Matt BendoUWindsor grad Matt Bendo won a national award for cinematography on branded content Saturday for the second straight year.

Grad celebrating repeat award in cinematography

A UWindsor alumnus has won renewed recognition for his work on commercials.

The Canadian Society of Cinematographers conferred its national award for Best Cinematography for Branded Content on Matt Bendo (BA 2014) at a ceremony Saturday in Toronto.

“A cinematographer is a visual storyteller that uses precise camera movements, compelling compositions, and strokes of light to create images that evoke emotions in an audience,” Bendo said.

His production, titled “Legacy,” advertised a boxing academy.

“My goal was to create a character and story that encompassed all of the philosophies and work ethics that Kombat Arts tries to instill in their students,” he said. “Each room that the character was in was a visual embodiment of the emotions the character was feeling.”

It was his second consecutive win in the competition — last year, he won with a commercial for custom exhaust systems for luxury cars.

Bendo said he believes the award confers legitimacy on the winning cinematographer as a true director of photography.

“I had an absolutely wonderful time creating the visual world for this project,” he said. “To be recognized for my work on this project really means a lot to me.”

Watch his winning entry here.