Claudio Miranda Earns ASC Awards Nod from American Society of Cinematographers

Claudio Miranda is being recognized by his peers…

The American Society of Cinematographers has announced the nominations for its 37th annual ASC Awards, with 57-year-old Chilean Oscar-winning cinematographer earning a nod.

Claudio MirandaMiranda earned the nomination in the Theatrical Feature Film category for his acclaimed work on Top Gun: Maverick.

Latino cinematographer Alejandro Martinez earned a nod in the Episode of a One-Hour Non-Commercial Television Series category for his work on the House of the Dragon episode “The Green Council” for HBO/HBO Max.

Costa Rican cinematographer Christian “Tico” Herrera is nominated in the Episode of a One-Hour Commercial Television Series category for the Snowfall episode “Departures.” He’ll compete against 52-year-old Mexican cinematographer and director Jaime Reynoso for his work on the Snowpiercer episode “Departures.”

The ASC Awards honor the year’s best in feature film, documentary and television cinematography.

Here are the nominees for the 2023 ASC Awards:

THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM NOMINEES
Roger Deakins, Empire of Light (Searchlight Pictures)
Greig Fraser, The Batman (Warner Bros.)
Darius Khondji, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Netflix)
Claudio Miranda, Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Mandy Walker, Elvis (Warner Bros.)

SPOTLIGHT AWARD
Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, War Sailor (DCM Film)
Kate McCullough, The Quiet Girl (Super)
Andrew Wheeler, God’s Country (IFC Films)

EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SERIES
John Conroy, Westworld – “Années Folles” (HBO/HBO Max)
Catherine Goldschmidt, House of the Dragon – “The Lord of the Tides” (HBO/HBO Max)
Alejandro Martinez, House of the Dragon – “The Green Council” (HBO/HBO Max)
M. David Mullen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – “How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?” (Prime Video)
Alex Nepomniaschy, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – “Everything is Bellmore” (Prime Video)
Nikolaus Summerer, 1899 – “The Calling” (Netflix)

PILOT, LIMITED SERIES, OR MOTION PICTURE MADE, TELEVISION
Todd Banhazl, Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – “The Swan” (HBO/HBO Max)
Jeremy Benning, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities – “The Outside” (Netflix)
Anastas Michos, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities – “The Autopsy” (Netflix)
C. Kim Miles, Lost Ollie – “Bali Hai” (Netflix)
Sean Porter, The Old Man – “I” (FX)

EPISODE OF A HALF-HOUR SERIES
Adam Bricker, Hacks – “The Click” (HBO/HBO Max)
Carl Herse, Barry – “Starting Now” (HB0/HBO Max)
Stephen Murphy, Atlanta – “New Jazz” (FX)
Ula Pontikos, Russian Doll– “Matryoshka” (Netflix)
Christian Sprenger, Atlanta – “Andrew Wyeth. Alfred’s World.” (FX)

EPISODE OF A ONE-HOUR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SERIES
Marshall Adams, Better Call Saul – “Saul Gone” (AMC)
Jesse M. Feldman, Interview With the Vampire ­– “Is My Very Nature That of the Devil” (AMC)
Christian “Tico” Herrera, Snowfall – “Departures” (FX)
Jules O’Loughlin, The Old Man – “IV” (FX)
Jaime Reynoso, Snowpiercer – “Bound by One Track” (TNT)

DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Ben Bernhard and Riju Das, All That Breathes (HBO/HBO Max)
Adam Bricker, Chef’s Table: Pizza ­– “Franco Pepe” (Netflix)
Wolfgang Held, This Stolen Country of Mine

Rodrigo Prieto Awarded Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking by Vilcek Foundation

Rodrigo Prieto is a trailblazer…

The 55-year-old Mexican Oscar-nominated cinematographer is the recipient of the 2021 Vilcek Prize in Filmmaking, according to the Vilcek Foundation.

