Discover Top Documentary DPs in Bakersfield, California, USA

Never Dull Productions is a two-person team with a wealth of experience interviewing, scriptwriting, and video producing. We do it all -- research, write, shoot, edit, produce. An area of expertise is disabled sports. Footage shot by our company was used extensively in the A&E special on the Paralympic Games - hosted by Harry Smith and Joan Lunden. Our footage has appeared on CBS, A&E, CNN, ESPN, WNET, Prime Sports and several international outlets. The United States Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee have used it to promote its athletes with disabilities. Our footage of the Los Angeles Marathon wheelchair racers was featured on www.ParalympicSport.TV in its ParaEmotion video magazine. We created the feature length documentary "Sled Shots" about the U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team (www.sledshots.net).  Other endeavors include projects for Actors' Equity, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard Magazine, The Theatre Museum of New York, Discover Card, WSFS, First Book and The Delaware Bankers Association, among others. As journalists, our bylines have appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Make-Up Artist Magazine, New York Newsday, Mental_Floss, Premiere, The SF Chronicle -- and many more.

• Documentary DP

NATALIE SCHWAN is an award-winning commercial and narrative director and producer who is known for work that celebrates the vastness of the human condition, the journey of the overcomer, and the spirit of adventure. She has received multiple Telly Awards for directing and producing, produced Webby-nominated work, and recently won 2nd place in the She Directed Audience Awards Competition for her J.K. Rowling biopic short film Jo. In 2015, she launched her full service, award-winning production company Velocity Creatives, which creates commercial and narrative content that present stunning visual stories that inspire, challenge and excite. She has created work for brands including SONOS, Colgate and Goldman Sachs. Her heart is in travel and exploring, and you can often find her planning her next international adventure. She has worked on location for international jobs in Canada and China and enjoys the opportunity to work and travel. She is constantly drawn to historical narratives, and is set to direct her debut feature Rebel, an action packed film based on the true story of Deborah Sampson, the first female soldier in US history who disguised herself as a man and fought in the Revolutionary war. She is also developing a period era Ellis Island narrative series surrounding stories of immigrant children, a female-driven scripted anthology series that celebrates hidden histories of bold women, and a traveling docuseries focused on international cuisines.

• Creative Director
• Production Company
• Field Producer
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Line Producer / On-Location
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Executive Producer
• Full-Service Live Production

Good day! Thank you for your time and consideration. I live and love filmmaking, helping other filmmakers and finding stories to tell. My work experiences include but are not limited to: Shooting quality HD video and audio solo on set with my own equipment for online videos and docu-style projects, producing and managing crews for commercials, features, trailers,digital content, viral videos, web series and music videos. I am a Colorado native who in 2015 founded my company- Daymaker Productions located in Los Angeles, CA. Daymaker is an independent production company where Art, Innovation, Marketing, and Philanthropy meet in an effort to create quality content for positive social and community impact, marketing, and entertainment purposes. Prior to Daymaker Productions, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to help establish and launch another independent production company named Dream Factory Entertainment beginning in 2012. Since producing Dream Factory's first feature film titled She's With Me in 2013, I have produced a range of content and have been on production teams for various other companies, award shows, and independent projects. All six micro budget feature films my team and I produced at Dream Factory have been distributed domestically and/or internationally. I have a strong appreciation and passion for filmmaking, business and the performing arts.

• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Field Producer
• Production Company
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Production Assistant

To help bring awareness to issues, we believe it begins with trust. This begins with our relationship with our subjects. As a team, we are creative storytellers, but we also strive to understand the essence of the story. Everyone on the team needs to be knowledgeable to the subject and able to adapt to situations that occur during documentary work. If we want to create something that can have an impact, our subjects need to have trust in us. They also need to be informed on exactly what and why we are asking them to share their stories. Our expertise is being able to capture the essence of a person. To get these storytellers to share themselves. To share their highs and lows in the utmost detail. To then be able to share that to communities where emotion is at the forefront. Imagery doesn’t need words to tell a story, images should be able to speak for themselves. An image should strike people at their hearts, and then their brains. A story of any magnitude should incite meaningful conversations and have people question their own lives and values. This is what we always aim to do with our projects.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Drone Operator
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - News
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Fixer
• Production Company

