Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Matos.
Hi Diana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a pre-teen, I watched a lot of films on Pay Per View and HBO while my parents were busy working. Since my parents worked so often, I realized that I should pick a vocation of my own to dedicate myself to. I watched the credits of my favorite films and saw the title “Director of Photography” in the credits. I looked it up and found that one could make a living making movies. I set my sails in that direction and never looked back.
I got my first job in the camera department when I was 19 years old as a Camera Trainee on an American horror film being shot in Romania. I was asked to build our film cameras and load our camera magazines with film almost right away. A few months into the job, I was promoted to being a Camera Assistant and nearly dropped out of college. I went back to school, graduated early, and moved to New York to become a union Camera Assistant on major films.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I began working in New York, you could count the women in camera with two hands. It took quite a bit of time for others to adjust to seeing a woman in charge of the camera department.
Although this has always been a challenge for women in leadership positions, I feel that in the last 15 years, we’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in this respect, and we now have a growing community of women in the industry who are Directors of Photography. Unfortunately, it is still unlikely that a female Director of Photography is entrusted with a high-budget film.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Director of Photography on motion pictures, scripted television series, and documentary series. To be able to say that, as a little Latina, is special.
As I’ve mentioned, coming up in the industry as a woman, the chances of one being able to ‘shoot’ mainstream films on a professional level are slim. I hope that my work opens the door to the next generation of filmmaking talent.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
My favorite podcast belongs to a good friend of mine. It’s called Talk Easy by Sam Fragoso.
He interviews folks from every walk of life and has a casual, yet deep conversation. If you want to learn filmmaking, I highly recommend the Deakins Podcast.
Contact Info:
- Website: dianamatosdp.com
- Instagram: @deematicos
Image Credits
Isabela Oliveros, Tyler Dean Flores, Juan David Dorado, and Sam Brave
