BENJAMIN KASULKE

Born: 30 May 1977, Syracuse, N.Y., USA, as Benjamin Francis Kasulke.

Education: Northfield Mount Hermon School, Mount Hermon, MA [1993-95]; Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y. [1995-99; BS in Cinema Production]; FAMU, Prague, Czech Republic [1997].

Career: Worked as taxi driver with Ithaca Dispatch [2000-01]. Became negative cutter with The Image Treasury, Seattle, Washington [1999-2005]. Began his shooting career working extensively with the dance film community in the Pacific Northwest and particularly with the Seattle based performance group '33 Fainting Spells'. While employed as the staff cinematographer for the Seattle based Film Company, he began running collaborations with award winning ﬁlmmakers Guy Maddin and Lynn Shelton. In 2011, he was invited by the Sundance Institute to join the Feature Film Director's Lab as a doph.

Ph music videos dir by Carlos Lopez, Nick Tamburra, Marie Losier, Lynn Shelton, Dayna Hanson, a.o.

Dir music videos.

Based in Seattle [part-time Seattleite and crucial component of many Northwest films], Los Angeles, and New York.

Awards: Slamdance FF 'KODAK Vision Award for Best Cinematography' [2006] & Toruń FF [Poland] Honorable Mention 'Best Cinematography' [2006] for 'We Go Way Back'; The Seattle Stranger 'Genius Award in Film' shortlist [2007]; Independent Spirit Award nom 'Best Cinematography' [2012] for 'The Off Hours'; Genius Award Film [by the Seattle weekly newspaper 'The Stranger'] [2013].

Twitter: Ben Kasulke

FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

[Right] with Guy Maddin - "Brand Upon the Brain!"

