Clubhouse Conversations — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC is joined by interviewer Nicole Whitaker, ASC to discuss her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — the sprawling sequel to director Ryan Coogler’s groundbreaking 2018 Marvel feature, Black Panther.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever follows the women leaders of Wakanda as they fight to protect their homeland in the aftermath of King T'Challa's death. The movie announces Arkapaw's arrival as a mega-budget feature filmmaker — her first bonafide blockbuster after shooting a slew of impressive independent productions over the past decade.

In this interview, Arkapaw breaks down how she successfully lit night exteriors on a stage; explains her method for shooting underwater scenes “wet-for-wet” and “dry-for-wet”; and shares advice on balancing a cinematography career with a fulfilling family life.

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC is a cinematographer whose credits include collaborations with directors Gia Coppola, Max Minghella, Spike Jonze and Ry Russo-Young. After being put on Variety’s “10 Cinematographers to Watch” in 2014, she has gone on to shoot the features Teen Spirit and The Sun Is Also a Star (2019), the documentary Beastie Boys Story (2020) and the Marvel Studios series Loki.

Nicole Whitaker, ASC is a cinematographer whose credits include the TV series Patriot (2017) and Truth Be Told (2019), as well as the documentary Girl Rising (2013), for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She became a new member of the ASC in 2022.

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.