SPEAKER BIOS
The ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY
HOST: Aaron Leong
Aaron Leong went to SF State University’s Theatre Dept for a double emphasis in Performance and
Directing. After working for several years as an actor for Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre
Programs, he started a production company.
During that time, he started to do more commercial filmmaking and went back to school for film at
The Art Institute in Sacramento, focusing more on Directing and Cinematography. He continued
his cinematography training at the Global Cinematography Institute in Los Angeles where he was
taught by renowned ASC members such as Vilmos Zsigmond, Dean Cundey and Russell Carpenter
among others.
After 20 years in various areas in the industry, Aaron has directed features, shorts and commercials
and has DP’d for features, shorts, documentaries, reality TV, commercials, and corporate work just
to name a few.
Aaron also has 18+ years of experience flying Steadicams and is an M2 Volt owner/operator. He
also rents out a lot of gear to productions. You can check it out at www.4thwallfilmworks.com.
HOST: Aaron Leong
Aaron Leong went to SF State University’s Theatre Dept for a double emphasis in Performance and
Directing. After working for several years as an actor for Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre
Programs, he started a production company.
During that time, he started to do more commercial filmmaking and went back to school for film at
The Art Institute in Sacramento, focusing more on Directing and Cinematography. He continued
his cinematography training at the Global Cinematography Institute in Los Angeles where he was
taught by renowned ASC members such as Vilmos Zsigmond, Dean Cundey and Russell Carpenter
among others.
After 20 years in various areas in the industry, Aaron has directed features, shorts and commercials
and has DP’d for features, shorts, documentaries, reality TV, commercials, and corporate work just
to name a few.
Aaron also has 18+ years of experience flying Steadicams and is an M2 Volt owner/operator. He
also rents out a lot of gear to productions. You can check it out at www.4thwallfilmworks.com.
DP John Jimenez
John Alexander Jimenez has been working in film and video production for over a 3 decades. A couple of awards he is especially proud of is the "2000 Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Emerging Artist Award" for his cinematography and The Sacramento Film Festival "2014 Local Vanguard Award" for his contributions to many successful local productions. John was the Director of Photography on the feature film Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (1998). After showing at the 1998 Sundance film festival, he decided to Write and Direct his first film, Taco Heaven (1998). This film was seen around the country via the film festival circuit. He now freelances as a Director/ DP.
After Directing his biggest accomplishment to date the feature film "Fugitive Hunter" (2005) distributed by Lion's Gate Films which he also wrote, he was hired as the Director of Photography for the YouTube comedy channel Smosh (2011-2017). Smosh has over 22 million followers and is one the highest watched and followed channels on YouTube in the comedy genre. John continues to create and collaborate with businesses and artists in their production needs.
John Alexander Jimenez has been working in film and video production for over a 3 decades. A couple of awards he is especially proud of is the "2000 Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Emerging Artist Award" for his cinematography and The Sacramento Film Festival "2014 Local Vanguard Award" for his contributions to many successful local productions. John was the Director of Photography on the feature film Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (1998). After showing at the 1998 Sundance film festival, he decided to Write and Direct his first film, Taco Heaven (1998). This film was seen around the country via the film festival circuit. He now freelances as a Director/ DP.
After Directing his biggest accomplishment to date the feature film "Fugitive Hunter" (2005) distributed by Lion's Gate Films which he also wrote, he was hired as the Director of Photography for the YouTube comedy channel Smosh (2011-2017). Smosh has over 22 million followers and is one the highest watched and followed channels on YouTube in the comedy genre. John continues to create and collaborate with businesses and artists in their production needs.
DP Brian Hamm
I have been working as a cinematographer since 1999, creatively collaborating with directors and production companies from all over the world. After receiving an Audio Production degree, I had opportunities to work on commercial sets, feature films and corporate videos as a production assistant and moving around as a grip, best boy, and even running Teleprompters and shooting weddings. I fell in love with “being on sets”. So I studied what the gaffers and key grips were doing and focused especially on the DP’s lighting and camera techniques…which I still do today. I then had the opportunity to start shooting short films, music videos, and corporate videos.
Over the years, I have worked for Disney, Netflix, SHOWTIME, HBO/MAX, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Life Time Network, Fuse, MSNBC, MTV, Smithsonian Channel, A&E, and more. I've worked with companies across the United States such as Sirens Media, Half Yard, Big Fish, Red Rock Films, Trapeze Ltd., Big Table Media, Ke-Jo Productions, and many more. With a handful of awards and highly rated TV shows I've worked on, I am proud of the successful career I’ve had as a Cinematographer.
I love to diversify my skills and the types of productions I am involved in. From shooting in prisons, to flying in Air Force military planes, to documenting emotional stories in another country…I pride myself in collaborating each project cinematically with the experience I've developed
DP Joey Katches
Most of Joe's work is in the narrative space. He primarily works as a director of photography for indie features and short films. He has shot 3 features and over 30 short films. His latest feature was shot locally in Auburn and Sacramento. For commercials he’s filmed national commercials for Clarkes Shoes, Door Dash, Virgin Travel, Fortnite, and Colgate. His documentary work has included features and series for streaming platforms. Educationally he's taught several cinematography courses including courses at Maine Media in Maine.
When he's not working as a DP he loves to spend time with his wife and kids, watching movies, and reading.
DP Mark Herzig
Mark Herzig worked as a 1st camera assistant through the 1980s, forming relationships with some of the biggest commercial directors in the world. Since 1994, he has been the cinematographer or director/DP on hundreds of commercials and corporate image films, also lensing five independent features, including the 2000 cult classic “North Beach”. In 1999, his first short film as a director, “Scherzo”, was invited to a select showcase in Paris, “Une nouvelle veine du cineastes” (The New Filmmakers), mixing ten filmmakers from the US and ten from Europe. His short film “et cetera” won Best Cinematography in 2001 at the New York International Independent Film Festival, and the same film was honored that same year at the Den Haag Film Festival, festival director Robert Ovetz proclaiming it “ . . . better than “Requiem for a Dream”. In 2004, his short film “Lunch” was an official selection at Clermont-Ferrand, and the French daily La Montagne praised it as a “Lynchian urban nightmare.” He has also taught cinematography at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, the PCFE Film School in Prague, Czech Republic, and California State University at Sacramento. WEBSITE: www.markherzig.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/ma