About
Dave Haft
Senior Videographer · Editor · Producer — Washington, DC
Senior videographer, editor and producer with 20+ years making video for federal agencies, news organizations and global institutions, and a rare mix of three strengths in one person.
- Technical
- An electrical engineer who has designed studio, live-stream, asset and AI-assisted editing systems.
- Leadership
- Launched the U.S. Military Health System’s first enterprise social media program and directed crews in 10 countries.
- Creative
- An award-winning PBS documentary director who films senior leaders, including the HUD Secretary, HHS and SAMHSA leadership, and foreign ministers.
Portfolio (PDF) (stills and links, opens in a new tab)Contact
Strengths
Technical
- Electrical engineer (B.S., Electrical & Computer Engineering with Distinction, University of Rochester) who has designed studio, live-stream, asset and AI-assisted editing systems.
- Sony FX6/FX3 and Canon cinema and mirrorless cameras; teleprompter and direct-to-lens interview systems; multi-camera and live streaming; FAA Part 107 drone.
- Designed and built AI-assisted post-production (transcription, clip selection, vertical cutdowns) that turns long-form footage into social clips in hours instead of days.
- Configured, installed and serviced professional studio systems for Discovery, National Geographic and federal agencies; trained production teams on behalf of Apple and Sony.
- Designed and built a searchable, password-protected video library on WordPress/VideoPress, published in English, French and Spanish and streamed through Vimeo’s delivery network.
Leadership
- Launched the $50B Military Health System’s first enterprise-wide social media program: strategy, policy, governance, KPIs, playbook and a measurement and reporting system.
- Directed crews in 10 countries for the International Baccalaureate, on site as producer, director, cinematographer and interviewer; recruited local crews; wrote the production SOPs IB continued to use after the engagement.
- 250+ videos for 65+ client organizations since 2011; more than 1 in 5 clients returned for repeat work. Recruit and direct freelance shooters and editors; write shot lists, SOPs and visual standards; track schedules and deliverables across concurrent projects.
- Developed communications with the head of TRICARE for 9.6 million service members and families; media-trained spokespeople; produced data visualizations, presentations and video for senior Pentagon leaders.
- Studio director for a weekly multi-camera live show (2011–2014): set up the studio and its workflow, trained the crew that ran the live switch, and managed clipping and post-production after each show. Its live streams drew 1M+ viewer/listener minutes across 104 countries.
Creative
- Director & Cinematographer of Room to Breathe (PBS), which won the Filmfest DC 2024 jury prize for short films by DC-area filmmakers.
- Films senior leaders on location: the HUD Secretary and former Secretary Dr. Ben Carson; the Foreign Ministers of Poland, Lithuania and Estonia at their Washington embassies and the Mayor of Detroit, for Newsweek.
- Cuts one shoot into horizontal (web, broadcast) and vertical (social) versions, with color correction, audio mixing, motion graphics and subtitles.
- Directed, shot and edited 150+ original educational documentaries and marketing films (200+ with language versions) for the International Baccalaureate’s global audience of educators, produced in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
- Plans short-form series and cutdowns, runs paid social video campaigns and reports results. My own brand’s paid-social test ran 72 ad variants; the top variant (the DC cut with a 5-second-frame thumbnail) drew a tap on nearly 1 in 10 views and a click through to the website on about 1 in 20, roughly twice the travel-industry average, at about 18 cents per click-through (Meta Ads lifetime, 23 May–8 Jun 2026).
How I run a video program
For nine years I ran the International Baccalaureate’s video program: 150+ original titles, crews in 10 countries, and the SOPs and visual standards that kept them consistent.
01
Plan and schedule
Recruits and directs freelance shooters and editors; writes shot lists, SOPs and visual standards; tracks schedules and deliverables across concurrent projects, from pre-production through final delivery.
02
Studio, field and live
Two-camera interviews with a soft key light and lavalier plus shotgun audio, in studios, embassies and conference halls; directed a weekly multi-camera studio show; 12-hour event days with rush highlight reels. Maintains and upgrades a full kit, evaluating new cameras, codecs and software before adopting them.
03
Assets and archive
Frame.io review and camera-to-cloud; raw footage archived in organized cloud storage for client retrieval; built a searchable, password-protected video library published in English, French and Spanish.
04
Social-first and measured
Plans short-form series and cutdowns and cuts one shoot into 16:9 and 9:16. My own brand’s paid-social test ran 72 ad variants; the best one drew a tap on nearly 1 in 10 views and a click through to the website on about 1 in 20, roughly twice the travel-industry average.
Meta Ads lifetime, 23 May–8 Jun 2026: best-performing variant (the DC cut with a 5-second-frame thumbnail), 9,376 impressions. Industry average from LocaliQ’s 2026 travel benchmarks (2.28% click-through).
PipelineShoot (Sony FX6/FX3) Frame.io review Premiere Pro · After Effects · Audition 16:9 + 9:16 deliverables Organized cloud archive
Experience
Federal experience: studio systems for federal agencies with Washington Professional Systems (08/2003 – 12/2007); the U.S. Military Health System’s social media program as an Axiom content producer (01/2008 – 04/2011); and HHS, SAMHSA and HRSA video as a JBS International staff videographer (04/2024 – present). Federal client: HUD, through Red Carrot (2026).
05/2011 – present
Independent Videographer, Editor & Producer
Self-employed
250+ videos for 65+ client organizations since 2011; more than 1 in 5 clients returned for repeat work. Recurring projects from pre-production through final delivery for news organizations, nonprofits, companies and government end clients.
Federal public affairs: HUD (09/2026, through Red Carrot). Innovative Housing Showcase, National Mall: filmed the HUD Secretary and former Secretary Dr. Ben Carson for HUD’s broadcast and public affairs teams.
News organizations (10/2024 – present). 10+ assignments for news organizations since October 2024: Newsweek, Washington Post Live, DR and Yle. Earlier, a 2022 field shoot for The Wall Street Journal.
04/2024 – present
JBS International, for HHS / SAMHSA and HRSA
Videographer III (staff)
Film and edit direct-to-camera addresses and announcements by the HHS Secretary and the SAMHSA Assistant Secretary; produced an opioid-awareness video series and covered SAMHSA mental-health events; edited training video for HRSA technical assistance programs.
05/2011 – 09/2020
International Baccalaureate
Lead Contract Videographer
Directed, shot and edited 150+ original titles (200+ with language versions) under 25+ statements of work; directed crews in 10 countries; wrote the production SOPs IB continued to use.
06/2011 – 03/2014
Studio202 / BLIS.fm (The Dixon Group)
Studio Director
Weekly multi-camera live show hosted by Raheem DeVaughn: set up the studio and its workflow, trained the crew that ran the live switch, and managed clipping and post-production after each show.
01/2008 – 04/2011
U.S. Military Health System (contractor: Axiom)
Content Producer & Social Media Strategist
Launched the Military Health System’s first enterprise-wide social media program; established and ran the TRICARE YouTube channels; built crisis communication protocols for the H1N1 pandemic, health care reform and tsunami response.
08/2003 – 12/2007
Washington Professional Systems
Studio Sales & Service Engineer
Configured, installed and serviced professional studio systems for Discovery, National Geographic and federal agencies; trained production teams on behalf of Apple and Sony.
Credentials
- B.S., Electrical & Computer Engineering (with Distinction)University of Rochester, 2003
- FAA Part 107 Remote PilotRecurrent training completed July 2025
- Filmfest DC 2024 jury prizeRoom to Breathe won the jury prize for short films by DC-area filmmakers at the 38th Washington, DC International Film Festival
- Fellow, Docs In Progress2021
- IMDb creditsRoom to Breathe (Director, Cinematographer); Touchdown (cinematographer, Washington) · Dave Haft on IMDb (opens in a new tab)
Selected clients
Selected from 70+ client organizations since 2011.
News organizations
- The Wall Street Journal
- Newsweek
- Washington Post Live
- DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation)
- Yle (Finnish Broadcasting Company)
Government, through agencies
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (through Red Carrot, 2026)
- DC Housing Authority (through JBR PR, 2017–18)
International & nonprofit
- World Health Organization (Stop TB Partnership)
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- The Aspen Institute
- Inter-American Dialogue
- Population Reference Bureau
- GAIN
- American Institute of Architects
- Food Allergy Research & Education
- Chesapeake Climate Action Network
- The Phillips Collection
- Council for Professional Recognition
- Finseca
- Morven Park
- The Theatre Lab
Education
- International Baccalaureate
- George Washington University (Elliott School)
- Boston College
- ASCD
- Education Strategy Group
- Shorelight Education
- StraighterLine
Companies
- The Dixon Group (Studio202 / BLIS.fm)
- Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
- Merz
- Water Street Partners
- Social Tables
- SmartZip
- R.W. Murray
- Goodshuffle
- Clearsight Advisors
Agencies & production companies
- Madison House Experiential (NBC Premier League and DoorDash activations)
- Red Carrot
- Visible Features (London)
- Dreamtek
- Made Clear Studios (Oxford)
- The Global Message
- Meridian Hill Pictures
Kit & tools
- Production
- Sony FX6/FX3 and Canon cinema and mirrorless cameras; LED and softbox lighting; wireless lavalier and shotgun audio; teleprompter and direct-to-lens interview systems, including remote interviews a producer watches live from anywhere; multi-camera and live streaming; FAA Part 107 drone.
- Post-production
- Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Media Encoder; Final Cut Pro; Descript. Color correction, audio mixing, motion graphics, subtitles, 16:9 and 9:16 deliverables.
- Workflow & assets
- Frame.io review and camera-to-cloud; Dropbox and Google Drive archives; Vimeo; WordPress/VideoPress; AI-assisted transcription and custom post-production automation.