Ben Dolenc is a filmmaker, director, and producer based out of Ventura, CA. After a career as an outdoor athlete in front of the lens, Ben jumped at a chance to move to Los Angeles and learn the world of broadcast Television. Producing over 16 television shows from Amerian Idol to Ax Men for networks like NBC, Discovery Channel and National Geographic he found his nitch creating content documenting complex characters like bush pilots, loggers, and fishermen. Ben opened the Bowsprit Company a small production company in 2010 that he directs commercials, short films, and branded content through. Clients have included Toyota, Lululemon, Red Bull, and Suzuki. In 2017 Wilshire Studios (NBC) tapped him to develop a television show around the New York Times best-selling book What Doesn't Kill Us. He is currently in production on a festival short film about two DIY land sailors who broke the 100 mph wind speed record mark in a garage engineered hand built land yacht named the Iron Duck.

• Production Company
• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Field Producer
• Drone Operator
• Fixer
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Production Assistant
• Creative Director

Gary Alvarez is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He graduated from Chapman University's Dodge College of Film with an M.F.A. in Film Production (Directing) in 2012. Since then he has been working professionally as a writer/producer/director. Born the youngest of three sons to working-class Mexican immigrants in Monterey Park, Gary was raised in the barrios of Bell. At 19 he enrolled in UC Berkeley’s Chicano Studies Program and studied abroad at UNAM before graduating in 2002, after which he returned to Los Angeles and taught for the subsequent 10 years. In 2004 Gary embarked on a journey that changed his career path and ultimately his life: he traveled across Mexico from Tijuana to Cozumel, penning a manuscript that was later adapted into a screenplay. Numerous screenwriting workshops and indie film sets later, he decided to transition into a career as writer/director. Gary’s passion is writing and directing narrative films as well as producing documentaries. With the series boom on Netflix and Amazon Prime, he added writing for television as a personal goal. Currently he is developing a new series, writing his next full-length screenplay and producing a feature documentary based on the Bell political corruption scandal of 2010. From 2015 to 2018, Gary taught screenwriting and film production to young filmmakers from underrepresented communities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties through the Latino Film Institute’s Youth Cinema Project. Since February 2016, Gary has been hosting an internet radio music show called Persistence of Sound every Wednesday evening from Espacio 1839 in Boyle Heights. His aim is to document the stories of local creatives through interviews via the show’s guest DJ segment Patched In.

• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Corporate Videographer
• Production Company
• Line Producer / On-Location
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Series Producer / Show Runner
• Production Coordinator / Crewing
• Creative Director
• Field Producer
• Production Assistant
• Translator
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Event Photographer
• Landscape Photographer
• Portrait Photographer
• Audio Storyteller

Andres Solorzano graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, with a bachelor's degree in Communications with a specialisation in Film Production. During this period, he worked for Red Bull's communications department, where he developed social media strategy and audiovisual content that was successfully replicated throughout Latin America. Upon graduation, he directed the first stereoscopic 3D television content in Mexico, the iconic off-road race Baja 1000 for Red Bull. He was also, a cinematographer for Vans, Henkel and Nat Geo, among many others. He has poured his passion to stories that try to positively shape and impact a different society ,working with native indigenous communities, immigrants, and social movements in North and South America. He has shot feature films, short films, documentaries, commercials, fashion films and music videos. His first full-length film as a cinematographer HUICHOLES: THE LAST PEYOTE GUARDIANS, won eleven different awards at international film festivals. Andres graduated from the American Film Institute (AFI), with a MFA in cinematography, class of 2016. He is actually based in LA.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
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• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial

