Steven Barry Poster, A.S.C, I.C.G. (born 1 March 1944) is an American cinematographer and photographer who is the former President of the

International Cinematographers Guild The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) represents approximately 8,400 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film and television as Directors of Photography, Camera Operators, Camera ...

. He is best known for his collaborations with Richard Kelly, including the director's 2001 cult classic ''

Donnie Darko ''Donnie Darko'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and produced by Flower Films. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katha ...

.''

Career

Poster began his career as a creative assistant at 'The Film Group,' a commercial film production company based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. After being promoted to

director of photography The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

due to his skill at lighting, he met

Herschell Gordon Lewis Herschell Gordon Lewis (June 15, 1926 – September 26, 2016) was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the " splatter" subgenre of horror films. He is often called the "Godfather of Gore" (a title also given to Lucio Fulci), though hi ...

and worked with him in various crew positions on a total of three films. Poster founded a production company with director

Michael Mann Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television who is best known for his distinctive style of crime drama. His most acclaimed works include the films ''Thief'' (1981), ' ...

and served as the cinematographer on numerous

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

and education films. He served as the second-unit director of photography on ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

''. Poster joined the

American Society of Cinematographers The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...

in 1987, relocating to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

in the process. He shot the iconic

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

Madonna's Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

" Like a Prayer", as well as commercials directed by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

and

Kinka Usher Kinka Usher is a director of television commercials. He also directed the 1999 feature film ''Mystery Men''. Early life Kinka Usher was born in Nice France, one of five children. His mother, an Italian by birth, owned a ballet production company ...

. In 1988, he was nominated for the ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatrical Releases for his work on ''Someone to Watch Over Me''. Poster served as the President of the ASC between 2002-2003. In 2006, he received an

Emmy nomination The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for ''

Mrs. Harris ''Mrs. Harris'' is a 2005 American-British made-for-television drama film written and directed by Phyllis Nagy. The teleplay, based on the book ''Very Much a Lady'' by Shana Alexander, focuses on the tempestuous relationship between Herman Tarnower ...

''. That same year, he was elected as the National President of the

, a position he held until 2019.

Filmography

Film Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poster, Steven 1944 births Living people American cinematographers