Photo by Adam L. Weintraub

2005	Brand Upon the Brain! [A Remembrance in 12 Chapters] [Guy Maddin] s8-to-35mm/b&w; + co-2ud
2005	We Go Way Back [Lynn Shelton] c
2006	Pose Down [Erika Yeomans] s16/c/V
2006	Walking to Werner [Linas Phillips] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)-to-35mm/c; doc/93m; cph: L. Phillips; addph: Dayna Hanson & Henry Mumford
2006	My Effortless Brilliance [Lynn Shelton] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; addph: Elie Goral & Lynn Shelton
2006	Nights and Weekends [Joe Swanberg & Greta Gerwig] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; cph: Matthias Grunsky
2007	Blood on the Flat Track: The Rise of the Rat City Roller Girls [Lainy Bagwell & Lacey Leavitt] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; doc/95m; co-addph; ph: L. Bagwell
2007	The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle [David Russo] c; 2uc (+ co-addph); ph: Neil Holcomb
2007	The Briefs [Lewis Smithingham] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; mus doc/70m; cph: L. Smithingham
2007	The One and Only Time [Michelle Witten] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c
2008	Merely Mouthpiece [Adam Sekular] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c
2008	Calamari Union (Remake) [Richard Lefebvre] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/b&w; remake of 'Calamari Union' (1984, Aki Kaurismäki; ph: Timo Salminen)
2008	97 Percent True [prod: Kate Elmore] ?/c/V; doc/51m; cph: Michael Isabell & Darren Wall; + interview; doc on the making of 'Brand Upon the Brain!' comm by The Criterion Collection
2008	Humpday [Lynn Shelton] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)-to-35mm/c; 2uc: Sean Porter & Megan Griffiths
2008	It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home [Kris Swanberg] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; + co-scrpl
*2009*	Sebastopol [Dan Gildark] announced in September and organizing a fundraising party, 'A Night in Seattle; A Shoot in Ukraine'; status unknown
2009	Wheedle's Groove [Jennifer Maas] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; mus doc/87m; cph: Sean Kirby & Ryan McMackin
2009	The Freebie [Katie Aselton] HD (Sony PMW-EX3)/c; 2uc: Jas Shelton
2009	Scouts Honor: Badge to the Bone [Jesse Bryan] RED/c
2009	The Lie [Joshua Leonard] RED/c; cph: Brigitta Csiki
2010	The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye [Marie Losier] HD (Sony HVR-Z1U) (interviews)+16mm (staged + fictional scenes)+s8 (archive)-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; doc/72m; HD & 16mm (Bolex; in 2008) ph; cph: M. Losier; prod 2006-2010
2010	The Off Hours [Megan Griffiths] HD (Canon EOS 5D)/c; 2uc: Nathan M. Miller; 'The Off Hours' was made on a budget so low, $35,000, as to qualify as no budget at all. Set in and around an all-night diner somewhere in Nowhereville, it is often very beautiful in contrast to the characters whose lives surround the restaurant. Relying entirely on the lowly Canon 5D Mark II, d.p. Benjamin Kasulke balances the night interiors to the coming dawn with a fine control. His shots are simple and eloquent, and the camera brings extraordinary performances to life. [Stephen Goldblatt, 'Variety', 2012]
2010	Vacationland [Jaime Hook] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c
2010	Keyhole [Guy Maddin] HD (Canon EOS 5D)-to-35mm/b&w-c
2010	The Catechism Cataclysm [Todd Rohal] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c
2010	Your Sister's Sister [Lynn Shelton] HD (Sony PMW-EX3)-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c
2010	Barrel of Love/A Love Story [Oleg Dubson] s16/b&w; 75m
2011	Treatment [Steven Schardt & Sean Nelson] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c
2011	The Dude [Jeff Feuerzeig] HD (Panasonic AG-AF100 + Panasonic GL-1)/c; doc/17m
2011	Safety Not Guaranteed [Colin Trevorrow] HD (Sony F3)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c
2011	Improvement Club [Dayna Hanson] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c; 2uc: Jacob Rosen; feature film tracing the fictional creation of Hanson's dance-driven rock musical 'Gloria's Cause' (2010)
2011	Pollywogs [Karl Jacob & T. Arthur Cottam] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c
2012	Touchy Feely [Lynn Shelton] c; 2uc: Nathan M. Miller
2013	Burt's Buzz [Jody Shapiro] c; doc/88m; co-addph; ph: Brian Jackson
2013	Laggies/Say When [Lynn Shelton] 35mm (+ digital)/c; aph: John Trapman
2013	My Last Year with the Nuns [Bret Fetzer] HD/c
2013	Land Ho! [Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens] HD/c; 2uc; ph: Andrew Reed; + small part
2014	The Forbidden Room [Guy Maddin & Evan Johnson] HD (Canon EOS 5D + Sony PMW-F3)-to-digital/b&w-c; 130m; ph Paris; ph Canada: Stéphanie Weber Biron; see Short Films ('Spiritismes', 2012)
2015	Dreamland/MF [Robert Schwartzman] HD (scope)/c; 2uc: Michael Rizzi
2015	Cold November [Karl Jacob] HD (Canon EOS C300)/c

