Sebastian Neville

Cinematographer | Content Producer For Hire


I am your collaborator. Although I specialize in non-fiction films, I work in many forms of storytelling. My experience includes many subjects and audiences from documentaries, commercials, fiction, and experimental films. I take each project with humility and openness. Even after 20 years of professional experience, I never stop learning. I love embarking on new challenges, both behind the camera and the editing room. My passion for storytelling remains the same as when I printed black and white pictures as a child. I've had the opportunity to shoot 16/35mm/HD and 4K films, direct/write documentaries and comedy short films, design a new travel cart for large cameras, freelance for television networks, and work for producers from all over the world.

about me

Exemplary! We have worked with Sebastian and his team on several of our shoots for work intended for broadcast, as well as university use and archival. He and his team are highly professional.... Jane Ferguson PBS Documentary Producer

I am an experienced camera operator/editor and producer of documentaries. 

I shoot for television networks and documentary producers or edit films; I also produce stock video footage I know many producers need. 

I am bilingual in Spanish and English. I am always ready to collaborate locally or internationally as a cinematographer or as a producer/editor. 

Please find some of the documentary films I shot in the past (2001) and others I am producing now on my other website at https://www.humangeographyfilms.com/

   My film/digital photographs
   MY VIDEO EQUIPMENT

work experience

2021 - SHOOT SN Media Services CAMERAMAN-CINEMATOGRAPHER

I have over 20+ years of experience operating professional S16-35mm Film/HD/4K cameras and editing equipment, shooting/editing television shows, documentaries, educational and corporate videos, and cinematography of narrative/documentary films.

I shot hundreds of sit-camera interviews throughout New England and New York City for PBS, ABC, CNN, BBC, Terra-X, APTN, etc. 

I offer live-streaming of your sit-down camera interviews. 

I bring my teleprompter for text or perform an Errol Morris Style interview so your talent can look eye to eye to your client. 

I can work alone or bring an entire crew, including PA, Sound, Grip, and Teleprompter Operator. 

I am bilingual, fluent in both Spanish and English. With both EU and American Passports, I have ample experience traveling to 3 different continents, shooting documentaries and television news. 

2021 - PRODUCE SN Media Services VIDEO PRODUCER-DIRECTOR

I am a Video Producer of educational, corporate, industrial, and documentary films. I can produce/coordinate, / direct almost anything. Between 2021 and 2022, I worked full-time as producer/director for AT&T's corporate media department creating content for their 250,000 employees. I am slowly but surely producing/editing three short documentaries ("Jorge's Children," "Tales of a Road" and "Piano Melodies from a Lighthouse"). 

I own a small-production boutique with a large inventory of cameras, lights, sound, and grip equipment. 

I am strategically located in the heart of New England and equally available in Boston, MA, and New York City. 

I work with local and international producers and crews shooting/producing content in the US.

I can provide you with experienced Production Assistants, Grips, Teleprompters, and Transcripts. I offer close and open captions, Digital Transfers, and Video Editing services from my small studio in New Haven, CT, just five minutes from Yale University. For these services, please visit www.snmediaservices.com

2022 - RENT SN Media Services RENT MY EQUIPMENT

Rent my DANA Dolly, powerful and portable LED lights, OConnor 1030 with 100 mm head, Cine lenses, Wireless lens motors, and much more. 

 

Education

1988 - 1989 AVELLANEDA FILM SCHOOL BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

My two years at this humble film school were the start of my journey into filmmaking. The classes were at a municipal building outside the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. We learned filmmaking using low-budget tools like Super 8mm film cameras and editing tables for this format. I remember exchanging my 35mm still camera from my childhood for a Chinnon super 8 mm film camera at an antique store in Palermo, Buenos Aires. 16mm film cameras would come eight years later when I purchased my first and only 16mm camera, the legendary Eclair ACL. I produced one super 8mm short film at the end of my second year in 1989, titled "Subdesarrollo For Ever" (For Ever Underdeveloped). It was a politically charged film at a time of great turmoil in Argentina. In 1983, Argentina had a good start with Ricardo Alfonsín but didn't last much, and the Country suffered. In March of 1990, I flew to California with a friend from film school to try our luck outside of Buenos Aires. He stayed put in Los Angeles while I continued to San Francisco, where my sister lived. In the Bay area, I studied English, produced a short comedy film ("Valet Parking") and a half-hour documentary ("A Walk By Telegraph Ave....Art?") in Berkeley. 

