December 2020 Issue of AC Arrives with Focus on Nonfiction Shooting

ASC members Joan Churchill, Shana Hagan, Guillermo Navarro and Buddy Squires describe their respective approaches to documentary storytelling.

ASC Staff

American Cinematographer

An Arctic wolf documented for the nature series Hostile Planet, executive-produced by Guillermo Navarro, ASC, AMC. (Image courtesy of National Geographic.) At top, cinematographer Barrie Britton shooting in Greenland for the series.

The digital edition of our December 2020 issue of American Cinematographer is now available to subscribers.

The cover features a photo from the National Geographic nature series Hostile Planet and showcases a special focus on nonfiction production, as directors of photography and others who shoot real-world footage discuss their tactics and philosophies.

This issue’s coverage includes:

• ASC members Joan Churchill, Shana Hagan, Guillermo Navarro and Buddy Squires describe their respective approaches to documentary storytelling.
• Filmmakers describe the intense scrutiny and political pressure of making the feature doc The Dissident.

Joan Churchill, ASC shoots documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter for the organization Protect the Results. (Photo by Alan Barker)

• The team behind the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch detail shooting under extreme Arctic conditions.

• Director-cinematographer Kirsten Johnson’s ode to her father, Dick Johnson Is Dead, which puts a metaphysical spin on the documentary form.

This issue also includes a Picture Partners director/cinematographer interview with collaborators Unjoo Moon and Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS regarding their biopic I Am Woman; a special Shot Craft piece on improving your Zoom experience; an In Memoriam tribute to Peter Sova, ASC; profiles on new ASC members; and highlights from the past decade of the magazine’s cinematography coverage.