James Olav Hill is a producer, director, editor, and camera operator. He has filmed and documented all kinds of stories, documentaries as well as TV shows such as Undercover Boss, American Idol, Gold Rush, The Masked Singer, and many more. Some of the more dangerous situations he has filmed have been hostage negotiations, stand-offs, gang crimes, drug busts, and a shoot-out. He’s also witnessed (behind the camera lens) sensitive settings such as interventions, emotional breakdowns and breakthroughs and families separating and losing their homes.
He is very confident when he’s documenting tough stories and hard-to-reach contributors. He is also a calm supervisor when managing crews and producing shows which call for constant oversight and making workable schedules and budgets; setting up interviews and allowing everyone he works with to reach their peak working capability in a smooth and trouble-free environment. James is equally confident when editing the finished shots. His experience ranges from competitive reality shows to character and emotion driven documentaries.
It’s no surprise when we heard that sometimes James is the Director of Photography while at the same time the Producer and Director of a show. His capacity to multi-task is mindboggling and his skill set in several very difficult lines of work in the entertainment world are incredible. He tells us that the challenges of directing, producing and working behind the camera forced him to become extremely competent in each skill and it has given him a profound understanding of how not only to do his job, but to help others do theirs as well.
James discovered his love for telling stories when his two older brothers introduced him to film at an early age. He started making movies with the family camcorder and VHS player; entertaining his family and friends with them.
At college, he studied psychology and found it helped him become more empathetic, and he was able to create a more genuine connection with people. The knowledge of psychology has made James more capable of[ supporting contributors who are going through tough situations. He has been able to work with people who are going through immense challenges in their lives and he feels that he was able to comfort them in some way.
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