Rodrigo Prieto

The award is part of the Vilcek Foundation Prizes, which are bestowed in a range of categories each year, in celebration of the outstanding contributions of immigrant trailblazers, within the arts and sciences.

Prieto, a Mexican native, has established himself over the years as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after DPs. Boasting credits including Amores Perros and Brokeback Mountain, he’s known for his collaborations with renowned directors including Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, Julie Taymor, Oliver Stone and Alejandro González Iñárritu.

A three-time Academy Awards nominee most recently recognized by the Academy for his groundbreaking work on Scorsese’s The Irishman, Prieto has also received accolades for his work from BAFTA, the American Society of Cinematographers and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Known for his unconventional camerawork, and his remarkably detailed, evocative compositions, the DP grew up with a visual artist for a mother and an aeronautical engineer for a father. Thus, in his own career, he would come to balance technology with artistry, aiming with each new project to create a distinctive and visceral, cinematic experience. “That combination…is something that I have in my DNA,” Prieto says, “utilizing technology and different techniques to create art.”

Established in 2006, as a means of championing diverse perspectives—thereby advancing the arts and sciences—The Vilcek Foundation has thus far awarded over $5.8 million to immigrants from 56 different countries.

“As leaders in the arts, we have a responsibility to promote diversity by making space, providing access, and amplifying the artistic contributions of marginalized groups and individuals,” Vilcek Foundation President Rick Kinsel says. “The Vilcek Prizes in the arts and humanities enable us to speak to the value of immigration for our society in a non-politicized way.”

This year, other prize recipients include geneticist Ruth Lehmann, chemical biologist Mohamed Abou Donia, entrepreneur (and former presidential candidate) Andrew Yang, and a number of filmmakers—among them, Juan Pablo González, Miko Revereza and Nanfu Wang.

González has been awarded the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Filmmaking for the artistic rigor and deep emotional engagement that he brings to his immersive and intimate explorations of his hometown in rural Mexico.

Up next for Prieto is Scorsese’s sprawling crime drama, Killers of the Flower Moon. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the Apple Original Film centers on an investigation into a string of brutal murders within the Osage tribe. Eric Roth wrote the script, adapting an acclaimed work of nonfiction by David Grann.

Rodrigo Prieto: The Cinematographer Behind the Lens of Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan” Video

Everything’s o-Tay for Rodrigo Prieto

The 54-year-old three-time Oscar-nominated Mexican cinematographer is earning rave reviews for his work on Taylor Swift’s music video for the pop star’s latest single “Cardigan.”

Rodrigo Prieto

The top-secret music video, written, directed and styled by Swift, was filmed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The dreamy video, released on Friday, July 24 alongside Swift’s new album Folklore, presents a cottagecore aesthetic and features Swift in three different settings.

The “homespun” and “dreamlike” video starts out with Swift sitting in a candlelit cottage in the woods, wearing a nightgown and playing a vintage upright piano. When the soundboard starts glowing, she climbs into it and is magically transported to a moss-covered forest, where she plays the song on a grand piano producing a waterfall. The piano bench starts to glow and she climbs into it. She gets transported to a dark stormy sea, where she holds on to a floating piano. The piano soundboard glows and she climbs in, and she returns to the cottage, where she dons a cardigan.

Taylor Swift Cardigan Video

“She had the whole storyline – the whole notion of going into the piano and coming out into the forest, the water, going back into the piano,” Prieto tells Rolling Stoneof hisfirst phone call with Swift.

Their last collaboration, on the music video for “The Man,” saw Swift adopting a male alter ego to satirize gender inequality.

From the beginning, though, Prieto says “Cardigan” was always going to be more ambiguous, and more personal: “When she called me and told me that this was more of a fantasy, I found that really appealing.”

This was in early July, when Prieto had simultaneously begun serving on a committee for the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) to conceive solutions for safely resuming film production during the ongoing pandemic.

