This document provides background information on the cinematographer Robert Elswit and analyzes his work as a potential film auteur. It discusses Elswit's career highlights and collaborations with directors like Paul Thomas Anderson. The document presents three of Elswit's films as focal points for analysis - There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, and Nightcrawler. It examines Elswit's distinctive style through elements like color palette and camerawork. It also applies feminist film theory to analyze Elswit's depictions of gender and how he visually translates narratives through the male gaze. The document aims to determine if Elswit exhibits authorship through his consistent style and the integral role his cinematography plays in the films.

1. Robert Elswit
An auteur study on a
cinematographer

2. Robert Elswit
• Born on the 22nd April 1950 in
California, USA.
• 73 credits as a cinematographer with
his first credit in 1980.
• Work includes: Waterland (1992),
Paul Thomas Anderson’s features
(except The Master (2012)), Tomorrow
Never Dies (1997), 8mm (1999), the
George Clooney films: Good Night,
and Good Luck. (2005), Syriana
(2005) and Michael Clayton (2007).
And many more.
• Also has been a visual effects
camera operator and photographer on
Star Trek: The Original Motion
Picture (1979), Star Wars: Episode V
(1980) and VI (1983) and E.T the
Extra Terrestrial (1982).

4. Hypothesis
• A cinematographer can be considered a film auteur as they control what the audience
sees. They are the people who visually translate and project the narrative,
representations and ideologies of a film. I believe that the cinematographer Robert
Elswit has a distinctive style and versatility that allows him to be considered an
auteur. Therefore, I want to investigate the style and work of Elswit to determine
whether or not he is in his own right, as a cinematographer rather than a director,
an author in film.
• Elswit often works closely with director Paul Thomas Anderson (P.T.A), who himself is
regarded as an auteur, having been director of photography on all Anderson’s feature
films, save one, The Master (2012). Although Elswit frequently collaborates with
Thomas Anderson, I wanted to base my research on the cinematographer and his work, as
the cinematography was what first drew me to watch films like Inherent Vice and
Nightcrawler, regardless of whether or not PTA had directed them.
• The aims of my research task are to gain a deeper understanding of Elswit’s
cinematography and style. Through this I will be able to find out how integral
Elswit’s style, creative techniques and conventions are to the films that he works
and how he achieves visually stunning work that is still emotive and effective in
regards to narrative. From this I hope to realise the extent of this authorship in
film.
• As well as analysing Elswit’s work for his auteur style, I also want to apply
feminist film theory to it. The cinematographer controls the visual image so I can
analyse the way in which gender and women are depicted in my main focal films,
applying theories like Mulvey’s ‘male gaze’. Also, it is an important aspect of
Elswit’s work that he often collaborates with P.T.A ; therefore I want to research
into how much this collaboration impacts his work and his legitimacy as an auteur.

5. Focal Films (I)
(Thomas Anderson, Paul. 2014.
Inherent Vice, IAC Films,
Ghoulardi Film Company and
Warner Bros.)
(Thomas Anderson, Paul. 2007.
There Will Be Blood, Paramount
Vantage, Miramax, Ghoulardi
Film Company.)
(Gilroy, Dan. 2014.
Nightcrawler, Bold Films and
Sierra / Affinity.)

6. Focal Films (II)
Inherent Vice will be useful to my research as it was one of the very first films that drew me to
Elswit’ work and exhibits really great cinematography and his style. Therefore, I want to study it to
understand why and what it is that creates his style and successful cinematography. The film is also
one Elswit’s and Anderson’s collaborations, so it will be useful to see how this impacts his work and
why the films are so successful whilst they work together.
Nightcrawler will be useful
to my research because not
only does it hold a similar
interest to me as it was also
one of the first films I saw
that created an interest in
Elswit’s cinematography, it
is not an Anderson
collaboration. Due to this, I
can analyse Elswit’s work,
singularly as his own without
Anderson, and see how the
collaboration effects his
style.
There Will Be Blood will be very useful to my research. It
was nomination for nine Academy Awards in 2008, two of
which it won: Best Performance of an Actor in a Leading
Role – Daniel Day Lewis and Best Achievement in
Cinematography – Robert Elswit. Being an Academy Award
winning film means that there will be a lot of useful
sources written about the film, especially on Elswit’s
cinematography: the focus of my research topic. Again it is
a collaboration with Anderson but it also showcases more of
Elswit’s cinematic range as the film has many more daytime
scenes than Nightcrawler and Inherent Vice which is useful
to see how he deals with creating different times of the
day and lighting.

