There are many parents at Elkhorn South with unique jobs. Mauro Fiore is one of those parents. He is a father of students here at Elkhorn South on top of his job as a director of photography. He recently came to Elkhorn South for Eat with an Expert. Eat with an Expert is a program that allows students to learn about different carriers. They get to talk with an expert in a variety of fields during lunch.

Mauro Fiore came to explain to students what his everyday life as a director of photography looks like. He was happy he got to share his experiences with the students and participate in the program. Fiore explained how he works with the director to tell a story visually through his knowledge of photography, camera movement, and lighting.

¨I became very interested in photography in high school,¨ Fiore said. ¨I decided to study film after realizing that it incorporated all my interest, photography, sound, and music.¨

The hardest thing Fiore has to deal with is the Sun. His schedule revolves around when the lighting is the best. Depending whether it is a night or day shoot, he could work from sunrise to sunset or Twilight to sunrise, whatever is needed to ensure the film or project stays on time. A film shoot will usually last from 3 to 10 months. Choosing the next project to work on can be a difficult task. There are many factors to consider.

¨ First I usually read the script and decide if it is a particular story that I am interested in. At times there may be a particular director or actor I want to work with,¨ Fiore said.

One of the many benefits of Fiore’s profession is getting to travel within the United States and internationally. Traveling allows him to not only photograph new places, but also experience them during a shoot. However, Fiore said it is not always easy leaving his family.

¨This part of my job is very difficult to deal with, but I always make sure that I set aside time for my family between projects,¨ Fiore said.

Sophomore Tessa Fiore explained that she finds her father job interesting because the diversity and uniqueness of it. Also, that he gets to meet many new people and travel to a variety of place.

¨By now I have kind of got used to him always being gone and missing holidays and our birthdays for work,¨ Tessa said.

On special occasions the family gets to travel with him.

¨We’ve gotten to meet famous people and travel to some really cool places like Morocco,¨ Tessa said.

¨traveling is a major perk: from Montreal to Berlin to Morocco we’ve been a lot of really cool places. Set is always a really fun time as well just seeing the movie come together and at various stages of the process,¨ Olivia said.

Fiore has worked on many projects, large and small. He is most noted for his work on the 2009 film Avatar. He won an Oscar for the Best Cinematography at the 82nd Academy Awards. He was able to attend the awards with his wife Christine Fiore.

¨Well I can honestly say that it was really like a dream. I didn’t realize the effect of the award globally. The moment was not only my moment, but a moment to share with all the people I had known and my parents have know my whole life. It was specifically interesting to see the effect it had on my birthplace in Southern Italy and the amount of people it affected there, the honor and excitement they felt that someone from their toen was being celebrated,¨ Fiore said.

His children were also affected by this award.

¨I really don’t think it is a large part of my personality that my dad got an Oscar so I usually don’t bring it up. If someone else does it’s fine with me it’s something that happened and I’m proud of him for it. It’s definitely strange when almost every person you meet eventually searches your dad on Wikipedia to see if you’re lying,¨ Olivia said.

Often, viewers don’t associate the movies they watch as the product of many peoples hard work.

¨I think just the time and dedication it took to actually become a cinematographer is really overlooked. Also I don’t regret working on sets on every level of production whether it’s being someone’s assistant or lighten the set with ab electric crew,¨ fiore said.

Fiore has a real passion for his job.

¨I feel like when I am at work it is really like a hobby,¨ Fiore said.