American Cinematographer Magazine Releases Special Issue on Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

American Cinematographer

The magazine American Cinematographer has just put out an issue that has some amazing, unique Star Wars content in it. In the latest issue you can find interviews with J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, the cinematographer from Episode VII Dan Mindel and others. There are also some exclusive behind-the-scenes and production photos in the issue as well. Read on for the official press release…

 

 

American Cinematographer Magazine Releases Special Issue on STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Collector’s Edition Available Now

 

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 3, 2016) – The force is strong with American Cinematographer’s just-released February issue, which goes behind the scenes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens to provide an in-depth look at the making of the record-breaking box-office blockbuster. The magazine was granted special access to the production during filming at Pinewood Studios and conducted comprehensive interviews with the filmmakers, including cinematographer Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC; director J.J. Abrams; Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy; and several of the show’s key department heads. The special collector’s edition is illustrated with a trove of exclusive production stills, behind-the-scenes photos and concept art from the film.

Abrams

“American Cinematographer prides itself on bringing the best and most detailed behind-the-scenes information to our readers, and thanks to our great relationship with Disney, Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams, we were allowed to visit an otherwise closed set,” says Stephen Pizzello, the magazine’s editor-in-chief and publisher. “Contributing writer Noah Kadner and I were privileged to observe the Star Wars team up close, and the experience provided us with invaluable insights. Our best writers covered all aspects of the production, resulting in an issue that is second to none in terms of in-depth reportage.”

 

In addition to covering the work of Mindel, Abrams and Kennedy, the issue offers Kadner’s first-person account of the magazine’s set visit; coverage of the movie’s second-unit cinematography; a piece that examines the project’s concept art and the collaboration between co-production designers Rick Carter and Darren Gilford; and comprehensive Q&As with visual-effects supervisor Roger Guyett and Industrial Light & Magic supervisor Pat Tubach, who coordinated effects work by ILM’s San Francisco, Vancouver and Singapore facilities.Dave-Filoni-Star-Wars-Rebels

The magazine’s Production Slate section is devoted entirely to managing editor Jon Witmer’s coverage of the hugely popular animated series Star Wars Rebels, which provides a detailed look at the work of CG lighting and effects supervisor Joel Aron, lighting concept artist Christopher Voy, colorist Sean Wells, and supervising director Dave Filoni.

 

“American Cinematographer has been taking readers on a unique journey behind the scenes of the Star Wars saga from the very beginning, having offered a detailed look at the making of the original trilogy, the Special Editions and the prequels,” says Witmer. “We’re thrilled to return to that galaxy far, far away at this incredibly exciting time, when new stories and stunning imagery are being crafted in live action and animation, for screens both big and small.”

 

Additionally, the issue’s Short Takes section offers a historical look at the production and recent restoration of the short film Black Angel, which played in theaters with The Empire Strikes Back during that film’s initial release in the U.K. The short was directed by Roger Christian, who had served as set decorator on the original Star Wars, and became one of the very first credits for cinematographer Roger Pratt, BSC.

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As an added bonus to fans of the franchise, American Cinematographer’s back page spotlights director of photography Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS, who is currently in production on the upcoming feature Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The magazine is also offering extended versions of the Abrams and Kennedy interviews online.

 

The February 2016 issue of American Cinematographer is now available for purchase at newsstands and online in the American Cinematographer Store.

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

44 thoughts on “American Cinematographer Magazine Releases Special Issue on Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

  • February 4, 2016 at 10:25 pm
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    The production is distracting us very well from Rogue One. This time last year we already knew that Han dies in the movie and possible that Kylo or/and Rey are his children. Now we’ve seen no trailer, and know almost nothing about the movie.

    • February 4, 2016 at 10:45 pm
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      And that’s a bad thing? Your already excited about it coming out. Isn’t it more fun watching something you know absolutely nothing about rather then expecting this scene or that scene to reappear since you’ve already seen it multiple times in a trailer?

