Dan Frantz grew up in small town Pennsylvania where he filled his formative years with filmmaking. His passion for photographing action was validated when a Vietnam war short he filmed, based on Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, premiered on PBS.

 

While in high school, Dan was hired as a camera operator on the feature documentary Well of Dreams (2012), which filmed on location in Kenya. His work on the film caught the attention of the White House, earning him the honor of Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

 

Dan went on to study Visual Effects at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and then continued honing his skills as a VFX artist for The Mill.

 

In 2017, Dan began working professionally as a cinematographer, combining his knowledge of visual effects with his filmmaking expertise. Dan has lensed hundreds of VFX driven commercials which includes work for Nike, Ralph Lauren, and The United States Army. 

 

Dan’s narrative work has been equally decorated with notable shorts such as Current Value - That Smile (2019, Berlin MVA Winner), Omniboat (2020, Sundance premiere) and Hiplet (2020 SXSW premiere).

 

Ambush marks his debut as a feature film cinematographer.