Cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, ASC, checking the light on set.
I want to take a moment to honor cinematographer Nancy Schreiber, ASC.
Nancy has spent her life in cinematography, and she earned every step of it. She started on New York film sets as an electrician, worked her way up to best boy and gaffer, and became the first female gaffer in New York's NABET local before moving into camera. That deep knowledge of light shows in her cinematography, from the independent features that made her name to her recent work on P-Valley. She won the Excellence in Dramatic Cinematography award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 for November, and her cinematography has earned an Emmy nomination for The Celluloid Closet and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Chain of Desire. In 1995 she became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the fourth woman ever to join, and she was the first woman to receive the Society's President's Award.
Nancy is an inspiration to women in film. One of the gaffers I met on a set once told me that when Nancy was promoted to cinematographer, everyone on the set started applauding. That moment says everything about the respect she earned from the crews who worked beside her.
In December 2023, Nancy taught our live webinar on Lens Selection for Film and TV, and then a session on how to create look books, helping filmmakers learn how a cinematographer chooses lenses and builds the visual plan for a story before the camera ever rolls. One attendee told her, "You started me thinking very differently about lens choices."
Nancy is an outstanding teacher. She is a great communicator who explains her choices of light, lens and camera with clarity and real care, and she brings decades of experience at the highest level of the industry to every class. She is a good-hearted person who has opened doors for so many filmmakers who followed her into cinematography, and our community has learned so much from her.
Thank you, Nancy. It is an honor to work with you.
Kim
Learn from Nancy in her course:
Read more on StudentFilmmakers.com:
- Lens Selection for Film and TV: Nancy Schreiber, ASC Webinar Recap
- Nancy Schreiber, ASC: How to Create Look Books
Nancy on our Cinematographer Honor Roll: studentfilmmakers.com/cinematographers
What did you learn from Nancy about lenses or look books? Share it below.
