A Photographer Finds a New World of Expression in Film

5 minute read

“Magazines are hungry for video,” says Shaul Schwarz, a still photographer who has been interested in film since 2006. Schwarz — who recently directed both Rise, Red Border Films’ story of the people who built One World Trade Center, and Narco Cultura, the 2013 full-length documentary that grew out of his photojournalistic account of the drug culture on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border — is fascinated by the notion that photos can do more than merely illustrate a story. Schwarz is attracted to the way film can provide image-makers with a voice and, in the editing, a level of control over the narrative that’s rarely found in still photography.

In light of the growing demand for quality visual storytelling from media organizations, Schwarz has set up Reel Peak Films, a production company combining photojournalists and filmmakers. With photographers and directors like Maisie Crow, Uriel Sinai, Christina Clusiau, Gillian Laub, Yoni Brook, Leeor Kaufman and Jared Moossy — along with editors Jay Sterrenberg and Bryan Chang and sound specialist Juan Bertran — Reel Peak Films is a network of highly skilled freelancers formed with the aim of producing high-quality films of around 10 minutes in length (for example, Schwarz’s film Cremation, Peter van Agtmael’s piece on Bobby Henline, a badly wounded Iraq veteran-turned-stand-up comedian, both of which featured on LightBox, and Christina Clusiau’s Black Rush Life).

“We’re not just taking pictures and doing audio,” says Schwarz, while also acknowledging that Reel Peak is not inventing a new visual form. Reel Peak’s priority, he says, is focusing on the film component around which a larger story and presentation can be built. Schwarz’s hope is to connect the collaborative model that large film projects demand with the journalistic ethos of his partners’ photography backgrounds. “We can go further and deeper into the story,” Schwarz maintains, combining “old school journalism’s hard-hitting perspective and great access” with strong, cinematic aesthetics — an approach very different from, say, that of TV crews.

Schwarz works in the field with a small footprint: no rigs, just a DSLR, and occasionally a sound person. This intimacy, Schwarz says, means “most people don’t even realize I’m doing video.” Reel Peak Films is emblematic of a major shift in the media, as disparate organizations increase their online presence and produce more programs and stories. The past year has seen broadcasters and magazines set up documentary film units, including TIME’s Red Border Films. The Atlantic started three video series, the New York Times expanded its output, placing its videos outside their pay wall; and the Washington Post opened a political channel.

As we concluded in the World Press Photo Multimedia Research Project I directed, the intersection of broadcasters, magazines and newspapers in digital space means there is no such thing as traditional media any longer. While there will continue to be print platforms, the screen has become the primary access point for most news and information, and media outlets have to be cross-platform. An encouraging feature of this new media economy is users’ demand for compelling stories. Ooyala, a company that runs 1 billion video streams per month for media organizations, including The Daily Telegraph in the UK, analyzed the viewing habits of nearly 200 million unique viewers in 130 countries, and found long-form video (i.e., more than 10 minutes) very popular. MediaStorm reports very large audiences for their stories, with users viewing them years after the original release date, demonstrating that quality storytelling enjoys a long life online.

With distribution partnerships in place, Walter Astrada’s Undesired attracted a six-figure audience in the first week of its release. The online audience for a story like Danny Wilcox Frazier’s Driftless can quickly be 20 times as large as for a print publication, and has the potential to replicate print run numbers on a daily basis. More than half, and often two thirds, of those viewing MediaStorm pieces online stay with them to the end, even with running lengths up to 20 minutes or more.

None of this new and compelling information, of course, should be used to shore up simplistic arguments or proclamations about the imminent “death” of photography. Schwarz continues to shoot stills, and has recently completed a National Geographic assignment. In fact, paradoxically, he finds that he is now able to take more time with his still work — producing book projects, for example — now that he no longer looks to print media exclusively to make a living. Schwarz describes his photographic work as both “solitary and fun,” but when he wants to tell a complex story, he turns to film.


David Campbell is a writer, researcher, lecturer, videographer, multimedia producer and project manager. He directed the World Press Photo Multimedia Research Project.


