology for

the tale of pain and vengeance: Ultra Panavision 70, a 65mm
film format that had not been used to shoot a feature since
the 1960s.
“I thought maybe I could shoot it in a format that would
demand that it be released [theatrically] on film,” Taranti-
no explained to AC. “If [the studio] is going to spend the
money to shoot on 65mm, they’d want some sort of bang
for their buck. So I figured we’d propose the big roadshow
thing and see where we were after that. [I also felt] maybe Explosive Television
we could show that 65mm wasn’t a lost cause. The excite- With a multitude of cable channels and streaming services seek-
ment of the whole thing is that we might have accidentally ing to draw audiences, AC was there to document the “Platinum
bumped into a really good idea: the saving of film [for Age” of television that continued through the decade, oen with
theatrical exhibition].” detailed coverage direct from the set. A prime example was
It was a noble goal that stood to benefit cineastes and the location reporting on the fantastical Amazon Studios series
filmmakers — but first, Richardson had to investigate Good Omens (June ’19), which called for intrepid AC senior editor
whether Ultra Panavision 70 was even a possibility for the Andrew Fish to travel to South Africa to interview cinematographer
production. After exhaustive research and testing, custom Gavin Finney, BSC; director Douglas Mackinnon; and renowned
optics work by Panavision, and confirmation of film-stock science-fiction and fantasy author Neil Gaiman. In this photo, the
availability from Kodak and lab services from FotoKem production turns up the heat while filming a scene featuring a fiery
(one of the last facilities to process film), the filmmakers blaze. Cameras used on the show included Arri Alexa SXTs and
fell in love with the format. “[It] works well in a one-room Minis, as well as an Arri D-21 modified for hand-crank capture.
situation because you can really utilize the stage and make Other notable series covered included CSI: NY (March ’10),
it a ‘thing,’ creating a complete level of intimacy,” Taranti- Boardwalk Empire (Sept. ’10), Fringe (March ’11), Game of Thrones
no explained. “And if you have eight or nine characters all (May ’12 and July ’19), Downton Abbey (March ’12), The Walking
trapped in one room, while I’m watching the people in the Dead (March ’12), American Horror Story (Nov. ’12), House of Cards
foreground where the scene is going on, I’m also seeing oth- (Feb. ’13), Chicago Fire (March ’13 and July ’18), The Americans
er people in the background. I’m always able to keep tabs (March ’14), Hannibal (June ’14), Vikings (March ’15), Daredevil
on the characters in an almost theatrical-blocking sense.” (May ’15), Vinyl (March ’16), Empire (Oct. ’16), Mr. Robot (Nov. ’16),
For the movie’s theatrical release, 100 U.S. theaters were Penny Dreadful (July ’15), Preacher (April ’17), American Gods (Sept.
refitted by Boston Light & Sound to project 70mm film, com- ’17), Tales From the Loop (April ’20), Supernatural (March ’20) and
plete with custom projection lenses provided by Schneider The Crown (June ’20). — D.E.W.
Optics — capping a true team effort to realize a production’s
full potential for impressing an audience.
Similarly, Christopher Nolan sought an immersive, big- yacht sailing the English Channel.”
screen presentation for his World War II drama Dunkirk The filmmakers’ peers took note, and Dunkirk received
(Aug. ’17), for which he reteamed with Hoyte van Hoyte- Academy and ASC Award nominations for cinematography,
ma, ASC, FSF, NSC, following their intellectual space saga among many other honors. The picture was also a global
Interstellar (Dec. ’14). Along with Emma Thomas, Nolan’s box-office hit, evidence that Nolan’s strategy struck a chord
partner and longtime producer, the duo made a presen- with audiences seeking new experiences. By pushing the
tation at the ASC Clubhouse during preproduction to lay film medium to its limits, Dunkirk reasserted the format’s
out their ambitious plan to shoot on 65mm film (with Imax viability, and the 100-plus-year-old technology remains a
and Panaflex System 65 cameras), the highest-resolution vital option for both production and exhibition.
capture format available. Dozens of ASC members attended In 2010, one of the decade’s most renowned cinematog-
the event, which included clips that had undergone a full raphers, Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC, transitioned from film
photochemical finish and illustrated how the picture would to digital for the futuristic thriller In Time (Nov. ’11). “After
look projected in 35mm, 70mm and Imax. In short, the film- doing a pretty comprehensive series of tests with the [Arri]
makers sought to push the technology envelope to deliver Alexa, I thought it was the right tool to achieve the look
an extreme-fidelity experience, employing the tools they felt we wanted,” he told AC. Initially “a little nervous about
would best serve a dramatic story of survival and bravery. It working with a digital camera,” he found the Alexa to be “a
was Nolan’s objective to “put the audience into the situation very intuitive, film-based system — it really feels like a film
subjectively … to make them feel that they [are] running camera. The great thing about digital is that you can see the
along the beach at Dunkirk, to make them feel like they results on set while you’re shooting, which makes it easier
are dogfighting from inside a Spitfire cockpit or on a small to sleep at night.

