Sam Nicholson ASC is an accomplished Director of Photography, Visual Effects & Virtual Production Supervisor, as well as the CEO and Founder of Stargate Studios.

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Sam has been involved in film and television production for over 40 years, beginning as an on-set Visual Effects Supervisor for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and the groundbreaking Max Headroom.

 

In 1989, Sam founded Stargate Studios. For over 30 years, Sam and his team have provided Visual Effects Society and Emmy award-winning visual effects for hundreds of television series, films, games, and commercials. Stargate's credits include iconic programs and box office hits such as seven seasons of The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy, Monk, 24, Heroes, Ugly Betty, ER, NCIS, Hustlers, The Happytime Murders, The Black Phone, The Resident, M3gan, Insidious: The Red Door, and Will Trent to name a few.

 

With the emergence of virtual production (VP) technology, Sam and Stargate pioneered its use by designing the VP approach for HBO’s critically acclaimed pirate show, Our Flag Means Death (dir. Taika Waititi). Since then, Stargate has continued to shatter boundaries with the latest LED and plate capturing technologies, serving prestige productions such as Your Honor, The Lincoln Lawyer, Bardo, Station 19, Fatal Attraction, White Noise, The Consultant, The Idol, Bookie, and the upcoming films Rolling Loud with Owen Wilson and Trap House with Dave Bautista. 

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As the 2023 recipient of the American Society of Cinematographer's Technical Achievement Award, Sam combines years of experience with film cameras, cinematic lighting, optical printing, motion control and film finishing with an extensive knowledge of digital camera systems. Sam is also a member of the DGA, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and he serves on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Technical Awards committee.

 

Sam is a graduate of the UCLA School of Fine Arts, and he lives in Pasadena with his wife, Diane, and their six rescue dogs. Outside of film, Sam is also a fine artist, and you can view his work here.