A cinematographers society frames AI as an assistive tool

The shot

The American Society of Cinematographers is a professional and honorary society, not a labor union; its AI position is expressed through committee structure, not bargained contract language. Its Motion Imaging Technology Council, known as MITC, includes a standing ASC MITC Artificial Intelligence Committee, and the society's own magazine, American Cinematographer, reported on the subcommittee's work on 11 March 2024 in a piece on a contemporaneous SMPTE report on AI and media.

What the documents show

The American Cinematographer article states the AI subcommittee, chaired by Michael Goi, ASC, "keeps an eye on the perils, possibilities, and latest developments in artificial intelligence and, if necessary, develops tools to aid cinematographers in its use," a mandate framed around assisting a cinematographer rather than generating imagery independent of one. MITC's own mission page, retrieved 16 September 2026, states the council's purpose is to "advise the ASC Membership about the challenging technology issues affecting cinematography" and influence "the convergence of these technologies with traditional motion picture techniques" while "emphasizing the cinematographer's contribution to the art form," language written for MITC generally, which the AI Committee sits inside. Goi calls the SMPTE report "a welcome addition from a reliable source," endorsing an outside technical report rather than claiming the society's own independent testing.

The workflow

As the mission page describes it, MITC's committees, camera, lens, lighting, workflow, and the AI Committee among them, study emerging tools and report findings to the membership as an advisory body, not a production department. The article notes the SMPTE report itself, produced with the European Broadcasting Union and the Entertainment Technology Center, covers "machine learning basics, the current impact of AI on the media industry, AI ethics, AI standards and opportunities, and datasets" across 41 pages, treated as reference input to MITC's advisory work rather than the society's own findings.

What the tool does not change

Neither document describes ASC issuing binding rules for members or productions; MITC's mission page states its role is to "advise the ASC Membership" and "influence the production community," not to enforce compliance. The article does not claim the AI Committee had, as of March 2024, published a separate statement of principles distinct from its general mandate; it points ahead to a special feature on AI planned for the magazine's July 2024 issue, which this note has not opened.

• Has the ASC's AI Committee since published findings or tools distinct from the general MITC mission this note describes?
• Does a given AI tool marketed to cinematographers fit MITC's stated aim of convergence with traditional technique, or does it operate independent of a camera?
• What did American Cinematographer's promised July 2024 AI feature report, and does it change the framing here?

As a professional society rather than a bargaining unit, the ASC's own materials describe its AI position through a standing technology committee whose mission is to advise cinematographers and shape how new tools fit camera-based technique, not to negotiate contract terms or certify any tool's use. That distinction, drawn from the society's own mission page and magazine, is worth preserving whenever committee work like this is described as a policy statement.