Masanobu Takayanagi

Masanobu "Masa" Takayanagi (高柳 雅暢, Takayanagi Masanobu, born 17 February 1974) is a Japanese cinematographer whose works include Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Warrior (2011) and The Grey (2011).

Life and career

Takayanagi was raised in Tomioka, a city in Gunma Prefecture.[1] He briefly attended Tohoku University[2] in Japan before deciding to pursue a career in cinematography in the American film industry; he was inspired by Masters of Light: Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers, which he saw in a bookstore.[3] He migrated to the United States around 1996[4] in order to attend film school at California State University, Long Beach at the university's Film and Electronics Arts Department, although he could not speak English at the time.[3][5] He later attended the AFI Conservatory in Los Angeles and graduated in 2002.[6] His short film Shui Hen, a graduate project he produced at the AFI Conservatory, won the 2003 Palm Springs International Film Festival's award for Best Student Cinematography.[1] In 2004, he was awarded the American Society of Cinematographers' John F. Seitz Student Heritage Award.[1]

After working on the film crews of various low-budget projects, in 2005 Takayanagi was hired as a Tokyo-based second unit cinematographer for the film Babel under Rodrigo Prieto.[3] He later photographed the second units of State of Play, Eat Pray Love, The Eagle, and Monte Carlo. His first turn as a main unit cinematographer was on Meet Monica Velour, followed by The Grey, both released in 2011.[1] In 2012, he was named one of Variety magazine's "10 Cinematographers to Watch".[4] He photographed David O. Russell's 2012 film Silver Linings Playbook, followed by Out of the Furnace in 2013 and Rupert Goold's 2015 film True Story.[3]

In 2015, Takayanagi became a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.[7]

Filmography

Film

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Director Notes
2006 Ugly Me Claudio Dabed
2007 War Eagle, Arkansas Robert Milazzo
2009 Amar a morir Fernando Lebrija
2010 Meet Monica Velour Keith Bearden
Promises Written in Water Vincent Gallo
2011 Warrior Gavin O'Connor
The Grey Joe Carnahan
2012 Silver Linings Playbook David O. Russell
2013 Out of the Furnace Scott Cooper
2015 True Story Rupert Goold
Spotlight Tom McCarthy
Black Mass Scott Cooper
2017 Hostiles
2020 Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made Tom McCarthy
2021 Stillwater
Swan Song Benjamin Cleary
2022 The Pale Blue Eye Scott Cooper
2025 Deliver Me from Nowhere † Filming

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Masanobu Takayanagi weathers the storm on "The Grey"". Panavision. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  2. ^ See :ja:マサノブ・タカヤナギ［Masanobu・Takayanagi］
  3. ^ a b c d "ONFILM Interview: Masanobu Takayanagi". Kodak. October 15, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Heuring, David (February 13, 2012). "10 Cinematographers to Watch: Masanobu Takayanagi". Variety. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  5. ^ "Latin American Film Studies". California State University, Long Beach. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  6. ^ Shatkin, Elina (October 2006). "Short Takes". American Cinematographer. 87 (10). Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  7. ^ "Clubhouse News". American Cinematographer. 96 (11). Los Angeles, California, United States: American Society of Cinematographers: 94. November 2015. ISSN 0002-7928.