ASC Welcomes Peter Simonite as a New Member
The Austin native’s first feature was Skateland, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, while his recent work includes the feature Fugitive Dreams.
The Austin native’s first feature was Skateland, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, while his recent work includes the feature Fugitive Dreams.
Originally from Austin, Texas, Peter Simonite, ASC, CSC has worked in the camera department for 25 years. He got his start in the industry through jobs in his hometown and worked his way through the ranks, as a 35mm film loader, camera assistant and operator before serving as a director of photography.
During this time, Simonite worked with and was mentored by a number of ASC members, including Emmanuel Lubezki, Dante Spinotti, John A. Alonzo, Bruno Delbonnel, Robert Yeoman, Caleb Deschanel, Dean Semler, László Kovács, M. David Mullen, Steve Mason and Daniel Pearl.
Simonite served as second-unit director of photography on the features The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and The Apparition (both photographed by Pearl) as well as The Tree of Life (Lubezki), Seven Days in Utopia (Mullen), Arthur Newman (Eduard Grau) and The Wendell Baker Story (Mason). He also shot second unit on Season 1 of the sports drama Friday Night Lights.
He has photographed numerous commercials for clients including AT&T, Volkswagen, Apple, Intel, Rolex, Samsung and Audi, among others. His camerawork in the Explosions in the Sky music video “Postcard from 1952” received critical acclaim.
Simonite’s first feature with a director of photography credit was Skateland, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and his second feature, Fairhaven, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
His other credits include the documentary No Place on Earth, co-photographed with Grau, as well as the features Voice from the Stone and The Perfect Guy. His most recent work includes the feature Fugitive Dreams.
