#1: "Tap Dreams" [2009]

#2: 1999

 

   


STEVEN POSTER   ASC/CSC

 

Born: 1 March 1944, Chicago, Illinois, USA, as Steven Barry Poster.

Education: Southern Illinois University [1962-64], Los Angeles Art Center College of Design [Still Photography; 1964-66]; Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago [BS in 1967].

Career: Was hired as a c.asst by 'The Film Group', a commercial film prod company in Chicago. He was noticed immediately because he knew how to light and was promoted to doph. He met dir Herschell Gordon Lewis and worked with him as c.asst, soundman and/or actor on 3 films ['We made feature films. They weren't porno's. They were horror or gore films. It was so low end that one of us was assigned every morning to go to the butcher shop and get liver and entrails that we used as gore props.']. He stayed in Chicago for almost 10 years and ph industrial films, doc's, commercials ['I got to work with people like Michael Mann, who started his career doing commercials. He had a company in Chicago, and I shot a number of commercials for his company and for him.'], educational and medical films. After joining the union he began getting work on various feature films shooting in the area. He worked as 2nd c.op, c.op and addph. Moved to Los Angeles in 1974 and primarily shot commercials at first.

Ph music videos: 'Like a Prayer' [1989; a: Madonna; d: Mary Lambert], a.o. Ph commercials dir by Patrice Leconte, Ridley Scott, Lol Creme, Kinka Usher, Jake Scott, Chris Carballo, Marty Weiss, Don Allen, a.o.

Also active as still ph with one person exhibitions in Albany, Atlanta, New York, etc.

Member of the ASC since 1987. Was also president of the ASC [2002-03]. Is national president of the International Cinematographers Guild [IATSE Local 600] [2006-].

Appeared in the doc's 'Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography' [1991], 'Donnie Darko: Production Diary' [2004; ph: Mike Hoy] & 'Cinematographer Style' [2005, Jon Fauer; ph: J. Fauer, Jeff Laszlo, Brian Heller & David Morgan].

Awards: As doph: ASC Award nom [1988] for 'Someone to Watch Over Me'; 'Emmy' Award nom [2006] for 'Mrs. Harris'.

As dir: Cannes FF 'Golden Palm' nom 'Best Short Film' [1974; shared] for 'Another Saturday Night'.

Website: Steven Poster


 FILMS

1974

Another Saturday Night [Mik Derks & Steven Poster] c; short/14m

1976

Close Encounters of the Third Kind [Steven Spielberg] p/c; 2uc; ph: Vilmos Zsigmond

1979

Blood Beach [Jeffrey Bloom] c

1980

Dead & Buried [Gary A. Sherman] c

1981

Blade Runner [Ridley Scott] p/c; co-addph; ph: Jordan Cronenweth

1981

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas [Colin Higgins] p/c; co-addph; ph: William Fraker

1982

Spring Break [Sean S. Cunningham] c

1982

[The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie:] Strange Brew [Dave Thomas & Rick Moranis] c; uwph: J. Barry Herron

1983

The River [Mark Rydell] c; co-2uc; ph: Vilmos Zsigmond

1984

The New Kids/Striking Back [Sean S. Cunningham] c

1984

Starman [John Carpenter] p/c; 2uc; ph: Donald M. Morgan; sfx ph: Michael McAlister

1984

Aloha Summer [Tommy Lee Wallace] c; addph: Johnny Jensen & Michael Hofstein; uwph: Tom Boyle, Bob Condon & Ron Condon; released 1988

1985

The Heavenly Kid [Cary Medoway] c

1985

The Boy Who Could Fly [Nick Castle] c; Poster was brought in about 6 weeks into filming; cph: Adam Holender; efx ph: Neil Krepela; vfx ph: Peter Romano; optical ph: Charles Cowles, Alan Harding & (superv) Mark Vargo

1985

American Anthem/Take It Easy [Albert Magnoli] c; addph; ph: Donald E. Thorin

1985

Blue City [Michelle Manning] c; addph: Ric Waite; 2uc: Donald M. Morgan & Egon Stephan

