Canopy Cinema Main Office
My name is Sam Nuttmann and this website is a portfolio of my work. I have been in the film industry for over 15 years, so I have a lot of work to share! My focus has shifted over the years and nowadays, I am primarily interested in creating documentary films that tell stories about people interacting with nature. With that in mind, I have featured my body of work on this website that reflects this. However, I have a long history of working as a director of photography and camera operator for feature films, television, and commercials, which you can find in the “MORE” menu on this site or on my IMDB page.
WHAT IS MOTION STATE
Based in Seattle, WA, Motion State is a full-service production company founded by myself, Corey Koniniec, Ryan Haug, and Amber Koniniec. Our company is focused primarily on producing commercial work for major brands, such as Firestone Tires, Titleist Golf, Sandals Resorts, Amazon, Microsoft, and many others. We also provide extensive production services, such as camera equipment rentals, camera operators, technocranes, arm cars, pretty much anything you need to bring your film project to life.
HOW IS CANOPY CINEMA DIFFERENT
Canopy Cinema is the space where I create small footprint passion projects that are rooted in art. These projects generally do not have brand association, are privately funded (if funded at all), and exist for no other reason other than the fact that art is fun to make and beautiful to look at. So to sum it up, Canopy Cinema is the name I put on my personal projects and this website is the place where I showcase them.
WHAT I DO
I love to tell stories through film and music. I have had to dig deep into every critical part of the filmmaking puzzle (audio recording, color grading, sound design, etc), to get the job done with the limited resources on hand. Working on big productions has taught me the value of specialization and what you can accomplish with a crew of experts working as a team. Working on micro productions has taught me the value of having a broad skill set, creative problem solving, resource stretching, and the importance of really knowing what you need (and what you don’t) to tell a story properly.
WORKING TOGETHER
If you have a story to tell and need my help, let’s chat. Whether it’s running a camera, directing the show, or writing music for the edit, anything is possible if your project is the right fit.
Filming for “The Polar Frame” in Antarctica
A penguin crashing our interview