Prieto had just finished filming a PSA for a healthcare company when Swift asked him to work on “Cardigan,” and he was well aware of the many, many layers of risks involved in the project.

“We needed to be safe, for her sake and for our sake as a crew during the shoot, but also for the future of filmmaking,” he says. “Because we want to keep working and doing what we do, and if, God forbid, someone got sick on one of the first jobs that was filmed, it would probably close down [the industry].”

The extensive safety protocols for the shoot ranged from standard – everybody had to get tested, and every member of the crew wore a mask – to outlandish: Because Swift would need to spend a large part of the shoot not wearing a face covering, the crew used a colored wristband system, determining which members of the team were permitted to stand closest to her. (Prieto, assistant director Joe Osborne, and set designer Ethan Tobman all wore one color, lighting designers and gaffers wore another, and so on.)

Prieto actually wore two face coverings – a mask and an acrylic shield – for most of the day-and-a-half-long shoot. And just to ensure that crew members crossed within a six-foot range of Swift as little as possible, the entire “Cardigan” video was shot by mounting the camera to a robotic arm, which was then controlled by a remote operator.

The “techno arm,” as Prieto calls it, is typically only used in the industry for crane shots and other establishing visuals.

“We were going to use the crane for the ocean scene,” Prieto explains, referencing the shot where the image zooms out on the wide expanse of the water before honing back in on Swift. “So then I said, let’s have it both days.”

Hooking the camera up to a giant robot was the safest way to get close-ups on Swift’s face, Prieto explains. And as unwieldy as that sounds, you’d never know from watching the video that a human being wasn’t behind the lens at all times.

There was, of course, the added tangle of secrecy – the filmmaking had to be done indoors to avoid crowds, and Swift wore an earpiece throughout the shoot to lip-sync to the song without any of the crew hearing it.

The crew built three sets on two stages across one large studio, and in order to create the illusion of natural light for the outdoor scenes, Prieto and his crew draped giant stretches of white bouncing fabric on the walls and ceiling. The process took longer than usual due to COVID, with the lighting crew working in small groups and frequently taking breaks so they could remove masks and catch their breath.

“Filmmaking is a gregarious endeavor by nature,” Prieto says. “People are close to each other, so it’s really hard to remember to keep to yourselves.” Given the distancing on set, it was sometimes tricky for crew members to communicate over reference points and documents – “we had to kind of point at each other” – but Prieto attributes Swift’s clear vision for the project as a guiding light.

Ahead of the shoot, she sent him and Tobman numerous visual references for each scene – a mix of photographs for the dark ocean water and drawings for the fantastical forest sequence. One illustration, of a sword lodged into a rock formation overlooking a creek, was particularly inspiring: “That became our focal interest – we didn’t imitate it, but the feeling of it was what we went with.”

On top of that, Swift came up with a detailed shot list for the video ahead of time, with each visual accompanied by a time sequence within the song.

“The ocean water, the fingers on the piano, whatever it may be, she knew what she wanted for each section,” Prieto says. Unlike with “The Man,” Swift couldn’t be as hands-on with her direction on set – she viewed each take through a video monitor after it was shot – but Prieto was impressed by her ability to “talk with the camera” and utilize cinematic language without formal training, like with the unorthodox, zoom-out-and-in shot over the ocean. “I was blown away, because it’s all metaphorical,” he says. “This video is not just pretty images of things; she’s telling a personal story through her lyrics, her music, and now through the video.”

The video has already been viewed more than 40 million times on YouTube since its release.

Prieto previously earned Academy Awards for his lensing work on Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain (2006), Martin Scorsese’s Silence (2017) and Scorsese’s The Irishman (2020).

His other film credits include Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel (2006) and Biutiful (2010), Francis Lawrence’s Water for Elephants and Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo.

Gonzalo Amat Earns ASC Awards Nomination from American Society of Cinematographers

Gonzalo Amat is earning recognition from his peers…

The American Society of Cinematographers has announced the nominees for its 32nd Annual ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography, with the 43-year-old Mexican cinematographer making the cut.

