Discover Top Production Assistants in Oakland, California, USA

I have nearly 15 years of professional experience producing, shooting, editing, and directing video. Raised in Sacramento, California, my love for cinematography started at just the age of 17 as a skateboarder. My friends and I would shoot video of each other on our skateboards using a handy cam then used the footage to create VHS tapes. Little did I know those dear memories would foster in me a strong passion to pursue video production for the rest of my life. As I entered my 20's, my shooting skills really began to develop. My classmates paid me to shoot their videos – everything from music videos to short documentaries. I then began to reach out for professional work. Today, I work as a DP/Editor shooting and directing short documentaries, social content, editing commercials for television, and more. I also produce quality still photography and am FAA certified in Aerial Operations.

• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Drone Operator
• Field Producer
• Sound Mixer
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Production Company
• Production Assistant
• Corporate Videographer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist

Mike is a video journalist with over eight years of video production experience and an MFA in Filmmaking from American University in Washington, DC. He is a visual storyteller with extensive experience operating as an all-in-one producer and videographer in the field. Mike's most recent work was produced for The San Francisco Standard—an upstart digital media company in San Francisco—where he worked as a staff video journalist and contributed his filmmaking skills to the team's coverage of the city and wider Bay Area. Mike's video journalism work at The Standard helped establish and solidify the company's online presence as one of the most active, informative and engaging news organizations in the Bay Area. Mike also has extensive experience as a freelance videographer, Director of Photography and video editor. His work has been published in established media outlets such as Business Insider, CNBC, Bloomberg, Voice of America, 60 Second Docs, Cheddar, and Brut. He has also produced, shot, and edited a variety of independent documentary films which have screened on public television and at film festivals such as the DC Environmental Film Festival, the California Independent Film Festival, Water Docs, the Washington, DC International Film Festival and others. He is passionate about documentary storytelling and bringing ordinary peoples' lives to life through video.

• Documentary DP
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Field Producer
• Motion Graphics Designer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Corporate Videographer
• Production Company
• Production Assistant
• Grip
• Video Editor - News
• Fixer
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Transcriber
• Drone Operator

I am an Emmy winning video journalist and editor. I love to see what's on the other side of the wall. To hear words that shatter all preconceptions. To find connection where all hope seems lost. I am gritty and I do whatever it takes to "get the shot." I am humbled to be allowed into people's journeys of pain and courage, their intimate spaces, and their attempts to survive or build a better existence. This profession gives me a chance to share these experiences with the world, in an effort for us all to understand one another just a little bit more. I specialize in telling stories of social justice issues, people marginalized or misunderstood and the unknown. I have a talent for finding unusual angles and perspectives often overlooked. I am also very adventurous and I love stories that are difficult to get, climbing 100 feet into a tree or trekking through the wilderness. I thrive off getting dirty and risk-taking. I've created news pieces, profile pieces, long-form, human-centered, inspirational stories as well as promotional films and marketing videos.

• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - News
• Field Producer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Production Assistant
• Production Company
• Corporate Videographer
• Commercial DP

I'm a documentary cinematographer working out of Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Seattle, and Portland. My work has appeared on The New York Times, The New Yorker, PBS, Frontline, Al Jazeera, Channel 4 (UK), and more, as well as for clients like CNN, AirBnb, and the Oakland Museum of California. I've also produced on series for National Geographic, Netflix, and for feature documentaries like Girl Rising. I own and operate Sony equipment (Fs7, A7siii), with a MavicPro 2 drone, Sigma Art lenses, Aputure lights, and more. See more work at www.derekknowles.com

• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - News
• Field Producer
• TV News Producer
• Drone Operator
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Mobile Journalist / Livestreamer
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Production Assistant
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Sound Mixer
• Corporate Videographer

My name is Tri and I’m the founder of Bay Area-based Tri Nguyen Photography and Video Production. My path to this industry was not a straight line, as after getting my B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University and MBA from Johns Hopkins University, I pursued a career in information technology. It was during my time working in corporations that I developed my professional and detailed approach, and I discovered that I really enjoyed the collaborative spirit that comes from teamwork. As my career progressed I realized my true passion was in the creative field, and that my unique background would help me better serve my clients. I don’t think of my subjects as a job, but as a story waiting to be told. Extensive preparation and collaboration are an important part of my approach, and it’s very important to me that you feel comfortable, confident, and excited about our time working together as well as the end result. I’ll provide the talent and leadership to get us there.

