Telling a story on film isn’t just about recording the action. It’s also about how the images are captured, and on a movie set, that’s the job of the Director of Photography — also known as the cinematographer. Good cinematography helps the director set the overall mood of a film by creating a visual narrative for audiences to follow.

Sometimes, the cinematographer transports audiences into outer space or imaginary worlds. Sometimes the cinematographer takes the audience behind the closed doors of a family drama or historical event. From black-and-white to color — the visual style of cinematography has changed over the years, and each year one Director of Photography is honored with an Academy Award.

To see just how much the medium of cinema has changed in half a century, YouTube channel @vgcuts created highlight video featuring clips from every Best Cinematography Oscar winner from 1967 through 2021. Take a look!

Another film and it’s DP will be added to this list when the 95th annual Academy Awards are handed out over the weekend. This year’s Best Cinematography nominees are:

• All Quiet on the Western Front — James Friend

• Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths — Darius Khondji

• Elvis — Mandy Walker

• Tár — Florian Hoffmeister

• Empire of Light — Roger Deakins

You can watch this year’s Oscar telecast on ABC lon Sunday, March 12, 2023.

Marena Bronson is an award-winning journalist, a life-long nerd, and the Editor-in-Chief of Fashion and Fandom. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.