This trip was a new chapter in my career and what eventually brought me back to Buenos Aires for one of my best educational experiences: shooting documentaries worldwide for ARTEAR Television. That "class" lasted almost four years. The two traveling shows were the "Argentinean BBC" of the time, as far as the camera work was concerned. Needless to say, it was very well respected and admired. I was lucky to have left the station a year or two before the shows turned into cheap, sensational talking shows.

 

1986 - 1988 UNT Architecture School in Tucumán, Argentina

I studied for two years at the UNT School of Architecture, perhaps influenced by my father's field of work. The most distinguished alumni of the school is world-renowned architect César Pelli. Ironically, 14 years after leaving UNT, I produced a feature film about his work titled "The World's Tallest Architect, A Documentary On César Pelli" (Year 2000-2003). The film had screenings in Manhattan and at Yale University many years later, in honor of his recent passing. Years after making the film, my son would get his degree in architecture. 

 

Demo reel 2020

Cinematography by Sebastian Neville

Demo reel 2019

Cinematography by Sebastian Neville

Demo reel 2017

Six minutes reel

College Selection

* Location: Yale University * Cinematographer/Cameraman: Sebastian Neville * Editor: Sebastian Neville * Production: Summer Springboard

Voices Over The Water documentary

Cinematography by Sebastian Neville

Interviews demo reel 2021

Cinematography by Sebastian Neville

Promoting Buenos Aires in NYC

* Location: New York City * Cinematographer/Cameraman: Sebastian Neville * Editor: Federico Bianchi * Production: NewLink

Peabody Museum

Cinematography by Sebastian Neville

TERRA-X documentary

* Location: New England * Cinematographer/Cameraman: Sebastian Neville * Production: TerraX

FOAMOLOGY PRODUCTS

I produced several videos to showcase Foamology products

"Air"

Produced by Sebastian Neville

"New Haven, CT"

Produced by Sebastian Neville

The Cooper Union

Shot and Produced by Sebastian Neville (2014)

Kenwood Band rehearsal

Cinematography by Sebastian Neville

Future Doctors at Yale University

* Location: Yale University * Cinematographer/Cameraman: Sebastian Neville * Editor: Sebastian Neville * Production: Summer Springboard

FS7 attached to 15" teleprompter

FS7 attached to 15" teleprompter

Video shoot at Hewlett Packard headquarters in MA

Sony fully rigged with 3 motors + DANA dolly

Sony fully rigged with 3 motors + DANA dolly

Fully rigged camera on top of SHOOT-ROVER 2.0

Full crew with teleprompter (Rolling Stone Magazine) CT

Full crew with teleprompter (Rolling Stone Magazine) CT

Interview with Rolling Stone editor in CT connected to interviewer in Canada

Beach shoot

Beach shoot

Sebastian shooting with wide angle lens

Shooting at Yale

Shooting at Yale

Second option of camera slider

Second option of camera slider

Errol Morris style TelePrompTer - PBS

Errol Morris style TelePrompTer - PBS

Using my teleprompter as Errol Morris style

Boston, MA - Music concert

Boston, MA - Music concert

DANA slider + Sony camera with 3 motors for the Fuji XK Cabrio zoom lens on top of Shoot-Rover 2.0

