Gary Baum

It seems like Gary always had a camera in his hand. Growing up in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn, he was taking pictures of his neighborhood, family and friends. He made a few 8mm films using his father's Bell & Howell 3 lens turret camera. Noir films of the 1940's and 1950's held a fascination to the young teenager; Sunset Boulevard, Raw Deal, and They Drive By Night were particular favorites, making an indelible impression with their use of light and shadows. One early morning exiting the Bay 50th Street subway station in Coney Island by his John Dewey H.S, he was amazed to see a film crew already hard at work. They were shooting The French Connection. Immediately fascinated by the huge 35mm Panavision PSR camera, he observed for three days, in between classes. The famous Friedkin chase scene under the Subway "EL", and the the atmosphere of making a film, was all the impetus he needed to decide then and there that he wanted to be a Cinematographer. Moving to Los Angeles, he finished his college education at UCLA and Cal State Northridge majoring in film studies. He enrolled in a writing class with the inimitable Nat Perrin. Mr. Perrin had many industry professionals come to class to speak. During one particular class, Joe Ruttenberg, ASC was discussing his lighting, and camera techniques. Nat asked Gary to give Joe a ride home, knowing that they would continue the dialogue. They struck up a friendship that lasted until Joe's passing in 1983. One piece of advice he gave, was to get "your hands on a camera any way you can". Gary applied for a job at Panavision, and immediately was placed in the electronics department, building and maintaining gear. There he learned everything he could about the Panaflex system. Through word of mouth via a camera assistant, he was able to secure a job in the Lorimar loading room at MGM studios. Eventually getting out on production as a second assistant, he worked his way up to 1st. assistant, and operator. All the way watching, and learning from the Cinematographers he was working with. Tony Askins, ASC and James Burrows moved him up to Director of Photography on Will & Grace in 2005. Having photographed hundreds of Television episodes, and dozens of Pilots, Gary is well known for his cinematic style, and is highly sought after for his care with high profile talent, and attention to detail. He was invited into the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers , (ASC) in 2016