Modern Times: AC Since 2010
Super, Heroes “This moment has been coming for a long time, really, but
The past decade saw the rise of comic-book movies as a new, with the Alexa I believe digital has finally surpassed film in
dominant genre — a modern-day equivalent of the Western, fea- terms of quality,” Deakins continued. “What is quality? It’s
turing heroes, thwarted villains and dramatic endings. Energized really in the eye of the viewer, but to me, the Alexa’s tonal
by cuing-edge visual effects, these morality plays present rich range, color space and latitude exceed the capabilities of
opportunities for cinematographers tasked with delivering mem- film. This is not to say that I don’t still love film — I do. I
orable images that echo the illustrated source material. Features love its texture and grain, but in terms of speed, resolution
of the decade covered by AC include Iron Man 2 (shot by Mahew and clarity of image, there is no question in my mind that
Libatique, ASC; May ’10), The Avengers (Seamus McGarvey, ASC, the Alexa produces a better image.”
BSC; June ’12), The Dark Knight Rises (Wally Pfister, ASC, BSC; Aug. Deakins’ opinion instantly became news, sparking thou-
’12), Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel (Ben Davis, BSC; sands of passionate articles, blog posts and discussion-board
Sept. ’14 and April ’19, respectively), Batman v Superman: Dawn commentaries debating his point.
of Justice (Larry Fong, ASC; April ’16), Wonder Woman (Mahew His subsequent picture, the James Bond adventure Skyfall
Jensen, ASC; July ’17), Black Panther (Rachel Morrison, ASC; March (Dec. ’12), became the first 007 adventure to receive an
’18) and Ant- Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography —
Man and the Deakins’ 10th Oscar nomination, as well as his third ASC
Wasp (Dante Award win.
Spinoi, ASC, It’s not often that the Academy’s cinematography cate-
AIC; Aug. ’18). gory is followed closely by the general public, but Deakins’
— D.E.W. long record of excellence without a win prompted open dis-
cussion and debate. After back-to-back Oscar nominations
for Prisoners (Oct. ’13), Unbroken (Jan. ’15) and Sicario (Oct.
’15), he finally took home the Oscar for his 14th nomination,
Blade Runner 2049 (Dec. ’17), for which he also won the ASC
Award. Directed by frequent collaborator Denis Villeneuve,
the sci-fi sequel offered an intoxicating expansion of the dys-
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS topian realm depicted in Ridley Scott’s 1982 original, shot
shooting The Mandalorian. by Jordan Cronenweth, ASC.
Perhaps still reeling from Blade Runner 2049, audiences
were further stunned by Deakins’ work on Sam Mendes’
World War I drama, 1917 (Jan. ’20), a storytelling marvel
told in real time and in one seemingly unbroken shot (ac-
complished through expert planning, precise camerawork
and exceptional visual effects).
Yet while Deakins’ work was lauded by many as an
exceptional technical feat, he himself remained unmoved by
this aspect of his work. As he once explained to AC, “You
do need to be a technician at a certain level; you need some
knowledge of the hardware and how it performs. But when
it comes to the really technical stuff, you can always find
people who know more about it than you do. That’s not my
strength, and that’s not why people hire me.
Wars Stories “Cinematographers are hired for their eyes, for their
The Star Wars universe expanded greatly in the 2010s, with artistic ability as visual storytellers, and for how they can
ASC members behind the camera on each project. AC featured run a set. Whether I’m shooting on film or digital, my job
extensive coverage not only of the sequel trilogy — The Force remains the same: to use the camera to tell the story the best
Awakens (shot by Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC, SASC; Feb. ’16), The Last way I can.” u
Jedi (Steve Yedlin, ASC; Feb. ’18) and The Rise of Skywalker (Mindel,
Feb. ’20) — but also the “Star Wars Story” spin-off features Rogue To access every issue and story mentioned in this article, sub-
One (Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS; Feb. ’17) and Solo (Bradford Young, scribers can visit the AC Archive at ascmag.com.
ASC; July ’18), as well as the groundbreaking streaming series The
Mandalorian (Fraser and Baz Idoine, Feb. ’20). — D.E.W.

CLASSIC STYLE FROM THE ASC
This black tee sports famed ASC member
Gregg Toland’s Mitchell BNC silk-screened in
white on the front, with the camera’s
serial-number badge on the back.
This same camera was used by Toland to

photograph the classic Citizen Kane, as well as
many other exceptional pictures, including
Wuthering Heights, The Grapes of Wrath, The Long
Voyage Home, Intermezzo, The Lile Foxes and
The Best Years of Our Lives.
Restored to original condition, this piece of film

history is now part of the ASC Museum collection.
Our commemorative shirt is made of fine jersey

fabric, 100% combed ring-spun coon.
To order, visit store.ascmag.com

ASC
A
Camera photo by Richard Crudo,
Gregg Toland, ASC behind his trus

ty Mitchell
BNC while shooting Citizen Kan
e.

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IN MEMORIAM
problems. On that job, he became the focus

puller for cinematographer Vilis Lapenieks,
gaining a foothold in the industry.
Sova notched his first cinematography
credit on a short film for public television (The
Jolly Corner), and he aracted aention for
the independent feature Short Eyes, directed
by Robert M. Young. An adaptation of a play
by Miguel Piñero, the drama was shot in the
notorious Manhaan Detention Complex, aka
“The Tombs.” Short Eyes won Best Picture at
the 1977 New York Film Festival, and Sova was
recognized with the Best Cinematography
prize at the Virgin Islands Film Festival.
Peter Sova, ASC died Aug. 27 in South Over the course of his career, Sova
Peter Sova, ASC Kortright, N.Y., at the age of 75. became a favorite collaborator of Barry Levin-
1944-2020 Born on Sept. 25, 1944, in the former son, for whom he shot Diner; Good Morning,
Czechoslovakia, Milan Peter Sova dreamed of Vietnam; Tin Men; and Jimmy Hollywood, and
aending film school in Prague, but his fami- Paul McGuigan, for whom he shot Gangster
ly’s reputation as anti-Communists limited his No. 1, The Reckoning, Wicker Park, Lucky
opportunities, so he trained as a machinist Number Slevin and Push.
instead. While working with documentary film-
Unaware that the Prague Spring was maker Errol Morris, Sova helped develop the
around the corner, Sova and his brother made Interrotron, a teleprompter-like interviewing
plans to leave the country in 1966. “We found device that allows the subject to make eye
someone who could make counterfeit visas, contact with the camera while seeing a video
and we started learning English,” he told AC. image of the interviewer. It was first used on
“When we realized our guy was beer at mak- Morris’ Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, shot by
ing Austrian visas, we dropped our English Robert Richardson, ASC.
studies and started catching up on German!” Sova, who became an ASC member in
Sova was ultimately able to travel from 1999, also shot the features Donnie Brasco,
Austria to the United States, landing in New The Proposition (1998), Straight Talk, Sgt.
York, where he found his skills as a machinist Bilko, Late for Dinner, Close Your Eyes (2002)
in demand. He took a job with General Cam- and The Strangers; the telefilms Summer of
era and was soon converting Mitchell BNC My German Soldier, Fatherland (for which
cameras with rackover viewfinders to reflex. he received a CableACE nomination) and
“The Czech trade schools were really good, A Doctor’s Story; and the miniseries Perfect
but taking apart the Mitchell was scary,” Sova Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of
recalled. “If the gears weren’t exactly right, Boulder, among other projects.
then it would be noisy.” His final film was the 2019 documentary
He was allowed to borrow cameras on Driven to Abstraction, directed by Daria Price,
weekends, and ABC gave him 35mm film about the forgery scandal that brought down
stock because he was fixing the network’s the venerable New York gallery Knoedler.
cameras. Some of his repair jobs took him to Sova was predeceased by his wife, Eliz-
sets. One director asked him to join a shoot abeth, in 2018. He is survived by a son, Milan
in New Hampshire in case there were camera Joseph Sova. u

