Robert Christopher Elswit, (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer. He has collaborated with

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the most preeminent writer-directors of his generation, List of awards and nominations received by Paul Thomas Anders ...

from 1996 to 2014, winning the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for ''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American epic film, epic historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel ''Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kev ...

''. Elswit has also collaborated with directors and screenwriters Tony and Dan Gilroy on all of the six films that either brother directed.

Early life

Elswit was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant. Elswit is also the godfather to the actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

Career

An early short film he worked on was the 1982 television adaptation of

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

's short story '' All Summer in a Day''. He worked as a

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action fo ...

camera operator at John Dykstra's Apogee Productions Inc. on each film, including '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', '' The Empire Strikes Back'' and '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'', before shooting

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

films and shows. Elswit has been a fierce defender of shooting on film, and whenever possible avoids using digital cameras. Images shot digitally, he said, have "no texture, no grain", though he started shooting digitally with '' Nightcrawler''. He shot his black and white, Oscar nominated film '' Good Night, and Good Luck''. He first shot the film in color, and then converted the film into black and white in post production. According to Elswit, the technique preserved the subtlety of the colors (as complex shades of blacks and greys) and made the overall look much richer in the final film. His work on the film earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, but lost to Dion Beebe for '' Memoirs of a Geisha''. Elswit later won the award for ''

'' in 2008. He has cited early independent filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence.

Filmography

Television

TV movies

Feature film

Accolades

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

American Society of Cinematographers

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

Boston Society of Film Critics British Society of Cinematographers Camerimage

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film criticism, film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film cri ...

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

Houston Film Critics Society Independent Spirit Award

Los Angeles Film Critics Association The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles–based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organi ...

National Society of Film Critics New York Film Critics Circle

Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organization was founded in January 1997 by Harvey S. Karten ...

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

San Diego Film Critics Society The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) is an organization of film reviewers from San Diego–based publications that was founded in 1997. Overview The San Diego Film Critics Society (SDFCS) is composed of print, television, radio and digit ...

Satellite Awards St. Louis Film Critics Association Other awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elswit, Robert 1950 births Living people American cinematographers AFI Conservatory alumni Artists from Los Angeles Best Cinematographer Academy Award winners Film people from Los Angeles Independent Spirit Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni