Who is the video whisperer?

Old school

Hi, my name is Joe Caneen and there I am with my sculptor wife, Laury Dizengremel in our house in Chalabre, France.

I’ve been in the film and video business all my life–that would be almost 50 years. So I’m old school–but that’s a good thing. I learned long ago that the true fundamental of cinematography is story telling and getting your audience completely immersed in the story. Yes, I’ve used plenty of fancy, expensive equipment back in the day, but truth be told, I was trained in photography using a Kodak Instamatic camera. My mentor was making a point. It’s not the camera that determines a great picture. It’s the photographer. It’s not the equipment that tells a story–it’s the director, cast and crew.

LONE SHOOTER

I went solo in about 2010, so I am, in fact, the director and crew mentioned above. I come alone, travel light and move fast. And in most cases, I turn over the complete project within a week.

'THE VIDEO WHISPERER'

I’ve always believed the camerawork or cameraman should be invisible.

When I lived in Montana I shot a music video with my step-daughter. I knew the local deer would show up curious about the piano and I counted on it and waited. The deer didn’t know I was there. Afterwards my wife had me show the video to some friends over for dinner. I left the room, but when I came back I overheard the husband saying’…the video whisperer…’ I thought, ‘Perfect!’, and immediately Googled the URL. No one had it. I bought it right then and there.

One of the jobs of the cameraman and director is to create or capture moments that become treasures for the audience or the client. To do that, you have to be alert, ready to move, quiet, patient and quick.