AmericanCinematographer June2022

June 2022 The International Publication of the American Society of Cinematographers
The Stills Issue
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JUNE 2022 VOL. 103 NO. 6
On Our Cover:
A still photo entitled “Woman in Lalibela I,”
captured in 2017 by Antonio Calvache, ASC, AEC.
Contents Features
18 The Man Behind the Glass
ASC associate Dan Sasaki — the inaugural Curtis Clark ASC
Technical Achievement Award honoree — discusses his life
and work.
24 Truth in the Image

Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS reflects on his career and offers insight
into his work on The Batman.
36 Taking Flight
Claudio Miranda, ASC and director Joseph Kosinski describe
18
their high-flying methods for Top Gun: Maverick.
50 People
ASC members share striking photos of the human form.
72 Places
Society members present unique perspectives with still images
of locations.

Departments
8 Letter From the President
10 Global Village: Navalny
84 Clubhouse News
86 New Products and Services
88 Wrap Shot: Karl-Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, BVK
VISIT ASCMAG.COM
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Stephen Pizzello
WEB DIRECTOR and PUBLISHER

David E. Williams
EDITORIAL
MANAGING EDITOR Andrew Fish
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Samantha Dillard
SHOT CRAFT and TECHNICAL EDITOR Jay Holben
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Rachael K. Bosley
VIRTUAL PRODUCTION EDITOR Noah Kadner
WRITER/RESEARCHER Tara Jenkins
ASSOCIATE WEB EDITOR Brian Kronner
CONTRIBUTORS
Benjamin B, John Calhoun, Mark Dillon, Michael Goldman, Jim Hemphill,
David Heuring, Debra Kaufman, Michael Kogge, Iain Marcks, Matt Mulcahey,
Jean Oppenheimer, Phil Rhodes, Patricia Thomson, Peter Tonguette
CREATIVE DIRECTION and DESIGN

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SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOOKS and PRODUCTS

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ACCOUNTING June Mabbun
American Cinematographer (ISSN 0002-7928), established 1920 and in its 103rd year of publication,
is published monthly in Hollywood by ASC Holding Corp., 1782 N. Orange Dr., Hollywood, CA 90028, U.S.A.,
(800) 448-0145, (323) 969-4333, Fax (323) 876-4973, direct line for subscription inquiries (323) 969-4344.
Subscriptions: U.S. $50; Canada/Mexico $70; all other foreign countries $95 a year
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Advertising: Rate card upon request from Hollywood office. Copyright 2022 ASC Holding Corp. (All rights reserved.)
Periodicals postage paid at Los Angeles, CA and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA.
POSTMASTER: Send address change to American Cinematographer, P.O. Box 2230, Hollywood, CA 90078.
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JUNE 2022 / 5

CUSTOM COLLECTION
OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHY BY American Society of Cinematographers
MEMBERS OF THE ASC The ASC is not a labor union or a guild,

but an educational, cultural and
professional organization. Membership is
by invitation to those who are actively en-
gaged as directors of photography and have
demonstrated outstanding ability. ASC
membership has become one of the highest
honors that can be bestowed upon a
professional cinematographer — a mark
of prestige and excellence.
OFFICERS 2021/2022
Stephen Lighthill
President
Amelia Vincent
Vice President
Steven Fierberg
Vice President
John Simmons
Vice President
Steven Poster
Treasurer
Gregg Heschong
Secretary
Jim Denault
Sergeant-at-Arms
MEMBERS
OF THE BOARD
Christopher Chomyn
Curtis Clark
Richard Crudo
Frederick Elmes
Steven Fierberg
Edward Lachman
Stephen Lighthill
Steven Poster
Lawrence Sher
IMAGES BY John Simmons
Rodney Taylor
ANTONIO CALVACHE • RUSSELL CARPENTER • JAMES CHRESSANTHIS John Toll
FREDERICK ELMES • STEPHEN GOLDBLATT • EDWARD LACHMAN Amelia Vincent
Mandy Walker
JACEK LASKUS • PHEDON PAPAMICHAEL • JOHN SIMMONS
Robert Yeoman
JOHN TOLL and MORE
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F O R Y O U R E M M Y® C O N S I D E R A T I O N I N A L L C A T E G O R I E S I N C L U D I N G
OUTSTANDING DR AMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGR APHY FOR A SINGLE-CAMER A SERIES (ONE HOUR)
Lee Hyung-deok
THIS YEAR, ONE SERIES CHANGED THE

GAME
“EXQUISITELY CINEMATIC.
A visceral experience, but in a way that
we’re not used to when it comes to television.”
THE DAILY BEAST
FYC.NETFLIX.COM
JUNE 2022 / 7

Letter From the President
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHEN LIGHTHILL, ASC.

PORTRAIT BY MICHAEL M. PESSAH, ASC.
Filming a scene for the HBO anthology series Vietnam War Story.
MANY CINEMATOGRAPHERS HAVE MADE FILMS AND TV SERIES in the model unit. Rockets on warplanes are very expensive items, so we
ABOUT WAR and the events surrounding war. We venture the thought photographed model rockets fired past our Arriflex 35 III film cameras.
that nothing any of us has put on the screen compares to the nightmare To give the image the shake experienced by a pilot’s vision at Mach 1,
in Ukraine that we have seen unfolding on TV and in our newspapers. we strapped electric drills to the pan handle, running full tilt during the
We worked on the anthology TV series Vietnam War Story for HBO. Al- brief shots of the rockets zipping through frame. “Makita-cam” was our
though it was written by a veteran of the war in Vietnam, the confusion, nickname for this technique; it was hard on operators’ eyes with optical
chaos and terror pictured in that realism-oriented show was nothing viewfinders — all fun and games until the shooting really starts.
compared to the madness Russia has visited upon its neighbor. Clearly, There’s been no fun and games in Ukraine — just death and destruc-
Russia — or some Russians — have another geopolitical imperial era in tion visited upon innocent people. At the ASC we are holding our breath
mind as they attempt to justify what is happening. that in addition to the suffering we have seen in Ukraine, the unintend-
As many soldiers have said, all plans go out the window when the ed consequences of this invasion — inflation, immigration, a potentially
shooting starts. The Russians should have known from their experience wider war, and chaos — will not set the tone for the coming decade. War
in Afghanistan: When an invader is not welcome, no amount of firepower can make good movies — but in real life, war is hell.
will change that. In this issue, we publish an article about the docu-
mentary Navalny, which focuses on the well-known opposition political
candidate Alexei Navalny — who has tried, among other things, to make
the case to Russian people that their army is not welcome in its current
violent campaign.
This month, the ASC is holding a semi-annual gathering of cinema- Stephen Lighthill
tography societies from around the world. We did not invite the Russian President, ASC
Guild of Cinematographers (RGC), but we are inviting individuals from
the society to attend. The members of the RGC did publish a brave
letter of opposition to the war, but the ASC will not welcome an organi-
zation with potential state sponsorship that could give the appearance
that the ASC turns a blind eye toward state-sponsored terrorism.
Some time ago, we worked on the sort-of-war film Top Gun (in 1986!)
8 / JUNE 2022
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F O R Y O U R E M M Y® C O N S I D E R A T I O N
I N A L L C A T E G O R I E S I N C L U D I N G
O U T S TA N D I N G D R A M A S E R I E S
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY
FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
S H AW N K I M
“ THRILLING AND RIVETING.

THE FINAL SEASON PL AYS OUT
LIKE A CL ASH OF THE TITANS.”
A .V. C L U B
T H E F I N A L S E A S O N
FYC.NETFLIX.COM
JANUARY 2022 / 9
p. 8-9 Presidents Desk.indd 9 5/2/22 9:59 PM

Global Village By Terry McCarthy
From left, director Daniel Roher, cinematographer Niki Waltl
Capturing Navalny and subject Alexei Navalny between takes while shooting
the film’s central interview (frame capture, bottom).
TOP PHOTO BY LORENA MÜHSAM. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF NIKI WALTL.

Alexei Navalny, Russian President Films / HBO Max documentary
Vladimir Putin’s most prominent Navalny, Putin’s security services
political opponent, is staring right allegedly poisoned the famed
into the lens of the camera as an political-activist attorney with the
offscreen voice asks him, “If you nerve agent Novichok. His life
were killed, what memories would was only just saved by doctors
you leave to the Russian people?” in Germany after an emergency
The question is as brutal, in its evacuation flight from Russia to
own way, as the treatment Naval- Berlin. In January 2021, Navalny
ny has received from Putin, who was — incredibly — planning to
feels so threatened by Navalny return to Moscow to confront
that he never even uses his name Putin again. “It does sound almost
in public, referring to him as “that insane for him to go back, but
person.” In August 2020, just being a Russian politician who
months before filmmaker Daniel wants to bring change to his
Roher began to shoot the CNN country, it was always clear for
10 /JUNE 2022
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Global Village
Top: Interviewing journalist Christo Grozev. Bottom: Angling over

Maria Pevchikh while shooting the suspect-board sequence.
him that he would return,” says “We would shoot whatever we

cinematographer Niki Waltl. could get — things were chang-
Roher and Waltl shot most of ing, and the investigation into the
the documentary in Germany’s poisoning was unfolding in front
Black Forest, where Navalny was of us.”
recuperating from the poisoning Waltl notes that his guiding
while planning his next move amid idea was to employ shallow depth
the struggle for political power in of field by maintaining a low
the world’s largest country. “We f-stop “and keeping the shutter
were after the tropes of a thriller open — maybe not everything
— that was very important,” said would be in focus, but it would
Waltl. The initial question directed give the footage a cinematic feel.
at Navalny frames the entire film, My goal on every project is to give
which sets out to tell the story of it a cinematic feeling, to move
how his fate is inextricably linked away from a ‘television look.’
with that of the Russian people. Shooting with open apertures is a
Much of the footage was shot technique that helps accomplish
handheld as Navalny worked with that, and it was something Daniel
his family and some colleagues in and I agreed to on the first day
a makeshift office, trying to find of shooting. Our go-to stop was
out who actually poisoned him. f/2.0, so we did risk having some
Says Waltl, “I used a longer lens moments out of focus, since we
— 40mm to 85mm, nothing wider couldn’t bring a focus puller for
— and stayed in close-up on the our vérité shooting. It was very
subject, shooting from further important not to be intrusive, and
away but with a tighter composi- operate with a minimal crew, but
tion, like you would in spy movies, a doc is more forgiving when it
with less space to breathe to comes to focus, and it worked out
keep the tension going.” quite well. I’m relieved to say that
One scene shot from above the editors didn’t complain!”
with a drone shows Navalny The film builds to a climax
running through the snowy forest, when Navalny, aided by skillful
leaving a trail of footprints behind Bulgarian investigative journal-
him — almost an echo of a similar ist Christo Grozev, is given the
scene in the latest James Bond phone numbers of the five men
film, No Time to Die, yet photo- who were allegedly sent to kill
graphed almost a year before that him. Navalny calls them individ-
film’s release. “The shot happened ually, pretending to be an official
“We would shoot whatever we could get — quite naturally,” Waltl remembers. Russian investigator, and one of
things were changing, and the investigation into “It was the middle of winter and them — allegedly a member of
we were situated in Freiburg in the Russian security services —
the poisoning was unfolding in front of us.” the Black Forest, surrounded by tells him all the details of the at-
these snowy hills and landscapes. tempted assassination by poison.
PHOTOS BY NIKI WALTL.
So one morning we just took Alex- Waltl recalls, “Because of the

ei out there to get shots of him time zones, and because Navalny
running in that scenery. It seemed wanted to do the phone calls
like a good visual metaphor of him in the morning, we started at
gaining strength again after the 3:30 a.m. German time. We had
poisoning. cameras rolling, with Daniel and I
12 /JUNE 2022

