When learning filmmaking, a great source of inspiration and ideas is Instagram. These days, many top filmmakers and video production companies have accounts on Instagram. This article will list the best filmmaking Instagram accounts.

Not only do top filmmakers and cinematographers the world offer post awesome photos to their Instagram accounts. But they also include great snippets of filmmaking advice and tips throughout their accounts.

 

FILMMAKING INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS

What Are Filmmaker Instagram Accounts?

Filmmaking Instagram accounts have become a new way for filmmakers to get their work out there and promote themselves.

Filmmakers can share behind-the-scenes videos, photos from shoots, or even tutorials on how they do things in order to help other people learn and grow as filmmakers.

 

Following some of the top filmmakers through their Instagram accounts is a great way to learn filmmaking and pick up some awesome knowledge.

Filmmaking Instagram Accounts

Here’s my list of the top Instagram accounts to follow (in no particular order):

Ben Richardson (@benrichardson)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“Cinematographer – Beasts of the Southern Wild / The Fault in Our Stars / Drinking Buddies / Happy Christmas / Cut Bank / Digging for Fire / Table 19 benrichardson.com

He is best known for the feature films Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Fault in Our Stars. He is dating Oscar nominee actress Anna Kendrick since 2014.

Richardson is a director of photography. Two of his films, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Happy Christmas, have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Beasts of the Southern Wild was also nominated for four academy awards at the 85th Academy Awards, including a nomination for Best Picture.

His short film Seed won Best Animated Short at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival.”

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César Charlone (@cesarcha)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“César Charlone is a Uruguayan film director, screenwriter, actor and cinematographer. He was born in Montevideo but currently lives in Brazil.

In 2003, he was nominated for the Academy Award for best cinematography for his work on the highly acclaimed film City of God.

In 2007, he directed his first feature film, The Pope’s Toilet, which was selected by Uruguay as its official submission for the 80th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A year earlier, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.”

filmmaking instagram accounts

Emmanuel Lubezki (@chivexp)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“Emmanuel Lubezki is a Mexican cinematographer. He sometimes goes by the nickname Chivo, which means “goat” in Spanish. Lubezki has worked with many acclaimed directors, including Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Joel and Ethan Coen, and frequent collaborators Terrence Malick, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Lubezki is known for groundbreaking uses of natural lighting and continuous uninterrupted shots in cinematography.

His work has been praised by audiences and critics alike, which earned him multiple awards, including eight Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography.

He won in this category three times, becoming the first person to do so in three consecutive years, for Gravity (2013), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), and The Revenant (2015).”

Dan Mindel (@dan_mindel)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“Dan Mindel is a South African-American cinematographer. He is known for his frequent work with film directors Ridley Scott, Tony Scott and J. J. Abrams.

Mindel received education in Australia and in Britain. He began his career as a camera loader before becoming a clapper loader and assistant cameraman on john boorman’s 1985 film, The Emerald Forest, under French cinematographer Philippe Rousselot.

He soon after moved to the United States and began working on commercials for Ridley and Tony Scott, among several other directors.”

Jody Lee Lipes (@j_la_la)

jody-lee-lipes

“Jody Lee Lipes’ directing credits include Magnolia Pictures’ release Ballet 422 (TriBeCa Film Festival 2014), which follows choreographer Justin Peck from first rehearsal to world premiere as he creates a new work for New York City Ballet.

HBO’s Girls (Primetime Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner for Best Comedy Series); PBS and BBC 4’s NY Export: Opus Jazz (Audience Award South by Southwest 2010), a scripted on-location Jerome Robbins dance film; the verite artist documentary Brock Enwright: Good Times Will Never Be the Same (South by Southwest 2009); and commercials for Apple and New York City Ballet.

His first screenplay, Confederacy, was selected for the Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs, an Indian Paintbrush Grant, and both a MacDowell and Yaddo Fellowship.”

Joel Hodge (@joelhodge)

joel-hodge

“Joel Hodge is an American cinematographer, best known for being the Director of Photography for the independent film Bellflower.

