ELLE SCHNEIDER is a filmmaker from New York City. An avid cinephile with a passion for genre films, particularly war, western, horror, and thriller, who cites Roger Corman, David Lean, Fritz Lang, Robert Wise, Jack Cardiff, Freddie Young, and James Cameron as her biggest influences, she is an International Cinematographer’s Guild (Local 600) director of photography, writes about cinematography for ICG Magazine, and is a member of the International Collective of Female Cinematographers (ICFC). Her work has been featured in Vanity Fair, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, MovieMaker, Rolling Stone, and American Cinematographer. Elle is the foremost expert on 1959 sci-fi melodrama TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE and industrial film studio CENTRON CORPORATION.
Work as cinematographer includes two seasons of History’s acclaimed docu-recre series THE FOOD THAT BUILT AMERICA, narrative features 18 1/2 (which premiered theatrically in 60 cities in summer 2022 and is now playing on Starz), THE LEGEND OF THE LAKE, and SIX LA LOVE STORIES, as well as numerous short films and music videos. Elle produced and shot documentary THAT GUY DICK MILLER, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, and acted as 2nd Unit DP on documentaries including GAMEMASTER (#1 Doc iTunes), I AM DIVINE (SXSW), HALF THE PICTURE (Sundance), FRAMING JOHN DELOREAN (Tribeca), ROBERT KLEIN STILL CAN’T STOP HIS LEG (SXSW), and WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED (SXSW). She also acted as 2nd Unit DP on Mary C. Russell’s debut horror feature THE OTHERKIND (2023).
Elle often selects projects that feature dark and unconventional stories that resonates with her interest in time period, texture, and color, like supernatural western NEAR TO SUPERSTITION (Panasonic) or sex-work documentary JKTV. A fan of collaborating with musical artists, she has directed and shot videos for Gangstagrass, Mock Sun, Sad13, Isla June, Steep Leans, and Speedy Ortiz, the latest of which premiered via Rolling Stone. Work she has directed has played at festivals like Slamdance, Sidewalk, HollyShorts, and Tallgrass and she is a member of Film Fatales, Alliance of Women Directors, and Women in Media.
From 2011 to 2016, Elle was the co-designer and creative director of Digital Bolex, the world’s only crowdfunded cinema camera. She crafted a brand identity and advertising strategy that gained international recognition, and facilitated the camera’s use on features like ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL, MY ART, and BURYING THE EX, and television shows like SCANDAL, EMPIRE, and GLEE. In 2016 she paired with the National Film Board of Canada to sponsor a suite of films, including STONE MAKERS, which was nominated for a 2017 Canadian Screen Award for Best Short Documentary. Other films she supported premiered at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Slamdance, LA Film Festival, and the Venice Biennale. The limited run camera is highly sought after by cinematographers and continues to be used by artists on a wide variety of projects, including multiple features that have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
RECOGNITION
Best Documentary Short – Atlanta Underground Film Festival
Marguerite Roberts Screenwriting Fellow – USC (2x awardee)
Indiewire’s 40 Female Filmmakers to Follow
Vintage Infamy – February 2023 American Cinematographer Feature
Education
USC School of Cinematic Arts
Directing Masterclass – Monte Hellman
Ronin 2 Masterclass – DJI
CLIENTS
(Select)
Apple / Panasonic / Sigma Corporation / Atomos / History / Disney
Blackheart Spiced Rum / XYZ Films / Drafthouse Films / Severin Films
Digital Bolex / Virgin America / Sony Pictures Classic / Tumblr