"I now really believe in photographers transitioning to becoming filmmakers — that's the main idea behind Reel Peak films. I took what I learned from making a feature documentary (Narco Cultura) and applied it: getting access to places and subject, often putting ourselves at personal risk to push the envelope editorially. Photographers are like the ultimate surfers, but they don't necesarrily have the resources to channel their talents into making a film. Reel Peak gives them these tools to become filmmakers." -Shaul Schwarz Pictured: A photograph taken during the filming of Red Border Films' "Rise." Ironworkers stand on the communication rings above the roof of One World Trade Center, Jan. 30, 2014. A portion of the 405-foot-tall spire is visible at left. Shaul Schwarz for TIME
"Being able to shoot stills and also make films allows me to capture a narrative in the way that is best for the specific story. And the training I have as a photojournalist has informed the way I frame my shots in my video work; I think it's made me a better shooter, in some ways. For me, shooting in video helps to build intimacy and gives me the storytelling tools to create a deeper narrative. It is a very exciting time for short form narrative storytelling, and the possibilities seem endless." -Maisie CrowPictured: Film still from "The Last Clinic," 2013. A woman waits for an abortion at Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the last abortion clinic in Mississippi. Only two abortion providers work at the clinic, both traveling from out of state to provide care. The clinic is currently involved in a lawsuit against the state over a law passed in 2012 that could potentially close the clinic.Maisie Crow
Brady Larkin, co-owner of Liquid Connection exits his truck on the way to a job site in Belfield, North Dakota, July 11, 2012. Larkin, after struggling to make a living wage in Grand Forks, North Dakota moved to Belfield and started his own trucking company. For many, this oil boom breathes opportunity and represents another shot at the American Dream.
"When creating Black Rush Life I saw how film making could be overwhelming for one person. Once I had a team to help shoot, produce, and edit, I could focus on directing and not worry about everything else. Working with Reel Peak Films gave me the ability to direct a much better film. It is exciting to be part of a team that works collaboratively with many projects. Print media has a growing need for quality film content for the web, but until this point I have not seen a production company that connects talent to clients and helps facilitate the process from beginning to end." -Christina ClusiauPictured: Film still from "Black Rush Life," 2013. Brady Larkin, co-owner of Liquid Connection exits his truck on the way to a job site in Belfield, North Dakota, July 11, 2012. Larkin, after struggling to make a living wage in Grand Forks, North Dakota moved to Belfield and started his own trucking company. For many, this oil boom breathes opportunity and represents another shot at the American Dream.Christina Clusiau
"Still photography for me has always been about storytelling. I have discovered that some stories are elevated by the integration of film and video. The feature documentary, Southern Rites, that I am currently working on, began with still photographs. As it evolved, I realized in order to convey the nuance and layers of this particular story, filming was inevitable. I quickly learned that your team is essential and critical in film. Shaul is a wonderful collaborator and a total visionary, so Reel Peak is a new venture I am excited to be part of." - Gillian LaubPictured: Photograph from the series "Southern Rites," 2011. Amber with Brooke and Lyric. Lyons, Georgia. Gillian Laub
"In recent years it has become increasingly more difficult to mediate the ties between journalism and a captivated broad audience. The ever growing need for social stimulus coupled with advancing technology has given rise to an expansive accessibility to video that doesn't exist for still photography. Through film, I cannot only reach the audience but more distinctly and viscerally articulate the message. It allows me to integrate a highly informational journalistic method with a more universally appealing medium." -Jared MoossyPictured: Film still from the HBO series "Witness: South Sudan," 2012. A group of Arrows Boys on patrol crossing from South Sudan into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, looking for Joseph Kony and the LRA. Jared Moossy
"The joint effort at Reel Peak films will allow us to provide more intimate and complex stories for the editorial readers by using films to capture continuous scenes of the character’s daily life—their struggles, challenges, and accomplishments. Though still photography is part of my documentary practice, I began my career as a filmmaker, and am thus very excited to see the use of high-end documentary films become a consistent and embedded part of the editorial world. In this new era of expanded media platforms, storytellers can take advantage of the possibilities that were not previously available in print, and I hope to bring a more involved understanding of the characters’ experience to the viewers." -Leeor KaufmanPictured: Photograph of a scene from "Destiny Hills," 2009. Muhammad Al Tallalka praying at his village after Israeli government forces demolished the village for the fifth time. Leeor Kaufman
****** PICTURE CAN NOT BE UESED OUT DIRECT REFERENCE TO THE FIM NUMBERED******
"I started photography when I was about 15 years old. The first professional camera I held was a video camera when I was shooting weddings in my home town. I loved it and my dream was to make documentary films and tell people's stories. I was very young and very quickly I understood that you need money and a crow to make films, you just can't do it on your own - this was when I went and got my first stills camera. it felt much more independent and let me dream and achieve my goals by myself as photography was all had in my mind. I started working for israeli newspapers and eventually moved to work for Getty Images, covering news around the world telling stories in still images. A few years ago I got these new cameras, they looked the same as my old ones but they had a new feature - they could do video, creasy HD video. this was it! The quality was amazing and it felt as if it were still images with people moving inside. You did not have to compromise on quality in order to tell a story, you could actually listen to people and feel in a different level then in stills. The next story I had planned to shoot in stills was about Auschwitz prisoners who were tattooed with serial numbers - it was clear to me that this would be my first documentary film. Coming from a photojournalistic background it just feels like we now have the tools and it's time to merge quality documentary cinema in our newspapers and magazines. There are so many stories by so many great photographers that were just waiting for that new medium. And more than that, I think that many of us waited for something like that to help us reinvent ourselves, and tell our stories in a different way." -Uriel SinaiPictured: Still photograph from "Numbered," 2012. Auschwitz survivor Leo Luster, 82 years old, born in Austria is photographed August 8th, 2009 in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was tattooed with #B11647 from the Auschwitz concentration camp. "To me, this is not a scar. It is a medal. Why should I be ashamed of it? The people who put it there should be ashamed, not me". "Numbered" was co-directed by Dana Doron and produced by Know Productions. Uriel Sinai—Getty Images
"I made the transition from photojournalist to documentary filmmaker back in 2005. I left my internship at The New York Times and I started living at a Queens slaughterhouse to make a documentary called 'A Son's Sacrifice.' Photojournalism gave me a sensitivity to the people in front of my lens. I hope that my roots as a photojournalist shine through in my films. Recently, I've been directing documentaries and shooting feature films all over the world. Photojournalists and independent filmmakers have always told some of the most underreported stories in the bravest, most intimate ways. Yet it's always been a challenge for these stories to be heard and seen. What excites me about Shaul's project, Reel Peak, is that he's gathering these creators together in a way that will get these films out in the world." -Yoni BrookPictured: Film Still from "Valley of Saints," 2012. Kashmiri boatman Hajji Salam Bhat blesses Gulzar Bhat.Yoni Brook

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