I'm a videographer and photographer based in Southern California. I'm passionate about producing creative content and telling visual stories. My curiosity in diverse cultures led me to travel the world and ultimately pursue a bachelor’s degree in Visual Journalism from Brooks Institute. There, I was able to develop my storytelling techniques and to produce several stories on my own. My latest collaboration was with The Coalition Group working with film producers Johnny Wunder and Luisa Iskin. There I produced content for artists such as R&B singer JR Castro as well as singer and fashion/beauty blogger Jessi Malay. ​ My past experiences include working with Viralata Produções, one of the most creative production companies in Rio de Janeiro where I had the opportunity to contribute to content production for major Brazilian organizations. In the US, I worked with Interloper Films, the production company led by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner with whom I also worked as editor on the web series “A Total Disruption.” I was also involved as researcher for the TV series "Strangers in Danger" and "Next Stop For Charlie,” which were produced by the Hollywood production studio Mandt Brothers Productions. However, my true calling is being on the streets, unveiling the everyday stories people don't read in the newspapers or don't watch on the TV. Stories forgotten by the mainstream media. One of the most memorable moments in my career was a journalistic trip I made to Vietnam, where I had the opportunity to capture the horrific effects that Agent Orange still have in the Vietnamese population. The stories I like to hunt for range from severe human right issues, such as the one I told about Vietnam, to stories revealing slices of life and everyday victories within the community. I hunt for the unusual and for the injustices as well as for the beautiful and the creative within each culture.

• Documentary DP
• Sound Mixer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Production Assistant
• Translator
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist

Currently, I’m traveling the globe as a Segment Producer for National Geographic’s Uncharted with Gordon Ramsay, producing episodes in Norway, Mexico, Jamaica and Texas. Prior to this, I was a field AP for Discovery Channel’s Border Live, where I embedded with the Border Patrol and other local agencies along the US/Mexico Border. I was also the AP for National Geographic Studios’ Frontline: The United States Secret Service, the AP and researcher for Zero Point Zero's newest Netflix’s Original series, The Business of Drugs, and the Segment Producer for Returning the Favor with Mike Rowe, a Facebook Watch Original Series. I’m also a producer, editor and director of over 20 micro-documentaries that have generated hundreds of millions of views on Facebook and Youtube. I was nominated for a Webby Award in 2017, and have been showcased by the Video Consortium in DC. Previous micro-documentary clients include: Great Big Story, National Geographic, Copa90 and Elite Daily.

• Production Company
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Creative Director
• Fixer
• Field Producer
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary

is a director and cinematographer who hails from Brooklyn, NY and currently splits his time between Los Angeles, New York, and Paris. He graduated from NYU’s Tisch film program and is haunted by a long overdue college library fee he continually forgets to pay. His excuse for this is his ongoing engagement making commercial, narrative, and documentary films which has brought him across the globe to far-flung places such as Iraq and the Congo. Much of his work is steeped in mood and emotional resonance but he is known in some circles to have a deft hand at writing comedy. He is also 1st generation Chinese-American and rather opinionated in matters of art and food. Outside of commercial and documentary work he is developing several narrative feature scripts. His short, Black Ghost Son, was nominated for Best Narrative Short at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020. It is currently making its rounds on the festival circuit and being developed into a feature. Clients include: American Express, National Geographic, Tastemade, Columbia Sportswear, Chevrolet, NY Times, Bacardi, Budweiser, Playboy, Grey Goose Vodka, Snapchat, Timberland, Pepsi Co, Kraft, General Electric, and The US State Dept amongst others.

• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Non-Fiction Film Director

I'm an international filmmaker and gerontologist based in Southern California (OC/LA) with a passion for creating inspiring, beautiful, adventurous, and meaningful projects which can bring benefit to society. I have had the honor of producing, directing, shooting, and writing a nationally-televised sportsmanship campaign on Fox Sports Network, corporate training films for Merrill Lynch-Bank of America, and a promo film for an international USC research study, the Intergenerational Mobile Technology Opportunities Program. I have since engaged in various production and consulting projects, enabling me to collaborate with a variety of multidisciplinary professionals on an international scale. I have most recently been involved in the South African industry while also producing a short documentary series with U.S. NGOs in Uganda. I graduated from the University of Southern California in 2014 with a B.A. in Film & TV Production and an M.S. in Gerontology (Health, Sciences, Aging).

