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Director of Photography  |  Audio Visual Artist

Commission Showreel 

Director of Photography & Lighting Camera Operator


I'm a Director of Photography and Lighting Camera Operator with experience across commercials, documentaries, branded content, corporate films, and live broadcasts. I’ve worked with brands including Burberry, Google, TED Talks, Meta, Amazon, Charlotte Tilbury, Amnesty International, BMW, and Mind The Film, delivering cinematic work in both studio and on-location environments.


I’m comfortable leading camera and lighting on productions of different scales, from intimate interviews to multi-camera live streams. I enjoy the collaboration that comes with filmmaking, working closely with directors, producers, and crews to solve problems and shape visuals that support the story. My focus is always on creating thoughtful, well-crafted cinematography that feels natural, engaging, and true to the project.

A dynamic video montage showcasing Benjamin D. Cooper's commissioned works.

Winter Springs - Darkest Hour

Music Video Cinematography 


I was commissioned by the band Winter Springs to shoot the official music video for their song, Darkest Hour, where I brought the band’s vision to life through dark cinematography aiming to translate the emotional intensity of the track into powerful visuals. 


As Director of Photography, I interpreted the track synaesthetically and conceptually, translating sound into visuals through a carefully designed palette of deep blues and blacks, interweaving symbolic imagery and tension-filled scenes to reflect themes of infidelity and emotional conflict.


The Music Video became a visually engaging piece built around a clear sense of story, connecting cinematography with narrative. It reflects the way I approach cinematography, starting with the narrative and shaping each frame to support it.


Whether I’m working on a music video, branded content, or an experimental film, I use lighting, composition, and camera movement to strengthen emotion, support the music, and bring depth to the project. For me, strong visuals should always serve the film and help the story land in an honest, meaningful way.


Winter Springs 'Darkest Hour' – A moody, atmospheric scene from Winter Springs official music video 'Darkest Hour', filmed by Benjamin D Cooper.

KEF - The Reference Series Campaign

Commercial Cinematography 


For KEF’s Reference Series commercial campaign, I worked with Mind The Film as Director of Photography (DOP) to craft a cinematic, visual style that matched the brand’s reputation for luxury, precision, and premium sound engineering.


By designing a bespoke cinematic lighting approach, my aim was to highlight the speakers' refined contours, acoustic detailing, and high-end finishes, ensuring the visuals reflected KEF’s innovation and craftsmanship. The film felt minimal and intentional, with each shot chosen for mood and intrigue. Through careful and considered lighting and framing, the product was brought to life in a way that felt clear, engaging, and easy to understand, allowing the visuals to speak for themselves.


For me, filmmaking, whether a commercial or a corporate video, is really about telling a story people can connect with. I focus on clarity, atmosphere, concept and capturing moments that feel authentic and letting the images and story do the work.

The Reference Series by KEF,  A sleek, modern image highlighting KEF's Reference Series speakers in a contemporary setting.

A Kerala Notebook

Travel & Documentary Cinematography


A Kerala Notebook is a cinematic travel documentary filmed across Cochin, Alleppey, Amritapuri, Athirappilly, and Varkala, where I worked as Director of Photography, Video Editor, and Sound Designer. Traveling through Kerala, I wanted to capture more than images, I wanted to capture how it feels to be there. I remember the way the early morning light hit the waterfalls, the rhythm of boats moving through the backwater and the unforgettable experience of a Hindu festival at night.


I focused on travel cinematography and cultural storytelling, capturing the textures, colours, and energy of the place. Creating the sound design myself allowed me to layer the street chatter, the calls of birds, the music, the ocean breeze, and the sizzle of spices. For me it was vital that the audio-visual relationship took the viewer on a journey through Kerala.


Whether for a tourism campaign, branded film, or cultural documentary, my goal is to create cinematic work that feels lived-in and alive. With A Kerala Notebook, I wanted audiences  to watch and feel Kerala, to sense its people, its rhythms, and its stories as I did while filming.

A Kerala Notebook, A vibrant, travel-inspired composition capturing the essence of Kerala's landscapes and culture.

Edmund Jeffery - Fading 

Music Video Cinematography


For Edmund Jeffery’s official music video Fading, designing a cinematic visual approach that I felt mirrored the emotional arc of the song and amplified its lyrical depth. I specifically chose to shoot the music video during Magic Hour, using the fading natural light to echo the song’s themes, using natural light, soft tones, specific camera movement and framing to create an intimate connection between music and imagery. 


I felt the final video had to feel intimate, to draw viewers in, to let them connect with the story on a personal and emotional level. This was also emphasised within the structure of the edit and grade, with audio and visuals always intrinsically linked with one another.


Through filmmaking, cinematography and an understanding of sound and music through my own sound production, my focus is on translating concept, emotion, narrative, and identity into visuals that help artists, labels, and creative agencies communicate their stories.

Edmund Jeffery 'Fading'  A poignant, cinematic still from Edmund Jeffery’s official music video for Fading, shot by Benjamin D Cooper, evoking themes of memory and time.

Cin’e’Scape - 03:45

Experimental Film Cinematography


For Cin’e’Scape - 03:45, I oversaw both the cinematography and sound design, shaping an experimental film that leaned entirely into mood and emotion rather than a traditional narrative. Inspired by the film work of David Lynch, the focus was on creating a cinematic world that audiences could feel. I worked with carefully sculpted lighting, abstract and sometimes tense framing and layered, immersive soundscapes to create a textured cinematic experience. 


The goal was to create a short film that guided viewers through perception, suggestion, emotion and to potentially trigger the ‘Grand, Cinematic, Cultural Consciousness’, to interpret the film for themselves rather than relying on dialogue or conventional plot, highlighting how experimental cinematography can connect on a deeper, emotional level.


This short film shows my experience of collaborating and creating artistic films, concept-driven projects, and innovative visual storytelling that push beyond the conventional. For me it’s about creating immersive, memorable experiences that viewers connect with, whether working with creative agencies, production companies, or fellow artistic collaborators.


Cin'e'scape 03:45  An abstract, experimental image from the 'Cin'e'scape' series, exploring visual storytelling.

A Hackney Notebook

Documentary & Urban Cinematography


A Hackney Notebook is a documentary and urban cinematography project that explores the vibrant, multicultural rhythm of the borough of Hackney in London. The concept was to capture the borough’s contrasts, from everyday moments like summer BBQs, canalside gatherings, and organic shops to surreal encounters, street festivals, and the cultural vibrancy of local cuisine and music. 


Using observational, documentary style cinematography, natural lighting, and rhythmic editing, my aim was to translate Hackney’s energy into immersive visual storytelling that blends raw realism with cinematic storytelling. 


The film offers a textured look at urban life, capturing the small moments and rhythms that give a city its character. Through documentary filmmaking, kinesthetic video editing and specific colour grading, the focus was on creating visuals that feel authentic and immersive, letting the borough and its people talk for themselves.

A Hackney Notebook  A gritty, urban scene reflecting the eclectic vibe of Hackney, London.

Amnesty International – Hidden 

Cinematography


For Amnesty International’s short film Hidden, I worked as Director of Photography, Video Editor and Sound Designer. The brief was to create a short film to explore identity within the LGBTI community in regions where homosexuality is criminalised. Using ethical cinematography techniques, I employed careful framing, low-key lighting, and symbolic visuals to protect subjects anonymity while conveying the emotional weight of hidden lives under threat of imprisonment, torture, or death. 


The film is a powerful yet quiet, socially driven piece that blends a conceptual message with cinematic storytelling, bringing Amnesty International’s mission to life and encouraging empathy and awareness.


This project draws on my experience with documentary films, NGO campaigns, and advocacy work, where approaching every story with care and honesty is essential. The aim, to create visuals that feel real and meaningful, telling stories that connect with people, spark understanding, and, hopefully, inspire change.

Amnesty International Hidden  A powerful, evocative image supporting Amnesty International's 'Hidden' campaign.

A Skopelos Notebook

Travel & Documentary Cinematography


A Skopelos Notebook is a travel and documentary cinematography project shot on the Greek island of Skopelos, where I wanted to capture the island’s natural beauty, the gentle rhythm of daily life, the sunsets slipping over the horizon… and yes, lots of cats.


From olive groves buzzing with cicadas and quiet beaches like Lemnonari and Armenopetra, to mountain villages and the lively cafés of Skopelos town, I worked with natural light, observational cinematography, and carefully paced visuals to bring both the landscapes and the local culture to life.


The film offers a cinematic glimpse into the island’s spirit, blending real moments with thoughtful visuals. For me it’s about capturing a sense of place and culture, letting viewers feel the life, rhythm, and character of Skopelos rather than just showing it.