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CLUBHOUSE
NEWS
Martin Ahlgren, ASC C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC Kira Kelly, ASC
Society Welcomes departments. in 1997, director Jerry McK- by Ava DuVernay — for which Kelly was
New Members enna hired him to shoot a trio of 10-second nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding
New Society member Martin Ahlgren grew commercials. Miles was eventually offered Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program.
up in Stockholm before a ending the School the opportunity to shoot episodes of the CW In 2017, the cinematographer was included
of Visual Arts in New York, where he decided series Arrow, which led to his being hired in AC’s Rising Stars of Cinematography list,
to focus on cinematography. He shot some to shoot The Flash. The series was one of as well as Variety’s “10 Cinematographers to
25 student films during this time, which led to Robert Zemeckis’ children’s favorite shows, Watch” and ICG Magazine’s “GenNext” lists.
an ASC Karl Struss Heritage Award honor- so the director asked him to shoot his feature Her feature credits include Skin in the Game,
able mention. For the next decade, Ahlgren Welcome to Marwen. “Had you asked me at Mariachi Gringo and Were the World Mine.
almost exclusively shot music videos and any time in my career whom I’d like to work Her documentary credits include Changing
commercials. What brought him into episodic with, it would have been Bob Z,” Miles said. Face of Harlem, Back on Board: Greg Lougan-
filmmaking, he says, was Tim Ives, ASC, who The cinematographer’s television work also is, Estilo Hip Hop and Everything Is Practice.
asked Ahlgren to alternate with him on the includes Vancouver photography of Prison Kelly photographed Seasons 2-4 of the OWN
Starz series Power. Since then, he has shot Break, Mortal Kombat: Legacy and Lost in drama Queen Sugar, and her television work
Season 3 of House of Cards, for which he Space. Miles won an ASC Award in 2020 for also includes the limited series The Red Line
received an Emmy nomination, as well as the History drama Project Blue Book. His up- and Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam
Season 2 of Daredevil and Season 1 of Altered coming work includes Season 2 of the Apple C.J. Walker. In 2019, she shot an episode of
Carbon. His television credits also include the TV Plus mystery Home Before Dark. the acclaimed HBO series Insecure, for which
pilots of NBC’s Blindspot, TNT’s Civil, Hulu’s New member Kira Kelly, ASC studied she was nominated for a 2020 Emmy. Kelly
Crash & Burn and AMC’s NOS4A2 (pro- cinematography at Northwestern University discussed her camerawork on the show in a
nounced “Nosferatu”). Most recently, Ahlgren with an emphasis on film theory. In 2016 she, Clubhouse Conversation discussion along
shot the acclaimed HBO limited series The along with cinematographer Hans Charles, with episode director (and longtime series
Plot Against America, for which he was nomi- shot the documentary 13th — directed cinematographer) Ava Berkofsky. Her upcom-
nated for a 2020 Emmy. The cinematographer
spoke about his work on the series in a 2020
ASC Clubhouse Conversation. ASC Sets Awards Date
Growing up in Malaysia during the 1980s, The Society will celebrate the 35th ASC Awards for Outstanding
new member C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC Achievement in Cinematography on April 18, 2021. The annual
found inspiration in movies like George ceremony will be streamed live from the ASC Clubhouse in Hol-
Lucas’ Star Wars and Robert Zemeckis’ lywood, with plans for a simultaneous in-person component to
Romancing the Stone. Thirty-seven years be determined at a later date. “The ASC Awards recognize the
later, Miles sat with actor Mark Hamill, who finest work of the year and its exceptional creators,” notes ASC
famously portrayed Luke Skywalker in the Awards Co-Chair Dana Gonzales, ASC. “We look forward to
Star Wars saga, on the set of the CW series celebrating the exceptional visual art of the many talented cin--
The Flash. Miles studied still photography ematographers contributing to the stories that are entertaining
at the University of Victoria in Canada and us through these unprecedented times.”
worked his way through the grip and camera

