American Cinematographer

President's Desk

Crudo expresses his gratitude for the opportunity in serving the American Society of Cinematographers. Now that his term will come to an end, he is profoundly humbled by the experience in working closely on such a variety of issues with the world's most talented cinematographers.

Editor's Note

Global Village: Kinetic Moves Enhance Martial-Arts Adventure

Oppenheimer details Peter Pau's latest picture, The Promise, that features a wildly imaginative action sequences. The movie takes place in a timeless, mythic netherworld where passion and desire find themselves on a collision course with duty and destiny. The story involves a general, the duke who opposes him, a slave who can run as fast as the wind, and the beautiful woman who touches all of their lives.

Network (1976)

Williams reviews Network directed by Sidney Lumet.

Production Slate: A Doomed Flight and a Broken Romance

Pavlus looks into how United 93 was filmed. The tense drama, which recounts the passengers' effort to thwart their plane's hijackers, was made by British filmmakers. It features no stars and unfolds in a quasi-documentary style, almost wholly in one cramped location. On the other hand, Heuring details how cinematographer Eric Edwards filmed the movie, Break-up. The film is a romantic comedy that begins with the end of a sharp-tongued couple's romance.

Secret History

Thomson details how Salvatore Totino, who shot the movie The Da Vinci Code, brings a worldwide best-seller to the big screen. Three other London companies shared the bulk of Da Vinci Code's visual-effects work, most of which appears in flashback sequences. The movie is a fast-paced thriller that mixes riddles, historical flashbacks, and adrenaline-pumping chase scenes through Paris, London, and Scotland.

Taking On Water

Williams details how John Seale, director of photography, returns to the deep for the adventure epic Poseidon. A big-budget remake of 1972's The Poseidon Adventure, Poseidon hews closely to both the original movie and the 1969 source novel by Paul Gallico, in which a towering tidal wave capsizes a luxury liner.

Radio for the Eyes

Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion has been a staple of National Public Radio for decades, but the folksy, tongue-in-cheek program appeared to defy easy adaptation to the big screen. Here, Silberg looks into how Ed Lachman lends cinematic imagery to Keillor's beloved variety show. Prairie is set in the near future, when the show, Keillor's troupe and their home, the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul MN are about to be shut down for good by a bean-counting businessman.

Short Takes: Recruiting a Natural-Born Killer

Shatkin highlights the film K-7, which takes just 18 minutes to achieve a comedic climax many Hollywood directors would envy. Directed by Christopher Leone and shot by Kenneth Yeung, the short has been making the festival rounds, winning a Jury Mention at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and Best Live Action Short at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival.

Hpa Adds Awards to Its Agenda

Those who work behind the scenes on movies and television shows often find themselves fighting for recognition in an industry that lavishes most of its attention on actors and directors. Like the ASC, however, many organizations and guilds have taken steps to give the industry's unseen experts their moments in the spotlight. Pizzello details the Hollywood Post Alliance's (HPA) inauguration of the HPA Awards next fall to acknowledge creative and technical excellence in the art, science and cra...

Canon Xl H1

Argy and Boehm review Canon Inc's XL H1, a high-definition camera.

Seeing Double

Aside from a streak of popularity in the 1950s, 3-D movies have never quite taken off as a form of mainstream entertainment, partly because the technology necessary to produce three-dimensional motion-picture images is daunting to work with. Although entrepreneurial individuals have recently explored 3-D imagery in the digital realm, their solutions, though more compact than a traditional motion-picture camera 3-D rig, were still a bit unwieldy. Here, Holben details how founder of 21st Centur...

Filmmakers' Forum: Designing Rhythmic, Gymnastic Visuals for Stick It

Okada recalls how Jessica Bendinger's unconventional, energetic writing style in her feature script titled Stick It inspires him to find a style for the cinematography that would carry the same unconventional energy. He felt the total effect of the cinematography could be the linkage of shots that might not play out traditionally, but when rhythmically connected would work like notes in a piece of music.

Points East: Twelve and Holding Grapples with Childhood Trauma

Calhoun explores Twelve and Holding, director Michael Cuesta's follow-up to L.I.E., which once again portrays the effects of early adolescent trauma, except that this time there are three young protagonists rather than one. The film examines the effects of the violent death of young Conor Donovan on his more introverted twin brother, and on friends. The scope of the picture, which recently played at the New Directors/New Films series in New York, encompasses the points of view of the three Ne...

Clubhouse News

Joan Churchill, ASC was recently named the Kodak Cinematographer in Residence at the School of Theater, Film and Television at the University of California-Los Angeles. Churchill's residency began in April and included a public screening of the controversial 1971 Punishment Park, which she shot for director Peter Watkins. On the other hand, Christian Sebaldt and David Boyd recently joined the Society's ranks of active members. Raised in Munich, Germany, Christian Sebaldt, ASC worked as a trai...

Asc Close-Up

An interview with cinematographer Bill Bennett is presented. Among other things, Bennett recalls the film, which made the strongest impression on him when he was a child.

Dvd Playback

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Hemphill reviews Dog Day Afternoon directed by Sidney Lumet.

All the President's Men

Sweeney reviews All the President's Men directed by Alan J. Pakula.

Post Focus

Creative Bridge Puts Digital Lab in Motion

Though the use of digital intermediates has only come into vogue in the last few years, the phrase "digital intermediate" is already moving towards obsolescence. Rather than a brief, intermediary step along the way, digital technology is fast becoming a cornerstone of the moviemaking process. Thanks to high-end digital cameras like the Sony F950, the Dalsa Origin, the Thomson/Grass Valley Viper, the Panavision Genesis and the Arriflex D-20, big-budget moviemaking is on the cusp of a sweeping ...

New Products & Services

Panasonic Ag-Hvx200

Argy and Boehm review Panasonic Co's AG-HVX200, a high-definition camera.