David Wagreich was born in Hawaii, raised in New York, and is now based in Los Angeles. The disparate geographic and cultural influences of his upbringing became the foundation for an expansive visual vernacular that is reflected in his broad body of work — imagery that is at once bold and dramatic, while also delicately layered and emotionally nuanced.

Under the tutelage of a handful of notable directors and cinematographers, David cut his teeth as a focus puller on films such as “The Hunger”, “Dressed to Kill”, “Cotton Club”, “Reds”, “The Big Chill”, “Tootsie”, and “Prince of the City”. This preparatory, defining experience was what he calls his “front seat to the greatest film school in the world”, allowing him to formulate his own keen aesthetic while establishing an experience-base from which he would draw upon throughout his career.

Recognized for his richly-textured, elegant visual style that often juxtaposes intimate, personal moments against an epic tableau, David is fluent in both the long-form narrative and in short-form commercial advertising — his list of film credits, both as a director and cinematographer, is considerable. He has directed 2nd Unit for the films “Little Children”, “Leaving Normal”, as well as the best cinematography Academy Award-winning ,“Legends of the Fall”, and has contributed as cinematographer to the films, “Sleepless in Seattle”, “The Rocketeer”, “For the Boys”, and the best cinematography Academy Award-winning, “Glory”, among others. He’s served as DP on the one-hour dramatic series “In Plain Sight” and “Red Widow”.

David’s body of commercial work is extensive. Over the course of decades he’s directed and/or shot spots for high-profile clients such as Nike, Visa, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Chase, Wrangler, AT&T, Marlboro, Reebok, Miller Genuine Draft, Jack in the Box, KPMG, Merck, Target, Southwest Airlines, Gaz De France, Merrill Lynch, etc. He is also well-known for his energetic, high-quality automotive work for the likes of BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Ford, GMC, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Dodge, Chrysler, Lincoln Mercury, Jeep, Volkswagen, and others. David is well-versed in full-scale helicopter aerial cinematography, remote arm-car shooting, and underwater cinematography. He is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the International Cinematographers Guild.

In addition to his body of long-form narrative and lifestyle motion-picture advertising work, David is recognized for his striking and evocative fashion-oriented portraits which dramatically showcase his stylistic diversity and remarkable ability to capture, in the fleeting moment of a photograph, a distinctive, honest, and decidedly cinematic portrayal of a subject’s unique character.

David is the founder and former CEO of the acclaimed cinema drone company, Astraeus Aerial, and its affiliated company, Astraeus Aerospace. He is inventor of Astraeus’ revolutionary, patented Virtual Piloting System (VPS) in addition to other cutting-edge drone technologies. Drawing on his 35+ years in the film industry—and his thousands of hours experience as an instrument-rated pilot—David developed the VPS system to address the need for precise pilot-controlled guidance of unmanned aircraft when capturing dynamic aerial imagery. This technology won an Emmy in 2017 and has been used by most of the major motion-picture studios and on scores of television shows and commercials. David was a key participant, working closely with the Motion Picture Association of America and the Federal Aviation Administration in crafting the initial FAA Section 333 Exemption for commercial use of UAS in the United States, and is considered an authority on drone systems and aerial image capture.

David is married and has two grown children. He loves travel, flying aircraft, scuba diving, fly fishing, composing and recording music, and is onboard for most reasonably thought-out adventures.

Awards

Academy Award - Best Cinematography, “Glory” 1990 - as 2nd Unit DP
Academy Award - Best Cinematography, “Legends of the Fall” 1995 - as 2nd Unit Director and DP
Emmy Award - for Technical Achievement, 2017

Contact

dwagreich@dwagreich.com