7. Inherent Vice – Primary
Source
• Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
• Producers: PTA, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne
Sellar
• Writer (screenplay): PTA
• DoP: Robert Elswit
• Film Editor: Leslie Jones
• Music: Jonny Greenwood
• Production Designer: David Crank
• Art Director: Ruth De Jong
• Set Decoration: Amy Wells
• Costume Designer: Mark Bridges
• Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis
• Joaquin Phoenix – Larry ‘Doc’
Sportello
• Joanna Newsom – Sortilège
• Katherine Waterson – Shasta Fay
Hepworth
• Josh Brolin – Lt. Det. Christian
F. ‘Bigfoot’ Bjornsen
• Benicio Del Toro – Sauncho
Smilax
• Eric Robert – Michael Z.
Wolfmann
• Hong Chau – Jade
Awards: 27 wins & 68 nominations
Oscars, nominated for:
• Best writing or adapted screenplay - PTA
• Best achievement in costume design – Mark
Bridges
Golden Globes, nominated for:
• Best Performance by an actor in a motion
picture, comedy or musical – Joaquin
Phoenix
An adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel
of the same title.
‘Doc’ Sportello, an LA private investigator
and “pothead”, in 1970, works to solve a
number of cases that all seem to be crazy
and interlinked.
Genre (hybrid) : Comedy, Crime, Drama

8. Nightcrawler – Primary
Source
• Director: Dan Gilroy
• Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy,
Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster,
Michel Litvak
• Writer: Dan Gilroy
• DoP: Robert Elswit
• Editor: John Gilroy
• Music: James Newton Howard
• Production Design: Kevin Kavanaugh
• Art Direction: Naaman Marshall
• Set Decoration: Meg Everist
• Costume Design: Amy Westcott
• Jake Gyllenhaal – Louis Bloom
• Rene Russo – Nina Romina
• Riz Ahmed – Rick
• Bill Paxton – Joe Loder
Genre (hybrid) : Crime, Thriller
Awards: 49 wins and 90 nominations
Oscars, nominated for:
• Best Writing, Original Screenplay - Dan
Gilroy
Golden Globes, nominated for:
• Best Performance by and Actor in a motion
picture, drama – Jake Gyllenhaal
BAFTAS, nominated for:
• Best leading actor – Jake Gyllenhaal
• Best supporting actress – Rene Russo
• Best Editing – John Gilroy
• Best Original Screenplay – Dan Gilroy
Louis Bloom, a desperate man looking
for work and money discovers the world
of LA crime journalism, which uncovers
the moral issues of the profession.

9. There Will Be Blood –
Primary Source
• Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
• Producers: PTA, Daniel Lupi, JoAnne
Sellar
• Writer (screenplay): PTA
• DoP: Robert Elswit
• Editor: Dylan Tichenor
• Music: Jonny Greenwood
• Production Design: Jack Fisk
• Art Direction: David Crank
• Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
• Costume Design: Mark Bridges
• Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis
• Daniel Day-Lewis – Daniel
Plainview
• Dillon Freasier – HW
• Paul Dano – Paul Sunday / Eli
Sunday
• Kevin J. O’Connor - Henry
Loosely based on the novel ‘Oil!’ by
Upton Sinclair.
Genre - Drama
Misandrist and oil prospector, Daniel
Plainview, works to make his fortune in
California during the turn-of-the-century
oil rush.
Awards – 119 wins and 101 nominations
Oscars, won:
• Best performance by an actor in a leading role
– Daniel Day-Lewis
• Best achievement in cinematography – Robert
Elswit
Oscars, nominated:
• Best Motion Picture of the Year – JoAnne
Sellar, PTA, Daniel Lupi
• Best Achievement in Directing – PTA
• Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay – PTA
• Best Achievement in Film Editing – Dylan
Tichenor
• Best Achievement in Art Direction – Jack Fisk,
Jim Erickson
• Best Achievement in Sound Editing – Matthew
Wood, Christopher Scarabosio
Golden Globes, won:
• Best Performance by and Actor in a motion
picture, drama – Daniel Day-Lewis
Golden Globes, nominated:
• Best Motion Picture – Drama
BAFTAs, won:
• Best leading actor – Daniel Day-Lewis
BAFTAs, 8 nominations:
• Best Cinematography – Robert Elswit

