Michael Coulter
Michael Coulter BSC is a Scottish cinematographer. On some films, he does additional photography and is a camera operator.
He was nominated at the 68th Academy Awards in the category of Best Cinematography for the film Sense and Sensibility.
He is a member of the British Society of Cinematographers. Represented by in the UK and in the US.
Career
He was introduced to the local film business by his director brother-in-law, the late Charles Gormley. 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.Coulter soon became acquainted with writer/director Bill Forsyth and, having recently purchased a 16mm camera, was invited to use it as the director of photography on Forsyth's first feature That Sinking Feeling. Coulter operated for Chris Menges on Forsyth's next pictures, Local Hero and Comfort and Joy, 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, when the original director of photography had to pull out. "One of producers, Mamoun Hassan, asked if I would shoot the film. I decided to pick up the ball and run with it". He has shot numerous commercials directed by Charles Sturridge, Tom Hooper, Mark Mylod, David Jellison, Gerard de Thame, among others.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1979 | That Sinking Feeling | Bill Forsyth | |
| 1981 | Gregory's Girl | Bill Forsyth | |
| 1985 | No Surrender | Peter Smith | |
| 1985 | The Good Father | Mike Newell | |
| 1986 | Heavenly Pursuits | Charles Gormley | |
| 1987 | Housekeeping | Bill Forsyth | |
| 1988 | The Dressmaker | Jim O'Brien | |
| 1989 | Breaking In | Bill Forsyth | |
| 1989 | Diamond Skulls | Nick Broomfield | |
| 1991 | Where Angels Fear to Tread | Charles Sturridge | |
| 1992 | The Long Day Closes | Terence Davies | |
| 1994 | Being Human | Bill Forsyth | |
| 1994 | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Mike Newell | |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Ang Lee | |
| 1995 | The Neon Bible | Terence Davies | |
| 1997 | Charles Sturridge | ||
| 1998 | My Giant | Michael Lehmann | |
| 1999 | Notting Hill | Roger Michell | |
| 1999 | Mansfield Park | Patricia Rozema | |
| 2002 | Killing Me Softly | Chen Kaige | |
| 2003 | Love Actually | Richard Curtis | |
| 2008 | The Bank Job | Roger Donaldson | |
| 2013 | The Lovers | Roland Joffé | Co-cinematographer with Ben Nott |
| 2019 | The Hustle | Chris Addison |
Awards
Academy Awards, USABAFTA Awards
| 1996 | Nominee BAFTA Film Award | Best Cinematography Sense and Sensibility |
Awards Circuit Community Awards
| 2004 | Nominee ACCA | Best Cast Ensemble Million Dollar Baby Shared with:
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| 1995 | NomineeACCA | Best Cinematography Sense and Sensibility |
BAFTA Awards, Scotland
| 1997 | Winner Craft Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film or Television | . |
British Society of Cinematographers
| 1995 | Nominee Best Cinematography Award | Sense and Sensibility |
| 1994 | Nominee Best Cinematography Award | Four Weddings and a Funeral |
Chlotrudis Awards
| 1998 | Nominee Chlotrudis Award | Best Cinematography FairyTale: A True Story |