Still Photographer Lifetime Achievement Award Phillip Caruso At age eight, Phillip Caruso served as a 16mm film projectionist in the family’s screening room. Phillip’s early creative curiosity was influenced by his father’s career as a cameraman, writer and documentary producer and extensive inventory of motion picture and still photographic equipment. Phillip started a production company with two partners in New Orleans, producing documentaries, industrials, and commercials. His work progressed to other studios as cameraman, production manager and director. Phillip joined Chicago’s IATSE Local 666, and simultaneously held membership in the Chicago, New York and Los Angeles locals as a still photographer. Currently, he serves as East Coast Still Photographers Representative of IATSE Local 600, on its National Executive Board. Phillip credits his work with Ron Howard during Imagine Entertainment’s early days, as a turning point. Through the collaboration, he met Robert DeNiro, later becoming his on-call photographer, which in turn led to an enduring relationship with Martin Scorsese. The DeNiro and Scorsese associations spanned ten years and 25 movies. During the early 1990’s, Phillip was a pioneer of digital photography use in the film industry. He tested state-of-the-art digital camera equipment from Nikon, Hasselblad, and Leica, and worked with studios in transitioning material to digital formats. Currently, Phillip’s work includes film and television projects for various studios, networks, and on-demand providers. Phillip’s creative journey landed opportunities to work with directors such as Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Levinson, Robert Zemeckis, Terry Gilliam, and John Waters.
Photo by Mark Mann
Lifetime Achievement Awards 2017
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