Adam Suschitzky BSC

As a third generation cinematographer some of my earliest memories are of watching in amazement as my father created prints in our dark room. He would also screen home movie footage on super 8. The excitement at hearing the whirr of the projector, the flicker of the light from the screen, the wonderment at seeing life reflected back in Kodachrome would spark something inside me.

From about the age of ten I would be allowed to go to the local Odeon with a friend by ourselves. I recall a thirst for seeing the same movie multiple times so I would go week after week to see the latest releases until I must have known every line of dialogue!

One of the defining moments of my childhood, in terms of solidifying a love of cinema, was on visiting my father as he made The Empire Strikes Back. These set visits would prove to be the most awe-inspiring glimpses into the world of film making a young boy could ever dream of. I would have butterflies of excitement at seeing the entire process of a film set playing out before my very eyes.

I went to the National Film & Television School in the early 90’s. Here I learned to shoot super 16mm in colour & black & white, where I got my first taste of shooting drama, documentary, stop frame animation and music videos. I was tutored by film legends such as Freddie Francis, Billy Williams & Walter Lassally, all of whom I owe so much.

My first breaks came in commercials in the late 90’s when I rapidly built a career shooting with many gifted directors who taught me a lot about technique and precision. However, my dream was to work on long form and over the next three decades I would find myself catapulted into the television industry shooting dramas.

It was on meeting the director Bharat Nalluri on a TV series for the BBC called Spooks that my career in drama really took off. We would go on to make several key pilots including Life on Mars and Hustle as well as others in South Africa and Canada. This period of work would in turn get me noticed in the USA.

In 2014 I went to work on a Spielberg produced show in Vancouver which had a ripple effect of subsequent work in the North American market. JJ Abram’s hired me to shoot a Steven King mini-series, then I made a show for ABC, followed by AMC, Paramount and National Geographic. The showrunner of The Walking Dead, Scott Gimple, hired be to reboot Fear the Walking Dead which I’ve now made three seasons of in Texas.

It was a huge honour to join the BSC in 2012. I was generously proposed by Gavin Finney. My work on the mini-series Titanic was nominated in the TV category that same year.

 

Credits

Life on Mars – BBC (UK version – Pilot)

Emma - BBC

Upstairs Downstairs - BBC

Titanic - BBC & ABC

Dominion – Syfy Channel (Pilot)

11.22.63 – Hulu

Yellowstone – Paramount TV

Fear The Walking Dead - AMC