Don Starnes

Director of Photography

Don Starnes has worked as Director of Photography for over thirty years. Well trained by great filmmakers, Don began as a camera loader and worked his way up. Projects that he’s photographed have won many awards, including Emmys, Addies and CINE Golden Eagles, and gotten high honors at many film festivals, including the Austin, New York, San Francisco and Montreal film festivals.

Don has photographed features, shorts, commercials, music videos, documentaries, television shows and corporate work. Clients include:

National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Comedy Central, HBO, MTV, VH1, Speed Channel, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, Netflix, DreamWorks, Saatchi & Saatchi, Intel, Cisco, YouTube, Google, AT&T, Yahoo, Wells Fargo, California Academy of Sciences, NASA, Microsoft and The San Francisco Symphony

Don believes that movies can reveal our common humanity and ennoble us. He is passionate about the profound experience of cinema.

Constantly training in the latest filmmaking equipment and techniques, Don is an inveterate observer of current culture and technology. He is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, IATSE Local 600 and is fully accredited in on‐set safety through the Safety Pass Program. Don received his BA in Film Production from San Francisco State University.

Don has taught cinematography and filmmaking at the Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts, Bay Area Video Coalition, Film Arts Foundation and Dreamworks Animation.

Don has an impeccable work ethic; he’s self‐motivated, responsible, well organized, sharp, articulate, personable and works just as hard at the end of the day as at its beginning. His clients agree. “I like working with Don,” said producer Kevin White, “because he’s resourceful and fun.”

Equipment

Resumes:
Director | Director of Photography | Camera Operator