The acclaimed cinematographer, Roger Deakins, has been knighted for his cinematography achievements and contribution, in the Queen’s New Year Honors list as the British monarch celebrated the careers of behind the scenes talent in the film and TV industry.

An honor for the cinematography world

A Knight is a title granted by a head of state. Roger Deakins, one of the most acclaimed cinematographers, has been knighted in the Queen’s New Year Honors list as the British monarch celebrated the careers of behind the scenes talent in the film and TV industry. Deakins is an esteemed member of the BSC, and was honored with the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and has earned 16 ASC Award nominations for his feature work, winning for The Shawshank Redemption, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Skyfall, Blade Runner 2049 and 1917. Deakins has won the Academy Awards’ Best Cinematography category in 1917 (2019), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). The Knight title locates Deakins in a prestige list among others like Rod Stewart, Patrick Stewart, Mick Jagger, Roger Moore, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Ben Kingsley, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellan, Charlie Chaplin and more.

Roger Deakins: Y.M.Cinema articles

For those who are eager to learn more about Deakins and his insights regarding cinematography and filmmaking, here’s a list of articles we wrote. Feel free to dive in:

• Roger Deakins Explains the Cinematography Challenges Behind 1917
• Roger Deakins Summarizes the Making of 1917
• Team Deakins Interviews Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema
• Large Format Cinematography: Roger Deakins Talks About the ALEXA Mini LF
• 1917 Movie Review: One (Too) Long (Boring) Take in an Overrated Film

That articles focus mainly on his last winning film, 1917, as a case study for Deakins’ artistic approach.

Furthermore, we highly recommend you to listen to the Team Deakins podcast which is an educational gem that deals with filmmaking and cinematography, by interviewing industry experts. Web address: https://teamdeakins.libsyn.com/

Final thoughts

The Knight title is an important achievement for those behind the scenes talents and artists. It’s a sign of recognition of their hard work on a movie set. At the beginning of his career, Deakins was denied from The National Film and Television School (NFTS) as his photography was considered not “filmic” enough. Well, you all know the rest of the story. Today, Deakins (71) is one of the most important and influential DPs in our industry.