10. Authorship (I)
• “The real reason why people are going with digital is
that it’s extraordinarily mobile and it’s cheaper and it
has a great image, and you just can’t beat it at night.
It’s puling in variations of colors, it’s pulling in
lights from 40 miles away —a candle would be seen.
• Robert Elswit used the Alexa digital to shoot at night,
but we shot our daytime scenes on [35mm] film. And that
was a choice that Robert wanted … because he is an
extraordinary proponent of film, and when you listen to
Robert speak, you realize the level of technology that
film has achieved, and the quality of image [that film
provides] is a far superior image ultimately under the
right circumstances than digital.”
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/interview-nightcrawler-director-dan-gilroy-
talks-jake-gyllenhaal-robert-elswit-sociopaths-20141029 - interview w NC director Dan
Gilroy. Talks about Gyllenhaal and his prep and role. Talks about working with Elswit
and shooting in downtown LA, showing areas not cliché and different.
• This demonstrates that Elswit has auteur control over decisions on
cinematography and shooting the film. Yes, it is his responsibility as DoP but
he makes the choices and the director trusts him with it and that comes with the
knowing Elswit is great at his job and great respect.
• It also mentions the choice to shoot on a camera that has the capability to
capture many different colours. An aspect of Elswit’s style is his use of
colour.

11. Authorship (II)
Here we see Elswit not only on set
but behind the camera and shooting.
He is not just a cinematographer who
does the lighting, he operates the
camera. This shows his dedication to
getting the right look and shot but
also getting the shot he has planned
for and wants.

12. Auteur Style – Colour
Palettes
There Will Be Blood Colour Palette
Other palettes for P.T.A films. Use of primary
colours (red and blue).

13. Auteur Style - Colour
• Elswit’s use of contrastingly colours gives his work a
specific feel and look that is able to be manipulated to
evoke a certain tone.
• Elswit also had a trademark use of lights. Lens flares
and depth of field feature in this trademark.
• The uses of practical effects and as much ambient light
as possible are also some Elswit’s traits to recreate a
very realistic looking image that also has a dream-like
and mystical quality.

14. The use of complimentary
colours (variants of
blue and red, cold and
warm) in Elswit’s work
appears to be a
stylistic trait of his.

15. Colour in Focal Films

16. Auteur Style
• Paul Thomas Anderson has shot seven feature films and thus has had
the time and chance to develop his auteur style and filmmaking
techniques.
• He also has a long standing relationship with Elswit, so their way
of collaborating will be refined and they will work well together,
both taking in to account each other’s ideas and input.
• Despite having many writer and screenwriter credits, Nightcrawler
is Gilroy’s directorial debut. Therefore, he will not have the
opportunity that P.T.A has had to develop and create his own
directorial style and is more likely to take the advice from his
experienced DoP, with him having little-to-none in that field.
This gives Elswit to potentially exhibit his style in an even
greater way than with P.T.A.
• Along with his aim of a creating a shot that looks realistically
lit, Elswit often uses a combination of steadicam shots (that
follow the natural action of characters), long takes, tracking
dolly pans and zooms and also very still shots that let the action
unfold in front of it. These feature in all the focal films, not
just P.T.A’s

19. Feminism (I)
• The director of photography controls
how a story visually translates into
the images that make up a film.
Therefore they also control how we
view characters. With this
responsibility of the
cinematographer, feminist film theory
can be applied to Elswit’s work to
see the ways in which he presents
gender through the use of
cinematography and the implications
of his representations.

