David Tames
I write about documentary, new media, video art, and more in this blog. I’m a documentary filmmaker and media technologist working in old, new, & future media, in both screen and physical space. Any opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own and do not reflect those of my employer, clients, or any other person unless specifically attributed. To contact me call 617.216.1096 (best method for timely matters) or use the contact form on this site. You can follow me on Twitter: @cinemakinoeye.
Current project
I’m currently collaborating with Audrey Kali on Farm and Red Moon, a feature length documentary currently in production that presents a rare and unflinching look at where our food comes from, this first-person documentary mixes serious ethical and scientific investigation with humor, animation, and the journey of a passionate vegan, who while exploring the personal and political quandaries surrounding the killing of animals for food, becomes a conflicted omnivore.
Teaching
![[David Tames]](http://kino-eye.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/06/davidt-medium-125-2570d.jpg)
I currently teach video production and interactive media courses in the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University. Prior to Northeastern I taught courses at MassArt, including History & Issues of Documentary Film and Documentary Video Boot Camp, a one-week intensive course I designed and taught nine times. I also designed and taught Documentary Project Studio, a critique-oriented studio course at MassArt in which students produce a complete documentary on a topic of personal interest.
Previous work
In 2012 I completed The David Hamilton Smith Story, a 37 minute biographical documentary (produced and directed in collaboration with Alice Apley and commissioned by the Cedar Tree Foundation) that tells the story of the medical researcher who developed a vaccine effective against bacterial meningitis (one of the most dangerous infections in children) and revolutionized the preventative care of children worldwide. The film explores Smith’s exceptional dedication and achievements as a medical researcher, entrepreneur, conservationist, and philanthropist. In 1996 Smith was honored with the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.
Other documentary films include Remembering John Marshall (directed in collaboration with Alice Apley and distributed by Documentary Educational Resources), about the late ethnographic filmmaker, and Smile Boston Project about artist Bren Bataclan (Winner, Best Short Documentary, Woods Hole Film Festival; Winner, Best Regional Film, Northampton Independent Film Festival).
Over the years I’ve worked in a variety of roles on a wide range of film, video, and web projects including: director of photography on five independent feature films (including Stephen Kijak’s Never Met Picasso); freelance videographer; producer; director; editor; and web developer. Major web projects include videographer and editor on “The East Village,” an award-winning site at the cutting-edge of web-based entertainment in 1996 (a decade before the YouTube revolution). I was a Co-Founder of MIT TechTV, the video sharing site for the MIT community. I have taught a wide-rage of classes and workshops in film production, film history & aesthetics, project classes at MIT, Boston University, MassArt, SCATV, the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society.
About Kino-Eye
I’m often asked about the name kino-eye, so I’ve written a brief explanation why I chose kino-eye as the name of this site. If you are curious about the tools used to produce the site, that information may be found in the colophon.
Photo Credits: 1. Sylvia Stagg-Giuliano, 2. Max Kovalsky, Monitor Films.