PRODUCTION WICKED
C inematographer Alice Brooks has just walked out of our interview. Thankfully, the move is motivated by kindness and she soon returns. When she does, she is clutching a black & white feather in a frame. This piece of plumage, it transpires, is at least 30 years old and – as the frame attests – holds some significance. For our purposes, its story begins on a beach in Santa Monica, California, when
Brooks was 15 years old. She was an actress at the time and, earlier that day, had completed her seventh audition for the film While You Were Sleeping . “In my heart, I knew I wasn’t getting the job,” she recalls. “To shake it off, my mum took me for a walk and I told her my dream – I didn’t want to be an actor anymore, I wanted to be a cinematographer.” As soon as she articulated her dream – to both her mother and the universe –
Brooks spotted a beautiful black & white feather nestled in the sand. “I picked it up and made the commitment,” she says, “knowing there was a long road ahead.” The road has been long but has reached lofty heights, carrying Brooks from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts to the DOP’s chair on numerous shows and movies. This includes several high-profile musicals with director and college friend Jon M Chu, such as TV show The LXD as
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