Ever since winning the Paul Robeson Award for the Most Progressive Student Filmmaker at Howard University, Parrish Smith has been on a photographic roll! An award winning Cinematographer and Director, Parrish has been the force behind numerous commercials, short and feature-length films, music videos and documentaries. Though known for his crisp imagery and stimulating themes, Parrish understands the dynamics of storytelling, as they pertain to the business of filmmaking. One would consider him a truly well rounded visual communicator. His ability to nurture an idea, or a thought, all the way through a final edit, demonstrates his wisdom, passion and compassion for creativity.
As a film student, Parrish shot over thirty short films and graduate thesis films at Howard U, and abroad, USC, UCLA, Temple U, American U, NYFA, and Hunter College. In fact, he completed his first feature film, “Floating”, before graduating from college. Thereafter, Parrish continued paying his dues working as an Ass. Camera, Electric, Gaffer, and Dir. of Photography. While still in the D.C. area, he crewed for local music video director Chris Robinson, and photographed local hip-hop and go-go music videos, as well as commercials. Furthermore, Parrish was a freelance D.P. on the popular show, “BET’s Rap City”, and “Rap City Japan.”
After a few years, Parrish soon returned back to the NYC area, continuing his passion and gift for filmmaking. For added income, Parrish ventured into photojournalism, by obtaining a job with “News 12 N.J.” and then eventually “UPN 9” and “BET NEWS” in NYC. Shooting quick and dirty wasn’t foreign to Parrish, coming from a film background, but the young cameraman adapted quickly to the fast paced style of journalism. Parrish worked through “911”, “The Million Mans March”, “The Puffy Trial” and other high profile cases in NYC, and became efficient in shooting stories quick, editing packages under pressure, and establishing live shots on location.
For the past decade, Parrish has been one of the most sought after cinematographers in the world, working for clients such as UPN, BET, Black Starz, Nickelodeon, Converse, Al Roker Productions, MTV, and Digital Underground. In fact, many of his films have appeared in numerous film festivals and on networks such as Cannes, Showtime, NBC, Hollywood Black, Fespaco, Pan-African, UrbanWorld, and San-Francisco Black. A few of his film credits as Director and D.P. are, “Unjust Cause” (Showtime winner, UrbanWorld, Fespaco etc.), “Destiny”, (UrbanWorld, Hollywood Black), “Nelly’s Bodega” (Cannes, Sundance, Toronto), “The Last Adam”, (ABFF, Hollywood Black), and his latest project, the award winning documentary “Programas”, (UrbanWorld, London’s BFM, IBFF).
In a recent interview, Parrish described his passion for filmmaking saying, “Being a visual communicator is what I am. I love the whole process… lighting, framing, collaboration, telecine, blocking, working with talent, etc. In order to be great, you must know every facet of the art form, every crew position, and respect every position equally.”
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