Daniel Pearl, ASC Curating Society’s Instagram for June
The cinematographer began his month-long hosting with candid memories of shooting some of his most famous works.
Daniel Pearl, ASC is curating the Society’s Instagram account throughout the month of June. The account is hosted each month by a different member to discuss their inspirations and experiences, and the page is coordinated by Eric Steelberg, ASC.
As Steelberg noted in his intro for Pearl,“He began shooting music videos during the early 1980s, initially to fill the spaces in-between narrative film projects. But his use of light and lens — exemplified in "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson — breathed life into the music video art form. He won the inaugural MTV Moon Man Award for Best Cinematography in 1984 for "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, and again in 1992 for "November Rain" by Guns & Roses. Pearl has earned a total of 11 MTV Video Music Award nominations — most recently for "Thinking Out Loud" by Ed Sheeran in 2015.
“In 1996, he was the first cinematographer to receive the MVPA Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1997 he was the first inductee into the Kodak Vision Hall of Fame for Music Video Cinematography. He was honored by CamerImage with their Golden Frog Award for his outstanding achievements in Music Video and Commercial Cinematography.
“Having photographed over 300 commercials, Pearl also manages to create some of the advertising industry's best images — earning industry-wide acclaim for his work on Motorola's "Wings" spot in 1999, which is also in the permanent collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art along with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
“In 2002, Pearl photographed the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre for director Marcus Nispel, making him the first person in the history of the cinema to reprise in a major position on a remake.
“He has in recent years completed photography on features including Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Michael Bay’s Friday the 13th, Joel Silver’s The Apparition, Nispel’s Pathfinder, Brent Bell’s The Boy, Brian Taylor’s Mom And Dad, and The Intruder directed by Deon Taylor, which is currently in theaters.”
In his first posts on the ASC account, Pearl went into the background on shooting the groundbreaking 1974 horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, as well as the music video for Ed Sheeran’s track "Thinking Out Loud."
Pearl is also a frequent participant in ASC Education & Outreach events, volunteering his time to meet with young cinematographers and pass along his experience and insight.
You can read more about Pearl via his personal site here. You can also follow his personal Instagram account here.
With 144,000 followers, the ASC Instagram page has been moderated in the past by members Russell Carpenter, Tim Ives, Matthew Libatique, Christopher Probst, Dana Gonzales, David Klein, Dan Mindel, Reed Morano and Rachel Morrison.
