Tim Metzger is an Emmy-winning documentary cinematographer.
He received the 2024 Emmy for Lighting Direction for To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb, a feature documentary for NBCUniversal, where his approach unified interviews and diverse visual elements into a cohesive historical language.
His work as director of photography spans numerous Emmy-nominated series and feature docs, including The Story of God with Morgan Freeman—NatGeo’s highest-rated series—and Discovery’s RISING: Rebuilding Ground Zero, executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
Over more than 15 years, Tim has filmed across 25+ countries, leading crews in complex, real-world environments. Directors and producers trust him not only for imagery, but for judgment: a whole-film perspective and an instinct for the emotional heart of a scene.
Tim shot and produced the Oscar-nominated doc Sun Come Up, directed by Jennifer Redfearn, which tells the story of some of the world’s first climate refugees. The film aired on HBO, screened theatrically in 30 U.S. cities, and was described in the press as “beautifully cinematic” and “intensely human.”
With Redfearn, Tim co-founded Red Antelope Films. Their latest feature, APART, an Emmy-nominated PBS/Independent Lens film about incarcerated mothers reuniting with their children, continues Tim’s focus on verité-driven, character-centered storytelling in sensitive, human-scale stories.
Before advancing to DP, Tim worked as a gaffer, experience that informs a highly intentional approach to lighting as a narrative tool. He has taught documentary production at NYU and led cinematography workshops internationally.
His commercial and branded work includes projects for Pixar, Intel, TED, San Pellegrino, Puma, Warner Bros., Delta Air Lines, the Gates Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund.
Other career highlights include riding in helicopters with Bill Nye, befriending giant tortoises in the Galápagos, and crossing the Siberian Arctic aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker.
He received the 2024 Emmy for Lighting Direction for To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb, a feature documentary for NBCUniversal, where his approach unified interviews and diverse visual elements into a cohesive historical language.
His work as director of photography spans numerous Emmy-nominated series and feature docs, including The Story of God with Morgan Freeman—NatGeo’s highest-rated series—and Discovery’s RISING: Rebuilding Ground Zero, executive produced by Steven Spielberg.
Over more than 15 years, Tim has filmed across 25+ countries, leading crews in complex, real-world environments. Directors and producers trust him not only for imagery, but for judgment: a whole-film perspective and an instinct for the emotional heart of a scene.
Tim shot and produced the Oscar-nominated doc Sun Come Up, directed by Jennifer Redfearn, which tells the story of some of the world’s first climate refugees. The film aired on HBO, screened theatrically in 30 U.S. cities, and was described in the press as “beautifully cinematic” and “intensely human.”
With Redfearn, Tim co-founded Red Antelope Films. Their latest feature, APART, an Emmy-nominated PBS/Independent Lens film about incarcerated mothers reuniting with their children, continues Tim’s focus on verité-driven, character-centered storytelling in sensitive, human-scale stories.
Before advancing to DP, Tim worked as a gaffer, experience that informs a highly intentional approach to lighting as a narrative tool. He has taught documentary production at NYU and led cinematography workshops internationally.
His commercial and branded work includes projects for Pixar, Intel, TED, San Pellegrino, Puma, Warner Bros., Delta Air Lines, the Gates Foundation and the Bezos Earth Fund.
Other career highlights include riding in helicopters with Bill Nye, befriending giant tortoises in the Galápagos, and crossing the Siberian Arctic aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker.
