Cinematographer Daniel Pearl was born in the Bronx, New York City and grew up in New Jersey. His father was a mechanical engineer as well as an alumnus from the University of Texas in Austin. The first film Pearl made was an 8mm movie about skateboarding that he shot and edited at the age of 13. Daniel has both a Bachelor of Science in Radio, Film, & TV and a Master of Arts in Communication (Film) from the University of Texas in Austin. Pearl shot his first feature Teksas Katliamı (1974) in Texas for Tobe Hooper. Daniel eventually moved to Los Angles, California in 1976. Outside of his film work, Pearl has also shot numerous music videos and TV commercials.