1985

Big Trouble in Little China [John Carpenter] p/c; 2uc; ph: Dean Cundey

1986

Someone to Watch Over Me [Ridley Scott] c; filmed 1986-87

1988

Big Top Pee-wee [Randal Kleiser] c

1988

Next of Kin [John Irvin] c

1989

Opportunity Knocks [Donald Petrie] c

1990

Rocky V [John G. Avildsen] c; addph: Victor Hammer

1990

Life Stinks/Life Sucks [Mel Brooks] c

1991

Pacific Coast Highway [?] HD/c; short/15m; a test-film for NHK-tv, Sony and Panavision

1992

The Cemetery Club/Looking for a Live One [Bill Duke] c

1995

The Crow: City of Angels/The Crow II [Tim Pope] c; addph; ph: Jean-Yves Escoffier

1996

Nunzio's Second Cousin [Tom DeCerchio] c; short/18m; seg of 'Boys Life 2' (4 seg; other ph: Steve Adcock, Marc Reshovsky & Jamie Silverstein)

1996

RocketMan [Stuart Gillard] c; miniature ph: Eric Swenson

1997

1 chance sur 2/Half a Chance [Patrice Leconte] p/c; 2uc: Jean-Claude Thibaut

1998

BASEketball [David Zucker] c; addph; ph: Steve Mason

1998

The Rage: Carrie 2 [Katt Shea & (uncred) Robert Mandel] b&w-c; 2uc; ph: Donald M. Morgan

1999

Mission to Mars [Brian De Palma] p/c; ph Jordan unit; ph: Stephen Burum

2000

Unbreakable [M. Night Shyamalan] p/c; 2uc; ph: Eduardo Serra

2000

Donnie Darko [Richard Kelly] p/c; uncred 2uc: Steve Gainer

2001

Stuart Little 2 [Rob Minkoff] c; 2uc New York: Tom Houghton

2001

The Oscar Legacy [David Haugland] ?; doc/?m

2002

Looney Tunes: Back in Action [Joe Dante] s35/c; addph; ph: Dean Cundey

2002

Daddy Day Care [Steve Carr] c

2004

Tap Heat [Dean Hargrove] s35-to-35mm/c; mus short/14m

2005

Southland Tales [Richard Kelly] s35/c; 2uc: David Stump

2006

Bill/Meet Bill [Melisa Wallack & Bernie Goldmann] HD-to-35mm (+ D-Cinema)/c; addph; ph: Peter Collister

2007

The Box [Richard Kelly] HD (Genesis)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Terrence Hayes; filmed 2007-08

2008

Spread [David Mackenzie] s35 (+ D-Cinema)/c; addph: Paolo Cascio

 

[Right] with dir Brad Peyton - "Cats & Dogs"

Photo by Kimberly French

 

2008

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore [Brad Peyton] 35mm (+ D-Cinema [also 3-D version])/c; 2uc: Roger Vernon

2010

Flypaper [Rob Minkoff] RED+HD (Canon EOS 7D)-to-35mm scope (+ D-Cinema)/c; 2uc: Yaron Levy

2011

Xelerate [Bill Duke] 3-D/c; short/3m; for Sony 3D Technology Center

2013

Rhythm of Life [Dean Hargrove] HD (Canon EOS C500)/c; short/3m; + co-exec prod; for Canon USA (Canon Digital Learning Center)

2014

Amityville: The Awakening/The Amityville Horror: The Lost Tapes [Franck Khalfoun] HD (Canon EOS C500 & C300 Mark II)/c; + reshoots in February 2016; released in 2017

 

 TELEVISION & INTERNET

1976

Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II [Lou Antonio, a.o.] 22-part series, 1976-77

1977

What Really Happened to the Class of '65? [ep #12 'Mr. Potential' dir by James Sheldon] 14-part series, 1977-78; other ph: Bernie Abramson, Fred Goodich, a.o.

