# Alice Brooks

Alice Brooks is an American cinematographer best known for her work on feature films, particularly the film adaptations of the stage musicals Wicked (2024), Tick, Tick ... Boom! (2021), and In the Heights (2021).

## Early life

Brooks grew up in Los Angeles and New York, the daughter of Candace Coulston of South Bristol, ME, and Stephen Levi, the late playwright who had numerous plays published by New York publishing company Samuel French. As a child, she acted in various national television commercial spots and was in a recurring skit on Late Night With David Letterman. Brooks graduated USC School of Cinematic Arts magna cum laude in 2001.

## Career

Her work includes In the Heights, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway production directed by Jon M. Chu, which received widespread critical acclaim for its cinematography; and Tick, Tick... Boom!, Miranda's directorial debut starring Andrew Garfield and produced by Ron Howard, based on the stage show by Jonathan Larson.
Brooks collaborates with Chu frequently; prior to In The Heights, the two worked together on The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers in 2011, Jem and the Holograms in 2015 and Home Before Dark, Apple TV+'s 2020 crime-drama series. She will work again with Chu on the two-part film adaptation of Stephan Schwartz's Broadway musical Wicked for Universal Pictures. The first part was released in November 2024.
Her work on The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion from directors Farah X and Lisa Cortés premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and went on to win awards from Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, Napa Valley Film Festival and the Sidewalk Film Festival. Her work has been featured on the cover of ICG Magazine Brooks also worked on 2021's Queen Bees, director Michael Lembeck's comedy-drama starring Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, and James Caan.

## Accolades

In 2004, Brooks was nominated and awarded WorldFest-Houston's Independent Short Subject-Films & Video - Cinematography - Shorts Platinum Award for her work on Charlie 2.0, Matthew Hsu's comedy short. In 2024, she and gaffer Dave Smith became the first recipients of the SUMOLIGHT Creative Synergy Award at the 2024 Manaki Brothers Film Festival for their work on Wicked.

## Personal life

She has been married to Samuel Spencer since September 8, 2012.

## Filmography
### Film

Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2006 | Monday | Heidi Van Lier | |
| 2006 | Ten 'til Noon | Scott Storm | |
| 2006 | You Did What? | Jeff Morris | |
| 2006 | Grand Junction | Freddy F. Hakimi | |
| 2007 | A Light for Greytowers | Robin Saex Garbose | |
| 2008 | Mulligans | Chip Hale | |
| 2009 | Hungry Years | Eva James Isaak James | |
| 2010 | American Flyer | Mark L. Christensen | |
| 2011 | Lucid Possession | Toni Dove | |
| 2015 | Sweethearts of the Gridiron | Chip Hale | |
| 2015 | Apparition | Quinn Saunders | |
| 2015 | Jem and the Holograms | Jon M. Chu | |
| 2016 | Dance Camp | Bert and Bertie | |
| 2016 | Girl Flu. | Dorie Barton | |
| 2016 | North by El Norte | Mark L. Christensen | |
| 2016 | One Fall | Marcus Dean Fuller | |
| 2016 | We Love You | Huck Botko | |
| 2018 | Alex & Me | Eric Champnella | |
| 2018 | Emma | Tim Kashani Kent Nicholson | |
| 2021 | In the Heights | Jon M. Chu | |
| 2021 | Queen Bees | Michael Lembeck | |
| 2021 | Tick, Tick... Boom! | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Cinematography |
| 2024 | Wicked | Jon M. Chu | Shot back-to-back |
| 2025 | Wicked: For Good | Jon M. Chu | Shot back-to-back |
Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Director |
| 2004 | The Hillz | Saran Barnun |
| 2006 | Bit Parts | Dave Reda |
Documentary film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2010 | Design Revolution | Sally Levi | |
| 2019 | The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion | Farah X Lisa Cortés | With Nausheen Dadabhoy and Jendra Jarnagin |

### Television

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2010 | Wainy Days | David Wain | Episode "Donna" |
| 2010-2011 | The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers | Jon M. Chu Scott Speer Ryan Landels Charles Oliver Christopher Scott | 21 episodes |
| 2012 | S2udio City | Christopher Scott Herself Jamal Sims | 15 episodes |
| 2013 | Tainted Love | Avi Youabian | All 6 episodes |
| 2015 | The Kennedy Files | | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: War Within the Cartel | Avi Youabian | TV short |
| 2017 | The Walking Dead: Red Machete | Avi Youabian | 6 episodes |
| 2020 | Home Before Dark | Jon M. Chu Kat Candler | 4 episodes |