International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600 Multi-Format 4K Camera Operator | Unit Stills Photographer

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Dan Smarg

Broadcast TV | Omnichannel Content Field Producer & Director

Work Samples

Please be patient while the page loads - lots of variety from my 20+ year career in show business & commercial marketing!

Highlights:

Black Rifle Coffee Company, Warner Brothers Television, History & Discovery Channel sizzles, Super Bowl ads, Fremantle Media shows, Ultra 4 USA Race Series, UFC Fight Night Promos, AirBnB Experiences…

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I promise you, I ain’t no “Hollywood Snowflake” - I bring my “100%” high energy, never-quit attitude and a bone fide “ABS” (Always Be Shooting) style to every production…

“DAWN PATROL”

Veteran’s Day Commercial for Black Rifle Coffee Company

I was up for an internal role with Black Rifle Coffee Company so the Director of Marketing, Matt Best, personally gave me an assignment to create some “BRCC Branded Content” for multi-channel Veterans Day release.

So I assembled a group comprised 100% of veteran soldiers including one former SF operator. Then wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited this video tribute in honor of the thirteen American Service Members who lost their lives trying to hold the line in Kabul prior to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan:

“COFFEE & CAJONES”

A shorter, more commercial take on the BRCC “genesis story.”

One of the greatest compliments I got during this project was from the commander of the LAPD SWAT Team who was up for the lead role as the ODA Unit CO - he said: “Dan, when I read your script, it brought me to tears. As a veteran, I would do anything to be a part of your project and tell this story…”

Unfortunately, LAPD didn’t agree. They felt it would be “inappropriate” for their acting SWAT Commander to appear on screen in any capacity. I reluctantly agreed, so I cast a former SF operator instead.

I couldn’t be happier with the results - and neither can the guys.

Honey Boo Boo for Warner Brother’s TV

I was heading up Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers Field Camera Team when the Executive Producer called me on my lunch break: “100, get back to the studio; get your gear together - you’re going to Georgia!”

I thought “Honey Boo Boo” was some kind of practical joke until I got the creative briefing and segment script. Drew wanted to “get Alanna the hell outta Hollywood before it’s too late!” So they sent me to GA with an intern to capture this now infamous piece.

While I was on-location in Georgia, Producers awarded me “Employee of the Week” at Warner Brothers Studios for all the hard work we were putting in… But let’s be really honest, Alana was running around doing all the hard work - I was just pressing the red button!

As fate would have it, I discovered there was so much more to Alanna than Toddlers and Tiaras. So I went off-script, captured a bunch of original content and instead of ejecting HBB from the lime-light, Honey Boo Boo was catapulted to fame (and fortune) when the studio decided she should star in her own show…

DORITOS Super Bowl Ad Contest Finalist

“Dinner’s Served”

If I’d actually won the million bucks, my rates would be much higher!

But alas, this spot merely garned me my second “Finalist Pick” for the DORITOS Super Bowl Ad Contest. I’d shot one a few years earlier that got just as far, but I’m far more proud of this little gem…

It ended up airing in select markets nationwide - a few friends back in Boston said they had no idea I’d shot it when it came on TV, but it had them in stitches - you be the judge!

DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Copter Cowboys aka The Rogue Ones

Whenever people asked me what I do for a living, I used to dead-pan: “I’m the guy they strap to the front of the helicopter with duct-tape.”

People would get confused - and then I would tell them stories like this!

EP hit me up on the comms: “100! Get your boney butt over here! We need to shoot the opening sequence!”

Butte was a 1,200LBS ferrel bull about as “rank” as they come. He’d escaped the pen by flat-foot jumping over its 8-foot wall - and my job was to go get his “wrangle” on camera. By the time I arrived, it’d taken 5 cowboys to pull Butte down and hog-tie ‘im. Dude was face-down in the dirt, blood literally spraying out of his horns because they’d been cut for “his safety” and that of the other bulls in the hauler.

I had to get in there and get the close-ups we needed which all worked out just fine until Butte straight broke his ties and reared up into my camera! But I kept rolling as I sprinted away - and lucky for me, those boys were quicker on their ropes than he was on his hind legs cuz if they hadn’t, I’d have been a ground chuck long before that beast!

Adrenaline still pumping, the EP sent me up in The Red Grasshopper with Russ Hill, a former med-evac pilot who flew choppers over hot LZ’s in the jungles of Vietnam.

“Swing me over to that big mesa over there, Russ - drop me off on the edge. I wanna get an aerial shot of you flying the bird at me looking down straight down onto the Rio Grande River in the background.”

“Well, how close you want me to git?” he smirked.

“Hell, I could do with a new haircut!”

EXTRA!

With Mario Lopez

I worked on Mario Lopez’ daily show, EXTRA!, for several years producing and shooting segments.

It was here that I got my official start when I tactfully “ambushed” Arnold Schwarzenegger while en route to meet with The Grove owner, Rick Caruso who was planning to run for CA Governor. I’d met Arny backstage on the Jay Leno Show a couple years prior so I had an “in” with him because I knew he’d recall some funny moments from the Green Room with Snoop Dogg.

