Jeff Cronenweth

Last updated
Jeff Cronenweth
Born (1962-01-14) January 14, 1962 (age 62)
OccupationCinematographer
Years active1984–present

Jeffrey Scott Cronenweth, ASC [1] (born January 14, 1962) is an American cinematographer based in Los Angeles, California who is known for his role as the director of photography on the David Fincher films Fight Club , The Social Network , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl (two of which earned him Academy Award for Best Cinematography nominations in 2010 and 2011). He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and was invited to join the cinematographers branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004. [2] He is the son of Jordan Cronenweth, one of the most influential cinematographers in motion picture history. [3]

Contents

Career

Jeff worked with father Jordan Cronenweth (cinematographer most notable for Blade Runner ) as a camera loader and second assistant camera during high school, [4] working his way up to first assistant camera and then camera operator until the mid-1990s. The first major motion picture where he acted as a Director of Photography (DP) was Fight Club . Other notable feature films on which he worked as a DP are One Hour Photo , K-19: The Widowmaker , Down With Love , The Social Network , Hitchcock, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl .

Jeff and his brother Tim ("The Cronenweths") have worked as a director/DP team, doing numerous commercials and music videos in and out of Los Angeles.

In 2011, Cronenweth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on The Social Network .

In 2012, Cronenweth was nominated for a second time for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo .

Style

Cronenweth is known for his use of light or the absence of and composition to elegantly weave a visual language throughout a story as shown in his work on Fight Club, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl and including many of the iconic music videos and commercials he has photographed. On filming Fight Club, Cronenweth stated: "Whether we were inside or outside, we always wanted to embrace depth of field or the lack of as a key story telling element in guiding an audiences focus on what we wanted them to embrace." [5]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleDirectorNotes
1999 Fight Club David Fincher
2002 One Hour Photo Mark Romanek
K-19: The Widowmaker Kathryn Bigelow
2003 Down with Love Peyton Reed
2010 The Social Network David Fincher
2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2012 Hitchcock Sacha Gervasi
2014 Gone Girl David Fincher
2018 A Million Little Pieces Sam Taylor-Johnson
2021 Being the Ricardos Aaron Sorkin
2025 Tron: Ares Joachim Rønning Filming

Television

YearTitleDirectorNotes
2020 Tales from the Loop Mark Romanek Episode "Loop"

Music videos

YearTitleArtist(s)Director
1990"Freedom! '90" George Michael David Fincher
1994"Sly" Massive Attack Stéphane Sednaoui
1995"Daddy's Home" Montell Jordan Daniel Zirilli
1996"Kreep" Chino XL Nancy Bennett
"Novocaine for the Soul" Eels Mark Romanek
1997"The Perfect Drug" Nine Inch Nails
"Got 'Til It's Gone" Janet Jackson featuring Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell
1999"Do Something" Macy Gray
"So Pure" Alanis Morissette
"She's All I Ever Had" Ricky Martin Nigel Dick
"That's the Way It Is" Celine Dion Liz Friedlander
2000"I Want You to Need Me"
"Independent Women" Destiny's Child Francis Lawrence
2001"You Rock My World" Michael Jackson Paul Hunter
2002"Outtathaway!" The Vines David LaChapelle
2003"The Voice Within" Christina Aguilera
"It's My Life" No Doubt
2005"La Tortura" Shakira featuring Alejandro Sanz Michael Haussman
2008"Rock with U" Janet Jackson Saam Farahmand
"Love in this Club" Usher Greg and Colin Strause
2009"Boom Boom Pow" The Black Eyed Peas Mathew Cullen
2013"Just Give Me a Reason" Pink featuring Nate Ruess Diane Martel
"The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" David Bowie Floria Sigismondi
"The Next Day"
2014"Shake It Off" Taylor Swift Mark Romanek
2017"Chained to the Rhythm" Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley Mathew Cullen
2019"Walk Me Home"Pink Michael Gracey
"Memories" Maroon 5 David Dobkin
2020"Smile"Katy PerryMathew Cullen
"911" Lady Gaga Tarsem Singh
2022"Hold My Hand" Joseph Kosinski

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryTitleResult
2010 Academy Award Best Cinematography The Social Network Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Cinematography Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
Washington D.C. Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2011 Academy Award Best Cinematography The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Nominated
British Academy Film Awards Best Cinematography Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Cinematography Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated
2014 Satellite Award Best Cinematography Gone Girl Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Best Cinematography Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Cinematography Nominated

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Fincher</span> American film director

David Andrew Leo Fincher is an American film director. His films, most of which are psychological thrillers, have collectively grossed over $2.1 billion worldwide and have received numerous accolades, including three Academy Awards for Best Director nominations for him. He has also received four Primetime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinematographer</span> Creative head of a motion pictures camera and lighting decisions

The cinematographer or director of photography 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 and light crews working on such projects. They would normally be responsible for making artistic and technical decisions related to the image and for selecting the camera, film stock, lenses, filters, etc. The study and practice of this field are referred to as cinematography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Society of Cinematographers</span> Cinematography Organization

The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinematography and gather a wide range of cinematographers to discuss techniques and ideas and to advocate for motion pictures as a type of art form. Currently, the president of the ASC is Shelly Johnson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Garmes</span> American cinematographer (1898–1978)

Lee Garmes, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer. During his career, he worked with directors Howard Hawks, Max Ophüls, Josef von Sternberg, Alfred Hitchcock, King Vidor, Nicholas Ray and Henry Hathaway, whom he had met as a young man when the two first came to Hollywood in the silent era. He also co-directed two films with legendary screenwriter Ben Hecht: Angels Over Broadway and Actor's and Sin.