COVER STORY STORARO AND HIS DIRECTORS
JUNE 2022 / 13

Global Village
A soft toplight illuminates the scene as Navalny makes “the call,”

resulting in a shocking revelation (frame capture, bottom).
more than 5 million times. to look directly into the optic yet
While the recording of the see the interviewer’s face, as
telephone conversation was the captured by a secondary camera.
dramatic scoop of the project, (See Shot Craft in AC Nov. ’21.)
the most memorable scenes “The method creates an en-
come from the sit-down interview gaging sensibility,” Waltl says. “We
with Navalny. The filmmakers knew it would probably be the
asked one of his staffers, Maria last interview Navalny would give
Pevchikh, where he was most for at least a decade.
happy, and she said that after “We decided to shoot down
work Navalny liked to go out the barrel just a day before the
to a bar for a drink. So, Waltl interview, so we quickly built this
meticulously set up and shot the system DIY-style. And although
key interview in a deserted bar, it’s an effective technique,
positioning Navalny on a stool and technically it’s nothing too fancy
setting up the primary camera to — just a teleprompter with an
cover him from the service side of iPad rigged to the A-camera with
the counter. “With the interview, Magic Arms. Daniel is sitting in
we had a very specific look we the room next door, in the kitchen
were after — darker, noirish and of the bar, and he and Alexei are
suspenseful, but with the feeling on a Skype call via that iPad.”
of a certain intimacy,” the cine- Waltl relied on a mix of Red
matographer says. “I wanted him Digital Cinema cameras for the
sitting down so we could see his production, equipped with Sigma
hands. We also decided to have Cine Primes. “Most of the shoot,
him looking straight down the especially the vérité parts, was
lens barrel, so he looked like a done on a Gemini since I own one
president, but, at the same time, and brought it to the project,” he
like a guy in the bar, with the explains. “For the interviews, we
viewer as the bartender to whom decided to have more cameras
he is talking.” and angles, typically three total.
Roher admits that this strategy For the key scene — Alexei’s
made him apprehensive. “Looking interview — we even had four
straight into the camera? I lost a cameras. Having started the proj-
shooting handheld.” The lighting details to the supposed “investi- lot of sleep over that. You can’t ect with Red, we wanted to stay
in the room was bad, so they gator,” Navalny and his team were do that, ever!” he says, alluding in that look and environment. The
employed a simple lighting setup high-fiving each other, scarcely to the time-tested conventions main camera for the interviews
using a small source attached believing their luck. of narrative production. “But was usually a Red Monstro [for
to a boom arm and fitted with In the wake of the phone call, it turned out to be extremely shoots with Navalny, wife Yulia
a Chimera, so the resulting soft Navalny publicly accused Putin of effective.” Navalnaya, and Grozey] or a He-
directional light would gently sending agents to poison him. As The shooting technique lium [for Pevchikh and Progress
PHOTO AT TOP BY NIKI WALTL.
model their subject. “I don’t speak the filmmakers knew he would, adopted by the filmmakers Party leader Leonid Volkov], and
a word of Russian, but I could Putin gave a press conference in was pioneered by Academy then we had extra Gemini units as
tell from the expressions on their Moscow denying this and blaming Award-winning documentarian third and fourth cams.”
faces that I was shooting one of everything on the CIA. Then came Errol Morris, who famously uses a To light the bar, Waltl says,
the most important sequences of the hammer: Navalny posted the device known as the “Interrotron,” “it was interesting for us to take
my life, and I was hoping the bat- video of his phone conversation which employs a teleprompt- away light, making it suspenseful
tery wouldn’t die!” As the agent duping the agent on YouTube. er-like screen in front of the and darkish by using negative
blurted out all of the incriminating Within hours, it had been viewed taking lens to allow his subject space. We had an Arri SkyPanel
14 /JUNE 2022

THE WORLD’S Global Village
LEADING
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
ON MOTION
IMAGING In this frame capture of an overhead drone shot, Navalny runs
DELIVERS THE through a snowy crossroads in the Black Forest.
INSIDE STORY
OF MODERN
CINEMATOGRAPHY.
with an Octadome on camera left, practicals has a sense of gallows humor. At one point,
hung from the bar ceiling and standing in the referring to Roher’s film crew, he said to an
background to add depth. The fill was just a aide, “I realize he is filming it all for the movie
From new camera systems and
bounce — a 1x1-meter muslin bouncing the he’s going to release if I get whacked!”
lighting options to the creative
Arri light.” Waltl says he was a bit intimidated the
use of virtual production methods,
For the barroom interview, “We had a set of first time he met Navalny, but that “he is very
American Cinematographer
questions for the daytime setup, and for the disarming, and also used to having cameras
examines the latest tools and
nighttime setup we had different questions around. He is very easygoing, makes you feel
techniques, while maintaining
— about the investigation and the poisoning, welcome, and very quickly forgot about the
sharp focus on essential creative
the darker side. For those sequences we put camera.”
collaborations and the artistry of
some haze into the room — we found a hazer Based in Tirol, Austria, Waltl, studied
visual storytelling.
used for events. At nighttime, we had HMIs cinematography in Barcelona and has worked
outside the bar, shining in through the blinds as a cinematographer for 10 years. “I always
• Print Edition
as the art director, Rafael Loß, and gaffer, had a video camera; I always wanted to be a
– Learn from the best
Paul Näther, waved flags to circulate the haze tool to tell a great story. I like to build scenes,
and build your permanent reference
through the room.” give the editor something to work with, block
collection
The interview was shot from Jan. 11-13, a scene. I like to keep the film cinematic, for
2021, and on Jan. 17 Navalny flew back to example, by shooting with open apertures.”
• Digital Edition
Moscow. He was arrested at the airport on He concedes that he and Roher “fought a lot”
– Access AC magazine content
arrival, taken to court, and sentenced to 2½ on Navalny, but “in a good way.” The two “had
anywhere you are while on the go
years in jail. He subsequently received an lots of heated discussions,” notably over how
additional nine-year sentence on another to shoot the main interview.
• AC Archive
charge. At the end of the onscreen interview with
– Dive deep into more than
“The man has a superhuman fearless- Navalny, Roher asks the dissident — who
100 years of information and
ness,” says Roher, who compares Navalny spoke to them in English for most of the
inspiration
to Alex Honnold, the mountain climber who film — to send a message in Russian to the
scaled the granite face of El Capitan with no Russian people. “Don’t give up,” Navalny
safety lines in the documentary Free Solo. says, gazing straight into the camera. “If they
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
“Whatever that self-preservation gene is that decide to kill me, it means we are incredibly
others have, he doesn’t have it — he is made strong. We need to utilize this power. We don’t
store.ascmag.com/collections/
of steel.” In addition to his courage, Navalny realize how incredibly strong we actually are.”
subscriptions
16 /JUNE 2022

COVER STORY STORARO AND HIS DIRECTORS
F O R Y O U R E M M Y ® C O N S I D E R AT I O N
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FYC.NETFLIX.COM
JUNE 2022 / 17

PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE COURTESY OF PANAVISION.
The Man Behind
the Glass Panavision lens expert
Dan Sasaki earns the
inaugural Curtis Clark ASC
Technical Achievement Award.
By Jay Holben
18 / JUNE 2022
p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 18 5/2/22 10:05 PM

“I find the ever-evolving
art form of lenses to be
quite invigorating.”
T
his year, the Society introduced the Curtis Clark ASC
Technical Achievement Award, which will be present-
ed annually to an individual who has made significant
technological contributions to the art and science of
cinematography. The new honor pays tribute to es-
teemed ASC member Clark, longtime chair of the Soci-
ety’s Motion Imaging Technology Council (MITC). The
accolade’s first honoree, who establishes the legacy of this award and
sets a high bar for future recipients, was ASC associate Dan Sasaki, se-
nior vice president of optical engineering and lens strategy at Panavi-
sion. Sasaki accepted the honor at the ASC Awards ceremony on March
20, 2022.
Within the cinematographic community, Sasaki has become a house-
hold name as the lens expert behind Panavision’s past three decades of
optical excellence. He is a go-to resource for cinematographers looking
to add a personal signature to their images through the customization
of their lenses, and he has helped to pioneer a groundbreaking system of
lens alterations that give cinematographers vast control over the precise
image they seek. Sasaki’s revolutionary work has included the creation
of the AWZ2 anamorphic zoom lens and the T Series anamorphic lens
system, as well as the redevelopment of the Ultra Panatar lenses.
Family Legacy
Sasaki was originally brought into Panavision by his father, Ralph Sasaki
— who passed away in November 2021, and who had served as Panav-
ision’s vice president of operations. When reflecting on his prestigious
Opposite: ASC associate Dan Sasaki examines a lens projection.
honor, the younger Sasaki was eager to discuss his father’s legacy and
This page: Sasaki in his element.
how it has influenced and inspired his own career.
“My dad started out as a machinist at Panavision in 1967, when I was
a year old, and worked his way up,” Sasaki says. “Panavision was a dis- Lens Craft
cussion at our dinner table every night. My father would bring home The elder Sasaki never played favorites with his son. “Dad was always
Arri IIC cameras and refurbish them; I was put to work cleaning gates very strict with me,” Sasaki says. “He came from a strong Japanese up-
and painting them. When I was 19, he brought me to work at Panavision bringing, and I was actually scared to death of him at work — I called
when the company was just starting the E Series anamorphics, coming him ‘Sir.’ But Dad pushed me and gave me more responsibility, and when
off the Z Series primes. They needed help, but the way my mom tells it, he called me into his office one day and said, ‘You’re doing a good job,’ I
he took me to work to keep me out of trouble. Dad sat me down in the was blown away. He said, ‘I want to test how you work with customers.’
lens department, and it became my job to repaint the markings on lenses “The first production he assigned me to manage was Dances With
that had worn off. I painted the screws black and cleaned the lenses. Wolves [AC May ’91], working with camera assistant Lee Blasingame
“I caught the eye of [ASC associate] Tak [Miyagishima, Panavision’s under cinematographer Dean Semler [ASC, ACS]. The work started with
then-senior vice president of engineering], who saw that I was really all of our C Series lenses in the projection room, and Dad said, ‘Pick the
enjoying what I was doing. He taught me how to check the lenses at best ones.’ Afterwards, George came to me and said, ‘You did really well,’
6'. At the time, quite coincidentally, I was studying applied physics [at and he gave me an anamorphic lens to disassemble and reassemble. To
California State University, Long Beach], and when I started talking to be given that responsibility was a big deal. From there, my relationship
George Kraemer [Panavision’s then-vice president of optics], I apparent- with my dad changed a bit. He let me go more, giving me more freedom,
ly said the right things — really just regurgitating things my professor and I found that I really loved the work.”
had told the class — and slowly, Tak and George introduced me to more Sasaki formed a tighter bond with Miyagishima, Kraemer, and opti-
and more, including anamorphic lenses.” cal designer and ASC associate Iain Neil (now with Cooke Optics), and
JUNE 2022 / 19

