James Hawkinson is an American

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

known for his work in television, music videos, and film. He is best known for his critically acclaimed work on the ''Hannibal'' and ''The Man in the High Castle'' television series', for which he has received numerous accolades including a

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 ...

and a nomination for an ASC Award.

Life and career

Hawkinson began his career as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

lighting technician An electrical lighting technician, or simply lighting technician, is involved with rigging stage and location sets and controlling artificial, electric lights for art and entertainment venues (theatre or live music venues) or in video, television ...

, and gaffer at Boss Film Studios, a prominent

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 ...

company. He worked on numerous big-budget, effects-heavy films like ''

Alien 3 ''Alien 3'' (stylized as ''ALIEN3'') is a 1992 American science fiction horror film directed by David Fincher and written by David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, from a story by Vincent Ward. Starring Sigourney Weaver reprising her ...

Species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

,'' and ''Air Force One'', and lower-budget genre films like ''Intruder'' and ''Fist of the North Star''. Starting in 1997, he became a highly prolific DP for music videos, with over 200 credits to his name. Hawkinson served as director of photography on the sitcom ''Arrested Development'' for which he experimented with different 16 mm film cameras and HD camcorders in order to achieve the look and visual styles desired by the series' creators Joe and Anthony Russo. He worked on several subsequent television projects with the Russos, including '' Carpoolers, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,'' and ''Community''. He shot the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

''The Unborn'' and the 2007 remake of ''The Hitcher'', both of which were produced by Platinum Dunes. Starting in 2013, Hawkinson served as the series DP on ''Hannibal'', a

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

-drama series based on the novels by

Thomas Harris William Thomas Harris III (born September 22, 1940) is an American writer. He is the author of a series of suspense novels about Hannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, including '' The Silence o ...

. His photography heavily utilizing angular lighting and shallow focus to create a distinct, unnerving atmosphere. His work was a point of near-universal acclaim, many praising its dark, brooding, art-house style and disturbing atmosphere, with many calling it the best-looking show on television. His work on the first season of the

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

science fiction series ''The Man in the High Castle'' earned him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series and a nomination for an ASC Award.

Filmography

Television

Film

Music videos

Video album

Awards and nominations

* Nominated: ** 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography – Get Ur Freak On ** 2016 ASC Award Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Television Movie/Mini-Series/Pilot – ''The Man in the High Castle'' ** 2017 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series – ''The Man in the High Castle'' * Won: ** 2016 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series – ''The Man in the High Castle''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkimson, James American cinematographers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)