As an expert in multimedia storytelling and content management, I have all the technical,
creative, and leadership skills necessary to be in the lead creative role for your next video.
As a producer, director, editor, cinematographer and writer I have more than 20 years experience
working directly with many prominent institutions and artists across the Bay Area and beyond - including Adobe, Apple, The Exploratorium, Alamo Drafthouse, University of San Francisco,
UC Berkeley, Topcon, Villa Albertine and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
UC BERKELEY LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE - Museum promo 1 min.
The Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley hired me to come in and film some willing participants interacting with some choice exhibits for their winter holiday season. The shoot took place over one day and a couple days for editing. A 60 second spot + 15 second spot was created for social media and their website. Autonomy16 Productions provided all the gear.
Videography, Editing and Field Producing by Jim Granato
QUEER HORROR - Film series trailer 1 min.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema asked me to film a series of intros plus a trailer for Peaches Christ and their annual Queer Horror film series to be screened at Alamo theatres nationally and for social media. We decided to employ an old hollywood trick by putting pantyhose over the sensors of our cameras to give us an old-school soft focus look. Set provided by Peaches and her Terror Vault crew, shot on location at the San Francisco Mint.
Directed and Sound by Jim Granato
Cinematography by Jim Granato and Nick Berger
NIGHT OF IDEAS - Event promo 5 mins.
I was hired (very last minute!) by Villa Albertine to document and interview a few participants at the annual Night Of Ideas event that took place at the San Francisco Main Library and the Asian Art Museum across the street. A night full of interactive panels between scholars and the public plus multiple performances by a wide variety of artists and dancing.
Videography, Sound and Editing by Jim Granato
I’M IIBA - Video promo 7 mins.
I was hired by the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) to spend a couple days filming interviews and visiting our state capitol in Sacramento. In April, 2025 the Day of Immigrants rally took place there both celebrating and defending immigrant rights. Several folks from IIBA took part in lobbying to members of the state senate advocating for legislation. This video was quickly shot, edited and delivered by me before a May 1 deadline where it was shown at the Presidio Theatre in San Francisco for the 9th Annual Comedy Night for Immigrant Rights, presented by IIBA.
Videography, Sound and Editing by Jim Granato
Cosmovisión Torneo de la Bahia - live artist performance 7 mins.
I was hired by Leonardo with Arizona State University to document a performance at SFMOMA by the artist collective, Postcommodity. This "part musical event and part sonic ceremony" was set up in the museum's White Box theatre. I was asked by the artists to capture the interactions and perspectives from those creating the sounds at the consoles and also from the audience perspective as they wander around experiencing it. This is a 7 min. video based on two 25 minute performances on March 23, 2025.
Videography and Editing by Jim Granato
Sound recorded by Chris Cooper and Jim Granato
B&W Video by SFMOMA
THE SAN FRANCISCO DIGGERS - live conversation 75 mins.
I was hired by Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture to capture this live event, a discussion between San Francisco Digger and legendary actor Peter Coyote
with artist Ben Kinmont, moderated by Director of Programming Frank Smigiel. This was part of a celebration of the recent exhibition "Our commons are free", a project by Ben Kinmont.
Videography by Jim Granato
MXR BASS SYNTH - product promo & demo 28 mins.
Jim Dunlop USA have been making guitar strings, pedals and other accessories for musicians for decades. They also make a LOT of videos which I’ve been a part of filming behind the camera (in studio and on the road) and editing (seen here). The video in this case was provided by the host/talent, YouTube influencer Ian Martin Allison.
Editing by Jim Granato
SF SKETCHCFEST - trailer for live comedy show 2 mins.
Since 2007, I’ve been the lead Videographer & Video Production Coordinator at SF Sketchfest. To date, I’ve filmed nearly 200 live shows, directed several livestreams across dozens of venues in San Francisco. The livestreams only ran a couple of years and most of the video I shoot is for the archive and for the artists involved. In Jan, 2021, there was no live festival so SFSF decided to make several past shows available for those still dealing with lockdown.
For more on live event work, please see my Live/Music Video page.
Videography, Video Producer, Livestream Direction by Jim Granato
ADOBE LIVE! Livestream demos 58 mins.
I was a livestream director for Adobe Live! between Jan, 2019 and March, 2020. With my vast production experience, I was hired to come into the studio and make sure all the cameras, lights, mics, etc were working and switch between artist, host and their work to ensure every 3 hour live show sailed smoothly.
Live stream direction (switcher) by Jim Granato
THE KILLDREN ARE COMING - Film teaser 2 mins.
