Thanks for visiting. My name is Jeff Turick and I’ve been a director of photography for nearly 30 years. Unlike many DP, I never picked up my first camera or dreamed of being a filmmaker until after college. My journey has been a longer road, but one rooted firmly in story.
I wrote my first novel — three hundred hand-written pages of pure Dungeons & Dragons fantasy goodness — by the age of fourteen. I was always writing (or reading) something. Short stories, novels, poetry. Yet by the time I reached college, my interests had shifted to design. My degree in Architecture from Penn State shaped me in two significant ways. First, I learned a deep appreciation for how light plays in a space and the importance of sight-lines. And then I discovered computer animation.
What started as a tool for creating virtual tours of buildings became a vehicle for entering fictional worlds, manipulating environments and lighting and placing the viewer where I thought they could best appreciate the scenes I wanted to show them. I’d found a way to blend my love of storytelling with a visual design craft. Eventually, I left the animation world behind and turned to live action.
As a writer/director, my debut feature film Cut Up (a co-production with horror director Mike Lyddon) won the 1994 LA Filmmaker Award. My short film, Webcam premiered in the Sundance Channel’s Buzz Cuts Series. Allison (which I also lensed), won the Chapter 4 Selection in Canon’s The Story Beyond The Still contest and premiered alongside the other chapter winners at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.
But against this backdrop of filmmaking was the slow evolution of my work as a cinematographer. I was nearly always behind the camera, ever fixated on the perfect frame and just the right quality of light. In time, I realized that imagery was where my heart was at.
Most recently, I worked with director Cheryl Allison to lens her extraordinary film Hiding in Daylight. It was one of only 29 films selected from hundreds to screen at the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
In my career, I’ve had the great fortune to travel the world, collaborating with some amazing directors and agencies. I’ve worked with executives and artists, children and animals, celebrities, politicians, nobodies, and wannabes. And even a few muppets along the way.
As for my roots in story? It continues to shape every visual decision I make.