News and Events
FTT Talks presents:
Adam Kane, Filmmaker, Citizen Pictures, Inc.
Behind the Camera:
Shooting and Directing for Film and Television
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
7:00 pm, Browning Cinema, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
Adam Kane discovered cinematography at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and went on to earn his Masters Degree at the American Film Institute. He has since worked with such actors as Matthew McConaughey and Willem Dafoe, in such films as The Boondock Saints, Romeo Must Die and the upcoming Lion’s Gate release Skinwalkers. His most recent feature, Resurrecting The Champ (Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett) premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. Adam has also shot several pilots for television such as the hit, “Heroes” for NBC and has recently directed an episode to air in April.
Adam Kane will be screening his directorial debut, The Fix, which has won 9 major festival awards, including Best Drama, Best of Fest, Best Short, and Best Director. He will also show a demo reel of his work on the NBC hit, “Heroes.” Adam will speak about his transition from cinematographer to director, having both shot and directed “Heroes.” He will be available for questions about these productions and life behind the camera, including working with unions, agents, producers and actors.
Adam has written several articles for American Cinematographer and is an active member of IATSE Local 600 Camera Guild and the Director’s Guild of America.
Sponsored by the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre and College of Arts and Letter Institute for Scholarship in the LIberal Arts The Boehnen Fund for Excellence in the Arts
This is a free event and open to the public.
Biography
Adam Kane was born in Southern California to a musical family. The son of composer Artie Kane (Looking For Mr. Goodbar, The Eyes of Laura Mars) and studio singer Sara Kane (Andy Williams Show, Perry Como, The Sound of Music), Adam found his personal voice by telling stories with pictures, creating home movies and comic artwork. At age 14 he began working at a local Grassroots television station in Aspen, Colorado, assisting the staff cameraman with electronic newsgathering shoots including the World Cup Ski races. Eventually Adam ended up doing a little bit of everything at the station, from on-air switching to editing to shooting in the studio and field.
After graduating high school Adam was accepted to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he discovered cinematography. Enrolling in an advanced cinematography class he found incredible inspiration and mentoring from veteran Czech cameraman Beda Batka. Adam photographed nine films during his undergraduate career, winning Best Cinematography at the NYU Film Festival for Katrina and Sleeping Beauties (the latter directed by fellow alum Karyn Kusama, director of Girlfight and Aeon Flux).
Adam was then accepted in to the highly competitive and prestigious American Film Institute, where he graduated in the top two of his class. There he studied under Harry Wolf, ASC and Tom Denove. He earned his first feature credit as a Director of Photography on The Double-O-Kid while finishing his student thesis film. After earning his Masters Degree, Adam continued to work in independent feature films, commercials, infomercials, and low budget television, including the original promo for the MTV series “Catwalk”. During this time he also worked for the Associated Press’ Los Angeles-based video news division, covering national news events ranging from the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City to the OJ Simpson trial to the devastating coastal storms of El Nino.
Over twenty five features later, Adam has worked with such actors as Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey, Jr., Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, and numerous others in New Line Cinema’s The Man, The Boondock Saints, Love & Sex, Romeo Must Die and the upcoming Lion’s Gate release Skinwalkers. His most recent feature, Resurrecting The Champ (Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, Kathryn Morris, Alan Alda), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007.
Between shooting feature films Adam has shot several Pilots for television such as the breakout hit “Heroes” for NBC (2006 Golden Globe Nominee for Best Drama, 2006 Peoples Choice Award for Best New Series), “Reunion” for Warner Bros./Fox, “Level 9” for Paramount Television and “Sam’s Circus” for Columbia Tri-Star. His television credits include NBC’s “War Stories” and “The West Wing”, CBS’s “Hack”, and ABC’s critically acclaimed “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Line of Fire”. His numerous commercial clients include MTV, Philips, Hoover, Skechers, Direct TV, Mail Boxes Etc., Subaru, Infinity, Nissan, Honda and Calvin Klein.
Adam has received a 2007 ASC Award nomination for Best Cinematography for his work on the NBC hit “Heroes”. He has been the recipient of several other awards including the Mobius Award for Best Commercial Work (2002), the Golden Camera at the US International Film & Video Festival (1998), and Telly awards for his commercial work on Mail Boxes Etc. and a documentary for Disney. He also won best film at the Austin Film Festival (1997) for The Clearing, special recognition at the New York Film Festival for Conversations In Limbo, and two best cinematography awards in New York in 1990 and 1991.
Adam is an active participant in IATSE Local 600’s Mentor Program and has been a guest instructor at Notre Dame’s School of Film, Television, and Theatre. He is a published writer, having written several articles for American Cinematographer. He is an active member of the Director’s Guild of America. Adam is represented by Nathan Ross at ICM and Steve Crawford at Nine Yards Entertainment.
Adam’s directorial debut, The Fix, premiered at the 2005 Winnipeg International Film Festival winning Best Narrative Short. The Fix has won 9 major festival awards, including Best Drama, Best of Fest, Best Short, and Best Director. It recently qualified for the Best Live Action Short Film category for the Academy Awards.