      • February 4, 2016 at 11:51 pm
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        Not always. If I´d seen The Force Awakens without knowing the plot, I´m pretty sure I would be dissappointed. And I was, but before seing the movie. I was prepared for the worst and being nicely surprised…

      • February 5, 2016 at 3:46 am
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        I guess in a way, I never expected them to make New Hope 2.0, so it was a shocker.

    • February 5, 2016 at 12:27 am
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      i mean.. from a narrative point of a view, han solo was the most likely candidate to die.. just as qui-gon and ben kenobi did in the first of the prior two trilogies.. and kylo ren being his son was obvious because “sKYwalker+soLO”= SKYLO= KYLO.

      • February 5, 2016 at 12:55 am
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        I think that last part might have been a coincidence.

        • February 5, 2016 at 3:46 am
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          You think?

      • February 5, 2016 at 5:00 am
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        You could have said Luke would bite it going in from guessing if you didn’t know anything about the plot or anything. The older mentor figure seems to die in the first of the last two trilogies

        • February 5, 2016 at 5:52 am
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          yeah maybe.. but would they kill off the dead-beat smuggler father or the most powerful jedi in the entire galaxy in the first film?

  • February 5, 2016 at 12:53 am
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    For a cinematographer mag, the cover looks pretty bad composed (was it that difficult to center it?) and the wide lenses used for the photo make the characters look horrible.

    • February 5, 2016 at 1:32 am
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      Kind of apt though, I found the photography in this film the most distracing of all seven so I’m glad he won’t be a part of the sequels.

      • February 5, 2016 at 1:59 am
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        “distracting”?

        • February 5, 2016 at 10:04 am
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          Except during the Jakku scenes which were probably the best shot scenes of the film since they mostly used natural sunlight which I’d like to see a lot more with the next ones.

          • February 5, 2016 at 1:51 pm
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            But what did you mean by distracting?

          • February 6, 2016 at 7:22 am
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            I doubt even he knows what he means by that.

          • February 6, 2016 at 9:43 am
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            Look up distracting if you are still confused by that word.

          • February 10, 2016 at 11:49 am
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            I’m not confused by that word. I’m referring to your entire statement.

          • February 12, 2016 at 12:26 pm
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            Try sounding out the words with you’re mouth this time then.

          • February 12, 2016 at 9:40 pm
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            Try making a statement that’s connected to reality. We’ll build from there. Remember, Snarky, “baby steps”..

          • February 12, 2016 at 9:46 pm
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            Seriously, snark, you’re not in the kiddy pool anymore. Cheap ass insults don’t travel far around here.

          • February 6, 2016 at 9:49 am
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            On Starkiller. It’s shot in a very modern 21st century fashion with harsh filters to the point where it’s hard to see some of the stuff going on in th background. You see this a lot in some superhero TV shows to save money by hiding bad CG but other than a purely stylistic choice it makes zero sense since things were not lit that way in Star Destroyers or the Death Stars in the OT. It wasn’t bright and sunny like Tatooine but clear enough so that the crew knew where they were going and what they were doing. The only comparable darkly lit set in IV-VI was The Emperor’s Throne Room but that was only since he liked the dark and was old so brightness was probably harsh on his eyes but it makes no sense for the non-force using generic humans of The First Order to work in darker conditions. It looked more like CSI than SW.

          • February 6, 2016 at 7:03 pm
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            So the lighting was different than before, and that makes the cinematography of the entire film distracting and bad. Reaching much?

          • February 7, 2016 at 2:55 pm
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            Same problem with the PT too actually except TPM less so. Digital will never look as good as film does but IX is not being shot on digital so there’s that.

          • February 10, 2016 at 12:44 pm
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            Like Elsa reaching for the grail.
            “Elsa I can’t hold on!”
            “I can get them to hate this movie, Indy. I just need to nitpick it a little more..”

