Gunnar Blanke, Freelance Camera Operator, Jib Operator, Cinematographer, videographer, and Timelapse Photographer, Denver Colorado, and Worldwide.

Chronology and Achievements                                        

My career in film and video began in 1970. After studying architecture and city planning for six years at Kansas State University, I decided I would like to do something a little bit more exciting than sitting all day at a drawing board working on the plans for others' dreams. Film production would get me out of the office and into a more open world.

I was lucky enough to land a job with Calvin Productions in Kansas City, Mo. This company was a pioneer in the use of 16mm film for business communications. I worked on films for Ford, John Deere, Caterpillar, Boeing and other large industrial clients. It was a great way to break into the business. We shot primarily in 16mm, but for The US Information Agency and some special projects 35mm film was used.

After four years in Kansas City an opportunity at the Public Television Station in Denver presented itself. Time to move west. KRMA TV was a good place to learn about the production of film for television. I was hired as a cinematographer. Portable video gear wasn't very high quality or very portable in 1974, so shooting film on both local and national PBS productions was still the only way to go. At KRMA I was both cameraman and editor on programs about water and growth in the west, Arctic and Antarctic exploration (made it to within 400 miles of the North Pole on the polar ice cap), art, and western history.

In 1976 KRMA bought two of the first TK-76 video cameras. It was a good time to learn about location video production. If you shoot it you have got to edit it. All went well until 1978 when the Denver Public Schools decided that operating a PBS station was not something they needed to do.

So it was time to test the freelance waters for a year or so. I shot film on most of the projects I was involved in at that time.

I decided to take a full time job back in the TV world shooting news. Working under the gun of the nightly news is great for teaching time management. If you shot news, you have to tell a story in the allotted time and you always make your story's spot in the show.

Did the TV news thing for three years and was there for the switch from film to video for news production. Had a lot of fun, but freelance life is hard to beat.

In the past twenty years of freelancing, I have worked for all the major USA networks, and productions from the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France, and Scandinavia. In the past year my work has been seen on Discovery, The Learning Channel, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, Home and Garden TV, ESPN, and all outlets covering the Olympic Games.

Awards

I have won one award of which I am most proud: "Best Cinematography" at the New York Film Festival on "Electric Skies" for Pioneer Productions.

Capabilities