The Cinematography Podcast Episode 225: Daniel Stilling

With five different projects set to come out this year, Danish cinematographer Dan Stilling, DFF is finding fulfillment and pleasure in his career path. He's learned that even when working with a larger budget, you can figure out how to get the best out of very little with the right people and the right gear.

As a teen, Dan played in a band and began to learn sound engineering. He got a job at a local TV station in Denmark as a sound technician and was inspired to become a Steadicam operator. After his training, Dan worked on a variety of TV shows. His first big break was working on the medical comedy Scrubs. He then transitioned from Steadicam operator to director of photography, which has informed Dan's style as a DP for framing shots. Over the years, Dan has explored many different genres: documentary, commercials, reality television, dramas, and comedies. He's found that as a cinematographer, you are asked for your opinion a thousand times a day, so it's important to have an informed opinion on everything you're responsible for.

Dan was a huge fan of Andy Weir's book, The Martian. Once the movie started shooting, he was thrilled to be hired as the second unit DP. Additional photography in The Martian included footage of of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. Dan shot the launch of the Orion capsule and all the background plates at Kennedy, including a beautiful time lapse of the sunrise at Cape Canaveral.

Dan's film, Valiant One, shot in Vancouver and releases later this year.

Find Dan Stilling: Instagram: @dan_stilling_dff

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Close Focus: A huge comeback from the summer slump! This weekend's box office was the third largest of all time, saved by Barbenheimer. Barbie made $165 million in the U.S. while Oppenheimer made $80 million.

Illya's short end: Illya had a chance to watch the series Command Z the 8 episode sci-fi web series by Steven Soderbergh, released on his website. It includes lots of suggested reading, movies and documentaries to watch about climate change.

The Case Cart is a hard case and production cart all in one. The large HPRC case has telescoping steel poles and wheels that can come off, with enough space to store a camera or a drone kit. Now available at Hot Rod Cameras.

Ben's short end: A recent episode of the podcast The Business with Kim Masters featured an interview with VFX expert Mike Seymour who discussed the need for guardrails and regulations to protect artists.

Listen to Ben's new horror series

The Martian, Valiant One cinematographer Dan Stilling, DFF

The Cinematography Podcast