To tell a story on film or television, you need moving images and few are better at getting them than Derek. Whether it's a sit-down interview, beautiful nature pictures, capturing action in real time, or a soaring drone shot, Derek has a keen eye and an uncanny ability to stay steady no matter the commotion swirling around the shoot. He's a great member of any team.
- Dan Rather
Derek has composed some of the most beautiful frames I've ever seen on film. His eye for lighting and composition is unmatched and he's always ready with brilliant ideas for capturing the perfect shot in challenging or unusual circumstances. And if that's not enough, he's also an absolute pleasure to work with. He has a gift for putting you, your subjects, and your crew at ease. As far as I'm concerned, he's the best kept secret in documentary cinematography.
- Adam Bolt, Director
In my 40 years in broadcast journalism, Derek Reich is the finest videographer I ever worked with. Derek has an eye for the unique and the essential in every story. For him, the first shot is not the only shot, insisting on working the video to enhance the story.Derek is completely reliable, ever ready and totally prepared. Not only is he concerned with video, but he more than appreciates the audio as well.Derek possesses an uncanny ability to put an interview subject at ease, often to the point that he can do interviews by himself yielding sound that enhances any story.In a business that often requires last minute travel changes, no videographer I ever worked with could adapt, without complaint, as Derek.Believe me, you will never go wrong.
- Bob McNamara, CBS News
Derek is among the most talented camera people I’ve ever worked with. With his strong news and documentary background, if necessary, he can simultaneously light, shoot and do sound as well as any gaffer, DP or sound person. The ultimate test is when I’m in the edit room, editors always ask 'who shot this?' In my mind, this is a testament to his ability to deliver quality straight out of the camera. As an independent producer/ director, I’ve worked with Derek for over ten years. He is always my first call when I am doing projects on the West Coast. I’d like to think my standards are high and I always try to achieve the best possible look no matter what the budget is. In every situation, I can rest assured that his standards are higher than mine. Once we were tasked with doing 15 interviews in a single room at an overseas location with a small lighting package and virtually no props or backgrounds to work with. Every interview had to have a different look because they were all going to be cut together for a short documentary. Amazingly, he was able to achieve this and make each interview look great! No small task. His ability to take challenging environments for interviews and turn them into artfully shot settings is unsurpassed. Aside from having rock solid technical ability, Derek is easy to work with and always has creative solutions that make the project better. He is not just DP, he is a valued partner on every project I’ve done with him.
~ Larry Confino, Media Sector, Inc.
For more than a decade, I’ve entrusted Derek to be lead cinematographer on my most important projects — everything from breaking news, to long-form reporting to character-driven documentaries. He’s consistently made me look good. Whether it was a historic exit interview with Obama for The New York Times, reporting on the first flow of Syrian refugees for Dan Rather, or a verite’ documentary for Showtime, Derek has consistently captured essential and beautiful footage, and enabled me to tell the story as I wanted. He’s got a lethal combination of a keen eye, technical savvy, blue-collar work ethic and an unflappable, collaborative and positive attitude, allowing us directors to focus on the big picture. What’s more, he is a patient mentor with greener camera operators, so pairing him on a multi-camera project will have a multiplier effect.
- Andrew Glazer, Mission Critical Productions
I worked with Derek on several big projects from about 2008-2012, including alone with him on a few international trips. He's the best of the best. He's a journalist, but also an artist. He's also an absolute pleasure to be with - and he always takes that extra step to bring a story to another level. If I could work with him on every piece I would!
- Sari Aviv, CBS Sunday Morning
Derek is a master cinematographer with a beautiful sense of composition who has an uncanny ability to get shots you never thought to think of or imagined were possible. He is also a stabilizing presence and a team player. Having him on a shoot makes everyone else better.
- Elliot Kirschner, Executive Producer The Wonder Collaborative
I happily recommend Derek Reich as cameraman, digital video director of photography. I have known and worked with Derek for more than 15 years and have always depended on him to find the story and capture it well. He has a keen eye, and a great personality. Technically he really knows his stuff and can shoot with any camera you give him to use. I’ve worked with him on a long running reality show, on network magazine shows, documentary and news production. He is always top notch in his work and professionalism.
- Rhea Gavry, Gavry Monroe Productions