Randy Valdes Bio:
Randy Valdes realized he would be a filmmaker in high school when he turned a class project on the Vietnam War into an ambitious short film, writing an elaborate script and cajoling friends into a three-day guerilla shoot. He was born in Cuba but grew up in Miami where his parents worked in a warehouse before his mother established a commercial photography studio—Randy’s first job was sorting pictures of weddings and quinces. Since then he has only had one ambition, to develop and evolve his craft as a director of photography and cinematographer.
As a director of photography I work toward developing a cinematography that is true to the story and supports it.
A self-described technology nerd, he studied cinematography and film technology at Full Sail University in Winter Park, and obsessively follows developments in his field. His professional philosophy is to master the latest available filmmaking technology in order to better build on techniques that have effectively moved audiences since the birth of cinematography.
His commercial director of photography credits cover a long list of high-profile clients including ESPN, Chevy, Bud Light, Sony Studios, Bacardi, Viacom International, iHome, and Land’s End. The diversity of content showcases his ability to adapt to different cinematography styles and best serve the director and clients.
Randy’s credits as cinematographer include several feature documentaries. The U for ESPN’s 30 for 30 Series, Limelight premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2011 before being distributed by Netflix, Square Grouper premiered at SXSW in 2011, and Spectrum of Hope distributed by Sundance Now Doc Club in 2016. He was the director of photography on a national television program I am Frankie produced by Viacom International. Randy has also been the director of photography on music videos for all major labels like Sony Music and Universal Music Group, and other independent artists.
His directorial debut, the feature documentary A Todo Color, premiered at The Sheffield International Documentary Festival in 2016—one of the three largest festivals for a documentary filmmaker in the world. The film also participated in Hot Docs and won best documentary in XicanIndie Festival. His short film Lullaby was distributed by HBO and his second by 7 Palms Distribution and available on Amazon prime. Randy’s ability to direct his own passion projects makes him better suited to work with directors as a cinematographer because he understands first hand the needs of a director to tell a story effectively.