Lyndon Johnson signed the AFI into existence 40+ years ago, but he could not have predicted the power of the program, or that the cinematographers rising from the AFI would be among the most honored and respected in the industry.  All of those 40 years, the American Film Institute has provided education, conservation, and information about the art of the moving image to students, the industry and the public.  The Los Angeles based AFI Conservatory program is divided by specialty:  Directing, Editing, Cinematography, Producing, Screenwriting and Production Design; a highly competitive program that typically accepts only about 138 students spread over the six disciplines.

Stephen Lighthill, ASC, is the Senior Filmmaker in Residence, Cinematography, at the AFI Conservatory, where he has instructed and led the program for nearly a decade.

CREATEASPHERE: You’ve had a varied and successful career as a cinematographer – tell us a bit about your career.

LIGHTHILL: I’ve had several “stages” in my career. I started shooting news when everything was shot on 16mm. I became one of the main West Coast cinematographers for CBS News and then shot long-form documentaries for “60 Minutes” and PBS. Filming interviews gave me a basic knowledge about exposure and lighting, particularly portrait lighting for interviews. So, I became a cinematographer out of a journalistic interest and intent, but found fiction narrative offered more opportunities to tell stories well. I was a cinematographer on many social interest films on PBS, including “American Playhouse”, “Berkeley in the Sixties,” “Seeing Red,” “Coming Out Under Fire,” “Shimmer,” and “Hot Summer Winds.”

CREATEASPHERE: What brought you to the AFI Cinematography Program?

LIGHTHILL: I feel strongly that the community of cinematographers must share information and experience in an organized way.  I became an instructor at AFI in 2001 and after teaching here on and off, was invited to head the department.  It was an intriguing and gratifying opportunity and there are fundamental changes in the industry that run alongside the aspects of unchanging visual storytelling.  It was a great time to dig into this program.

CREATEASPHERE: How does the cinematography program work for first and second year Cinematography Fellows, who can either go for their MFA or a shorter certificate designation?

LIGHTHILL: The emphasis at AFI is on collaboration, just as it is in the workaday professional world. The fellows form teams in the first year and make three short projects.

In the second year, the 28 cinematography fellows film the 28 thesis projects developed with their classmates - the writers, directors, producers, editors and production designers. The majority of these are produced on Super 16 or 35 mm, the remainder on digital formats.  If you do the math, you can see that we prep, shoot, and edit 112 projects in a year at AFI.  There is a regular classroom schedule but the emphasis is on production.

CREATEASPHERE: AFI boasts a noticeably high number of prominent Cinematography Alumni. What do you hope that your students understand about the art, craft and business of cinematography?

LIGHTHILL: We expect our graduates to have a solid technical underpinning, but also to understand that the art and craft grows out of the original written script.  It is only through the development of solid collaborative skills and respect, and nurturing fellow filmmakers, that the original intent of a script can be successfully realized.

CREATEASPHERE: The industry is on a steep evolution in terms of technology. Are there technologies and innovations that you find particularly exciting?

LIGHTHILL: We are excited about recent developments toward smaller and more efficient lighting fixtures, about the potential for reasonably priced digital intermediates, and the many new film and video cameras that are in the development stage.

CREATEASPHERE: Are there trends that you find troubling for the next generation of cinematographers?

LIGHTHILL: We find the integration of color correction tools into the editorial process problematic, and in general, the number of fingers itching to fiddle with the final image in post-production is problematic as well.

(A few AFI Cinematography Alumni:  Caleb Deschanel, ASC, Fred Elmes, ASC, Robert Elswit, ASC, Janusz Kaminski, ASC, Wally Pfister, ASC, Juan Ruiz-Anchia, ASC, Amy Vincent, ASC, to name but a few.)