Meet Chloe Weaver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Weaver.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My journey to becoming a cinematographer started in high school, where I picked up a love of photography. I would carry my mom’s Nikon film camera around and take black and white photographs of my classmates and family. I learned that I was fond of portrait photography and symmetrical compositions. I gravitated to my family’s video camera during that same timeframe and shot short films in my neighborhood starring my friends.

That was the era of MTV’s Jackass and The Tom Green Show; I had access to a camera that looked just as good, and I felt empowered to make things myself and edit them together in iMovie. I once shot a short film featuring myself in every role… From there, I applied to every school in California that offered a film program, and decided to attend Long Beach State. Competitiveness within the film department made me nervous and shy, so while I spent most of my time working on other people projects instead of my own, I did learn that I truly enjoyed being on set and adored the collaboration it offered.

On the side, I shot weddings, and it was in that capacity that my self-confidence grew. I worked for a woman, Isabel Gonzalez, who trusted me deeply and gave me a camera to use. After we would shoot a wedding, I’d spend the following day reviewing the tapes in her office, watching for ways I could improve and shoot more like her. Shooting live events was early conditioning for shooting documentaries later in my career. The summer after graduating from college, I worked on a feature film as a 1st AC (assistant camera), and a light bulb switched on. That was a perfect job for me. It combined technical camera skills, a fierce ability to concentrate, plus the leadership role of running a department, managing gear and personnel.

The focus pulling (the act of focusing the lens of the camera during a shot, based off an actor’s ever- changing distance to camera) itself was a thrill and so tough- it was something I could latch onto. I was determined to be one of the best in town, and I hit the grindstone hard to sharpen my skills. I spent my days off before a job studying distance and testing myself. I graduated college at the tail end of the film era and worked for several years in that medium until digital cameras took over. I had to change my whole tactic and develop a new method of focus pulling.

I worked as an AC for nine years, and in that time, I tried every type of job; I got on my first union set as a camera PA on Leverage (a TNT TV show starring Tim Hutton). I worked for The Aslyum (a B-movie production house and a right of passage for any young crew person working in LA) making Mega Python vs. Gatoroid. I loaded film on Argo, clapped slate for a year on The Big Bang Theory, made multiple Hallmark movies, worked on adventure TV shows and commercials abroad, and pulled focus on movies with big talent such as Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor. My favorite project to date has been working on the Netflix show, Chef’s Table.

That show has been instrumental to my story because, not only has it traveled me to over a dozen countries at this point, but it is also the show that began my promotion from 1st AC to Cinematographer. Chef’s Table is a cinematic doc-series, made by a very small team of fantastic people, all of whom are now some of my closest friends. My boss at the time, DP Adam Bricker, had chosen me for the role of 1st AC, as we had been working together for some time already. We had a great rapport and similar aesthetic, so late into the second season he gave me some opportunities to cover him in the role of DP.

It began as 2nd unit b-roll work and graduated into covering days with our featured talent. I felt like I was working at 110%, trying to deliver footage as good as he would have. He was supportive and complimentary, as was the production company behind the show. As the 3rd season developed, I was asked to shoot an episode of my own, and that’s when my world began to change. I had been shooting on the side for years and years (features for friends, shorts, music videos) but they were all low-stakes. I did that while balancing my paying job as a 1st AC.

When it came to that first episode of Chef’s Table, that one that was all my own, I took all my skills acquired by watching the great cinematographers I had been working for as a 1st, and put them into play. I shot an episode about the fabulous Nancy Silverton, a Los Angeles based Chef, and when seasons four & five got greenlit, I got two more chances. I knew it was time to dive deep into cinematography and never look back. That was three years ago now, and since then, grown my repertoire of work considerably.

I’ve been focused on my lighting skills and improving myself as a communicator. I just keep saying yes to the opportunities that push me forward and force me into uncomfortable territory. I am energized and hungry to shoot. I have a number of wonderful directors that I collaborate with, a supportive network of the crew and a set of agents at United Talent Agency that are helping me discover new potentials. It’s been a wonderful ride.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? It has been a 99% smooth road for me… Lucky, I know. In all this time, I have only flashed one magazine of film (yikes!), shattered one very expensive Aaton XTR eyepiece, and smacked Beyonce with a slate, just once. I can count on one hand the instances when I’ve felt discriminated against/harassed because of my age or sex. Those instances, though traumatic at the time, have taught me valuable lessons about professionalism and tolerance that I carry with me. The transition from 1st AC to Director of Photography has been really smooth because the people I worked for as a focus puller have eagerly accepted me and celebrated me in my new capacity. Those people now pass work to me, refer me, promote me – it’s a wonderful shared success.

We’d love to hear more about what you do. I’m a freelance Cinematographer – that job description breaks down into basically conceiving of and executing the visuals (camera movement and lighting) for any motion picture project. I work in many formats, from feature films to commercials, to documentaries and tabletop work.

My job often requires operating a camera or directing someone doing that for me. I do a lot of lighting diagrams, as I am always thinking of lighting and mood and ways to create them within the context of each project.

A Cinematographer’s job is to work very closely with a director (and several other collaborators: art department, wardrobe, etc.) to set a tone and intent for a project and then develop the plan to execute it utilizing their crew. My gaffer and key grip create and shape light, while my 1st AC runs the camera side of things.

I’ve become most well known for my documentary work on Chef’s Table. I have a great amount of documentary experience, dating way back to those days shooting weddings in college and extending into recent projects shooting scientist in Africa, local crime mysteries in LA and profiling winemakers in the Napa Valley. While that has classically been my strongest aesthetic, I am very concentrated on developing my narrative storytelling work and have four feature films under my belt.

I am most proud of some recent 2nd Unit work I did for DP Adam Bricker on the Netflix series American Vandal (season two is especially good!). That work features bold and super-stylized lighting and camera work – moody in all the best ways.

The thing that sets me apart from others is something having to do with my seemingly endless desire to work. There is nothing more interesting to me in this moment than to expand my scope of knowledge and tell stories.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
There are so many that deserve credit… But the heavy-hitters are Matt Irwin, who gave me my first role in the camera department and taught me everything there was to know about camera assisting. I took that knowledge and ran – right into Michael Franks, a veteran DP, who took me under his wing and mentored me even further. From there, I met my dear friends, Sean Conaty and Adam Bricker, both USC film school graduates, who trusted me with so many projects. They took me traveling abroad and forced me to keep up with their soaring careers.

From there, DP Danny Moder took me on as his focus puller and once again raised the stakes. We did some of my biggest movies to date, and I learned the most from running those departments with his complete confidence.

Another person not to be forgotten is Steve Cueva, my mentor Camera Assistant. He came up the ranks with the industry’s most legendary crews, and by being on those teams, I’ve witnessed how great technicians do their jobs. Last but not least, Cathy Pierce at Panavision Hollywood (Panavision is a world-famous rental house), who has supported me from my earliest days as a camera assistant till now. Her confidence and generosity has helped me succeed over and over.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chloeweaver.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: chlotown

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