1978

The Night Rider [Hy Averback] pilot; for ABC-tv

1978

The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank [Robert Day] tvm

1978

The Duke [2-part pilot 'Up Against the Odds' dir by Lawrence Doheny] 6-part series, 1979; for NBC-tv

1979

Mysterious Two/Follow Me If You Dare [Gary Sherman] pilot; for NBC-tv

1979

Beggerman, Thief [Lawrence Doheny] 2-part tvm

1981

Coward of the County [Dick Lowry] tvm

1982

The Cradle Will Fall [John L. Moxey] tvm

1983

Testament [Lynne Littman] tvm; addph: Charles Minsky; ep PBS-tv series 'American Playhouse'; also released theatrically

1986

Courage [Jeremy Paul Kagan] tvm

1986

Judith Krantz's I'll Take Manhattan [Richard Michaels & Douglas Hickox] 2-part tvm (1987); ph (London and New York): Larry Pizer

1987

Engineering Design: CAD 2 - Product Modelling Systems [John Simmons] doc/60m; cph: Graham Banks & Laurie Rush; for BBC-tv/Open University

1990

Shangri-La Plaza [Nick Castle] mus comedy pilot/24m; for CBS-tv (Special Presentation)

1992

The Bat, the Cat and the Penguin [John Pattyson & Mike Meadows] doc special (the making of 'Batman Returns')/22m

1993

Roswell [: The U.F.O. Cover-Up]/Incident at Roswell [Jeremy Paul Kagan] tvm; aph: John M. Stephens

1995

Present Tense, Past Perfect [Richard Dreyfuss] tvm/30m; also seg of comp 'Anything for Love' (Showtime-tv)

1995

A Midwife's Tale [Richard P. Rogers] docudrama/89m/16mm; cph: Peter Stein; addph: Tony Cucchiari & Robert Zimmerman; ep PBS-tv series 'American Experience'

1996

Once You Meet a Stranger [Tommy Lee Wallace] tvm

1997

Color of Justice [Jeremy Paul Kagan] tvm; aph: Donald Sweeney

2004

Mrs. Harris [Phyllis Nagy] tvm; uncred add c.op: Nancy Schreiber

2005

The Loop [pilot dir by Betty Thomas] 17-part series, 2006-07; 1st season, 2006; other ph: Michael A. Price & Jonathan West

2005

Briar & Graves [Michael Katleman] pilot; for FOX-tv

2006

The Danny Comden Project [Robert Duncan McNeill] tvm/30m

2006

Craft in America [ep #1 'Memory' dir by Nigel Noble, #2 'Landscape' dir by Daniel Seeger & #3 'Community' dir by Hilary Birmingham] 13-part doc series, 2007-14; (main) title ph; ph: Don Lenzer (#1 & 3), Peter Pilafian (#2) & Allan Palmer (#3); for PBS-tv

2008

Raising the Bar [pilot dir by Jesse Bocho] 25-part series, 2008-09; other ph: Rick Bota & Frank Perl

2009

Craft in America [ep #4 'Origins' dir by Nigel Noble & #5 'Process' dir by Daniel Seeger] (main) title ph; ph: Don Lenzer (#4) & Sidney Lubitsch (#5); see 2006

2009

Tap Dreams [Dean Hargrove] pilot/HD; for intended doc dance series

2010

The Miles Davis Documentary [Christopher Wilkinson] doc/90m/HD; addph: Paolo Cascio; for HBO-tv

2011

Craft in America [ep #6 'Messages' dir by (uncred) & #7 'Family' dir by Carol Sauvion] (main) title ph; ph: Sidney Lubitsch; see 2006

2012

Craft in America [ep #8 'Threads' dir by Carol Sauvion] (main) title ph; ph: Sidney Lubitsch; see 2006

2012

Hemlock Grove [pilot (ep #1) 'Jellyfish in the Sky' dir by Eli Roth] 33-part series/HD (Canon EOS C300 & 5D)-to-HD, 2013-15; 1st season, 2013 (13 ep); ph Pittsburgh unit: Michael Huss; aph: Patrick Longman; other ph: Fernando Arguelles; for Netflix

2013

Gutsy Frog [Mark A.Z. Dippé] pilot; for ?

 

 MISCELLANEOUS

1963

Blood Feast/Feast of Flesh [Herschell Gordon Lewis] uncred ?; ph: H.G. Lewis

1965

Monster A-Go Go/Terror at Halfday [Bill Rebane] uncred ?; ph: Frank Pfeiffer

1966

An Eye for an Eye [Herschell Gordon Lewis] ?; ph: H.G. Lewis; never completed and unreleased

1967

The Girl, the Body, and the Pill/The Pill [Herschell Gordon Lewis] c.op; ph: Roy Collodi

1977

A Wedding [Robert Altman] co-c.op; ph: Charles Rosher Jr.