About

      Gregory Principato found at an early age that he had a passion for the  arts, especially music and photography. Although content with playing  music, he began experimenting with a camera his mother had bought  him when he was twelve. He set up a darkroom in the laundry room of  his parents house by boarding up the window and using the ironing  board as a table for his trays of chemicals. Needless to say, his mother  wasn’t too happy about this, but allowed him to pursue his creative  vision anyway. It was in his late teens, through many years of honing his  skills as a photographer, percussionist and practicing martial arts, that  Gregory discovered his strong sense of independence, patience and  discipline.  

 

       Fresh out of an NYU Intensive Film program, Gregory landed a job at  General Camera.This provided him with a rare hands-on experience to  study many different film cameras and afforded him the opportunity to  meet the industry professionals who would someday hire him. In 1994,  he became a member of the International Cinematographers Guild and  began his career in the film business. For the past twenty nine years  Gregory has worked his way up in the camera department to his current  position of camera operator. Some of his credits include; Spin City, Law  & Order Criminal Intent, Safe, Boardwalk Empire, Shades Of Blue, Billions, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Inventing Anna, The Humans, The  Watcher, and American Horror Story.  

 

       In 2009, Gregory completed his award winning feature documentary,  Mr. Laughs - A Look Behind The Curtain, about the life of acclaimed  actor/comedian, Sal Richards. The documentary has been highly  received and won Best Documentary at the 2009 Long Island Film  Expo, Best Documentary at the 2009 Staten Island Film Festival, the  Audience Choice – Best Documentary Award at the 2009 Connecticut  Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the 25th Long Island Film  Festival. It also received the Silver Ace Award at the 2009 Las Vegas  Film Festival and Honorable Mention at So Cal Film Festival.  

 

       In 2012 Gregory co-wrote, produced, and directed his dark comedy short  film, Crackers. The all star cast consisted of Vincent D’Onofrio, Brenda Vaccaro, Dan Hedaya, Sal Richards, Anthony Laciura and Beth  Ann Bonner. Crackers became an Academy Qualifying Short and won  seven awards in various festivals, including Best Narrative Short at the  

2013 Garden State Film Festival, Best Short Film and The People’s  Choice at the 2012 Fort Myers Beach Film Festival, Best Short Comedy  at the AFI World Cinema Festival, Special Jury Award at the San Diego  Film Festival, Audience Choice Award and Juried Award for Best Short  at the Teaneck International Film Festival.

 

       He also co-produced and directed a short film called Her Song, a  spiritual journey into the afterlife as seen through the eyes of three  generations of women. Gregory developed and directed a pilot for a  traveling talk show titled, Eat, Drink, and Sing! hosted by Anthony  Laciura, starring Steve Buscemi, Paquito Di Rivera, Martina Arroyo, and  Chef de cuisine Ron Gallo. 

More recently Gregory has co-written, produced, and directed Caller  Zero, a short experimental film about a radio DJ who discovers his own  fate through the horrific life of a disillusioned caller. He directed a music  video titled Hold Your Fire for up and coming musical artist, Grand  Pepper of Reality.  

 

    Gregory has also directed off-Broadway theater productions, namely  Lunch Hour, and an original play he co-wrote, Synchronicity. He is a  Clarion Award Winner as well as a recipient of the ACW Award for  excellence in creative and technical achievement from the Advertising  Club of Westchester.

 

       Gregory is constantly searching for new and creative ways to tell  stories. He continues to produce independent projects and is co-writing a  screenplay which he hopes to direct later this year.