Amy Vincent ASC on A Nice Indian Boy, Hustle & Flow, Eve’s Bayou

Amy Vincent, ASC did not originally set out to become a
cinematographer. While studying veterinary medicine at UC Santa
Cruz, she got a work study job hanging lights for the theater
department. She fell in love with the creative art of lighting, and
soon transitioned to the theater arts department. Amy found her
natural affinity for math and science matched the skill set needed
for technical theater production. She began making short films at
UCSC, moving to Los Angeles after college to pursue a career in
film. Amy's first job was as an assistant editor, but she really
wanted to work in the camera department. So she began working her
way up from camera intern to camera assistant, working with notable
DPs such as Bill Pope on Clueless and Robert Richardson on Natural
Born Killers. A few years into her career as a camera assistant,
Amy decided to go to grad school at AFI. She shot many student
short films for free before meeting writer and director Kasi
Lemmons. Amy could tell from page one that the script for Eve's
Bayou was something personal and special. They made the short film
together, then over the course of three years, Lemmons raised
enough money and interest to turn Eve's Bayou into a feature. It
was Amy's first movie as a cinematographer and it became her first
big breakout. One of Amy's frequent collaborators was director
Craig Brewer. She was given a copy of his first film on VHS, then
the two met to discuss making 2005's Hustle & Flow. “I think
the beauty of where my collaboration with Craig and the process of
making the movie was what the movie was about. The two folded over
on each other. I mean, it's the idea of making music or making a
movie by whatever means necessary. And there was something that
became so apparent in the process. For example, we tried on a whole
bunch of different formats, like, what are we going to shoot? At
one point we were going to shoot Mini DV, because that's what Craig
knew and then we settled into Super 16.” She and Brewer went on to
work together on Black Snake Moan and the 2011 Footloose remake.
Throughout her career, Amy has enjoyed collaborating with directors
on smaller movies. Her most recent project, A Nice Indian Boy, had
a very low budget and it had to be shot quickly before the actors
strike. “It is so cool to have a really funny rom com that's gay
and Indian. It would have been great to have more time and more
money to make that movie, but I love all of the things that came
together to make this simple little movie. It's really important to
me to be able to make a movie that means something to a slightly
different community.” Amy recently received the ASC Presidents
Award, which recognizes her long career as a cinematographer and a
mentor to new cinematographers. She's also an artist in residence
at Loyola Marymount University, where she teaches film classes and
mentors students making short films. You can see Amy's recent work
on the show Parish with Giancarlo Esposito on AMC+. A Nice Indian
Boy premiered at the SXSW Film Festival to critical acclaim, and is
seeking distribution. Find Amy Vincent:
https://www.amyvincentasc.com/ Instagram: @amyvvincent Sponsored by
Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast
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Twitter: @ShortEndz