Rachel Berry is an independent filmmaker based in Urbana, Illinois. She’s wanted to be a director ever since she was a kid and made her first home movie at the age of nine. Her experience includes producing, editing, cinematography, writing, lighting and production design.

Rachel has an MBA from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, giving her the business acumen to keep her projects on time and on budget. She works primarily with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and the Sony A7S III. Rachel is available for drone videography and photography and holds a Remote Pilot Certificate from the FAA.

Video for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, featuring faculty and students sharing about the connection between music and engineering.

MechSE's "Underground" Music Scene: Cadenza

Sketch comedy show that Rachel was the lead editor on.

Derek & Ryan Break The Fourth Wall

A short film, written for the Pens to Lens Film Festival, chronicling the struggles of a family wrestling with homelessness.

It's All Done and Over With

Video for the Department of Mechanical Engineering highlighting groundbreaking research in aviation.

Up in the Air: Aviation Research at MechSE

Short film for the Pens to Lens Film Festival examining the use of native american sports mascots with the backdrop of the protests at Standing Rock Indian Reservation over the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Standing Rock 19,000, Mascots 0

Ride along with University Housing as they drop students off at their dorms in style.

Illini Cart

“Fast Rodney, Who Was On His Way Out,” produced for the Pens to Lens Film Festival, was deemed “a triumph on every level” by RogerEbert.com (http://rogerebert.com/). “Fast Rodney” also went on to win “Best Dramatic Film” and “Audience Choice” awards at the 2016 Feminist Film Festival. Pens to Lens is a  Champaign-Urbana screenwriting competition for K-12 students. The winning scripts are adapted into short films by independent filmmakers.

Fast Rodney Who Was On His Way Out

Spot filmed by Rachel for the Champaign Park District

Legacy

This is a 6 Second Bumper Ad for the University Housing 2023 Housing Sign Up Campaign.

Live the Illini Life 2023-2024

Playing with the Blackmagic 6k Pro at Meadowbrook Park in Urbana. This was my first outing with the BM6KP. It was very windy, which made me realize I needed a heftier tripod.

Winter Prairie

Short documentary chronicling the band The Four Hornsmen of The Apocalypse

The Four Hornsmen of The Apocalypse

Film reel showcasing a variety of projects that Rachel has produced, directed, and shot.

Reel

The Sansone Popcorn Truck has been popping corn Champaign, Illinois since 1921. This was a video made for the Champaign County History Museum, made at the Champaign County Freedom Celebration on July 4th, 2022.

Sansone Popcorn Truck

Sometimes you just have to work with what you have. This was shot on a Sony a6300, which is the only camera the team has at the moment. Wish I could have shot it on my BMPCC 6K Pro, but I worked hard with the resources available to me.

Wassaja Hall Tour

In 2021, Rachel was commissioned by the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District to produce a timelapse video of the construction of their Hydrogen Production Station. She worked with MTD management to edit MTD's drone footage into a compelling story of the station's construction.

MTD Hydrogen Production Station

Rachel Berry is an independent filmmaker and writer based in Urbana, Illinois. Rachel has an MBA from the University of Illinois Gies College of Business. She currently works as a videographer for the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois, where she captures stories of innovation and discovery.