Chris Shields is a cinematographer and director from East Helena, Montana, currently working out of Missoula, Montana. He earned two bachelors degrees (journalism and digital filmmaking) at the University of Montana in Missoula and claimed a documentary filmmaking certificate in the process. Over the past several years, Shields has worked on documentaries, narrative short films, a mini series, TV episodes, social media content, music videos, concert films, and advertisements.
Chris Shields' first interest as a filmmaker was in editing. He edited a couple small student films from his friends to get experience and fell in love with the creative problem solving and puzzle building of the practice. On set, he started working as a script supervisor on local indie projects but found that it didn't have the creative input he craved. He taught himself the logistics of how to use a camera and spent the following years practicing both cinematography and editing while directing some of his own work on the side. Those three roles are Shields' primary interests on a film set and his areas of expertise. He has since gone on to win awards for his works in the festival circuit.