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William Tanner Sampson SOC

@willandaway

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Los Angeles cinematographer and steadicam operator 600/SOC. Footprints in LA, NYC, Nashville, and New Orleans.

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I shot this music video for Green Day's "Still Breathing" a while ago, but it's still one of my favorite things I have done. I had a minimal lighting package and virtually no crew for the majority of it, so I really took advantage of the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest where we shot. Shot on an Alexa mini with Kowa anamorphic, often using diopters for the close ups. Special thanks to @baudarmutt for his direction, concept, and trust in a 20 something year old kid with no big music video experience at the time and also @beau_leon for the amazing color job. by @willandaway

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3 years ago

Here is my dramatic reel with work from features, shorts, and music videos. by @willandaway

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3 years ago

This is my cinematography reel with features, shorts, commercials, and music videos from over a decade as a cinematographer. by @willandaway

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3 years ago

A senior citizen, a magician, and an orangutang talk show host walk into a bar… no not a joke, well it is actually. These are just three of the almost 20 comedy specials I have gotten to shoot over the past couple years. Comedy specials, and live shows in general, are a different muscle to flex than traditional narrative or scripted but at the end of the day it is still about capturing all the best moments in the most beautiful and effective way possible. It takes a lot of planning and more cameras than I am used to.. .and there is not much of an opportunity for a take 2, but the end results are pretty rewarding. The above photo is from Susan Rice’s special: Silver Alert that sold to Apple TV. We got to film in a fun textured warehouse, and even though it was relatively small, we got a dolly along the side of the audience for some booms and dynamic movement. That coupled with 4 lock offs and a roaming gimbal camera made sure we always had an angle to cut to, we had audience reactions, and things never felt stale. by @willandaway

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3 months ago

Live shows and comedy can be challenging but if you add in magic, it can really get difficult. For this special The Zabrecky Hour, we had the added difficulty of filming magic tricks for a live audience. Luckily and coincidentally, I have worked on several magic TV shows spanning almost 8 years so I have some experience filming tricks. This special had tons of fun bits including a fun entrance and exit and a special section performed back stage in a separate room. Even after all these years there are still some things I have no idea how these magicians do and I love to keep to that way! by @willandaway

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3 months ago

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3 months ago

These are a few BTS photos from the music video for Still Breathing for Green Day from 2016. I was so excited to work on a project for a band I enjoyed so much growing up. Originally, I was just the camera operator, doing drone and Steadicam as well. We were going to take a road trip up the coast to film vignettes for a week then do a shoot with the band back in LA. I had worked with the director, P.R. Brown, on several projects before and we had always gotten along and had a similar style. On day one we had all the same ideas, he would suggest something as I was already rolling on it. He decided I should get bumped from Op to DP. The stipulation was he would tell the label he shot it, if they liked it he would tell them, in fact, I had shot it, but if they didn’t like it he would say he shot it. That way they wouldn’t come in with any pre-conceived ideas about it. It was a huge turning point for me and a big helping hand from Paul. It wasn’t necessary or expected but it would start a working relationship that would last this past decade. by @willandaway

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4 months ago

We shot on Alexa Mini with Kowa Anamorphics from @nienhuiscamera rentals. I love the set from George because they have a threaded front so you can use cheap screw on diopters to get macro shots easily. Most everything, besides the band, was shot with natural lighting on the road between LA and Oregon. I was flying the DJI Inspire 1 with a backup lent to my from DJI (Thank you @stucram ). Thank you @david_lawsonjr for driving and producing! This project really got pushed over the top when @beau_leon colored it and gave it his award winning attention. by @willandaway

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4 months ago

Back in LA we showed the footage and a rough assembly of what we had shot out on the road to the label and the band and they loved it. Paul told them I had been the DP on the project and they were excited for me. It was so rewarding to put visuals to this song for them. It was really about overcoming obstacles and addiction and thriving. It echoed Billy’s own struggles from right before they made this album. I love the scenes of Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt sitting and waiting for Billy, an empty microphone stand in the foreground. Meanwhile we follow Billy as he makes his way back to the band at the end and we see the vignettes of the other story’s end not in tragedy but love and hope. This is still one of my favorite videos I have ever done. by @willandaway

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4 months ago

I shot this video for Coheed and Cambria for the song “Unheavenly Creatures”. Directed by @pr_brown_bauda the video is based on the characters form the sci-fi graphic novel Amory Wars written by front man Cladio Sancez. It was such a fun challenge to bring an established graphic novel into the physical world. Claudio was like a kid in a candy store getting to see his creations in real life. In this frame we see Creature and Colossus facing off as lights pan around and flair in the background. by @willandaway

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7 months ago

We took an empty warehouse and through some creative practical lighting and amazing art direction from Ariel Vita and Kati Simon we were able to make a spaceship. We also shot mostly in closeups to be able to keep the background soft so as to help hide the sets edges. We shot on Cooke Anamorphic on an Alexa mini supplied by @cslarentals . I always love the warm, organic, naturalistic image Cooke optics provide. They are clean but with character and beautiful flairs. by @willandaway

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7 months ago

This shot is from a flashback of the heist gone bad and we used some good old Vaseline on a clear filter to help give the flashbacks a more dreamy look and force the lens and audience to focus on the center of the frame. There are a lot of expensive filters out there like wormhole and different donut diopters but sometimes the simplest option is the best… as long as you have a good AC to keep cleaning them off. by @willandaway

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7 months ago