20. Feminism (II)
The Bechdel Test
1. At least two named female
characters, who
2. talk to each other
3. about something other than a
man.
• There Will Be Blood – Failed.
• Inherent Vice – Failed.
• Nightcrawler – Failed.
P.T.A is known for his focus on male
characters and use of male
protagonists. “Anderson’s main
subject matter is an ongoing
investigation of the white male
psyche in the United States.” (1)
Anderson has recurring themes
encompassing ideas such as: familial
ties (father-son relationships,
absence of mothers, etc.), compulsory
heterosexuality and negative
representation of homosexuality.(2)
(1)http://www.academia.edu/9601458/_Man_Is_Not_an_Animal_Masculinities_in_the_Cinema_of
_Paul_Thomas_Anderson_ useful ideas from an abstract for a conference presentation
addressing Anderson’s featuring of masculinity in all his films.
(2) https://prezi.com/zvuc-tm1j_hi/performing-masculinities/ The aforementioned
conference presentation. Useful and summarised ideas on masculinity in film.
Elswit’s close working relationship with P.T.A and with him as the
technical means by which Anderson can project his ‘investigation’,
allows Elswit to be analysed in accordance with the criticism and ideas
that P.T.A produces.

22. Feminism (III)
• Hegemonic masculinity (a theory by R.W. Connell) is a driving force in Anderson’s
films and also appears to an extent in Gilroy’s Nightcrawler. Dominant (and
slightly dated / traditional) definitions of masculinity and what it means to be a
man are showcased in all three of my focal films: emotionless and unaffected,
strong, domineering, self-made, powerful, a father / father-figure. Hegemonic
masculinity still acknowledges that patriarchy is the dominant ideology and that
all men have privilege. However, it also states that there is marginalisation
within the male gender, not just women. For example, homosexual men and men who are
not afraid to be emotional.
• The protagonists in my focal films all have the qualities of the hegemonic
masculinity. They are self-made men: Doc is a private investigator, Bloom is
freelance crime journalist and Plainview is an oil prospector and the embodiment of
capitalism. Bloom does not seem to understand human emotion or action and Plainview
shares the quality of misanthrope with Bloom. Doc seems to be the most emotional
out of the three, who works to reunite the character of Harlingen with his family.
However, when Doc’s ex-girlfriend Shasta tells him how she was sexually exploited
by her most recent boyfriend, who would offer her up to his friends, Doc remarks
“Why are you telling me this?” (1) in a very insensitive way. There is no direct
father-figure in Nightcrawler, though Joe Loder could weakly be seen as a mentor
who Bloom overtakes. Plainview is the adoptive father of H.W. whom after going
deaf, Plainview sends him away to cared for and abandons him. Doc has no father-
figure relating to him, though character Bjornsen and Mr Fenway are actual fathers.
• Weakness in a patriarchal society is viewed in the form of women and with the
connotations of the ancient stereotype of women and what is ‘feminine’: submissive,
dependent, emotional and sexually immoral. Some of these ideas are demonstrated in
my primary sources.
(1) Thomas Anderson, Paul. 2014. Inherent Vice, IAC Films, Ghoulardi Film Company and
Warner Bros.

23. Feminism (IIII)
• Three male protagonists. Three male characters (typically male)
audience members can identify with. The male gaze is therefore
present in my focal films, as although not every shot or aspect of
the gaze may be sexually charged, the narrative and characters are
viewed in the way and context that the protagonists would view it.
• The Male Gaze: (1)
• ‘A woman performs within the narrative; the gaze of the spectator
and that of the male characters in the film are neatly combined
without breaking narrative verisimilitude.’
• There are ‘two contradictory aspects of the pleasurable structures’
of conventional cinema. One, ‘scopophilic, arises from pleasure in
using another person as an object of sexual stimulation through
sight. The second, developed through narcissism and the
constitution of the ego, comes from identification with the image
seen’ (i.e a heterosexual male audience member looking at the male
character who is looking at the objectified female and a female
audience member looking at the objectified female character).
(1) Mulvey, Laura. 1975. Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, p. 18-19

