Masanobu "Masa" Takayanagi (高柳 雅暢, Takayanagi Masanobu, born 17 February 1974) is a Japanese cinematographer whose works include Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Warrior (2011) and The Grey (2011).
[1] He briefly attended Tohoku University[2] in Japan before deciding to pursue a career in cinematography in the American film industry; he was inspired by Masters of Light: Conversations with Contemporary Cinematographers, which he saw in a bookstore.
[3] He migrated to the United States around 1996[4] in order to attend film school at California State University, Long Beach at the university's Film and Electronics Arts Department, although he could not speak English at the time.
[3] He later photographed the second units of State of Play, Eat Pray Love, The Eagle, and Monte Carlo.
His first turn as a main unit cinematographer was on Meet Monica Velour, followed by The Grey, both released in 2011.