Daryn Okada, ASC–whose recent credits include Just Like Heaven and Stick It–has been elected president of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC). He succeeds Richard Crudo, ASC (American Pie), who has served three terms as ASC president.
“I am both humbled and honored that my colleagues have chosen me for this role,” Okada said. “I will rely on the advice and the support of our members and associates as we continue on the historic mission defined by the founders of ASC nearly 90 years ago. We are dedicated to advancing both the art and the craft of filmmaking .
“I believe that those of us who are privileged to work in this extraordinary industry have an obligation to the filmmakers who inspired us in the past, to future generations and to the public who are relying on us to explore the next frontiers,” Okada added.
During his career, Okada has compiled more than 40 credits, including Lake Placid, My Father the Hero, Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken, Anna Karenina, Dr. Doolittle 2, Joe Somebody, Cradle 2 The Grave, Mean Girls, and Paparazzi. His work on the miniseries In A Child’s Name (1991) earned him an ASC Outstanding Achievement Award nomination. The DP is currently shooting the feature Sex and Death 101, directed by Daniel Waters.
Okada most recently served on the ASC board as a VP, and he also is the ASC Technology Committee’s steering chair. “The art of filmmaking and the evolution of new visual technologies have been inseparably linked from the earliest days of the industry,” Okada related. “Our goal is to help assure that the evolution of technology serves the cinematic arts.”
The ASC’s officers include VPs Michael Goi, ASC, William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC and Caleb Deschanel, ASC, treasurer Victor J. Kemper, ASC, secretary Michael Negrin, ASC and sergeant at arms John Hora, ASC.
The organization’s new board of governors also includes Curtis Clark, ASC, George Spiro Dibie, ASC, Richard Edlund, ASC, Francis Kenny, ASC, Isidore Mankofsky, ASC, Woody Omens, ASC, Nancy Schreiber, ASC, John Toll, ASC, Kees Van Oostrum, ASC, Roy Wagner, ASC and Haskell Wexler, ASC. Alternate members of the board are Victor Kemper, ASC, Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, Stephen Lighthill, ASC, and Robert Primes, ASC.
Craig Henighan Sounds Off On “Deadpool & Wolverine”
Hollywood lore has it that character actor Edmund Gwenn--while on his deathbed--quipped, โDying is easy, comedy is hard.โ
The second part of that darkly witty utterance remains all too true today as Craig Henighan--a Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Oscar nominee in 2019 for Roma--can attest in that he had to grapple with the sonic of being comic for this yearโs box office hit, Deadpool & Wolverine (20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios).
The degree of inherent difficulty was ramped up even further because Deadpool & Wolverine had to seamlessly bring together high action-adventure exploits with moments and dialogue that tickled the funny bone. Thereโs a mesh of humorous banter--a staple of the franchise--along with major spectacle replete with explosions, fights, an impactful score and off-the-wall musical numbers.
Henighan explained that among the prime challenges for him from a sound perspective was having to make sure every joke landed within the construct of a superhero film. The tendency for a tentpole movie of this variety, he noted, is to gravitate towards big, loud audio spanning music, dialogue and sound effects. But the unique comedic element of Deadpool & Wolverine necessitated that re-recording mixer and supervising sound editor Henighan strike a delicate balance. โYou need to get out of the way for the comedy,โ he related. The jokes in a superhero film become โa real danceโ as Henighan had to establish a rhythm that did justice to both the comedy and the action as the narrative moves back and forth between them--and sometimes the funny and the high energy, high decibel superhero dynamic unfold simultaneously in a scene or sequence. The โsonic fabricโ has to... Read More