24. Feminism in There Will Be
Blood
• No female lead roles. Minor roles in the forms of
daughters and a wife (the family of a man, not
independent characters).
• Only other roles are that of whores in bars. This
links to women being viewed as sexually immoral.
• With the lack of women there is not the
opportunity to visually objectify them or show
explicit sexism towards them (despite there lack
of presence in the film). However Plainview’s
character is soulless and misanthropic. ‘I hate
most people. There are times when I, I look at
people and see nothing worth liking.’ (1) With
this hatred of people and weakness, Elswit is able
to present Plainview in such a way that portrays
his negative view of both men and women.
(1) Thomas Anderson, Paul. 2007. There Will Be Blood, Paramount Vantage, Miramax,
Ghoulardi Film Company.

25. Feminism in Inherent Vice
• Many seemingly unnecessary shots of women with heavily
male gaze and no scopophilic shots of men.
• However, could be contemporary to the time during the
second wave of feminism when women found sexual
liberation and control over their bodies.
• But despite having many female characters in the film,
they are mainly objects of desire and nothing more.
• Also, the film is very hypersexualised and many of the
‘male gazed’ shots are overt and are likely to be
highlighting the obviousness and carelessness in certain
situations in the film. For example in the scene when
Doc visits Mrs Wolfmann, who is obviously having an
affair with her ‘spiritual coach’.
• The film is also mainly in the perspective of the
protagonist and therefore could be making a statement
about them and the culture or society.
http://avidly.lareviewofbooks.org/2015/01/12/the-one-that-got-away-on-inherent-vice/
http://stevementz.com/further-thoughts-on-shasta-fay/

26. Feminism in Nightcrawler
• There are few characters in the cast of Nightcrawler,
with the main character aside from Bloom being Nina, a
woman.
• Nina is an independent woman who has highly-positioned
job on a TV network. She is initially in the story as a
kind of boss/employer figure for Bloom; however,
eventually Bloom does take her out on a date and
consequently becomes a ‘love’ interest and object of
desire.
• Adding the relationship-side to their working
relationship does seem unnecessary but it does reveal
even more about Bloom’s character and how he is
unemotional and empty, having to teach himself and
attempt human interaction.
• Nina is almost like the hegemonic idea of ‘masculinity’:
she has a career, she is headstrong and dominant. This
is most likely why Bloom tries to create a relationship
with her, as he believes he sees similarities between
them both as ambitious people. Though he does try to
assert authority and domineer over her.

27. Collaborations (I)
• “Concentrating on achieving the look they wanted through
lenses, Anderson hoped to avoid using filters and other
common cinematographic techniques. Elswit disagreed,
insisting filters like the 85 are custom made and do not
hurt the image — he had to lobby hard to use them
in There Will Be Blood.
• Anderson also insisted on using actual flames for the
reversal shots of the actors watching the fire, even
though Elswit was confident he could recreate the look
with practical lighting. Instead, the crew used real
fire.
• The crew did use practical effects, including homemade
flicker boxes designed by Elswit. Using dozens of
smaller bulbs to soften the lights, and amber, yellow
and red gels to attain the right colors, the crew was
able to replicate the look efficiently.”
https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/best-cinematography-look-will-blood/
Useful – student resource and has the technicalities of shooting TWBB and also about the collaboration
process.
• This shows that despite Elswit’s great autonomy and input in the films, Anderson
as a director still has ultimate control with the real fire. But it does not show
P.T.A to have complete control, as it some cases he respected Elswit’s decision
more and used the filters and practical effects.

