History is on full display in cinematography as related to this year’s Oscar competition. For one, this marks the first year that the cinematography category has been included in the Oscar shortlists. Furthermore three women have made the cinematography shortlist cut, placing them in the running for nominations. This looms significant in that only three women have ever been nominated in the cinematography category over the entire history of the Academy Awards–Rachel Morrison for Mudbound in 2018; Ari Wegner in 2021 for The Power of the Dog; and Mandy Walker in 2022 for Elvis. (Walker made history as the first woman to win the ASC Award that year in the marquee feature film category.)
Gracing the inaugural Oscar shortlist for cinematography are: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC for Sinners; Alice Brooks, ASC for Wicked: For Good; and Amy Vincent, ASC for Song Sung Blue. In SHOOT’s The Road To Oscar Preview back in October 2025, we delved into Durald Arkapaw’s contributions to Sinners. And earlier this month in our Cinematographers Series, SHOOT connected with Brooks to gain insights into Wicked: For Good. In the case of Durald Arkapaw, the historic theme was again evident–for Sinners, she became the first female cinematographer to shoot a feature on large format IMAX film.
In this week’s installment of The Road To Oscar, Vincent shares her experience on Song Sung Blue (Focus Features), a film which reunited her with writer-director Craig Brewer. But before getting into the specifics of that film, suffice it to say that the work of Durald Arkapaw, Brooks and Vincent has served as an inspiration for young cinematographers, particularly women who aspire to make their mark behind the lens. And in that vein, it should be noted that Vincent is accomplished not only as a cinematographer but as an educator. She was formally celebrated in the latter capacity at the ASC Awards in 2024 when she was presented the coveted Presidents Award for her dedicated service to the ASC and the filmmaking industry. Vincent has been a VP of the ASC, an active member of its Board of Governors and a founding member of the Society’s Vision Committee, which fosters diversity and inclusion. Back in 2022, Vincent became just the sixth woman on the ASC roster, joining Judy Irola, Ellen Kuras, Brianne Murphy, Nancy Schrieber and Sandi Sissell.
Vincent has also positively and directly impacted young cinematographers, including women, in the formative stages of their careers. She has been a mainstay in mentorship programs while also having taught cinematography at universities, including the American Film Institute Conservatory, Florida State University, and Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film & Television where she is currently working with a dozen grad students who are pursuing direction and cinematography.
Vincent observed that she has not only taught students but learned from them, sharing, “My experience as an educator has made me a better DP–a better leader on set,” and has enhanced her “empathy for how others tell stories” as well as an empathy for the characters in the stories she helps to tell.
That empathetic approach was cited by Brewer who described the cinematographer as being “always in service to what goes on the screen,” the humanity of the story. Largely because of that, Brewer recalled to SHOOT that when he was putting Song Sung Blue together over the years it took to get a greenlight, he consistently thought, “I need Amy for this.”
Indeed there’s much humanity in Song Sung Blue, a story which Brewer was first inspired by as told in Greg Kohs’ 2008 documentary about a couple from Milwaukee–Mike and Claire Sardina–who form a tribute band, Lightning and Thunder, dedicated to the music of Neil Diamond. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star in the leading roles. Brewer fashioned a dramatized version of an alternately inspiring and tragic love story–which is also a musical with elements of biography and melodrama. The real-life narrative engrossed Brewer who said he thought at the time, “If I wrote it [as an original screenplay], someone would tell me I went too far. Everything that happened to this couple who just wanted to sing at bars and county fairs, entertain people locally” was hard to believe. But Brewer went on to not only delve into, fathom and process the story but believe in it as a narrative film. He connected with Kohs (who gained an exec producer credit) to bring to fruition what would become the closing film of both the 2025 AFI Fest in Hollywood on October 25, and then the Camerimage Film Festival in Torun, Poland, in November.
Vincent has a longstanding collaborative relationship with Brewer dating back to his breakthrough feature Hustle and Flow (winner of the Cinematography Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival) and spanning such movies as Black Snake Moan, the new Footloose, and Song Sung Blue.
“We were kids when we did Hustle and Flow,” recollected Vincent. “It was our first collaboration but not my first movie or Craig’s. We were very young and learned during that time. I think about how far we’ve come through our experiences–on projects together and work we’ve done with other directors and cinematographers.” Vincent observed that she and Brewer have developed “a devoted kind of brother-sister sort of rapport…We just had the 20-year anniversary of Hustle and Flow. Coming together on Song Sung Blue is a testament to the strength of our creative collaborative commitment to each other. Craig runs such a collaborative set. I’m not his only repeat collaborator. He keeps the band together.”
The primary camera deployed on Song Sung Blue was the Sony VENICE 2, in tandem with Leitz Hugo Primes and Fujinon Premista lenses. Also used were the Sony DVN-700ws and the Sony DCR-TRV120 Hi8 camcorders,
Vincent has been working with the Sony VENICE systems for quite awhile and loves the Sony color science. Extensive tests were done with the cast, spanning costume, hair and makeup, with a LUT created specifically for the film in concert with colorist Tom Poole of Company 3.
Song Sung Blue was shot entirely at practical locations, a challenge which, observed Vincent, became a gift. Though not a documentary, Song Sung Blue benefited from the locations which lent “a real-life authenticity” balanced with “the embellishments of camera work and visual storytelling to cover the movie star aspect and propel Mike and Claire Sardina’s real-life story.”
Vincent added that Kohs’ documentary (also titled Song Sung Blue) was vital–not just as a creative research and historical document but for serving as “a jumping-off point,” a guide of sorts for the dramatization. Vincent noted that “the kind of human being that Mike Sardina was” carries “a resonance” for her and Brewer. And that’s reflected in the “collaborative family-style” set that Brewer runs as well as the personal orientation to which the filmmaker and DP can relate. Vincent shared that one of her favorite lines in the movie is “when Mike says, ‘I’m just here trying to do better.’” That’s a message Vincent lives by and one she tries to impart to her students as they reach for careers as artists.
In turn, that’s Vincent’s biggest takeaway from her experience on Song Sung Blue. “When you have a team of people who come together with devotion and collaboration, care and respect for one another, the work can’t help but get better…On this movie more than any other one that I have done, there was a level of commitment and kindness coming from the top–from Hugh, Kate and Craig that spread out across everybody in every department.”
This is the 10th installment of SHOOT’s 16-part The Road To Oscar Series of feature stories. Shining a light on such disciplines as directing, cinematography, producing, editing, production design, visual effects and animation, this series will appear weekly all the way through to the Academy Awards gala ceremony. Nominations for the 98th Oscars will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Hollywood, Calif., televised live on ABC and streamed on Hulu.
