Elliot Davis (born May 23, 1948) is an American cinematographer. Davis graduated from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in Architecture and a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

in Film from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. Davis feels his tenure as an architect carries over into his shooting style. Davis began his career in the mid 1970s, acting as cinematographer on the drama '' Harvest: 3,000 Years''. He also would act as the camera operator for various films, including Francis Ford Coppola's '' The Outsiders'' and

Joel Schumacher Joel T. Schumacher (; August 29, 1939June 22, 2020) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Raised in New York City by his mother, Schumacher graduated from Parsons School of Design and originally became a fashion designer. He ...

's '' St. Elmo's Fire''. Davis would collaborate frequently with several directors, including

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direct ...

(''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an ...

'', '' The Underneath'', '' Gray's Anatomy'', ''

Out of Sight ''Out of Sight'' is a 1998 American crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Frank, adapted from Elmore Leonard's 1996 novel of the same name. The first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and actor Geor ...

''),

Catherine Hardwicke Helen Catherine HardwickeAccording to the State of Texas. ''Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. (born October 21, 1955) is an American film director, p ...

('' Thirteen'', ''

Lords of Dogtown ''Lords of Dogtown'' is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Stacy Peralta. The film follows a group of young skateboarders in Santa Monica, California during the 70s. This is the first (and so ...

'', ''

The Nativity Story ''The Nativity Story'' is a 2006 American biblical drama film based on the nativity of Jesus and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Alexander Siddig, Ciarán Hinds, and Sho ...

'', ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this ...

''), and

Jessie Nelson Jessie Nelson is an American film producer, director, and writer. Career Nelson began her career acting with the theater group Mabou Mines at the Public Theater in New York and she went on to perform in Shakespeare In The Park. Nelson began ...

(''

I Am Sam ''I Am Sam'' (stylized i am sam) is a 2001 American comedy film co-written and directed by Jessie Nelson, and starring Sean Penn as a father with an intellectual disability, Dakota Fanning as his bright and inquisitive daughter, and Michelle Pfei ...

'', ''

Love the Coopers ''Love the Coopers'' (titled ''Christmas with the Coopers'' in the UK and Ireland) is a 2015 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Jessie Nelson and written by Steven Rogers. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Alan Arkin, John ...

''). Davis was the director of photography for

Nate Parker Nate Parker (born November 18, 1979) is an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He has appeared in ''Beyond the Lights'', ''Red Tails'', '' The Secret Life of Bees'', '' The Great Debaters'', ''Arbitrage'', ''Non-Stop'', ''F ...

's controversial directorial debut ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play '' The Clansm ...

''. Davis was not familiar with Parker prior to receiving the script, but soon forged a creative connection with him, using films such as ''

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' is a 2007 American epic revisionist Western film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James. Adapted from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel of the same tit ...

'' as influence for the look of ''Nation''. Additional works include '' The Cutting Edge'', ''

Father of the Bride Part II ''Father of the Bride Part II'' is a 1995 American comedy film starring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Martin Short. It is a sequel to '' Father of the Bride'' and a remake of the 1951 film '' Father's Little Dividend'', the sequel to the origin ...

'', ''

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun crosses the Earth's equator, which is to say, appears zenith, directly above the equator, rather than north or south of the equator. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise "due east" ...

'', ''

Larger Than Life Larger than Life may refer to: Film and television *Larger than Life (film), ''Larger than Life'' (film), a 1996 American comedy *''Larger than Life'', a 1998 short film by Ellory Elkayem *''Carol Channing: Larger than Life'', a 2012 documentary a ...

'', '' Forces of Nature'', ''

40 Days and 40 Nights ''40 Days and 40 Nights'' is a 2002 satirical erotic romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, written by Rob Perez, and starring Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon and Paulo Costanzo. The film depicts Matt Sullivan, a San Francisco web ...

'', '' White Oleander'', '' Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde'', ''

A Love Song for Bobby Long ''A Love Song for Bobby Long'' is a 2004 American psychological drama film directed and written by Shainee Gabel, based on the novel ''Off Magazine Street'' by Ronald Everett Capps. It stars John Travolta as the title character, an aging alcohol ...

'', '' The Iron Lady'', '' Man of Tai Chi'' and the upcoming '' Above Suspicion''. For his work on ''Equinox'' and ''The Underneath'', Davis received two nominations for the

Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography The Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual awards given out by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers, since 1985. Winners and nominees 1980s * 1985: ...

Filmography

References

External links

Elliot Davis
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Elliot 1948 births American architects American cinematographers Virginia Tech alumni Living people UCLA Film School alumni