American Cinematographer - March 2021 - 36

ACCELERATED EVOLUTION

Light Iron provided remote color grading for the Netflix
miniseries The Queen's Gambit.

says. " Of course it's best to come face-to-face with the students, but by
showing clips, discussing specific scenes and allowing for an extensive
Q&A portion, the Master Class retains its intimate and personal quality.
I really enjoyed it! "
Lieberman, who is quick to acknowledge the inherent differences
between in-person and virtual sessions, says, " In the live classes, you
are able to mingle in small groups. But what happens virtually is that
everybody hears everything. Nobody is left out of any conversation. Everybody gets to have a little bite of what everybody has to say. "
The ASC Master Class will continue in the virtual space during the
pandemic, and will expand its offerings to include an " ASC Master Class
for Masters. " Lighthill remarks, " The purpose of the ASC has always been
an educational one - both educating ourselves and educating young
cinematographers. We feel we can take the Master Class template and
apply it to a series of educational events aimed at ASC cinematographers
facing the challenges of virtual production. "

Clubhouse Conversations
The Clubhouse Conversations series was originally held at the ASC
Clubhouse in Hollywood and involved a cinematographer or filmmaking team participating in a moderated discussion of their work on a
recent project. In addition to the new virtual format's presentation via
Zoom, the " Conversations " discussions are conducted between peers;
Society members serve as moderators and speak candidly with the
subjects about their work.
" We decided to match cinematographers together for the virtual
events, " says Lieberman, who serves as one of the moderators on the
popular series. " A dialogue between cinematographers brings a whole
different viewpoint to the discussion. A viewer who isn't a cinematographer wouldn't necessarily notice the same things. "
ASC Master Class
Operating in the virtual world has also provided benefits to the ASC
Master Classes, which have been reformatted into a three-day schedule
with the same access to expert ASC instructors.
The classes are online, so both students and instructors can log in
from around the globe. Despite being on location in Tbilisi, Georgia,
for example, Phedon Papamichael, ASC, was able to discuss his ASC
Award-nominated work in Ford v Ferrari. " It's great to be able to stay
connected with young cinematographers from around the world by
having the ASC continue to conduct our Master Classes, " Papamichael

The Queen's Gambit: Light Iron
and Remote Color Grade

By Iain Marcks
The hit Netflix miniseries The Queen's Gambit, photographed by cinematographer Steven Meizler, had just begun its color grade at Light Iron
New York when the Covid-19 pandemic forced a near-global shutdown
of the film industry.
" For better or worse, the pandemic ignited industry-wide change
overnight, " says Katie Fellion, head of business development and workflow strategy for Light Iron, a Panavision company. " Light Iron was
founded on the idea that even though the industry might be used to
doing it a certain way, we can always adapt. "

PHOTO BY CHARLIE GRAY, COURTESY OF NETFLIX.

Los Angeles is now available globally. Charlie Lieberman, ASC, who has
helped shepherd many of these initiatives - including the ASC Virtual
Photo Gallery and the online Master Class series - says, " It's been a remarkable time; there's a genuine level of human connection that I would
not have believed possible if it was described to me last January. "

ASC Awards
The 35th annual ASC Awards, an event that - under normal circumstances - would take place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland complex with around 1,700 attendees, will be held
virtually and live-streamed on April 18, 2021. ASC Awards chair Dana
Gonzales, who has received two ASC Award nominations for his cinematography on the FX series Legion, says, " This is the first time we are
doing something so different than what we have done for 35 years, and
it's daunting. The awards have become a primetime event for cinematographers, sponsors, vendors and people who love cinematography.
This year, I saw that we now had a chance for the whole world to see
the show " - in a new, intimate environment. " We're going to bring the
experience of being in the Clubhouse into the streaming show. I want
it to be something that we can look back on and say that we capitalized
on the format - that, globally, more people saw the show than ever
before. I want to show people who we are. "
" We've made the best of a bad bargain, and we are going to hold a
worldwide event with the Awards, " Lighthill says. " There's always a silver lining in the dark clouds, and we're keeping our eye on that. "

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American Cinematographer - March 2021

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