New April Edition of AC Features Look at Color-Grading Process

Our April 2025 issue of American Cinematographer presents coverage of the features Mickey 17 and The Girl With the Needle and the streaming series Zero Day and Disclaimer. Also featured is a special focus on production-workflow tools, with a primer on process plates, and a detailed look at the specialized workflow for twinning an actor on Sonic the Hedgehog 3. A dive into postproduction explores the involvement of cinematographers in the color-grading process.

Here’s the complete breakdown on this issue:

• President’s Desk: Shelly Johnson, ASC reflects on the cinematography community’s collaborative spirit.

• Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC and director Bong Joon Ho discuss their approach to the sci-fi black comedy Mickey 17, and visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass details how key effects were created.

• John Conroy, ASC, ISC reveals his strategies for the contemporary thriller Zero Day, a streaming series directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.

• Michał Dymek, PSC discusses his award-winning collaboration with director Magnus von Horn on the period drama The Girl With the Needle.

• Co-directors of photography Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC and Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC detail their unconventional collaboration on the limited series Disclaimer, directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

• Cinematographer Brandon Trost explains his approach to scenes featuring Jim Carrey in two roles in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, directed by Jeff Fowler.

• Shot Craft: Colorists Bryan Smaller, an ASC associate member, and Arianna Shining Star Smaller reflect on the cinematographer-colorist collaboration and the many ways it enriches the image.

• The Virtual World: Cinematographer Mark Weingartner, ASC; Drew Roberts of Wild Rabbit Aerial; and Alex Pearce of Sim-Plates discuss considerations for process-plate work for playback in an LED volume.

• In Memoriam: Eric Saarinen, ASC, FSC

• Clubhouse News: The latest bulletins from the Society feature the launch of the ASC Relief Fund; the presentation of the 2025 Kodak Film Awards; and the 2025 ASC Award for Cinematography at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

• Wrap Shot: Looking back at the creative collaboration on Okja (2017), shot by Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC and directed by Bong Joon Ho.

Print subscribers have this issue in hand now and the digital edition will be live soon. You can also purchase this issue from the ASC Store here.

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