New Haven, CT

New Haven, CT

Corporate shoot in Biohaven

CT shoot for PBS

CT shoot for PBS

Several location for PBS show

Hellew Packard shoot in MA

Hellew Packard shoot in MA

Green screen and teleprompter for HP Headquarters

New England Documentary

New England Documentary

Shooting in Stony Creek

New Haven Non-profit organization

New Haven Non-profit organization

Two camera shoot for Yale School of Business

NYC shoot for PBS Documentary

NYC shoot for PBS Documentary

Interviews and re-enacments in NYC for PBS

NYC documentary shoot

NYC documentary shoot

Multiple locations in NYC with full crew across NYC

Chamber of Commerce shoot

Chamber of Commerce shoot

Two camera crews with sound in event

Yale Hospital shoot

Yale Hospital shoot

Explainer video at the Yale's hospital

Shooting at Yale University

Shooting at Yale University

Documentary for British client at Yale

My Story

Everyday is a gift
MY STORY

Sebastian Neville, a passionate storyteller from a young age, has dedicated over 25 years to his roles as a cinematographer and camera operator, as well as an editor and director of documentaries. With two years at an architecture school and experience from unfinished film schools in Buenos Aires and California, Sebastian's true education flourished during his full-time work at Artear Television. There, he embarked on a non-stop journey for over three years, traveling across Asia, Europe, and every country in South America to capture the essence of captivating short documentaries. Since migrating to NYC in 1997 and settling in New England in 2000, Sebastian has freelanced extensively as a cinematographer/camera operator. His most notable works include feature film documentaries like "The World's Tallest Architect, A Documentary on César Pelli" and numerous short documentaries he produced and shot. Sebastian's journey as a cinematographer began in NYC, progressing from a film loader to a first AC and eventually capturing breathtaking visuals in commercials and short films across 35mm, 16mm, and digital formats. He has lent his expertise to American and European companies and broadcasters, assisting them with camera crews to produce films in New England and New York City. Sebastian's unwavering dedication has solidified his position as an experienced professional who has masterfully operated behind the camera, weaving compelling stories through his lens.

 


Archival Materials

César Pelli was one of the most prolific architects of our times.

I titled the film The World's Tallest Architect, A Documentary On César Pelli because around the time I shot this film (2000-2003) his towers in Kuala Lumpur, The Petrona Towers, were the tallest in the world. With this film that I also shot and directed, I learned how to edit with Avid systems. I went broke, took 3 years to complete it but the film gave me and my family a lot of satisfaction after all. Distribution was never more than a movie theater in Manhattan, NY and large venues at Yale University including one with 250 spectators just 6 weeks before the 2020 pandemic started. Not bad for a former architecture student like myself! (Same architecture school Pelli graduated several decades before). 

DIRECTOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER/WRITER/EDITOR: Sebastian Neville

This 16mm film was shot in Brooklyn back in 1998. I shot it with a CP16 camera covered with blankets! My AC was Chris Benker. Many scenes were shot using my Eclair ACL camera. We later shot another film that was part of a trilogy. A television producer looked at the film in one of the many festivals and called me to shoot a 35mm television commercial for Newsweek Magazine. The commercial was shot with an ARRI 535 B camera, a large truck with HMI lights, and a camera crew of 7!

CINEMATOGRAPHER/CAMERA OPERATOR: Sebastian Neville

 

 

Unedited footage from the film "Jay Mancini" No color correction, no sound. I shot this film with my Sony PMW F3 camera, recording externally as S LOG ProRes 4444 in my Odyssey 7Q+. This film was shot around 2018—a wild production with absolutely no help or pre-production assistant.   

CINEMATOGRAPHER/CAMERA OPERATOR: Sebastian Neville

 

 

 

Sit-down camera interviews I shot the last couple of years before the pandemic started in 2020. 

CINEMATOGRAPHER/CAMERA OPERATOR: Sebastian Neville 

 

 

 

Chamber of Commerce video produced by SN Media Services LLC with two camera crews. 

 

 

A local agency in New Haven, CT, called to produce a series of videos for the company TRIM. Only an SD version is available. 

CINEMATOGRAPHER/CO-DIRECTOR/EDITOR: Sebastian Neville 

 

 

Expro Meters, INC. was a good chance to work with the Europeans for the first time (2008) when a Scottish lady called me long distance to talk about this video. A lot of work and I lost money, but I learned important lessons that helped me continue in this business. 

 

CINEMATOGRAPHER/DIRECTOR/EDITOR/PRODUCER: Sebastian Neville

 

I keep one of my oldest camera demo reels in here to show how SD video used to look like and to remember that time. The majority was shot with my Sony Betacam SP camera but some were shot in the early times of HDV

 

CINEMATOGRAPHER/CAMERA OPERATOR/PRODUCER: Sebastian Neville

 

 

 

My oldest Camera (And producer) Demo Reel! 1993-2003 Mostly footage with my then Sony Betacam SP, 16mm Eclair ACL film camera, and others. 3 or more documentaries I produced around those years. 

 

CINEMATOGRAPHER/CAMERA OPERATOR/PRODUCER: Sebastian Neville

get in touch

I’ve hired Sebastian for two different jobs. Both times he and his crew were diligent, hustled under challenging situations, and delivered great work. Peter Tubbs PBS Ohio, USA
  • WhatsApp917-687-8471
  • emailsneville@snmediaservices.com