Phillip Caruso

�THE ART OF STILL PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE MOVIE SET�

Friday, December 1, 2017
7:30 p.m. Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue, University at Albany�s Downtown Campus

EVENT LISTING:
The NYS Writers Institute will present �The Art of Still Photography on the Movie Set� with Phillip Caruso, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society of Camera Operators, on Friday, December 1,at 7:30 p.m. in Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue on the University at Albany�s Downtown Campus. Free and open to the public, the event is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute.

PROFILE:
The iconic image of Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump on a park bench in Savannah. Robert DeNiro's malicious eyes in CAPE FEAR. Kurt Russell as a firefighter emerging from a blazing building in BACKDRAFT. Those are the images taken by photographer Phillip Caruso you see on giant movie posters at movie theaters and in newspaper and magazine advertisements.

Caruso, one of the most sought-after still photographers in the motion picture industry, will present "The Art of Still Photography on the Movie Set" on Friday, December 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Page Hall, 135 Western Avenue, on the University at Albany's Downtown Campus. Free and open to the public, the event is sponsored by the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany. .

Caruso is known for his extensive work with Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Zemeckis, Terry Gilliam, and other leading directors on such movies as BACKDRAFT, CAPE FEAR, FORREST GUMP, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, A BRONX TALE, CASINO, TWELVE MONKEYS, MEET JOE BLACK, MEET THE PARENTS, and OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN. Caruso also served as Robert DeNiro's personal photographer for 18 films.

In a Times Union profile of Caruso by Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl, the photographer discussed his collaborative style on the movie set: "It's about gaining trust and respect. I try to anticipate and capture moments on the set and reactions between actors. They have to feel safe and comfortable with me. I'm the observer, careful not to interrupt that moment between the actors and the director."

"Phil's not near the top; he is the top among still photographers," Jane Rosenthal, a film producer and co-founder with DeNiro of TriBeca Productions film studio in New York.

Earlier this year, Caruso received the Society of Camera Operators Lifetime Achievement Award. For the past three years, Caruso has gravitated to television series that film in New York City, including "Blindspot," "The Affair" and "Bull."

Caruso is credited as a pioneer of digital photography in the film industry, starting in the early 1990s. A self-described technology geek and early adopter, he now uses mirrorless digital cameras that work in silence without a shutter's click - crucial on a set with cameras rolling.

Photo: Phillip Caruso, Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci on the set of "Casino"