Vance Burberry ACS

Biography

I grew up in Sydney, Australia. My passion for light began while working as a stagehand at a theatre company in Sydney. I marvelled at the way light could transform the stage into this magical world that would allow the audience to become immersed in the story being told. I soon began working in the lighting department, learning the craft of theatre lighting design. I read and re-read the bible of theatre lighting, “Stage Lighting design” by Richard Pilbrow. This changed my world. To make a living which was very hard in theatre at that time, I started lighting for local rock bands, eventually lighting concert tours for major Australian artists including Cold Chisel and INXS. During a world tour with INXS in 1984 ending in the US, I was hired to stay and finish what would be the final tour of the GoGo’s.

After the tour I worked on several projects until one day I landed working on a film set. This is where I discovered a whole new world of light. I quickly moved up to the Gaffer position in the music video world. at the time heavy metal bands wanted big concert lighting which was my background. This soon propelled me to the DP position, allowing me the freedom to design and create the lighting on set. I shot videos for Guns' and Roses, Tesla, Extreme, Alice Cooper and many more. To this day my love of light and creating worlds for the camera has never faded.

For me cinematography is not only a craft but a spiritual journey. For me to tell a story visually requires an emotional connection, I listen to my heart. The light must serve the story, regardless of whether it’s a commercial of feature film or music video. The imagery must connect the the audience emotionally to the story being told. I have learned much in 28 years, and much before that, allowing me to incorporate, theatrical and concert techniques into my work as well as the cinema approach. I continue to learn more everyday, this has given me a deep arsenal of technical know-how giving me freedom in the creative process, but to work quickly and efficiently to bring the Director's vision to life within the logistical and budgetary limits of the project. It's incredibly important to balance the creative aspect with the challenges every producer faces, my experience allows me to collaborate and find solutions to many of these problems. I love challenges of all aspects of what I do and cannot imagine doing anything else.

My other passion I bring into my work is my love of the underwater world. I have been a diver for 40yrs and a NAUI Instructor trainer for 20yrs. I continue to teach including a professional underwater cinematography course which I wrote and is an official NAUI sanctioned course.
I am able to bring my land cinematography and lighting skill set to any underwater film project.

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