THE MAN BEHIND THE GLASS
Sasaki talks shop with Society members Natasha Braier and M. David
Mullen at the 2020 “Framing the Future” event, presented by the ASC
Vision Committee and Panavision.
would listen to discussions about the designs of the Primo primes and
other lenses that were being developed. “I knew about geometric optics
and ray tracing, but I didn’t understand a Cooke triplet or an achromat
doublet or the rules of glass types and corrections. That sparked a whole
new interest, so I went back to school and learned more about optics. I’m
also perpetually curious, and I started reading every book I could get my
hands on, experimenting more with lenses and asking a lot of questions.
“When Dante Spinotti [ASC, AIC] came in and asked for a high-speed
75mm or 80mm anamorphic, I thought to myself, ‘Instead of a doublet,
we could use a triplet for the first cylinder’ — and my dad let me run
PHOTO COURTESY OF PANAVISION.

with it and put something together. That was my very first custom lens,
and it was used on Michael Mann’s Heat [AC Jan. ’96].
“After that, Dad went to lunch with John Schwartzman [ASC] to talk
about John’s upcoming movie Pearl Harbor [AC May ’01]. When they
came back from lunch, John said to me, ‘Your dad said you can build me
a 20mm C Series.’ I was still a bit green, but I said, ‘Yeah, I think so.’ After
he left, I went into Dad’s office, and he said, ‘You have three weeks to
get it done.’ The 20mm lens I built for Pearl Harbor opened a whole new
world for me. I got my first real taste of the stress involved in making
custom lenses.
“Dad was hard on me, for sure, but I think I needed that. He saw
something in me. If he had been the ‘understanding dad,’ I probably A New Honor
The ASC’s technological influence has taken many forms over
would have taken advantage of it and never really gotten serious. Dad
the Society’s 100-plus years of existence. The most modern
provided what I needed with Panavision. I can’t say enough about him.
incarnation, embodied by MITC, originally began in 2003 — as
He took care of us so well, and he’s the one who made me what I am.” the ASC Technology Committee — and was formed with a pri-
Sasaki was invited into the ASC as an associate member in 2014, with mary focus on digital technology and its proliferation through-
recommendations from members Daryn Okada and Bill Roe. out the industry. From the beginning, this group was led by
Curtis Clark, ASC, who remains the chair of MITC today — and
Testament to Excellence who was recognized in 2018 by the Academy of Motion Picture
Panavision CEO Kim Snyder, also an ASC associate, says, “Dan’s im- Arts and Sciences with the coveted John A. Bonner Award. In
portance to the Panavision family can’t be overstated, and it goes well 2022, the ASC established a new award in his honor.
beyond his technical expertise. With his creative spirit, unquenchable “The newly created ASC Technical Achievement Award is
curiosity, and total passion for innovation and collaboration, he rep- a recognition of the vital role played by the leading experts in
motion-imaging technologies, which enable filmmakers to take
resents and helps point the way to our future. He’s taught and trained
advantage of expanded creative potential,” says Clark. “It is
so many people throughout the company, and his creativity inspires us
important that, as the ASC, we recognize the individuals who
daily. make these technological contributions to our artistry. MITC
“Dan would be the first to say that what he does is in service to the has earned industry respect for its leadership in consistently
cinematographers, directors and their crews, who entrust Panavision to addressing the challenges of evolving imaging technology
support their visions,” she continues. “Of course, Dan’s the ideal collab- developments over the past two decades, and I’m greatly
orator to help them bring their images to life. His curiosity is endless, as honored to have my name associated with this new award.
is his creativity and technical know-how, and that’s the perfect combina- “It is most fitting that the Award’s first recipient is Dan
tion to unlock innovations that, in the hands of these talented filmmak- Sasaki, an individual who has consistently provided dedicated
ers, allow audiences to be continually surprised and delighted.” expert support to cinematographers by helping them to craft
Says Sasaki, “I find the ever-evolving art form of lenses to be quite in- their vision through customization of lens performance that
best serves their creative intent. For more than three decades,
vigorating. There are different cycles of what cinematographers are look-
Dan has been at the forefront of this movement to craft the
ing for, and there are so many different cinematographers with unique
tools for cinematographers to impart a personal signature on
tastes. I love the fact that depending on the cinematographer’s inspira- their productions through the lens.”
tion for a particular movie, the character of the lens and the number of
aberrations we allow will change. We’re in a bit of a renaissance with
20 / JUNE 2022

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JUNE 2022 / 21

THE MAN BEHIND THE GLASS
Sasaki accepts the inaugural Curtis Clark

ASC Technical Achievement Award.
cinematography right now, especially in the realm of optics, where cin-

ematographers can have more authorship over their image in the cam-
era. It’s interesting and refreshing, because there are so many choices in
optics that can really expand the available palette to be nearly infinite.”
Signature Looks
A recent reinvigoration of the trend toward custom optics has led Pa-
navision to formulate a system that allows the company to offer cinema-
tographers an array of image-customization options that can be applied
to nearly any lens in the company’s arsenal. “It came out of necessity,
really,” Sasaki says. “In the days before digital cinematography was the
primary means of making a film, we were working to develop sharper,
more contrasty lenses that would help combat the MTF [Modular Trans-
fer Function, a measurement of a lens’ optical performance potential]
that we lost with each succession of developing and printing film. Now,
with digital sensors, the trend is the opposite: to go with softer lens-
es that have a more aberrant character. Customizing lenses isn’t a new
concept — it has always existed at Panavision. George Kraemer, my dad,
and other optics engineers were always tweaking lenses for custom-
ers; they were expanding and modifying lenses throughout my entire
career. We’ve just refined the process to make it more adaptable and
controllable.”
An Indelible Influence
PHOTO BY HECTOR SANDOVAL, COURTESY OF THE ASC.

The sheer number of cinematographers and productions Sasaki has as-
sisted over the course of his 36-year career is so extensive that even list-
ing them would be a formidable task. Suffice to say that his influence has
been indelibly imprinted on the visual landscape of modern filmmaking.
When discussing the Curtis Clark ASC Technical Achievement Award,
Sasaki blushes and gets a bit flustered. “With this honor, the ASC and the
cinematography community made me feel like this special person, and
I can’t thank them enough. When [ASC President] Stephen [Lighthill]
first called me to tell me about the award, I thought he was joking — I
felt there really had to be so many more people more deserving than me.
I love what I do, so being congratulated for it was hard for me to accept.
But when I was at the ASC Awards ceremony, it really sunk in when I saw
the video tribute with all of these cinematographers talking about work-
ing with me and how I’d helped them. At the Nominees Dinner, Kim said,
‘People won’t remember what you do or what you say. They’ll remem-
ber how you made them feel.’ That’s what those cinematographers were “This honor has inspired me to go even further,
talking about — helping them and the people who watch their work feel and to push the art of optics to a new level.”
a certain way through the lenses. I’m really just the ‘front man.’ There’s
a whole team of optical specialists at Panavision, not just me. I dedicate
this award to all of the cinematographers and crewmembers out there push the art of optics to a new level.”
who are evolving the art of optical design in a non-linear fashion. It’s Snyder adds, “This is a tremendous recognition from the ASC. It’s
the artists who are driving us — they’re the ones pushing us to create wonderful to see an award that salutes creative professionals who are
something different to help tell stories. dedicated to supporting cinematographers’ artistry through technical
“I can’t thank the ASC enough for this recognition,” he adds. “It’s the innovation, and for Dan to be the first recipient is the highest honor. All
biggest honor of my life. It has inspired me to go even further, and to of us at Panavision celebrate this moment.”
22 / JUNE 2022

Congrats Dan!
Your innovation,
brilliance and spirit
inspire us all.
From your family at
JUNE 2022 / 23

Truth in the Image
Award-winning Dune cinematographer Greig Fraser,
ASC, ACS discusses his history, career and philosophies
— and shooting The Batman.
By Jay Holben
24 / JUNE 2022
p. 24-35 Greig Fraser - The Batman_v3.indd 24 5/2/22 10:07 PM

PHOTO BY CHIABELLA JAMES, COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. AND LEGENDARY PICTURES.
A
t this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, Greig Fra- As he began this work at the studio, once he’d resumed his studies,
ser, ASC, ACS took home the Oscar for best cinema- Fraser “met a lot of photographers, but I also met filmmakers and that
tography for Dune (AC Dec. ’21), and joined the small, was fascinating,” he recalls. “Photography is a very solo profession. While
elite group of cinematographers to be awarded the you might occasionally have an assistant or a subject you’re shooting,
“trifecta” of an Oscar, BAFTA and ASC Award for the it’s mostly the photographer out on assignment alone. Filmmaking was
same work in the same year. He was also nominat- very much a team effort, and I liked that. I started borrowing equipment
ed for each of the three awards for Lion — for which to shoot 16mm and 35mm stuff on my own, and offered my services to
he won the ASC Award — and earned an additional ASC nomination for young directors to shoot their work. I started spending as much time
his work on the television series The Mandalorian (AC Feb. ’20). with the filmmakers as I could — and I met [director] Garth Davis, whom
Fraser was born in Melbourne, Australia, and developed an early I became good friends with.”
interest in photography. “I studied photography and media in high This relationship with Davis led Fraser to photograph one of his first
school, and I guess I was okay at both of them,” he recalls. “I didn’t really documentary films, P.I.N.S., about three Melbourne parking inspectors.
know anything about the film business or the people who worked in Meanwhile, Fraser was also keeping a keen eye on young directors, and
it. I thought that I wanted to work as a still photographer, and I started sent a letter to Nash Edgerton, admiring his work in music videos. “He
working at a photography/film studio as a cleaner during my second had done this Eskimo Joe video, ‘Liar,’ which was one of the finest uses
year in university. of a limited-budget, single-shot video I’ve ever seen,” Fraser says. “It was
He adds that this was after his first year at the Royal Melbourne In- really beautiful in how the story unfolds. I wrote to him to offer my admi-
stitute of Technology (RMIT), which was a bit of a false start. “I failed ration. On my next trip to Sydney, we met and began working together.”
the first year,” he says. “I went to university straight out of high school, In the narrative realm, that work with Edgerton resulted in Fraser
and never took it seriously. I missed too many classes, failed, and took shooting the shorts Fuel, Lucky and Spider — released in 2003, ’05 and
a year off.” ’07, respectively — along with two Bob Dylan music videos, “Must Be
JUNE 2022 / 25

TRUTH IN THE IMAGE
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS at work on Lion (page 24);

Dune (page 25, with actor Timothée Chalamet);
The Mandalorian (this page, top); Vice (middle, with
director Adam McKay); and Zero Dark Thirty (bottom).
Santa” and “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’.”

