Pleasant Canyon

Born into a ranching family in Montana, Gregor Tavenner’s first job was as a projectionist at the Rialto Cinema, his local movie theater in Deer Lodge. He joined Local 600 as a first assistant in 1990. After 26 years of collaborations with award-winning cinematographers such as Robert Richardson, ASC; Robert Elswit, ASC; Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC; Bill Pope and Chris Menges, ASC; he began operating. Tavenner is currently based in New York, working on his third season of the HBO series Succession as A-camera/Steadicam operator. Pleasant Canyon is Tavenner’s first short feature as cinematographer. When director Ryan Jaeger inquired about shooting a western on 16 mm, Tavenner suggested they utilize 35-mm, 2-perf format. Tavenner and his crew shot on location in the California desert with Kodak film, Panavision cameras and period glass manufactured in the 1950s and 1960s.