Ron Fricke

Ron Fricke (born February 24, 1953) is an American film director and cinematographer specializing in time-lapse and large-format cinematography, known for his non-narrative feature films.

Early life Fricke's father served in the United States military. His early years were in Germany, before returning to the United States at age 10. He began studying and practicing photography in high school.

After serving as director of photography for Koyaanisqatsi (1982, directed by Godfrey Reggio), Fricke directed the IMAX films Chronos (1985) and Sacred Site (1986). He became attracted to the format after watching To Fly! in Washington, D.C., while working on Koyaanisqatsi.

He directed the purely cinematic non-verbal non-narrative Baraka (1992), designing his own 65 mm camera equipment for the feature, and earning broad critical acclaim. He also designed and constructed new time-lapse mechanisms to achieve camera movement while filming at a very slow frame-rate.

Fricke worked as a cinematographer for parts of the 2005 Star Wars film Revenge of the Sith, shooting the eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily for scenes of the volcanic planet Mustafar. He was also an early collaborator with Francis Ford Coppola on the director's multi-decade-long project, Megalopolis, in the 1980's.

Filmography Feature films + Year Title Director Writer Producer Cinematographer Editor 1982 Koyaanisqatsi 1992 Baraka 2011 Samsara

Short films + Year Title Director Writer Producer Cinematographer Editor 1985 Chronos 1986 Sacred Site