 A Skopelos Notebook  A serene, travel-inspired composition capturing the beauty of Skopelos island.

NO-5

Short Film Cinematography


NO-5 is a short film shaped by restraint and ambiguity. Inspired by the stylised East End tone of British crime cinema like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, it draws on that gritty, darkly comic atmosphere, but reduces any narrative back to something more suggestive and open-ended.


I focused on creating a cinematic language that hints rather than explains. Through controlled lighting and composed framing, I aimed to build tension without resolution, allowing uncertainty to sit at the centre of the film. The film doesn’t push the audience toward a single interpretation; instead, it leaves space for doubt, inference, and personal reading.


NO-5 is an exploration of ambiguity in short film form, it reflects my approach to filmmaking and cinema as a visual medium, where minimalism, rhythm, and character presence can carry as much weight as dialogue or plot.

N0-5  An abstract, experimental film titled 'N0-5', exploring themes of identity and criminality.

An Alpujarra Notebook

Travel Cinematography


An Alpujarra Notebook is a travel film and experimental cinematography project I created in the Alpujarra region of Southern Spain. I worked as Director of Photography and Video Editor, but more than that, I spent time simply observing. Waiting for the light to shift, letting the landscape tell its own story. My aim was to capture the Alpujarra, to translate its stillness, the flora, the dry paths, the distant hills, the sound of insects in the heat and quiet rhythm into something cinematic, meditative and immersive. The cinematography and editing is intentionally unhurried, allowing space for atmosphere and emotion to unfold naturally. 


The live music from Mairena, performed by Juan Cortez Gomez and Amalia Ruiz Cortez, became a central part of the film. Their performances felt honest and immediate, which grounded the emotional tone of the film. I used those live recordings as the foundation of the soundtrack, building the rest of the sound design around them to create something more layered and cohesive. The rhythm and cultural resonance of the music shape the pacing and bring warmth and intimacy to the storytelling. The short film is about how landscape and light can carry a feeling, it’s also a personal exploration of place through cinematography.


This is the kind of cinematic approach I bring to destination films, cultural projects, and branded travel content: thoughtful DOP-led storytelling, considered visuals, and films that feel lived-in rather than produced. Work that invites audiences not just to see a place, but to feel it.

An Alpujarra Notebook  A rustic, travel-inspired film capturing the charm of the Alpujarra region.

Room 9

Short Film Cinematography


Room 9 is an experimental short film which explores ideas of narrative circularity, a story that folds back on itself, like a Möbius strip, offering no clear exit. The aim wasn’t to answer every question, but to create a cinematic language and narrative space that reflected the story’s looping structure and psychological tension.


Influenced by the work of David Lynch and Michael Haneke, I took on the roles of Director of Photography, Video Editor, and Sound Designer, shaping not just how the film looks, but how it feels, crafting a self reflexive experience, where visuals, sound, and rhythm work together to draw the viewer into the film’s unsettling, hypnotic world.


I specifically chose to frame characters tightly in a way that heightens tension and gives the audience a subtle sense of claustrophobia. The handheld camera movement is deliberate, lingering just long enough to observe, almost like a quiet witness, drawing viewers into the psychological rhythm of the story. 


I wanted the cinematography and visual storytelling to hold space for interpretation, allowing viewers to question what’s real, what’s remembered, and what’s unresolved. Pacing becomes part of the storytelling, reinforcing the sense that the viewer could be circling the same emotional space again and again. Even the sound design plays subtly with perception, drawing the audience deeper into something that feels intimate, reflective and ever increasingly disorienting. 


Room 9 is about using experimental film language to support psychological storytelling. It’s concept-driven, but it’s also grounded in atmosphere and feeling.

Room 9  A haunting, atmospheric still from 'Room 9', evoking a sense of mystery and intrigue.

Pot Plant

Short Film Cinematography


Pot Plant is a short film that leans into quiet observation and dry, understated comedy. As Director of Photography (DOP) and Video Editor, my aim was to capture the subtle tensions, small absurdities, and micro-dramas that unfold in everyday corporate life. Simple, familiar actions, like watering a plant, become visual metaphors for procrastination, self-negotiation, and quiet rebellion. 


I wanted the cinematography to reflect the imbued flatness and connotations the stereotypical office environment can portray, so I specifically chose controlled, locked off shots, flat lighting, and a minimal shot list, allowing humor and meaning to surface organically, the cinematography always in service of the narrative.


