American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 79

Unit photography by Steve Dietl, courtesy of Netflix. Black-and-white photo of Rachel Morrison, ASC by Bob Bates.

Ronsel and Jamie, the latter of
whom suffers from alcoholism, eventually cross paths and forge a bond
through their war experiences. It is a
connection that no one else in town can
understand, and that some - Pappy in
particular - won't tolerate.
Based on Hillary Jordan's awardwinning novel of the same name,
Mudbound was adapted for the screen by
director Dee Rees and Virgil Williams.
Rees collaborated with director of
photography Rachel Morrison, ASC,
whom she had first met at Sundance in
2011 when their respective films
premiered. She was particularly struck
by Morrison's work on the 2015 crimecaper comedic drama Dope (AC July
'15). As additional motivation, Rees
says, "Rachel came recommended by
HBO Films President Len Amato, who
had worked with her on [the 2016
HBO movie] Confirmation."
Morrison was attracted to the
project's setting, which she associated
with
such
Farm
Security
Administration (FSA) photographers as
Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks and
Arthur Rothstein, who chronicled the
lives of poor U.S. farmers in the 1930s
and '40s. "That time period has been
incredibly influential for me," the cinematographer says from her adopted
home of Los Angeles, shortly after

Opposite and this
page, above:
Returning to their
respective hardships
in 1940s Mississippi,
Ronsel Jackson
(Jason Mitchell) and
Jamie McAllan
(Garrett Hedlund)
bond over their
wartime
experiences in the
feature Mudbound.
Left:
Cinematographer
Rachel Morrison,
ASC and 1st AC
Robert Baird line up
a shot.

Mudbound screened at the Toronto
International Film Festival. "I started in
photography and was most interested in
documentary and photojournalism, and
the FSA photographers may be why I
got the crazy notion that this could be
my career. Dee had me at 'post-Dust
Bowl era,' before I had even read the
script."
A native of Cambridge, Mass.,
Morrison finished a double major in
photography and film at New York
University. She scored an early success
with the 2005 Showtime doc Rikers
High, for which she shared an Emmy
nomination. She worked in reality TV
www.ascmag.com

to pay the bills - though always wanting to shoot drama, she attended the
AFI Conservatory's graduate cinematography program.
She considers the 2011 sci-fi
thriller Sound of My Voice, directed by
Zal Batmanglij, to be her breakthrough
into the narrative world. More indie
features quickly followed, including
2013's Fruitvale Station (AC April '13),
which she considers the turning point in
her career, as well as 2014's Cake, and
Dope. She also shares a Primetime
Emmy nomination with cinematographer Igor Martinovic for the 2015
documentary What Happened, Miss
December 2017

79


http://www.ascmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - December 2017

Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - Intro
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 1
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 2
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 3
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 4
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - Contents
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 6
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 7
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 8
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 9
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 10
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 11
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 12
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 13
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 14
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 15
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 16
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 17
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 18
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 19
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 20
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 21
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 22
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 23
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 24
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 25
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 26
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 27
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 28
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 29
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 30
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 31
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 32
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 33
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 34
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 35
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 36
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 37
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 38
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 39
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 40
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 41
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 42
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 43
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 44
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 45
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 46
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 47
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 48
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 49
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 50
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 51
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 52
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 53
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 54
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 55
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 56
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 57
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 58
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 59
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 60
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 61
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 62
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 63
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 64
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 65
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 66
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 67
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 68
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 69
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 70
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 71
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 72
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 73
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 74
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 75
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 76
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 77
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 78
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 79
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 80
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 81
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 82
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 83
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 84
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 85
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 86
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 87
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 88
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 89
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 90
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 91
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 92
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 93
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 94
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 95
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 96
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 97
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 98
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 99
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 100
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 101
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 102
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 103
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 104
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 105
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 106
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 107
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 108
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 109
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 110
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 111
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 112
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 113
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 114
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 115
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 116
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 117
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 118
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 119
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 120
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 121
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 122
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 123
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 124
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 125
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 126
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 127
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - 128
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - December 2017 - Cover4
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