Steven Poster

{{Short description|American cinematographer (b. 1944)}} {{Infobox person | name = Steven Poster | honorific_suffix = | image = | birth_name = Steven Barry Poster | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1944|03|01}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | death_date =  | death_place = | alma_mater = {{ubl| * Southern Illinois University * ArtCenter College of Design * Illinois Institute of Technology }} | years_active = 1967–2024 | title = President of the International Cinematographers Guild (2006-2019) | website = {{url|http://www.edgeofconsciousness.com/}} }}

'''Steven Barry Poster''' ASC, CSC (born 1 March 1944) is an American cinematographer.<ref name="cinema">{{Cite web |title=STEVEN POSTER |url=http://www.cinematographers.nl/PaginasDoPh/poster.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925085038/http://www.cinematographers.nl/PaginasDoPh/poster.htm |archive-date=25 September 2023 |access-date=2017-02-28 |website=www.cinematographers.nl}}</ref> He served as the president of the International Cinematographers Guild from 2006 to 2019.<ref name=icg>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icg600.com/|title=Local 600 - Home|website=www.icg600.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/steven-poster-elected-president-international-447731|title=Steven Poster Re-Elected President of International Cinematographers Guild|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=27 April 2013 |language=en|access-date=2017-02-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/lewis-rothenberg-cinematographers-guild-president-1203205665|title=Lewis Rothenberg Ousts Steven Poster as Cinematographers Guild President|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Poster studied at Southern Illinois University, the ArtCenter College of Design, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Steven Poster |url=https://www.artcenter.edu/about/get-to-know-artcenter/people/detail.html?breadcrumb=568edbf44d9b6ff125f3e25b&accdID=0214813 |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=ArtCenter College of Design}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Tom |date=2023-10-27 |title=Visionary / Steven Poster ASC |url=https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/steven-poster-asc/ |access-date=2025-05-06 |website=British Cinematographer |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Career == Poster began his filmmaking career as a creative assistant at 'The Film Group,' a Chicago-based commercial film production company. After being promoted to director of photography for his skill at lighting, he met Herschell Gordon Lewis and worked with him in various crew positions on a total of three films.

He founded a production company with director Michael Mann, and served as the cinematographer on numerous industrial and education films.<ref name=":2" /> His 1973 short film ''Another Saturday Night'', which he co-directed with Mik Derks, was nominated for the Short Film Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 2024. In 1977, he was the second unit cinematographer for Steven Spielberg's ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind''.

In 1980, he relocated to Hollywood and shot his first feature film as cinematographer, ''Blood Beach''. He also worked second unit or additional photography for ''Blade Runner'', ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'', and several John Carpenter films.

Poster joined the American Society of Cinematographers in 1987. The same year, he shot ''Someone to Watch Over Me'' for director Ridley Scott, which earned him an ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases

He shot the iconic music video to Madonna's "Like a Prayer", as well as commercials directed by Ridley Scott and Kinka Usher.

In 2006, he was elected as the National President of the International Cinematographers Guild, a position he held until 2019.<ref name=icg/> He is also a former executive board member of the International Documentary Association, and currently sits on the Nicholl Fellowship committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.<ref name=":1" /> He is also an adjunct professor at the ArtCenter College of Design.

== Filmography ==  === Feature film === {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Notes |- | 1980 | ''Blood Beach'' | Jeffrey Bloom | |- | 1981 | ''Dead & Buried'' | Gary Sherman | |- |rowspan=3|1983 | ''Spring Break'' | Sean S. Cunningham | |- | ''Strange Brew'' | Rick Moranis Dave Thomas | |- | ''Testament'' | Lynne Littman | |- |rowspan=2|1985 | ''The New Kids'' | Sean S. Cunningham | |- | ''The Heavenly Kid'' | Cary Medoway | |- |rowspan=2|1986 | ''Blue City'' | Michelle Manning | |- | ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' | Nick Castle | With Adam Holender |- | 1987 | ''Someone to Watch Over Me'' | Ridley Scott | |- |rowspan=2|1988 | ''Aloha Summer'' | Tommy Lee Wallace | |- | ''Big Top Pee-wee'' | Randal Kleiser | |- | 1989 | ''Next of Kin'' | John Irvin | |- |rowspan=2|1990 | ''Rocky V'' | John G. Avildsen | |- | ''Opportunity Knocks'' | Donald Petrie | |- | 1991 | ''Life Stinks'' | Mel Brooks | |- | 1993 | ''The Cemetery Club'' | Bill Duke | |- | 1997 | ''RocketMan'' | Stuart Gillard | |- | 1998 | ''Une chance sur deux'' | Patrice Leconte | |- | 2001 | ''Donnie Darko'' | Richard Kelly | |- | 2002 | ''Stuart Little 2'' | Rob Minkoff | |- | 2003 | ''Daddy Day Care'' | Steve Carr | |- | 2006 | ''Southland Tales'' | Richard Kelly | |- |rowspan=2|2009 | ''Spread'' | David Mackenzie | |- | ''The Box'' | Richard Kelly | |- | 2010 | ''Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore'' | Brad Peyton | |- | 2011 | ''Flypaper'' | Rob Minkoff | |- | 2017 | ''Amityville: The Awakening'' | Franck Khalfoun | |- | 2024 | ''Scared to Death'' | Paul Boyd | Also executive producer |}

