American Cinematographer Magazine ( March 2025 )

American Cinematographer Magazine ( March 2025 ) 

The March 2025 issue presents a special focus on lighting, including a discussion of onstage sun- and moonlight for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, scaled lighting for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and supplementing LED-wall illumination for Flight Risk — as well as a spotlight on optics, including details on an innovative flaring technique for Skeleton Crew. Also featured in the issue are Captain America: Brave New World and profiles of ASC Award honorees John Simmons, ASC; Joan Churchill, ASC; and Kathleen Kennedy.

·       President’s Desk: Shelly Johnson, ASC discusses the devastating impact of the recent fires in Los Angeles and the launch of the ASC Relief Fund.

·       Picture Partners: Director Julius Onah and cinematographer Kramer Morgenthau, ASC illuminate their approach to Captain America: Brave New World.

·       ASC members and co-directors of photography Sean Porter and David Klein discuss their collaboration on the series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and how they designed strategies to complement limitations they encountered, “rather than fight them,” as Porter says.

·       Cinematographer Dave Alex Riddett, BSC details how he and his team at Aardman Animations created classic noir and suspense motifs for the stop-motion caper Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.

·       ASC Presidents Award honoree John Simmons, ASC traces his path from Chicago to Hollywood and his quest to create an inclusive filmmaking community.

·       Inaugural ASC Lifetime Documentary Award recipient Joan Churchill, ASC discusses her singular contributions to the nonfiction genre.

·       Producer and ASC Governors Award honoree Kathleen Kennedy recalls her Hollywood journey from production assistant to president of Lucasfilm.

·       The Virtual World: Cinematographer Johnny Derango and visual-effects supervisor Michael Ralla detail their approach to virtual production on Flight Risk, a thriller set in a Cessna 208 aircraft.

·       In Memoriam: Rexford L. Metz, ASC.

·       Clubhouse News: The latest bulletins from the Society feature new members Sevdije Kastrati Dill, Natalie Kingston, Alejandro Martínez and Ravi Varman, and a tribute to photographer Jacek Laskus, ASC, PSC and the team that facilitated portraits of this year’s ASC Award honorees.