Neal Leslie Fredericks (July 24, 1969 – August 14, 2004) was an American cinematographer best known for the 1999 horror film ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. It is a fictional story of three student filmmakers—Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Josh ...

''.

Career

Born in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, Fredericks grew up in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he attended

Montgomery College Montgomery College (MC) is a public community college in Montgomery County, Maryland. Founded officially in 1946 as Montgomery Junior College, its name comes from the county in which it is located. The earliest start date that can be contribute ...

and graduated from

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

in 1991. He then moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, shooting films for students at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

. Fredericks met his partners on ''The Blair Witch Project'' at Central Florida and they filmed primarily in Maryland. Fredericks's other credits include ''Dreamers'', ''Killer Me'', ''The Stonecutter,'' ''Erosion,'' ''The Burkittsville 7,'' and ''Abominable.''

Death

Fredericks died while filming scenes for the film '' CrossBones''. A Cessna 206, the private aircraft he and the film's writer/director Daniel Zirilli were using to obtain aerial footage near the

Dry Tortugas Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...

crashed into the sea when its engine failed. Though Zirilli, the pilot, and two other crew members were able to escape, Fredericks had tied himself into the airplane while he operated the camera. He was unable to free himself before the aircraft submerged.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fredericks, Neal 1969 births 2004 deaths Accidental deaths in Florida American cinematographers Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni Montgomery College alumni People from Newport Beach, California Towson University alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2004