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Tommy Maddox-Upshaw, ASC Arri 15
ASC/Leica Camera 21
the L.A. unit of the Michael Jackson doc- ASC Photo Gallery 6
umentary Bad 25, directed by Lee — and Blackmagic Design 7
shot visual-effects additional photography Cavision Enterprises 59
on A Star Is Born and 2nd unit on Straight
Canon 11
Oua Compton, both shot by Libatique. He
Cooke Optics 3
also shot additional photography on the
features Grown Ups 2, Beyond the Lights Eastman Kodak C4
ing work includes the documentary limited and The Circle. Maddox-Upshaw served Ernst Leitz Wetzlar 9
series Dream Team: Birth of the Modern as director of photography on the features Fujifilm/Fujinon C3
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er studying black-and-white still Hello Beautiful: Interludes With John Legend,
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photography at the College of the Holy Hype Nation 3D, A Very Larry Christmas, The
Pille Filmgeraeteverleih 59
Cross, new Society member Tommy Perfect Match, 48 Hours to Live and Fixed.
Maddox-Upshaw, ASC aended the Most recently, he shot Season 6 of the Fox Pro8mm 59
American Film Institute and earned an MFA drama Empire. His television credits include Selected Tables 61
in cinematography. Following graduation, Season 3 of the FX crime drama Snowfall, SIM 17
he served as a gaffer on numerous music Season 2 of the Netflix teen comedy-drama Vitec/Teradek C2-1
videos and commercials, which led to On My Block and Season 1 of the Netflix
www.theasc.com 6, 39, 55
opportunities to serve as a cinematogra- comedy Huge in France.
pher alongside such filmmakers as Spike New member Peter Simonite, ASC, CSC
Lee and Mahew Libatique, ASC. He shot has served in the camera department for
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Charloe Bruus Christensen, ASC Mahew Clark, ASC Peter Simonite, ASC, CSC
25 years, working his way through the ranks

ASC Establishes Online as a 35mm film loader, camera assistant, and
Master Class Program operator before serving as director of pho-
The ASC has launched the Online Master Class series, a three-day, web-based seminar tography. During this time, Simonite worked
with live interactions and Q&As with some of the world’s top working cinematogra- with and was mentored by a number of ASC
phers. Derived and adapted from the Society’s signature in-person Master Class pro- members, including Emmanuel Lubezki, Dan-
gram, the class size is limited to 30 participants. The first session, which sold out in just te Spino i, John A. Alonzo, Bruno Delbonnel,
hours, was held Oct. 30 - Nov. 1. Following a second class held Nov. 20-22, the Society Robert Yeoman, Caleb Deschanel, Dean Sem-
will host a third session from Dec. 11-13, with additional dates to be announced. The ler, László Kovács, M. David Mullen, Steve
in-person Master Class program will resume when conditions permit. A endees of the Mason and Daniel Pearl. Simonite served as
Online Master Class will be given a 10% discount on a future in-person Master Class. 2nd-unit director of photography on the fea-
tures The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)
and The Apparition (both shot by Pearl) as
Online Master Class instructor Larry Fong, ASC.
well as The Tree of Life (Lubezki), Seven Days
in Utopia (Mullen) and The Wendell Baker
Story (Mason). He also shot second unit on
Season 1 of the sports drama Friday Night
Lights. He has shot numerous commercials,
and his camerawork on the music video for
Explosions in the Sky’s “Postcard from 1952”
received critical acclaim. Simonite’s feature
credits include Skateland, which premiered
at the Sundance Film Festival; Fairhaven;
Voice From the Stone; and The Perfect Guy,
as well as the documentary No Place on
Earth, co-photographed with Eduard Grau.
His recent work includes the feature Fugitive
Poster Named Dreams.
Distinguished Artist At the completion of her cinematography
The Ojai Film Festival honored Steven Poster, studies at the National Film and Television
ASC with the 2020 Distinguished Artist Award School in England, new Society member
for Cinematography, which was presented Charloe Bruus Christensen, ASC shot a
during a virtual ceremony in November that in- number of short films that caught the a en-
cluded highlights of his career and a discussion tion of Danish director Thomas Vinterberg.
of his methods in achieving special images and He hired Christensen to shoot the drama
effects. “I’m very excited the Ojai Film Festival Submarino, which earned her a Golden Frog
considered me for this honor,” Poster said. nomination at Camerimage and a Danish Film
“Being recognized for my body of work is the Academy Robert Award for Best Cinematog-
highest kind of praise for an artist.” raphy. The filmmakers again collaborated
on The Hunt, which earned Christensen

