A renowned Director of Photography, cinematographer, and producer, Rex Ballard has traveled the world working on films, music videos, and television productions, including documentaries for National Geographic and The History Channel, and camera work for television programs such as “Nanny 911,” “Kid Nation,” “Matlock,” and “The Merv Griffin Show.” For the past seven years, Rex has served as the Principal Cinematographer for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” and is currently the Director of Photography for the Emmy Award-winning show.
Rex Ballard is an innovator; helping design, build, and manufacture The Barber Baby Boom, a 100% mechanical jib arm that was first of its kind in the industry. Additionally, Ballard designed a moveable jib base specifically to address the challenges of filming on construction locations for ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” Ballard later went on to develop a motorized version of the jib that has been used in recent seasons of the program. Pairing innovation in the industry with his vast depth of motion picture knowledge, Ballard is producing projects that far exceed industry standards.
In 2008, Ballard teamed up with professional photographer Tamara Lackey to develop and create photography films of the budding “edutainment” genre. The first, “Inside Contemporary Children’s Photography,” is geared towards professional photographers. Most recently, Ballard and Lackey released a consumer DVD titled, “Tamara Lackey’s Capturing Life through (Better) Photography,”(2010) which targets the everyday photographer. Rex Ballard brought his decades of professional acumen to the project, creating a show that resembles more of a prime-time television special than that of an educational DVD.