“I remember being challenged by everything I was doing during
those early days,” Fraser notes. “I’d work my ass off so that I didn’t look
like an idiot when we were shooting. I’d study 100 films in prep. I’d go
to the tech scout, and then I’d sneak back to the location the next day to
do my light study and make my plans. ‘What happens if clouds suddenly
TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF LUCASFILM, LTD. MIDDLE PHOTO BY MATT KENNEDY, COURTESY OF ANNAPURNA PICTURES. BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIA PICTURES.
roll in?’ You play the chess game in your mind over and over, and know
all your moves. I remember it being quite intense and fun. I was also
self-teaching, just constantly learning.”
Fraser had the opportunity to connect with Academy Award-nomi-
nated director Jane Campion on the 2006 short film The Water Diary,
which was later compiled into the feature anthology 8. Campion then
turned to Fraser to shoot Bright Star (AC Oct. ’09), which would be his
fourth narrative feature.
The next year, Fraser collaborated with director Matt Reeves to shoot
the vampire film Let Me In (the U.S. adaptation of the book Let the Right
One In). He followed this with Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly (AC
Oct. ’12), and then his first big-budget film — the action fantasy Snow
White and the Huntsman (AC June ’12), directed by Rupert Sanders —
which started him on a string of weightier fare with Zero Dark Thirty (AC
Feb. ’13) alongside director Kathryn Bigelow, followed by Bennett Mill-
er’s Foxcatcher (AC Dec. ’14) and Rupert Wyatt’s The Gambler. He earned
his first Academy Award nomination for Davis’ Lion, then stepped into
the Star Wars universe with the first spinoff title of the franchise, Rogue
One: A Star Wars Story (AC Feb. ’17), directed by Gareth Edwards. From
there, he returned to smaller independent work with Davis’ Mary Mag-
dalene, and then launched into the Dick Cheney biopic Vice (AC Jan. ’19)
with director Adam McKay.
“The cinematographer is responsible for helping

the audience feel and experience the story.”
Fraser returned to the Star Wars universe for the Disney Plus series
The Mandalorian — the first major release to incorporate LED-wall vir-
tual-production techniques — where he proceeded to break technolog-
ical barriers “by leading the revolution,” he says, via his collaboration
with Lucasfilm, ILM and Epic Games.
He left the show in the skilled hands of Barry “Baz” Idoine, ASC, and
headed to Hungary to shoot Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune.
Fraser was invited into Society membership in 2013, with recommen-
dations from ASC members Roger Deakins, Rodney Taylor, Mandy Walk-
er and Steven Fierberg.
The cinematographer notes that the heart of his photography is root-
ed in truth — an integrity and honesty of the image, no matter how fan-
tastical the story might be. “I’m a firm believer in the fact that we, as
humans, have evolved to understand light,” he says. “We may not all be
able to verbalize it — like my mom might not be able to tell me why an
image doesn’t feel right, but she knows, intuitively, if it isn’t right. For
me, it’s about honesty with my lighting choices, with my lenses, with the
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JUNE 2022 / 27

TRUTH IN THE IMAGE
compositions and movement of the camera — it all has to be grounded come out of a movie not believing the light, then it’s doing a disservice
in a truth. The cinematographer bears responsibility for the audience’s to the story.
subconscious reaction to the imagery. We’re responsible for helping “In a recent talk I did at Camerimage, a student asked me, ‘How would
them feel and experience the story, and I feel it’s a critical part of the job you define your style?’ And I struggled with that, because I don’t think
to be as honest in that as possible. I have one. So, I asked the student, ‘Do I have a style?’ They said ‘Well,
“At the same time, almost everything in the filmmaking process is everything you do feels authentic.’ And I said, ‘I’ll take that! I’ll own that.
‘false,’” Fraser continues. “A man in a Batsuit is false and a Jedi wielding I don’t mind that being the definition of my style, at all.’ It is, truly, what
a lightsaber is false, but you’ve got to find every element of truth in the I strive for. I don’t want to be locked into any particular look or pho-
scenes — just like the director does. It matters that the audience believes tographic style. I want to find the truth in the story and do my best to
that this film could be a reality. Lighting is a huge part of that. If you represent that — whatever form that takes.”
THE BATMAN IMAGES COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES

AND DC COMICS. PHOTO ON PAGE 30 BY JONATHAN OLLEY.
M
CM
MY
CY
CMY
Shooting The Batman and soul. The approach is that you’ve got to see into his eyes. When Rob
Fraser’s latest grand-scale feature, The Batman, is a dynamic visual feast is wearing the Batsuit, I worked to make sure that I pushed light into his
of a superhero adventure — the darkest, most noir-like adaptation of eyes, while keeping it mostly off the cowl. There was a perfect sweet spot
the Caped Crusader yet. He and director Matt Reeves envisioned captur- for the key light that would reflect off the eyes, but not hit the cowl or
ing the true darkness of the masked-vigilante persona of Bruce Wayne jaw too much. To hit that, I often had to ask Rob to be his own stand-in,
(Robert Pattinson) within a gritty detective story. because the lighting had to be that precise. I could get 80 percent of the
way there with a stand-in, but then it had to be him and his face to really
Lighting the Dark dial it in.”
Fraser and Reeves set out to create a film that was nearly always dark. The scale of the lighting only grew from there. For a climactic night-
One resulting challenge for the cinematographer was lighting the black time sequence that takes place outside of Gotham Square Garden Arena
Batsuit in these very low-light environments. “From an exposure stand- as residents rush for shelter following a city-wide flood — caused by the
point, everything borders on the edge,” Fraser says. “You can’t see too supervillain Riddler (Paul Dano) — Fraser and gaffer Jamie Mills were
much of this guy — he loses his frightening appeal if he’s too exposed. tasked with creating a massive soft box over the outside of the arena.
It’s a massive responsibility to expose him enough that we see the char- The rigging comprised 687 single Digital Sputnik cubes (mostly from
acter underneath, but not so much that it feels false or cartoonish. You DS6 lamps broken down into individual modules), which were spaced
must see the actor in the suit, otherwise the character doesn’t have heart into a 200'x170' box. The rig featured Magic Cloth on the box and 251
28 / JUNE 2022

AND DC COMICS. PHOTO ON PAGE 30 BY JONATHAN OLLEY.
JUNE 2022 / 29

TRUTH IN THE IMAGE
Actor Robert Pattinson portrays the title character in The Batman.
Quarter White diffusion on the lamps, and took crews seven weeks to color of the set’s walls, and large sections were cut out in the shape of
construct. cathedral windows.
“Something we learned on Dune was to create fabric set extensions
A Daylight Moment — as opposed to greenscreen, or [a screen that was] black or white —
One of the very few exceptions to the film’s dark motif was the daytime and bounce-material that was colored the same as the set,” Fraser says.
memorial for Gotham’s Mayor Mitchell (Rupert Penry-Jones), set in City “That way, the light reflecting off of it would have the right color for the
Hall, which presented a sizable lighting challenge for Fraser. The set environment.”
was constructed at the massive 158'x617' stage at Cardington Studios,
located north of London, and featured floor-to-ceiling cathedral-style “You’ve got to see into his eyes.”
windows at either end of a gothic-style hall. But the windows were not
part of the physical set; they would be added in postproduction. To cre- The gobos were crafted from “a stone-colored fabric, with a solid
ate light from the two nonexistent walls of windows, Fraser, gaffer Mills black backing to stop light from penetrating it from behind,” Mills says.
and the construction department crafted two enormous soft bounces at For light that would shine from the “exterior” through each gobo,
either end of the set, each of which passed through one of two equally the cinematographer brought in two extensive rigs — each comprising
huge fabric gobos, which shaped the light of the set’s would-be win- 30 24K Dino lights and 15 Quarter Wendy lights (16 1K PAR bulbs each)
dows. The gobos’ fabric on the camera side — the “interior” — was the that were mounted onto the scaffolding supporting the gobo, and were
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TRUTH IN THE IMAGE
Tech Specs: 2.39:1

Cameras: Arri Alexa LF, Alexa Classic
Lenses: Arri Rental Alfa anamorphic, VLEV/Iron Glass, Atlas Orion anamorphic
Format: Film-out to Kodak Vision3 Color Digital Intermediate Film 2254 (negative
and interpositive)
bounced toward the back side of the fabric. Six 20Ks were also brought where money is spent. So, therefore, Simon knows that when I do ask
in, which were directly aimed at the back side of the gobo. for something larger, it’s because it’s absolutely necessary. We’ve built
These fixtures, which were colored with Quarter CTB — in addition to up that trust.”
“251 [Quarter White] diffusion on all the Dinos, to add to the overall soft-
ness,” Mills says — were bounced into a 120'x130' white molten cloth. Dynamic Glass
They employed another six 20K Fresnels (also colored with Quarter CTB) Fraser is well known for his eclectic taste in lenses, particularly glass
for direct hard light passing through the gobo cutouts. A huge amount of that has more character to it. In this case, before production started, Arri
power — 3,600 kilowatts, in this case — is an anomaly for Fraser, who Rental contacted him about a new series of lenses they were working
generally strives to be as economical and environmentally friendly as on for the Alexa LF format, and Fraser visited the facility to share his
possible with his lighting. thoughts. While the Arri/Zeiss Master Anamorphics are some of the
“I’m an LED guy,” the cinematographer says. “But in this case, there more intricately designed anamorphics on the market, they are often
was nothing available to us that would have enough punch to get the noted for being extremely clean, without the typical character that is as-
look we were going for. I don’t find it ego-worthy to boast about how sociated with anamorphic lenses. Arri Rental was looking to tune the
many watts of electricity we used — in fact, it’s quite embarrassing for Master Anamorphics to cater to filmmakers like Fraser, who prefer a
me. I’d much rather talk about how much electricity we saved by using more aberrant image.
LEDs, and hopefully the hundreds of thousands of kilowatts I’ve saved “They showed me the Series 1 of these new lenses, [but] they were too
in the past six years of my career helps balance out this one setup where close to the Master Anamorphics in their look,” Fraser recalls. “I offered
we used more substantial power. It was also a rather complicated setup. my thoughts, and they came back to me with Series 2, but they were very
We were lucky to have the incredible support and partnership of pro- hesitant to show me, [since they were not yet ready for production]. But I
ducer Simon Emanuel to achieve this set piece, but at the same time, looked at them and loved what I saw. Technically, they fell off very softly
I’m a frugal cinematographer. I’m very aware that I have to be careful at the edges, but they were really quite beautiful and exactly what Matt
Optics Spotlight | Rehoused Ukrainian Lenses

