Nationality American Role Cinematographer Name Robert Elswit | Title ASC Occupation Cinematographer Spouse Helen Elswit | |
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Full Name Robert Christopher Elswit Born 22 April 1950 (age 74) ( 1950-04-22 ) California, USA Education University of Southern California Movies There Will Be Blood, Nightcrawler, Mission: Impossible – Rogue, Inherent Vice, Mission: Impossible – Ghost P Similar People | ||
Robert Elswit on There Will Be Blood, Punch Drunk Love and Not Working With PTA Anymore
"There Will Be Blood" winning a Cinematography Oscar®
Robert Christopher Elswit, (born April 22, 1950) is an American cinematographer. He has had multiple Oscar, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit nominations for several films, including winning for There Will Be Blood (2007). Elswit frequently works with director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Contents
- Robert Elswit on There Will Be Blood Punch Drunk Love and Not Working With PTA Anymore
- There Will Be Blood winning a Cinematography Oscar
- Life and career
- Awards and nominations
- References
Life and career
Elswit was born in California. An early short film he worked on, was a 1982 TV adaptation of the Ray Bradbury short story All Summer in a Day.
Elswit is a fierce defender of shooting with film, and whenever possible refuses to use digital cameras. Images shot digitally, he says, have "no texture, no grain."
Elswit has also worked with director George Clooney several times. He shot Clooney's black and white, multiple-Oscar nominated film Good Night, and Good Luck. Notably, Elswit shot the film in color, then converted the film into black and white in post production. According to Elswit, this 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.
Elswit received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography in 2006 for his work on the movie Good Night, and Good Luck. He lost that Oscar to Dion Beebe for Memoirs of a Geisha. Two years later, Elswit would again be nominated and this time win the Oscar for Best Cinematography, for his work on There Will Be Blood.
Elswit has cited early independent filmmaker John Cassavetes as a major influence. Elswit is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and worked there as a teaching assistant in the 1970s.
Awards and nominations
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
Austin Film Critics Association for Best Cinematography
Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Cinematography
BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
British Society of Cinematographers Award for Best Cinematography
CableACE Award for Direction of Photography and/or Lighting Direction for a Dramatic or Theatrical Special/Movie or Miniseries
Camerimage Golden Frog Award
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
(For episode "The War Between The Classes")
Houston Film Critics Society for Best Cinematography
Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
International Online Cinema Awards for Best Cinematography
International Online Film Critics' Poll Award for Best Cinematography
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer
New York Film Critics Online for Best Cinematography
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematography
Satellite Award for Best Cinematography
St. Louis Film Critics Association
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Cinematography