The American Society of Cinematographers has welcomed Nikolaus Summerer as a new member.
With credits including Color Book, The Prince and an episode of Dune: Prophecy, the cinematographer has already had a varied career.
Beginning his journey with an internship at Arri Rental in Munich, Summerer was assigned to serve as a lighting technician intern on a TV series before becoming a loader and 2nd AC in the show’s second season.
He then enrolled at the University of Television and Film Munich when it began offering a cinematography concentration, shooting many short films and striking a connection with directing student Baran bo Odar, with whom he has since become a regular collaborator.
They have partnered on features Unter der Sonne, The Silence and Who Am I, as well as Netflix series Dark and 1899.
Summerer has received Camerimage Golden Frog nominations for Dark and 1899, and won the Slamdance Kodak Vision Award for Unter der Sonne and a German Camera Award for Who Am I.
Speaking of his inspiration to pursue filmmaking, Summerer shared with American Cinematographer that he was “completely changed” by a viewing of The Shining when he was a teenager.
“I was so struck by the artful composition of images and the camera movements that from that moment on, I watched movies differently and paid more attention to the craft of filmmaking, especially the cinematography.”
