--- description: 'Moonlight' cinematographer James Laxton explains how the look of the Barry Jenkins-directed film was inspired. title: Oscars 2017: James Laxton on Cinematography of Moonlight image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0052e0d0c3d4e826/6988bb444dd21577aaefdd9d/170221_mahershalaali.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Behind the Cinematography of the Oscar-Nominated Movie _Moonlight_  by [Paul Moakley](/author/paul-moakley/)  ## Paul Moakley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 22, 2017 11:53 PM CUT  Mahershala Ali is the favorite to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in "Moonlight." Mahershala Ali is the favorite to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in "Moonlight."David Bornfriend—A24  by [Paul Moakley](/author/paul-moakley/)  ## Paul Moakley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 22, 2017 11:53 PM CUT This weekend at the Oscars, cinematographer James Laxton is up for his first Academy Award for his work on the drama _Moonlight._ The film and its visuals developed from a deep collaboration with his college friend, screenwriter and director Barry Jenkins, that date back to when they met 17 years ago at Florida State University. Since that time the duo developed a very personal aesthetic their work inspired by fine art photography and indie cinema. Laxton, who says he first started talking about this movie with Jenkins years ago, breaks down the anatomy of the film’s pivotal scenes and reveals the who inspired the distinct look of _Moonlight_. [Go behind the scenes with James Laxton here](http://time.com/behind-the-visuals-of-moonlight/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4679678/moonlight-cinematography-behind-the-scenes-james-laxton/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4679678/moonlight-cinematography-behind-the-scenes-james-laxton/"},"headline":"Behind the Cinematography of the Oscar-Nominated Movie Moonlight","datePublished":"2017-02-22T23:53:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:17.329Z","description":"'Moonlight' cinematographer James Laxton explains how the look of the Barry Jenkins-directed film was inspired.","url":"https://time.com/4679678/moonlight-cinematography-behind-the-scenes-james-laxton/","keywords":["LightBox","Entertainment","movies","Oscars","Academy Awards","photography","film","moonlight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0052e0d0c3d4e826/6988bb444dd21577aaefdd9d/170221_mahershalaali.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Moakley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/paul-moakley/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0052e0d0c3d4e826/6988bb444dd21577aaefdd9d/170221_mahershalaali.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170221_moonlight","caption":"Mahershala Ali in Moonlight","creditText":"David Bornfriend—A24","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4679678/moonlight-cinematography-behind-the-scenes-james-laxton/","name":"Behind the Cinematography of the Oscar-Nominated Movie Moonlight"}}]}] ```