Tim Metzger

Cinematographer, Producer

Interview Frames

Tim Metzger is an Academy Award nominee and Emmy-nominated director of photography with over 15 years of experience filming documentaries, commercials and fiction films. This reel includes highlights from projects for National Geographic, PBS, Discovery, History, Al Jazeera, Warner Brothers, San Pellegrino, Pixar, Puma, and TED.

DP Reel

This feature documentary from NBC/Universal chronicles the leadup to the infamous Trinity test and sheds light on the inner conflict that plagued J. Robert Oppenheimer, a man deeply affected by the gravity of his creation.

To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb

From Academy and Emmy Award-winning filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, PHOTOGRAPHER flips the lens on some of the world’s most extraordinary visual storytellers to see what makes them click. 

I filmed for Ep 2 with the amazing Anand Varma.
Director: Marshall Curry
Cinematography by: Jacopo Campaiola, Wolfgang Held, Tom Hurwitz, Tim Metzger, Mark Oltmanns

Photographer (S1.E2 Anand Varma: Hidden Wonders)

Told by the pioneering women who participated in it and built from archive unseen for fifty years, this is the extraordinary story of the 1971 Women’s Football World Cup, a tournament witnessed by record crowds that has been written out of sporting history — until now.

Directed by Rachel Ramsay & James Erskine
EPs: Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Alex Morgan
Director of Photography: Angela Neil

Copa 71

In a Midwestern state caught between harsh drug sentencing and rising incarceration rates for women, three unforgettable mothers—Tomika, Lydia, and Amanda— return home from prison and rebuild their lives after being separated from their children for years. Their stories overlap at a new reentry program for women, run by Malika, a mentor who was formerly incarcerated in the same prison. Filmed over 3 ½ years, APART traces their steps as they reconstruct lives derailed by drugs and prison.

Independent Lens 2022

Apart

In Nat Geo’s highest-rated series of all time, Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman explores the meaning of life, God, and many big questions in between in an effort to understand how religion has evolved and shaped society. An Emmy-nominated series filmed at some of the world's greatest religious sites, including Jerusalem's Western Wall, India's Bodhi Tree, Mayan temples in Guatemala, and the pyramids of Egypt.

The Story of God with Morgan Freeman

Pathological: The Lies of Joran van der Sloot

A documentary about the fictional character Buzz Lightyear and the making of the film Lightyear (2022).

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear

In this intimate character-driven film, three blind women from Havana, Cuba confront their heartbreaks and hopes, and navigate their profound desires for personal independence.

Tocando la Luz (Touch the Light)

This Academy Award nominated film tells the story of some of the world's first environmental refugees, the Carteret Islanders. The film follows relocation leader Ursula Rakova and a group of young families as they search for a new homeland in war torn Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea.

Thanks to the Oscar buzz, Sun Come Up screened theatrically in 30 U.S. cities, aired on HBO, and has been used in over 1,000 schools, universities and communities.

Sun Come Up

The Emmy nominated six-episode series was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and premiered on Discovery in late August 2011, two weeks ahead of the 10th anniversary and the official opening of the 9/11 Memorial to the public. The story of the rebuilding is told through the eyes of construction workers, architects and 9/11 family members who came together to bring new life to Lower Manhattan. 

As lead Director of Photography, Tim Metzger helped create the visual style of the series and collaborated with a talented team of cinematographers over a year and a half of filming. He worked side by side with all trades, from stone masons to ironworkers, and was filming for Discovery atop Tower One in 2013 as the spire was erected, making it (briefly) the tallest building in North America.

Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero

EMMY Nomination for lighting direction

This hybrid doc from Oscar-winning director Anthony Giacchino seeks to explain the enigmatic Oswald by tracing his actions in the minutes, hours and days following Kennedy's assassination. It was filmed at all the actual locations and with a stunning cast of lookalike actors, except for Oswald himself whose face only appears in archival. It was also the first documentary to shoot with the now-famous Freefly MōVI.

Lee Harvey Oswald: 48 Hours to Live

2 EMMY Nominations (both seasons) for lighting direction 
A two-season, 12-part hybrid doc series bringing to life the true stories of the Old West's most infamous icons. Directed by Chris Cassel for Discovery/AHC

Gunslingers

In this award-winning fiction feature from Chinese American director Liu Nian, an eight-year-old girl loses her bus pass after school and begins an odyssey across the sprawling city of Beijing, through a series of encounters that alter her perspective along the way.

Li Tong

This award-winning documentary follows the story of pioneering radio journalists in post-war Sierra Leone and their quest to grow a network of community-based radio stations to support peace in a fragile democracy.

Leh Wi Tok (Let Us Talk)

Pixar director Peter Sohn takes viewers on a humorous personal journey through the inspiration behind Disney and Pixar's feature film "Elemental.

Good Chemistry: The Story of Elemental

Sara Nodjoumi delves into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of more than 100 "treasonous" paintings by her father, seminal Iranian modern artist Nickzad Nodjoumi.

A Revolution on Canvas

A different way we can live better for longer: regenerating damage, maximizing strength, building resilience, shocking the body, supercharging memory and confronting mortality.

Limitless

In a scientific experiment, identical twins adopt different diets and lifestyles for 8 weeks to see how food impacts the body.

Tim Metzger

Cinematographer, Producer

DP Reel

Interview Frames

To End All War: Oppenheimer & the A...

Photographer (S1.E2 Anand Varma: Hi...

Copa 71

Apart

The Story of God with Morgan Freema...

Pathological: The Lies of Joran van...

Beyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journ...