SEBASTIAN THALER
born 1986 in Vienna, Austria.
Academic title: Bachelor of Arts
Languages: Polish, German (mother tongues); English, basic Russian
Work experience abroad: Germany, Kenya, Poland, Ukraine, Argentina, Brazil, Jordan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Slovakia, United Arab Emirates
since 2015: freelancer as Operator and DoP
2004-2015: freelancer as 1st and 2nd Assistant Camera or lightning technician for numerous films and TV productions.
2017: Successfully completed the Master studies in Cinematography at the Film Academy Vienna, University of Music and Performing Arts.
2008-2013: Bachelor studies of Cinematography at the Film Academy Vienna, University of Music and Performing Arts.
2006: successfully completed the general qualification exam for university entrance.
Variety:
"Lenser Sebastian Thaler, son of Ulrich Seidl’s regular cinematographer Wolfgang Thaler, lights and shoots with a crisp, limpid immediacy that makes him a talent to watch. His work gives even the simplest shot a vivid yet pensive effect, whether he’s filming a nightclub scene, a yoga routine, a wide shot of salmon-colored tower blocks in Kiev, or resting on one of the principals’ faces to catch their quicksilver expressions." by Jessica Kiang (view orginal critic)
Diagonale '17:
"In a fragmentary film with few dialogues, in which much is not pronounced, the imagery takes over an important part of the narrative. In "Ugly", the audience is given a lot of space, in wide tableaus as well as in intensive close-ups. Through the symbiosis of spontaneous and unkitted, but at the same time highly composed images, the film develops a veritable pull that is difficult to avoid. Due to the variety of subjects, lighting scenes and compositions and the always surprising new perspectives, the film is always in motion despite its quiet narrative style." by Julia Drack, Michael Loebensetin & Holger Stern
Michael Ballhaus Awards:
"An intelligent and intuitive cameraman accompanies two outstanding actors, in long moving sequences, with an instinct for body language and facial expression" by the Jury of FIRST STEPS