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Dennis Porter

Director of Photography

Toronto, Canada 

About Me 

I have nearly two decades in TV and video, starting as a freelance cameraman, and then winding my way through as an editor, TV reporter and producer, before focusing strictly on freelance shooting.

I’ve traveled the world shooting and producing for Discovery Channel, shot broadcast news stories and a CNN doc in some of Africa’s roughest places, and shot thousands of interviews for clients ranging from some of the world’s top broadcasters, like the BBC, to its top companies, like Microsoft.

 

From movie stars to child soldiers to CEOs, I love every darn bit of it.

 
 

MY APPROACH

 

Many years ago when I was a TV reporter, I was assigned to do my first live hit for the national news network. Live hits were not something I was naturally skilled at and this was in an environment where a lot of people didn’t want us there. I was terrified.

 

The sat truck and shooter were sent in from another city, so I’d never worked with him before. 

 

I was literally shaking and knew I wasn’t ready for this. The shooter was calm and confident. His lighting setup was perfect. A few moments before we were scheduled to go live, he walked over to me and fixed the way my IFB (earpiece) hooked onto my collar. He adjusted my shirt and belt, stood back, looked me carefully up and down, and adjusted my tie the teensiest amount. 

 

To be honest, I probably didn’t look a hair different to anyone watching, but I felt confident. When I was in over my head, a shooter I’d never worked with made sure he had my back and that changed everything. 

 

Thanks to the shooter, my hit went off without a hitch and I was asked to do many more in the future.

During the years I was a producer, I hired more than 100 freelance shooters around the world. It can be stressful. You never know what you’re going to get.

 

There are shooters who simply ask where to point the camera and press record. But when you have a shooter who can both get you great shots, and can pick up the entire team, that makes all the difference in a shoot, even if it’s something as seemingly simple as a sit-down interview. 

 

That’s my approach: it’s every single person’s role to do whatever they can to make sure the whole shoot goes smoothly. My job is both to make sure I get the shot and make sure you get your story.

ABOUT
DOCUMENTARY
FACTUAL

I've worked with...

More details at www.mandy.com

CLIENTS

Equipment

Just about anything you could need for a documentary or corporate shoot with a small crew. If it's a CEO interview in a boardroom or a motion-controlled, macro, three-camera shoot in a cave with no power, I'm equipped for it. Everything's repacked before each shoot to ensure the most flexibility and fastest setup time.

Cameras

  • Sony FS7 - main cam (4K)

  • Sony a7S II (4K)

  • Sony a6300 (4K)

  • Sony FS700 (4K)

  • Sony FDR-X3000 action cam (4K)

  • Sony HDR-AX2000

  • 2x GoPro Hero 3+
  • Canon 7D

Lenses

  • Sigma 24-105mm f/4 Art

  • Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art

  • Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3

  • Sigma 30mm f/1.4

  • Sigma 1.4x teleconverter

  • Canon 24-105mm f/4L

  • Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 

  • Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6

  • Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3

  • Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3

  • Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

  • Mitakon 20mm f/2 super-macro

  • Laowa 15mm f/4 macro

  • Sainsonic Kamlan 50mm f/1.1

  • Metabones Speed Booster
  • extension tubes

Lighting

  • 1x1 bi-color 120W LED panel

  • 1x1 daylight 120W LED panel

  • 1x2 flex daylight 60W LED

  • 55W daylight LED Fresnel

  • (more LED Fresnels coming soon)

  • TorchLED Bolt bi-color on-camera LED

  • 7x daylight/tungsten 40W-160W LED soft boxes

  • 2x 45W bi-color LED panels

  • 5x smaller daylight LEDs

  • 8x8 scrim

  • 4x4 scrim

  • 25' roll ND gel

Miscellaneous

  • Kessler Second Shooter Plus 4-axis motion control system (pan, tilt, slide & focus)

  • Ikan DS1 gimbal

  • Sennheiser shotgun & 3x lav systems

  • Sanken COS-11D lav mic

  • wireless reporter's mic

  • 3x sound blankets

  • Atomos Shogun Flame HDR director's monitor

  • Blackmagic box for streaming

  • portable prompter

  • white backdrops – cloth, collapsible, 4' & 8' paper

  • black backdrop (aka commando cloth or duvetyne)

  • green screens – collapsible and 20' cloth

  • set decorations for interviews – chairs, stools, plants, paintings, etc

  • makeup kit

  • lots more

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