28. Collaborations (II)
• “Creative yet technical, autonomous yet subordinate to the
director, he or she is both an artist and an artisan. Thus the
stars of the profession, in demand nationally and internationally,
are free to choose their projects and they develop a personal style
out of their accumulated experience.” (pg. 200)
• Rather than downgrading the cinematographer’s role to that of
adjunct at the service of the director, the arrival of directors
without technical experience often valorised it. … the
cinematographer therefore became the primary partner, adviser and
second-in-command to the director.
• Descriptions of the actual activity of the cinematographer make it
clear that almost all have experienced their role as something more
active than a simple submission to the requirements of the
director.
• Whether or not a cinematographer should allow themselves a personal
style seems sometimes to be a question of professional morality.
• There is a widespread ideal of technical competence and
adaptability, but real experience suggests that accomplished
cinematographers are likely to be auteurs despite themselves. As a
result perhaps, both cinematographers and directors insist on the
absolute necessity that they should be compatible, and on both
sides there is emphasis on the choice of collaborators and also
sometimes of projects.”
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gG0dBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=cinematographers+as+auteurs&s
ource=bl&ots=fHGhHKWqG2&sig=tX2d8mMDLVw6IC6622n1UBsBX5M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBGoVChMIkKaU59XByAIV
QokaCh10tgl4#v=onepage&q=cinematographers&f=false
Temple, Michael and Witt, Michael. (2007) The French Cinema
Book, The British Film Institute, London.

29. Collaborations (III)
• The source is mainly based on La Nouvelle
Vague but its arguments are still very
relevant.
• The previous source suggests that Elswit is
able to still be an auteur as a
cinematographer, whilst in collaboration with
an auteur director.
• It is crucial that the director and
cinematographer have a good working
relationship which benefits them both and
allows them to develop, which Elswit and
P.T.A demonstrate having.
• Also mentions how the directors with little
background in cinematography rely on their
photographers and this gives them more
autonomy to become auteurs.

30. Collaborations (IIII)
• Elswit on working with Anderson - “Well, I
really learned a lot. I don't think I would
be anywhere near where I am right now without
having worked with Paul.”
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/inherent-vice-nightcrawler-cinematographer-robert-
elswit-shoots-an-unusual-los-angeles
• “As ever, Anderson is over-fond of the blindsiding
gesture: Anderson’s champions insist that his movies
demand multiple viewings, and such exquisitely
textured moments as this actually make the process
seem alluring.”
• “He has now established himself as one of, if not the best, working
director in Hollywood. With a style comparable to an obscure
collaboration of techniques utilized by Kubrick, Welles and Griffith,
Anderson has proven to be a chameleon. His films really defy genre, but
are all wildly different from one another.”
http://thefilmemporium.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/critical-analysis-there-will-be-
blood.html
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/film-
week-inherent-vice

31. Collaborations (V)
• “In images starkly and
magnificently created by
cinematographer Robert Elswit and
set designer Jack Fisk.
• "There Will Be Blood" is the kind
of film that is easily called
great. I am not sure of its
greatness.”
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/there-will-be-blood-2008
Does not wholly like the film but can see and
appreciate the work of Elswit, rather than all
credit and ‘greatness’ being attached to Anderson.

32. More Secondary Sources to
Review and Analyse
• http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/elswit-talks-pta-how-he-almost-didnt-do.html
• http://www.theguardian.com/film/movie/122167/there.will.be.blood
• http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=133232
• http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/there-will-be-blood-20080118
• http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.co.uk/
• http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/a-cinematographers-plea-to-the-budding-film-auteur-move-your-
camera
• http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1386/jmpr.13.1.75_1?journalCode=rjmp20
• http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=39862
• http://repository.liv.ac.uk/1595425/
• http://www.andsoitbeginsfilms.com/2014/08/top-10-robert-elswit-films.html
• https://www.theasc.com/ac_magazine/January2008/ThereWillBeBlood/page1.php
• http://avidly.lareviewofbooks.org/2015/01/12/the-one-that-got-away-on-inherent-vice/
•
• http://stevementz.com/further-thoughts-on-shasta-fay/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGlkJmr6dfc
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS3oV3tsVbk

33. More Secondary Sources
Analysed