Hodge was nominated for the 2012 Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography, losing to the significantly bigger budget The Artist. The award was announced the day before The Artist won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Eric Kohn of IndieWire criticized the inclusion of The Artist into awards that should recognize lesser-known films.

He suggested Hodge should have been given the recognition. Screen Junkies also included both cinematographers among three it named best cinematographers for 2012.”

Rachel Morrison (@rmorrison)

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“Rachel Morrison is an American cinematographer. She is best known for the films Cake, Fruitvale Station, and Sound of My Voice.

Morrison took up photography at a young age. She attended New York University as a photography major but added a double major in film.

She then attended the AFI Conservatory’s graduate cinematography program and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2006.

She began her career in television, working on series and telefilms for a number of networks.

Her cinematography on the 2005 television documentary Rikers High, about high school education within the Rikers Island prison complex, was nominated for an Emmy Award.”

Phedon Papamichael (@papa2)

phedon-papamichael

“Phedon Papamichael is a Greek cinematographer and film director.

He has worked with Hollywood stars Will Smith, John Travolta, George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, russell crowe, Cameron Diaz and others, and maintains a long-term friendship with Joaquin Phoenix and Dustin Hoffman.”

Nikola Krstic (@nickrstic)

nikola-krstic

“Director of Photography. Camera gear lover and Travel addicted. Official Partners @nonstoptravel.tv @kickgadgetswww.nikolakrstic.com/cinematography

Matthew Libatique (@libatique)

libatique

“Matthew Libatique is an American cinematographer who is best known for his work with director Darren Aronofsky on the films π (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006), and Black Swan (2010).

Libatique served as director of photography for music videos and teamed with fellow AFI alumnus Aronofsky for the short film Protozoa. The two collaborated on the first three of Aronofsky’s feature films.

Other frequent collaborators are Julie Dash (music videos including Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason”), Spike Lee (She Hate Me, Inside Man and Miracle at St. Anna), Joel Schumacher (Tigerland, Phone Booth and The Number 23), and Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and Cowboys & Aliens).”

Larry Fong (unclewow)

larry-fong

“Larry Fong is an American cinematographer born in Los Angeles, California.

He is best known for being the director of photography for Zack Snyder’s films, including 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Fong showed interest and talent in art at a young age. His experience in photography and film was self-taught, beginning in junior high with short films shot on Super 8, cel animation, and stop motion projects.

He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Linguistics and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, specializing in film and photography.

In 2011 he was accepted into the American Society of Cinematographers, and in 2012 he was accepted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.”

Stu Maschwitz (@prolost)

stu-maschwitz

“Stuart T. Maschwitz, commonly known as Stu Maschwitz, was the co-founder and chief technology officer of The Orphanage, a visual effects company that was based in California. He has worked as senior visual effects supervisor on several films. He previously worked at Industrial Light and Magic.

Maschwitz was writer, director, cinematographer, and editor for the film The Last Birthday Card (2000).

He directed the “Song For The Lonely” Cher video in 2001 as seen in The Very Best of Cher: The Video Hits Collection. His film Skate Warrior is an example of guerrilla filmmaking. He studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts.

In 2007 he authored the book The DV Rebel’s Guide: An All-Digital Approach to Making Killer action movies on the Cheap for Peachpit Press.

In 2008 following the suspension of The Orphanage he became software director of Red Giant Software. In October 2009 it was announced in The Hollywood Reporter that he would direct Psy-Ops.”

Shane Hurlbut (@shanehurlbutasc)

shane-hurlbut

“Shane Hurlbut is an American cinematographer. Originally from Ithaca, New York, he grew up near Cayuga Lake, and graduated from Southern Cayuga High School in 1982.

Hurlbut studied film at Emerson College, graduating with a degree in film and television in 1986. His early career included work on music videos for Gloria Estefan and Smashing Pumpkins.