• Commercial DP
• Production Company
• Corporate Videographer
• Drone Operator
• Documentary DP
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Portrait Photographer
• Video Editor - Documentary
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Immersive/Spatial Video Capture
• Full-Service Live Production

Crystal Wong is an Emmy-nominated journalist, documentary producer and cinematographer. Born into the Handover period of Hong Kong, her identity is, likewise, fluid and in question. After graduating from the journalism school at CUHK, she relocated to New York City to gain experience in video production. She established herself as a freelance filmmaker by the time she returned to Hong Kong to document the city’s biggest protests in history. She developed a strong interest in long-form documentaries after being an assistant director for an independent documentary, Faceless, which had been screened at various festivals including the Busan International Film Festival 2021. She is currently directing a long-term project addressing the evolving identity of Hongkongers and the Hong Kong diaspora. Crystal currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She welcomes any type of visual and journalism projects. Her works have appeared on VICE, PBS FRONTLINE, Quartz, RTHK and UnionDocs.

• Documentary DP
• TV News Producer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Production Company
• Production Assistant
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Fixer
• Field Producer
• Corporate Videographer
• Gaffer
• Grip

I’m a film director/producer, musician, and video journalist based in Oakland, CA. For CALIFORNIA Magazine, I've written, shot, and edited around twenty short form documentary pieces, including a 3-part video series called “Bugged,” and am also a frequent contributor to the print magazine. An avid traveller, I have worked, trained, and performed all over the world, including Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and West Africa. I have a degree in Arabic and Russian Literature from UC Berkeley, and am the artistic director of Radix Troupe Productions, which I founded in 2013. Since finishing my studies in Arabic and Russian at UC Berkeley in 2013, I've been actively directing and producing original work, including multiple short films, music videos, short form documentaries, and promotional work. My most recent short film "Zoey and the Wind-Up Boy" produced by RADIX, won Best Fantasy Film at the 2017 Roswell Sci-fi Film Festival, was a finalist for Best International Short at the Ithaca Fantastik Film Festival, 2017, and won runner up for Best Film at the Carcosa Film Festival, 2018. Another film I produced, "All We Left Behind" won Best International Film at the 48Film Project Festival, 2018. In 2016, I was also one of the aspiring female directors to be selected to shadow BAFTA award-winning writer/director Amma Asante on the shoot of her soon to be released film, Where Hands Touch (2018). As a singer and cellist, I regularly perform with the award-winning band, MAD NOISE, and my newest musical/visual project called Girl Swallows Nightingale.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Production Assistant
• Music Composer
• Fixer
• Commercial DP
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Series Producer / Show Runner
• Non-Fiction Film Director

Sara Lafleur-Vetter is a multimedia journalist with a passion for telling stories of the underdog and the underbelly of society. As a videographer, photographer, writer, and radio journalist, she’s covered everything from social orphans in Russia to Native resistance camps at Standing Rock. She holds an interdisciplinary degree in Anthropology and Russian from Reed College. Lafleur began her journalism career in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she documented local NGOs including an organization for the homeless, a kid circus, and an institution for the disabled. Afterwards, she lived in Luxor, Egypt documenting ancient temple blocks for the American Research Center in Egypt. She received her Masters from the Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 2015, where she won a Dorothea Lange Fellowship for her photography. She spent over half a year covering the Native-led resistance camps at Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, which she is working to develop into a feature length film.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Production Company
• Field Producer
• Production Assistant
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Audio Storyteller
• Reporter / Journalist

