Hey! I'm Chris Violette, a cinematographer, photographer, and recent BFA graduate from the FSU Film School living in southern NH. I've grown up in New Hampshire my entire life, so I love hiking and skiing, but don't get me wrong, I'm no sports guy. My senior year of high school I "managed" my high school Nordic ski team in order to experimentally film their lives as skiers for the entire season, which turned into a series of episodes shot and edited in the vein of The Office.
That was kinda the start of me wanting to pursue a career in cinematography, even though I didn't really know it at the time. I then went to film school, where I was able to direct a few things, which lead to me winning a Student Emmy in 2019 for a documentary I directed & edited about a bionic woman called Woman of Steel (which you can check out here). After that, instead of trying to direct more myself, I ended up specializing in lighting and cinematography; I realized that I loved teaming up with directors to support their work and ideas as their cinematographer. Recently, I've also fallen in love with shooting still 35mm film, and I've been self-developing my own negatives in my kitchen sink.
Although cinematography is definitely my main passion and skillset, I also have lots of experience with editing, sound editing & mixing, and graphic design.
I also exist a little outside of filmmaking! I love language learning, podcasts, camping, espresso, Altoid mints, keyboard shortcuts, lengthy hard drive organization, bonfires with friends, local IPA's, and playing piano.
I'm currently based in the southern NH/Boston area, and I work for Above Summit, an aerial and video production studio in Somerville, MA.
PRESS
Focusing his camera on people with disabilities, Bedford man shines (NH Union Leader, April 2019)
FSU film student wins national award for documentary on ‘bionic woman’ (FSU News, January 2019)