Dan Mindel

Dan Mindel
Born
Ivor Daniel Mindel

(1958-05-27) May 27, 1958 (age 66)
Johannesburg, South Africa
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1983 – present

Ivor Daniel Mindel, ASC, BSC, SASC (born 27 May 1958) is a South African-American cinematographer[1] best known for his work on blockbuster action films like Enemy of the State, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, working with directors like Tony Scott and J. J. Abrams.[2]

Early life

Mindel was born in Johannesburg[3] and received education in Australia and in Britain.

Career

He began his career as a camera loader before becoming a clapper loader and assistant cameraman on John Boorman's 1985 film, The Emerald Forest, under French cinematographer Philippe Rousselot. He soon after moved to the United States and began working on commercials for Ridley and Tony Scott, among several other directors.[4]

Throughout the 1990s, Mindel worked as a camera operator or photographer on feature films directed by either Tony Scott or Ridley Scott, including Thelma & Louise and Crimson Tide. In 1997, Mindel was assigned as second unit director of photography on Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane. This opened the door for Mindel to become director of photography on Tony Scott's 1998 action-thriller, Enemy of the State.

Mindel went on to serve as director of photography for films such as Shanghai Noon, Stuck on You, The Skeleton Key, John Carter, and Tony Scott's Spy Game and Domino. He has also done additional photography for the films The Bourne Identity and Lions for Lambs.

Director J. J. Abrams selected Mindel to be director of photography on 2006's Mission: Impossible III. Mindel worked with Abrams again as the cinematographer of 2009's Star Trek and its follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness.[5]

Mindel was the director of photography on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released on December 18, 2015.[6][7] He was later announced to return to the franchise with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,[8] also directed by Abrams, which commenced filming on August 1, 2018 at Pinewood Studios.[9]

Three years after the release of The Rise of Skywalker, Mindel worked on additional photography for the Marvel Studios films Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Style

His work tends to feature very stylized camera movements with the use of a roll-axis camera, as well as shooting in the Panavision anamorphic format and virtual cinematography.

Personal life

Mindel is married to Lisa Fallon Mindel and has four children, Samuel, Eden, Molly and Lily.

Filmography

Television

Year Title Director Notes
1992 Red Shoe Diaries Zalman King
Michael Kalbernikoff 		3 episodes
1996 Dangerous Minds James Hayman Episode "Pilot"

Short film

Year Title Director
1996 Recon Breck Eisner
Snakeland Joëlle Bentolila
2000 Killer Pink Patrick Cadell
2004 Tooth Fairy Jake Scott
2007 Cutlass Kate Hudson

Feature film

Year Title Director Notes
1998 Enemy of the State Tony Scott
2000 Shanghai Noon Tom Dey
Sand Matt Palmieri With John Skotchdopole
2001 Spy Game Tony Scott
2003 Stuck on You The Farrelly brothers
2005 Domino Tony Scott
The Skeleton Key Iain Softley
2006 Mission: Impossible III J. J. Abrams Also made a cameo as "Doctor" (Uncredited)
2009 Star Trek
2012 John Carter Andrew Stanton
Savages Oliver Stone
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness J. J. Abrams
2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marc Webb
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens J. J. Abrams
2016 Zoolander No. 2 Ben Stiller
2018 The Cloverfield Paradox Julius Onah
Pacific Rim: Uprising Steven S. DeKnight
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker J. J. Abrams
2024 Twisters Lee Isaac Chung
Red One Jake Kasdan

References

  1. ^ "DANIEL MINDEL". www.cinematographers.nl. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  2. ^ "Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC – Murtha Skouras Agency". Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  3. ^ Heuring, David (May 1, 2013). "Irola Finishing Basque Documentary; Mindel Finds Solace in Sailing". American Cinematographer. American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "DANIEL MINDEL".
  5. ^ "Dan Mindel, ASC, BSC: Q&A - The American Society of Cinematographers". ascmag.com. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  6. ^ "Star Wars Episode VII will be shot on 35mm film to recapture 70s feel". Telegraph.co.uk. 23 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Dan Mindel ASC BSC / Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens". British Cinematographer. 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  8. ^ "Dan Mindel shares photo from early work on Star Wars: Episode IX?". Making Star Wars. 2018-06-07. Archived from the original on 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  9. ^ Hipes, Patrick (2018-07-27). "'Star Wars: Episode IX' Rounds Out Cast, Which Will Include Carrie Fisher In Unreleased Footage". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-01-21.