Greig Fraser is an Australian cinematographer.
He received the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Dune (2021) and two other nominations for Lion (2016) and Dune: Part Two (2024). He is also known for Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Rogue One (2016), The Batman (2022), and The Creator (2023).
ew.comEarly life and education
Greig Fraser studied at the RMIT University in Melbourne. Despite forming an interest in photography at an early age, Fraser discovered that videography was perhaps a medium he felt more passion for as he started harnessing his skills along with his first feature documentary as Cinematographer, P.I.N.S., which released in 2000.12
Career
For his short film Cracker Bag he was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2003 AFI Awards.3
For his work on Lion,4 he won the American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases and AACTA Award for Best Cinematography and received Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations.
Fraser shot Rogue One on the Arri Alexa 65 large format digital camera and Panavision lenses from the 1970s, making it the first feature film shot entirely with the Alexa 65. Fraser said of working with the Alexa 65, "The images are sharper and have more resolution, and those things are an advantage, but for me it is about the depth of the image -- there is a three-dimensionality to it. Often the beauty came from the texture; we found that the camera excelled when we were filming something with texture; it really enhanced the quality of picture."5
Fraser returned to the Star Wars franchise with the 2019 television series The Mandalorian. In 2020, for his work on the series, Fraser won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour).
For his work on Dune he won his first Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 2022. Fraser said a feature of his work in that film was intentionally using simple compositions, "We tried to simplify the frames as much as we could. By doing that, we've been able to give the viewers that absorption of story and experience" and colour palette: "We tried quite hard to make sure that it all sat within a certain tone."67
Personal life
Fraser met costume designer Jodie Fried in Sydney in 2004, while they were working on a short film. After moving to the United States in 2008, they were married in a helicopter above Las Vegas. They live in Los Angeles with their three children.8
Critical reception
Film critic Glenn Kenny has praised Fraser's work in The Batman and Dune, saying they were a "sort of stunning magic trick": "There's both a gauziness and a heft to his imagery. His use of shadow and silhouette is masterful, and does so much to convey a sense of foreboding and tension."9 Fellow cinematographer and Academy Award winner Roger Deakins praised Fraser's work on The Batman as "extraordinary", and called Fraser's and the film's omission from being nominated in the category at the 95th Academy Awards due to the Academy's tendency to avoid superhero films "snobbery."10
Critic Susan Wloszczyna praised his work on Lion, saying it was "visually poetic".11
Filmography
Feature film
Key| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Jewboy | Tony Krawitz | |
| 2006 | The Caterpillar Wish | Sandra Sciberras | |
| Out of the Blue | Robert Sarkies | ||
| 2009 | Bright Star | Jane Campion | |
| Last Ride | Glendyn Ivin | ||
| The Boys Are Back | Scott Hicks | ||
| 2010 | Let Me In | Matt Reeves | |
| 2012 | Killing Them Softly | Andrew Dominik | |
| Snow White and the Huntsman | Rupert Sanders | ||
| Zero Dark Thirty | Kathryn Bigelow | ||
| 2014 | Foxcatcher | Bennett Miller | |
| The Gambler | Rupert Wyatt | ||
| 2016 | Lion | Garth Davis | |
| Rogue One | Gareth Edwards | ||
| 2018 | Mary Magdalene | Garth Davis | |
| Vice | Adam McKay | ||
| 2021 | Dune | Denis Villeneuve | |
| 2022 | The Batman | Matt Reeves | |
| 2023 | The Creator | Gareth Edwards | With Oren Soffer;Also credited as co-producer |
| 2024 | Dune: Part Two | Denis Villeneuve | |
| 2026 | Project Hail Mary † | Phil LordChristopher Miller | Post-production |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | First Love | Bronwyn Schmerl | |
| 2003 | Forbidden | Jeremy AngersonNadja Kostich | |
| Cracker Bag | Glendyn Ivin | ||
| Fuel | Nash Edgerton | ||
| 2004 | Marco Solo | Adrian Bosich | |
| 2005 | Lucky | Nash Edgerton | |