SHORT FILMS
2002	Tribute to Jean-Luc Godard [Gaelen Hanson & Dayna Hanson (33 Fainting Spells)] v/c; dance film/4m
2002	Entry [Gaelen Hanson & Dayna Hanson (33 Fainting Spells)] 16mm/c; dance film/5m
2004	To Wander [Andrew Warren] 16mm/c; 8m
2004	EBE-4 [Dayna Hanson & Linas Phillips] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; dance film/6m
2004	The Down and Derby/Roller Derby and You! [Michelle M. Witten] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; 8m
2005	The Golden Leaf [Ksenia Oustiougova] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A/c; ?m; unreleased?
2006	Number 5ive [Al'n Duong] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; dance film/8m
2006	If & When [Dayna Hanson] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; 12m
2006	Holding This for You [Marissa Niederhauser] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; dance film/20m; '[Kasulke] really has a good eye for following movement, and a really good instinct as to where energy is going to travel in the body next. A lot of camera people, when they follow dance, will kind of back up, to try to get the whole picture - which you totally need sometimes! But he's also really good at just being able to follow the energy line.' [Marissa Niederhauser]
2007	Third Days Child [S.J. Chiro] s16/c; 10m
*2007*	Kisses [?] ?; unreleased
*2007*	Berlin [?] ?; unreleased
2007	Gold [Mark Mattson] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; 15m
2007	Alchemy of the Oracles [Karn Junkinsmith] 16mm/b&w; dance film/8m
2007	Crustväska [Benjamin Kasulke] mdv (Panasonic AG-DVX100A)/c; 6m; + prod/co-scrpl/ed; comm by the Slamdance Film Festival
2007	Left and Leaving [Jessie Smith] s8-to-?/c; exp dance film/9m
2008	Interpretive Site: Kosmos [Karn Junkinsmith & Adam Sekuler] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c; 6m
2008	CC 2010 [Travis Senger] HD (Panasonic Varicam)/b&w; 12m
2008	Eros [Megan Griffiths] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c; 3m
2008	The Unquiet American [Senhain Kashegi] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; 3m
2008	Parts Don't Work [Kt Niehoff] RED/c; dance film/8m; + prod
2008	Tracings [Marissa Niederhauser] s16/c; dance film/16m
2009	Glorious [Guy Maddin] 16mm/b&w; 12m; part of the musical composition 'No. 43 (Glorious)' for chamber ensemble and film by composer Richard Ayres
2009	Improvement Club [Dayna Hanson] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c; dance film/5m
2009	Night Mayor [Guy Maddin] s8+16mm/b&w; 14m; prod National Film Board of Canada
2009	A Water Tale [SJ Chiro] RED/c; 6m
2009	One Shot Film [Barry Jenkins] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; 6m; part of Northwest Film Forum's 'One-Shot' films project
2009	Interpretive Site: Hanford Reach [Karn Junkinsmith & Adam Sekuler] HD (Canon EOS 5D)/c; 8m; a 'one-shot' dance film (2nd shot after the end titles)
2009	One Two [Curtis Taylor] HD (Sony PMW-EX3)/c; 5m
2009	Fallout [Ben Rekhi] HD (Sony PMW-EX3)/b&w; 13m
2009	Crashing Waves [Britta Johnson] HD (Canon EOS 5D)/c; 7m (stop-motion anim + time lapse ph)
2009	Self [Oleg Dubson] s16/b&w; 20m
2009	One Shot Film [Lisandro Alonso] s16/c; 11m; part of Northwest Film Forum's 'One-Shot' films project
2010	Photo Booth [Timothy Watkins] 35mm scope/c; 18m
2010	Night Falls on Jack and Cleo [Karn Junkinsmith] s16/b&w; 20m; + small part
2010	Lovecraft [Benjamin Kasulke] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c; 6m
2011	The Epiphany [S.J. Chiro] 35mm scope/c; 10m
2011	Focus Woman [Kanako Wynkoop] HD (Canon EOS 7D)/c; 8m
2011	Straight Hustle [Joshua & Bennie Safdie] s16/c; 7m; part of Northwest Film Forum's 'One-Shot' films project
2011	Matt [Oliver Caxe] s16/c; 11m
2012	Spiritismes [Guy Maddin] art installation project (17 short films comm by the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France); the shorts were filmed in February/March in Paris in front of a live audience; in July 2013 a second project, 'Séances', was filmed in Montréal, Canada, by doph Stéphanie Weber Biron; these projects will eventually be transformed into a feature-length film; see Feature Films & Documentaries ('The Forbidden Room', 2014)
2012	Laser Blasters [T. Arthur Cottam] HD/c; 2m; ep film series 'Dirty Little Shorts'
2013	Rat Pack Rat [Todd Rohal] scope/c; 19m
2016	Skin [Jessica Makinson] c; 5m