While the majority of The Batman was shot with Arri’s Alfa anamorphic
lenses, cinematographer Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS went with a more
atypical choice for the climactic car-chase sequence between Batman
and the Penguin (Colin Farrell). “A car chase is critical to any Batman
movie, and [director] Matt [Reeves] loves car chases,” Fraser says.
“We wanted a very dynamic chase, and knew we wanted to mount
cameras onto cars and really lock in the image with the characters.
This required smaller, lighter-weight rigs — and also cameras that
could be destroyed if we became a little too brave with our stunts.
This led to production purchasing some older Arri Alexa Classic A scene from the movie’s elaborate car chase, captured with
cameras, which essentially became our crash cameras. [With this the aid of Soviet-era lenses rehoused by a Ukrainian team.
equipment] we could frame the characters more extremely, [as] the
Arri Alfas wouldn’t work due to their edge deficiency, size and weight. them add in an elliptical aperture cutout to make the bokeh look more
I had decided early on that we would change up the look a bit for this anamorphic-like. There’s a lack of uniformity across the image that I
sequence. I was looking for lenses that would still have character — love with these Soviet lenses, but also a certain depth and warmth in
that would maintain a continuity of look — but be smaller, lighter and the focus falloff — a lack of scientific perfection. They really felt right
less expensive if they got damaged in a stunt.” for us, and they fit in with the look and feel of the Alfas without any
For the solution, Fraser turned to a contact he had connected with disparity. The crazy thing is wrapping your head around shooting a
online: Alan Besedin of Vintage Lenses for Video, a website dedicat- massive big-budget film with still lenses that you can get off of eBay
ed to information about older glass. Besedin had partnered with Iron for $50! They’re not something I could do an entire film with, but they
Glass, an adapting and rehousing company out of Melitopol, Ukraine, were phenomenal for what we needed them for, and they had better
to offer a series of Soviet Helios and Jupiter still lenses incorporated edge-to-edge performance so that we could frame a bit more extreme
into cine-style mechanics. in this sequence. I also incorporated Atlas Orion anamorphics into
“The rehoused Soviet-era glass fit the bill,” Fraser says. “They were this scene as well, and used them in the sequence with motorcycles
smaller, lighter and less expensive, but still had a great look. We had between Batman and Catwoman [Zoë Kravitz] earlier in the movie.”
32 / JUNE 2022

and I had been talking about. I said, ‘These are perfect!’ and they’re what
we shot with — the Series 2 of the Arri [Rental] Alfa lenses. Series 3 is
now their production line, and they’re also extremely beautiful, but not
as bold as the Series 2.”
The significantly tuned Series 2 Arri Alfa anamorphic lenses exhib-
it a great deal of astigmatism, uneven field of focus, and some coma
at the sides of the image, “but the center was great and sharp,” Fraser
says. “That was great for us. Although we were shooting 2.39, we weren’t
planning on framing this like a Sergio Leone Western with characters at
the extreme edges of the frame; we were planning on being a lot more
controlled and framing mostly in the center or just off-center. For an
action film, this really helps keep the audience’s eye on the story so they
won’t get lost as quick action happens throughout the scenes. As a cin-
ematographer, it’s my job to help direct the audience’s eye to the most
important part of the frame. We decided, especially for sequences with A vast soft box was deployed for a Gotham Square Garden night exterior.
fast editing, that we wanted to keep the action central, and having these
lenses that fell apart at the edges really forced us to follow those early prone to more veiling flare. Wide open at T2.2, they flare a lot and have
framing decisions. Matt and I committed to the fact that we had a de- very low contrast, but stopping down half a stop to a stop could clean it
fined area in the middle of the frame to compose everyone, and the rest up and give me an entirely different look. This is something that I look
would fall off. for in lenses, to give me a lot more control over the contrast on a shot-
“The [Series 2] Alfas also have beautiful adjustable contrast. This is by-shot basis by simply adjusting the aperture a little bit. A T stop can be
something that happens with highly aberrant lenses, especially those as much about contrast as it is about depth of field.”
The point of difference
JUNE 2022 / 33

TRUTH IN THE IMAGE
Top: The camera side of a wall-sized fabric gobo. Bottom: The back side of the gobo.
The light is aimed away from the gobo, then bounced back through the cut-out “windows.”
HAWK ANAMORPHIC
LOS ANGELES
Hawk lenses are

conveniently available Water Filters “That got a lot of water on the lens, but it was
Like much of the movie, a pivotal car-chase uncontrolled and at times would just obliterate
in Los Angeles, directly scene takes place in torrential rain. The produc- the image. So we had to bring in the new Bright
from the manufacturer. tion knew it would be expensive — and waste- Tangerine Prodigy rain deflector, but then the
Find the right package ful — to line a mile of runway with rain towers, lens was too clean, so I turned to filters. I took
so they decided to wet down the road and cars, a whole heap of optical flats and had globules
for your creative goals at and add the falling rain as a CG element in post. of clear silicon dropped on them to act as rain-
Hawk Anamorphic LA. “Even though it wasn’t actually raining, there drops, but [they were] controlled and consis-
was still a lot of water flying around because tent raindrops that refracted and reflected the
hawks@hawkanamorphic.com the road and cars were wet,” Fraser recalls. light beautifully. I had several variations in how
www.hawkanamorphic.com
34 / JUNE 2022

many and how large the globules were. If the headlights were straight
into the camera, we’d use a less powerful one, but if there was no direct
light, then we’d use one with more silicone. Even though the sequence
feels very out of control, visually, it was very much controlled.
Film-Out
As he had done on Dune, Fraser incorporated a film intermediate on The
Batman. “On Dune, we exported the colored digital master to film neg-
ative and then scanned that back to digital. On this film, we went out to Fraser (left) and The Batman director Matt Reeves plan a shot.
negative, then printed a positive and separately scanned both the neg-
ative and positive back to digital. By adding the extra layer of process, it gave us around highlights, rather than for what you typically would
we added another layer of control over the image and the amount of use skip-bleach for: increasing contrast and desaturating the image. In
‘film effect’ we wanted for each moment. When you’re shooting on film fact, when we scanned the interpos back, we then reduced the contrast
and printing on film, you start with negative, go to interpositive, then and added back color as Greig wanted. In a film as dark as this, if we in-
internegative, and then final release print. Each step loses some sharp- creased contrast, we would lose so much detail. For example, if the high-
ness and overall resolution, and you don’t have a choice. When we’re lights get higher and the iris of the eye stops down, you lose even more
shooting digital and going out to film and then back to digital, we’re detail. We elected to keep the blacks open and ‘dirtier’ to better reflect the
building in some of that degradation of the image, but we have control dirty and grungy nature of Gotham City.”
and choice.” “We picked the scan from the [interpositive] as our main ‘hero’
Working with colorist and ASC associate Dave Cole at Fotokem, the image,” Fraser says. “For close-up shots, we’d often use the [interposi-
film was recorded out to Kodak Vision3 2254 1 ASA intermediate stock tive] scan, but when we had wide shots, the [interpositive] would often
as a negative, which was processed with a bleach-bypass technique and lose too much resolution, so we used the scan from the negative instead.
then contact-printed as an interpositive to the same 2254 stock. We picked the best look on a shot-by-shot basis. The film scanning adds
Says Cole, “We utilized the skip-bleach process for the halation that the most beautiful texture into the film, especially from the positive.”
JUNE 2022 / 35

Taking Flight
Claudio Miranda, ASC and director Joseph Kosinski
employ the latest gear and techniques to capture
genuine high-flying action for Top Gun: Maverick.
By Iain Marcks
36 / JUNE 2022
p. 36-49 Top Gun Maverick_v4.indd 36 5/2/22 10:09 PM

W
hen Top Gun was released in 1986, audiences
hadn’t seen anything like it before. Producers
Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer want-
ed to make a slick, high-octane motion pic-
ture about an elite Navy fighter-pilot school
and fill it with young, good-looking actors
and exhilarating aerial photography — and
they wanted to do it with real fighter jets. With Jeffrey L. Kimball, ASC’s
strong, naturalistic cinematography helping to realize director Tony
Scott’s stylish vision (AC May ’86) — along with the United States Navy’s
cooperation and the onscreen charisma of the film’s star, Tom Cruise, as
ace pilot Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell — the filmmakers were able to do
just that. The movie was a box-office smash.
JUNE 2022 / 37

TAKING FLIGHT
Actors Tom Cruise (previous spread and this page, top), Greg Tarzan Davis
(middle) and Monica Barbaro (bottom) perform while actually in flight.
IMAGES COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES,

SKYDANCE AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER FILMS.
Thirty-six years later, Cruise’s rebellious aviator is back to mentor “[The goal was] developing the
the next generation of young, good-looking “Top Gun” pilots. To help world’s most impactful aerial
bring the much-anticipated sequel to the screen, cinematographer Clau-
dio Miranda, ASC and director Joseph Kosinski have harnessed the latest cinematography to date.”
advances in digital-camera technology, optics and support to raise the
flight-photography bar for Top Gun: Maverick.
Planning Trajectories
Maverick is the fourth of five feature collaborations between Miranda
and Kosinski. The pair, who also partnered on Only the Brave and Spi-
derhead — and who first worked with Cruise on Oblivion (AC May ’13)
— began their professional relationship more than a decade ago with a
different kind of sequel. “With Tron: Legacy [AC Jan. ’11], we paid homage
to the language of the first film [the 1982 sci-fi feature Tron], but didn’t
follow it too closely because it was a different world,” Kosinski says. For
Maverick, however, significant cues were taken from the original. In ad-
dition to presenting a modern take on the adventures of the elite squad-
ron, “we wanted to take the audience back [to the feeling of the original],
too. We wanted it to feel like a Top Gun movie.”
Miranda briefly consulted with Kimball regarding the first film’s
photography, and honored its visual style through the use of graduated
filtration. Along with the addition of digital film grain during the final
grade (performed by Company 3 senior colorist and ASC associate mem-
ber Stefan Sonnenfeld), the technique resulted in deep shadows and a
dusky look, similar to the original film’s imagery “but with our own
flavor,” Miranda remarks. “There’s definitely a warm look to it, more so
38 / JUNE 2022
p. 36-49 Top Gun Maverick_v4.indd 38 5/2/22 10:09 PM 2022_

CONGRATULATIONS
Writer & Director Siân Heder and Cinematographer Paula Huidobro AMC
and the entire cast on your Oscar, BAFTA, and PGA awards for the
incredibly moving film “CODA.”
SONY VENICE
Thank you Paula for choosing the Sony VENICE to support you.
“We were interested in the large format of the Sony VENICE because of its resolution and the pictorial
quality of the image. The movie was truly inspired by Gloucester, by the fishing community and their
landscape. We wanted a camera that would capture the expanse and beauty of the ocean but would
also allow you to feel intimate when you would shoot a closeup. I feel that the Sony VENICE gives
you that. I also love the high ISO.” — Paula Huidobro AMC
sonycine.com
JUNE 2022 / 39
2022_03_SONY_CODACongratulatoryAd_ASC_F.indd
p. 36-49 Top Gun Maverick_v4.indd 39 1 4/12/22 10:09
5/2/22 6:34 PM
PM
TAKING FLIGHT
Cameras mounted to a jet’s exterior for in-flight photography.
“The secret to making dynamic aerials is to use

a variety of platforms to tell the story.”
than the other movies Joe and I have done together.”

