CONTACT
Sherry Rousso + Associates
Sherry Rousso
+1 212 564 7893
sherryroussoassoc@gmail.com
DIRECT
+1 917 280 7537
davidclaessen@mac.com
ABOUT
While working as A Camera Operator for legendary French Directors of Photography Henri Alekan on A Strange Love Affair and Sacha Vierny on Peter Greenaway's second Feature Film, A Zed and Two Naughts, David began working as a Feature Film Director of Photography starting with the French Film Haute Mer by Argentinean director Eduardo Cozarinsky. Once settled in the USA, David lensed The Telephone [Whoopi Goldberg], directed by Rip Torn [Larry Saunders Show, Men in Black,] Getting In for Doug Liman [Swingers, The Bourne Identity,] An Evil Town, directed by Richard Sears, won Best Short Film at the Film Festival of Cannes, France. The Kodak Achievement Award for Best Cinematography for Marc Chiat's Every DogHas Its Day soon followed. While primarily focused on commercials [Google, Nike, Cadillac] and Music Videos [A$AP Rocky, E-40, Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears, Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, Back Street Boys, Aaliyah] during the '90 David has completed several films with director Julie Dash [Daughters of the Dust] including The Rosa Parks Story [Angela Bassett, Cicely Tyson] for which she received a DGA Best Direction Nomination. Tyler Perry's Diary of A Mad Black Woman, a fan favorite, was his only # 1 Box Office Hit. Make It Happen, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead reunited David with long-time collaborator director Darren Grant [Diary Of A Mad Black Woman, The Chi, Billions, Unsolved.] Besides primarily shooting commercialsglobally, David ventured into international narrative productions such as Jellyfish in the Moon in Lithuania, Het Bestand for Dutch TV, and several Museum Installations. David has lectured on Cinema at the Art Center of Design, Pasadena, The New School, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn College, Columbia University, and Hofstra University. He has also conducted Master Classes in Cinematography for The Film Training Company in Göteborg, Sweden. He makes his home in New York City and considers himself local in Rome, Italy, and Accra, Ghana.