Mark Williams, Director of Photography Biography
Some people spend their careers chasing the spotlight. Mark Williams spends his helping other people find theirs. What really gets him out of bed, is simply telling stories, as beautifully and honestly as possible. As a director of photography, Mark has quietly shaped how a lot of the world looks on a screen. His commercial client list reads like a tour of every aisle, garage, and gaming console you’ve ever walked past: Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, Subaru, Microsoft, Nintendo, Home Depot, Cheerios. If you’ve ever felt a sudden, unexplained urge to buy a truck or a bowl of cereal, there’s a decent chance Mark helped tell that story well. His range is a little hard to categorize, which is the polite way of saying he is interested in a lot of random stuff. One year it’s the insanity of Eastbound & Down, Seasons 3 and 4, where he helped immortalize Kenny Powers’ spectacular self-delusion and misunderstood humanity. Another year it’s Echo in the Canyon, a documentary full of music and the people who made the songs that are the soundtrack of a generation. Then there’s Violet, directed by Justine Bateman, which earned an official selection nod at SXSW and TIFF, because apparently Mark also does films that make critics pay attention. Along the way came Code 3, a feature and and The Fake News with Ted Nelms, a WGA Award winner, as well as the title sequence for “ Fully Flared” a Spike Jonze skate video, which is in the permanent collection of MOMA
The music videos are where his appetite for a clever idea shows. Tenacious D, Good Charlotte, Cold War Kids, the Avett Brothers, and a U2 video where the band was, at times invisible. He’s also made a film about sea lions and the people who care for them. It’s the kind of project that suits him: a story that needs to be found rather than staged, and the patience to wait for it.
What’s most defines Mark, (a Libra), is how the work balances itself. Big-budget spectacle sits next to intimate documentary. Polished car commercials sit next to scrappy comedy. Mark moves between them with the calm of someone who has figured out that every project is really the same question: who are these people, and what’s the most authentic way to show you their story? Then he finds an unexpected angle, a better place to put the camera, or a smarter way in, and lets everyone else take the credit for the magic.
His directors seem to like him, which in this business is its own award. The list runs from Spike Jonze to David Gordon Green to Jody Hill to Ted Melfi, and nobody collects collaborators that varied by being difficult. You get invited back by being the person who asks questions, has reasonably good ideas, and loves collaboration.
FYI: He’s not really into astrology. But, does appreciate balance.
SELECT CREDITS
Code-3 (Feature) Wayfarer Studios, Circle of Confusion. Producers: Lawrence Mattis, Matt Smith, Andrew Calof, Justin Baldoni, Michael D. Jones, Director: Christopher Leone
VIOLET (Feature) Section 5 Prod: Larry Hummel, Matt Paul,Michael D. Jones Director: Justine Bateman
*Official Selection, TIFF 2021, SXSW 2020
EASTBOUND & DOWN (Season 3 & 4) HBO/Gary Sanchez Prods./ Prod: Danny McBride, Jody Hill Dir: David Gordon Green,
Rough House Pictures Stephanie Laing, Jody Hill
ECHO IN THE CANYON (Documentary) Greenwich Entertainment Prod: Eric Barret, Jacob Dylan, Dir: Andrew Slater
Andy Slater
EL CAMINO CHRISTMAS (Feature) Netflix/Goldenlight Films Prod: Ted Melfi, Jack L. Murray, Dir: David E. Talbert
(2nd Unit DP)
THE FAKE NEWS WITH TED NELMS (Season 1) Comedy Central Prod: Ed Helms, Elliot Kalan, Dir: Director Brothers
*WGA Award Winner 2019 (TV, Comedy Variety Special) Joe Disanto
LOOSELY EXACTLY NICOLE (Pilot) MTV/3 Arts Entertainment Prod: Nicole Byer, Dave Becky Dir: Neal Brennan
Avi Gilbert
OSCAR’S HOTEL FOR FANTASTICAL CREATURES (Season 1) Fixer Films/New Form Digital Prod: Ron Howard, Christine Brown, Dir: PJ Liguori
FOR FANTASTICAL CREATURES Brian Grazer, Rogers Marquess
*Paste Magazine – Top 10 Webseries of 2015
OTHERSPACE (Season 1) Yahoo Prod: Owen Erickson, Paul Feig Dir: Luke Matheny
WILD IN THE STREETS (Documentary) Village Green Productions Prod: Peter Baxter, Gill Bellows Dir: Peter Baxter
COMMERCIALS (PARTIAL LIST)
Apple, Mountain Dew, Game Stop, McDonalds, Subaru, Applebees, Xbox, Intel, QuikTrip, M&M’s, ESPN, Estrella Cerveza, ESPN, CVS,
Cici’s Pizza, Domino’s, Dodge, Adidas, FedEx, Scott Trade, Volvo, Universal Studios, Nike, Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Microsoft, Nintendo,
Lexus, Hyundai, Toyota, Audi, Infinity, Chevrolet, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Fiat, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, K-Swiss, Svedka Vodka, Home
Depot, Walmart, Comcast Xfinity, Carnival Cruises, Nestle, Gillette, Puma, Hooters, Arby’s, Callaway Golf, MtnDew, Jardiance, Cosentyx,
Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Hulu, Mutual of Omaha, Perdue
MUSIC VIDEOS (PARTIAL LIST)
Tenacious D, Good Charlotte (MTV Australia award winner, Best Rock Video), Cold War Kids (MTV award winner, breakthrough video),
Avett Brothers, Scala & Kolacny Brothers, Fenixpawl, Plasticines, U2 (invisible in support of Project (RED))
DIRECTORS (PARTIAL LIST)
Ted Melfi, Gary McKendry, Lance Accord, Spike Jonze, Jody Hill, David Gordon Green, Chace Strickland, Keith Schofield, Jason Woliner,
Sam Jones, Justin Leibow, Mark Romanek, Kevin Bean, Rick Lemoine, Greg Kohs, Diane Martel, Christopher Quinn, Kathi Prosser, Director
Brothers, Clay Staub, David Shafei, Jamie McCleland, Marilyn Agrelo, Jake Syzmanski, Fergus Stothart, Jaume, Dewey Nicks, Jorma Tacone