So when I finally asked him the key question on camera: “Hey Arny, is it safe to say you’re here to give Mr. Caruso some insider tips on his bid for CA Governorship?” The Terminator slyly looked right into the lens and said:

“It’s safe to say, ‘I’ll be back!’ “

With that, I went from PA to Field Producer / Camera Operator and the rest of my “Hollywood Story” is history…

Ice Road Truckers

You think you know what’s it’s like to be “cold” during the winter - but not until your eyeballs literally freeze shut. And then try operating sensitive camera equipment while you’re at it!

I risked my life for Tuesday night television at least a half a dozen times to bring this series to the screen as both a Field Producer and Shooter. But it earned me the requisite hours I needed to join the Local 600 IATSE Cinematographers Guild so I could finally make the transition to scripted TV.

Got paid less than minimum wage and saw plenty of things up in those Northlands I’d rather not have - and plenty more I’ll never forget.

IRT isn’t just a TV show. It’s a veritable rite of passage…

Yep, I even drove the rigs sometimes while my driver caught up on a few extra Z’s! (Great spot for those POV shots!)

If you’ve ever heard of Formula One or “F1” racing then you can picture the Ultra 4 racing series - just imagine those race cars on 40-inch tires tearing up the desert at 140MPH!

Race Director, JT Taylor

King of the Hammers & Lake Havasu City

Promo Video

My first trip to the desert was in an immaculate 3-series BMW. By the end of the weekend, I’d already listed it for sale so I could buy my first 4x4 Jeep Rubicon. It was a decision that literally changed the course of my entire life…

And here we are ten years later - I’m still covered in dust and sweat, but loving every moment of it!

Ultra4’s Legends of Havasu Race

Live Feed & OTF Interviews

Working for Speed Sport | MidAmerica Outdoors and Ultra4 is a dream come true!

I’ve always been a race fan and a die-hard Jeep guy so there is no better way to leverage my experience producing broadcast TV than to capture live feeds and epic action for these guys!

Ironically, the live feed was looking pretty wonky in this photo - *that’s cuz I wasn’t out in the field!!! LOL*

I dropped in to collaborate with MidAmerica Outdoors and AOE.tv to produce & direct this piece on the “OG-13 Founder” and current Ultra4 Race Director of the now world-famous King of the Hammers race in Johnson Valley, CA… JT TAYLOR

JT Taylor is not just a legend, he’s a former ARMY SF operator, handy mechanic and helluva human being. You wouldn’t know it, but we were in the middle of a wind storm during this OTF interview I slapped together. I had two guys from the AOE.tv crew help me shoot it and it turned out to be a great little glimpse into the Lore and Legend of the Ultra 4 genesis story…

UFC Fight Night Promo starring Uriah Faber & Andre Fili

featuring Lauren Mayhew

My singer/song-writer and all around badass lady friend, Lauren Mayhew, called me up and said: “Smarg, you a fan of UFC?” I said: “You mean do I like to watch guys beat the sh*t out of each other while locked in a cage? No, not at all - what’s the sport in that?!”

She said well, “Don’t tell Uriah Faber that because he wants to star in my music video to promote his upcoming UFC Fight Night - and I want you to direct it.”

Turns out Uriah is as much of a stud in real life as he is in the ring. Guy crushes everything he touches. So we collaborated to write, produce and direct this digital “Romeo & Juliet” allegory to put a little extra punch into his post Super Bowl bout with Andre “Touchy” Fili.

Check it out…

There is nothing in the universe like bombing across the legendary Lake Amistad, Texas at 70MPH with a World Championship Bass Fisherman while holding a 45lbs BETA cam (Cadillac) in one hand and the side-rail for dear-life in the other!

See, when these dudes decide to “go get ‘em,” they don’t care if the camera guy is strapped in! That’s why I had to wer a self-inflating PFD - and I learned that the hard way - multiple times…

Fortunately, I didn’t always have to rock the “BETA Brick” - on this one they gave me an EX3 so I wouldn’t be strapped to a $30K anchor!

Moving to Montana was one of the best decisions I ever made - so shooting the best show in “the Last Best Place” is not only a blast, but a great way to promote our amazing local businesses and towns that make this place so special…

The run-n-gun style always keeps us on our feet as we’re lead through trails to hot topics on the local scene with our high energy host, Julie Mac.

“Who wants some weed!?” Cheryle Schuman exclaimed as she popped in the front door of the Beverly Hills mansion where we were staging our gear for Fremantle’s new show, “Beverly Hills Cannabis Club.”

Taking my first CBD-oil infused “Dope Brownie” from a dead ringer for a hip version of Martha Stewart, I knew I was in for a real ride with these “high society” ladies!

Read the New York Times Article…

AirBnB really wanted to spice up its local “Experiences” so I wrote, produced, directed, shot these pieces to highlight some of Malibu’s secret spots and fun-filled activities…