Joseph Francis Biroc, ASC was an American cinematographer. He was born in New York City and began working in films at the Paragon Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. After working there for approximately six years, he moved to Los Angeles. Once in Southern California, Biroc worked at the RKO Pictures movie studio. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and filmed the Liberation of Paris in August 1944. In 1950, Biroc left RKO Pictures and freelanced on projects at various studios. In addition to his film work, which included It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965), Biroc worked on various television series, including the Adventures of Superman and Wonder Woman. He frequently collaborated with film director Robert Aldrich.

Dante Spinotti, A.S.C., A.I.C. is an Italian cinematographer and a member of the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is known for his collaborations with directors Michael Mann, Michael Apted, Deon Taylor, and Brett Ratner, and is frequently credited with helping to pioneer the use of high-definition digital video in cinematography. He is a BAFTA Award recipient and two-time Academy Award nominee.

Frederick James Koenekamp, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer. He was the son of cinematographer Hans F. Koenekamp.

Owen Roizman was an American cinematographer. He received five Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography, for the films The French Connection (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Network (1976), Tootsie (1982), and Wyatt Earp (1994). He served on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was president of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Jordan Scott Cronenweth, ASC was an American cinematographer based in Los Angeles, California. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential cinematographers of all time, he is best remembered for his BAFTA Award-winning work on the groundbreaking science fiction film Blade Runner, which is credited as codifying the cyberpunk aesthetic. A contemporary of Conrad Hall, his style consisted of heavily textured, film noir-inspired photography, seen in numerous classic films, including Zandy's Bride, Gable and Lombard, Altered States, and Peggy Sue Got Married.

Dana W. Gonzales is an American director and cinematographer from Los Angeles, California.

Lisa Marie Wiegand, ASC is an American cinematographer.

Joseph Walker, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer who worked on 145 films during a career that spanned 33 years.

Derek Vanlint, C.S.C. was a British-born Canadian cinematographer and director of television commercials and motion pictures. He was best known as the cinematographer for the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien, which earned him a Best Cinematography Award nomination from the British Society of Cinematographers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent L. Wakeford</span> American cinematographer (1928–2020)

Kent Lon Wakeford was an American cinematographer, the co-founder of Wakeford / Orloff Productions, and founder of Kent Wakeford and Associates, two commercial production companies.

Paul A. Cameron is a Canadian-born American cinematographer. He is best known for his work on the film Collateral (2004), as well as the HBO series Westworld.

Ceán Chaffin is an American film producer who has frequently collaborated with her husband, director David Fincher. She and her fellow producers were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Social Network (2010), and Mank (2020). She won American Film Institute's AFI Awards for these films as well as for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). Chaffin was nominated for Producers Guild of America's Producers of the Year Awards for the three aforementioned films and was also nominated for a British Academy Film Award for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Cronjager</span> American cinematographer

Edward Cronjager was an American cinematographer whose career spanned from the silent era through the 1950s. He came from a family of cinematographers, with his father, uncle, and brother all working in the film industry behind the camera. His work covered over 100 films and included projects on the small screen towards the end of his career. He filmed in black and white and color mediums, and his work received nominations for seven Academy Awards over three decades, although he never won the statue.

Eric Wesley Steelberg is an American cinematographer. He is a frequent collaborator of Jason Reitman, having worked with him on Juno (2007), Up in the Air (2009), Young Adult (2011), Labor Day (2013), Men, Women & Children (2014), Tully (2018), and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).

Christian Sebaldt is a German-born cinematographer best known for his work on the long-running CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television series, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series in 2010. In addition, he has worked on numerous major motion pictures, including Resident Evil: Apocalypse and FeardotCom, and commercials for companies like Toyota and Energizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Messerschmidt</span> American cinematographer

Erik Messerschmidt, ASC is an American cinematographer. He is best known for his collaborations with director David Fincher on the films Mank and The Killer and Gone Girl, and on the Netflix series Mindhunter. He has also shot episodes of the TV series Fargo, Legion, and Raised by Wolves. His work has been nominated for an Emmy. In April 2021, he won the top ASC Award and the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Mank.

References

  1. "The ASC Roster". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  2. Jeff Cronenweth – Biography
  3. "Jordan Cronenweth". Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
  4. Jeff Cronenweth
  5. Anarchy in the USA – page 3