• Commercial DP
• Documentary DP
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• On-Air Reporter / Host
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Line Producer / On-Location
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• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Creative Director
• Drone Operator
• Field Producer

Award winning Filmmaker Kecia J.Benson is known for her creative and eclectic cinematic style. From Mount Vernon, NY, she landed her first freelancing gig on actress/director Azariah Gunn’s feature debut Spare Change. Soon after was introduced to guerrilla-style filmmaking and worked with profound directors like Spike Lee, Tim Story, Charles Stone III and productions like Sesame Street, Apollo Live, Gossip Girl, Red Hook Summer, Love and Hip Hop Hollywood, Broad City, and many more. In 2010, Benson debuted her first short film “Unidentified,” a suspenseful thriller about a mysterious man redefining himself. “Unidentified” was featured in 2011 at the Reel Sisters of Diaspora Film Festival. Beale Street Blues a short controversial documentary about struggling African-American blues artists in Memphis, TN was Kecia’s 2nd film that screened at BAM’s New Voices in Black Cinema. Kecia’s Latest and most talked about work Kenya’s Eyes is a dramatic and gritty film centered around a you

• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - News
• Fixer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Reporter / Journalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial

NORBERT SHIEH is a Taiwanese-American filmmaker and cinematographer based in Los Angeles. He has directed commissioned projects for KCET, The Autry Museum, European Capital of Culture, and Pacific Arts Movement. As a DP he has lensed projects for clients such as FOX Studios, Hulu, Wired Magazine, Siemens, CCTV, and JetBlue. His DP work includes filming Season Two of the KCET's documentary series “Lost LA.” The six episode season received three Emmy nominations, and won two awards. One for Adebukola Bodunrin’s episode featuring the Green Book, and another award "Outstanding Director" for Logan Kibens’s work throughout the season. Norbert has been a recipient of a Creative Capital Film/Video Award, and was recently part of True/False Film Fest’s inaugural year of PRISM, a program spotlighting BIPOC filmmakers. In 2019, Filmmaker Magazine named him as one of “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”

• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Corporate Videographer
• Non-Fiction Film Director

I am an award-winning, multi-faceted filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Over the past 20 years I have traveled from the remotest beaches of Indonesia and the Solomon Islands to the bustling red carpets of Hollywood, serving as Director, Producer, Cameraman, Editor, and Writer on a diverse series of documentaries and films. I am currently in production on a blue-chip film (as Writer/Director), The Hudson River: Journey Into The Wild, written and developed for Skyland Productions / RanFilms, (Austria), and co-funded by Smithsonian Channel and ARTE. My most recent films cover science and nature themes for National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA, U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, the Smithsonian Institute, as well as for NGO’s such as WWF, Wildcoast International, Ocean Ecology Network, ProNatura, and The Nature Conservancy. In Los Angeles, my work includes filming for Oprah Winfrey, Jon Peters, and John Goldstone; filming behind-the-scenes on feature films; editing actors’ promotional reels; creating social media content, and filming/producing/editing music videos. I also have extensive experience in creating corporate films.

• Documentary DP
• Production Company
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Line Producer / On-Location
• Field Producer
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Copywriter
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Fixer

Pat Shahabian is a Director of Photography and Camera Operator working locally in Los Angeles and New York specializing in documentary films. Pat has maintained a lifelong passion for story telling and the visual arts. An avid photographer and musician from an early age, Pat see's cinematography as an extension of his desire to tell stories in compelling and non-traditional ways. Pat has served as the Director of Photography for clients such as First We Feast, Google, PBS, Spotify, Vice News on HBO, The Economist, Burger King, The Player's Tribune, Vevo, Mass Appeal and many more. His work for First We Feast has been covered by the LA Times, screened at NY Food Film Festival, and earned a nomination for a James Beard Award in 2018. As a camera operator Pat has shot for TV shows such as Travel Channel's Mysteries at the Museum and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. Internationally Pat has worked in Romania, Argentina, Uruguay, France, Canada, and has shot in almost all 50 states. Pat is currently available for freelance assignments domestically and abroad.

• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Fixer

I'm a non-traditional creative talent who is as much an innovator as a creative. A hybrid video producer with ideation, shooting, editing, and motion graphic design skills. I produce branded video content, commercials, case studies, animatics and motion graphic driven storytelling for Advertising Agencies and Media Companies. I have hands on experience shooting and directing and adept with Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere and other Adobe CC software. I am also the founder of The Original iPhone Film Festival and iPhoneFilmMaker.com. The #1 destination for iPhoneFilmMakers to watch, learn and share their films. Our flagship event is The Original iPhone Film Festival established in 2010. I have presented and led talks on the topic of mobile filmmaking at Macworld, SXSW Interactive, and at Apple Stores in NYC.If you're interested in working together please feel free to contact me directly at x or x

• Creative Director
• Production Company
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Documentary DP
• Fixer
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Production Assistant
• Post-Production Manager
• Corporate Videographer
• Immersive/Spatial Video Capture

I have built a career in entertainment advertising and running creative departments at CBS, NBC and Fox. I have personally directed hundreds of celebrities and television actors in promo shoots. Since I have worked in and ran television networks’ marketing and promo departments, I know how to handle fast turnaround, be responsive to feedback, and have a solution-oriented approach to the issues at hand. Over the last several years, I have been producing video content for a variety of organizations and companies that cross over various business sectors including non-profit & community services, health care, education, technology, telecommunications and more. Some of my clients include Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Family & Children's Service, Saban Research Institute, Symantec, TelePacific Communications, American Jewish University and Jet Propulsion Lab. I wear the hats needed to get the job done - Creative Director, director, producer, writer, editor.

• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - News
• Field Producer
• Production Company
• Drone Operator
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Production Assistant

I’m an award-winning Producer who’s ready to contribute my leadership, fiscal management and creative skills. Whether producing complex digital, television and film projects, or bringing branded marketing initiatives to life, I’ve approached each aspect of my role as a producer with relentless curiosity, an ability to inspire the best work out of my team, and ability to align content with intended audiences. By effectively managing cross-functional teams and external vendors, I’ve played an integral role in delivering a diverse range of projects above expectations for high-profile clients including the BBC, National Geographic and Discovery Channel. I’m an expert at developing and tracking budgets and schedules, and implementing the daily controls needed to keep a production under budget and on time. I take care to continually update and expand my knowledge base and professional network, ensuring that I secure the most innovative technology and talented crew for my projects.

• Fixer
• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - Documentary

I have an insatiable appetite for storytelling. I co-founded in 2012, Beat the Streets Los Angeles, a nonprofit youth development organization. As Creative Director for this sports based org, I use film, photography and design to support our communication strategy. As often with nonprofits, we operate on a lean set of resources so I have become accustom to producing, shooting and editing our short documentaries, commercials and video articles solo while upholding an editorial standard. Outside of my role with Beat the Streets LA, I am a freelance filmmaker and photographer working with clientele from various industries including academic, real estate development and manufacturing. My expansive keenness for storytelling is founded in my architectural education where the investigative process is as much the reward as the end product, the building. Today though, I enjoy the shift to freelance work and a focus on storytelling where the narrative uncovers a place where people are central.

• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - News
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial

Since 2008 I have been working on independent films, mostly documentaries, and freelancing on digital media projects. I have a MFA in dramatic writing from New York University and a BA in English from Yale University. In February 2015 my documentary "The Rivalry: Red V. Blue" about the college basketball rivalry between the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky premiered on ESPN Classic and Kentucky Educational Television. Currently, I am finishing post on two docs: "Last of the Showmen" about Broadway entertainer Ben Vereen and "Boston Loud" about the Boston hardcore band TREE. My first documentary "Toxic Soup" was an environmental expose, which screened in the Atlanta Film Festival, the New Jersey Film Festival and the Twin Cities Film Festival, among others. "Toxic Soup" was broadcast on Free Speech TV, Explora TV, Ushuaia TV and Press TV. These documentaries are reflective of the kinds of stories that I hunt for: environmental, sports and music / arts.

• Documentary DP
• Sound Mixer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial