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Craig Kief

Cinematographer

Cinematographer Craig Kief's impressive body of work spans numerous genres and styles, making him a perfect fit for a diverse set of directors. Kief shot two seasons of The Unicorn, following a newly-widowed father who struggles with the full responsibility of raising his two daughters as he discovers new relationships alongside his close friends. Also for television, Kief lensed the pilots and first seasons for: the 1970s-based period show The Kids Are Alright, the dramedy Me Myself and I, and action comedy The Mick. Kief recently completed principal photography on The Muppets Haunted Mansion movie for Disney+, which was shot primarily inside an LED Volume using realtime 3D environments running in Unreal Engine instead of practical sets. In addition the film has over 800 VFX shots with many hundreds of elements that were shot and are being composited together, all of which is being finished in 4K Dolby Vision HDR. Earlier, Kief shot the sophomore mockumentary film Tour De Pharmacy, rejoining the team behind 7 Days In Hell, both of which were for HBO. The film stars Andy Samberg and follows the 1983 Tour de France - told through mixed media archival footage Kief shot with vintage cameras. Simulating the television coverage of the Tour's mountainous ride required a variety of specialty rigs, camera cars, and drone work. In between long form projects, Kief shoots commercials for clients such as Apple, Under Armour, Disney, AT&T, Google, and many others. He has also lensed dozens of music videos, including Lovett's 'Eye of the Storm', which earned Kief a nomination for best cinematography at Camerimage. His work has been covered in American Cinematographer, ICG, IndieWire, Post Magazine, and Cinefex. Prior to working as a cinematographer, Kief spent several years working as a gaffer, and he graduated from the Florida State University Film School - where he received the ASC Gregg Toland Heritage Award Honorable Mention for one of his films. He currently serves as co-chair of 3 committees at the ASC, including Future Practices - which is tasked with assisting cinematographers in deploying the latest technologies and techniques to work in the pandemic world. He was also recently an instructor in an ASC Master Class on Virtual Production.

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Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Cinematographer
Titles
12 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 9% in 30 days

What are Craig Kief's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Comedy3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Comedy movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 71st percentile
: browse their Adventure movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
39%
Bonds
26%
Society
18%
Morality
7%
Ideas
4%
Power
4%
Survival
2%
Purpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 3

Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 6 · Serious 0 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 1 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 4

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
7
Absurd
5
Warm
4
Romantic
1
Thrilling
1
Other
4

How their films linger

Feel-good8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy7
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Craig Kief's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 10 of their 12 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (5).

Subscription and free streaming for Craig Kief's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

24 credits, 12 with a MovieCove page.

  • I Love Boosters(2026)

    Second Unit Director of Photography

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Wonder Man(2026)

    Show 8 episodes · "C" Camera Operator

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all shows

  • Missionary (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)

    Camera Operator

  • The Muppets Mayhem(2023)

    Show 10 episodes · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows

  • Muppets Haunted Mansion(2021)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films

  • Muppets Now(2020)

    Show Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all shows

  • Tour de Pharmacy(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films

  • John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid(2015)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • 7 Days in Hell(2015)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Muppet Moments(2015)

    Show 41 episodes · Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Stretch(2014)

    Additional Photography

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • The Gift (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Cinematographer · Color Timer

  • The Mundane Goddess (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Cinematographer · Color Timer

  • Floating (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Cinematographer · Editor

  • Turn It Up!(2014)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Assassination of President Kennedy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Love's Routine (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • The Smile Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Saving Norman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Eye of the Storm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Cinematographer

  • Bed & Breakfast(2010)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all films

  • Pablo's Hippos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Cinematographer

  • Reeve Carney & the Revolving Band - Live at Molly Malone's (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Cinematographer

  • National Lampoon's Gold Diggers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Gaffer

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles from 2003 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Bed & Breakfast (2010)

$269K worldwide

Highest rated

John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid (2015)

Midcredits 98th

Most popular right now

Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Cinematography18 of 22: 15 only cinematography, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score73rdEditing1 of 22: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew6 of 22: 4 only other crew, 2 with another role

22 titles, 3 with more than one role — cinematography and other crew overlap on 2 of them.

By decade

2000s2 · crew2010s15 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Craig Kief's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 71st percentile, the median of all 8; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 71st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

71stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

77thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

76thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 12 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th7
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

8 of their 12 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Crowd Pleaser8
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · cinematographer

I Love Boosters (2026)

68th percentile spread · 17% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid (2015)

Midcredits 98th · 89% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 51/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 63, detractors 31. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Craig Kief work with?

People who share at least 2 of Craig Kief's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Bill Barretta shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers