Brandon Trost
Brandon Trost | |
|---|---|
 Trost at the premiere of The FP, 2011 Fantasia Festival | |
| Born | Brandon Scott Trost August 29, 1981 Los Angeles, California |
| Alma mater | Los Angeles Film School |
| Occupations | Cinematographer, screenwriter, director, producer, actor |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Relatives | Jason Trost (brother) |
Brandon Scott Trost (born August 29, 1981) is an American cinematographer and director.
Early life and education
Trost was born in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Karen (née French)[1] and Ron Trost, a special effects coordinator.
His grandfather, Scott Maitland, was an assistant director,[2] and his great-grandfather was a stuntman. His uncle was actor Victor French.[3]
He grew up in Frazier Park, California with his brother Jason and sister Sarah.[4][5]
Trost attended at the Frazier Mountain High School[6] and later graduated from the Los Angeles Film School.[7]
He has cited Andrew Laszlo as one of his favorite cinematographers, calling Streets of Fire "one of the most amazing-looking movies from the 1980s."[8]
Career
Trost is a cinematographer, screenwriter, and film director, whose credits include writing and directing The FP with his brother Jason.
Brandon started as cinematographer of a number of independent/low-budget projects like Crank: High Voltage, Halloween II and MacGruber, before becoming a frequent collaborator of Seth Rogen, working in films like This Is the End, Neighbors, The Interview and The Night Before, while making a solo debut as director with An American Pickle.
Trost has since become an active cinematographer of big-budget productions like the Sonic the Hedgehog sequels and Coyote vs. Acme.
Filmography
Cinematographer
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Deuces | Michael Winnick | |
| 2004 | Lightning Bug | Robert Green Hall | |
| 2005 | The Salon | Mark Brown | |
| Val/Val | Gustavo Camelot | With Tobias Datum | |
| Chaos | David DeFalco | ||
| 2006 | Outside Sales | Blayne Weaver | |
| Special Ops: Delta Force | Cole S. McKay | ||
| 2007 | He Was a Quiet Man | Frank Cappello | |
| Broken Glass | Gustavo Camelot | With Tobias Datum and Alejandro Lalinde | |
| One of Our Own | Abe Levy | ||
| Days of Darkness | Jake Kennedy | ||
| The Last Season | Bryan Kramer | ||
| 2008 | Presence | Brian Kramer | |
| 2009 | Weather Girl | Blayne Weaver | |
| Crank: High Voltage | Mark Neveldine Brian Taylor |
||
| Halloween II | Rob Zombie | ||
| 2010 | MacGruber | Jorma Taccone | |
| Mad World | Cory Cataldo | ||
| A Buddy Story | Marc Erlbaum | ||
| 2011 | The FP | Himself Jason Trost |
|
| Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance | Mark Neveldine Brian Taylor |
||
| 2012 | That's My Boy | Sean Anders | |
| The Lords of Salem | Rob Zombie | ||
| 2013 | This Is the End | Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg |
|
| 2014 | That Awkward Moment | Tom Gormican | |
| Neighbors | Nicholas Stoller | ||
| The Interview | Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg |
||
| 2015 | The Diary of a Teenage Girl | Marielle Heller | |
| Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse | Christopher B. Landon | ||
| The Night Before | Jonathan Levine | ||
| 2016 | Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising | Nicholas Stoller | |
| Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | Akiva Schaffer Jorma Taccone |
||
| 2017 | The Disaster Artist | James Franco | |
| 2018 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Marielle Heller | |
| 2019 | Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile | Joe Berlinger | |
| 2021 | Dear Evan Hansen | Stephen Chbosky | |
| 2022 | Sonic the Hedgehog 2 | Jeff Fowler | |
| Bros | Nicholas Stoller | ||
| 2024 | Nightbitch | Marielle Heller | |
| Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Jeff Fowler | ||
| 2025 | The Naked Gun | Akiva Schaffer | |
| 2026 | Coyote vs. Acme † | Dave Green | Post-production |
| Little Brother † | Matt Spicer | Post-production | |
| 2027 | Sonic the Hedgehog 4 † | Jeff Fowler | Filming |
Direct-to-video
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | State's Evidence | Benjamin Louis |
| 2008 | Pulse 2: Afterlife | Joel Soisson |
| Pulse 3 |
Short film
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | King of the Road | Christopher Holmes |
| Indecent Proposal | Scott Quigley | |
| In Too Deep | ||
| 2002 | Last Word | Karinna Bakker |
| All Good Things | Levi Holiman | |
| Trust | Andre Campbell | |
| 2003 | Dark as Day | Levi Holiman |
| Shit Happens | Dan Fogelman | |
| The Attachment | Alex Nicoll | |
| Frame of Mind | Simon Joecker | |
| William Wilson | Nicholas Davis | |
| 2004 | Fish Out of Water | Dewey Kim |
| In the Garden | Craig Dittrich | |