Gonzalo Amat

Amat earned a nod in the Episode of a Series for Non-Commercial Television category for his work behind the lens on Amazon StudiosThe Man in the High Castle.

But Amat isn’t the only Hispanic nominee this year…

Emmy-winning Latino American cinematographer Dana Gonzales has picked up a nod in the Episode of a Series for Commercial Television category for his work on FX’s Legion.

Mexican cinematographer Pepe Avila del Pino earned a nomination in the Motion Picture, Miniseries, or Pilot Made for Television for his work on HBO’s The Deuce pilot.

Winners will be announced on February 17 during a ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland to be emceed by Turner Classic MoviesBen Mankiewicz.

Here’s this year’s nominees list which was unveiled at the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.

Theatrical Release

Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC
Blade Runner 2049

Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC
Darkest Hour

Hoyte van Hoytema, ASC, FSF, NSC
Dunkirk

Dan Laustsen, DFF
The Shape of Water

Rachel Morrison, ASC
Mudbound

Episode of a Series for Non-Commercial Television

Gonzalo Amat
The Man in the High Castle (“Land O’ Smiles), Amazon

Adriano Goldman, ASC, ABC
The Crown (“Smoke and Mirrors”), Netflix

Robert McLachlan, ASC, CSC
Game of Thrones (“The Spoils of War”), HBO

Gregory Middleton, ASC, CSC
Game of Thrones (“Dragonstone”), HBO

Alasdair Walker
Outlander (“The Battle Joined”), Starz

Episode of a Series for Commercial Television

Dana Gonzales, ASC
Legion (“Chapter 1”), FX

David Greene, ASC, CSC
12 Monkeys (“Mother”), Syfy

Kurt Jones
The Originals (“Bag of Cobras”), The CW

Boris Mojsovski, CSC
12 Monkeys (“Thief”), Syfy

Crescenzo Notarile, ASC
Gotham (“The Executioner”), Fox

Motion Picture, Miniseries, or Pilot Made for Television

Pepe Avila del Pino
The Deuce pilot, HBO

Serge Desrosiers, CSC
Sometimes the Good Kill, Lifetime

Mathias Herndl, AAC
Genius (“Chapter 1”), National Geographic

Shelly Johnson, ASC
Training Day pilot (“Apocalypse Now”), CBS

Christopher Probst, ASC
Mindhunter pilot, Netflix

Spotlight Award

Máté Herbai, HSC
On Body and Soul

Mikhail Krichman, RGC
Loveless

Mart Taniel
November

Gomez Andreu Wins Spotlight Award at the ASC Awards

There’s a special spotlight on Gorka Gomez Andreu

The Spanish cinematographer picked up the Spotlight Award from American Society of Cinematographers at the 31st annual ASC Awards.

Gorka Gomez Andreu

Gomez Andreu earned the award for his work on House of Others, which tells the story of two families who have physically survived the ‘real’ war, but are incapable of building a new life in peace: war continues in their everyday lives because chaos can be found inside human beings.

Meanwhile, Ron Garcia was recognized with the Career Achievement in Television award.

The Latino cinematographer, a two-time Primetime Emmy nominee, has been nominated for four ASC Awards during his career, dating back to 1991, when he worked on the Twin Peaks pilot.

He’s also been nominated for his work on Murder in the Heartland, Divas and The Day Lincoln Was Shot.

Here’s the complete list of winners at the this year’s ASC Awards:

Theatrical Release: 
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS for “Lion”
Spotlight Award: Gorka Gomez Andreu, House Of Others
International Award: Philippe Rousselot, ASC, AFC
Bud Stone Award of Distinction: Frank Kay and Bruce Berke
Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television: Fabian Wagner, Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”
Career Achievement in Television: Ron Garcia, ASC
Television Movie, Miniseries or Pilot: Igor Martinovic, The Night Of, “Subtle Beast”
Presidents Award: Nancy Schreiber
ASC Board of Governors Award: Denzel Washington
Regular Series for Commercial Television: Tod Campbell, Robot, “eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc” (USA)

Lubezki Wins American Society of Cinematographers Award for “Gravity”

The (Oscars) future looks bright for Emmanuel Lubezki

The Mexican cinematographer took home an ASC Award at the 28th annual American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Awards on Saturday at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom.

