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The Descent: Beneath the Scenes
2005 · Documentary
Sam McCurdy, ASC, BSC, is a British director of photography. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, McCurdy studied fine art and photography before being drawn to motion pictures, initially shooting short films and music videos during his college years and working his way up through the camera ranks at Pinewood Studios and beyond. His early collaborations with director Neil Marshall on genre projects such as Killing Time (1998), Combat (1999), Dog Soldiers (2002), The Descent (2005) and Doomsday (2008).
McCurdy's work in television began in the early 2000s and includes contributions to British series such as Wire in the Blood (2006–2008), Merlin (2011–2012), Last Tango in Halifax (2012) and Fresh Meat (2012). He gained wider international recognition with his cinematography on the Game of Thrones (2011) episode "Blackwater," which earned him nominations from the British Society of Cinematographers and the Best Cinematography Award for Television Drama, as well as recognition from the Online Film & Television Association alongside his fellow cinematographers on the series.
Throughout the late 2010s and into the 2020s, McCurdy contributed significantly to high‑profile television productions, including Lost in Space (2018–2021), for which he shot the pilot and many subsequent episodes, Into the Badlands (2015–2019), Pennyworth (2019), Carnival Row (2019, 2023) and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023). His work on the critically acclaimed FX/Hulu series Shōgun (2024) was particularly celebrated; McCurdy shot multiple episodes including "Crimson Sky," and received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour), the American Society of Cinematographers' Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in an Episode of a One‑Hour Series, and nominations from the British Society of Cinematographers for his camera work on that episode.
In addition to his television work, McCurdy's feature film cinematography encompasses projects such as A United Kingdom (2016) and a range of genre films, including The Legend of Hercules (2014) and Knights of Badassdom (2013). He has also worked on documentary and special-format projects, including Le Mans: 3D (2017) and the miniseries Le Mans: Racing Is Everything (2017). He has been a member of the British Society of Cinematographers since 2009 and of the American Society of Cinematographers since his invitation to join.
In his professional pursuits, McCurdy has discussed the role of the cinematographer as shaping visual storytelling through lighting, camera movement and collaboration with directors and crews, drawing on a broad range of influences and experiences across the mediums of film and television.
