NEWS   OCTOBER 24, 2025 Claudia Raschke Welcomed as New ASC Member The cinematographer’s documentary feature credits include Julia, Fauci, RBG and Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution.

Claudia Raschke, ASC grew up as a dancer in Germany before pursuing a remarkable career in cinematography… When Claudia Raschke moved to New York in the ’80s, the plan was to pursue dance and find love (against her mother’s better judgment). She did even better. About a year after her move, while sitting at a restaurant downtown sifting through photographs to send home to her family in Germany, the bartender interrupted Raschke to ask if she’d ever thought about cinematography. She’d never heard of it.

Of course, cinematography soon became her world. Raschke has now shot several Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning films, including RBG, Julia, Fauci, My Name Is Pauli Murray, and the recent Kevin Costner series The West, to name a few. Canon USA chose her to be the first among six cinematographers to be part of the Explorer of Light program in 2023. Just last week, she was officially welcomed into the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

Canon Adds Six Visionary Filmmakers to Explorers of Light Program to Inspire the Next Generation of Video Professionals. For nearly three decades, the Explorers of Light program has brought together a roster of distinguished photographers to inspire, teach, and collaborate with visual artists and content creators of all skill levels.

THESE INCREDIBLE WOMEN IN PRODUCTION ARE BLAZING THE TRAIL FOR OTHERS IN THE INDUSTRY. Claudia Raschke was born in one of the largest European ports near the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. Throughout her childhood the chain of movie theaters owned by her mother brought Claudia into the world of film. She is a founding member of the NYC Kamera Kollektiv…

Sometimes you go to a place and embrace what that location is all about. You find a beautiful angle that is suitable for your character. Hopefully the background emulates something that the character also is talking about, or brings to the conversation. When you stylize something, you might try to shadow the light in certain parts of the scene so it doesn’t interfere with the story.

I believe that filming intuitively, honestly and without inhibition is a journey that requires compassion and the ability to sense what lies beneath the surface, especially for social justice documentaries.

…The most memorable moment for me was entering the Schlesinger Library archives. It wasn’t because of any big technical challenge but because hidden away from sight, locked in a dim basement vault were these incredible historic gems. With the Canon C300 mark ii and a Cine Prime 35mm on the Ronin 2 rig I was able to capture a sense of being boxed up and forgotten in these narrow aisles of the archive. But there it was, this wealth of Pauli Murray’s life achievements.

…To develop a cinematic look based on the unpredictable made me think about similarities locations might offer. I thought that maybe by selecting certain compositional elements, adding lighting finesse, and a painterly depth of field, it might create the right unifying framework for the interviews. I chose a naturalistic lighting approach and incorporated a spacious background with windows for each interview whenever possible.

Now that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have nominated the documentary “RBG” for an Oscar for Best Documentary now might be a great time to share this ART OF THE SHOT interview with the cinematographer who shot “RBG” Claudia Raschke. Like most ART OF THE SHOT interviews, Claudia and I talked over the phone. This is a transcription of our conversation.