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The art of seeing
ABOUT
From shooting surf videos as a teenager to working on major productions across the country, Flagler College alumni and now L.A.-based Gareth Paul Cox has spent his career bringing stories to life.
Most moviegoers don’t spend much time thinking about cinematography. When it’s done well, the lighting, framing and camera movement feel effortless, allowing audiences to become fully immersed in a story. For cinematographer Gareth Paul Cox, creating that illusion has become a career.
Over the past 20 years, Cox has worked on a wide range of productions, including MTV’s Siesta Key and the feature film, Man in the White Van. His path to cinematography, however, began with a childhood fascination with film and a desire to tell stories visually.
As a child, Cox moved with his parents from England to Spain and eventually to the United States. One of his earliest memories of film came from watching the James Bond franchise with his father, an experience that sparked his interest in filmmaking.
That interest grew into experimentation. In high school, Cox filmed surf and skateboard videos with friends, learning how to capture movement and emotion behind the camera.
In his early 20s, Cox attended Flagler College, earning a degree in communications. While there, he worked with 16-millimeter film and explored photography and commercial work. A professional photographer he assisted taught him the importance of lighting, a lesson that became the foundation of his cinematography.
Those early experiences helped shape Cox’s visual style, which he describes as a balance between realism and creativity.
“I would say my style is authenticity with flair. [It’s] somewhat surreal at times but also based in realism,” Cox said.
For Cox, cinematography is about more than creating beautiful images. He focuses on understanding people and finding the details that make stories feel authentic.
Shortly after graduating, Cox accepted an opportunity to work on a film in Vietnam. He spent three months in Ho Chi Minh City shooting a Vietnamese film, an experience that challenged him to adapt to a new culture and language.
“To shoot a movie in a different language in a different culture that you've never experienced before was very surreal,” he said.
After returning to the U.S., Cox worked in sports photography, including projects for NFL Films. Those experiences helped prepare him for the fast-paced demands of MTV’s Siesta Key, where he learned how to work quickly and adapt to unpredictable environments.
“This series really opened my eyes on how to adapt quickly as a cinematographer, how to work in environments where you only have moments before you have to get cameras and lighting ready,” he said.
After Siesta Key ended its run in 2023, Cox continued working across television, including projects like Everyone Is Doing Great and HBO Max’s Finding Magic Mike. The dance competition series gave him the chance to film large-scale performances and collaborate with lighting teams to create unique visual styles.
It also became personally meaningful, as Cox met his future wife, the show’s production manager.
“Meeting my wife in the crazy world of a reality show has probably been the most memorable and lasting interaction of my career,” he said.
Outside of television and film, Cox has spent the past decade documenting the lives of Midwest cowboys, following their work across changing seasons.
“These are the people who work the land and the cattle on these ranches. Just to see their journey through seasons was so interesting to me,” he said. The documentary is expected to air on PBS.
Cox later brought his skills to feature films with Man in the White Van, a thriller based on the true story of a serial killer who operated in central Florida during the 1970s and 1980s. The film premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival in October 2023.
For Cox, one of the most rewarding parts of filmmaking is watching actors bring a story to life.
“Once they get in front of the camera and they start acting, and you see the script come off the page, that is, as a cinematographer, that's like every person's dream,” he said.
Looking ahead, Cox hopes to continue working across film, television, commercials and documentaries, driven by the same goal that shaped his career from the beginning: telling stories that connect with people.
“The driving force is being able to tell stories that can potentially influence and change people's lives,” he said. “Hopefully for the better.”
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