ASC/AC Book Fair Hosts Signings and Conversation With Team Deakins
The event showcased a number of publications from Society members, including Deakins' Reflections on Cinematography.
On November 12, ASC members, associates and staff, local crew and guests gathered at the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood for the ASC/American Cinematographer Book Fair.
The event was sponsored by Nanlux, Cinelease and Band Pro. The Nanlux team delivered their own announcement, regarding Lending Library — a program which, for the past two years, has allowed local film students from USC, UCLA, AFI and Chapman to rent out the company’s entire equipment catalog free of charge. Nanlux Americas’ Amanda Fritz, who founded Lending Library, was on hand to explain that the program is now open to anyone with a COI — “professionals and newcomers alike,” she noted — who are looking to access its unique offerings.
Kicking off the day was a conversation with Team Deakins — married creative partners Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC and James Ellis Deakins — moderated by ASC 1st Vice President Eric Steelberg. The occasion was marked by the release of Roger's book, Reflections on Cinematography, and their wide-ranging discussion covered Roger’s unconventional path from young art student to two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer, as well as their move into a Digital Intermediate on the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? — a new process for its time that required complex digital-file and workflow management, which, James said, played to her core strength of solving problems.
More on Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC
How Deakins Crafted the Look of O Brother, Where Art Thou?
While reading Reflections in preparation for the talk, Steelberg’s main takeaway was that as a fellow cinematographer, he was not alone. “We all deal with the same challenges and ups and downs,” he told American Cinematographer. “Roger’s really aren't that different. It's really humbling to share such a similar experience with somebody who's so idolized by so many of us.”
With the panel wrapped, the Book Fair went into full swing, the ASC courtyard abuzz with friendly connections made over coffee and bagels. Many waited in line to share a few words with Team Deakins and have their copies of Reflections signed, but the event’s signings expanded well beyond that: Attendees chased down ASC members to ink their personal copies of Our First 100 Years — the album-sized tome chronicling the Society’s storied history — and ASC members Hiro Narito and Roy Wagner signed their own respective books, Depth of Field: Life and Work of a Cinematographer and A Cinematographer’s Life Beyond the Shadows.
Wagner noted that his new book is less focused on technical aspects of the craft, and more on answering the question, “How do you survive Hollywood?” The veteran cinematographer, who was among the first to help bring dark, cinematic lighting to television, said, “I survived for 55 years by doing it my own way, which was never easy. The book is about, ‘If I can survive, so can you.’”
Of course, the Book Fair’s range of offerings also included touchstone technical resources, like the American Cinematographer Manual and The Cine Lens Manual, the latter co-authored by ASC associate and AC technical editor Jay Holben and ASC member Christopher Probst. But while the knowledge attainable from these books is essential to the profession, the application of that knowledge, as Team Deakins stressed in their talk, always circles back to storytelling. “It's all about the story: What does the story need?” James said to Steelberg and the audience. Keith Jefferies, a camera operator for Local 600 who observed the talk, noted, “I like that they talked about storytelling. We don’t do this just to light pretty images — and while that might lead to the creation of high art, it's ultimately about relating stories to other people.”
Through their podcast and website, Team Deakins garner praise for their willingness to be transparent about their filmmaking process and industry experiences. Both Reflections
and their talk at the Clubhouse serve as two more examples of this supreme openness. “The most incredible thing about Roger is that he is so generous with information,” said ASC 2nd Vice President John Simmons.
To Team Deakins, this generosity is simply in the spirit of community and collaboration that the Society strives to foster. “I remember, when I first came here, how much the members I met were willing to share their knowledge,” Roger said in between meeting attendees. “This is an extension of that — you give back.” Added James, “The ASC is a great organization because it does constantly give forward.”
For books by Society members and to subscribe to American Cinematographer, visit the ASC Store.