Ref.:<ref name="cinema" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Steven Poster |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Person/244123-Steven-Poster |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Steven Poster, ASC on "The Box" |url=http://www.tiffen.com/steven_poster_thebox.html |access-date=2017-02-28 |website=www.tiffen.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathers |first=James |date=2024-05-26 |title=Steven Poster, ASC shares about the tools he used on his latest feature, "Scared To Death" |url=https://dcsonline.org/news/steven-poster-asc-shares-about-the-tools-he-used-on-his-latest-feature-scared-to-death/ |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=Digital Cinema Society |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Television=== {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Notes |- | 1978 | ''What Really Happened to the Class of '65?'' | James Sheldon | Episode "Mr. Potential" |- | 1987 | ''I'll Take Manhattan'' | Richard Michaels Douglas Hickox | 2 episodes (With Larry Pizer) |- | 1998 | ''American Experience'' | Richard P. Rogers | Episode "A Midwife's Tale" |- | 2006 | ''The Loop'' | Betty Thomas | Episode "Pilot" |- | 2007-12 | ''Craft in America'' | Carol Sauvion Daniel Seeger Nigel Noble Hilary Birmingham | 8 episodes |- | 2008 | ''Raising the Bar'' | Jesse Bochco | Episode "Pilot" |- | 2013 | ''Hemlock Grove'' | Eli Roth | Episode "Jellyfish in the Sky" |- | 2020 | ''Cine Chalom'' | Yossi Benavraham | Episode "EXTRAIT DU FILM "INCASSABLE" DE M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN... 2000" |}

'''TV movies''' {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director |- | 1978 | ''The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank'' | Robert Day |- |rowspan=2|1979 | ''The Night Rider'' | Hy Averback |- | ''Beggarman, Thief'' | Lawrence Doheny |- | 1981 | ''Coward of the County'' | Dick Lowry |- | 1982 | ''Mysterious Two'' | Gary Sherman |- | 1983 | ''The Cradle Will Fall'' | John Llewellyn Moxey |- | 1986 | ''Courage'' | Jeremy Kagan |- | 1992 | ''The Bat, the Cat and the Penguin'' | Michael Meadows John Pattyson |- | 1994 | ''Roswell'' | Jeremy Kagan |- | 1995 | ''Present Tense, Past Perfect'' | Richard Dreyfuss |- | 1996 | ''Once You Meet a Stranger'' | Tommy Lee Wallace |- | 1997 | ''Color of Justice'' | Jeremy Kagan |- | 2005 | ''Mrs. Harris'' | Phyllis Nagy |- | 2006 | ''The Danny Comden Project'' | Robert Duncan McNeill |- | 2013 | ''Gutsy Frog'' | Mark A.Z. Dippé |- |} <!-- ===Documentary works=== '''Film''' {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Notes |- | 2001 | ''The Oscar Legacy'' | David Haugland | |- | 2020 | ''For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close'' | Heather Ross | With Simon Fanthorpe |}

'''Short film''' {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director |- | 2013 | ''Canon USA Commercial: Rhythm of Life'' | Dean Hargrove |}

'''Television''' {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Director ! Notes |- | 1990 | ''Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Special'' | John Landis | TV special |- | 2021 | ''The Miles Davis Documentary'' | Christopher Wilkinson | TV movie |} --> ==Accolades== {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Institution ! Category ! Title ! Result |- | 1973 | Cannes Film Festival | Short Film Palme d'Or | ''Another Saturday Night'' (Shared with Mik Derks) | {{nom}} |- | 1987 | American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | ''Someone to Watch Over Me'' | {{nom}} |- | 1994 | CableACE Award | Direction of Photography and/or Lighting Direction | ''Roswell'' | {{nom}} |- | 2005 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography | ''Mrs. Harris'' | {{nom}} |}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.edgeofconsciousness.com/ Official website] * {{IMDb name|0692925}} * [https://www.artcenter.edu/about/get-to-know-artcenter/people/detail.html?breadcrumb=568edbf44d9b6ff125f3e25b&accdID=0214813 ArtCenter College of Design teacher profile] {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poster, Steven}} Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American cinematographers Category:ArtCenter College of Design alumni Category:ArtCenter College of Design faculty Category:Southern Illinois University alumni Category:People from Chicago Category:Illinois Institute of Technology alumni