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2021 Emmy Wins Honor Exceptional Work

ASC members Adriano Goldman, Matthew Jensen, Kirsten Johnson and George Mooradian are among those recognized for outstanding work this year.

ASC Staff

​ASC members Adriano Goldman, Matthew Jensen​, Kirsten Johnson and George Mooradian​ are among those recognized for outstanding work this year.

The third and final Creative Arts Emmys ceremony of 2021 — held at the L.A. LIVE Event Deck in Los Angeles on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 13 — revealed the year’s winners in the cinematography categories: 


Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour)
The Mandalorian - “Chapter 15: The Believer”
Matthew Jensen, ASC


Jensen also earned an ASC Award nomination for this episode, but the prize went to colleague Baz Idoine for “Chapter 13: The Jedi.” This was Jensen’s first Emmy nomination and win. You can learn more about shooting the show here:



Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series
Country Comfort - “Crazy”
George Mooradian, ASC


This was Mooradian’s ninth Emmy nomination and first win. You can learn more about his approach to shooting the multi-cam show here:



Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)
The Crown - “Fairytale”
Adriano Goldman, ASC, BSC, ABC


Goldman also earned an ASC Award nomination for this episode, but the prize went to colleague Fabian Wagner, ASC, BSC for the episode “Imbroglio.” This was Goldman’s fourth nomination for his work on The Crown and his second win for the show. You can learn more about shooting this season of the show here:



Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
The Queen’s Gambit - “End Game”
Steven Meizler


Meizler also took home the ASC Award for this episode. This was his second Emmy nomination and first win. You can learn more about his work in the show here:



Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
Gavin Thurston


This was the cinematographer’s fifth Emmy nomination and his second win.


Cinematography for a Reality Program
Life Below Zero • Series Body of Work
Danny Day, Director of Photography
John Griber, Director of Photography
Simeon Houtman, Director of Photography
Ben Mullin, Director of Photography
Michael Cheeseman, Director of Photography
David Lovejoy, Director of Photography
Brian Bitterfeld, Camera
Tom Day, Camera
Jeffrey Alexander, Camera
Josh Fisch, Camera


This was the seventh consecutive nomination for Life Below Zero in this category and fifth win. You can learn much more about shooting the docu-series under harsh Arctic conditions here:



In addition, Kirsten Johnson, ASC won the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program — earned for her unique Netflix docu-feature Dick Johnson Is Dead. For this same project, she was also nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program and Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. She discussed making the film here:



You'll find a list of all ASC members nominated this year here.




The final Emmy Awards for this 73rd year will be presented on Sunday, September 19, at 8pm EST on CBS.





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