From MiniDV to anamorphic film, Joe “Jody” Williams has utilized the full spectrum of media to craft clear and resonating images for film and television. For more than two decades he has served on an array of productions from short films, music videos, and documentaries to major film productions for the likes of Gus Van Sant, Lee Daniels, and Spike Lee, among others.
A native of Cleveland, Williams found his start in the camera department as an assistant and camera loader on Telling Lies in America, followed by Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam and John Singleton’s Shaft. In rather short time, he worked his way up the ranks to the camera operator’s seat with opportunities on films such as the Spike Lee joints, A Huey P. Newton Story and 25th Hour, Malcolm Lee’s Roll Bounce, the Bob Odenkirk comedy, Let’s Go to Prison, and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns.
Williams’ earliest opportunities as Director of Photography came in the form of documentaries and short films, including the Africa Movie Academy Award-nominated short, The Lost One, and the Emmy-winning documentary, Paper Trail: 100 Years of the Chicago Defender, as he continued to build a solid reputation as a reliable camera operator of major film and television productions, such as Widows, Jupiter Ascending, The Chi, Source Code, A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), NBC’s The Playboy Club, the acclaimed STARZ series Boss, and ultimately the multiple-award-winning series Empire.