I am a documentary photographer and videographer currently based in Northern California. I possess a solid background in photojournalism and specialize in the long-term narrative. My documentary work focuses on social justice, health, environmental conservation, and identity. I am passionate about utilizing the visual narrative as a tool to inform, engage, and impact social change. As a multimedia journalist and storyteller, I have experience working as a producer, visual creator, editor & curator, and project manager. I am proficient in image editing software, studio lighting, video and audio capture, and various array of photography including reportage, portraiture, editorial, travel, corporate, and commercial. I am conscientious, resourceful, and welcome any challenging assignments. Selected Clients & Publications: ActionAid, Asian Development Bank, Bloomberg Businessweek, BuzzFeed News, Clinton Health Access Initiatives, Courrier International, Der Spiegel, Facebook, Fair Trade, Financial Times, Getty Images, Global Citizen, Greenpeace International, The Guardian, Instagram, International Monetary Fund, The New York Times, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Open Society Foundations, Oxfam, ProPublica, Sactown Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, UN-REDD, USAID, USA Today, TripAdvisor, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Documentary DP
• Non-Fiction Film Director
• Field Producer
• Portrait Photographer
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Creative Director
• Editorial Photographer / Photojournalist
• Commercial DP
• Corporate Videographer
• Translator
• Event Photographer
• Landscape Photographer
• Product Photographer
• Fashion Photographer
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Reporter / Journalist
• Post-Production Manager

I’ve been working in the visual arts for more than 20 years constantly learning lighting and composition styles that I love. My work has brought me to nearly every continent and the passion I have for creating beautiful visuals continues to grow. I run a small production company that handles many small projects every year focusing on multi cam, interview-based narratives supported by cinematic b-roll. My small grip truck stores all the lighting, audio equipment and filmmaking gear needed for these small shoots allowing me to easily travel throughout California and beyond to work on projects. I am an FAA licensed and insured drone operator and own a drone shooting high quality 4K content. On a team I usually find myself in the role of principal Director and/or DP, and I’m happy to lend my experience to larger projects.

• Commercial DP
• Drone Operator
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Documentary DP
• Corporate Videographer
• Production Company

Bryon Evans is an award-winning director, cinematographer, & filmmaker specializing in commercial, documentary and narrative video productions. Bryon has been directing and producing for over a decade. His commercial productions have racked up millions of views worldwide and have been featured in Adweek and have won various advertising awards. He has filmed productions around the world; from travel TV pilot’s in Eastern Europe and South America to documentary film making in Kenya. Bryon has a real passion to tell meaningful stories with heart. He creates a unique cinematic style that engages the audience and tells a powerful story. He brings a real passion to every project, incorporating his unwavering standards of production into any work that he produces. Bryon is based in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area.

• Commercial DP
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Documentary DP
• Fixer
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Production Assistant
• Production Company
• Corporate Videographer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist

Jesse Rosenberg has been working as a freelance director and cinematographer since graduating from New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2014. He is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Since January 2016 he has been working as a camera operator on a trekking series for television, with shoots completed in 16 countries over six continents. He is producing and directing a series of short documentaries titled 1 Minute 1 Life, showcasing the stories inspiring people, each in one minute. Two episodes have been completed: Susan Helmrich, featuring a three-time cancer survivor who found healing and solace through swimming; and Elizabeth Jameson featuring a lawyer who became an artist after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, transforming her brain scans into pieces of art that challenge how the viewer perceives the brain, disability, and illness.

• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Production Company
• Creative Director
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Drone Operator

I’m a visual journalist in San Francisco. Before moving to news and documentary I worked for a decade as a commercial producer creating content for agencies like Leo Burnett, design studios like IDEO, and big brands like Google and Apple. I’ve also produced for CNN, The Washington Post, and Público, Portugal’s largest newspaper, as well. In 2022, I completed my master’s at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism after working for a decade as a commercial producer. My thesis documentary Hasta la última gota, following the fight for water and a new constitution in Chile, was published in The Intercept. The film also screened at the Mill Valley and Banff Mountain Film Festivals. I work in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

• Video Editor - Documentary
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Reporter / Journalist
• Field Producer
• TV News Producer

Kat O’Toole is a documentary cinematographer based in Oakland, California. She delights in falling into the rhythm of another person’s life while filming handheld. She loves collaborating with directors so that the images they make together can best support the story. She creates beautiful, comfortable and intimate interview setups that allow her collaborators to sink in and open up. Most of all, Kat takes pride in pre-production planning because having all the tools you need frees you up to follow an unexpected thread to someplace even better than you planned to go. Kat studied at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke. Her work has been shown on PBS, the BBC and at Sundance Satellite Programming.