TELEVISION & INTERNET
2007	What the Funny [Lynn Shelton] HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)/c; 11-part (x 10m) web series
2007	Home Wreckers [Grace Kahng] doc/?m/HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)
20??	Bought and Sold In America [Grace Kahng] doc/?m/HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)
2008	Young American Bodies [?] ?-part web series/HD (Panasonic AG-HVX200)
2009	5$ Cover - Seattle [Lynn Shelton] HD (Sony PMW-EX3)/c; footage will be edited for a 12-part series (aired on MTV), webisodes and a feature length film
2010	Mike Pham Profile [Dayna Hanson] item (4m) of May 2010 ep Seattle Channel series 'Art Zone'
2011	The Heart, She Holler [ep #1-6 dir by Vernon Chatman & John Lee] series/HD (Sony PMW-EX3), 2011-present; 1st season, 2011 (6 ep); for Adult Swim
2013	Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend [Seth Barrish] stand-up comedy special/75m/HD; for Netflix
2013	The Heart, She Holler [ep #7-20 dir by Vernon Chatman & John Lee] 2nd season, 2013 (14 ep); see 2011
2013	Review [ep #1-9 dir by Jeffrey Blitz] 22-part series/RED Epic, 2014-17; 1st season, 2014 (9 ep); for Comedy Central
2014	Married [ep #2-10 dir by various] 23-part series/HD, 2014-15; 1st season, 2014 (10 ep); other ph (pilot): David Lanzenberg; for FX Networks
2014	The Heart, She Holler [ep #21-28 dir by Vernon Chatman & John Lee] 3rd season, 2014 (8 ep); see 2011
2015	Isabella Rossellini's Green Porno Live! [Jody Shapiro & (uncred) Tommaso Rossellini] doc/66m; uncred cph: T. Rossellini; add camera: J. Shapiro, Mia Barker, a.o.
2015	Review [ep #10-19 dir by Jeffrey Blitz] 2nd season, 2015 (10 ep); see 2013
2015	Red Oaks [9 ep dir by various] series/HD, 2014-present; 1st season, 2015 (10 ep); other ph: Tim Orr (pilot, 2014); for Amazon Instant Video
2016	M.O.P.Z. [Todd Rohal] tvm/11m (fast-forward film; c. 30m if played at normal speed)/HD; + co-scrpl; for Adult Swim
2016	Red Oaks [10 ep dir by various] 2nd season, 2016 (10 ep); see 2015
2016	Trial & Error [pilot 'Chapter 1: A Big Crime in a Small Town' dir by Jeffrey Blitz] series, 2017-present; 1st season, 2017 (13 ep); other ph: John Tanzer; for NBC-tv
2016	The Suplex Duplex Complex [Todd Rohal] tvm/11m; for Adult Swim
2016	Mike Birbiglia: Thank God for Jokes [Seth Barrish & M. Birbiglia] stand-up comedy special/70m; filmed 4 & 5 November (Harvey Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York); for Netflix
2017	There's... Johnny! [various] 8-part series/HD (ARRI ALEXA), 2017; for Seeso-tv

MISCELLANEOUS
1998	Torque [dir; short/4m/16mm] ph: Adam Broomfield; prod Ithaca College Department of Cinema and Photography
1998	Attention Shoppers [Philip Charles MacKenzie] intern; ph: Geary McLeod
1999	Sediment [dir; short/5m/16mm] ph: Sarah Mahle Drabnik; prod Ithaca College Department of Cinema and Photography
2005	Bloody Mary [Richard Valentine] gaffer; ph: Bill Summers
2006	Son of Terror [Antony De Gennaro] lighting cons; ph: Ben Niles; filmed 2006-08
2006	We Never Like Talking About the End [Dayna Hanson] music/dance perf; ph video inserts
2007	Metropole [Brian Ganter & Stephanie Skourtes; doc] co-gaffer; ph: Roy Wilson
2007	Crustväska [dir; + prod/co-scrpl/ph/ed] see Short Films
2010	Lovecraft [dir; + ph] see Short Films
2012	Jimmy P. - Psychothérapie d'un Indien des Plaines/Jimmy P. - Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian [Arnaud Desplechin] c.op 'b' cam (Montana); ph: Stéphane Fontaine