| Messiah | Tiago Mesquita | |
| 2005 | Secret Santa Deluxe | Marc Milstein |
| We All Fall Down | Jake Kennedy | |
| Blockbusters | Trever James Luke Rold | |
| Manejar | Shelly Gant | |
| 2006 | That Guy | Dash Mihok |
| Time Capsule | Levi Holiman | |
| Solus | Richard Heller | |
| 2007 | Teri | Trever James |
| The FP | Himself Jason Trost | |
| The Day the Dead Weren't Dead | ||
| 2008 | Person, Place or Thing | Elle Martini |
| 2010 | Anti-Samaritan Hotline | A. Tad Chamberlain |
| 2012 | The Ballad of Danko Jones | Jason Diamond Josh Diamond |
| 2018 | Endgame | Matthew Castellanos |
Television
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Episode(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Dark Wall | Toby Wilkins | "6:14" |
| 2017 | Future Man | Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg |
"Pilot" |
| 2018 | Barry | Bill Hader | "Chapter One: Make Your Mark" |
| 2019 | The Righteous Gemstones | Danny McBride | "The Righteous Gemstones" |
| 2024 | Knuckles | Jeff Fowler | "The Warrior" |
| Ged Wright | "Don't Ever Say I Wasn't There for You" | ||
| Jorma Taccone | "The Flames of Disaster" |
Music video
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Master of None | Fireball Ministry |
| 2004 | (Welcome to The) Sun Tangled Angel Revival | Kevn Kinney |
| Shine | Josh Todd | |
| 2005 | Sundown | Fireball Ministry |
| New York Girls | Celebutante | |
| 2006 | Lillian, Egypt | Josh Ritter |
| I Won't Remember Your Name | The Letter Openers | |
| Girl in the War | Josh Ritter | |
| In the Satellite Rides a Star | Old 97's | |
| Weathered Soul | Manntis | |
| 2007 | Destroyer | Static-X |
| Love Me Like the World Is Ending | Ben Lee | |
| Little Bo Peep | Phillip Roebuck | |
| Beautiful Tragedy | In This Moment | |
| 2008 | Little Dog | Million Dollar Mouth |
| 2009 | Super Villain | Powerman 5000 |
| Whatever It Is | Zac Brown | |
| Thinking About You | The Soul of John Black | |
| 2010 | Full of Regret | Danko Jones |
| Had Enough | ||
| Sick Bubblegum | Rob Zombie | |
| Mars Needs Women | ||
| Butcher, Faker, Policy Maker | Fireball Ministry | |
| 2011 | Detroit City | Drivin N Cryin |
| 2012 | American Daydream | Electric Guest |
| 2013 | Dead City Radio and the New Gods of Supertown | Rob Zombie |
| Go Kindergarten | The Lonely Island (featuring Robyn) | |
| 2016 | Saw It Coming | G-Eazy (featuring Jeremih) |
| 2017 | Run | Foo Fighters |
| The Sky Is a Neighborhood | ||
| The Answer | Fireball Minister |
Director
Short film
- The FP (2007)
- The Day the Dead Weren't Dead (Also producer) (2007)
Feature film
- The FP[a] (2011)
- An American Pickle (2020)
Television
| Year | Title | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Future Man | "Pandora's Mailbox" |
| 2024 | Knuckles | "The Shabbat Dinner" |
Music video
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Sundown | Fireball Ministry |
| 2007 | Little Bo Peep | Phillip Roebuck |
| 2010 | Butcher, Faker, Policy Maker | Fireball Ministry |
| 2017 | The Answer |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Kazaam | Student | Uncredited |
| 1998 | Rushmore | Vietnamese soldier with rocket launcher | |
| 2004 | Lightning Bug | Seismograph drummer | |
| 2009 | Crank: High Voltage | White Slave Boy | |
| 2010 | MacGruber | Brick's boyfriend | |
| 2013 | This Is the End | Cannibal | Uncredited |
| 2019 | Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile | Interview Cameraman | |
| 2025 | The Naked Gun | Mug Shot Photographer | Uncredited |
Notes
- ^ Co-written and co-directed with Jason Trost; credited as "Trost Bros."
References
- ^ "Brandon Scott Trost, Born 08/29/1981 in California". California Birth Index. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
- ^ Reynolds, Rebecca (July 1, 2013). "All Indie Family". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
- ^ Gale, Wayne (April 18, 2013). "The Lords of Salem - Exclusive Interview with Cinematographer Brandon Trost". Dread Central. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ^ Mancini, Vince (March 15, 2012). "Smiles Humped All up My Face". The Portland Mercury. Index Publishing. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ Carey, Anna (March 19, 2012). "Makers of 'The FP' discuss inspiration for their surreal film". The Daily Californian. Independent Berkeley Students Publishing Company.
- ^ Barrera, Brandon (August 15, 2008). "Filmmaking Brothers to Make Feature Of 'The FP'". Mountain Enterprise. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
- ^ "Brandon Trost shoots 'This is the End'". British Cinematographer. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ S., Iain (March 17, 2011). "SXSW/American Cinematographer: The FP's Brandon Trost". CHUD. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2014.