CHECK OUT THE NEW Says Kosinski, “Every time we approach a new project, we go into it
G F -T U R T L E B A S E . with the intent of trying something new and shaking things up for us in
terms of its technical aspects and visual style. For Maverick, it was about
B A Z O O K A B A S E , T R A C K D O L L Y,
capturing the experience of actually being in one of these fighter jets
T R I H AT A N D R I G G I N G T O O L .
while it’s in the air. That’s how we were able to go beyond the first film.”
GO TO → g r i p f a c t o r y. c o m
Preparing for Flight
The thrilling aerial sequences in Top Gun: Maverick are comprised of
three main elements: ground-to-air, onboard and air-to-air. The Unit-
ed States Naval Air Systems Command, aka NAVAIR, provided the film-
makers with two Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jets to modify for
photography, and a decommissioned Grumman F-14 Tomcat for on-the-
ground scenes. (Because they are no longer flown by the U.S., aerial se-
quences involving the Tomcat required visual-effects work to digitally
re-skin F/A-18s in flight with the first film’s iconic jet design.)
The actors portraying the Top Gun pilots went through a training pro-
gram led by the film’s aerial coordinator, Kevin LaRosa Jr., and his father,
stunt pilot veteran Kevin LaRosa Sr. During this prep period, the actors
worked in a number of different types of aircraft. “We started training
them to fly in Cessna 172 Skyhawks,” Kevin LaRosa Jr. says, “then in the
highly maneuverable and fully aerobatic Extra EA-300 aerobatic mono-
planes to increase their G-tolerance, and then in the Aero L-39 Albatros
so they could become accustomed to flying high-performance jets.”
Miranda — an Academy Award winner for Life of Pi, and an ASC Award
nominee — fulfilled a lifelong dream of earning his pilot’s license as a
way of mentally preparing himself to shoot the feature. “Nothing like
what they’re doing in the movie, of course,” he says. “I’m in little prop
planes, like a Cirrus or Cessna 210, but learning to fly allowed me to im-
merse myself more in the world of Top Gun than I could as an outsider.”
/gripfactorymunich @gfm_gripfactorymunich /gripfactorymunich
40 / JUNE 2022

The placement
of cockpit cameras
in a Top Gun:
Maverick jet.
Aerial coordinator LaRosa joined the production a few
months before principal photography, along with aerial
cinematographers David B. Nowell, ASC and Michael Fitz-
Maurice. In developing their approach to filming the aeri-
al sequences, LaRosa and his team assembled makeshift
animatics — using iPhones, which recorded stick-model
airplanes.
“We built an aerial menu book of the most exciting and
exhilarating camera angles and maneuvers that we could
think of,” LaRosa says. “Then, we’d go and test them with
real aircraft. We’d learn what worked and what didn’t. With
the goal of developing the world’s most impactful aerial
cinematography to date, the aerial team worked very close-
ly with Joe, Claudio and Tom throughout all the aerial se-
quences, shot throughout Washington state, Nevada and
California.”
In the Cockpit
One of the filmmakers’ key objectives was to capture the ef-
fects of aircraft combat maneuvers on the actors’ faces, and
the best way to do that was to put the actors into the aircraft
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JUNE 2022 / 41

TAKING FLIGHT
Cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (right) and

director Joseph Kosinski eye a day-exterior shot.
Optics Spotlight | Main Unit and Ground-to-Air

Like cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball, ASC on the
original Top Gun, fellow Society member Claudio Miranda
chose to shoot Maverick entirely with spherical lenses.
Says Miranda, “In the jet cockpits, when you’re pulling five
to seven Gs, 10 pounds becomes 50 to 70 pounds, so we
needed small and lightweight lenses with close focus.”
(See “In the Cockpit” section, page 41.)
The cinematographer’s main-unit prime-lens package
comprised Sigma High Speed Cine primes in the 14mm-
40mm range, and Arri/Zeiss Master Primes from 50mm
upwards. Miranda generally shot in 6K full frame — with
exceptions including sequences captured with lenses that
didn’t cover the full Venice sensor — and framed for 2.39:1
and Imax 1.9:1. The main unit also carried a set of three Fu-
jifilm/Fujinon Premier Zooms, from 18mm-400mm, and the
company’s Premista 28-100mm T2.9 zoom, as well as a set
of three Zeiss Compact Zooms, from 15mm to 200mm.
The ground-to-air unit employed two Premier zooms,
from 24mm-400mm, and two rehoused Canon lenses — a
150-600mm still zoom and a 1,000mm telephoto lens, both
capable of covering 6K full-frame. Even at extended focal
lengths, the operators used IBE Optics PLx2 extenders
to track far-off aircraft through the sky, which sometimes
called for the use of modified riflescopes atop the cameras
to aid them in sighting their targets.
42 / JUNE 2022

First AC Dan Ming prepares front-facing cockpit cameras

mounted to the jet’s front canopy.
with as many cameras as possible. “You can’t get it on a greenscreen

stage,” says Miranda.
With input from 1st AC Dan Ming and key grip Trevor Fulks, Miran-
da proposed a six-camera setup for the F/A-18F: three standard Sony
Venice units, along with one outfitted with the Rialto system — which
allows the camera’s sensor block and lens to be separated from the body,
with connection maintained via an extension cable — pointed back at
the weapons-systems officer’s seat, and two Rialtos looking forward
over the pilot’s left and right shoulder.
“Initially, the engineers at NAVAIR told me [that placing] six cameras
wasn’t possible, but we found two F/A-18s without modern heads-up
displays,” Miranda says. Once the plans were approved, the jets’ cockpit
video-recorder systems and additional hardware were removed. “Trevor
designed and machined plates that mounted to the cockpit’s existing
threaded holes, and we could rig our equipment off of those,” says Ming.
Light, compact Voigtländer Heliar wide-angle 10mm, 12mm and
15mm E-mount primes, and Zeiss Loxia 21mm, 25mm, 35mm and
50mm E-mount primes were used to give the cockpit cameras as slim
HMI LED
JOKER ALPHA SLICE
JUNE 2022 / 43
HorizHalf 2021.indd 1 1/6/21 9:25 PM

TAKING FLIGHT
Barbaro and Cruise,

who also served as
producer, view a
monitor in the cockpit.
In front of Barbaro
is a rear-facing
four-camera array.
“In the jet cockpits, we needed small and

Large Format Directors Viewfinder lightweight lenses with close focus.”
Full Format a profile as possible. “The path of the ejection seat had to be completely
in all its Glory clear, so the lenses couldn’t extend past the glare shield,” says Miranda.
“It helped that the Venice cameras have an internal optical ND filter sys-
tem, so no matte boxes were needed.”
The rear-facing Venice cameras were mounted over the glare shield
above the instrument console. The body for the rear-facing Rialto sys-
tem was mounted on top of the aircraft’s light-control box in the rear.
To ensure the rigs’ viability, NAVAIR subjected them to shock, vibration
and wind-tunnel testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland.
The sensor blocks of the forward-facing Rialtos were mounted to the
inside of the canopy, while the camera bodies were mounted behind the
rear seat. Ming points out that Rialto prototypes were used for these for-
ward-facing units. “In case of an emergency, the prototype cables would
“While recently shooting
The Pursuit of Love on the Alexa
easily rip right out of the sensor block. Production Rialtos have much
sturdier connections.”
LF with Signature Primes, I was Before each run, Miranda conferred with the F/A-18 pilots about
able to view the full scope of this how to get the best light for the cockpit cameras, as the aircraft roared
beautiful format in all its glory. through valleys and around mountains. “I wanted the sun to come
Light and easy to handle, the three-quarters from the rear on either side. The main idea is to be back-
lit,” the cinematographer says. “After all that planning, we still had to
Lindsey Optics Large Format
guess the exposure. Then once we set the stop on the cameras, that was
Directors Finder was a great tool
it.”
on set when it came to
discussing framing options Exterior Mounts
with the director.
”
Zac Nicholson, BSC
NAVAIR built custom housings for cameras mounted to the exterior of
the F/A-18. Venice bodies equipped with Heliar wide-angle primes could
be mounted front- and rear-facing to the centerline of the jets’ bellies,
and to the underside of the wing facing toward the fuselage. A rear-fac-
ing Rialto was mounted to the top, behind the cockpit, with the camera
body secured in a compartment beneath the aircraft’s paneling. Up to
www.lindseyoptics.com • +1.661.522.7101
44 / JUNE 2022

Tech Specs: 2.39:1, 1.90:1 (for Imax presentation)

Cameras: Sony Venice
Lenses: Main Unit | Sigma Prime; Arri/Zeiss Master Prime; Zeiss Compact Zoom; Fujifilm/Fujinon
Premier Zoom, Premista Zoom; Cinemagic Revolution snorkel-lens system || Jet Interior and
Exterior | Voigtländer Heliar Hyper Wide, Ultra Wide, Super Wide; Zeiss Loxia || Air-to-Air |
Fujifilm/Fujinon Cabrio zoom || Ground-to-Air | Fujifilm/Fujinon Premier Zoom; Canon zoom, prime
Actor Ed Harris in Top Gun: Maverick. Miranda and Kosinski paid homage
to original Top Gun cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball, ASC and director
Tony Scott through the use of deep shadows.
four cameras could be mounted to the exterior

at a time.
The position of an externally mounted cam-
era sometimes influenced what kinds of ma-
neuvers could be performed. “Certain mount
areas were subject to extreme vibration during
certain maneuvers, as we learned when a cam-
era came back damaged in the housing after
a run,” Ming says. “We also got internal ND
movement with the extreme vibration that
Sony said they couldn’t replicate, so I suggested
they test it with a paint mixer to match what we
were experiencing.”
Says Miranda, “If the jet senses there’s a
load on the wing, it will limit its own flight
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JUNE 2022 / 45

TAKING FLIGHT
U.S. Navy fighting machines.
Your Super 8 and 16mm

Film Lab for 50 years
CAMERAS.
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characteristics — [it] can’t pull 7½ Gs, and it Shotover F1 Rush platforms — one on the nose C
won’t roll. [But] if the cameras are on the air- and one under the tail. Nowell and FitzMaurice
M
craft body or inside the cockpit, you get full could comfortably fly in the jet simultaneous-
818.848.5522 • pro8mm.com performance.” ly, each operating one of two Venice cameras, Y
The production had two interior-rigged jets paired with either a Fujifilm/Fujinon Cabrio CM
and one exterior-rigged jet. “Since the exterior 20-120mm T3.5 or a Cabrio 85-300mm T2.9-4 MY
rigs limited the performance of the planes, they zoom.

