"As a cinematographer, I have always prided myself on finding the emotional connection to the characters within a scene, whether that characterizes the protagonist or the antagonist. Through my lighting and lensing of the scene, I can reflect those emotions of the characters. All of this is done to connect the audience visually to the scene. This is why I love cinematography, because it gives me the possibility of building emotional connections with people".
Michael Watson
Michael Watson is an American cinematographer that is committed to carrying his audience along with well-grounded images, stories, emotions, and characters all in their natural settings. He has filmed music videos, Tv series, documentaries, and features all over the world and has developed an excellent taste for unique camera work. He is determined to bring natural and sensitive approaches to each project. With many years of experience working as a cinematographer, Michael Watson has developed a vast portfolio of projects ranging from sci-fi to drama. He is often working on long term projects with renowned directors. Michael uses all available technology to improve his cinematography, from digital to analog tools, old and modern, as long as they bring out the perfect details to the scenes and subjects. Michael believes in subtlety over showy and hence he loves to explore natural ways to light. However, when in the studio, he ensures that his lighting gives the actors the freedom to concentration on their best performance.
Michael grew up in the Cayman Islands and his love for the camera started at the age of 10. Michael’s parents gave him an old Pentax K1000 camera for his 10th birthday. “I remember vividly what it felt like to see the world through the viewfinder for the first time. It was exciting and unusual all at once. I remember learning about light and exposure by pointing the camera at a bright object and seeing the (centre-the-needle exposure control system) bob up and down on the right side of the viewfinder.” It wasn’t until after seeing Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that Michael became fascinated by motion pictures.
Michael Watson went to an all-boys military boarding school in Florida. Shortly after graduating from high school, he moved to Miami, FL, where he discovered Fashion photography. “I tried for years to find a way into fashion photography, but to no avail.” However, Michael would end up employed at CineVideoTech, a motion picture rental house in 1998. "I figured the only way to get into the fashion photography industry was to work in a camera rental house.” As fate would have it, CineVideoTech was a motion picture camera rental house. The rest is history as they say. CineVideoTech helped shape his life and alter his path to cinematography. Michael moved to Los Angeles in 2004 and shortly after started working with award-winning Cinematographers such as Daniel Pearl, Lance Accord, Samuel Bayer, and Claudio Miranda, among others. “Music Videos became my hands-on learning. There were always multiple cameras and more often than not you would be asked to man a camera.”
In 2011, Michael Watson was one of the first groups of aspiring Cinematographers to attend the newly founded Global Cinematography Institute started by Yuri Neyman, ASC, and Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. “Learning and exploring Cinema with two of the art form’s greatest Cinematographers was a great privilege. I remember being in awe as I listened to Vilmos discuss how they shot the Russian roulette scene in the movie ‘The Deer Hunter." Once out of school and with a more formal appreciation for the art of Cinematography, Michael would continue to grow shooting low budget indies, documentaries, and music videos.
Michael shot his first feature film ''Skyline (2010)'' directed by the award-winning Brothers Strauss. The Universal Pictures sci-fi thriller was critically acclaimed for its unique visual style. After traveling the world filming feature films, and commercials, with great success in those endeavors, in 2016, he moved to Atlanta, GA.. “I decided to take my career in a new direction.” Michael decided to pursue what has now become one of the most creative outlets for Cinematographers, television. Michael has gone on to shoot award-winning projects such as the WGN’s "Underground” (2016), "CW's "Black Lightning” (2018), TNT’s “Claws”(2018, 2019, 2020) Michael is currently working on HBO's hotly awaited Drama Fantasy show "Lovecraft Country" by Misha Green, staring Jonathan Majors and Abbey Lee.