Emmanuel Lubezki

Lubezki earned the prize in the in the theatrical motion picture category for lensing Alfonso Cuarón’s 3D sci-fi thriller Gravity.

He topped a field of nominees that included Sean Bobbitt for 12 Years a Slave, Barry Ackroyd for Captain Phillips, Philippe Le Sourd for The GrandmasterBruno Delbonnel for Inside Llewyn Davis, Phedon Papamichael for Nebraska and Roger Deakins for Prisoners.

It’s the third ASC feature award for Lubezki, who previously won for Children of Men and The Tree of Life.

The win puts Lubezki in some select company. In the event’s 28-year history, only one cinematographer, the late Conrad Hall, won the feature category an unprecedented four times. And, Lubezki now joins fellow nominee Deakins as the only cinematographers with three wins in the category.

Also this year, Lubezki received his sixth Oscar nomination, and is vying for his first Academy Award.

Here’s a complete list of winners: 

Film
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, Gravity

One-hour Episodic Television Series:
Jonathan Freeman, ASC, HBO’s Game of Thrones, “Valar Dohaeris”

Television Movie/Miniseries:
Jeremy Benning, CSC, National Geographic Channel’s Killing Lincoln

Half-Hour Episodic Series:
Blake McClure, Comedy Central’s Drunk History, “Detroit”

Spotlight Award
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, Ida

Lubezki Nominated for American Society of Cinematographers Award

Emmanuel Lubezki is earning serious kudos from his peers…

The Mexican cinematographer has been nominated for an ASC Award from the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) in the theatrical motion picture for Outstanding Achievement.

Emmanuel Lubezki

Lubezki, a previous winner  2012’s The Tree of Life and 2007’s Children of Men, earned the recognition for lensing Alfonso Cuarón’s international hit film Gravity, which has been hailed as “one of the most technologically impressive films to ever see the light of day” by nofilmschool.com.

Here’s a look at all the nominees:

• Sean Bobbitt, BSC for 12 Years a Slave
• Barry Ackroyd, BSC for Captain Phillips
• Philippe Le Sourd for The Grandmaster
• Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC for Gravity
• Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC for Inside Llewyn Davis
• Phedon Papamichael, ASC for Nebraska
• Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC for Prisoners

The winner will be revealed at the awards ceremony on February 1, at the Hollywood & Highland Ray Dolby Ballroom.

“Our members believe these cinematographers have set the contemporary standard for artful, theatrical motion picture cinematography,” says ASC President Richard Crudo. “They have mastered a complex craft which contributes vitally to the storytelling process, and augments the intentions of everyone involved with the production.”

Traditionally, the organization selects five nominees, but a three-way tie this year boosts that number to seven.

In addition to his two previous wins, Lubezki was also nominated in 2000 for Sleepy Hollow.

Miranda Earns American Society of Cinematographers Award Nod

The American Society of Cinematographers is showing its love for Claudio Miranda

The Chilean cinematographer earned a Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography nomination from the group for his ethereal work on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi.

Claudio Miranda

It’s Miranda’s second nomination from the group, following his nod for serving as the Director of Photography on 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the first entirely digitally filmed movie nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography and an American Society of Cinematographers Award.

The 27th annual ASC Awards will be doled out on February 10.

Here’s a look at this year’s feature film nominees:

Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC (Anna Karenina),
Danny Cohen, BSC (Les Miserables),
Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi),
Janusz Kaminski (Lincoln)
Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (Skyfall)