| Stranded | Stuart McDonald | ||
| 2006 | Love This Time | Rhys Graham | |
| The Water Diary | Jane Campion | Segment of 8 | |
| 2007 | The Lady Bug | Segment of To Each His Own Cinema | |
| Crossbow | David Michôd | ||
| Spider | Nash Edgerton | ||
| 2008 | Netherland Dwarf | David Michôd | |
| Theo huong den ma di (The Fading Light) | Thien Do | ||
| 2009 | The Life | Rupert Sanders | |
| 2011 | Scenes from the Suburbs | Spike Jonze | |
| 2013 | Greatness Awaits | Rupert Sanders |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Episodes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | The Mandalorian | Dave FiloniDeborah Chow | "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian""Chapter 3: The Sin""Chapter 7: The Reckoning" (With Baz Idoine);Also credited as co-producer on season 1 | 12 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Lion | Nominated | 13 |
| 2021 | Dune | Won | 14 | ||
| 2024 | Dune: Part Two | Nominated | 15 | ||
| 2016 | BAFTA Awards | Best Cinematography | Lion | Nominated | |
| 2021 | Dune | Won | |||
| 2022 | The Batman | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Lion | Won | |
| 2021 | Dune | Won | |||
| 2022 | The Batman | Nominated | |||
| 2024 | Dune: Part Two | Nominated |
Other awards
External links
References
"Truth in the Image: Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS". The American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved 27 June 2024. https://theasc.com/articles/greig-fraser-batman ↩
Lochrie, Conor (28 March 2022). "The 'Dune' cinematographer had a very Aussie reaction to getting an Oscar". The Brag. Retrieved 27 June 2024. https://thebrag.com/dune-cinematographer-oscar-reaction/ ↩
"Winners & Nominees". https://www.aacta.org/aacta-awards/winners-and-nominees/range/2000-2010/year/2003/ ↩
O'Falt, Chris (14 December 2016). "How 'Rogue One' and 'Lion' DP Greig Fraser Found Realism In the Earth and Stars". IndieWire. Retrieved 16 March 2023. https://www.indiewire.com/2016/12/lion-rogue-one-cinematographer-greig-fraser-oscar-nomination-1201758163/ ↩
"Greig Fraser on "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"". Arri. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2023. https://www.arri.com/news-en/greig-fraser-on-rogue-one-a-star-wars-story- ↩
"Cinematographer Greig Fraser Looks Back on His Love for 'Dune'". 26 March 2022. https://www.indiewire.com/2022/03/dune-cinematography-color-imax-1234711042/ ↩
March 27, Christian Holub; EDT, 2022 at 11:18 PM. "Oscar-winning 'Dune' cinematographer teases sequel: 'It's bigger and better'". EW.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) https://ew.com/awards/oscars/oscar-winning-dune-cinematographer-teases-upcoming-sequel/ ↩
Idato, Michael (27 October 2017). "Greig Fraser and Jodie Fried on life after marrying in a Las Vegas helicopter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 September 2020. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/creatives-greig-fraser-and-jodie-fried-our-wedding-took-12-minutes-in-a-las-vegas-helicopter-20171006-gyvuxv.html ↩
Lemire, Christy. "The Batman movie review & film summary (2023) | Roger Ebert". rogerebert.com/. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-batman-movie-review-2022 ↩
Bamigboye, Baz (11 March 2023). "Breaking Baz: Oscar Winner Sir Roger Deakins Says, "The Best Cinematography Hasn't Been Nominated" This Year, Thinks Oscars Are "Snobby" About Cinematographers Of Popular Movies". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 12 March 2023. https://deadline.com/2023/03/roger-deakins-oscars-best-cinematography-not-nominated-breaking-baz-1235286295/ ↩
"Lion movie review & film summary (2016) | Roger Ebert". https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lion-2016 ↩
Sarkisian, Jacob. "'The Mandalorian' cinematographer said shooting baby Yoda was similar to shooting Christian Bale in 'Vice'". Insider. Retrieved 16 March 2023. https://www.insider.com/the-mandalorian-cinematographer-compares-shooting-baby-yoda-christian-bale-vice-2020-9 ↩
"The 89th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2024. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2017 ↩
"The 94th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2022 ↩
https://abc.com/news/2e100609-67b5-4a02-bcb3-f1b2ed134da0/category/3590739 https://abc.com/news/2e100609-67b5-4a02-bcb3-f1b2ed134da0/category/3590739 ↩