New “Lessons” Book Compiles Expertise from American Cinematographer

Jay Holben is an associate member of the ASC and AC’s technical editor and has authored several books, most recently, American Cinematographer’s Shot Craft: Lessons, Tips & Techniques on the Art and Science of Cinematography, and he is the co-author of The Cine Lens Manual (with Christopher Probst, ASC).

For nearly three decades, Holben has been a contributor to AC and had the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with many of the top cinematographers in the world. His new book Lessons from American Cinematographer includes excerpts from more than 60 of his articles collected into a single volume, highlighting the tips and techniques Holben learned from his interviews.

His subjects include ASC members Don Burgess, Bill Butler, Paul Cameron, Russell Carpenter, Jeff Cronenweth, Roger Deakins, Caleb Deschanel, Greig Fraser, Tak Fujimoto, Dan Lausten, Matthew Libatique, Emmanuel Lubezki, Wally Pfister, Phillipe Rousselot, Linus Sandgren, Harris Savides, John Schwartzman, John Seale and Newton Thomas Sigel.

Each excerpt features a specific tip or technique learned from that cinematographer. Topics covered include Lighting, Exposure, Camera, Locations, Visual Storytelling, Career/Business, Lenses, Filters, Relationships, Production Design, Visual Effects, Second Unit, Planning and more, with Holben providing additional context and examples for each of the lessons.

This unique and invaluable collection — 316-pages, full-color, soft-cover — is now available from the ASC Store.