Jim Frohna is an American cinematographer and director, best known for his work on the ground-breaking, award-winning

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

series '' Transparent'' and ''

I Love Dick ''I Love Dick'' is an epistolary novel with autofiction elements by American artist and author Chris Kraus. It was published in 1997 by Semiotext(e). ''I Love Dick'' merges fiction and memoir formats to explore the writer's psycho-sexual o ...

'' as well as the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

series '' Shrinking'' and the Emmy-winning

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

show '' Big Little Lies''.

Early life and education

Frohna was born and raised in

Greendale, Wisconsin Greendale is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,854 at the 2020 census. Greendale is located southwest of Milwaukee and is a part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. A planned community, it was establi ...

. He attended the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, then transferred to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

from the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

Career

Frohna's work as a

director of photography 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 ...

is known for conveying a palpable sense of intimacy and for capturing the female gaze. In a 2014 IndieWire interview for ''Transparent'', cast members praised Frohna's approach:

"Jim is probably the most intuitive irector of photographyI've ever worked with. He knows before you know where the action is going to go. During this one scene with an argument, he was lying in the floor just covered in sweat afterward. He's not just photographing it, he's ''experiencing'' it. He was all but a cast member."

Frohna began his career as a commercial

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 ...

when he stepped in for director of photography Joaquin Baca Asay on the notable Sony Bravia's ''Sony Balls'' commercial for director Nicolai Fuglsig in 2005. Frohna first collaborated with

Joey Soloway Joey Soloway (born Jill Soloway; September 26, 1965) is an American television creator, showrunner, director and writer. Soloway is known for creating, writing, executive producing and directing the Amazon original series '' Transparent'', winnin ...

as director of photography on the comedy-drama '' Afternoon-Delight'', for which Soloway won the award for Best Director at the 2013

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

. In addition to Soloway, he has worked as director of photography with over 25 eminent DGA directors, including

Andrea Arnold Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include '' Red Road'' (2006), '' Fish Tank'' (2009) and '' American Hon ...

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...

, Michael Showalter, Zetna Fuentes,

James Ponsoldt James Ponsoldt is an American film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed the drama films '' Off the Black'' (2006) and '' Smashed'' (2012), the romantic comedy-drama ''The Spectacular Now'' (2013), and the dramas '' The End of the Tour'' ( ...

Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass Jr. (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author widely known for his films ''The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and '' Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger br ...

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, Kimberley Pierce,

Davis Guggenheim Philip Davis Guggenheim is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Active in television and film's directions and productions since the 1990s, from 2006 Guggenheim has specialized in making documentaries, ranking the top 100 highest- ...

and Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. From 2014 through 2019, Frohna continued with what became a long, rich collaboration with Soloway, serving as the cinematographer on all 5 seasons of the ground-breaking, Emmy-award winning

series '' Transparent,'' starring

Jeffrey Tambor Jeffrey Michael Tambor (born July 8, 1944) is an American retired actor. He is known for his television roles such as Jeffrey Brookes, the uptight neighbor of Stanley and Helen Roper in the television sitcom ''The Ropers'' (1979–1980), as Hank ...

Gaby Hoffmann Gabrielle Mary Antonia HoffmannStated on ''Finding Your Roots'', November 21, 2017 (born January 8, 1982) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''Field of Dreams'' (1989) and found success as a child actress in ''Uncle Buck'' (1989 ...

Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon Prime Video, Amazon comedy-drama series ''Transparent (TV series), Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supp ...

and

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap oper ...

, In 2017, Frohna joined Soloway and acclaimed indie director

on the

series ''

,'' starring

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...

and Kathryn Hahn''.'' In 2017 Frohna also served as cinematographer on four episodes of the Showtime series '' I'm Dying Up Here,'' starring

Melissa Leo Melissa Chessington Leo (born September 14, 1960) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and two Critics' Choice A ...

, Michael Angarano, and

Sebastian Stan Sebastian Stan (born August 13, 1982) is a Romania-born American actor. Known for his work in both blockbuster and independent films, his accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Silver Bear, in addition to nominations for an Academy A ...

. In addition to cinematography, Frohna served as director for multiple episodes of '' Transparent'', including ''The Book of Life'' and ''I Never Promised You a Promised Land'', and of ''

'' for the episode ''This Is Not A Love Letter''. In February 2018, Frohna began pre-production with director

for season 2 of the

series '' Big Little Lies'', starring

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

Zoë Kravitz Zoë Kravitz (born December 1, 1988) is an American actress and filmmaker. She made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film ''No Reservations (film), No Reservations'' (2007). Her breakthrough came with portraying Angel Salvadore (Tempest) ...

, and

Laura Dern Laura Elizabeth Dern (born February 10, 1967) is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and five Golden Globe Awards. Born ...

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Film

Television

Personal life

Frohna is married to artist and producer Diana Kunce; they collaborated on the 2018 Sundance Official Selection short ''Eve'' with Susan Bay-Nimoy. and the 2019 Sundance Episodic pilot ''It's Not About Jimmy Keene''. They have two children and reside in

Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

References

External links

Jim Frohna Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frohna, Jim Year of birth unknown Living people People from Greendale, Wisconsin Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Filmmakers from Wisconsin American cinematographers American television directors Year of birth missing (living people)