CY
were never on the same jet as the interior rigs,” LaRosa also flew an Airbus H125 single-en-
Ming says. gine helicopter, whose primary role was to pro- CMY
vide an aerial camera that didn’t move at the K
Air-to-Air speed of an airplane, and could therefore, at se-

In addition to his duties as aerial coordinator, lect moments, help to enhance the audience’s
LaRosa also served as the film’s lead camera sense of the fighter jets’ terrific speed and agili-
pilot. Three different approaches were taken to ty. The helicopter was mounted with a Shotover
capture the high-speed maneuvers of some of K1, a bigger version of the F1 designed to fly
the world’s fastest fighting machines. larger camera configurations or longer lenses
The first system was the CineJet, a modified — which, in this case, included the larger pro-
Aero L-39 Albatros trainer jet with a six-axis file of Fujinon’s Cabrio 25-300mm T3.5. One
gyrostabilized Shotover F1 camera platform example of an H125 shot was LaRosa hovering
mounted forward of the nose. The Shotover low to the ground, but still close to action alti-
system’s maneuverability, combined with the tude, as a fighter jet ripped across the terrain at
mounting position and flat belly of the L-39, of- more than 300 knots.
fered the operator — either Nowell or FitzMau-
rice — a wide field of view, including below and Multiple Angles
behind. The CineJet was employed for high-ac- “The secret to making dynamic aerials is to use
tion aerial dogfights and low-altitude precision a variety of platforms to tell the story,” LaRosa
maneuvering. says. “With a combination of angles from all
Halfway through production, an Embraer these different platforms, we’re able to really
Phenom 300 camera jet was integrated for give the audience a thrill ride and create pow-
missions requiring additional time in the air, erful aerial sequences.”
which included extended operations over Miranda adds, “The aerial work is pretty
water. The Phenom light private jet is a bigger spectacular. There’s a lot of effort up there on
aircraft than the L-39, but faster and capable the screen.”
of longer flight times. It was outfitted with two
46 / JUNE 2022

Y
JUNE 2022 / 47

TAKING FLIGHT
Cinematography for a Limited or Cinematography for a Single-Camera

Anthology Series or Movie Series (One Hour)

Anthology Series or Movie Series (Half-Hour)
48 / JUNE 2022


Anthology Series or Movie Series (Half-Hour)
Cinematography for a Single-Camera Cinematography for a Single-Camera

Series (Half-Hour) Series (Half-Hour)
To watch awards-eligible programming, visit www.PeacockFYC.com

and enter passcode PEACOCKFYC2022.
Peacock © Peacock TV LLC. All other programs and/or marks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
JUNE 2022 / 49

50 / JUNE 2022
p. 50-71 Photos 1 People_v4.indd 50 5/2/22 10:10 PM

People
Stills by ASC members reveal
T
individuals’ inner worlds.
he landscapes of the human face and form offer an in-
finite variety of expressions that convey a rich palette of
emotions, and are key visual elements in both cinematog-
raphy and still photography.
Some of the world’s greatest still photographers have
provided insight into the art of capturing individuals.
Henri Cartier-Bresson said, “In a portrait, I’m looking
for the silence in somebody.” Robert Frank noted, “There is one thing the
photograph must contain: the humanity of the moment.” Annie Leibovitz
suggested that the photographer’s role is “to see people as they are, as they
imagine themselves, as they wish to be. To be witness, the friend, the judge,
the accomplice. To record their moment.”
In the following pages, AC presents a gallery of stills taken by ASC mem-
bers that spotlight such indelible people and moments. The opening image
(left) was taken by Shelly Johnson, ASC in 2019, while he was shooting the
feature Bill & Ted Face the Music at Preservation Hall in New Orleans. The
pictured musician, who plays clarinet in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band,
appeared in a scene set in 1922. Johnson recalls, “Many members of the
band had actually played with Louis Armstrong, and they had much advice
for Jeremiah Craft, the young actor playing Louis. One of them even loaned
him Louis’ trademark white handkerchief.”
Indeed, the subject of this photo provides an aura of lived authenticity,
and we’re sure you’ll find the images that follow equally compelling.
Shelly Johnson, ASC

Preservation Hall Musician, 2019
JUNE 2022 / 51

PEOPLE
Luo Pan, ASC, CNSC

Untitled
52 / JUNE 2022

Anastas N. Michos, ASC, GSC

On Set xvii, 2011
JUNE 2022 / 53

PEOPLE
Paul Ryan, ASC

The Cleaver and the
Sword — Fishmarket,
Piazza Alonzo di
Benedetto, Catania,
Sicily, 2018
Charles Libin, ASC

Broadway Island, 1975
54 / JUNE 2022

JUNE 2022 / 55

PEOPLE
Zhao Xiaoding, ASC, CNSC

Contraries, 2020
Alex Disenhof, ASC

Ofelia, 2020
BOTTOM PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE TV PLUS.

“
56 / JUNE 2022

We In n o vate. Yo u Create Vis ual Sto ries.
“ The filtration added this slight imperfection to the

image that ended up feeling truly authentic to the
emotion we were trying to convey.
“
Cinematographer John Matysiak on Old Henry
For the authentic looks
Matysiak achieved on Old Henry
he chose Tiffen:
Pearlescent®
Black Satin®
Black Pearlescent®
tiffen.com JUNE 2022 / 57

PEOPLE
Mikael Salomon,
ASC, DFF
JOY Hong Kong, 1968
Russell Carpenter, ASC

Balinese Baby With
Ceremonial Shaved
Head, 2017
58 / JUNE 2022

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revealing subtle nuanced details in deep shadows and bright highlights.
For more information: www.zeiss.com/cine/supremeprime JUNE 2022 / 59

PEOPLE
Dana Gonzales, ASC

Patricio, 2007
Suki Medenčević, ASC, ASBiH, SAS

Barba Meho — Derventa,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014
60 / JUNE 2022

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JUNE 2022 / 61

PEOPLE
Gregg Heschong, ASC

Autumn Respite,
NYC, 1972
62 / JUNE 2022

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JUNE 2022 / 63

PEOPLE
Eric Steelberg, ASC

Spirit of Overtown, 2004
Crescenzo Notarile, ASC, AIC

Abandoned Beaten Delhi Boy, 1994
64 / JUNE 2022

John Simmons, ASC

Angel on Melrose, 2019
JUNE 2022 / 65

PEOPLE
Nathaniel Goodman,
ASC
Man of Pamplona,
1990
66 / JUNE 2022

Alar Kivilo, ASC, CSC, ESC

Fan, 2012
JUNE 2022 / 67

PEOPLE
Dan Laustsen,
ASC, DFF
The Man From the
Desert, Morocco, 2018
Antonio Calvache,
ASC, AEC
Woman in Lalibela II,
2017
68 / JUNE 2022

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JUNE 2022 / 69

vv
PEOPLE
Alar Kivilo, ASC, CSC, ESC

A Life, 2018
George Mooradian, ASC

Lila’s Great Leap, 2021
70 / JUNE 2022

vv
THE STUDIO Discover what the studio can do for you
DIGITAL CINEMA
As the largest provider of cinema lenses to the film and television industry, The Studio-B&H is
pleased to offer the new Cooke Optics S8/i FF range of Full Frame+ lenses. Housed in a lighter
yet durable form to complement the latest compact cameras, each lens in this matched series
excels at low light capture with a fast T1.4 maximum aperture. The 25, 32, 40, 50, 75, 100,
and 135mm are available now with nine more lenses to be released later for an eventual lineup
of 18 to 350mm focal lengths. The Cooke S8/i lenses offer a film-like quality with advanced
control of both depth-of-field and flare effects while providing a wealth of intelligent /i lens
data. The S8 series retains the trademark “Cooke Look” that has made Cooke lenses so popular
in the filmmaking world.
Reach out to The Studio-B&H team to experience the full line of lens series including miniS4/i
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and zooms, and Varotal/i full frame zooms. Together, The Studio-B&H and Cooke have your
cinema “glass” needs covered for both existing markets and the newest content forms.
Exclusive for ASC Members: Ask us about our purchasing program

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Please contact thestudio@bhphoto.com for more details.
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The Studio on Linkedin The Studio on Facebook The Studio on Twitter The Studio on Instagram
JUNE 2022 / 71

Places
ASC members capture the
A
character of locations.
sense of place is a crucial aspect of storytell-
ing. Place establishes a contextual backdrop for
characters and creates authenticity. In many
cases, the setting is so critical to the story that
it becomes a central character in the narrative.
In order to create a strong sense of place
within a film, a cinematographer must collab-
orate with several departments and creative artists. Still photog-
raphy, however, “is work that is totally personal,” says ASC Photo
Gallery Chair Charlie Lieberman.
Pondering his art and craft, landscape photographer Galen Row-
ell said, “When we tune in to an especially human way of viewing
the landscape powerfully, it resonates with an audience.” Diane
Arbus mused, “I tend to think of the act of photographing, gener-
ally speaking, as an adventure. My favorite thing is to go where I’ve
never been.”
The places captured by ASC members in the following stills show
the photographers’ unique artistic perspectives on a location.
As Lieberman has said of the images presented in the ASC
Photo Gallery, which stands equally true for the stills featured here,
“Sometimes it’s something shot during a location scout, or on a film
shoot, or on vacation. But it’s always the ASC member’s personal
idea that this place is something worth capturing.”
Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC

Chicago Wave, 2019
72 / JUNE 2022
p. 72-83 Photos 2 Places_v6.indd 72 5/2/22 10:13 PM

JUNE 2022 / 73

PLACES
Lachlan Milne, ASC, ACS, NZCS

Fiji Fire, 2016
74 / JUNE 2022

Jon Joffin, ASC

Chesterman, Tofino,
British Columbia,
Canada, 2019
Jacek Laskus, ASC,

PSC
Blue Hour, Bass
Harbor, Maine, 2020
JUNE 2022 / 75

PLACES
Richard Crudo, ASC

Riis Park Clock,
New York, 2020
Mandy Walker, ASC,

ACS
New York Untitled,
2011
76 / JUNE 2022

JUNE 2022 / 77

PLACES
Alice Brooks, ASC

After the Party,
Portland, Maine, 2020
78 / JUNE 2022

Roy H. Wagner, ASC

Turbulence Amidst
Paradise, Hollywood,
Florida, 2017
Frederick Elmes, ASC

Goldens Bridge,
New York, 2018
JUNE 2022 / 79

PLACES
Peter Stein, ASC

Red Flags,
Beijing, 1987
Shana Hagan, ASC

Prayers in the Wind,
Bhutan, 2010
80 / JUNE 2022

Yuri Neyman, ASC

Twilight, Sherman
Oaks, California, 2022
Charlie Lieberman,
ASC
Heceta Head,
Oregon, 2019
JUNE 2022 / 81

PLACES
Robert Primes, ASC

Horseback, Griffith
Park, Los Angeles,
California, 2016
Richard Vialet, ASC

Tunnel Crossing,
Cairo, Egypt, 2021
82 / JUNE 2022

JUNE 2022 / 83

Clubhouse News
Latest Bulletins From the Society
Berkofsky Welcomed Into Society different human experiences and ASC Members Author The cinema-lens history, details 300
Membership points of view through storytelling Cine Lens Manual families of lenses, and is filled with
New ASC member Ava Berkof- steeped in time and place,” they Co-authored by ASC associate 1,500 full-color illustrations that
sky was born in Wales and raised say. “It’s this foundation in visual Jay Holben and Christopher include photographs, diagrams and
between London and California. storytelling and human connection Probst, ASC, The Cine Lens graphics.
Berkofsky, who prefers they/them that served so well when making Manual is a comprehensive ex- Chapters explore a primer on
pronouns, earned a BFA in pho- the transition to narrative cinema- amination of the art and science cinema lenses; an introduction to
tography from the School of Visual tography.” Berkofsky’s narrative of cinema optics. This hardback optical design; advanced optical de-
Arts in New York City, followed by feature work includes Free in Deed, reference is written for individuals sign and early photographic lenses;
an MFA in cinematography from which earned the cinematographer with an interest in motion- optomechanical design; evolution of
the American Film Institute. Early in an Independent Spirit Award nom- picture optics — cinematogra- motion-picture formats; the history
their career, Berkofsky worked on a ination. Their other feature credits phers, directors, visual-effects and genealogy of purpose-built cin-
series of photography projects that include Share, which won multiple artists, camera assistants, ema lenses; lens modification; lens
documented life in women’s prisons awards at the Sundance Film Festi- animators, technical journalists, testing; and lens maintenance. The
in the American South. Based on val, and The Sky Is Everywhere. historians, students, instructors, book is available for purchase in the
this, Berkofsky was offered the Berkofsky has received two rental-house technicians and ASC Store: store.ascmag.com.
first of many documentary film Emmy nominations as well as an more. It covers 140 years of
opportunities. ASC Award nomination for their
While shooting these projects, work on the HBO comedic drama
the cinematographer traveled Insecure. Berkofsky’s television
around the world and “explored work also includes Grand Army,
how to translate and understand Woke, Vida and This Is Me.
84 / JUNE 2022
p. 84-85 Clubhouse News_v2.indd 84 5/2/22 10:15 PM

p. 84-85 Clubhouse News_v2.indd 85 5/2/22 10:15 PM
New Products and Services
For more of our latest tech reports, visit
ascmag.com/articles/new-products.
Band Pro Offers Angénieux Optimo Zeiss Announces 15mm

