The Hollywood Journey
She moved to Hollywood in 1983, and her first job in the industry was in the Warner Bros. archives, trimming deteriorated footage from vintage silver-nitrate prints. That led to work as an assistant editor, and she worked in post-production for four years, becoming a member of the Editors Guild. “It’s funny now, looking back and seeing connections between different steps in my career, as if there were some kind of a plan or I had control of the situation,” she says.
In 1987, with the help of producer John Wells, Vincent interned in the camera department for Stephen M. Katz, ASC, eventually becoming a loader and a member of the International Cinematographers Guild. “Being an assistant editor prepared me to be a good camera assistant, and I moved my way up in an old-fashioned, traditional, union way. That experience afforded me the privilege of working under some exceptional people I learned so much from, including ASC members Robert Richardson, John Lindley, Emmanuel Lubezki and Dariusz Wolski.
“I realize now how fortunate I was in my timing,” she adds, noting that she feels lucky to have come up in the photochemical era, as it instilled a sense of discipline and intentionality. “All the cinematographers I worked for were on their individual journeys as well. When I worked with Wolski, it was the heyday of music videos, and we were working with incredible artists, experimenting on every project. With Bob Richardson, it was the period when he shot Natural Born Killers — it was all about extremes.
“Bill Pope was the cinematographer who gave me my first opportunity to pull focus. I went from 2nd AC to 1st [AC], and then on to operating. Those were incredible opportunities; operating for Bill on the feature Gridlock’d became my last operating job before shooting my debut feature as a cinematographer, Eve’s Bayou [1997].”
Written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, Eve’s Bayou was a creative breakthrough on many levels. In 2018, it was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It “started as a short film connected to a feature script,” Vincent recalls. “At the time, I was just done with shooting short films for free over weekends with borrowed equipment, but Kasi’s script was incredible, so I said yes. It took a few years to put together financing, but we finally shot the feature in rural Louisiana. And I credit Caldecot Chubb, the producer, for keeping Kasi and me together; he saw the way we collaborated on the short and became dedicated to maintaining our creative partnership.”
Vincent went on to photograph numerous commercials and music videos, as well as the features Jawbreaker, Some Girl, Way Past Cool, Freedom Song and Kin. She then reteamed with Lemmons to shoot The Caveman’s Valentine (AC April ’01), which opened the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
That same year, Vincent was honored with the Women in Film Kodak Vision Award for outstanding achievements in cinematography and for collaborating with and encouraging women in the entertainment industry. “Some camera departments were closed by nepotism and sexism at times, making it difficult to learn and advance,” she says. “But I was fortunate to work with cinematographers like John Lindley, who initiated change in part with the staffing of his crews. John made me aspire higher to become the cinematographer and the human being I am today. In 2022, I had the honor of presenting the ASC Presidents Award to John with Rebecca Rhine,” who was then the National Executive Director of ICG, IATSE Local 600.
Vincent also credits 2018 Presidents Award honoree Stephen Lighthill, ASC and honorary Society member Larry Mole Parker as key inspirations and supporters not only in her career, but in her own work as a mentor. “Together with John, Stephen and Larry helped me realize the value of being a mentor and educator, and, in fact, that it has equal value as being a cinematographer. Sharing wisdom and experience is the greatest gift we can give a young filmmaker.
“Another vital person in my journey was key grip Herb Ault. He took care of me — he was my brother, uncle, father and motorcycle mechanic. He was a best friend, and if you can only have one, it’s good if they’re a grip. Herb showed me the value of gratitude and service. He helped guide me into the sunlight of the spirit where I try to live each day in my life and my work.”
Vincent’s personal introduction to the ASC took place after a screening of her first anamorphic feature, Kin (2000), a love story directed by Elaine Proctor and filmed on location in the deserts of Namibia. She recalls, “I was at a screening of it during the Mill Valley Film Festival with my father. Suddenly, into the theater walked László Kovács [ASC]. He didn’t have a ticket, so I gave him mine, and he ended up sitting next to my dad while I watched from the projection booth. That alone was a trip, but after the screening, László found us in a restaurant. He asked me about my day-for-night work in the movie and began telling me about the ASC in front of my father.”
In 2002, Vincent was recommended for ASC membership by Lindley, Richard Crudo, Steven Poster and John Schwartzman. She became the sixth woman on the ASC roster, joining Judy Irola, Ellen Kuras, Brianne Murphy, Nancy Schreiber and Sandi Sissel. “There was only a handful of us,” remembers Vincent, adding with a laugh, “I can’t tell you how many times back then people called me Sandi, Nancy or Ellen.”
Connecting with Craig Brewer
Two years later, Vincent was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and she currently serves on its Science and Technology Council. That same year, former UCSC theater-department classmate Stephanie Allain, who had established herself as a producer, was seeking a cinematographer for a project financed by John Singleton, written and directed by Craig Brewer. “It was Stephanie who introduced me to Craig, and that changed my life,” Vincent says.
The project was Hustle & Flow (AC May ’05), which depicts the struggle of an aspiring Memphis rap artist. “It’s a film about the creative process and collaboration and how difficult that journey can be, which spoke to me,” she says. “This project was everything I was looking for, especially the working relationship with Craig.
“His writing — beginning with the monologue that opens the story — just transported me into another place. It was like a window opening, and that led to creating images. He is a great writer and has a firm voice as a director, and he had shot his first feature, The Poor & Hungry, himself, so he knew something about cinematography, but he let me handle the camerawork. He trusted in me, and that was everything.
“We bonded over the still photography of Birney Imes and William Eggleston, and that was the kickoff. Craig liked to maintain a certain technical naïveté when it came to the photographic process, leaving that in my hands. He never disempowered himself; he empowered me. That comes from a place of confidence.”
Vincent won the Sundance Film Festival Award for Excellence in Cinematography in a Drama for her work on Hustle & Flow. She and Brewer went on to make the features Black Snake Moan (2006), also a creative reunion with Allain and Singleton, and the 2011 remake of Footloose. “I’m hoping to get the chance to shoot another movie with Craig because that level of collaboration is rare,” she says. “It’s on my double-bucket list.”
In a sense, she seeks to “fall in love with my directors not in a romantic way, but in an emotional sense, where I would do anything to support their vision.” Most recently, she found that with Indian filmmaker Roshan Sethi, for whom she shot the romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy. “He’s 32 years younger than me, a practicing oncologist, and we just immediately meshed through a shared work ethic and dedication to the joy of filmmaking. And that’s what I look for in any director.”
The film will have its world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.
In addition to her feature credits, Vincent has shot episodes of numerous television shows, including Upload, Eastbound & Down, Wayward Pines, Downward Dog, Legion, Justified: City Primeval and the new AMC drama Parish.
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