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Bernie O'Doherty

Originally from Ireland, Bernie O'Doherty got his start in the film business working for Samuelsons in London back in 1969. He was a camera tech for the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service with one-time 007 George Lazenby and also trained with Eclair and Angenieux in France in the early 70s. Both in London and later New York, Bernie was known as the man who could get ACLs to run more quietly than factory specifications.

In 1975, after moving to the States, Bernie ran his own motion picture equipment rental and service shop on Long Island. He then founded the Atlanta Film Institute in Georgia, teaching the fundamentals of filmmaking and developing his unique Laserbrighten (originally "Naturalite") process to help cinematographers see clearly and focus properly in low-light situations. Panavision first used this technology on the movie Top Gun, and it earned Bernie an Academy Award nomination for Technical Achievement in 1997.

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From 1995 to the spring of 2005, Bernie served as the Technical Director of the Film Department for Emerson College in Boston and was the silent hand behind the department's phenomenal growth.

Apart from servicing Emerson's growing inventory of Arris, Bolexes, Aatons, and other motion picture equipment, he supervised all of the film shoots for the college and offered consistently packed student workshops on the technical backdrop of the industry. By the time Bernie left the department, it had acquired more than 65 motion picture cameras, up from an original ten.

Bernie has also conducted workshops on camera use and technology at MIT, NYU, Image Film/Video Center in Atlanta, Grumman Aerospace on Long Island, and Eastman Kodak headquarters in Rochester, NY.

Super 16, Inc. is the culmination of three decades of hands-on experience combined with a broad knowledge of every aspect of cinematography. Bernie is delighted to be able to focus on his passion for craftsmanship and the challenge of bringing out the best in your motion picture camera equipment.

Email Bernie or call Super 16, Inc. toll-free at (877) 376-6582.

Cape Porpose Dawn, Bernie's winning cover photo from the book Kittery to the Kennebunks