the Danish Critics’ Bodil Award for Best
Cinematography. Aer the pair reteamed for STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP,
a third feature, Far From the Madding Crowd, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION
Christensen landed a spot on Variety’s “10
Cinematographers to Watch” list. She sub- Title of publication:
sequently worked with directors Tate Taylor AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER
on The Girl on the Train, Denzel Washington
on Fences, Aaron Sorkin on Molly’s Game, Publication no. 0002-7928
and John Krasinski on A Quiet Place. She Date of filing: Oct. 20, 2020
also provided additional photography on Frequency of issue: Monthly
Live by Night, directed by Ben Affleck and Annual subscription price: $50
photographed by Robert Richardson, ASC. Number of issues published annually: 12
Her other feature credits include Life, My Best Location of known office of publication: 1782 N. Orange Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90028.
Enemy, Hunky Dory, The Englishman and Location of the headquarters or general business offices of the publishers: Same as
IRL: In Real Life. Christensen’s recent credits above.
include the Apple TV Plus feature The Banker, Names and address of publisher: ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Los An-
and her upcoming work includes the BBC geles, CA 90028; Publisher, Terry McCarthy, Editor-in Chief, Stephen Pizzello, 1782 N.
One/FX miniseries Black Narcissus, on which Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028. Owner: ASC Holding Corp.
Christensen served as director. Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1 per
New member Mahew Clark, ASC aend- cent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities: same as above.
ed graduate school at New York Universi- Extent and nature of circulation: Total numbers of copies printed (net press run): aver-
ty’s Tisch School of the Arts film program, age number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 20,855; actual number
where he found cinematography. Clark copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 15,000.
began working as an electrician, eventually Paid and/or requested circulation: Paid/Requested Outside-County Mail Subscrip-
progressing to gaffer and camera operator, tions stated on Form 3541: average number of copies each issue during preceding
and shot smaller independent features, 12 months, 15,950; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing
including Rhythm of the Saints, Evergreen and date, 13,650.
Never Forever, all of which screened at the Paid and/or requested circulation: Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors
Sundance Film Festival. On the recommenda- and counter sales, and other non-USPS paid distribution: average number copies
tion of Michael McDonough, ASC, BSC, Clark each issue during preceding 12 months, 3,425; actual number of copies single issue
was asked to serve as director of photogra- published nearest to filing date, 0.
phy for the Sundance Institute Directors Lab, Total paid and/or requested circulation: average number copies each issue during
where he was able to work with many ASC preceding 12 months, 19,375; actual number copies of single issue published nearest to
members, including Stuart Dryburgh, Robert filing date, 13,650.
Elswit, Caleb Deschanel, Alar Kivilo and Free or nominal rate distribution ooutside the mail (carriers or other means): average
Vilmos Zsigmond. Clark was hired to shoot number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 1,250; actual number copies
Seasons 3 through 5 of the popular NBC of single issue published nearest to filing date, 1,250.
comedy 30 Rock, for which he was nominat- Total free distributions: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12
ed for two Emmy Awards, as well as episodes months, 1,250; actual number copies of single issue published nearest to filing date,
of the NBC comedies Up All Night and Go On. 1,250.
Clark has also photographed a number of Total distribution: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months,
pilots, including CBS’ Angel From Hell and E!’s 20,625; actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 14,900.
The Arrangement, as well as the features Late Copies not distributed (office use, le over, unaccounted, spoiled aer printing): aver-
Night, Pitch Perfect 3, Mike and Dave Need age number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 230; actual number of
Wedding Dates, Stanistan and The Incredible copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 100.
Burt Wonderstone. His recent credits include Total: average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months, 20,855;
the Amazon pilot Good People and the HBO actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date, 15,000.
comedy thriller Run. Percent paid and/or requested circulation: average number of copies each issue
during preceding 12 months, 93.94%; actual number of copies of single issue published
For further coverage and additional up- nearest to filing date, 91.61%.
dates, visit theasc.com/asc/news. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete.
Terry McCarthy, Publisher

