Joe Frantz

Joseph Frantz is an American producer, cinematographer, director, and former member of Bam Margera's CKY crew.

His body of works includes the CKY video series, Haggard: The Movie, reality television shows such as Viva La Bam and Bam's Unholy Union, Jackass Number Two, Jackass 2.5, Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover, Jackass 3D, and Jackass 3.5, and music videos for bands such as HIM, CKY, Clutch, and the 69 Eyes.

Frantz is also a collaborative co-author of the book Dreamseller, which he wrote with MTV / Jackass personality Brandon Novak.

Frantz is a television documentary producer and cinematographer whose works have aired on National Geographic, The History Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and The Travel Channel.

Frantz is noted for serving as cinematographer for the CKY video series, a predecessor to the Jackass franchise.

The series was directed by Bam Margera and starred the CKY crew, as well as popular extreme sports icons such as Tony Hawk.

As director of photography for CKY 3 and CKY4, Frantz introduced high production quality 35-millimeter and 16-millimeter film sequences to the action sports genre, which was then primarily shot on various low quality videotape formats.

Among the most noted film segments in the CKY videos are the "Shopping Cart Slams" and the "HeMan BeastMan" music video for the band Gnarkill (for which Frantz also crafted the stop-motion animation sequences).

In 1999, Frantz served as producer and director of photography with director Bam Margera for the CKY video "96 Quite Bitter Beings" (1999).

The video was a success on MTV's Total Request Live, and the Margera / Frantz team has since released a total of thirteen CKY music videos, the most popular of which were played on MTV: "Flesh into Gear" (2001), "Attached at the Hip" (2002), "A#1 Roller Rager" (2009), and the half-hour music documentary The Making of "A#1 Roller Rager".

Following the international success of the CKY videos, Bam Margera approached Frantz with the script for his independent motion picture directorial debut, a comedy titled Haggard: The Movie (2003).

Directed by, starring, and financed by Margera, Haggard co-stars Ryan Dunn and the CKY crew, and features cameos by skateboard legends Tony Hawk and Bucky Lasek.

For the production of Haggard, Frantz developed a production method through which he could serve dual roles as both producer and director of photography, and shot the movie in super-16 millimeter film.

The program was shot from 2003 to 2006 (from pilot to the "Viva La Spring Break" special).

Each episode presented a theme or mission, and took the cast and crew on journeys across the United States, South America, Europe, and Scandinavia.

The show also often featured appearances of Margera's favorite bands and celebrity friends such as HIM, CKY, Clutch, Slayer, Gwar, The Bloodhound Gang, Johnny Knoxville, and Tony Hawk.

For Viva La Bam 's five-season duration, Frantz served as director of photography and contributed to the aesthetic of the show by shooting scenes and montages in super-16 and 35-millimeter film, using a variety of experimental cinematographic in-camera techniques (such as stop-motion), producing the only motion picture film presented on a reality program in the history of television.

Frantz is noted for his camera work in Jackass Number Two (2006), Jackass 2.5 (2007), Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover (2008) (in which Frantz made his first Jackass cameo appearance), Jackass 3D (2010), and Jackass 3.5 (2011).

Frantz is also noted for shooting the "lost" Jackass Number Two scene of Don Vito, the "Don Vito Tooth Pull" (2006), in which Vito had his tooth pulled out via a string attached to the bumper of a Lamborghini driven by Bam Margera and Johnny Knoxville.

The footage quickly became the "big stunt" in the official Jackass Number Two trailer.

Due to legal allegations centered around Don Vito, the footage was omitted from the film, and it is rumored that Frantz still owns Vito's tooth.

A few seconds of the lost footage can be seen in the original Jackass Number Two trailer.

The Jackass spin-off Viva La Bam, MTV's scripted-reality series starred Bam Margera and his friends from Jackass and the CKY videos, known as the "CKY crew".

Frantz was producer and director of photography of the Jackass/Viva La Bam spinoff Bam's Unholy Union (2007).

The series chronicled the marriage of Bam Margera to his high school sweetheart Melissa "Missy" Rothstein, and featured Ryan Dunn, Brandon DiCamillo, Brandon Novak, Rake Yohn, and Frantz in a cameo role.

MTV's Blastazoid was the featured show on MTV's highly advertised "Gamers Week".

The half-hour special was created by MTV's internal division with Joe Frantz and Brandon DiCamillo, who were signed on as producers to head up the project shortly after approaching MTV with their idea to create a "Live-Action Donkey Kong"; a five-story, life-sized version of the classic arcade game.

Blastazoid chronicled the lives of hosts Frantz, DiCamillo, and Rake Yohn, as they brought "Live-Action Donkey Kong" to life.

It also showcased user-created gaming, fan, and tribute footage found on the internet.

Although MTV's Blastazoid Special ended with a trailer for a "Live-Action Frogger" episode, the teaser was a spoof and Blastazoid had never been intended for a series.

Frantz has served as both producer and director of photography with director Bam Margera on four music videos for Finnish band HIM:

The international success of the HIM videos initiated the production of a series of documentary features by Margera and Frantz:

Interspersed with Margera's signature antics, the documentaries highlight the history of the band and depict challenges of the video productions.

Bam Margera Presents: Where the ♯$&% Is Santa? (2008) is a modern-day Christmas saga, a reality comedy feature reminiscent of the MTV predecessor Viva La Bam, in which Bam Margera and Brandon Novak trek across Finland to find Santa Claus in order to make good on a bet with Jimmy Pop of the Bloodhound Gang.

They are also joined by the Dudesons.

The film features other cameos by Kat Von D, CKY, and Andy McCoy of Hanoi Rocks.

Frantz served as the film's co-executive producer, writer, and director of photography, and appeared in a cameo role.

Directed by and starring Bam Margera and the cast of MTV's Viva La Bam, Minghags: The Movie (2009) is an homage to one of Margera's and Frantz's favorite genres, born out of the 1980s, the "Screwball Comedy" (such films as John Landis' Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon).

As co-director, executive producer, and director of photography, Frantz shot it in super-16 millimeter film, in the same colorful style as its predecessor, Haggard: The Movie.

In 2014, Frantz directed and produced the one-hour documentary CKY: The Greatest Hits, which highlights the most memorable moments and unreleased footage from the CKY videos, and features commentary from Bam Margera and the CKY crew, with special appearances by Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine of Jackass.