Jim Denault

Jim Denault got his start shooting distinctive independent features and has gone on to photograph in a wide range of film and television genres. An interest in photography from an early age led Denault to study at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he received a BFA in photographic illustration.

Denault was nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for Nadja in 1996, and Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Cinematography for the HBO series Carnivàle in 2005, and for the HBO movie Game Change in 2012. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the American Society of Cinematographers.

Denault has photographed around the world, interpreting the landscapes of Cambodia, Thailand, Greece, Ecuador and Morocco on films including Joshua Marston's Maria Full of Grace; Matt Dillon's City of Ghosts; Sanaa Hamri's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2; and Mark Heller's The Passage.

Closer to home, Denault's photography has created visual stories set against the backdrops of the rural Midwest in the groundbreaking drama Boys Don't Cry and of Manhattan, East Los Angeles and Crown Heights in the Sundance award-winning films The Believer, Real Women Have Curves and Our Song. He explored the dark side of sunny South Florida in Illtown. His work shed light on American politics in two award-winning dramas, Recount and Game Change, for director Jay Roach.

Denault's television credits include HBO's Silicon Valley, Getting On and Six Feet Under, and a number of pilots, including USA's Suits and Royal Pains. His most recent series assignment was FOX's Wayward Pines, a science fiction series that stars Dillon and Melissa Leo.
In 2012, Denault shot Greg Mottola's Clear History, which starred Larry David; and Stephen Frears' Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, an HBO drama about the Supreme Court of the United States.

Denault began his career 30 years ago shooting video for industrial training tapes and cable access with electronic cinematography before it became fashionable. He helped pioneer indie film digital cinema with such films as Michael Almereyda's Another Girl Another Planet (shot with PXL-2000) and Hal Hartley's The Book of Life (shot with Sony DCR-VX1000). He is experienced with cameras ranging from the RCA TK-76 to ARRI ALEXA and RED cameras.

Universal Pictures