Instead of forcing punchlines, the film relies on understated cinematography and nuanced visual storytelling. Comedic timing is shaped through editing and performance rhythm, transforming the ordinary workplace into something both relatable and quietly cinematic.


Pot Plant reflects my approach to film as a medium for subtle storytelling, whether in short films, branded content, or corporate cinema projects that aim to connect with audiences in a genuine, human way.

Pot Plant  A minimalist, conceptual image focusing on a single pot plant as its subject.

Exit Lines

Experimental & Installation


Exit Lines is a multi-screen experimental film installation built around narrative fragmentation. As Director of Photography, Video Editor, and Sound Designer, my aim was to develop a cohesive cinematic language that allowed image and sound to work together, not to explain, but to unsettle and invite interpretation. Working across four screens, the cinematography was designed to feel intentional yet open-ended.


I used natural ambient light and carefully composed frames to give each panel its own presence, while still allowing the installation to function as a unified piece of cinema. The space between the screens becomes part of the storytelling, gaps, overlaps, and visual echoes reinforcing themes of psychological tension and disconnection.


In many respects the cinematography took a back seat and allowed space for the sound design to take precedence. Distorted voicemails, fragmented dialogue, and layered soundscapes weave through the installation, creating a subtle sense of unease. Rather than guiding the audience toward a single narrative, the editing and sound design encourage personal interpretation, allowing viewers to piece together potential meaning from fragments.


The final installation creates a space where narrative, sound, and image sit alongside each other, sometimes connecting, sometimes drifting apart. Viewers catch fragments, filling in gaps, and bringing their own interpretations to what they see and hear.


With Exit Lines, my focus was to explore how experimental film, cinematography and sound design can shape a feeling rather than explain a plot. By thinking about space, rhythm and sound as part of the same language, the work becomes less about delivering a message and more about creating an atmosphere people can step into and experience for themselves.

Exit Lines  A conceptual, abstract film titled 'Exit Lines', exploring themes of escape or departure.

Asylum

Experimental & Installation Cinematography


Asylum is a two-screen Fine Art video installation filmed in an abandoned Victorian lunatic asylum in England, where I served as Director of Photography and Video Editor to explore the building’s layered, haunting history. I specifically chose to shoot Asylum on a consumer DV camera, SD 4x3, for me the camera's low-resolution and degraded aesthetic matched the aesthetic of the Asylum.


With natural, ambient lighting and carefully considered compositions, my aim was to highlight flaking paint, labyrinthine corridors, and remnants of past patients, creating a silent, immersive experience that raises questions on space, decay, memory, and emotional tension.


What emerged from the project is something that sits between film, art, and spatial experience. Using experimental cinematography and an installation-led approach, the abandoned Asylum becomes a space for thought provoking discussion. 


The immersive visual design allows viewers to move through it slowly, discovering moments that feel personal and reflective. It’s a way of approaching film and art that prioritises atmosphere over spectacle, and feeling over explanation, creating an experience that resonates quietly, whether encountered in a gallery, museum, or contemporary art setting.

Asylum  A dramatic, moody film depicting an asylum setting, exploring themes of confinement.

Patient One

Experimental Film & Historical


Patient One is an experimental short film created from archival 8mm black-and-white footage found inside an abandoned Victorian lunatic asylum. The material is silent: a nurse guiding a patient slowly across an empty room. There’s no dramatic action, just a quiet, watchful moment, but the tension sits in that stillness. Working with the original film stock, the grain, the flicker, the imperfections of the archive all remain present, grounding the imagery in its history, inviting viewers to reflect on the dynamics of care, control, and observation embedded within the frame.


It reflects my approach to cinema as both preservation and interpretation, creating contemplative work that connects art, history, and atmosphere in a way that feels human and quietly affecting.


Patient One  A clinical, documentary-style film shot on 8mm black and white film from 'Patient One', focusing on a medical subject.

11:59


11:59 both explores and subverts traditional cinematic conventions, much of which now resides in the collective unconscious of the audience. 


Drawing on the aesthetic and structural elements of psychological thrillers and horror films, 11:59 constructs a multi-layered narrative that plays with familiar tropes and expectations. 


These cinematic cues are not simply referenced but recontextualised, inviting the viewer into an active dialogue with the film and its characters.


11:59 is presented as a four screen video installation.

©2026 Benjamin D Cooper 

Director of Photography | Audio Visual Artist