Here is a short promotional teaser I lensed for a feature screenplay, The Killdren, presently being pitched to investors. The teaser made a real nice impact on the indie horror festival scene.
For more samples of narrative film work, please visit my FILMS/Narrative page.
Director of Photography - Jim Granato
VOTE! PSA - 2 mins.
During the summer of 2020, while still figuring out our footing with the COVID-19 pandemic, writer/filmmaker Maria Breaux and I started a dialogue about creating a spec piece that questioned our kids present and future.
We decided to ask a few middle-school-aged kids some questions about the current world we live in and what they would like to see changed. Based on their responses to questions about current events, Maria wrote a script. And then I got some of them in front of my camera to share this unified message. These kids are not actors and they were all excited to participate.
Directed, Edited, Sound & Photographed by Jim Granato
Written by Maria Breaux
THE POWER OF A (BOGUS) UNIFORM - exhibit video 3 mins.
When do people follow directions or comply with a request, and when do they not? Which factors influence their decision? The Exploratorium did an experiment on the San Francisco waterfront to find out.
I was hired by the Exploratorium in 2019 to hide cameras and create this video for a public exhibition they were doing (Middle Ground) in San Francisco's Civic Center. A lot of fun was had involving the public, especially when they found out right afterward we had caught them on video! People were good sports and legitimately fell for our experiment.
Videography, Sound and Editing by Jim Granato
THE EXPLORATORIUM - Museum promo video 2 mins.
2012 introductory video for the museum. The Exploratorium is more than a science museum. It is the global leader in informal learning, having spawned 1000 participatory science centers around the world. An estimated 180 million people play with our creations in museums around the globe and online. The Exploratorium is made up of scientists, artists, teachers and tinkerers. It is a public laboratory where visitors are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, and ultimately see the world a little differently.
Videography, Sound and Co-Directed by Jim Granato
Editing and Co-Directed by Phoebe Tooke
INTRODUCING explOralab - book trailer 2 mins.
As a video producer with the Exploratorium (2012-2015), I was assigned a project to create a book trailer for “ExplOralab” - a hard cover interactive book containing lots of neat tools of inquiry to help kids get in on the science fun.
Directed, Produced, Written, Edited & Videography by Jim Granato
SCIENCE OF SHARING - Museum promo video 1 min.
For the Exploratorium’s Science of Sharing exhibition, we investigate competition, cooperation, and social interaction. I was tasked to create a series of short video spots highlighting some questions we asked our audience and ourselves almost daily.
Directed, Produced, Written, Edited & Videography by Jim Granato
USF MAPS - university recruitment video 3 mins.
The University of San Francisco hired me (2015) to coordinate and shoot a recruitment video for their MAPS program involving interviews with multiple students and staff and plenty of B roll.
Videography, Sound and Editing by Jim Granato
TOPCON - product promo 4 mins.
I literally went on the road with Topcon Positioning Systems in 2017 to shoot Minneapolis based construction company, Valley Paving, doing what they do best.
Videography and Sound by Jim Granato
Directed, Edited and Co-Videography by KC Smith
ADOBE LIFE - company promo 4 mins.
I helped lensed this short profile piece, shooting doc vérité style for Adobe Life Magazine in 2012.
Videography and Sound by Jim Granato
Co-Videography and Editing by Owen Jones
IBM 1401, A USER’S MANUAL - documentary trailer 5 mins.
Forma Arts, based in the UK, was trying to raise funds (2013) for a new film/concert by filmmaker Bill Morrison (Decasia) and composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario). The idea centered around Jóhannsson’s father’s early compositions involving early IBM computers. I was hired to spend a day filming interviews and B roll with the filmmaker, composer and the staff at the Computer History Museum in Redwood City, CA. Sadly, this project never materialized. Jóhann Jóhannsson passed away in 2018.
For more examples of documentary work, please visit my Documentary page.
Videography and Sound by Jim Granato
CORAL REEFS: A Hydrous Learning Expedition - product promo 3 mins.
In 2022, I was hired by the folks at The Hydrous, a non-profit organization on a mission to inspire ocean empathy and marine stewardship.
Dr. Erika Woolsey, CEO and Chief Scientist of The Hydrous, shows you what's inside their ocean education kit. Get close up views of the coral model, our cardboard VR viewer, the dive journal, and the card decks.
Directing, Videography, Sound and Editing by Jim Granato
Hi! If you’ve made it all the way down here and are looking for more “client work” I’ve done, please check out my Documentary page (under FILMS) and Live/Music Video sections!
Thank you for your interest.