# Senior Cinematographer, Brand Studio

**Company:** [Perplexity](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/perplexity)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Brand Design
**Salary:** $150k – $180k/yr
**Experience:** 6+ years
**Skills:** Cinematography, Camera Systems, Lenses, Lighting, Grip, Color Pipelines, Davinci Resolve, Color Grading, Camera Movement, On-Set Monitoring, Storyboarding, Motion Control, Virtual Production
**Posted:** 2026-09-11

> Senior cinematographer defining the brand studio’s visual language and leading hands-on production across branded films, interviews, product content, events, and documentaries. Requires 6+ years of cinematography experience, strong lighting and camera expertise, and proficiency with DaVinci Resolve.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Define and evolve the brand studio’s cinematographic language across lighting, lensing, composition, movement, and color.
- Shoot and light candid office content, executive interviews, product demos, social content, events, and documentary stories.
- Lead cinematography for brand films, campaigns, partnerships, and launches.
- Operate solo with a minimal kit, lead small crews, or help build full camera, lighting, and grip teams.
- Develop moodboards, shot lists, storyboards, and experimental storytelling concepts.
- Own camera, lighting, and movement decisions from creative development through capture, including package building, tests, and tech scouts.
- Recommend crews and equipment and lead camera and lighting departments on set.
- Help design, build, and operate the in-house studio, including lighting, audio, grip, and monitoring.
- Recommend, purchase, organize, and maintain production gear and ready-to-shoot packages.
- Perform color grading in DaVinci Resolve and support selects, stringouts, and light edits.
- Maintain high visual standards across formats and production sizes.

## Requirements
- 6+ years of experience as a cinematographer or director of photography across branded, commercial, documentary, and interview work.
- Standout reel demonstrating visual authorship, lighting craft, camera movement, and unscripted storytelling.
- Strong creative point of view and ability to work within and strengthen an existing brand.
- Deep knowledge of camera systems, lenses, exposure, color pipelines, lighting, grip, and on-set monitoring.
- Hands-on ability to build cameras, shape light, operate, troubleshoot, and lead crews.
- Ability to produce premium imagery under constraints, from solo shoots to full productions.
- Strong pre-production skills, including translating creative ideas into technically sound, right-sized plans.
- Experience briefing and leading freelance crews and vendors and managing professional production equipment.
- Working proficiency with DaVinci Resolve for color grading, selects, and light editing.
- Collaborative, low-ego approach with strong judgment and openness to direction.
- Ability to work quickly in an ambiguous, high-output environment while maintaining craft, safety, and footage quality.
- Based in or able to work onsite in San Francisco, with flexibility for travel and long shoot days.

## Nice to Have
- Strong Bay Area and Los Angeles network of camera, lighting, grip, sound, production, and rental partners.
- Experience in an in-house brand studio at a technology or consumer company.
- Documentary experience with founders, executives, talent, or nonprofessional performers.
- Experience with multicamera interviews, live events, tabletop or product cinematography, motion-control systems, or virtual production.
- Color-grading experience and strong understanding of how capture decisions affect finishing and delivery.

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