Anna Sagatov

EDUCATION

MFA — Science and Natural History Filmmaking. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. 

BA — Human Ecology- Intersections of art and science. College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME. 

EXPERIENCE

Video Engineer aboard E/V Nautilus                                

Ocean Exploration Trust                                                

Hawaii, British Columbia, North Pacific Ocean May 2024-present

  • Operate cameras on remotely operated vehicles Hercules and Atalanta

  • Control video and audio routing to multiple live streamed satellite feeds and recording systems

  • Managing intercom communications between scientists and ROV pilots

Science Communicator and Underwater Videographer                                                         

Freelance- Anna Sagatov Media                                                       

California, Baja Mexico January 2023-present

  • Collaborated with scientists and ocean conservation nonprofits, often at sea or in remote locations, to create videos 

  • Produce, direct, shoot, and edit video content and record audio

  • Work on strict timelines and deliver video content in a timely manner

Videographer aboard NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer

Global Foundation for Ocean Exploration                        

Caribbean Sea, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Azorean Plateau March 2022-September 2022

  • Captured video footage and audio topside- filmed and conducted interviews with scientists

  • Curated video clips and still images from footage collected by the remotely operated vehicles

  • Edited highlight videos of each dive and long form educational videos for the public, educators, and legislators

  • Social media manager for GFOE — account engagement increased by 119,000% with New York Times coverage

Video Specialist                                                                            

ANGARI Foundation                                                                            

South Florida, Bahamas, Dry Tortugas January 2021-July 2021

  • Shot, produced, directed, and edited videos for ANGARI, a marine science nonprofit organization. 

  • Filmed marine scientists above and underwater and edited footage to create science communication videos about using drones to conduct photogrammetry to document coral growth

  • Spent lengths of time working at sea in challenging environments

Segment Producer                                                                      

Expedition X- Season 2- Discovery Channel                                                                                  

Across multiple states, USA July 2020-January 2021

  • Produced story segments for an unscripted television show that did scientific investigations of reported paranormal phenomena, often in extreme and remote environments. 

  • Recorded all of the action and dialogue and created documents for post production  

Assistant Instructor                                                                  

Ford Foundation’s Nigerian Social Justice Documentary Workshop                                                                   

Bozeman, Montana, USA June 2016

  • Co-taught a month-long documentary filmmaking workshop for fifteen Nigerian artists and filmmakers 

  • Taught the basics of documentary- visual storytelling, camera operation, audio recording, editing, sound

AWARDS, RECOGNITION, AND MEMBERSHIPS

  • Featured in the New York Times and KPBS for filming tuna crabs off the coast of San Diego, 2024

  • The Explorers Club Member, since 2022

  • Photo featured in the New York Times from work on the Okeanos Explorer, 2022

  • Best Narrative Short, Bar Flies. Bozeman International Film Festival. June, 2019

  • Gold Award- Bar Flies. Independent Shorts- Best Comedy Shorts 2019 

FILMOGRAPHY

  • Bar Flies. Fiction short. July, 2018. A neuroscientist watches her findings play out in her own life with a colleague who works in her lab. Winner of Best Narrative Short 2019 BZN International Film Celebration 

  • Red, Green, and Blue. Doc. short. May, 2017. Interviews with political conservatives who care about climate change. Featured on the Citizens Climate Lobby homepage and is part of a college course’s curriculum.

  • Butte’s Berkeley Pit: New Life Emerges from its Toxic Waters. Doc. short, December, 2016. New life with biomedical potential growing in the toxic waters of the Berkeley Pit, an abandoned pit mine. Official selection for the 2024 May issue of Labocine, 2017 Imagine Science Film Festival, the 2017 Prismatic Film Festival, the 2017 International Wildlife Film Festival.

  • Emergence: Find Form in Physarum. Video art installation. June, 2013. Slime mold glowing, growing, and oscillating using time lapse microscopy, living slime mold paintings, and still images. Featured in the opening trailer for the 2013 Imagine Science Film Festival in New York City.

  • La Boheme: Portrait of Our Oceans in Peril. New York, NY. March, 2013. Filmed an artist’s installation about ocean plastic pollution. Featured on the Smithsonian’s blog in March, 2013.


FILM CREW EXPERIENCE

I have worked as a crew member on over 60 film projects from 2013-2024 with National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Netflix, Amazon Prime, hulu, Paramount, and more.

Camera department: 2013-2024. Roles held: Director of photography, in-water DP, camera operator, 1st AC

Project types: Documentary, wildlife, live events, non-profit videos, corporate videos.

Production/AD Department: 2013-2021 Roles held: Segment producer, associate producer, production coordinator, production secretary

Project types: Documentary, wildlife, scripted reality, narrative features, scripted television series, commercials.  

Sound: 2017 Role held: Sound

Project types: Science documentary 


SKILLS

  • Camera: Panasonic GH5, Sony a7 cameras, Sony FS7, Canon DSLR cameras. 

  • Audio: lavalier mics, Zoom recorder, boom, 

  • Lighting and grip gear: Lights, c-stands, light stands, bounces, etc. 

  • Drone: FAA certified drone pilot with experience flying on vessels.

  • Underwater video shooting: I have an underwater housing and lights for my GH5.

  • Editing: Adobe Creative Suite- Premiere, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, After Effects, Audition. Final Cut, ProTools, DaVinci Resolve.

  • Live stream video recording and video routing for live events

  • Social media: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X, TikTok, Youtube, Vimeo

  • SCUBA diving: PADI divemaster and I have over 300 logged dives.

  • Languages: French- conversational, Russian- beginner, Spanish- beginner


REFERENCES