"He learned at an early age that one of the keys to being a successful filmmaker was to understand the jobs of everyone on the set."
- Michael Edwards, writing on Jay Holben, Entertainment Showcase
Jay Holben is an independent director and producer in Los Angeles, California.
He is an Associate Member of the American Society of Cinematographers, co-chair of the ASC’s Motion Imaging Technology Council, contributing technical editor for American Cinematographer Magazine, former faculty instructor for Global Cinematography Institute and international lecturer including the ASC MasterClass series, and author of six books on filmmaking.
Making his start in the theater community in Phoenix, Arizona, Holben directed several plays before transitioning into the filmmaking world. Moving to Los Angeles, he quickly made his way through the ranks from electrician to director of photography where he worked for nearly a decade on features, commercials, television and music videos.
As a director, Holben’s feature film work includes Before the Dawn, Black Tar Road and segments of All Hallow’s Eve 2 and The Invoking 2. He has directed two projects for the American Society of Cinematographers: The Mission, made in association with Amazon, Disney, Warner Bros., The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Warped: Cybercity, made in partnership with Amazon, Disney, Paramount and Sony. In television, he has directed two pilots, My Hollywood and Dominant Divas and has been a 2nd Unit director for HBO’s Femme Fatales in addition to a consultant for the first season of Showtime’s Dexter and a special technical documentarian on The Mandalorian. His short-form work includes, Terminus, a proof-of-concept horror short, screened in official competition at Screamfest LA, was an official nominee at Amazing Fantasy Fest, and a nominee for Best Atmosphere at Terror in the Bay. Paranoid, which was adapted from the poem by Stephen King, and garnered overwhelming praise for its stylistic excellence as well as high praise and support from Mr. King. Paranoid was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Short Film Branch to screen in Los Angeles and New York as one of five selected films in a Stephen King Dollar Baby spotlight presentation. Descent won Best Director at Cine-Macabre and HD Fest and 35mm prints of that film, along with his previous short, The Night Before, are both official selections of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences short film archival collection.
As a producer, Holben has helmed independent feature films, a television series, documentaries, short films and commercials. He received the 2025 Folio: Eddie Award for Best Service Journalism his monthly American Cinematographer column “Shot Craft.” Holben is the former technical editor and columnist for Digital Video magazine and lighting columnist for TV Technology magazine in addition to contributing for several years to the prominent trade newspaper The Hollywood Reporter. He is also the author of the highly lauded independent lighting manual: A Shot in the Dark: A Creative DIY Guide to Digital Video Lighting on (Almost) No Budget and the compilation of a decade of cinematographic journalism in Behind the Lens: Dispatches from the Cinematographic Trenches and the exhaustive international best-seller The Cine Lens Manual: The Definitive Filmmaker’s Guide to the Design, Implementation and History of Cinema Optics. In addition, Holben’s publications include Shot Craft: Lessons, Tips and Techniques on the Art and Science of Cinematography, Lessons From American Cinematographer: Sharing Nearly Three Decades of Tips & Techniques Learned from the World’s Top Cinematographers (A Shot Craft Companion) and most recently, The Director’s Guide to Everything: A Comprehensive Guide for Motion Picture Directors on Every Aspect of Movie Making.
In his more than 30 years in the motion picture business, Holben has, professionally, embodied every major role in production and post.
Affiliations:
American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), associate member
ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council (MITC), co-chair
ASC MITC Lens Committee, chair
ASC MITC Virtual Production Committee, vice-chair
ASC Awards Committee, Documentary Award, chair
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, member
Hollywood Professional Association, member
Women in Media, executive member
Screen Actors Guild member (former)