Primes IOP Supreme Prime
Band Pro Film & Digital, Inc., the exclusive distributor of Zeiss has introduced the Supreme Prime 15mm (T1.8), the last
Angénieux lenses in the Americas, is now offering Angénieux in the Supreme Prime lens set. The 14-lens series ranges from
Optimo Primes Integrated Optical Palette (IOP). This new lens 15mm-200mm, with maximum apertures of T1.5-T2.2. Zeiss
design allows cinematographers to craft their own unique Supreme Primes cover a wide range of camera sensors, offering
looks by combining IOP options the way a painter adds hues compatibility with such models as the Sony Venice 2, Arri Alexa
to a brush. Optimo Primes IOP comprises Internal Filters, Iris Mini LF and Red Monstro.
Cartridges and Rear Filter options. Due to their position inside For more information, visit zeiss.com.
the lens, IOP Internal Filters facilitate looks not possible with
front or rear filtration alone. And this process is easily reversible
— the lens can be returned to its original configuration within
minutes. Stage 1 IOP options for Internal Filters are: Clear
Sony Debuts New Wide-Angle Zoom
Sony Electronics Inc. has introduced the FE PZ 16-35mm F4
(Coated & Uncoated), Glimmer Glass, Black Satin, Black Pro-
G (model SELP1635G), a wide-angle power zoom. The hybrid
Mist, Low Contrast, Hollywood Black Magic and Blue Streak.
lens offers refined image quality, reliable G-lens rendering, and
“I recently shot Angénieux Optimo Primes with IOP on Daisy
impressive autofocus performance in a compact form factor. It is
Jones & The Six for Amazon,” says Checco Varese, ASC. “We
suitable for video production and vlogging as well as street and
were trying to achieve a specific look that was pristine and
landscape photography. The
would envelop the characters. We decided to use a Tiffen ⅛
lens’ optical path includes
Glimmer Glass internal IOP, and it was like seeing the light
two AA (advanced aspherical)
through a glass of champagne. For some scenes, we added
elements and a conventional
netting in the back of the lens in lieu of rear filtration; this
aspherical element for an
created a timeless glow in the highlights that was unique.”
accurate image across the frame
For more information, visit bandpro.com and angenieux.com.
and 16-35mm zoom range. The
minimum focusing distance is
11" at 16mm and 9.5" at 35mm,
with a maximum magnification
of 0.23x.
For more information, visit
sony.com.
86 / JUNE 2022
p. 86-87 New Products_v3.indd 86 5/2/22 10:16 PM

Tilta Releases Soft Shell Case
Tilta has announced a Soft Shell Case for the DJI Basic/Advanced
Ring Grip that will also accommodate the DJI RS2 Gimbal and other
DJI ecosystem accessories. The lightweight, waterproof, polyester
case allows users to safely transport the Ring Grip and RS2
between shooting locations and neatly store them when they’re not
in use. Built-in dividers enable easy organization, and the double-
sided design maximizes space and accommodates almost any size
RS2 build. The case also features a trolley sleeve, allowing users to
easily secure the case to luggage or a Pelican case handle.
For more information, visit tilta.com.
Aputure Unveils
Amaran Tubes, Mats
Aputure has unveiled Amaran T2C
and Amaran T4C LED tube lights and
Amaran F21X, F22X, F21C and F22C
flexible LED mats. The T2C is a 2' 20-
watt fixture; the T4C is a 4' 40-watt
fixture. Both are fully adjustable from
2,500-7,500K and feature a green-
magenta shift adjustment. The T2C
and T4C utilize 46 color-gel presets
and 15 lighting effects, each with
variable control. The Amaran bi-color
(F21X and F22X) and full-color (F21C
and F22C) LED mats are lightweight,
versatile 2'x1' and 2'x2' fixtures
featuring 100 watts and 200 watts of
output power, respectively.
For more information, visit
aputure.com.
Advertisers Index
Amazon Studios / Prime Video 11, 13, 15 Grip Factory Munich / GFM 40 Samy’s DV & Edit 29, 31, 47
Astera 83 IDX System Technology 35 Sigma Corp. of America 42
Blackmagic Design, Inc. 3 K5600, Inc. 43 Sony Electronics, Inc. 39
Brompton Technology (Carallon Ltd) 33 Lindsey Optics, LLC 44 The Studio – B&H 71
Carl Zeiss SBE, LLC 59 Matthews Studio Equipment / MSE 77 Tiffen 57
Chapman/Leonard Studio Equip. C3 Nanguang Photo & Video Systems / Vantage GmbH / Hawk 34
Creamsource / Outsight Pty Ltd. 85 Nanlux 45 Vitec CS / Teradek C2-1
CreateLED 41 Netflix 7, 9, 17, 21, 27 William F. White International Inc. 69
Eastman Kodak C4 Panavision, Inc 23 AC Subscription 16
Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH 63 Peacock TV LLC 48-49 ASC Gallery 6
Filmotechnic USA 61 Pro8mm 46
Formatt KT America Inc. / Rip-Tie, Inc. 46
Tokina Cinema 5 ROE Visual Co., Ltd. 55
JUNE 2022 / 87
p. 86-87 New Products_v3.indd 87 5/2/22 10:16 PM

Wrap Shot
Karl-Walter Lindenlaub, ASC, BVK
Two Versions of One Image

“I shot these stills with my Leica during a location scout in Budapest,
Hungary, while in prep for the Paramount Plus series Halo. Very often,
that process gives me the inspiration for how to light and shoot a
place. In these two stills, we see a section of the 33-kilometer-long
underground Kőbánya cellar system.
“In the color still, I love the look of the old, cool-white fluorescents
— their light lands right between tungsten and daylight. In this case,
those fixtures provided the base light for an insane-asylum setting.
The plastic curtain stayed; more were added to hide other sections,
and they could also be backlit.
“The black-and-white version ended up on the wall of the Budapest
apartment where I stayed for 18 months. When I’m away from home
for long periods, I often buy frames and decorate with my own stills.”
88 / JUNE 2022
p. 88 Wrap Shot_v5.indd 88 5/2/22 10:17 PM

UNITED STATES (818) 764 6726 | UNITED KINGDOM +44 1 727 838424
chapman-leonard.com @chapman_leonard
Cover 3_IBC.indd 3 5/2/22 9:53 PM

Celebrating the Films on Film at Cannes 2022.
Congratulations to the celebrated movies from the Official Selection,
Un Certain Regard, Directors’ Fortnight, ACID and Semaine de la Critique
who brought their stories to life with KODAK film.
#SHOOTFILM
Learn more at Kodak.com/go/motion
© 2022 Kodak. Kodak and the Kodak logo are trademarks.
Cover 4_OBC.indd 4 5/2/22 9:54 PM

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AmericanCinematographer June2022

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June 2022 The International Publication of the American Society of Cinematographers

The Stills Issue

Cover 1_OFC.indd 1 5/2/22 9:49 PM

24 Truth in the Image

p. 2-3 TOC_v2.indd 2 5/2/22 9:56 PM

Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K

Digital Film in Extreme Resolution Fast and Flexible Post Production

Cinematic 12K Super 35 Sensor

www.blackmagicdesign.com Learn More!

WEB DIRECTOR and PUBLISHER

CREATIVE DIRECTION and DESIGN

SUBSCRIPTIONS, BOOKS and PRODUCTS

ASC CEO Terry McCarthy

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board_v2.indd 4 5/2/22 9:58 PM

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board_v2.indd 5 5/2/22 9:58 PM

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

You’ll find everything in the ASC Gallery at MUSEUM CURATOR

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board_v2.indd 6 5/2/22 9:58 PM

THIS YEAR, ONE SERIES CHANGED THE

p. 4-7 Masthead and ASC Board_v2.indd 7 5/2/22 9:58 PM

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEPHEN LIGHTHILL, ASC.

p. 8-9 Presidents Desk.indd 8 5/2/22 9:59 PM

“ THRILLING AND RIVETING.

p. 8-9 Presidents Desk.indd 9 5/2/22 9:59 PM

From left, director Daniel Roher, cinematographer Niki Waltl

TOP PHOTO BY LORENA MÜHSAM. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF NIKI WALTL.

p. 10-17 Global Village Navalny_v3.indd 10 5/2/22 10:03 PM

Top: Interviewing journalist Christo Grozev. Bottom: Angling over

him that he would return,” says “We would shoot whatever we

So one morning we just took Alex- Waltl recalls, “Because of the

p. 10-17 Global Village Navalny_v3.indd 12 5/2/22 10:03 PM

p. 10-17 Global Village Navalny_v3.indd 13 5/2/22 10:03 PM

A soft toplight illuminates the scene as Navalny makes “the call,”

p. 10-17 Global Village Navalny_v3.indd 14 5/2/22 10:03 PM

p. 10-17 Global Village Navalny_v3.indd 16 5/2/22 10:04 PM

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

lif c character study at its co

p. 10-17 Global Village Navalny_v3.indd 17 5/2/22 10:04 PM

p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 18 5/2/22 10:05 PM

p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 19 5/2/22 10:05 PM

PHOTO COURTESY OF PANAVISION.

p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 20 5/2/22 10:05 PM

FOR YOUR EMMY ®

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 21 5/2/22 10:05 PM

Sasaki accepts the inaugural Curtis Clark

cinematography right now, especially in the realm of optics, where cin-

PHOTO BY HECTOR SANDOVAL, COURTESY OF THE ASC.

p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 22 5/2/22 10:05 PM

From your family at

p. 18-23 Dan Sasaki_v3.indd 23 5/2/22 10:05 PM

p. 24-35 Greig Fraser - The Batman_v3.indd 24 5/2/22 10:07 PM

p. 24-35 Greig Fraser - The Batman_v3.indd 25 5/2/22 10:07 PM

Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS at work on Lion (page 24);

Santa” and “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’.”

“The cinematographer is responsible for helping

p. 24-35 Greig Fraser - The Batman_v3.indd 26 5/2/22 10:07 PM

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

“A VISUALLY STUNNING SPECTACLE.”

“EVERY BIT AS OPULENT AND BEAUTIFUL TO LOOK AT

FROM SHONDALAND FYC.NETFLIX.COM

p. 24-35 Greig Fraser - The Batman_v3.indd 27 5/2/22 10:07 PM

THE BATMAN IMAGES COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES