Franz (Francesco) Pagot was born near Venice, Italy not California. He was educated in the classics.
1983 marked his first major exposure to airtime (as a paratrooper in the Army). After spending a few years in Milan, assisting on films, commercials and documentaries he moved to London in 1990, where he refined his operating skills and eventually started lighting.
He is a highly qualified director of photography and underwater cameraman and won many awards including the New York Film Festival with a commercial for Adidas, and a commercial for Orangina was screened on The Late Show (BBC).
He has filmed all over the world in all sorts of formats, both film and digital. He is a BAFTA member and there are a number of articles written about his work, all available.