American Society of Cinematographers re-elects Shelly Johnson as president

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Board of Governors elected a new slate of officers, with Shelly Johnson re-elected to serve a second term as the organisation’s president. The Board also voted in Vice Presidents Charlie Lieberman, Patti Lee and Cynthia Pusheck; Treasurer Charles Minsky; Secretary Dejan Georgevich; and Sergeant-at-Arms Chris Chomyn.

The members of the ASC Board, elected by the organization’s active membership, also include Natasha Braier, Patrick Cady, Michael Goi, Karl Walter Lindenlaub, Tommy Maddox-Upshaw, Erik Messerschmidt, Charles Minsky, M. David Mullen, Lowell Peterson, Eric Steelberg, and Mandy Walker. Alternate members of the Board are Russell Carpenter, Ernest Dickerson, Georgevich, Chomyn, and Richard P. Crudo.

“This past year has been a challenging time for our industry, and the ASC has strived to serve as the glue to keep our community together,” noted Johnson. “Cinematographers are an open collective, willingly sharing our knowledge and values for the betterment of the art form. Our focus is to help create a healthy and vibrant existence that evolves with the forward movement of our industry.”

Johnson’s, impressive list of feature films includes Jurassic Park III, The Last Castle, Hidalgo, Sky High, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and more.

Johnson’s early career in television includes noteworthy productions such as Falling Water, Smash, and the 1997 retelling of Stephen King’s The Shining. He earned ASC Award nominations for his work on the telefilms Everybody’s Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure (1990), and The Inheritance”(1997), as well as nods for the series The Others (2000) and the pilot for Training Day (2018).

He has been a member of the ASC since 2000 and currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Cinematographers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

“As we are accustomed to doing on-set, cinematographers lead by example. We hope that the ASC’s outreach of support, education, and collaborative spirit will continue to set the tone that helps facilitate a positive and rewarding future,” added Johnson.

The mission of ASC is to inspire the next generation of cinematographers and to advance the art of filmmaking through many industry events and initiatives. The Society has over 20 committees leading the organization’s various initiatives, including the award-winning Motion Imaging Technology Council (MITC), formed in 2003 to understand technology’s ongoing impact on the imaging chain in a way that best serves the creative interests of filmmakers; the Vision Committee, which encourages and supports the advancement of underrepresented cinematographers, their crews and other filmmakers; regional and international Master Classes taught by members; Clubhouse Conversations with filmmakers; and the Education & Outreach Committee which engages with film schools.

ASC was founded in 1919. There are 458 members today who have national roots in some 20 countries. There are also 300 associate members from ancillary segments of the industry.