.The December 2024 issue presents a special focus on visual effects, including coverage of Here and a profile of groundbreaking visual-effects artist Dennis Muren, ASC — as well as a discussion within the Joker: Folie à Deux cover story on the incorporation of LED-wall-volume work. The issue also features reportage on Saturday Night and Anora, and respective tributes to Panavision’s 70th anniversary and OConnor’s 75th.
· President’s Desk: Shelly Johnson, ASC reflects on the tactile and magical qualities of film.
· Lawrence Sher, ASC and director Todd Phillips detail their approach to Joker: Folie à Deux, which included using a telescopic crane and tight communication to achieve sweeping camera moves, and combining multiple setups — including an LED-wall volume — to yield a long, unbroken take.
· Eric Steelberg, ASC and director Jason Reitman discuss creating carefully choreographed mayhem for Saturday Night — and how shooting Super 16mm contributed to the spontaneous feel.
· Cinematographer Drew Daniels shares his strategy for shooting the Palme d’Or-winning romance Anora, directed by Sean Baker.
· Panavision executives/ASC associate members Kim Snyder, Michael George, David Dodson and Dan Sasaki discuss the company’s ongoing evolution as it marks its 70th anniversary.
· Nine-time Academy Award winner Dennis Muren, ASC reflects on a career defined by seismic changes in the field of visual effects — and explains why a filmmaker’s vision is more important than their tools.
· The Virtual World: Visual-effects supervisors Kevin Baillie and Jo Plaete and virtual-production supervisor Callum Macmillan discuss AI techniques and other technologies deployed on Here, directed by Robert Zemeckis and shot by Don Burgess, ASC.
· New Products and Services includes a special piece commemorating OConnor’s 75th anniversary.
· Wrap Shot: West Side Story (1961), shot by Daniel L. Fapp, ASC and directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins.
