Speaking With An Oscar Winner
Updated: Aug 28
Filmmaker James Cunningham with Academy Award-Winner John Seale AM ACS ASC
In a conversation recorded in Sydney in 2017, Australian filmmaker with Presidential Productions and former editor of Australian Cinematographer Magazine, James Cunningham, interviews Academy Award-winning cinematographer John Seale AM ACS ASC for Videocraft Australia’s Broadcast Brains series, supported by Australian Cinematographers Society.
The full interview is now available for audiences and industry professionals around the world. Seale, one of Australia’s most revered visual artists whose distinguished career spans critically acclaimed and blockbuster films such as Rain Man (1988) and Dead Poets Society (1989), The English Patient (1996) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and shared rare insights into the craft of cinematography and the art of visual storytelling.
The Broadcast Brains series — produced by Videocraft Australia to explore the technical and creative minds behind screen production — invited Cunningham to lead this conversation, recognising his expertise as both an independent filmmaker and a former editor of the industry’s leading cinematography publication. Cunningham’s editorial tenure at Australian Cinematographer Magazine gave him a unique perspective on the evolving role of cinematography and its practitioners, making him an ideal interlocutor for Seale.
The interview delves into Seale’s early career in Queensland and Australia, his collaborations with eminent directors, and his philosophy on the relationship between camera, light and narrative. Seale elaborated on how cinematography serves the story first, and the creative dialogue between director and director of photography — a topic watched closely by cinematographers and filmmakers alike.
For Cunningham, the experience represented a significant professional milestone: “Speaking with John Seale in depth about his work was not only an honour but a chance to bring the nuances of cinematographic artistry to a wider audience,” he said.
The interview is hosted by Videocraft Australia and can be viewed on YouTube as part of the Broadcast Brains playlist. The interview was recorded live at SMPTE 2017.
FEATURE INTERVIEW | Recorded live at SMPTE 2017