WRAP SHOT
Unit photography by Kimberly French SMPSP, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Inspired by true events, the period drama The Revenant (AC Jan. 2016) “We couldn’t do it
on a set, under normal
tracks frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) on a grueling
quest to survive in the uncharted wilderness of 1820s America aer he
is aacked by a bear and le for dead by members of his expedition.
Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu made a key decision to shoot the
Hollywood rules, and
story chronologically. “The story starts in autumn and moves into win- bring in snow and put in
bluescreens. I wanted to
ter, and Glass goes through a very real physical experience of being in
the middle of nowhere for months,” said cinematographer Emmanuel
Lubezki, ASC, AMC (seen above, operating a shot). “We couldn’t do it
on a set, under normal Hollywood rules, and bring in snow and put in
kill any artifice. In keeping
bluescreens. I wanted to kill any artifice. In keeping with that truth, we with that truth, we had to
go through a true natural
had to go through a true natural process and challenge ourselves.”
Following this desire for realism, Lubezki decided to shoot exclu-
sively with natural light and period-correct firelight. During the winter-
time shoot in northern Canada, where most of the film was shot, the
process and challenge
daylight window was small: 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. This factor prolonged
production by several months. Because of an unseasonably warm win-
ourselves.”
ter in the region, the filmmakers eventually had to travel to Argentina to — Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC
find the amount of snow they needed.
Like the duo’s previous project together, Birdman (AC Dec. ’14), about an hour and a half. It was like a live performance.”
The Revenant features extended takes employing a very mobile With few exceptions, the camera consistently tracks the actors in
camera. The director explained, “I would say there was a beautiful one of three modes: handheld (operated by Lubezki, as seen here),
development [on this film] from what we learned on Birdman in terms Steadicam or Technocrane.
of the value of wide lenses, and how to sustain long shots and why. For The cinematographer earned his third consecutive Academy
instance, in the scene in which [a trapper encampment is aacked], Award for his work on the picture, following honors for Gravity and
I wanted to cover [the action] without lots of [cuts] or trying to show Birdman (see page 52 of this issue).
every angle. I wanted to show one point of view to allow the audience
to experience what it must feel like to be aacked in that way. That was For access to 100 years of American Cinematographer coverage,
very challenging, because we had to shoot the sequence straight for visit the AC Archive at ascmag.com.

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4 November 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

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DECEMBER 2020

Eyes on the World

ASCMag.com November 2020 1

– DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD

Navarro, ASC, AMC. (Image courtesy

46 Mirth and Death

50 Modern Times: AC Since 2010

2 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

The next step in the

4 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

MEMBERS OF THE ASC The ASC is not a labor union or a guild,

Curate your personal portfolio of outstanding photos created ALTERNATES

2 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Digital Film in Extreme Resolution Fast and Flexible Post Production

Cinematic 12K Super 35 Sensor

8 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Stranger Than mentary or sponsored film? Sometimes with

(63 Up). character in almost every scene, it transported

10 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Who’s Zooming Who?

12 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

ASCMag.com December 2020 13

Top: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. Bo om: Blackmagic

in my eyeglasses and keep the image at a more wide-open stop.

American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Top: Litepanels Croma ﬁxture aimed into foamcore.

16 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

18 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Peter Allen, before so many people.

ASCMag.com December 2020 19

20 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Images courtesy of Tara Jenkins.

22 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

ASCMag.com December 2020 23

CINEMATOGRAPHERS DOCUMENTING REAL-WORLD capture the essence of more tangible subjects.

24 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Cinematographer Barrie Brion in Greenland for

ASCMag.com December 2020 25

a filmmaker who’s truly attuned to capturing his or her

Navarro photo by Hector Cruz Sandoval, courtesy of the ASC.

26 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

ASCMag.com December 2020 27

Werner Herzog (le) and

Herzog Goes With the Flow

Herzog photo by Edward Lachman, ASC. Lachman photo by Werner Herzog.

28 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Photo by Haskell Wexler, ASC.

Photo by Kevin Mazur, courtesy of the ASC Archives.

30 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

Joan Churchill, ASC shoots documentary filmmaker

ASCMag.com December 2020 31

Navarro photo by Teresa Isasi, courtesy of the ASC Archives.

32 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

were absolutely impossible to do before. There’s a sequence in

the episode “Oceans” — one of my favorites — where a drone is

ASCMag.com December 2020 33

Photo by Jake Swantko.

Documenting The Dissident

34 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years

ASCMag.com December 2020 35

Connecting With the Camera

Shana Hagan, ASC angles in on her subjects.

36 December 2020 American Cinematographer // 100 Years