# Don Burgess (cinematographer)

Don Michael Burgess, ASC (born May 28, 1956) is an American cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis. He was nominated for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography for Zemeckis' Forrest Gump (1994). In 2024, he received the American Society of Cinematographers' Lifetime Achievement Award.

## Early life and education

Burgess comes from a family of builders, and initially wanted to be an architect in his youth. His introduction to photography came through his father building a dark room for his sister since she was in a high school photography class at the time. When in high school he made ski movies and motorcycle movies. He attended the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, and cited nature documentarian Mike Hoover as an influence. While attending ArtCenter, he worked as a film loader on William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977).

## Career

Burgess spent the first decade of his career shooting various independent and low-budget films, as well as nature documentaries for the National Geographic Channel. In 1987, he shot the full motion video game Night Trap, which was eventually released in 1992.
He was also a second unit cinematographer on Runaway Train (1985), Cherry 2000 (1986), and Back to the Future Part II (1989) & and Part III (1990), which brought him into contact with Robert Zemeckis.
In 1994, Zemeckis was the main cinematographer on Zemeckis' Forrest Gump, earning Oscar and BAFTA Award nominations for his work. He has subsequently worked with Zemeckis on 10 films, including Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), and The Polar Express (2004). His work with other directors includes Spider-Man (2002), Enchanted (2007), The Book of Eli (2010), Source Code (2011), The Muppets (2011), 42 (2013), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Aquaman (2018), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023).
On March 3, 2024, Burgess received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Society of Cinematographers.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1980 | Ruckus | Max Kleven | With Michael A. Jones |
| 1985 | Fury to Freedom | Erik Jacobson | |
| 1986 | The Night Stalker | Max Kleven | |
| 1987 | Summer Camp Nightmare | Bert L. Dragin | |
| 1987 | Death Before Dishonor | Terry Leonard | |
| 1988 | World Gone Wild | Lee H. Katzin | |
| 1989 | Under the Boardwalk | Fritz Kiersch | |
| 1989 | Blind Fury | Phillip Noyce | |
| 1992 | Mo' Money | Peter MacDonald | |
| 1993 | Josh and S.A.M. | Billy Weber | |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 1994 | Richie Rich | Donald Petrie | |
| 1995 | Forget Paris | Billy Crystal | |
| 1996 | The Evening Star | Robert Harling | |
| 1997 | Contact | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2000 | What Lies Beneath | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2000 | Cast Away | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2002 | Spider-Man | Sam Raimi | |
| 2003 | Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines | Jonathan Mostow | |
| 2003 | Radio | Michael Tollin | |
| 2004 | 13 Going on 30 | Gary Winick | |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Robert Zemeckis | With Robert Presley |
| 2004 | Christmas with the Kranks | Joe Roth | |
| 2006 | Eight Below | Frank Marshall | |
| 2006 | My Super Ex-Girlfriend | Ivan Reitman | |
| 2006 | Alesh al-baher | Hakim Belabbes | With Guillaume Georget |
| 2007 | Enchanted | Kevin Lima | |
| 2008 | Fool's Gold | Andy Tennant | |
| 2009 | Aliens in the Attic | John Schultz | |
| 2010 | The Book of Eli | Hughes brothers | |
| 2011 | Source Code | Duncan Jones | |
| 2011 | Priest | Scott Stewart | |
| 2011 | The Muppets | James Bobin | |
| 2012 | Flight | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2013 | 42 | Brian Helgeland | |
| 2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | James Bobin | |
| 2016 | The Conjuring 2 | James Wan | |
| 2016 | Allied | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2016 | Monster Trucks | Chris Wedge | |
| 2017 | Same Kind of Different as Me | Michael Carney | |
| 2017 | Wonder | Stephen Chbosky | |
| 2018 | The Christmas Chronicles | Clay Kaytis | |
| 2018 | Aquaman | James Wan | |
| 2019 | Sextuplets | Michael Tiddes | |
| 2020 | The Witches | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2020 | The Christmas Chronicles 2 | Chris Columbus | |
| 2022 | Pinocchio | Robert Zemeckis | |
| 2023 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | James Wan | |
| 2024 | A Family Affair | Richard LaGravenese | |
| 2024 | Here | Robert Zemeckis | |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director |
| 2007 | The Trap | Rita Wilson |
| 2019 | The Tattooed Heart | Sheldon Wong Schwartz |
Video game
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1992 | Night Trap | James Riley | Filmed in 1987 |

### Television

TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1979 | Superstunt II | Max Kleven | Documentary film |
| 1988 | Too Young the Hero | Buzz Kulik | |
| 1989 | Breaking Point | Peter Markle | |
| 1990 | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Larry Peerce | |
| 1992 | Two-Fisted Tales | Robert Zemeckis | Segment "Yellow" |
TV series
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1982 | National Geographic Specials | Aram Boyajian Nicolas Noxon | Episode "The Sharks" |
| 1988 | ABC Afterschool Special | Gabrielle Beaumont | Episode "Tattle: When to Tell on a Friend" |
| 1988 | Something Is Out There | Larry Shaw | Episode "In His Own Image" |
| 1991 | Tales from the Crypt | Robert Zemeckis | Episode "Yellow" |
| 1993 | Space Rangers | Mikael Salomon | Episode "Fort Hope" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
| 1990 | American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture Made for Television | The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson | Nominated |
| 1994 | Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Forrest Gump | Nominated |
| 1994 | BAFTA Awards | Best Cinematography | Forrest Gump | Nominated |
| 1994 | American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Forrest Gump | Nominated |
| 1997 | Satellite Awards | Best Cinematography | Contact | Nominated |
| 2024 | American Society of Cinematographers | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won |