FrameThrower · Actors · Bob Balaban
Bob Balaban
11 films · 866 frames · top-billed in 3 · 1977–2018
Born 16 August 1945 · Chicago, Illinois, USA
Robert Elmer Balaban, Born: August 16, 1945, Chicago, Illinois, U.S (Height: 5' 5" [1.65 m]). is an American actor, author, comedian, director, and producer. He is best known for his appearances in the Christopher Guest mockumentary comedies Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), and For Your Consideration (2006), as well as his roles in the films Midnight Cowboy (1969), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Altered States (1980), 2010 (1984), Deconstructing Harry (1997), and Capote (2005). Balaban has also directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films.…
How their films are shot
Measured across 866 frames from the 11 films we hold. This is the look of the work Bob takes, not a claim about any single frame — we index the cast of a film, never the people in a shot.
Across the 11 films we hold, 47% of their frames are day, 40% natural — the look of the work Bob takes.
Time of day
Lighting
Shot size
Camera angle
Mood
Films in the library
Every poster opens that film — stills, cinematography notes and colour palette.
Isle of Dogs
2018 · King (voice)
I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House
2016 · Mr. Waxcap
Altered States
1980 · Arthur Rosenberg
Moonrise Kingdom
2012 · The Narrator
Howl
2010 · Judge Clayton Horn
No Reservations
2007 · Therapist
Lady in the Water
2006 · Harry Farber
Capote
2005 · William Shawn
Ghost World
2001 · Enid's Dad
The Mexican
2001 · Bernie Nayman
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
1977 · David Laughlin
Often with
Shared films in this library, not a full filmography.
A reference database for filmmakers
FrameThrower is a fully machine-searchable film database and visual reference library — all 866 frames from Bob Balaban's 11 films, and 5,000+ films besides, indexed frame by frame and readable by AI. Search it in plain language, from a reference image, or by colour; call it from an API, an MCP server or an SDK. It's the reference layer for making the next movie.