From the first moment he looked through a viewfinder, Chuck Hatcher knew what he was meant to do and he’s been creating images ever since. His professional career as a filmmaker began more than two decades ago, creating images for film, video and now high definition.
Chüc is a very talented cinematographer who creates stunning images through his artistic use of beautiful lighting, interesting camera angles and movement. One look at his work will give you a glimpse at the wide-ranging palette his creativity and imagination encompasses. His thorough understanding of the filmmaking process and his ability to collaborate well with Directors enables him to instinctively select the best camera placement and camera movements that allow numerous choices in post. Working from this solid base, Chüc enjoys pushing filmmaking to the edge both conceptually and photographically.
His accomplishments include award-winning work on music videos, commercials, television shows, documentaries and feature films. Among the awards are CMA Video of the Year for the music video “I Think About You” for the artist Collin Raye and a “Special Jury Award” from Worldfest Houston for the music video “Who Needs You Baby” for the artist Clay Walker.
Chüc’s feature film and TV series work includes: Cinematographer/DP on ID: DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT 2, CHARLIE: A TOY STORY, directed by Gary Brown, FIVE STAR DINNER CLUB, Dog & Butterfly's first short film and PEARL… He was the DP on several Discovery Channel shows including THE NEW DETECTIVES and THE FBI FILES, 2nd Unit DP on CHILDREN OF THE CORN IV which also included shooting special effects for the Miramax release, operating on CURSE OF INFERNO and the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger as a day player.
He has photographed such notables as William Windham, Karen Black, Don Henley, Lauren Hutton, Brooks & Dunn, Collin Raye, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith, Allison Krauss, Tom Watson, Troy Aikman, Magic Johnson, Joe Montana, Muhammad Ali, President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush and many, many more.
As Director of Photography, he is proficient at leading a team of creative people. By inviting them in to the creative process, Chüc is able to mold his team into a cohesive, creative unit where all are working together to create the visual story with power, finesse and creativity. Because he enjoys the creative challenge of the filmmaking process, he works very well with Directors, collaborating with them to express emotion in the images they visualize.
As he states it, Chüc’s mission is:
“In the truest sense, I am the visual storyteller and I communicate with light, lenses and motion. My goal is to go beyond making the best image possible. I work to make the film come alive on the screen, creating images you can feel, so you can understand the meaning of the film without ever hearing a sound.
I’m driven to make each and every Director’s individual vision a reality on the screen.”
University of North Texas
(1977-1979)