Conversations from the Sundance Institute Labs | Conversations With Cinematographers including Robert Elswit (MICHAEL CLAYTON) & more
About this Event Recording
Go behind the scenes to learn from Sundance Institute Advisors in our Conversations from the Sundance Labs series. This collection of videos will deepen your understanding of all the creative disciplines that are supported through our Labs.
In this conversation, Founding Senior Director Michelle Satter leads a discussion with veteran Cinematographers Robert Elswit (MICHAEL CLAYTON, THERE WILL BE BLOOD), Bradford Young (AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS, WHEN THEY SEE US) and Charlotte Bruus Christensen (A QUIET PLACE, THE HUNT). They explain their preparation process, the collaboration between a director of photography and a director, and the impact of camera and lighting on storytelling. Each DP provides insight into using cinematography to tell their stories, sharing clips from THE HUNT, shot by Bruus Christensen; UNTITLED, a short film by Young; and MICHAEL CLAYTON, shot by Elswit.
Event RecordingTeam
Robert Elswit
Cinematographer
Profession: Cinematographer Description: 5'10" tall, 170 lb. Balding with sandy grey hair, freckles, pale complexion. Cruel, sardonic sense of humor. Bulky upper body with low center of gravity. Long narrow scar down the middle of chest cavity. Chain smokes except when drinking heavily. Short stubby hands used to punctuate rapid neurotic speech.
Background: Youngest son of a prominent New York theatrical agent. Mother was a professional acrobatic roller skating artist. Raised by his paternal grandmother after being orphaned at the age of ten months, he attended Catholic military prep school for eight years and was a counselor at the Communist Youth League summer camp. Expelled from West Point after failing a drug test, he went on to an uneventful educational experience at a number of colleges and universities.
Experience: Worked as a short order cook and ambulance driver at the Veterans Administration in Los Angeles. Played Vershinin in a high school production of The Three Sisters. Managed a rent-a-car agency on Sunset Blvd. Spent two years as a roadie with the Kirov Ballet. Crashed twice in helicopter accidents in Mexico, watched an avalanche in Switzerland, and fell on his face while walking on hot lava at Kilauea Iki. Low threshold of pain saved him.
Skills: Ambidextrous with excellent hand/eye coordination, he’s adept at playing card manipulation, marksmanship, and two move chess problems. Knows the theme songs of most television shows from the 1950s and 60s. Can play both shortstop and second base. Competent on clarinet or saxophone. Has extensive knowledge of early 20th century German analog photography equipment. Good cook and cat lover. Proud new dad.
Credits: There Will Be Blood, The Return of the Living Dead Part 2, Good Night, And Good Luck., Nightcrawler, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, The Town, Michael Clayton, Boogie Nights, and many more.
Bradford Young
Cinematographer
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, award-winning cinematographer Bradford Marcel Young moved to Chicago at age 15 to live with his father. There, he received early artistic inspiration from the works of Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Aaron Douglas. Young studied film at Howard University, where he was influenced by Haile Gerima. He has been the director of photography on the feature films White Lies, Black Sheep (2007), Pariah (2011), Middle of Nowhere (2012), Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013), Mother of George (2013), A Most Violent Year (2014), Selma (2014), Arrival (2016), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), and the Netflix miniseries When They See Us (2019). He has won Cinematography Awards at the Sundance Film Festival twice: in 2011, for his work on Pariah, and in 2013 for his work on both Mother of George and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints. In 2017, Young was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Arrival. Young’s collaborations with artist Leslie Hewitt have been exhibited at The Kitchen, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Menil Collection, Des Moines Art Center, the MCA Chicago, and Lofoten International Arts Festival, Norway.
Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Cinematographer
Charlotte Bruus Christensen is a cinematographer whose most recent work can be seen in the upcoming Amazon feature All the Old Knives, directed by Janus Metz and starring Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton. She also shot and directed BBC One’s Black Narcissus starring Gemma Arterton and Alessandro Nivola. She lensed George Nolfi’s film, The Banker, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Anthony Mackie. Previously, she shot the acclaimed A Quiet Place, directed by John Krasinski for Paramount Pictures. Additional recent credits include Aaron Sorkin’s directorial debut Molly’s Game, starring Jessica Chastain, Denzel Washington’s Academy Award-winning film Fences starring Denzel and Viola Davis, as well as Tate Taylor’s thriller The Girl on a Train, starring Emily Blunt. Prior to these features, she shot Thomas Vinterberg’s Far From the Madding Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan, which earned her a spot on Variety’s 10 Cinematographers to Watch. Christensen has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Vinterberg, which began when her short films caught his attention. This led to Christensen’s first feature film, Submarino, which garnered her a Golden Frog nomination at Camerimage, as well as a Danish Film Academy Robert Award for Best Cinematography. Christensen maintained her partnership with the director by shooting his next film, The Hunt, winning her The Vulcan Award at Cannes and the Danish Film Critics’ Award for Best Cinematography. Other credits include Anton Corbijn’s James Dean biopic Life, starring Dane DeHaan and Robert Pattinson which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, The Other Life, directed by Jonas Elmer, Hunky Dory, directed by Marc Evans, and Oliver Ussing’s drama My Good Enemy. Christensen first studied filmmaking in 1999 at The European Film College in Denmark. She was later admitted into the National Film and Television School's cinematography course in 2002.