He met director Rob Cohen while working on a music video for the 1996 disaster film Daylight, and again worked with Cohen as cinematographer for the television pilot of The Guardian.

Hurlbut received a nomination for an award from the American Society of Cinematographers for his work as director of cinematography on the 1998 television movie The Rat Pack – he was the youngest cinematographer ever to have been nominated for an American Society of Cinematographers award for a debut film.”

Rodrigo Prieto (@rpstam)

rodrigo-prieto

“Rodrigo Prieto is a Mexican cinematographer.

Prieto is noted for his unconventional use of the camera often combined with strong moody lighting.

In 25th Hour, Prieto utilized overexposure and other techniques to create original dream-like images to signify that the events shown on screen are memories or visions.

Similarly, innovative photography could be spotted in Frida, featuring strong colors and sharp imagery blended with atmospheric yellows and browns, as well as his experimental use of infrared during a battle scene in Alexander.

Prieto also is interested in evoking naturalism, most evident in The Homesman and Brokeback Mountain.

Prieto not only shot Brokeback Mountain, for which he garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography but appeared in a cameo role within the film as a Mexican gigolo whom Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack Twist, meets.”

Reed Morano (@reedmorano) filmmaking instagram accounts

“Reed Morano is an American cinematographer and director. Morano was invited to join the American Society of Cinematographers in 2013, making her the youngest member and one of only 14 women in an organization of approximately 345 active members.

Reed is known for her cinematography on feature films such as Kill Your Darlings, The Skeleton Twins, and Frozen River, all of which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

In 2015, Morano made her directorial debut with her feature film Meadowland, starring Olivia Wilde, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi and John Leguizamo.

Morano’s cinematography has appeared regularly at the Sundance film festival beginning in 2008 with Frozen River, which won the Grand Jury prize and went on to be nominated for two Academy Awards (best actress for Melissa Leo and Best Screenplay) and seven Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture; Morano’s work on the film was the subject of an article in American Cinematographer.”

Yoni Brook (@yonibrook)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“Yoni Brook is an Independent Spirit Award-nominated cinematographer.

Credits include VALLEY OF SAINTS, a feature shot under military curfew in Kashmir. Premiering at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, the film won the Audience Award and Alfred P. Sloan Award.

As a documentary director, his films have premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, True/False Film Festival, and International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).”

Xavier Dolan (@xavierdolan)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“Xavier Dolan is a French Canadian actor, director, screenwriter, editor, costume designer, and voice actor from the province of Quebec.

He began his career as a child actor in commercials before directing several arthouse feature films, initially garnering international acclaim in 2009 for his debut feature I Killed My Mother (J’ai tué ma mère), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight.

He has since won many awards for his film work, including the Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for Mommy and the Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival for It’s Only The End of the World.”

Vincent Laforet (vincentlaforet)

filmmaking instagram accounts

“Vincent Laforet is a French American director and photographer.

In 2008, Laforet directed “Reverie”, the first widely available short film shot with the Canon 5D Mark II camera. The video has been cited by proposers of the use of DSLR cameras in digital cinematography.

In 2010, he launched a nationwide film competition “Beyond The Still” and he directed the final chapter of the film which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

He is a DGA Director (Directors Guild of America) and of the ICG (International Cinematographers’ Guild – Local 600.) He has directed a number of short films and numerous commercials.

In 2011, he was chosen by Canon to be one of the first 4 filmmakers to shoot with their first cinema camera, the Canon C300, and he directed the film “Mobius” which premiered at Paramount Studios.

The opening was attended by martin scorsese, Ron Howard, Robert Rodriguez, and JJ Abrams.

In 2011, his first book VISUAL STORIES was released by Peachpit and describes his thought process and approach to a variety of assignments throughout his photography career.

Laforet has been awarded 3 of the prestigious Cannes Lions (Platinum, Gold, Silver) for his commercial directing work.”


I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of the best filmmaking Instagram accounts. Did I miss any out? Let me know in the comments below!