          • February 7, 2016 at 10:58 am
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            You may be kidding by saying the cinematography of VII is worse than II and III.

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/654fb995c7fe5b8dca09b6635ccbac14c8b47500f49ab76dc7ff29b5cc4106cf.png https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/19fc284b43ef3befa16fa441f2c0007f6fb7c55109ef6803b6719aa69fbdcc26.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b30c586913179c6f00d92df70da9bd92e73eb2475271abcee68be54dd033be43.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0061f8367ac59b2e9ae8e6a1f0841ee13ae05decdf0d23aec51c27881ae43370.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/25e095859d681b044fa1dd7e76b3a57c1a6e7644ace59847fd5a1710f808e52d.jpg

          • February 7, 2016 at 2:53 pm
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            The cinematography is inferior to the OT but the piss poor CG is what makes it so hard on the eyes.

          • February 12, 2016 at 12:28 pm
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            Do you have any original thoughts of your own or do you just cherry pick them from other people lke Abrams.

          • February 12, 2016 at 9:38 pm
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            That’s funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. “Captian Phasma is Boba Fett.” No, really!? Thank you Captain Obvious! LOL

          • February 13, 2016 at 6:04 pm
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            I do it because I know people like you can only understand things through s-l-o-w repetition and simplistic pictographs.

          • February 13, 2016 at 6:56 pm
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            Please, snark. You got to do better than that.

          • February 13, 2016 at 7:00 pm
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            Hey, snark, I got an idea.. If your get your tongue out of Lucas’ ass for five seconds maybe you can think of a better comeback! LOLOLOLOLOL

          • February 12, 2016 at 12:30 pm
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            Mindel’s largely worked with Abrams and owes his career to him, Every other DP in the saga has had a long and independent career free of a cinematic sugar Daddy such as him. Plus they have their own style that wasn’t lifted from bad procedurals.

  • February 5, 2016 at 1:43 am
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    I’d like to read an explanation for the closing shot. The cinematography was pretty well done overall, but the closing shot was an abomination.

    • February 5, 2016 at 1:59 am
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      Because it spun around? Get over it! No one wants to hear your nonsensical whining.

      • February 5, 2016 at 3:44 am
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        You do a fair amount of complaining about those who chalkenge any aspect of your beloved Ep. 7. How much time do you actually spend on the internet defending J.J.? There has to be a point of diminishing returns. Ep. 7 doesn’t get better if you lash out at everyone who critiques it. Ah never mind, keep doing it. I kind of enjoy setting you off from time to time. Jab, jab, right, left, uppercut.

        • February 5, 2016 at 6:50 am
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          Much hate I sense in you. Go ahead and critique VII all you want, but when you start nonsensically trolling, you can’t blame me for getting sick of it.

      • February 5, 2016 at 4:55 am
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        One of the earlier reviews of TFA I read said they thought it had the most beautiful closing shot of any SW film. Interesting how so many people can have such polar opposite opinions. I hate it when people who aren’t experts and have been nowhere, try to tell experts how they should have done their job.

    • February 5, 2016 at 2:08 pm
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      The last shot is one of my favourite in the film. I guess we’ll have to differ.

    • February 7, 2016 at 11:08 am
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      The last shot of The Force Awakens is not a Instagram video, it’s part of the narrative and it plays very well with the story. In a minimal, organic set, Abrams explains how Luke and Rey’s lives (two characters that were immerse in a pretty boring routine for years) are taking the speed of a rocket. The only fact that they meet makes evident for both that things are going to change, and Abrams gets that effect with NO DIALOG, by shooting an aerial shot, zoomed, with the background moving pretty fast while characters are standing.

  • February 5, 2016 at 4:26 am
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    I can hardly recognize Filoni without his cowboy hat.

    • February 5, 2016 at 11:13 am
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      It’s all in the dimples. His run all the way down to the jaw.

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