• Documentary DP
• Production Company
• Video Editor - Documentary
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Field Producer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Production Assistant
• Creative Director

I have had a 16+ year career as a video producer, shooter and editor. I’ve created hundreds of video stories in collaboration with dozens of high profile clients and content producers. Previously I produced at TripAdvisor, shaping travel content into concise original pieces for their global brand partners. I also spent time as a Senior Producer creating pieces and series’ at wellness startup, Thrive Global, as well as viral platform, Upworthy. I honed my craft as an editor at CNN and won an Emmy as a PBS videographer. I also directed an award winning feature documentary film that has nearly 350k views on YouTube. I’ve played every role in the production process from camera op to lead producer, director and more.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Field Producer
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - News
• Fixer
• Commercial DP
• Production Assistant

Emily Fraser is an Oakland based documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. Her work has screened at Doc NYC, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, LUNAFEST, the International Wildlife Film Festival, and the Pacific Film Archive, among others. She also teaches film production and eco cinema classes at Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts. In a previous life, she worked as an environmental consultant, focusing on projects in conservation, resource management, and alternative energy. Emily holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and art/architecture from the College of William and Mary and an M.F.A in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University. She shoots primarily on a C300mii.

• Documentary DP
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Commercial DP
• Production Company
• Gaffer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist

Emmy Award winning Bay Area / Sac based DP, camera operator, FAA certified drone operator and sound recordist with over 20 years experience. Owner of a Sony FX9, FX3, Canon C300 Mark II, Blackmagic Pocket 6K, Phantom 4 drone, 1080 HD Sony PMW-500 XDcam, Sound Devices 664 audio mixer / recorder with Lectrosonics 411a Series lavs. News, corporate, documentaries are his specialties with clients such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, MLBtv, Bloomberg TV, The History Channel, PBS etc. Based out of Sacramento and serving the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Felix has full audio and video gear available on request: (c-stands, HMI's, LED's, silk scrims, light kits, Dana Dolly, booms)

• Sound Mixer
• Documentary DP
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Commercial DP
• Gaffer
• Corporate Videographer
• Video Editor - News
• Event Photographer
• Reporter / Journalist
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Drone Operator
• Production Company

For over 10 years I have learned the ins and outs of both large and small scale video production through hard work and hands-on experience. I have built a television studio from scratch, created an entire video department from the ground up, acted as company-wide video quality control, and have seen through the creation of shows from start to finish. I have worked for startups, large corporations and for myself as a freelancer. I know what it takes to get a video production completed with the highest standards while not going overboard with budget and concept. Most importantly, I know how to delegate and use an individual’s strengths to the group’s advantage.

• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Creative Director
• Video Editor - News
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Video Editor - Commercial
• Commercial DP
• Reporter / Journalist
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Animator / Visual Effects Artist
• Documentary DP
• Production Company
• Full-Service Live Production
• Corporate Videographer

San Jose, California native Mario Glaviano graduated with honors from the Television, Film, and New Media program at San Diego State University in 2010, where he focused on directing and cinematography. He currently lives in Oakland working as a cinematographer, video editor, and sound recordist who specializes in documentary storytelling, brand films, corporate videos, and event videography. He is the founder and lead cinematographer of his video production company The Documentarists. He is a Canon C70 and C200 owner/operator.

• Production Company
• Video Editor - Documentary
• Documentary DP
• Commercial DP
• Sound Mixer
• Fixer
• Production Assistant
• Corporate Videographer
• News Shooter / Video Journalist
• Video Editor - Commercial

My names Joe, I've been working in the creative space since 2005. I started out as a photographer and mixed my marketing skills to provide services to small businesses. In 2010 I started to get into videography. My work experience includes event photography, commercial photography and videography and wedding videography. I've worked for a couple of companies, such as the California DMV producing photo and design assets, 2 successful kickstarter videos and currently work at Mvo studios and Revrnt as a project manager and videographer

• Commercial DP
• Drone Operator
• Senior Producer / Project Manager
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Full-Service Live Production
• Corporate Videographer
• Production Coordinator / Crewing
• Portrait Photographer
• Production Assistant
• Grip
• Event Photographer
• Documentary DP
• Fixer