Production Guide / Cinematographer / DOP / Joe Bender

Joe Bender

Contact Information

About

I am an award-winning Producer and Director of Photography whose work spans all aspects of creative documentary, recently relocated from NYC to Nova Scotia and looking to get connected in the film community here. I’m a bit of a Swiss army knife, so to speak, most skilled as DP but with experience across the whole production process. In addition to my cinematography work, I have shepherded a half dozen feature docs from research to delivery for the world’s most prestigious broadcasters, overseeing (and often doing myself) everything from research to budgeting, planning, camera and sound, production asset management, editing, conform, color, mastering and delivery. I am also a certified drone operator.

I most recently produced the animated feature documentary The Conspiracy (DOC NYC 2022), for which I built an in-house animation studio and created a novel workflow combining motion capture, 3D modeling and animation, illustration and style transfer. As DP, I most recently lensed Persona (CNN Films 2021), shot and produced The Truth About Killer Robots (HBO 2018), and filmed The Candidates (Fuse 2019), which premiered at DOC NYC. I produced the Sundance award-winning Our New President (2018) and was named among DOC NYC’s 40 under 40 (2018). Other work as Director of Photography appears in documentary films and series for Netflix, HBO, and National Geographic, and commercial work for Hewlett Packard, among others. I have taught cinematography at Pratt Institute and hold a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Industry Role

  • Producer
  • Post-Production
  • Documentary / Factual
  • Animation
  • Set Sound / Audio
  • Camera Operator
  • Data Management Technician
  • Cinematographer / DOP
  • Editor
  • Colour Correction

Identifiers

  • He / Him
  • Fluent in: English
  • Fluent in: French

Credits

  • The Conspiracy (Animated Feature Doc) (2022) - Producer, Director of Photography, Finishing Edit, Color
  • Capturing the Killer Nurse (Feature Doc, Netflix) (2022) - Segment Director of Photography
  • Persona: The Dark Truth Behind Personality Tests (Feature Doc, CNN Films) (2021) - Director of Photography
  • The Candidates (Feature Doc, Fuse) (2019) - Director of Photography
  • The Truth About Killer Robots (Feature Doc, HBO) (2018) - Writer, Producer, Director of Photography, Finishing Edit, Color
  • Our New President (Feature Doc, Sundance Special Jury Prize) (2018) - Producer, Finishing Edit, Color
  • Clinica de Migrantes (Mid-length Doc, HBO) (2016) - Director of Photography, Editor, Color
  • Capital (Feature Doc, Full Frame) (2010) - Director of Photography, Producer, Editor
Link to Joe Bender on IMDB