American Cinematographer - February 2017 - 26

On showcasing your work:
"Always present your work as if it's
the only shot you'll ever have, in a
clean, easy-to-navigate way, with
important directors highlighted
and music to complement the
images. Most importantly, it
should show only the best work,
not all of your work. Imagine that
every viewer only has five minutes
to see what best demonstrates who
you are and what you are capable
of. Make it count."
- Shari Shankewitz,
William Morris Endeavor
Entertainment
Ed Wu on set for the upcoming feature Legacy, directed by David A. Armstrong.

Ed Wu
Cinematographer Ed Wu didn't start
out with aspirations to work in the camera
department - in fact, he didn't have aspirations to work in movies at all. He began as
a classically trained musician, and throughout his pre-college years, he recalls, "I
always thought that was what I was going
to do. I think it has a big influence on how I
approach cinematography. Listening to and
playing classical music, you have an attachment to the instrument and how you
express the notes on the page. You feel it.
With cinematography, I have to tune out
what's around me and think about how the
camera movement feels and how it's
emotionally impacting me."
Wu developed an interest in filmmaking while working on a video-yearbook
project in high school, but he still didn't realize that cinematography was where he
belonged. "I didn't even know what the
name for that job was," he remembers. He
laughs as he recalls that he finally became
aware of the role of director of photography
26

February 2017

by reading a book called What I Really
Want to Do on Set in Hollywood. "I read
the description for 'cinematographer' and
that was it," he says.
As an undergrad, Wu bought a
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, eventually amassing enough good material to get into the
American Film Institute, which is where he
feels he truly became a cinematographer.
"It really opened my eyes to ask how
camera placement affects how we relate to
a character in a scene, or whose perspective the shots are from and why," he
recalls.
AFI gave Wu something important
in terms of mentorship as well. "At AFI we
had many professors who were mentors to
me," he says. "Stephen Lighthill, ASC; Bob
Primes, ASC; Sandra Valde-Hansen; Tal
Lazar - but the most influential for me
was Bill Dill, ASC. He taught me so much
about how to ask questions about what's
driving the camera." Wu recalls that Dill's
tough-love style could be a bit much for
some students. "He doesn't hold anything
back when he breaks down your films,"
Wu recalls. "I've heard of students crying in

his class. But in the end, you learn so much.
I think it's rare in our industry, or as artists, to
be critiqued critically in a nonjudgmental
way, where the stakes aren't that high."
After AFI, Wu developed relationships with cinematographers Rachel Morrison and Edu Grau through the mentorship
program at Film Independent's Project
Involve. "They've helped me wade through
the political aspects and nervous breakdowns of bigger challenges on bigger
projects," he says. Through Project Involve,
Wu also met the producer of Sleight, which
was Wu's first feature. It premiered at
Sundance to critical acclaim and a positive
audience response, but Wu notes that he
still feels like a newcomer. "In all honesty,"
he says with a laugh, "I'm still breaking in."
●
Thanks to Mark Dillon for interviewing the
agents. For additional agent comments, visit
www.theasc.com in February.

On getting an agent:
"It's about concentrating on your work. Don't spend the majority of your
day trying to find an agent. Try to find projects, and artists to work with,
and do some really good work. Do something special so the agents are the
ones after you. We'll find you when it's time."
- Ann Murphy, ICM Partners

American Cinematographer

Wu photo by Prarthana Joshi.

image a little in digital," he says, adding that
he spends a great deal of time in the final
color correction fine-tuning the image. "The
possibilities for finessing it there are fantastic," he asserts, "though in the end it's all
about taste and vision - how your taste as
a cinematographer allows you to find a
visual interpretation that helps tell the
story."

http://www.theasc.com

American Cinematographer - February 2017

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