Michael Daley Coulter (born August 29, 1952) is a Scottish

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

. He achieved prominence for his collaborations with writer-director

Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Ma ...

, and went on to work on high-profile films like '' Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), '' Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), '' FairyTale: A True Story'' (1997), ''

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...

'' (1999), '' Mansfield Park'' (also 1999), ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television p ...

'' (2003), ''

The Bank Job ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (2018), and '' The Hustle'' (2019). He was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

for his work on ''Sense and Sensibility''. He is a member of the

British Society of Cinematographers The British Society of Cinematographers (abbreviated B.S.C. or BSC) was formed in 1949 by Bert Easey (23 August 1901 – 28 February 1973), the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments, to represent British cinematographers ...

, and

BAFTA Scotland BAFTA in Scotland is the Scottish branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Formed in 1986, the branch holds two annual awards ceremonies recognising the achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film, televis ...

Early life

Coulter was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

in 1952. He was introduced to the local film business by his director brother-in-law, the

Charles Gormley Charles Gormley (19 December 1937 – 22 September 2005) was a Scottish film director and screenwriter. Biography Having found a liking towards film, he left his job as an optician and joined the International Film Associates in the mid-1960s ...

. He started as a gopher for local production companies making industrial films, before moving on to load the black and white film stock into camera magazines at football matches. He went freelance in 1975.

Career

Coulter became acquainted with writer/director

, shooting in his 1972 documentary short ''Islands of the West''. He subsequently filmed Forsyth's first feature, ''

That Sinking Feeling ''That Sinking Feeling'' is a 1979 Scottish comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth, his first film as a director. The film is set in his home city of Glasgow (the Calton, Bridgeton and Parkhead areas) in Scotland. The young actors ...

'' (1979). Coulter operated for

Chris Menges Chris Menges BSC, ASC (born 15 September 1940) is a British cinematographer and film director. He is a member of both the American and British Societies of Cinematographers. Life and career Menges was born in Kington, Herefordshire, the son ...

on Forsyth's next pictures, '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984), which Coulter describes as "unmissable opportunities to work with a man I admired tremendously". During the early 1980s he also worked on many documentaries. "Documentaries made you resourceful, inventive. You had to make things work somehow. Also the life-experience of 'travel broadening the mind' was important for me". He enjoyed a brief stint in France during the early 1980s, as an assistant to cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn, but it was back in the UK that he passed a watershed. He was just about to start work as the camera operator on '' No Surrender'' (1985), when the original director of photography had to pull out. He has shot numerous commercials directed by

Charles Sturridge Charles B. G. Sturridge (born 24 June 1951) is an English director and screenwriter. He is the recipient of a BAFTA Children's Award and four BAFTA TV Awards. He has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. Early life and education ...

Tom Hooper Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker. Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...

Mark Mylod Mark Mylod is a British television and film director and executive producer. He is known for his work on the television series ''Succession'' and '' Shameless'', as well as for directing the horror-comedy film '' The Menu'' (2022). Career Mar ...

, David Jellison (for Kleenex), Gerard de Thame (for Nissan, Rolex, and KIA), among others. Coulter is represented b
McKinney Macartney Management
in the UK an
Gersh
in the US.

Filmography

Film

As director of photography

As other

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* 1952 births Living people British cinematographers Film people from Glasgow Scottish cinematographers {{UK-film-bio-stub